The Ultimate Creative

A few months ago I was dabbling with the idea of helping other entrepreneurs and freelancers start their own podcast production business using the processes and systems I created over the last year. I even created a free guide for anyone interested in doing this! But life got in the way, and the program I was thinking about launching in the new year took a back seat when I realized that I wanted a little bit of a break for my brain.

So today I want to take you through the guide, step by step to show you how you can start a podcast production business as well! You can download the guide here and follow along with this episode, but even without the guide this episode will be helpful to you. 

In fact this episode will be helpful for anyone with a service business that needs some ideas to organize and manage their finances and time effectively. 

My business, The Ultimate Creative, is structured for my ADHD brain. It is very rigorous and process oriented and foolproof. At the same time, I need to throw in some wild cards for myself (maybe like this program I was planning?) to keep things interesting. 

Before I switched to a podcast-only service model, I was serving clients reactively instead of proactively. I had no idea how much money I’d be bringing in each month, and the rollercoaster (both financially and emotionally) brought me to burnout a few times more than I’d like to admit.

Now, I have a reliable source of monthly income, more time freedom than I’ve ever had in my life, and clients that I absolutely love!

Over the last year I developed this business model with a lot of trial and error, so I want to share the steps I took to fast-track your success with podcast services.

Why?

Because I know that when you take action on what I’m going to share with you in this framework, you will see the same results I did, and trust me when I say that I truly want you to WIN.

I’m in your corner pal, let’s get started!

Download the guide here: https://theultimatecreative.com/how-to-become-a-podcast-editor/

Here’s what we cover in the 5 part framework:

• Part One: Reverse Engineer Your Success
• Part Two: Tech Stack & Processes
• Part Three: Package, Price and Outsource
• Part Four: Training Clients
• Part Five: Add-on Content

What’s next? Tell me how I can help you start your own podcasting business! Workshops? A mastermind? A full-on intensive program? Here’s a quick survey to let me know what I can do to help you reach your goals: https://forms.gle/jfoAujU2uNJYYzpt6

Work with me!

Podcast Production: https://theultimatecreative.com/podcasting
Podcast Strategy: https://theultimatecreative.com/podcast-coaching

Follow me on Instagram at @the_ultimatecreative and don’t forget to rate, review and subscribe to Ultimate Podcast Marketing wherever you get your podcasts! https://ratethispodcast.com/ultimate

On today’s episode of Ultimate Podcast Marketing I’m taking a look back at all the wins and lessons learned from 2020! Rest assured this will not be an episode about quote-unquote “unprecedented times” because I don’t know about you, but I’m sick of COVID content. Instead, I want to share some super cool things about The Ultimate Creative, about my clients, and about yours truly! 

In this episode I talk about my challenges and wins with:

• Course Launches
• One-to-one Services
• Financial Fitness
• Gratitude!
• Personal Accomplishments

And, client accomplishments! Including:

• 12 podcasts launched with one on one services
• With a grand total of 17 launched all time and 3 more due to come out in January
• 10 Podcast Rocketeers through my course Podcast Rocket
• 18 podcast production clients
• 1 podcast coaching client (more on that later)
• 344 episodes produced (including my own)
• 35,083 downloads for all episodes altogether

Now looking forward, i’m really excited that I get to help more podcasters share their voices. Honestly I didn’t realize just how fulfilling I found this work until I gave myself permission to enjoy what I do, and just create great content and provide guidance. 

17 clients, well over 300 episodes edited, over 20 podcasts I’ve helped in some way to launch just in this last year alone, 10+ speaking gigs to talk about podcasting, it’s amazing. Not to mention my amazing team, Valeska my Copy Chief and Laura my Editor - without them this would be completely impossible!

I’m really happy that I’m able to provide entrepreneurs with the tools they need to confidently share their content and to do it in a way that allows them to grow their businesses. I hope get to continue to do this for years to come! 

I’m so grateful for all of the people that I’ve worked with over the last year that helped me get to this place. It’s impossible to do this entrepreneur thing g alone, and we all need friends and mentors and coaches. The three coaches I mentioned in this episode are fabulous by the way if you need help in any of these areas. 

Links:

• Lianne Kim: https://liannekim.com
• Chris Swail: https://www.alittlebitbetter.ca/
• Take Back Your Time: https://www.alittlebitbetter.ca/courses
• Melissa Houston:https://melissahoustoncpa.com/

Work with me!

Podcast Production: https://theultimatecreative.com/podcasting
Podcast Strategy: https://theultimatecreative.com/podcast-coaching

Follow me on Instagram at @the_ultimatecreative and don’t forget to rate, review and subscribe to Ultimate Podcast Marketing wherever you get your podcasts! https://ratethispodcast.com/ultimate

Sick of wasting time on your content? Well why the heck aren’t you reusing your podcast to make your life easier? In this episode I’m sharing my top 10 ways to repurpose your podcast content like a boss!

If you haven’t already, start by listening to episode 34 - using your podcast as a content map. This will help you organize your content properly to support your goals. Once you’ve done that, dive into this super cool list!

1. Blog post!

Take your show notes and embellish the story a bit to turn it into an SEO optimized blog post! 

2. Audiograms!

Take a short 30-60 second clip from each episode and turn it into an audiogram! I’ve got a full tutorial that shows you exactly how to do that using an app called Headliner. 

3. Quote Graphics

These are SO powerful, and people eat them up on social media! If you say something particularly profound, make a quote graphic out of it!

4. Social Captions

Pull content directly from your show notes to create social media captions!

5. An email for your list!

Truly this is a no-brainer, it’s an easy way to stay engaged with your email list and stay top of mind, so that when it’s time to sell an offer, you’ve already got their attention!

6. An email funnel!

If you’ve got an offer you promote once in a while and a freebie lead magnet that is intended to drive people to that offer, you can take old episodes and turn them into a nurture funnel that continues to provide value to newcomers to your circle. 

7. An online course!

Got an old course? Why not grab the audio from the recordings and create a hands on episode that teaches your audience how to do something!

8. IG Lives and FB Lives!

This is a great way to do double duty with your time and energy. 

9. Group Coaching Sessions

This can be really effective if you are a coach or service provider and you’re on group coaching calls a LOT.

10. Highlight Reels!

Every year or every quarter, share a highlight reel of the best episodes throughout the year!

And that’s it! To put this into action, download my 52 Week Content Planning Template to start planning your content while staying organized.

Highlights:

• 01:31 - Blog posts
• 02:18 - Audiograms - use headliner! 
• 03:00 - Quote Graphics
• 03:32 - Social Captions
• 04:43 - An Email For Your List
• 05:59 - An Email Funnel
• 06:55 - An Online Course
• 08:05 - IG Lives and FB Lives
• 08:28 - Group Coaching Sessions
• 09:07 - Highlight Reels

Links mentioned in this episode:

• Episode 34 - Using your podcast as a content map: https://theultimatecreative.com/using-your-podcast-as-your-content-map
• How to create an audiogram with Headliner: https://theultimatecreative.com/how-to-make-an-audiogram-with-headliner/

Work with me!

Podcast Production: https://theultimatecreative.com/podcasting
Podcast Strategy: https://theultimatecreative.com/podcast-coaching

Follow me on Instagram at @the_ultimatecreative and don’t forget to rate, review and subscribe to Ultimate Podcast Marketing wherever you get your podcasts! 

I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again, guests are the most effective way to grow your podcast! And today we’re talking about how to get them on your show, what to do with them when they’re on, and how to leverage their audience to grow yours!

And for those of you that need some help to reach out to potential guests I’ve put together a guest pitch template which you can download here! Remember, it’s just as important to build a relationship with a potential guest as it is to have them on your podcast, that relationship is what will motivate them to share the episode once it airs.

In this episode I cover:

• Who should be a guest on your podcast?
• Pre-qualifying and using applications
• Setting expectations
• Marketing and promos

Here’s a list of simple assets you can prepare for your guest:

• Audiogram - one for stories, one for their feed
• Quote graphic - something really pivotal that makes them sound amazing
• Graphic that says “I was on ‘this’ podcast!”
• Social caption that includes a call to action to listen to your podcast
• Bonus: Copy for an email they can send to their list

And seriously, don’t skip this step, it is ESSENTIAL. 

Highlights:

• 01:30 - Listener Review from KBear
• 03:20 - Guest Pitch Template https://theultimatecreative.com/how-to-pitch-podcast-guests/
• 03:30 - Who should be a guest on your show?
• 05:21 - Pre-qualifying and using applications
• 06:40 - A few questions you might ask on your application
• 07:48 - Setting Expectations
• 10:22 - Marketing and Promos
• 10:41 - Assets to share with your guests

That’s it for this week! Don’t forget to download the guest pitch template to help you get more amazing guests on your show!

Work with me:
https://theultimatecreative.com

Follow me on Instagram:
https://instagram.com/the_ultimatecreative

Links mentioned in this episode:

• Guest pitch template: https://theultimatecreative.com/how-to-pitch-podcast-guests/
• Episode 37 - Setting podcast goals for 2021: https://theultimatecreative.com/setting-podcast-goals-for-2021
• Leave a review for Ultimate Podcast Marketing on Apple Podcasts! https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/the-ultimate-creative/id1506516168 

Work with me!

Podcast Production: https://theultimatecreative.com/podcasting
Podcast Strategy: https://theultimatecreative.com/podcast-coaching

Follow me on Instagram at @the_ultimatecreative and don’t forget to rate, review and subscribe to Ultimate Podcast Marketing wherever you get your podcasts! https://ratethispodcast.com/ultimate

Question: Do you have a plan to grow your podcast in 2021?

I know you’re investing into your podcast. Whether it’s time or money or energy, you’re putting an ambitious effort into the content you’re creating. So now it’s time to look at some key areas where your podcast is doing well, where it’s not meeting your expectations, and what you can do to get to the next level with your podcast by setting podcast goals for 2021.

Before I jump into the content today I want to take a second to share a super sweet listener review from mhoustoncpa who said “I love these podcast tips! Emily is my go-to for all podcast info. I love this podcast with her tips and tricks. She talks about things I never thought of, which makes me a much better podcaster.” Thank you SO MUCH for this review, it’s always my goal to make sure I’m sharing tips with you that can help you look at podcasting from different perspectives to find new ways to grow! 

I’d love to hear from more of you, what’s helping? What do you want to hear more of? Head over to Apple Podcasts and leave me a review and I might just read it out on an upcoming episode of Ultimate Podcast Marketing!

This week we also heard from Megan Otto who asked about both the time and monetary investment for podcasting, and I answer her question at the end of the episode!

Highlights:

• 01:15 - Listener review
• 02:06 - What does success look like to you?
• 02:43 - The blog post to follow along with - link
• 02:54 - Reflecting, what worked well, what didn’t?
• 14:25 - Making the plan for 2021
• 16:58 - Working with me on your podcast goals
• 17:30 - Listener question from Megan Otto - The Brand Whisperer

Links mentioned in this episode:

• One-on-one podcast strategy coaching call: https://theultimatecreative.com/product/1-on-1-podcast-session/
• Episode 30 - Perfectly Imperfect Podcasting with Kirsten Jordan: https://theultimatecreative.com/perfectly-imperfect-social-media-with-kirsten-jordan/
• Helium Marketing: https://helium.marketing/
• Episode 34 - Using your podcast as a content map: https://theultimatecreative.com/using-your-podcast-as-your-content-map
• Quora: https://www.quora.com/
• Leave me a review on Apple Podcasts! https://podcasts.apple.com/ca/podcast/ultimate-podcast-marketing/id1506516168
• BuzzSprout Podcast Hosting: https://www.buzzsprout.com/?referrer_id=1184819
• SquadCast Virtual Recording: https://squadcast..fm/?ref=emilymilling

Work with me!

Podcast Production: https://theultimatecreative.com/podcasting
Podcast Strategy: https://theultimatecreative.com/podcast-coaching

Follow me on Instagram at @the_ultimatecreative and don’t forget to rate, review and subscribe to Ultimate Podcast Marketing wherever you get your podcasts! https://ratethispodcast.com/ultimate

On todays episode of Ultimate Podcast Marketing, I’m introducing you to Laura Clark! My very own podcast editor! And we’re going to walk you through what to expect when you hire a podcast editor.

I originally met Laura back in February of 2020 when she did some work for me as a virtual assistant and totally made my life easier! And of course I don’t need to tell the story of my business shift again, but several months later I reached out to Laura again to see if she had capacity to help me to edit my podcast.

Look, I know I’m totally capable of editing my podcast myself, but to be honest with you I’m not as organized with my own content as I am with my clients’ content. And I think that’s normal, most people I speak with tell me that their content comes dead last and that’s why we ultimately start working together.

Having the accountability to Laura to get her all of my recordings and keep her in the loop of what’s coming up next and what to expect is so essential for me. It’s also a huge weight off my shoulders - you’ve probably heard me say how important it is to batch record and be proactive with your content, right? The only way I can do that is by having a deadline to get my content over to Laura, so that she can do her magic and edit my podcasts. 

In this episode we talk about:

• How Laura and I started working together
• Laura’s podcast project at Ryerson’s Social Venture Zone that examines class, how it impacts people’s perceptions of one another and why a podcast is the perfect medium for this
• How podcast audio aesthetic can help shape stories and narrative, and the construction of a story
• How to communicate feedback for the podcast editing process with your editor
• Working on a production process with your editor
• The importance of batch recording and editing
• Essential production elements that every podcaster should be implementing
• What to listen for during the editing process
• Empowering guests with some knowledge of the editing process so they feel more confident when they’re on a podcast
• How to leave them wanting more!

Laura is amazing and I feel so lucky that she’s on The Ultimate Creative team! Laura would love to get your input for her new podcast, so if you or someone you know has a story about someone taking your class temperature, has given you a chance without a degree, if you’ve had to change your name to increases your chances of getting a job interview, Laura wants to hear it! Email her at [email protected]

If you’d like to explore working with a podcast production team, head over to theultimatecreative.com/podcasting and get on the waitlist to work with us in the new year!

Links Mentioned In This Episode:

• Sandy & Nora podcast: https://sandyandnora.com/
• Women Who Freelance Directory: https://womenwhofreelance.com/
• Socialee Media Agency: https://www.socialeesavvy.com/

Work with me!

Podcast Production: https://theultimatecreative.com/podcasting
Podcast Strategy: https://theultimatecreative.com/podcast-coaching

Follow me on Instagram at @the_ultimatecreative and don’t forget to rate, review and subscribe to Ultimate Podcast Marketing wherever you get your podcasts! https://ratethispodcast.com/ultimate

Wondering why the number of listens on your podcast aren’t going up? Maybe you need to focus on audience engagement to boost your podcast downloads! In this episode I’m going to help you to create a plan to increase listens per episode, and some actionable steps to implement right away!

Listener reviews

Without a doubt listener reviews are the easiest way to increase audience engagement. Not only is it super simple for your listeners to leave a written review, it’s also super simple for you to record yourself reading a whole bunch of them, and then add one per episode, thanking your listeners for the review by name! 

Create a community

It’s not enough to just post on social media and disappear. You need to create a community of engaged followers. Kirsten Jorden lays it all out clearly for you in episode 30 of Ultimate Podcast Marketing - it’s all about creating value for your community, talking to them on social media, and sharing your podcast as a resource for them. 

Do an audience survey

This is a classic marketing technique and one that I think a lot of people shy away from - for whatever reason, market research surveys get a bad rap. But how else can you truly determine what your audience wants? 

Respond to messages

This goes without saying but it’s SO important to respond to your listeners! Whether it’s on a social post, via DM or if they reply to an email you sent out promoting the episode, always make sure to reply to them and thank them for listening. 

You can also encourage them to send you messages. Lots of podcasts use this technique! Ask listeners to send you an email to a designated email address so that you can read it out on the podcast. Again, it’s so powerful to hear your favourite podcasters reading your own words! So why not?

ALSO. NEW SEGMENT. WOW. I've asked my Instagram community to send me a voice memo over DM's asking their podcasting questions! And today's question came from Nia Lee from the Socialee Savvy Media Agency! Check her out here: https://www.socialeesavvy.com/

Highlights:

• 1:10 - Listener Review
• 2:05 - Using listener reviews to boost audience engagement
• 03:43 - Create a community https://theultimatecreative.com/perfectly-imperfect-social-media-with-kirsten-jordan/
• 04:45 - Collab with other podcasters
• 05:29 - Audience surveys
• 07:36 - Responding to listener messages
• 08:40 - Send me a voice memo and ask me anything about podcasting!

Links mentioned in this episode:

• Episode 30 - Perfectly Imperfect Podcasting with Kirsten Jordan: https://theultimatecreative.com/perfectly-imperfect-social-media-with-kirsten-jordan/
• The Important Cinema Club: https://www.patreon.com/theimportantcinemaclub

I’d love to hear from you! Share your thoughts on Apple Podcasts by leaving me a star rating and written review and I might just share it out on the pod!

Work with me!

Podcast Production: https://theultimatecreative.com/podcasting
Podcast Strategy: https://theultimatecreative.com/podcast-coaching

Follow me on Instagram at @the_ultimatecreative and don’t forget to rate, review and subscribe to Ultimate Podcast Marketing wherever you get your podcasts! https://ratethispodcast.com/ultimate

You write ‘em, you slack on ‘em, and then ya forget about ‘em. I’m talking about SHOW NOTES! And why show notes matter! And how to write show notes for your podcast that convert listeners into clients! And I’m joined by my guest Valeska Griffiths, the new Copy Chief at The Ultimate Creative!

“Don’t treat show notes as a book report, treat them as an ad.”
- Valeska Griffiths, Copy Chief, The Ultimate Creative

Download the show notes guide and template here:  https://theultimatecreative.com/how-to-write-show-notes

Valeska and I met when I was releasing my indie horror film Impossible Horror a few years ago, and she featured me in her magazine Grim with an interview about the musical score I wrote. From there I discovered that she’s also a super talented copywriter, so obviously when I started developing a more robust podcast production offering, it made perfect sense for her to join in as the Copy Chief, writing show notes, captions, emails and social posts for the super amazing podcasters on The Ultimate Creative’s roster!

Through her podcast network, The Anatomy Of A Scream Pod Squad (co-founded by Joe Lipsett) she provides new podcasters with resources like guest speakers, mentors, templates, tutorials and best practices along with marketing and promos for the short-run shows in the network’s feed. And of course, the reason you’re here today, she also created an amazing show notes template!

Guess what, you can download here!

This template is really clear and straightforward, which is great for entrepreneurs who are already totally time strapped. It’s especially great if you’re feeling lost and really just want to know how to write show notes for your podcast. 

This episode is PACKED with info about how to write show notes for your podcast, and other great ways to grow your audience. We also make a lot of silly jokes. #ENTERTAINMENT!

Highlights:

• 00:40 Intro to Valeska
• 02:25 Valeska’s copywriting origin story
• 04:14 How Valeska got into podcasting
• 08:05 Anatomy of a Scream Podcasting Network
• 09:40 Elevating voices, perspectives and passions of LGBTQ+, BIPOC and women in horror though podcasting
• 12:50 Limited series podcasts and seasons
• 15:20 Creating a podcast network with resources to grow
• 17:40 Show Notes Template & how to use it
• 19:30 Show Notes Template & Guide - download it here!
• 20:40 Creating chapter markers in Buzzsprout
• 23:18 Show Notes best practices
• 26:00 Plugs! 

Links mentioned in this episode:

• Buzzsprout (note, this is an affiliate link which means we earn a small commission at no extra cost to you!): https://www.buzzsprout.com/?referrer_id=1184819
• Valeska's website https://www.valeskagriffiths.com
• Anatomy of a Scream (includes links to Grim, the AOAS Pod Squad Network, and the AOAS Screening Room) https://anatomyofascream.com
• House of Leaves Publishing 

Work with me!

Podcast Production: https://theultimatecreative.com/podcasting
Podcast Strategy: https://theultimatecreative.com/podcast-coaching

Follow me on Instagram at @the_ultimatecreative and don’t forget to rate, review and subscribe to Ultimate Podcast Marketing wherever you get your podcasts! https://ratethispodcast.com/ultimate

If you’re always scrambling to figure out what to talk about on your podcast, share on social media, or email to your list each week, this episode is for you. In this episode I’m going to show you how to use your podcast as your content map, so that you can feel less stress about content planning and see how a podcast can create all of the content you need. And guess what - it’s not as much effort as you might think!

And if you want to take what you’re about to learn in this episode and implement it right away, I’ve got an awesome freebie for you today, the 52 Week Content Planner! I’ve designed it to give you a birds eye view of all of your content week by week, so that you can plan, and execute. Download that at theultimatecreative.com/52weeks

Highlights:

• 2:56 - Big picture! What are your goals?
• 4:45 - Business cycles
• 7:35 - Planning Promos
• 10:45 - Production Schedule
• 11:45 - Creating more content from the podcast

Check out the blog post that covers the this episode in more detail here: https://theultimatecreative.com/ep-34-using-your-podcast-as-your-content-map

Links mentioned in this episode:

• 52 Week Content Planning Template: https://theultimatecreative.com/52weeks
• Podcast Rocket: https://theultimatecreative.com/podcast-rocket

Work with me!

Podcast Production: https://theultimatecreative.com/podcasting
Podcast Strategy: https://theultimatecreative.com/podcast-coaching

Follow me on Instagram at @the_ultimatecreative and don’t forget to rate, review and subscribe to Ultimate Podcast Marketing wherever you get your podcasts! https://ratethispodcast.com/ultimate

You’ve done the hard work, you’ve recorded your episodes, cut together a trailer, figured out how to submit your RSS feed to all of the main distribution platforms like Apple Podcasts and Spotify... so what happens after you publish episode one? In this episode we’re going to talk about what to expect when you launch your podcast, and how you can set goals that push you without feeling totally overwhelming!

Before I get into the content, I wanted to share an amazing listener review from svcopy (credited “Green Moms Co.” in the episode), who said “Emily shares what’s possible with podcasts. Love listening to these inspiring stories combined with Emily’s marketing tips for using a podcast to grow your business.”

And finally I just want to give you a quick heads up about a topic I’m covering at the end of this month that focuses on audience engagement strategies, so make sure you’ve subscribed to this podcast wherever you get your episodes! 

Preparing to launch

I have a whole episode on what you need in order to launch your podcast so I won’t get into that too deeply, but if you need to get more in-depth info for these elements, check out episode 8 of Ultimate Podcast Marketing, The Podcast Launch Checklist.

Setting realistic goals

It’s important to set goals for any marketing campaign, no matter what. Otherwise you’re just creating content for the sake of creating content, and it likely won’t deliver the outcome you were expecting if there’s no strategy behind it.

The podcast launch campaign

I have an episode called How I Plan My Content which covers some of the strategies behind content planning, and this can really help you to organize your campaign. 

I cover a lot more of this in my course Podcast Rocket which will be opening up again on April 7, so mark your calendars if you want to get in on that!

Guests & shareable assets

If your first few episodes include guests, make sure they’re armed with all the assets they need to promote the episodes they’re on. Send them audiograms, quote graphics, and prepare these in different aspect ratios.

Links mentioned in this episode:

• Episode 8: The Podcast Launch Checklist: https://theultimatecreative.com/podcast-launch-checklist/
• Captivate + Convert: https://christycegelski.com/podcast/
• Podcast Rocket: https://theultimatecreative.com/podcast-rocket
• How to make audiograms: https://theultimatecreative.com/how-to-make-an-audiogram-with-headliner/
• How I plan my content: https://theultimatecreative.com/how-to-plan-content/

Work with me!

Podcast Production: https://theultimatecreative.com/podcasting
Podcast Strategy: https://theultimatecreative.com/podcast-coaching