
Are you looking to add new revenue streams to your business? Author, podcaster, and coach Danielle Desir Corbett joins us to share how she turned her podcast into a very successful revenue stream for her business.
Listen in as Danielle teaches us how podcasting can be a great way to connect with your audience on a deeper level while also leveraging content creation as a revenue stream. Listen in as she shares the intentional strategies and approaches she uses to land lucrative brand deals.
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How to grow a podcast audience
Danielle grew her podcast audience by streamlining her content creation strategy. For every podcast episode that she releases, she also writes a corresponding blog. Her blogs go beyond 300-word show notes; they offer value and answer a question that’s relevant to her audience. The blog brings traffic to her website through search results, which then gets eyes on her podcast.
Her other strategy is to understand the algorithms of podcast players like Apple Podcasts and Spotify, also known as PSO (podcast search optimization). She uses podcast search engine optimization to make sure her show performs well with the players. Forty percent of podcast listeners use the search bar in their podcast player to discover new shows. You want to make sure that your podcast shows up when they search for your niche.
The lesson to take away from Danielle’s strategies is that it’s important to have your ear to the ground and keep up with what’s working in the podcast space. With the right implementation, these strategies will help your audience find you.
Growing a thriving community around your content
Growing your audience is important, but it’s about more than numbers. You don’t just want podcast listeners, you want to build a community. The key to creating a thriving community is to show your audience that you care about them. You continue to show up and offer value, whether you’re speaking to an audience of 100 or 10,000.
The energy you bring to your community is also extremely important. They can tell when you really want to connect with them versus when you’re phoning it in. Your audience will feed off your energy, and if they like it, they’ll follow you anywhere you go.
Monetize your podcast through brand partnerships
Once you’ve built a solid podcast audience, you can look into your monetization options. Danielle tried a couple of different options before she landed on brand partnerships. She sent pitches out to the brands she wanted to work with and didn’t hear anything back.
When she was really to try again, she worked with a coach to refine her pitch. During that time, a brand approached her, and she worked out all the details with the help of her coach.
Danielle’s main takeaway is that brand deals can take time to come to fruition. Some of hers have taken one to two years to realize. You need to have strategies and systems in place that factor in long-term growth.
It’s important to understand what the brands need from you. You should hop on the phone with them to talk through their pain points and what they’re hoping to achieve. This will help you align yourself with the brand, which will result in more listeners taking action on the partnership.
How to pitch to brands
Your pitch to brands needs to include a strong proof of concept/portfolio. The brands want to see what you can do, and it’s better to give real proof than to just tell them what you’ve done in the past.
If you don’t have a portfolio yet, record yourself doing 30-second ad reads. Not only will this help you land the deal, but it’ll help you practice the kind of success you want to see.
Brands spend their marketing dollars on podcast sponsorships, so you need to make sure you offer enough value to earn them. They’re hoping for a solid result, so you need to think of the partnership as a service you’re offering to them.
Keep in mind that different brands look for different results with their creator partnerships. Some brands want more visibility, so they mostly care about metrics like your downloads, impressions, and views. Other brands will want conversions–purchases, clicks, and sign-ups.
If you have industry relationships that can help you land brand partnerships, you should use them. Cold pitching is not impossible, but it’s a much harder route. However, all you risk is the brand saying no, so you should still shoot your shot. Most of the time a no is just a “no for now.”
Rapid fire: Threads edition
For this episode’s rapid fire segment, we decided to pull some of Danielle’s posts on Threads and ask her to expand on them.
Thread: “Profitable doesn’t mean worth it.”
Explanation: There are a lot of ways to make a buck, but they aren’t all worth it. Ask yourself if it felt good and if you would do it again.
Thread: “Your podcast growth does not have to rely on social media.”
Explanation: There are so many other ways to promote your show, like using search engine optimization, podcast search optimization, or doing guest appearances.
Thread: “It’s the smaller creators that are often the most influential/”
Explanation: Having a small audience that takes action is way more important than the number of zeroes behind your follower count
Thread: When I started seeing my podcast listeners as clients, I began to secure more podcast sponsorships.
Explanation: How can I be of service? How can I make them feel appreciated? How can I make them feel like I went above and beyond for them?
Thread: Updating an eight-year-old blog post which still pays the bills today. Talk about the beauty of long-term Passive income.
Explanation: When I update a blog, it performs way better and gets more page views. That was one of the first blogs I ever posted, and I’m still making revenue off of the affiliate links.
What does having an unbreakable business mean to you?
For Danielle, having an unbreakable business means she’s still standing for as long as she wants to, and she can call it quits whenever she wants.
Important sections of the conversation
- [1:50] Danielle’s podcasting backstory
- [5:00] How to grow a podcast audience
- [10:43] Growing a thriving community around your podcast
- [14:14] Monetize your podcast through brand partnerships
- [21:01] How to pitch to brands
- [26:23] Rapid fire: Threads edition
- [31:38[ What does having an unbreakable business mean to you?
Connect with the guest
- Website: danielledesir.com
- Thought Card podcast: thoughtcard.com/podcast
- Threads: threads.net/@thedaniellecorbett
Resources mentioned
Episode transcript
Akua: If you are a business owner that is looking for new revenue streams in your business, then you need to tap in today’s episode. Danielle Dessert Corbett, who is an author, podcaster and podcast marketing coach joins us on the show today to talk about how she has turned her podcast into a very successful revenue stream in her business.
Danielle shows how podcasting can be a great way to connect deeply with your audience and the strategies that she has implemented that has led to her success. Now let’s get into the episode. Welcome to Unbreakable Business, the podcast where we uncover the untold stories behind entrepreneurship. This isn’t about polished success stories.
It’s about the sleepless nights, unexpected roadblocks, and unshakable grit that builds businesses that last. Every week we sit down with entrepreneurs who faced it all, sharing raw, honest conversations about challenges, growth, and the moments that made them unbreakable. Whether you’re just starting out or chasing your next breakthrough.
This podcast is your reminder that you have the strength to keep going. Hello, Danielle. Welcome to the Unbreakable Business
Danielle: Podcast. How are we doing? Very well. Thank you so much for having me. Good to be here.
Akua: Yeah. So excited. And I literally have been welcoming everybody saying that because I just love saying Unbreakable Business Podcast since it’s like the launch of the new show.
So anyways, it feels, it feels good to say, and I’m just so excited to have you here talking about monetizing our content. I think a lot of us as business owners are looking for different revenue streams. And so I thought that you’d be the perfect person to come in and talk about that today. So excited to have you here.
Danielle: All about the money. I’m all about it. So let’s talk.
Akua: Let’s talk, honey. Let’s talk about, let’s all about that shmoney. Cause that’s what you’re trying to make in 2025. And beyond. And
Danielle: beyond.
Akua: And beyond 1000%. Okay. So I’m really just curious, just like a quick backstory. Cause I feel like you have a lot of channels that you’ve monetized your podcast, which I feel like it’s not an easy feat.
It’s not an easy thing to do. You know, you obviously have different, uh, revenue streams where like you’ve monetized various content. What has that journey looked like for you? Like, how did you get started and to like where you are now?
Danielle: Yes. Well, long story short, a lot of trial and error and a lot of figuring out what works best for you.
Especially as creators, I feel like, you know, there’s a lot of comparison and looking at others and trying to emulate and it’s good to get inspiration, but you have to really beat your own drum and go at your own pace. So I’m actually celebrating my 10 year. Anniversary of starting my creator journey, career, whatever you want to call it.
It’s been 10 years. I started with the thought card. That’s my flagship travel brand. And what makes that brand unique is that we have a strong financial lens and component. So it’s not only about travel the world, but let’s travel the world and make sure our, you know, our kids are fed, our kids have, have.
We have funds, we have a legacy, like we’re debt free, all of these things, right? Because you know, money is a big part of travel. So that concept travel and money back in 2015 was so foreign and I struggled a lot to find my place. In both the travel and personal finance world, because I was like this hybrid today, creators can be hybrid.
And that’s like, you know, praise and everyone, you know, finds a way now. And it’s very normal, but back then it was very difficult and hard, but there was also some limiting beliefs that I had as well, that I wasn’t a good writer, which I. Probably wasn’t like, to be honest, I wasn’t, um, but I just had a interest in curiosity.
So that’s also something that’s important throughout the 10 years of being a creator, that curiosity has led me to monetize and led to various different projects. And then by the time, like three years later, 2018 came around, I wanted to start a podcast. I wanted to use my voice. I felt there was something about me being a listener that I really enjoyed.
And I was like, let’s give this a shot. So I started with literally reading the blog post on my site. Yes, it’s okay. I was like doing inflections. It doesn’t sound terrible. I love that. I love that. Uh, but yeah, so that’s how I really started a, you know, a reluctant blog, you know, just. Trying things out launch the podcast and you know, the rest is history But those you know, that’s the brand that I have built so much of my creator income from
Akua: yes.
Oh my gosh I love that so much. It’s just been fun. Just a number 110 years Congratulations, that is absolutely amazing. But two I just thought that you shared those little lessons within that I’ve like it’s It’s really a lot of trial and error. It’s all about, I think, again, we talk about so many times in the show about like experimenting.
And I think again, like that’s just one of the key pieces to success and whatever it is that you want to do is like really try trying new things, seeing what works, what doesn’t work, looking at the data so I can tell you what your next steps are. And I think like, obviously just hearing your journey, that’s.
It’s perfectly aligned. And so with your podcast, I guess essentially the question that I have is twofold, right? Because I feel like when you are monetized, like when you are monetized, you have to be able to grow your audience, right? First before you can even monetize. And so we can start with your podcast as an example, but even with all of your other social like content channels, how did you grow your audience with your podcast?
Because I know, especially like even. I’ve obviously hosted the show. It’s no, it’s no easy feat growing a podcast audience, you know, and then you’ve been doing it for so long. How did you grow with your show and specifically without social media? Oh, yeah.
Danielle: So me and social media have a very interesting, complicated relationship.
I, in the beginning, 2018, Danielle, I was following everything the guru said, word for word. And like you mentioned, looking at the data, looking at the seed, what growth was there. And it was like very little. Um, it was like not even existed. So I really, you know, took a step back and said, okay, what are my strengths?
Instead of looking at myself as a blogger or a podcaster, how about I combine the two together and see myself more as. A comprehensive media outlet. It doesn’t matter how I distribute the content. They’re going to get it in a newsletter. They got to get in a podcast. It’s a blog. It doesn’t matter as long as I know what I’m sharing.
That to me was like the focal point and how I started to think of myself. I think a lot of podcasters see themselves specifically as just a podcaster. And when you limit yourself. Like that. You also limit your possibilities more than looking at yourself as all of your channels that you have. So that’s like number one.
So now that I had this comprehensive view, I’m like, okay, I need to have. Audio and podcasting skills, but also written skills. I decided to write a blog post for every single podcast episode that I created. That in itself was a game changer because I don’t know if you’ve realized this, but like flimsy.
300 word little show notes. They don’t perform, they don’t perform. And, you know, I was like, I need to get this to start performing and bringing in, you know, search traffic. I want, when people type in how to save for a vacation, I want to be amongst the top three results. I should be at my content is great.
Why, why not? So that to me was just really revolutionary is like, you know, actually writing an article and it takes me more time. Like I’m not. You know, most podcasters will do 300 words. I’m doing like a thousand plus words. As long as I’m, you know, answering a question that to me is really important. So that was part one, having blog posts.
So connecting my website to my podcast. And then secondly, is really understanding that the podcast. Algorithm. So the podcast players like Apple, Spotify, they all have, you know, things behind the scene. That’s helping them figure out where to put your show, where to put episodes. Right. So that’s called podcast search optimization.
And I have been. Literally studying, like, why am I not showing up for travel? If I do a tweak, I’m showing up for travel. What tweak did I make? You know, what are other people who are high performing, you know, top charting, what are they doing beyond just, you know, the sheer size of their audience? So really being a learner and studying.
Like studying this craft has really helped me realize, okay, show notes, blog posts are really important. The keywords that I use is really important and having my ear to the ground to create content that is relevant, but that’s going to be everlasting. Right? Like. One of the episodes I just produced was all about travel goals that comes up every January So I’m talking about it today, but when January 2026 comes out, that’s be popular again So really I think those three pieces have been super helpful to not have to you know rely on social media that I can grow my audience without me having to intend like Actually put so much effort to promote and get it out there.
Akua: I, I love that. And I think to the keyword search, what was it called again? Podcast search. Engine optimization, is that what it is? Podcast search optimization, so PSO for short. Okay, PSO, Podcast Search Optimization. Um, that is something I know very little about. And I think that that is just so important.
Um, the show notes, I absolutely agree. Because again, like right, if people are searching for something and you’re answering a question, some people don’t even listen to the podcast that’s embedded in the blog. They literally will just read. The show notes. And so really, how are you optimizing that for SEO?
Like, right. And so that you can be found on Google, I think that’s so important, but the podcast search optimization, that is something I didn’t even like really, I think we’re just now really starting to explore more of that. And so for you, you have seen quite a bit of growth searching for specific keywords and implementing them.
Danielle: Absolutely. That is so huge because, you know, I think there’s a stat that says like 40 percent of people are using the. A podcast search bar. So they’re using the search bar to find different topics, episodes, podcasts, to listen to. So if I’m typing in, you know, a, a search term and that’s your search term and you’re not showing up, you’re missing out on Yes.
Just the natural, just being, just placement, just placement itself. Um, but again, it takes time. It takes time to kind of like. to study what’s going on in your niche and make those incremental changes that will definitely have a greater impact. So yeah, it’s, it’s, it’s an art and a science. Yeah.
Akua: Yeah, absolutely.
So I’m really curious to know, like, especially for you, cause you have built a very thriving community. What do you say is the number one main tactic that you have seen that has worked for you?
Danielle: I honestly feel like it’s caring and actually giving a bleep, you know, like actually, you know, like Wanting to, wanting to connect and, and doing what it takes to build that connection and not giving up, even if you’re the only one posting or sharing.
I think that I’ve always felt like people have been drawn to just. That openness and willingness to like be part, to be part of, to help, to support. Yeah. And you can’t fake it. Right. That’s why I feel like sometimes when I’m feeling down and I’m not, I’m probably not going to hop on a life because that’s not the energy.
The energy you bring to your community is so important and people will see that and they will follow you wherever you go, whatever business. And, you know, you end up having that, that connection to you is, is, I feel like very priceless.
Akua: I love that. And I think, again, when it, when you really think about it, it just goes to those foundations of coming from a place of service when you’re attracting people, right?
Like when you’re, cause not only are you attracting them, you want them to be loyal. You want them to stay. And I feel like podcasting has become such an amazing way to truly build a loyal community. Like there are things, I don’t remember everything that I say. I’m each interview or on this show, but it has been, sometimes I’m like, I said that.
And I’m like, wait, you know what I mean? I’m like, I love that. You know, thanks for hyping me up. But I will say it’s, it’s been truly such a gift just seeing people in the community that just like when I’m at events and stuff that come up to me and say that they listened to the show and the pieces that have just made such a big impact for them.
Like, I think that’s what it feels me to keep going. But I think that speaks to the fact of like how I’ve just seen podcasting has been truly just such. I personally, I think compared to social, not, no shade, but like I, and social obviously is great, but I do feel like podcasting is just leads to much more intimate connections because you have more of that space to, to really just share your thoughts.
And, you know, and it’s a lot easier to invite people into the conversation. However, I feel like it’s one of the harder platforms to grow because consistency is the name of the game. And so would you agree, or what are your thoughts on that?
Danielle: Absolutely. You know, I feel like every year I remain in podcasting, I unlock this new level, uh, of success that I did not before.
So it’s a thousand percent true. You know, when you are listening to someone for 30, 40 minutes every week, like that, or every, every other week, every month or whatever, like, You end up knowing them so, so much, like there’s just such an intimacy and like for me, I experiment like one of my big things for this year and last year was storytelling.
I don’t feel like I’m a natural storyteller, but I’ve been pushing myself. And with my brand partnership, they’re pushing myself to tell more travel stories and like, it doesn’t matter if I’m talking about topic a or telling a travel story, my audience is listening because they’ve been with me and they see me progress for all this time and they’re willing to give things a try.
So a thousand percent, a thousand percent, everything you said.
Akua: Yes. And I mean, you said storytelling. That’s music to my ears, girl, because as a storytelling strategist, I love that. I love it because it’s true. Like storytelling is truly what connects people. And I feel like in podcasting, people have been able to share it in such a different variety of ways.
Um, so I do want to pivot really quick because, you know, I think this is so important. Like obviously you’ve built this thriving community, but what did, walk us through essentially like, what did it look like for you to land your first brand partnership? And also to like, overall, just what did the process look like?
Danielle: Okay. So again, I was a blogger first, so I’m not going to talk about like my brand deals from my blogging side, but I had brand deals for at that point. So when it came to podcasting, I had to sit down with myself and ask myself, how do I want to make money? What feels good for me and what is working or has worked before in the past.
So to get there, I did. One off workshops, ain’t nobody come to see me and talk. It was just,
Akua: I just thought of that. I just thought of that. Tick tocks out. Ain’t nobody coming to see you. Otis. Like I just
Danielle: thought it was just me on the zoom call. Um, so no one wanted my workshops. They didn’t want my digital products.
They didn’t want they, they, everything I tried. It was a no. Um, they do read my books though. So that’s nice. Um, but books are very small. It’s a very small, you know, income stream there. So I tried a bunch of things and realizing, okay, I also do not necessarily like to ask for money on the show too. So that I took stock and like, All the things from like all the information I got.
So I realized, you know what? I rather behind the scenes hustle to work with a brand partner and present that brand partner to my audience. It would be awesome. If there’s an affiliate kickback as well from that, but I rather build relationships in the backend and actually just create content for my listeners and my community to enjoy.
So once I realized that I started, okay. Sending out a couple of pitches that did not land, nothing happened. And I got discouraged for like at least two years until I had to, had to like pick myself up again and say, let’s try again. But this time I decided to look for a coach to help me. So I wanted to work with someone who had sponsorships, who was an indie creator, who had sponsorships, ideally in a travel space.
And I found them. Yeah, I’m shout out to Debbie Arch Analyst. She was amazing and I, it was a hefty investment at the time, but I invested and I had that one on one coaching support just so happened to be while I’m working with my coach. I got, uh, a brand approached me to work with them and. That was exciting because oh my gosh, it’s happening like and also I have a coach to help me get through this and That’s really how it got started how I got started with my first brand deal.
They came to me I had coaching support to help me through one on one and that was really that was really helpful I feel like sponsorships is there’s so many intricate pieces involved and it could be such a long turnaround time that Sometimes reading an article or watching a YouTube video is not enough to get the full breadth of what it takes.
A lot of my brand deals, it can take one to two years to realize. So if you don’t have systems, if you don’t have a strategy, if you don’t have steps to take from, from today to 2027, you’re not going to be successful. So those are some of the things that really helped me to get started, but knowing myself experimenting, failing, and knowing how I, how I want to attract money in my business was so key to taking that step.
Akua: Oh my gosh. I love that because I feel like there were so many. Just good things that were really shared and I think it’s just so important for business owners, especially if you’re wanting to Lean into more brand partnerships But I know you mentioned because in my mind I have always and obviously this is clearly a misconception Where like i’m like, yeah like a brand partnership and I know that they they can extend Like, you know what I mean?
But I guess in my mind, I’ve always thought they were like really short, like max three months. But from my understanding, you’ve had brain partnerships that have lasted quite a bit of time. And so what systems have you had in place to ensure that this partnership is going to be successful?
Danielle: You know, I think it’s all about understanding what the partner, the brand partner is looking for.
And that comes with hopping on the phone and talking to them and, and, and like having face time to understand what are their pain points? What are their, what are their struggles and what are they hoping to achieve at the end of the road? So my partnerships where I’ve been able to have them come back every year was very much my audience shows up.
And they take, they take action on my, like, um, invitations. I call them invitations really. It’s like, Hey, I really love this brand. I invite you to go check them out. So that’s like a two piece, a two parter. One, you have to figure out what will be success. What’s the measurement of success for the partnership.
And then number two, having an engaged audience who does. What you say, who actually, like, even if your people never talk to you, but they click on your links, they leave comments, they take an action. That is very powerful. And it translates to currency and opportunity for you as a creator. So I think that.
Is super important. Um, and it’s really the results like from that, that campaign, for example, they wanted to have signups and every time Danielle hops in the mic and talks about them, the six, you know, the campaign is successful. They, they see, they see movement. So they’re like, okay, let’s, I honestly also, the other thing I want to say is that I take also my.
I feel like I’m ambassador too for indie creators because there’s such, you know, talk in the industry that you have to have 10, 000 downloads per episode to even get started. Yeah, if you, if you want to do the cost per mil, you know, 25 bucks every thousand, that that’s one way to do it. But if you are homegrown, if you’re making connections, building your income could be infinite.
And I think that’s really encouraging to hear that there’s money, opportunity, and a lot of it is relationship based.
Akua: Yes. Oh, I love that so much. And I love that you just even gave us a glimpse of just within like your brand partnership and how like, I love that you have the support within that and just keep pushing and keep trying and keep moving forward because it just sounds like again, a lot of trial and error to see what works and what doesn’t work and just really.
Understanding how you want to show up, I think, is so, so key. So, for business owners that want to get started with brand partnerships, or they’re just not having any luck, what key piece of advice would you share with them today?
Danielle: Absolutely. So, I would kind of, like, tell you to think about when you hire someone, right?
When you hire someone, what are you looking for? You’re probably looking for proof of concept. Right. So make sure you are building a portfolio. So make sure you have examples, even if you never had a brand partner before on your show, have examples of you starting with 30 second pitches and 30 second ad reads, and, and I always think of it as like, you need to practice a success that you want.
Like you need to give proof and show what you can do. That is, it’s so much. It’s easier when you could tell a brand, Oh, I’ve done this, I’ve done that. Check out this. I’ve worked with this person. It becomes so much easier because they’re not necessarily going to be the Guinea pigs and trying it out.
Right. Yeah. Another, another thing is that. Brands are investing their marketing dollars, their hard earned marketing dollars to work with you as a partner. So that is so important. It’s not just, you know, donation. It’s not just like, typically speaking, it’s not just like feel good money. It’s they’re hoping for something they’re hoping for a result.
So with that, that, that like thought of, okay, I am here in a place of service. Is so important. So thinking about what do they want, how can I get them there and serving them and making sure that their marketing dollars can go to whatever they want. Now, I’m not going to say that every campaign is going to be super successful shining star, but that intentionality, I think is a good place to start.
And then you could put the pieces together. So I think building a portfolio, you know, showing, showing and telling them what you can do, um, is super important.
Akua: I love that you said that like, okay, like if you want. To work with some of these brands have stuff already that you’ve done, right? Like you have something to work with like if you’ve done voiceover like ad reads and stuff like that I always have felt like this misconception that like which let me know if it is a misconception or not But for business owners like hey, I have like I have a pot.
I want to start pockets. I have zero zero I got nothing yet. Can they still attain partnerships?
Danielle: You can, you can. That, I think it’s definitely leaning into your relationships there. If you have any like, you know, in your industry, that could be a good place to start. I think it can be harder if you’re just cold pitching a brand who has no idea who you are.
Again, you don’t have that track record. You don’t have that audience. You don’t have those eyeballs on you. Because a lot of times these brands, they want, they’re a couple of like, goals that brands have. One is visibility. They just want to be seen and out there. So things like downloads, impressions, views, that that’s really important.
But then there are brands who want conversions, they want, you know, a sign up, they want to purchase, they want clicks, they want something tangible and real. So if you’re starting with zero, and they’re leaning towards that, It can be very difficult because you don’t have that proof of concept. But I always say, well, my mom always says, close mouths don’t get fed.
So if you are starting a podcast and you know, you want to work with brands, shoot your shot. And see what happens. I can’t tell you if you’re going to be successful or not, unless you do the work right at the opposite end, you can have hundreds of thousands of downloads and still get denied. Right. So it’s, it’s all a matter of putting yourself out there, having, you know, knowing what you want and then seeing what happens and do not let the no be a no forever.
It’s just a no. right now. Put them in a follow up, you know, in a follow up calendar reminder and circle back in a year, circle back in two years with all the things that you’ve done. They’re going to remember you for all that.
Akua: Oh my gosh. I love that because I think again, it’s just, it’s hopeful, right?
Like no matter where you’re starting at in within your. podcast and creating that content, just work with what you have and close mouths don’t get fed. So you might as well just give it a shot. And so if it doesn’t work out, Hey, then you have your answer and then you move on, you move on to the next one and just keep building, keep working, keep building brick by brick so then you can be able to have that foundation.
So then you feel more confident reaching out to those brands. But I think that like. You know, in our mind, it’s like always like, okay, yeah, you got to grow this first, which I asked earlier. I’m like, okay, can you grow your audience and do that? But like I, some, there’s some people I’ve heard, they’re like, yeah, I just started and I already got a brand partnership.
And so I, I love that you address that because I feel like we also shouldn’t limit ourselves. If we have the relationships of there’s a way in, like seize that opportunity. If the opportunity is there, like go for it. So I love that. And this conversation has been. So, so good. So helpful. I think it’s just a really great starting point for business owners that are wanting to lean more into brand partnerships.
And I love that we focused on the podcast because I do feel like there are. We do have listeners who have a show themselves or are wanting to start a show and really can see where we can really showcase of like, you can absolutely monetize this channel. And I’ve, and I have seen other business owners as well, have very successful podcasts that it’s become an amazing revenue stream in their business.
And so for every single episode of the video, we’re doing a rapid fire, but yours, we decided to do it a little bit differently. Because we decided to mix it up and pull some of your threads because I follow you on threads and I love you on threads, honey, okay? So, I would love for, I know, you’re spicy. I love that everybody’s spicy there.
So I was like, ooh, I said, let’s, let’s pull up some of your threads. Okay. And love for you to just share a sentence or two expanding on like the knowledge that you’ve dropped over there. So are you ready? Yeah, let’s do it. All right, sweet. Okay, profitable doesn’t mean worth it.
Danielle: You know, you can do a lot of different things that take so much effort and energy from you and you made a buck, but it wasn’t worth it.
It wasn’t worth the time that you missed out with your family, the vacation you had to, you know, the vacation you went on, but you had to work during that vacation. Like, I do think that when you’re thinking about making money, it has to. It has to feel good. It has to feel good. That that’s, you know, that’s actually like, I’m reliving some trauma there.
I’m like, Oh God, I just did that. It just sucked. It just sucked the living. It just sucked out of me. So that’s where that’s coming from. It’s like, you can make a dollar at the end, but did it feel good? Was it worth it? Would you do it again?
Akua: Yes. I always say this all the time. All money ain’t good money.
That is true. And I think that’s such a, such a reminder, um, as business owners. Okay. Next one. Your podcast growth does not have to rely on social media. Yes. We talked about this. It’s,
Danielle: there’s so many other ways, whether you decide to attach your website, you decide to really figure out how to rank higher within the podcast players.
You decide to do guest appearances. There are so many attaches that come to a podcast that social media can be a fun place that you just, you know, go off on threads like me without necessarily having to feel like it’s, you have to use it to promote your show. Love
Akua: that. Okay. So it’s the smaller creators that are often the most influential.
Danielle: You know, it’s, I know a lot of people in my industry who probably look at my numbers and my look at my stats and they’re just like, how is she doing this? How did she, how did she get there? How did she land there? And what I’ve learned is that the big numbers is all metrics, but there’s so much other components to make, you know, to define success for you.
So again, having a small audience that takes action. That’s huge way more important than to me having, you know, a number of zeros behind your follower count.
Akua: Yes, I think again, it just goes to show like don’t count yourself out as a business owner. Like do not count yourself out. Okay, next one. When I started seeing my podcast listeners as clients, I began to secure more podcast sponsorships.
Danielle: We just talked about that. That’s like a hundred percent. It’s like, how can I come and be of service and help them spend their marketing dollars and put my best foot forward? How can I make them, how can I make them feel appreciated? And they, for them to say in the back room, like. Danielle really, like she went above, she went beyond, you know, another thing is that a lot of these brands I work with have never worked with a podcaster before.
I want them to feel like it was so amazing that they’ll give more podcasters a shot, more podcasters a chance. So, a thousand percent, yes.
Akua: Love that. Okay. So here we go. Updating an eight year old blog post which still pays the bills today Talk about the beauty of long term Passive income. Oh my gosh.
Danielle: Okay.
So this year I’ve made very So I’m going to be doing a little bit of a slight shifts and pivot to my brand and my podcast, The Thought Card. And with that, I’ve been going back into my old blog posts and seeing, is this relevant? Can I improve it? Can I update it? With that small experimenting, I’ve realized that like when I update a blog post, it actually just Performs so much better and gets more page views So that’s been something that i’ve been really like working on in the back end Now I was literally working on the blog post and it’s getting thousands of hits And it’s so it’s one of the one of the first blog posts i’ve ever posted Thin, you know, not that much visuals like not like up to snuff for today’s, you know, quote unquote visually um, but The fact that it’s so long, eight years later, I’m still making ad revenue off that blog post.
I’m still making, you know, commissions off of my referrals for my affiliate links. That’s powerful. And that to me is. Financial freedom and how as a business owner and a creator that the, the seeds you plant today can definitely have rippling effects. So that just was a reminder for me to be like, the work you put in eight years ago is still helping to pay the bills today, so don’t give up percent.
Don’t give up. Yes. Oh my gosh,
Akua: I love that so much. And again, it’s just a reminder, you don’t have to reinvent the wheel sometimes at all. It takes is just a little couple sp up tweaks, a little sprucing up. It can. Absolutely. Transform your business. Oh my gosh. Danielle. I, this conversation has been so fun.
Thank you so much for coming on the show. Every question we love to end with is what does having an unbreakable business mean to you?
Danielle: Unbreakable business means that I’m still standing for as long as I want to. Right now it’s 10 plus years. We’ll see how long that lasts and how long I want it to last.
But it’s like for me having that freedom to be like when I call it quits or if I call it quits is on my term. I’m unbreakable.
Akua: I’m unbreakable. Oh, I love that answer so, so much. And I’ve loved this conversation. So everyone that wants to connect with you, where can we support you? Absolutely. Best place
Danielle: for my podcasting, like blog posts, you know, resources, all that good stuff, danielledezeer.
org. And, uh, if you love travel and personal finance, let’s connect over at thoughtcard. com and the ThoughtCard podcast, over 200 episodes, you know, six plus years later, I’d love to just help you to travel more, um, and get that money right. So
Akua: get that money, right? Yes. Oh my gosh. And follow her on threads.
I’m going to put the shameless plug. Follow her on threads. Those
Danielle: are some juicy threads. Oh yeah. Top picks.
Akua: I know we did. We did some digging girl. Cause I love following your threads. Your threads are great. So I’m gonna put the, I’m gonna put a plug in there for follow, follow Danielle two on threads, but Danielle, thank you so much for coming on the show.
This has been wonderful. And for everyone listening until next time, thanks for tuning into unbreakable business. If you loved today’s episode, don’t forget to subscribe, leave a review, and share it with someone who needs a little extra inspiration. Remember, no matter what life throws your way, you have the power to keep going and your business can be unbreakable too.
Until next time, keep building, keep growing, and stay unbreakable.