Our Marketing Game Plan for Our First 100k Downloads on the Strategy Hour Podcast
Episode 060: Show Notes
Hello little business babies! We are so excited to chat to you about reaching our first 100K downloads on the podcast in just four short months. We absolutely cannot believe how great you guys have been, and we are so thankful for the amazing support that we have been given. Each and every download, share, and review makes a huge difference to the impact that we are able to have on all of you creative biz bosses out there.
For today’s episode, we are going to be talking about how we got to 100,000 downloads, the effect that having a podcast has had on our business, our marketing game plan, and some strategies that we think have helped and made a difference. Keep in mind, there is one major caveat to all of what we are going to be talking about today — with podcasting, there really is no one-size-fits-all formula. It is still such a mysterious medium and people are continuously trying to understand how it works and how to interact with it, which makes it really hard to measure. So please keep that in mind as we are sharing some of our experiences, and find out what you can take and apply to your own podcast.
How We Grew Our Podcast to 100K Downloads
For us, one of the biggest factors that led us to 100,000 downloads in only four short months was the fact that we already had an established business. So definitely keep in mind that we did not just magically go from zero to 100,000 overnight. Although we started at zero everywhere else, the podcast was something we added almost a year and a half into business, and so it was not like we were launching from two weeks into business with a very small following. We already had a pretty significant number of people who were consistently engaging with our content and we just wanted to get more people engaged in a different way.
Executing a Strategy for Your Podcast Launch
After hearing from several people that we should have podcast, we were literally on a plane ride back from a conference when we finally made the decision to just do it! Three months before launching we started reaching out to potential guests, designing the graphics, and recording some episodes. Next, we had to make the decision of whether or not to have it as part of our company brand, or as a separate entity. We chose to put it all in one place, but secured the URL and Instagram handles for The Strategy Hour just to make it simpler.
Setting Up a Marketing Plan For Your Podcast
When setting up our marketing plan, we probably spent just as much time thinking about the marketing as we did on recording and getting ready to launch the thing. Now that it is launched and we have a plan in place, we have been able to let team members take over a lot of the behind-the-scenes marketing tasks for us. We have someone to create our podcast graphics and upload posts to Instagram for us. We even have things going out on Instagram stories every Monday, Wednesday and Friday when the podcast airs. Another way that we help get the word out about the podcast is by encouraging guests to share their interview episodes on their platforms as well.
Monetizing Your Podcast Without Paid Sponsors
One of the strategies we wanted to implement from the beginning was to monetize the podcast. Running a podcast can be costly, especially as an up-front investment with all of the equipment and additional hired services. However, since we could not get any sponsors when we did not yet have a podcast, we decided to use our affiliate programs to take the place of sponsored ads at the start. This way, we could drive traffic to our affiliate links and increase our passive income through the podcast. In our business, we subscribe to the idea that small and mighty tribes can have a very big impact. This is also a great opportunity to grow your email list by sending listeners straight to your sign up page, allowing you to nurture that relationship even further.
Joining a Mastermind for Podcasting Success
For us, we usually do NOT like joining in on a mastermind group because there is often too much coaching going on from our side, and only a couple of nuggets of wisdom that are very few and far between. However, we knew that we just really needed to have someone to bounce ideas off of when we took this whole thing on, so we decided to join a mastermind group for the podcast. This is honestly the best thing we could have done, not only for our podcast, but for ourselves as well. These ladies are amazing, and they all bring a unique element to the table.
How Our Podcast Guests Have Helped Us Grow
Starting the podcast has opened us up to meet so many new people again. What it really forced us to do was create those rich, longer-term relationships once more. The guests that we have had on have become our friends or people that we can reach out to in different areas of our business. They have helped us grow in other ways, and that has been really fun to just be a part of. From all the new relationships that we have formed, it definitely feels like we know more people in different industries, literally all over the world.
Quote This
There is no foolproof game plan for your business, especially when it comes to marketing.
Highlights
Find out how we were able to reach 100K downloads for the podcast in only four months. [0:04:22.1]
Learn more about the strategies we used prior to launching the podcast. [0:06:38.5]
Understand more about our marketing tactics that we put in place for the podcast. [0:11:12.3]
Discover how we monetized the podcast without actually having any paid sponsors yet. [0:16:09.5]
Find out how joining a mastermind group has really helped get us to that next level in our podcasting journey. [0:24:49.5]
How the podcast has opened up new opportunities for relationships and personal growth. [0:29:07.9]
#TalkStrategyToMe [0:38:35.3]
Spend as much time marketing your next product or thing as you do creating it.
Once you implement your marketing game plan, take time to reassess if it is actually working.
Establish a roadmap to see if you are reaching your goals.
Choose one strategy and focus on it, but don’t be afraid to cut things when they are not working for you.
ON TODAY’S SHOW
Abagail & Emylee
The Strategy Hour Podcast
We help overwhelmed and creative entrepreneurs break down their Oprah-sized dreams to create a functioning command center to tame the chaos of their business. Basically, we think you’re totally bomb diggity, we’re about to uplevel the shiz out of your business.
KEY TOPICS
Reaching 100K podcast downloads, Strategies for launching your podcast, Marketing your podcast, Monetizing your podcast through affiliates, Joining a mastermind for podcast support, Building new relationships through your podcast
