With a bachelor’s degree and an MBA in accounting, alongside a background in the New York finance scene, you might not expect Scott Gazzoli to be the creator and host of a hit podcast focusing on the exploration of your mind and body to become your true self.
He advocates that he did “the good degrees, the corporate world of finance” and “all this great stuff on paper” but was left feeling unfulfilled. But this all changed after experiencing his first psilocybin mushroom, which led him to discover what his heart truly desired—pursuing podcasting.
From that moment, Scott was determined to follow his podcasting passion and created Causing The Effect. After more than five years of grinding and building the podcast, it now receives roughly 55,000 monthly downloads and features a wide variety of guests, from scientists to psychologists and fitness enthusiasts.
In this episode of Mics to Millions, host Sam Brake Guia chats with Scott about what it took to start a podcast as a passion project that now earns him thousands of dollars through ads and other tactics.
Book the right people for your show
Scott argues that when it comes to creating a successful podcast, selecting the right type of guests for your show is essential.
This was a lesson he didn’t realize until a year into podcasting. As he says, when he started to ask himself, “How could I have the most authentic conversations that add value to people’s lives? That’s when everything started clicking.”
For him, the number of followers a guest has isn’t important. Instead, he looks for authenticity and values. An ideal guest is someone who is willing to share their vulnerabilities and has been through challenging experiences. The ability to connect with a guest on a deep, emotional level is what drives Scott and is at the heart of what he wants to give his audience.
🔔Listen to the full episode to learn how he successfully books himself on various podcasts.
Podcast guesting is the secret to bringing in new listeners
When it comes to podcast growth, Scott stresses the importance of being a podcast guest as crucial, especially in the early stages.
He says this has proven to be one of the most effective strategies he’s used to grow his show. Why? Because unlike other avenues to reach new audiences, you already know that these audiences are listening to podcasts.
He says he previously made the mistake of throwing money at Instagram ads, hoping to gain traction for the podcast. But as Scott says:
“Some people on Instagram aren’t listening to podcasts. If you get on other people’s shows, you already have people that are listening. They’re people that are open to podcasting.”
Set goals to define what success looks like to you
Our guest also emphasizes the need to define success on your terms, setting both overarching visions and granular goals. Be willing to take accountability and regularly reflect on progress, these are crucial steps for your podcast forward, according to Scott.
“I think setting some goals for yourself of what success is, whether it be monetary, whether it be nonmonetary, whether it be viewership, whether it be non viewership. Set your boundaries the way that you want,” he says.
He adds, “You have to do that on a month by month, quarter by quarter, year by year basis, because otherwise you’ll just float through space. And that’s why you’ll end up going a year without growing.”
🔔Listen to the full episode to find out how Scott monetizes Causing the Effect in two ways.