Transforming Podcasts into Profit: Atiba D'Souza's $700K Strategy
Jul 09, 2024Season 8Episode 2
Michael Buzinski
Ever wondered how you could significantly boost your revenue through podcast guesting? Tune in to our latest episode of the Buzzworthy Marketing Show as we bring you an enlightening conversation with Atiba D'Souza, the maestro of storytelling and SEO. Atiba walks us through his transformational journey in podcasting, starting from a simple desire to refine his pitches to a pivotal moment of understanding the profound impact of genuine connections. Learn how detailed research and aligning with hosts' goals can turn your guest podcasting efforts into a lucrative venture.
We also dive deep into the power of building trust and selecting reliable hosts. Atiba shares how fostering relationships with consistently publishing hosts opened doors to unexpected opportunities such as speaking engagements and mastermind groups. We discuss the immense value of organic networking with a compelling story about a LinkedIn introduction that turned into a promising business opportunity. This episode is a treasure trove of strategies for maximizing podcast guesting revenue, building lasting trust, and leveraging authentic connections for future success. Don't miss out on these game-changing insights!
Follow Atibe de Souza: atibadesouza.com www.linkedin.com/in/atibadesouza clientattractionpros.com
Ever wondered how you could significantly boost your revenue through podcast guesting? Tune in to our latest episode of the Buzzworthy Marketing Show as we bring you an enlightening conversation with Atiba D'Souza, the maestro of storytelling and SEO. Atiba walks us through his transformational journey in podcasting, starting from a simple desire to refine his pitches to a pivotal moment of understanding the profound impact of genuine connections. Learn how detailed research and aligning with hosts' goals can turn your guest podcasting efforts into a lucrative venture.
We also dive deep into the power of building trust and selecting reliable hosts. Atiba shares how fostering relationships with consistently publishing hosts opened doors to unexpected opportunities such as speaking engagements and mastermind groups. We discuss the immense value of organic networking with a compelling story about a LinkedIn introduction that turned into a promising business opportunity. This episode is a treasure trove of strategies for maximizing podcast guesting revenue, building lasting trust, and leveraging authentic connections for future success. Don't miss out on these game-changing insights!
Follow Atibe de Souza: atibadesouza.com www.linkedin.com/in/atibadesouza clientattractionpros.com
What if I told you that changing the way you approach podcast guesting will massively increase your revenue? I know, when I took the leap to podcasting two years ago, I had no clue how to monetize my guest podcasting efforts industry who were successfully adding hundreds of thousands of dollars to their top line that I realized I needed to make a shift in my approach. One of those friends is Atiba D'Souza, the video content Superman, who was dominating search engine optimization before the term was even invented. This superpower for storytelling has transcended to guest podcasting, helping him add over $260,000 in revenue in only 12 months. I hope you are as curious as I am to hear his secrets to success. Let's dive in. Welcome to the Buzzworthy Marketing Show. Welcome to the Buzzworthy Marketing Show. Mr Atiba D'Souza. Looking good today. How are you, man, hey?
Speaker 2:
thank you for having me Buzz and feeling great. I'm doing great man, and you're looking good man. You're looking real good. You know that background against your head, it just makes you pop.
Speaker 1:
In case y'all didn't know, we are good friends and if you're listening to the podcast of this, you need to go over to the buzzworthy marketing uh youtube channel, the buzzworthy channel and and see what we're talking about here. But no, you're looking, spelt yourself there, buddy. So, yes, I'm all right. So I want to dive right into this because I mean, we're on a podcast and your podcast guesting. Look at that. You do a lot of this. I know this for a fact. My staff just realized that I've been on 150 other shows in the last 18 months and they're like, oh, he didn't know, you're on so many shows, like, yeah, yeah, why do you do it? And I'm like, well, and I got into that, but I want to hear, why do you and what got? Let's just talk about what got you into guest podcasting in the first place.
Speaker 2:
Yeah, it's a great question and, like you, I think I'm about the same number because I'm doing about 100 a year right now. So, yeah, I'm on a clip and I started many years ago and, honestly, it was to hear my own voice. I'm not going to lie to you. It was True.
Speaker 1:
Marketer, ladies and gentlemen, if you want to know a marketer, just be quiet and let them speak. The marketers will start talking.
Speaker 2:
Exactly, and so it's like we had new offers, we were trying new things, and so I wanted the opportunity to practice pitching, and so I wanted to hear myself talk and then say, okay, that wouldn't go so well, they didn't understand. Let me say it a different way. That's why I started Really selfish, to be completely honest.
Speaker 1:
That's so. What kept you so, once you've ironed out your pitches and you obviously did a lot of work, you know some self work on your sales and stuff like that what kept you going?
Speaker 2:
So here's what happened About a year and a half or so ago, so 18, 19 months or so ago I had it was the beginning of the year, it was like January 2. And so it was the first show of the year. And so now I'm having someone on my show, okay, and the guy gets on my show and you know we do the pre show stuff. You know he's super excited to be there. I'm like okay, all right, whatever, right, and then he starts asking me questions about what I had done over the holiday break. Okay, okay. And so so, number one you knew I took a holiday break. Number two you asked questions that said to me you knew exactly what I was doing over the holiday break, which wasn't public.
Speaker 2:
And so now I'm starting to wonder who the hell is this guy? Right, like, what happened here? Okay, what happened here, okay. And so I'm now, while he's talking and I'm smiling, pulling up Google Drive to try to search his name to see if do we have anything Going to email? Do we have any? Who is this guy? A couple days before Christmas? No, sorry, sorry, I was on his show. I was on his show.
Speaker 1:
Yeah, I got you.
Speaker 2:
A couple days before Christmas and I had completely forgotten who he was. Oof duh, I felt like the biggest idiot in the world.
Speaker 1:
It was the kryptonite. Yes, literally in the world it was the kryptonite.
Speaker 2:
Yes, literally, because here I am thinking I'm meeting somebody for the first time and he knows intimate details about me and I don't even remember meeting you or what we talked about or what I talked about on your show, and that was a moment for me of clarity, of we're doing this for the wrong reason. We're completely doing this for the wrong reason. Now let me let me backdrop that, with two years prior doing podcasting, podcasting had yielded me $0. The year prior of podcasting or podcast guesting rather, podcast guesting had yielded me $0. Okay, but again, I was being selfish because I just wanted to hear a team of talk.
Speaker 2:
Right, okay. So now I'm in this embarrassing moment on the second of january and I send a message to the team and I say stop booking podcasts for me to be on. We gotta. Had this rich conversation and what came out of it was okay. Let's take the time to figure out who this person is, that the host is, and why they have their show. What is the purpose of their show for their guests? What are they trying to do, right? What are they trying to teach their guests? Show their guests? And now, how can we position ourselves to deliver that? And so we started creating these things called dossiers, where we do research now, and it's like a four or five page document of research on the show and on the host and on their, on their past guests and what they want, right, for their audience to hear. And that becomes my prep. So I had to change the entire philosophy of why we were getting on podcast.
Speaker 1:
I'm hearing a lot of the same type of prep we do when we're about to get on stage. Yes, right, and as speakers, a lot of people want to be on stage, to see themselves on stage, like you started with podcasting, right, and there was a time where I wanted that. I was like, well, if that person's on stage, I should be on stage. Right, I'm just like this should be the way it is Right.
Speaker 1:
And then I realized and then a friend of mine, vinnie Fisher, this guy has, like, exited multiple, like I want to say he's on his fourth one and he was about to exit his fourth eight figure business. Wow, yeah, like the dude's genius when it comes to building eight figure businesses and exiting profitably, right. And he's like and I ran into him in TNC right after I had spoke on the digital marketer stage and and I said I want to get on the big stage he's like, why? So? These people right here is going to tear you apart. And then we talked, we had a little discussion about what stages actually what I wanted from to be on stage, which was the opportunity to enrich an audience that would then reach out to me for my services, right? So selling without selling, and what I'm hearing you talk about is that same concept of like. Where can I be the most effective in helping an audience, somebody else's audience, because that's what we're doing right.
Speaker 1:
Yes, borrowing audience. Right, you're borrowing my audience right now. I've been on your show, you borrow your audience and we're sharing expertise.
Speaker 2:
Yes.
Speaker 1:
Right and so you're taking that. So this brings me a question is that do you ever do the research and then realize I'm not, I don't really connect with this audience or I don't feel like this host has a purpose and therefore this might be a waste of my time and maybe even the host time, and then just kind of call them off?
Speaker 2:
Yeah, we have an entire list of do not do shows. They didn't get examples of the shows, no, but I know the type of shows that are the red flags of like.
Speaker 1:
Do not do those shows.
Speaker 2:
And for everybody it's going to be different Right, and so you've got to determine.
Speaker 1:
This gives them an example of like what red flags would be to them. Well, maybe I shouldn't be on that show either.
Speaker 2:
So here's some really basic ones, right? So we want shows that have done at least 50 episodes I think we're up to 100 episodes now, but at least 100 episodes. They must promote the show on social media OK. And promote the show on social media Okay. And promote the the the guests, on social media. So they've got to want to create that content because at the same time, there's some people who just want you to come on their show so that they can sell you their product and they don't actually care about the show, right, and so they just record it, tell you they're going to do something. They never do anything with it.
Speaker 1:
And sometimes it didn't get published, oh right, and so we want to see that they're promoting. Wait, wait, before we go past that, so that that I'm I'm clear and the audience understands what you just said. There are people out there who will get you on what they would call a podcast so that they can sell you after the podcast and then never actually air the show. So they're creating a facade of a podcast to actually be a sales call.
Speaker 2:
Yes.
Speaker 1:
And that, and I just wanted everybody to hear that because that is, and this is something that we have to worry about right when we're, when we're looking at it for our time and for the people that we, if we do happen to have a podcast why some people say no? Because this is a phenomenon that happens on a regular basis.
Speaker 2:
Yes, keep going, sorry. The other thing with us is we use different services, like pod match, to find hosts right Love, yes, alex has done a great job to Alex Sanfilippo.
Speaker 1:
If you do not have pod matchcom, please go into the, the, into the, the the description of this show and I'll make sure that there is a link to his site.
Speaker 2:
Alex Ferrari. Absolutely, pod match is fantastic and we've been using pod match for years, right, and the the thing there with pod match and all these other services was we go in and look if they don't talk about and look If they don't talk about their audience, if they don't tell us who their audience is and we can't see that they actually care about their audience, then not the right show for us, not the right show for us. So we have a whole set of metrics that we're looking for and, again, for everybody it's going to be different, sure, right?
Speaker 1:
yeah, because there's some people who actually want the brand new shows because their their thinking is is that any show that gets listened to, the first hundred shows actually the first. I want to say it's the first 50 shows are the ones that get the most listens. So being in the top 10 means that you're going to get the most listens out of the life of the show and it's all about and that's fine, and if that's what you want, then that's great.
Speaker 2:
If that's what you want, yeah Right. What I ran into with some of those shows, and why we said no, was unprepared hosts, hosts who didn't show up, yep, no show hosts man.
Speaker 1:
What's the worst right?
Speaker 2:
And it happens, and so we're looking for people who are publishing regularly. So I know, yeah, you're going to show up, you're going to be there when a host tells me, hey, my backlog is four months. I'm like, cool, I know you're busy, I know you're doing it, you're publishing every week and you got a backlog. Yeah, let's go.
Speaker 1:
Exactly. So, how did you? Okay? So now you're on the right shows. Now we're turning the $0 goose egg into over $250,000.
Speaker 2:
And then in the following 12 months, and, by the way, this year different this year's, it's approaching 700.
Speaker 1:
Okay, so now is this the end, and so I would love for you to describe where this money is coming from and how. What did you do different besides picking your shows, and how you picked your shows to then garner that type of revenue?
Speaker 2:
So now that's the. This is where the beauty comes in, and it was completely accidental. Those are the best. I'm not sitting here trying to tell you I'm some genius and this was like the master plan.
Speaker 2:
No, the master plan was I was doing a poor job creating relationship and had to fix that. And that's what we realized that January 2nd we fixed relationship. In the process of fixing relationship with the hosts, what ended up happening is I ended up with hosts who started saying, man, that was great, I've got a coaching network that I coach and they need to hear this. Would you mind coming and teaching my group? Man, listen, I have a stage that I run. Would you come speak on my stage? Okay, and that's what started happening in the middle of that process of us building relationships and we started noting that that, okay, the hosts with groups are inviting us to their next thing. Because we're making them look good, because I took the time on their show to figure out what they wanted their audience to know and hear and the way they want their audience communicated to. Because I took that time and I went out and I delivered on that, they turned around and said to me Atiba, we want more, would you do more for me? And those are paid gigs. And those now either become paid gigs or sometimes they're virtual right If it's a virtual coaching network or mastermind group or what have you, but what is happening here is the authority is being passed.
Speaker 2:
It's one thing when you have a guest on your podcast Everybody has guests on their podcast. It doesn't mean that Buzz trusts me because I'm here. That's not what it means. However, if Buzz has his private group of 30 people and he says, atiba, come talk to them when I show up there, all 30 of those people know Buzz trusts Atiba, therefore, we trust Atiba, and that's what started happening. And that just mushroomed. And it started mushrooming quickly and out of control and we had to kind of like, okay, okay, let's have to take a look at it. And so one of our criteria now as we look for stages is we're looking for stages where the hosts has either a stage that they have, a physical stage, or a mastermind or a group.
Speaker 1:
That's what we're looking for now in podcast hosts, and then you take that and those opportunities to talk to those audiences. There's the transfer of trust, with you to present in deeper detail, which then says, yes, that's what I need now. Will you please come do it for us.
Speaker 2:
Yes. So let me give you a classic and practical example. Okay, so there was a show did while while a while ago, and, uh, me and the host became good friends. Um, and a couple of weeks ago he sent me a joint message on LinkedIn and he introduced me to a guy on LinkedIn and said both of you are in the medical space, you guys should talk. Okay, just before this recording, I got off the call with that guy and his business partner. Y'all watch how this all happens.
Speaker 2:
Okay, I got off the call with this guy and his business partner. He's a COO, she's a CRO, and they work in the medical space and but they don't do Legion. I do Legion and they're like we've been looking for someone who does Legion. And then I said so where are you guys located? And he's like well, I'm in Dallas. And she says, well, I'm in Vegas. I said I'm in Vegas on Friday. She said great, let's get together. Nice. Before the call was done, she said listen, this was so great. I want to talk to you even before you get to Vegas. Can we talk again? Before you get to Vegas, we got another call next week. And then, before you get to Vegas, we got another call next week and then we're going to meet when I'm in Vegas.
Speaker 2:
Y'all this is how it happens. So one of the things here is, if you go into it trying to measure what you're going to get out of it, you're going to fail. If you go into it with the heart to actually serve the host and their audience and allow nature to take its course, maybe it isn't, because that guy who made the connection I've never spoken to his audience and he's got an audience of like several hundred that would be great for me to speak to, but he's never made that. He's never said, hey, come speak to my audience, but instead he introduced me to somebody else who has clients on the ground that need my services. Yeah, I'll take that.
