Ep 97: Podcast Funnel - How to Convert Listeners to Prospects

We just wrapped up the masterclass, The Podcast Funnel: How to Turn Passive Listeners into Prospects, and the replay is ready for you!

If you have an episodic content series (read: YouTube show, live stream show, podcast), keep reading.

The three frameworks I taught in this masterclass will help you turn your passive audience into subscribers and prospects.

I share my real numbers. My real experiments. My real results.

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3. Save your seat for the 60-minute Mastermind where we will build YOUR funnel. Only six spots available. 

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Chapters

• 0:48 Podcast Funnel Masterclass and Strategies
• 7:26 Podcast Pre-Launch Framework Success
• 15:14 Podcast Marketing Strategy Framework
• 31:11 Effective Offer Ecosystem and Content Funnel

Transcript

Speaker 1: 0:48

Hey, hey, hey. This is Sarah Noelle Block and you are listening to Tiny Marketing. This is the uncut summer series where you are getting the raw, unfiltered, unedited recordings from our interviews, webinars and workshops. So sit back, relax and enjoy the ridiculousness. Hey, hey, hey. In today's episode I am releasing it early for a purpose. So this is the release of my recent masterclass Podcast Funnel how to Convert Listeners to Prospects. And the reason I am releasing my episode early this week is because I am offering a mastermind this Friday. So in two days, and during it, we will take what you learn in this podcast funnel and build your very own content funnel that works for the content that you create, so it'll be completely custom to you. We're only inviting six people to join in this mastermind, so during it, each person gets 10 minutes to where the group will mastermind on their content funnel. That's the reason I'm releasing it early, because I want you to have an opportunity to join this mastermind. It is just 60 minutes. It's this Friday, which is the 16th of August, at 12 pm Central Time. So, with that in mind, stay tuned for the masterclass and then head over to the show notes page to join the mastermind on Friday. Hey everyone, welcome, welcome, welcome to the podcast funnel how to turn your passive leaders listeners into prospects. Okay, let's get started. Today I am sharing three frameworks that I have used and I just interchanged them for my podcast over the past year, and I'm sharing the real numbers too. So you're getting. The numbers you're getting today are organic, so zero paid media. It's just the raw numbers that you're getting. So you'll see exactly how these specific strategies relate to the numbers.

Speaker 1: 3:14

First, let me introduce myself. I am Sarah Noelle Block. I am a lean marketing consultant. I work with B2B service founders who you guys are all badasses and I help you build content, funnels and lean strategies that make it really easy to fill your sales pipeline and convert customers. So I teach everything from how to position yourself and your messaging down to how to create an offer ecosystem that gets people in the door and excited to work with you. I host the Tiny Marketing Podcast, so if you aren't already listening to it, make sure to just take a second right here and subscribe on whatever app you listen to podcasts on, and I also spend all my time on LinkedIn. So if you want to be friends and just have a little DM chitty chat, go over to LinkedIn and let's connect there. I would love to just connect one-on-one with you.

Speaker 1: 4:21

Today I'm teaching you the 3 frameworks to move your audience to prospects and the results I have seen from it. So I am a chronic experimenter and I experiment so I can fail for you, I can practice and try new things and then I tell you hey, this works, this doesn't work. So I have tried these specific frameworks there's probably more that I designed myself just to see how it would work, and these are the ones that have worked. Let's get into them Now. I'm teaching you three frameworks today, but I want you to stay until the end because I have a special way to get your content funnel built for you and it goes really in depth and I am really excited to be able to show you exactly, hands on, dive into your specific content and build that funnel out for you.

Speaker 1: 5:24

So these strategies that I'm teaching you today, they don't just work for podcasts. I use podcasts because that's what I do but it also works for YouTube shows and any episodic content that you have. So if you have a regular article series, if you have a YouTube show, a live stream series, a podcast, these will work for any of those. Now, before we get into it, please drop your LinkedIn link in the chat so we can all connect with each other. This is a private stream, so, yeah, it's on YouTube because I want it to be accessible and easy for you to just click and go in. However, it is private and only us, we're the only people who are going to see it, so drop your LinkedIn links in the chat.

Speaker 1: 6:16

So first let's get into what is a podcast funnel, because you probably have never heard of it before, because it didn't exist until I started building it, so you know. That's why it's a systematic approach to guide listeners through a journey from awareness. They've discovered your content. Maybe they ran across your podcast, or you were a guest on someone else's podcast and they're like I liked what they have to say. I'm going to go check out theirs and then moves them through to engagement and then, finally, conversion. So the primary thing that I do, and what has built my business sustainably, is building content funnels. So every step of my marketing is meant to bring people a little bit closer and a little bit closer to me, where they get a little deeper into my world and we get closer, because service businesses aren't like product businesses. It's about relationships. So I build funnels that strengthen relationships, and that's what this does.

Speaker 1: 7:26

Podcasts are valuable. They are great for building relationships, like all of the guests that you have on the show. They could potentially turn into referral partners or they can join you for masterclasses. You could do webinar swaps Also a great way to build trust and drive conversions. I cannot tell you how many coaches I have worked with because I listened to their podcast and they earned my trust. They taught me something valuable and I'm like hell yes, this is a hell yes from my gut that I want to work with this person.

Speaker 1: 8:06

Now, your episodic content, whatever medium it might be, should do the same thing. It should be a mix of interviews and solo episodes so you can build relationships with other people in your industry and also trust and conversions with your audience, so that you are actually getting customers from this content. A lot of these shows end up being just like vanity metrics because okay, cool, you have a ton of subscribers. However, are you getting money from that audience? If the answer is no, then it's not worth it. That's why I started experimenting, because I certainly my show for 2 years didn't bring in new clients. It got new listeners. People like listening to it, but I wasn't getting business from it until I started experimenting with these frameworks.

Speaker 1: 9:03

Here's the first one Pre-launch content. So I'm going to make myself a little bit smaller so you can see this better. So I'm going to make myself a little bit smaller so you can see this better. There you go. The objective is to create anticipation and capture interest, early interest, by engaging your audience before you officially launch an offer. Okay, I did this and it works really, really well. So pre-launch content is a series of content around your specific offer, and I'll explain exactly how I did it. The content you should be creating to go around this pre-launch content are trainings that are part of your framework. So the framework that you are taking people through, the journey you're taking your clients through it is likely a framework and, if you don't realize it already, it is. You're taking them through a framework. Take pieces of that framework, that journey you're taking your clients on, and build little mini trainings around it that can be used as episodes. You also want to go into customer success stories. Explain the stories in which you took your clients from A to B and the transformation they experienced. Bonus points if your customer is willing to go on the show and talk about that journey and what it was like to work with you.

Speaker 1: 10:35

You also want to address common objections that you're getting about your offer. So any of the questions or the pushback that you're getting when you talk about your offer, address them up front, because that will take away a lot of that. Because that will take away a lot of that. Uh, I don't know, honestly, when I'm considering buying an offer, the first objection that comes up, if it's not addressed immediately, I just bounce because I'm like I'd rather not spend the money than convince myself to buy something. So you need to understand what those objectives are and address them in your pre-launch copy and your pre-launch series and content. And then, last, discuss the transformation that your offer provides. What are the outcomes people can expect? What transformation do they really really want? So all of these pieces should be singular solo episodes. The customer success story that one can be an interview episode, I'll give you that. But all of this builds so much pre-launch hype around your offer that it gets people really excited and invested in what you have to sell.

Speaker 1: 12:51

So when I do this, I do it in quick succession, so it feels like an event. I do mini episodes every day, so I did five mini episodes back to back to back to back. It got a ton of lessons. People were very into it and the results Let me move myself again so you can see the results there I'm taking myself off the results were this so, 5 days of using this framework I just mentioned that I did 5 back-to-back mini episodes using this framework I got over 500 views to my offer in just days. 500 views organically, no paid elements, just the series to my offer.

Speaker 1: 13:45

I made 6K on a product I hadn't even made yet and that was just over the pre-sale couple of days. And then I had to shut down the page because it got so much attention, so many people were going to it from that offer, that I didn't want people going to it anymore because then I was running a beta. After that I wasn't sure if I was going to go forward with the full offer anymore. So I shut down the page so I could run the beta, reiterate and then decide what I wanted that offer to look like later. But that is how much traffic I drove to my sales pages. I had to actually shut it down because it worked so well. So this is the pre-launch framework and it works beautifully.

Speaker 1: 14:46

Okay, maybe I can pop back in now. Here I am there. That's better, okay. So the next thing is your call to action. What do I want you to do? So one I want you to add a call to action when you are creating pre-launch content, and the call to action should be a waitlist. Creating pre-launch content, and the call to action should be a waitlist Encourage listeners to join a waitlist.

Speaker 1: 15:14

This is it could be a waitlist or it could be an interest list. Either way, you want to incentivize it. So you're getting people super hyped about your offer. Your call to action at the end of every episode should be join the waitlist, join the waitlist, join the waitlist and then offer incentives for them to join the waitlist. Join the waitlist. Join the waitlist and then offer incentives for them to join the waitlist, because why am I opting into a waitlist if I'm not getting anything for it? So offer discounts to waitlisters. Offer bonuses that other people won't get access to.

Speaker 1: 15:47

Early access to features. There are tons of things I like to use an expiring discount offer. So to incentivize people to get on a waitlist. I'll offer a big discount for the first 10 people who buy, and then it gets reduced and reduced, and reduced, and the reason for that is the people who are on the waitlist and getting early access to purchase this offer are going to be incentivized to do it immediately instead of waiting to the last day to do the offer. Now, as you're listening to this, you might be thinking this sounds great for a product or a course, but this works for one-to-one services too, so you can treat your one-to-one services like a launch and it will work just as well, and this is a great way to get your offer out there. I also like to do just like pop-up launches, where once a quarter, I'm offering this launch again to get people excited about a specific offer. Don't be afraid to launch. Even if you have a one-to-one service, it still works.

Speaker 1: 17:03

Okay, your action steps. Start drafting your pre-launch series and outline it. Include the main topics that you would have in this pre-launch series, the sequence of the episodes, like what order it makes sense in, and the call to action for each episode. You want to get people on an interest list or a wait list it Before I forget, I am going to share a workbook with you that you can use, so you can apply this yourself. So I'm sharing this in the comments and let me know. If you can't link it I will, or if you can't click on it, I'll email it out too. All right, but I just wanted to make sure you guys had that. So your action step for the pre-launch framework forgot my words is to start drafting out what topics you would have in your series and picking your call to action Framework two content to time-sensitive offer.

Speaker 1: 18:17

This is my always-on framework. This is what I always do. So my pre-launch I'll do it maybe once every six months, maybe once a quarter. I'll do it maybe once every six months, maybe once a quarter, but this framework I'm always doing. So the objective is to leverage time-sensitive offers to create urgency and drive listeners to take action immediately. My goal is to get podcast listeners to become subscribers, because as soon as they're on my email list, they're more apt to buy. To purchase, money is made in the email. So this is how I do it Create a three to five episode series.

Speaker 1: 19:01

So we are grouping like episodes together. It's focused on a specific topic. Center your content around an event, a summit, a limited time lead magnet. So this is what I do. Um, I have an air table and I set up my series. I'll pick a bunch of topics with different people that are part of it, different people I'll interview for it. I'll title that series. So I have a scaling series coming out in the fall. So I have five episodes around scaling your one-to-one service business and then that will culminate. So people will listen to those five episodes and in each one of them the call to action is to sign up for the scaling bundle.

Speaker 1: 20:01

So I always do group my series with a special time-sensitive offer. It's only available for the next 7 days, for example. So it could be a live event like a masterclass, like this. It could be a virtual summit where you're only keeping it open for 5 days. It could be a limited-time lead magnet. Let's say you have a bundle of lead magnets from the guests that were on your show during that series, but you're only keeping it open for the next 5 days. The time sensitivity makes sure that people take action immediately. So I like to.

Speaker 1: 20:33

If you've gone to my Craft a Killer Lead Magnet workshop before, then you know that I am a proponent of always having a passive, always on lead magnet and an active, time sensitive lead magnet, because your passive one will always bring leads in, it's just dripping them in, and the active one brings in a flood of leads at one time. So you have your three to five episode series and then you culminate it with a time-sensitive offer. So an example could be a live AMA Ask Me Anything discounted access to a course, a limited time resource. Now you could also repurpose content that you've already created. So let's say you've done a masterclass and it was killer. Everybody loved it. Take that masterclass and group it with a bundle Like here are a couple templates that would make sense with that masterclass.

Speaker 1: 21:39

Here's a workbook that would help with that. Bundle it and then you got your time-sensitive offer. Just make sure it shuts off after a certain period of time so people have to use it. So this, again I will reiterate, is the framework that I always have on. I am always doing this and the result I have gotten over 300 registrants, new subscribers, from this method alone over just a couple months. I'm getting warmer leads coming in who don't need a long nurture period. So people are coming in from these series and they're ready to buy immediately instead of being nurtured on my email list for a year or more and I've started to get a lot of people on sales calls that are mentioning the things that I talk about on my podcast, which helps reiterate that this is working. So I'm getting more subscribers, I'm getting warmer leads and I'm shortening my sales cycle through this framework. Now the action step you need to take develop the content for your time-sensitive offer series, ensuring that the episodes build momentum towards that final call to action, which is your time-sensitive lead magnet.

Speaker 1: 22:57

Okay, framework three micro-offers. The objective is to provide a low-cost, high-value offer that serves an entry point for your listeners. So I just had a conversation with someone yesterday where I was explaining micro-offers don't need to be profitable. I mean, they probably will be, because they're usually a digital product of some kind. But the point of a micro-offer is to bring people into your offer ecosystem. So I do get cash injections from them, but the most value that I get from them is to leverage them for marketing. I'll explain so in your podcast. You want to promote a micro offer. So micro offers are $97 or less generally and they have a high value. The offer should deliver significant value to listeners where it's like a no-brainer that they want to purchase. So this isn't easy. You can create ads around this within your podcast, like if you use Buzzsprout I use Buzzsprout, so I'm going to use that as an example. You can add your own ads directly to your podcast where you're promoting specific things about your business. Why wouldn't you do that? So I would do that.

Speaker 1: 24:27

But I also want to say I use this when I'm guesting on podcasts and I'm guesting on webinars and YouTube shows. Whenever I'm doing some sort of collaborative content. This is the framework that I use because it just brings in a bum rush of leads. When you tie value to an offer, it gets so many more conversions than a freebie lead magnet. So when I am doing a webinar swap, I'm speaking to a community, I am on someone else's podcast. I will offer a micro offer with a 100% discount on it. This converts really, really high and you get a lot of subscribers who will opt into it. So I usually do.

Speaker 1: 25:21

I have my templated like guesting page on my website which I just duplicate. I change the URL so it's the name of their show, and then I offer a special discount code. So special code use a memorable code like podcast for a discount. So I use their show name for the discount code. But because there's value, there's money tied to this offer, a lot more people will convert than a freebie. So the results for me at one time I'm just giving you an example of one time I did this. So this was me speaking in a community using my micro offer. I got 26 microoffer orders. I got five sales calls from that. People who downloaded my microoffer liked it, wanted to learn more, and then I closed two clients from it. So this was one time using it. It works really, really well.

Speaker 1: 26:22

And that's the three frameworks. I have used them all, I continue to use them all and I mix them together depending on what the situation is. So your action step is to develop a promotional content for your micro offer, include this as an ad on your own podcast and also create it with a discount code when you're doing guesting to encourage people to join your email list with your micro offer. So how do you integrate these frameworks? I'm going to tell you how to combine these frameworks into a cohesive podcast funnel strategy here. So you'll want to map out how you integrate them. So for myself, I already pre-ambled this. I do the pre-launch content either once a quarter or once every six months, depending on the offer. I do them in quick succession, so it's a bunch of little mini episodes and it works really well.

Speaker 1: 27:29

And then my time-sensitive offer framework. I use that all the time. I always have a series happening that culminates in a time-sensitive offer and this is constantly bringing in about maybe 70 new subscribers a month. I checked earlier today it was around 70. And it's completely passive, no paid elements to it. And then the micro offers I will put in an ad on my podcast for the micro offer and I'll keep that full price. And then when I'm doing a guest spot in someone's community or podcast or a webinar, then I'll offer 100% discount because I want to encourage their audience to become my audience. That borrowed audience gold really it's the fastest way to grow your email list is to borrow someone else's audience. Your action step Finalize your podcast funnel strategy, set a timeline for implementing each framework and establish measurable goals for your conversions.

Speaker 1: 28:36

What do you want to get from these frameworks? You want to mix them all together and make sure they play nice together, but also track and make sure it's working for you. It works for me, it works for my clients, but you need to track your own metrics and make sure that these frameworks work for you. I can just tell you from my experience how it's been. It's been Okay.

Speaker 1: 29:04

Now I want to offer you this Friday so while it's still hot on your mind a 60-minute mastermind. Thanks, alex. A 60-minute mastermind to brainstorm your content funnel. I only have six spots available because we're literally going to spend 10 minutes on each of your content funnels, so there's very few available. So this Friday at 12 pm Central Time, we're going to do the Mastermind and create, craft your content funnel. So I am going to. I will share this afterwards, the link to it. Actually, can I? Yes, I can, so, never mind, I was able to pull it up. I'm putting that in the chat if you want to join that mastermind.

Speaker 1: 30:02

And last things last, do you have questions? Put them in the chat. I am here for you. And before you go, before you bounce out, meetup is going to ask you to rate and review this masterclass. Please do do. It gets more people coming to my events and I love teaching you guys, so it would be really helpful for me if you rate and review the event in Meetup and share any questions that you have If you can't think of any right now. You're marinating on it. That's okay.

Speaker 1: 30:42

Again, I am over on LinkedIn. You can DM me. I'm hanging out there and I'm answering questions, so DM me on LinkedIn if you have questions that you didn't think of here. Make sure to join that mastermind on Friday. It's going to be awesome. We'll spend 10 minutes each creating your content funnel so you know exactly what yours can look like and how to convert your audience to subscribers and then clients.

Speaker 1: 31:11

I love an offer ecosystem and a content funnel. They work so beautifully together. Thank you again for joining me today. I don't see any questions. Appreciate you, alex Boop. All right, I'm going to bounce Again. I'll talk to you soon and I will email everybody the replay of this with the mastermind, and you guys can reply to that email too, all right, thank you. All right, I am back in real time and I just wanted to let everybody know that if they want to watch the video form of this, it's in the show notes page. You can also grab the worksheet and the mastermind in the show notes, so head downstairs and grab those, all right, thank you. If you enjoyed this episode, please, please, please, remember to subscribe wherever you listen to podcasts and rate and review. But, most importantly, tell your friends, share this episode with a friend so other people know about tiny marketing and our uncut summer series. I will see you next week with another great one.