110: Create Podcast Funnels for High-Ticket Sales with Sinéad Acevedo
Your podcast is a compelling way to bring new clients to your business. You can also use podcasting to create an evergreen funnel for high-ticket sales—whether you already have a podcast or not.
“You don't actually even need to be an active podcaster to have a funnel, the podcast funnel. This can be something separate that you do once and it's there forever.” -Sinead Acevedo
A podcast funnel is more unique and engaging than PDF lead magnets. It provides information in a form (audio) that more people are spending time with. And it gives you the opportunity to handle listeners’ objections to working with you over the course of several bingeable episodes.
“Your content is made for a purpose: to promote your service and overcome objections.” -Sinead Acevedo
In this episode, you’ll learn:
How a podcast funnel works and how to create one
Why you don’t need your own full podcast in order to create a podcast funnel
How a podcast funnel helps convert subscribers to high-ticket sales
Sinéad Acevedo is the founder of Flamingo PR. With her expertise and modern PR approach, she has been helping brands transform their narratives from untold to unforgettable.
Connect with Sinéad:
TRANSCRIPT
Kelly 00:00:10
Welcome back to Podcast Launchpad. I'm Kelly. Today, I have a special guest joining us who is making waves in the world of public relations and brand storytelling. Please give a warm welcome to Sinead Acevedo, the brilliant founder of Flamingo PR. With her expertise and modern PR approach, Sinead has been helping brands transform their narratives from untold to unforgettable.
Kelly 00:00:36
Her unique approach to PR has enabled numerous brands to break through the noise and stand out in today's competitive landscape. I'm thrilled to have her here to shed light on an exciting topic, creating podcast funnels to sell more high ticket offers. If you're looking to take your show to the next level and leverage it as a powerful sales tool, [00:01:00] then this episode is a must listen.
Kelly 00:01:03
Sinead will be sharing her invaluable knowledge and strategies on how to craft, craft effective podcast funnels that drive conversations and boost revenue. So get ready to learn from the best in the business. Sit back, relax, and prepare to be inspired as Sinead reveals the secrets behind successful podcast funnels.
Kelly 00:01:27
Welcome, Sinead. I am so happy to have you here today.
Sinead 00:01:30
Hi, Kelly. Thank you for having me. Gonna be fun.
Kelly 00:01:34
Yes, it is. This is such a great topic and something that I think a lot of podcasters overlook. Evergreen sales, isn't it?
Sinead 00:01:45
Yeah. A lot of people, they just stop themselves because they, they first, they have take the leap of starting a podcast and then it's like, how do I monetize it? And then there's just so many things that come in the way of marketing and they're just like, okay, maybe I should have [00:02:00] marketed it and maybe I do it at a later stage.
Sinead 00:02:02
And they just like push it off.
Kelly 00:02:05
Yes. Very true. Like they feel like I can't promote my own stuff until I'm bigger, I have a bigger audience, I'm more established. And then when it comes to thinking about monetizing, they immediately think about sponsorships and running other people's ads. And it's like, at least what I say is when you start running ads, they should be for your own services.
Kelly 00:02:30
You know, don't worry about running other people's ads, run ads for yourself.
Sinead 00:02:35
Mm hmm. And when you think of podcasting in general, it's storytelling at its best. Storytelling has been around since the beginning of time. And when you are able to convey an amazing story with your audience, they already have this connection with you. So when you start implementing, podcast funnels, for instance, it becomes natural.
Sinead 00:02:58
They understand because they [00:03:00] understand you already. It's like tuning into their best buddy every week, listening to your show. That's how I see a podcast.
Kelly 00:03:08
Yes. That makes a lot of sense. And especially when it is a solo based podcast or even if it's interview based, then it's really helpful if you're doing some solo episodes in there to really build your authority and put your own story in there. Would you agree with that?
Sinead 00:03:27
Oh, definitely. Yes. Definitely be able to get that one on one feeling and then become a bigger part of the picture with interviews and even round tables can be fun at times. But definitely getting those solo episodes in and it doesn't have to be like 20 minutes long. You can do a five minute episode. That's over enough and most people on the go anyway. So they want to tune into something quick, valuable, educational and if you have something to offer, why not?
Kelly 00:03:56
Very true. I did this [00:04:00] series this past November. It was NAPODPOMO, National Podcast Post Month, where the challenge is to do an episode a day.
Sinead 00:04:11
Oh, wow.
Kelly 00:04:12
I had my regularly scheduled episodes, like eight for the month, two a week. And so I filled in with 22 other episodes. I'm like, what am I going to do? So I did 22 frequently asked questions.
Kelly 00:04:29
The episodes came in to be anywhere from like four to the longest was like 12 minutes, but they averaged about like five, six minutes. And so quick and easy, one question per episode, nice to the point answer, and they did really well. People really liked those.
Sinead 00:04:52
Yeah. And that's fantastic because you're hitting two birds with one stone, just with that approach. Firstly, you're connecting with your [00:05:00] community. So you are getting to know what they really want to listen to. And you can look at those questions now and be like, okay, these episodes performed well. Let's do another episode around a little bit longer, maybe interview someone on that topic.
Sinead 00:05:16
Maybe you didn't even know that but that's the start to a podcast funnel right there.
Kelly 00:05:21
True. Very true. Yes. And I haven't fully explored that yet. I have gone on to do longer episodes on many of those topics and then had guests on to cover those topics more thoroughly or some of those topics more thoroughly. But yes, this is going to be a great conversation today because I have not gone into those funnels, especially not evergreen funnels.
Kelly 00:05:47
Just yet. So
Sinead 00:05:48
Let's do it
Kelly 00:05:50
into that. Yeah. So why are evergreen sales or evergreen funnels so important to put in place for entrepreneurs who have a podcast?[00:06:00]
Sinead 00:06:00
Well, firstly, you don't actually even need to be an active podcaster to have a funnel, the podcast funnel. This can be something separate that you do once and it's there forever. Now podcasting, the platform itself, is evergreen. So if you post now, and in two years from now, someone can tune in to listen to that episode, even though you're like, uh, it wasn't that amazing then, but it is still a great, valuable episode and it's going to be there for the longest time, especially when you put it on Google podcasts, because that's Google.
Sinead 00:06:35
It's the biggest search engine that there is, so you will be searchable. When you are growing a business or even starting out, you want to be searchable and you want to be found on multiple platforms. And that is why a podcast gives you that outreach. So you might not be on television or any of that, but you can have your own podcast show.
Sinead 00:06:57
How awesome is that? You're a celebrity, the hero of your [00:07:00] own story. And when you grow a business, you want it to grow. You don't want to be quitting after a year. I highly don't want you. I want you to grow and be evergreen and have an amazing business. So if you are thinking in the future, even near future, you need to think growth mindset.
Sinead 00:07:19
I need to be evergreen. So anytime someone is searching my name, they can find my content. They can find what I'm offering and having those. Call to actions, which is so vital within your show would lead them then to where you want, whether that's an opt in and, um, free ebook or even requesting an application from you.
Sinead 00:07:41
So it's, it's just so important to be thinking in the future of an evergreen growing business than just a, a once off like, Oh, okay I was on radio for seven minutes and now it's gone forever.
Kelly 00:07:54
Right. That makes a lot of sense. And I'm going to jump ahead here for a sec, but, [00:08:00] uh, that call to action, I've heard you say before that we should have just one call to action in an episode.
Sinead 00:08:11
Yes. Um, this can obviously vary from different episodes, but if you are starting with one show and your call to action is for instance something as simple as join me on instagram where I share even more insight and longer videos, just keep that consistent throughout the episode, even though you say it five times, 10 times, doesn't matter organically.
Sinead 00:08:35
Uh, but this is where you don't want to confuse the clients, the prospects that could be your clients. And you want to, instead of saying, well, subscribe, leave a review, share with your friend, join me on Instagram, join me on YouTube. No one is going to remember that. If you, if you call out a list, you're most likely going to remember the last item that the person said.
Sinead 00:08:57
All the rest is just going to go [00:09:00] with the wind. So keeping that consistent and repetitive in a natural format is, it's going to get to them and they're going to say, okay, now I know what to do next. I'm not going to be overwhelmed and do nothing. Instead, I know where I'm supposed to meet with Kelly afterwards or connect further with her.
Kelly 00:09:22
Yeah. Definitely. Giving too many options, they won't know exactly what you want them to do. People like to be told, okay, what step should I take now? And when you give them all those options, you know, it's just not clear and they may default to social media. And that's really not where you want them to go if you were trying to get them into your funnel.
Kelly 00:09:50
Well, unless that's really the start of your funnel. But it's, you know, I think you really want them to go to your website or contact form or [00:10:00] again, unless your social media is really the start of your funnel. But if you're just saying connect with me on Instagram and they go to Instagram, they're going to start scrolling.
Sinead 00:10:10
There's a lot, there's a lot going on there.
Kelly 00:10:14
Yeah.
Sinead 00:10:15
And there's another thing is that you need to be clear on what you actually want to offer is like you mentioned, are you sending them to somewhere they're going to get lost because if you're not clear, they're not clear. So having that single call to action and then.
Sinead 00:10:31
Being clear, okay, this is an amazing free book I created on how to monetize your podcast, everything you need from A to Z. So this is where they're like, okay, I want that. You have the link, they opt in. And that's like an organic format, like a real straightforward. Version of a funnel.
Kelly 00:10:50
Yeah. That's great. Okay. So what are some examples then that's one example of evergreen sales and funnels that podcasters can [00:11:00] use in their shows?
Sinead 00:11:01
So the second one is actually one of my favorite. Now I work with a lot of high ticket entrepreneurs and what we do is we create a separate little mini series podcast and you promote this like a little coaching series. So if you do offer coaching or consulting, this is the series for you. And what's amazing is you just have to do this once.
Sinead 00:11:25
You don't have to go and publish an episode every week or any of that. You can host this separately, even on a free platform like red circle, where they have your podcast going forever green. Now within the series, which is usually like seven episodes, your goal is to help your prospects overcome the objections of working with you. You aren't going to be teaching them the how the or with a step by step process. But instead you're going to overcome the objections.
Sinead 00:11:57
You're going to explain your unique [00:12:00] framework And why they will be able to use this, let's say this vehicle in order to get from a to the desired result. So like I said, it's a mini series and even if you decide later on down the road when your business is going sky beyond and scaling, this is something you can even advertise as a little private podcast,
Sinead 00:12:26
unlimited series where they get exclusive access to and a lot of people love that approach because they know it's not necessarily available to the public. And they get this seven days free coaching from Kelly. It's like oh my gosh, like I listen to a podcast all the time. Let me jump into this mini juicy series and throughout there the last episode would most likely be apply to, to work with me.
Sinead 00:12:53
This is going to change your life. And by then you've already incorporated your journey, your [00:13:00] story of how you overcame those obstacles. So they're relating to you and you just create this magical flow of, now you want to work with me.
Kelly 00:13:12
Wow. That sounds amazing. I love that. That's great. So, and, and one thing I particularly love about it is that. So often we podcasters may have a like lead magnet or funnel that starts with a webinar. So we're sending our audio listeners. To a video medium when our listeners by definition are used to listening to us.
Kelly 00:13:45
So what you're suggesting is that we send these listeners to another medium that is, that's the same, where they get to continue listening.
Sinead 00:13:55
Like you said, a lot of people have their preference of learning, whether that's [00:14:00] audio, video, actually reading like blog format. So you can repurpose this into multiple platforms to reach a different audience. But if you're focusing on podcasting, stay with podcasting and don't add extra steps to it.
Sinead 00:14:13
You can't, you don't like those episodes can literally be five to 10 minutes long. They don't need to be longer that way they can binge and binge and binge and they're just ready to work with you. So why add a webinar in between there? That can just directly lead to an application form to work with you.
Kelly 00:14:32
So basically Netflix style. They just hit play and it just, they can go through all of them in a short amount of time. Yeah. And then the application. I love that so much. That
Sinead 00:14:44
awesome. Yes. And why do you think Netflix is doing so well? Because they're not saying, okay, season one consists of a hundred episodes.
Kelly 00:14:54
Right.
Sinead 00:14:54
You're not going to watch that. You might not even just watch the first one.
Kelly 00:14:58
Right. Yeah. Nobody wants those long. I mean, yes, there's some people who still watch only net network television, you know, that still goes out, whatever the 23, 26 episodes, but no, people want like 10 episodes now.
Sinead 00:15:17
Especially, especially if they've already been listening to your podcast and now you've launched a new coaching program or your consulting service you are promoting and you don't necessarily. You integrated within your show, but now you want them to, they're interested already. So they want more resources, like an extra coaching.
Sinead 00:15:40
And that's where they get like your freebie to say would be then the, the mini series.
Kelly 00:15:46
That's great. So any other evergreen funnels that you recommend?
Sinead 00:15:53
Um, no, that's pretty much it. Could always integrate and little extra step while [00:16:00] they're filling out the application form. You could have like a little video audio up top, which automatically, automatically repeats of testimonials of people that way, while they're filling out your application form, they don't get overwhelmed with the questions, but instead they hear all these inspiring stories about, Oh, Kelly, she changed my life.
Sinead 00:16:20
She really helped me grow my show. She did this and that, and they get excited to work with you. And once that's complete, yeah, that's a redirect to your Calendly link or something of that sort.
Kelly 00:16:33
That's really great. I love that. All right. I, I have not heard that suggestion before to create little mini or private podcasts. As a funnel, I just love that so much.
Sinead 00:16:46
Yeah. And that's also something you can link into obviously your social platforms or even your website. Instead of subscribe to my newsletter, you can subscribe to my mini podcast series, coaching series, or something of that sort.[00:17:00]
Kelly 00:17:02
a more powerful way in many ways than sending to a regular lead magnet, you know, like a PDF download or something like that.
Sinead 00:17:10
Hmm. Yeah. And if you want, you could always add some kind of PDF if you wanna make it even fancier and say, well, download your free workbook over here because you're part, and, and this is something, if you wanna do it on a daily email, if you wanna do that extra legwork, you can send it out. Day one, day two, but a lot of people, what I found is they pretty much binged that whole thing within one day, because they just like, it's just so enticing because everything flows into one with the craft of storytelling and a beautiful voice.
Kelly 00:17:43
That's great. Oh, I love that. All right. So what are some common mistakes that you see podcasters make when they are setting up some funnels in their podcast?
Sinead 00:17:56
Um, so first is the flow. They, [00:18:00] they don't, they follow, they go through, for instance, FAQ, but it might be, for instance, they put in a payment plan or they put in. something tangible, but they don't focus on the emotional state. So I like to look at it in three general ways. And a lot of people implement this into webinars as well.
Sinead 00:18:22
The first is really looking at the objection of, will it work for me? Will your vehicle, your consulting, your coaching actually work for me or my business? I don't know. Will a podcast work for my business? I'm a B2B or I am selling products. I'm not too sure if it'll work for me. So it's really overcoming that.
Sinead 00:18:46
Then it's the emotional desire that they have with it. Is it going to give them the freedom that they desire? Is it going to bring them the joy? Is it going to bring them the happiness? Is it going to fulfill that [00:19:00] pocket? And then the third one is the egocentric desire. So we have those, what's those three categories of money, wealth, health, and love.
Sinead 00:19:10
So focus on is it going to bring in those tangible desires or help them along the journey to be able to reach that destination? So being able to incorporate those three gives you a magnetic flow and you're going to incorporate your own story in there. So a lot of podcasts, they make that mistake of not flowing the show.
Sinead 00:19:32
That's If it's a regular podcast, you know, you've got your content strategy with those sections in order to flow and your audience, your guests, they would be talking on the subcategories, if that makes sense. Don't know if I've gone too deep now down the
Kelly 00:19:48
No, no. No, that's great.
Sinead 00:19:51
But pretty much everything that you create, you're not just creating content to create content.
Sinead 00:19:57
Your content is made for a [00:20:00] purpose: to promote your service and overcome objections. That is pretty much the main goal. Unless you have all the time in the world and all you want to do is create content, which I'm sure a lot of us don't have. Then I would say the second biggest mistake is the call to action.
Sinead 00:20:17
Like we mentioned before, there's just way too many things going on. No one is clear about what you're saying and they just turn off or they don't listen to it and they just get confused. Then I would say the third is probably this is when you start promotion and you are, you feel a little weird or icky and salesy because you're not used to promoting your offers and you're not sure if your audience is going to reject you afterwards and not like you.
Sinead 00:20:50
But if you are currently thinking of promoting, which I highly recommend your podcast, and you might not have a product or service yet, what [00:21:00] I suggest is, within your conversations start talking about something that you did today. Maybe you went out for coffee and you were like this coffee was Egyptian and the brand, whatever, just to kind of get the, a feeling of how you can incorporate promotion in a natural format.
Sinead 00:21:21
And that way your audience also gets used to you speaking about other things, not just about the show or educational topics, but that way it's more like the show is 70% and 30% is you're speaking about a product or service.
Kelly 00:21:37
Hmm.
Sinead 00:21:38
If you do get sponsorships, which a lot happens down the road, that would just be normal to their ear.
Sinead 00:21:44
They'd be like, okay, if Kelly says this is a damn good coffee,
Kelly 00:21:49
Hmm.
Sinead 00:21:50
I think I'm going to go to Amazon and quickly buy that to taste it so I can leave a review and say that coffee's good. So it's really about the natural [00:22:00] flow of promotion as well.
Kelly 00:22:02
That's great. Yeah. I have done episodes on like my favorite podcast resources. I've done, you know, when I talk about my favorite starter mic or, you know, favorite podcast hosting provider or general, you know, uh, what equipment do you need? I've done a lot of episodes about that where I talk about tools for podcasting and in like I want people to stop Googling.
Kelly 00:22:29
When they listen to my show, when they come to trust me, stop Googling, you know, take my suggestions or go trust someone else and take their suggestions. It just gets so overwhelming when you keep Googling. So I don't give all the possibilities out there. So I am making those kinds of promotions and I'm not an affiliate of everything, you know, so I'm not only promoting the things where I am an affiliate.
Kelly 00:22:57
I'm just saying, I really like this. [00:23:00] No ties to it, except that I've tried it, you know, or my clients love it, whatever. So I have that kind of experience with it. So I love what you're saying that that gives us the experience of promoting something. Then making it easier to promote ourselves while we're ready to do that.
Sinead 00:23:20
And that's fantastic that you already do that because that way, you know, a lot of people, they might go onto the website, for instance, to show Mike, what is it, and they, there's just regular basic website reviews, but a lot of people, they don't buy from there. They first go on to their resource, whether that's podcasting or YouTube, and they listen from people who've actually bought it and who have tried it and who have experienced it.
Sinead 00:23:47
And then they make the decision. So being able to have that content available for pod, aspiring podcasters who want to start a podcast, like, I've got this, I've tried that, that doesn't work. But [00:24:00] if you have this, you know, that, that's really great that you have that step already.
Kelly 00:24:05
Definitely. Okay. So you like to get rid of the overwhelm of using expensive tools and, and all of that. So, but are there any tools that you recommend that, that listeners will need to set up these files?
Sinead 00:24:24
Well, honestly, with that, as it said, you can use podcasts, record, you can record it from your phone. Everyone knows that they can sit in your closet and get some good audio that way. And, um, there are a few hosting platforms, which are free. My favorite has always been Buzzsprout. I don't know about you. But I know there's something like Red Circle.
Sinead 00:24:47
They do a free, um, where you can have one episode for free and you can create a mini series that way. But the application form there itself, you can use something like [00:25:00] JotForm where you can, that's also free or even Google Docs, that's a free platform. So as of now, your cost expense is just your time. And your time
Sinead 00:25:11
is very valuable and should be your biggest, biggest expense. And that way you can incorporate the time that you use to make this marketing for you into your consulting fees. You can add that uh, no one sees the breakdown, but that's for you emotionally to know, okay, how much time and emotional energy did I take to create this series?
Sinead 00:25:34
So, that can book to your booking link, which could just be a zoom call. So none of that actually requires any external software.
Kelly 00:25:43
Yeah.
Sinead 00:25:44
If you want to, you can go and upgrade any kind of software, but for the meanwhile, just to start off with, all you need is your storyline, those three objections you want to cover, and just sit down and really think about what does your [00:26:00] client think, your prospect think, in their shoes right now?
Sinead 00:26:04
What is their biggest struggle? How can you help them today to take the step to create the outcome that you provide, to take that vehicle? So it just takes a little thought, a little time and energy. But once it's done, it's done. And you don't have to ever go back to creating a new one, unless you want to improve your audio from your phone.
Kelly 00:26:28
Right, right. But you know, if you already have a podcast, then you know, hopefully you already have good enough equipment, so you're set. And I use Captivate as my podcast hosting provider, and you can have multiple different podcasts in one account, and you can have one private podcast
Sinead 00:26:51
Oh, even better. There you go. There's solution sold.
Kelly 00:26:55
Yeah. Yeah. It's great.
Sinead 00:26:58
Yeah. Um, another thing, [00:27:00] if you currently have a podcast and you, maybe you, you kind of in that way that, okay, I don't have time to create another podcast, but go ahead and look at your episodes. So now you have a little bit more than 50 episodes and you're just like, let me take out seven, which actually outlined those objections that I've already spoken about.
Sinead 00:27:20
Which might provide, and that way you can send out an email sequence if you have an email provider and that way saying, well, you've signed up for the seven day coaching series and that way you can just send them the RSS feed, the URL for that episode. Um, that's also another way of looking at it, but then you might need to just add several copy into sales and that takes a little bit more legwork.
Sinead 00:27:45
So, if you have the brand to just create a separate one, that's fantastic.
Kelly 00:27:51
True. True. And like you said, they can be just a few minutes long and that way they're more bingeable than sending out like [00:28:00] seven episodes that you've already created that may be longer and less bingeable, at least not in one day.
Sinead 00:28:05
Yes, exactly.
Kelly 00:28:08
That's awesome. Thank you so much for sharing
Sinead 00:28:10
My pleasure.
Kelly 00:28:11
You can find Sinead on Instagram at Flamingo PR and at her website at FlamingoPR. com. Thank you so much for listening. Be sure to follow this show so you don't miss a single episode and I will see you next time at Podcast Launchpad.
