4 Steps to launch a podcast that will skyrocket your business with Rosemarie Callender

Summary 

The biggest mistake new podcasters make is thinking the first step is buying a mic. Before you hit that "buy" button for a shiny new mic, you need to know the crucial steps that come before hitting record. 

Recording your podcast only comes after you figure out your podcasting purpose, content strategy, and systems. In this episode, podcast launch strategist Rosemarie Callender walks you through 4 steps to launching a podcast that will grow your business. 

Get ready to uncover how podcasting can transform your content creation process, improve your speaking skills, and unlock a whole new audience. 

What we discussed

(00:00) Is starting a podcast hard?

(01:20) How to start a podcast OR What matters more than your mic OR What matters more than podcast tech

(03:17) 3 steps to get leads by podcasting

(07:24) Why most podcasts fail

(11:17) Automating your podcast

(13:12) Is starting a podcast expensive?

(17:28) Getting your show on Apple & Spotify

(19:01) Equipment you need to record your podcast

(21:10) Do you need a jingle?

(24:11) Mistakes new podcasters make

(27:51) Best way to market your podcast

(32:37) How to align your podcast with your business 

(36:42) How many listeners will you get? 

(42:12) 4 steps to start a podcast

3 podcasting tips:

1. Before figuring out podcast tech, you must figure out your podcast purpose. Do you want to podcast to grow your leads? Make content creation easier? Become a more confident speaker? 
2. 80% of new podcasts fail because they slowly die out around episode 7. The best way not to fall into that trap is by setting up systems and processes that keep you consistent. 
3. If a lead contacts you with a question, you should have a podcast that answers their question. If you don’t it’s your sign to schedule and create that episode. 

Links

Mics: Samson Q2 | Blue Yeti 

Podcast recording software: SquadCast | Riverside | Audacity | GarageBand | Descript

Where to get music for your podcast: Audio Jungle | Pond Five | Premium Beat

Connect with Rosemarie Callender: Linkedin | Too Busy To Podcast (podcast)  

Connect with Rosie on socials!

LinkedIn
Instagram
And if you're a woman in business who loves colour find out more about personal branding shoots on Rosie's photography website! 💕

Transcript

Rosie Parsons  0:00  
Today we have with us Rosemarie Callender from too busy to podcast, who's a podcast launch strategist, launching this podcast myself recently, it's been quite eye opening as to what's been involved. And while it has been a lot of work, it's also already been really beneficial for my personal brand. It is so lovely when I get messages from you guys saying that you've been listening to it in your cars. So I thought it'd be great to have a chat with Rosemarie to help any of you guys who might also be interested in creating a podcast for your own businesses. Well, thanks very much for joining us today, Rosemarie, it'd be great if you could introduce yourself to us! 

Rosemarie Callender  0:33  
Thank you so much, Rosie is absolutely my pleasure. Thank you so much for the opportunity. As you've mentioned, my name is Rosemary Callender. I am a podcast host, but also probably most importantly, the founder and owner of a podcast production company based in the UK called Too Busy to Podcast, I work primarily with female coaches, helping them launch a podcast that grows their authority positions them, as the credible expert helps them generate leads into their business. The list, as you will well know goes on and on. The benefits of podcasting are tremendous, enormous. But yeah, that's me in a little bit of a nutshell. 

Rosie Parsons  1:19  
Brilliant. And for people that haven't created a podcast before, what's the process in creating a podcast? 

Rosemarie Callender  1:25  
Yeah, so as you would have recently learnt yourself, there's lots of different pieces. But when I work with my clients, a lot of people want to jump straight into the tech, right? Because as business owners, there's certain tech like email marketing platforms that even I avoid, like the plague, like tech is a thing. And so Tech is a little bit of a block for quite a lot of people like, What mic do I use? How do I record. I like to bring people back to their way, as a business owner, this won't be a new concept to you, is something that we are talked about that we see a lot in the online space, when it comes to starting a business, what is your why what is your purpose, and your podcast is no different. So you very much want to a reason to start isn't because everyone else is doing it? No, no, no, no, no. What is the reason for you? And there's lots of different reasons. Is it because you want to generate leads for your business? Is it that you want to make content creation easier? Is it that you want a platform that will grow your confidence be to become a speaker, in the longer term, there's so it doesn't have to be one way there could be multiple ways, but you just need to get really, really clear on what that way is, and how the podcast will support you in your business is very, very important that your podcast aligns with your current offers, and your current business plan where you want to be in 12 months, 24 months, et cetera, et cetera. So once we've got really clear on that the next piece for me when I work for my clients is creating this strategy. So again, we're still not into the podcast itself. We're not talking about how do I interview people? How do I record? We're still in what I call the foundational stage. So your strategy is very much there's four different components that I work on with my clients, and they're around the foundations. So that piece is very much around your podcast name. How often do you want to release what is the format. So for business owners solo interview, I personally believe that if you want to use your podcasts as a lead generation tool, there should be a high focus on solo episodes, because it just positions you more as an authority. So we have those conversations, and I have a working document. And that's the first call that we have to lay out those foundations. And then the second piece is your content strategy. And this is something after around two years I've been in the podcast industry that I've recently finessed because I was working with clients who were just kind of just plucking topics out of thin air. And again, if you are podcasting to generate leads for your business, it's not really about what you want to talk about. It's about what your ideal listener, inverted commas ideal client wants to hear. So yes, while it's you know, is your show, we want you to have a good time but at the same time your podcast isn't it is for you, but it isn't for you. It's for your audience. And so the content strategy is very much around picking three to four pillars that you that topics will fall under that you'll talk about on your show, and just really getting really, really clear a little bit like when you are posting to social media. Yeah, that's what I was thinking very similar. Yeah, very, very similar. We just want to get really, really niche very, very focused so that your ideal listener slash ideal client can see themselves in your content in your podcast episode content. So there's quite a big bit piece around content strategy. So I talk to my clients around those first three to four episodes being really punchy, really, hockey, I like to call it the Netflix binge of it. So I highly recommend that you launched with three episodes. And if you are a Netflix fan, you'll know exactly what I'm talking about. I don't believe that I've ever found a new show on Netflix and watch one episode, if anything. Yeah, I have watched the entire thing in one sitting and then I'm like, oh, when was lunch?

is kind of the same thing, right? You don't want to just give them one episode. And then they've really liked it. And now they've got to wait a week or two weeks, depending on how often you're releasing. That's just not fair. 

Rosie Parsons  6:19  
Oh, I know. I'm doing that with I'm doing that with Happy Valley at the moment lands on every Sunday. Like, come on. I want to watch the whole lot. 

Rosemarie Callender  6:25  
Yes, yes. Happy But don't get me started unhappy Shame on you, BBC. They haven't learned about the Netflix effect. Definitely the same. It finishes and and I'm like, Huh? Like what is the next one you're playing. So it's the same sort of concept. So launch with three and make those your foundational episodes what so a bit more about you, if you've got a framework or process because the more you podcast, you will find that people will go back. So Episode 50, Episode 100, episode 150. As you continue to grow and get new listeners, oftentimes people will go back. So it's really, really important that those episodes are punchy connect, not just from launch, but for future as well. So that's a really, really important piece that I look at in terms of content strategy. Point number three would be around systems and processes. I'm not sure if you're aware of this stat. But I'm not sure if I can remember this stat myself to be totally total brain freeze, but a very high percentage, I think it was 70 80% odd, of new podcasts fail. I don't like the word fail. We call it pod fade. And essentially what that means is that they slowly die out around episode seven. And the reason why I've started to really focus on systems and processes is I've seen that with some of my earlier clients, you know, we launch and then they don't sign up for my ongoing management, then when I look to see your check in with them. Nothing else Episode Four didn't happen. Episode Five didn't happen. And so that's because people go into podcasting. And you know, various sites have been wanting to do this podcast for years, and finally making it happen. And don't necessarily think about how they're going to match especially for DIY in it, if you're outsourcing the whole shebang, go for it, you don't need to you can skip this bit. But if you're DIY in any parts of your show, you need to put systems in place to make sure that you can remain consistent because it's a lot of work, isn't it? It's a huge amount of work much more than I thought it is so much work. So much work. And people really underestimate all the moving pieces, because as I mentioned, they're usually from my experience focused on Well, what am I going to talk about? What mic do I use? How am I going to interview guests working with me, we're not we're not even there, we will get there. Much later. Like we have to set those foundations. And so when it comes to systems, batch, that's my number one advice to my clients batch as much as you can batch the research. And when I say batch I'm talking about getting ahead. So you'll do the three launch episodes. And as soon as those alive, I really, really want you to try and batch the next four. Like when I work with my retainer clients, we are already we are always four. So at the start of the month, I want your four episodes, because number one, I haven't got time to chase you.

Number two, I don't want you to feel stressed, because that's just that's not podcast, it is meant to be fun. It's not meant to be stressful. So that's one of the newer things that I've implemented in my business. We're always going to have four episodes in the can and then for the rest of the month, you can focus on marketing, which I'll come on to in a minute. So wherever possible batch if you're doing the majority of tasks yourself you're a solopreneur or not even a VA batch

is going to be your friend, your calendar, your planner, however you use to plan your week is going to be your friend, try not to do, everyone is different. But I find it more helpful to do at least to batch to everything two at a time, sometimes two to four. So that could be outlining two to four episodes that can be edited in two to four episodes. And then the big piece when it comes to your copy, so copy for your episode description that accompanies your episode, the show notes, the social media, copy your email copy of your LinkedIn article, however you're repurposing that one episode that's like a good depending on how good you are writing copy, I'm, I'm terrible. So take me a whole day. But if you're really good, that could be like a good two three hour slot. Just get it done. Do the graphics schedule it out. That's it. Yeah. So systems processes and automate whatever you do. Please automate. I saw Rosie like me, you use dubsado? Yeah, I've got a whole podcast workflow and dubsado. That probably is 90% automated. So as a business owner, think about what you're already using in your business and apply it to your podcast. Podcasting does not have to be stressful, what are you doing dubsado to automate in because I use dubsado to automate like inviting my guests on and then they can pick the date, and then they get an email explaining what they need to do. But what else can dubsado? What do you use it for? Yeah, so I've got a whole workflow. So it starts with, I will normally reach out to the guest, saying, I really love you to be on my show. Once they say yes, in the DMS or emails that kickstarts, that official invitation, of course, there will be reminders, there's an email that goes out after they book with top tips to prepare them before the interview. I will, after the recording will let them know roughly when that episode will go live. And so a week before that confirm date, there's another email to say, especially if there's been a little bit of a gap. I don't expect my podcast interview to be at the top of one's mind. And so a week before it goes out, right, hey, we episode is knee live. And then on the day itself, there's another email. So let's just pinpoint, like, yeah, just specific points in the process, so that they feel informed and they know what's going to happen next. So it's probably about not a very long workflow, maybe five or six steps. But that means that I don't have to think about it. And when I am sending out the links to let them know it's live, I can just do a quick copy and paste, hit send in dubsado, and move on, do whatever else I need to do next. So nothing really, really complicated. And you do not need. Let me just caveat. If you're not using dubsado in your business, please don't get it just for the sake of the podcast workflow. You can use Calendly you can use acuity. I was already using dubsado for client management. And so it made sense for me. Yeah. 

Rosie Parsons  13:12  
And what sort of budget should people have? If they want to start a podcast? Is it expensive? 

Rosemarie Callender  13:17  
That's a bit of a loaded question. Because a minimum, what's the minimum investment if somebody wanted a start up? If you've got business, you want it to sound good. So if you want to start a professional sounding podcast, it's not going to be embarrassing, then what's the minimum investment you're going to need to have? So if you are able to, obviously I'm a little bit this is what I do. But I specialise in launches. And I recently made that change because that's kind of my happy place like My background is as a PA. So project management organising deadlines, that's kind of my jam, it makes me a little bit Oh, so I focused on launching. And if you do have like a four low four figure, you're able to make a low figure investment to get someone to launch it for you. I recommend that you do my clients leave me not just with their podcasts launched, but during the process, they have access to me via Voxer. They have access to scripts and templates and videos like they want for nothing. And then when their podcast is launched, there's also offboarding resources so I don't just launch and buy. I want to see you succeed. And so if you do have that initial four figure investment, I highly recommend that you make it so that someone can set you up for success. The right person, not everyone's like me, but the right person will give you the tools, the systems to make sure that you can continue doing it on your own without it being stressful. If however,

You do not have that budget. Totally understandable. So the bare minimums would be a mic. I do recommend a mic recording from your laptop is a total? No, no, the sound is awful. And there are some mics that I recommend there's a Samsung cue to you, that's around 80 pound, the Blue Yeti is another one that's quite popular. But the Blue Yeti or less, you live somewhere that's really, really quiet, it's likely to pick up lots of different sounds, but that's around 120 pound. Yeah. And then in terms of, as you can see, I'm using earphones, these came with a really old Android plug into the bottom of my mic, so you don't have to go out and buy headphones. Mic is definitely one laptop you already have. Why would people need to use headphones? Because, I mean, I use headphones. And I'm still like, what why am I using headphones? Yes.

Excellent question. So a headphones allow you to, of course, when you're interviewing for guests, like you and I are, we can hear I can hear what you're saying. But if it's a solo episode, I plug them in. So that I have to describe this, if you don't plug in your headphones, that means that your voice is going to come out of your laptop speakers. That means that when it comes out of your laptop speakers, it's going back into the mic, which means that when you're recording, or you're gonna have as garbled error, because the two voices are going to merge, and start again. And that's just annoying. So that's that's the main reason for me. If some people I've had clients before that have found it weird recording this solo and the headphones are in, you can plug them into the bottom of your mic and place them away. The bugs away if that feels weird for you. But that's primarily it. And then of course, interviews are self explanatory. Some people say you, you put them in to hear yourself. But unless I've been doing something wrong for about two and a half years, I never hear myself back. Even I'm recording. So I'm not quite sure what that's about. So that's the that's the reasoning of the headphones. And just a quick point on the budget. The only sort of ongoing costs that you'll need with your podcast will be for your hosting platform. So a bit like your website that lives on SiteGround or wherever it might be your podcasts that lives in a host, a couple popular ones are Lipson Buzzsprout, Captivate, they have here live, it has to live somewhere, yeah, I use, I use Buzzsprout. And they've got quite useful course that I took as well like Buzz school. And that's how I learned a lot about equipment and how to kind of put it all together. And that's free, which is really good. And I'll put that in the show notes. And I really liked Buzzsprout as they've got a lot of good materials. And yeah, so I think probably it's quite confusing, isn't it? Because you might think, Oh, I just upload my podcast episodes direct to Apple. But that's not what happens, is it? No, you upload them into your host. And then as part of your launch, you connect your host to all the different podcasts directories, it's just a one and done at launch. And then every time you have a new episode, you upload it to your host like Buzzsprout, as you mentioned, and then it will automatically go out. And so in terms of that ongoing costs for the host, we're looking at around anything from $12 to $20 a month. That's only non negotiable. Yes, non negotiable. out going in relation to your podcast, a lot of other stuff is free, or you can wait until you've grown a little bit before you start investing. In that stuff. I interrupted you a little bit back further, you were just started to talk about you need a laptop and be great if you could talk about like so how do you physically record like what programme do you use to record like I'm using squad casts to do my hair interviews, which is good. And what else can people use? So yeah, squad cast is a good option. Riverside Zen caster, they're all made for podcasting. Some people use Zoom and get away with it. I've got a client who for the most part, her her podcast episodes are relatively okay. I personally don't recommend zoom, because it's not made for podcasting. Yes, it's great for online meetings, but it's so reliant on the internet. If we didn't get a chance to talk about this, but just before we jumped on this call my interview totally my Wi Fi totally dropped out.

And I managed to fix it but I am keeping an eye on the top right hand corner. But if we were on

zoom, I would have told you no, because it wouldn't have been able to withstand, because Zoom is so reliant on the internet, whereas webcast and Riverside, they're just built differently. And even if I lose my Wi Fi, they have things in the back end to keep the recording safe and sound. Now when it comes to your solo episodes, again, free, this is what I love about podcasting, there's so many free apps. So if you're starting out solo, there are two apps called Audacity. That is for Mac and Windows users. And if you're a Mac user, there's something called GarageBand really easy, give them a bit of a Google or roadie we'll include them in the show notes. But essentially, you just plug in your mic, ensure that it's connected, hit record, and done. And what I really love about these two is that you can edit in the same place. So you record it. If you feel that way inclined, you can edit it straight away. I can't do the two simultaneous, like straight actively. But that's an option. So though you don't need to overcomplicate it, just keep it simple, especially when you're starting out and how do people create jingles? And that kind of thing? Do you recommend having a jingle? Or should you just launch straight into your show? I mean, there's no right and wrong. If you are an avid podcast listener, you would have heard quite a few intros and outros. And so once you've decided to start your own, just try and kind of think back to or listen and get an idea of what you want. Everyone is different. And I worked with another podcast expert to just help her out because she has some personal stuff going on. And her client had like four different pieces of music in her thought 32nd.

Intro, and I was like, whoa, whoa, I mean, I got it done. But I can't remember I think it was um, is it Glennon Doyle, we can do Hi things like she had a list of two or three people that she was trying to imitate that intro. So all of that to say it's totally up to you. If someone like this client inspires you. Go for it. If you just want to talk. There's there's no right and wrong. And to be honest with you, your loyal fans, the more you podcasts, there'll be skipping to your episode anyway. That's true. So don't overthink it too much. Whatever you want to do is fine. If you do want to have a little jingle or some music at the beginning, where's a good place to find music? Yeah, so the key here is finding music that you are licence to use. So that phrase is royalty free. Yeah, no. And Katy Perry coming after you do know, you don't want any

copyright infringement in the podcasting world is is a thing, as with any other things, so don't think, Oh, it's just a podcast note, it's very much a thing. So make sure that as you're starting out, you're doing things the right way. And so in terms of paid music, I have used Audio Jungle personally, I recommend online finance. Yep, they've got a huge library. And there's also pond five pond, as in where the ducks float, five, number five, and Premium Beat is my shutter shock, I think it is. So those are kind of my top three that I include in my client resources. There are free places as well. But I don't know, I'm just like, you don't have to, you can spend as much as you want to spend. So I have bought music for a private pod that was $5. You do not have to spend $100. But the key is making sure that you get music that one matches the tone of your show and the vibe of your show. And to that it's legit. So you can depending on your budget, you can be as expensive or low end as you would like. Okay, and what mistakes do you often see people making when they first start out doing a podcast? Well, some of them we've touched on already. But just to recap, a big one is not looking beyond launch. So just getting in gross with finally I have not met anyone who has launched a podcast and hasn't want to do it for at least a few years. It's funny because one of my clients sent me a Voxer the other day and she'd found a notebook, and she'd put podcasts and it was 10 years ago. 10 years ago, she'd put in this notebook. So I've not met anyone who's just woken up one day, decided I'm gonna start a podcast. And so once they finally decided to do it

They go straight into it, and often underestimate how much is involved and then don't necessarily make a plan of how they're going to incorporate it in their business in their life. And then it just becomes stressful. 

Rosie Parsons  25:19  
Yeah, I definitely found for me that it kind of it was just take me all day to kind of do all the podcast admin between researching guests writing the questions, sending the email to invite people, and then doing the into editing it. And then all the social media and show notes and stuff. So yeah, in the end, I just thought I haven't got time to actually do my job. Yeah, I outsource. Yes. So I sourced the editing now. And I outsource the show notes, which is really, it means that it's manageable alongside my actual job, which I definitely recommend. 

Rosemarie Callender  25:52  
Those are the top two things that people outsource definitely in my in my business as well. And then second common mistake would be around, we talked about this strategy piece, a bit like your business plan, like, just because it's a podcast, would you launch your new offer? Without really outlining? What's going to happen? And when, like, what are your goals? When do you want to achieve them? How you going? How are you going to achieve them? That is essentially your podcast strategy. And then the third common, I mean, there's a few but I'll stick to three, the third common mistake. And just to rewind a little bit. So Part Four of the podcast strategy that I was talking about earlier, is around marketing. So where the common mistake comes in is that and I've been here, if you're listening, I am not trying to be Miss Perfect. I've been here. I've been here as early as late late last year, quarter four, right, where we post about our podcast once and leave it so people are gonna come. Yeah, even I'm not gonna come.

Right. My podcast is 19/20 months old.

And I definitely started out because that you just said Rosie, so oh my gosh, there's there's so much to do. And it's almost like you do the research, you have the conversation with your guests, you do the editing, you do the show notes. And then it's like,

and you forget about the marketing. Again, I'm speaking from personal experience. So there's no judgement, if you're listening, you've already got podcasts. I've been there, I hear you, I get you, I see you. But that is a common thing you cannot post once on your release day. And just people will know pretty much what I do.

So here's a tip, this is how I have found it a bit more manageable. So I remember from whom it would be helpful if could, but I found this repurposing content guide. It was her freebie. And as I am is just here, actually, let me pull it down so that I can refer to it as I speak. So as I am editing, there's certain sections. So

a key content takeaways, I will include what those are. And then of course, those would be the bulleted points in my show notes. And then she has six boxes, which are labelled repurposing content. So as I'm editing, I will make a note of the timestamp, and a little bit of a blurb that I might want for the social media promo piece. And then once I finish editing, not the same day, I will upload the transcript into a tool called descript. Or you can use otter.ai. But a transcription tool. These are both paid. I think otter is got a small free plan, but you have to just double check. Don't quote me on that. But I'll upload it into the script. And the script is a beautiful thing. In that it allows you to create clips based on text, you can actually it was created to edit your podcast based on the transcript. So if you if someone said ouch, you would delete the word Ouch. From the transcript and the word, the physical. The verbal word ouch would be removed from the audio. I don't use an editor. So I don't use it in that capacity. But what I do use it for is I will then refer back to my document. Look at the timestamp go to the timestamp and descript and highlight the section that I want for the clip. You can export just that clip. And then I'll do my little fancy stuff in Canva or

headliner, which is where you can make audiograms. And that is it. But again, the key. The only reason or the only time I fall out of rhythm of my social media promo is if I have a batched. If I'm kind of doing it on the fly, we are connected on LinkedIn, Rosie. So you know, you know from now on, if you don't see me on the podcast, this is why it's because I didn't batch the copy parts of my process. But that's how I do it, you can definitely think about what works best for you. But the key is to use the transcript to create your email, you know, newsletter, your social media posts, your LinkedIn article, wherever it is that you want to show up. Yep, that is the key. And then you schedule them. If your scheduler, you schedule them out to go out. If you're a weekly podcast three times in between episodes, so release day. Yeah, maybe. So I'm a Thursday, so I'll do Thursday, Saturday, Monday, usually, that's the plan. So but definitely don't just do it once. And I know it sounds like a lot of work. And the more you get into a flow, the easier it will be, but do repurpose to other platforms where your people are hanging out. So Facebook groups, Instagram, Twitter, apparently is really good for podcasting dependent if your audience is on there for podcasting. So just think about where do my people hang out, the more you promote, the more eyes and ears on your pod. And the faster your show will grow. That's a good point about posting them in Facebook groups, because what's quite nice is that you're sharing something valuable that's got you know, it's free, isn't it? So people aren't going to be as annoyed with you as if you go in and try and post an offer, where you're asking for money for something you're not selling, you're just saying I've created this interesting resource that you might find helpful. Yes, that's exactly it, it's not the same as Oh, I can help with that my six month container will take you from x to Zed. It's a free resource, you can just simply I mean, double check the rules, because some of these Facebook groups are like really strict. But as you said, it's just a free resource. It shouldn't be a problem. But you can just say, oh my gosh, I've just done an episode on this. I think it'd be so so helpful for you. And then just drop, would you you can ask them, would you like me to send you the link just to be on the safe side, and share it share it that way. But the key is to just always remember, once you've got a podcast, and you're creating it for your audience, always think of opportunities that you can use your podcasts. So if a lead contacts you in the DMS and answer question, do you have a podcast episode on that? If you don't, you should have a podcast on that. What are some of the things that your clients aren't SKU when they first start? Is there a pattern? Maybe you create a playlist with those, those podcast episodes and share it as part of onboarding? Make your podcast work for you? I think that's really,

yeah, I do have my moments.

But no, that's definitely where I went wrong. I Well, number one, I didn't I know a lot more now. But I didn't align my podcast with my business. I very much sorry, as this thing satisfy that I loved. Yeah, I love doing it. But it didn't speak to my ideal client, I just very much wanted to one make content creation easier to get more confident speaking. And three help as many women launch their podcasts. And so it didn't really align. But it's really, really important that you make the most of this content. Yes, it's evergreen. But there's so much we can't just create a podcast once and wait for people to find it in 2025. Like people aren't in your world now. Yeah, I love the idea. Also, like if you're a guest on someone else's podcast, then using that I was just thinking I was chatting about personal branding photography and a couple of different podcasts recently. And so like if I get an inquiry in my DMs that might actually be quite nice to share that with them along with pricing info. Yes. Yes. Sneaky. I like it.

And another thing one of my listeners because I did a podcast episode on this a couple weeks ago, and one of my listeners shared with me that she's done a playlist for all her guest appearances. So all the podcasts that she's been on, and every now and again, she'll post about it on stories. So it's not just your own show. It's also podcasts that you've guested on. Yeah, cuz I think as soon as soon as I started this podcast, other podcasters sort of took notice and started inviting me on this and so it really opens up a community and you're getting lots more opportunities to kind of get featured elsewhere rather than

If you if you're just an expert and you're on LinkedIn, people don't know what it is. But once you have your own podcast, people kind of think of like, oh, well, maybe we could be on each other's shows and that kind of stuff. And it really opens up a whole new audience, a whole new audience, a whole new world. And that's something a lot of people I love, you've raised that because it's something I'm not, not a lot of people realise, I personally believe that the minute on your launch day, you aren't, instantly you're credible. You have that credibility. Because, as we talked about, there's so much involved with a podcast and a podcast. You're so visible, it's such a vulnerable, scary, and these feelings come up for my clients all the time. It's such a huge sighted, but you also feel vulnerable, because anyone on this planet can hear your show at any given time during the day. So it's scary as hell. And I get it, but it opens like you said, Because podcasters Well, podcasting business owners, I like to call people like me new because we're not, we're not doing this for hobby.

We're doing this for like brand awareness, etc, etc. But it's almost like, it's not a click, but like you said, it's a community. And you're opening the doors, and people almost feel like, Oh, well, he or she's got a podcast and it, it just opens and you're able to have different conversations that you wouldn't normally be able to have on Instagram. It's almost like the door just opions it doesn't even crack. It just is flung open wide and you're just allowed to walk in. And yeah, podcasting is absolutely amazing. I'm loving it.

And how how many listeners can people expect to get because I think it can feel like, Oh, if I make the podcast, I'm gonna get 1000s of people download my episodes. And it's not quite like that. Is it being doing a podcast is quite involved listening to an episode. It's not like just clicking like on Instagram. Yes, that's a very good comparison. Actually, I might steal that one from you. But again, that is a that is a very good question. Because it depends on lots of different stuff. It depends on Do you have an engaged audience? Do you have an existing, engaged audience who was already engaging with you on social media? was responding to your emails to you putting out or podcasts to them will feel like, yes, another way that I can connect with this person another way I can engage with this person. And with the right promotion, again, strategies, my favourite word in my business, the right promotion strategy in the lead up to your launch day. You could see quite,

that'll get a windfall. Is that the right word, but you'll see quite a lot of engagement reviews, comments. But if you have a smaller audience, that's not as engaged, it might feel not quite like that you have to work towards it. That isn't to say that you have to wait because this is one of the myths. People think that they have to wait until they have this huge audience to start their podcasts when in fact, in the long run, the podcasts will help you to grow your audience, but just in terms of listenership just know that unless you are Meghan Markel,

or datas. They're not going to just come, it might be that you already, you know, you're a coach or a graphic designer, whatever it is that you're doing.

If you've been in business for a while, and you've already got an engaged community, let's use an example. Lisa Johnson, when she launched her podcast, like I think she hit number one in 24 hours or something ridiculous, because she has an engaged community. And whoever she worked with, I think she worked with Anna Park in Naples on her podcast, who would have and I would have her own strategies to make that same thing. That's what she does. But for the average person, like you, you just have to manage your expectations. Don't go into it. I personally don't put a lot of focus on download numbers. And I encourage my clients when they launch, they email me every day. I've got this many downloads. There's many downloads today.

And you know, I really, but like month one or month term like right, we need to have a serious conversation. I hate to burst your bubble, but download numbers is a bit like you just said likes on your social media posts, but different in a way that

if someone if I was to subscribe or follow your show in the podcast in apps, it will be seen in your download numbers. It will come up as as part of your download numbers but in actual fact, I haven't listened to your episode yet.

Rosie Parsons  40:00  
Right.

Rosemarie Callender  40:01  
But because I've already I've subscribed to your show, it automatically downloads in Apple podcasts, right? But I haven't listened. And the chances of me listening only listen really to podcasts when I'm driving, which is like once or twice a month. And so this is why I don't encourage, because download numbers are just that good to look at in terms of growth. But as a business owner, I want you to look at your engaged listeners. So how many people are listening to your show week in and week out? And that's data that you can get from Apple podcasts connect or Spotify for podcasters. But down no numbers, how many listeners you've got focus on hearing from I think you mentioned this earlier. Focus on hearing from your listeners in the DMS, focus on them. Sharing your podcast episode as part of their routine and how it touched them how it really not triggered that's not the right word. But how it really resonated with them. As a business owner. That's what you focus on. And as you podcast more, how many leads have you had? How many people signed up for your email list? How many people sign up for your paid masterclass? We're podcasting for business. We're not podcasting for likes and comments, and you know, the stuff that doesn't matter. So I will get off my soapbox

on this topic. But just to recap, don't focus too much on listeners, put the work in create a show that that your listeners want to hear. Get really drilled down on who you're speaking to promote it like crazy. Tell everyone tell your mama tell your sister, especially when you've launched just tell everyone I want you to annoy the people, my podcasts is my podcast is launch. And people will come and then they will stay. Because your content is. Yeah, that's it. You don't need to don't stress about listeners, they will come focus on the content. And the rest as they say, brilliant. So my final question will be if somebody is going like, Yeah, I think this could be really good for my business. Where should they start? Okay, well, why

we talked about this a little bit. So start with your why. And once you're clear on that, you're going to need some goals. Like what does success look like for you? Three months after launch, six months, nine months, whatever. Two years, really focus on what those goals are? And how what action steps do you need to take? So if you've got a goal of hitting, I don't know 100? Download numbers. I know it just had a soapbox moment. But example, if it was to hit 100, download numbers in month one, what do you need to do? promote, promote, tell everyone, especially in that first month, so put those action action steps down. And then the next piece would be around your strategy. And just a quick, quick recap. The foundation's content strategy systems. Very, very, I mean, they're all important. But systems if you take nothing else away from this systems and processes, and finally marketing, those are the four parts of my strategy that I work on with my clients, and then just start thinking about what and in the foundations piece comes things like who your ideal listener is, what you're going to talk about what do they need to hear do market research, if you need to do market research, your podcast is very much like your business. I know it feels odd, but it's very much about very similar to the things that you would have done in your business. So approach it in the same way. Just see it as a way of your being. Not in you're not being intimate. That's not the right phrase. But it allows you to have a deeper connection with your audience. And so why waste that opportunity by just talking fluff really go deep. You can go deeper than social media, or take a pose a really good performing posts from social media and go deep on that topic. Use their language really talk about how they're feeling and talk about how you helped a client, like just map things out before you start worrying about tech and recording. And all that and take it take it bit step by step. I do VIP days now, but before I work to a six week launch, so my biggest tip before we wrap up would be if you're serious about launching you've decided now is the time set a date a launch date.

and work your way back. I've worked with a couple people last year on a strategy call where I just map out this strategy with them and they didn't set date, right. And here we are six months later and their podcast still aren't launched, set a date, put it in your calendar, keep yourself accountable. Know what map out what you need to do every week. Stick to it. If you can't stick to it for whatever reason, reschedule it in your calendar, make it happen. Don't let it keep dragging and dragging and dragging. Because

I mean, you'll get it done eventually. But you decided the time is now so make the time now. So I mean, there's a lot more that I can cover. But if anyone wants more information, I have my podcast that they can tune in. It's called too busy to podcast. It's very educational is very step by step. So if you wanted that as a resource, feel free and as we talked about, my podcast allows me to go deep and give you everything that you need. So check it out. 

Rosie Parsons  46:03  
Great. That's been amazing. Thank you so much for joining us today. 

Rosemarie Callender  46:06  
You are most welcome.