Have you ever thought, I can't say that on my podcast, because then nobody will need to hire me?

I see it all the time. Brilliant ideas kept back for paying clients, and a podcast left with the safe, surface-level stuff that nobody remembers. In this Pod Shot I talk about why holding back is keeping you small, what people are really paying you for (it isn't what you think), and why I give away pretty much everything I know about podcasting, every weekday, and still get paid.

Plus one slightly scary thing to do today.

It's four minutes, have a listen.

New Pod Shot every weekday, and you'll find me on Instagram and TikTok: @lynsaymakeswaves

Fifty episodes ago I started this podcast from zero, brand new accounts and not one follower, with no idea whether it would work. Today I'm telling you exactly what's happened.

At the start of this experiment I told you I'd be measuring it in one quite unusual way. Not downloads, not listens, not engagement. In this halfway Pod Shot I tell you whether I've hit it, along with the real results so far, the bit that's meant the most to me, and the hard bits too (yes, I'm recording in a hotel room again).

There's also a little bit of news from the Festival of AI that I'm still buzzing about.

It's seven minutes, my longest yet, and I think it's worth every one.

The next Pod Shot Challenge starts on 9 November. Get on the waitlist:

https://site.wavemakersaudio.com/waitlist

New Pod Shot every weekday until Christmas, and you'll find me on Instagram and TikTok: @lynsaymakeswaves

Get on the waitlist for the next Start Your Pod Shot Challenge here

https://site.wavemakersaudio.com/pod-shot-challenge-waitlist

You can spend an hour on a social media post and it's gone from everybody's feed by the next day. So what if your content kept working for months, or even years?

Tomorrow I hit 50 episodes of Getting Heard, and the thing blowing my mind is that the very first one is still working for me. In this Pod Shot I talk about what I'm starting to see in my own stats, the number of episodes I think turns a podcast into something people binge, and the one thing you have to get right so people can actually find you.

Plus a little exercise for today that'll make you see your content completely differently.

It's three minutes, have a listen.

New Pod Shot every weekday, and you'll find me on Instagram and TikTok: @lynsaymakeswaves

Join the next Start Your Pod Shot Challenge waitlist here

https://site.wavemakersaudio.com/pod-shot-challenge-waitlist

I'll be honest with you, I don't think I could do a daily podcast without AI. So in this Pod Shot I'm telling you exactly what I use it for, and what I'll never let it touch.

I run an agency that makes AI voice clones and I've had an AI startup, so I'm definitely not against AI. But there's one part of this podcast I'll never hand over, and I explain why, including the reason I don't use my own AI voice twin on these episodes.

If you're not a natural writer and the written side of podcasting has been putting you off, there's a little test for you to try today.

It's four minutes, have a listen.

New Pod Shot every weekday, and you'll find me on Instagram and TikTok: @lynsaymakeswaves

Stuck on what your podcast should be about because you're not 100% sure of your niche yet? This one's for you.

So many women I talk to won't start their podcast until their positioning is absolutely perfect. But what the heck is perfect? In this Pod Shot I talk about why you can think about your niche for years and still not be sure, what I've learned about my own from doing a daily show, and where I think a lot of business advice turns into just another reason to wait.

Plus a quick thing to do today, even before you've started, that'll give you a clue about what you should be talking about.

It's under four minutes, have a listen.

New Pod Shot every weekday, and you'll find me on Instagram and TikTok: @lynsaymakeswaves

Have you ever been on a sales call where the person had already decided to buy before you'd said a word? I want you to have so many more of those.

When somebody's been listening to your podcast, they turn up to a call feeling like they already know you. I've had it happen so many times that the call ends up being a formality. In this Pod Shot I talk about why that works (there's a number in here about how much of your stuff people go through before they buy), and the little thing I tell my clients to do before every sales call.

Plus one job for today that'll turn the doubts you hear on every call into episodes that keep working for you.

It's three and a half minutes, have a listen.

The next Pod Shot Challenge starts on 9 November, and the waitlist gets in cheaper:

https://site.wavemakersaudio.com/pod-shot-challenge-waitlist

New Pod Shot every weekday, and you'll find me on Instagram and TikTok: @lynsaymakeswaves

All that energy goes into launch day, the artwork, the trailer, the big announcement. So why does the day after feel like such an anticlimax?

I reckon launch day is the most overrated day in a podcast's life. In this Pod Shot I talk about the days that are actually hard (it isn't the one you're dreading), why so many podcasters give up before it gets really good, and what I've seen pays the bills after ten years of launching shows. Spoiler, it isn't the charts.

I also look back at my own launch day, 45 episodes ago, and tell you what I'd say to myself if I could.

It's four minutes, have a listen.

Want help with what comes after launch? Get on the waitlist for my next challenge, starting 9 November.

https://site.wavemakersaudio.com/pod-shot-challenge-waitlist

New Pod Shot every weekday, and you can find me on Instagram and TikTok: @lynsaymakeswaves

I started Getting Heard from zero on purpose, brand new accounts and not one follower carried over. When you launch your podcast, I want you to do the exact opposite.

In this Pod Shot I tell you why I did it that way, and who I'd want you to tell about your podcast first instead. You already know them. It's the advice I'd give every service business owner launching a show, and it goes against a lot of what you'll hear about growing an audience.

I also talk about why a podcast can feel cringe to tell people about (and why it shouldn't), and one small thing to do before you launch that could restart some lovely conversations.

Plus some news: the Pod Shot Challenge is coming back for one last round this year, and the waitlist is open now https://site.wavemakersaudio.com/waitlist

New Pod Shot every weekday, and you'll find me on Instagram and TikTok: @lynsaymakeswaves