How to Make Your Podcast a Part of Your Sales Funnel
Funnels have become so important in the online business world, especially in the last few years. Funnels and your customer journey go hand in hand. It’s how you bring ideal clients into your world and move them along from one touch point in your business to another in order to sell your services. But how does your podcast fit into all of this? I’m so glad you asked!
If you’ve been around a while, you’ve often heard me say that your podcast is probably step 2 of your overall sales funnel and it’s such a great way to build that know, like and trust factor with your ideal clients. It’s long form content that really helps your listeners to get to know you more and lets you show off your expertise and how you can help ease the pain points of your clients.
So today, I’m sharing what a funnel is, why your podcast needs to fit into that funnel, and why you need to get clear on what your listeners are doing before and after your episodes. If your podcast is not yet a part of your funnel, it really needs to be! Let’s chat about how to make it a bigger part of your marketing and sales strategy.
What is a funnel and why do you need one?
You know what’s interesting? When we talk about traditional email funnels, no one ever talks about how your podcast can fit into the funnel. But before we even get into that, we have to talk about what a funnel is.
In short, a funnel is a path that takes someone from awareness of what you do to actually buying from you. As I mentioned, when we think of funnels, we think of email, and that’s definitely important, but the reality is we're creating content in all of the places and there are funnels happening everywhere. You’ve got to consider your social media content and your in person events and how people can enter your funnels from there as well.
Think of your funnel as a cookie. We’re leaving crumbs for people to get to the whole cookie (your services or offers). Along the way, they’re moving from crumbs to a quarter of a cookie and then half of a cookie and then the whole cookie, if you will (sorry if you’re craving cookies right now, I know I am!). You need that funnel to move people along the customer path and to ultimately buy from you.
How to make your podcast a part of your funnel
The first step is to make sure you’re clear on the purpose of your podcast. Once that’s done, you have to consider your content and your customer path. Do I sound like a broken record? Probably, but this is important. You need content that’s going to actually direct people to the links and offers that you want to direct them to. You also need to make sure that you have a content strategy for the platforms you’re focusing on. Remember that the content you post on Instagram is going to be different than what you’re podcasting about, to an extent.
Again, you have to make sure that your content is aligned with our customer journey. Think about where people are right now in their business, what they need help with, and how we can lead them to our services. Your funnel is an ecosystem that works together with your content in order to lead customers to the right place.
P.S. If you’re ever stuck on your content and not sure what your episodes should be about, feel free to download my podcast content kit.
Why you need to know what’s happening with your listeners before and after your episodes
How did your listeners find the podcast episode? What were the steps they took to get to your episode? Did they find it from a social media post? By searching a podcast app? Did they find it because you posted it on your website as a blog post? Was it from a Google search? These are important questions to ask yourself.
Take me, for example. I’ve been encouraging people to sign up for my opt in. Well, what happens after they sign up for that opt in? What information do they receive via email? What happens after their welcome sequence or nurture sequence? What happens after that? How do you keep them engaged in the podcast episode? How do you keep them engaged in their business? This is actually the biggest place that people get tripped up, which is why we take the time to map them out in our strategy calls with our clients. It is really, really important to think about what you want to happen to your listeners after they click this link I'm talking about on my podcast.
If you want to get advanced with this step, you can even create unique links for your podcast that will track what your listeners click on from your episodes.
Some examples of how you can fit your podcast into your funnel
Again, let’s use me as an example. I share all about my podcast on social media. That content directs people to my podcast episodes. From the episode, they’ll sign up for the email funnel. In the funnel, they’ll enter my nurture sequence that invites them to my podcast strategy membership. After that, they’ll enter my pitch sequence that helps sell my membership. Do you see how each piece of the funnel flows naturally into the next?
Another example might be someone searching for something you specifically address in a podcast episode. They’re excited, they listen to the episode, and then they click on a link you mentioned to take them to a specific training or opt in and gets them in the funnel. That’s another way it could happen. But one thing to keep in mind is to periodically refresh your episode links. If someone listens to an older episode and the link you mentioned has expired, then you’ll lose them. So, be sure to redirect those old links to somewhere current or you could create a really epic 404 “not found” page that will provide them with all the info they need to get where they’re going and sign up for your funnel.
Start thinking about your podcast as a funnel. It’s a map to lead people to your resources and ultimately your services. Make it a part of your overall sales and marketing strategy and let that aligned content work for you. If your podcast doesn’t lead your listeners anywhere, you will lose them!
Are you ready to build your podcast strategy, simplify your marketing, and finally make your podcast work for you? Join the Strategic Podcast Academy, my signature group program that’ll support you with monthly training, resources, and an amazing community!
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The Transcript for Podcast Your Business:
134: How to Make Your Podcast a Part of Your Sales Funnel
[00:00:00] Caroline Hull A funnel is designed to help you create buyers out of your audience. So why don't we talk about podcasts when we are having this conversation about funnels? Your podcast should be a part of your funnel, and if it isn't, let's figure out how we can make it work so it becomes a bigger part of your marketing and sales strategy.
[00:00:23] Hi there and welcome to Share, Strategize and Shine. I'm your host, Caroline Hull, a podcast strategist and CEO of Wild Home Podcasting. I've built my entire career through podcasts by sharing my experience using strategic systems and shining a light on the power of podcasting. If you are looking to cultivate leads for your membership, group program or consulting services, I'm here to help you create a holistic and integrative podcast strategy that will let your business thrive. Let's dive in.
[00:00:58] Hello and welcome back to Share, Strategize and Shine. I'm your host, Caroline, and I am willing fall into being right now. I've got on my cozy sweater. I'm drinking my pumpkin spice. If you're watching this on YouTube, on video, I salute you with my latte. I'm very excited that these are here for us and we're able to drink them now. If you follow me on Instagram, you know that I love to make my own coffee and I still have not ordered my pumpkin spice syrup, so that needs to happen ASAP so I can actually make my own, which I prefer over going to the store. That starts with an S, as you know, as we all know.
[00:01:41] So the problem we solved this week is one that we see happening a lot. So whenever we bring on a new client, no matter what the package is or what we're working with them on, we will do a feed audit. And that's basically where we go through the RSS host, which is where your podcast lives, right? That's the website that houses all your episodes and where everything hangs out before it's distributed. And we always go through this with a fine tooth comb because we find that some platforms are really easy to set up by yourself, and some of them just aren't as clear cut and a little bit difficult. And we recently had a client who she's on Podbean and her website was not showing up properly in the feed.
[00:02:31] So why is this important? This is important because here we are having a conversation about funnels. When we're talking about funnels, we want to make sure that people are able to go to the right places. And one of the things that we always do is make sure that all of our podcasts, websites and podcast episode websites are pointing to your actual website and not the RSS feed hosts generated website that does nothing for us when we're trying to convert our listeners, right? So we dug around in her host I mentioned it was Podbean. So if you have Podbean, this is something to watch out for. And we actually had to look it was like two different places where the website had to be updated properly. But we were able to figure it out. We were able to change that setting. And I wanted to share that with you this week, because this is one of those things that I want you to go and double check right now is make sure that in your settings, when it says like where the podcast website is, that you have your website, that's you know, where your podcast is on your website for your business and make sure that that is where it is pointing to.
[00:03:42] And again, we do the same thing for episodes, so we send all of the episodes websites to the blog posts that we create for our clients. And so now what we're doing is we're creating this system where no matter where anybody clicks, if they're listening to our podcasts, it's going to take them to our website. So that's what we fixed. This week was a big problem that we solved, and you need to go double check your feed as well.
[00:04:09] Okay. Funnels. I have been learning a lot about funnels. Just a little back story. My business, I have been very fortunate over the years to be able to run my business pretty much on referrals. And not even having a referral system in place. But just the fact that we've had so many amazing clients who refer us out. Now that's become harder as we've changed the structure of our business and the structure of our pricing, which makes a lot of sense, right? So if you have clients at one price point and then you raise your prices now when they refer you, it doesn't quite work out the same way, but as online marketing has changed and I am going to be doing an episode on this at some point in the near future and talk more about this. We've really realized that we need to have better systems in place for getting people into our world and converting them to buyers. And, you know, I wanted to talk about this today because I'm learning a lot about funnels and I know how important they are and how important they are to have set up and just automatically working.
[00:05:19] But what's interesting is, as I've been researching funnels and looking into like, you know, the traditional kind of what we think of a funnel, like an email funnel, nobody really talks about how a podcast fits into the funnel. And ironically, this is something we talk about with our clients all the time. And so that's why I wanted to dive into funnels today. So what exactly is a funnel? A funnel is like a system, right? As a mechanism, a path that takes someone from awareness to actually buying. Now, when we think of a funnel, right? Like I mentioned, we think a lot about email. And the reality is, is that as we're creating content in all of the places, there are actual funnels happening everywhere. So yes, an email funnel is super, super important and definitely something you should have and we're gonna talk about that a little bit more in a minute. But we also need to think about the funnels that are happening in other places, such as social media, such as in-person events, how do they enter our funnel from there. And what's really neat about podcasting is that it can be a really great piece of your funnel. And the reason being is because podcast is a long form content. And so I really love to think of my podcast as kind of step two. It is sometimes step one, but a lot of times it's step two and that awareness to buyer journey. Right. And what I love about my podcast is that it can build that know like and trust in a way that a reel on social media can't, in a way that even an email sometimes can't, or a blog post because it's my voice, it's who I am. It's my face if you're watching video, you know. It really does kind of bridge that gap between digital, kind of just seeing someone's little traces of things and actually getting to know who they are.
[00:07:31] If you've ever been in a masterclass or a training or anything with me, you know that I talk a lot about cookie crumbs and a cookie, and that's really a funnel. So when you've heard me talking about a cookie, I've been talking about a funnel, and I talk a lot about the crumbs and how we leave crumbs that lead to like the half a piece of cookie. And then we that leads to that the full cookie, which is our product or services. And that really is a great way to think of a funnel is like you're leading people to purchase, to enter your world, that kind of thing.
[00:08:08] So how can we make your podcast a part of that funnel? And I think the first step here is that you really have to rethink what is my podcast for? And, you know, if you're ever struggling with content and trying to figure out, okay, what content is going to actually direct people to the things that I want to direct them to, I really encourage you to grab my free podcast content kit and we'll put the link in the show notes. But that is such a great place to start because we need to talk about content first when we talk about making it a part of the funnel. And I've done a lot of episodes on content, so you can definitely dig through the archives and find a little bit more in depth when I'm talking about content specifically. But when I'm thinking about the funnel and making it a part of the funnel, I want to make sure of a couple of things. And one is, is that when I'm thinking about the customer path, so again, those crumbs leading to the cookie that I'm making sure that I'm putting content in the right place. So definitely, like what I post on Instagram is going to be different than what I podcast about, right? And so just kind of keeping that in the back of your brain and then also making sure that our content is aligned with our customer journey. So where are people at? What do they need help with right now and making sure that's there as well? But then all of that, right, all of that has to work with our services and makes sense if we're leading people to, say, a membership or a group program. Right. So it really is like this ecosystem of things. They all have to work together in order for it to lead to the right place.
[00:09:52] The other big thing about having a podcast be part of your funnel is knowing what's happening with people before and after the podcast episode. So how did they find the podcast episode? What was the steps they took to get to your episode? Did they find it from a social media post? Did they find it by searching? This is part of the funnel, right? Did they find it because you had posted it on your website as a blog post? Which please do that if you're not. And it showed up in a Google search. I was actually doing a Google search earlier today for information on funnels, oddly enough. And it was really cool to see like what popped up. And there were some podcast episodes for sure that it was like, okay, I need to put these on my list for later. That's a really big piece as well. So what happens before and then what happens after they listen to the episode? And this is really where it really starts to get important and we really start to dive into like entering a funnel, right? And, you know, I think for me, for a long time, I didn't really use the word funnel. It didn't feel like a funnel to me. And the fact of the matter is that's exactly what was happening. So I have been encouraging people to sign up for my opt in. Well, what happens after they sign up for that opt in? What information do they receive via the email? What happens after their welcome sequence or nurture sequence? What happens after that? How do you keep them engaged in the podcast episode? How do you keep them engaged in their business? And so that's really where we kind of get down to the nitty gritty of like, is my podcast the part of the funnel? Am I thinking about what's happening before and after and making sure that is incorporated into my marketing and sales system, right? This is actually the biggest place that people get tripped up on, which is why we take the time to map them out in our strategy calls.
[00:11:57] Whenever I do a strategy, call with someone. We talk about the customer path, which is a funnel. And this is like us actually thinking about, okay, how do they find the episodes? How am I directing people to the episode? And then what's happening to them after that and we will map them out, you know, for several different things. It's not necessarily one funnel, right? Because we're in more than one place. We may be on Instagram, TikTok, Pinterest, all the places. And so really understanding like how this all is going to work together. So for me, like when we're sitting on a call and we're talking about this, what's always interesting is the light bulb moment that happens with my clients when they realize that either of podcast was already part of a funnel and they weren't capitalizing on it, right? They weren't really using that to their advantage. They didn't have a really great nurture sequence in place, or they realized that what they were asking their listeners to do after the episodes was not putting them into a funnel. It was just leaving them out, you know, hanging like out in the interwebs trying to find information. Right? And so it becomes really, really important to think about, you know, what do I want to happen to my listeners after they click this link when I'm talking about something on my podcast? And this is one of the reasons why when I talk about having a really strong call to action, I will say like maybe book a call isn't the best call to action for your listeners because that doesn't put them into a funnel unless you have a system that actually makes sense for that. But nine times out of ten it doesn't. And so really thinking about what's going to happen and like bonus points, if you want to take it a step further, some of my clients, because they have really wanted to track, you know, how many people were clicking from the podcasts, have created links just for their podcast, which is like, you know, A-plus student right there, because I don't even do that. Honestly, it's not necessary for me right now, but that maybe something down the road where I do want a specific funnel for people who are clicking links from the podcast. And putting them into a funnel like that.
[00:14:24] And listen, like I will be the first to tell you I am not a funnel expert. What I am really good at is mapping out how we're getting people from point A to point B, and then what happens in the middle is a lot of times up to you. Like, I can definitely help you out. And that's where I turn to. Like people who are really good at writing email funnels, who are really good at understanding how to capture people from like social media, that kind of thing. And so, you know, look for resources like that. One of my favorite resources for email funnels is my friend Alison Hardy, who I'm hoping to get on the podcast soon, but she has a lot of information about how to use an email funnel specifically. And so that's really great and that's really helpful. And so, you know, as you start mapping out your funnels and like writing them down, actually drawing arrows, which is what we do in our strategy calls and understanding where people are going, then you can find the gaps in your funnel, you know, where am I leaving them hanging? Where am I not giving them the information they need to do what I am hoping that they will do? Right?
[00:15:34] So some examples for funnels just so you can kind of visualize what this would look like if your podcast was involved is obviously like the best example which is signing up for your email from your podcast. But I always like to take a step further in our strategy calls and like figure out like, where did they come from first? And so I would say, let's say that all I share on social media right now is my podcast. That is my main thing that I'm going to be sharing on social media. That's all I'm really talking about is my podcast. So for me, a lot of awareness is happening on Instagram, social media, and then I'm directing them to the podcast episode. From the podcast episode, they sign up for the email. In the email, they go through a nurture sequence which invites them to my membership, and then from there they go into a pitch sequence for my membership. So there is a real world example. That's actually how mine works, but one of my funnels, and so that's a really great example of like how my podcast is going to work.
[00:16:41] Now there's a couple of things that have to happen in that that funnel, right? And that's content. The content has to be great. So the Instagram content has to be on point. The podcast episode has to be really great and lead people to my membership and then my nurture funnel and my pitch funnel needs to be on point as well. So there's a lot of things that I have to work on and improve and experiment with in there. But what's so great is we are increasing, as I mentioned, we are increasing that know, like and trust through the podcast episode, because when people listen to the podcast episode, they say, Oh, she knows what she's talking about. Yeah, we totally get it. Like she, she has done this. She knows what she's talking about, right? And so that's how I view my podcast.
[00:17:31] Another really great example is let's say somebody was searching for an episode specifically about something that you talk about. And in that episode you had a special link to something maybe that you don't offer all the time but was available. Let's say it's a training or a live call you did okay, So they found your episode because they were searching for that specific thing and they were like, Yes, this is the thing that I need. Oh my gosh, I feel so seen. I feel so understood. She's talking about a free training in here, but I think it already expired. So but I'm going to click it anyways because I'm really interested. And so somebody clicks that link. What happens to them when they click that older link. Right. So this is I've been having so many conversations with my clients about this because it can be so easily forgotten that you have old things that you linked to in your podcast episode. And so understanding like, okay, if somebody found this and they found that link and that was the thing they needed and they clicked on it and nothing happened, I've completely lost them. And so understanding that anything that has expired or no longer exists, I need to redirect or I need to have a really great 404 page on my website. Or if it was something that I recorded, can I package it into a freebie or a small paid offer? Right. And so making sure that as we're thinking about our podcast as a funnel, we are understanding that there are links that exist, you know, especially when you've been podcasting as long as I have there. We have some old links. And so this was something a hole that I discovered. And so I went through my website and checked all of the links, made sure that they were all redirecting somewhere else, or that somebody was being sent to a really great 404 page with a lot of information. And so hopefully we're not losing them or capturing them. And then from there again, understanding what happens to them after they click the link, after they take the course.
[00:19:42] It really is not about becoming an email expert. It really is about becoming a detective and looking through. Right. If you're watching me on video, I'm like making a I'm looking through the things motion, looking through and seeing, okay, what is happening to people when they're clicking these links? What's occurring next? How can I keep them? How can I keep them engaged? How can I keep them excited? And, you know, even if that means in once they get into wherever it is they're going that you talk about the podcast again and get them excited about more episodes. There's so many things you can do with this. And so sitting down and mapping them out is so, so important. And this is one of the pieces of framework that is part of our strategy. So we do this in our podcast refreshes. We do this in our intensives, because if you don't have this nailed down, then everything else we do might not have the impact we want it to have. But if we really start thinking about our podcast as a funnel and start understanding its relationship to all the other things, then it's going to start working for us in a pretty impactful way.
[00:20:58] And so my encouragement to you today is to go back through, like I said, and look at your links and see what's happening. Think about your podcast as a funnel, map it out and if you need some help mapping that out, let me know. We have strategy intensives and podcast refreshes, and this is what we do in those calls is we go through these pieces and we map these things out and it really does make a huge difference as well once you see them mapped out in how you approach all of your content and it really does help you see, okay, like if these are all the things going on in my business, how can I use this episode to start funneling people where I want them to go? I hope you have a great week. Thank you so much for listening to this podcast episode. All the links and any resources I have for you will be in the show notes and I will be back next week with another episode.
[00:21:54] Thank you so much for listening to Share, Strategize and Shine. To give your own podcast some shine, download my free podcast content by heading to the link in the show notes. Be sure to leave a review and connect with me on Instagram for more podcast strategy insights. Until next week.
