As a coach facing those exact problems I described above, I spent thousands of dollars working with a sales coach who basically taught me to do launch after launch and reach out to 150 (!) new people a day on social media to generate new leads…

Needless to say, it was exhausting. And maybe even more importantly: It was NOT how I wanted to spend my days. I wanted to do what I’m great at – helping people achieve their goals – not chit-chatting on messenger all day long.

So I knew I needed to change my strategy.

I thought to myself: “I’m not a marketing guru, but I love people and I enjoy great conversations – maybe I could start my own podcast.”

As soon as I had that idea – I immediately rejected it…

I was afraid that it would be just another big waste of time (Hint: It’s not IF you set up the right way!).

I hated public speaking and English is not my first language – I was afraid to make a fool of myself. Moreover, I’m a shy & introverted person – I’m basically the least likely person to start a podcast (Hint: You don’t have to be an extroverted social butterfly to be a successful podcast host. And most people don’t mind your accent, they even find it charming.).

I’m not a techy person and even thinking about figuring out all the new tech and a new platform felt overwhelming (Hint: It’s really not that bad – especially when you have someone who can guide & teach you and/or does these things for you.). 

Then I talked to a business coach friend of mine about the potential & pitfalls of podcasts. She told me that she had recently made 4M through her brand-new podcast – without a big audience & without running ads. My mind was blown! 

So there WAS a way to make this work! And I would figure it out. 

I started to study what those successful podcasters did and how they prepared their launches. I realized that they did a few key things:

1. They launched their podcasts into the charts to gain instant authority. Just like other people launch their books to become “Amazon bestselling authors”. Being a Top10 bestselling author or being a Top10 podcast host – both position you as the go-to expert in your field and give you that instant authority status.

The advantage of being a Top10 podcast host: You don’t have to spend months (or years) writing your book… You can become a Top10 podcast host within 1-2 months. Moreover, more & more people prefer podcasts over books.

2. They created a monetization strategy around their podcasts that allowed them to make actual money from their podcasts right from the start without having to grow a big audience first.

3. They had a podcasting system that helped them stay on track, repurpose their content on other platforms, and avoid “podfade” (= giving up their podcasts after a short period of time). 

I came up with a podcast & launch strategy that made sure I would get those key things right – and hit #9 in the German podcast charts (Entrepreneurship category) plus Top100 or Top200 (Entrepreneurship or Business category) in 6 other countries.  

And as it turns out, it’s true that you can instantly monetize your podcast and stay consistent – IF you set it up the right way.