Best of 2023 – PTC 472

THE TOP SIX EPISODES OF 2023 It has been an amazing year at Podcast Talent Coach. On this episode, I want to share with you the best of 2023. These are the top six most downloaded episodes of 2023. DECREASED DOWNLOADS Have you seen a decrease in your downloads in the fourth quarter of 2023? It is probably due to a change with Apple Podcasts. Apple released iOS 17 in September of 2023. That update came with a change to Apple Podcasts and how episodes are downloaded. According to Apple, automatic downloads are paused when a device is out of available storage or when a listener hasn’t played a show they follow. If a listener hasn't played one of the latest five episodes for more than 15 days, downloads are paused. Apple says pausing downloads is to preserve device storage. This change is communicated to listeners with a pause indicator on the follow icon located at the top right of the show page. If a listener resumes playing that show, or changes the download preferences for that show, Apple Podcasts will resume automatically downloading episodes. The big difference for your podcast is how previously unplayed episodes are handled with the listener resumes playing the show. Before iOS 17, when a listener would unpause automatic downloads, the system would automatically download all unplayed episodes. Your podcast would then get credited with those downloads. With iOS 17, Apple Podcasts will not download previous episodes and will only resume automatically downloading new episodes. BRING THEM BACK This change is why is it so critical to keep listeners coming back week after week, episode after episode. It isn't enough to simply get people to subscribe to your show. You need to get them to actually listen consistently. At the end of each episode, creatively tease your next episode. Create some intrigue and anticipation for the next show. Bring them back. When you publish your new episode, tell your tribe about it. Share it on social media. Send an e-mail to your list and invite them to listen. It is important that you tease here as well and not simply promote. Promoting next week is info only. When I say, "Next week we'll talk with Dan Miller", that's promoting. It does very little to create any anticipation for the episode. To creatively tease the episode, I need to create some intrigue. I might say, "Next week, Dan Miller joins us and will show you how to build a business with no money required." A powerful tease opens the loop and gives listeners something to get excited about. However, it shouldn't be something you can Google. I don't want to say, "Dan Miller will share his 48 Low- or No-Cost Business Ideas next week." You can Google "48 Low- or No-Cost Business Ideas" and find Dan's resource. There is no reason to come back to the episode to get the answers. No need to wait. You can go get them now. Tease effectively. SUBSCRIBE My downloads took a dip in fourth quarter like everyone else. It would really help if you would subscribe or follow this podcast right now. Grab your phone. Let's do this right now. On many podcast platforms, simply open the episode. Click that follow or subscribe button on the page. Even if you think you are already subscribed, please grab your phone and check. It would be a tremendous help to me. This week, get out and share your podcast with your tribe. Let's get those downloads coming back. Now, the top six episodes of Podcast Talent Coach in 2023. #6 BEST OF 2023 Number six is Creating a Custom Intro – PTC 433. The introduction of your podcast is probably the most critical part of your show. A custom intro takes it to a whole new level. A typical listener will give you between 90 seconds and a few minutes to entice them to stick around. Don't blow it. You can't catch up to a slow start. When you create your intro, tell your listener how they will be better after listening to an episode. Your listener is asking, "What's in it for me?" A custom intro adds show biz. It is unique to your show. And, it can be very affordable. The opening of your show will have 2 or 3 parts. You can use a highlight clip from the show, which is optional. It will be followed by the voiceover introduction of the podcast. Finally, you will give the introduction to this particular episode.   BEST OF EPISODE 433 On this episode, I want to show you how you can get your own custom theme music and voiceover without breaking the bank. Rick Stewart helps podcasters create their custom intro that is unlike any other podcast. Rick Stewart founded his own Jingle Company right out of college. He eventually moved to Nashville and spent years singing backup on recordings for Country Music Icons and Christian Artists. Rick has partnered with his son T.J. to create custom themes and voiceovers for podcasters. T.J. is a multi-instument musician and music producer. His writing and producing skills are amazing. Rick combines his skills in writing and producing jingles, and years of professional voiceovers, with T.J.'s mastery of writing, performing and producing music to create amazing custom intros and themes for your show. You will discover why you need a powerful intro, why a custom intro is so important and how to get started. Give it a listen at www.PodcastTalentCoach.com/episode433. #5 BEST OF 2023 The number five episode of 2023 is 6 Steps To Profitable Podcasting – PTC 429. It sounds so easy. So, why is it so difficult to create a profitable podcast? The gurus make more money by making it sound quick and easy for you. The truth is... It is easy to understand. However, the implementation becomes difficult when you are trying to do it yourself without a step-by-step system. YOUR PROFITABLE SYSTEM On this episode, I am going to give you the 6 steps to build a profitable podcast. Just keep in mind that it will take diligent, consistent effort to reach your goals. These 6 steps will sound easy. You will find yourself saying, "Everybody knows that, Erik. This doesn't sound like magic." That's because it isn't magic. It is a system. Stop throwing things against the wall to see what sticks. Instead, Focus. Follow one course until successful. At the end of this episode, I will invite you join me in a program that will walk you through this entire system to create your profitable podcast.   BEST OF EPISODE 429 You can get all six steps to profitable podcasting on this podcast. We also talk about the Podcast Profits Accelerator. In this program, you will... Grow your audience, increase your downloads and add subscribers to your podcast Increase your impact and influence in your niche to monetize your show Build a strategy that will attract your ideal clients on a consistent basis If you want real help building and implementing this podcast profit framework, you really need to be in the Podcast Profits Accelerator. You can get enrollment details at www.PodcastTalentCoach.com/accelerator. Give it a listen at www.PodcastTalentCoach.com/episode429. #4 BEST OF 2023 The fourth most downloaded episode of 2023 is The Magic Of Rapport – PTC 425. So many podcasters struggle to make money with their podcast. It is the primary challenge when coaches come to me for help. The thing they are missing is rapport. Building rapport is the biggest piece of the sales process. And most podcasters miss it with their podcast. On this episode, I want to help you refine your process, so you can make money with your podcast. Don't make it harder than it needs to be. STRATEGY You know how most podcasters don't make money with their show? They waste a lot of time on their podcast when it doesn't do anything to grow the business? I am a content coach. I help you build powerful, sales relationships with your podcast. If you ever want to try it, the process is really simple. First, we have a 30-minute conversation where we get clear on your podcast goals, what you hope to accomplish and how the podcast works into that plan. Next, we figure out where you are today, determine what you've tried in the past, and build the strategy to get you to your goals. And if you like what we've built, and you want some help implementing your strategy, I can show you what that would look like. You can only continue to dump so much time and effort into an ineffective podcast that isn't bringing you clients and growing your business. Doing what you're doing isn't getting you to your goals. My clients enjoy the freedom, success and financial gain by attracting clients through their podcast. They free up their time and relax with a real strategy to consistently and easily attract clients with their show. Implementation of the strategy we build helps them quickly and easily grow their revenue without the frustration, hard sales and guess work. I have a few slots on my calendar if you want to meet, find the holes in your strategy, and craft your strategy to make money with your podcast. Visit www.PodcastTalentCoach.com/apply and we'll talk.   BEST OF EPISODE 425 There are the 7 steps to building rapport with your podcast. Now it is time to get started. You can only continue to dump so much time and effort into an ineffective podcast that isn't bringing you clients and growing your business. Doing what you're doing isn't getting you to your goals. My clients enjoy the freedom, success and financial gain by attracting clients with their podcast. They free up their time and relax with a real strategy to consistently and easily attract clients with their show. Implementation of the strategy we build helps them quickly and easily grow their revenue without the frustration, hard sales and guess work. I have a few slots on my calendar if you want to meet, find the holes in your strategy, and craft your strategy to make money with your podcast. Visit www.PodcastTalentCoach.com/apply and we'll talk. Give it a listen at www.PodcastTalentCoach.com/episode425. #3 BEST OF 2023 The number three episode of 2023 is How To Make Money With Your Podcast – PTC 423. So, you want to make money with your podcast. Why? I know that sounds like a crazy question. Who doesn't want more money? Dig a little deeper. What is really driving your desire? What would more money do for your business, your family, your mission and your life? How could a successful strategy that helps you consistently make money with your show change your life? Let's look 5 years down the road. Imagine what you can accomplish in 60 months if you know where you're going and have a plan to follow. Can you see it? Can you see how your life is different? That's why you want to make money. It isn't the money. It's all about the transformation in your life that the money makes possible. One of my clients told me, "If we are able to generate leads, that is awesome. If we are helping change people's lives, and they are reaching out to us, that would be a success. Becoming a resource is the goal." Money makes the mission possible. What would that feel like if that transformation came to life 5 years from now? How great would it be to be clear on your actions and relieving all that stress? You know you have the expertise to change lives. Your success is just a matter of getting in front of your ideal clients. That is the power of an effective podcast strategy. I'm going to show you the four steps to make money with your podcast. If you are struggling, your strategy probably has a hole in one of these areas.   BEST OF EPISODE 423 Only 3% of your market is buying today. A fraction of your target market is actively looking to make a purchase right now. Another 7% could possibly be convinced they need it now. For 30% of your audience, the time isn't right. The next 30% don't believe they need it based on the info the currently have. They need more education. Your final 30% may never buy. They may be a user of different brand or have different needs. If you are spending all of your time closing, you are missing 97% of your target market. Even you convince that 7% that could be sold, 90% of your audience isn't looking to buy right now. You are missing a huge opportunity. We talk about an effective approach on this episode. Give it a listen at www.PodcastTalentCoach.com/episode423. #2 BEST OF 2023 The second most downloaded episode of 2023 is Why ChatGPT Means You Matter Even More – PTC 430. ChatGPT is all the rage. It's also the reason why you now matter even more than ever. As an oversimplified definition, Chat GPT uses artificial intelligence like Siri on your iPhone or your Alexa smart speaker. It is just much more powerful. GPT is short for Generative Pretrained Transformer. We'll get into a deeper definition in a bit. What I want you to understand is the impact it will have on your podcast. NOT ALL INFO Your podcast cannot simply be information. ChatGPT has nearly all the information anyone could ever need. It is the depth of the internet with the conversation of Alexa. It was an early Monday morning in March of 1995. I had just started my new job as Program Director of an alternative radio station in Lincoln, Nebraska. I was standing in the jock lounge. It was basically an open room with a countertop around the perimeter. All the DJs kept their stuff in there. Sitting on the countertop was a big, bulky, desktop computer. It was primarily used to schedule music logs for the stations. However, this particular computer was connected to the World Wide Web. The mid-90s was when the internet really started taking off. We would pull up a site called Webcrawler. It was the first search engine to be widely used. It was also the first to fully index the content on web pages. One of the primary investors in Webcrawler was Paul Allen of Microsoft. But, we'll get to that connection in a minute. As we played with Webcrawler, we could find anything we wanted. I typed in all sorts of words and phrases to see what would come up. Baseball, bullfrogs, blues music. It was all there. IT'S ABOUT TO CHANGE And that's when I realized the world was about to change. The Encyclopedia Britannica set and the World Books we had in the basement of my mom's house were no longer relevant. Why would I search the encylopedia when I could use Webcrawler? Now, I know you're probably thinking the use of an encyclopedia sounds ludacris. Or I just sound old. Either way, it was the dawn of a new day. This also meant my radio show could no longer be the interesting bits of trivia or music news I typically shared. I would need to serve my listeners something Webcrawler couldn't. That something turned out to be me, my story and my personality. Webcrawler couldn't copy that. Rather than sharing the tidbit that Bob Mould was once a member of Husker Du and then of Sugar, I needed to talk about the strange sounds coming from the apartment next door last night or the time Ozzy Osbourne wouldn't stop talking to my girlfriend. Thanks to Webcrawler and the World Wide Web in 1995, it was indeed a different world and time for a new approach. HERE WE GO AGAIN And that's where we are again today. ChatGPT has the information. If you are only serving information on your podcast, you are the new version of the Encyclopedia Britannica.   BEST OF EPISODE 430 In this episode, we talk a lot about sharing your story and personality to separate you from ChatGPT and make you unique. You can continue to deliver information episode after episode and end up fading away like the Encyclopedia Brittanica. Or you can share a little bit of you on every episode and build long-lasting, powerful relationships with your listeners. If you would like help developing stories for your show, grab my Story Development Worksheet at www.PodcastTalentCoach.com/story. Developing your personality is a little more involved. I would love to help you walk through that process. We can talk about that during your Podcast Strategy call. It is my gift to you. No charge. We just develop a powerful strategy for your show. Go to www.PodcastTalentCoach.com/apply, click the button and apply to have a chat with me. We will develop your plan and see how I can help and support you to achieve your podcast goals. Give it a listen at www.PodcastTalentCoach.com/episode430. #1 BEST OF 2023 The most downloaded Podcast Talent Coach episode of 2023 is Unique Podcast Business – PTC 426. Let's take a look at each of the six steps to build your podcast profits framework. Step one is your Podcast Platform. This is your foundation and your why. TaVona Denise worked with me to build a strong foundation and a powerful “why” for her show. She worked as a nurse, but no longer loved the profession. She transitioned out of nursing into a new career. Soon, she began coaching other nurses to do the same and find the career they loved. This quickly became her purpose in life and she built her show around helping nurses launch their own businesses. AUDIENCE ATTRACTION Step two is your Audience Attraction. This step helps people discover you. You get in front of new potential listeners and show them how you can help. This is all about partnerships, attraction and engagement. You want to find influencers who are already speaking to your ideal clients and partner with them. Greg Payne is the host of the Cool Grandpa podcast. He was around 350 downloads per month. After implementing the Audience Explosion Blueprint, his monthly downloads hit 854. When I put this step into place with my own show, I was able to double my downloads in the span of three months. I basically doubled my audience in 90 days. That was after 275 episodes as well.   BEST OF EPISODE 426 On this episode, we talk with Anne Sullivan about using her podcast to grow her harp teaching business. Anne Sullivan began her career as a concert harpist at age twelve when she appeared twice as soloist with the Philadelphia Orchestra. A native of the Philadelphia area and a graduate of the Curtis Institute of Music, she is in demand as a recitalist, chamber musician and symphonic soloist. Her orchestral appearances have included engagements with the Baltimore Symphony, the Delaware Symphony where she was principal harpist, the Pennsylvania Chamber Orchestra, and the Chamber Orchestra of Philadelphia.  In 2012, Ms. Sullivan founded Harp Mastery®, an online resource which now serves a worldwide community of harpists. Her creative approaches to teaching harp students of all ages focus on helping harpists achieve harp happiness, which she defines as "playing the music you want the way you want." Through her blogs, a podcast, online courses, challenges, live events, and proprietary coaching process, Harp Mastery® continues to empower every harpist to find fulfillment and joy in their harp playing. Learn more at harpmastery.com.  Anne now uses her podcast to grow her business and connect with her students. In our conversation today, you will get many nuggets to help you in your business as well. Anne shares with us how she launched her podcast, how she uses the podcast in the business and how her first episode turned out. Give it a listen at www.PodcastTalentCoach.com/episode426. ARE YOU READY? Are you ready to have a conversation with me? If you don't have a mentor who can take your hand and walk you every step of the way, go to www.PodcastTalentCoach.com/apply, click the button and apply to have a chat with me. We will develop your plan and see how I can help and support you to achieve your podcast goals. Next week we will talk with podcast lawyer Gordon Firemark and determine if your podcast is legal.