Why My Revenue Grew by 34% In a Turbulent Year – 4 Key Strategies

Hey Friend!

After returning from my annual CEO retreat, I am thrilled to share a remarkable finding from my online business analytics. This past year, I achieved an impressive 34% growth in revenue, amounting to hundreds of thousands of dollars more in income. This substantial increase is a testament to our resilience and strategic efforts.

Reflecting on this past year, which was almost marked as a recession year, I was shocked to see the growth we sustained through it all. Yes, we can all agree it was a turbulent year, an off year, a down year—whatever you label it—a challenging year for businesses and the world. We had inflation to contend with, wars, and political disruption. 

Through the uncertain times, one thing is for sure: I was not giving up on my business. I stayed consistent, and with that consistency came a lot of growth!

Let’s dive into the four key strategies you can implement to grow your revenue in your online business.

First Tip to Grow Revenue: Clear Messaging and SEO-Focused Keywords

Having clear messaging and SEO keywords throughout my business and the brand itself, including my Facebook group, is a crucial part of my growth strategy.

When you join Podcast to Profit, one of the lessons you receive is focused on optimizing your Facebook group through SEO. This helps your group to be easily found by your target audience. 

Throughout my Facebook group, website, podcast, and all the words I use throughout my brand, I am speaking your language. I’m not guessing what my avatar is saying or thinking, I’m not making up words, but rather, I’m digging into the data and researching the exact phrases my avatar says.  

I do market research, and my team dives into every comment received after I post a Facebook question in my group. This is so valuable. I’m collecting the answers for future use in my marketing. We consistently research to see what my audience needs. Then, we pull those answers and use them for marketing and messaging and almost everything we do within the business and brand.  

This is one of the big reasons why my company grew and brought in new leads: my messaging was clear, and my SEO was on point. Without clear messaging and focused SEO keywords, you won’t resonate with your audience, gain devoted listeners, or get your audience to buy from you.

Another thing to keep in mind is that you want to continue generating new leads in your business. This is crucial. Without new leads, you won’t have new revenue growth. 

Second Tip to Grow Revenue: Consistent Long-Form Content

Having long-form, consistent content is why my revenue grew this past year. What is my long-form content? It’s my podcast!

Have you ever binge-listened to my podcast or another podcast? Or maybe you even spent an entire weekend listening to my show. It’s hard to stop listening because you feel so attached to the content and the podcast host. That’s what you want. You want consistent content on your podcast that speaks to the listening person. You have to be consistent to develop that “know, like, and trust” from your audience. 

If you do one show once every three months, you start over every time you air an episode because you aren’t connecting consistently.  Your audience has lost connection with you over that length of time. If you are starting and stopping, having dry spells where you don’t podcast for a month, you’ve lost those listeners. You want your content to speak to the heart and connect regularly, just like a true friend would.

Podcasts are a dime a dozen. But the ones who stick it out and are consistent and dedicated for years are the ones who will have the breakthrough. Stop being distracted, and be consistent. This is one of the biggest reasons why I have revenue growth.

Plus, I have a rapid conversion rate from podcasts. Consistent long-form content is essential for sustainable revenue growth.

Third Tip to Grow Revenue: Strategic Product Ladder

My business’s product ladder consists of Clarify Your Calling, Podcast Pro University, and Podcast To Profit. This does not mean I want you to create three offers right now. I want you to do the opposite—have one offer that converts well! 

Grow your first offer to $100,000 in revenue before making a second offer. Next, you ask your student what the next step is. Do your research before making a second product to offer. Your students will tell you what they want their next step to be. Don’t just guess and create a product by doing market research first. Listen to what your audience needs.

Then, you build that new product. Create your second offer in the second step, and grow it to $100,000 without losing the momentum you gained in step one. Then, it’s time to move on to the third step.

3-Tier Business Model

Remember, when you go to a three-tier business, ideally, you are a half-a-million-dollar company. When you create three offers too soon, you lose all the momentum in the first offer.

The first offer is the feeder into the rest of your future programs. Too many offers too soon can become a distraction. Plus, you don’t have a significant enough demand or enough superfans to support the three offers at this stage.

It’s more strategic to zone in on one offer only when you are just starting and making less than $100,000.

Then, once you hit $100,000, you can start the second offer and build a funnel that takes your past students into your other offers. This is a strategic way to grow year after year because once your fans start working with you, they often want to keep working with you. Few people choose to work with someone else after joining your first course.

We have a 50% rate of return for our students who move from CYC to PPU, and then about 20-30% of people move to P2P. This is highly successful because these students are eager to continue on and take the next step in their journey.

Fourth Tip to Grow Revenue: Team and Systems

My revenue grew in a turbulent year because of my team and systems. There’s only so much you can do on your own. You will become the lid to your success. Maybe you already are. God gave each of us unique gifts. Many CEOs are visionary and more action-oriented. But operations managers or COOs are more detail-oriented, organized, behind the scenes, and intentional. 

What it takes to get to your first $100,000 in your business dramatically differs from the journey of $500,000 to $1,000,000. As you get into those higher numbers in your company, think about finding people who support you in your weaknesses.

My gifts do not revolve around detailed work, so I look to team members to help me in those areas. As you grow, your business grows, and the more systems and strategic team members you have in place, the faster you can grow.

I have a loyal, focused team that steps up, knows what they are doing, and provides vision, organization, and operational excellence at every turn. Plus, we have interns working towards earning P2P and providing exceptional support for our team.

Having a system in place to repurpose content is key. We repurposed the podcast into a blog and Pinterest, and some of my interviews are now on YouTube. I didn’t need to repurpose my content to earn my first $500,000 in revenue, but I needed to use those strategies to earn $1,000,000.

The Business Can’t Grow if You Stop Growing.

Having systems and a team is what helped me to grow 34%. I needed to have both in place to see the growth. If you need help with systems, I highly recommend Chelsi Jo’s Systemize Your Biz and save using code STEF100. This is the first step in building a top-notch operation system. 

But if you are just starting your business, I recommend focusing on SEO and having clear messaging throughout your brand.

Are you unsure of your brand’s identity? Join me for my Profitable Podcast Bootcamp. You will learn how to clarify your calling, why podcasting works so well, and how to start an online business. 

I pray this blesses you!

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