How Real Connection Drives Podcast Revenue & Growth with Aransas Savas

How Real Connection Drives Podcast Revenue & Growth with Aransas Savas

Aransas Savas: [00:00:00] In this month, I signed a huge new sponsor for the podcast, not based on my downloads, but based on the community, based on the-

Traci DeForge: Quality over quantity …

Aransas Savas: quality.

Traci DeForge: We talk about that a lot. Ba- Yep …

Aransas Savas: right? Based on the level of engagement, based on the story, right? Like, all these intangibles, not the num- the numerical data.

And this is, like, a, a very large Fortune 500 company that cares a lot about data, and yet they understand these qualitative metrics. So we launched a huge new sponsor. I filled up my retreat before I could even launch it, literally.

Traci DeForge: So you don’t feel like doing a retreat like this anymore?

Aransas Savas: I, well, I didn’t have a chance to hide it, which was wild.

Literally, I had one seat left after I just told the people who attended the last one. I was able to send off a book proposal to a very [00:01:00] enthusiastic Big Four publisher who has been asking for the book from, of The Uplifters. I signed two new clients. Like, that’s a big- That’s a big month … high impact month.

Voice Over: This is the Growth Accelerator Podcast, where your host Tracy DeForge is your guide to transforming your company’s podcast into a dynamic lead generation and marketing powerhouse. We

Traci DeForge: have seen really successful monetization strategies.

Voice Over: Giving you the blueprint to elevate your podcast from good to exceptional.

Traci DeForge: It really opens up this whole other opportunity for you.

Voice Over: And unlock its true potential to drive your business growth.

Traci DeForge: I really want to make sure your foundational pillars are in place.

Voice Over: Now your host, Tracy DeForge.

Traci DeForge: Welcome to the Growth Accelerator podcast. This podcast is for you if you are a business owner using your podcast to grow your business.

I am very, [00:02:00] very excited to introduce to you our guest today, Aransas Savas, host of the Uplifters podcast and extraordinary life and business coach. Welcome, Aransas.

Aransas Savas: Thank you so much for having me. I have loved working with you and your team, and could just shout from the rooftops how, how much it’s helped me.

Traci DeForge: Well, thank you for that, and I’ll make sure that I pay that bill later.

Aransas Savas: You already have, girlfriend. As opposed, as opposed to

Traci DeForge: y- to me invoicing

Aransas Savas: you. You have paid it in success of my show.

Traci DeForge: Oh my gosh. Well, that… Well, thank you for that. And that is actually, like, not what I was thinking we were gonna talk about today, but I do appreciate that.

No, I really wanted to have you on the show today because to me, you are the epitome of someone who has built their business by starting and growing their podcast and accelerating the growth around it, for both the podcast and your business, and that’s what we really wanna get [00:03:00] into today. But first, I think that you are fantastic, and obviously thank you for saying we’re fantastic.

But let’s let the audience hear a little bit more about you. Who is Aransas?

Aransas Savas: Who is Aransas? Who

Traci DeForge: is Aransas?

Aransas Savas: Um, well, I spent my career at the intersection of behavior change and motivation and research. And so I spent about the first 18 years of my career working with Weight Watchers, uh, leading global innovation there, getting to work with rock stars like Oprah Winfrey, to really embed wellness into the brand, but also to elevate community and to help people achieve their goals.

After leaving Weight Watchers a few years ago, I was able to begin using those skills to help lots of other companies, companies you’ve heard of, of course, like Best Buy, and U.S. Bank, and Disney, you name it. My role in those companies has always been to help them find out how to use coaching to really understand their customers’ deepest and most [00:04:00] meaningful needs, and achieve them through the products, services, and experiences that they offer.

This intersection between behavior change and research has been really foundational to how I do everything, because my obsession throughout my life is understanding why people do what they do. And, and specifically, understanding women. I was raised by The most amazing women ever to exist

Traci DeForge: Which is in itself such a testimony and such a- what a gift, absolutely.

So I recently read a blog post of yours where you were talking about the fact that you used to diminish your theater background in your corporate settings, and that was so fascinating to me because I think just as women, we almost r- we, it’s, we have a tendency to apologize for some of our strengths just coming out of the gate.

I mean, I think I just did it when you complimented our team- … if I’m not mistaken. So [00:05:00] tell me about your dream of hosting a podcast and how that connected back to your business, but it really has been a lifelong dream of yours, right?

Aransas Savas: Yeah, yeah, and I mean, going back to the thing about the theater, I think for so many of us, we feel a sense of embarrassment or shame in our gifts, but also our passions.

And for me, I kind of grew up thinking theater was this thing that was about needing attention, that there was somehow an inherent shame in wanting to be seen. And the older I’ve gotten and the more I have learned about how we as humans operate, I think actually where we have the most impact and find the most joy and satisfaction and purpose in our lives is through fully embodying our gifts.

And so one of the things I talk about all the time is bringing all of our unique skills and interests and [00:06:00] passions together into what we do. And a lot of those, to your question, go way, way back. ‘Cause if I look at five-year-old me, all she wanted to do was be Jane Pauley on the Today Show, because I watched this woman lead with so much warmth and curiosity and presence, and that’s where I knew I felt most alive, when I was in a beautiful one-on-one conversation with another person, deeply listening, being fully present for them.

And so if I were to take all the little parts and pieces of me, my passions, my gifts where I know I have impact- And I add them up, podcasting became a really natural fit for me. I wanted to host a podcast for a really long time. At my prior company, I got really far down the road with trying to encourage them to invest in the power of podcasting before [00:07:00] ultimately they pivoted and focused that, uh, that marketing energy on something else.

And so when I was finally fully out on my own and fully autonomous and able to make big, brave decisions on my own behalf, I had to ask myself that most foundational question, which is, “Well, if I could do anything, what would I do?” And the truest, almost, like, silly answer was, “Well, I’d be Jane Polly- … on a podcast.”

And I would create that space for myself to listen deeply, to live in my gifts. I know what I’m good at because I’ve seen the impact of it, and I know that what I do best is I listen and I synthesize. And so, like, for me, one of the most beautiful parts of being a podcast host is the feedback I get from my guests.

Traci DeForge: So for those of you who aren’t familiar with The Uplifters Podcast, share with our audience not [00:08:00] only the drive behind it, but what is The Uplifters Podcast and what is it doing for the world?

Aransas Savas: So I think as women, we inherit a lot of messages that tell us that after age 40, we should be playing small, we should be packing up our ambition and our dreams, tidying them away, and investing all of our energy for the second half of life in helping other people do big things, because we are past prime.

It is too late. It would be selfish

Traci DeForge: to

Aransas Savas: go after- Okay,

Traci DeForge: I missed that message, ’cause I think I was just getting started.

Aransas Savas: I think that’s true for most of us, Tracy. That’s the thing. I’m like, “Really? That’s a thing?” And yet, and yet we are told, like, those are our caregiving years. We’ve got the incredible expense, in many cases, of caring for younger generations and older generations simultaneously, and there’s so much demand on our energy that we kind of tuck away all of that dreaming [00:09:00] for ourselves.

But I was, like you, raised by people who were showing me a different way of approaching the second half of life. My great-great-grandmother’s life really blossomed after age 50. My great-grandmother, who I’m so lucky was with me until I was in my mid-20s-

Traci DeForge: Oh, wow …

Aransas Savas: she became an entrepreneur in her 50s. My grandmother who raised me became a runner in her 60s, in her 70s, her 80s, and her 90s.

She was learning and growing. She became an architect and architected multiple homes in her 70s. That’s amazing. In her 80s and 90s, she was waking up every day and going for a run, and doing the yo- doing yoga and the splits. And my mother, in totally different ways, came into her own in their second half of her life.

And so like you, I didn’t believe I was supposed to pack up all my ambition. [00:10:00] And yet, if you look at the media that surrounds us, and you look at the broader storytelling that we’re receiving, it’s telling us to get quiet And so I wanted, with the Uplifters Podcast, to center the stories of women who were doing big, brave things in the second half of life so that we could all believe in that potential, so that we could all say, “Wait a minute, I don’t have to stop doing big, brave things.

I’m actually biologically primed to do big, brave things in the second half of life.” There’s research now from Harvard that shows that women’s growth mindset actually peaks in our 40s. And of course, in the second half of life, we’ve accumulated so many resources that we can rely on, like incredible networks of people.

Traci DeForge: Right. Well, I mean, the whole it-takes-a-village mindset isn’t just about raising children, right? I mean, it’s just about life in general. Yeah. Right.

Aransas Savas: Yeah.

Traci DeForge: And, uh, I mean, even just, [00:11:00] like, today when we were, we’re recording this podcast, we had a different set of strategy that was planned for the day, and then we had a team member that wasn’t able to be here like we thought.

And so I was like, “Okay, Aransas, you gotta jump in and, and help us out.” And because, because with Produce Your Podcast, I mean, it feels like you’ve actually become a part of the Produce Your Podcast family because we’ve been working together now in this capacity for several years. Yeah. Let’s talk about how we got started with this dream of yours being, having the Jane Polly, the Aransas-

version, uh, which is fan- fantastic, of the Uplifters Podcast. What was going through your mind when you decided to make that commitment to jump into those pre-launch strategy sessions and be like, “Okay, I’m gonna take this out of my dream state and put it into the tactical state”? Like, tell, tell me about that process for you.

Aransas Savas: I have half-assed some things in my life. I [00:12:00] think we all have, right? Like, I’ve half done it and sort of hidden things and, you know, I’m like, “I’m launching a retreat, but don’t look at it.” So I’ve very quietly been like, “I’m doing this thing,” and then I’m like, “Uh, nobody wants it.” Many of us, especially entrepreneurially, fall into that trap of kind of quietly offering things to the world and then feeling disappointed or frustrated when they don’t happen.

But-

Traci DeForge: Or happen to the degree that your, your expectation- They- … but maybe not owning your part in the fact that the being seen part was the vulnerability, so you just chose not to be seen. Correct. I mean, I’m just talking about it. Correct. Just asking for a friend. You don’t know.

Aransas Savas: You don’t know. This is never happening again.

Traci DeForge: Ever.

Aransas Savas: But I knew with this- It really mattered to me, and I knew that it was my true answer to what I would do if [00:13:00] I could do this one thing all the time. If I could talk to inspiring women all day, every day, and have an impact with that, like, that would be my dream life. And so I came to you with this vision of, this is who I wanna serve, and this is what I would like to achieve with this podcast, and I came to you really ready to commit to being in this and to giving it my all, and to saying really loudly, “Y’all, I’m making this podcast, and I believe in this podcast.”

But I knew, as with anything, I couldn’t do what I wanted to do alone. Because if I set out to do it alone, then I was setting out to do it small And I wanted to do it big, and so that’s why I enlisted the best. And I came to you and I said, “Okay, I wanna make this great, so let’s make it great together [00:14:00] so that I get to use your 30-plus years, all the technology, all the teams that you have so powerfully built to make my dream come true,” because I wasn’t gonna be able to do all that from scratch.

Traci DeForge: Well, and nor did you really want to, let’s face it. Like, you really wanted… I mean, even if you had- Not- … tried or even- I could’ve. I could’ve spent the next

Voice Over: decade …

Traci DeForge: I mean, you could have, yeah, learning it, but you really wanted to be able to focus on- But you know what, you got that … building the dream of that.

Right.

Aransas Savas: Yeah.

Traci DeForge: And then- I wanted- … really aligning yourself with the expertise … expert to expert. Right. Well, the pre-launch strategy for your show, as I recall, was, was very powerful because you did have… You were very clear about, “This is what I want to have for the show. This is where I see the show going,” but you were also really open to being creative about how to get there.

Like, I think that’s one of the things that is important when you come into a strategy session for launching a podcast. You need to be [00:15:00] able to be flexible about being open and willing to explore different possibilities, different possibilities on formats, different possibilities on audio versus video, and you were really open to that.

What was one of the things that you took away from the pre-launch strategy that you felt like was a really strong catalyst for the next steps for your show?

Aransas Savas: Yeah, I mean, I think in our work together pre-launch, you really helped me understand how to translate my idea and my energy into a powerful format that could have impact.

And so yeah, I understood the people I was talking to. I understood their needs and their values. I understood these stories, but I didn’t understand the format, and so that’s what I mean when I say expert to expert. You know more about this format than anyone, and that’s why I wanted to work with you above a- all [00:16:00] else.

I understood my content, and that’s why I was the perfect person to tell these stories. And so when we were able to meet expert to expert and translate my ideas into optimizing for the power of this specific podcasting format, that’s when we were able to create impact together.

Traci DeForge: One of the biggest takeaways for me that really has your pre-launch standing out amongst the, I mean, now hundreds and hundreds of pre-launch strategies that we’ve done, there was a real human side to your pre-launch strategy, and it’s, that showed up in ways like your daughter, Savannah, who I’m such a big fan of, wrote the music for the open of your show.

One of the things that we worked together on was, you know, w- defining what is an uplifter, and you going out into your network and asking women to really answer that question and, [00:17:00] and really putting that into the open of the show. So there was so much human elements being brought into what is designed to be, and has successfully become, a business model.

Yeah. So we were able to, you’ve used the word intersection quite a bit today, and I love that. Like I said, we were able to really bring the intersection of this human piece that was an extension of you and your humanity into the framework of a really strong business development platform to then build a community that has such a broad human outreach and core to it.

Aransas Savas: Yeah.

Traci DeForge: I love that.

Aransas Savas: And, and you’re so right. We knew that community was at the center of this, that this wasn’t about women doing things alone. It was about us doing this together, and so that’s why it was important to have a community, a chorus of voices in our opening and not make it about me.

Traci DeForge: Right.

Aransas Savas: It was why it was important for me not to have my own face [00:18:00] on the show art.

I wanted it to have anonymized communities of women that we could all see ourselves in, that weren’t narrowed down by shape, size, color, age, but rather these unifying factors of women coming together. And so we tried to really embed that sensibility in everything we did, including how we shaped the show.

Traci DeForge: Right. Right. And you tapped into your beautiful network of artists to create… Your cover art is literally a ver- uh, is a, an expression of original art, which I absolutely love. That was amazing. And then another unique thing that stood out for me also when you were talking about community was at the core of developing the show, and the chorus of voices were important, it was our only time in Produce Your Podcast, PYP, history that we’ve actually gone externally out, year to date, to really get a focus group of [00:19:00] other women’s voices and their insight.

So we created the strategy together, but before we actually launched the podcast and started building the show, we went into your network and had a, to use your words, chorus of voices to give us feedback on what we built together to ensure that you, we, were on the right path. That was a phenomenal experience for me to be a part of that, to see mirrored back to us the things that we had put out there.

Tell me about your- So

Aransas Savas: there’s a few- … perspective of that … things in there that I think are really helpful and that have served us really well. Number one, it helped us frame our idea in a way that was meaningful to more than just you and me.

Traci DeForge: Right?

Aransas Savas: Because it wasn’t for you and me, it was for our audience.

And so getting their opinions on what the shape of this should be from the outset was really important. Beyond that, it also started to create co-ownership [00:20:00] of this show, because all those people who provided feedback, suddenly they were invested in this community. They wanted us to be successful because they were heard and they were a part of its creation.

And then thirdly, it gave you and I so much shared data about our own partnership and how we continued to sustain this show over 150 episodes now, because we were starting with shared insights. And so that’s where I think what we got to see is my expertise and your expertise and our audience’s expertise all were able to merge into a collective, unified vision for this show.

Traci DeForge: Absolutely. So 150 episodes in-

Aransas Savas: Yep …

Traci DeForge: what has been the one thing that has kept you going? ‘Cause 150 episodes, we do not take that lightly around here.

Aransas Savas: Yeah.

Traci DeForge: So tell me, what has, what has been [00:21:00] the, your key to the success of 150 episodes?

Aransas Savas: It’s not the number of downloads, that much I can tell you. And there have definitely been days where I’m like, “Is this okay?”

And then it seems like every time I have that little fear thought, something bonkers amazing happens. And so it’s like, somebody just asked me, they were like, “So how was your month?” And I really sat back and reflected on my month for a minute. And in this month, I signed a huge new sponsor for the podcast, not based on my downloads, but based on the community, based on the- Quality over quantity

quality.

Traci DeForge: We talk about that a lot. Ba- Yep.

Aransas Savas: Right? Based on the level of engagement, based on the story… right? Like, all these intangibles, not the num- the numerical data. And this is, like, a, a very large Fortune 500 company that cares a lot about data, and yet they [00:22:00] understand these qualitative metrics. So we launched a huge new sponsor.

I filled up my retreat before I could even launch it, literally.

Traci DeForge: So you don’t feel like doing a retreat like this anymore?

Aransas Savas: I, well, I didn’t have a chance to hide it, which was wild. Literally, I had one seat left after I just told the people who attended the last one. I was able to send off a book proposal to a very enthusiastic Big Four publisher who has been asking for the book from, of The Uplifters.

I signed two new clients. Like, that’s a big-

Traci DeForge: That’s a big

Aransas Savas: month … high impact month. Now, all those things didn’t come from this month. They just all happened to close this month. They all came from the last two years of watering the garden. And so some weeks I feel like I’m just watering the garden, and I’m like, “Is this [00:23:00] thing working?”

And there are times when I’m like, “Oh, I need to move the plant, and I need to, you know, get it some more sunlight or less sunlight.” Right? Re- and then there’s times when I’m just, like, watering, and it feels a little bit routine, and it… I’m not sure if the buds are gonna, like, come up out of the surface. And then there are months like this where it, like, explodes, and you’re like, “Oh, it’s springtime here.”

Right. Or I guess it’s fall now, so I should say harvest.

Traci DeForge: It’s evergreen. It’s fine.

Aransas Savas: Harvest.

Traci DeForge: Well, you’re harvesting now, but you’ve been planting and growing- I’ve

Aransas Savas: been planting and watering … seeds and watering. I think it’s important to remember for our motivation that this stuff is not linear.

Traci DeForge: One of the things I’m hearing you say, and I think it’s so important for any person who is really building anything, but most specifically a podcaster who’s coming into their show, and they want all the things all the time, and they want what they want, and they want it right now.

Everything you want, you can achieve, but it takes a plan, it takes a [00:24:00] strategy, it takes execution, and it takes time.

Aransas Savas: Mm-hmm.

Traci DeForge: There’s a phrase that I heard that I really like. It was out of context for this, but in context for what we’re talking about, which is consistency compounds over time. Mm-hmm. And so if you think of it like the financial markets, it’s very similar, and you are a testimony to that being a factual statement, is…

And, and maybe walk us through these last two years and share a little bit about your pathway so that people can be inspired by what… Where did you start when you were thinking about a sponsorship to getting there? Where did… What were you creating about a retreat before you filled it? What have you, have you…

Did you go into the podcast with a book? Like, there are a lot, there’s a lot that’s been happening for you over the last two years.

Aransas Savas: The truth is, while I am a strategic person, I actually think the core of my strategy has become, what is this moment perfect for? And it’s a question I ask every client I work with [00:25:00] over and over, because I think we have this tendency to come up with visions and ideas, and we’re like, “I’m gonna work toward that.”

And there is power, right, in a targeted approach. And I have seen much, much more impact from holding that loosely and maybe saying, “How do I wanna feel? What, what feeling am I working toward? And what’s giving me that feeling?” Right? For me, that feeling is usually impact. I wanna feel impactful. I don’t feel thousands of downloads.

That’s not a feeling, right?

Traci DeForge: No, that’s a metric.

Aransas Savas: It’s a metric that provides a feeling of impact.

Traci DeForge: It does, but it also can provide a feel of, a feeling that if your, if your mind- That’s it … is around your metrics, then it can feel deflating. You can- Correct … feel disappointed. You can shut down. It

Aransas Savas: can feel like you’re not having impact.

Yeah. So that’s what… We’re saying the same thing here, which is that-

Traci DeForge: Right …

Aransas Savas: [00:26:00] I challenge myself to chase impact, not numbers. And so I’m asking myself, like, “What’s working?” My friend Karen used to say, “What is the way that’s opening?” And so instead of trying to, like, push a vision in like of, “I’m gonna get X number of downloads by this date, and I’m gonna just, like, force it by any means necessary,” I’m gonna say, “Well, what are people asking for more of?”

So I started this show not focused on late bloomers. I started it focused on women doing big, brave things. And I was talking to all these amazing trailblazers and change-makers and people who’d experienced personal transformation. All that was wildly inspiring. It was only over time that I understood that what my audience wanted more, and was most energized by, was when those stories were stories of late bloomers.

So the funnel narrows, right? And I think it is this continuous process of listening and learning and [00:27:00] responding that has kept me energized as a learner and a creator, but it’s also kept my audience engaged, because we’re kinda going down this road together. They’re teaching me, and I’m taking those lessons, and then I’m making changes to the format so that it better meets their needs, which better, which better impacts me and my goal of having impact with the show.

Traci DeForge: I think one of the things that’s really often underestimated as a benefit for hosting a podcast long-term, and we’re gonna put you in the long-term category… You know, once you go over that 100-episode milestone, you definitely qualify for that, is the actual connections and networking and resources that you get to tap into as the host because of the women.

OMG. And so I’d love for you to share about

Aransas Savas: that. Can I tell you the smartest thing I did? Yes, please. And I think I remember when I told you I was gonna do this, you were like, “Oh, that’s really smart.”

Traci DeForge: I’m sure I did.

Aransas Savas: And I do. I tell people all the time the best gift I gave myself when launching this [00:28:00] podcast, other than working with PYP of course, was this: I ask each guest to nominate the next guest.

Traci DeForge: Oh, that’s right, because

Aransas Savas: that came up in- So I have a- … our strategy a bit, yes … lot of amazing guests. I have a, an extraordinary community I never could’ve or would’ve accessed. I find so much pleasure and satisfaction in introducing my guests to one another, and I get to do it every week. Because now there are so many of them, and they are all so incredible and so inspiring that I can reach out to a woman 20, 40, 100 episodes ago and say, “I just met this woman that I feel like you should know.”

Right. I’ve come across those women because a woman who admires them has brought them to my life. And this platform, and so it becomes this beautiful, um, uh, self-sustaining community. The other secret though that we haven’t talked about that I think nobody [00:29:00] tells you necessarily when you start podcasting is how valuable it is in terms of showing what success looks like.

So I don’t think I understood it for sure that so much of what people are interested in buying is shown and not told.

Traci DeForge: Okay, you’re gonna have to b- get more specific about that- Uh-huh … ’cause this is so important.

Aransas Savas: So I actually didn’t know. I mean, I know I am a damn fine coach. I know I’m really good at it.

I know I really love it, and I don’t like tell, talking about it in a salesy way feels really, like, inauthentic to me. I just like helping people, and I like being that partner for them, and so I never felt great saying, “I’m a coach.” Uh, ’cause it-

Traci DeForge: So what you’re saying here, then I’m [00:30:00] gonna pull this back around to podcasting.

So what I’m hearing you say is, is that your podcast with the most heart-centered intent of impact and connecting community and building community, which you have done very successfully, has also been a platform for you to show and tell your skillset as a coach so that people who- I

Aransas Savas: don’t even have to tell is my point.

Traci DeForge: Right. Well, I just- What has

Aransas Savas: happened- … wanted

Traci DeForge: to shoot with my show

Aransas Savas: and tell. Right. No, but I think that’s the, that’s the thing that’s been so shocking to me, is that I don’t have to tell.

Traci DeForge: Right, is that the s- I just show … the podcast has been a way for people to connect with you on that level and think like, “She could work with me.”

Like, I, I like how- It’s

Aransas Savas: so much more authentic because now they know what I do. I don’t have to tell them I’m good at this. I don’t have to have anyone tell them I’m good at this because they can just see what happens, and so that, like, proof is in the pudding aspect of it. So what

Traci DeForge: you’re saying is… Now, I think I want to get really super clear on this, so because we talk a lot about [00:31:00] the importance of calls to action.

Aransas Savas: Uh-huh.

Traci DeForge: What I’m hearing you say is that your call to action is s- is not something that’s overt, but it’s basically- I

Aransas Savas: do that. I say, “Listen to my podcast.”

Traci DeForge: Right. But- That’s

Aransas Savas: my CTA …

Traci DeForge: but no, call to action would be- … and if you wanna b- utilize my coaching services, find out more at, like, or in-

Aransas Savas: Yeah, and maybe someday I’ll add that, but it’s been so powerful just to exist in my superpowers- As a podcast host

Traci DeForge: Right.

And as an effect of that- It’s so authentic … then people have connected back and wanted to work with you.

Aransas Savas: Yes.

Traci DeForge: Now, is that working with you in terms of showing up for your retreats and showing up for your Substack community, or is that, like, literal one-on-one? Like, have you- Literal one-on-one … grown the business through the podcast, through the coaching?

It’s

Aransas Savas: all of it. It’s consulting, it’s coaching, it’s writing books. All of it has come from the demonstrated proof of [00:32:00] efficacy that is seen in the podcast week after week after week.

Traci DeForge: And the energy that you’re bringing to the mic. Yep. Consistency.

Aransas Savas: Yep.

Traci DeForge: Okay. So I know you to be scrappy entrepreneur, and I think, and I say that- It’s true

as a very much a compliment. I

Aransas Savas: invest in

Traci DeForge: very

Aransas Savas: little except the greatness that is UIP.

Traci DeForge: Well, I mean- I

Aransas Savas: keep a very small tech stack.

Traci DeForge: Well, we keep a very large tech stack. I

Aransas Savas: know. Three podcast specific ones just-

Traci DeForge: Bless you … just so you know, as you know. But no, I mean, in all seriousness, I do respect your conservative approach to business building.

So I think it, it, that makes it even more important to talk through why having a partner supporting you in your podcast is something that you do make a conscious decision to invest in, and why is that important to you, and why has that been a, a strong return on your investment?

Aransas Savas: So many reasons. Number one, it’s meant that I don’t have to [00:33:00] do it alone, and it’s meant that I’ve had thought leadership and expertise in my corner so that I don’t have to be an expert in all things podcasting.

I just have to be an expert facilitator. I have chosen to lead guest recruitment on, and, and relationship building because that’s just a really important piece of it for me. And so it’s allowed me to focus my energy and time where it matters most by putting my money on the things that are less good uses of my time and energy.

But it’s also ensured that I stay consistent.

Traci DeForge: It’s like having that personal trainer versus having a gym membership.

Aransas Savas: Correct. That’s the perfect analogy. ‘

Traci DeForge: Cause you’re gonna show up for that trainer ’cause you’re, you know- Mm-hmm … use it or lose it, basically. And the same with… I mean, in, in terms of the accountability piece, I think that’s al- often an overlooked benefit of working with a full service podcast production agency because [00:34:00] the way our team is designed, like we’re gonna check on you.

Like we’re- Yeah … we’re not going to just assume you’re not pro- Elise,

Aransas Savas: um, just a reminder, I need next week’s episode.

Traci DeForge: Right. Exactly. Yeah. Or y- and, and then also even the strategy piece, like one of the things that I’ve really loved to see, and y- and, you know, we’ve used a lot of plant metaphors, but like bloom, blossom, grow, alongside your show, is you tapping into the strategy piece because at different levels of growth, you’ve experienced different challenges.

Mm-hmm. Let’s talk about maybe some of those and how we’ve overcome those together.

Aransas Savas: Different challenges with growth? Yeah. I mean, I think- Well,

Traci DeForge: even just like, you know, production, engineering, audience growth, like I feel like we’re always having these really great conversations about what’s next.

Aransas Savas: Yeah. I mean, I think- We as humans need to feel like we’re growing or we get bored.

And so because I believe in this, because I really want to keep doing [00:35:00] this, that’s meant that I’ve had to invest in growth. And so you and I regularly have connected to say, “Okay, where could we have more impact in this area? Where could we have more impact in that? What are you learning, Tracy, from working with 160 other podcast hosts that I could apply to my show to help me have more impact?”

And so that to me is a big part of the power of collaboration in any area, right?

Traci DeForge: Absolutely.

Aransas Savas: And so I’m gonna always need that because I’m absolutely certain that if I were to just do what I’m doing Without iteration or innovation, I would get bored, the audience would get bored, the impact would decline, and I wouldn’t keep doing this.

Traci DeForge: Well, and one of the things that I’ve observed from working with you on the strategic side is that it really has empowered you to take your level of [00:36:00] discernment to the next level and kind of merge that scrappiness with discernment to make really… Because you’re all about the data, I know that and I love that about you, but I think our partnership has worked really well in that way because it has empowered you to then have these decisions and really analyze them and make the right decisions for you and for the uplifters.

Aransas Savas: Absolutely. And again, it’s like that expert to expert thinking. One of the things we haven’t talked about that I think is maybe useful to folks who are new to this game is to talk about the time element of this. So when I think back to baby podcast host Aransas, a lot of the things now that just, like, fit into the margin of my day felt like they took more brain power and time then.

And I think that’s true for anything, right? Like, we, in the beginning- Building

Traci DeForge: the muscle of the- Mm-hmm … productivity. [00:37:00]

Aransas Savas: And in the beginning of doing anything, things feel more cognitively complex. And we as humans, because we are in the moment, think, “Oh, this is gonna take a lot of energy and a lot of time forever if I’m gonna keep doing it.”

But that is not true at all, especially for something like this, which you can build processes around, and you can build a support system around, that very quickly what feels hard changes, and that threshold changes. And so it allows us to add more complexity to our processes, more nuance to what we’re doing because we have more capacity to invest in it.

So it’s like- Two hours a week dedicated to my podcast gets me a whole lot more now than it did in the beginning because I’ve learned so much over two years of [00:38:00] doing it.

Traci DeForge: Right. Well, and I think the, the other side of that story from our perspective is, is that we are so deliberate about honing our systems and processes for efficiency for our clients because, I mean, I always tell the story about Produce Your Podcast didn’t come out of the fact that I woke up one day and said, “I wanna start a full service podcast production agency.”

It came out of the, the fact that I woke up one day and wanted to start my own podcast and looked around and was like, “I’m gonna need some help with this.”

Aransas Savas: Yeah.

Traci DeForge: And I have always continued to maintain that, but focusing on what’s best for you, how can we take more off of your plate and streamline the efficiency so that when you’re showing up to the mic, when you are connecting with your guest, that you’re still having fun doing it.

Aransas Savas: Yeah.

Traci DeForge: Like, that is the most important thing, is, like, if you’re not having fun doing it, guess what? You’re not gonna do it anymore.

Aransas Savas: At 150 episodes, I feel like I am just getting [00:39:00] started.

Traci DeForge: Yes. And you’re having fun. I

Aransas Savas: wanna

Traci DeForge: do

Aransas Savas: this

Traci DeForge: forever.

Aransas Savas: I’m having the best time. And yeah, every once in a while I’ll have a couple of weeks or a month where things start to get a little, like, flat, and I’ll come to you and I’ll say, “How do we wake this up?”

And we put some fertilizer on our plant

Traci DeForge: Right. Or we very, even more specifically, we’ll be like, “Okay, w- we can look at, like, where are the gaps?” Or, like, where are… Is it the… Is it your organic messaging? Does that need to do… In fact, the most recent thing that we did, and I love, love sharing this because y- you are two years in, we did launch your show, so we know for a fact that it was launched very at, for top of the line at the time, foundationally- Yeah

speaking. And so I didn’t have to audit w- the original work, which we do a lot, but yours we know where the original work came from, and it was exceptional, if I do say m- so myself. But the key of what I’m trying to say here is that [00:40:00] two years in, we have a conversation about, okay, if we need to get to the next level of growth, this is not a set it and forget it-

Aransas Savas: Mm

Traci DeForge: situation. So we are taking that SEO discoverability tech, we are revisiting your show description. Your show is not the same show we wrote a show description for- No … two years ago than it is now. The world

Aransas Savas: has changed.

Traci DeForge: The world has changed, the algorithms have changed, SEO has changed. SEO has just catapulted in its, in, like, it’s not a nice to have anymore, it’s a need to have.

So that’s one of the things that I’m really loving about where we are, where you are right now, is that now we’re really being able to be like, “Okay, nailed that first sponsorship. How is that gonna keep the integrity of your content in place?” Yeah. And that’s a very important conversation for where you are right now because you have built a loyal and trusted community.

You can’t just slam them with all of a sudden, you know, messages from Fortune 500 companies. Although they serve you well, on the b- back end, you would need to make sure that they serve you well on [00:41:00] the front end. So we’re having those kind of conversations now that are still technical and tactical, but they’re also still very focused on

Aransas Savas: growth.

It’s partnership.

Traci DeForge: Right.

Aransas Savas: I’m not doing this alone. We’re doing this together.

Traci DeForge: Right. Okay. So with the GAP, the Growth Accelerator Podcast, we always like to do a little workshopping, take advantage of the consulting that you have access to. Okay. So where we go from here, what do you need some help on that you would like for me to, um, give you some quick down and dirty strategy on right now?

Aransas Savas: Hmm. So, I mean, I think we are at a really interesting time for search. I learned this yesterday. People’s, uh, Google searches are on average five words people’s AI searches are on average 26.

Traci DeForge: Mm-hmm.

Aransas Savas: So our [00:42:00] behaviors are completely different in these two platforms, right? The LLMs, large language models, versus the traditional search engines.

Our behaviors are different and what they’re pulling is different. And so one of the things I’ve really been thinking about is, like, what does that mean for us in terms of how we optimize for new search?

Traci DeForge: Right.

Aransas Savas: Which is gonna be some blend of traditional SEO, which was just new five minutes ago. Uh,

Traci DeForge: right.

Aransas Savas: Uh-

Traci DeForge: We just figured out 10 minutes ago before-

Aransas Savas: I- …

Traci DeForge: it changed five minutes ago.

Aransas Savas: Right, I know. The world- No … is changing so fast. And new search- Yes … which is LLMs.

Traci DeForge: Right. So in a nutshell, um, to workshop this just for a moment, the solution, I’m just gonna go ahead and tell you, the solution- Okay … is guesting on more podcasts, making more podcast appearances on other shows with like-minded audience, and here’s why.

Because with a Google search, it’s going to go more vertical into those f- those five or six keywords that you’re [00:43:00] saying there. That’s gonna go vertical into the depth of your, what you have on your website, your show note summaries, all of those things, um, work really well for Google. In fact, Todd Cochran always said, you know, “Write your show notes for Google, create your content for your audience.”

But the difference with AI is they’re about the old adage of f- um, there’s nothing old about AI in terms of this, but the adage in traditional media is frequency and repetition. Mm-hmm. So what AI is doing is it’s going wide, not vertical. Mm. So the more times and more frequently you’re showing up as a thought leader, you’re amplifying your voice, you’re seen- Mm-hmm

in that industry expertise space- Mm-hmm … the more podcast appearances, more guest appearances that you’re on, the more times you’re showing up more frequently, the more likely you are to show up in an AI overview. So that’s why our audience growth strategies right now that we’re recommending are, yes, full service, amazing broadcast quality audio and [00:44:00] video, and audience growth acceleration so that you are expanding your reach outside of organic.

And the third, and this a key, is showing up on other podcasts and talking about your podcast to an audience who’s already listening to podcasting, already listening to podcasting about the content that you’re putting out there that they love, and then they get to know you, and they get to meet you, and they get to love you, and then they come to your podcast.

So hopefully that was helpful for you in terms of how to optimize mo- showing up more in AI overviews. Yeah. And obviously you’re gonna wanna keep the Google train going-

Aransas Savas: Yeah …

Traci DeForge: but increase your visibility across the board to- It’s a

Aransas Savas: both/and. Yeah. That makes perfect sense. Yeah,

Traci DeForge: absolutely. Yeah. I obviously would love to continue this conversation for hours and hours, but I know that there are people in the audience that are going to wanna connect with you and continue the conversation.

So what is the best way to [00:45:00] connect with you, Aransas, and The Uplifters Podcast?

Aransas Savas: So one of the unconventional things I have done is that my podcast show website is also my Substack So the easiest way to connect with my show is at theuplifterspodcast.com, which will capture your email. Pro-tip. It’s a really nice way- Yes

to get folks’ emails when they- It’s a strategy … listen to your podcast. Um, but

Traci DeForge: it’s- Website URL, going name of the show, going straight to the .com.

Aransas Savas: Wanting it out.

Traci DeForge: Capturing an email so that you can communicate with the listeners. Yeah. Love it.

Aransas Savas: Yeah. A+ And email is power. Thanks. But if they wanna know more about the breadth of the work that I do, aransassavas.com.

And if you think you’ve put in enough S’s, you probably haven’t.

Traci DeForge: Well, we’ll also have that linked in the show notes for those of you who can’t spell it. Um, okay. Well, thank you. You have been an amazing collaborator, an amazing partner, [00:46:00] and just do… Just keep up all of the success that you’re already curating, compounded, consistently building over time, and everything is possible.

Aransas Savas: I can’t wait to see where we are in 150 episodes more.

Traci DeForge: More. So that would be 300.

Aransas Savas: Correct. Stay tuned. That’s gonna be a party. Yes. I want party hats for 300, please.

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