It takes a certain amount of bravery to put yourself out there as a podcast host. As you’ll come to hear in this episode of Mics to Million, Wendy Valentine, host of The Midlife Makeover Show, isn’t lacking when it comes to bravery and willingness to try new things.
Her podcast is about helping listeners discover what’s next in their lives and take courageous action. When it comes to this, Wendy leads by example. Her inspiring story begins with her giving up everything to travel the US solo in an RV after losing her dog, marriage, brother, and job, all while facing massive debt.
In this episode of Mics to Millions, Wendy shares how she built a strong social media presence across a variety of platforms and has used this to her advantage to grow her podcast, bring in sponsors, sell courses, and build her brand.
Podcast guesting gives you all the benefits of podcasting without the extra work
Mics to Millions isn’t Wendy’s first podcast appearance. In fact, she’s been on numerous shows as a guest, and is a strong advocate for using podcast guesting to boost your show and your brand.
“It’s great because your audience is hearing me for the first time or seeing me for the first time. You’re using someone else’s platform, and they’re going to promote you.”
And the benefits don’t stop there, as she also highlights that podcast guesting can be a great way of engaging in podcasting, without the heavy lifting that comes with running your own show.
“Once we get done recording, the work’s on you. Then I get to sit back. Which is different than if I was interviewing you, then once we stop recording, then I’ve got to do all the work. I got to send it to the editor, I got to get everything ready to go, etc.”
If Wendy hasn’t already sung the praises of podcast guesting enough, she also goes on to share that it can be a great way of engaging in a different style of conversation while showing the diversity of your knowledge.
“It’s a great way to just get your message out there and to be on different platforms that talk about different things. I’ll be honest with you. I talk about midlife all the time, which I love. But sometimes it’s nice to change it up and I could just talk about podcasting.”
Create content and adapt it for various platforms
When it comes to creating content that reaches far and wide, Wendy has got this process down!
In fact, she’s even created a name for the idea that underpins her technique – The “Spaghetti Theory.”
As she puts it “I’ll create one piece of content and I throw it everywhere and see what sticks. So I post it on Instagram, Facebook, YouTube, TikTok, Threads, Pinterest, Twitter.”
She advocates that because it is almost impossible to know on which platform a piece of content might go viral, she posts it to all of them. Due to the unpredictability of social media, she says that success of one piece of content can vary dramatically between platforms.
“It’s wild because something might go viral on YouTube, but it’s a dud on Instagram.”
A podcast makes a great funnel to sell your online courses
While Wendy might take a “throw as much as you can and see what sticks” approach to social media posting, she is very tactical when it comes to directing her audiences.
She shares that her strategy is to use her social media to send everyone to the podcast, and from there she directs listeners to her online courses.
“So the way I look at the podcast, it’s at the top of the funnel. I bring everyone through there. I mean, if you look back, like, all of my social media reels, all my posts, it’s directing them to the podcast. And when you’re listening to the podcast, I’m selling the course.”
🎧Check out the full episode to discover how Wendy built her social media following and used it to secure sponsors for the podcast.