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Knowing I never will, of course. \u00a0Knowing only that each day something becomes easier while something else stands in front of me like Mount Everest. \u00a0 It\u2019s been a journey that\u2019s been full of laughter, tons of tears, way too many sleepless nights and lovely moments of celebration. \u00a0And a hell of a lot of awesome people.<\/p>\n
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That\u2019s why I wanted to share this journey with you.<\/p>\n
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Because I realize in the world of online businesses (which I have created through my podcast), true vulnerability and transparency is rare. \u00a0And yet it\u2019s one of the most helpful tools that any of us out there wanting to grow can utilize! \u00a0 So, without further ado, here is what being a podcaster and online business woman is really <\/i>like.<\/strong><\/p>\n <\/p>\n I could easily spend the next 12 posts going through the ups and downs of my first year. \u00a0I\u2019ll get there eventually. \u00a0For now, I\u2019d like to start in the present moment and let these act as potential time warps to tell the \u201cold\u201d stories. \u00a0Because now this is raw and real. \u00a0And I don\u2019t want you to get the buttered up version that my mind recreates in 3 months.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n Since this is the most common question I get, let\u2019s start here. \u00a0The simple answer is through being an affiliate, sponsorships, mentoring and programs. \u00a0 The more complicated – and more accurate – answer is, I\u2019m constantly trying to figure that out. \u00a0Unlike some other podcasts, Biz Women Rock was never a \u201cside hobby\u201d for me. \u00a0I\u2019m an entrepreneur and I knew I wanted to make this a viable business. \u00a0One that produced income, one that allowed me to work from home and one that allowed me to leverage the digital medium to reach people all over the world.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n <\/p>\n In the first few months, I made most of my income through recommending John Lee Dumas\u2019 Podcasters Paradise <\/i><\/a><\/strong>program. \u00a0He pays a percentage for affiliate referrals and because I am a part of that community and see immense value in it, I loved talking about it! \u00a0To date, I\u2019ve made $5,979<\/b> by being an affiliate for John and Kate.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n I have a great relationship with Audible<\/a><\/strong><\/em>, who accounts for a whopping $90 <\/b>of affiliate income! \u00a0I can\u2019t tell you how excited I was the first time I got a $30 check from them! \u00a0(seen below).<\/p>\n <\/p>\n <\/p>\n In 2014, I stepped up to the plate to do some \u201conline workshops\u201d (ie. webinars) with Jessica Kupferman and Kate Erickson, both who had great products that I thought my community would benefit from. \u00a0So, I conducted webinars with each of them and made a cut of the products they sold for a total of $530. \u00a0<\/b><\/p>\n <\/p>\n I have a few other affiliate relationships that haven\u2019t produced and it\u2019s mainly because I haven\u2019t promoted them. \u00a0Not for any other reason than I haven\u2019t put any focus on them.<\/p>\n Affiliate Income To Date: $6,599<\/b><\/span><\/p>\n <\/p>\n Sponsor are what every podcaster dreams of when they first start (assuming they see their podcast as a business). \u00a0We all drool at the mouths wondering when our download numbers will be big enough to finally get some sponsors. \u00a0 Because I was looking to podcasts like Entrepreneur on Fire<\/i> as examples, I spent the first 8 months closing my mind to the possibility of sponsors. \u00a0I had nowhere near the number of downloads that were needed to fulfill the standard equation for pricing out sponsorships. \u00a0$18 per 1,000 downloads? \u00a0I was getting an average of 8,000 downloads per month during those first 6 months\u2026$144 for a sponsorship? \u00a0What?! \u00a0That didn\u2019t make any sense to me, so I started looking around for other examples.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n Thankfully, I found it in fellow podcaster Jessica Kupferman, whose podcast Lady Business Radio<\/i><\/a> had been around a year longer than mine and, with her background in Advertising, had created sponsorship packages that were more holistic and considerate of the entire community at large, rather than just download numbers. \u00a0 So, I made a list of all the ways a brand could have exposure within my community. \u00a0By then, I had a thriving Biz Women Rock Facebook page, a super active private Facebook group and a decent size email list of about 800. \u00a0And I got creative with some packages.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n I swallowed my fear and reached out to a dozen of my past guests of the show – women who knew my brand, women who could actually benefit from what I had – and made the ask. \u00a0 Luckily, my very first guest – who happens to be a friend of mine – said she\u2019d give it a shot. \u00a0I was asking $500\/month for 3 months and she paid all up front! [play out moment of victory here!]<\/p>\n <\/p>\n My second sponsor – again, a friend – saw a presentation I did about my community and offered his sponsorship there in the room!<\/p>\n <\/p>\n <\/p>\n One of the responsibilities I have is making sure my sponsors are getting value out of their investment. \u00a0This is shown in click throughs to their website, opt ins to their lists, and ultimately purchasing of their products.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n I\u2019ll be straight with you that I\u2019m still figuring out the perfect formula for this. \u00a0What kind of spot works best on the podcast? \u00a0Does a logo on the episode banner really help? \u00a0How many clicks are they getting from the show notes page? \u00a0 I\u2019m constantly living in the space of creating innovative ways to get my sponsors exposure without coming across as salesy to my community. \u00a0It\u2019s definitely something I worry about because ultimately, I want my sponsors and my community to get value out of the relationship. \u00a0And I want my business to see sponsorship as a regular line item on my income statement.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n I keep in touch with my sponsors regularly to see what\u2019s working and what isn\u2019t. \u00a0When I tweak something, I ask for feedback. \u00a0When something\u2019s not working, I come up with a new way to present it. \u00a0Anything that will move forward progress. \u00a0 When I figure out the algorithm for this…I\u2019ll let you know. \u00a0\ud83d\ude42<\/p>\n <\/p>\n Lessons I\u2019ve learned thus far is to make sure to set the stage with your sponsors. \u00a0Make sure they fully understand the medium, the manner in which you\u2019re promoting and make sure you understand their expectations…so you can do your best to exceed them.<\/p>\n Sponsorship Income To Date: $3,000<\/b><\/span><\/p>\n I never saw myself as a coach or consultant. \u00a0But from the very beginning of launching the podcast, I saw that I was being seen as an expert and people were wanting to get advice from me. \u00a0So, I created a mentorship program. \u00a0It turned out to be one of the most fulfilling parts of my business!<\/p>\n <\/p>\n To market it, I simply added a PS line to my email letting them know that a spot had opened up in my mentoring program. \u00a0I\u2019ve done this a total of 3 times. \u00a0Out of that, I\u2019ve had about 15 women respond with interest. \u00a0Out of those 15 women, 5 of them turned into phone calls to get further information. \u00a0Out of those 5, one became a paying mentee. \u00a0She paid me $1,000 for 3 months of mentoring. \u00a0I\u2019ve taken on a few others free of charge so I could enhance my mentoring skills and test out my program.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n I felt like a total fake when I started mentoring. \u00a0I felt fake when I even referred to \u201cmy mentoring program!\u201d \u00a0I had to stop many times and remember that I did<\/i> have valuable business knowledge that I could share with others, that I actually was<\/i> a savvy business woman who could help others see what they couldn\u2019t see. \u00a0Eventually, the fake feeling wore off as I got more comfortable with my process.<\/p>\n Mentoring Income To Date: $1,000<\/b><\/span><\/p>\n In 2014, I wanted to test the waters of my own program and because creating a huge \u201conline course\u201d terrified me, I piloted the 30 Day Biz Challenge. \u00a0Everything that could have gone wrong on the live webinar did<\/i> go wrong. \u00a0My site where I was hosting the webinar went down. \u00a0The video didn\u2019t work for everyone. \u00a0My husband, who was supposed to help me manage the chat roll never came in. \u00a0 When I finished the webinar, I shut off my mic, made sure the camera was off and cried my eyes out. \u00a0 And then $97 came in from my PayPal account and I realized that someone<\/i> had purchased my program! \u00a0It was all I needed to know I was moving in the right direction. \u00a0No one else ended up purchasing, so I comped 6 other women in to give the group-centered program a healthy start and off I went!<\/p>\n <\/p>\n Just recently, I launched the updated version of the 30 Day Biz Challenge and my emotional experience was very similar! \u00a0The webinar, though it was much better content and had only a few minor hiccups, did not produce one single<\/i> purchase that day! \u00a0I cried again. \u00a0Hard. \u00a0 The “I’m a loser, I’m not good enough” crap came up with a vengeance. \u00a0Thankfully, I have a friend to call in these moments who separates the “what happened” from the “what meaning I’m putting on it” and I slept peacefully that night. \u00a0To my delight, over the course of the next week, 3 ladies opted into the program for $297 each. \u00a0With 3 others who won complimentary entry, the group is sure to make an impact!<\/p>\n Total Program Income To Date: $988<\/b><\/span><\/p>\n <\/p>\n <\/p>\n But how much have I actually spent<\/i>? \u00a0About the same, if not a little more. \u00a0All that information and strategy we can go into at another time.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n Did I want a 6 figure business by now? \u00a0Yes. \u00a0Do I feel like a loser because I haven\u2019t achieved that yet? \u00a0Nope. \u00a0 Man\u00a0oh man how much smarter I\u2019ve become in the ways of online business. \u00a0And how much closer I am to \u201cfiguring it out.\u201d \u00a0\ud83d\ude09<\/p>\n <\/p>\n <\/p>\n Meaning that I must always focus on what brings my community and audience more value\u00a0<\/i><\/b>rather than \u201chow can I make more money?\u201d \u00a0 The latter question is not a bad one, but it must never take the lead in the conversation. \u00a0It will naturally be fulfilled when the former question is answered correctly.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n What ways have you tried to produce revenue that didn\u2019t work for you?<\/em><\/p>\n <\/p>\n What ways have you successfully generated revenue for your business online? \u00a0<\/em><\/p>\n <\/p>\n I would love to hear from you!<\/p>\n <\/p>\n And if you happen to be a podcaster – or are thinking that podcasting might be for you – I would LOVE for you to join me at the 2015 Florida PodFest! \u00a0April 24-25 in Tampa, Florida…come join for for a STELLAR lineup for presenters who will be giving all the insights you need to start, grow, monetize and totally ROCK your podcast!! \u00a0Click HERE to find out more! <\/a><\/strong>\u00a0(And don’t forget to use\u00a0the code\u00a0bwr<\/strong><\/span> to get $75 off!).<\/p>\nStarting From Now<\/b><\/span><\/h2>\n
How I Make Money With a Podcast<\/b><\/span><\/h2>\n
Affiliate Income<\/i><\/strong><\/h3>\n
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Sponsorship<\/i><\/strong><\/h3>\n
The story of sponsorship doesn\u2019t end there. \u00a0<\/span><\/h3>\n
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Mentoring<\/i><\/strong><\/h3>\n
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Special Programs<\/i><\/strong><\/h3>\n
So, in the last 13 months, the Biz Women Rock brand has earned $11,587<\/b> in income.<\/span><\/h3>\n
The biggest lesson I\u2019ve learned is that I have to be money mindful without being money centric.<\/span> \u00a0<\/b><\/h2>\n
![\"FLPodFest-FINAL_horz_300web\"](\"http:\/\/bizwomenrock.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/03\/FLPodFest-FINAL_horz_300web.png\")
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