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Monetizing your content with Danielle Corbett

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?

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