Show Up Ready to Listen
When you meet someone new, do they remember you enough to go check you out?
Or are you just… nice?
Ahem. Nice doesn’t build your brand.
Being memorable is not about being the loudest one in the room.
Or the trendiest.
Or the one with the best makeup, cutest outfit, or fanciest mic setup.
It’s about showing up prepared.
Not prepared to sneak in your pitch, sell your book, or twist every question back toward your offer like an infomercial with a pulse.
Prepared to have a real conversation.
That means:
you know who you’re talking to
you care about the host and their audience
you ask better questions that evidence you’ve researched
and you make the whole conversation more useful, more alive, and highly memorable
That’s what I mean by being a strong co-host or guest.
Most people show up to collaborations ready to sell their stuff.
Very few show up ready to listen well enough to be engaging.
That’s the difference between a “meh” episode and a memorable one that create genuine impact and builds your brand.
Every Saturday, I drop in your inbox with good news on becoming memorable, referable, and profitable.
If you’re new here, pick one of these three areas to focus on first. If you’ve been around here for a while, do the same…and then, if you have more time and capacity in your schedule, then pick another category.
And of course, if you can do all three, do all three.
🎤︎︎ Become memorable. Your podcast should not disappear the second someone closes the app. We sharpen the idea behind the episode so your listener leaves with a shift, a conviction, something they can take action on, and they come back to listen to you again.
🎤︎︎ Become Referable. Make the show easy to share because people recommend what they can explain quickly. That’s why you need to tighten the promise of your podcast so listeners know your show is the show for them.
🎤︎︎ Become profitable. Your show should not be a weekly act of hope. We connect your episodes to your offers, your substack, and your buyer journey so the podcast becomes an owned audience asset, not another content creation treadmill.
Keep reading…there’s so much goodness inside this newsletter just for you.
xoxoxo,
Jen
Become Memorable
Very few co-hosts and guest show up ready to listen…but when you do, beautiful things take flight
Case in point: my recent interaction with Orel from Writestack.io.
I didn’t show up trying to impress him.
I cared about him, the conversation and his audience.
And because it was live, the audience got to become part of the conversation too, which made the whole thing better.
I wasn’t playacting. I was fully present.
After the live, Orel jumped into the Substack Podcast Studio as a paid subscriber.
Not because I “worked the room.”
Because I showed up with intention to have a great conversation.
That’s what people remember.
They remember whether you made the room more interesting.
Whether you asked something fresh.
Whether you sounded like a real human or a walking sales sequence.
If you want to be memorable, ask questions that pull people out of autopilot.
Avoid these B.O.R.I.N.G. Questions:
“Tell us about what you do.”
“How did you get started?”
“What’s your best tip for our audience?”
Respectfully… snooze.
Try this instead.
If you’re talking to a master plumber:
What do homeowners ignore way too long before finally calling you?
What “cheap fix” usually turns into a very expensive one?
What do people assume is normal in their house that absolutely is not?
If you’re talking to a grocery store owner:
What do people buy that tells you they’re strung out?
What’s one thing loyal shoppers notice that big chains always miss?
What has changed about the way people shop now that’s a reflection of the cultural shifts towards Uber Eats?
If you’re talking to a solopreneur:
What do you secretly hope no client ever asks you about?
What’s something you do manually, messily, or in a completely unhinged way that somehow still works?
What’s one thing in your business that looks polished from the outside but is absolute chaos behind the scenes?
Questions are where the good stuff is.
That’s where people perk up.
That’s where you build trust (and have fun, too).
That’s where you stop sounding like every other person trying to “add value” on the internet.
🎬 Your Memorable Action Step
Pick one person you’d genuinely love to collaborate with and fill in the blanks:
The person I want to collaborate with is: _____________
Their audience cares deeply about:_____________
One question they probably get asked all the time:_____________
Three better questions I could ask instead:
_____________
_____________
_____________
Our next Studio Event is happening Monday, June 29th!
Studio Q+A - Ask Jen Anything
Last chance to get all the June replays!
Only Paid Subscribers who enroll before July 1st get the profitable June Replays
Become Referable
Be the One Who Connects the Room
Inside the Substack Podcast Studio, I’ve basically become a woman on a referral mission.
And honestly? I love referring podcasters to people who need them.
The more the Studio grows, the more experts gather in the same room.
And when sharp people gather in one place, very good things happen.
I mean very good things!
People meet. People notice each other’s brilliance. People start making introductions.
People recommend someone in the comments, in the DMs, on a live, or after the replay.
That’s how meaningful rooms work.
Some people enter a room asking:
Who can help me?
I’m more interested in this question:
Who needs to know each other?
That shift changes everything.
Referability isn’t just about being great at what you do so others can refer you.
It’s also about being the kind of person who notices excellence in others and says something.
Out loud.
In public.
Without making it weird.
That’s part of what’s making the Studio so special.
We’re not just gathering as podcasters.
We’re gathering as people with skills, experience, ideas, offers, wisdom, and we’re building relationships.
The more intentional you are about connecting those dots, the stronger the rooms you enter become.
So yes, I’m absolutely on a referral mission because I know what happens when the right people find each other.
Conversations get richer.
Opportunities open up.
Trust deepens.
Business gets done.
That’s profitable referability inside the Studio.
🎬 Your Referable Action Step
Find one person you can refer, recommend, or highlight this week.
Then do these 3 things:
1. Write their name down:
2. Make a note about why they stand out:
3. Share or recommend them somewhere with zero expectations:
That’s it.
No scorekeeping or weird follow-up.
No “just making this intro in case you want to return the favor.”
It’s easier to connect the referral dots inside the Studio. Come join us!
Inside the Substack Podcast Studio, we’re connecting the referral dots!
One way to increase your referability and your profits?
Be Known.
Known for the kind of message people remember later.
Known for the kind of work people mention in other rooms.
Known for the clarity that makes your offers the logical next step.
Without your convictions, clear calls to action and a recognizable brand, you’re making it so much harder to be known. Let’s augment the Studio sessions with private 1:1 coaching to get you known, faster.
Become Profitable
Your Yes Has a Price Tag
On Episode #11 of the Substack Podcast Studio, I shared the big wins from our launch month.
Without your yes, nothing moves.
Not your podcast.
Not your business.
Not your confidence.
Not your capacity.
Not your profits.
You can have a good offer.
A clear message.
A smart strategy.
A room full of possibilities.
And still?
Nothing happens until somebody says yes.
That includes you.
Profitability is about more than having something worth buying.
It’s about being willing to take daring action before everything feels tidy, finished, and risk-free.
That’s what happened here.
The annual membership for the Substack Podcast Studio was $99 through June 30th.
And yes, that was a strong offer.
But the phenomenally fun part of the story is this:
We hit our 10 founders.
So I kept my promise and raised founding price from $597 to $697. That price will go up again as buyers come in.
Profitable businesses are not built on endless exceptions, blurry boundaries, and prices that stay low because raising them feels uncomfortable.
They are built on integrity.
On capacity.
On knowing when an iteration has done its job and it’s time to adjust.
That’s part of what I unpacked in Episode #11.
If you don’t assess your capacity as you grow, one of two things usually happens:
you undercharge and resent it
or you overextend and pay for it somewhere else
Neither is profitable.
And neither is noble.
Sometimes the most profitable thing you can do is stop hovering and make a move.
Not later.
Not when you feel more ready.
Not after seventeen more iterations in Descript trying to sell your stuff.
Now.
🎬 Your Profitable Action Step
Ask yourself:
Where am I waiting for certainty (that deep down I know isn’t realistic as an entrepreneur)?
Write down one daring move you know you need to make:
raise the price
buy the support
join the room
pitch the offer
make the ask
My one daring move is: _____________
And then?
Do it.
Our next Studio Event is happening
Monday, June 29th!
Studio Q+A – Ask Jen Anything
Last chance to get all the June replays!
Only Paid Subscribers who enroll before July 1st get the profitable June Replays.
🎤︎︎ Substack Podcast Studio is for you — the podcaster who wants to save time and make money with their podcast. Become a paid subscriber today.
Links & Resources:
Need a game plan? Book a 1:1 Mic Drop Mastery Power Hour with me to get your strategy locked in.
Ready to go all-in? If you’re at the level where you’re ready to invest $2k+ in a full-scale system build-out, start by booking a complimentary consult here. Let’s ensure your business model and your podcast are speaking the same language. https://thevirtualpodcastschool.com/consult.
SUBSCRIBER Tiers are open! As I write this on Friday, there are four 2 spots left!!! Make sure you are subscribed to my Substack! June’s my birthday month, and I just launched an exclusive, private paid tier with some sweet surprises along the way!
