#029: What Turns a LISTENER into a BUYER

I’ve missed so many opportunities to turn listeners of my shows into buyers. If you’re like me and sometimes you put selling on the back burner to creating (what you think is) quality content, I want you to know you can have both, and in this episode I’m going to teach you how to do exactly that.

In this episode, we’re going to talk about overcoming the anxiety of asking for the sale, using your podcast to create funnels for later sales, and what you should be doing to create episodes that align with your products.

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Creators & Guests

Host

Morgan Franklin

Morgan Franklin is a podcast producer, strategist and educator. Since 2020 Morgan has founded and produced multiple top ranking podcasts from the health industry to beauty. Featured everywhere from Good Morning America to Martha Stewart Living Morgan's passion and knowledge for branding and podcasting have helped countless business owners and brands grow their impact and bottom line podcasting. Morgan is the Founder of Podcasts for Profit and Morgan Franklin Media, in addition to host of Podcasts for Profit with Morgan Franklin.

What is Podcasts for Profit with Morgan Franklin | Podcasting Strategy for Podcasters?

If you’re ready to create a podcast that will align you with experts in your industry, position yourself as a trusted leader and create another source of revenue for your business you’re in the right place. Podcasts for Profit will help you create and grow a podcast that cuts through the noise of social media and speak directly to your target audience. Stop letting the algorithm determine your social marketing strategy. Stop letting trends dictate the kind of content you’re able to create. Hosted by expert podcast strategist, producer and educator: Morgan Franklin, Podcasts for Profit is your step-by-step guide to creating a podcast that will transform your business, opportunities and life.

Morgan Franklin: You know you
can have the perfect podcast

that's flawlessly aligned with
your brand and messaging and the

products and services you
provide. You can perfectly

explain your operations and what
it's like to work with you and

remove any doubts that a
customer might have about hiring

you, and still not be
effectively turning your podcast

listeners into buyers. Before we
get into this episode, I want to

admit personally, I've missed so
many opportunities to turn my

listeners and the listeners of
the podcast I produce into

buyers. And if you're like me,
and sometimes you put selling on

the back burner to create what
you think is quality content. I

want you to know you can have
both. And in this episode, I'm

going to teach you how to do
exactly that, how to have both

quality content and sell with
your podcast. Hello and welcome

to podcast for profit. My name
is Morgan Franklin. I'm a

Podcast Producer, strategist and
educator. This podcast will help

you create and grow a podcast
that cuts through the noise of

social media and speaks directly
to your target audience. If

you're ready to create a podcast
that will align you with the

experts in your industry,
position yourself as a trusted

leader and create another source
of revenue for your business.

You're in the right place.
Having engaging, purposeful and

even entertaining content isn't
mutually exclusive to selling

and pitching directly to your
audience. It will take practice.

It will take preparation, and
most importantly, like all sales

and marketing, it will take
trust. In this episode we're

going to talk about overcoming
the anxiety of asking for the

sale, using your podcast to
create a sales funnel for later

sales, and creating content that
aligns with your products. I

think there's a really big
disconnection right now between

how we're using social media and
podcasting and outreach like

newsletters and other forms of
digital communication to speak

to our future customers, and how
they would actually like to

experience these platforms. Let
me explain what I mean. Okay,

listen to this example, because
if you're on Instagram or

LinkedIn or even just somebody
that has an email address. I bet

you have experienced all of this
too. Every other person you

follow or add that's a
professional service provider

within 24 hours is sending you a
message like this, Hey, Morgan,

thanks for the follow. I have
services in XYZ. You can set up

a discovery call to talk about
XYZ. I have a freebie in a

newsletter, you can sign up for
it XYZ, and you're thinking,

wow, this is so desperate. This
is not what I wanted when I

followed you. It's giving used
car salesman in the worst

possible way, and I will
unfollow you immediately if you

send me a message like that. It
is so cringe. And back to what I

was saying earlier. It's not the
way that consumers want to use

these platforms. I mean, think
about yourself. This is not the

way that you want to experience
Instagram or LinkedIn or

Facebook or whatever it is,
getting endless unsolicited DMS

and connection invitations with
the pitch and the invite and

cold emails. It's not how these
social media platforms are

intended to be used. They're
supposed to be used to build a

friendship, and that's why I
think so many podcasters,

including myself, get shy about
selling on their podcast,

because we don't want to be
those annoying over the top,

cold pitch brands. But I want to
remind you that there is nothing

wrong with selling. In fact, you
should be selling and pitching

to your audience on every single
podcast episode, and reminding

yourself that the difference
between you and that person that

sent you a DM asking for your
business is that you are

cultivating the relationship and
trust and knowledge through the

content of your podcast, and
that is so different from an

unsolicited direct message or
email. I teach a marketing and

branding class to hairstylist,
and talking about their fears

around selling products and
their mindset around selling

products is one of my favorite
things. In the beginning, almost

every hairstylist is terrified
of selling products. And when I

say products, I mean shampoo,
conditioner, all that extra

stuff that, you know, when you
get up to the counter they're

trying to sell you, you know,
they just ask you to pay for

this haircut or color or
whatever pricey service that you

had, and now they're taking you
up to the desk and they're

asking you to pay $50 for
shampoo. The horror that's so

intimidating, right? That's a
lot to ask of a new stylist, and

you know that's a lot what it
feels like to pitch your product

or service on a podcast that you
depend on people using their

most valuable resource on which
is their attention. It's their

time. Because we know. And
understand that people don't

have to listen to our podcast.
In fact, we have to do a lot of

work and effort to convince them
to listen to it in the first

place. So we don't want all that
to go out the window because

they feel like this is one long
ad, and that's why I'm going to

tell you exactly what I tell the
hairstylists that are afraid to

sell shampoo, don't think of it
as selling shampoo. Think of it

as selling value. This person
just spent $200 on their hair

color. Do they want to wash it
all down the drain with a $10

shampoo from Walmart? No. Did
someone just spend 30 minutes

listening to you talk about a
business concept or a way to fix

a very industry specific
problem, or any other resource

that you could provide without
you telling them that they can

work with you directly and get
the most out of your knowledge

that they clearly find value in
and appreciate. It's all in the

mindset. It's all about how we
perceive the motivations of what

we're doing. Because if I tell
you, Hey, go get some money from

your listener, that's a lot
different. That's a lot

different energy than me saying,
Go provide the highest value and

information you possibly can to
your listener, and that process

might include them paying you
some money that is just it's

totally different. It feels so
different. And that's what I

want you to start thinking of
this as, is the value that you

are creating for this listener
that is beyond your podcast,

that also involves them paying
you money for your time. Okay,

so before we move on, I have a
question for you to think about,

how often do you listen to every
single podcast episode that

somebody puts out, even a
podcast you love? Do you listen

to every single one of the
podcast episodes? And it's

probably not. Most of us pick
and choose the episodes we

listen to, and I think this is
something that more podcasters

should think about when it comes
to converting listeners into

buyers. These are all totally
made up numbers, but let's

pretend that you have a very
loyal listener. They listen to

60% of your podcast episodes,
which is pretty good. Of the 60%

they listen to, they listen to
half of those episodes all the

way through. I'd say that that's
pretty average, which means that

out of 10 episodes, they're only
listening to three until the

very end. And while them
listening to 60% of your

episodes is pretty good, the 30%
that they're only making it to

the very end is not a great
percentage. For those of us who

leave the call to action for the
very, very end. Again, I am so

guilty of this. That's why I
want to encourage you to do one

of two things, and I am also
working on these two because I

am just as guilty for leaving
the call to action to be to the

end of the episode. But this is
what I want you to do. Either

have a freebie you're talking
about throughout the episode. So

like, for example, say you have
a free PDF or workbook that you

have for people who sign up for
your email list, or make this

download the first part of your
episode description. So either

way, and to make that clear,
basically what you're doing is

you're talking about one
resource that is throughout the

episode. So you're not just
waiting till the very end.

You're saying, Hey, this is
what's going to help you, not

only outside of this episode,
but throughout this episode, and

then also starting off your
episode description, even if you

change it later to say free
download XYZ, so that people see

that right when they click on
your episode, that can really

help you Get through that
problem of not having good

listener retention, but still
being able to execute a call to

action, especially with a free
resource, because sometimes it

just doesn't make sense to pitch
your product in every single

episode, and that's okay, but it
does make sense to give

something away for free. It does
make sense to make this episode

the top of your sales funnel,
because if someone is taking the

time to listen to a whole
podcast episode about you

talking about something, chances
are that they like you and they

want to spend more time with
you, and they want to hear what

you have to say. And I want you
to make that as easy on them as

possible. And back to our
amazing listener that only

listens to 30% of our episode
all the way through if we have

their email address. Now we
don't have to rely on them

making it to the end of the
episode or even listening to it

at all to reach them to sell
now, we can send them an email

every week and say, Hey, this
was the podcast episode. Hey,

this is what we're running a
special on. Hey, this is the new

product that we have. It opens
up a different line of

communication that is so
important, because we know most

people don't listen to every
episode. On average, it takes

businesses 12 touch points to
make their first sale. That

means, from the first. Time
someone sees your content and

engages with it, or listens to
your podcast or opens your

email, you have to have 12 of
those interactions, or touch

points, as they call them,
before a sale is made.

Typically, that's a lot, and if
you can use a podcast to be your

touch point number one, and
then, let's say, signing up for

an email and receiving a freebie
as interaction two and three,

you can be well on your way to
having a buying customer instead

of relying on your podcast
episodes as being your only

touch points. Again, this is why
those people that DM you and

that try to pitch you their
services are so ridiculous and

annoying because they're asking
for the sale on touch point one,

and that is insane. That's why
it feels so cringe and wrong,

all right, so let's talk about
creating podcast episodes that

are a compliment to your
products and services. Because

for most of us, this is the
missing link to making sales on

our podcast. We don't want our
episodes to be one long

commercial for a service that
we're trying to sell. And we all

know podcasters who do that. But
what we do want is to provide

complimentary information to the
person who would be buying from

us. What do they want to hear,
for example, with this episode,

and spoiler alert, at the end of
this episode, I'm gonna pitch

you my podcast coaching
services. I'm pretty sure you

saw that coming, but that's what
we're talking about. That's what

I know you would benefit from if
you are listening to this

episode. The same goes for
freebies and using your podcast

episodes for your top of sales
funnel, create your content

around what your listener who is
buying from you wants to hear.

What are their pain points? What
are they interested in? What

makes them laugh? I think that,
like when we're so caught up in

the trying to figure out and
solve a problem, we also forget

that buyers are just people. And
you know, if you're in the same

industry, you probably find the
same things funny. So just

thinking about like I was saying
earlier, how do people actually

want to communicate with digital
media, and whether that's social

media or podcasts or whatever it
might be, how do real, actual

human beings want to connect
with each other. And I know that

this sounds so ridiculously
easy, but for most of us, it

isn't. We are so caught up in
the things that interest us and

the problems we're facing at our
stage of our business that it's

kind of hard to see exactly
where our buyer or listener is

in this process. So try to take
a step back, take a step back

from where you are, and think
about where you were. I know

we've talked about this in
several episodes, but it is that

important, because we are
getting so ahead of ourselves

90% of the time that we can't
read the label from inside the

jar, and our listener and buyer
has no idea what we are talking

about, and if you're trying to
sell a specific product or

service, think about where in
your professional journey you

would have needed this product
or service, and what questions

you had then, what interested
you, what did you need to Know,

and what would you have told
yourself? For me, it all comes

back to value, and I hope that
you can resonate with this too.

It's just so much easier to sell
the value of a product than it

is its features. It's so much
easier to be passionate about a

product when you know that this
is really going to help the

listener, and I really think
that they can pick up on that.

People know what you're thinking
and when you're excited and when

you're clearly passionate about
something, especially on a

podcast, people can tell so the
next time you're pitching a

product or asking someone to
sign up for your email list or

whatever you want them to do, I
want you to write down three

ways you know that this product
or service or freebie or

whatever it is, will improve the
person who is listening, will

improve their life. And you're
not going to read these out to

the listener. You're just going
to read them to yourself and

have them for yourself so that
you can get excited about this

offer. Because again, I think so
much of it comes from our

subconscious and us believing
that either this product is crap

or that this product is actually
going to help people. Either

this freebie is totally junk, or
you truly, truly believe that

this is going to help somebody
out when they sign up for this

newsletter, also smile. I know
this is probably something that

you've heard 1000 times before,
but people can hear you smiling

if you're smiling and happy.
Subconsciously, people are

thinking, wow, if I buy this
product, I am also going to be

smiling and happy too. Yes, they
are buying a product for its

purpose and for its feature, but
at the end of the day, we buy

things because they. Make our
lives easier because they make

us happy, because they provide
us with a feeling. And so if you

can, from the very beginning,
already be proving that this

product makes you feel a certain
way, you're so much further

ahead than all of your
competition. And lastly, make

sure that you've clearly
instructed the buyer on how to

buy. So if you're pitching a one
hour coaching call on your

podcast, don't just say, okay,
and you can buy coaching calls

from me. No, you want to say, I
have a one hour coaching call

available. You can find out more
information and schedule your

appointment at the link in the
episode description, or go to

XYZ For more information, every
call to action should have a

straightforward objective of
what you need to do next and

expect it is not enough for you
just to say what the product is.

You also need to say, this is
how you can get it, and this is

what that process of getting it
will look like. That is so

critical. And I think so many
podcasters go wrong with that,

because they think, Oh, well,
people are just listening.

They're going to come back to
the blah, blah, blah. No, you

need to state exactly what they
need to do and how they can do

it. Turning listeners into
buyers isn't going to happen by

accident, but if you have a
straightforward message, and you

believe in what you're saying,
and you give the listener

confidence in the buying
process. That is what's going to

turn your listeners into buyers.
If you have a podcast, you're

struggling to turn listeners
into buyers. I have a 12 month

coaching program where we'll
meet one hour a month, one on

one to discuss your podcast
selling strategy and podcast

sales funnel. I also have one
hour consultation options. If

you're a little bit further
along in the process and you

just have a few questions or you
need some feedback on the way

that you're selling with your
podcast. The link to find out

more about my coaching and to
contact me will be in the

episode description. If you have
any questions, feel free to

message me. My email is Morgan
at morganfranklin dot media that

will be in the episode
description as well. Remember,

focus on value and everything
else will fall into place. And

as always, I can't wait to
listen to your podcast. Hey,

thank you so much for joining me
on this episode. If you enjoyed

the podcast and you'd like to
hear more episodes like this

one, go ahead and subscribe to
the show. New episodes air every

Monday morning. And if you found
this episode valuable and you

want to help other business
owners and podcasters, will you

leave me a five star review. It
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entrepreneurs the information

they need to start making money
on their podcast.