Secrets to Creating a Top Ranked Podcast & Why you Need One

Sisters,

Listen in and learn Why You Need a Podcast this year & The Exact Secrets to Creating and Monetizing a Top Ranked Podcast with two top .5% podcast hosts.

Angie Lee and I jam on why you need a podcast, how it is the exact catalyst for your brand and business that you’ve been searching for, why solving and serving (for FREE) on an audio platform is a profit game-changer, and how you can position yourself to launch with success.

Between Angie and myself, we gift you every single secret to creating and launching a show that will scale so that you can monetize down the road. And, y’all…you are learning from someone who has walked this walk. We are talking from 0 to SEVEN MILLION downloads. Two seven-figure businesses…and a lifestyle brand that has one of the highest engagement rates in the industry.

So come, be a fly on the wall, and get your learn on. I know you’ll love this one.

I pray this blesses you!

FULL EPISODE TRANSCRIPTION:

(00:00)
There’s zero chances of you ever being successful if you just keep thinking about how perfect it should be before you do it. I sat down behind a $20 Amazon mic and the only podcast I listened to was Angie. And I’m like, well, I guess if she says I can do it, I can do it.

(00:17)
We’re gonna keep it real here. Your first few episodes kind of be sucky to you and that’s okay. Guess what? Your 10th, 20th episode will be better. You have to show up for it because like Stef said, you don’t know who you’re impacting. When I started this, I had no idea the impact that it would have. And now I can’t imagine not getting on this mic and helping people. Y’all are in for a super special treat today because me and someone that I look up to immensely, somebody that was a big driver of me even starting this show or doing an interview together, this was actually my interview with Angie Lee over on her podcast, The Angie show all about podcasting.

(01:04)
What we did is we took all of your questions, the questions from her community, the questions from my community, literally everything from how do you know you should start a podcast to what does it cost to run one to how do I get started to what are some advanced growth strategies and everything you could possibly imagine in between. If you have podcasting on your heart, you’re wondering, could I really do this? Could podcasting be the right vessel for me to impact the world, stay tuned, buckle up, get your notebook out, because this is one of the most juicy conversations I have ever had.

(01:45)
And it’s also such a full circle moment for me. I really can’t even believe it really happened. This is crazy. Let’s do this. Almost feels like you can’t not do it right. You’re like, where’s the microphone. I need to turn it on. I have to talk to women, and I have to help them. The best podcasters are people who just genuinely want to be on that mic and do it. And then I think it’s putting your business hat on and saying, okay, does this make sense? Is this something that fits into my lifestyle? My schedule, you’re a busy mom.

(03:04)
So honestly I do think audio is one of the smartest things you could do because you don’t have time to clean up your house and get yourself together and always put makeup on or look a certain way, or have your life be a certain way. And yes, people want to see real, but more than I think people wanna see consistent content and you need to create something that you can pump out consistently. The audio platform is so easy to do. And it’s something that you can do in your closet, you know, when you’re hiding from your children’s.

(03:29)
It’s like such a perfect medium for moms and busy entrepreneurs. And so I do think that it’s this blend of this passion meets this is a smart medium for me. And if you’re listening to this and your niche is something that doesn’t need a visual component. I believe that podcasting is really, really powerful. So personal development, business coaching, lifestyle coaching, I think a lot of those things do really well in an audio format. Now, fitness coaching and nutrition.

(03:53)
If you’re showing recipes in the kitchen or your workout in the gym, that may be something that does a little bit better on YouTube, because it’s a visual style of coaching. It’s a visual thing that you’re showing. But I do think that it does well, if it’s something that you know is more so just auditory, which is really, really cool. So yeah, I think it’s something that is just a blend of those two things. I feel like a third component, Angie, which would be my avatar. Her name is Lola. Okay.

(04:17)
Your perfect ideal customer client. How do they want to consume as well? Yep. Because I think why I wasn’t having success is if I’m talking to this mama and she’s not watching a YouTube video, she’s in the car, she’s doing pickup, drop off, she’s at the gym. And when I shifted to, how does she need to hear from me? It exploded. I mean, it exploded. Like I never anticipated. I’m like, oh my God, it was audio the whole time. But I had to get outta my own way to see that, I guess. So that’s a third piece is how does your customer want to hear from you? Yeah, absolutely.

(04:50)
I’m so happy you brought that up because so many times we start things because we want to do them. And that is important because you wanna make sure that the medium that you’re on is something that you enjoy. But ladies, you have to make sure that it’s also the place where your demo or your avatar is hanging out. And for example, your mom, you’re teaching mompreneurs, moms love podcasts, because it’s the epitome of multitasking people.

(05:11)
Podcast, while you’re wiping your kids’ butt. Yeah. While you’re cleaning up, you know, the gummies on the floor while you’re, I mean, making them dinner, while you’re talking to your husband, while you’re in the car on the way to practice, like it’s the most beautiful medium for the multitasker. And I don’t know who else is a multitasker than moms. So I think, especially right now, if you’re a mom listening to this and you coach other moms, I think podcasting is super powerful. And it’s one of the only mediums right now where you can build intimacy while people are multitasking. That’s so cool. And that’s so powerful.

(05:40)
On YouTube, I don’t know. I hate that when I’m watching a YouTube video, I can’t also be cooking because then I have to minimize the video. If I wanna also like text someone back really quick, it’s just kind of a mess, you know? Oh my gosh, yes. I feel the same way I like to do it while I consume. And that’s just everything. And I think that’s everything for where we’re going. Everyone is trying to expand in the online space, especially in what we do. Y’all like, you guys are MLM and podcasters and coaches, and you’re trying to grow and scale this organic following online, you have to serve and solve. So you kind of have to pick really, I think to stand out.

(06:16)
I don’t know how you feel, Angie, but it’s gonna be video or it’s gonna be audio. And hopefully it’s kind of a blend of both. But for me, what happened with podcasting is it forced me to be consistent. It also gave me the leeway to build something on my own schedule and just be so much more authentic than I ever was on video. Cause I’d be on video. And I’m like, my eyebrow isn’t even I literally cannot focus right now. Everything would distract me. And it was about me and I had such a hard time shifting, oh, this isn’t about me. This is about her. This is about my Lola.

(06:47)
But when I got behind the mic, it removed me from that equation. And I was able to pour into her so much at a deeper level, more authentically. She could hear the genuine in my messaging. So maybe if you’re struggling too with like, how do I share or get nervous on video, try audio, because that was a huge change for me. Absolutely. I do think it’s also this game of the one that you feel like you said the most confident, because then you’re actually gonna show up. You have to do what you’re actually gonna be consistent on. You know what I mean?

(07:17)
Consistency is everything you guys have heard that. Oh my God, it’s everything. So number one is I would definitely make sure that it’s a medium that your ideal client or your demographic is on. I would make sure it’s something you guys are passionate about and make sure that it makes sense for your business. Is it something that can actually drive traffic to your core or your products or your offer? And what’s beautiful about podcasting is you’re able to tell them all of these things, you’re able to redirect your audience to all of these places and almost use it as an organic funnel in a sense, which is really, really cool.

(07:52)
So what would you say to the girl who’s afraid to start? Let’s cover that.. I mean, I know a lot of people it’s terrifying because they have this idea of needing to be perfect and needing to sound a certain way and have it edited a certain way. And they’re listening to Joe Rogan and they think they need to be as good as Joe Rogan. And it’s like, yo, no one tries as good as Joe Rogan. Okay. So it can be really intimidating. It can be really, really scary.

(08:13)
Here’s the situation, right? You are never going to grow in any capacity in your life if you are not fearful. When you start something new, it is an inevitable piece of expanding and growth. And if you have the dream and the call in your heart to do something incredible, while you’re here on earth, you’re gonna have to get uncomfortable. There’s zero chances of you ever being successful if you just keep thinking about how perfect it should be before you do it. And I sat down behind a $20, Amazon mic, it was staticky as hell. And the only podcast I listened to was Angie.

(08:48)
I’m like, well, I guess if she says I can do it, I can do it. I could have sat there and thought about what equipment do I need? You know, how do I do all the things, but where do you edit? What about an intro? What if I sound weird? Do I say um too many times, but instead I just sat behind the mic and I said a prayer and I opened my mouth and it’s pretty funny. Go listen, episode one, but I’ll tell you what if I hadn’t done that one thing. I wouldn’t have a community of a hundred thousand women, I wouldn’t have a show that hit 54 in the entrepreneurship category. I wouldn’t have grown revenue by 98%, I wouldn’t be sitting here talking to Angie, right?

(09:23)
Like all of these things played out in order because I said, I’m just gonna do it. And you guys what’s the worst that can happen. Your mom listens. Cool. You still learned, right. You still learned how to show up confidently, how to practice, how to do copyright, how to get consistent with your messaging. You’re going to still get better at your craft by trying. And so I always think of it that way. I’m gonna grow anyway. Even if nobody listens and here’s the other piece of this, if you’re called to do something, how do you know the ripple effect it’s gonna have?

(09:56)
What if you launch this show, you have 10 people that love it. And one of those people are some type of incredible world changer. Like your message changed their life. And you were the link to do that. And that was a piece of the puzzle that you were supposed to do. But if you never do it, you can never impact that person’s life. So those are just the thoughts that I go through and the process I take myself on every time I’m gonna do something freaking terrifying, but it’s always worth it. Yeah. I love how you said this.

(10:22)
It’s so beautiful because I think it’s funny in life when we expect to be really good at something before being a beginner. Right. It’s so silly. And it’s literally what my book Ready is a Lie is gonna be about because it’s like, people think that they become a good writer, but they’re not, you have to have a first draft. Yeah. You think you become a good podcaster, but you’re not willing to have a few awkward shows. I mean, it’s almost this sense of entitlement, but it’s also this sense of why do you think you get to skip episode one or day one? No one gets to skip it. We all have it.

(10:51)
Guys like you have to have the awkward growing pains of an awkward first episode, an awkward draft, an awkward first book, show day one, whatever that is because that’s where you learn and that’s how you grow. We’re gonna keep it real here. Your first few episodes might kind of be sucky to you and that’s okay. Guess what? Your 10th, 20th episode will be better. Right? Just you have to show up for it because like Stef said, you don’t know who you’re impacting.

(11:15)
When I started this, I had no idea the impact that it would have. And now I can’t imagine not getting on this mic and helping people. It makes me sad to actually think about not doing that. And so I think if you guys have that burn and that passion in you, that has to override the fear of what if I sound weird? What if the mic’s weird, what if I don’t know how to edit? What if I suck at this? I mean, you know, what is really sucky, not doing it at all. That’s about you, right? When you say, yep, I’m scared. But I, I, me, me, me, like, that’s not what this is all about.

(11:44)
This is all about you helping and solving and using the gifts that you have to make an impact. Yeah. On that other person on that mom, on that, whatever it might be. So get yourself out of the way, cause nobody’s gonna show up for you. They’re showing up for them. They wanna learn from you and get better. It’s not about us. And that’s the hard mindset shift we have to go through when we’re scared to show up. Amen. You guys, it’s not about you. It’s not about you. It’s about the woman you’re serving. So get your own dang way.

(12:14)
The first thing I wanna cover is having a niche to your show. I think this is so important in the beginning, especially when you ladies who are thinking of starting a show are really wanting to start. These lifestyle shows that are about everything and anything and about makeup and beauty and pregnancy and infertility and fat loss and life coaching and religion. And you’re like what? Like no, people are searching for a specific thing. And especially if it’s iTunes, people are searching for one thing at a time. Usually. So I believe that the most successful shows start with niche and you gals would be so surprised how well your show can do when it’s really focused.

(12:51)
Especially sponsors, you know, sponsors want shows to be really niche. Cause then they know that the listener base is niche for certain products. What are your thoughts on women starting with the show niche and why do you think that’s also important? I am with you 100% and it’s so funny cause my students in the course and that I work with, they say, but that’s not enough. That’s too small. I’m like, listen, let’s take me as an example, because I’m a visual learner. So went top 1% network marketing to online coach for network marketers to, oh wait, it’s not just network marketing it’s entrepreneurs. So I’m gonna just be this online entrepreneur. Woo.

(13:27)
And I coached them. Yay. And it was like so big. And the problem with that is that I was not helping anyone in particular. So someone would dabble with me. Oh cool. You know, she did this Instagram training and then someone else was like, oh, I like when she talks about mom life and the problem was I had no retention. I had no loyalty in my community and I was growing slow, slow, slow, because I just wasn’t resonating with her. So as I continued to do this work, the funniest thing happened. I show up on stories, hot mess me, my kids, I’m doing like a video training on business with my kids.

(13:59)
And like my stories were doing so well. Then I’d go to the feed and it was crickets. And so I started asking like, what’s going on? Do you guys not like my feed? And I got so much feedback. They’re like, we hate your feed. It’s so polished. It’s so structured with all your colors. That’s not you. We watch you for your stories. And inside my stories, I was doing three things, Christianity, my faith, my kids and business training. And I’m like, that’s it. You guys want me? You’re gonna get it. Like no more filters. I’m talking about my pimple patunia. She is huge. She is here to stay, hot messy eyebrows.

(14:34)
Like I just let it all hang out and really decided you’re getting stuff like with no filter. And what happened there is I created this micro niche of Christian mompreneur and when I started to target her and specifically teaching her how to podcast and create online courses to monetize the podcast, it exploded because it’s small enough for me to rise to the top. And so as you ladies are listening to that, take the big thing you’re super excited about dig in, take Angie’s niche course, deeper levels of what you’re passionate about, but who specifically, what are her traits?

(15:07)
You know, for me it was like, it wasn’t just an entrepreneur. It was a, entrepreneur, it was a specific type. She was faith-based, you know, she believed in this higher power that was gifting her these things that she wanted to go and impact the world and then how podcasting and courses. So it got so micro niche that it was able to explode. You guys, you know, I am just flipping my boobies over here. I’m such a niche nerd that like hearing this is like music to my ears, hearing Stefanie and be like, okay. And then I niche down to entrepreneurs and then faith based entrepreneurs. I’m like, yes, this is exactly what I want everyone to do. Everyone just please do this. I know who it is, I know who it’s not, that polarity is so amazing.

(15:44)
I just love that you’re owning a specific niche, a specific space, so you can become the best at that thing. And you can go all in and there’s a power to the searchability of that. Start the show niche. And then as time goes by, you can make it more broad. But my best advice for you gals who want to rank up with your show and have it ranked and actually get reviews is to have it start really specific versus just like a lifestyle show for women. Like there’s literally hundreds of thousands of those. Exactly. Give them a reason to click play. That’s not enough of a reason anymore. Not in 2019.

(16:16)
Everyone and their grandma wants to start a lifestyle show for women. Exactly. And it’s like, unless you’re literally Kim Kardashian people aren’t just gonna listen to someone fart around and talk about life. You need exactly an expertise in something and it doesn’t mean you need to be perfect. It does mean you need to have some sort of idea of what that content is or be the research expert, the middle man. Who’s bringing on experts in that topic. I love that. And we’re not saying you have to talk about the same thing every single day, but we are saying you need to have a common core denominator of the woman listening.

(16:43)
Why is she there? She’s there for one reason. So go deep and ask yourself the listener. What is her number one, problem. One problem. Not 100. And then how can I solve that? Using a variety of different examples and different guests or experts. Yes. I love it. Let’s dive into the question, which is the tech stuff. Woo. Okay. Let’s cover the tech really quick because it’s not even something to sit and stress about you guys. It’s not even worth our time to go really in depth with it. You guys are the host of the show.

(17:13)
You’re the podcaster. So I don’t want you stuck in the tech. So what would you say to the woman who is stressed about the tech stuff? Okay. So guys, you guys are also afraid of that and it’s like, listen, it’s the easiest thing. It really is. And that’s honestly what kept me back for a while. So I feel them on this and I’m pretty techy. So I feel like that wasn’t what freaked me out. If you are afraid of tech, you need to outsource and you guys listen, you don’t need a full on producer. You can go to Fiverr or Upwork and sort by reviews, find someone inexpensive and snag that person. It’s 20, 30 bucks for a 30 minute episode, seriously.

(17:47)
Don’t let that be something that holds you back. You guys like just, don’t just, don’t let the tech hold you back. I’ve recorded shows on my phone. The tech should be the last thing you’re worried about. The content should be the number one thing you’re worried about. Yeah. With stellar content a hundred percent. The next question is, do you make a lot of notes before recording? Or just go with the flow? I am a little bit more of a go with the flow girl. You know what I’m saying? I do have bullets though. So here’s the real deal. You guys. I am all about structured flexibility. I do have bullets in front of me that have the top four things that I want to make sure I cover, but it’s literally just a bullet. It’s a few words. And then I riff.

(18:23)
So it’s almost like a webinar where I have some notes in front of me, but I just go. And then once I’m in the zone, game over and I’m in the flow state. Some women read from notes and literally are reading word for word, pick the way that you want to do it. There is no right or wrong here. Pick what you like. And you just have to identify what type of show it is. I do the same as you, Angie. I have just outlines right now, I have nothing in front of me because you know your stuff, guys. You’re so afraid of not knowing your stuff. But if you’re gonna do a podcast about something, you probably know enough about that to know your stuff, give yourself some credit. Right.

(18:56)
And if you’re just not that person, like Angie said, write it out. But for sure if you’re gonna be that person reading, read it a couple times through, because I can tell you want it to sound conversational and real as well. So, play with it. Just be, you just be yourself. It doesn’t have to be perfect. It doesn’t have to be perfectly structured, solve her problem. Keep some of the imperfections in people want to hear people. So go ahead and keep some of the weirdisms in. You can have some editing to it, but you don’t have to take out everything.

(19:24)
I’ve realized that the more real and raw I keep it the better. And again, that’s us getting so caught up in the tech side of it. But to be honest, you guys, you just have to keep it simple to start. You don’t have to worry about it sounding a certain way. And yeah, there’s a few shows I listen to where I can tell that she is literally, and I won’t say who it is, but she literally reads word for word. And I’m like, are you serious? That’s so weird. It’s so weird to me. I’m sorry. I’m just gonna call it out. I think it’s weird. I’m with you. I don’t know. It’s just like, shouldn’t you just know how to riff on this.

(19:56)
You know why though? Because we are craving authenticity. We’re so tired of the perfect feed and the perfect pictures. Just like everyone blasted me. They were like, please change your Instagram. I’m like you got it. Cause I am so sick of these styled photos I could like seriously cry. Yeah. And I think everyone out there listening as well is going, I wanna hear real people telling real stories, getting through the hard stuff and showing me tangible, real solutions to it without filters and all the fake and the perfect. I think we’re just all over it. Amen. I just don’t like the sound of it. It’s not enjoyable to listen to when it sounds like it was all recorded and it sounds like you’re reading from a screen. It just sounds robotic and it’s not pleasant. It’s like weird. Next question.

(20:36)
I have a newer podcast. What are your tips for getting it out there? Love this one. So I have helped so many women launch top 30 podcasts and it’s so simple. It is so simple. Here are a couple of the tips from this launch strategy. The first one is when you’re going to launch a new show, you wanna think of it as if you were launching a product, an online course, so much buzz and excitement. And even if you’re like, but I don’t really have a following. It’s okay. You know, people, right? We’re gonna go MLM for a second and be like, write a list.

(21:07)
How many people do you know that love you, that care about you? You’re gonna let them know. I have a brand new show that’s coming out. Would you mind taking a quick listen and leaving me a written review? Because when your show is new, having those reviews come in really quickly, like within a 48 hour window, that’s what gets you ranked higher in your category. And a couple of my students have hit new and noteworthy. And what happens when you hit new and noteworthy, simply because of your reviews and because people are listening and sharing your show and iTunes knows, this show is getting a lot of clicks, a lot of traction, then you’re featured on their homepage.

(21:40)
So the strategy is get visibility within iTunes. That’s one so reviews from people. And then the second thing that’s my favorite is do some giveaways or contests within social media. Like Instagram stories for me has been a huge one. And whatever your show is about, let’s say it’s like the productivity specialist. I think that actually exists. So sorry, whoever that is. But you could do something like a planner giveaway, do something that’s in line with what your show is about and run a giveaway. Hey, go listen, subscribe and share it in your IG stories. Shout this out. I’ll enter you to win. Just those two simple things grab you a lot of traction.

(22:15)
And even if your show’s old it’s okay. Relaunch it. Be like I didn’t launch it right the first time. Guess what? I got a show like 30 people that love me. Go leave me a review. Angie, what do you wanna add there? I love it. I love all of that. Use your social. Yeah. You guys, wherever you are the most active on social media. I think that’s so, so powerful. I used Facebook lives to drive a lot of traffic to the show that was really hot for me. When Facebook lives were really hot. That’s when my show really blew up because I would do teaser content on the Facebook lives and then say at the end of the live, if you want to hear the rest of this, go check out episode 25 on the podcast.

(22:50)
That’s how I sent a lot of traffic to the show. I also used my email list, my Instagram. So again, like Stef said, definitely do giveaways. Giveaways are really, really powerful. And give it time. You guys, you have to incentivize your people, your current tribe, even if it’s five people to share it with their friends and whatever you can think of as a powerful incentive to get them to share. That’s the way that the show spreads, create such good content and such valuable content, that it is almost irresistible for them to not share it. And that’s really what happened with my show.

(23:23)
There was no secret strategy to it. I really didn’t even have a strategy. It was just really consistent and provided people with incredible value. And it just spread like wildfire because it was just so niche and so valuable. Exactly. That a sexy answer to give you guys, I don’t have like a five step system, right? You just spread it. Like, no, I just created really good content every single day of my life. It’s the grit, it’s the actual work of it, Angie. It’s not about what does Stefanie wanna talk about today, it’s about what does my audience want? And that’s how it spreads like wildfire.

(23:52)
Also inside your episode, guys, did you learn something? Did I help you today? Please, the number one way you can thank me is to share this in your IG stories, share it with your friend who needs this message today, tell them inside the show as well, do the thing, right? Yeah. And ninja tip, use your show to build your email list and use your show to drive traffic to your products or your services or your coaching. You guys, your show becomes your home base and it’s the place where your people hang out. And if it’s your house, you show them around and you show them the different rooms.

(24:23)
You treat them as if they’re your friends. And so making sure that in the episode you mention, Hey, if you want to learn more about X, Y, and Z, I have a free guide or a free video on my website. And here’s the URL. I mean, using your show as the lead magnet in a sense is really, really powerful. Oh my gosh, a hundred percent, you guys, you build such a beautiful intimacy with your audience because they feel like they’re talking to their best friend on the phone, which they are every single day or every single week and such a valuable thing to have in your business.

(24:50)
And I think if you’re listening to this and you have the calling, you have to do it. You just have to do it. You have to. The next question is, Ooh, this one’s good. How important is the name? If my niche is mainly moms, does moms need to be in the name? Ooh. Okay. What are your thoughts on this? So my thought is, yes, you wanna have at least in the subcategory, the word mom, and I think you really wanna think about what is your show about for that mom? Is it productivity hacks for moms? Is it network marketing, business building, coaching secrets for moms? Like what is the thing?

(25:24)
Then you go to that mom’s brain and you ask yourself, what is this mom Googling? What is she Googling right now that I can plug into this title? Like the number one problem. So for example, I have a student that she wanted to do productivity and she’s like, but I just think I should just do productivity. I’m like, no, no. Like who is it for? She’s like, oh, I think it’s for the mom. I’m like, what type of mom is she a stay at home mom, does she have a corporate job? Like she’s a working mom because she’s looking for productivity hacks for moms, right? Yes. You need the words in there that she’s searching for.

(25:54)
But I think also if you can embed who it’s even more niche, I mean, you know what I’m gonna say about niche. So, I mean, listen, guys, just do it. Whether you like it or not just do it, be niche with your show. I mean, there are so many podcasts out there, but I’m telling you this because I want you to know that yes, there are a lot of shows and yes, I think it is so important for you to have a niche show, but it doesn’t mean that there’s not still space for people to grow in podcasting. I don’t think podcasting has even hit the surface. It’s actually still considered a very new medium that a lot of people, most of the world does not know about.

(26:30)
So yes, there is a ton of space, but there is now more competition than there has ever been. So you guys have your title, be something that’s really powerful and really niche. And if you make your title really vague people aren’t gonna listen to a show that they don’t know what it is. So if your cover photo and your title is confusing, it’s like a movie I don’t press play on a movie that is really confusing or weird. So I think it’s important to treat your show like a movie, right? Yeah. You have two seconds to grab their attention. So be clear and unless you are Oprah running that show and they’re coming here for you and they know your name and they’re searching for your name, which 99% of us, that’s not happening, it has to be clear. Right.

(27:09)
I know we wanna be catchy and cute. That’s not gonna get you listeners, especially new traffic. And it’s so important to get new traffic in and then catch ’em with your content. Yeah. Make it specific probably more than you want it to be. And especially if you’re really trying to build a name and have credibility in the podcasting space, I would definitely, definitely, definitely make it more specific. The next question is logistics, equipment, naming episodes, monetizing platforms, all the nitty gritty. Okay. Again on tech, you guys, you need three things which Stefanie covers in her incredible course. One, you need a mic. Number two is you need a hosting site.

(27:41)
This is where the show act actually lives. And then this hosting site communicates with iTunes and Spotify and all of those places. And then number three is you need an editor. Okay. So listen, even if you are techy, you guys sure edit your first few, but get an editor. You can find a mic really cheap on Amazon. And you can have a hosting website like Libsyn or Podbean for 20 to 40 bucks a month when you’re starting. So all of this is around, let’s say you grab a hundred dollar mic. Your hosting site let’s say is a hundred bucks a month, but in the beginning it probably wouldn’t be until you’re hitting some big numbers. Yeah.

(28:18)
And let’s say your editor is 40 to a hundred bucks an episode. So you guys are looking at 100, our initial investment for the mic, a hundred dollars. Let’s say a month for hosting plus editor, let’s say you do four a month. You’re looking at max $500 bucks a month to host a show. If you’re doing longer shows, I mean, what would you say is your breakdown, Stefanie? And again, I think that’s invaluable compared to what it could do for your business and how much money this show can make you guys, whether it’s with your own products or with sponsors eventually.

(28:47)
I will tell you I was spending thousands on ads before I had my show. And I was so focused on get the lead in and make the sale. And when I shifted to, oh, it’s serve and solve. It’s not about me. It’s not about the sale. And I invested in the show without any expectation. I thought it was an add on like, no, this will be fun. You know, I’ll help her. The show became the revenue driver. The show became what brought in the leads. What brought in the sales, ultimately because they like know, love and trust me, they laugh with me. They know I’m gonna solve their problems.

(29:17)
I get messages every day, that sway this show specifically changed my business or my life in some way. And to me, I’m like, that is the greatest gratification literally I could ever ask for is hearing that I’m helping people at that capacity. But then it’s also the driver for my entire business. And so I’m saving money because I’m barely running ads anymore, which is crazy retargeting ads. And to run the show, it’s probably similar to Angie. I literally am still using my hundred dollar mic. I love it. It’s my Yeti, it’s my jam. It’s totally, totally fine. You guys, you don’t need thousand dollar equipment. I’m using Podbean, Angie’s using Libsyn. And I think it’s like 10 or 12 bucks a month.

(29:52)
I get editing for 30 to 40 bucks depending on my show. And sometimes I have long episodes, like 45 minutes. So you do the math on that, but that is not expensive overhead to have an organic sales funnel. That is evergreen, that will live on forever. Podcasting will live on for you. And when someone finds your show, they’re binging you and they’re getting obsessed with everything you have to offer. And they’re going to end up wanting to buy from you if they resonate with your stuff. It’s so invaluable.

(30:17)
To give you an idea, the first mic I got was a hundred bucks. It was a snowball or Yeti. Now this one I’m on right now is 800 bucks, this whole setup. But again, you guys that’s after four to five years of podcasting and I just set it up last week because I was like, eh, this other mic works great. So, but again, you guys started with a hundred dollars and then hosting site in the beginning was 10, 15, 20, 30 bucks a month. And now it’s of $100 to $200 based on download numbers and the space. Then editors, some of them in the beginning, 15 to 20 bucks. And now sometimes a hundred to 300 bucks an hour, depending on the quality of editing.

(30:48)
So again, even at my level, you guys now with millions of downloads, I still keep it to less than a thousand dollars a month to maintain my show. So you guys, I’m not kidding. The iPhone microphone is amazing. So the last episode I did with Keisha, you guys on podcasting, go back and listen to that one. It’s from a few days ago, that is all on the iPhone 11. We were together. She didn’t have her mic. Long story short. We were in a crunch, we wanted to be resourceful. We wanted to get it done. Done is better than perfect. And so we used the iPhone and it was incredible and it was great.

(31:20)
My editor cleaned it up just a little bit. But other than that, it’s fine. And it’s actually a really good microphone and it’s free cause it was her phone. So if you girls don’t even want to invest in a microphone, just start with your iPhone. Okay? Yes. And Stef, where can they find editors? I use Fiverr and I just sort by reviews, you guys can use Upwork. If you don’t wanna do that, you can get people, their entire job. There are so many freelancers out there that are podcast publicists. I know so many of them, I have many of them as affiliate relationships in the course that you can work with them.

(31:49)
They’re a little bit more expensive. So you just decide, you know, if you wanna go a little bit less expensive and get the job done, or if you wanna full on producer and pay a bit more from the beginning, there’s literally for any budget, any budget at all, there’s a solution for you to outsource. Yeah. What about hosting? I know that you cover this in your podcasting course as well, but what are your thoughts on hosting? Does it really matter? I mean, again, I think a lot of them at the end of the day are pretty similar. I know that each have pros and cons though. Yeah. Same. I’m with you. They’re all really similar.

(32:18)
So I would pick from like the top five that are the biggest, make sure you’re looking at like Libsyn and Podbean all the other big ones and just looking at price. What do they offer? What do you need? Like some do video podcasting capacity as well. But I would look at that. I would also look at the scalability of your show because some of ’em start out cheap and then you’re like, oh, but when I hit 500,000 downloads, it jumps up to a thousand dollars a month. So also look, don’t just look at well, what does it cost today? Does it have the functions for you to scale? Does it have the broadband for you to have a big show? What is it gonna look like when your show hits a hundred thousand downloads?

(32:54)
I interrupt this broadcast. Just kidding. What up girl? I hope you’re enjoying this conversation with me and Angie. And I just want to remind you that if you’re like nodding and you’re going, oh my gosh, I should do this. I should do this next year. I think I’m gonna do this next year. Could I really do this? Listen, listen to me, Lola, I have a course with your name all over it. Podcast Pro University, which is your all encompassing course going from, I think I wanna start a show to holy smokes. I have a show in the world and it’s growing and it’s scaling and it’s bringing me leads every single day. I can’t believe this is my life.

(33:31)
That’s the course for you. It is my number one course. I have so many women launching top 30. You heard that right? Top ranked podcasts. I have someone that launched number six the other day, someone that’s launched number 11, somebody that’s hanging out in the top 20 in her category. That is absolutely insane. Why? Because the course teaches you launch strategy on how to get your show into the world without $1 of paid traffic, by the way. So if you are thinking about doing this, but you need me to help you to give you accountability, to hold your hand and to navigate this process with you podcastprouniversity.com.

(34:32)
You are literally grandfathered or grandmothered in to the course and the membership group so that you have lifetime access for one initial investment mind blown. I know it’s amazing. Inside of the membership group, there are women just like you. You guys are collaborating, asking questions, doing review swaps and interview swaps with each other. It’s this community of women that get to lift each other up and help each other scale and grow their success of the show. I also go live once a week and answer questions that you guys have inside the membership community.

(35:08)
So you get support. You get the know how you get the how to, you get scalability, how to monetize, how to get interviews on your show, how to create content, how to do this seamlessly, easily and quickly every week and how to do it on the cheap. Don’t tell anybody, but we’re not gonna break the bank while we start our show. This is gonna be easy, simplistic, seamless, and successful. I’ll meet you inside podcastprouniversity.com.

(35:38)
What is the best intro? How do you know how to start the show? Yeah, I love that one. So for the intro for me, at least you guys go listen to my intro. It’s some gangster rap because I am a Christian mompreneur who just wants to drop it like it’s hot when my kids aren’t looking. Okay, I love Zumba. I said I was gonna be authentically me. Right? So my show has some gangsta rap in the beginning and it gets you all jazzed up. And then I’m talking about how I’m recording braless and flawless. We’re drinking too much iced coffee. I wanna make it interesting.

(36:09)
If you can think about what defines your avatar, your Lola, my girl’s name is Lola. She’s just like me. Okay. She’s just like me so I can talk to her that way. And she gets me. And then I’m also in the intro, which is hopefully less than 45 seconds. Ladies, just a little, cut it down, get the fluff out and really either make them laugh, make them feel. And then also tell them what is the value that they’re getting. If you wanna have a structured intro, you don’t have to, but I have one, but I’m also saying here’s what you get from this show specifically.

(36:41)
There’s actually no rules, which is why it’s so cool. So have fun. Be creative, be weird. If you wanna start your show with weird quotes or a weird song, you don’t have to make it like everyone else’s. And I remember when I started, I thought my intro had to sound like everyone else’s. So I made sure that it sounded like everyone else’s. And the more I’ve done it I’ve realized if I just wanna get to the point right away, get to the point. If I wanna put in a very structured intro, I will. Sometimes it just depends on what I’m feeling. And I actually, I’m such a rebel. You guys, are you ready for this?

(37:10)
I do something that not a lot of other podcasters do. And I don’t know if you guys are ready for this, but I change up my song a lot. You why? Cause I want to, and there are no rules. I remember someone told me, Keith did the same song all the time. I’m like, I’m not keeping to the same song for four years. That’s so boring. I don’t wanna do that. And I wanna change it all the time and people. Yeah, me, I love that. It’s a new song every few weeks. I’m like, cool, me too, cause I love music and I love switching it up a little bit. So I think that having fun with it is so important. And I think that people who are creative and do have fun with it stand out and I think that’s important, right?

(37:50)
It’s standing out. It’s being you. Yeah. Just be weird. Just be you, do it however you wanna do it. You guys, because again, podcasting is becoming more saturated. Anytime an industry is more saturated there’s room for more creativity and there’s room for you to do it just a little bit different. The last question from Amber is when is a good time to start reaching out to brands for sponsorships. Can you talk about how people get paid for podcasting? Yes. Okay.

(38:15)
So there’s so many ways you can get paid for podcasting and I’m gonna let Angie talk about sponsorships, but to talk about my favorite way to monetize when you’re new, probably a lot of you that are starting out. Maybe you have a small following or moderate following, sponsorships aren’t gonna pay that much at first when your show is small, but you can still make money from day one, with your show. So my favorite ways to do that, number one, the first one is affiliate marketing. So you’re gonna think about, let’s say you have a productivity podcast. Great.

(38:44)
Is there a planner that I use? Is there an app that I use that pays out affiliate commissions to me when I promote this thing on my show and then you’re gonna plug it in. Hey guys, just wanna let you know. I have been talking all about productivity on today’s episode. My favorite planner for this is blah, blah, blah. If you wanna snag one, they have a deal going on head over to blah, blah, blah, blah, blah, your landing page or your affiliate link. Okay. And you can do that.

(39:08)
If you have no products of your own, if you’re a network marketer, plug your products or your service or your into your show, cause you’re probably gonna be doing something in the wheelhouse of what you market, I would think so that you can do from day one that also grows your list and it makes you some income. Then the next tier that is my absolute favorite is having your own products, eBooks, workbooks. My favorite is online courses. That’s why I help women create online courses because it’s like 80% profit margin you’re paying for hosting and you’ve spent a month building something incredible that solves problems.

(39:42)
And then you don’t ever have to touch it. You walk away from it and you make money. So for example, I do a lot of podcasting related episodes on my show or about growing a following or an organic sales funnel or blah, blah, blah, blah. And so I’m gonna plug guys, I have a podcast course, let me help you navigate this process. I’m pitching my own thing inside my show. And I’ve found out that was 100 times more lucrative than taking sponsorships for me when my show is new. So you can think about what’s the biggest solution that you provide. How can you create even a mini course, even a $47 or $97 course.

(40:16)
You guys that can return so much income for you over the long run because your show gonna live on indefinitely and then I’ll pass it to and for sponsorships. You said it perfectly you guys, that is honestly the best way to think about it in the beginning, I would do exactly what Stef said. I would monetize on your own programs and your own services before you’re reaching out to sponsors. And the first few months to the first year of your show, shouldn’t be about getting a bunch of sponsors, right? It should really be about you guys getting comfortable with your content, your value, your positioning, your audience. What does she want?

(40:49)
Getting feedback, really growing the show and putting the love and the patience into it. And then eventually pitching some brands or having brands pitch you, but don’t be obsessed with that part of it yet. I totally agree with Stef, monetize your own coaching, your own program, send the traffic to your network marketing team, whatever you want to do, use it as leverage for your own products and services before you’re diving into brands, because one, they do wanna see consistency. They want to see numbers. They’re not obsessed with millions and millions of downloads, but they are obsessed with the quality of the audience.

(41:15)
And if you’ve only been podcasting for a few months, I mean the reality is you probably haven’t built an audience that will buy everything that you say yet. It just takes time to build that trust with the audience. It just takes time. One of the most valuable things I learned is that these brands don’t necessarily want the millions of downloads. They want the quality of the audience. And so that still takes time and you have to prove yourself. I didn’t start pitching to brands until about two years in. And then I started to send media kits or they started approaching me. And then I started doing partnership deals.

(41:47)
So there’s ones now where I have a monthly salary and I say their name a certain amount of time for a certain amount of episodes. And then I receive commissions on products. So there’s some that I have an amazing deal where it’s sponsorship plus commission. There’s some where it’s just commission. There’s some where it’s affiliate. I’ve really monetized it in a bunch of different ways. And then again, I use it to drive traffic to my event and my physical product line, Soul CBD. So it’s almost like I’m using it as this medium to drive traffic to a bunch of different places. And it’s fun working with sponsors and brands because I only choose products that I’m actually obsessed with.

(42:20)
I usually reach out to them. You guys, to be honest, because I fall in love with a product and then I say to them, Hey, I wanna share a code with my people. Can you give me a discount? And do you wanna create a partnership? It can be a headache working with brands. It’s not always amazing, and you’re not in control of a lot of things. So if you can have it go to your own products and services in the beginning before you just have these brands pay you. And again, I know your ego wants to be paid a million dollars right away when you started a show yesterday, Susan, but I’m sorry. I gotta keep it real with you guys. You’re my friends.

(42:50)
I had to wait two years and I had to really, really bust my ass, improve myself to these brands you guys. And I had to prove to them that I had an audience that was actually engaged and they would actually respond well to what I said. And that’s what they care about. They didn’t care about the millions of downloads because I know people out there, I’m friends with some of them who have 10 times more downloads than I do. And they have zero conversions because they don’t have that level of influence. And they don’t have that sincerity behind the product.

(43:17)
Only partner with that you actually love, do not just partner with something because it’s 500 bucks here and there it’s just not worth it. And definitely like Stefanie said, I would start with your own products and services. So just be picky, be it for the long run. Maybe we should talk about that real quick. Like podcasting is the long game you guys. This is not sexy to say, but podcasting is definitely the long game. It’s something that you wanna be in for the next five, 10 years. It’s something that you really wanna put your heart into and realize that it pays off. So, so well if you just pour your heart into it, but don’t be so obsessed with the numbers and making money from it right away, you can’t be.

(43:51)
I don’t think that’s the purpose of it right away. At least I think you just need to cool it a little bit and like get some episodes up and get comfy and then like become obsessed with how to monetize it. Oh my gosh. When I started mine, I was like, okay, I’m just gonna do this for one full year and I’m gonna do two a week. So I was like, I’m all in. I basically said, all my cards are on the table and this thing, like I’m going in and I’m gonna just do my best. And at a year I’ll reevaluate, but you guys are you doing two shows a week and solving problems over and over.

(44:19)
There’s no way that I wasn’t gonna grow. Right? So by the sixth month, revenue was up 98% and all these people are in the community and I’m getting all these DMs and just everything’s exploding. And I’m like, oh my gosh, what if I hadn’t stuck with it for six months? Because the first two months totally sucked to be honest with you. Yeah. And it was slow. I was like, uh, how can I grow faster? And what should I do? And should I run ads? I just kept hearing stay true to the call I gave you, be consistent, just don’t give up. And so I just kept pushing when we hit the one year mark, it was number 54 in the entrepreneurship category. I just died.

(44:53)
I just died on the floor because like I could have given up month two. So yes, what Angie’s saying is a hundred percent and look at what her show has done. The growth compounds faster than you guys can ever believe when you’re consistent. And I think the first six months is the hardest and you have to get over that hump and you have to be so consistent. And when you don’t feel like it, you still get behind the mic and come up with something that’s gonna solve his or her problem and do it every single week. Whether you feel like it or not, and just keep going because it will pay off.

(45:17)
You have to be in it because you love it. If you’re listening to this and you have that burn and that desire, you have to do it. And if you have that calling, I think you should listen to it. And I think that you’ll realize that your passion for it, it surpasses the monetary aspect of podcasts. If you guys listen to how I build this, you’ll notice that all of the successful entrepreneurs on there will say the same thing. I didn’t mean to make money doing this. It just happened because I loved it. And I think that there’s so much truth in that. And that’s my story with it.

(45:45)
It’s so many women I know who do really well in it now is we never intended to get to just to make money. I mean, yes, that happens, but I’m in it because I want to talk to you guys every single week. I’m in it because I love this. This is my favorite thing to do right now. Literally, you guys are listening to my favorite part of my life. Like I’m jamming with an amazing woman on a show. This is so much fun. This is what I love to do. And this is my job because I do pour so much time, love, energy, and passion into it. So when you guys put love and passion and commitment into it, just like anything else in life, it is going to grow. It is going to be successful because you’re pouring your soul into it.

(46:18)
But if you half ass it and you upload once every 10 months, and it’s not valuable and you’re not really in it, and you just want downloads to look cool, or for your ego, or you just want to have brands pay you for no reason, then you’re probably not gonna do well in podcasting. Yeah. It’s the truth. You have to love it. Oh my gosh. This is so exciting. So fill them in on what you have for them, because I’ve been searching you guys for an amazing podcasting course for you, because I want to send you guys to someone amazing who knows what she’s doing. So fill them in on this podcasting course. I’m so excited.

(46:53)
Well, thank you. And, and I’m so excited about this course. You guys, I put out so many courses in the world, but this is like the one, you know, it’s like, yeah, it’s like your baby. It’s my baby, because I am so flipping obsessed with podcasting that I wanted to help other women have that same experience. They were tired of I’m trying to build and scale online, or I can’t get my voice heard or video is not my thing. And I knew that when I had that type of success with my show, if I could do that, well, maybe other women can do that.

(47:23)
People started hiring me to coach them through the process one on one, and I kept getting the same questions. I’m like, I’m gonna create a course for this because hello, passive income, number one. And I can solve this problem. And number two, I wanna provide something that’s simple, easy and tangible for her. The woman that doesn’t wanna pay thousands and thousands of dollars for someone to set up her show and make it this big old deal. She wants a simple, easy way to get from idea all the way through execution. She needs the clarity on how to record, how to edit if she wants, to where to outsource, how she can get interviews, all of the little tips and things that she needs to get through the tech in a simple course.

(48:02)
So I created Podcast Pro University and it has 12 plus modules, it’ll take you a couple weeks to get through it, but there’s no fluff. It’s like today, we’re launching this thing. Like I’m gonna get rid of all the obstacles. I want you to have success. And it also goes into some more advanced strategies as well, like monetizing, how to pitch, how to get yourself on other people’s shows, growth strategies, bonus episodes. I mean, it has everything you might need to successfully launch a podcast. So I put that together and I didn’t even know Angie. I’m like, I’m gonna put this together and we’ll have these girls just launch their show and hopefully it’ll be great. It’s insanity.

(48:37)
Like student after student is launching top 30. I had one today launch number 11 in her category. Oh my God. The other day she launched number six in her category. I’m like, what is happening? I’m like crying tears of joy, because that is why I did this. I want them to have success out of the gate because it creates so much more excitement for their journey. And it also sets them up for success because they have more traction when they launch, the social proof is blowing my mind, the success girls are having through the course. So yeah, that’s what my course is all about. And I’m so excited about it.

(49:09)
I love this. So who is this course for who is the ideal woman for this? And I’m so flipping excited because like I said, you guys, I was looking for a podcasting course to recommend to you guys. And once I saw Stef’s and I realized she was a fricking ninja, I’m like, oh my God, you guys, you have to dive into this. You gotta jump in on this. So who is it for? Who is it not for? Like, who is the perfect person for this? This course is really for the aspiring podcaster. So you don’t have a show yet or you’re brand new and maybe you’ve just started a show. You don’t feel like you did it right.

(49:41)
It’s not for somebody that’s like, I already have 200,000 downloads and I’m rocking and rolling. Awesome, boo, boo. But this one’s not for you. This is really to help that woman kind of stuck in the fear, the overwhelm, the I really want to do this, but space. Like I will literally get you through that piece. You will have a show in 30 days. If you take the course and do all of my steps, you will also have probably a more successful show than you thought. And I think you are such an amazing teacher Stef.

(50:05)
So I’m so excited for them to dive into this and feel so much clarity and so much confidence because I know one of the hardest parts of podcasting is feeling that clarity and that confidence. So if you can give someone that, that is literally worth thousands, oh my gosh. We want you guys to have success in this area. We just believe so fiercely that these are the solutions you need. If you want to become a podcaster that will scale and grow and have a show for the long term, this will get you there 10 times faster than you can do it on your own. And I have a sisterhood inside of Facebook.

(50:34)
When you join the course, you also get added to my membership community. Right now it’s free, which is awesome. And I go live in there. Just add extra value. So you’re getting accountability as well, which is huge. Oh my gosh, you guys hold the phone. I would’ve definitely done this in the beginning of my podcasting career because I was a hot mess. Enjoy, love it, digest it, soak in it, love every second of it and feel so confident and so clear in your show, know how to launch it. Know how to set it up, know how to start monetizing it. What else Stef, what else are they going to learn from this?

(51:06)
You’re gonna recording, editing, how to get great stellar interviews, how to run the interviews. You have all my swipe files. My email files that I personally send, my tracking metrics for your show, I’m a three on the Enneagram okay. You’ve got all your tracking stuff, you’ve got when your show airs, if it’s recorded or not like all the behind the scene, every way you scale and launch. My launch strategy, like I said, is getting women crazy results. When they launch their show and then advanced strategies for long term growth, it has all of it.

(51:35)
If you’re still here with us and you’re like, aha, should I do it? Yes. This is on purpose. You were meant to hear this episode. You were meant to hear about this specific product. Trust us leap with us. We’re excited for you. I hope you loved that interview as much as I loved doing that interview. You guys would not believe how nervous I was before I went on her show, but it’s super cool because when you push yourself to try something new, to do something out of your comfort zone, you will never be disappointed.

(52:06)
I for sure was not disappointed because me stepping out in faith, asking Angie to come and work with me and be an affiliate for the course and asking her actually her asking me to come on her podcast, to talk about podcasting. It all happened. I believe because I had to push myself outta my comfort zone. And from that incredible things are happening. Incredible things. God led things, divine intervention things. So push yourself. What is that thing that’s tugging on your heart? What’s the thing you’re afraid to do, but you know, you should, what is it?

(52:43)
Is God whispering something in your ear? Are you hearing take action, are you hearing you should blank. Are you wondering if that thing is something you could do? Just the simple fact that you’re thinking about it tells me it’s meant for you. It tells me you have to, it tells me it’s your responsibility to take action on the call on the mission work. So leap, leap, Lola. What’s the worst thing that can happen. You grow, maybe your voice shakes. Maybe you’re nervous, maybe no one watches, maybe no one listens. Maybe no one buys, but so what, you’re better for it. You learned you scaled.

(53:23)
You can refine, you can continue growing. It’s the beginning, the beginning of something incredible starts with messy, messy action. And sometimes that messy action is really scary, but I believe in you. And I know that you are braver than you think so, whatever that thing is for you, I’m gonna encourage you. I’m gonna push you. I’m going to be here with you to help you navigate that process, whatever that means, whether it’s my podcast episodes, whether you wanna shoot me a DM on Instagram, I’ll cry with you. Okay? Whether you want to do a quick breakthrough session, holler at me, whether you wanna launch a podcast, come join my sisterhood. I’m here for you.

(54:04)
Praying over you that you are filled with courage, that you know you are worthy, that God holds your hand to navigate the hard so that you can see through to the simple, to the easy, to the magical that you start to recognize that this hard thing, this weird space you’re sitting in. Wondering if, wondering when, wondering how it’s on purpose, because you are being tested to see if you have faith in yourself. Do you have faith in Him? Because I believe in you and He believes in you, but do you believe in you? I push you, I challenge you. I love you. I’m sending you so much love and light, Stef.