When all the shortcuts have been exhausted, the only route left is the proven one that works.
I’m Mark Steadman, and it took me too long to realise this. As a consultant and the founder of a podcast tech startup, I’ve helped thousands of podcasters get a head start and make a difference. But as I began to lose sight of my own purpose, I turned to short-term tricks and tactics to grow my audience and to keep the lights on.
I tried audiograms, guest headshots, tweets, and TikToks. I tried to make an audio series go viral. I collaborated with famous names and hoped some of their audience would trickle down to me.
After all of this experimentation, I learned a valuable lesson:
Nothing works like serving your listener with generosity and consistency.
Growing an audience is a long game, and your in-game currency is trust. You build that by demonstrating your expertise, showing up consistently, and letting your listener hear the real you.
Once your listener knows you’re doing what you can to help them win, they’ll pay to work with you.
I know this is true, because it’s how I built my business.
In my consultancy I work with best-selling authors, TED speakers, TV personalities, impact entrepreneurs, and coaches. All people of purpose who have achieved success and notoriety, and want to share their knowledge and experience.
I help them grow and monetise their podcast by promoting their own products and services. This earns them far more than CPM ads and affiliate deals.
Together we’re building a body of work – a unique collection of valuable insight that fans look forward to each week, and new listeners can’t wait to binge.
I’m here to help you do the same.
You make a difference
You wanted to start a podcast to help people – to make an impact. You know that if your words can change just one person’s life, it will have been a success.
Now you’re ready to take things to the next level.
That doesn’t mean hiring a private jet with all your ad revenue, but it would be nice for your podcast to do more than pay its own way… or worse, cost you money without any return.
You know that podcast growth is a long game and that consistency is key, but without a compass and some mile markers, how can you know you’re headed in the right direction?
Let’s do this together
You want your podcast to be successful, but so often our ideas of success are borrowed from elsewhere. This leads us to think we need to chase sponsorship deals or be on every social platform to maximise our reach.
That’s our ego talking. And it’s completely understandable.
Social media almost always presents the most positive picture of a person’s life and business. The constant comparison can make us feel insecure. That’s not the place where we do our best, most generous work.
The Helpful Podcast Incubator is an invite-only virtual space with weekly events to help you hone your craft, grow your audience, and look after yourself.
You’ll also find self-paced courses to help you target your ideal listener, build an audio brand, and edit your podcast – even if you’ve never worked with audio before.
Join the Helpful Podcast Incubator
The Podcast
Weekly, actionable advice to help seasoned, soulful entrepreneurs build trust and create long-lasting, rewarding relationships with their listeners.
The Meetup
A free monthly mingle where you can find friends and accountability buddies, and take another step closer to the podcast you want to make.
The Community
A free, invite-only space where helpful podcasters gather to learn and grow together, all with the shared goal of creating content with generosity.
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