I recently hit a major milestone in my Small Business Made Simple Podcast (and if you haven’t already checked out my podcast, click the link above and have a listen!).
That’s right – I’ve officially clocked 200 episodes!
And to break this down into some stats:
- 185 weeks
- Over 130,000 downloads
- And just over on average, 1000 listens a week, 5,200 a month
All this done from my home office on my farm in the Riverina of NSW.
So I want to give a huge shout out of thanks to all those who do listen to my podcast , because without you, I am just some crazy chick talking to herself about marketing!
And I also want to say a massive thank you to the amazing guests over the past 200 episodes I literally couldn’t have helped as many business owners as I have without your expertise as well.
I am so humbled by this milestone and also a little proud of myself!
Other than being a mum and wife, I can’t really think of anything I have stuck with this long, to be honest! 200 episodes in 185 weeks if my calculations are right!
I started my podcast to stand out from the crowded marketplace that is a street corner for every business coach/mentor in Australia. I started my podcast because it was something the coaches/mentors I admired all had so it made sense to me.
And – this is the kicker, when I started my podcast I had never been on a podcast and had no idea how to start one! But a little YouTubing saved my butt and taught me what I needed to know, and back on January 1 2019 I released the first one.
When I started, I had planned 27 episodes thinking that would probably pull me up. I would have used up everything I knew and exhausted my network by then, and 27 seemed huge.
Apparently, I still have things to say, ideas to put out there, advice to give and amazing humans in my network to share because I am a little past 27!
So in this blog post I’m going to share some common questions from my community about me and business, and some things I have learnt in 200 episodes.
Firstly – to answer some questions from my community:
What’s your weekly podcast process?
I would love to tell you how organised I am, but that’s not true. Normally Monday morning, or Wednesday afternoon (depending on how my week has gone) I sit down to do my podcast.
If it’s an interview I have recorded then I listen through it, especially if it was recorded a while ago (I do have a bank of amazing interviews). I make some notes, write the intro and out-tro and then record.
If it’s a solo episode, I write the show notes, do any research I need to, record and upload.
In the beginning, this process took hours and hours. Then it was 4 hours to do a podcast, but now 1 or 2 hours usually pull me up.
But on top of that is then writing an email to my list, creating the social tile and writing the caption for socials.
My Virtual assistants then take over to repurpose podcasts, turn in into blogs and put them on YouTube (watch for changes here super soon!).
What’s your favourite episode so far?
This is a fabulous question and I actually don’t think I have one favourite.
I have to say that I will never listen to episode one again. It’s not the information that I don’t want to hear – it’s me. I cut out all the breathes, umms, and ahs, and the episode just feels not like me. I thought that’s what I needed to do – but humans breathe – so hey I kinda figure it’s ok to do that!
But if I absolutely have to choose one favourite – it would be Episode 200. Purely because I cannot believe I am the person who has a podcast with 200 episodes! Episode 100 had the same effect on me!
How many more will you do?
Ha! I have no idea. I am still loving it, so I have no plans to change at the moment. But when I no longer enjoy it, or it no longer serves you or me – that’s when things will change.
How do you know so much about marketing?
This is an amusing question to me because I remember thinking the exact same thing of my marketing mentor years ago! But now I understand it. It’s what I do, it’s ALL I do. Every day I am reading, listening, and thinking about marketing. So just like for what it is that you do in your career, you know so much more than others.
Marketing surrounds my life. Whether I am watching TV, out for dinner or just daydreaming on my front verandah – I am probably thinking about marketing on some level.
I guess therefore, something has to stick!
What’s your biggest piece of advice you could give to someone who is new to business?
To start. I know it seems so simple, but it is. So many people have amazing ideas but fail to start and then wonder what could’ve been.
So, start and follow people who are one or two steps ahead of you. When you start, you probably can’t afford to engage a coach or a mentor, but you can spend time learning from others – like this podcast – it costs you nothing to listen here – and other podcasts or read blogs etc!
What’s been your biggest challenge?
Business wise, I have to say is probably imposter syndrome. Those stats I reeled off at the beginning – 130,000 downloads – 200 episodes etc etc. If I let my imposter syndrome out she would rip me apart with those stats – starting with Who the Hell do you think you are ……
So I try not to let her out!
My personal biggest challenge of late this year especially is around being a mum. In all honesty I have really been struggling in the background this year. As you may or may not know my youngest finished school last year and has now gone to Uni. I still have my oldest two boys at home. But my daughter not being home with me and being away and all that goes with that – not being a school mum and so many other emotions is really challenging me at the moment.
It’s probably why, whether you notice or not, my business is not as “full on” this year as it’s been in past years.
So, I guess the lesson here is you just never know what going on in someone’s life. Never judge – good judging or bad! Because you just never know.
Do you ever run out of ideas?
Yes and No. I have a white board in my office that I put ideas on whenever they come to mind or I put them in my phone.
I am inspired by the smallest things, conversations, networking, listening to other podcasts, social media, Facebook groups etc etc.
I know the day will come when I will run out of ideas – but not yet!
Now for some lessons I have from doing 200 episodes of a podcast:
- If you are scared, start.
- If you think you can’t do it – you can.
- If you think you’re not “expert enough” – you are.
- My network has grown because I made space for them – what space do you have in your life/business?
- Showing up consistently is key in business
- Listening is much more important than speaking – I see the irony in that considering I have about 180 hours of speaking in my podcast alone.
- Ready, Fire, Aim has served me well.
- Having a community is also key in business.
- Making marketing a priority drives you and your business to bigger, better, brighter things (and of course sales)
- Feedback is only feedback – do with it what you want.
- You’re not for everybody and you’re not supposed to be for everybody.
- Your biggest supporters are strangers who become besties (regardless if you’ve ever actually met or not)
- My business has opened up so many opportunities I’ve lost count
- Learning is a life long process
- A rising tide lifts all boats – be the tide, not just the boat
- Business is freaking amazing but family always comes first
I think that’s enough lessons for one day!
If you have listened to my podcase I would love for you to come over and share your favourite episode on my Facebook community Like Minded Business Owners Facebook group! Please do join if you haven’t already.
Or, let’s hang out and get social on social – you’ll find me on Instagram, Facebook and my fav LinkedIn.
CONTACT JENN:
If you would like to chat to me about all things marketing in your business, please reach out! Simply book a discovery call with me here!
Remember, please do head over and join my Like Minded Business Owners Facebook group. It’s such a great community of people and a brilliant place to connect with other small business owners.
Or you can DM me on Instagram or send me an email jenn@jenndonovan.com.au
I wish to acknowledge the Traditional Custodians of the land, the Yorta Yorta People, on which I conduct my business today and pay my respects to their Elders past and present. I extend that respect to Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples reading this blog post today.
About the Author:
Jenn Donovan of Social Media & Marketing Australia. Jenn’s an expert marketing coach and mentor from rural NSW. She is all about empowering business owners to earn what they’re worth so they can make a bigger difference in the world. The Founder of Buy From a Bush Business, Co-Founder of Spend With Us – Buy From a Bush Business Marketplace and host of the very popular podcast Small Business Made Simple, Jenn is all about community and humans interacting with humans! H2H Marketing – human to human marketing. Jenn talks the talk but importantly walks the walk! Jenn’s online community is over 320,000 with her famous Facebook Group currently at almost 365,000 members and still growing every day. She’s the mayor of her own little online city!
Get in touch – www.socialmediaandmarketing.com.au
On Instagram – @jenndonovan_
On Facebook – Jenn Donovan
Or on LinkedIn as Jenn Donovan
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