123: How to Have a Strategic Podcast that Helps You Grow Your Memberships, Group Programs, and Services featuring Caroline Hull

Dolly DeLong: Hello, and welcome back to another episode of the Systems and Workflow Magic podcast.

I am your systems SOP and workflow BFF and guide Dolly DeLong. And today I have a new online business friend, Caroline Hull. And Caroline is going to be chatting with us today on the topic of having a strategic podcast. That helps you not only with your podcast, but helps you grow your memberships, your group programs, and your services.

So even if you are brand new to owning your own business, I still want you, the viewer or the listener to tune in because I know That as your business grows, you are going to get to a point where you are deciding how you’re gonna present yourself online. Is it gonna be through a blog? Is it gonna be through, video, like YouTube, or is it gonna be through podcasting?

Just like to develop your authority over time. And so if you decide to lean into podcasting, instead of blogging or video as a way to. your authority and your business. You’re going to love this podcast right now. Also let me just say, that if you’re listening to this podcast right now, that tells me that you love learning, from audio in audio format, and you love growing with podcasts.

So that might be your clue that you need to start diving into utilizing podcasts for your business. So let’s then dive deep today into how to utilize podcasts for the benefit of your business. Okay. Before we dive deep into the strategy session, I just wanted to give a brief introduction to our guest Caroline today.

So, Caroline, is a podcasting strategist, a manager, and CEO of Wild Home Podcasting, a boutique podcast management agency, and a homeschool mom who helps online business owners create Strategic podcasts to help grow their businesses. She discovered her intense love for podcasts after launching her podcast.

In the process, of discovering what a powerful tool for growth, a podcast can be. Now, Caroline believes that everyone has a unique perspective and a story worth sharing. She has a passion for helping online business owners share their stories and generate leads through their podcasts. She shares podcast strategies and tips.

Every week on the Share Strategize and Shine podcast. Now, Caroline has been featured on podcasts such as Scale Your Way, proof to Product, the Homeschool CEO podcast, Uncommon Couch, and Positively Creative. And then of course the systems and workflow magic podcast. So Caroline, welcome to the show. It’s cool to have you on this podcast.

Cause I know I was on your podcast a couple of weeks ago, so welcome. Yeah, thank you so much for having me. I’m so excited to chat about this with you. I’m excited about that. This is something that, I know I shared with you on your show. Like podcasting was always something that had been at the back of my mind for maybe too long.

Like I didn’t take action. It took me two years to take action on starting my podcast in 2021. And I don’t want this to be the case for any listeners or viewers. If the listener or viewer, if you have an inkling, like deep down inside, you want to start a podcast, this is going to be, this is going to be a good episode to listen into.

Caroline is going to bring some really good tips and strategies for you to apply to your business. So Caroline, let’s just dive into how to have a strategic podcast that helps grow your memberships. Your group programs and your services, because I’m going to be taking notes. I’m not gonna lie. I’m going to be taking notes because this also applies to me.

Caroline Hull: Yeah. first, I just want to say to your point about waiting to launch your podcast. That is a common thing that I hear and my encouragement to anyone listening, who’s been thinking about launching a podcast for a while is to just let go of the perfectionism and start recording. I believe we talked about that before, like you just have to dive in and, podcasting is one of those great mediums that can evolve with your business as you grow and evolve.

So it’s not one of those things that you have to set it and forget it. So I just wanted to put that encouragement out there because I know that can stop a lot of people from going ahead and launching a podcast. But, to your question. So the very first thing I want to talk about with having a strategic podcast is how you need to reframe how you think about podcasting.

So when we think about the history of podcasts, we’ve talked about We think about like storytelling, entertainment, that kind of thing. And so for business owners, what I like to do is have you flip that. Instead, I want you to think about your podcast as something that is going to be used to warm your leads.

So instead of thinking about it as a place for you to teach, there is some teaching involved, but bear with me for a second, instead of it as a place for you to teach or to give away free information, we want to think about it more as a piece of our funnel. And normally when we think about the types of people who are listening to our podcasts, some people found us, maybe they found us on Instagram.

Maybe they’re already on our email list. maybe they found our podcast because they needed help with a certain area. They were searching for it. And so you’ve got people listening who want the information. And so now it becomes, okay, how can I warm them? And take them from listener to customer.

That is the first step because when you make that mindset shift about podcasting, it changes how you approach your content and everything else around it as a business owner who has a podcast. And so that’s where I want everybody to start today wiping this lake clean, and let’s start thinking about podcasting differently.

Dolly DeLong: this is like a random question. I was just thinking about it, I was asking myself this question while you were talking. It’s Dolly, how did you get introduced to podcasts? And it was like through a man I completely blanked out on the name, but it was like a True crime podcast.

Yeah. Based on a true story. Oh man, I forgot the name. I’m going to sound like such an idiot, but it was like, I remember the main character’s name was Bo and he was wrongfully accused of something. But anyways, like that was my. Introduction to podcasting in like, it was like 2013, 2014, I thought it was just like people telling stories.

Like literally, that’s all I thought it was.

Caroline Hull: No, when I first started podcasting, I mean, this is back, I don’t know, I’m going to age myself here, but I don’t know if any of your listeners remember there was an app called Periscope. Do you remember this app? No, I don’t. Oh my gosh. Okay. somebody messaged me after you’ve listened to this episode.

So I don’t feel like I’m 59, 70, 80 years old. I don’t know. but there used to be this app called Periscope and it was kind of like, what would it be? It was kind of like TikTok or, or, no, but you would teach on it. A lot of business owners were using it to post short videos and education.

Yeah. And I hated the video. I just didn’t love it. I tried to do the whole YouTube thing. and I mean, this is like eight, nine years ago, right? And so I was like, Oh, everybody’s starting podcasts. Wouldn’t it be cool to have a podcast? And back then it was, it was a lot of entertainment. It was a lot of, true crime, uh, news, that kind of thing.

And there were some business podcasts, but there weren’t a ton. And so when I started my very first podcast, with a co-host, it was different. And it’s evolved, over the years. this last year was so fascinating because we saw a lot of the big podcasts that are story-based that are for entertainment.

Now utilizing a lot of the same strategies we were using for business owners because Sponsorships are not the answer to monetizing podcasts like they used to be. So it’s really interesting to see the evolution. I know a lot of us came into podcasting, very similar to you, because we were listening to it for fun.

Yeah. Not necessarily for education,

Dolly DeLong: yeah, I, I, I grew up also listening to all talk like not me personally, but I would listen to my dad listen to all, so this is like the best, the best way I describe it to people who are from an older generation. I’m like, it’s kind of like. Having a radio show or I’ll talk radio.

that’s the best way.

Caroline Hull: Yeah. , I always, compare it to when people used to gather around the radio to listen to their shows, before TV. And that’s how I see podcasting and it’s evolution and how it’s going to grow because it is becoming this thing. You can put on in the background.

If you’re driving with your kids commuting, there are all kinds of shows now. yeah. My kid wants to be an astronaut. She listens to a podcast about space, it, there’s just everything under the sun now. And so it is amazing how it’s grown and changed. I love it.

Dolly DeLong: okay.

I just was curious to ask you, what was your introduction to podcasting? Because I was, I just hit me while you were talking like, oh my gosh, it was like 2013, 2014, when I started listening to podcasts. And I was like, wow, this is like really entertaining, but I love how you’re reminding listeners, like going back to the strategy of we have to reframe the way we think of podcasting, not just as a, A storytelling or an entertainment platform, but mostly warming your leads with like education or top of the funnel.

Caroline Hull: Yeah. And I think, so that’s, that’s something too. I want to talk a lot about the content because I was having this whole conversation this morning with somebody about how we think about the content we put on our podcast.

So I mentioned that we don’t necessarily want to focus on education. The reason I say that is because I don’t know if you’ve fallen into this trap, but you’ll be teaching a free workshop giving away a lead magnet, or creating a podcast episode. And next thing you know, you’ve created a paid product because you’re giving away so much.

And so, yeah, I mean, I am so guilty. I get called out by my mastermind all the time. They’re like, that lead magnet right there is like a 97 product. Oh, sorry. You know? And okay, Caroline, well, how do you think of your podcast content? Then this is the connection piece. As I said, we’re warming these leads.

And so thinking about it more, you want your listeners to come to your podcast and say, Oh my gosh, I feel so seen right now. Oh, she gets me. That’s what I’m experiencing. Okay. How do I fix this problem? You know, you want your listeners to identify and connect with that content. And so I like to focus on creating content.

That’s not only engaging and interesting and highlights me and what I do, but also showcases where my listeners are in their journey. So what problems are they struggling with? How can they identify those? And then how can I? Guide them to what the next step is on their journey through that content.

And so it is, you’re not sitting down and creating a bunch of how-to episodes. I like to think of them more as like, why episodes? And that is an important piece. So There are a couple of things that we first focus on when we start working on podcast strategies. So I mentioned reframing, and I mentioned content.

And then when we talk about those things, we can’t talk about your business goals. And what you want to achieve with your podcast, it’s going to help move the needle forward with your business. And this is going to help determine the content that you create for the podcast. And so before I even sit down and I think, okay, What episode am I going to record today?

I want to think, okay, what is the goal of this episode? I like to do this quarterly. So it’s usually a few episodes that are helping me, with one goal, but you know, that’s where this whole, okay, how do I sell spots in my membership? How do I sell a certain program? If that’s your goal.

Now I want you to think backwards. Okay. If I’m trying to sell spots in my membership, what was the catalyst for people joining my membership? What was the thing that made them say yes? And how can I create episodes around that?

Dolly DeLong: Caroline, the thing that comes to my mind is.

It is so hard like I am speaking on behalf of myself, but it is so hard to create episodes that are not just because it’s ironic because right before we hit record on this, I was like, Caroline, feel free to do an education podcast. After all, I love teaching. That is Both a flaw and a, like characteristic of me, I want to be trusted, a trusted resource for education on systems and workflows, but then I will give out the whole sink and everything with the kitchen sink and so How, like, how do, does one, extract really good points? They’re still educating in a way. Right. Yes. Educating on, the whole thing. Right.

Caroline Hull: So take this, this episode, for example. Yeah. We’re talking about podcast strategy, but I’m not, I’m not going to sit here and tell you how to write down an action plan and implement it.

That’s the how, right? Or, I’m not going to tell you, if we’re talking about content and I’m talking about planning content, we’re not going to sit here and have a discussion about how to plan content for the next quarter. I gave you a snippet of how to do it. Yes. Absolutely. My goal with my content is that you can listen to it and you can maybe go and get those quick wins, right?

You can take a little snippet and go apply it to your podcast, and your business, but I’m not going to give you the entire formula because that doesn’t work for the format. But B, if my goal is to direct you to my product service membership, I want you to understand all the whys and I want you to know that the, how you’re going to get there is by coming into my world.

I mean, this is a little bit of a sales strategy, right? In a very non sleazy way, because I’m not sitting here telling you that I am the answer to all of your problems. Don’t get me wrong. But what I am saying is, oh my gosh, I have this amazing thing. Or what I’m even saying is, yes, I was working with a client today and she was struggling with this exact thing that we’ve been seeing a lot of podcasters struggle with, and this is how we worked through it together.

So you’re still teaching, you’re still giving some hows, but I want people to understand that the, the main thing is my course product, whatever. I, I like to use a lot of, visualizations when I’m explaining this. And one of my favorites is a cookie. So if you picture that your, let’s say your signature product, your signature service is a cookie, and maybe you have a smaller program, that’s like half a cookie.

And then you start to leave crumbs on those cookie pieces, right? That’s going to, people are going to pick up the crumbs and along the way, those crumbs are everywhere. You’re leaving crumbs in your email list. You’re leaving crumbs in your Instagram and your podcast is a little bit bigger.

Chunks of cookie that lead to the thing. So you are kind of like showing people like, here’s what I do. Here’s how I help people. Here are some of my philosophies. Here are some of the ways that I believe this can help you. And this, all these crumbs I’m dropping is leading you to.

Eventually the giant cookie.

Dolly DeLong: I love that. Now I’m going to go and make a cookie after this, right? Now we’re hungry. No, seriously. No, I love that so much. This is such a great, encouragement and reminder will admit to listeners, and viewers, that this is something that I struggle with because again, just want to make sure people know that I am a trusted source.

That is what, like that for me, that’s why I like to like above and beyond and do the whole kitchen sink with over-education, but you’re right, Caroline, like people, if they are still interested. I can still like cookie crumb, cookie crumb, cookie crumble, I don’t know, crumble cookies, crumble cookies.

Yeah. Leave a good trail, like to like the actual service or the product or the membership. And if the person is interested, it will convert. If not, like you were saying, they will, they can get those quick hits by listening to the free episodes. And

Caroline Hull: I think you brought up a really good point.

Like building that no, and trust is, really, really important. And a podcast is perfect for this because it is that long-form content. And this goes back to when I was talking about how it warms up leads, you know, think about the difference between watching a 32nd reel on Instagram and listening to a 20-minute.

Episode by the same person. I can guarantee that you’re going to learn more about them, how they work, and what they believe in, in that 20 minutes than you do from that 30-second reel. And so that’s why I love podcasting and podcast episodes, especially for business owners, because if you’re not out, doing a ton everywhere in the world, it’s hard for people to get good.

Chunk and, and, and understanding of what you do besides a sales page. And so I love, that’s what I love about like podcast episodes and, and even YouTube videos to an extent, because not only do you get to hear them, but you get to know them and you get to know how they talk and how they are, doing interviews, how they are in their calls.

You get a sense of who they are and, that builds that knowledge, and trust. So it happens Transcribed naturally. It’s not something that you have to necessarily, work too hard at.

Dolly DeLong: That’s right. Another thing that came to mind while you were sharing is the no like and trust and the educational component.

Maybe you are not sharing the hows like you were sharing, but the whys and also being inspirational to lead to the how. Would that be a good way to describe

Caroline Hull: Yeah. And that comes through a lot in your content and some of this takes practice. Yeah. But you know, when you do talk about what’s going on in your membership, Oh, we were just talking about this in my membership the other day.

And I think this comes up for a lot of people, you know, weaving that into your storytelling, sharing client stories, sharing client wins, talking about discussions that have happened in your, programs, your memberships, or even saying, you know, Oh my gosh. Yeah. I was working on a resource the other day for a new course I’m putting together.

And I remembered how this is something that a lot of people have been asking for help with. So let’s talk about it in this podcast episode. And that does take practice, but that is something that is now we’re naturally creating awareness. like you mentioned that inspiration and they’re hearing, okay, she has helped other people.

this is, she knows what, she’s putting this stuff in her programs. Okay. Now I want a bigger chunk of the cookie.

Dolly DeLong: Gotcha. I love that so much. Oh, and again, Carolina loves cookies. So seriously, get a cookie. Okay. So we talked about, okay, you’re, you’re talking about let’s, let’s break it down again.

Do you mind repeating those last two points? I’m like scrolling up, making sure you have, you’re reframing the way you think about podcasting, making sure that you are, Sprinkling in, yes, educational content, but more why-based educational content, inspirational educational content and not like the how and to work backward.

Like from your business goals, from your business goals. Is there anything else?

Caroline Hull: Yeah, I think, the last piece that I wanted to highlight today is understanding the path that people are taking through your business. and so get ready for another visit visualization. Cause I just love them. So I live in Colorado.

we live right up against the mountains. And I’m going to talk about a mountain now. Okay. When you’re climbing a mountain. I don’t know if anybody’s ever gone hiking up a mountain or climbed a mountain before, but there are usually some stops along the way, right? places where you can rest, places where you can sit.

, we used to do some crazy climbs where we would be doing switchbacks constantly. A switchback is when you go up and then back and then up and then back. Yeah. Yeah. And it gets exhausting and you need to stop every once in a while. And that’s how I like to view the path that people take through your business.

At the top of the mountain. we’ll use my business. For example, at the very top of the mountain is an aligned podcast strategy where their podcast is working for them. It’s working for their business. They’ve attained, that goal, right? So what can I leave them along the way? And this is where a lot of podcasters get tripped up because, at the end of their episodes, they will ask people to book a call with them.

When people are listening to your podcast, what do you think the next step to the climb, of the mountain is going to be? Does it make sense for them to book a call or does it make sense for the first landing, the first place where they rest to opt into a lead magnet? And then does it make sense from there for them to be nurtured through an email?

And then from there, you can keep going. But the point I’m trying to make is you have to understand, okay, who is my listener and what is the next best step for them. That is a thing you want to ask people to do at the end of every episode. And when we sit down and do podcast strategy we will map this out.

And it’s so fascinating because I think that the brilliant thing about any strategy, business strategy, podcast strategy, is you start to see the gaps in other places and. usually when we start talking about this, Oh my gosh, I don’t have a great sequence set up in my email list, or, Oh my goodness, my lead magnet doesn’t go anywhere after they download it.

You know, you need to understand all those steps because the podcast is warming leads. So we want to make sure that we’re helping them up that mountain as they’re climbing.

Dolly DeLong: I heard a great analogy from another podcast that I was listening to several weeks ago, reminding listeners.

And it was a good reminder to me that just because. They, view YouTube as more like cold leads coming in. And from YouTube, they are inviting people to listen to their podcasts. Cause that’s very nurturing. Yeah. That normally nurtures the listener viewer to take that next step versus somebody coming in from YouTube may not necessarily know everything that you offer, but you’ve been nurturing a lot.

Yeah. Through the podcast. So podcasting is like a really good nurturing platform.

Caroline Hull: Yeah. And I don’t, I mean, this is we can just go down. a rabbit hole for probably three hours, but, and that’s, that’s another, like, I love this point you’re bringing up because a lot of people think about their podcasts as step one.

Yeah. And it usually isn’t step one like they found you on Instagram or they joined your email list. sometimes there are other things. Yes. People find podcasts based on what they need help with, but how many of you listening have found somebody who offers a service you were interested in, you saw they had a podcast and you went and listened to the podcast before you even booked service, And so you do have to understand where are people coming from, where are they going? and. Again, when you do all of this, it’s so amazing because it creates a great marketing system for your business when we’re talking about systems here and lead generation. for me, I know that Instagram is not my main piece of content.

The main piece of content I create every week is my podcast. And so everything I create from there. Directs people to my podcast, which nurtures them and directs them to my business. And yeah, I love that. Um, you know, it’s so interesting too, because, I think that YouTube videos can be a little bit more produced, a little bit more sales, and I feel like podcasting can sometimes be a little bit more casual and have that more conversational feel sometimes.

Yeah. So,

Dolly DeLong: yeah. And as people can bid, I’m sure people can binge your YouTube videos, but they can’t necessarily sit down and maybe they can sit down for hours and watch, but I have binged other people’s podcasts because I was likable to drive and able to walk and like life and listen in and get to know that business owner and like the goal of their podcast more and more.

Yeah.

Caroline Hull: That’s what I love about podcasts. You can take it with you. Yeah. I

Dolly DeLong: love that too. Caroline, this was all so amazing and just like a good, I will say this, this is a good reminder for me for how to look at the content that I’m creating for future episodes because I. I will admit I fall into the trap of wanting to over-educate and wanting to like, overshare all the things.

as we wrap up, do you mind sharing with everyone, like, now that they’ve learned so much from you, how they can find you, work with you, like, where can, What are their next steps with you?

Caroline Hull: Yeah. Well, and I just want to say too, like, if you’re listening to this and you’re, you’re thinking, Oh my gosh, this is a little bit overwhelming.

There are a lot of steps here. I just want to say to you, that the very first place I always recommend people start is with their content. if your content isn’t doing what it needs to do for you. None of the rest of it matters. And so focus on creating some engaging, amazing, connective episodes, and that should be step one.

But, you can follow me. I hang out on Instagram at Wild Home podcasting. Of course, my website is wild home podcasting.com. com. And then if you already have a podcast and you’re interested in okay, what does it look like to structure an episode set up for sales? I do have a free guide and that’s just wild home podcasting.

com slash sales. And that’s a really good place to start.

Dolly DeLong: Awesome. And you all, I will have these in the show notes of the podcast and also of this YouTube episode if you’re watching. But other than that, Caroline, thank you so much for coming on and, sharing so much wisdom with us. And, for those of you who are listening please go and take advantage of Diving into the notes and then also if you need to re-listen because there were a lot of good points in this and I might I might have to re-listen to this and just remind myself about some really like key foundational points.

So until then, everyone stays streamlined and magical. You amazing muggle. And I will talk to you all next week with a brand new systems and workflow podcast episode. Bye.