From Burnout to Hundreds of Organic Leads From a Podcast

Hey Friend!

Join me today as I talk to Monica Topete about how she gained hundreds of organic leads from her podcast. 

Monica was burnt out, overwhelmed, and D-O-N-E! She had no work-life balance and no clear plan for her business. Though she was showing up on social media, she hated every single minute of it. Even after going viral (the dream most social media users have), her success wasn’t sustainable, and she was not getting organic leads. 

Then, she tried something different. 

With less than 1,000 email subscribers and zero paid ads, she grew a top 2% global podcast, passed 30,000 downloads, gained hundreds of organic leads, and ranked in the top 200 for her category!

That’s with no Instagram, Pinterest, or fluff: just organic growth. The best part? Her podcast has brought in over 400 organic leads, all without selling her soul to the hustle!

Today, we’re diving into exactly how Monica did this by going through my program, Podcast to Profit. She’s going to walk you through the exact steps she took to gain organic leads, freedom, and the work-life balance that she so desperately desired.

Get ready for a great conversation! 

Stef: Hi, Monica! Welcome to the podcast! 

Monica: Thank you! So happy to be here. 

Stef: Let’s begin by telling everyone what your podcast is called and what you do. 

Monica: Yes! My podcast is called Are You There, Midlife? It’s Me, Monica. I am a certified health and life coach. I help women in midlife balance their hormones naturally without drugs, doctors, or divorce. 

Stef: [Laughter] Amazing, I love it! Tell me about how you found me. 

How Monica Found Stef

Monica: Yes, I will make this a long story short. I was at the end of my rope when I found you. I had been strictly promoting my business online with a different business coach at the time. For a while, it worked okay. In other words, I was getting business but running myself ragged and had no work-life balance. I was doing it all on social media, which I 100% hated. It was so performative, like you talk about on your podcast. 

Things were going well, and I put out a reel that received a million views. Then, it felt like someone pulled the plug. It seemed like a God-thing because I wasn’t able to sustain what I was doing, and it didn’t feel authentic to me. 

So, I wondered what to do. I felt like God wanted me to keep going. Every coach, including the one I worked with, would say just double down on social media, do more, and post 25 stories each day! I was like, “Help! This is not for me!” 

At the time, I didn’t know any Christian business women – it wasn’t really a thing. So, I went to Apple Podcasts and searched “Christian business women,” and I found another podcast that interviewed you. 

You were saying I could have a business without social media! It was such an answered prayer, so I said, “Yes! More!” So that’s how I found you and binged all of your episodes. 

Organic Leads Without Social Media: Going Viral Isn’t Everything

Stef: Oh my gosh, Monica. I love all of this so much! That’s the dream: I had a video go viral, and I made it! That’s what we think! But that thing didn’t turn into a ton of income for you. It leads to more stress, more overwhelm, and more ‘what’s-wrong-with-me’ thoughts. 

To have everyone in your life tell you it’s you and you need to do more. It’s everything I’m against in my business. I don’t love that you had to live it, but I do in a way because it’s a testament to how there is another way to do this. 

It’s so interesting that in every interview I do with my Podcast to Profit graduates, I hear the same thing: they say, “I went to the podcast app and typed in this term, and I found you.” That’s what I teach you to do in Podcast to Profit. You need to get found by the exact people whom you are called to help! That is everything! 

So, you found my podcast and started binge-listening. Where did that take you? Did you listen to me for a long time, or did you know right away you wanted to work with me? Take us on that journey. 

Organic Leads With Just a Podcast: From Bootcamp to Stef’s Programs

Monica: I binge-listened for a while, and then you had a bootcamp! So, I joined the first bootcamp and didn’t sign up for anything. Then, you had another one a few months later. After that second bootcamp, I bought Clarify Your Calling and Podcast Pro University. 

I went through Clarify Your Calling and thought maybe God was leading me into a different topic. Could I really have a podcast where I talked about hormones every week? I wasn’t convinced yet. 

But I did Clarify Your Calling (huge shout-out to this program!), and I learned that I truly did need to do a podcast on hormones. So, that piece was settled. 

Then I bought Podcast Pro University, and it just sat there because I was scared. 

Organic Leads With Just a Podcast: From Fear to Action

Monica: I was scared to move forward. It wasn’t like in your case, where God told you to do a podcast, and you didn’t want to. I have wanted to do a podcast for a long time but was afraid to do it on my own, so I skirted around it. 

I answered this ad to be a podcast host for someone else, and I was her paid co-host. We talked about single women dating in midlife, which is great, but I haven’t had a date since 1996! What do I know about dating and single life? 

Then, there was this hugely successful midlife women’s podcast, and they needed help with blogging and marketing, and I got hired to do that. The whole time, I kept thinking about how I wanted to be behind the microphone.

So, I bought the Podcast Pro University course, and I sat on it for a while. Then I told myself it was time to move. I will do this and launch this before I start Podcast to Profit. I want to have a successful podcast, and Podcast Pro University will help me start it, but how will I grow and monetize it? That’s where Podcast to Profit came in. 

Organic Leads With Just a Podcast: Stop Running From Your Calling

Stef: So here you are. You’ve gone through Clarify Your Calling and have confirmation that you’re in the right lane. I love how you tried everything to avoid starting the podcast, but God kept showing up! How many of you can relate to that? You run from the thing that keeps coming up. 

If you’re in alignment with God’s will over your work, you can’t run from the thing you’re afraid of.

You’ve got to step into it. It won’t go away because God is with you in your work. 

So, did you end up launching the show before coming into Podcast to Profit after all? 

Monica: I did! I launched it. It was a close call. There were some technical issues, but I got it off the ground. But it’s not like the phrase, “If you build it, they will come.” It’s more like, “You built it, but how will they find you?” 

To be honest, the biggest thing for me was that I didn’t believe I could grow a podcast without social media. I knew you did, but I figured you had a different market. There are so many people doing health and hormone podcasts, and they’re using social media. 

I wondered if people would actually find me if I wasn’t on social media, and I didn’t want to do anything, not Pinterest, not Facebook, not Instagram – nothing! I was so anti-social media. It’s just not me. It doesn’t feel authentic. I only want to do this if I can be me. So I jumped into Podcast to Profit. 

Podcast to Profit: A Holistic, Christ-Centered Program

Stef: I want to talk about this thing inside your heart. Many people want to have all the supplemental things (like Instagram, TikTok, Facebook, etc.). I’m usually the one to tell them they’re doing too many things!

But you had the opposite viewpoint: you don’t want to do anything but podcast. So, you came into the program, you have this baby podcast, and you know your niche by now. Talk to us about the program. What’s the program like behind the curtain? Walk us through your experience, tactically. 

Monica: Oh my gosh. Where do I begin? It’s everything I needed. When I say “everything,” here’s what I mean: 

• Christ-centered leadership.
• A community of women who love God, are called to business, and want to make money.
• Coaches that get in the weeds with you in such a detailed way.
• The back office of what you built. It literally takes you by the hand and shows you the way. 

Stef: I am so pleased and overjoyed to hear your perspective on that. It’s holistic – it’s not just an online course, and it’s not just coaching. It’s a comprehensive experience of strategy, coaches in the weeds, the back office showing you how, and the plug-and-play for your business! 

All you have to do is show up and do the work. It’s no longer “how” or “where do I find it” or “I’m stuck.” It’s just, “Show up and do it!”

If you can do that, you can have a business that makes money from a podcast. 

Stef: What happened through the course of this? Did you end up leaving social media? 

Monica: No social media for me. Interestingly, I’m not on any of the socials, but my Instagram is growing more now than when I was posting! 

Stef: That’s how mine is! It keeps growing, and I’m not even there. 

Monica: It’s ironic, isn’t it? 

The Power of Community

Stef: What was your favorite part about Podcast to Profit? And what has happened since you’ve taken the course? 

Monica: Everything’s my favorite part; that’s why I rejoined [laughter]. I’m going to start planning this into my budget. You can take this course over and over again because once you have your podcast in play, you want to fine-tune, test, and do market research. You have all these business advisors along the way as you want to test, launch, or change things. It’s a no-brainer to have this built into my budget now.

As far as my favorite part goes, it was the community. Online entrepreneurs can feel isolated sometimes. I’m an empty nester, too, so having other women who understand what I’m going through and who are Christ-centered is huge.

Sometimes you want tactical advice, and sometimes you just need someone to pray for you. You get both of those things with the program.

I don’t know another program like it. 

Stef: Thank you. That’s so amazing to hear. The community is everything you said: Christ-centered and encouraging. There’s never any competition, either.

Imagine walking into your favorite coffee shop with your favorite girlfriend and looking forward to it all week because you have the most encouraging time together. That’s the feeling you get when you’re in this program. You’re all in the same mission field together. So powerful! 

Organic Leads With Just a Podcast: From 0 to 30,000 Downloads

Stef: So, Monica, tell us your wins. I want to hear all the amazing things that happened because of your obedience to step into this new space, do the work, show up consistently, and refine your craft. 

Monica: I went into Podcast to Profit with guns blazing, but sometimes life happens. I had something personal in my life that took up a lot of my time, so I wasn’t able to take advantage of the second half of the program. That’s another reason I re-joined. 

I was primarily focused on having a podcast without social media and how to increase my email list. I built an email list of a little under 1,000 subscribers with a 55% open rate. My little mighty podcast grew from zero listeners to 30,000 downloads. People are finding me! I’m a top 2% global podcast and top 200 alternative health podcast. Again, this is all without social media, paid ads, or funnels. Just organic growth!

Stef: You haven’t even been podcast touring. You’re literally just airing your own podcast. You’ve had over 426 organic leads come through the show? 

Monica: Yes, exactly. Through my lead magnet. 

Stef: That’s crazy! The visibility from just the podcast – that’s exactly what you wanted. 

Congratulations on your podcast growth, email list, exceptional open rate, and freedom from social media – praise God! Where can people find your show and connect with you? 

Monica: The podcast is Are You There, Midlife? It’s Me, Monica.  I’m on Apple Podcasts or wherever you listen to podcasts. 

Stef: Thanks for being here, and I hope this encourages you to take a step of faith today and see what He has in store for you. 

Is It Your Turn?

Friends, Monica’s story is a perfect example of hearing God’s calling, being hesitant to move, but acting in obedience and seeing God bless your business in a big way! She jumped into Podcast to Profit with guns blazing and got exactly what she wanted: freedom from social media and organic leads straight from her podcast. 

If you want to grow your podcast and are willing to show up and do the work, I’d love to have you in Podcast to Profit. Just like Monica said, we have a Christ-centered community of like-minded people who want to build a dream (just like you) and incredible coaches who get in the weeds of your business with you! There’s truly nothing like it. 

See you next time, friends! 

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