Ever tried to “level up” your podcast… and accidentally broke what was working? In this solo episode your Pod Savvy Guide, Steph Shoell gets real about a recent podcasting mistake that led to overwhelm, guilt, and a backlog of unpublished episodes. After completing 100 podcasts in 100 days, she tried to emulate big-name podcasters by batching and scheduling far ahead, only to realize it completely disrupted her rhythm. In this episode, Steph shares three hard-earned lessons: do what actually works for you, remember that podcasting should be fun, and stop trying to podcast like everyone else. Whether you’re DIY-ing your show for business or just for the joy of creating, this episode is a permission slip to let go of perfection, ditch the guilt, and keep the creative train rolling your way.

Feeling pulled in a million “shoulds”? In this refreshingly real conversation, PR & marketing pro Melanie Whittaker (joining us from Spain) talks about ditching comparison, showing up as your full self, and building an audience that actually cares. We unpack why personality beats polish, how to choose platforms you genuinely enjoy (hello, Threads), turning episodes into shareable soundbites, and keeping your message crystal-clear across your site and socials so listeners know exactly how to work with you. We also get into compounding visibility, asking guests and your community to share, and giving yourself permission to promote your own offers on your own show. If you’ve been stuck in your head or second-guessing your strategy, this one’s your nudge to take up space and keep going.

Website: https://www.youareyourmarketing.com

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• Freebie (guide): https://www.youareyourmarketing.com/freebie

• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/youareyourmarketing

• Threads: https://www.threads.com/@youareyourmarketing

If you’ve ever wondered how to get more people listening to your podcast without dancing for the algorithm, this episode is for you. Steph sits down with Michelle Pippin, a business strategist who’s been featured on Good Morning America Weekend and Forbes.com, to talk about three old-school methods of growing your podcast audience that still work better than most modern tactics.

Michelle shares her behind-the-scenes experience from the media world helping women entrepreneurs land features, get noticed, and build what she calls “bank-building media” instead of “ego-building media.” From finding visibility in forgotten places to remembering that conversations create cash, this is a refreshingly real episode that will help you rethink how you grow your show.

Download Michelle’s free “Get Featured Guide” and “Forgotten Channels Directory” at:
https://www.michellepippin.com/featured

Connect with Michelle and learn more about her work:
https://www.michellepippin.com/

In this episode of Pod Savvy Guide, Steph shares a deep dive into the latest major updates with Riverside.fm from publishing videos directly to YouTube, to using Google’s VO3-powered AI B-roll generation, to the upgraded Co-Creator editing tool that trims clips, adds titles and transitions automatically, and syncs layouts across scenes. Whether you’re a solo podcaster or managing multiple shows, these features are designed to streamline your workflow, reduce edit time, and keep you focused on creating great content rather than chasing downloads and uploads.

Riverside.fm – http://www.riverside.fm

In this episode of Pod Savvy Guide, Steph walks you step-by-step through how to add audio messages to your podcast the perfect way to let your listeners share stories, questions, or advice right from your website or social media.

Steph tests out a free tool called Telbee, showing how easy it is to set up your own voice inbox and start collecting one-minute listener recordings you can feature in future episodes.

Steph also shares creative ways to use this feature from listener shoutouts to themed story submissions and encourages you to keep experimenting with new tools that help your audience feel seen and heard.

Telbee: http://www.telbee.io

It’s the 100th day of my 100 podcasts in 100 days challenge, and this marks the 100th episode of Pod Savvy Guide. In this milestone episode, I’m pulling back the curtain on what it really took to get here. Last fall, I finished with 60 episodes in 100 days and thought that was a huge accomplishment. This time, I made it all the way to 100.

I share the five biggest lessons I learned from this challenge: why you should never leave episodes sitting on the back burner, how to book guests quickly even without a traditional social media presence, how to keep podcasting from taking over your life, the confidence that comes from sticking to big goals, and why focusing on one priority is better than trying to juggle everything at once.

I also give a sneak peek at my next 100-day challenge: creating 10 podcasting courses in 100 days, including Pod Five, a program that teaches you how to record five solo episodes in just five days.

If you have ever felt stuck, overwhelmed, or unsure if you can commit to a big goal, this episode will show you what is possible when you stay consistent, simplify the process, and keep showing up.

In this episode of Pod Savvy Guide, Steph dives into the wild rise of Inception Point AI, a startup aiming to flood the podcasting world with over 5,000 AI-generated shows and 3,000 episodes a week. These programs don’t just use AI tools they feature fully artificial hosts, voices, and scripts designed to mimic real personalities. Some call it the future of podcasting, while others call it spam. Steph explores what this means for creators, listeners, and the industry as a whole asking the big question: is podcasting about content, or connection?

YouTube just dropped its biggest updates yet, blending AI tools with powerful live streaming features and podcasters should pay attention. From automatic highlight reels and dual-format streaming to AI editing, brainstorming assistants, and even likeness detection, these changes are designed to save time, boost engagement, and keep creators on-platform. In this episode of Pod Savvy Guide, Steph breaks down what’s new, why YouTube is making these moves, and how podcasters can experiment with these tools while staying true to their authentic voice.