Why Your Podcast Needs a Tune-Up, Not a Total Overhaul

This happens a ton with audio sales pages, to be honest with you, where they'll be talking through the episode with me that I did on audio sales pages and it'll be about tying in the specifics of how they action that.

So they learned about this process, this option, and now we're using that as a foundation to have shared language so that we can really quickly customize that and implement that in the way that works best for them.

So be looking at that. And this may mean you learn that you actually don't have a mechanism in which folks can talk back to you. Maybe you're not seeing those messages come in in your DMs because you're not really on Instagram, or LinkedIn, or whatever it is. Maybe you're not seeing those come up on sales calls because you don't offer sales calls. You have a sort of click-to-buy membership and people are buying templates, and so there's not really a community element, or whatever the case may be, you need to build a mechanism in which people can talk to you. Whether that means starting to have a line in your show that encourages folks to reach out to you via DM, or building a contact form that allows people to reach out and send a message, whatever that may be.

But it could just be about building in a way for them to talk back. I say this on an obnoxiously high amount on this show: this is just part one of our conversation. This is just the part of us talking where I talk to you.

I need and want you to talk back. And so I have built in mechanisms, and I talk about it here occasionally, that that's what I want you to do. So I get DMs, I get emails, it comes up in sales calls, because you know that this is part one of the conversation and that I want to hear from you.

So start building that into your own show, and it will help you better identify what is working and what's not working.

From there, look at what's working and what's not working. I absolutely have shifted the way I frame conversations based on feedback over the years that people didn't maybe know they were giving, right?

When they ask questions about audio sales pages—because that's the example I've already used, so let's just keep rolling with it—when I get feedback or when I get questions, that helps inform what else I want to say about audio sales pages or how I might want to revamp a sort of pillar piece of content for me.

I have one episode where I really break down what audio sales pages are. I haven't touched it in a while. I may—I don't know if I will—but I may go in and re-record and re-release that episode in the next 6 or 12 or 18 months because I know more about how to talk about it now, because I've continued to have conversations about it. That's what I want you to be looking at for your content audit piece.

The second one is maybe the most important piece, and that's looking at your CTAs and where you maybe need to make some changes. Are your calls to action actually built for sales or are they just performative?

Are they a soft, sort of passive-aggressive message at the end that says, "If this sounds maybe a little interesting, reach out, apply, book a sales call, grab the template, join the membership," whatever that specifically is for you?

Or are you planting seeds? Are you tying your offer to your work? Are you looking at how what you're sharing ties into or models for them the outcome of your work?

You've seen me do this in this episode already, and you're going to hear me do it more. I have already talked to you about how this comes up in Podcast Strategy Intensives, how this looks in podcast production and things. I've mentioned my services alongside this content already.

And spoiler alert—as we get to the end—we'll talk more about how we can do this together. Because this is built to be a sales tool.

This is not built to give you more stuff to consider. This is not built to give you more ideas. Because almost no business owner I've ever met needed more ideas. I certainly don't.

What it is meant to give you is next steps. Actions you can take to not just see a different outcome, not just see an outcome that you want, but to get support along the way, because not every fix has to be in your hands.

In fact, I'd argue as somebody who's been doing this a decade and a half at this point, almost none of the fixes are best executed in my hands alone. Almost none.

In fact, the biggest shifts I've had in my business, the biggest moments of impact I've had in my business, are in moments where I was supported, where I asked for help either with someone on the team or with an outside vendor or with a coach or with a consultant or whatever it was.

But I did it with support. And so as you're going through your calls to action, I want you to A) be thinking about how you could be supported in making this easier. But more importantly, I want you to be thinking about how you can be framing your calls to action as that fix for your clients. Because the change that needs to happen in their life, in their business, in their education, in their content, in their website, in their style, in their whatever-it-is is very likely sitting on the other side of your support.

If we're not presenting our calls to action in a way that makes that clear and instead we're doing the passive-aggressive, "If this sounds interesting, come and join us," then they're never going to get to see the impact, the shift, the opportunity that comes on the other side of them making that change and getting that support. And so it is a disservice.

And that's why going through and looking at our calls to action and making sure that they are lined up, making sure they are set up to give our listeners their next best steps, is so important.

It's something that sits at the center of the audit we do in Podcast Strategy Intensives and the work we do with our production clients and the work we do in The Profitable Podcast Launch Accelerator. All of those things center around calls to action, because that's where we shift from content library to sales assets. And we focus on sales assets, and I want you to be focusing on that too.

And in the spirit of that, the next thing I want you to be looking at is, as you look ahead, as you start to do this tune-up, as you've done this content audit, as you've looked at your calls to action and reviewed them, and you start to look at what's next, I want you to be thinking about pathways and not value.

Too often—and I've been talking about this a ton because I've been having this conversation a lot with people, both in the launch accelerator and in Podcast Strategy Intensives—we have had this conversation in more than half of those this year.

Because your emphasis on being valuable, your emphasis on being educational, is detrimental to your listener. It is detrimental to your business's growth. So that is the very opposite of a win-win. Now we're creating content that is quite literally a lose-lose. Why would we do that? That doesn't sound fun. Let's not do that.

So as you're looking at your episode planning, I want you to think offer first. As we look ahead for these next 12 weeks—because we do quarterly planning when we sit down with our clients—so when you look at these next three months: What are you selling? Who are you selling it to? How are you selling it to them? When you know that, we can start to reverse-engineer content that drives them directly there. What are the questions they need answered before they can take that next step?

This is how we shift our content into both valuable and an asset. Because we are going to give value, we are going to teach them things. But we're going to teach them the things they need to know to get the best results out of their work with us. That's the shift I want you to be making. That's what I want you to be looking at as you're doing your episode planning.

The last piece I want you to look at as you're reviewing this process is your production process. Is it time for you to get support? Maybe it's getting support in the planning and you're cool with the week-to-week production stuff. Awesome, that's a Podcast Strategy Intensive.

Maybe it's time for the week-to-week to come off your plate because it is getting difficult, if not impossible, to be getting your show recorded, getting your show edited, getting your show out, getting your show marketed, and then starting that all over again on your own each week, plus this planning, plus reviewing and auditing. That's a lot to lift. Guess what? That's podcast production services. If you're sitting in your production process right now and you are overwhelmed, that's your next best step. Get a lifeline.

It doesn't have to be full production support. It could be planning. It could be a Podcast Strategy Intensive where we go through literally the things we just talked about and we build your next quarter's podcast plan in a way that makes it a little bit easier for you.

Maybe that means pulling in some re-releases. Maybe that means changing up your release schedule. Maybe that means systemizing some of your podcast marketing efforts.

These are all things I've helped clients do this year, and I want that to be what we do for you.

So if you're going through these things that we just talked about—you're going through your content audit, you're going through your CTAs, you're doing your episode planning, you're reviewing your production process—and you're noticing that you've got good consistency with your downloads, but inconsistent results as far as getting people on sales calls, you like your show, you like podcasting, you want to keep doing it, but what's doing right now feels off, or maybe instead of feeling inspired and excited you are in a constant state of overwhelm and dread, it's time to get help.

This is literally what we talk through. This is literally the Podcast Strategy Intensive. This is what we do. We start with the audit, we go into planning, and we build your next 12 weeks of your podcast together. You do not need to overhaul your show. You do not need to burn your show down. You do not need to start a new show. You need a strategic tune-up with an expert partner. That's me.

This is what we're doing inside the Podcast Strategy Intensive, and it's time for you to book yours. It's very simple. You're going to go to uncommonlymore.com/intensive and you can do one of two things. You can go ahead and book your intensive and get on my calendar and we will get you scheduled and I will go in and do your audit and we will roll.

Or if you need a little more time or a little more information, I totally get that. There's also an opportunity to book a free 30-minute call with me where we can talk through specifically what we want to do in your Podcast Strategy Intensive and make sure that it's the right fit for you right now. If it's not, we'll find out what is.

You are closer than you think to having a podcast that works more effectively than your podcast does right now. But you've gotta take the step to get there, because doing the same thing is going to get you the same place. Head on over to uncommonlymore.com/intensive and let's get yours booked today, all right? I will see you right back here next week.

Thanks so much for listening to this show. Remember that content consumption does not make changes, so commit to doing something from today's episode. Maybe it's taking action on what we talked about. Maybe it's reaching out to me and learning more about Podcast Strategy Intensives or what podcast production looks like with our team. All of that is over at uncommonlymore.com.

If you haven't yet signed up for The Podcast Newsroom, I want to remind you that is a great next step. If you're not really sure what comes next, hang out over there. Get those exclusive private episodes. That's over at podcastnewsroom.com. The last favor I will ask, because social proof is endlessly important for sure, is to leave a rating and review for the show. If you go to ratethispodcast.com/more, that's the easiest way to do it. But I would love to hear what you thought of the show, what you think of the show, and if the show has been helpful for you. I can't wait to chat with you. This is just the start of the conversation. Reach out so we can keep it going. Talk soon.