Hey Friend!

So you started a podcast. You actually launched. You did the thing. And now what?! You are wondering if your show is actually going to grow the way you hope. You wonder if it could hit 10K, 100K, or even 1 Million Downloads. You fear maybe you don’t have what it takes? You google ‘Podcast Growth’ and ‘Get More Downloads’ hoping to find some secret thing you may be missing…

Well, it’s your lucky day!

Listen in and take my Podcast Growth Viability QUIZ and FIND OUT if your growth is on the fast track. There are 5 simple questions that will help you KNOW if you’re on your way to accelerated podcast growth. To be SURE that your podcast has the strategy, clarity, and delivery it needs – to go big.

My show has grown to 750K downloads in 3.5 short years and is a top .5% show in the entire world. I know what it took to get here. Spoiler: It’s actually more simple than you’re making it. I want to help you lean into this calling and finally go ALL. IN.

I pray this finds you right ON TIME.

FULL EPISODE TRANSCRIPTION:

(00:00):
Hey, friends! It is Monday up in here. I hope you are ready for an amazing week. I hope you are excited because guess what?

We only have two weeks, less than two weeks until the end of Q1. What is actually happening right now? How are we at the end of the first quarter of 2022? I’m not sure, but here we are.

(00:25):
So we’ve got some work to do. We had goals. We had a vision, we had dreams coming out into this year and now we look up and we realize that we are a quarter of the way through.

That is why today, my friend, I am talking to my podcasters.

(00:41):
I am talking to those of you who have launched your show and you’re sitting here wondering, is my show viable? Is this actually going to work? Is it going to grow and flourish?

And if you’re not a podcaster yet, but it’s on your heart stick around because this is going to change the trajectory of your growth when you do the thing.

(01:03):
And if you are not a podcaster, we need to change that ASAP. The number one thing I wish I had done sooner was to start the show because the show is what catapulted me to success, my friends.

In three and a half short years, I have been able to scale this podcast as of right now to right around 750,000 downloads.

(01:26):
This podcast is a top 0.5% podcast in the entire world. And that is not by my doing. That is not me tooting my horn. That is God, that is his leading.

It is a dream in 2018 that God spoke to me, start a podcast after praying intently over how I was supposed to show up and connect with you guys.

(01:50):
I was tired of video and I was really sick of social media and God was breaking chains in my life around the phone and social media addiction.

And I thought, how am I gonna grow a business without that? Podcasting was the answer. And today it is absolutely unbelievable what God has done through this microphone.

(02:07):
Just through me being obedient and willing and being ready to be his vessel and showing up every single week and saying Lord, what do you want me to talk about?

And yes, myself showing up and coming to the table, but also God coming to the table and holy spirit giving me and helping me, and leading me in what it was that he was asking me to help you guys with.

And what it all boils down to for me and what I’ve become so absolutely clear on is that God is asking me to help you use your voice for impact and income because that is how we bring glory to the kingdom of God.

(02:40):
My friends, is we start stepping up into our anointings. We start upping up into our authorities and using our voices in which the way we have been prepared to do so.

The way in which we are called to do so in the things that we’ve been gifted in. It doesn’t matter what your thing is. You have that on your life on purpose.

(02:58):
It is a calling that you’re wearing. God has clothed you in that calling. And all you have to do is stand up and say, Lord, I’m ready to wear this into the world.

Give me the words and the confidence and the clarity to actually bring this to life. And he absolutely will. And that’s what happened for me.

(03:15):
And that’s what can happen for you. So today we’re gonna be going through four things that you need to actually be aware of as you try to scale your show.

Because if you sit there and you aren’t actually actively scaling your podcast, you are not, I believe reaching all the people that God has prepared for you.

(03:35):
And most often it’s really just, I’m sorry to say this, but it’s you standing in your way. Believe me. I understand. I have been a full-time entrepreneur for 10 and a half years.

And I stood in my own way for six and a half of those years, my friend. And so let’s not do that. Let’s do this the easy way.

(03:53):
Let’s get the roadblocks and remove them so that we have a clear path straight to where God is leading us to go. So that’s what we’re gonna be digging into today.

And I just absolutely can’t wait, before we get started, I do wanna tell you about something super fun that I’m doing. This is a first-of-its-kind, never before live workshop.

It’s actually the S.C.A.L.E. Your Show Workshop. I’m going to be doing this totally free over zoom. You are invited.

(04:21):
If you are a podcaster or you are very soon to be podcaster, come join me in this one-hour free training.

I’m gonna talk to you about how to scale your show faster without wasting time, how to connect and convert your listener into a lead and how to build momentum and get more downloads.

(04:38):
So if you have a podcast and you’ve been wanting to grow, maybe you feel stagnant, maybe you are growing.

But you wanna pour more fuel on that fire, you wanna get more listeners, and maybe you are stuck. Maybe you’re not really growing.

(04:51):
Maybe you’re feeling like it’s not landing. This is absolutely the answer for you, guys.

Cause I went through and I really pulled out the five specific things that helped me scale my show to where it is today to that 750,000 download mark. And I know that you want that for your show.

(05:09):
And I want that for your show too, you guys. My dream is that my students pass me because that’s how I know that our systems are working.

And I have had pass me, which is so amazing to know that this stuff really absolutely truly works.

(05:25):
So if you wanna join me in the S.C.A.L.E. Your Show Workshop totally free, totally fun. This is happening Wednesday, March 30th, 9:00 AM Pacific, 10:00 AM Mountain, 11 Central, 12 Eastern.

And where is this? You are just going to head to scaleyourshowworkshop.gr8.com and save your seat. Hurry, and you’ll get entered to win some prizes. All right, let’s do it.

(06:57):
We’re gonna talk growth viability. You have a podcast, you have launched the thing. You’ve gone through Podcast Pro University. You know how to do the things, but now what?

Now, you’re wondering is this really viable for me to grow and scale? Am I gonna hit those numbers that you mentioned, Stef? Is that even in the cards for me?

(07:19):
While I will tell you, there is a lot of strategy, consistency, discipline, and living distraction free that needs to happen in order for you to hit some really big growth numbers.

So let’s find out if this is possible for you. And let me tell you, this is possible for anyone, but we do have to be very discerning over the way that we are building a business and a podcast is a business.

Let’s get that straight right now. You are not podcasting to play around.

(07:50):
You are hanging out with me because your podcast is going to be the one thing. It’s the channel you’ve chosen. So we’ve got to treat it as a business from right now.

Maybe you haven’t done it from day one, but you’re gonna do it from right now. So let’s begin.

(08:08):
Number one, the first question in the growth viability test is, do you have clarity on your podcast brand? Write down on a piece of paper.

Do I have clarity on my podcast brand? You, guys, remember when you took Clarify Your Calling?

(08:32):
When I taught you how to build a five-tier brand map? Yes. Everybody nodding. I hope so. If you don’t know what CYC is yet, you’re gonna have to rewind and you’re gonna go to stefaniegass.com/courses.

Because we have to know what is your brand clarity. If you have a show, you should absolutely, at this point, have a very clear sticky tactical title.

A 10 word or less punchy TSO, which stands for tactical specific outcome statement that goes on your podcast art.

(09:05):
You need to know your top keywords. You must know who your avatar is. And we cannot guess at these things, my friends. We have to absolutely know and they have to land.

So, do I have clarity on my podcast? This is a simple yes or no answer.

(09:23):
Today, can we just have a true, like come to Jesus. We love you, sweet Jesus. Let’s come to him with our true absolute yes or no answers. No excuses, please. Do you have clarity?

I want you to write yes or no underneath this question. If you wrote yes. I want you to really be sure. And I want you to come back to this question every quarter.

(09:50):
What is my TSO? What is my tactical specific outcome for this entire podcast brand? What’s the promise here? Why would somebody care?

Why is someone even listening to my show? And who’s listening. Now, if you wrote, no, I want you to write why not? Why do you not know?

(10:11):
And if you don’t know why you don’t know, then I’m so excited that you’re coming to my S.C.A.L.E. Your Show Workshop, cuz we’re gonna talk about this.

We’re gonna come back to this again at the end, but let’s just get these yes or no questions answered.

(10:26):
Question number two. Do I have a strategic content strategy? Write that down. Number two. Do I have a strategic? I love strategy. Y’all know.

Maybe you don’t know, but now you know. Stef Gass is strategy queen. I love so much to sit down with someone and map out their five tier of their brand.

(10:56):
You, guys, have heard me do live coaching on the air. It’s like my favorite thing. So I need you to have a strategic content strategy.

What does this mean? This means that you know because you’re so clear on your podcast brand, you know what content your person wants.

(11:13):
You know why you’re talking about what you’re talking about, when you’re talking about what you’re talking about, you have a content mind map, a content template and a podcast planning Excel file. And you know how to build out content at least 30 days in advance.

(11:32):
And you know how to reverse engineer into whatever it is you wanna be talking about based on the season that your avatar is in. So gangster.

Are you like, what did you just say? And I need that. It’s fine, guys. I can give that to you. It’s a yes or a no. Do you have a strategic content strategy?

(11:53):
Number three. Do I know my avatar’s number one problem? We’re gonna swap the word avatar for the listener. Do I know my listeners’ number one problem? We’re also in parentheses gonna write down pain points, desires, and needs.

(12:14):
So basically what number three is asking you is, have you done the work to really know and maybe you don’t know how, but that’s okay.

I’m gonna talk to you about that in a moment. How do you find out what your listener really wants? Why is someone even listening to the show?

(12:31):
Why would they type in the things that they’re typing into the keyword searches in Google or in Yahoo or even in Apple Podcast? There’s a search bar there, guys. What is your person typing in?

(12:43):
And are you aware of this? Because you need to be using those things, the pain points and the keywords inside of your podcast brand strategy, inside of your content strategy.

Is this a yes or a no? And if you’re like, yeah, I think it’s to lose weight or to have a better mindset.

(13:09):
I think it’s maybe to be able to meal plan in 15. No. You can not think that you know. You either know or you do not know, it’s a yes or no answer. If it’s maybe it’s no, we’ll just call that what it is.

(13:25):
Question number four. Do I have confidence in my delivery and copy? What does this mean? This means, do you have confidence in the way that you’re showing up on the show?

If you guys are not confident behind the mic if you’re not confident in what you’re saying, your copy, your messaging, it’s not gonna land.

(13:49):
People aren’t gonna stick. The most important thing is that you become part of people’s top three subscribed podcasts on that little app.

And that they’re listening to you week after week, after year, after decade. That you are the one they come to solve number three, their number one problem.

(14:12):
How do you solve it with number two, your strategic content strategy? And then how do you get more people just like person number three?

With point number one, you have absolute clarity on your podcast brand so you’re attracting everyone to your show. Number four. Are you confident in your delivery messaging and copy? That is a yes or no answer.

(14:38):
Now, question number five. This one I’m gonna need you to be honest. Don’t worry. If you have all nos right now, it’s fine. I have your answers.

Just hang on. It’s gonna be okay. Number five. Am I distracted? I wanna rephrase this. Number five. Have I bought in that podcasting is the way?

(15:04):
I want you to write the way in all capital letters. Have I bought in that podcast is the way? Yes or no. If you are still half in and half out, one foot is in one foot is out.

Half your time is being spent on reels, half your time is being spent on podcasting, half your time is being spent worrying about trying to make some other businesses work.

And also maybe podcasting cuz you’re not quite sure that it’s gonna make it for you.

(15:34):
You’re not all in. And until you are all in, until you are Jonah who jumped straight up off the boat into the churning seas, trusting Almighty God who came in and swooped him up.

And he created the fish who ate Jonah and Jonah said Oh, mighty God, you have saved me right here, right now. He went all in.

(15:55):
He jumped off the boat. Until you do that, you cannot be saved. We cannot receive the blessing and the breakthrough that God has for us, cuz we’re still on the boat. Where are you? Are you on the boat?

Are you jumping off into the churning seas, terrified for your life saying oh my goodness, all I have is God here to save me?

(16:19):
I’m gonna fly by faith right now, straight into these waters. And I’m gonna believe that the Lord is with me on this, that I have partnered with Him and that we are doing this together.

And podcasting is what He’s is called me too. That’s a yes or no answer.

(16:34):
And you’ve gotta really lean into that trust and that belief that you’re doing this because He called you to it and you feel that you are, maybe you don’t feel that you are ready.

Actually, you’re not gonna feel that you’re ready, but you are ready to feel ready. We have to lean into our fear.

(16:55):
Those are your five questions. Now, I want you to tally them up. How many yeses do you have and how many nos do you have? If you have five yeses right now, girl or guy, you are ready to fly.

Go for it, spread your wings. You don’t need me anymore. You’re gonna pop off. I’m gonna see you in the Millies, honey.

(17:18):
I’ll be like, look at that. It’s so good. But I have a feeling that not all of you have yes written down on your paper right now. Maybe you have one yes.

Maybe you have two, but some of you, most of you are going to have quite a few no’s right now. And that is absolutely okay.

(17:33):
Guys, there are seasons where I have nos on this page because it changes. We ebb, we flow, we grow, we learn and we are inspired and God leads.

And sometimes we have transitions to make and we have tweaks to make in our messaging.

(17:47):
Sometimes, not sometimes, all the time, there’s going to be new change and new things that we are going to have to pivot and to tweak. It’s part of the podcasting process.

Then there are sometimes when my page says yes all the way through and I feel really great about those seasons, but I know that they’re short-lived because we constantly need to evaluate.

(18:08):
We constantly need to dig into our podcast to figure out how to make it better. I don’t believe that God calls us to just sit there and be comfortable.

I believe that he chooses action takers. People that say I am willing to not just be called, but also be chosen.

(18:27):
I’m willing to do the work, show up and go all in. I’m a Proverbs 31 woman who’s gonna rise to an occasion and I’m going to spread this message that God has given me.

And so I also know that that’s you. I do truly believe that you’re listening to this episode right now because you want your show to be your thing.

(18:46):
You want to reach more ears, more hearts, and create more transformation for people in the things that you believe, that you have been taught and that you are a teacher in now and that you are equipped.

Believe me, you are equipped and qualified to teach the things that you have walked through. You would not even have a show right now if you weren’t. And all of you have a calling and a purpose that is meant to be shared.

(19:11):
If any of those are no, you have two options. You have three options. I’m sorry. Number one, you can try to figure this out on your own.

You can go to Google, you can do a little light market research and then you can call it good, which is totally what I did the first two years of podcasting. And it was great.

(19:30):
The show still grew, but it felt very sporadic. It was pretty disorganized. It was never on top of my game. I was recording episodes the night before.

It just felt very messy. There was no strategy to it. I wasn’t totally clear on what my listeners were saying.

(19:52):
And because of that, I did have a lot of success and I had a lot of income, but I wasn’t really, truly growing exponentially the way that I believe God had provisioned me to.

And that growth was a process. But what I’ve learned now is I have to really do a lot of work to make this podcast, not work that’s hard.

But consistently digging into the brand of my show, consistently figuring out the strategy of my podcast on a weekly, monthly, quarterly basis, actually even annually, doing market research at a very deep level.

(20:30):
I teach something in Podcast to Profit called story mapping. We do market research interviews. There is so much deep work to understand your listener and then to start speaking their language.

The biggest mistake we make as podcasters is we speak our own language.

(20:46):
Well, when you’re talking to yourself, you are not changing anyone’s life. When you start talking to your listener in a way in which they understand in a way that they are already searching for those specific key phrases, it lands.

And you grow and you scale and you start seeing those big results in your download numbers, which leads to impact and income.

(21:07):
And when you have impact and income, you get to do more for the glory of God. Am I right? We just have to start claiming that as part of your story.

And then I have to constantly evaluate the delivery and messaging that I’m using. And sometimes I tweak things.

(21:23):
After really digging into analytics, there are certain things we’ve changed about the flow of this podcast. And you may or may not have noticed, but you’re super here for it because you’re literally here for it.

(21:36):
And then last but not least, I have to constantly discern my distraction levels. Am I trying too many things? Am I doing something that’s not God-sent?

I heard something in church recently where he talked about this concept that you’re trying to go with God to do this thing.

(21:50):
And the second you’re like, Lord, I’m gonna do it, I’m so here for it, I’m chosen, I’m going, I’m stepping out. I’m leaping out of the boat. I’m ready to be a Jonah, I’m going.

The enemy swoops and it’s like, I have another boat for you, why don’t you just hop in this rescue boat? Why you gotta get all wet? It’s cold in that ocean. Here’s a rescue boat.

(22:11):
There’s a beach right there. And you’re like, oh, that must be from God. That little rescue boat must be from the Lord, but truly God refines us by the fire.

If we are supposed to persevere through suffering and hard things, why would he give us a rescue boat and not make it hard for us?

(22:31):
So we have to be very careful and discerning over our distraction levels and over the things that we are doing and the vessels that we are choosing to build our business.

And constantly praying over that and constantly surrendering it and being willing to let a lot of things go and that’s difficult.

(22:44):
And I go through this too, guys. But one thing I’m willing to do is be obedient. When I get the word, I let the thing go. Or if I get the thing from God and I’m afraid of it, I have to step into it.

It doesn’t change. You having more success is still the same process over and over again.

(23:02):
So, you may have some nos on your paper. And you’re wondering how do I fix this, Stef? How do I get clarity in my podcast? I don’t have a clear brand. How do I have a content strategy?

How do I know what my avatar needs? And my listener wants? And the number one problem? How do I have confidence? How do I have a better delivery? And how do I just live distraction-free?

(23:17):
There are two better answers than you trying to figure this out on your own because in that case, it’s gonna take you forever and you’re probably gonna fail at it anyway.

And then you’re gonna come back around and say, did you tell me you had an easier way to do this, Stef?

(23:30):
Which I do. Option two is totally free. And it’s to come to the live workshop, S.C.A.L.E. Your Show, which is Wednesday, March 30th. I talked about it in the intro and I’m gonna give you my scale your show system.

(23:43):
It’s five simple things that you can really tune into and hone in to grow your podcast and it’s free and we’re gonna be doing it on zoom. It’s gonna be super fun.

So, you, guys can get registered for that at scaleyourshowworkshop.gr8.com totally free.

(24:05):
And I think that’s a great place to start for all of you. Every single one of you. You’re a podcaster. You’re a soon-to-be podcaster and you wanna scale your show faster without wasting time.

Connect and convert your listeners into leads and build momentum. So you can get more downloads. Truly. This is it. So scaleyourshowworkshop.gr8.com.

(24:26):
Option three. You’re like, I don’t need a free workshop. I need to do the work, I’m really ready. Stefanie, help me help myself.

You’re gonna go to podcasttoprofitmastermind.com. This is my 12-week podcasting immersion master. We don’t play.

(24:47):
Please do not go there and apply if you are not serious about making your show extraordinarily profitable, successful, glory to God. I’m doing this, I’m full out.

I am sold out to making this thing really work and I wanna do it, partner with God and I wanna do it in community. And I need accountability to do it.

(25:10):
I need you to tell me, step one, Stef. I need to actually make you make me do it. And then I am going to show up and I’m gonna show you that I did it.

And I’m willing to hear if I didn’t do it right. I’ll redo it again. Then you’re gonna gimme the next step and I’m gonna do the next step.

(25:25):
And you’re gonna do that for 12 full weeks. We’re gonna teach you how to explode your show, rank on the charts, SEO, marketing, avatar research, story mapping, titles, taglines, we’re cleaning everything up.

(25:42):
We are gonna clean house. So you’ve built on a foundation of stone. Then I teach you how to actually build results and content that convert. So, we do titles. We do cleaning up your content.

(25:55):
We then build out your coaching offers or your course, I give you my sales page templates. I teach you how to set up checkout pages, everything’s in there. Legit.

The back office is so good. Every tutorial you could ever need step by step mapped out for you.

(26:11):
And lastly, I teach you how to grow, podcast pitching and Pinterest and growth strategies that are one to many, no social media, no posting a billion times on all the little places that is just a total waste of your time.

And I want you to be free to hang out with your kids. I want you to turn off work at four o’clock. I want you to not open your laptop on the weekends, and I want you to grow and still make money.

And it’s absolutely possible. And I want you to do it in community.

(26:38):
So if you join us, we’re starting April 14th, 2022. If you’re listening to this after that, go to podcasttoprofitmastermind.com to find out when the next group coaching is starting.

But this one is April 14th and there are only 30 spots.

(26:54):
You’re going to be in a group, a close-knit group of people who are faith-led podcasters, just like you. My team is there to help you support you, office hours.

You get power coaching with me and you get your breakout groups with your team. It is just so great.

(27:14):
I’ve never been more proud of a program in my whole life than I am of Podcast to Profit, you get the back office, which helps you have all the tutorials, all the trainings, every piece. So podcasttoprofitmastermind.com.

If you’re not ready for that, or the investment is just not possible for you right now, come hang out with us in the workshop.

(27:31):
And even if you are doing P2P come hang out in the workshop, cuz it’s gonna be some different content that I’ve never spoken about before.

And that is scaleyourshowworkshop.gr8.com. Love you, guys. I will see you back tomorrow. God bless.