094: How a Podcast Strategy Elevates Your Business
Okay, it’s time to answer this honestly: Do you have a podcast strategy? Not a vibe or a motivation or a workflow, but an actual plan and map laid out for how your podcast will bring in leads and clients and function as a driver in your business?
In today’s episode, I’m sharing what a podcast strategy is and why it's so important to have one. Instead of treating your podcast as a small piece of your marketing that you post about here and there whenever an episode comes out, you can make your podcast the foundational piece of your business.
And by focusing on your podcast, you can save time, attract and educate more aligned clients, and clearly lead them through their buyer’s journey, so that when they reach out to you, they're ready to book right away.
I’m also sharing some of the steps we take at Wild Home Podcasting to plan out podcast strategy for us and for our clients, from the audit process to tracking the buyer’s journey through your content to making updates to your strategy periodically as your business evolves and grows.
Feeling confident in your podcast strategy and having a plan to implement it can transform your business and keep you focused on the things that really move the needle.
If you know your podcast strategy needs an overhaul, but are still feeling overwhelmed about where to start after this episode, WHP would love to help you craft a thoughtful, personalized strategy just for your podcast. Visit our services page or send us a message to get started!
What’s in this episode of Podcast Your Business:
[03:40] Why it’s important to have a podcast strategy, and how to ensure that your content is aligned with your buyer’s journey and your business goals
[07:51] The framework we use to help businesses create their podcast strategy, starting with asking alignment questions and making sure your call to action matches where your listeners are in their journey
[15:33] The importance of not forgetting the foundational pieces of your business, and regularly refreshing and updating your strategy to go with the flow of your business
[18:29] How we can help you with podcast strategy, a podcast audit, or monthly podcast management
If you’re looking for even more podcast information and inspiration, join my CLOSE FRIENDS list on instagram. Click on my CLOSE FRIENDS highlight to learn more.
Links:
Check out our services to Launch, Uplevel or Grow your Podcast
Ready to gain back some of your time, uplevel your podcast and focus on creating content?
We have openings for monthly management! Click here to learn more!
The Transcript for Podcast Your Business:
094: How a Podcast Strategy Elevates Your Business
[00:00:00] Caroline Hull A lot of times people will create a podcast because they want to establish authority and have on really cool guests and all of these great reasons for starting a podcast. But as you start to become more strategic about growing your business, you also need to become more strategic about your podcast. And so really seeing how those threads are woven between the podcast and the business is the most important beginning spot. And sometimes it's hard to see like, okay, is this actually working? And that's when you say, okay, wait, am I tracking the right things? Am I looking at the right things? Maybe I'm not actually thinking about this and the right way. Maybe instead of creating an episode twice a month and then ignoring it on the off weeks, I need to make my podcast episodes, my anchor content and everything else needs to refer back to the podcast.
[00:00:53] Ready to start a podcast for your business and share your message in a way that feels wildly authentic. Welcome to Podcast Your Business, where each week we share how to start a podcast and make sure it's working for you and your business. I'm Caroline Hull, podcast manager and consultant, and I've seen the power a podcast can have. Ready to share your voice. Let's get started.
[00:01:19] So I'm sitting down to record this episode. I have a brand new microphone and I've been working on my system for keeping my episode topics organized and how I want to do that moving forward. I've been shifting from using Asana for content planning to actually using Airtable. All thanks to my my Instagram mentor, Melanie, and I really love it because I can kind of work in a spreadsheet sense, which I can't even believe. I'm saying nthat because I'm not a spreadsheet person, but I can expand cells and it does a lot of fancy stuff. So I was sitting here working on my schedule for the next couple of months and I wanted to really like map out episodes, not just the titles but the actual like meat of the episodes, what I'm going to talk about in each episode. And I realized as I was doing it that I didn't want to record the episode I had scheduled for today.
[00:02:22] I was actually working on my other podcast, my insider podcast, and I had a topic picked out for that podcast, and I was like, You know, this topic, does it really make sense here? But boy, it really makes sense on my main podcast and it feels really aligned to talk about it right now. So I'm sharing all of this because I have a new microphone, so I hope I sound better. I think I do. I'm really excited for my setup, and I'm hoping that my editors appreciate the lack of table noise because I have my microphone on an arm now. But also, you know, I talk a lot about consistency and having a strategy for your podcast content. That's all super, super important.
[00:03:05] But what is also super, super important is leaving room for this. When things pop up, when it feels aligned to talk about something else, when something comes up that is timely or feels like it fits in with your business even more. And so that's kind of what happened to me today. It's actually like putting into practice what I tell people all the time. And so the episode that I was going to record today, I'm actually going to move till after the New Year and I'm going to record a different topic today.
[00:03:40] So today I wanted to talk about why it's important to have a podcast strategy. I feel like I've been talking a lot about what strategy is, but I really want to dive into sharing why you need to have it and how we approach building a podcast strategy for ourselves and for our clients. Podcast strategy. When I say that it feels like a very like it could mean anything. And when we are talking about it, we are specifically looking through the lens of businesses who have podcasts. And the main thing that we want business owners, our clients to take away from any conversation that we have is that your podcast has to have a job. It has to be earning its keep. And that is one of the main things that a podcast strategy is going to help your podcast do, right? And what is your podcast's job? Its job is to bring leads and ideal clients into your business. Its job is to serve as establishing you as the authority and expert and to create connection with people. So that way you're not having to sit down each week and do 25 inquiry calls because all of these people have listened to your podcast and they're ready to sign on the dotted line. That's the job that your podcast should have.
[00:05:13] And the other thing that a podcast strategy is really going to help your podcast do is make sure that all of your content is aligned and aligned not only with your ideal client and your buyer's journey, but also with your business and what's going on with you. I'm actually going to talk a little bit more about this in the next episode when I'm going to do a year in review for you. All have a lot to chat about this year and some of the shifts that I've made. One of the big things that has really happened for me this year is this complete alignment of content just across the board, and that has also created a confidence in messaging that I'm not sure that I had before. Like I knew that there were certain things I wanted to talk about, but I just really feel like we've come into our own as a company this year about being really clear about the things that are important to us and the things that we are good at and we want to talk about. And this all comes from really evaluating our podcast and having a strategy and again, like knowing what my podcast job is and what I want it to do. I actually did a training on Close Friends on Instagram about tracking podcast leads, and I did an episode about that. But in that training, I talked a lot about the shift you have to make and not worrying so much about your download numbers and actually tracking the things that matter and that it kind of is encompassed in that podcast strategy as well. But that has been huge for me the last few months because I've given my podcast a job and content is super aligned. We've been booking some really aligned clients and it's just been the greatest feeling to know that everything that I'm putting out there is doing what it's supposed to do now. And that all comes from having a podcast strategy and it's just been yeah, it just feels so good to like as a human being in the online business world and stepping up onto videos, stepping up to a podcast microphone every week doing Instagram posts and just knowing like what I'm saying is really true to me and what I care about and what I want to be known for and what I want to specialize in. So as we talk about podcast strategy, I feel like that's a huge piece of it is just it's like gaining confidence in what you're talking about and and knowing that every episode you put out there has a mission, has a goal, has a job.
[00:07:51] So when we are working with a client and we're helping them create a podcast strategy, there's a couple of things that we really want to look at. I'm going to kind of give you the framework so you can have an idea of what a strategy looks like and how we work with people. And then maybe that can help you create your own strategy or help you decide that maybe you need some help creating that strategy as well. So the first kind of things that we look at is what are your business goals? Who is your ideal client? Where are they in their buyer's journey, and how does your podcast fit into all of this? And I love starting this with an audit. And an audit is just basically taking an advanced overview of your podcast, like just really looking at everything, looking at every piece, how it's working together, but also really how it's working with your business and what your business goals are. I can pretty much tell right away when I'm doing an audit if the podcast is helping the business with their business goals. What I tend to see is that there is a disconnect because the podcast, people see it as a piece of content that they're creating, not necessarily an anchor piece of content. And when you kind of shift to thinking about it that way, the pathways that you can create from podcast your business to become really more clear and easier to see. And it also becomes a lot easier for you to create other pieces of content. And so really looking at, okay, is the podcast connecting to the business in a meaningful way? What does that connection look like? And like I said, like, does that fit in with your business goals? A lot of times people will create a podcast because they want to establish authority and have on really cool guests and all of these great reasons for starting a podcast.
[00:09:50] But as you start to become more strategic about growing your business, you also need to become more strategic about your podcast. And so really seeing how those threads are woven between the podcast and the business is the most important beginning spot. And sometimes it's hard to see like, okay, is this actually working? And that's when you say, Okay, wait. Am I tracking the right things? Am I looking at the right things? Maybe I'm not actually thinking about this in the right way. Maybe instead of creating an episode twice a month and then ignoring it on the off weeks, I need to make my podcast episodes my anchor content and everything else needs to refer back to the podcast. You kind of you just have to do some shifts. I think shifting is a lot of what happens in podcast strategy, especially when I'm working with clients. I feel like when we have those aha moments, it's when they realize that they have to make that shift in order for it to work the way they need to.
[00:10:48] Hey, podcaster, if you feel like you're getting a lot out of this podcast but you want even more, I have the perfect thing for you. The WHP Insider podcast is a private podcast for Members Only, which features two episodes per month, plus a monthly newsletter that takes a deeper dive into strategies and tips, specifically for podcasters who are using their podcast to help grow their business. This is something that up until now has only been available for clients of Wild Home Podcasting, but for a small monthly fee, you can join and be part of the club. So just head to WildHomePodcasting.com/Insider for more information, and I can't wait to see you there.
[00:11:34] So that's where we start. And from there, what I like to do is look at the content and what we're asking people to do after the episode. So now I'm talking about the path that people are taking from the podcast to your services, to your products, to your business, whatever that may be. You may even, like, hear me talk a lot in my clients sessions about a cookie and how we, you know, we want to get to the big cookie. Where's the half of the cookie? Where the crumbs and making sure that the order in which people go from Crumb to Cookie is to half a cookie to the whole cookie. Makes sense. Let me give you an example. So let's say that you are asking people after they listen to your podcast episode to go directly to book a call, but your podcast content didn't necessarily hit them in the buyer's journey where it needed to to suggest that a call would be the solution to their problem. Right. Maybe you were talking to people who are just now becoming aware of you and you didn't even know that. And so we kind of we want to shift that call to action. Okay. You know, what would be the next best thing? Oh, you have a Facebook group. Okay, let's make sure we're directing people to the Facebook group first.
[00:12:57] And then one of the things that I may do after that is say, okay, what's happening after they get into the Facebook group? And so it really is like about like I say, cookie crumbs. I kind of imagine like, you know, when you see like those old fairy tales and the kids are like dropping bread crumbs so they can find their way again. It's kind of like that. We're dropping crumbs to this other piece, to this other piece, so they can finally get to the big cookie, which is your services. This is really hard to think about in the abstract. And when you apply it to your own business and start thinking about the path, it becomes a lot easier to kind of visualize and analyze because what you usually start to do is see gaps, right? So, you know, there may be a big gap between well, I had them join an email list. That's what I ask all my listeners to do is join the email list. And then I say, okay, well, once they've joined the email list, are they getting emails about the podcast or are they getting emails about your services, like what's happening to them afterwards? Oh, we only sent one email and they just went to the main newsletter. You know, that's a huge missed opportunity. We went from cookie crumb to half a cookie. We forgot about those cookie pieces in the middle.
[00:14:11] For me, one thing I've been really trying to do is direct people to my Instagram because I feel like we're doing a really good job of saying and showing who we are on Instagram. And so we kind of had to create a space for that in between, right, which is my close friends list. And so now it's kind of like podcast, Instagram, close friends list, services. Now that does not mean that for some people the path may be, you know, listen to a podcast episode, sign up for a service. And that's really all about timing, right? And we can't really help that because sometimes people need you and when they hear you, they're like, I need that. Check. I mean, that's happened to me. My Instagram mentor, she literally had the thing that I needed, and so when she posted it, I was like, Oh, that's exactly the thing I've been struggling with. It was a no brainer for me to sign up for it, but I had been following her on Instagram for a little while, so I had a little bit of awareness. And so there is that aspect of it that we can't control. But what we can control is making sure that what we are sharing with our audience and what we're asking them to do makes sense for where they are in the buyer's journey, and that makes sense for the content that we're sharing as well.
[00:15:33] I also really like to look at people services and what they're talking about, and a lot of times what people forget is that you may be 100 episodes in, but when was the last time you talked about some of the foundational pieces of your business, you know? As you gain your listeners, you need to remember, not everybody is where you know the rest of your listeners are, or maybe people need to be reminded. I think sometimes we overcomplicate things a little bit. We try to come off very experty and share all the things and just sound like we're way over here. But what we forget is that our audience sometimes needs that beginning message. Like, I'm just at the beginning. What do I need to do? And so these are all the pieces that I look at when I'm creating a strategy.
[00:16:29] The next steps from there really is okay. Correcting the things, fixing the things, adjusting, refreshing, updating. You know, it's the simple things, but all of these simple things are going to make a huge difference down the road, especially when it comes to content planning and thinking about your episode topics and how they fit into, again, business goals, what your ideal client needs to hear, where they are in their buyer's journey, and what is the service that you're promoting right now? I feel like this episode is a little complicated and the fact that I feel like I got in the weeds a little bit, you know, the main things you need to understand about podcast strategy is that it really is about taking a hard look and saying, Is this working the way it is or do we need to make a couple shifts and it's something that can be tweaked and adjusted as time goes on. And I've done this several times with my podcast, you know, as my business has evolved and as my business has grown and our services have changed, so too has my podcast. And so again, going back to those first kind of goals that we have of making sure your podcast has a job and making sure your content is aligned, if you can start with those two things, you're already going to be doing so good and that's huge. And then from there, if you can just make sure that your call to action makes sense, you're doing really, really well. And so as you start to look at your own podcast from the viewpoint of an actual strategy and not just I'm creating content this week and putting it out, I am strategically creating aligned podcast content so that my ideal listener will want to come and see and hear and be in my world and one day book me. That's what you know, that's kind of the mindset shift we have to take.
[00:18:29] And so I hope this was helpful for you. If you feel like after listening to this, you're like, Oh, podcast strategy, I know I need this, but I'm overwhelmed by everything that Caroline said because she was so technical. Know that we have services. This is something that we do for all of our clients. If you are a monthly management client, you get quarterly strategy calls. If you come on as a launch client, we're going to help build a strategy for your launch, but also for after launch. And then if you decide that your podcast needs a refresh, we are going to help you do that strategically. So that way everything you do makes sense for your podcast and your business. And after the New Year, we will have just podcast strategy as a service as well. Right now, one of the most accessible ways that you can work with us if you're wanting to get our eyes on your podcast and get some like real actionable things that you can do that are going to help move your business forward. That is my podcast audit service and you can just go to WildHomePodcasting.com/Audit and you can book that. And what that is, is you have a form to fill out. It's super easy. And then from there I'm going to take a look at everything. I may email you with a question or two, but for the most part, I'm going to basically build a list of things that I think need to be adjusted and improved and suggestions based on how you filled out that form and the things that you want addressed. It's a really great way, like I said, to get someone else's eyes on your podcast and to get an idea of what you can do to move your podcast and your business forward. Because that's what's most important, is making sure that your podcast is this amazing piece of content that is helping propel and grow your business. So I hope you have a wonderful day. We have one more episode before the holidays and then I'm going to be taking a little bit of a break. So I will definitely see you on the other side of that. But be sure to follow me on Instagram and come over and join my close friends list to continue the discussion about this. This was a really fun episode for me to do and share, and so I would love some feedback and how it helped you. I hope you have a great day.
[00:20:46] Thank you for listening to Podcast Your Business. For more podcasting tips, follow us on Instagram @wildhomepodcasting. If you are ready to launch, uplevel, or grow your podcast, head to WildHomePodcasting.com to get started today.
