Episode 063 | #1 way to double your podcast downloads in the next 90 days

Whoop whoop! You've launched your podcast! But now what? This is the most critical time for your show and for your mindset. It is the missing link for so many podcasters and the reason we see so much podfade in the podcasting space. This is the third in our four part miniseries on turning your podcast into a sales conversion engine for your business.

In episode one we talked about captivating content, followed then with episode two about the importance of launching. And today we're getting into secret ingredient number three, which is beyond the launch. And why getting this wrong? Well, it spells the end for a whopping 88 percent of podcast shows.

That's right. 88 percent of podcast shows.

Hi, I'm Viv Guy, seven figure business [00:01:00] owner turned online mentor, on a mission to help struggling coaches and course creators to navigate the rollercoaster that is running an online business. So that you can attract dream clients and hit your enrolment and sales targets every single week. month so that you can reach six figures and beyond.

If you're ready to create a thriving and profitable podcast to accelerate your audience growth, engagement, and sales, tune in each week as I throw back the curtain and share all the insider secrets I've learned from 20 years of entrepreneurship. You'll learn how to market, sell, and grow a thriving, sustainable online business in a way that's It's fun, makes you money, and allows you the freedom to thrive.

This is Podcast Sales Made Easy.

I don't know about you, but I really do not like slogging away at something, giving it my all. Only [00:02:00] to see a zero return for it. I mean, my goodness, I've been there with launches. I've been there with baking. Ugh, I love baking. And I will, you know, I will make a pudding or an array of puddings and desserts when we have a dinner party.

And there's nothing worse than slogging away, putting in all that effort only for everyone to say at the end of the meal, you know. Oh, I'm too full, or it looks delicious, but I couldn't. I'm on a diet. Ah, it's frustrating because you're not getting the return you want, which is everyone to be sitting there eating it saying, This is amazing!

And this is why I see so many podcasts experience podfade, or just stop. They just don't get beyond three, ten, whatever it might be, initial episodes. So if we've launched well and we've had that excitement of a great launch only to follow it [00:03:00] with like tumbleweed and not getting the engagement and the downloads and the energy and the excitement it just goes.

We don't get that satisfaction. We don't get that dopamine hit that we get when people are like, wow, this is amazing. Or that we get when we see that we're actually, you know, our numbers are going up. Because, well, let's face it guys, we are all so transfixed on the vanity metrics that social media has absolutely got us all like, totally hooked on.

Our brains are now wired. to give us dopamine hits when we see likes, comments, views, responses. I mean, it's why the average American checks their mobile phone 156 times a day is the average that people check their phone. And I guarantee a huge percentage of that will be check in social media. Why?

Because we seek validation [00:04:00] from those vanity metrics. And so the same happens with our podcasts. We desperately want to see those, those numbers and of course we should, you know, there is a reason we do want downloads because it is a direct reflection on the number of people that are listening, that are tuning in, that are in our audience and we want to see that number grow.

But what happens is if we don't get that happening instantly, post launch, We decide that the strategy is not working, or we don't get that dopamine hit, we don't get that same buzz that we can from churning out tons of short form content, you know, so we can knock out a social media post, or a reel, or whatever it might be, write a caption, and we can get some likes, and some, maybe a few comments on it, and that gives us like that sense of validation, that dopamine hit that our brains are now like, Programmed.

We are, we are evolved [00:05:00] and programmed to want that. So it's understandable if we're not getting that, if we're not getting that buzz, if we're not getting that traffic, that we will throw in the towel. So this is where strategy or ingredient number three comes in. And this is your discovery strategy. Your podcast needs to continue to grow its audience, its listeners, its downloads.

A for your peace of mind and sanity. And B, because without it, we're back to where you started. Maybe to where you are now, if you don't have a podcast, or you have a podcast that has stagnated and plateaued. Your audience growth has plateaued. Your engagement on your content is plateaued. Your sales have plateaued.

Or, in all of these cases, maybe even declined.

And nobody wants to see that. I don't want to see that for you and your business. [00:06:00] Because what happens is, if you continually fish in the same pond, and never replace the fish, the pond will run dry. And the same goes with your audience. Eventually, if you don't grow that audience, you will burn them out.

You will have sold. to all of those people that we're ever going to buy. So that is why it's really important for us to follow a successful launch with a strategy that is going to enable us to continue to be discovered. That is going to continue our growth because we've obviously absolutely nailed. If you've listened to episode one and episode two of this four part series, if you've got those things in place, then obviously you are absolutely in that position now where you are going to be retaining listeners.

If you've put in place your compelling content framework and [00:07:00] structures, if you have put in place your launch strategy and you go into that well, then you know with those things in place that you are going to be retaining listeners. So now what we have to do is build on and add to that listener audience.

And it's the most common problem I see in 90 percent of the people who come to me for a conversion audit call. It's that they are stuck. They are stuck producing content that nurtures their existing audience and not producing enough discovery content. 90 percent of the content that they create is nurtured content.

So that is fundamentally like saying, right. I've got a podcast. I, every week I'm going to record a podcast episode. I am going to potentially just repurpose it, publish it on my social media to my existing audience, share it with my existing audience on my [00:08:00] email list. But there is no action being taken to create content that is going to get you discovered.

And yes, of course, there will be some. organic discovery of your podcast if you are still charting and if you are optimizing your content with key words. However, it is not going to be enough traffic. Unless you are someone like James Wedmore, Amy Porterfield, someone like that, you are not going to bring in enough organic traffic to really grow your audience.

Now, I just want to take a moment and extend this invitation to you. If you are experiencing a plateau in your audience growth, in your content engagement, or your sales, or they've been declining for at least three months, then I [00:09:00] invite you to apply for a free conversion audit call with me, not one of my team, with me.

where we're going to look at your funnel and figure out where the leaks are and give you three steps to get your business moving forwards right now. You can book these calls at vivguy. com forward slash apply. That's vivguy. com forward slash apply. And I'll put that link in the show notes for you as well.

Okay, so how do we get discovered? We talked about launching well and how it's going to enable you to get discovered. So how do we get discovered? But now, I want you to move on beyond that. Sorry, not that bit. Just scrub that little bit, John, after where I've done the promo for the call. So, how do we continually create discovery content and continue to be discovered?

So we've talked about launching well and how that enables you to be discovered organically. Well, there are five different ways that you can increase your [00:10:00] discoverability. But I just want to talk about my top strategy, my favorite strategy. It's been the most powerful strategy for myself and my clients growth.

Podcasters and non podcasters in here as well. So I just want to say, if you don't have a podcast yet, this is something that you can do now that will help you grow your existing audience, your email list, and drive sales right now. So what is this thing? It's guesting. As a host, I see the content that you are producing as nurture content.

Okay? Unless, as I said, you're the likes of Amy Porterfield, Brendon Burchard, James Wedmore, Tim Ferriss, people like that who are, you know, top of the chart. Really discoverable, very easy, because they're in the top 10 all the time. Alex Harmozy, all of those people. So, [00:11:00] for the rest of us, I see your content as nurture content.

So the content like this that's going out is predominantly nurture based content. Whereas guesting is a top of funnel discovery content strategy. And there are three types of content that we need in your business. We need discovery content, nurture content, and conversion content. And as I said, I see so many people stop producing 90 percent nurture based content.

Not enough discovery content, not enough conversion content. So, guesting is discovery content, and I'm going to be talking lots, lots more about guesting as it's a hugely profitable strategy on its own. But if you are looking to scale your business, if you are looking, if you are looking to [00:12:00] grow your business, grow your own podcast audience.

Then you're going to want to look at a whole system approach. Podcast guesting is an amazing strategy. It can do so much for you. But having your own podcast alongside that, as well as a conversion strategy, is going to be so important. I mean, look at the successful multi six and seven figure entrepreneurs, eight figure entrepreneurs, in fact, out there.

I've mentioned some already. Amy Porterfield, James Wedmore, Tim Ferriss, Jenna Kutcher, Neil Patel. They all have podcasts because they know how integral it is to the marketing and sales ecosystem of their business. And they guest. Yes, of course, they guest. They speak publicly on stages. They guest on other shows, but they have their own podcast.

They have their own epicenter of their system that they can signpost people to and drive traffic to. [00:13:00] Now, it's really tempting if you have launched a podcast and you're not seeing the conversion. If you're just not seeing, and you're not seeing the audience grow, it's really tempting to fall back on your default, to fall back on your safety net, which is short form content, even though you have not been getting the results from that, because everyone else is doing it.

You think that has to be the strategy. But if that was the case, if that was the surefire way to get clients and make sales, wouldn't the 50 million other small business owners who've got social media accounts, social media profiles, all be easily growing their audiences and making multi six and seven figure, uh, years with absolute ease?

And we know it's not the case. So, as much as it feels safe and easy because everyone else is doing it, it is not the way to [00:14:00] go.

So, don't be tempted to default and reach back to short form content because it is the slowest way to grow. Growing with your own short form content is the slowest way to grow. That's why it's really important to put in place a growth strategy like guesting. Because, let's just look at this fact here.

You could spend 30 minutes drafting out a post for Instagram, creating a TikTok, creating a post for social media, putting it in Canva, creating some funky dunky, uh, graphics, writing out a caption and posting it, finding the relevant hashtags, or, you can have a complete high level. A really deep and powerful conversation with someone on a podcast interview, which allows someone to [00:15:00] discover you, connect with you, buy into your philosophy, your way of doing things and discover how to connect with you.

Because think of it this way, it's not only getting you discovered by so many more people, which I'm going to get to in a moment. That content lives on. Think about if you create content for Instagram, or TikTok, or Facebook, that post is going to be pushed out to at most, like, 6 percent of your audience.

At most. And, like, I was looking at some stats yesterday that were under 1%. So I'm being very generous when I say it's going to be pushed out to 6 percent of your existing audience. It is not going to be pushing it out to new people unless you are paying for ads or you have gone viral with your content.

They're the only ways that [00:16:00] those platforms are going to push out your content too. New people, new audiences. It's just the way the algorithm is, it is not what it was back in 2012 when you could create one post and it would have like 80% reach, engagement it, all of that kind of stuff. But it, it was amazing fallback.

Then, oh, and then here's, here's the kicker. After 48 hours that time, that 30 minutes of time and effort that you spent creating that content, that content. is going to the content graveyard, never to be seen again, never to be seen again. So that 30 minutes of effort, after 48 hours, and it's only been seen by a few people, is gone.

Now, as I said at the beginning, I don't know about you, but I do not. I resent putting in effort to something, only for it to be not appreciated and not [00:17:00] Not, kind of, have some lasting impact. Now let's just look at it compared. Now let's just compare to a podcast episode. When a podcast episode is released, people will listen to it every month.

Yep, new listeners will binge on multiple show episodes when they discover a podcast. Plus, let's add in the SEO factor because, um, the Google bots for several years now have been able to troll or do their bot thing on audio content, not just written content, which means they can discover and identify keywords within your content, which means you are discoverable through searches.

So that means that that podcast content, whether it be your own or as a guest, [00:18:00] is discoverable for the rest of that podcast's lifespan. That podcast episode, I'm going to say it again, is discoverable for the rest of that podcast's lifespan. And an amazing tool for me, as I said, has been podcast guesting and podcasting for myself.

and SEO, because people find me. They go into Google, they search, and my show comes up, or an interview comes up. They listen to me, they go and find my show, they go and binge on episodes, and then they book in a call. All from something I did months, if not years ago. That is beautiful. I have never, ever experienced or heard from someone Say, Oh, I, I watched that post from your Facebook account from two years ago, or from your Instagram, that reel [00:19:00] you made three years ago.

That just doesn't happen. Because of the way we consume and the difference in the way we consume podcast content versus short form content. Now let's just go back to, because I have digressed slightly, the gold, the absolute icing cherry on the cake when it comes to podcast guesting. Not only do you get instant access to that podcast's loyal audience, so I want you to think of this as we hear about one to many when it comes to creating courses and scaling our businesses.

Well, this is almost the same approach, the one to many content approach. Create that interview, give one interview, and it is going to be shared by so many people. You make one connection with the host, [00:20:00] you go on the show, and suddenly hundreds or thousands of people have got access to your content. So you get access instantly to that podcast's host's loyal audience.

And you also get access to the audience. Here's the absolute beauty. You get access to the audience of every future guest that that podcast host interviews. How? Why? Because they share with their audience, Hey! I was on such and such a show. So people will go and listen. And as we know, if they like that episode, they're going to go back and listen.

They're going to go back and binge episodes. And if you've got really great guests, which is something I definitely recommend, As a guest, I'll go on a show and say, and this episode and this episode might also be of interest to you. So I'm going to cross promote people, A, because it's really great if people say, I heard about you from someone and you're like, who the [00:21:00] heck is that?

And then you find out it was because someone just very kindly and generously cross promoted you. So that's how people discover you time and time and time again, one 30 minute episode. is going to work for you for months and years.

That means when a guest gets interviewed, 6, 12, even 18 months from now, and they tell their audience about it, their audience are going to discover all of your contents. I just cannot say it enough times. This is how you create content that lives forever, grows forever. So that's not just like it lives forever.

It is growing forever. It is reaching, oh, ten times the audiences that you're reaching on social media right now. And it is growing your podcast, your audience, your email list. This is where the magic happens. [00:22:00] Now if you're someone that's sitting there going, Viv, yeah, I would love to do that. But do you know what?

I pitch. And when I pitch, I just don't get anyone saying yes. My pitches get rejected. That is one of the things we cover in my program, the Conversion Cure. In the Conversion Cure Mentorship Program, I walk you through every step of the way how to create pitches that get, that get accepted more than 50 percent of the time, so that you can grow your podcast, grow your audience, and increase your sales conversion.

It's just magic. It gets me so excited. Now, look, if you love what you've heard today, I would love, love, love for you to connect with me on Instagram at Viv. Guy and share with me your biggest takeaway. And while you're at it, I know nobody likes to take the time to do these things, but not many people [00:23:00] realize how much your reviews help other people really, really struggling in their biz right now to find this show.

So, if you really love what you heard today, it would mean the world to me if you would take a moment, like 15 seconds tops, to tap the five stars and write a sentence to let me know what you like about the show. Look, and when you do, I'm going to enter you into a free draw, where you can win a free 90 minute mentoring call with me, and we draw this every single month.

So just send me a DM with the screenshot of your review and we will enter you in the draw. So next episode we are covering our final magic secret ingredient, ingredient number four, what to do post launch, post guesting to keep the sales flowing, to keep those conversions coming in, to [00:24:00] make sure you have consistent sales.

and income in your business every single month. So let's get the needle moving in your business this week. Remember, go dare to try something new, experiment, do the thing, and review the results. Dare, do, review, because I've got you.