It’s a behind-the-curtain peek with two of my students who have had awesome success following the Podcast to Profit framework. One grew her email list by 66% and the other grew her Facebook group members by 50%! Massive, explosive growth in their podcast and they are making more revenue as well. Read on to see how you can apply these strategies to your online business!
Leveling Up Your Facebook Group Members and Email Lists
I brought Michelle Castro and Dani Watson on the podcast today to talk about what Podcast to Profit is really like behind the curtains, and how this amazing program helps podcasters really amp up and move into an “I am going all in on this,” thing.
What better way for you to see what it’s really like than to hear from other women, just like you, who have been through it.
What is your podcast called and what do you do?
Dani: My podcast is called Fig & Farm at Home: Decor on a Budget to Style Your Cozy Home. I teach busy mamas how to decorate their homes, and I aIso teach them how to make their home feel cozy and look cohesive, all while telling their story with their style, and doing it on a budget. I slightly changed it during the program to make it super sticky, and a lot more tactical, and the growth that has come from it has been phenomenal. Michelle: It’s GrowthAgainst the Grain: Biblical Mindset and Mentorship for Network Marketing Mamas. I help women that are in the network marketing space find that beautiful marriage between these big, boss babe goals they have with the goals God wants for them.
Dani: I knew intentionally that I was going to be doing this podcast, diving head-in, following all of your advice. I wanted to do Podcast to Profit to surround myself with people, not only with business acumen and strategy but people who were walking through it with me.
Michelle: I was at a crossroads with my podcast. I was seeing a discrepancy between these massive downloads and the conversion was almost at zero. What was going on? I kept thinking about it. I really thought I was going to come in and make a few tweaks, sharpen things up, polish things up a bit. But starting Week 1, right between the eyes, the Lord hit me.
I’ve always been bold about faith in my podcast. It’s never been something I’ve kept secret. But what I felt was that I was putting it on a shelf and I was taking it out when it seemed convenient. What He showed me was that if I’m not speaking boldly about what God has for my business, first and foremost, everything else falls under that, then I can’t be doing this. It has to be God-first, Christ-first, in everything! Then all of these other things. There have to be boundaries on it, and it has to be unabashed faith and trust in the Lord.
What were the feelings, fears, or other emotional pieces?
Dani: Honestly, the thing I was worried most about was could I do the things that were physically or mentally required of me? Was I smart enough? I built this whole thing on my own; piecing together all these things like the website, and the podcast, even though I took PPU (Podcast Pro University). Was I going to be ready to accept the growth and grow with the growth? So my biggest fear was would I be ready? You gave me everything I needed to be successful. There were moments of “This is really tricky.” But there’s so much accountability and there’s so much availability to you, Lydia, and Kristi. Any time we did feel stuck, there was always an answer. I don’t feel at all like I’m out in this ocean by myself on a raft barely hanging on and feel very much like I’ve got this boat around me and these people who are helping me. I very much feel equipped, so I pushed through that fear.
Let’s talk about what the Podcast to Profit group coaching experience is like.
Dani: It’s hard to break it down to one favorite part. It was pre-recorded so it was super efficient. Then our time with you was so tangible, so tactical. Even if I didn’t have a question for you each week, the questions brought to the table were so good, I walked away with so much. I loved the accountability and office hours; those were a hoot! When I joined P2P, I really wanted that community; I really wanted those people around me from whom I could ask questions when I had them.
There was one day I was spiraling and spiraling. I reached out via Voxer with an SOS. One of the ladies immediately popped on and said she wanted to get on a call with me. She gave me a verse and gave me some support. Having that support and camaraderie is amazing.
Michelle: My pod was asking me why I was taking P2P a second time. It’s kind of like childbirth, you forget everything. But when I was here, I thought, “This is so much better.” The content was all the same. But it was different. The way that it’s structured, it’s so valuable.
To have access to you, Lydia, and Kristi, was so much more tactical. I was able to process the information on a timetable that worked better for me. Oftentimes, I’d get off a spotlight training and feel I was at max capacity. I can’t take any more information in. I could now watch it at a time that worked for me.
What were your biggest breakthroughs, and was it worth it?
Dani: Absolutely worth it! My podcast downloads increased by 61%. I came in with 10,100 downloads, which I was super proud of, and within three months’ time, I have almost 17,000 downloads! My global ranking increased from 10% to 5%.
The keywords I put in my titling have made it so that when I search for my keywords, I’m popping up consistently, on the first page, in the first/second/third spot. My email list grew by 66%. I’m ranking consistently in countries I’ve never ranked in. And I’ve had two paid clients directly from the podcast. Just this week, I’m launching my paid program. It’s all exciting!
Michelle: A thousand times: Yes! If you’re serious about your business and want to take it to the next level, and you want the Lord in it from the very beginning, yes! My relationship with the Lord is never stronger than when I have Stef in my ear because that, first and foremost, is her desire. The podcast is great, but what is our relationship with the Lord? If that’s where you find yourself, if you don’t know what you’re going to talk about, do it with Stef because the value she gives from beginning to end is immeasurable. I can’t even put a price tag on it.
In the course of P2P, we had just hit 50,000 podcast downloads, which blows my mind. We grew by over 32% and by the end of the 90 days had hit 63,000+ downloads! That was in 18 months, friends. The key words, the market research, it is so incredibly pivotal, you’re talking to the right person. My Facebook group was basically dead. I was going to start over. No. We grew our Facebook group members by 52%! It’s amazing what happens when you show up and start talking in there! The podcast went from 5% globally ranked to 2.5% globally ranked.
Are you ready to monetize your podcast and grow your online business?
If you’re choosing the Stef Gass Business Model, which is podcasting, email marketing, and that deep connection with your Facebook group members, then going straight to your offer, you don’t get to not optimize. You can let go of all the extras: you don’t have to be on social, you don’t have to do TikToks, reels, and all that. You can let go of your phone if you want to, but you don’t get to stop optimizing. That is where the hard work will come in.
This is not overnight. The truth is, you’re playing a long game here when you decide to marry this method. But if you see it through, the testimonies of the women who have been at this for 2-3 years, exponential growth, exponential income, can become your testimonies as well.
Hey friend, if you’re ready to start your business in less than two hours a week, grow your audience faster, in less time, and work smarter, not harder, this workshop is for you!
The more I get to know my students and the more I participate in masterminds with my peers the more I’m starting to comprehend the overarching problem and prevalence of one, perfectionism, and two, overthinking.
Perfectionism keeps us in a place of constant consumption and learning. Redoing things over and over and thinking that we can’t move forward until they measure up to some elusive standard.
Why do I believe we need a morning routine? I believe you must have a morning routine because it helps you get into the mindset of productivity and purpose.
When we get right with God we: Renew Our Minds
Get Into the Word
Are Able to Live Our Life Guided by the Holy Spirit
The difference in how my day goes when I do my morning routine and when I don’t is night and day.
Have you ever driven through a part of your city and felt completely overwhelmed by the destruction and devastation and how dark the world is?
I want us all to find strength in the word. Let’s look at what the Bible says about our feelings, emotions, and honestly, the reality we’re faced with right now.
As a Christian entrepreneur, you can include your faith in your podcast without niching down to Christian women. This blog gives three tips on how to do this.