Once I launched the Feminine Startup Membership podcast on the finish of 2019, I didn’t have any grand plans or intentions for what it’d appear like sooner or later. On the time, I used to be studying Tim Ferriss’ Instruments of Titans, and I observed that hardly any girls had been featured. Whereas I loved the ebook, I wished an area to listen to that very same vitality from girls.
I attempted internet hosting IGTV interviews with feminine founders however rapidly realized that many viewers battle to look at a protracted dialog, so I pivoted to podcasts. I reached out to everybody I knew with a narrative to inform, sat down with a mic on my bed room ground, and began recording. I had no expertise in reporting or journalism. I used to be not assured in public talking (actually, I used to be terrified!). However I additionally had nothing to lose and an entire lot of ardour when it got here to amplifying these voices.
Regardless of my lack of expertise or strategic planning, the podcast took off. Inside just some years, I’ve not solely grown it right into a present within the prime 0.5 % of podcasts globally, however I’ve additionally constructed a enterprise across the podcast that makes multi-six-figures of annual recurring income from sponsorships, advertisements, and our non-public group, Majic.
Learn on to be taught among the methods that helped me rapidly develop an viewers and make cash from my work. I hope it evokes you to go forward and launch your thought, too!
1. I obtained help earlier than anybody advised me I might
There’s a variety of podcasting recommendation on the market that claims you need to wait till you’ve tens of hundreds if not tons of of hundreds of downloads earlier than going out to pitch sponsors. However, once I was at about 4,000 downloads, I knew I wanted a distribution accomplice (and a few money to make this undertaking sustainable). So, I went forward and began pitching sponsors anyway. I got here up with an inventory of ten manufacturers that aligned with Feminine Startup Membership and despatched all of them a message about my imaginative and prescient and audience.
As luck would have it, one in all these manufacturers was on the lookout for podcasts to sponsor focusing on my actual viewers. One surprisingly informal name later, they signed a $25,000 deal to sponsor us for a yr. Because of a mix of the appropriate message touchdown on the appropriate desk on the proper time, I now had the money and the accountability to place out at the very least three episodes every week for the following yr—and it by no means would have occurred if I hadn’t been keen to leap earlier than I felt prepared or earlier than anybody gave me “permission” to.
The excuse to not get began on *that factor* is at all times going to be there. If I hadn’t simply gotten began, I wouldn’t have had tons of of interviews below my belt in the present day, wouldn’t have a thriving enterprise that’s using 5 extra individuals (two full-time, three contractors), would not have been awarded Younger Australian of the 12 months in 2022, and a lot extra.
2. I leveraged the networks and reputations of my visitors to develop
Relating to constructing a profitable enterprise, I swear by the ability of collaboration and amplification. This podcast wouldn’t exist with out my visitors, and the built-in distribution channel they gave me has been so key.
As an illustration, once I landed Sarah Lee and Christine Chang from Glow Recipe—two of the most important entrepreneurs I’d had on the present but—by way of some dogged chilly outreach, I knew I needed to benefit from this chance to develop our credibility by sheer connection. I emailed all my dream visitors in our database saying, “These persons are approaching the present. Do you wish to come on the present too?” Sarah and Christina grew to become an anchor that led to extra curiosity from different influential individuals as a result of they wished to get in on that bandwagon.
We additionally collaborate with every visitor to leverage their viewers for selling their episode and rising our attain. After every episode, I’d create property for social media and ship them to the visitor, encouraging them to share with their audiences. I finally discovered that almost all visitors had been sluggish to publish themselves, however once we posted one thing on our channel and tagged them, they had been more than pleased to repost.
Extra not too long ago, we’ve ramped up this technique so we will assure leveraging our visitors’ viewers. We’ve included a clause inside our visitor onboarding course of that reads: “By agreeing to our Podcast T&C’s, visitors affirm they are going to settle for Instagram collaboration requests for no less than seven days to their largest viewers (founder or model account).” This has been an actual game-changer: A assured look on our visitors’ feed can simply earn us tons of of followers in a few hours.
Over time, this deal with connection has compounded to develop our viewers to over 100,000 followers throughout channels, and set up us as one of many thought leaders within the business.
3. I market the best way I might wish to be marketed to
In all of my advertising and marketing, I’m basically creating the kind of content material that I might be focused on, as a result of that’s the content material that was lacking once I was impressed to create the podcast within the first place. (I additionally, fortunately, am my very own audience.) If I’m ever caught, I simply ask myself: If I had been a listener, is that this one thing that might enchantment to me?
As an illustration, when naming the podcast, I thought of together with my very own identify, however then considered how I seek for content material on-line. If I used to be seeking to discover a podcast like mine, I’d go to Google or my podcast app and seek for issues like ‘feminine entrepreneurship,’ ‘feminine founders,’ or ‘feminine startups.’ Utilizing these key phrases, I got here up with Feminine Startup Membership. 9 out of ten instances once I ask a listener how they discovered the present, they are saying it was from an analogous key phrase search, and sensible naming undoubtedly helped me achieve a variety of early traction.
I additionally love shopping across the podcast library to see what catches my eye. Taking this into consideration, making a daring visible model for FSC grew to become an enormous precedence. A couple of years in, it is this vibe that followers usually say attracted them to affix the group.
4. I reworked my viewers right into a thriving group (and a brand new income stream)
One of many many joys of launching this platform is studying from our group of listeners. I’m at all times asking individuals to hop into my DMs on Instagram or ship me an electronic mail about how we will higher help them, and I commonly maintain one-on-one buyer analysis interviews with founders and future founders to actually perceive how we will finest help them.
These conversations have led to the most recent large evolution in our enterprise: the creation of Majic, our paid membership group for small enterprise house owners and entrepreneurs. I saved listening to that our entrepreneur listeners had been feeling lonely and wanting extra alternatives to community, discover mentorship, and bounce concepts off individuals. Since its official launch in 2022, Majic has change into probably the most wonderful group of girls who’re the last word hype ladies for one another. Plus, it’s offered a brand new stream of recurring income that permits us to take a position into the way forward for the enterprise and preserve the workforce operating.
The lesson: When you’ve a group invested within the model, constructing the enterprise into its subsequent stage can be a collaborative effort between you and your viewers.
These approaches have helped Feminine Startup Membership develop a ardour undertaking right into a profitable enterprise sooner than I ever might have imagined. And whereas I do know now we have a lot extra to go, I’m assured that the identical mindsets—leaping earlier than I’m prepared, considering like a buyer, and harnessing the ability of connection and group—will proceed to take the enterprise to new heights.
