Episode 228 | Insider Secrets to a Top 100 Podcast | Courtney Elmer

0:02 - My Most Embarrassing Podcasting Moment (Get Ready to Cringe) 
2:49 - The Dunning Kruger Effect and Its Impact on New Podcasters 
3:57 - The One Moment That Changed Everything
5:47 - Bigger Audience Means More Sales, Right? Wrong... 
8:24 - Why Consistency Is NOT the "Secret" to Podcasting Success

The Top 3 Mistakes I Made When Starting a Podcast

There I was, crying over my analytics dashboard at 10:42 AM. I'd just released my 16th episode and I felt like a total failure. Four months earlier I was on cloud nine with the birth of my baby launch of my podcast. I sat there with stars in my eyes (re)reading all 65 new glowing reviews, thinking I was the shizz for crushing this podcast launch. (Pssh, most people get 10 downloads, there I was with nearly 1000). Annnnd no sooner had I brushed the dust off my shoulder, I face-planted. HARD.

I kept religiously refreshing my analytics dashboard, thinking any day now I'd start enrolling more clients than I could count, because at the time I was already three whole years into my business and still struggling to hit six figures. NO ONE KNEW THIS, of course. (Well okay except Alan obviously knew this. And I mean, my mom probably figured it out because I kept asking her to babysit so much. And my accountant definitely knew.)

But starting a podcast was my last ditch effort to grow my audience and make some freakin' money. That's because I thought that a bigger audience would automatically equal more sales (that's like marketing 101 right?) Wrong, as it painfully turns out. I learned the hard way that I made three key mistakes after starting a podcast that made the process twice as long and twice as hard — and I’m breaking them down here so you can avoid them.

So if you publish a new episode every week but you’re still getting less than 1000 downloads per episode (or if people say they love your podcast but nobody’s buying) read on.

The Dunning-Kruger Effect and Its Impact on New Podcasters

How many times have you ever set out to do something new and you think, “I've totally got this.” Then somewhere along the way, you realize, “NO, I don’t got this. This is terrible. I'm terrible! I'm never going to be successful, this is like, A LOT harder than I thought it was going to be.” Then, one of two things happens: we quit or we keep going. If we choose to keep going, we grow through the difficulty and come out on the other side smarter, stronger, more enlightened, more successful.

Research by psychologists Dunning and Kreuger shows that when we start something new, we’ve got the highest level of confidence and the lowest level of competence. (Think back to when you started your online business for the first time. Betcha you thought it wouldn’t be as hard as you now realize it actually is. If you're nodding your head with me, yeah, I had a harsh wake up call, too).

The One Moment That Changed Everything

So when we embark on a new venture (like starting a podcast) our confidence is at its peak, but our competence isn’t quite there yet. (Dunning and Kruger call this the “peak of Mount Stupid”). But soon enough, we hit what they describe as the “Valley of Despair” — the moment we realize this is going to be way harder than we expected.

But that’s the magic moment, because in that moment you get to make a choice: choose to stick it out and learn from it, or choose to give up and change course.

So there I was thinking to myself, well, how hard could starting a podcast be? I mean, I Googled this. All it takes is a high-quality mic, someone with a lot to say about a topic, an editor behind the scenes making me sound smarter than I actually am. Check, check, check. This will help me grow my business in no time. (Except, we both know that’s not how it happens).

When I tell you I almost threw my mic in the garbage, I mean it. But, hey — looking back, I’m really glad I had this experience. Otherwise, I never would've learned that there’s a lot more to starting a podcast than buying a fancy mic, hitting publish, and hoping people listen.

Mistake #1: Not Understanding the Specific Problems Your Listeners Have

You’ve probably heard that giving away your best content for free is key to building trust. The idea is that when you do, people will be more inclined to make a purchase. But how-to content is the absolute worst way to build trust, because teaching people how to do the things you’re telling them they need to do often backfires in two ways:

a) You overwhelm them with so many tasks that they feel they need to complete these steps before they’re ready for your program.

b) You provide so much value that they feel they’ve already got what they need and no longer need your course, product, or program.

The real secret to starting a podcast people rave about is understanding the specific problems your podcast solves and communicating that clearly throughout your podcast messaging.

If you want listeners to see you as the go-to expert and convert those listeners into clients, you first have to demonstrate a deep, detailed understanding of the problems they face. That’s how you build genuine trust and create a subconscious demand for your content and solutions.

Mistake #2: Believing a Bigger Audience Means More Sales

Most people assume that a bigger audience automatically means more sales. But if your current audience isn’t buying, what causes you to think a bigger one will? Podcast growth and podcast conversions are not directly linked, which means that just because your audience grows doesn’t mean they’ll convert.

There are several reasons why this happens, but one major reason is the lack of a strategic sales funnel built around your podcast. Without a clear path that guides your audience from listening to buying, audience growth won’t necessarily translate into sales. To turn audience growth into sales, you need to implement a funnel that captures leads, nurtures them, and drives conversions.

Mistake #3: Thinking Consistency Alone Will Lead to Success

Chances are you already know that consistency is important for podcast growth, but if opening your analytics dashboard and seeing your latest download numbers makes you want to throw your laptop across the room and quit podcasting altogether, you’re not alone. That's because consistency is only one part of the full equation for podcast growth. If consistency were the key to long-term success, then everyone who’s released an episode every week without fail would have a Top 100 podcast and clearly, that’s not the case.

Podcasting Lessons from the Pit of Despair

When I was deep in Dunning-Kreguer’s “Pit of Despair,”I had a choice. I could’ve easily quiet-quit my podcast out of shame, frustration, or embarrassment. But from my experience fumbling through the early days of starting a podcast (which is now ranked among the top 1% of shows globally) I learned a crucial lesson: in those moments of despair, we not only have a choice—we have the power to redefine our approach. Sometimes it's not a matter of playing the game the way you think it needs to be played or the way others tell you it should be played – it's about changing how you play the game in the first place that leads to real progress.

So if you want more free podcasting advice in your life, hit the follow button for Insider Secrets to a Top 100 Podcast on your favorite podcast app so you never miss a new episode.

Or if you’re thinking, “Wouldn’t it be cool if I could skip the hard part and get straight to growing my podcast?” Yep you can, and we’re here to help. Book a free strategy call with our team to find out if you’re a fit for PodLaunch, so we can give you the blueprint you need to grow your podcast audience and convert more listeners to clients.

Next Up:

In the next episode, we’re diving into 7 proven ways to increase listener engagement for your podcast so you can keep listeners hooked and build a strong community of fans eager to buy from you. So if you’re like, “Duh, YES I’m ready to increase listener engagement and get more listeners choosing my show over the competition!” don’t miss it.