Mellisa: Hey There, studio owner! You've put your blood, sweat and tears into creating a Brick and Mortar business that serves your clients and impacts the community you love. You are my hero! And I'm pretty sure we could sit down and talk like besties do because I get it. I've had my studio business for over twelve years, a handful of kids, and a few passion projects that I love, like this one. Hey there, I'm Melissa Rose, your visibility coach for the studio owner who wants more stellar clients coming through their doors, more bank in their bank account, and more time to hang out and be completely present with those they love most. In this podcast, we're going to share the nitty-gritty of running a successful studio business, sharing stories, talking strategy, and learning practical tips that leave you inspired, empowered, and equipped to create your epic life every single day. So, if you're a dance studio, yoga studio, pilates studio, or a fitness boutique studio, you are in the right place. Add some kiddos into the mix and maybe a life partner and I call you a rebel woman, ready to dive in? Let's get real!

Mellisa: Hey there, everybody. Welcome back to another episode of Brick and Mortar Visibility for studio owners. You guys, my rebel women, how are you? I am jazzed with jazz hands, complete with jazz hands because we have a stellar interview with a lovely Angie Trueblood. Angie Trueblood is the voice behind the Go Pitch Yourself podcast. All about podcast pitching, all about being an amazing guest on podcasts. And I wanted to have her on because she's the expert on how you should show up as a guest and how to get on podcasts.

Mellisa: But we dive deep into what it means for us local Brick and Mortar studio owners, how we can leverage podcasting, and what to think about maybe who we should be pitching to and not pitching to. We talk about the ripple effect of podcasting. And we also talk about how and what you should share on podcasting.

Mellisa: Okay, so there's a lot right there. But then make sure you please listen all the way to the end because Angie drops some gold, things that I didn't even know about with podcasting and ways to be visible on podcasting without even being a guest.

Mellisa: So, this is a huge treat. I'm super excited for you to hear from her. If you love what you hear, please hit her up on Instagram or LinkedIn, Angie Trueblood all the links are below. She also has a freebie for everybody. All right. So without further ado, grab a notebook, grab a pen and take a listen to the lovely talented and brilliant Angie Trueblood.

Mellisa: Angie Trueblood! So good to have you on the Brick and Mortar visibility podcast. I am super psyched to talk to you today.

Angie: Oh my gosh, I love this because it is not a topic that I get asked to speak about a lot. So, the Brick and Mortar piece of it.

Mellisa: Yes

Angie: So, I'm ready to dig in and kind of hash it out with you.

Mellisa: All right. So before we dive into all the nitty-gritty of this, I want you to just share a little bit about who you are, what you do and who you serve. And a little bit about your journey in getting you here to there.

Angie: Yeah, so I'm the founder of a company called 'The Podwize Group' And primarily we support business owners who are looking to grow their business, really their authority, their network and their revenue through podcast guesting. So the company has a couple of different arms. But the basic gist is we help people guest on other podcasts and come in as a guest expert. So that's the company now.

Angie: We started it five years ago. And when I say we, I mean me.

Mellisa: And all the people in our head!

Angie: So many people, so many ideas these people have!

Angie: It really kind of transitioned from a previous business that I had. So my kiddos now are 10 and 12. And when they were little, I was working outside of the home and outside sales. I liked it. But I was also super bored because it was pharmaceutical sales. So you would get like two minutes with a doctor, and then on to the next call.

Angie: And I just felt really pulled to have more time at home with my kiddos. And so I transitioned home. And I was doing a direct sales business because at that time, I mean, we women know there's not a lot of businesses that you can kind of start from the ground up and pretty immediately make money.

Angie: And so that's what I did. And it was a great company. We were in the meal planning space. And so I was doing freezer meal workshops, like helping moms prep dinners, and it was great. I eventually evolved that to have an online component, a blog and a course.

Angie: And I, on behalf of that business started pitching myself to local media, to podcasts to really grow my audience. I landed opportunities and I saw that they had an impact on my business. And then a lot of friends started asking like how did you get on the news and how did you get on this podcast?

Angie: And my answer was always that, "I just asked" Because it seemed so natural to me. And then I started realizing not everyone likes doing that.

Angie: And I think whenever you're in business if you have a skill set that you enjoy and you recognize other people don't and they kind of need it, it's something to at least take note of.

Angie: So I eventually leaned into it. And then I mean, it's not even a pivot. It's just a complete shift in business. In 2017, I started taking on clients, and we've just kind of grown ever since.

Angie: And before that, I was listening to you, you were a teacher. So you have this teacher background too.

Angie: Oh, yeah!

Mellisa: So you were a biology teacher, right?

Angie: Yes. So my training and school, I'm such a nerd, ecological genetics, I studied. I know, it's so weird.

Mellisa: Good for you.

Angie: But I love science, math, and all that stuff.

Mellisa: Yeah.

Angie: And I think it helps with the work that we do now.

Mellisa: It does, it does.

Angie: Because it is very much research-oriented, and also recognizing patterns.

Mellisa: It is!

Angie: So I think the science part of it helps, but the teaching, I mean, that is really what I love doing. And it has carried through into every career, even though it's not been in an official teaching capacity.

Mellisa: That's what you're doing now. You're teaching us how to have to get visible through podcasts. And that's what we're going to talk about today. Because we are Brick and Mortar business owners, we're studio owners, we have a Brick and Mortar. And obviously, I have a podcast and I am a huge advocate for podcasts. I think it's a great thing. But we're going to talk about the nitty-gritty of this, and what Angie as the expert says about this.

Mellisa: So why is podcast guesting so great for Brick and Mortar? So let's start there.

Angie: So I have an interesting take on this, I don't think it should be the primary marketing strategy for a Brick and Mortar business owner, because so many podcasts are not centralized and serve a local market. So you would really be throwing a super wide net, and just hoping that someone in your neighbourhood or in the community that you serve is listening.

Angie: So in general, I don't think it's something that should be absolutely prioritized as a long-term ongoing strategy. However, if you have local podcasts in your community, which a lot of places do now. I don't know if I told you this, or if you knew that I actually launched a local show earlier this year, and like six episodes in. We were like we're gonna need to put that on a hiatus right now because it was just too much with like the business and my Go Mitch Yourself Podcast.

Angie: But that was great. I was interviewing local people. And so I was able to kind of get the word out. So there are local shows that Brick and Mortar business owners can pitch to be a guest. And a lot of the local podcasts would love to have guests on like they are not inundated with people who are savvy in the podcasting space, the way that more you know, nationwide type shows are.

Angie: So if you have a Brick and Mortar business, go into Apple podcasts and search up your city name and see what pops up and see if any could be a really great place for you to share your story or whatever it is that they are highlighting on their podcast because then you can get in front of a local audience and they can hear you and your story and that, you know, I think everyone has this craving for local now.

Angie: And when you can hear the owner and learn a little bit about them and their backstory, it only sort of deepens that perceived relationship that they have with the business.

Mellisa: And can you talk a little bit about why podcasting is so special?

Angie: Well, one, it's two humans, right? So you have been listening to my show you have revealed since I launched, which Thank you. There's that piece of it to where we're now having a conversation and I'm sure we are going to leave as friends like this will not be the last time that you and I communicate. So there's first of all the relationship that you're able to build with the host. I have recorded an episode it goes out next week, but it's really, podcast guessing is networking, right?

Angie: Like I don't necessarily need to go to some conference for four days and leave my family. I can very specifically target whose shows I'm going to be on. So there's a networking component for sure.

Angie: But then the visibility of it is once this interview on your show goes live. It's gonna sit out there in every podcast player until you decide to take it down, which I anticipate will be a very long time from now. And as your show is growing, people are going to listen to the backlog. That's what I do when I find a show I love, I binge. This weekend, I feel like I binged almost an entire podcast, all of the different episodes.

Angie: So it's sort of this lasting opportunity for people to discover you in a way that social media really can't offer, right? Because you get buried in social and I mean, shoot, you kind of can't even get noticed on the front end sometimes anymore. So I like the longevity of it.

Angie: And then the person who's listening really being able to get a sense of who you are.

Mellisa: And also the intimacy of it.

Angie: Yeah!

Mellisa: Like somebody's talking in your ear. You just really, it is. Like, whenever I interview guests, like even with Angie just now is like I kind of am starstruck because I've been listening to her so long to actually see her and talk to her across our screens. It's kind of surreal. And that's happened multiple times when I've interviewed people or guested on their podcasts. It's like, 'Oh my gosh, I've had this on my bucket list' You know, kind of thing. So it is kind of fun. But it really does gain that trust factor quickly.

Mellisa: Because I'm a podcast advocate, I also talked about becoming that expert, growing that authority when you do get on the podcast. So even if it isn't local, you become that expert, because now you are on multiple platforms or multiple podcasts so that you can promote that. So can you talk a little bit about that side of it? Even if you don't have a local business, you can still use podcasting to grow your authority. So can you talk a little bit about that?

Angie: Yeah, I think and that piece of it makes sense for people who have Brick and Mortar businesses, so one, guests on the shows that are local to you, that's a no-brainer. And then two, I would say you can do some targeted outreach, to gain that authority. So that when people then come to you, it's almost like, hey, Suzie Q on this podcast, sees that something about me is worth having a discussion over, it positions me as an expert. So it just switches something in the consumer's mind of, 'Oh, you're an expert, you're legit, you're the real deal'

Angie: And I think for Brick and Mortar business owners, a lot of industries have, you know, professional associations, professional organizations, and a lot of those, I mean, podcasting is booming, and brands are launching shows left and right. So I think you could get featured on, you know, a national organization, depending on what your studio specializes in, or even just thought leaders in that area of expertise. So you could come on and talk about whether it is the way that you work with your customers, like your actual modality. Or it could be how you run your business, it doesn't necessarily matter, because your consumer might not even be interested in that conversation.

Angie: But it does position you as an expert, which we're all kind of, you know, If there are three dance studios, within a two-mile radius, then it'd be great to have like, go to the website, check out one of them. And then you see they've been featured somewhere.

Mellisa: Yeah, I've done that a lot in my business. So that is the way I launched my online program. But I also just network with other people talking about dance and business of dance and just being a guest on there's so that then I could use that back in my blog and my social media, little clips, it just became a way to promote the business that 'Yeah, I know what I'm doing. Been doing this for a while. You should trust me with your children'

Angie: And it also I think helps with your own mindset and how it positions you internally as an expert, right?

Mellisa: Yes!

Angie: If you are talking through things you've probably never been asked before. And so you're really working through your own framework or pulling out pieces of you that you're really proud of that you've never really recognized.

Mellisa: That is so true. So true.

Angie: Yeah.

Mellisa: And a lovely way to do that. All right. Talking about being a guest on a podcast, a lot of people will go look, 'I don't even know where to start', like, 'How do I get started?' 'What do I talk about?' So what are some things, or maybe you can guide us on What you even start with?

Mellisa: People don't even realize this! Okay, let's go back to Story. Story is everything, right? People always say story sells.

Angie: Yeah, for sure!

Mellisa: And I just heard a podcast that talked about we all have a story, we all have that golden egg, and we are not using it enough. And I was like, Oh, that is so good. But how do you? You know, for that person who feels like they don't have a story? How do we pull that out of them? Or how do we figure it out?

Angie: So I think the interesting thing, especially for your listeners of Brick and Mortar businesses primarily. First, figure out what type of show you're going to approach. Is it going to be more of an authority-building show that might be outside of your local area? Or is it going to be a local show?

Angie: And to figure out what you're going to share, you almost, especially for the local ones, because we have a good number, and I live in Richmond, Virginia, and we have a good number of shows, but they all have different angles, right?

Angie: And so you have to have a topic that aligns with the show that you are pitching so you can't go into it and say, 'Well, I really want to share my story of launching my yoga studio', right?

Mellisa: First find the show and see, would that even make sense? Like, are they sharing stories of business owners? My show, when I launched it. Was focused on women, it was conversations with women in the community. And a lot of what we talked about was, 'what did they love about our city?' 'What are things that they were doing?'

Angie: So you first want to find a show and make sure that you have a topic that aligns with what that host is talking about. A lot of times in these bigger, more online national podcasts, it's a 'how to', right? Something that we're doing internally in our business and sharing it. Or, again, it could be our story. But I think it's almost more important for your listeners to find the show, that's a good fit for them, and then craft the message backwards.

Angie: Because even for the local shows, you already have a local audience listening, right? So you just need to kind of get on there, figure out what the host wants to hear and, and give it to them, you know, as it is authentic from your perspective.

Mellisa: And as she said, people are wanting guests, having guests is a little easier because you get to talk to them. And you don't necessarily have to come up with the content except for the questions. So don't be inhibited or scared to approach. If anything, the worst they're gonna say is no, but you at least have that connection. That then is the ripple effect. So let's talk a little bit about the ripple effect of being on podcasts.

Angie: Yeah, I mean, for me, it boils down. And this is actually one of the tenants of the episode that is going live next week, is that we run a challenge inside of my business, it's a free challenge, where people can pitch five shows in five days. And we support them in doing that. And we launched it last March for the first time. And I was like, I don't know if people really are gonna pinch five shows in five days, but we'll see. And we had a good number of folks sign up. And so that was a great way to bring people to me.

Angie: And then this time around. I don't enjoy social media, it is not like what I love spending my time doing. I've outsourced it before. And the conversion on social for my business just doesn't seem to warrant the expense of having someone do it. So I didn't really post about it on social, I think I put one graphic on Instagram, and one on LinkedIn. And then I curated my content on the podcasts around it.

Angie: But I reached out to people who I had made connections with primarily from guesting on their show. Now I'm very targeted with the types of shows that I pitch to. So they really all serve people who could benefit from what we do. And I asked if they wanted to be an affiliate or if they wanted to drive people to the challenge. And we had over twice as many people sign up for the challenge, as we did in March. And I almost did less marketing for it than I did the first time around. But it was because I had created and expanded my network.

Angie: And also it's not just a network of faces or names, right? They're people that I actually have relationships with that I have shared their episodes. We had really great conversations and got to know each other. So that's the piece of it aside from bringing customers in, that you almost can't put a price tag on, because you're really and then those people become referral sources.

Mellisa: Yeah.

Angie: So there is that piece of it. And then the other piece of it is as people start to hear you on shows, they invite you to be a guest on their own podcast. So it's like as you start pitching, and you start to build momentum, you almost don't have to pitch as much aside from being very targeted. You know, because the inquiries start coming to you rather than having to come from you.

Mellisa: Yeah, yeah. I love the story of your social media and using your network with the affiliate links, That's super bright, super brilliant and super. Oh my gosh! I have my social media outsourced for my Brick and Mortar, and I am so thankful because it plays on my head y'all, it's just silly. And I'm like, I've been doing this for way too long for it to play with my head, but it really does. And I just don't like it. So, it's that kind of necessary evil and we are out there consistently and I'm proud of that. And even I don't like doing it y'all.

Mellisa: Okay, so we talked a lot about podcasting, who we should be talking to, can you talk about like maybe some mistakes that you see happening when people pitch themselves? What are some mistakes and maybe corrections that you could do, things to think about?

Angie: Yeah! Well, this will be relevant to your listeners. When I launched the show. I did put, I think it was like a 'Pitch Here, Email Me If You're Interested'. And it was really eye-opening. Because for my primary podcast, Go Pitch Yourself, what we see a lot in that space is templated emails that are just very cookie-cutter. You know they've sent that same pitch out to 50 different shows. So there's that, like the lack of personalization.

Angie: What I got a lot of for the local show was people, basically, it was two things. One, I would like to be a guest on your show, like really no acknowledgement of what this show is angled for or what their story would be. And that's what you need to do as a potential guest, What's your angle going to be to serve the listeners? and be able to communicate that to the host.

Angie: And then the other pitch I got was really very almost salesy. I forget exactly, because I got a couple of them, like, 'I have a local business, I would love to share it on your show'. I'm like, 'Okay, well, it's not really that kind of party'.

Angie: It's a conversation between two women who, you know, are in the same community. And they all had some sort of story to tell whether it was with regard to their business or something they had experienced. But it wasn't really just a straight promo. And I feel like they kind of missed the mark on that. So that's where I think when you're pitching to national shows, you can kind of have your topic set. And even if you're not pitching to one of those, you can have like your key stories, like what's interesting about the way you do the work, what's interesting about how you got to do that work, right? But you don't really know what that pitch is going to be until you know what that local show is because they're all over the place.

Angie: Like some are more newsy. Some are more current events, like what's happening, you know, politically, so you really have to mirror that show, you have to mirror your topic to that show, yeah!

Angie: I know, another really tangible one is not following up. So people will spend all of this time getting a really solid pitch researching the shows that they should be on. And then they'll send the pitch and just wait. And if they don't hear back, they assume it's a no, when in reality, we're all really busy. So you got to have a pretty robust follow-up system. We do two weeks out, and then four weeks after that, we follow up again. So we do kind of like three touch points with a host before we give up.

Mellisa: Okay, I have a question on that. Do you think it's? So somebody brought this up? Like, you should have your assistant reach out. Because that makes you take more seriously? And I kind of laughed at them? I was like, No, it doesn't. No, it doesn't mean anything, if it's coming from your assistant or coming from you. It needs to be authentic and real and everything, right? You would agree with that?

Angie: Yeah, I mean, we've heard it's so funny because I've heard some people this was early on in the day when people asked me that question. They still ask me that question a lot, too. But I kind of pulled a big audience of people and was like, 'Hey, podcast hosts, which do you prefer?' And some are like, I only take pitches that are sent by the actual person. And then others were like, 'Oh, I prefer, you know, it's nice to have, you know, the assistant to pitch or whatever', like the perceived value. It doesn't matter.

Angie: Like, what really matters is the topic. For me as a host, I don't care who sends the email. I don't even care if it's like an introduction. Like if one of your friends that knows me, introduces me and says she'd be a great fit for your show to talk about XYZ. If that XYZ fits. It's a yes.

Mellisa: All right. So, great. I'm glad we are at the same point. Because I'm like, No, it doesn't really matter. It's a matter of if it works. It really is.

Angie: Yeah.

Mellisa: Okay, so you, you help people find podcasts, so you have an offer for people, right? So can you share a little bit about that? And then a little bit about what you do as a business if people are interested.

Angie: Are you open? Just a quick question?

Mellisa: Yeah.

Angie: To sharing. Like, I do feel like there is an untapped market in podcasting for Brick and Mortar businesses.

Mellisa: Yeah, let's talk about that.

Angie: So, whereas guessing might not be the best primary strategy. Definitely, we talked about, like hosting a local show could absolutely be a strategy to where brick and mortar business could be the one that gathers people and then, you are the leader of this community giver, it's genius.

Angie: But then also, there's a lot that you can do with advertising on podcasts because the listenership is increasing, right? Podcasts are only getting bigger, people are getting more tuned into them. With Spotify, you can geo-target. Last fall, our local pumpkin patch was advertising on Spotify. So it was time-sensitive. It was geography specific. And I can assure you, the vast majority of local businesses aren't even clued into the fact that you can do that.

Mellisa: No!

Angie: So there's that piece of it like advertising on actual podcast playing platforms. So I know Spotify, I'm sure some of the other players have it but that's probably the big one.

Angie: And then the other piece of it is sponsoring local podcasts. So if you have a show that's local to you, and maybe it is some show that you cannot pull a story out of your behind that would align with it to where you just wouldn't be a good guest. Maybe they don't even have guests on your local show. Just reach out to them. It doesn't need to be anything fancy. But like, 'Hey, I'd love for my business to sponsor an episode or two', they probably don't get millions of downloads, so it'd be super affordable. And then again, you can get in front of a targeted, engaged geographic audience.

Angie: That's where I feel like the untapped market is for Brick and Mortar businesses.

Mellisa: Okay, so I was listening like my brain is going... This morning I was listening to a huge podcaster, The Chalene Johnson Show.

Angie: Oh, yeah, right.

Mellisa: Right. Okay, so Instagram, just listening because it was a short episode. I was like, Okay. And I'm in Wisconsin, okay? They're from California. And, there was an ad for Wisconsin, like Door County, Wisconsin. I was like, What the hell like, wow. And I'm like.

Angie: Was it Spotify?

Mellisa: No, I'm on an apple.

Angie: Okay.

Mellisa: So I'm like, Okay, so are they? Are they going to them to get sponsorship? Or is that what you're talking about? Are they advertising on Apple? And then, like, is this kind of like a Facebook Ads for Spotify?

Angie: So I don't know what she had. Now I know that you can, depending on who's managing her ads. You can also geo-target within, this is so nerdy, but you can geo-target within your hosting platform. I believe. So. But I have to assume it was probably through Apple, but I didn't realize that you could run Apple ads on a player.

Angie: If it was specific for her show like if it was a sponsor for the Chalene show, it makes no sense that it would be, But she would probably post it in her show notes as, this episode is sponsored by Suzie Q from Wisconsin, but it might actually be through the player. You should message her and ask her.

Angie: Why not?

Mellisa: Why not!!!

Angie: It's fine.

Mellisa: It was just interesting. And you bringing that up is totally legit. There are some, that make total sense. There are local podcasts that yes, it would make sense to advertise on there. And also the demographic of listeners on podcasts, y'all, they are educated, they have a household income that's a little bit more, they're willing to spend money, they're able to, you know, they have a little bit more resources to play with. So, you know, for my industry for people that I'm connecting with, that's who we want listening. So yeah, there's that part of it, too. This was very interesting. I like the little, little rabbit trail, we went down.

Angie: And I'm like, wait, wait, I want to show this.

Mellisa: Yeah, thank you. Thank you. That's a good one. Very interesting. Okay. So tell us how you help people and what you do, and then you have a freebie for people?

Angie: Yeah. So inside of the business, we offer one-to-one services. So we do concierge pitching to where people come to us. They're like, I don't want to do anything but show up for the interview. So we handle their strategy, the outreach, the scheduling, and they're able to land podcast interviews in a very strategic way.

Angie: And we have another offer too where we'll prep all of the strategies, the pitch, and the pitch list, for folks who know they have the bandwidth to actually send the pitches, but they just want some support in developing their strategy. And then we have a program called The Co-op. It is our membership. It's just a really incredible group of people who are consistently pitching themselves. And it's great to have the training that's inside of it, as well as the coaching and kind of like a hive mind around it. So those are the three types of work that we do.

Angie: If listeners are interested, you can go to our website, thepodwizegroup.com/services, and check all of that out. And if they're interested in pitching, we have a free downloadable that actually has, I think it's six of our pitches that we've sent over the years and a breakdown of what you want to make sure you include, but that can look different. So it can be a really casual pitch, it can be a formal pitch. And I really created this to kind of pull back the curtain that it has to be perfect, right you just kind of need to be human and be clear in your communications so they can get that at thepodwizegroup.com/pitches.

Mellisa: Awesome. And then. Everybody check out her podcast. She's got some great tips on there. I'll have that in the show notes, 'thepodwizegroup'. That's your?

Angie: Yep, the company is The Podwize Group, the podcast is, Go Pitch Yourself.

Mellisa: Go pitch yourself and I just love her play on words in there. So you'll get when you listen, I love it. Makes me laugh aloud. Awesome. Angie, this is really, really lovely. And so great to see you. And thank you so much for your generous time here and sharing your wisdom and helping us Brick and Mortar studio owners be even more visible. We appreciate it.

Angie: I love what you're doing. Thank you.

Mellisa: Awesome. Thank you. All right, everybody. I hope you enjoyed it though. Go check her out. We'll have everything in the show notes. And we'll see you here same time, same place next week. Peace Bye-Bye.

Mellisa: Oh, my gosh, you're still here. You are such a rebel woman. I have to meet you. Come on over to the Rebel Women Tribe on Facebook created for Brick and Mortar Business owners just like you. In this group, we empower, encourage, and support each other. And every week I come in and share with you a tip, tool or strategy that I'm learning in my Brick and Mortar Business to help you and yours. And you guys, this is the real stuff, the nitty-gritty in real-time of what's going on. So come on over to the Rebel Women Tribe on Facebook. I can't wait to meet you.