(00:00): Happy Monday, friends! It's Memorial Day. I just hope and pray that you're able to spend today with your family. And of course commemorating all of the men and women who have died in military service for our incredible country, that we are just able to spend some time with those we love today and just soaking in the blessings that those men and women have created by allowing us to live in the home of the free and the brave God's country.

(00:28): So today, my loves, we are gonna be talking a little bit more about podcasting, because I wanna tell you something this last weekend, I was able to go with a couple of friends of ours on a getaway, on a couple's little vacation. And I was able to pre-record last week's episodes. I didn't have to worry about my business falling apart at the seams, I was off of work for four days, completely unplugged.

(00:54): I didn't really do anything as far as the day-to-day operations of my business are concerned and I still made sales. I had sales every single day while I was gone. I had people book straight from the podcast, jump into the different courses. We had emails come through, new leads, I had people opting into my email list, all because of one incredible platform, this one. Podcasting is truly the answer to growing a scalable online, organic business.

(01:28): My friends, a business that you can truly step away from, and it still grows, a business where you don't have to fight an algorithm or pour thousands of dollars into ad spend or create really weird, confusing, awkward salesy landing pages, or go into the DMS every single day and try to follow up and chase leads who just ignore you anyway. There's none of those games. You're truly showing up to bless people, to pour out your heart, to teach, to help, to serve, to solve whether it's a mission in your heart, whether you're gonna grow a business from it, whether you teach macros for moms, patient parenting, life coaching, or ministry, it doesn't matter. Podcasting is the answer.

(02:10): And I think that if you've been hanging out with me for any amount of time, you might actually believe me by now. You're like, Stefanie, I truly do believe that having a podcast is the way to grow a successful business in less time. And it's actually super easy. But what I'm gonna actually be talking to you guys about today are five mistakes to avoid when starting a podcast. I don't want you to be too in your head where you don't start, but at the same time, I do want you to be super, super equipped. And I want you to feel so confident the first time you sit down behind that mic and click record, and there are just five simple things today that I wanna help you avoid. And no shade, because believe me, I'm actually guilty of all five of these. So stay tuned. Let's dig in.

(04:21): All right. Grab a notebook and pen. Let's dig in. Number one, the first mistake to avoid when starting your new podcast, choosing a wide niche or having a lifestyle branded podcast. I know it seems like the right choice. How simple to just kind of pick an overall strategy, kind of be able to talk about this and this and this, or talk specifically to a wide demographic of people thinking that it's better to actually be able to help a lot of people and that your podcast is going to grow faster that way. False. Spoiler. The bigger your niche is the smaller fish you are in the sea. So choosing a wide niche is really going to set you back. It's not gonna help you grow faster and it's really not gonna help you help anyone. If we can help everybody, we're really helping nobody.

(05:15): So the first thing you wanna do is go ahead and start with where you are. That's great, but I want you to dig into that. What is your podcast actually gonna be about? Go ahead and jot that on your piece of paper right now. What's your podcast gonna be about? You can write anything on your sheet. And then I want you to ask yourself a question. Of that thing that I wrote down, what is the number one thing that I can help someone do inside of that niche or inside of that demographic? So let's say for example, you wrote down fitness.

(05:48): While having a fitness podcast is great, but it's way too big. So let's say next to fitness, you wrote down, I can help people get fit in 15 minutes or less a day. And I would challenge you to even question people, who and why, why do they need have only 15 minutes, and who is this person? And maybe you write down, I can help busy corporate women get fit in 15 minutes over their lunch break. Now we're talking about a niche. So you're really gonna want to dig super, super deep into that category and see what you can come up with.

(06:21): Number two, the second mistake you wanna avoid is overpaying for equipment and or editing. So one of the biggest things I see people do is they invest in a really expensive podcasting course, $2-3,000. And then the podcasting guru tells them that they're gonna need to spend a couple grand on this fancy microphone. They're gonna have to rewire their office so that they can drop down the mic from the ceiling and they gotta buy the egg foam stuff to pad the walls. Guys, we are not Joe Rogan. Let's just call it what it is.

(07:02): Maybe one day, let's just start with where we are. Why would we invest in such an absolutely absorbant asinine amount of money into this podcasting thing when we're starting? I think that that is just ridiculous. I think that you don't need to spend a couple grand on some crazy equipment set up. And I also don't think that you actually need to get your podcast edited at first. I think that you can do that yourself super scrappy, super quickly.

(07:40): And I think that you can have equipment that's less than 140 bucks, and I'm gonna teach you how to do that inside of my course, which is actually very, very affordable. You can get started with my podcasting course to learn how to start a podcast in less than 30 days for faith led women for only 267 bucks a month. It's super, super affordable. That's at podcastprouniversity.com. If you wanna check that out. But over paying for equipment and editing is one of the biggest mistakes I see people making.

(08:10): Number three, not doing your market research. So when you don't do market research, you actually don't know what people wanna know, what they wanna hear, what they're typing in, what their Googling, what their pain points are, what their problems are, what their dreams and wishes and desires are. And so instead you create a podcast all around what you think you should talk about. So this is so the mistake that I made, I started a show and I just talked about what I thought I should talk about.

(08:44): And I was guessing, and it took longer to skyrocket than it should have, because I really wasn't listening to my avatar. I call you guys Lola, my avatar's name is Lola. And so as you dig into getting to know your Lola, your person, what are you Googling? So let's look at our fitness example. Hey, Lola, what are you Googling when it comes to fitness? Why can't you find time to get fit? What does it even mean to get fit for you? What would an ideal outcome be here? What kind of goals are you looking at over the next 30, 60, 90 days and even a year? What are the pain points keeping you from integrating fitness into your life? What would it look like if you had 15 minutes, a day consistently seven days a week, what would be exciting? And, what would you enjoy when it came to moving your body and wellness? Guys, these are the million dollar questions that you wanna start asking the people inside of your market to find out what are their answers and truly listening, and then integrating all of the keywords that they're using, all of the language that they're using right on over into your podcast content. This is gonna make a huge difference when starting your podcast.

(09:54): Number four, the fourth mistake you want to avoid when starting your show is having, can we just be honest for a second? I gotta ask permission to say this one, cuz I might hurt somebody's feelings right now. But I'm guilty of this one too. You are not alone. And, let me just validate you for a minute. I understand that this whole process takes money. It takes investment. It takes time and we wanna save money. We wanna kind of cut corners wherever we can. I know, I did the same thing, but this one is a no-go. This one, I really, really, really encourage you to spend the money and do it right because it makes the difference of hundreds of people finding you versus thousands versus tens of thousands of people actually choosing to click and listen to your show.

(10:43): So this is why I am not picking on you. I am being honest with you. And you want a podcast coach who is going to be extremely honest with you and give you constructive criticism if and when you need it and not be afraid to tell you so that you can actually have the success and the growth that you deserve. Because you're stepping out on the limb, you are walking by faith. You are listening to this call that God's planted in your heart. You're doing something big and scary and it's gonna feel hard. And so we think that if something is hard, we should just do it in the quickest, easiest way. Save money here, save money there. But that's just not the case. This will set you back.

(11:21): And number four is no more suspense. Let me tell you it's having bad podcast cover art. Let's define bad. We'll go back to Stefanie Gass, 2018. I decided to make my own podcast art with an iPhone photo that had bad lighting on Canva. It's just, no. We're gonna just go ahead and say no to that. I am not a graphic designer. I am not great at graphics. I'm not awful, but you could tell I made it myself. It didn't have a clear tagline on there. It didn't have a clear TSO, which is the one of the first things you learn about when you go through my podcasting program. It's super critical that we have the right layout of our podcast art. We need it to be very professional. We need it to be clean. We need it to have a beautiful logo on there, a TSO statement, a great graphic. And there's a reason behind that.

(12:23): The reason is is this is basically the equivalent of the cover of your book. If you wanna have a best seller, are you gonna create your own book cover by yourself on Canva and drag and drop and try to make it look good? No, you're going to pay a couple hundred bucks and get a professional cover made, probably more, because you're going after that best seller list. So what are you doing here? Are you trying to start a podcast and grow slow? Are you trying to start a podcast and hit the best seller list? So we need to invest in great cover art. And when you guys join Podcast Pro University, I have my graphic designer linked in there for you guys so she can get you cover art made super, super affordably. I also have some other resources on what goes on really highly converting cover art. There are some components that you need to be super aware of and how to do all of it in a short amount of time so that we can get your podcast launched.

(13:20): Last but not least. The fifth mistake you wanna avoid when starting your podcast is not following a proven step by step plan. And here's the kicker from someone you trust. Let's just be honest. You can go to YouTube and figure how to start a podcast. You can go to a blog and figure how to start a show. You can figure it out yourself. Of course, you can do all of those things. And maybe that works for you, but maybe it doesn't. And the truth is is that anything you guys find online is gonna be a culmination from a bunch of different people who've done something a bunch of different ways.

(13:58): And now they're telling you that their way is the best way. But the truth is is there is no best way. There is only the way that God has called you to step out and to pour your purpose out into the world. And you have decided that podcasting is the answer. Who is the podcasting coach, mentor, guide? It doesn't have to be me. Who is it that you trust? And I want you guys to think about something really carefully when you choose who you're gonna follow. I want you to take a look at their actual life. I want you to take a look at their calendar. I want you to take a look at how they've monetized. I want you to take a look at the brand that they have built because whoever's footsteps you are following in is the life you are beginning to create.

(14:41): So there have been many coaches or courses that I have taken. And after I took their thing, I realized that's not actually the life I want. I don't wanna be on social media 24/7. I don't wanna create reels. I don't even have a TikTok account, you guys. I want freedom in my life. I wanna work 30 hours a week or less. I wanna spend time with my kids. I wanna wake up early and spend time with the Lord. I wanna put God first, then my marriage and my children, then my business. I wanted in that order God has called and appointed it to be in that order in my life. And I wanna help other women do it the same way. I wanna have the podcast be something affordable, easy, free, and light. I want the podcast to be something that grows leads over time.

(15:23): That generates conversion on its own. I don't wanna spend thousands and thousands of dollars a month on all this unnecessary stuff, on all these extra systems and platforms and overwhelm myself. I want a simple business model. And that is the type of podcasting course that I have created. And my podcasting course is created with the faith led woman in mind, because I believe God has to be the CEO of our business.

(15:52): We are doing this God's way. And what does that even mean? What does it mean to build a successful business? God's way? It means that we are armored up in his word. We are abiding by godly principles when we set out to grow our business, we are praying before any major business decision. We are spending time with God and we are leading spirit forward. Holy spirit is helping us lead the way. Open your mouth and He shall fill it.

(16:19): We have to look to scripture for the guidelines of building our businesses. And at the end of the day, why are we building a business? To glorify God, to show up in our giftings, to bless people, to serve people. And then through all of that, we receive God's blessing back in our lives. And sometimes that's financially. Sometimes it's not. Sometimes it's other beautiful blessing and favor that God pours into your life. But it's because we are showing up doing good works and believing and trusting that we are here in the right place at the right time for a time such as this, that we are appointed and anointed. And that we are enough to open our mouths and start this podcast. And step forward in faith, believing that we can do this his way. So if that sits with you, I'm so happy you're here, guys.

(17:06): And I have two beautiful things, two beautiful options for you no matter where you are. Option one is to take the leap with me to join me in Podcast Pro University, it's gonna teach you how to start a podcast in 30 days or less for the faith led woman. It has every step from idea to recording, to editing, to equipment, to producing and to launching your podcast so that you can have a successful business. Period. End of story. It's easy. It's step by step. We have a community for you, accountability for you. I am in there answering questions live every single month. You get my team to support you. And the best part, truly one of the most beautiful things about my course is that you have a group of other faith led godly women who are running the same exact race as you, and instead of trying to win, they're encouraging you.

(18:00): They're walking beside you when you get tired, they're helping you finish the race well. There are so much encouragement. There is so much comradery that happens in there. It's just such a beautiful space and we invite you to be part of it. podcastprouniversity.com. Now, maybe you're not ready or you think that I'm not the coach for you and that's okay. I want you to come and download my free podcasting checklist. This is gonna help you. It's just a step by step simple checklist. It's got some linked podcast episodes to help you along the way. And I think really what this is for is to help you decide if I'm the coach for you or not. It helps you get started. And then eventually of course, I truly believe that you should join us in the course. But if that's you, you can go grab the podcast checklist at thepodcastlaunchchecklist.com. All right, friend, I pray that God equips you. He gives you confidence and that He lays the path beneath your feet, that He shows you the way in which you should go. And that you say yes and amen to His plan, His anointing as calling over your life to start. I'm so excited you're here. God bless you. I'll see you back tomorrow for another episode of the show.