There are many ways to make your podcast stand out, but there’s no denying that consistency is a huge one.
Consistency helps build trust with your audience. Showing up on a regular basis gives listeners a chance to know what they can expect from you and when they can expect it. And that makes them more likely to keep coming back.
It’s also not just about consistency in terms of frequency. It’s also about being consistent in terms of quality. If you want your podcast to stand out from the crowd, then you need to make sure that every episode is good enough that people will want more from your podcast.
Introducing Melissa Kellogg Lueck, Host of the Doing Business Like a Woman Podcast
Melissa Kellogg is the CEO of the Avanti Business Academy and Host of the Doing Business Like a Woman Podcast. She’s a marketing expert and business coach who helps ambitious entrepreneurs make more money while having the freedom and choice to work the way they want in a sustainable way.
Melissa’s been wanting to start a podcast for years. And once she started one, she realized how much value it could bring to her business and her business. Now, she has a consistent schedule for publishing new episodes and that consistency has helped her podcast to grow.
In our conversation, Melissa and I talked about:
How Melissa started her podcast
Consistency and clarity of purpose in podcasting
Creative tips and ideas for podcasting
Helping Women Business Owners to Make More and Hustle Less
Anne: Melissa, Welcome to the show. I’m so excited to have you here.
Melissa: Thank you so much. I’m so glad to get to talk to you again. We had such a great conversation last time so this will be so fun.
Anne: I think so too. And I’m super excited to hear more about your podcast. Can you tell me more about your business first, and then we’ll go into podcasting after that?
Melissa: Yeah, absolutely. I am a Marketing Expert and Business Coach and the Founder of Business Academy for Women. I believe that every woman has a business inside of her if she wants it, that we all have contribution and authority that we can offer to the world and make money with it. And so, what I love doing is helping women to start to grow and scale their businesses simply and minimize a lot of the bad hustle. I guess we all have to work in our businesses, but to eliminate a lot of the overworking and overwhelm to really grow a business that makes a lot of money and creates joy and fulfillment for the entrepreneur tail.
Anne: That sounds really good, and II totally needed that. But probably still, especially when I started my business, I think I made all the rookie mistakes. I overcomplicated literally everything. So I think it is great that you help people not to make the mistakes I made.
Melissa: Yes, and I teach what I’ve learned by failing myself but I feel like every time I start to complicate my business, I fall flat on my face. So it’s like the universe telling me this is the lesson you’re supposed to learn and teach other people how to create a business simply and just have fun, right? Because that’s why we got into this entrepreneurship journey in the first place. It’s not to work for a boss that’s worse than the one that we left at the other job, right?
Anne: Yes, absolutely.
Making Her Dream of Starting a Podcast Come True
Anne: So, Melissa, how does a podcast fit in your business exactly? Why did you decide I’m going to start a podcast?
Melissa: Yes, that’s a great question. I had been dreaming of starting a podcast, like fantasizing about it in my mind. I had a podcast in my brain for like four years. And I knew exactly what it was going to be, who I was going to be interviewing, and I just had this vision of making it super inspirational for women that are growing businesses and interview a lot of successful women entrepreneurs like yourself, and really just use it as a place for women to come to get inspired and equipped in their own entrepreneurship journey. But I didn’t do anything about it for like four years other than dream about it, think about it, and listen to other people’s podcasts and say like, “Oh my gosh, that podcast is so good. I wish I had one.”, and compare and despair to other people’s podcasts.
And so I finally and I didn’t start one for so long because I had overcomplicated it again in my mind. I felt I don’t really have anything great to say or I’m not good enough or I don’t know the technology or how to create one. And so I just used all those excuses to not do it and not do it.
And then finally last year, I received some coaching about learning to trust my own thought leadership and my own authority and my own voice. And because I noticed that when I was speaking in front of groups or speaking to people, I would get a lot of tightness in my throat. It was because I was thinking that I didn’t have anything important to say. So starting the podcasts was me really putting into action the belief that I do have something important to say that I can help even one person and that I wanted to grow my own trust in myself and my ideas and my voice.
And so, that was really what kind of pushed me off the fence of not doing it and not doing it. And just understanding as I have in so many other areas of my business that it doesn’t have to be perfect, that there won’t be anybody listening at the beginning, and that’s just fine because that gives me an opportunity to get used to the medium, to enjoy it, to see if I like it, to just practice and have fun with it. So that’s what I decided to do. I said I’m just going to put my ideas out into the world and they might suck, and people might not agree with me, and I might not be a good podcaster. But it’s just the act of learning to trust myself and trust my voice in a deeper way. So that’s why I did it. And I might not be a good podcaster, but it’s just the act of learning to trust myself and trust my voice in a deeper way. So that’s why I did it.
Keeping It Simple by Hiring a Podcast Manager and Editor
Anne: Right? Yes. So good. And did you give yourself like some set time to try this out? Like, “Okay, I’m gonna do this for three months or six months or one season?” Or I don’t know, 10 episodes? Or was your plan just to see how it goes and how you like it, and then decide at some point, if you want to keep going or not?
Melissa: Yes. I think I had fantasized about it for so long that I knew I was going to love it. So I didn’t really put a time on it. But yes, I feel like anything that we’re doing in our business, marketing-wise that if we’re not having fun, and not enjoying it, then it’s not the best. It’s not going to get the result that we want it to get.
And so, I felt like I knew I was going to have discomfort. I was going to be uncomfortable because I was putting my voice out there and putting my ideas out into the world in a different way, but I was okay with the discomfort. I was okay with nobody but my sister listening. I knew I was going to enjoy it. And I had like the technical things figured out. I have a really great project manager and audio editor. I couldn’t do this without them. That technology part was a real stumbling block for me so I needed that help.
Anne: So how did you go about finding that help when you decided, Okay, I’m gonna do this, I have to do this to also make speaking easier, speaking in real life in front of groups. How did you find the right people? Like really get started. How was that to really get started?
Melissa: I am very blessed to have met my project manager a few years ago. I call her a project manager. She’s more like an online business manager, but she has numerous clients also with podcasts so she had resources in her tool belt. So I didn’t even have to, try to go out and find somebody. I was very blessed to just say, “Okay, Michelle, I want to do this podcast thing.” Because she knew had been a dream of mine too. So she was always kind of waiting in the wings, ready to put that project or that plan into place.
And so, when I said I was ready, she’s like, “Okay, you record it, I’ll send it to Jeff Hill, they’ll edit it, and, it’ll all work out.” So I was like, “Alright, I can do that.” But it was part of just making it super simple right for my brain. I know we talked about this last time too that there are simple ways to do it. You can just get started. You can make it more fancy and complex as you go along but you don’t have to have an A-plus project or product right out of the gate, right?
Be Consistent
Anne: Yes, absolutely. What I really admire about your podcast is you’re super consistent. I see that every week, there’s a new episode. And there’s always I think really quality content. How do you keep so consistent? I know that so many podcasts struggle with this, including me at the start. Now it’s a little bit easier, but especially at the start, it’s not easy to be that consistent. How do you do it?
Melissa: Yes. I think, well, it was at first making a decision that I wanted to be consistent. And then also having my team, as I said, I couldn’t do it without them. I probably wouldn’t be consistent without them either.
So when I started, Michelle was like, “Okay, if we’re gonna do this, we have to do it consistently. You have to pick something and then we’re going to be consistent with it.” And so, she’s kind of the one that keeps the task to get the podcast done at the top of my list, so I’m always doing that. I think having that support team is really has really been key for me because there are always plenty of ideas. I’m just a fountain of ideas but sitting down and actually developing and recording them and putting them out into the world, I wouldn’t get it done without the support of my team, without them keeping me on task.
Anne: Yes. Just before we hit record, we were talking about having so many tabs open on the computer but also in our brains. It’s such an entrepreneurial thing, but also probably such a thing that so many women have done, that you have so many mental tabs open as well.
Consistency and Purpose Are Keys to Making Your Podcast Stand Out
Anne: Would you say then that prioritizing the podcast, that is key to consistency?
Melissa: Yes. And I think like tactically and strategically, you have to make a decision that it’s important. I also think that even before that you have to really be in touch with the purpose, the why are you doing this, and really connect with that and see that there is purpose in publishing the podcast, it’s so easy for us to, you know, be in our office by ourselves, like looking at the microphone, like, no one’s listening to this. Nobody cares if I put this out or not. And it’s easy to go down that way.
And so, I think that’s probably and I l know that a lot of the times why we all have troubles with staying consistent because we lose sight of the purpose of what we’re doing. So I think it’s really having that clear purpose, that clear message. It can change over time but just really having your why, like why are you doing this? And why do you believe it’s important and the connection to the who, the person that you want to touch, right? That you want to impact the change you want to see in the world. I think really staying connected to that.
Personally, for me, I have to reconnect to that every day just to carry out all the things that I do in my business on a day-to-day basis, including my podcast,. It’s really connecting to that why and why we’re doing all of this.
Anne: Yes. What I also hear in your answer, which I really love, is that it’s also more about quality over quantity. It’s more of who do you want to reach with your podcast and not how many. Because I feel like that’s another reason why so many people have trouble staying consistent with their podcast. And this was 100%, me. It feels like no one is listening, but even if 10 people are listening, that means that you’ve touched 10 lives, right? 10 people are listening to your message.
I was also just talking to my partner about this today that someone sent me a message about my other podcast, saying that she binged all the episodes and she loves it and that it really helps her to make changes in her life, which is so awesome to hear. I told him it’s so weird. If someone writes you a massive, it all of a sudden feels like there is a real person listening to your podcast, when you see it and you’re hosting, it’s just a number. It’s just a number. And then if one person is all of a sudden real, it makes it all worth it, at least for me, I think. And what I really love about your answer is also what is your purpose? What is the change that you can make? And not, how can you reach as many people as possible? And, just more and more and more, but it’s more about the impact.
Melissa: Yes. Totally. That’s one of the things that I talk to my clients a lot about is in our marketing and in our growing our business and our sales that we’re going to be much more successful if we are doing things that have maximum value, and not just maximum actions. We could go out and do all the things and they all fall flat. But if we’re thinking about value, and how we are touching the lives of our ideal client or our best-fit clients, then when we’re thinking about them and focusing on them, then it makes it easy to stay consistent, right? Because you know that you have people out there just like this person that contacted you that are waiting to hear from you that need what you have to offer and want to hear what you have to say. And so yes, that changes everything when you really internalize that and really grab hold of the importance of what you’re doing.
Melissa’s Key Learning from Creating Her Podcast
Anne: Right. So Melissa, in all of these months that you have been super consistent with this podcast, what are some things that you learned or that you experienced that you didn’t expect. maybe when you started a podcast?
Melissa: Well, I think the first thing that I didn’t expect was anybody to listen, and now I’ve had like over 700 downloads and I’ve only been at this for like six months. And so, to know that there’s at least more than 100 people listening every month is just on average is blowing my mind. And just to watch the numbers compound on themselves every month.
I have a lot of people that reach out to me and tell me that they’re listening and what the podcasts means to them. I was not expecting that. It’s really nice. It’s such a blessing really because I didn’t want to put that expectation on it. I chose at the beginning to not let that be my expectation. I wanted to create something that was super valuable, but not have the expectation like, I want 100 people to listen to this. Otherwise, it’s a failure. I didn’t want to have that kind of expectation, but just let it be a little baby and just grow. And so, that’s been super fun.
I think what I’ve also learned is that, and I’m still working through this, like what is my best way of producing? Is it on a weekly basis? There was a point in time when I had to batch produce a whole bunch of or a month’s worth of episodes at one time. That was kind of nice, but I haven’t quite figured out how to do this schedule. I’m consistently publishing, but my production isn’t consistent. So maybe that’s okay. I guess I’m finding my way through that and along with my team. Because I have to do things with enough lead time so they can do the work that they need to do to get it published. So I think it’s just been a lot of learning and experimenting for me and the team. I’ve had a lot more fun with it than I thought I would too and just had so many ideas come up. And yes, I have a folder on my in my notes app, and it’s just packed with ideas for podcasts. That’s been fun to see all of that because that was my other thing is like, I can’t do this once a week. There’s no way I’m going to have enough things to say.
Anne: Yes. And now you probably have like two years’ worth of episodes and your notes up.
Melissa: Probably, yes.
Anne: Yes, I know the feeling definitely. I think it’s really good that you also said that you see the numbers compound over time because what I also love about podcasting is while you start your podcast, maybe you feel like no one’s listening, but that’s also okay because the episode is always there. It just stays online so new people will find your podcast. They can still go back to the older episodes. And I see with both of my podcasts, people actually do that. I also do that when I find a new podcast that I really enjoy. I just scroll down and listen to all the episodes like I binge podcasts. I know that other people also do it. I can also see that in my stats. So you also create this asset for your business like it’s always there. Like you said, you create the maximum value and you can leverage that over time, and the download numbers just compounds more and more. It’s a snowball effect that you cannot have when you don’t start, right?
Melissa: Yes, totally. And I love hearing you talk about this on my podcast, I loved it as well, just all the different opportunities with the podcasts. Because like I said, when I first started, I had to really constrain my mind to keep it super simple. But you know, now that I’m in it for six months, I’m like there are other things. I love that point that it is an asset that we create for our business and for everyone that comes in contact with us in the future. They can go back and listen to those. I love that because it’s very rare that when someone will find us on social media, they go back and read all of our old posts, right? Like that’s not how it works. But on podcasting, I do the same thing. When I find a new one, I always go back to the beginning and start listening from there and maybe skip around, but I always listen to some of the first episodes. So yes, that blows my mind when I think about that. It’s so cool.
Future Ideas
Anne: Yes. So can you tell us more about some of the ideas that you have for the future of the podcast? Do you have anything in mind that you want to change or improve?
Melissa: I think it’s mainly ideas around content. The way I’m currently running, I’m doing a solo episode and then an interview episode. So I’m doing two of each per month. I kind of liked that cadence. I love doing collaborations like you and I have done. I definitely have an idea to do more of that. And then, just thinking about all the different ways to use the podcast like maybe doing special events.
So rather than doing like a webinar series, I do a podcast series. I did that already called Copy Camp where I did three weeks of writing, teaching how to write marketing, copy and improve your copy. So maybe doing some more events like that. I have heard of colleagues that have done like private podcasts, created some of their content as a private podcast, and made that like a freebie. I like that idea as well.
My project manager wants to do that with some of the Copy Camp stuff. And so, I definitely think there’s so many opportunities. And then, I know that I got a lot of ideas from you when you were on my podcast about different ways to monetize the podcast. So I feel like that may be a little further down the road. But yes, I think there’s just so much opportunity. And the truth is that not many people stay consistent. And so, if all you have to do to stand out in the podcast world because it is so new and young, all you have to do is just be consistent. And so I try to just keep that as my number one thing. And then, as time goes on, I’ll add some fancier stuff maybe.
Anne: I totally agree. That has been my strategy with my other podcast, Digital Nomad Stories. And it works so well because especially in my niche, which is more like that lifestyle, travel niche, there are a lot of podcasts, but almost none of them are really consistent. So I really saw a gap in the market. Just be consistent and I’m already different. I don’t have to come up with all these really complicated marketing things or I don’t even have to do that much marketing, probably because if I just stay consistent, I think that people will come.. And it turned out that it was true. Like I was consistent, I am releasing consistent content for more than a year, and it the audience really slowly grew over time. So I think that is actually a really, really great strategy. Thank you for sharing that.
Melissa: Yes. And just as you were talking and reminded me, one other new thing that I’ve tried, and I’m trying is I was traveling last week and so I did a podcast, walking through the town that I had traveled to. And so it was not sitting in my office with my fancy podcast mic and Zoom on, having the fancy software, but I was just out walking around and talking. And I loved the energy. I think for anyone that’s speaking or podcasting of standing up, I think our energy is much different. And then, standing and walking is actually different as well. So that was really fun to just have a specific topic that I was talking about that relates to my clients and my work, but also I was talking about it in the context of being in this town and talking about the town that I was in. It’s kind of cool. It was like that was something that I’ve experimented with.
Anne: I think that’s a really cool idea. I’ve never really thought about that. But you’re totally right. The energy is just different. You don’t necessarily know where you’re sitting. But yes, more informal, more like let me just take you with me, as my podcast listener, I’ll just take you with me on my walk. I’ll just tell you what I want to tell you about this topic. I think that’s actually really cool. And yes, I think it also fits well with the medium because podcasting feels so intimate that people listen to you and usually with headphones on. They listen to your voice. So if you can take them on a walk, I think it fits really well. I might steal that idea.
Melissa: Totally should. I mean, it would fit in so well with your other podcast too. it was fun. Because I the way I thought about it, so I just had my air my earbuds in and I thought, I’m just going to talk like I’m talking to a friend, right? Like if I was talking to one of my business colleagues, as I’m going on this walk and telling him about this town and telling him what I’m learning. I was at a mastermind event and telling him what I’m learning and what I’m thinking. And so, I think it turned out really nice. We’ll see how the audience receives it but t it was really fun to do. I want to do that again.
Anne: I think it’s also really cool because when you’re on a mastermind events, that could be an excuse to not record an episode, right? Like, I can’t record now because I’m at this event. I’m not at home. I don’t have my mic. But you turn it completely around and you’re like, “Oh, this is an opportunity to do a differently.” I think that’s also really cool. It’s fun.
Get in Touch with Melissa
Anne: So thank you so much for sharing your podcast story with us. I think it was really good to hear how you stayed so consistent, how you got started with your podcast, and the creative ways on how you do it, like how you manage your podcasts and how you record. I also got so many new ideas from you today. So thank you very much for sharing. Can you also tell us where people can find your podcast and where they can find out more about you?
Melissa: Yes. The best place to follow me is on Facebook and Instagram. It’s where I show up the most and my podcast is called Doing Business Like a Woman. And so, you can find that on all the places that you listen to podcasts, Spotify, Apple, all the other ones. So yes, I’d love to have some new listeners.
Anne: Yes. We will add all the links to the show notes so you can also just go to the show notes, click the links there, and listen to Melissa’s podcast, see what she’s up to, and listen to the episode where she’s walking into town. I’m really excited for that one. I also am curious how it turns out and also how you can hear the difference. I think that’s going to be super cool.
Melissa: Thank you. Yeah, thanks so much for having me. It’s It’s been fun.
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