No More Cookie Cutter Podcast Strategies: Why They Don’t Work for Your Podcast and What You Can Do About It!
Have you ever tried to apply someone else’s podcast strategy and then gotten frustrated when it didn’t work for you? I think we’ve all been there! And that’s because cookie cutter strategies most likely aren’t going to get you the same results that they did someone else.
Today, I’m sharing why cookie cutter strategies don’t work and how you can devise an effective strategy that’s wholly customized to you and your business goals. From adapting a framework, to establishing a solid foundation, to being intentional about your results, it’s time to acknowledge that a personalized podcast strategy is the only one that sets you up for success!
Starting with a framework and adapting it to suit your business
The number one reason why cookie cutter strategies don’t work is actually pretty simple. It’s because your business is unique! That’s why something that gets results for one person isn’t necessarily going to yield those same results in every context. My advice is to start with a framework and adapt it to suit your own circumstances and what you’re comfortable with. This is a significantly more effective approach than taking someone else’s strategy, as is, and expecting some sort of miraculous outcome. Put in the work to make those necessary tweaks and don’t fall for the misconception that someone else can give you a shortcut.
Ensuring your strategy revolves around your business goals
Another part of crafting an effective strategy is ensuring that it revolves around your business goals. Do you know what those goals are? For me, I decided that I really wanted to do fewer live calls. I don’t do very many calls anymore, and I was able to adjust my strategy to support that. The key here is to identify what your goals are and to check that they’re working in tandem with your strategy.
Building a solid foundation before you implement strategy
The next major point to acknowledge is that podcast strategies don’t work without a solid foundation. That means you really need to understand the basics of your podcast including who it serves, why it exists, the purpose of it, and its place within your larger marketing funnel. Having this foundation is crucial to help you measure and decide whether a strategy is actually working for you or not. The goal is to make sure that when people listen to your podcast, they’re being converted and your business is making sales.
Being intentional about the results that you want
The last topic I want to cover involves quick wins and vanity metrics. Downloads are a great example of this. You can chase downloads all day, but if they’re not equaling leads or sales for your business, then what’s the point? Instead, focus on those results that are going to make a difference in your bottom line. Your foundation, content, strategy, and how they perform together is a much stronger indicator of success than any number of downloads or followers.
Any strategy that you use should be customized to suit your unique business. Assess the stage that you’re in now, what your goals are, and what the next step is to reach them. And finally, avoid quick wins and vanity metrics that only deflect from the true measures of success.
LINKS:
Grab your Free Guide to Episodes for Sales and join our email list
NEW: Sign up for a Podcast Audit
NEW: Sign up for Podcast Voxer Coaching Days
Check out our growing Library of Courses and Tools
Join the Strategic Podcast Academy
The Transcript for Podcast Your Business:
162: No More Cookie Cutter Podcast Strategies: Why They Don’t Work for Your Podcast and What You Can Do About It!
[00:00:00] Caroline Hull: Have you seen someone talk about something they did in their business, or share their strategy and their amazing results? And you were like, that's what I want. So you tried it and it didn't work. I see this all the time with business owners and especially with their podcast. And here's the deal cookie cutter strategies don't work, especially when it comes to podcasts for your business. So let's chat about it today. [00:00:24][24.0]
[00:00:28] Caroline Hull: 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. [00:01:00][32.1]
[00:01:07] Caroline Hull: Hello and welcome back to Share, Strategize and Shine. I am in a recording day and trying to get caught up on my recording. I used to be really good at that being ahead and I have not been the last couple of weeks, so working on that. Did an interview, and now I'm working on the solo episode and I've got my Sweet Tarts here. I don't know about you, about when I'm really in deep thought and working on things. I like to have some candy on my desk, and Sweet Tarts is my favorite. Right now they have the Valentine's ones, so I'd love to hear what your favorite candy is. Hop over to Instagram and let me know. [00:01:38][30.9]
[00:01:39] Caroline Hull: The problem is solved. So I want to talk about something that I've talked about recently on here. And I mentioned that I switched to Buzzsprout, and I have been absolutely loving it. And we've been able to use dynamic ads, which I'm loving. But one thing I did notice was that the dynamic ads did really well right after I posted them. They were on all the episodes. So the landing page that I had set up specifically for that dynamic ad was getting really great traffic and hits, and then all of a sudden it just kind of died down. And I started thinking about it, and I realized that probably everyone was hearing the same dynamic ad rate and probably more than they wanted to. Now, one thing that I talk a lot about in when we create ads, especially evergreen ads for your podcast, is making sure that you have a few different versions that you can rotate out. And I really forgot this advice for myself when I was creating the dynamic ads. And so I decided, you know what? I better sit down and record a couple different versions of this and put it into the rotation. And I'm already seeing more clicks on my landing page. So if you feel like your advertisements in your podcast episodes have gotten stale, or you're not getting the traffic that you want to see, really, you should have several different versions. And what I like to do is highlight different points of something. So for instance, my membership is the dynamic ad that I am running right now when this is being recorded. And I have kind of a general ad, and then I have an ad that talks more about the fact that there are tech tutorials inside the membership. And then I might do another ad that's going to talk about how we work on content strategy in the membership. So I'm taking one program or one thing that I'm trying to sell, and I'm creating ads based several different ads based on the benefits. So definitely if you're going to run dynamic ads or any kind of ad in your podcast and it's an evergreen thing, it's something that you're going to use a lot and often have several different versions. So your audience, they're still hearing the same thing, but just in a slightly different way, which can help grab their attention. And that's the problem that we saw this week. [00:03:48][129.1]
[00:03:49] Caroline Hull: I get really frustrated when I try a strategy I see someone else doing, and it doesn't work for me. And this can happen a lot, right? Because strategies are not one size fits all now. They can be adjusted to work for us and they can be adjusted to work for our business, but they just really are not meant to be a blanket, you know, thing for everybody. And so I want to chat more today about this idea that cookie cutter strategies do not work and what to do. Instead, I had a client who came to us with asset that another podcast strategist had made her, and they were very heavy, very loud, not geared at all toward a business owner who is using her podcast to convert, you know, very easily. I mean, those very like heavily produced intros, kind of what we think of like traditional podcasting, that like bro vibe. And it was interesting because her downloads started going down. And honestly, I think it's because she was sending the wrong message with her intro, her outro, her trailer, and her cover art. I see this especially in podcasting. There is kind of this very. I'm going to say bro marketer way of doing things that has been around. It's it's very heavy, salesy way of doing things. And it's a little outdated in my opinion, and doesn't really work for people like me who have a feminine, heart centered business. I you know, I am not a bro marketing entrepreneur. I'm really trying to build something with heart and. There are a lot of strategies out there that just don't support this kind of brand, especially in podcasting. And so that's really what inspired this episode today as we dive into it. You know, it's really thinking about how there's just this very heavy handed approach to podcast strategy, and it doesn't work for everybody, right? It doesn't work for every kind of podcast. And I've been having conversations with some of my business strategist friends, and we talk about this a lot, how there is this misconception that if I just take this thing that works for this person and just stick it on, slap it on, it'll work. And that's not necessarily true, right? And there's a couple of reasons why. [00:06:08][138.7]
[00:06:09] Caroline Hull: So one of them is that your business is unique. And I think this is probably the biggest reason. Yes, there are strategies that work across the board, but you have to be able to tweak them for your business. This is the same like when you're working on creating your offers or building your team. You know, I have worked with people on strategies for those things. And you know, what they normally would say to people didn't necessarily work for me because I had a podcasting agency, podcasting business. And so we kind of had to tweak some of those things. But that's the whole point, right, is that you are able to tweak them. And that's exactly what we do with podcast strategy is, yes, I have a framework, but this framework, there are adjustments that are made within it to suit you and what you're comfortable doing and what works for you. There are some key things that have to happen for a strategy to work, right? Like you can't just say, oh, I'm not going to do that. Yeah, you know, I'm not going to I'm not going to send emails to my email list. I don't know if that's a great example or, you know, if your messaging isn't aligned, I'm not going to change my messaging. Well, if you don't change your messaging, you're not going to see the change in your business, right? So there are some things we have to change. But I think the issue is, is when we take a strategy and we just say, do these things and these magical things will happen. And that is not the case, right? [00:07:35][86.4]
[00:07:36] Caroline Hull: The other thing about strategies is that they should revolve around your goals. So when I'm talking about goals, I'm talking about your business goals. And, you know, taking a business goal and taking a strategy and seeing how the two can fit together is really, really important to making strategy work. And I think this is important for business as well, for business strategy, because, you know, I don't want to do live call. I don't want to do a ton of calls anymore. Right. And so I have been adjusting my strategy to support that. And that's okay. Right. But that's a goal that I had. And so we say okay, well then these sales and lead strategies aren't going to work for you. So how can we tweak them to make them work for you? [00:08:19][42.2]
[00:08:19] Caroline Hull: And here's the biggest one. And I actually just recorded an interview today. And we were talking about Instagram. And you know, it's funny how strategies cross over. And a lot of what we talk about and business strategy applies to podcast strategy applies to Instagram strategy. But I think with all strategies the important thing is, is that they will not work unless your foundation is solid. So a really good example of this is trying to run ads to your business when you don't even have a proven lead magnet or trying to build your email list, right? Let's say you're doing all this work to build your email list, but you don't have a foundation for email marketing strategy. You don't have funnels. You don't have any kind of sequences set up, right. The same is for podcasting. Podcasting strategies are not going to work if you don't understand the basics of your podcast, who it serves, why you have this podcast, what the purposes of it, what the funnel is that people get from podcasts to whatever. You know you want to have these things in place before you start throwing strategies on top of it, because that foundation is what's going to hold it all up, and also is what is going to help you measure and decide if those strategies are working for you. Right. The actual start of my my podcast strategy framework is the foundation. This is the thing that I always say we have to start with. We have to understand the purpose of your podcast, who your listener is, what they need from you before we can start doing all the other things. Even before you build a visibility strategy, this stuff has to be in place because we want to make sure that when people come to the podcast, we are, we are converting them. We are giving them what they need and that we have it all set up for that, right? So and I really want to drive this one home because I know, like it has been a tough year in business for a lot of people. And so I see a lot of like quick win type stuff out there. And, and I've, I've purchased some of those things as well to see what they were or see what they were about. But you can't. Go for a quick when and expect it to work unless your foundation is solid. So before you think about anything like that, make sure your foundations are solid and in place. [00:10:41][141.2]
[00:10:42] Caroline Hull: Are you feeling frustrated because your podcast is not working for your business the way that you want it to? I completely understand, and one of the best places to start to get you back on track is with an audit. During an audit, I look at everything from your assets to your feed, to your goals for your business and your content, and how your podcast is supporting those goals to actually help you move forward. If you want to take your podcast to the next level. I highly encourage you get an audit. Head to WildHomePodcasting.com/audit. [00:11:14][32.1]
[00:11:18] Caroline Hull: The other thing is, you may be tasting results that won't necessarily help your bottom line. So this really comes into play when we talk about metrics and vanity metrics. If you're chasing downloads but you don't really understand what those downloads are doing for your business or your podcast, there's no point in chasing those downloads. You know, to me, this goes back to that. Facebook ads example. You know, if if you're running Facebook ads, right. And you're like, I want all these people to come, but they're not actually clicking or they're not actually filling out the form, then what was the point of spending that money? And the same thing is, is for this, you know, you can chase downloads all day. You can use that to determine the success of your podcast. But if those downloads aren't equaling leads or sales for your business, then what's the point? It's the same thing on Instagram with like followers. You know, you hear people say, well, you can be booked out with 500 followers because it's more about the strategy and the content and the foundations of the account than it is how many followers you have, right? And so what you really want to do is, is focus on your goals and what you want to achieve against any strategy. And so that may even be, you know, what I want to achieve with this strategy. So for instance, if you come into my space and you want to create a podcast strategy because you want to grow your podcast, okay, great. What strategic things are we going to discuss that are going to help you with growth? In addition to how is that going to help your business down the road? Right. [00:13:00][102.3]
[00:13:03] Caroline Hull: So if you've been looking for help with anything in your business, I know it's so tempting to look for the quick ones, and I definitely think there are some quick win type stuff out there that is beneficial. But I want to make sure that as you're listening to this, if you do buy into any strategy, you make sure that you're customizing it to your business. And then if it doesn't feel right, if it doesn't feel like it's working or it doesn't feel like the right fit, get help. I have found to like I want to add this on as I've grown in my business. It's been really interesting because I will find myself looking at things that were for me at a different point in my business, and I, I needed a coach to point this out. Like you're trying strategies for this point in your business. You need to be trying strategies for this point in your business, right? And the same as with podcasting. You know, you can look at, you know, launch strategies and things like that and apply them. But if you've already got 200 episodes under your belt, it's time to look at some deep content strategy and some growth strategy. And so there really are different levels. What is it that my friend used to say, new level, new double? I mean, it's absolutely the truth. And so with strategy, that's something else to think about. Not only just quick wins, but what stage in my in my journey that I need help with? What strategies are going to help me with whatever stage I'm in right now? Right. That's so, so important. So remember, strategies are not cookie cutter. They are designed to be built for you. And when you really start to dig into strategy and get deep into it, sometimes having help can be really impactful to help you interpret that strategy and apply it to your business in a way it is actually going to be effective. And of course, like if you want an individual action plan for your own podcast, for your own podcast strategy, I highly recommend getting an audit of your podcast. I will link to that in the show notes. An audit is such a great way to get some ideas on how to move your podcast forward. And here's the thing. You fill out a questionnaire because I want to know what your goals are before I start working on that audit, because I can audit your podcast all day. But if I don't know what your goals are. Then none of the things I say are going to make a difference. But if I know what your goals are, then I can weigh the action items against your goals and make sure we're moving in the right direction. So I'd love to know if this episode was helpful for you. How you've been feeling about seeing you know, all these things online. Do this, do that, and how that makes you feel about your business in your podcast. And, you know, and maybe there's a cookie cutter strategy that you've tried and it worked for a little while, or it didn't work long term or it didn't work at all. I'd love to chat more. You can hit me up on Instagram at Wild Home Podcasting, and I will be back next week with another episode. [00:16:05][182.8]
[00:16:07] Caroline Hull: Thank you for listening to Share, Strategize and Shine. To give your own podcast some shine, download my free podcast guide to creating episodes for sales 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 time.
