So Money Makes Inc. Magazine List of “Best Podcasts to Grow Your Business!”

I can’t believe this. So Money just earned a spot on Inc Magazine’s list of the Best Podcasts to Grow Your Business. I’m beyond honored for this recognition and want to take a moment to relay some of the steps that have helped my podcast earn hundreds of thousands of downloads in just a few months time.

• Study the masters. I take inspiration from John Lee Dumas for his incredible format and professionalism and Tim Ferriss for his unique insights and takeaways in every conversation, as well as his broad variety of guests.
• Create a method to the madness. I decided to be daily partly because I’m crazy like that and partly because I wanted to position the podcast to have a strong chance of monetizing well. To do this I need lots of support. I have an editor and a copywriter (who also does podcast related social media).
• Get transcripts created. This is not only useful to listeners. It’s invaluable to you, as you can slice and dice the content to create blog posts and content for other sites. You can also use it to create a book or ebook in the future. I used my first 25 interviews to create a free ebook to website subscribers. Sites like Odesk can offer transcriptions for as little as $10 or $13 for every 30 minutes.
• Speaking of…find a few strong content partners to help promote your podcast. I realize this isn’t super easy for everyone. As a reporter this, I think, has been my professional advantage. I have relationships with Money, DailyWorth, Business Insider…and I’ve given them written excerpts from my podcasts in the form of interesting blog posts. It’s not that much extra work for me because I can just copy/paste from the transcript, but helps immensely with marketing.

So Money has been on a steady incline since it launched Jan 14, 2015.

• Have a format but don’t be married to it. I love my So Money questions, but sometimes I’ve catered the interview more to my guests’ expertise, especially when I feel the guest will bring tremendous value to listeners. For example, with Seth Godin, he didn’t want to follow my format, so I researched every single bit of content he’s put out related to “money” and catered the questions to him. I slipped in some of my standard questions, of course…But I also quoted his work and asked him to expand on them. This made the interview a total home run.
• Take iTunes reviews seriously. It’s really important to get lots of positive review. Don’t be shy to ask. If you don’t, you won’t get them.
• Have patience. Just 3 months into the podcast and I’m getting antsy…I want to monetize yesterday…But I know this is a marathon and I’m just happy to see my numbers growing. I have surveyed my audience so I’ll have the sales kit ready to go soon…But, like John did, I want to wait until I can be selective about sponsors and feel as though I’m not “diluting” the brand and the message of the show.
• Last but not least, put your listeners first. They are the most important aspect to your podcast’s success. I dedicate Saturdays and Sundays to answering their questions. I hold 15 minute money clinics with one reviewer each week which not only adds value to my community…it helps me to better understand their pain points.