10 Rules for a Profitable & Peaceful Podcasting Business

Hey Friend!

Do you want to build a profitable, sustainable, and impactful podcasting business? Then, I want to encourage you to follow my ten non-negotiable rules. I have stats, facts, and biblical wisdom to back them. But most importantly, I can back them from my own podcasting experience of almost seven years!

I’ve grown a podcasting business that has hit the top twenty in the charts. It has opened doors to stages, speaking engagements, and networking opportunities. It has grown financial favor in my life and given me the ability to serve and tithe in a capacity higher than I ever dreamed.

I believe these rules will set you apart from the online business owners who sold out to hustle, striving, and social. They will set you apart from the podcasters who quit too soon, for the faint of heart who aren’t in it for the long-term return, and allow you to have a podcasting business with a shelf life that does not expire and the peaceful business it will bring you.

One of the things I love to hear from my students is that they have grown a peaceful podcasting business that is generating income while working fewer hours. Can I get an ‘Amen’?

Let’s dive into my ten rules for a profitable podcasting business.

Podcasting Business Rule #1: Don’t Start a Podcast with Money in Mind

Podcasting business rule number one is not to start a podcast with money in mind.

“But what do you mean, Stef? You always talk about a profitable podcasting business.” Of course, I have money on my mind! But ninety percent of podcasts never make it past episode three. Did you hear that? And only one percent of podcasters make it past episode twenty.

If you only want to make money from a podcast, you will not last! It’s not an overnight vessel to create income. Podcasting is a long sustainability play. This concept is underrated.

People are constantly pursuing the next shiny thing:

• Viral reels
• Short-form content
• Social media

I’ve talked about this until I’m blue in the face! If you’re here to work ten times harder while making ten times less money, great. I’m going to give it to you straight.

WHAT DOES A PROFITABLE PODCASTING BUSINESS TAKE?

Having a profitable podcasting business doesn’t take selling your soul to social media and thinking it will create a six-figure business. Does it happen? Yeah, but it’s so rare. I don’t think it’s worth the time, stress, and anxiety it causes people. You want to start a podcast with service, value, and consistency in mind.

“Whoever can be trusted with little can also be trusted with much.” ~Luke 16:10

When you start your podcast, it’s not in a posture to only make money. Check yourself. I know most of you aren’t in that heart posture. Start your podcasting business to help whoever it is God has for you.

• Share your knowledge.
• Give what you have.
• Speak behind your mic until the Lord says otherwise.

Don’t start with money in mind. Start with consistency and service in mind. It will greatly impact the success and peacefulness that you create in your podcasting business.

Podcasting Business Rule #2: Be Consistent

Podcasting business rule number two is to be consistent.

Be consistent over the next twelve months, ideally eighteen. This statistic is from Edison Research. It takes eighteen-plus months of consistent effort before most podcasters start seeing real traction and monetization.

I’ve shared student spotlight episodes on the podcast. Frankly, my students see traction and monetization in a few months because they understand strategy and SEO.

It also depends on where you are in your podcasting business. If you already have a huge following, your podcast will be more successful from the start. But if you’re starting from scratch, you need to have the mindset that you will do this for twelve to eighteen months. You will keep showing up. Why? Because you will get better as you go.

A LESSON OF CONSISTENCY FOR MY SON

My youngest son is a perfectionist. The other day, he was practicing punting the football. I was in my garage gym working out. It was a nice day and the door was open.

So I told him to practice his punting while I worked out. His first two punts were awful! The ball would go ten feet and hit the tree. He was getting mad and frustrated and wanted to quit. I said to him, “Hey, buddy, hold on. Let’s try again. Let me watch what you’re doing and give you some feedback.”

I went outside to watch him and noticed two things. First, he kicked the football in a weird spot which caused the ball to go to the left. And second, his kicking tee was backward. So I flipped the kicking tee around and showed him where to kick the football. Bam! The football soared so far.

He wants to be in the NFL one day. I told him, “That’s great! Do you have a dream? Go for it. But you will have to work hard to make your dream happen.”

THE LESSON OF CONSISTENCY FOR ALL OF US

The lesson for all of us is, “We can’t grow weary in doing good, for at the proper time we’ll reap a harvest if we do not give up.” ~Galatians 6:9

You will show up and fail. It’s going to be messy. You’re gonna say, “um” too many times. As a new podcaster, you’ll wander and won’t stay on message. It’s part of being new at something. Let’s call it what it is. You won’t be good at first. It won’t be easy.

If you want long-term success, you must commit to at least one year of weekly episodes before evaluating results because you’re in it for the long game. If you’re not in it for the long game, I may not be the coach for you.

I am here for those who will not give up on themselves, throw in the towel, and start something new and shiny. You have tried that already. If it worked, you wouldn’t be listening to this episode. You wouldn’t be frustrated and overwhelmed because it is not profitable.

Why do you keep doing the same thing over and over when it is not yielding the results, life, favor, and fruitfulness you want? It’s time to be consistent in the things that work.

Podcasting Business Rule #3: Be Boring

Podcasting business rule number three is to be boring.

“What did you just say to me, Stef?” I said, “Be boring.” In other words, be clear. Listeners decide in the first thirty seconds whether to listen to your podcast. Don’t try to be clever. Be clear.

Your audience should instantly understand why this episode is relevant. They should be interested in listening and finishing the episode because you are teasing out a result they desperately want.

“Let your conversation be gracious and attractive so you will have the right response for everyone.” ~Colossians 4:6.

This verse was not created for podcast episodes, but I think it’s still relevant. “Let your conversation be gracious and attractive.” How can you be gracious? You are:

• Kind
• Honest
• Vulnerable
• Forthcoming

How can your conversation be attractive? Tell your audience why they need to listen. Hammer home their pain points and offer solutions to them.

Being boring pertains to the front end of the funnel of your podcast. Your title, episodes, and how you talk to your audience. When you attract a new person to your brand, don’t be confusing or they’ll leave. Set these components up with the boring filter so new audience members can easily understand what’s in it for them.

Podcasting Business Rule #4: Niche in and Niche in More

Rule number four is to niche in and then niche in even more.

Podcasts focusing on super-specific niches rank higher and grow three times faster than broad general topics. The system I teach my students is called the micro-micro-niche.

Here’s how it works:

• First, you pick a market, such as health.
• Then you pick a segment of the health market. It could be prenatal care.
• Then you choose an identifier. This could be a person or another niche. Maybe it’s a Christian mom or fat loss.

It’s three layers deep of niching. The other thing you have to do is know the one person you want to serve. Whether I’m the coach for you or not, please take this with you to the bank because it works!

Your customer is your copywriter. You are creating a podcasting business for someone else, not for you. The clearer you paint the picture of who you serve in your business, the farther you’ll get, and the more impact you’ll make. This builds trust and income. Niche in and then niche in even more.

Podcasting Business Rule #5: Use SEO Strategy in Your Podcasting Business

First, Google and Apple Podcasts will prioritize podcast keywords in the title of your podcast. Second, they will prioritize podcast keywords inside the titles of every single episode.

For example, instead of, How I Grew My Podcast, try 5 Steps to Grow a Profitable Podcast to 10K Downloads Faster. The first example doesn’t have keywords or SEO but the second one does. Profitable, podcast, and downloads are keywords people are searching for. These keywords will help your show to be found.

Podcasting Business Rule #6: One Major Takeaway Per Episode

In rule number six, focus on one major takeaway per episode.

If the content is scattered, eighty percent of listeners drop off before the episode ends. Stick to one, clear, actionable takeaway per episode so your audience leaves with a focused takeaway.

If I give you thirty-seven things to do in an episode, you leave your listeners overwhelmed without remembering anything they learned. I think of church with this rule. If the sermon has seventeen takeaways, I can’t remember anything I learned. I have to look at my notes.

As Americans, our memory retention is low. What’s the culprit? Our phones! At the beginning of your episodes, remember to tell your listeners why you’re having this conversation. Walk them through the episode. Then, at the end, recap. In most episodes, I recap the steps and things I want you to remember. I like to give one tangible thing you can do, a homework assignment or call to action.

Podcasting Business Rule #7: Monetize with One Easy Core Offer

Rule number seven is to monetize with one, easy, core offer. The Podcast Business Journal states that the top-earning podcasters focus on one monetization method before diversifying.

I teach my students to start with a one-on-one coaching offer or a digital product and go to six figures with that one core thing. My students can do both because they may begin with coaching and then want to create a digital product or group coaching program or vice versa.

Inside my group coaching program, Podcast to Profit, my students learn how to do all three, one-on-one coaching, e-course, and group coaching. But I only want you to start with one. Based on where you are in your business, I teach you which one to begin with. And that’s it.

I don’t want you doing memberships or paying for ad spots because I want you to make real money and work less. Over the past sixteen years of being an entrepreneur, I’ve done everything wrong so you don’t have to.

STEF’S PODCASTING BUSINESS SUCCESS STORIES

I’ve coached over two thousand people who understand this business model. I know what works best with podcasting. Many of my students have had massive success. Here are a few examples:

• Chelsea Jo Moore: Three million downloads and multiple six figures a year
• Teresa Davis: Nine sales in her first live launch
• Juliana Page: Nine thousand in revenue and five high-ticket clients worth thirty thousand in ninety days

You can read about and watch videos of my student success stories here. This method and podcasting business model works. Monetizing with one core thing leads to lots of income because:

• You’re simplified
• You’re strategic
• You’re hammering people with the one thing that solves their problem.

If you are overwhelming people, you won’t make a sale. Our day-to-day lives are overwhelming. We don’t need our decision-making to be exhausting too.

Hard-earned money goes towards things like coaching and courses. People need to be one hundred percent sure this is what they need. When you have one core offer, it takes out any indecision.

BUSINESS-IN-A-BOX

If you need to know how and struggle to make a podcasting business work, check out my group coaching program, Podcast to Profit. I will teach you:

• What to monetize
• How to build it
• How to set it up
• Positioning and price
• Contracts
• Checkout pages
• Sales pages

I will teach you all of it and help you implement every step. My coaches are in there too, auditing and combing through every page. It’s been explained as a business-in-a-box and step-by-step blueprint for making multi-six figures.

Podcasting Business Rule #8: Treat Your Podcast Like a Business

Podcasting business rule number eight is to treat your podcast like a business.

Listen to this statistic from Podchaser: “Podcasters who treat their show like a business versus a hobby earn five times more.”

What does this mean? It means you need to set up systems for your podcasting business. You need systems for:

• Batching episodes
• Growing your email list
• Conversion
• How to make urgency offers on your podcast
• How to sell things directly from the show

“In all hard work, there is profit, but mere talk leads only to poverty.” ~Proverbs 14:23.

This ties in directly to what we’re talking about today, “In hard work, there is profit...” Take this to the bank literally and figuratively because it’s going to take hard work to:

• Start the show
• Optimize the show
• Build the offer
• Let go of old methods of growth
• Forgive yourself for the time wasted
• Forgive yourself for the money wasted

If that’s where you’ve been, I get it. I was there too. It’s time to put your blinders on, pick the one way to do this thing, and pick one micro-micro-niche to serve. Get in there and you do it consistently without looking up. Your podcast is no longer a joke. It’s a business.

For most of you, your podcasting business is also a ministry. You will show up and pour out service and sustainability from a selfless place. Watch what happens!

Podcasting Business Rule #9: Leverage Podcast Guesting

Podcasting business rule number nine is to leverage podcast guesting.

Guest appearances and podcast swaps increase downloads on average by thirty-seven percent. Do you want to grow faster? Start guesting on other podcasts and leverage their audience.

Why does this work so well? If you didn’t know, people who listen to podcasts have a much different posture in life. There are lots of stats to support this. People who listen to podcasts:

• Typically earn more money yearly than those who don’t.
• Are college educated
• Are in a stable household
• Have a posture of learning
• Have discretionary income

Consider the habits of podcast listeners:

• They commute to and from work or their kids’ sports.
• They are active in life.
• They listen while working out.
• They create habits to better themselves.
• They are willing to set down their phone, quit staring at screens, and have audible learning.
• They have discipline.

Those are the things I’m looking for in a client and the people I want to coach.

WHY YOU NEED TO GET IN FRONT OF OTHER AUDIENCES

You need to get in front of other podcasters’ audiences because they trust that person and know they are ‘your kind of people’. In Podcast to Profit, I teach you how to leverage each other because I have over a hundred people in the program at all times. The container is set up for you to work together and guest on each other’s shows.

I also teach you how to do a podcast tour. Back in the day, my goal was to be on one episode every week for fifty-two weeks. I did that and my show grew over a hundred thousand downloads and one hundred thousand dollars in twelve months. Guesting is important!

Podcasting Business Rule #10: Play the Long Game

The last podcasting business rule is to play the long game and then keep playing.

According to Edison Research, The top one percent of podcasts with millions of downloads stayed consistent for years before seeing massive success.

Podcasting is not an overnight success! If you want overnight success, I am the wrong coach for you. Overnight success is a lie. It will steal from you and leave you drained and broken because it will never stay with you. Overnight success is exactly what it promises: It’s overnight, and then it’s gone.

It’s not about doing one thing and that’s it. You must show up for the one thing even when:

• Others quit
• It’s hard
• You’re sick of it
• You don’t know if it’s working

“Patient endurance is what you need now, so that you will continue to do God’s will. Then you will receive all that he has promised.” ~Hebrews 10:36

This is your life’s calling – you need to persevere. It’s not some small thing you’re hoping for. God has written about you before you were born. It’s your purpose to create something you can be proud of.

You’ve gone through trials and tribulations so you can help other people. That’s not lip service! You’ve gone through things in your life so you can use it for a business or ministry to help people.

WHAT HAPPENS WHEN YOU LEAN INTO YOUR CALLING?

A lot of times, you will make money when you lean into your calling. There’s nothing wrong with Christians making money. That is a means of exchange the Lord God created. We are here to glorify His name. How can you glorify His name with money? When you make more, you can do more. You can:

• Serve
• Help
• Give
• Hire people
• Get out of debt
• Invest in your children
• Buy healthier food
• Go on a vacation
• Afford mission trips

What a gift! God is a God of fun and joy. When we get out of our own way and get rid of the weird money stories we’ve either created or were impressed on us by others and look at money through a biblical lens, we can realize that God will use it for good.

Partner with Him and don’t be afraid of it. Don’t be afraid of growth or making money. Don’t be afraid of playing a long game that doesn’t make sense. Let go of the things that no longer serve you such as social media or addictions because God is with you and your business.

Do not compartmentalize what parts of your life you allow God to come into. He knows you and loves you. Show up and surrender to Him.

Final Thoughts and Homework

So these are my podcasting business rules. But at the end of the day, it’s up to you to listen to your heart, surrender to the Lord, and find the right way for you.

It may not be me or my methods. I don’t think you’re here by accident. I believe you’re here on purpose. Maybe there was something I said today that you realized was for you. Take what you need.

The things I’ve said I know to be true for myself and thousands of my students. They have experienced a complete life change, a peaceful and profitable podcasting business by following these ten rules and trusting me. I can show you how to do it, too, and give you the steps and support you need.

If you think this is for you, please check out my group coaching program, Podcast to Profit. If you’re new to me and still not sure, please check out my five-day bootcamp.

Your homework is to set a five-minute timer and journal how you can lean into one of these rules right now. What’s the one rule you know you need to do? Make a commitment statement to yourself.

That’s all I have for you today. I hope these rules have given you more clarity as you share your message with the world. I pray this blesses you.

APPLE PODCAST | SPOTIFY | YOUTUBE

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