Listen to the Episode Now:

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The Situation

When Carly Fauth joined Megan Dougherty on the Business Podcast Spotlight, she’d already built a unique and heartfelt show with Chemo Coffee Talk. What began as a way to cope with her own cancer treatment had turned into a meaningful platform for survivors, caregivers, and professionals in the cancer space. Carly knew the conversations were making an impact—but she wanted to make the show more polished, easier to run, and better aligned with her business goals, without losing the heart that made it special.

About Carly Fauth

Carly Fauth is a certified fitness instructor and cancer exercise specialist who helps people stay active and connected to their bodies during and after cancer treatment. She’s the host of Chemo Coffee Talk, a podcast that began during her own chemo sessions and now features honest, uplifting conversations with survivors, caregivers, and health professionals. Through her business, FitFunCarly, she supports clients with movement routines that prioritize consistency, energy, and joy – no matter what they’re facing.

What’s Happened So Far

Carly’s podcast journey started in a place most people wouldn’t expect – a chemo chair. She had never planned to launch a show, but when the idea hit, it gave her something to focus on during a really uncertain and frightening time. That shift in perspective – turning chemo day into podcast day – set the tone for everything that followed.

She began by inviting friends and supporters to be guests, sharing stories and lessons that helped her get through treatment. Each episode had a personal update, a conversation, and a takeaway the audience could apply in their own lives. Over time, the podcast grew beyond its original purpose. Carly started recording from home, bringing on doctors, survivors, nutritionists, and advocates. The format stayed warm and personal, but the scope expanded.

She’s now in her second season and loving the process, but also feeling the pressure. There’s a desire to sound more professional, reach a wider audience, and tie the podcast more clearly to her work as a cancer exercise specialist. 

She’s juggling production, outreach, promotion, and guest management on top of running a business. Carly knows the podcast is valuable. Now it’s about making it more sustainable and more strategic.

The big question for her is: How do you take a passion project and shape it into a tool that actively supports your business – without losing what made people love it in the first place?

And underneath that are a lot of smaller questions:

How do you group episodes into seasons?

What platforms should you be on?

When is the right time to bring in help?

Can you keep things simple and still make them better?

That’s what we explored together.

The New Plan

As you probably picked up in the conversation, Carly’s got something really special with Chemo Coffee Talk – a podcast that’s personal, purposeful, and packed with heart. The next move isn’t about reinventing the wheel, it’s about tightening things up so the show supports her business without becoming a full-time job (she already runs a business… and probably has a to-do list longer than a CVS receipt).

We decided that short, themed seasons are the way to go. Each one can focus on a clear topic – like movement during treatment, cancer nutrition, or mental health support – and still sit on the same podcast feed. To make them feel fresh, she’ll use slightly updated cover art and have a landing page where all episodes live together. That makes it easy to share, whether with potential clients, collaborators, or just someone who needs it.

She’ll keep using her current tools and record in batches to keep things manageable. One new piece she’s excited about is adding quick solo intros and wrap-ups to each episode. That way, listeners get more of her voice and insight – and a clearer connection to the work she does through FitFunCarly.

She will also be expanding distribution beyond Spotify and YouTube to include Apple and Amazon. It’s a low-effort move that can really help grow her audience.

The best part? This plan doesn’t require a huge overhaul. It lets Carly stay true to the podcast’s roots while giving it more structure, a little extra polish, and a clearer role in supporting her mission and her business.

How to Use This Strategy

If you want to use a Relationship Building strategy like Carly’s, here are a few questions to help shape your approach:

• Who are the people I’d most like to be talking to – potential collaborators, clients, or referral partners?

• What kind of conversation would make them feel seen, valued, and excited to keep in touch?

• How can I use my podcast to start or deepen those relationships?

Once you’re clear on that, build your show around those people. Invite guests you genuinely want to know better. Prepare in a way that makes the experience valuable for them, not just for your audience. After the episode airs, keep the connection going – send a follow-up, share their work, or introduce them to someone in your network.

You can also design themed seasons that make it easier to pitch the show. For example, “This season is all about movement during treatment,” or “We’re spotlighting caregivers this month.” That kind of clarity helps both guests and listeners know why it matters.

And remember, your podcast doesn’t have to reach thousands to be successful. If every episode brings one strong connection into your world, you’re doing it right.

If you’re looking for a partner to help you figure out and deploy a strategy that will work for your business, we can help! Book a call, and let’s talk!

How to Track Success

Here are the stats you’ll want to keep an eye on if you’re using your podcast to build relationships and grow your network:

1. How many guests you’ve had on the show who go on to refer you, collaborate, or open doors to new opportunities.
2. How often a podcast appearance leads to follow-up conversations, introductions, or email exchanges.
3. New client or partner inquiries that mention the podcast—or were clearly influenced by it.
4. And if you want to, you can track downloads and followers too, especially over time or across platforms like Spotify and YouTube. Just don’t let the numbers distract you from the relationships—those are the real wins here.

Connect with Carly

Carly’s getting ready to roll out her next season with a clearer structure, stronger guest strategy, and a few upgrades to how she presents the show—inside and out. We’ll be checking in with her again soon to hear how it’s all working in real time.

In the meantime, have a listen to Chemo Coffee Talk on Spotify or YouTube, and if you know someone going through a cancer journey, send it their way. It might be just what they need.

You can also connect with Carly at fitfuncarly.com or follow her on Instagram for updates on her work and new episodes as they drop.

Listen to the Episode Now:

Subscribe on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, your your favorite other podcast player!

The Situation

When Justine Beauregard joined Megan Dougherty on the Business Podcast Spotlight, she was looking for ways to get even more mileage out of her podcast, People Over Profit. The show was already performing well and helping her build strong connections with her audience, but she knew there was still more she could do. She wanted to make it easier for listeners to dive deeper into her content, strengthen the link between her podcast and her business, and keep growing her community without creating a huge amount of extra work.

About Justine Beauregard

Justine Beauregard is a sales strategist and coach who helps entrepreneurs and business owners grow their sales in ways that feel good — not pushy. She’s the host of People Over Profit, where she shares practical advice on selling with more ease, authenticity, and consistency. Alongside her coaching and podcast, Justine also runs free masterclasses and virtual speed networking events to help business owners connect, learn, and keep growing.

What’s Happened So Far

Looking at Justine’s journey, she’s built People Over Profit into a top-ranked podcast by staying focused on connection, value, and authenticity, while running her successful sales coaching business.

She started podcasting with the idea that offering free, public coaching sessions would naturally lead to more client work — but quickly realised that while those episodes were helpful, they didn’t have the reach or traction she was hoping for. She made the decision to shift toward short, insight-packed solo episodes and high-quality guest interviews that reflect her expertise more directly and serve her audience more effectively. That move helped her show grow faster — and feel more aligned with how she actually supports her clients.

Her podcast now plays a clear and supportive role in her business. It introduces new people to her world in a low-pressure, high-value way, and helps existing leads and community members connect more deeply with her perspective before ever getting on a call.

Many of her clients mention the podcast as part of their decision to work with her — they come in already familiar with her style and thinking, which makes the sales process smoother and more collaborative.

Now, she’s exploring how to take things even further — not by creating more content, but by making it easier to access and share the gold that’s already there.

So the question is how can a high-performing podcast drive even more results — without adding to your workload?

The New Plan

As you’ll have heard in the conversation, after looking at where Justine’s business and podcast are right now — and her focus on working smarter, not harder — we looked at creating curated playlists from her existing People Over Profit episodes as the best next step. There’s no need for a new podcast feed or brand overhaul — just new, user-focused packaging and presentation of the content she’s already built.

By grouping episodes around key topics like sales strategy, client attraction, and ethical selling, Justine can create easy-to-share resources that encourage listeners to binge, stay longer, and engage more deeply. Each playlist can have its own landing page for simple promotion, and can act as a low-lift lead magnet when answering questions on social media, in networking spaces, and through her email list.

Over time, these playlists will create an even stronger bridge between her free content and her paid offers — without adding a lot of extra work and can easily be expanded as new episodes are released. Finally, carefully selected and curated playlis can mae amazing calls to action on the podcasts Justine guest’s on to increase her own listening audience.

How to Use This Strategy

If you want to use a playlist strategy like this to get more out of your podcast, here are a few questions to start with:

• What topics do I talk about most with my audience, clients, or leads?
• Which episodes already cover those topics — and how could I group them together to make it easier for listeners to find what they need?
• Are there any important steps or ideas my audience needs that aren’t covered yet and would be easy to add?

That’s the foundation of your first set of playlists — and you don’t need to create anything brand new if you don’t want to. You can simply organise your existing episodes, create a landing page or a Spotify playlist, and add a short intro or outro if you want to give it extra context.

And if you don’t have a big archive yet, you can still make this work! Think about the questions you answer all the time in emails, networking calls, or discovery meetings. Those are the conversations you can turn into short, powerful episodes that teach, build trust, and move people closer to working with you — all while giving you a podcast resource you can use again and again.

If you’re looking for a partner to help you figure out and deploy a strategy that will work for your business, we can help! Book a call, and let’s talk!

How to Track Success

Here are the key stats to track if you want to measure the success of a playlist and audience engagement strategy like this:

1. How many people click through to your playlists from emails, social posts, or direct links you share in conversations.

2. How many new leads or clients mention listening to your podcast or a specific playlist when they reach out.

3. How your sales conversations and close rates change with people who’ve engaged with your playlists beforehand.

4. And if you want extra data, you can track downloads and average listens per playlist — but the real focus should stay on engagement.

Connect with Justine

Justine is getting ready to roll out her new curated playlists, and we’re excited to have her back on the Business Podcast Spotlight in a few months to hear all about the results. Until then, listen to her People Over Profit podcast — it’s packed with smart, practical advice for growing your sales the right way.

You can also grab a spot in one of her Free Masterclasses for even more sales and business tips you can actually use or meet her at a Virtual Speed Networking Event – they’re a great way to learn, connect, and get inspired.

Listen to the Episode Now:

Subscribe on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, your your favorite other podcast player!

The Situation

When Reuben Swartz joined Megan Dougherty on the Business Podcast Spotlight – he wanted to figure out how to reinvigorate Sales for Nerds so it could better support his business and content goals. After over 100 episodes, he still enjoyed the conversations, but felt like the show wasn’t fully aligned with his business anymore. He was ready to refresh the format, bring more structure to the content, and explore how the podcast could double as a tool to serve his audience and help him finally write the book he’s been thinking about for years.

About Reuben Swartz

Reuben is the founder of Mimiran, the “anti-CRM” built specifically for solo consultants, coaches, and fractional professionals who want to grow their businesses without feeling like pushy salespeople. He’s also the host of Sales for Nerds, a podcast dedicated to helping expert service providers navigate the business development side of their work with more ease (and a little wine). Through his software, podcast, and newsletter, Reuben supports thoughtful, consultative professionals in building client relationships that actually feel good.

What’s Happened So Far

Looking at Reuben’s situation, he’s built something really special with Sales for Nerds — over 100 episodes of thoughtful, engaging conversations that his audience enjoys. But after years of podcasting, he started to feel like the spark had faded a bit, and that the show wasn’t doing quite as much for his business as it could.

Reuben originally launched the podcast as a fun way to connect with other experts, share good advice that didn’t all have to come from him, and bring value to his audience of solo consultants and service providers — and it worked. He built relationships, grew his credibility, and even got feedback from listeners who loved the mix of practical insights and relaxed, wine-accompanied chats.

But as the guest pitches rolled in and the format stayed the same, Reuben began noticing that episodes weren’t building on each other — and the structure just wasn’t supporting the kind of strategic content he wanted to create anymore. That includes a book he’s been meaning to write, but hasn’t quite started.

Now he’s reimagining what Sales for Nerds can be: a podcast with purpose, aligned with the business, designed around a structured journey that mirrors the challenges his ideal clients face.

So the new question became how to evolve a long-running podcast into a more intentional, business-driven asset.

That opened up a few other questions, too:

Can the podcast structure support the creation of a book over time?

Should solo episodes take centre stage — and do they perform better?

How can past content be reused to support future goals?

What kind of format keeps things fun and valuable for listeners?

The New Plan

As you’ll have heard in the conversation, after reviewing Reuben’s goals — creating more structured, purposeful content that aligns with his business and supports the creation of a book — we agreed that organising Sales for Nerds into themed seasons or content “chapters” is the way forward. No need to start a whole new podcast or change the brand — the existing feed and identity still have value and recognition.

The plan is to draft a rough outline that mirrors the solo consultant journey, and then use a mix of solo episodes (where Reuben shares his insights directly) and interviews (to offer varied perspectives) to build out each chapter. These episodes can be grouped visually with simple tweaks to cover art and sorted into playlists or themed pages for easy access.

This approach lets Reuben deliver high-impact, evergreen content with a clear structure — and also lays the groundwork for drafting his book in parallel.

It’s a model that’s easy to maintain, easy to share, and powerful as a lead-nurturing and authority-building tool — especially when episodes are aligned with the common struggles of his ideal clients.

It also gives him the flexibility to create focused, repeatable content for different stages of the consultant journey, while keeping things enjoyable and aligned with his voice and brand.

How to Use This Strategy

So if you want to use this kind of strategy, here are a few questions to help guide your next steps:

• What core ideas, frameworks, or intellectual property do I want to be known for in my space?
• Could those ideas be organised into a “chapter-style” structure — almost like a book or a course?
• Which episodes from my existing library reflect those ideas, and which ones do I still need to create?

That structure becomes the backbone of your podcast. You can plan your content around it — alternating between solo episodes (to lay out your thinking) and interviews (to explore others’ perspectives or add expert insight). Reusing strong past episodes is absolutely allowed — just reframe them with updated context and a clear connection to your larger themes.

If you’re starting fresh, think about what you’d put in a book, workshop, or training series — the things you wish your audience understood before they came to you. These are your key episodes. Create a plan, share your ideas confidently, and you’ll be building both your authority and a content library that keeps working for you.

How to Track Success

Here are the stats you should track for this kind of podcast designed to build authority, support your audience, and contribute to a larger content project like a book:

1. Listen time on themed episodes or playlists — every time someone gets a full answer from your content, that’s one less email, support message, or call you have to take.
2. How often you or your team redirect people to specific episodes to answer common questions or provide onboarding — and whether that reduces time spent on repetitive support or education.
3. Progress toward your long-term content goal — like a book or course. Every episode that fills a chapter or section is a visible step forward.
4. Audience feedback that references your content or ideas — when listeners quote you, share an episode, or reach out because of something they heard, that means your message is landing.

And of course, if you’re curious, you can track downloads too — just remember, for this kind of strategy, impact and reuse are more valuable than raw numbers.

Connect with Reuben Swartz

Reuben is working on outlining his next podcast season — one that doubles as a content engine and the foundation for his upcoming book. He’ll be back on the Spotlight soon to share how it’s going and what he’s learned along the way. In the meantime, check out Sales for Nerds and explore Mimiran — especially if you’re a solo consultant who wants to make business development feel more natural.

You can also follow Reuben on LinkedIn and subscribe to the Sales for Nerds newsletter for thoughtful insights (and occasional wine pairings).

Listen to the Episode Now:

Subscribe on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, your your favorite other podcast player!

The Situation

When Lorraine Connell joined Megan Dougherty on the Business Podcast Spotlight – that is what she wanted to talk about. She has been podcasting for a while now and has a deep passion for her content – and her guests were picking up on that energy. But she hit a point where she felt like she was ready to expand her reach and find new ways to connect with more listeners, and getting traction with them was an ongoing challenge.

About Lorraine Connell

Lorraine is the founder of Peers Not Fears, a teen leadership coaching business, and the host of Leaders of Today: Teens to Titans. Her mission? To empower young people, ages 12 to 16, by helping them build confidence, develop leadership skills, and prepare for the future. Through her coaching, her podcast, and school programs, Lorraine creates a supportive space for teens to find their voice and step into leadership roles within their communities.

What’s Happened So Far

Lorraine has created something truly special with her podcast Leaders of Today, Teens to Titans. Now entering its third season, what started as a passion project has grown into a powerful platform that’s supporting her work as a teen leadership coach. And now, she’s ready to take it to the next level.

The podcast began during the pandemic when Lorraine was still teaching. She started having deep, insightful conversations with her students about what was working (and what wasn’t) in their education experience. These conversations sparked something in her—she realized that these voices and ideas were too important to keep to herself. So, she hit record.

In the beginning, Lorraine interviewed teens directly, giving them a platform to share their perspectives on leadership. But as the show grew—and as finding teen guests became a bit tricky—she shifted gears. Now, she interviews successful adults from all walks of life, asking them to reflect on who they were as teenagers, what they learned, and how those experiences shaped the leaders they became.

Through all of these changes, Lorraine has stayed true to what matters most: highlighting the power of youth voices, exploring the concept of self-leadership, and using storytelling as a way to teach and connect with others.

The impact of these conversations has been huge—not just for her audience, but for Lorraine’s own professional growth. Insights from her guests are influencing her coaching curriculum, shaping the strategies and tools she uses in schools and during one-on-one coaching sessions.

Now, Lorraine is looking to expand her reach and increase engagement. She’s got a listener base of about 25 downloads per episode, but she knows there’s so much more potential out there. She’s been experimenting with promoting the podcast, creating guest-sharing templates, and sending out newsletters, but she’s ready to take things even further.

So the big question now is how to grow a podcast that’s already aligned with your mission, but hasn’t yet reached its full audience.

And there are many other questions that come with it.

 

• How do you turn compelling, meaningful conversations into content that spreads?
• What role should your podcast play in your overall business ecosystem?
• How do you encourage more engagement without adding too much extra work?
• And how do you keep loving the process while building something bigger?

The New Plan

As you heard in our conversation, Lorraine’s main goals for Leaders of Today, Teens to Titans are expanding her audience and increasing engagement, all while being mindful of her time. With her busy schedule—coaching, developing school partnerships, and working on curriculum—it’s clear that making big, sweeping changes isn’t realistic. So, we focused on some high-impact, low-effort ways to help her grow the show without overhauling everything.

The first step is to streamline the promotion process. Instead of relying solely on guests to share their episodes, Lorraine’s going to provide ready-to-go promotional assets: pre-made graphics, short copy they can easily post, and highlight clips packed with insights. This will make it much easier for her guests to amplify their episodes and help spread the word.

Next up, we talked about pulling out those short, punchy “aha moments” from each episode. These are those golden nuggets of wisdom that stand alone as powerful content. By focusing on these, Lorraine can create a simple, intentional social media plan—teasing upcoming episodes, posting on launch day, and even doing follow-up prompts after the episode drops. This means more content, more often, without needing to start from scratch every time.

Lorraine’s also going to lean into her newsletter a bit more. Rather than just teasing the top few moments from an episode, she’ll share those aha moments with her subscribers, offering extra commentary or reflections. This not only gives listeners more value, but it also gives them a reason to stay engaged and share the content with others.

To make things even easier, Lorraine’s going to implement a simple system for tracking key insights from each episode. Whether it’s a basic spreadsheet or a Notion board, having a log of valuable takeaways will make it so much easier to repurpose content, refer to past episodes, and even reach out to past guests when it’s relevant.

And we didn’t forget about Lorraine’s guest appearances on other podcasts. She’s planning to sharpen her call-to-action—clearly inviting new listeners to check out Leaders of Today. This should help convert listeners from those guest spots into long-term followers. If she feels like experimenting, she could even create unique landing pages for each guest appearance to track where new traffic is coming from.

All of these changes fit into Lorraine’s current workflow and will help her get more traction without completely overhauling her show. No need for a rebrand or complex tech changes—just smart, strategic tweaks that will grow with her and her mission.

How to Use This Strategy

If you’re thinking about creating a podcast like Lorraine’s—one that deepens your connection with your current audience while also building relationships with new people—here are a few things to think about:

• Who are the people you’re already serving in your business, and how are they finding you right now?
• What kind of conversations, questions, or stories help them feel more confident, seen, or ready to work with you?
• Who are some people you’d love to build a stronger relationship with—and what kind of story or theme could give them a platform while still fitting with your business?

This is where Lorraine’s podcast really shines: she’s using personal stories to bring out leadership lessons in a way that feels relatable, authentic, and directly tied to the heart of her work.

If you want to create something similar, you don’t need a huge team or a big budget—just a solid concept and a little bit of structure. Think about the kinds of stories your audience needs to hear to trust your approach, and then think about who you want to tell those stories. That’s your guest list right there.

And when it comes to sharing? Make it as easy as possible. Create graphics or audiograms with a key takeaway. Give your guests pre-written posts or snippets to share. The easier you make it for them, the more likely your show is to reach new ears.

If you’re a coach, consultant, speaker, or educator, this type of podcast isn’t just content marketing—it’s trust marketing.

And hey, if you enjoy having conversations that really matter? It’s also just super fun.

If you’re looking for a partner to help you figure out and deploy a strategy that will work for your business, we can help! Book a call, and let’s talk!

How to Track Success

When you’re creating a podcast designed to deepen relationships, amplify important voices, and connect with a mission-driven audience—it’s important to track the right things so you know your effort is having the impact you want.

Here are a few of the key indicators of success to watch for:

1. Guest referrals. When your guests start suggesting other people for you to interview, that’s a great sign that the conversations are hitting the mark and your message is getting through.
2. Insight tracking. Keeping a simple list of key takeaways from each episode makes it super easy to reuse content later—whether it’s for social media, newsletters, or even future episodes.
3. Guest follow-up. Make it easy for your guests to share their episodes by giving them ready-to-go graphics and copy. The more effortless you make it, the more likely they’ll share. Then, pay attention to what gets shared and how much engagement it brings.
4. Calls to action. Whether it’s asking listeners to follow the show, check out a specific episode, or visit the show notes for more info, keep track of who actually takes action when you ask.
5. Downloads. While downloads aren’t everything, it can be helpful to see how they fluctuate after sharing or guest appearances. It gives you useful feedback on what’s working over time.

By keeping tabs on these, you’ll have a much clearer picture of what’s really moving the needle and what’s resonating with your audience.

Connect with Lorraine Connell

Lorraine is diving into this next season of Leaders of Today, Teens to Titans with a fresh plan—and we’ll be inviting her back in a few months to hear how it all played out. In the meantime, make sure to check out her show at wherever you listen to podcasts. You’ll find powerful conversations with young changemakers and the adults who support them.

If you’re working in youth development, education, or just want a better understanding of the next generation of leaders, it’s a must-listen.

You can connect with Lorraine on LinkedIn, check out Peers not Fears and of course – listen to Leaders of Today, Teens to Titans!

Launching a podcast with the goal of growing your audience and turning listeners into clients, readers and customers? It’s not always a straight path, and there are lots of choices to make along the way.

Do you focus on growth by guesting on other podcasts?

Should you optimize your show for conversions, even when you’re just starting?

And how do you track the right metrics to make sure your podcast is really helping you build a long-term business asset?

Rodney Miles was thinking through all of these questions when he joined me on the Business Podcast Spotlight. Rodney is the author of The Modern Author and the host of The Modern Author Podcast, where he shares his insights from years of writing and helps authors build their businesses. Outside of podcasting, he’s passionate about helping self-published authors succeed.

His approach? Build a conversion podcast that’ll help him grow his email list, sell books, and provide real value through interviews and expert insights. After chatting with him, it’s clear that his strategy is shaping up to be a solid one.

Let’s dive into Rodney’s plan for his podcast and how he’s going to track his success!

Listen to the full episode below, or read on for the strategy!

Laying the Groundwork

Rodney is in the planning phase of his podcast journey, and he’s approaching it with a clear goal: to bring value to authors and entrepreneurs who want to write, publish, and grow their businesses. Right from the start, he knew his podcast had to do more than just share helpful information—it needed to play a real role in converting listeners into leads and sales.

He’s already built a solid foundation for his business, and the podcast is shaping up to be another tool to help him hit those goals. Even though the show hasn’t launched yet, Rodney’s thinking strategically about how to use it from day one to generate momentum—and more importantly, results.

The big idea? His podcast isn’t just a platform for content. It’s a business asset. He’s designing it to bring in the right listeners, deliver real value, and guide them toward joining his email list or buying his books.

And he’s already planning how to measure what’s working. He’ll be keeping an eye on key metrics—like how well his guest appearances perform and how many listeners actually convert into subscribers or customers. He’s also taking a smart step by using Megan’s suggestion to create unique links for each guest appearance, so he can track exactly where leads are coming from once the podcast goes live.

The New Plan

As you’ll hear in our conversation, after chatting with Rodney about his goals and his upcoming podcast, we agreed that a he is looking at creating a Coversion Podcast. He’s not just looking to create great content; he wants to drive specific actions from his listeners, like getting them to sign up for his email list or buy his books.

Rodney’s podcast, The Modern Author, will start with a 13-episode single-season release. The episodes are already recorded and ready to go. Instead of jumping into a regular release schedule right away, he’s going to focus on a concentrated launch to provide something really robust for people to enjoy while he focuses on growing audience. This way, he can generate momentum without the pressure of weekly episodes.

For this first season, Rodney plans to use his existing website as the main hub for the podcast, linking each episode to his promotional material with clear calls-to-action. He’ll also set up a dedicated landing page to capture leads, making sure every episode and guest appearance points to an easy way for people to sign up for his email list or grab his book bundle. The dedicated landing pages will also help him track where most of his leads and conversions are coming from.

What’s great about this plan is that it’s simple and sustainable. Rodney can test out how well the podcast works for him and make adjustments as needed, all while keeping the focus on driving conversions—exactly what he needs to move his business forward.

Business Podcast Blueprints Analysis

Rodney’s podcast, The Modern Author, is a great example of a Conversion Podcast—right from the jump. He’s not just creating a show to talk shop—he’s building a tool that’s meant to drive real results for his business. His plan is to use the podcast (and all the related content around it) to grow his email list and turn curious listeners into book buyers and long-term fans.

Instead of trying to make a sale directly from the episode, Rodney’s strategy is to invite listeners into his world—specifically, onto his email list. That’s where he can keep the conversation going and offer value over time. From there, taking the next step—like buying a book or working with him—feels easy and natural.

One of the smartest parts of his plan is a free bundle he’s offering right on his website. It includes a downloadable PDF of his book The Modern Author, which lays out what it really takes to succeed in today’s publishing world. But that’s not all—he’s also including two other really practical tools: a detailed Gantt chart that maps out the entire publishing process, and a guide to all the major self-publishing platforms, with tips and advice for each one. Together, they make a super helpful starter kit for anyone serious about publishing—and they give Rodney’s audience a real reason to visit his site and sign up.

Rodney’s also planning to keep things flexible with the podcast format itself. He’ll be bringing in guests, but he could just as easily mix in case studies, solo episodes, or other kinds of content. The real focus is on value—creating episodes that are useful and interesting, while gently pointing people toward that next step.

How to Do It Yourself:

If you’re thinking about using a Conversion Podcast to move listeners through your sales funnel, here are a few questions you want to ask yourself:

• Who is my current most important customer segment?
• What content should I create to help my listeners make a decision?
• What are the most common questions I get on discovery calls?

The first step is knowing exactly who you’re creating content for. Are you speaking to aspiring authors, small business owners, or another group?

A Conversion Podcast needs to help listeners move toward a buying decision. So, are there topics you haven’t covered that could help potential customers decide whether to buy from you?

Think about your sales process—what are the questions you always get asked during discovery calls? These are the types of episodes that can help you move people along in your funnel. Answer their questions before they even ask, and position yourself as the expert who has the solutions they need.

How to Track Success

Here are the stats you should track for this kind of conversion podcast season.

1. Listener Engagement – Track how many people listen to each episode and how they engage with your content (clicking links, signing up for emails, etc.).
2. Click-through Rate (CTR) – Measure how many listeners click on your CTAs (like downloading a free resource or signing up for a call).
3. Downloads & Audience Growth – Measure the number of downloads and new subscribers to see if your audience is growing.
4. Conversions from Podcast Guest Appearances – Track how many people convert to leads or customers after being on other podcasts. You can use dedicated landing pages for these appearances to help measure this.
5. Conversion by Topic – Track which topics in your episodes lead to more conversions. For example, note which specific discussions or subjects generate more sign-ups, bookings, or purchases, so you can refine your content strategy.

Next Steps

Rodney is now all set to launch his The Modern Author Conversion Podcast season, and in a few months, he’ll return to the spotlight to share how it’s gone. Make sure to follow along and see how the strategy plays out in real-time!

If you’re looking to take your own podcast to the next level and boost your conversions, don’t hesitate to reach out for some tailored support. After all, your podcast is a key part of your sales process – getting it right is essential for turning listeners into loyal customers.

You can check out Rodney’s services or connect with him on His Website.

Become a Guest

If you have a podcast, or are considering one for your business, then we’d love to chat with you about how to make it as profitable as possible. Go to OneStoneCreative.net/SpotlightGuest and fill out an application.

Level Up Your Podcasting with Solid Strategy

If you’re looking for support with your current or an upcoming podcast – the team at One Stone Creative is ready to help. You can book a free strategy session with Megan Dougherty right here, review our ongoing and seasonal production options, or explore our new podcast Sprints Program, where we’ll do all of the heavy lifting for a podcast season that drives your business forward.

Never Miss an Episode!

Subscribe to The Business Podcast Spotlight on your favorite podcast platform (here are the links for Apple and Spotify!) and if you’d like to receive a case study like this every week, you can sign up to the Spotlight newsletter using the form below.

When you have paused your show for a while, and you want to come back from hiatus, how to restart can be a real challenge.

Do you pick up where you left off?

Do you start a new show with a new angle?

Do you change the format of your show?

There are a lot of options, but by using the Business Podcast Blueprints, you can always find a strategy that will work.

The most important thing to consider is what you need your podcast to do for you now rather than what it’s done for you in the past.

Nic Redman was facing exactly this kind of choice when she joined me on the Business Podcast Spotlight.

Nic is the principal at Nic Redman Voice, a vocal coach and voice director, author of On the Mic and long time podcaster who is evaluating options for the future of her show, the Voice Coach Podcast. (She also has an amazing free vocal warm-up exercise for podcasters – you can get it right here.) Nic had been successfully podcasting for years before taking a pause, and now she’s ready to come back and start leveraging the brand and audience she’s built up in new ways. But is it better to start a new show, switch to a seasonal format or something else entirely?

Listen to the full episode below, or read on for the strategy!

What’s Happened So Far

Looking at Nic’s situation, she has done some amazing work to get her audience and podcast to where it is, took a much needed break, and now has some incredible opportuities for how to move forward.

Nic started like most of us do, with well-prepared and well-researched content that would demonstrate her expertise to others in her industry, but after a few episodes she realized a small error there – her key audience of buyers would be much more interested in her personality ad how she could help them than the professional signifiers her coleagues ould notice.

This clear understanding of who her most important listeners are led her to loosen up her delivery, and start to connect with people more quickly and effectively by being herself. She is casual and friendly and most importantly, extremely generous and helpful with the knowledge she shares. This translates into faster sales with better clients.

She knows that her podcast has helped her business in some important ways:

It generously shares foundational information about her work so anyone can take advantage of it, and demonstrates her effectiveness to those who are looking for more individualized support.

It “separates the wheat from the chaff” in terms of potential clients. When people have heard the show and reach out, they have already decided she is an expert who can help – and have usually done a lot of the “easy” work in terms of taking the advise she shares on the show – that means coaching goes faster and is more productive.

After 2 years of very successful podcasting, life got in the way, and Nic took a step back from the show, letting it act as an evergreen resource and lead generation tool on her website and on the podcast platforms. Even without new content, she was regularly getting hundreds of weekly downloads, and new leads from the show.

But now it’s time to come back – but not on a weekly release schedule – that just doesn’t fit the business anymore.

So the question is how to come back from hiatus when you want your podcast to be different.

That is composed of many smaller questions:

• Do you have to start a whole new show?
• Can you continue using your old feed if things aren’t the same?
• How do you differentiate the new content form the old?
• Can you reuse anything?

The New Plan

As you’ll have heard in the conversation, after evaluating Nic’s current business priorities (moving to a slightly more corporate podcsater direction), and her available bandwidth (it *can’t take up too much time!) we determined that a limited release season, or special series associated with her current show would be the best way to go, and that there is no need to do a whole new RSS feed or audio-visual brand.

A season can go on an old RSS feed and simple be packaged as a new offering by having a specific landing page, and some lightly altered episode-level cover art so the season is visually distinct, and easy to share as a unit.

This will have the beefit of being easy to create – a couple of days scripting and recording, then outsourcing production means it can be done quickly, then promoted over the next several mnths.

Each short season is also going to work as a beautiful cold outreach tool where she can open up a new relationship with a low-risk and highly valuable gift.

“Hey! I think you might find this short podcast season valuable in your work” is a really nice way to open up a relationship.

This will be easy to repeat for different customer segments if that ever becomes useful.

Business Podcast Blueprints Analysis

A limited series like this is an Audience Engagement Podcast strategy, where the main goal of the show is going to be connecting with and nurturing people who, by various means, become aware of her and her work. Over time, this increased knowing, liking and trusting among new and older audience members will benefit her business in a variety of ways.

Nic knows who her audience is, and the season can be used to nurture strangers who find her work through socal media and SEO and those who she specifically finds and invites to listen to the show. The seasons will also help existing community members by repackaging new and old content into easy-to-digest seasons with sepcific goals critical to their situations.

We can expect that a season specifically designed to teach a particular customer segment particular skills will shorten her sales cycle, and improve her conversion rates on sales calls.

For the specific details on how, grab a copy of Podcasting for Business: How to Create a Show That Makes a Bottom Line Difference for Your Business.

How to Do It Yourself:

So if you want to use this kind of strategy, here are a few questions to ask yourself:

• Who is my current most important customer segment?
• Are they currently being served by my library of content? If they are – could I make it easier and more convenient for them by arranging my content into playlists and webpages?
• Are there any important gaps in my podcast – information that key potential customers could use to make a buying decision that I haven’t talked about?

That will make the foundation of your new limited release series – and you can absolutely directly reuse old episodes – just freshen them up with a new intro and outro explaining the context of the season that makes them a cohesive unit rather than standalone episodes.

Now – if you don’t have a big archive of content already, you can still use this strategy to make a highly efficient podcast.

Think about the conversations you have with people during discovery calls – what are the questions that come up the most frequently? What are the things you teach again and again? What is the reality of the people you are talking about? These are the key epiosdes you need to create – add a little context and framing and you’ve got a podcast season that makes you an official podcaster AND doubles as a sales tool that you can use.

How to Track Success

Here are the stats you should track for this kind of limited release podcast season designed to nurture leads and shorten your sales cycle:

1. How many people you directly send it to, and how many people respond by email or booking a call with you.
2. Your close rate on calls with people who have heard the show (you have to ask them, or have a unique booking link for listeners.
3. The revenue you generate from those sales.
4. And of course, if you’re interested, you can cout the downloads of the season, and compare THAT to your conversions and sales as well – but I’d call that one optional.

Next Steps

Nic is off and creating her new podcast season, and in a few months she wil lbe invited back to the spotlight for another conversation so we can hear how it went. Make sure to grab her free vocal warm-up for podcasters, and reach out if you want a little support in your podcasting! After all – your voice is the single most important tool in your podcasting toolbox – it’s worth spending some time on to shortcut the time it takes to sound as professional as you are.

Connect with nect on LinkedIn, or Instagram and check out her book, On The Mic!

Become a Guest

If you have a podcast, or are considering one for your business, then we’d love to chat with you about how to make it as profitable as possible. Go to OneStoneCreative.net/SpotlightGuest and fill out an application.

Level Up Your Podcasting with Solid Strategy

If you’re looking for support with your current or an upcoming podcast – the team at One Stone Creative is ready to help. You can book a free strategy session with Megan Dougherty right here, review our ongoing and seasonal production options, or explore our new podcast Sprints Program, where we’ll do all of the heavy lifting for a podcast season that drives your business forward.

Never Miss an Episode!

Subscribe to The Business Podcast Spotlight on your favorite podcast platform (here are the links for Apple and Spotify!) and if you’d like to receive a case study like this every week, you can sign up to the Spotlight newsletter using the form below.