Hey Friend!

I started my podcast, now what?! I’m so glad you asked!

Today kicks off a fun podcaster-focused series designed to help you know what the heck to focus on in your biz, based on where you are. I have broken it down into 3 categories. 0-10K downloads, 10K-100K, and 100K-500K.

In today’s show, we go through what to focus on as you go from 0-10K downloads on your show. I explain what it means to have a solid foundation and fundamentals that will withstand the test of time. I share with you 4 C’s that will help you navigate all the ‘shiny objects’ and stay the course!

It’s so critical that you don’t get distracted or try to skip the hard work that comes at the beginning. Push through these 4 C’s so that you can see BIG results!

I pray this blesses you!

FULL EPISODE TRANSCRIPTION:

(00:00):
Hey, friend! Welcome to today’s episode! You are just getting started with the three-day podcasting series that’s really tailored to you. This series is not about me getting a bunch of downloads. This series is not about me selling anything to you. It’s about helping you focus on what you actually need to focus on based on where you’re at.

(00:21):
I think too many of my students and clients skip to chapter 20 and they’re skipping over chapter one or too many people who should be at chapter 20 are still stuck on chapter one. And I think that there are specific really tactical important steps that you should be 100% highly tuned into.

(00:43):
That way you can let all the other stuff go, that way you can truly focus on what matters based on where you are. So what I’ve done is I’ve actually broken down this three-part series into three specific episodes based on where you are at.

(00:57):
So here today in this first one, this is for all of my newbie podcasters to beginner podcasters who are between one and 10,000 downloads. And what we’re gonna talk about today is what to focus on before you get past that 10 K mark, what do you actually do?

(01:14):
And I’ve really paired this down into this concept of foundations and fundamentals. And we’re gonna go through four C’s today of what I believe that you should focus on. Now, don’t worry if this isn’t for you and you’re already past that 10,000 mark.

(01:30):
The next episode that’s coming out is for those of you between 10,000 and a hundred thousand, and then my third, one’s gonna be for those of you who have hit it, you’ve done it. You’ve made it because very few people ever pass a hundred thousand downloads, guys.

(01:45):
That number is extraordinarily small because they don’t play the long game long enough to see this thing through. And believe me, when I say that this is a long game, there is no overnight success in podcasting. This is about the heart, not the hustle. It’s about the service, not the sales. This is about showing up and giving all that you have and using your voice for impact.

(02:05):
That’s what this is about. And God can then use that and use you for His glory, which in turn brings favor into your life and it brings the people that you’re meant to serve and the listeners and all of the avenues for Him to help you create a bigger impact in their lives.

(02:20):
So for those of you who have passed a hundred thousand downloads, congratulations, because that is not an easy feat, that is truly so much heart goes into getting to that place. And I am gonna have an episode for you guys as well, coming up.

(02:35):
So let’s begin with today’s show. You launched your podcast now what your first 10,000 podcast downloads and focusing on the four C’s. Let’s learn about foundations and fundamentals. Grab that notebook.

(03:47):
First of all, congratulations. I mean, the fact that you’ve started your podcast, it just makes me so happy. I’m so proud of you. Let me read you a few podcasting stats from podcastinsights.com. This is from 2021. 50% of all homes are podcast fans. That’s over 60 million homes.

(04:09):
75% of the US population is familiar with the term podcasting. This is up from 70% in 2019. 55% of the US population has listened to a podcast. 24% listened to podcasts weekly, 16 million people are avid podcast fans and these numbers are just going up.

(04:35):
So what I think is so incredible is that you have said, yes, you have thrown your hat in, you’re like I’m coming in the ring. I’m putting on my boxing gloves. I’m here. This is my place. This is what I’m doing. And I did all the things and I took Podcast Pro University and I launched and now what?

(04:53):
So many options, do I monetize? And do I go build a website right now? Or do I create all these things to make money? Or should I just continue to podcast? There’s so many questions about the direction in which you go when you’re really focused on that one to 10,000 download mark. And for most of you, this is anywhere between, one to 12 months in your podcasting journey.

(05:19):
Yes, it will take some of you longer to hit 10,000 than a year, everyone’s journey is different. It doesn’t matter. All that matters is that you stay the course, you give all that you can give, you do your best and you have God’s size confidence when you open your mouth and you step up to the mic and that you believe in this calling, that He’s placed over you and you just give and you just serve.

(05:40):
And here’s the deal. You just get better and better as you go and as you grow. So you’re gonna continue to pour into this thing that you’ve committed to for at least one year. Just for a minute, I commit, say it with me now. I commit to podcasting for one full year before I even look up.

(06:01):
Go ahead and say it because the truth is there is no breakthrough until you have put in the work. And a lot of the work, the hardest part of this whole thing is truly your first 10,000 downloads because that’s when you’re battling the limiting beliefs. It’s when you’re pushing through, did I make the right decision? And is anyone gonna listen to me?

(06:22):
And it’s also when you grow the slowest, which is so annoying. The amount of time it took me to hit 10,000 downloads was like excruciatingly long compared to the time it took me to go from 100 to 500 K downloads because of the compound growth.

(06:39):
And because once you’ve niched in and you’ve gone through this whole process, I’m gonna take you through today and on the next episode, you’re gonna understand that this part’s the hardest cuz it’s where you’re really getting to understand and know your person.

(06:54):
So I just wanna applaud to you and let you know number one, you’re in the right place and number two, let’s commit to the long game. It’s going to be so super worth it. So today I’m gonna go through with you four CS that I want you to focus on as you’re building out your foundation and your fundamentals. That’s what you want to be focused on. Go ahead and grab an notebook and pen. We have a lot of notes today.

(07:17):
As you build to your first 10 K you’re focused on foundations and fundamentals. Let me tell you what those mean, what those words mean. Then we’re gonna go through the four C’s that are gonna help you do this. And I’m gonna also tell you in a second, why it’s so important that we focus some time, energy and efforts here into step one.

(07:39):
So foundation, according to Mariam Webster Dictionary is a stone or concrete structure that supports a building from underneath; something such as an idea, a principle or fact that provides support for something else. What foundation means is that foundation is the stone on which you’re building your business and it’s so critically important that you do not skip building a foundation for your podcast and your future business and your future profits to stand on, because if there’s nothing and on, it’s all gonna come crashing down.

(08:22):
And this is one of the number one mistakes that I see new podcasters make is they launch the show and then they think that the hard work is over and they’re gonna skip straight to the bank and they’re gonna skip straight to monetizing, and they’re gonna skip straight to flashy, fun stuff and just make it, and that’s not the truth.

(08:39):
The truth is that you have to set up your foundations properly and your fundamentals. So what is fundamentals? The definition is forming or relating to the most important part of something relating to the basic structure or function of something.

(08:55):
So what I’m saying is that there are these grassroots bones, the meat and potatoes of your business, and you’re not gonna know what those things are when you launch. You’re gonna learn those things aas you get to 500, 1,000, 5 thousand, 10,000 downloads, it takes getting feedback.

(09:15):
It takes getting to know people, it takes testing, it takes consistency and all of those pieces put together, allow you to get even more clarity over what your business is and what it stands for and who you’re called to serve. So we’re really gonna today just focus on foundations and fundamentals. And I don’t care if this takes you three months, five months, a year to pass that 10 K mark. There’s no shortcut to success.

(09:43):
So the four C’s that will get you a solid foundation, a foundation of stone are number one, consistent content. These are four C’s that you’re gonna write down, consistent content. There’s nothing else to be said here, except show up with your best work, with the best stuff that you possibly can think of to serve your person from and come from your heart and come from a holy spirit place.

(10:12):
I believe that there’s so much more inside of you than there is when you head to a Google search bar to see what you should talk about or looking at someone else’s show to see what they talked about. The answer is already inside of you. So pull up that mind map or get out a sheet of paper and just start journaling over, what have I done to get where I am in the space that I teach?

(10:36):
So let’s say that you teach helping your children to grow spiritually through kids devotions. And you got here, you have this huge connection with your kids, and you’re able to dissect scripture in such a way where it’s easily digestible for kids. How did you do that? Where did you start go through the process?

(10:56):
Break this down, think about why that mom can’t have the same result as you, think about what are the differences in the way that you started speaking to your children when it started to click. Go so elementary micro level and just begin being super consistent. Did you commit to every single Tuesday to podcast?

(11:13):
Well, then you better show up every single Tuesday on the dot, the time that you committed week after week after week for 52 solid weeks before you ever take a breath, cuz it’s about consistency. Today people are fleeting, they are gone in a flash.

(11:32):
You find someone on TikTok that you love. And before you know it, they’re off to the next best thing. You’re following somebody and you’re so excited because they’re all about your favorite strength training exercises as a busy mom and you blink your eyes and you have whiplash cause now they’re over here selling lipstick. No one’s committed anymore and the truth is that we are so tired of following people who are fickle.

(11:54):
We wanna follow people who are foundational, who are locked and loaded in the thing in which we believe that they’re an expert in and they’re proving us. They are saying I am here to stay. I’ve chosen where I’m gonna show up. I have chosen how I’m gonna show up, the way I’m gonna speak to you. I’ve chosen a way I’m gonna serve you. And you can find me here. I am not going anywhere, they’re committed to you.

(12:19):
So that’s so critically important. It doesn’t mean that you can’t pivot, that you can’t grow. It doesn’t mean that you can’t change up your podcast messaging or even have a complete rebrand because that’s bound to happen to some of you believe me but it means that you’re consistently committed to where you started in the direction in which He’s called you to go.

(12:39):
And now if there are small tweaks in there, that’s fine. You just have lots of open communication about that pivot. And you’re still showing up on the podcasting space.

(12:50):
The second C is community, this is a great thing you can begin to do in your first 10 K download. So we have consistent content, but you’re talking to people. They have no place to come connect with you. So community is the next step.

(13:06):
And in Podcast to Profit, my 90 day immersion mastermind program for podcasters, this is one of the first foundational things I teach you guys is setting up a community that’s going to be super, highly converting later. And there are lots of cool things we learn about building community. Obviously, my community is on Facebook, but in P2P I talked to you, guys, a lot about your different options.

(13:30):
You definitely do not have to pick Facebook. There are lots of options for building community, and there’s so much heart and tips and hacks and SEO and tags and all these little nuances that go into building a super successful community, all of which is in P2P but just for the purposes of this podcast, start with, how do I get people to feel seen and heard.

(14:02):
If that’s the number one thing that you begin with, it’s letting them know about your show and what that week’s stuff is, starting conversations around your content, and then helping people feel seen, heard, and valued. That’s it. And, Lydia and I, she’s my student success and operations manager, have a whole episode on growing your Facebook group episode 380.

(14:25):
So you’re welcome to pop back and listen to that but really it’s pulling people from your podcast, which is where they come and learn from you to a community, where they get to engage with you.

(14:40):
The next C is connection, C for connection. So we’ve built a community, number three is we begin to connect. My favorite place to connect with my audience is an email list. Now I actually highly recommend that that’s where you also connect because it’s something that you can own. It’s something scalable. It’s something that there is no algorithm.

(15:06):
It’s something that will not be gone overnight. It’s something that’s sustainable. I’m always asking myself is this scalable and sustainable? Is the way I’m showing up scalable and sustainable? Is the place in which I’m building scalable and sustainable? And for me, I would definitely not be leaving all my leads in this community without also having them on an email list.

(15:29):
Because I don’t know if it’s scalable and sustainable to have a community on Facebook, but I know 100% that I own my list. So connection for me is on my email list and that’s where I’ve chosen. And so I’m sending my love notes out twice a week. All it is, is sharing my podcast episodes. We also connect in the community.

(15:49):
So step one was we take people from our consistent content and we pull it into our community and we engage. The next part though is connect. It’s really starting to help people feel valued. It’s starting to promote almost like a back and forth friendship where they really feel like they know so intimately and deeply.

(16:13):
And this does not mean that I’m replying to every email message. This simply means that I’m showing up and I’m allowing them a space to know that I’m here for them, that they can post their questions or they could pop us an email as a team.

(16:27):
So it’s this connection part where if they wanted to be heard, seen, ask a question, post a problem. They know that it will be reciprocated. Someone will answer them, whether that’s you or in the future, someone on your team.

(16:46):
And then the last C, the last thing you should focus on from zero to 10,000 downloads is truly copy and messaging. So this is this beautiful pivotal time for you to learn. You start with what you think, oh, I’m starting this podcast and I think it’s this. And I have Stef’s five tier brand map from Clarify Your Calling andI’m good to go.

(17:10):
And I launch and I start. We start with what we think, but what we think is not always the truth, it’s not always what God knows, because He’s gonna bring you women who are gonna ask you different questions, who are gonna say, okay, but I’m not hung up on that, I’m hung up on this.

(17:25):
And all kinds of different people are gonna come into your community and have a little bit of a variance on how or why they can’t get to this solution that you teach. So that gives you so much opportunity to get your messaging on point, to figure out why they’re struggling and how you can serve them better with your solutions.

(17:46):
And it also gives you all of the ammunition that you’re gonna need for the next step when we talk about 10,000 to 100,000 downloads, when we really go out and create the front facing media, we create the website and all the other pieces of the business you’ll know your copy and your messaging. You’ll know who you serve. We start with where we think we are, but then we’ve gotta fine tune it. We’ve gotta become more and more clear.

(18:11):
So here are three goals that I want you to really focus on based on our four C’s. So the four C’s were number one, consistent content, number two, community, building community so that you can drive engagement. Number three, creating connection, this is vulnerability, this is consistent showing up and reciprocating the comments, and maybe sending out that email once a week so that people know they matter.

(18:41):
And then the fourth one is copy and messaging, really getting extraordinarily clear on your copy, on your messaging, on who you serve on what they’re saying to you. Just getting to know the people who are your fans, your super fans. Now let’s move to the three goals that I have for you that I want you to focus on.

(19:02):
So by the time you hit 10,000 downloads, if you can focus on having achieved these three things, you’re gonna be so set up for phase two. So the goal number one, your very first goal is to find out what your Lola or your avatar’s number one problem is. That’s your number one goal. And yes, it probably takes 10,000 downloads to really figure this out.

(19:30):
It was right around 15 to 20,000 downloads when I started creating Podcast Pro University, guys. And the reason was they kept asking me, how do I grow an audience without social media? How do I grow and connect with people without video? I don’t wanna do live video, stories 24/7. I just wanna podcast. Can’t I do what you’ve done to build the business? Over and over again how do I build and be more present?

(20:02):
And so the answer became well, I help them start a podcast. And so that’s when I started to create my monetization plan. It wasn’t before I had absolute clarity on what their number one problem was. Or at least that’s not the course that none of my other courses ever worked until I really truly knew this information, this one piece of information.

(20:25):
So goal number one, find out your avatars number one problem. And you really can’t force it. That’s the part hard, it takes patience. You just have to ask questions. You have to learn to listen and you have to be super present in your community.

(20:41):
Goal number two is to grow trust based on service, grow service-based trust. What does this mean, Stef? This means, you guys, 10 out of 10 emails that I received when my podcast was new, I just answered the questions for free. Let’s just walk you through this. I did many calls with people totally free to help them get a result. I did lives in the Facebook community that had no pitch, I just served.

(21:14):
And I got people a result and helping people get a result for free it boosted my confidence. It helped me learn what my methods were gonna be in the future. It gave me ammunition to know that the stuff I was teaching was landing.

(21:28):
And then it also gave people trust. They’re like, wow, I think she is the person that can solve this problem for me. I think she is the coach and mentor for me. Stef is who she says she is. And so you gotta grow trust based on your service and how do you do this?

(21:42):
Well, give it away on the podcast, truly pour out, truly spend am just in service and allow God to just bring you that provision in other ways, while you learn what your person needs. Once you’ve grown that trust in 10 people, you’re ready to move to phase two because now that 10 people can trust you, you can duplicate what you’ve just done for 10 people for a hundred, for a thousand, for a million.

(22:10):
The third goal that I really want you focused on when your show is between zero and 10 K downloads is to focus on and practice capturing the lead, not converting the lead yet, but capturing the lead. So what does this mean?

(22:27):
Well, if your podcast is your freebie, which it is, and you’re serving and solving, and you’re solving their problems and you’re growing trust and you’re giving and you’re teaching and you’re inspiring and you’re fun and all the what wonderful things about you. And you tell people to come to your community or to come join you on an insider email list.

(22:44):
You don’t even have to have a freebie, just say join the list and I’ll let you know when there’s a new episode. It’s that easy, you guys, I want you to practice capturing the lead because it’s important that yes, people subscribe to our show but most importantly, that we take them from being just a hidden listener that we don’t ever get to meet to moving them into becoming a super fan that we can tangibly see them.

(23:06):
We can see them in our Facebook group, on our email list. Have a conversation with them. We can cultivate this person, pour into them. We can really help them get a result, because if we don’t capture that lead, then later, when we have a hundred thousand 500,000 downloads, we can ever convert them because they’re not hanging out with us.

(23:26):
So capturing the lead is goal number three. And, how do we do this guys? You don’t need fancy stuff, fancy funnels. You don’t even need a website yet. All you have to do is start your community. Facebook is a great place to do that. Again, episode 380, we talk extensively about this.

(23:43):
Podcast to Profit, I teach you this. If any of you’re between zero and 10,000 downloads now is the time to take P2P because this is exactly the stuff I teach you inside of my mastermind program. I take you through every foundational step, I have back-office blueprint trainings for every single step.

(24:02):
You are going to get me and my team holding your hand through this entire process, instead of trying to fumble your way forward. So podcasttoprofitmastermind.com, we are beginning to take applications for the April, 2022 class. There are only 30 spots. So you wanna get your application in sooner rather than later.

(24:23):
The other place to capture your leads is just an email list. And again, super basic, you can do MailerLite for free. I use GetResponse. Every single program that I use is at stefaniegass.com/resources. So you can check that out there, but it’s just a practice. And again, I teach in P2P how to pitch, how to get people to actually come and do the things with you, but practice just speaking from your heart about why you want them to come be connected with you at a higher capacity.

(24:52):
So that’s all I got for you today. Those are the things I want you to focus on to really establish a solid foundation and build out those sustainable forever fundamentals so that you can scale, grow, monetize and market with ease in the future.

(25:08):
So lock and load it. If you are listening to this episode, still at this point, you are a perfect position to come join me in P2P again, that’s podcasttoprofitmastermind.com, my live group coaching program for podcasters monetize, SEO, keyword optimization, how to get visibility, land yourself big podcast interviews, and then how to later monetize, create a program, a course, or a coaching offer, and then how to sell it, how to set up sales pages and pitch.

(25:41):
We go through the whole shebang in P2P, it’s so legit. You’re gonna absolutely love it. It’s so fun. And the whole thing is partnered in faith with God as the center and the CEO of your biz. So go check out more information about that at podcasttoprofitmastermind.com.

(25:59):
And get ready for the next episode, coming out on the 10th, which is gonna be all about what to do when you go from 10, between 10 and a hundred K download what to focus on here, when you’re really ready to make your podcast profitable. Don’t miss it. I’ll meet you back real soon. God bless.