1) Your 3 outcomes for this call

By the end, you want:

1. Clarity on the real goal (impact-only vs measurable acquisition vs both) and what “success” means in 90 days
2. Agreement on a simple operating cadence (2 episodes/month) + who does what
3. A “yes” to either:
4. 
   
   • a package, or
   • a 30/60/90-day pilot roadmap + next-step logistics

2) The frame to open the call (30–45 seconds)

Use this to set control + reassure him it’ll be concrete:

“Tim, today I want to do two things: (1) confirm where you want the podcast to fit in the business, and (2) walk you through a simple roadmap that solves the production gap and makes growth measurable — especially given your audience constraints and compliance realities. We’ll keep it practical: cadence, workflow, content formats, distribution, and what we’ll track.”

3) Fast recap of what you already learned (so he feels heard)

Hit these bullets verbatim-ish:

• Podcast is mission-driven: help widows make financial decisions without feeling sold to
• Audience is hard to reach because “you’re not a widow until you become a widow” + older widows may not be podcast-native
• He wants audio + “on paper” (readable)
• LinkedIn is a dud for widows; email exists; FB group/page exists; IG is tough
• Paid ads produced spam/trolls; he’s skeptical of ads
• Production partner is gone; show branding is outdated (co-host on artwork, intro, etc.)
• Goal: 24/year (2/month), and he wants it to become a trackable benefit, not just a hobby

Then transition:

“So the plan needs to do three things at once: keep the show easy to produce, meet widows where they already are, and make it trackable.”

4) The agenda for the call (clean, confident)

20–30 min version

1. Confirm the goal + constraints (5 min)
2. Walk through the operating system (production workflow + comms) (7 min)  
3. Walk through growth engine (distribution + conversion) (10 min)
4. Packaging + next steps (5 min)

5) Discovery questions you should ask (only the high-leverage ones)

These are the questions that determine what you recommend — and they don’t feel “salesy.”

A) Audience + positioning

• “Do you want to focus primarily on newly widowed (‘in the storm’) or also include ‘just past the storm’ and ‘new horizons’ equally?”
• “Do you want the show to be faith-forward (it comes up a lot in episodes) or faith-friendly but broader?”

B) Acquisition + tracking

• “What’s the one conversion you want to measure over the next 90 days?”
• 
  
  • Survival Guide downloads?
  • booked ‘complimentary conversation’?
  • email signups?
• “Roughly how many new clients would make this feel undeniably worth it in a year?”

C) Compliance + distribution reality

• “What are your compliance boundaries for social/email?”
• 
  
  • testimonials? performance talk? case studies?
• “Are you allowed to do webinars / workshops for widows without it being construed as solicitation?”

D) Capacity

• “Who will be the day-to-day point person — you, Grace, or someone else?”
• “How quickly can you review an episode? Same day? 48 hours?” (You need review SLAs.)

6) Your recommended roadmap (the meat of the call)

Part 1: Fix production + make cadence effortless (2 episodes/month)

Use your deck flow, but customize the cadence language:

• Record (they record; you provide a simple checklist and Dropbox workflow)
• Production (edit + clean up; create final episode + supporting assets)  
• Review (they approve)
• Publish (you schedule and publish)  

Immediate production clean-up (Week 1–2)

• Replace co-host branding: artwork, intro/outro, show description
• Create “widow-safe” structure: consistent opening, what they’ll get, gentle CTA, disclaimer-friendly close
• Create a repeatable template for show notes + transcript delivery

Positioning line you can use:“The goal is that you only have to show up for the conversation — and everything else becomes a system.”

Part 2: “Audio + readable” is not optional — it’s the strategy

He literally told you the core insight: many widows aren’t podcast listeners.

So propose a standard deliverable stack per episode:

1. Episode audio (podcast platforms)
2. Transcript (already in your flow)  
3. A clean blog post version (“on paper”)
4. A 1-page printable PDF summary: “If you only read one thing…”
5. 3–5 short clips or audiograms (depending on what’s most realistic for them)  

Important: This becomes the bridge from “content people feel” → “content people can find + share.”

Part 3: Growth that doesn’t depend on ads (and avoids trolls)

Given their experience with paid traffic, you want distribution through trusted pathways, not broad targeting.

Recommend 4 channels (simple, doable):

1. Email: every episode turns into an email that points to the readable version + PDF
2. Facebook: post the “printable summary” + discussion prompt in their group/page
3. Partner distribution: widow orgs, grief groups, churches, counselors, estate attorneys — they already have trust
4. SEO + website structure: their site already has a Survival Guide and Resources section — make every episode strengthen those pathways

Partner play (easy version):

• “We create a ‘Partner Pack’ per episode: a short blurb + link + 1 image + PDF.”
• Grace can send it to 10 aligned orgs/month. (Or you can, if they want you to handle outreach.)

Part 4: Turn it into a measurable acquisition channel (without feeling salesy)

This is where you tighten the CTA and reduce friction.

Right now the CTA is “website + phone number + address.” That’s high friction.

Recommend one primary CTA for 90 days:

• “Download the Widow Survival Guide” (...