How I Grew a Top-Ranking Podcast to a Million Downloads!

November 15, 2022

Gold splatter background with image of dark-haired woman standing at counter with laptop and microphone and title Getting a million downloads with a top-ranking podcast. stefaniegass.com/blog

We did it! We grew to one million downloads! Have you been wanting to know new ways to grow your online business? I’m doing a behind-the-business deep dive to celebrate hitting one million downloads and answering some of the big questions from listeners.

How I Grew to a Million Downloads and Became a Top-Ranking Podcast

Today, I’m going through six questions my podcast listeners had about how I run my podcast and grew it to a million downloads.

1. How did you know what changes to make when you notice a slump in download numbers?

You’re not going to reach a million downloads without a slump or two along the way.
When you pass the two-month mark of decline in your download numbers, that is when you know the slump is a small problem.
Start with market research. Your avatar grows and changes and their pain point will be different over time.
Do keyword refreshing based on your market research.
Make your content relevant to both the market research questions and also the season that your avatar is in.
Keep the episodes 20 minutes or less.
Don’t give up!

2. What is the flow you follow to create, post, and repurpose your content on social media?

Start with podcasting. It is the entire funnel.
You will learn all about repurposing your podcast when you join Podcast to Profit.
Repurpose the podcast in the following ways:

Blog
- Don’t blog until you have a team and are solid, that usually comes about a year into podcasting.
Use the graphics created for the podcast and blog on Pinterest.
Post graphics on social media.
Email to remind everyone about the episode.

3. What moves the needle for growing your podcast?

Do more market research.
Be willing to learn and grow.
Stay consistent.
Shorten the episodes.
Learn focus phrases that need to be embedded into the episodes.
These simple tactics will keep you on track to reach a million downloads.

4. Why use Podbean instead of other hosting sites?

The analytic capabilities and the back end of Podbean are what make the hosting site stand out. Other sites like Anchor limit the analytics, which limits you knowing what is working at a deep capacity. They also limit the description, which limits your searchability. Also, you would want to check if the hosting site has rights to your content. Podbean has no rights to your content.

5. How do you find balance between business and ministry?

There is so much opinion on blending profit and ministry. This should be between you and God alone. Trust in Holy Spirit’s leading. Discern through what God is asking you to charge for and what He is asking you to use for ministry.

If your heart is in the right place, then you should make the move God is asking you to make. It can be a ministry and a business at the same time. It is all about the heart and Jesus is the judge of the heart.

Gold splatter background and quote You have to quiet the noise of what everyone else has to say and listen to Holy Spirit for the balance between business and ministry. -Stefanie Gass

6. How did you start Pinterest to get more downloads with your podcast?

There is a full training on Pinterest in Podcast to Profit and how to use it to grow. We have grown exponentially since starting to utilize Pinterest more. It is a huge part of how we got to a million downloads.

You need to create pins strategically and share them on Pinterest. There is a strategy around the boards and where they are placed, how many, and re-pinning other people’s pins, there is so much to it! When you join Podcast to Profit you will learn it all.

I am so thankful for each of you! Thank you for sticking with me through a million downloads! Following what I have done and laid out for you here can help you to grow and become a top-ranking podcast too!

I pray this blesses you!

Xo,

Stef

P.S. Also, listen to podcast episode 531 for the full training on Behind the Business – PODCASTING – One Million Downloads! How I Grew a Top-Ranking Podcast, From Scratch