Podcast Monetization Secrets

Marketing trends are changing in today’s world, and you’ll be left behind if you aren’t willing to make adjustments. I’m filling you in today on what I’m noticing in the marketing world and what you need to know to skyrocket your success in monetizing your podcast. Join me to learn more!

Show Highlights:

• Why marketing is a big, confusing world if you’re taking a blind stab in the dark
• Why I pay big bucks every month to learn from the best minds in marketing and get the help I need
• Trend #1: Consumers have shorter attention spans than in the past.
• Tip: Productize your offering to get to the point in a short amount of time.
• Trend #2: Consumers want results as quickly as possible.
• Tip: Go for the quicker win to keep people motivated.
• A specific example of a client who wasn’t ready to take bold steps to monetize
• Why you need to change things up if your lead magnet isn’t working
• How to find out what your clients want (don’t just assume or try to guess!)
• Trend #3: Consumers want community and collaboration over autonomy.
• Tip: Get creative and find out how you can offer what your clients want. 
• My advice: ”Educate yourself in your space to see what’s working.”

Resources:

Let me help tweak your podcast to reach your goals with value-adding techniques: www.teampodcast.com/tuneup 

Join our Facebook group! Podcast Monetization Secrets

Email me: [email protected]  

We all can use a boost in the skills that can help us become more comfortable with selling. I attended workshops at Funnel Hacking Live last week, and I soaked up some big secrets to share with you today. Most of these come from Myron Golden, a highly esteemed sales expert who will help reframe your mindset around sales. Let’s take a closer look at mistakes most of us are making--and how we can change!

Show Highlights:

• Why our #1 mistake in selling is thinking sales is something we do TO people rather than FOR people
• Why the “I can’t afford it” excuse comes from a place of scarcity and money blocks
• Why you should make your offer with a higher threshold in the beginning to filter out those who don’t value you
• Why our #2 mistake is not making enough offers
• Why our #3 mistake is not selling what the market wants
• Why our #4 mistake is trying to find people to sell your stuff instead of making yourself findable for people who want to buy what you’re selling
• Why our #5 mistake is trying to get people to buy instead of creating an environment in which they want to buy
• What you can do THIS WEEK to get on the path to making more offers:
• Gather your “group” (Mastermind, Brain Trust, etc.).
• Find out what their problems are and what they are willing to pay for solutions. 
• Create the solution for them. 

Resources:

Let me help tweak your podcast to reach your goals with value-adding techniques: www.teampodcast.com/tuneup 

Join our Facebook group! Podcast Monetization Secrets

Email me: [email protected] 

I asked my private FB group what the one thing that was holding them back from monetizing their podcasts. 100% of the answers came back with some form of "I don't have enough downloads!"

So how many downloads do you need in order to monetize? Well, not nearly as many as you think!

I currently earn a minimum of $2000 each month from my podcast, and my podcast never gets over 500 downloads each month. Some months, I earn more than that.

Today, I'm sharing the 4 step framework for how I have monetized my small podcast.

The first thing you need to understand is that the #1 myth of podcast monetization is that monetization means sponsorships!

Getting sponsors for your podcast is a long process and it takes you getting a lot of downloads, and then when you do monetize that way, you realize that sponsors aren't paying very much money for advertising on your show.

There are much better (and more lucrative) ways to monetize your podcast and I'm going to show you how I do it with this little show.

My 4 step framework for monetizing a podcast is:

1. Provide great content - I know my audience well, because I have lived the same life as my audience, so I try to create relevant content that will help them solve their problems.
2. Teach, don’t interview - If you give your entire platform over to your guests, you will have a very hard time convincing your listeners that you have the answers to solve their problems.
3. You can incorporate more solo shows where you teach your frameworks
4. You can make room at the beginning and the end of your interview show to create space for you as the facilitator of learning.
5. Make offers - Your listeners have to know how they take the next steps with you. You have to make offers in your podcast. Make twice as many offers as you think you should.
6. Let your sales funnel do all the work - When I make an offer, I don't get hung up on the details of the offer. I focus on the results that I can give and then direct listeners to the url, and then let my sales funnel do all the work.

If you implement this framework for your podcast, it will help you get on the path to monetization too.

Want to learn more? Join our private Facebook group here!

You can also find Christy and her team at www.teampodcast.com!

Need help getting your podcast optimized and ready for monetization? Learn more about the Podcast Tune Up here.

I frequently hear questions from podcasters about why monetization isn’t working for them. They are making offers but not getting conversions. I can help! Join me for this episode as I tell you what your most likely problem is---and how to fix it. 

Show Highlights:

• Your three options if you’re stuck in free content creation mode
• Why your podcast is NOT your product--and will never make you millions by itself
• What you need to know about getting conversions:
• An offer is NOT having a course for sale.
• An offer comes from stacking value into one cohesive, compelling blend.
• An offer that is a no-brainer for your audience will generally be the same thing you would be drawn to.
• An offer needs to be tested and tweaked in a constant process of refinement.
• An offer needs to take your client by the hand, lead them in, and show them what they need and what the results will be. 
• Why you have to give people “wins” right away--or they will leave you
• Why it’s OK to make your offer seem almost “too compelling” to bombard your clients with value
• A breakdown of the basics of podcast monetization: 
• Your podcast content is an outgrowth of the problems you solve for people.
• If people are willing to pay to solve their problems, all you have to do is productize the solution and offer it to them. 

Resources: 

Let me help tweak your podcast to reach your goals with value-adding techniques: www.teampodcast.com/tuneup 

Join our Facebook group! Podcast Monetization Secrets

Email me: [email protected]  

I want to focus on the two most misunderstood words in podcasting. You probably hear a lot about a sales funnel, but most people don’t know what it is, how it works, and what it can do for your business. I’m breaking it down and sharing how your sales funnel can do the selling for you and get you off the hook in your weakest moments. 

Show Highlights:

• Why you need a sales funnel and shouldn’t feel guilty about it
• How our blocks around money can hold us back and why you deserve to profit from the value you provide
• Sales funnel basics: A sales funnel starts with a landing page that is carefully based on psychology to handle objections and do the selling for you.
• How a podcast tuneup can help turn around your value exchange
• Three ways your sales funnel can work and do multiple closes:
• Emotional close--how someone’s life will suck without this product or service
• Logical close--how the ROI will benefit someone
• Fear of missing out close--how limited time, space, or capacity is available
• Why your product or service ads should NEVER be in the intro or outro of your podcast--move them to the middle!
• Why you might be giving too much info in your midroll ads that shortchanges your sales funnel
• How you unknowingly handicap your sales funnel and telegraph your money blocks
• Why I’ve structured my sales funnel to eliminate sales calls that cost me time and money
• Why a sales funnel is NOT a website page that lists your courses, services, or products
• Why your sales pitch on your podcast should be a teaser (appetizer) that points people to your landing page (main course)
• Two things that a great sales funnel will do:
• Line up the highest converting data points in your favor
• Eliminate personal weaknesses and insecurities
• How a sales funnel protects your time, handles objections, and closes sales for you without letting you sabotage your own efforts
• How a sales funnel provides valuable sales and marketing data
• How to get authentic feedback on your landing page

Resources:

Let me help tweak your podcast to reach your goals with value-adding techniques: www.teampodcast.com/tuneup 

Join our Facebook group! Podcast Monetization Secrets

Email me: [email protected]  

Disconnect and congruence: do you know how to recognize them? More importantly, do you know how to fix the disconnect and achieve congruence? I’ve got the answers! Join me to learn more about how these terms apply to your podcast and why congruence is your goal on your podcast monetization journey.

Show Highlights:

• How a fresh set of eyes can bring a needed perspective to your podcast, website, etc.
• Where the disconnect happens between what you want to accomplish with your podcast and what people actually think you are accomplishing
• Why you must clearly share what you do and why you do it
• Why any listener to any episode should know and understand who you serve and how you serve them
• How to fix the disconnect:
• Don’t be afraid to mention things repeatedly; listeners are not going to hear it all the first time.
• Have congruence across your podcast and website to make sure every listener and visitor knows who you are, what you do, and how you can serve them.
• Be sure that your social media platforms echo who you are and who you serve, and always include links to your podcast and website
• Focus more on the solutions you provide for people than the products you offer.
• Identify the elements that need to be added to your podcast, website, and social media platforms to show people who you serve and how you serve them. 
• Change what you need to change to serve the client you serve today!

Resources:

Let me help tweak your podcast to reach your goals with value-adding techniques: www.teampodcast.com/tuneup 

Join our Facebook group! Podcast Monetization Secrets

Monetizing your podcast guests: good, bad, ethical, or a big no-no? The truth is that there’s nothing wrong with charging guests to be on your podcast or paying a fee to be a guest on another podcast. The key is the value provided to that guest through increased exposure, website traffic, potential client conversions, etc. I’m here to blow the lid off this topic by sharing a real-life example of shady monetization that should warn you in the RIGHT direction on your podcast monetization journey. 

Show Highlights:

• My story that began in May with a cold-call Facebook message
• The funnel:
• Cold outreach from an admin person
• Introduction to the “podcast” host
• An extended offer that routed me to his landing/scheduling page
• An interview booking that routed me to his webinar
• Daily marketing emails and Facebook messages over several weeks
• The interview cancellation (the day before my interview) blamed on “interview backlog”
• Why I had red flags resulting from the cold outreach on Fb from someone who worked for someone I had never heard of in the podcasting world
• Why his tactics are bogus, BS, and just plain icky
• How this is a perfect example of a bad-faith effort to monetize podcast clients by dangling the carrot, canceling the schedule, and pretending that there is a legitimate reason--other than the fact that he couldn’t convert me as a client
• The problem with this shady, unethical model? It completely overlooks the relationship-building process
• How a podcast audit can tune up your podcast and make a huge difference, even with simple steps you can implement right away
• There is a better way! 
• What to look for if you’re asked to pay to be on someone’s podcast

Resources:

Want to learn more? Join our private Facebook group here!

You can also find Christy and her team at www.teampodcast.com!

Need help getting your podcast optimized and ready for monetization? Learn more about the Podcast Tune Up here.

Back when I started podcasting, there was no such thing as a break. And so you just created a podcast. And it was like having another mouth to feed around your house because you always had to constantly feed it. And you never really took time off, because it was so hard to build it and get a following anyway, if you took time off, you knew you would be walking away from that. 

As podcasts have evolved, and more people have gotten into it. And the barrier to entry is so low with podcasting that a lot of people that are podcasting, maybe haven't really thought it through all that well. And there's a lot of people that want to once they get started, this thing called seasons comes up, and people want to make a season because they want to take a break. It’s a way for them to give themselves permission to take a break.. 

I've seen so many of my clients go away for a season and never come back. And their podcast is just sitting out there in the Apple podcast directory dead as a doornail. And so it's very interesting how that first sign of wanting to have seasons or wanting to take a break is always a red flag for me as a Podcast Producer that that podcast is probably going to pod fade. 

And so when I see that happen, it's like triggers all the podcast rescue techniques inside of me and I'm like, What do we need to do to get this podcast on life support, to give it a jolt of energy by throwing some extra coaching sessions and you do some things to try to get the podcaster back on track their mind in the game, and ready to go. 

It's not always something I can win on. And I really try hard though, because you've worked so hard to build a podcast, you put time effort and everything into it. I can’t stand to watch your audience slip away.

Life does get in the way sometimes, and you have to do what you have to do. But I think if you plan for breaks, and you plan for ways to not stress yourself out with your podcast, that it can continue functioning even if you need a break from it. And that's what I want to show you how to do today. 

If you have an A listening audience that expects you to put out shows every week and the gurus will tell you that if you want to put out a podcast and gain a big following and have a successful show, what do you have to do? The number one rule they say is to be consistent. Well, not trying to debunk all the experts, but I have seen a few inconsistent shows be successful. But it's sort of an outlier. It's more of an anomaly than a cause and effect kind of thing. 

If I see a podcast wanting to take a break, that is the number one red flag to me that that podcast is not generating any revenue for that podcaster. I understand it can take a while for you to begin generating revenue from your podcast. But if you're not generating revenue, and your podcast is something you're only putting out into the world, it's hard to keep doing it when times get tough, and when your schedule gets pressed, and whenever your life gets chaotic, when it's not bringing you any value. 

So it is one of the first things that go in your life, because it gives you a little bit of relief and a little bit of pressure off of your shoulders and all the things you have responsibilities for. 

But that being said, you'll never be able to get consistent revenue from a podcast, if you keep taking breaks. And it's just like anything you have to be there, you have to put out the content, and you have to do the work. 

There are many ways you can take a break, but still feed your podcast audience too.

1. Batch record solo shows that can be dripped out over the course of your break. 
2. Air shows that you have been a guest on in your feed with an intro and outro by you.
3. Release “encore” episodes of the most popular past shows with a new intro and outro explaining the re-airing of the show. 

Some podcasters that are used to doing interview shows really struggle with the idea of putting out solo shows. So, I wanted to give you a few ideas of some things you can talk about in solo shows.

1. Share lessons you have learned from your first XX number of podcast interviews.
2. Share case studies of how you have helped your clients get results.
3. Share little pieces of micro-content from the frameworks that you teach your clients.
4. Share lessons learned from books you have been reading that can benefit your niche.

You don’t have to be the expert, even to do solo shows. Just share content your audience will find valuable.

Want to learn more? Join our private Facebook group here!

You can also find Christy and her team at www.teampodcast.com!

Need help getting your podcast optimized and ready for monetization? Learn more about the Podcast Tune Up here.

A funnel without traffic is like…

a river with no bridge

a fire with no wood

a house with no walls

a car with no gas

Traffic is already out there and you have nothing to do with that.

All you are trying to do is jump in front of enough traffic to get the attention of your target audience.

The best writers aren’t the ones with bestselling books. The people with best selling books are just the people that keep showing up over and over and over again anytime there is an event for authors.

If you are already podcasting, you are building your largest traffic source that is free in exchange for creating great content.

So if you started your podcast and you have listeners, you have successfully jumped in front of traffic that would otherwise be listening to other content and they are now listening to your content.

What most podcasters miss is that the game is not over when you successfully pick up enough traffic for your podcast. 

The traffic that you have is only valuable to other people at scale. So in other words, it’s only valuable to other companies, sponsors, authors, etc. in large volumes.

Since your traffic is most valuable to you from the moment you acquire it, you need to have a way to capture that traffic and KEEP it consuming your stuff.

This is why we recommend creating products and services to your audience so that you can teach them what you know and get paid for it.

I see over and over again that podcasters only ever gain enough traffic that is valuable to them, but yet they never monetize that traffic.

That’s like thinking that you won’t start a business unless you can just go straight to the franchise model.

Almost every franchise starts with a single location. 

Before a podcast has enough traffic to become valuable to other companies, you already have enough traffic to make it valuable to your company.

So at the time when ONLY YOU qualify to benefit from your audience, you aren’t taking any steps to monetize that audience. That’s crazy!

I can tell you all day long how to get traffic, but if you don’t have any way to capitalize on that traffic, then there is no mechanism to convert your traffic into customers.

What have you created to ascend your traffic to the next level to convert them to customers?

You may be thinking that eventually, when you have enough traffic, you will create something to monetize. Create it now and then go capture more traffic!

Don’t get tons of traffic and have no way for them to become a customer.

You can pour jet fuel on your traffic by taking some very specific actions...

Once you have a funnel built, it’s time to ramp up your traffic acquisition methods. 

Depending on whether you have more time or money, you will be taking completely different actions.

In fact, the larger you can build your organic traffic, the less money you will have to pay for traffic.

So where can you jump in front of traffic if you have more time than money?

• Other podcasts
• Conferences
• Professional organizations
• Trade organizations
• Local groups
• Facebook groups
• Online communities
• Being an affiliate for a bigger name or company
• Creating affiliates for your products and services

If you have money for paid traffic, I have 2 recommendations:

1. Advertise inside the podcast apps to get more subscribers and downloads.
2. If you are advertising on social media or google, only drive traffic to your offers, not your podcast.

Want to learn more? Join our private Facebook group here!

You can also find Christy and her team at www.teampodcast.com!

Need help getting your podcast optimized and ready for monetization? Learn more about the Podcast Tune Up here.

Sometimes it seems like selling is easy for everyone else but us! If you're new to the online marketing world, you may be making offers that aren't converting very well.

There's a very logical reason that some offers convert better than others, and if you are making this mistake, it's because it's just a natural tendency when you are new to making offers.

The first type of offer that many people make is an improvement offer. It's a very safe offer to make and it feels better than just trying to stick our necks out with some other type of offer.

After all, you really are trying to improve the lives of your audience members!

You want to help them manage their money better...

You want to help them have better relationships...

You want to help them be better parents...

In any niche it makes sense to want to improve whatever situation your ideal clients are in right now.

However, if you make an improvement offer, in almost every situation you will have lower conversions than if you made a different kind of offer.

The problems with Improvement offers are:

1) They aren't compelling enough to prompt your audience to take action.

2) The improvements you are offering will be much harder to measure.

3) It's hard to develop raving fans by only marginally improving their lives.

So what's the alternative to improvement offers?

Offers that will convert much better than improvement offers are transformation offers.

I'm not suggesting that you go out and make all sorts of outlandish promises that you can't possibly deliver.

However, when you focus on the transformation that you can bring to others' lives, you can probably articulate very well what that looks like.

Going back to who you serve and how you serve them with give you the lens through which to view the transformative impacts of your offer.

When you highlight the transformation in your offers, it becomes all the more compelling.

The more compelling and irresistible that you can make your offers, the higher converting they can be.

There's so many ways you can make your offer compelling, but in order for them to be high converting, they have to be so irresistible that your audience is compelled to action.

Then, you can only hope that the irresistibility of the offer will also compel them to take action on all of the content in your offer.

Because when you can truly be the catalyst for a transformational change in your audience, then you will develop a loyal audience!

Want to learn more? Join our private Facebook group here!

You can also find Christy and her team at www.teampodcast.com!

Need help getting your podcast optimized and ready for monetization? Learn more about the Podcast Tune Up here.