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Welcome to Make More Money without Selling Your Soul with me Polly Lavarello, evergreen marketing expert. This podcast is for you if you are an online entrepreneur who is looking to simplify their business to scale.  On this podcast you can expect to hear regular talk about wealth, about selling and about wellbeing. Because I believe these three core fundamental things are pivotal to your growth moving forward.

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Hello and welcome to make more money without selling your soul with myself Polly Lavarello, evergreen marketing expert and cushy business pioneer.

And today I am talking to you about a trend I am seeing in the online business space. And I’m not going to lie, I’m going to set up front and centre so you cannot miss this. It’s also in celebration of my own private podcast, the sneakily simple way to scale your coaching business in 2023. It’s in the links below this episode, right? So do please after you’ve listened to this and felt inspired about whether you might want to be creating your own private podcast, please do go check it out. It’s been a real labour of love, really based on essentially actually all the good stuff I’m about to share with you right now. So I’m gonna go more into it a little bit later on as to why I created it and why it’s gonna be a value to you. But for now, let’s get stuck into the good stuff. Because I want you to be getting excited about private podcasts, and what it can mean for your business before you start thinking about listening to mine. So why did I record a private podcast? Why should you be thinking about private podcasts? Should we get into it? Let’s talk about the advantages of having a private podcast whether it’s a good fit for your business right now or something you can ignore, because let’s face it, in this online business space, we’re constantly seeing things coming in and out of fashion all the time. And as you know, I’m a huge stickler for simplicity. So why why did I add a private podcast to my kind of standalone funnel that I’ve been using for a long time now? Well, here are the reasons why I think private podcasts are immensely effective, and why you should be paying attention at the end of the day. One of the things I’m always doing in the online business space is paying attention as a Facebook ads agency owner to Bearing this in mind, I’m always paying attention to what James Webb was doing, because he’s always like, pushing the bar on what it is to be an advertiser, Amy Porterfield advertisers all year round, it says the likes of Marie Forleo, for example, and I’m always paying attention to what it is they’re doing. Because ultimately, you know, this is a good tip.

By the way, every time I share this with a client, they’re like, I hadn’t thought of that before. There is an element of where it does pay to look at what other people in your industry or competitors are doing. Because, for example, if you’re in the online business space, and you’re a business mentor in any kind of capacity, and you’re thinking about your own ad strategy, and what is and what isn’t working, or similarly, thinking about what’s the best list building strategy right now, of course, I’m going to be looking at what James Wedmore and Amy Porterfield are doing, because they advertise all year round. That means the data they are collecting is immense. And because they are professionals, and because they have large teams working with them, they’re not just making things up as they go. They are learning from that data, and they are refining as they go. So what that means if they are doing something, it generally means it’s for a good reason. And I’ll tell you something that Amy Porterfield and James Wedmore have in common, they both have been running private podcasts in the last few months. I don’t know if they are right now if you look it up, but certainly in the last few months, there have been examples of them running ads to private podcasts on AWS, which is one of the things that immediately told me, this is something to be paying attention to. So why are private podcasts exciting and interesting? What are the advantages of having one? Well, firstly, what I would say is the thing that drew my attention to having a private podcast is I have a fabulous webinar, an on demand webinar, which is there to help coaches understand how to scale with simplicity. Now you are listening to this right now. And I’m wondering, have you watched that webinar? I suspect a good number of you haven’t. Yet probably you’ve taken the time to listen to this podcast week after week after week gaining value that way. And that’s a real shame because that webinar is literally packed with gold. The people who have taken the time to watch it the whole way through regularly DM me to say, oh my gosh, Polly I had a whole plan for the next quarter or the next year, which I am totally overhauling based on the incredible value and advice you’ve shared in that on demand masterclass.

Like, I’m so glad I took the time out to listen to it. Now what I do appreciate is that one, I work with a lot of mothers who potentially are going into the summer holidays right now, I’m very busy. I also work with a lot of very busy business owners who don’t necessarily want to spend an hour or half an hour or 40 minutes sat down, watching an on demand webinar, most of the time, the kind of clients I work with these days, if they can’t understand why it’s going to help them in 20 minutes, they’re not interested.

And that really is a differentiation between working with businesses and working with consumers is that when you’re working with businesses, you’re working with time pressed individuals who just want to know how you can help them, they don’t want all the fluff that can come alongside a webinar, right. And so I had to think about it because I know that I am very similar. I don’t watch on demand webinars anymore, except for the ones that my clients create. And that’s because I’m a busy business owner. And when I’m making business decisions, I base them on somebody who can clearly demonstrate to me that they’re an expert in an area where I need help. And I don’t need much more than that. Having said that, I listen to podcasts all the time, all the time.

So for me when I recognise, you know, that I love working with people can is similar to myself on a similar level with a similar mindset, similar view, to success, a similar commitment to themselves. And recognising that their habits are most likely similar to mine. It was a no brainer decision once I saw private podcasts popping up on my feed to think, hmm, maybe this is something I should consider too. So point number one in terms of why private podcasts are great is that they’re so easy to consume, you can subscribe to it, you can listen to it on the school run, you can listen to it on the way down to the beach, you can listen to it when you’re having a hot bath. At the end of the day, when the kids are in bed. You know, you can listen to it in so many different ways you can binge it all in one afternoon. Or you can just take your time listening to it also. That’s one of the reasons why I love podcasts I know that I am very guilty of or at least I used to be guilty of back in the day when I signed up to webinars signing up. And then thinking actually, I haven’t got 30 minutes or an hour to dedicate to this right now. I’ll watch it later. And did I watch it later? Did I fudge. So So for me, I was like for those kinds of ADHD brains on the go already forgotten about it one hour later, tight Minds Like Mine, let’s create a private podcast because once you’ve subscribed to that bad boy, you’re not going to forget about it, you’re going to have reminders, which is always helpful. But with webinars if I’m not watching it the first time chances of engaging me again two or three days later to go back and watch that webinar, slim to none. Okay. And I know that obviously, as someone who is looking at webinar data day in day out, that’s pretty much the trend as a whole, like people either show up and they watch it immediately, or they don’t come back replays is kind of on the smaller side percentage wise when it comes to webinars most of the time. And certainly what we tend to see is those who watch it immediately also tend to be those who convert to sales sooner, which is interesting, right? The very same mindset, the same people who go back to watch replays are also the ones that are less likely to take action moving forward. I mean, yeah, that’s a whole other podcast episode. But anyway, easy to consume can listen to on the go. The other thing that is not going to be true of private podcasts and much longer, but certainly is true right now is that they’re novel. They’re new. People haven’t heard about them before. They’ve probably seen 1,000,001 ads already in the last week inviting them to a webinar. How many adverts are they seen for a private podcast right now? Not many. And there’s something kind of an invasive about an invitation to private podcast, it’s a kind of pretty easy ask.

So what we’re seeing across the board in terms of Facebook ads to private podcast is that the cost per lead seems to be significantly lower than it is for webinars and masterclasses. This is always issue reporting on this kind of stuff. I say reporting, but I am kind of reporting back on the data I’m seeing is that it is a newer form of marketing. And therefore what I say now in July 2023, may not be as relevant in September 2023. But for now, they’re very new. And despite some of the kind of heavyweights in the marketing industry jumping on this trend, it seems to have been a little slow for others to take up in the meantime, which means you’ll stand out they’ll be like, Oh, nice. I’m interested private podcasts. Do I get to look at behind the curtain? Yes, please. And obviously, the great thing about private podcast is the very same thing about public podcasts like the one you’re listening to right now is that they are a wonderful driver of like new trust. And if you haven’t heard that phrase before, it’s essentially the marketing world what we refer to as relationship building, essentially, you’re building that relationship, that rapport with a prospective client where they feel safe in making a purchasing decision, where somebody likes and knows and trusts you, they then feel safe to make an investment with you. And that’s so, so important. And obviously having somebody’s voice in your ears on a weekly basis where they are imparting value and trying to help you week upon week, of course, that’s going to build up a nice sentiment towards the person behind that brand. Because you associate something positive with them, you associate them giving you value them, helping you giving you tangible takeaway tips that help you progress in whatever area of your life that podcast is there to support people with. So it’s very, very powerful. And I’ll certainly say for myself, in my own business, the majority of inquiries I’ve had, from my most recent clients have listened to my podcast first. And in some cases, some of them that we’ve even said that they were thinking about working with me, went and benched a few of these episodes, and then chose to come work with me.

So a private podcast is essentially encouraging similar to a Netflix binge, a podcast binge, which could then result in people making that decision a bit sooner. So rather than waiting week upon week to hear a new podcast episode, they’re getting to listen to like an hour and a half of your content, or an hour of your content, whatever you choose to create for your private podcast, back to back to back to back, which can result in people taking action sooner. Okay, so it’s great for that. As I mentioned earlier, it’s also really great for business to business, as well as business to consumer marketing. And what I mean by that is, for example, I work with coaches, I’m working with other business owners, and the majority of the time I’m working with business owners who are CEOs. And I don’t want to use the word busy CEOs, what I would say is probably more, they’re quite discerning about how they use their time, and very focused on what they need support with and what they don’t. And so therefore can be less inclined to be distracted by complicated funnels, or masterclasses and things like that. And this is where private Podcasts can be immensely effective. And they’re also really effective when you are dealing with people who aren’t businesses, for obvious reasons. I mean, who doesn’t frickin love a podcast? I mean, you’re listening to one right now, so you must like him. The other thing I’d say that I love about private podcasts is that they’re really good for holiday periods. So right now we’re coming up to the summertime. One thing I know a lot of people do in the summer is what they’re spending more time out and about the weather is nice when people are spending more time outdoors. And what happens in the online business space. Anyone who’s been relying significantly on organic at this stage starts to go, Oh, my God, I hate Instagram, the algorithms out to get me like nobody’s liking my content anymore. What’s wrong? Can anyone see my content like this, if you can see this, and it’s so frustrating to observe because it’s like, yes, this happens every summer. It’s because human beings are going out being humans, they’re socially interacting, and going to barbecues and having a damn good time. So let them do that and trust that they will come back to you. And that when they are available, they’re still scrolling, they’re still observing what you’re doing. They’re still buying, but their buying behaviour is changing, particularly if, for example, you are in the UK, and you’re working with the UK market.

It’s different if you’re working with a global market, because you’ll tend to find where there are peaks and troughs in one part of the world where there’s a trough in one part, there’s a peak in another. So your bottom line should be relatively unaffected. But if you are, for example, working with school mums in the UK, then yes, it wouldn’t be surprising if your August is slightly quieter, could also go the other way, if you have a type of marketing that they’re still likely to consume, even though they’re very busy. Oh, isn’t a private podcast a great idea in that context. Because busy parent who’s juggling work and childcare over the summer, can still probably make time for a private podcast. So this is where private Podcasts can really come into their own. And also just be a nice backup plan. Because what I will say is I ran a webinar funnel over the summer last year, and it did really, really well. So there’s an element of thinking are enough people watching? Yes, there are enough people watching private podcast is a nice one to have in your back pocket. The other thing I love about private podcasts is the flexibility as to how you can use them, you can use them for challenges, you can use them for warming up your following in advance of a big launch. You can use them for list building, they’re very effective as that you can use them for nurturing people towards a low ticket investment or a high ticket investment. I mean, the world is your oyster when it comes to private podcasts. And again, what I would say is the jury’s out on what’s most effective for private podcasts because I would say it’s too soon in the game to kind of say what’s working best. And what I will say is I’ve seen people using it in a variety of ways. And I think the more variety, the better.

Quite frankly, I think the most important thing, like anything you do in the online business space, is recognising your free stuff needs to be as good as your paid stuff. And if it’s not solving an obvious problem, people aren’t going to be interested. So if you’re going to do a challenge, make sure it’s one that moves the needle for your ideal client. If you’re going to be warming up your list, make sure that you’re conscious as to what it is you’re warming them up towards. If you’re about to do a live launch on flower arrangement. Make sure you’re getting them excited by the idea of flower arrangement in advance with your podcasts that’s warming them up and I assume growing your list, and if you’re looking to steer them towards your high ticket or opportunity to work with you. Then again, ensure that you’re bringing in people who are a good fit for that you don’t want to be meeting people too far back in the journey, and expecting them in five or six episodes to suddenly become an ideal fit client. So make sure you have them in mind when you think about what it is that you’re creating for them. So for example, my private podcast is called the sneakily simple way to scale your coaching business in 2023. What does that title already do? Well, I’ve made it really clear, it’s for coaches, I mean, yeah, it could be applicable to consultants as well. I’m not excluding them, and creatives, but that would be pretty wordy, right. So I just went with coaches, because I know most people who are consultants, or creatives would probably still pay attention with the word coaches. And they are interested in scaling their business, they are interested in earning more money for what it is they’re already doing. They’re interested in creating even more impact. So what that already does, is attracting people who are a good fit for working with me. And hopefully, by listening to the various episodes, they will be excited to take that next step into working with me. And the invitation at the end is frickin no brainer, if I say so myself.

So that’s why you do want to think about how you title these things. So that one, it gets the right person’s interest. And two, ideally, it’s a shareable theme that someone’s like, wow, this really helped me, I want it to reach other people. Like I’ve literally packed into those six episodes, the very best, most regularly shared advice that I give to my clients and prospective clients, when it comes to what they should be focusing on to scale their business. I know it’s going to create needle moving results for my listeners, which has made it really fun and easy. And a total no brainer to create an of course, as is the case with any kind of content creation. It’s created a beautiful, very focused venture content that can be repurposed in so many ways on the other side. So I’ve just outlined all the advantages of having a private podcast. I mean, I say all the ones that immediately come to mind, because this episode is I don’t want it to be too long.

But you’re probably thinking at this stage, this is all pretty good poll. But what should I be thinking about? If I want to create one myself? Well, carrying on from what I was sharing earlier, it’s definitely leading with what valuable problem can I solve? Because that’s going to get more people subscribing, more people sharing, and more people genuinely thinking, wow, if this person can help me this much, with this one thing for free, just imagine what it could look like if we actually work together. It’s also a really great way to create more awareness. Like a lot of the reasons why coaches flounder, why coaches don’t make the move to work with me or trust in themselves enough to invest in doing the work with me, is because they’re simply not aware of the various ways that they are wasting their time and energy right now. Some of them will share with me Oh, that’s because I’m focusing on this. And in the back of my mind, I’m thinking I don’t want to seem too pushy. And at the same time, what you’ve just shared with me, doesn’t sound great. In my head, I’m already suspecting that I will be hearing from them in six months time, and they will still be in the same position. And that’s just awful. I don’t want that for anyone, which is why we created this private podcast because I was like, at least at least moving forward. If anyone ever tells me what it is they’re focusing on and it doesn’t sound great. I can be like, You know what, I think you’d really benefit from listening to my private podcast. And even if they don’t, then come back to work with me, I will just feel so happy to know that they’re not wasting their time and energy in a area of their business that is just gonna be like wading through mud. It doesn’t have to be that way. So that’s the first thing, what valuable problem can I solve? The second thing is how do I make it snackable. So don’t overwhelm people by giving them too much information that can just leave people in a state of inaction in a state of overwhelm. And in a state of I’m not really sure what I just learned from that episode, we do not want that when it comes to creating a private podcast, we want it to be really clear what they’ve gained on the other side. And ideally, we want it to be bingeable. We want that for every time they finish an episode. They’re already really excited to listen to the next one, because they’re getting deeper and deeper and deeper into their understanding of what it is they need to solve that problem that your entire podcast series as a whole solves. And this is also what’s so exciting about it right? It is almost like a Netflix miniseries like when you have a podcast, you’re thinking about the long game you’re thinking about, what can I share that will be valuable this week? Well, we’re the private podcast series, you get to go really deep in one subject area over six episodes, or however many episodes you want to do.

So we will do eight and we will do 10 I personally like six because I think it leaves it in the bingeable territory. If that’s not what works for you to kind of impart the value you need to impart then make it longer. The only thing I would say is if you make it too long, people are unlikely to finish listening to all of them. So do think carefully about how many episodes you need to do. And actually it’s a very good way of filtering out what needs to be said and what doesn’t. And finally, like I say, it’s just understanding like, you know, what’s the outcome that you desire for this private podcast. So if your desire is to help people take action, and create the foundation for something that they’re then going to be like, oh, I want your help to take this further, then a challenge may be a really great thing for you to create in terms of a private podcast. If you’re about to do a huge launch in September, and you’re looking to grow your list in the meantime and warm people up to you as a brand, then a private podcast would be a great way to do that. If you are looking to make high ticket sales over the summer, and you want it to experiment with perhaps replacing your webinar with a private podcast. Again, you can do that you can do all the things. So yeah, that’s all I had to say about private podcasts. Ultimately, I’m a huge believer in whatever funnel you have. Rather than creating all the funnels, it pays more to just really refine and improve the one that you have currently. And there’s no harm occasionally in these scenarios, what I would say about private podcasts, which is very exciting, is that it took me one week to essentially put my entire private podcast funnel together, I will admit that a lot of my hours that business week went towards it, but it’s one of the quickest funnels I’ve ever put together in my business life ever. In that sense, it’s a great thing to do. And of course, it’s something that I’m going to be sharing with my ladies inside my mastermind mentorship scale with the power one so that they can launch their own private podcast should they wish to.

But finally, I just wanted to wrap this up by giving you the invitation to go check out this private podcast because if you are thinking about it, it’s a great way to get an understanding of what it’s like to be on the receiving end of a private podcast is a great way to understand the advantages of private podcast. And it’s a beautiful way to get loads of access to essentially the tools you need to sneakily scale your business in 2023, I want you to end this year, really strong. And if you are serious about creating momentum in your business, this private podcast isn’t to be missed. And you know me, I’m very much a kind of person. When I talk about things. I rarely talk in absolutes. But I will say as an absolute statement, this private podcast isn’t to be missed, go check it out. The link is in the show notes. So please do click on it. And as a little favour to myself, I’m really excited about this private podcast, I would love for it to reach as many people as possible. And I’d love for you to help me with that. Obviously, don’t share it if you’re not getting any joy, or anything from it. But I’m very confident that you will. But as you get value from it as you learn what is a real needle mover for you what is helpful, what are your big takeaways, I would love love for you to share it on social media and tag me so I know you’ve done it and I will reshare any of those tags. Because I want this to go as far as humanly possible. I’m so tired of seeing coaches, burning themselves out doing all the wrong things focusing in the wrong places. And I really want this show to like literally just cast the light on how much simpler their business gets to be, how much more impact they get to have and how much more money they get to celebrate receiving because I want more money in every single business owners hands when I say every single, every single ethical business owners hands and particularly the hands of women with my background as a single parent. For me, self employment was my salvation. It was my freedom. It was my opportunity to be all the things I desired to be in my life to be the mother to eventually be the partner and now fiancé and to be the business owner I desire to be and I’ve managed to create a life where I get to have it all and I want that for everybody else. So thank you so much and I can’t wait to hear how it goes down.