In today’s episode of Press Play, I’m breaking down one of the biggest questions I hear about podcasting: how to make money from your podcast — and more specifically, the fastest way to do it.

Let’s be real for a second. Podcasting is a huge investment. It takes time, energy, consistency, patience, and a lot of behind-the-scenes work. I literally just saw someone on TikTok talking about shutting down their podcast because it “wasn’t worth it” for how much effort it took. And honestly? I get why people feel that way — if their podcast isn’t making them money.

That’s why I believe so strongly that your podcast should be treated as an extension of your business, not just a passion project. Your podcast should be making your marketing easier and helping you sell your offers. If it’s not doing at least one of those things, it’s going to start feeling heavy really fast.

Here’s the truth: the quickest way to monetize your podcast is to sell your own offers. Not sponsorships. Not waiting to hit some magical download number. Not ads. Sponsorships take a long time to become worth it, and for most podcasters, the payout just isn’t there — especially when you factor in how much work it takes to grow a show to that level.

If you want to make money sooner rather than later, you need to use your podcast as a sales and marketing tool. That means running a solo show, highlighting your expertise, shifting beliefs, creating content that converts, and clearly talking about what you sell. Your podcast should be drawing the shortest possible line from someone listening to someone buying.

If you start a podcast just to “have conversations” or talk about random topics with no strategy, you’re signing up for a long road with little to no return — and burnout usually isn’t far behind. Strategic podcasting is what keeps this sustainable. You need to be able to see how your podcast fits into your business, how it supports your offers, and how it’s helping you generate revenue.

You don’t need a huge audience to make money from a podcast. Ten listeners is enough if one person buys. I’ve seen people make sales in their very first week of podcasting simply because they were clear, intentional, and actually selling.

If you want your podcast to be worth the effort, this is the path. Use it as the powerful marketing machine it’s meant to be — and let it work for your business, not against your energy.

If you are ready to create a podcast that pays for your business, come join the 7 day accelerator over on my Skool community! It's free for the first 7 days. Head over to www.podcastthatpays.com

Follow me on TikTok @podcastlaunchbestie

Music credit: Mavericks by Harrison Amer. A Podcast Launch Bestie production

In this episode, I’m breaking down exactly what to do if you miss a podcast episode release date, because let’s be real—life happens. Maybe you planned to release every Tuesday and Tuesday came and went with no episode. If that’s you, I want you to hear this loud and clear: it’s not a big deal, and you don’t need to make it one.

I walk you through why missing a podcast episode does not mean you’ve failed, why you don’t need to announce it or apologize, and why the worst thing you can do is let one missed episode turn into weeks or months of silence. The solution is simple—just keep going. You don’t have to wait until your “normal” release day again. You can publish the episode the very next day, later that week, or whenever you’re able. The key is momentum, not perfection.

I also talk about how perfectionism and overthinking keep podcasters stuck, and why making a missed episode mean something about you or your commitment is what actually derails consistency. Podcasting isn’t about flawless schedules—it’s about showing up, even when things get messy. Whether you missed one episode, two weeks, or even six months, the move is the same: turn the mic on, record, and publish.

If you’ve ever wondered what to do after missing a podcast release, how to restart a podcast after a break, or how to stay consistent with your podcast without burning yourself out, this episode is your permission slip to stop spiraling and start moving again. No big relaunch. No explanations. No apologies. Just hit publish and keep it pushing.

In this episode of Press Play, I’m breaking down one of the simplest ways to make podcasting easier and more sustainable: recording your podcast episodes in one take. If you’re constantly stopping, restarting, or re-recording your episodes from the beginning because you made a mistake, this episode is for you.

I’m sharing a real story from early in my podcast production business when I realized a client was completely stuck because she thought she had to record a “perfect” episode from start to finish without messing up. Every time she stumbled over a word, she started over. And that’s when it clicked for me how many podcasters are making this way harder than it needs to be.

Recording your podcast in one take isn’t about being flawless. It’s about momentum, ease, and getting out of your own head. No one listening knows what you meant to say. No one knows where you think you messed up. And no one is judging your episode the way you are. The only thing stopping you is perfectionism disguised as “doing it right.”

I talk about why one-take recording is the path of least resistance, especially if you want to stay consistent with your podcast. If you have an editor, even better, because small mistakes can be cleaned up later. But even if you don’t, learning to keep going, pause when you need to, and pick back up without starting over will save you hours of time and mental energy.

I also walk through different ways to approach one-take podcast recording depending on how your brain works. Whether you prefer bullet points, light scripting, or talking it out naturally, the goal is the same: keep moving forward instead of stopping every time things aren’t perfect.

This episode is a reminder that podcasting doesn’t have to be complicated or exhausting to be effective. The fastest way to build momentum is to simplify the process, trust yourself, and hit record without overthinking every word. Record the episode, keep it moving, and let progress win over perfection.

In this episode of Press Play, I want to say something that might sound a little backwards at first: we don’t actually need more podcasts. We don’t need more information. What we really need is more you. More real opinions. More lived experience. More personality. More honesty.

If you’re starting a podcast or already have one and you’re wondering why it’s not resonating, why it feels flat, or why traction feels slow, this episode is for you. The truth is, authority doesn’t come from pumping out information or trying to sound like an expert every single episode. We already have Google. We already have AI. We already have endless how-to content. What people connect to is perspective.

I talk about a client I worked with who made a massive shift when she stopped treating her podcast like a lecture and started showing up as a real human. The moment she allowed herself to be vulnerable, to share stories instead of just teaching, everything changed. Her podcast finally sounded like her, and that’s when it started working.

I also share why authenticity has been the biggest reason I’ve avoided bad-fit clients over the years. I don’t try to be polished. I don’t hide how I talk, what I believe, or how I work. That means people either resonate with me or they don’t—and that’s a good thing. Your podcast should act as a filter, not a performance.

This episode is a reminder that you don’t need to compete on information. You don’t need to be more educational than everyone else. You need to be more you. Your stories, your opinions, your way of seeing the world—that’s what separates your podcast from every other one in your category.

If you’ve been holding back, trying to sound “professional,” or editing your personality out of your podcast, let this be your permission to stop. We don’t need another generic show. We need your voice, exactly as it is.

In this episode of Press Play, I’m answering a question I get all the time: should you be doing video for your podcast or not? With platforms like Netflix now hosting video podcasts and video content becoming more visible across YouTube and search, it’s a fair question to ask if turning your camera on actually matters. I share why my answer today is different than it would’ve been five years ago and why video podcasts are becoming such a powerful growth tool.

I break down why audio-only podcasts aren’t going anywhere and why ease of listening is still one of the biggest advantages of podcasting. At the same time, I explain why adding video when you can can significantly help your podcast grow, expand your reach, and improve your podcast SEO. Video gives your content more places to live and more ways for people to find you, even if you’re not doing anything fancy with it yet.

I also talk about the most important caveat: video should never stop you from publishing. If turning on a camera adds friction, pressure, or perfectionism that keeps you from being consistent, skip it. Consistency always matters more than format. You’re allowed to do some episodes on video and some without, and you’re allowed to keep things simple while you build momentum.

I share how I personally approach video for my own podcasts, why I still record video even when I don’t have time to publish it everywhere yet, and how thinking long-term can set you up for future growth. If you’re wondering whether video is required, how it affects podcast SEO, or how to balance video and audio without burning out, this episode will help you decide what makes sense for your podcast right now.

If video feels accessible to you, turn the camera on. If it doesn’t, keep showing up anyway. Your podcast can grow either way as long as you stay consistent and remove unnecessary barriers.

In today’s episode of Press Play, I’m keeping things simple and action-focused. I want you to do one thing today that will actually move your podcast forward—and that thing is podcast SEO.

Whether your podcast is already live or you’re still in the planning phase, search engine optimization is one of the most important foundations you can set up early. Podcast SEO is how people actually find your show inside Apple Podcasts, Spotify, and even Google. If your podcast isn’t optimized for what your ideal listener is searching for, you’re making it way harder than it needs to be for the right people to discover you.

In this episode, I walk you through a very practical step you can take right now: reviewing and updating your podcast description with clear, searchable keywords and phrases. I talk about how to think through what your ideal listeners are actually typing into search bars, how to identify keyword phrases (not just single words), and how to use tools like Google Keyword Planner to guide your decisions.

I also share how I personally recommend using ChatGPT as a tool to refine your podcast description. I explain exactly how to prompt it so your description is SEO optimized without sounding robotic or keyword-stuffed, while still speaking directly to the clients you want to attract.

This episode is your reminder that podcast growth doesn’t always come from doing more—it often comes from doing one strategic thing really well. Updating your podcast description with the right keywords can make your show more discoverable, more searchable, and more aligned with the people who actually need what you’re saying.

Your homework from this episode is simple: review your podcast description, optimize it for search, identify your core keyword phrases, and start using them consistently. Do that, and you’ve already taken a meaningful step forward.

Is podcasting saturated? Is there still a demand for podcasts? That’s exactly what I’m digging into in this episode of Press Play, because this question comes up all the time—and honestly, it’s one of the biggest mindset blocks that keeps people from starting or sticking with a podcast.

This episode was inspired by something I saw while doom-scrolling Facebook (because let’s be real, we all do it). Someone asked whether podcasting is still relevant now that “everyone has a podcast.” And I want to be very clear about this: podcasting is not saturated, it’s still growing, and there is absolutely room for you.

When you actually look at the numbers, podcasts aren’t even close to being overcrowded. There are tens of millions of YouTube channels compared to a fraction of that number of active podcasts. Podcasts are still one of the least saturated forms of content we consume, which means there is still massive opportunity for growth, visibility, and impact.

Beyond the data, there’s something even more important. No one else has your voice, your experiences, your perspective, or your way of explaining things. No two podcasts are ever exactly the same, even if they cover similar topics. That’s why saturation is never the real issue—clarity, consistency, and positioning are.

Podcast listenership continues to rise globally, new platforms are integrating podcasts in bigger ways, and this medium isn’t going anywhere. Just like YouTube, TikTok, and social media in general, there is no “cap” on who gets to show up. New creators break through every single day, even in spaces people claim are overcrowded.

If you’ve been holding back because you’re worried podcasting is too competitive or too late to start, this episode is your permission slip to stop overthinking it. There is room for your voice. There is demand for meaningful, clear, and specific content. And podcasting is still one of the most powerful tools you can use to build trust, visibility, and authority.

Let’s officially put the “podcasting is saturated” myth to bed. I’ll see you in the next episode.

In this episode of Press Play, I’m breaking down what actually moves the needle in your podcast, because there is so much noise out there about what you should be focusing on. For today, I want to simplify this and talk about the two things that truly matter if you want your podcast to grow, gain traction, and actually support your goals. If you focus on just these two things, you’ll start seeing movement, no matter what stage your podcast is in.

The first thing that matters is consistency, and it’s first for a reason. You simply cannot move your podcast forward without it. Consistency doesn’t magically guarantee growth, but it is the baseline for any growth to happen at all. You have to find a way to show up consistently in a way that works for you, whether that means releasing episodes weekly, biweekly, or even monthly. What matters most is that you stick to it.

Consistency also isn’t just about publishing episodes. It’s about how you show up behind the scenes. You need a rhythm and a routine for working on your podcast. I always recommend having a dedicated podcast day or block of time each week where you sit down and focus on recording, planning, or prepping episodes. When you build this into your schedule and treat it like a non-negotiable habit, it becomes much easier to stay consistent long-term.

The second thing that actually moves the needle is data. Once you’re consistent, you can start paying attention to the right data to understand what’s working and what’s not. Without consistency, your data isn’t reliable, so these two things work together. In the early stages, you’re not going to have meaningful insights right away. It usually takes at least 90 days of consistent publishing to gather enough data to really see patterns.

Instead of obsessing over downloads, I recommend tracking things like followers or unique listeners month over month, because that shows you whether your audience is actually growing. I also like looking at episode consumption rates, which tell you how much of each episode people are listening to. High consumption rates mean your content is resonating, while lower rates can signal that something needs to shift.

Another important data point is your call to action. Are people clicking your links, visiting your landing pages, booking calls, or purchasing your offers? That information tells you whether your podcast is doing its job as a marketing and lead-generation tool. When you consistently show up and pay attention to these numbers, you can make smarter decisions about your content and direction instead of guessing.

At the end of the day, consistency and data are what actually move your podcast forward. There are a lot of metrics you could look at, but these are the ones that truly matter. If you focus here, you’ll build momentum, clarity, and real results over time.

In this episode of Press Play, I want to give you permission to change your mind about your podcast. One of the biggest things I see holding podcasters back is the belief that once they pick a niche, a format, a title, or a direction, they’re locked into it forever. And that just isn’t true. As you grow, as you record more episodes, and as you actually get into the rhythm of podcasting, you’re going to learn new things about what you like, what works, and what you want to say. Your podcast is allowed to evolve right along with you.

When you’re starting a podcast, especially if it’s your first one, it’s normal to feel like narrowing your message or simplifying your structure is putting you in a box. But the truth is, starting with a clear focus helps you build momentum faster. It helps listeners understand what your podcast is about and why they should care. That doesn’t mean you’re stuck there forever. It just means you’re giving yourself a solid place to begin.

In this episode, I talk about why it’s okay to pivot your podcast direction, change your format, adjust your messaging, or even rebrand entirely as you go. You might record a few episodes and realize the format doesn’t feel right. You might get a month in and notice that what you thought you wanted to talk about isn’t actually what lights you up. You might even decide that your podcast name, cover art, or niche needs to change. All of that is allowed.

I also want to call out how waiting for everything to feel “just right” is one of the biggest reasons people never launch their podcast in the first place. You don’t need to have it all figured out forever before you start. You only need to start. Clarity comes from doing, not from overplanning. The more you record, the more confident and clear you’ll become about what you want your podcast to be.

If you’re worried about choosing the wrong podcast niche, picking the wrong format, or boxing yourself into something you’ll outgrow, this episode is for you. Your podcast is not a lifetime contract. It’s a tool that gets better as you use it. You’re allowed to change your mind, shift directions, and grow in real time. That’s not failure, that’s part of the process.

Listen in if you need reassurance that you’re not doing podcasting “wrong” just because your vision is evolving. I’ll see you in the next episode.

Your podcast is allowed to be simple. In this episode, I’m giving you full permission to stop overcomplicating podcasting and to let this whole thing be way easier than you’re making it. One of the biggest reasons people never launch their podcast isn’t lack of knowledge or talent — it’s overwhelm. Too many rules, too much tech, too many things you think you’re “supposed” to do before you’re allowed to start.

I’m here to remind you that you don’t need fancy equipment, expensive microphones, or a perfectly sound-treated room to start a podcast. You can record with one mic. You can record on your phone. You can record on your couch, in your bed, or wherever you can actually show up consistently. I’ve done all of those things, and they worked just fine.

I talk about why complexity tricks your brain into thinking you’re making progress when you’re actually just spinning your wheels. Researching, planning, waiting for the perfect setup — all of that feels productive, but none of it gets your podcast out into the world. Simplicity forces movement, and movement is what creates momentum.

In this episode, I also explain why I recommend skipping guests when you’re starting out, how removing barriers makes consistency easier, and why your podcast doesn’t need segments, heavy editing, or even an intro and outro to be effective. What matters most is finding a system that fits your real life, your actual capacity, and the way you naturally work.

I share how my own podcasting process evolved over time — from recording casually with minimal setup to eventually layering in video and more structure — and why trying to do everything perfectly from day one is usually what stops people from starting at all.

This episode is especially for you if you’ve been thinking about starting a podcast for years but haven’t launched yet, or if you keep stopping and restarting because it feels like too much. Your podcast doesn’t need to be perfect. It needs to be simple enough that you’ll actually do it.

If you’re stuck, dial it back. Make it easier. Choose the simplest way you can record, the simplest format you can maintain, and let consistency build from there. You can always upgrade later — but you can’t grow a podcast you never start.