How Her Podcast Ranked and Downloads Grew 540% in 5 Months

Hey Friend!

Today, I have an awesome student success story of how my student Molly Benell’s podcast ranked and her downloads grew. Plus, an inside sneak peek into Podcast To Profit (P2P) from the One Income Family Podcast.

She’s sharing how this program helped her podcast rank top 102 in the “How-To” category in the USA. It’s really amazing to have her podcast rank in the top 100 in the US. She started with 1,000 downloads, and five months later, her downloads had grown by 542%. 

Plus, Molly continued to grow, and her downloads increased to over 200 each month. Molly now has clarity since her podcast ranked, and after seeing the downloads grow. She’s seen the fruit and the success of all that work and intentionality as she walked through the Podcast to Profit program. Continue to read if growing your future podcast or growing your existing podcast is on your heart in this season right now. 

How Her Podcast Ranked and Downloads Grew: Clarity

Interview with Molly:

Stef: Hi Molly, welcome!

Molly: Thanks for having me.

Stef: Tell everyone what your podcast is called and what you do.

Molly: My podcast is The One Income Family Podcast. I help with financial strategies so you can stick to your budget. 

Stef: How good does it feel to have that one powerful, punchy one-liner that is finally so clear?

Molly: It feels amazing!

Before, it was unclear, and now that it’s clearer, people are definitely coming to the podcast more.

How Her Podcast Ranked and Downloads Grew: Podcast to Profit

Stef: Tell everybody a little about your journey with me. Were you in the previous courses, or did you hop straight into Podcast To Profit?

Molly: My journey is a long one. It started back in 2020 when I had my first daughter. Once, I took a course with Micala Quinn to become a virtual assistant. And then I found your podcast because she said that there were some amazing groups to join and network in. I saw yours, Stef, The Mompreneur Mastermind (now known as Online Business For Christian Women), so I joined.

I didn’t get into it much, but then in 2021, I was pregnant with my second daughter. Stef, you had the group with Chelsi Jo and Polly Payne, and I joined the group, got it done as quickly as I could, so I could launch my podcast before having my daughter. 

After my c-section, I went stagnant, and I had a hard time keeping up with everything. I had intended to join P2P, but I didn’t want to join until I could fund it with my own business money. Then one day, all of a sudden, out of the blue, God said, “You’re going to join this!”

I thought, “No, I don’t have the money for this right now. Okay, I’ll take the first step and apply to see if I get in or not.”

After I applied, I got in. Then came the decision of whether I was actually going to do it. I knew God was telling me to do it, and then I finally got into it. I’m so glad I did, because it has completely transformed my business and my life.

How Her Podcast Ranked and Downloads Grew: Resistance Vs. God

Stef: Talk to me about the resistance you had. You felt this tug of the Lord. You heard Him pretty clearly. “I want you to take this next step”. What goes on in this resistance period of us trying not to listen to God, whether that’s because of (A) the money or (B) the timing? How did you overcome those fears and the roadblocks that you were experiencing, even though God was giving you the blessing to move forward?

Molly: I don’t know if I necessarily got over it. I just had to take action because I knew I needed to be obedient and do it. Until I finally paid and gave in, and just did the entire thing, I was resistant and told my husband, “You have to make sure I do this, or I just won’t do it.” He was a little anxious about the money, too. We had the money, but we had plans for the money elsewhere. I finally said, ‘ Okay, I’m going to do this, even though there’s resistance in me. ‘ I knew it was going to be good, and it has been fruitful for me in many ways. 

How Her Podcast Ranked and Downloads Grew: Big Decisions

Stef: For your brand being a One-Income Family, and you are teaching budgeting and discerning over where to put your investment, that’s a really big decision for you to pull from something else that has been allocated to. Now you have decided to invest in yourself and your own business that you believe in and that God has breathed on, and do this thing even though you have no idea what the outcome will be. That’s why we experience favor. We are willing to take those big leaps of faith we know are God-ordained.

That is not easy to do.

Before we get into what the program was like for you, Molly, where was your podcast at during this point? Was your podcast ranked? You launched the show. Did you feel like the podcast was growing and working, and how did you feel about the brand? Was it really clear? Where was that when you came in?

Molly: It was kind of clear. I took CYC. It really opened my eyes to things. It was as if I were fighting God over what to do. I didn’t want to do money, even though money comes really easily to me – it’s the thing I should be doing. I just didn’t want to be the one to tell others what to do with their money. Typically, I don’t like it when other people tell me what to do with my money, and I didn’t want to do it to others.

When I first started my podcast, it was called ‘Mom is Partnering with God’. I was talking about partnering with God. It wasn’t getting out there. I had about 1,000 downloads in the year. I had 25 episodes. It wasn’t terrible. I had episodes pre-recorded all the way until July. It was growing off of that.

I came into Podcast to Profit with exactly 1,000 downloads. Downloads grew, kind of, but I didn’t have a clear direction. I didn’t know what I needed to do. I knew God wanted me to do something with finances, but I went the easy route and slowly allowed God to help me figure it out. 

How Her Podcast Ranked and Downloads Grew: Launch Your Show

Stef: This is such a perfect point to come into P2P. You’re thinking:

• I’ve got a thing and I’ve done it.

• I’m starting to get some data and information.

• I did the hardest thing, which was getting out of my own way to start.” 

There’s a reason we have people launch their show before coming in. It weeds out people who are unwilling to do the hard work of starting. Podcast to Profit is not easy; it’s for people who are really serious about intentionally growing a business that’s going to be successful.

Step one of that is, “Are you going to launch a show or not?”

I love that you did it, and you did it with the information that you had. You started somewhere. That’s step one of any successful business – starting from somewhere. I have somewhat of a direction, and I’m not exactly sure if it’s right. That’s the perfect time to join the program. I’m sure you’ll agree.

What was the program like for you, Molly?

There are six real core components of the program that you go through. Getting clarity, reworking those foundational pieces. We rebranded your show. How was that for you? The calls, the coaches, creating sales, and an offer.

Talk to us about what it’s like for someone who is wondering if they should do this program and wants their online business to be successful, with their podcast ranked like yours. If you were to sit down with someone and they asked you what the program was like, what would you say to them? 

Molly: I can tell you it’s nothing like I have ever taken before. I have been in other courses that had questions, and I can really figure it out. But yours was so straightforward, and you kept me focused. If you don’t stay on track, you fall behind, and you don’t want to do that. The hardest part for me, which was probably the best part, was the market research.

That’s where I found out what I actually needed to call the podcast, what I needed to help people with, and how I could help them without being so focused on budgeting and money, which I didn’t want to do. But then I got clarity and started to enjoy what I was doing.

Stef: Were there points in the program where you were thinking, “I don’t want to do this,” or points when you felt like it was too hard? 

Molly: The hardest part was the market research. Once I got past that, everything else just flowed. 

How Her Podcast Ranked and Downloads Grew: Get Aligned

Stef: That, too, is a piece of getting in alignment with what God wants for your business. You were so close before, but when you finally hit it, the resistance stops. The content ideas just magically come to you. Divinely, he says, “Here’s the clue.” I feel like so many things come together in this one beautiful moment of clarity when you finally get there.

And everything begins to flow from there. I’m glad you finally got there. You have the learning part of Podcast to Profit, including the back office, calls, and coaches – what were the most important pieces for you to have success in the program?

Molly: You had so many touch points, the group, the coaching with you, Stef, and Lydia’s office hours. The fact that I can ask any question was helpful. I am usually the kind of person who holds back, but I knew I really wanted to dive in and work really hard to figure this stuff out. Even though I knew I didn’t think asking questions was necessary, I did it just to get that feedback and get used to talking to you. Because that first time, I was scared to talk.

Stef: And look, now you are here with me on the podcast hanging out. 

It’s such a full circle.

That’s one of the things about the program, having so many different touch points and having so many different people you have connections with. You have me for strategy, and my team for implementation, getting clear on the homework, and finding what you’re looking for. Also, you have a network with each other, and being able to find other like-minded people who are doing the same things as you is super powerful. I love that you bring up all those things.

Let’s talk about what the outcome of this journey was for you. Molly, you came into P2P at the very beginning stages of your podcasting journey, with no real business to speak of. You were trying to get your podcast ranked. You were thinking, “Let’s make this into a business”. Where are you now, six months later?

Molly: Actually, five months later, because I didn’t start recording again until one month after starting P2P. Now my podcast ranks in the top five percent globally. And my podcast ranked 102 in the USA. I’m almost at 100.

Podcast to Profit Helped Her Podcast Get Ranked

Stef: And it’s really difficult to rank in the U.S., and to have a podcast ranked at all and touching into that top 100, Molly, is really notable. 

Molly: I was excited when I started looking at my stats because I hadn’t looked until the end of P2P. Then my podcast downloads grew from 1,000 to 4,700, which gave me a growth rate of 541.8%. That’s so good. My line was going straight up. It’s been awesome.

Stef: Congratulations! Seeing the trajectory of your downloads grow, your ranking, and the visibility you’re getting is all confirmation that people are absolutely loving your brand and the content you’re putting out into the world. I’m really excited about where you’re going.

If you had to leave anybody…

• Who is afraid to invest
• Wondering if it’s going to pay off for them
• If it’s going to be worth it for them
• Afraid they don’t have the time
• There’s some kind of limiting belief around Podcast to Profit

What would you tell them?

Molly: Find a way to overcome it and fight it, or just give in like I did, because it will make a difference not just in your business but in your life as well. I have gained a lot of clarity and consistency. Before, I wasn’t really recording, and I restarted.

Now, I know I’m one week ahead. I know when to record and how to record, and the scheduling is really helpful, from what I learned from Chelsi. It’s helped me really get focused. My life before was at home with my kids, and my baby was crazy. Everything has really settled into a schedule, and I felt like I didn’t know what to do, but now I do.

How Her Podcast Ranked and Downloads Grew: Move the Needle

Stef: Consistency, dedication, discipline – knowing that what you’re actually doing is moving the needle forward – seeing it move the needle forward is critical. You did all that because you were obedient to God, who was leading you in your life and into trusting Him. I’m so excited that you came on the show to share this with us. It has been so much fun walking this journey with you in P2P, and I’m sure we’ll continue to walk this journey together because you’ll continue to implement all the things you’ve learned. 

Tell everyone one more time where they can come and listen to your show and how you can help them.

Molly: I’m at the One Income Family, and it’s available on Apple, Google, and Spotify. And again, I help with financial strategies so you can stick to your budget.

Molly is such an inspiration. She has applied what she learned from Podcast to Profit and has seen the fruit and the growth in her podcast. If you’ve been thinking of growing your online business, getting your podcast ranked and increasing downloads, and if you’re ready to fulfill God’s calling in your life, just like Molly, then I invite you to join Podcast to Profit. Take that next step and invest in yourself.

I pray this blesses you!

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