One of the biggest issues I see in podcasting is a misalignment of expectations.
Specifically, creators who started their shows to grow their businesses…
And who believe the best way to do so is grow a big podcast audience.
Now, don’t get me wrong, a large audience of the right people will certainly help your business.
But when it comes to podcasting for a business, a large audience is rarely necessary.
In fact, most of the most profitable businesses I know and work with (and run personally) have (relatively) tiny shows.
These are shows that average 200-500 downloads an episode…
And yet generate multi-6 or 7-figures a year, with the podcasts playing a pivotal role in their marketing and sales strategies.
How?
They’ve engineered a highly-focused, highly-efficient marketing strategy that attracts the right people to their content ecosystem—comprised of 6 specific components—which then systematically nurture and convert them into clients and customers.
I call this system The Podcast Growth Engine.
It’s a framework I’ve been refining for several years. And yesterday, I shared it publicly for the first time over the course of a 2.5-hour masterclass.
If you’re interested, you can check out the replay here.
But in case—for some strange reason—you don’t have 2.5 hours to dedicate in the middle of your Friday, I’ll share the overview of the system here as well.
At its core, the Podcast Growth Engine model is designed to make your marketing as efficient as possible.
In other words: A system that outputs a consistent flow of buyers with as little ongoing input of time, effort, and money as possible.
The system is built around 6 specific components.
The components are:
- A Core (Cash Cow) Offer — Ideally a big, expensive one that doesn’t require you to make hundreds (or thousands) of sales a year in order to sustain your business.
- An “Infinity Loop” Podcast — That is equally valuable to both existing customers and non-customers, and which is based on a show concept that subtly bakes in the delivery of your key sales messages on autopilot.
- A “AAAA Lead Magnet” — That’s highly attractive, aligned with your big expensive offer, and is a logical extension of—or supplement to—your show.
- A “Minimum Viable Value Email Strategy” — That allows you to send regular emails your audience enjoys opening… that consistently deliver targeted sales CTAs… all while taking you as little time and mental bandwidth as possible to write.
- A Low-Friction Sales System — Built around one or more attractive, no-pressure intermediary steps bridging your free content and your sales process… thus opening up more direct communication between you and your ideal clients who aren’t yet convinced that you and your offer are right for them.
- [Optional] Additional Content Channels — Social, YouTube, SEO, etc. In most cases, these aren’t necessary and can happily be ignored. Or, if you have the bandwidth and enjoy them, you can use them to pour more fuel on the fire.
Next week, I’ll be digging into each of the components in more depth to show you exactly how you can build them into your marketing strategy to improve your results while reducing the amount of marketing you need to do on a day-to-day basis.
I’ll also be sharing examples of how the Podcast Growth Engine model can be applied to several real-world podcasts.
But if you’d like to get ahead of the curve, you can check out the replay of the masterclass here, which covers:
- [5:55] — The 3 layers of problems that force businesses to market more than they need (and want) to
- [12:38] — The key principles of an effective podcast strategy within your larger marketing system
- [20:56] — Unpacking how effective content marketing actually works (and why it’s the opposite of what we get taught)
- [32:24] — The Podcast Growth Engine Model
- [44:15] — PGE Component Breakdown: The fundamentals of an effective (big expensive) core offer
- [47:23] — PGE Component Breakdown: The AAAA Lead Magnet
- [50:04] — PGE Component Breakdown: The Minimum Viable Value Email Strategy
- [54:58] — PGE Component Breakdown: Designing an “Infinity Loop” style podcast that sells your offer on autopilot
- [1:06:50] — PGE Component Breakdown: Installing a low-friction sales system to overcome objections and convert more ideal customers
- [1:09:04] — PGE Component Breakdown: How to think about additional content channels (if you need them at all)
- [1:11:33] — Real-world examples and attendee build-outs of the Podcast Growth Engine Model
- [1:35:58] — The precise order of operations to build out your Podcast Growth Engine
- [1:41:43] — Q&A
Once again, you can access the masterclass replay here.
