Celebrating 5 Years of Podcasting | EP304

Five years and 304 episodes later, we're celebrating a milestone that puts us in the top 1% of podcasts. What began as the Society of Professional Wedding Vendors podcast has evolved into Mindset & Action, helping entrepreneurs build and streamline their businesses through productivity, audience building, planning, and mindset strategies.

The journey hasn't been without challenges. From recording episodes the night before release (like this one!) to navigating the pandemic's impact on my original business model, podcasting has taught me invaluable lessons about consistency, audience connection, and content creation. Perhaps most surprisingly, my interview with Amy Porterfield—while personally thrilling—wasn't my most downloaded episode. That honor goes to Diane Watson's discussion on money mindset, proving that content relevance trumps celebrity status every time.

Beyond business growth, this podcasting journey has transformed me personally. I've evolved from a people-pleaser who followed the crowd to someone confident enough to plant my flag and advocate for following your unique path in business. The weekly commitment to share my thoughts has clarified my perspective and strengthened my voice in ways I never anticipated.

Looking ahead, I'm excited to refocus on practical applications of our four pillars, featuring both experts and successful entrepreneurs who implement these strategies in their daily operations. And for those wondering—yes, I have an exciting new podcast launch program coming soon! Join the Pod Squad at donnaeade.com/blog to be first to hear the details.

As we celebrate this milestone, I'd be incredibly grateful if you'd share the podcast with a friend or leave a review on Apple Podcasts. Your support has made these five years possible, and I can't wait to bring you even more valuable content in the years ahead.

Amplify your Message and grow your audience with podcasting.  Watch this Free Masterclass Undsetanding the Power of Podcasting HERE

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Chapters

• 1:20 Five Year Podcast Anniversary Celebration
• 3:08 From Wedding Industry to Mindset in Action
• 6:59 Launching Without an Audience
• 9:30 Lessons on Guest Selection
• 15:56 Challenges of Consistent Podcasting
• 21:48 Growth and Future Direction
• 32:23 Exciting New Program Announcement

Transcript

Speaker 1: 0:30

You're listening to the Mindset in Action podcast, the place to be to grow and streamline your business. I'm your host, donna Eade. Let's jump into the show. Welcome back to the podcast, everybody. I am so glad to have you here today because today is a very special episode. Today we are celebrating five years of this podcast. I can't believe it. I can't actually believe we made it to five years Now.

Speaker 1: 1:11

I have said the stats before on this podcast, but it's worth repeating that 90% of people who start a podcast don't get past episode three and of the 10% that get past episode three, another 90% of the 1%, which is absolutely amazing, and I am thrilled to be still podcasting after five years. It is crazy. So the actual date that the first episode went up was the 16th, so that is in two days time, but I am celebrating today as it is the closest episode to that date and I have got some interesting little things coming up in this episode. It's crazy to think that something that I started five years ago for a completely different reason is still going five years later for a completely different reason, is still going five years later. So for those of you who are new to the podcast, mindset in Action didn't used to be called Mindset in Action. It was actually called the Society of Professional Wedding Vendors podcast. So shout out to any of my OG listeners out there.

Speaker 1: 2:30

It was a podcast that I set up to help the wedding industry to focus on the foundations of their business over their creative side. So in the wedding industry, a majority if not all, off the top of my head of the things that we do in that industry is creative Photography, baking, music, baking music, djing. It is all creative work. But the thing that we need to do in business is the business side of things and a lot of creatives struggle to get that right or to know what they should and shouldn't be doing. So that was part of this podcast was to help them to streamline their processes so that they could spend more time doing the creative stuff with their business taking care of itself. So that's how we started and then eventually we changed to the mindset and action, which still a podcast help you grow and streamline your business and the pillars are still the same it's productivity, it's audience building, it's planning, it's mindset. So that hasn't changed, but we have opened it up more to general business people and that is because, unfortunately, the business that I set up originally in 2020, it just didn't work for the time. Unfortunately, it really was a timing thing when you build a business for a wedding industry that is destroyed by a pandemic that you never saw coming. It was a hard one to do so unfortunately that didn't work out.

Speaker 1: 4:17

But the podcast. I remained consistent with. The podcast came out every week and I'm really, really proud of what I've done here and the guests that I've had on the conversations that we've had. So really my why for setting up the podcast was because I didn't want to do a blog and I didn't want to do a video show. The idea of having to be camera ready on a weekly basis or even just for batching purposes, I was just like I wasn't here for it. I didn't want to do that. To do that and I mean we could say, actually that doesn't really matter because I'm not somebody who gets fancied up for camera anyway. So even if I do do a video, so I didn't really need to worry about that.

Speaker 1: 5:06

But I loved podcasting. I love the idea of podcasting. I love the idea of having my own radio show and having listened to podcasts for six years at the point in which I started my own. I just really loved the medium. So that is why I started with a podcast for my business, because I knew that I needed a piece of content. That was my pillar content and for me that was going to be podcasting. So I remember launching.

Speaker 1: 5:40

I remember I had no audience, I hadn't done anything to launch my podcast. I literally recorded an episode and I published it and I told some people and that was it. I didn't really have a big fanfare about it and it is one of my biggest regrets was not to wait a little while before I did the podcast and actually build a bit of an audience. Now you don't have to have a massive audience to have a successful podcast, and I am totally evidence of that because when I started I didn't have an audience at all and I still have a podcast five years later. However, it is and I've said it before so much easier to grow your podcast if you start with a bang, and I didn't start with a bang at all. So I now train people on how to launch a podcast, because when I relaunched it as the Mindset in Action podcast, I did do a bit of fanfare around that. I did a whole launch strategy and it got me into the charts, which I hadn't done before. So that was really fantastic, and the training that I now do on launching a podcast has got other podcasters into the charts in their first week of launch, which is fantastic.

Speaker 1: 7:05

So one of my mistakes was not to do anything around it, but I really was actually quite scared to put it out, so I didn't really want anybody listening in the beginning because I thought, gosh, what if it sounds absolutely terrible? What if it is awful? What if I've got nothing decent to say? So I was really sort of worried about people actually listening in the first place, and so there was that fear, but I just kept doing it. I just kept doing it, and so I want to say thank you to anybody who is listening now, who has listened from the beginning. You don't have to have listened to every episode there is 304 of them but if you have listened from the beginning, um, I want to say thank you. And if you are a new listener, I want to say thank you to you for clicking on this episode and pressing play, and I hope you'll go back and listen to some of the other episodes that I've done and gain some sort of business information from them. What this podcast is actually about, because this one is just really to celebrate the five year anniversary and on top of that we had an in-person networking meeting a business meeting on the 4th of April. It was fantastic. I've got those live sessions coming up for you very soon. Next week I've got a very special guest coming on the show, so it's going to be delayed slightly for that guest, but we'll talk about that a bit later on.

Speaker 1: 8:41

So some of my personal favourite moments through this podcasting journey have been the guests that I've got to meet. Being able to speak to people from around the world on their area of expertise, get to know them and learn from them, has been the biggest joy, and I love finding new people. And one of the things that a lot of podcasters might be thinking or if you're out there thinking you want to start a podcast one of the things that you might be thinking is I need to have big names on my podcast, and I need to tell you that that is not the case. What you need is the right people that are going to be talking about the topics that you need to be talking about on your podcast. You need to understand who your audience is, what they need to know and who is going to be the best person to share that knowledge with them. And that doesn't mean a big name in your industry it really doesn't.

Speaker 1: 9:40

So I was absolutely thrilled to interview Amy Porterfield for my podcast. So that was one of the highlights of the last five years was actually getting to sit down on Zoom with Amy Porterfield her in her office in her house and me on my dining room table with COVID, and I got to interview her and we got to talk, which was amazing because I have followed Amy since she was on episode 43 of her podcast and I knew so much about her and she didn't know who I am. It was a completely parasocial relationship, but to actually be able to have a conversation where she was talking back to me and we were conversing was an absolute thrill. However, although that one, I think, is my most watched video on YouTube, it is not my most listened to podcast episode, and that is what I mean by making sure that what is being said is important to your audience rather than who is saying it. So Amy came on because she was launching her book and she wanted to do. I think she did over 200 podcast episodes that year or something, but she was looking for podcasts to go on to to promote her book. So she came on to promote her book. Now her book's called Two Weeks Notice.

Speaker 1: 11:11

Most of the people listening to my podcast have already handed in their notes their business owners already, so it really wasn't a completely aligned audience in terms of the people who I had listening that would buy her book. But also what we were talking about wasn't part of my core pillars of my podcast, so it didn't really fit and that is very obvious. When you look at the downloads, so it is a one that got more downloads than other episodes, but it is not my most downloaded episode. And Amy, I interviewed her. That was back in 2022 and the episode came out early 2023. Now my most downloaded episode to date is one that went out in December last year 2025. And so there is the difference.

Speaker 1: 12:08

So I got so many more downloads on an episode that I did with Diane Watson, who is the founder of she Can Prosper. She is the author of the book she Can Prosper and her episode has had more downloads than Amy Porterfield's and I'm pretty sure that a lot of my audience will know exactly who Amy Porterfield is but may not be aware of who Diane Watson is, and that is because the topic aligned and hit home. So we were talking about money, we were talking about money mindset and we were talking about how you protect yourself. So that hit with my audience much more than talking about Amy Porterfield's book. So it really is the content that matters. And so shout out to Diane, because that episode was wonderful. She was actually a speaker at my event, so you're going to get a second dose of Diane coming up in the near future as I give you that live conversation that we had, including some cues from the audience and answers that Diane gave. So that was wonderful.

Speaker 1: 13:17

So I loved interviewing Amy. It was absolutely a dream come true to be able to interview somebody who I look up to and admired in the podcasting space, so it was lovely to have that and also to surprise her, to have her go. Oh, I love that you asked this question. That really just it was a feel-good factor. It really was. So I loved that, but that was more for me than it was for my audience, and I love that I have been able to bring some guests that have really, really hit home.

Speaker 1: 13:51

Before Diane's, the episode that had been my most listened to episode was the episode that I did with Tamron Settle, which was done during lockdown. She was part of the hashtag um, what about weddings? Campaign? And she her episode flew to the top and stayed there for a very long time. So, um, it's just getting those right guests that are talking about the right thing. That's going to hit with your audience. That's important over big names. That being said, I have got another big name coming on to the show next week and I'm absolutely thrilled to be bringing you this lady, because I feel like, although she is big in the space and she'll be well known by a lot of people, she is actually so humble and so down to earth and, even though she has made multiple millions in her business, she is all about making it what you want out of your business. Rather than trying to hit some lofty you know eight figure goal that this entrepreneur said that you should, it's all about creating a life that you love, and I loved my conversation with her, so I can't wait to bring you her next week. Um, so do stay tuned, subscribe if you're not subscribed, or follow the podcast wherever you listen.

Speaker 1: 15:16

So, looking back at Mindset in Action, what has required, what have I needed to do to keep this going for the last few years? And I'm sorry, guys, I'm not editing this one and I'll tell you for why in a minute. When it comes to lessons learned, learnt. But what it has required is for me to just keep going, regardless of the downloads, regardless of who's listening, who's not listening, regardless of anything else that's going on. It was just keep putting out episodes, just keep putting out episodes, talking to people, getting new guests on, and keep going. But the challenges the challenges have been a fair few, because it is one of those things that it takes up some time and oftentimes other things come up and get in the way, and here is a classic example it is 10.49 on Sunday, the 13th of April. This podcast goes live at 6am on the 14th of April. So this is why it's not getting edited. This is why you are getting that. I will do my sound, but I'm not editing out my ums, ahs, mistakes.

Speaker 1: 16:38

You're get in the lot because I have left it too late to do this episode, and the reason is I had my event on the 4th of April, and then I had a really busy week at work doing everything that I needed to do. And then this weekend, saturday, I just needed some downtime and we sort of got up, did the house things that you do, and then we went for a walk. And then I can't remember what we did last night, but I feel like I was just like I'm just chilling. This is my day to chill and today I was meant to record this podcast earlier, so it would still have been done the day before. However, I completely forgot to do it until about 10 o'clock, so that is why I am so late doing it. But that has been.

Speaker 1: 17:29

One of the challenges is, when I get behind with batching and I haven't got a batch, I then fall into the trap of recording like the day before it's due. And you may have noticed that for the last three months we have been very light on guests and that is because I didn't get myself sorted with my episode. So this whole beginning of this year has been focused on that in-person event. I haven't focused on the podcast, I haven't focused on my business, I haven't focused on stuff going on in my personal life, like I haven't focused on anything else but that event. So everything else was kind of put to the wayside, which meant the podcast was just being done as you go. Guests they came, there was a few, but I didn't have a lot of time so getting the recordings done was difficult, so I only had a few guests, so it's been a lot.

Speaker 1: 18:24

So my plan going forward is to make much better choices when it comes to my podcast and doing the batching, getting back on top of batching and things, and that will make it so much easier. Honestly, it is a dream to do my podcast when I'm batching because it is just so easy. I made a rod for my own back by creating the blog that goes along with it, and although I do use ChatGPT to help me write that, it is still a lot of click this, click that, copy paste, do the thing, do the graphic, blah, blah, blah. All of that. It all takes time. So even if you have got the help of AI, there are still some things that you have to do yourself, and so that is why a lot of the time I'll get the podcast episode out and then on Monday I'm putting the blog together and putting that out.

Speaker 1: 19:20

So that needs to stop. I need to change that. I need to get back onto my batching so that I can get my time back, because I feel like I'm chasing my tail at the moment. So, even five years in guys, there is always going to be challenges, especially if you do fall behind, fall off the batching wagon or whatever those things are going to come bite you in the bum. I feel like I've been bitten in the bum. So I am learning my lesson. Not to say that I won't fall off the wagon again, because I'm sure I will, but it can be tough and keeping it going.

Speaker 1: 19:55

To me it's just a commitment that I made to myself that I will put out an episode once a week and on the same day. Now I have changed my day. I think originally I started on a Friday, then I was on Thursday for years and I've changed to Mondays. Now I quite like Mondays. It does mean that I have the weekend, so that if, for whatever reason, an episode isn't going well or whatever and I need to do one, I can do one at the weekend and I've got more time because I don't work weekends. So it's just that one thing that I need to do. But it's not what I want. I don't want to be sitting here at 10 to 11 at night doing a podcast episode for you guys for the morning. So that is going to change, but just to let you know that we all fall into it and you know, even five years in it can still be an issue.

Speaker 1: 20:50

So one of the things that I wanted to talk about is the growth situation. So the lessons that I've learned and one of them is growth. Podcasting is a great way to grow your business, but it is also seen it with myself. I have much more confidence in myself and the things that I know to be true and my personal opinions and feelings on things have come across much more. Through my podcasting journey. I have been able to sort of put my flag at the top of the mountain and say this is what I believe and this is what I believe to be true, and that is something that I wouldn't have done previous to my podcast. Previous to my podcast, I was very much a people pleaser, very much follow the crowd, just do what everybody else is doing, and now I have found myself like really banging the drum for following your own path and your own journey and doing things your way, because everybody's different and what works for some people isn't going to work for all people, and that is something that I have learned through business, but also through my podcasting journey. So you get a lot of growth in a lot of different areas by doing a podcast.

Speaker 1: 22:27

Something else that I've learned is that you need to be consistent over perfect, consistency over perfection, and this right here is evidence of consistency over perfection. Because would I want to put this out like this without going through and properly editing and getting rid of a lot of the ums, ahs and little stutters and fumbles that I've made? Yes, I really would like to do that, and I may well do that and then re-upload the audio later, just so I feel better about it. But it's about being consistent and you know, I feel like for my loyal listeners out there, you're not going to mind that this has a few little mistakes in or that you can hear my ums and errs so much because you have been listening for a long time and you know the standard of my normal podcast. But if you are new and you're thinking, gosh, this girl, she needs to edit some of this stuff out, you, you know this is an unfiltered episode. That is just what it is, and I'm happy to put those out occasionally because it is again, it is about consistency, not perfection. So the other thing that I have learned is that listeners often lurk before they buy. So, again, keep showing up.

Speaker 1: 23:53

So if you are sitting there, whatever you're doing, you know whether you've got a blog, whether you've got a video show, whether you've got a podcast. You may think, oh, what is the point? This isn't doing anything for me. I'm not getting that many views on my blog, I'm not getting that many downloads, I'm not getting many watchers. What is the point? I would say keep going, because the people who are watching are the ones that are likely to buy from you down the line, once they have decided that you are worthy of that.

Speaker 1: 24:27

And I think that is what a podcast to me is. For a business owner, it is a way of proving yourself to your audience, that you know what you're talking about and that you can help them do the thing that you teach or that you do. So that is really important and I have said it before, people who listen to podcasts are more likely to buy from the podcast host, from their recommendation over influencers, celebrities, etc. So it's a very powerful position you have as a podcast host and that shouldn't be taken lightly and you should be really careful what you're teaching and what you are promising your listeners, because if you damage that trust that they have built, then that is going to not do you any good in the long run. So you want to make sure that you are. I always like to under promise and over deliver, and I think that is really what we should be doing in business, and not to say that you like undervalue what you're doing, but make sure that your promises are realistic and that people can trust that that is the kind of result that they're going to get.

Speaker 1: 25:46

You don't need to be everywhere. That is another lesson. That is something that I have been working on. Like I tried to leave Instagram and I have really left it. Like you will not see a new post on my grid since I put my nine up, which was earlier in the year, just before they changed the dimensions of the way that it shows up on the grid, which really annoyed me, and at some point I am going to go and adjust that because it really bothers me that the picture doesn't look right. However, I'm not posting, which has been a blessing, but what it has done is. The thing is I liked Instagram and I was quite consistent at posting over there until I decided, no, I'm definitely stopping. And then I dropped off a bit, but I was consistently posting over there, which helped me to be consistent on the other platforms. But you don't have to be everywhere. You know, having a strong presence somewhere, having a way of telling people about your podcast and bringing them to your podcast, is enough. We just don't need to be everywhere all at once and I think it's really important that we just focus on the funnel that we're creating and what is going to help that the most.

Speaker 1: 27:07

You know where is your audience, where are they hanging out and are they actually hanging out there? Because I hang out on Instagram, you know. I check out what my friends are doing, I fall down real holes, etc. That's where I hang out. But where am I posting? I'm posting more on LinkedIn. So by looking at my Instagram, you might not think that I'm there. So if I was your target client, you might think, oh well, she's not on Instagram, she's on LinkedIn. But actually I don't spend as much time on LinkedIn as I do on Instagram, although I do really like LinkedIn. I like LinkedIn. I spend more time on LinkedIn than I do Facebook, so it just is something to be careful of. Just because somebody is posting a lot on a platform doesn't actually mean that they're present on that platform.

Speaker 1: 27:59

Microphone that I bought four and a half years ago and it does the job. There is a fancier one that I would like, and maybe that is a fifth podcast birthday kind of gift to myself, maybe, but maybe it's not, and that's okay, because this microphone works perfectly well. It is much more important to get the best sound quality you can, which is why I will do my audio checks and my sound quality checks before I post this, and it is important to have that clarity of content, which is what I was speaking about earlier with the guests that you choose. You know, having a fancy guest on is great, but if it doesn't align with your podcast audience, then it's not really going to do much for you. Um, certainly didn't do much for me, you know it's.

Speaker 1: 29:02

It's great kudos in me being able to say to people hey, I had Amy Porterfield on my podcast and they're like, oh my God, that's amazing, but it didn't actually do anything in terms of my listenership. She didn't promote it because she was doing like 200 other podcasts that in that like short window of like three months or something. So she wasn't promoting my podcast, so I didn't get access to her audience. Like it really wasn't a great win for me in terms of boosting my podcast in any way, but it is nice to be able to say that I've interviewed her and it does hold some weight with people that I speak to, but it's not so much a business thing. It doesn't improve my business any.

Speaker 1: 29:49

So make sure that your audio quality and your content clarity are there and don't think that, oh, the way I'm going to improve my podcast is to get a fancy mixer, the way I'm going to prove my podcast is to get a fancy microphone or anything like that, because you know, some of the best podcasts are done in the most simplest way, simplest way, and some of the biggest podcasters started off with, you know, really, really simple setups that weren't great sound quality, I have to say, and now they're, you know, getting millions of downloads a month. So that's that I want to say just again a huge, huge thank you to you If you are listening to this podcast, if you've listened to any of the podcasts in the past. If you are subscribed, I really really appreciate it. I have teased that we have a big guest coming on next week. It's a great topic. It's one that I know does well on my podcast, so make sure you come back and listen to it. I have, then, got the podcast that I did at my event. They're going to be coming out over the next few weeks as well, so I would love for you to tune in and listen to those so you get a little bit of a inside scoop into what that in-person event was like. I had an absolute blast. I had such a good time. It was so lovely to see everybody and to have them there to celebrate with me.

Speaker 1: 31:23

I have a new program coming out very, very soon, so I wanted to let you all know in advance that if you are looking to start a podcast, then make sure that you get on my mailing list so you're one of the first people to find out about the new program, so you can go to the blog. So if you go to donateecom forward slash blog, sign up for the pod squad. There is a pop-up on every blog post so you can just go to any of those and sign up to the pod squad. It means that you will get a weekly email that will tell you that the podcast is out and give you the link to the podcast. I also give you a little bit of update of my life, what's going on, et cetera, but you will be one of the first to know when that program is available and what it looks like. So I'm excited for that.

Speaker 1: 32:16

And then what does the podcast look like? The podcast is going to continue in very much the same fashion. I'm very much focusing on, though, bringing more clarity to those four pillars, bringing in different guests to talk about their businesses and how they use those four pillars in their business, rather than just bringing on experts to talk about them. So it's going to be a little bit of a collaboration of how people are using it in their everyday life. What do they do for their productivity, what do they do for their mindset, how do they plan, how are they building their audience? And then bringing in experts in those areas to tell us what's working right now. How are they teaching their students and their clients to do these things? So it's going to be it's going to be a good, interesting year and I'm really excited about what is to come.

Speaker 1: 33:11

So that is it for this birthday episode. I am so excited about what is to come. So that is it for this birthday episode. I am so excited to reach five years. Can't quite believe it.

Speaker 1: 33:21

I do have a little ask of you.

Speaker 1: 33:24

If you are listening to this podcast and if you are still listening right now, if you could share the podcast and leave a review especially leaving a review makes such difference and if you can leave it on Apple podcast, even better. But if you know, wherever you listen, if you've got the ability to leave a review, you can go to Podchaser and sign up to their pod account. If you want to leave a review there, you can leave a review on GoodPods. That's where I sort of hang out in the podcasting world. That's what I listen through um and apple is the best place to leave a review. If you could leave a review for the podcast for its birthday, that would be absolutely amazing. I would so, so appreciate it and it would be a great way to say happy birthday to the podcast. So that is it for guys. I'm going to be back with that guest next week. Keep an eye out on my social media. I'm dropping a few hints along the way and I will speak to you then. Bye, for now.