Stop Chasing Downloads: Podcast Strategy That Converts | Virginia Elder

What if your podcast is getting listeners, but not leading people anywhere?

In this episode of the Wickedly Branded Podcast, Beverly Cornell sits down with podcast strategist Virginia to talk about what most business owners miss when they start a podcast: conversion.

Virginia shares how personal finance podcasts helped her and her family pay off debt, rebuild their financial life, and eventually inspired her to help financial professionals turn their own shows into powerful business assets. Together, Beverly and Virginia unpack why podcasting is not just about downloads, reviews, or fancy numbers. It is about building trust, guiding listeners toward a clear next step, and using your content strategically to support your business growth.

They dive into the biggest mistakes podcasters make, including missing calls to action, unfocused content, scattered topics, and asking listeners to do too many things at once. Virginia also shares why reviews are not the algorithm booster many people think they are, why focused content pillars matter, and how a podcast can become a content vault, authority builder, and client attraction tool.

If you have ever wondered whether your podcast, YouTube show, or long-form content is actually helping your business grow, this episode will help you think more strategically about what you say, who you speak to, and what you ask your audience to do next.

Key Marketing Topics

1. Downloads Do Not Equal Conversion

A large audience does not automatically create clients, leads, or revenue. Your podcast needs a clear bridge between listening and taking action, whether that is downloading a resource, booking a call, joining your email list, or exploring your services.

2. Focused Podcast Strategy Builds Authority

When your podcast is built around your core content pillars, listeners begin to understand what you do, who you help, and why your work matters. Staying focused helps you become known for specific ideas instead of creating scattered content that leaves people unsure of your expertise.

3. Repurposing Turns One Episode Into a Marketing Asset

A podcast episode should not disappear after it airs. With the right strategy, one episode can become blog content, social posts, video clips, email content, sales resources, and an evergreen authority-building library for your business.

Dare to be Wickedly Branded

Transcript

Beverly 0:00

Did you know over 70% of podcasts never make it past 10 episodes, and even fewer convert those listeners into actual paying clients. And yet, podcasting is still one of the most powerful trust building tools in your entire marketing ecosystem if you know how to use it. Strategically, welcome to the Wickedly Branded podcast. I'm your host, Beverly Cornell, founder and fairy godmother here at Brand, at Wickedly Branded. And today's conversation is going to flip the way you think about podcasting, because we're not talking about downloads and fancy numbers. We're gonna talk about conversion. That is what, that is the most important thing. You want 'em to get people to do something, whether it's click or review, or actually pay you money for something. in doing this, so I am joined by a podcast strategist who specialize is who specializes in helping financial professionals turn their podcasts into client generating machines without the overwhelm, without. the ickiness of having to get sponsors and without guessing what to say next. Welcome, Virginia. I'm super excited to have you here today.

Virginia 1:10

Thank you, Beverly. lovely intro. Great job. Thank you.

Beverly 1:13

I feel like I'm being audited all the way through this conversation, just so you know, my listeners, because she does this for a living, it's so exciting to speak to other people who do this because I feel like sometimes, especially with women and my listeners are mostly women, we don't do this ki this kind of thing for lots of reasons. being visible is kind of scary to a lot of women. So doing this is a little bit scary in that way, but also from the tech side, it's a little bit scary. So tell me how you got to this place. Like how did you decide, this is my lane and I wanna live here and help people do this?

Virginia 1:44

Yeah. So a little bit about my story about how I got into podcasting was that I turned to personal finance podcasts, trying to get through my own debt situation. And going from like thinking about filing bankruptcy and like researching that and what are we gonna do? And mind you, at the time I had a newborn and a 2-year-old. So all the stress, right.

Beverly 2:09

The messy middle, yes.

Virginia 2:10

Oh my gosh. And, those personal finance podcasts, you know, various money coaches, personal advisors, whatever, I like binge listened to their show like obsessively. And I worked corporate at the time and, in between spreadsheets or whatever for corporate, I'd pull up my budget and fix something, whatever they said to do. Or, we paid off our debt in three and a half years. We started investing. we completely. Turned things around Wow. For the best. And I can very honestly say those shows and those people saved us. And, I didn't know what I wanted to do with it at that point, but I knew obviously it worked and I wanted to be a part of that. And then just that whole debt payoff story, other moms came to me saying like, what did you do? How did you do it? Like, show me the way. And so I launched a show back then. thinking I would guide women in the same way, that I was seeking guidance because side note, a lot of those people were dudes. A lot of the finance space is very prominently male. Absolutely. And nobody talked about like. How much you spend on diapers and how much you spend formula on daycare and how expensive Montessori was and yes. like issues that I felt like families face, this is a completely normal issue. None of these dudes talk about this. So I'm listening to their advice and applying it, but then having to tweak it significantly because of our situation. So I was like, let me be the mom that's out there talking about daycare and diapers and budgeting. And, did that for a little while and then very quickly after launching that show. I attended a personal finance, creator's conference and had no idea what I was getting into. Okay. I just thought hey, like this is cool. Like, I, sometimes

Beverly 4:07

that's best Virginia, you don't really know what you're getting yourself into.

Virginia 4:10

yeah. And it originally was a blogger conference and like at that point it was like podcasting space was really cool and new, or new-ish. Right. It was kind of getting more mainstream. And at that conference, a couple of financial advisor women asked me to launch their show. This was not the plan. Okay. I said, yes, I said I don't know what I would have to charge you. Like we have to work through this. They're like, it's fine. We'll work through it together. And, so they were my first clients as far as production goes. A few months later I had a, another financial advisor that we launched his show. And it's just, kept going. So my show is no longer personal finance, as you can imagine, Uhhuh. but yeah, we've, completely transitioned and I've been home now for about seven years doing podcast production.

Beverly 4:59

I love this for lots of reasons. One is women, we are the first generation of women to have businesses. And to have financial stakes.

Virginia 5:09

Yeah,

Beverly 5:09

in the game. with receptionists and people who protect their calendars and all the things. So he was struggling to get in front of the right people. And I said, well, I feel based on my experience of having a podcast back in 2007, a podcast would be amazing for you because, and he was writing a book, so he had a system and a process, which I thought was fantastic for a podcast. I said, you could share your experience, but also bring in your ideal target as a guest. And when you call them up and say, Hey, I'm so and so from. Money-Wise podcast or whatever that is, they're gonna schedule to be on your call because a couple things happens. One, you're giving them visibility, and two, you're stroking their ego.

Virginia 5:51

Yes.

Beverly 5:51

And then it's up to you in that 30 minutes, hour, whatever your format is to build no, like trust, and then to maybe get to a problem and help them solve some little minor problem. And then be able to possibly work with them in the future. And as I'm telling him this. I literally left my body Virginia, like I was like floating over top of myself saying, why don't you have a podcast, Beverly?

Virginia 6:18

Oh.

Beverly 6:19

Like, why are you not doing this thing that you think is so powerful and important?

Virginia 6:24

Yeah.

Beverly 6:24

And a couple years ago I had decided I was gonna be the best case study for my clients. So I was gonna do all the hard things and show them what is possible by doing that. And so within three weeks I started a podcast. But mind you, I had. This other podcast I'd done for almost two years. And did really well with. And so I used that strategy as like the core of the strategy for this one. and it's evolved certainly since the first episode. I was, interviewing both men and women initially. Now I'm mostly women. but it has evolved as my niche has evolved, and as my expertise has evolved, it has evolved. But I feel like, the idea of a strategy, a very strategic podcast, my coach calls it the, one KO your knockout. Like what is your lead generation? That's like your knockout strategy. A podcast can be really powerful for that. Yeah. But you can't just press record and people magically come to you. Talk about some of the biggest mistakes people make when they start a podcast without that really important foundation of a strategy.

Virginia 7:24

Yeah. Yeah. first, and maybe most obvious, like as we're talking about it, but not typically obvious to the host, is that the show is entirely missing. A call to action. Next step. Like, how do I work with you? Where's your link? What's your thing? Like, how do I get in

Beverly 7:42

to ask? Yeah. You need to ask people. You need to ask. Yes.

Virginia 7:45

and that seems absolutely wild, but then when you talk to someone who you know, you like through an audit or something like that, we discover that this is a big thing that's missing. we gotta fix this. they're like. Oh. I just, I don't know what to say. I don't, I feel salesy. Yep. I, yeah. how do I work that in the conversation? Like it just all this like awkwardness bubbles to the surface and fear Is the big thing. Like they, they want, they have it in their mind. Which part of this is correct, that the show is just really to establish rapport with these listeners. The know, and trust, you've mentioned it. Yes, a hundred percent. But when I know, and trust you, I wanna take the next step with you. And I need it to be the easiest thing ever. I need it to be one link, one button, one simple URL, whatever. It's yes. For me to just name an email, boom. Cool. I got this free thing. Maybe it's a video from you. That's working really well these days. Ooh,

Beverly 8:43

interesting.

Virginia 8:44

Okay. We'll tip there for folks. If you are like, love it. What do I do for my lead magnet? That's what it's called. FYI. But, if you're not telling people how to take the next step with you, it could be casual as could be. but guess what? they are just a listener and there is no transition or bridge or anything over into your actual business. So that is like red flag or, blinking light or whatever, low

Beverly 9:09

saving fruits of let's just at least put a call to

Virginia 9:12

action, like role number one. Okay? Mm-hmm. and it should be mentioned in the show. You can prerecord it, have it like intro and outro. Like what? But there has to be something, whatever. Yes. Yeah.

Beverly 9:23

Yes.

Virginia 9:23

And it should be in your show notes So that people can, follow written instructions as well.

Beverly 9:28

Love that. That's a great

Virginia 9:29

tip. Another thank you. another pretty glaring one is that the show isn't focused, or, people say niche down, but then a lot of folks are like, what does that even mean? so when you look at your business and you're like, I solve these types of problems, you wanna think about tangential problems? That, that are related. if they have this problem over here, they also need me. And then those are topics that you can talk about on the show. I don't want, I said, I don't want you talking about, Use my example, like diapers in daycare, vacationing in Maui, fishing, seemingly random topics, unless you're really good at looping those all together and bringing them home. As far as while those things matter for your business podcast needs to be thought about as a business asset. I don't think you're gonna be talking about like fishing and vacationing in Maui and stuff like that, unless you are a travel agent. Okay.

Beverly 10:36

Or if something specific happened there that maybe yeah. I'm thinking about this, so I, but yeah. But as I'm working here, I find ways to tell stories all the time, but

Virginia 10:45

Sure.

Beverly 10:46

But I love this because when we do our brand Spark experience, that 90 minute deep dive that we do with our clients We always start with their content pillars. these are the things you want to be known for.

Virginia 10:55

Yes.

Beverly 10:56

And you can go a mile deep on these three to four things that you want to be known for. And that repetition is so incredibly powerful. And how do you take it from all the different angles To really hone in so people know when they're talking to somebody, for example, I'm at a chamber event and somebody says, oh gosh, I'm looking for a podcast editor. I know, oh, I have the perfect person. It's Virginia. She does this because you've talked about it in all the different ways. no, the state in your lane. And really owning your authority in those areas is huge.

Virginia 11:29

Yeah.

Beverly 11:30

Great tip.

Virginia 11:30

and listeners don't need to necessarily know how multifaceted you are and like all your interests. I know you're interested in those things, but that doesn't help them want to do business with you.

Beverly 11:41

Ooh,

Virginia 11:41

I know. I'm,

Beverly 11:42

I might disagree here, Virginia.

Virginia 11:44

Ooh. Okay.

Beverly 11:44

I love this. Who you are and your story Helps that narrative residence, that connection to who you are matters. So I, but you have to be careful. So I love that you're saying this, but I feel like, okay, so I'm just gonna use a couple of examples. I've moved 28 times in my life.

Virginia 12:02

Oh my gosh.

Beverly 12:03

one thing I'm really good at is watching the world around me, 'cause I've always been the new girl, right? I've stepped into situations and I recognize patterns really quickly and how people work. I've watched people for a long time. working with my clients, it helps me understand the patterns of their business. I also am a dancer, so I'm a, I was a dancer for 18 years. I was a Zoom instructor. it's all about like working together, making sure you're watching each other and how you can do, create something better when you work with other people. So those skills translate to the work that I do with my clients. So the power of the story is key in how it connects. I think that's something you said a little earlier, how it connects to who you are. And I do this often, like I am a Stevens minister, for example, and what we are taught to do is walk beside people and listen to them. So they don't feel alone. And so many founders and entrepreneurs feel alone. So I resonate with that, very strongly in having them be heard. Having them feel like they have a, a safe place to share the, the journey that they've been on, the challenges that they're facing. And many times in those brands, spark experiences, people do cry. And it's not because they're like. Super emotional sensitive people. It's just that it's been so overwhelming and just saying it out loud is a relief for them. So I, I think you can do it, Virginia. You just have to be really careful about how you do it.

Virginia 13:30

yeah. Yeah. it's like what we were saying earlier, like you can tell stories about the thing as long as it loops back to whatever your business

Beverly 13:41

is,

Virginia 13:41

right? Yes. what tends to happen, and I see this a lot, is that whether you're doing solo shows and just talking about these seemingly random things, or whether you're interviewing people and y'all get off topic and you're, the interview doesn't seem to be going somewhere, right?

Beverly 13:59

Mm-hmm.

Virginia 13:59

Okay. And so there's that. Feeling of scatteredness or randomness or unpredictability that listeners can get when you aren't as a host. Really good at redirecting it back, which you are, Beverly. I already sensed that. pillars like you said.

Beverly 14:19

Yeah.

Virginia 14:19

when you work with a branding professional. Yes. Like Beverly.

Beverly 14:22

Yeah.

Virginia 14:22

Those can be your same pillars for your podcast. Sure you can still enjoy all these extra things that aren't necessarily related To the business. You could tell stories about them, but always loop 'em back. That's, probably the biggest second mistake is like this kind of random content.

Beverly 14:39

I agree with you. I was on a podcast once and these guys were chit chatting before it started constant, like for 20 minutes about nothing. And it was, uh, it was a, it was a podcast about your weird story and I have a very weird adoption story. So I was on there for that and I was just really practicing my, my speaking chops. That's really what I was doing, was just using this as an opportunity to speak and get my story out and, um, I literally fast forward the Holts first 20 minutes before I listen to the actual story. Mm-hmm. But I gotta believe somebody who doesn't know my story. Isn't gonna stick around for 20 minutes to listen to them. Jibber jabber. To get to my story. So you're doing a disservice to your listener and to the guest, I believe. By muddying it up, messing it up a little bit. Yeah. In that space. So you do have to be careful and curate and take care. And guide you are the guide on the show. Guide your guest, guide your listeners, as well as hopefully getting, positioning yourself as the authority and all of that. Which is a lot of work and takes a little bit of time

Virginia 15:41

Yeah.

Beverly 15:41

To, to master. It doesn't happen the first episode. Yeah. Please don't listen to my first episode.

Virginia 15:45

No, same. But also that can sometimes be taken care of with editing. if you feel like, I'm not great at redirecting my gus yet, like I rainbowed a little bit too much on that or whatever.

Beverly 15:57

Yeah.

Virginia 15:58

edit it out. Make it a more concise episode. Yes. I even recently have had guests that just go off and I'm sitting there We're deleting those excess, subscribe, share this, blah, blah, blah, Uhhuh. you tag your friends on my reel or what? Like all this stuff. Don't

Beverly 16:11

forget to leave me a review.

Virginia 16:12

Yes. The review thing.

Beverly 16:14

yes, yes.

Virginia 16:15

those we're deleting a bunch of those and I do get pushback from hosts sometimes there're like, but I really want reviews. I'm like, okay, but why? Because it makes you feel good.

Beverly 16:24

But

Virginia 16:24

doesn't 50, you already have 50 feed the algorithm reviews.

Beverly 16:25

Doesn't it feed the algorithm a little bit too?

Virginia 16:28

It actually doesn't.

Beverly 16:29

What?

Virginia 16:30

Yes.

Beverly 16:31

Okay. Hold on. Hold on.

Virginia 16:32

Listeners,

Beverly 16:32

this is a hot take. I need to hear this. It doesn't feed the algorithm.

Virginia 16:37

No. So the primary reason that you would want reviews on your podcast and like the five stars and all that is so that if someone else is checking out your show, they would read that review and say oh, okay. This is for me, this is not for me. It's just, it's another layer of that. or I'm out for other listeners.

Beverly 17:00

Interesting.

Virginia 17:00

So as long as you have a few reviews and they're. Somewhat recent. You're doing okay.

Beverly 17:07

I love

Virginia 17:07

that. you just need a few and you just need a few this year.

Beverly 17:11

So this

Virginia 17:11

is, but they really don't push the algorithm or push your show up or do you know any of that? If you wanna do that, then get, featured by Apple. Yeah. Then you're gonna be at the top and there's gonna be requirements that they're looking for there.

Beverly 17:25

Yeah. Okay. So talk about that. How do you get featured on Apple?

Virginia 17:28

You can, and I would have to pull up the website. I could give it to you after the recording. Okay. And you could put it in the show notes. The show

Beverly 17:34

notes. Perfect.

Virginia 17:34

Yes. but you submit your show, like you literally do an application to get featured in Apple, you have to have the proper size show notes, show cover art.

Beverly 17:46

Okay.

Virginia 17:47

So that's a big requirement. And they'll specifically look at it like when you launch your show, you can get away with. Your font being too small, your cover are being too busy, things like that. But when they are looking at featuring your show, they're gonna be more strict about the visuals that are being put out there. you need very specific items met in your cover art. You're gonna also have to submit like a wide screen, like a landscape version of your cover art, not just the square one. And then of course, they're looking at content longevity. you want to make sure that when you're submitting that you're totally ready with. Robust show notes with calls to action, with links to your business. kind of all the check boxes done. Absolutely. So that if you get featured, you are able to take advantage of that positioning. So good. but yeah, there's a whole application. I'll send you the link.

Beverly 18:45

I love this. This is a great tip. I love this. So I think this is so good because a couple of things that you said, one is obviously that the reviews is more to stroke your own ego, which that is fine. Like we need a badass jar sometimes, like to, podcasting can be a little arduous and it's the long game, so you are kind of doing it a week after week after week. Mm-hmm. And so having a few of those reviews can really help just from a mental state. Yes, there is a, a place for that. but it's not, it's not gonna help your a algorithm, which I did not know. So I totally learned that today. I love that piece of information, but it's, it. Making sure that they're kind of like a few relevant and timely. Like they're not too much time between them. So that it feels like you're fresh. Okay.

Virginia 19:30

Correct.

Beverly 19:31

Love this. This is such good tips. Yeah. Okay. So what do you think, what do you wish more people understood about, like when you first start a podcast, like before, before Clarity, before niching, before all that, what do you wish that they would understand before you even start the podcast?

Virginia 19:49

Okay, What I would love for folks to do when they launch is think of the show as your recorded response to your most frequently asked questions in your business. So that let's just say your first 10 episodes, A, they can be solo episodes, which features you over guests, right? So you are the expert, you are the one getting visibility. It's my show, right? Like you're the one out there. But I guarantee you, you have a list of things that people ask you all the time that you're like nearly sick of answering

Beverly 20:26

your FAQs people. Yes.

Virginia 20:28

Yes. And so go ahead and record one episode per response. Tell a story with it. Make it interesting. I'll spice it up, whatever. Make sure there's a call to action so that they, sign up with their email and get pulled into your business. But what you can do at that point. Is you have a little mini library that you've created that helps people when they're considering working with you

Beverly 20:55

Or

Virginia 20:56

even in the process while they're working with you. So then you can use your podcast as this recommended playlist when you start to receive those questions again, person A, like books a call with you and they have this list of questions and you know they wanna use your service. You can say, Hey, before we jump on the call, I'm really excited to talk with you next week. Here's my show. Go ahead and listen to episodes one through five. One, whatever. And I believe it will really help you out and set us up for a really successful call. Use it like that, right? use it as a tool. So not only will you have listeners like immediately on that show, because I know people are googling these questions as well. Hello? So your show would pop up as Their solution, but then you've actually got like a. Plan of how to use those episodes and who you can share them with. And of course you can pull clips from 'em and post 'em on social and there's so much you could do. But at first, I think that is the most tactical, practical way for a business owner to launch their show.

Beverly 22:04

I have so much.

Virginia 22:06

Yay. Okay.

Beverly 22:07

I have so much. Let's go. Go. Okay. So we talk about repurposing content on this show about how you can create one piece of content and you can use it a thousand different ways. And what Virginia is saying is exactly this. So I. It can go a couple different ways. I use the, my blog as my center point, I, that's my center wheel of all of my content. That's my choice. I'm a writer. I like that. But somebody might be a storyteller and the podcast might be the perfect place for that. So you take your center piece of content, a podcast episode Virginia's talking about. You talk about a question now, not only is Google searching for that term, but now with a EO and AI questions are the most sought after content for them, and that's what pops up. And this is huge. So then you can take that podcast episode and you can take the transcript and then you can tweak it to make it a blog post. Or you could take the blog post and make it a podcast episode. there's all these different ways and then you can take clips. Video clips, but you also can take quotes from there and use those in your content. There's so many ways to take that one piece of content you spent an hour on and slice it and dice it in a hundred different ways. To make content distribution so much easier for yourself.

Virginia 23:28

Yeah.

Beverly 23:28

And when you slice it and dice this, I promise you, with all of my being that no one's gonna realize that was all from one episode. They're not gonna, even if they listen to the episode They are not gonna remember all those things. And if they do remember they'll say, oh yeah, that I remember that quote. That was really good. It only affirms. The things inside of them. And repetition is one of the most powerful things you have in your marketing to be known for things. So having some of that go out and building this bank, this content vault that you can repurpose that's evergreen. Is huge. And then I love this added side of it, of building a library. You can send people to either let's say on LinkedIn someone asks a question, you're like, that is a great question. I just talked about this in this episode. Here's the link to the episode. Yep. Now you have value, you are contributing to the conversation and you get to kind of talk about yourself when I'm an authority here, people.

Virginia 24:20

Yes. that's the trick too, is sorry to interrupt you.

Beverly 24:22

No, you're so right. No, it's so

24:24

good.

Virginia 24:24

And that's, several of my clients, especially female, financial professionals, they'll say that like the instant that they're able to use the podcast is like their answer tool. They're receiving like this different level of respect.

Beverly 24:40

Absolutely.

Virginia 24:41

And they didn't know how to like name that or what was that vibe that I was feeling? What changed in the room here?

Beverly 24:47

Oh, good.

Virginia 24:48

and they're like, it's the show. Like it's, they'll tell, instead of, when I say, okay, we should do this, and this. And then they ask me more questions. They say, you're the expert. What should I do? And that shift is everything that makes me like,

Beverly 25:03

oh so good. Gives me like two. Yes. Oh good. yes. Yeah. Because now you don't have to work as hard. You've done all the work and you can just kind of enjoy The authority you've built in that space. episode. I do have a question. Yeah, because I love that you talk about solo versus guesting. I do it a couple different ways and may, and maybe you have. Other clients do other ways too, so I'd love to talk about it.

Virginia 25:25

Yeah,

Beverly 25:25

I do every season on a specific topic, and the topic is in one of my content pillars. So every season I ask a question about that thing. It like one of the questions is about that thing. And then, it's great as I'm writing a book, so I'm using the quotes from the podcast in my book, and then now with the book. I can send it to you and say, Hey Virginia, I quoted you in the book. You'll share it out to your friends because you're in a book.

Virginia 25:47

Yeah. Super cool.

Beverly 25:48

So you can, like I'm telling you, people podcasting, if I'm

Virginia 25:51

getting so much gold here, like I'm so excited. Yeah, so there is a very prominent voice and the podcast coaching space, his name is Adam. He is really great.

Beverly 26:02

He's audited my podcast.

Virginia 26:04

There you go. Amazing. And he, I follow him, I listen to his stuff. I get his newsletters. He's

Beverly 26:09

great. Yes.

Virginia 26:09

Wonderful. So he talks about. like a one third type division between your solo versus your guest episodes. Now that's all to be fiddled with, right? that's just a recommendation. You don't have to take the advice that people give you. So I'm gonna go back to what are your goals with this show? And how quickly do you need to accelerate your authority?

Beverly 26:34

I love

Virginia 26:34

it. 'cause if your play is, I wanna get these ideal clients on and interview them, and that is my play. then sure. Do more interviews. Because you're speaking to your ideal client. If your play is, I need my face to be recognized, I need my brand to be out there, I need to be the authority. I want more speaking opportunities. it's more Self-centered, which that sounds bad, but sometimes that's like really important for absolutely important.

Beverly 27:01

yes.

Virginia 27:01

So don't bash that. but in that case, I'm gonna recommend you do more solo episodes. So maybe we do, every other one, or maybe do multiple solos and then work in one interview, here and there. And what you would do in that case of the strategy, the interviewee that you choose gets to be really specific. Because if you're doing three solos, and then one interview, that's only one interview that you're airing per month. So you have, if you're doing a weekly show, so you have a month to look around at your connections and decide. Who can I interview that aligns with my business? That we could have a great conversation. Yeah. But that where I am, like sharing the stage with them. Not necessarily featuring them so much. So the intention of the interview is totally different.

Beverly 27:58

Absolutely.

Virginia 27:59

So it always goes back to your goals with the business and then designing a very specific strategy, not just for calls to action and music and timing and dah, dah, but like. Topics, who you're interviewing, why you're interviewing them, how often, how frequent your show's gonna air. there's so much that you could get into.

Beverly 28:21

Oh my gosh. like, oh yeah, I, we could go for hours. This

Virginia 28:25

is so much fun. I don't think, how fun this is. We're

Beverly 28:27

nerding out about podcasting, which is so fun. I love it. Okay, so I'm a total nerd, Virginia, and I like love marketing and I love helping, people really understand the importance and power of some of these tools and systems. Speaking of systems though,

Virginia 28:41

yeah.

Beverly 28:41

I wanna talk about systems for podcasting. 'cause we have a, I'm a systems gal, like I brand. And what kind of I expect out of the show. So talk about systems from your perspective. Like obviously from my perspective, I have a very real strategy, but from your per perspective and how you help your clients, like what does that system look like on your end?

Virginia 29:02

Yeah. Yeah. Okay. I love this. and this could work with any editing team, whether you are, hiring people in-house, whether you're outsourcing or whether you're working with us. So first, I love that we're res recording on Restream. I'm going to recommend Restream. Or squad cast or Riverside is, is mine that I record on. But a, if, what I'm gonna say is a valid podcast recording platform, okay. I had to make a shift a few years back to just say I will not accept Zoom recordings. Sorry folks, don't accept them because they are lower quality. You could have the greatest camera, the best microphone. The recording quality is lower with Zoom than these other systems. So first thing is that I'm making sure that you're recording in a great system. one of those that I listed from there, what I ask my clients to do is. Either send me the link so that I can pull your recording off of that platform. I might have their username and password. it's fine. we work it out, you can send me an email, Hey, there's a new recording in my Riverside. I go pull it down. or they upload it for me to a specific link within our shared Dropbox folder. My team is also in Dropbox, so we get notifications when there are new uploads that prompts, my admin to enter that episode into Asana. Assign different tasks to different teammates. somebody's editing, somebody's cutting reels, somebody's writing show notes, somebody's doing graphics, and, due dates are assigned and we take care of it from there. What that looks like from our client side is that, we have had a strategy call. at some point, whether you're launching, you get three of 'em or maybe you've been with us for a while, you get a strategy call at the beginning of every quarter, so you know what your goals are that quarter. What you're gonna do, topics, all that. So you record whether you choose, which this is some of my advice is that, especially for women, fix your hair, do your makeup, pick out a couple of different shirts. sit down and record three episodes.

Beverly 31:20

Yep.

Virginia 31:20

Like change your shirt in between, put on a different color. I don't even do that anymore. Whatever you wanna do the same

Beverly 31:25

shirt on.

Virginia 31:26

I know this my

Beverly 31:27

wickedly branded shirt, so

Virginia 31:28

I love it. Some people are still conscious of that, oh, I don't wanna be wearing the same shirt in every single one of my episodes. Or like all over my Instagrams, like all the same shirt, they're worried about it. So I say, okay, fine. Like change shirts in between, that's fine. sometimes even in interviews, if I'm thinking like they might go live around the same time, I might change shirts just so I'm wearing like blue on your show and whatever, some other color on some other show. but get all that planned out. Yeah. That is a system in it of itself, right? Like you have a calendar block Where you don't have appointments. Yes. There's no interruptions, whatever is going on. This is like my doctor's appointment with myself. And I'm gonna sit down with my makeup and my hair and all of that and I'm gonna record three episodes. So again, from the client side, that's what you do. And then you're either sending me that email or you're uploading those recordings to Dropbox and then you. the team takes care of it. The next time you hear from us, it's an email saying, your episode is ready. It's planned to go up on this date. Here are the completed assets. You can review 'em if you want to. You don't have to. and you know it's ready to go.

Beverly 32:40

so I just, while you were talking, next time I, while you're talking, I actually went onto your website. So I do the same thing strategically as I wear my brand colors. Yeah. On my show. I have wickedly branded behind me. This was like a $300 LED purchase on Amazon. I set up my little studio space and when I do my hair, I'll make it a recording day. So Wednesdays are my recording day. I typically will do my hair, do my makeup a bit more. But I also have gotten to the point where, you know, I. I am who I am. And sometimes I have gnarly, curly hair and that does not wanna behave. And sometimes, I am a little tired 'cause I'm a mom. I don't let that get in the way of me showing up for my clients or for my listeners. Yeah. Because I feel like that is who I am. And I do feel like it comes across as my genuine authenticity comes across in my brand on purpose. That I'm human and there is a messy middle sometimes in all of this, and it's okay. like not to have to be so perfect. women live in a binary, Virginia specifically Oh yeah. Where you have to dress and you will be way more successful being you and far less overwhelmed and overworked than you would be being very coifed and like Perfect. So relax in the sense of you get to create your own container. You get to decide

Virginia 33:59

it's your brand, it's your content, it's your Mm-hmm. Face and voice, like Be yourself. Yeah. Absolutely.

Beverly 34:05

So good. Okay, so I have a magic wand. I don't know if you know this, but I do. I have a magic wand and I wave it every single episode. This is a segment where I ask you if there's something to do with marketing or branding. You can relate to podcasting even that you have a question on or have been struggling with. Is there something that I could maybe help you with today? If I go away my magic wand and make something go away or be perfect, what would it be?

Virginia 34:30

I wonder. If you were running a particular campaign, let's say it's like a certain call to action, okay. And you're directing people in a certain direction.

Beverly 34:42

Right?

Virginia 34:42

This lead magnet, this thing is what we're into. Do you think 60 days is enough time for folks to get that, to hear it?

Beverly 34:53

what's the frequency?

Virginia 34:55

So a weekly show. Okay. but then it's also, multiple posts a week on social media.

Beverly 35:01

Email.

Virginia 35:02

Email about a weekly newsletter. Okay.

Beverly 35:04

so I picked 30 days, like I picked a quarter for a reason. there is a statistic about people need to hear something 11 times to remember it now because many touch points in that timeframe as possible.

Virginia 35:16

Yeah. Okay. So a quarter minimum. And then you said you can't overdo it. So like we could stretch that out,

Beverly 35:24

oh my gosh, six months. I actually take a lot of content. It's evergreen. those FAQs you talked about, those aren't going away typically unless some tool comes out or whatever. But even then you can talk about the tool for like 10 times and people Yeah. I repetition is your friend. Where I see so many brands, Virginia, I think Miss the Mark is, they think it has to be bright, shiny object syndrome. And they don't stay true. And if you listen to like Seth Godin or some of the really big marketing minds of the world, you being consistent and re repeating your brand promise is your power. That is where your branding really takes root. So I feel like, yeah, don't be afraid to be a little boring to yourself because you're not being boring to the people who have that problem, they're looking for the solution to the problem and you are giving them answers.

Virginia 36:13

Absolutely. thank

Beverly 36:14

you. Hopefully that helps.

Virginia 36:15

So good.

Beverly 36:16

It's a great question, and I think so many people, there's a, there's so many bright shiny objects when it comes to marketing. There's so many ways you can do things, and I come from a little bit of old school because I've been doing it for so long, and some of those things psychologically still really work. And it is about impressions. It is about number of times, it is about building the know, the like, and the trust. I do suggest like variety of content, right? So reels and infographics and blogs and You can say the same thing. if I write a blog post about the top three ways to do something and I do a podcast about that, then I can do a carousel. It has three things on it. Then I can do an infographic with those three things highlighted. And somewhere along the way that visual or that thing will connect With someone's brain because they're looking for a specific piece of information or that title ran, was different for them. That, that got their attention. Or the hook was the best hook that was specific to them. Don't be afraid to be repetitive. 'cause I promise you that no one is gonna be able to quote your content unless they're your mother or maybe your husband, that they're, you just don't, nobody really has those kinds of raving fans that, yeah. Would be able to do that because they don't, nobody cares that much about your business like you do.

Virginia 37:31

Yeah. Yeah.

Beverly 37:33

really, but truly you. Yeah, truly. So don't be afraid, in fact, embrace it fully to be repetitive. Just try to take it and make it as many kinds and types of content you can. Let's that repurposing magic that I talk about. In your content vault, ideally Virginia, after a year of doing a podcast, you should have enough content for at least five years.

Virginia 37:58

Yeah.

Beverly 37:59

At least five years.

Virginia 38:00

Yeah. And a lot of times that's where you run into okay, great, what do I talk about now? Because you feel like you have, that year of content. And I could repurpose this for five years.

Beverly 38:11

But you can say it again.

Virginia 38:13

Yeah, exactly.

Beverly 38:14

You can say it again because actually you probably have a little twist to it now that you didn't have a year ago.

Virginia 38:19

Sure.

Beverly 38:19

Maybe it's a client story. Maybe it's a client experience. Maybe it's a client mistake. Maybe it's a mistake you made even I did this thing, but now I know this and this is why.

Virginia 38:30

Yeah.

Beverly 38:30

And that learning can be the thing that somebody connects with, so. I the, yeah. Don't be afraid to take it and do it again with, and just adding little elements even to it.

Virginia 38:40

Yeah.

Beverly 38:41

the story you talked about this earlier, add a story or add a, like you can do lots of things too. Spice

Virginia 38:45

it up. Yeah.

Beverly 38:45

Yeah.

Virginia 38:46

Make it

Beverly 38:46

fun. Make it new.

Virginia 38:47

Yeah. Yeah.

Beverly 38:47

And you can take the same content and have 10 client stories that can go with that piece of content. Mm-hmm. Because you've done this how many times, day in and day out, you have those stories of people making mistakes or people ki kicking, kicking it outta the park, they hidden outta the park of whatever they did. So don't be afraid to, because again, that there's gonna, our brains work are so interesting. What might resonate for me. on the 10th time I might actually get it.

Virginia 39:12

Yes.

Beverly 39:13

Like you had to hear it. 10 different ways to go. Oh my gosh, yes. That's what I need to do. that's the thing that kind of, or that customer story or that learning you had will be the thing that connects to this moment. He whips that wand out and does like a big old spell. And it's, it's spring break. There's thousands of people around him and he was Harry Potter doing that spell with all of his confidence. And I talk about confidence from the perspective of like, So I get to live out some fantasies in that. Like with the Artemis, I'm an astronaut. So you can take your stories and apply it to like even like your favorite TV shows or what your children do or there's just so many things I've been able to take from my life and connect it to the work we do because I see it in everything now. I see it in everything. Even like I love to garden, for example. And I was just planting my garden the other day. And when you cultivate a garden. You have to give it fertilizer and you have to make sure that you give it water and sunshine and all those things. And we, as business owners need to be cultivated too. And what does that look like for you? Because if you're gonna grow and be strong, you need good roots and you need, like, how do you fertilize those roots as a founder so much That can, the analogy is,

Virginia 40:29

yeah,

Beverly 40:30

rich with metaphors and opportunities. So I feel like you can take the story, the FAQ, and you could apply it to whatever's happening and trending. You can take it and you can apply it to something that's happened in your life. You could take it and apply it to something that's happened with your client. You could take it like literally a thousand different ways to talk about the same thing. And maybe that one thing, like when Taylor Swift came out with her album, I talk about Taylor Swift. I'm a marketing branding, she's a genius. So I will refer to her all the time. But the thing that I think she does the best is she connects to her audience. So when I talk about connection and how you resonate with the audience, she's a great example of how, like her fans have built such a community around her, the friendship bracelets, and they know all the words and like all the things that happen, the signs, the everything they do to be part of that community is so powerful. And how she does that with Easter eggs and how she does that with like, how does she, with the, her launches and all the things. So anyway, we've talked, I talked a lot about this, but I do feel like you, and I may cut some of this out, but you have the opportunity to use every single element of your experience. And I don't think everybody thinks that way. That, oh, this, I bought this new sparkly, I bought this new sparkly, Ooh, stapler and how it just makes me happy. Yeah. And like what are the things in your shiny object. But don't get bored by watching the world around you.

Virginia 41:57

Yes.

Beverly 41:57

Yeah. It's a great question. I love it so much. Okay, so let me ask a question. let me ask, I have a couple more things. What does it mean to you to be wickedly branded?

Virginia 42:06

Ooh, I feel like, the wickedly piece translates in my brain to be like bold. to do not necessarily something you're like afraid to do. Or again, that doesn't match with who you are, but to be truly like your boldest, most confident self. And if you want, pink and purple to be part of your branding. Okay. do it, you know.

Beverly 42:32

Yeah.

Virginia 42:32

Um, I've long been obsessed with like teal and purple, so that's what you're gonna see in my branding.

Beverly 42:39

Yes.

Virginia 42:39

So, yeah, just, and not just colors, right? Like We talked about earlier, like, show up as your authentic self. if you want a bedazzled microphone, get it. do things that. Maybe not everyone else does that you like, have a feeling toward or just something that you're like drawn to

Beverly 42:58

makes you happy.

Virginia 42:59

Yeah. do that thing, the staple, right?

Beverly 43:02

Yes. Yes. even like the magic wand, nobody else is doing magic wands in their podcast. It's kind of my thing, but that makes me happy. Yeah. And so when it's authentically you, everyone talks about branding as being a differentiator. And the differentiator is you, 'cause you are uniquely different. Right. And so the things that make you happy, the things that bring you joy, the things that, are part of you and your life, that can be the thing that makes you unique. So fully embrace yourself and be. Your most authentic. Boldest. Bravest,

Virginia 43:31

yeah.

Beverly 43:31

Self. And that is a beautiful example of the branded. Absolutely. I love that so much. Oh goodness. We have chatted for so long. How can our listeners find

Virginia 43:40

abundance.com/conversion-blueprint. Okay.

Beverly 43:46

I love it. I love the free download. Take advantage of that. a good call to action. A good ask can change your business. Even if you get one extra person who does the thing every month, it can make a big difference in your business. So that's a great tool for you to download. Say it one more time. It's a podcast abundance.com/conversion

Virginia 44:06

Conversion.

Beverly 44:07

Dash blueprint. Dash.

Virginia 44:09

dash blueprint.

Beverly 44:10

Okay. Blueprint. Perfect. Okay. Yeah,

Virginia 44:12

and I'll give you the link for the show notes and

Beverly 44:13

all that. Yeah, we'll definitely put it in the show notes. We'll put your, all those social things and everything. And we did the bad thing. We gave four different places to find you.

Virginia 44:20

We did. We did.

Beverly 44:21

but those will all be in the show notes, so it's very easy for you to find. thank you again, Virginia. This has been super fun. Nerding out on branding and podcasting. Such a fun conversation. I really hope, my listeners find today's episode, gave them new ideas, but hopefully inspired them to take a small step or action. Yeah. Because what I know for sure is that everyone's message matters and their work matters, and the world needs to hear what you have to say, whether it's in a podcast or on a blog post. Those are important things that you're sharing with your audience and your target market. Marketing isn't just about visibility, it's also about the ultimate impact that you make. At the end of the day, it's about connecting with the