I can’t believe that I’ve completed my first year of podcasting! I feel like I just recorded episode 25 where I shared the lessons I learned just starting the podcast. Feel free to go back and listen to that one because this episode isn’t going to be too long.
Let me start by thanking you for listening! Without you taking me along with you while you exercise, drive or do whatever it is you do while listening to my podcast, this would not have been successful.
And I am not talking about the number of times episodes have been downloaded. I determine the success of this podcast by other things like being listed in the top 200 in two podcast categories on Apple podcasts, the consumption rate of the episodes which is how long you’ve tuned in to an episode. The reviews and feedback I have received from you has also been encouraging.
Some of the messages have been…
“So many great topics that help you focus on what’s important when getting started in business and how to build a business with balance so it doesn’t take over your life!“
“Anyone who can make systems for my solopreneur business sexy is worth a listen.“
“I raise my cup to you and say thank you for all that you share every week.”
If you haven’t left a review for the show, please leave a rating and review at ratethispodcast.com/morethanenough. It’s a great way for you to show love to the podcast and help other busy women and mompreneurs find it as well!
When I started this leg of my journey as a mompreneur, I decided I would not settle for basic so I made a pivot in my business and rebranded last year and launched this podcast. Now I help solopreneur women with service based businesses create systems so they can scale their business and achieve success on their own terms.
I did a lot of internal work to build confidence in myself, rediscover my talents and decided to create success on my own terms.
So let me tell you, my business has flourished because of this change, because of this podcast! I’ve connected with some of the most amazing women who have been guests on the podcast and have learned something from each and every one of them; I hope you have too. I’ve collaborated with a few of them by presenting at their virtual summits or even being a guests on their podcast. I’ve been invited to do trainings and to present at other summits which has expanded my online community.
In the matter of a year, I’ve grown as a person, my business has grown and so much more is on the horizon. This podcast has been a major part of the pivot I made in my business. I’m really happy with the way my business has evolved over the past year as well; the podcast has been instrumental in that happening! I just wish I had made the change sooner!
In addition to the five lessons I learned in episode 25, here are a few more lessons I’ve learned this first year.
Do This Your Way
In episode 25 I shared a lesson; do what works for you. This also applies to how often you publish and how you share your episodes. After all, you need to let people know the episode exists. But do you have to do this on every social media platform?
No you don’t! As with all social media, you need to know where your audience hangs out and that’ where you need to share your content and talk about your podcast episodes. If you only have the time to provide great show notes that contain SEO rich keywords, then do that.
Turn those show notes into a blog post and embed your episode for more traffic if you can squeeze that in. If you have the time and space to use Pinterest consistently, then go for it. If you don’t then don’t!
Don’t let anyone dictate where you have to show up. Now I will say the minimum I suggest that has been very successful for me is consistently sharing episodes in my Facebook Group, on Instagram in stories, repurposing my episode content as posts on Instagram, linking my episodes to my blog posts so you can read the show notes and most recently I’ve started sending updates to those on my email subscriber list for the podcast. Click here if you would like to join!
The key is to do what you can be consistent with and track your success. Otherwise you will end up overwhelmed and give up. This goes with my next lesson.
Keep Things Simple
There are so many pieces involved in hosting a podcast and there of course, is a tone of advice of what you need to do when you have one. Here’s the thing about this “expert advice” all of it doesn’t work for everyone and you don’t have to do all the things.
The easiest way you can be consistent on social media with your podcast episode marketing is to create templates that you can just update every week. This hands down has been a huge time saver for me. Canva is a great tool to use for this! You can copy the template over and over and update the name and episode number each week, easy peesy! Remember, you get to decide what type of podcaster you’re going to be. So decide and be consistent!
In order for you to be consistent you need to have a process. So…
Create A Process
This one isn’t really a lesson for me on one hand, but I have seen why a process is important. Not only does having a process save you time, but if you have guests on your podcasts it makes things a lot easier for both of you!
If you only do solo episodes, you need a process that includes a checklist of the pieces you need for each episode. I organize my episodes in Trello so as I create Trello cards for each episode. And of course the checklists are added automatically!
And for guest chats, my process includes a link to Acuity so they can schedule their chat. And Acuity collects all of the information I need from the guest and I only send them a message, which by the way is a template in my Gmail account that I customize for each guest. I also have automation in place that pulls their information from my Acuity account and creates a Trello card for their episode. As cards are moved through my podcast workflow, checklists are automatically added.
Let me just say, without my checklists, I would miss a lot of steps!
If you want to set up this type of automation for your podcast, I can help you with that! I would love to help you streamline this process so you can focus on your podcast. Book a 60 minute Clarity Call with me and we can make out the workflow for you and get the automation that you need.
Thank you so much for joining me for this milestone episode!
If you enjoyed listening to the show, be sure to leave a rating and review at ratethispodcast.com/morethanenough.
If you can relate to one of the lessons I’ve learned please let me know! DM me on Instagram or take a screenshot and tag me @the_shannonbaker. I would love to hear from you!
And remember, you are more than enough! Until next time…keep calm and streamline!
If you would like to hear the audio version of this episode, be sure to check out episode 57 of the podcast. Tune in on your favorite platform by clicking one of the links below.
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