111: Growing Your Audience Through Podcast Guesting with Jason Cercone

In this quick episode, I provide an update on both this podcast and my business. I also explain the shady reason behind why I'm specifically posting this update when I am.   Want even more podcasting insights and updates? Join the Podcasting Insiders Club for just $5/month! Want to connect with me further? Follow me on Instagram! Want to work together? Here's how we can do that! One-on-one podcast launch packages Self-paced online course for launching your podcast Podcast auditing (Ideal if you're getting ready to launch and want an expert's eyes on everything first or if you've already launched and you want advice on how to improve your show.) Podcast self-audit online course Podcast editing (Let me take care of the time-consuming post-production aspects of your show.)

"If you want your podcast and your business to work hand-in-hand, you have to start thinking about them as the same thing and not separate things." As you wrap up one year and plan your goals for the next one, don't forget about your podcast. I see far too many podcasters who aren't intentional with the content they're putting our and the products or services they're promoting on their show. In this episode, I'm explaining exactly how you can prep your podcast for new year so that you always know exactly what you're promoting and what your content should be centered around.   Note: This will be my final episode of 2020. I'll be returning with a new episode on February 2nd, 2022.   To learn more about the resources mentioned in this episode, visit the show notes.   Want to connect with me further? Follow me on Instagram and/or Facebook and reach out! Want to work together? Here's how we can do that! One-on-one podcast launch packages Self-paced online course for launching your podcast Podcast auditing (Ideal if you're getting ready to launch and want an expert's eyes on everything first or if you've already launched and you want advice on how to improve your show.) Podcast self-audit course Podcast editing (let me take care of the time-consuming post-production aspects of your show)

Margy Feldhuhn is a podcast host and the co-owner and CEO of Interview Connections, the first and leading podcast booking agency. She and her business partner lead an in-house staff of over 25 full-time employees in their (now virtual) Rhode Island office, and have successfully scaled the agency to multiple 7 figures. Since 2013, Interview Connections has been booking successful entrepreneurs as guests on podcasts and providing them strategy and coaching to monetize their guest appearances. They currently represent over 250 business owners. In addition to being an entrepreneur, Margy is also an animal rescue advocate and personal development enthusiast. With her podcast, “We Get It, Your Dad Died,” Margy uses her own experience of losing her dad to suicide to transform the conversation around grief and show the joy that is possible on the other side of loss. Her show won First Prize in the Best Podcast category of the 2021 Rhode Island International Film Festival. In this episode, we chat about how their clients utilize podcast guest appearances for their businesses and podcasts, how Interview Connections was created, how many shows they have to pitch to get four podcast guests appearances per month for their clients, why they typically target “mid-range” shows for their clients rather than shows with massive audiences, the criteria they look for when finding podcasts to pitch, why don’t ask podcasts hosts for their download numbers before deciding whether or not to pitch to them, and more.   IMPORTANT ANNOUNCEMENT: Margy and her co-owner will be hosting a free podcast guesting masterclass December 13-17th. Click here to register with my special affiliate link.   To learn more about the resources mentioned in this episode, visit the show notes. Want even more podcasting insights and updates? Join the Podcasting Insiders Club for just $5/month! Want to connect with me further? Follow me on Instagram! Want to work together? Here's how we can do that! One-on-one podcast launch packages Self-paced online course for launching your podcast Podcast auditing (Ideal if you're getting ready to launch and want an expert's eyes on everything first or if you've already launched and you want advice on how to improve your show.) Podcast self-audit online course Podcast editing (Let me take care of the time-consuming post-production aspects of your show.)

Emily K Thomas is an energetic advisor and founder of Aligned Energetics. In her work, she advises high-performance entrepreneurs to lead with conviction & hire, launch, and scale with complete confidence. She’s passionate about helping her clients harness the power of their unique energetic framework to mitigate risk and achieve their financial intentions. She is the host of the Live Your Light Podcast and the founder and designer of Sundari Swim, an eco-conscious, body-love swimwear brand and her mission is to help entrepreneurs build a business that fuels their lifestyle. In this episode, we chat about what the term “aligned energetic” means, how being energetically aligned can help with making decisions for your podcast, how it’s okay to break from the typical format when it comes to your podcast, the changes she made to her own podcast once she started focusing on aligned energetics, the importance of being selective with your podcast guests, why she requires all of her guests to do a “connection call” with her before being on her show, how she handles it if the connection call makes it clear the guest isn’t energetically aligned with her podcast, her advice for energetically aligning with your podcast, and more.   To learn more about the resources mentioned in this episode, visit the show notes. Want even more podcasting insights and updates? Join the Podcasting Insiders Club for just $5/month! Want to connect with me further? Follow me on Instagram! Want to work together? Here's how we can do that! One-on-one podcast launch packages Self-paced online course for launching your podcast Podcast auditing (Ideal if you're getting ready to launch and want an expert's eyes on everything first or if you've already launched and you want advice on how to improve your show.) Podcast self-audit online course Podcast editing (Let me take care of the time-consuming post-production aspects of your show.)

Years Podcasting: Nearly six Total Podcasts Hosted: Four Total Episodes Released: Over 400 If you think in all that time I’ve never hit a content idea block, you’re very wrong. But one good thing to come from all that podcasting, and helping podcasters like you with their shows for the past 5+ years, is that I’ve picked up a trick or two to help get past those blocks. In this episode, I’m sharing some of my go-to podcast episode topics and ideas so you can have them ready the next time you’re feeling a little blocked when trying to plan out the content for your own podcast.   To learn more about the resources mentioned in this episode, visit the show notes.   Want to make sure you don't miss out on future podcasting industry updates, new tools, or my recommendation changes? Join the Podcasting Insiders Club today!   Want to connect with me further? Follow me on Instagram and Clubhouse!   Want to work together? Here's how we can do that! One-on-one podcast launch packages Self-paced course for launching your podcast Podcast auditing (Ideal if you're getting ready to launch and want an expert's eyes on everything first or if you've already launched and you want advice on how to improve your show.) Self-paced course for auditing your own podcast Podcast editing (Let me take care of the time-consuming post-production aspects of your show.)

Over the past several years of helping coaches and consultants just like you with their podcast launches, I've noticed some common blocks, anxieties, and fears that come up frequently during that process. It's those fears that I want to discuss today to hopefully help you overcome if you're experiencing any of them yourself. The fears/anxieties mentioned in this episode: Feeling overwhelmed or intimidated by the process and/or technology to the point where it stops you from getting started Thinking everything needs to be absolutely perfect before you can officially launch the show (sometimes presents itself as making constant changes/tweaks or not being able to commit to certain decisions) Worrying that no one will even listen to the show Worrying that it will be a waste of time and/or money Being afraid of getting negative reviews or feedback Worrying that you won't be able to find enough guests to keep the show going   To learn more about the resources mentioned in this episode, visit the show notes.   Want to make sure you don't miss out on future podcasting industry updates, new tools, or my recommendation changes? Join the Podcasting Insiders Club today!   Want to connect with me further? Follow me on Instagram and Clubhouse!   Want to work together? Here's how we can do that! One-on-one podcast launch packages Self-paced course for launching your podcast Podcast auditing (Ideal if you're getting ready to launch and want an expert's eyes on everything first or if you've already launched and you want advice on how to improve your show.) Self-paced course for auditing your own podcast Podcast editing (Let me take care of the time-consuming post-production aspects of your show.)

Finka Jerkovic is an author, international speaker, workshop leader and coach. As President of FINKA Communications Inc., she consults with clients in areas of personal branding, leadership, sales, client experience and employee engagement. She brings over two decades of experience in corporate Canada in the financial services industry, with an expertise in sales, leadership, communication, and coaching. Finka believes when you bring authentic leadership and a mission-based mindset to business, you can achieve inner fulfillment, outer success and leave a transformational impact. Her book Sell From Love: Love Yourself, Love your Client, Love your Offer released November 2020, hit Amazon’s #1 Best Seller List and was listed as a Hot New Release. She lives in Canada with her husband and daughter on their 85-acre nature oasis, where you'll find them living a farm-to-table lifestyle, brewing up essential oil blends from their lavender field, riding horses, and beekeeping. In this episode, Finka shares why it took her three years to finally launch her podcast even though she knew how beneficial it would be for her business, how her fears around podcasting turned her into a perfectionist, why starting a podcast is an important task even if it may not seem like an urgent one, how her podcast helped her gain clarity of her voice and messaging, why she recommends going to the edge of your comfort zone when starting a podcast rather than outside of it, why she doesn’t want someone starting a podcast if they’re not committed to doing to it for at least a 12-18 months, and more.   To learn more about the resources mentioned in this episode, visit the show notes. Want even more podcasting insights and updates? Join the Podcasting Insiders Club! Want to connect with me further? Follow me on Instagram! Want to work together? Here's how we can do that! One-on-one podcast launch packages Self-paced online course for launching your podcast Podcast auditing (Ideal if you're getting ready to launch and want an expert's eyes on everything first or if you've already launched and you want advice on how to improve your show.) Podcast self-audit online course Podcast editing (Let me take care of the time-consuming post-production aspects of your show.)

Special Note: Effectively immediately, new episodes of the podcast will be published every other Friday instead of every Friday.   Diann Wingert is a business mindset coach for female entrepreneurs. During her previous 20+ year career as a licensed psychotherapist, she worked with hundreds of ambitious women who struggled to achieve the success they desired. After realizing that psychotherapy was not the answer, Diann trained and certified as a coach to shift the conversation from problems to possibilities. Diann is an expert on the intersection between mindset, mental health, and entrepreneurship and is committed to helping others make an income while making an impact. When she is not coaching, Diann can be found exploring her newly adopted city of Portland, OR with rescue chihuahuas and her German-born husband. Diann is a coffee lover, Peloton enthusiast, and host of The Driven Woman Podcast. In this episode, Diann shares how she utilizes client success stories on her podcast, what she means when she uses the term “pod swaps”, how she determines which podcasters she wants to collaborate with, how she initiates the process of a pod swap; including a highly effective and vastly underutilized strategy, how long she nurtures a relationship before pitching a pod swap and how the length of time varies between Facebook, LinkedIn, and Instagram, why she feels it’s worth it to spend a good amount of time researching potential guests before reaching out to them with the idea of a pod swap, what her follow-up process is like after she records the pod swaps so that she can continue fostering the relationship, the strategy of recording one interview and using it on both podcasters shows, her advice for streamlining the pod swap process so even a one-person team can do it, and more!   To learn more about the resources mentioned in this episode, visit the show notes. Want even more podcasting insights and updates? Join the Podcasting Insiders Club! Want to connect with me further? Follow me on Instagram! Want to work together? Here's how we can do that! One-on-one podcast launch packages Self-paced online course for launching your podcast Podcast auditing (Ideal if you're getting ready to launch and want an expert's eyes on everything first or if you've already launched and you want advice on how to improve your show.) Podcast self-audit online course Podcast editing (Let me take care of the time-consuming post-production aspects of your show.)

Jason Cercone is a podcast consultant, podcast communications pro, chicken wing connoisseur, and all-around well-adjusted bon vivant making his residence in Pittsburgh, PA. He is the Founder of Cercone Consulting, through which he helps brands and professionals leverage the authority-building power of podcasting. When he isn't glued to a mic or screen producing words to live by, you'll find him consuming a good beer, obsessing over his fantasy football lineups, and doing everything in his power to break 80 on the golf course. In this episode, Jason shares why he decided to start helping people with their podcast guest pitches, the guide he’s created that will help you build a pitch producers can’t say no to, why you should absolutely avoid the “spray and pray” method when sending out pitches to be a guest on podcasts, whether or not it’s necessary to actually listen to a podcast before pitching yourself as a guest, why you shouldn’t be too focused on pitching only to shows with large followings, how podcast guesting can help the SEO of your business, what the process looks like for someone who utilizes his podcast guest pitching services, the thing he does when it comes to podcast guest appearances that almost no one else does even though they should, the one thing he wants people to tweak about their pitches immediately, and more.   To learn more about the resources mentioned in this episode, visit the show notes. Want even more podcasting insights and updates? Join the Podcasting Insiders Club! Want to connect with me further? Follow me on Instagram! Want to work together? Here's how we can do that! One-on-one podcast launch packages Self-paced online course for launching your podcast Podcast auditing (Ideal if you're getting ready to launch and want an expert's eyes on everything first or if you've already launched and you want advice on how to improve your show.) Podcast self-audit online course Podcast editing (Let me take care of the time-consuming post-production aspects of your show.)

In this first episode back from my summer hiatus, I do a quick recap of the latest podcast industry updates from the past two months that you should be aware of to help stay on top of the podcasting game and help alleviate some potential frustrations; including the reason your podcast downloads may have dropped this summer, the extremely popular platform that’s finally giving podcasts the attention they deserve (and what you need to do to make sure you can take advantage of it), the easy way you can continue to stay informed about the industry news and tools, and more.   To learn more about the resources mentioned in this episode, visit the show notes.   Want to make sure you don't miss out on future podcasting industry updates, new tools, or my recommendation changes? Join the Podcasting Insiders Club today!   Want to connect with me further? Follow me on Instagram and Clubhouse!   Want to work together? Here's how we can do that! One-on-one podcast launch packages Self-paced course for launching your podcast Podcast auditing (Ideal if you're getting ready to launch and want an expert's eyes on everything first or if you've already launched and you want advice on how to improve your show.) Self-paced course for auditing your own podcast Podcast editing (Let me take care of the time-consuming post-production aspects of your show.)