110. How Podcasting Fuels Your Online Business Growth | Digital Marketing Strategies for Solopreneurs

Ready to get more listeners AND more sales from your podcast? In this episode, I'm sharing where your podcast fits into the marketing plan for your online business, how to diagnose the problem if you’re not seeing results, and which small but strategic podcasting shifts to make in order to move the needle forward.

Check out the Podcast Growth Collective: www.ThePodcastTeacher.com/collective

This episode was produced by me, The Podcast Teacher! Contact me at Hello@ThePodcastTeacher.com.

Take the quiz to find out what you need to focus on for podcast growth: www.ThePodcastTeacher.com/quiz

Transcript

Hey. Hey. And welcome back. This is your podcast teacher, Julia Levine, and you're listening to Podcasting for Solopreneurs. The show that helps online business owners grow their podcast to get more listeners, leads, and sales. If you're listening to this show, Podcasting for Solopreneurs, I'm guessing that your current or future podcast is a tool for your online business. You want to grow your audience and get more visibility, build up the know, like, and trust factor with them, and then turn those listeners into leads and sales. But maybe your podcast is not operating like the well oiled machine that you envisioned, or maybe you started your podcast before you had a product or service to offer.

Smart move by the way, building an audience first, and now you're trying to figure out where your podcast fits into your funnel. Regardless of your specific situation, if you are like my Podcast growth collective members and you want more listeners, leads, and sales, I've got you covered. Today, you're going to learn where your podcast fits into your marketing plan, how to diagnose the problem if you're not seeing results, and which small but strategic shifts to make in order to see results. Let's start with a reframe because a lot of business owners think that their podcast is just content. Another thing to create, another item on the to do list. But I want you to think about your podcast as one of the most powerful tools in your funnel. And before I go any further, let me just pause here and make sure we're all on the same page when it comes to what a funnel is. So a funnel is simply the term for the journey that someone takes from discovering you, to trusting you, to eventually buying from you.

So if you picture a funnel like one that you would use in your kitchen or to put oil in your car, I don't actually put oil in my car myself, but for some reason I have this vivid memory of my dad demonstrating the technique with this big red funnel. That's the image that pops into my head when I think of funnel. Okay. Squirrel. Anyway, if you are picturing the funnel, of course it is wider at the top and then it gets narrower as it goes down. And we can divide this into three sections: the top where it's really wide, the middle where it's a bit narrower, and then the bottom which is really narrow. Now not every person, every audience member, is going to go through the entire funnel with you. Some of them are going to come into the funnel and then hop right back out.

They are not going to continue down that path and get narrower and narrower. So for example, if we have an audience of 100 podcast listeners at the top, we can think maybe 10 of them will continue on to the middle by opting into a freebie, connecting with you on social, etc. And finally, only one of those will make it to the bottom and turn into a sale. And so a lot of the marketing strategy is to fill up the top of your funnel because the more people that are there up there at the starting point, the more people that are going to funnel down they're going to come through the middle and end up in the bottom of the funnel and be a client or customer. And when we're here talking about podcasting, your podcast actually plays a role in all three stages of the funnel because it attracts new people, it helps you connect with them and establish the know, like, and trust factor, and finally it helps you to close the sale. And with a podcast, your listeners are hearing your voice. They are getting to know how you think, how you teach, how you show up. You are in their ears while they walk the dog, they do the dishes, drive to work, etcetera.

No other platform allows you to be their companion in this way or gives you that same level of intimacy. So while a single Instagram post might get a few seconds of someone's time, a podcast episode gives you fifteen, twenty, thirty minutes of uninterrupted space to connect with that person and build trust. That moves them further down the funnel. And trust is the foundation of everything in business because people buy from people they know, like, and trust. So, while your podcast is a really, really important part of your funnel and overall marketing strategy, it does not operate independently. So, if you are publishing episodes every week but you are not seeing engagement, growth, or clients, it does not necessarily mean that your content is bad. It might just mean that there's a disconnect between your podcast and the rest of your business. So, here's an example of what I mean.

Let's say someone discovers your show. Maybe they find you through searching their podcast player, or maybe they come over after hearing you on a guest interview, and they listen to an episode. They like what they hear, but then what? If there's no clear next step, if you don't tell them how to stay connected, how to go deeper, how to work with you, then they're likely going to just listen and leave. Not because they didn't enjoy it, not because they didn't find value, but because they don't know what to do next. And that's your job to make that clear. So you might invite them to grab your freebie to get on your email list, to schedule a consultation with you, to DM you on Instagram, to check out your offer or your sales page. Giving some kind of call to action can be intimidating especially if you don't want to come across as salesy or pushy. I've been there.

But if you are running a business, you need to invite people to take the next step. Otherwise, your podcast is just floating out there and it's not doing the thing that you created it to do, which is to bring leads to your business and to help convert sales. Alright, so here are three warning signs to look for that indicate there's a disconnect between your podcast and your overall marketing strategy. Sign number one is that you're getting quote unquote good downloads. I say quote unquote because, of course, that is subjective relative to each person. So you're getting good downloads, but no one is joining your email list. And so if this is a situation that you find yourself in this usually means one of two things: A, your call to action is not clear or compelling enough. It's not creating enough desire, they don't want it.

Or you are not consistently giving them a CTA, you're not telling them what the next step is consistently. And so when this comes up with folks inside the Podcast Growth Collective, I urge them to go back to their last three episodes and kind of do an audit. I ask them to check. Did you mention your freebie, your lead magnet, your opt in, whatever it is. Did you mention it? Was it positioned as something valuable? If the answer is no, there's the answer to your problem right there. If the answer is yes, then I go on to say was it positioned as something valuable and relevant to the topic that you were talking about in those particular episodes. And then finally I ask if they said it once within the episode or in multiple spots within the episode. I find that a lot of people just want to tack their CTA onto the end of their episode, like the very last sentence, and that makes it really easy for your audience to miss it.

So instead, try weaving it into your content naturally several times and then reiterate it in the closing. Okay. Sign number two. People say they love your podcast, but then they're not becoming your clients. This is a sign that your podcast is building trust, which is great, but it's not building momentum towards your offers. And this was me early in my podcast journey. I kept getting really, really great feedback. Julia, I love your podcast.

It's amazing. It's so helpful. But there wasn't a lot of action. They weren't taking the next step. And so I had to stop and look at the connection between my episodes and then what I was selling. And now that I've cracked the code on this, I help students in the collective ask themselves, are your episode topics leading into the kinds of problems your offer solves? Is your content aligned? Also, are you making it obvious that you even have something to sell? Are you talking about your products and services? And finally, do your listeners understand who your offer is for, that they know it's for them, and how it will help them? You don't need to be salesy or pushy when you're doing any of this but you do need to be clear. And if there is a disconnect between what you talk about and what you sell your audience may be enjoying your content without realizing that they're your ideal client without realizing you can help them solve a different problem etc. And finally sign number three you are promoting your offer, you're giving that CTA, but no one is taking action.

So if you are sharing links, you're promoting your program, you're giving calls to action, but you're not getting clicks, you're not getting opt ins, you're not getting conversions. There's usually a breakdown in one of three different places. So first, your audience is not the right fit for your offer. I see this a lot of times with people who maybe have like pivoted or shifted a little in their business. Their podcast audience is not quite aligned with the direction that they're currently going in and their current business offerings. The second place is that it could also be that the offer is not being presented in a way that feels urgent, like it's solving that pain point, it doesn't feel relevant to that person. I'll get that at some point or, oh, maybe I don't really need that. It's not being framed in an effective way.

Or finally, they're just simply not listening to the whole episode and therefore they're not hearing your CTAs that you're weaving in throughout your content and that of course is a retention problem which I've talked about in some other episodes. So if you are promoting your offer but no one is taking action I want you to audit your most three recent episodes and kind of take a step outside and look at it from a listener's perspective. Analyze if the offer that you have is being positioned as a solution to the topic that you are covering. Is there a direct correlation? Is there overlap in the content? I also want you to look at are you offering just one clear call to action? Not multiple. I know that's super tempting, but one call to action is key. And finally, analyze your delivery. Are you using casual and confident language, or do you sound kind of awkward, hesitant, or you're rushing through it when you're giving that CTA? Sometimes a small tweak in messaging like being more specific about what they'll get or who it's for or simplifying your messaging can make a big difference. So if any of these signs seem familiar, you're getting good downloads, but no one's joining your list, people are saying they love your podcast, but then they're not becoming clients, or you're promoting your offer, but no one's taking action, I want you to know that it does not mean your podcast is bad or that it's not worth it or that you should just give up.

It just means that it's not fully integrated with your larger business marketing plan yet. And this is such a common issue among solopreneurs and online business owners in general, especially those of us who value creating good content and genuinely helping our audience. But the truth is if your podcast is not aligned with your business strategy, it's always going to be falling a little short. It's always going to feel like extra effort without the reward. And this is exactly one of the things we work on inside of the Podcast Growth Collective, how to take your existing show and make sure it is fully integrated with your larger business plan, how to take your existing show and make sure it is aligned with your messaging, it's connected to your lead gen, and is supportive of your offers. Because when those pieces work together, your podcast starts doing what you always wanted it to do. It attracts, retains, and converts your listeners into leads and sales. And not just once in a while, but consistently week after week.

You can learn more about The Collective at the podcastteacher.com/collective. I would love to see you there and support you. Until next time, happy podcasting.