From A Diary Of A CEO: Lessons From A Podcasting Masterclass By Steven Bartlett

Show up and earn your place

Podcasts!

Fantastic way to create and connect with an audience, share ideas, and even generate income.

But that’s the kicker: do they actually make money? Are they worth the effort?

Well, you have to make that podcast worth the money you’re expecting!

If you want to go straight to the lessons I learned from Steven, please keep scrolling. Because I need to give you my bit first and it’s a pretty major one:

Learn to create a professional sound!

Don’t mess up the audio because you’ll annoy the living lights out of your audience.

There’s nothing worse than being really keen on listening to something and not being able to, because the audio is crap. Crackly. Pestered with background sounds that you couldn’t be bothered to clean up.

You do want to make money from your podcast, yes?

Then spend some time learning to create beautiful, clean, well rounded audio.

I am a voice actor and an audio producer. I know all too well what a nightmare post-production is.

I love the performance part but I literally had to train my mind to love post production, because it’s ridiculously time consuming.

Relevant example: the time-consumiest (yeah, it’s a word because I just made it up) audio of all: the audio book.

If you want to create a beautifully performed audio book, it will take you between 4 -7, sometimes even 10 hours (if you go all cinematic and you use music, special sound effects and multiple voices) to craft 1 finished hour of audio book.

A full day’s work for one finished hour.

And that’s just the technical audio part. I didn’t factor in the time you need to read the book, create the profiles for your character voices, develop those voices, search for any weird pronunciations.

Did I mention that you need to read ALL THE BOOK?

Skipping through might have you missing out on the tiny little fact that your character is actually Irish or Scottish as they briefly (it’s always briefly, that’s why you need to pay attention!) confess to a close friend in page number 452!

And…if you’ve performed that character with audio-perfect diction until then?

… and the character is the lead one?

…. and they occupy most of dialogue estate of the book?

Yeah, hair- pull. Major hair-pull.

If you never knew frustration at its peak, try recording an audio book and mess up the main character’s accent.

I guarantee you will experience levels of frustration that you never knew yourself capable of. No level of normalization could ever make them right!

Alright. Enough about that.

A podcast doesn’t have to be cinematic to be great.

But you still got all these aspects involved: the script, the recording, the post production. It’s extremely time consuming even if you ask good ol’pal Chat GPT for help with content planning and script outlining.

AI helps with the structuring, yes. But you still have to deliver value. Which means you need to already have an expertise or to build that expertise as you go.

In either case, you will need to consider a few aspects.

Does podcasting help you to position as a thought leader?

Does it help you build up your expertise so you can monetize it later? And if later, how much time later?

How can you make a stable income from your podcast? Then: how can you scale that income into one that pays the bills and the mortgage/rent, food etc?

Steven Bartlett had the generosity to create a special podcast episode where he answers these questions and literally shares highly valuable parts of his podcast business strategy.

Thank you, Steven!

Let’s discover how consistency, guest collaborations, maintaining high-quality content, strategic monetization, and the importance of personal connection all play vital roles in achieving podcast success.

Success = a profitable business done with integrity and happiness. Now, that’s a wonderful mix. I love it. I want that for myself.

Let’s dive in.

Lesson 1: Consistency (by the way, this seems to be a recurring trait in ALL the success stories I read, for both regular folk and famous folk).

Speaking of famous folk, I will soon publish a post with lessons learned from the wonderful Jessie J. in an interview with the same Steven Bartlett.

Back to podcasting now.

Steven stresses the importance of consistency in growing a successful podcast. That’s his non-negotiable rule and when you hear him explaining it makes total sense why:

“Figuring out a way to reach that point of sustainable consistency was the key to explosive growth and progress. That is a fundamental lesson of my entire life, one that it genuinely took me 27 years to appreciate. The value of being consistent at almost anything! Consistency unlocks everything. It teaches you faster than everybody else. It compounds growth and as it relates to content and building audiences, it helps to establish a cadence which keeps them coming back. That predictability for your audience allows them to fit you into their habits and we are all creatures of habit.” Steven Bartlett

So we need to leverage human nature. That’s a key lesson too.

He encourages us to publish episodes predictably, establishing a cadence that keeps listeners coming back for more.

The listeners make our message part of their lives if we prove worthy of their trust.

It sounds fair to me!

Steven’s personal experience demonstrates that when he maintained a consistent schedule, his podcast audience grew exponentially.

Non-negotiable commitment to a regular publishing schedule for our podcast. Got it.

Actionable Step For Us Rookies:

Make a plan to publish your podcast episodes regularly, whether it’s weekly, bi-weekly, or monthly. Stick to it like your life depends on it. Your income will surely do.

Lesson 2: Building a Community (and I will add “in a consistent manner”)

One of the most rewarding aspects of podcasting is the ability to connect with like-minded individuals and build a community around your content.

Encourage feedback and engagement, and foster a sense of inclusivity and support.

Actionable Step:

Focus on building a positive and uplifting community that inspires personal growth and fosters connection.

Engage with your listeners, ask for their feedback, and encourage them to share their own stories and experiences. It’s not about you. It’s about what you can bring to the table to serve them!

Lesson 3: Guest Collaborations: Rubbing shoulders with greatness makes you grow exponentially

This thought is not from Steven. It’s something I repeatedly experienced throughout my entire life: greatness lingers on you IF YOU ARE HUMBLE AND OPEN MINDED ENOUGH TO PAY ATTENTION.

If you’re not (very guilty for the first 29 years of my life) you miss out. You miss out on opportunities, on financial growth, on love. All in all you miss out on life.

There are two types of greatness: greatness you like and greatness you don’t like.

One is not better than the other. It’s your opinion. Your perception. Your affinity with that energy/message/set of values etc that makes the difference.

Greatness is neutral.

Do not ignore greatness when you witness it. You don’t have to be a fan of that person. Just pay attention: is there something you could learn?

Sometimes we learn a lot from people we don’t like and the lessons are valuable.

Even if you don’t like the person, you can appreciate the opportunity to learn a lesson.

Collaborating with influential guests can be an incredible opportunity for both you and your podcast.

By sharing their stories and expertise, you can inspire and educate your audience while also expanding your reach. You literally turn into a student every time you meet someone new and ask them questions.

You have first hand access to their wealth of knowledge…for free.

But you have to be good. Because highly valuable people will not choose to spend time with someone who doesn’t know to appreciate them.

Also, they will not give you their time, unless they can learn something from you. What is your value? What are you offering to the world? How serious are you in developing your expertise?

Don’t get stuck in the “fan zone”.

It’s ok if you are a rookie. We all are at the beginning. But do you give proof of concept every day that you are committed to becoming the best you can be?

Because if you don’t, the people you admire will never choose to spend some of their time with you. You will remain stuck in the “fan zone”.

If you want someone like Jessie J. and Melanie C. to sit at the same table with you and thoroughly enjoy a friendly conversation with you, you need to earn their attention.

Steven earned their attention and the attention of many others in the same league and he is clearly very grateful and humbled by it.

Listen carefully to great people when they share their journey: there’s a lot of hard work involved there. Glamour, fame and glossy magazines are just the very tip of the iceberg.

“They’re all nonsense” as Julia Roberts’ character in Notting Hill would have said. 99 per cent work for 1 per cent gloss. Yeah. I can understand why she would term it as nonsense.

But Julia (the real person) loves her craft. And that makes the hard work totally worthwhile and tips the balance towards happiness and sanity…with some beautiful gloss and glam on top. That’s good.

Listen carefully to succesful people, famous or not. Learn, apply and craft your expertise, your own path. This way you will be worth their while if you invite them in your show.

When your time will begin to bear comparison in value to theirs, you will know you finally got out of the fan zone.

While…time…see what I did there?

All things above considered here’s the actionable step when building your own podcast according to Steven:

Reach out to potential guests who align with your podcast’s theme and target audience, and highlight the value they can bring to your show.

Ethically leverage their existing audiences to expand your own. By providing a platform for successful individuals to share their stories and experiences, you can create a win-win situation that benefits both your guests and your podcast.

Lesson 4: Maintaining High-Quality Content. Make Constant Integrity Your Trait

Consistently delivering high-quality content is key to building a successful and impactful podcast.

Some episodes will be more successful than others. Some content you thought was a sure winner will bomb spectacularly.

It’s fine! You know why?

By prioritizing excellence in every aspect of your podcast, from topic selection to interview preparation and post-production editing, you can ensure that every episode delivers value and resonates with your audience.

So, even when you bomb, you bomb with integrity.

Integrity and commitment to excellence are aspects that Steven very strongly emphasizes upon.

One quick tip: have you ever read through the comments on high-level YouTube podcasts with high caliber guests like Steven’s or Tom Bilyeu’s?

Those comments are true gems in terms of getting to know the things that people appreciate. As I repeatedly noticed, people appreciate insightful, meaningful content and they easily distinguish between real, raw experience and fakes.

I haven’t seen anyone complaining about the info being delivered in an imperfect way.

Perfectionism doesn’t matter. Consistent authenticity does.

Actionable Step:

Strive for excellence in all aspects of your podcast and take pride in delivering valuable, insightful, and engaging content.

Lesson 5: Embracing Growth: Earn your place at the table of the people you learn from

And earn your place in your audience’s playlist!

As a podcaster, it’s important to continually push yourself to improve.

Don’t get cocky. Stay in the life-long learner mindset and you’ll always have a place at a table with great people.

Whether it’s trying new formats, experimenting with different topics, or honing your interviewing skills, there’s always room for growth and development.

Actionable Step:

Be open to new ideas and opportunities for growth, and don’t be afraid to experiment and try new things. Embrace the learning process and celebrate your successes, no matter how small they may seem.

Remember: podcasting is an incredible opportunity to build a successful and fulfilling business while also experiencing personal growth and deep connections with others.

Steven is the living proof.

Stop! Don’t you dare get into the “fan zone” now. Don’t say “Yeah, but I will never be like him!”

Do the work to get out of the “fan zone”. See where that work takes you.

And who says you have to be like Steven?

You’re a unique human. You have to be like you.

Build yourself and your expertise. Get into the habit of delivering value with consistency and integrity.

Bomb when you need to bomb and succeed when you have gathered enough momentum to succeed.

EARN IT!

One last thing to wrap things up

Don’t let the belief that podcasting has limited revenue potential hold you back. Steven describes the process of monetizing your podcast in great enough detail for anyone to replicate it.

Cut out the middle man and grow some salesman muscles.

Reach out to brands that align with your values. Create a compelling pitch that showcases the mutual benefits of a partnership.

There are countless free resources online for creating sales/brand/sponsorship pitches. Use them!

Authenticity is key when seeking sponsorship and monetizing your podcast.

Steven surprised me on how open he was about the fact that podcasting is not just about financial success.

He talked about using podcasting as an opportunity to connect deeply with his guests, share vulnerable conversations, and build lifelong friendships.

Remember to stay true to yourself, deliver value to your listeners, and never stop growing as a content creator.

I will end this post with a simple yet huge nugget of wisdom from an amazingly strong, beautiful, intelligent lady: Kati van der Hoeven (Lepistö).

She lives her life as a prisoner in her own body because of the same horrific illness that my daughter suffered from.

Locked-in-syndrome means living in a prison. 99 per cent of the possibilities available to your fellow able-bodied humans are out of your reach.

So when someone like Kati says something I DO PAY ATTENTION and humbly get to work.

“No matter what, get up, dress up and show up”.

Will do, Kati. Thank you!

Thank you, Steven! Thank you, dear reader!

Here’s to podcasting with purpose, passion, and profit!

Until next time,

Amandra

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