Episode 254: How Starting a Podcast Can Help You Grow Your Virtual Assistant Business with Andria Singletary

Full Episode Transcription:

[00:00:00] Arianna Vernier: Hey y’all welcome back to the Virtual Assistant Mama Podcast. On today’s episode, I’m going to be interviewing Andria Singletary. She is a podcast coach and strategist and she’s just going to be sharing a lot about how. Podcasting can really help you find those clients who value you, respect you, and pay you well. The clients that are the best fit, your dream clients, and how podcasting is probably a lot easier than you think. So I’m so excited for y’all to hear from Andria. She’s got such great value in this episode. So let’s just go ahead and dive right in.

[00:00:38] Arianna Vernier: Hey, Andria, thank you so much for coming on the show with me today.

Andria Singletary: Thank you for having me.

Arianna Vernier: Yeah, I would love it if you could just start us out before we jump into today’s topic. I’d just love to know a little bit more about you, maybe about your family, a little bit about how you got into being a podcast coach and strategist and just all the things.

[00:01:03] Andria Singletary: Okay. Yeah. So, again, my name is Andrea Singletary. I’m a wife. My husband and I celebrated five years of marriage this year in May. Then we have two little ones, a one year old daughter and a three year old son who they both keep us really busy. So I am a podcast coach and strategist, but did not start out that way. My background is actually in early childhood. I started out as a preschool teacher assistant, worked my way up to a preschool director, and then when the pandemic hit, I was pregnant with my son, had him. April 2020. So like at the height of the pandemic. And so while I was actually on maternity leave, the school I oversaw shut down. So I did not have a job to return to, but it worked out great because I was already contemplating like not going back. I always knew that when I had kids, I wanted to be a stay at home mom, just to be present for all those first moments and everything. So that first year home with my son. I was actually in grad school to become a speech therapist.

[00:02:14] Andria Singletary: I had started the program, I think a little bit before I got pregnant with him. But after that first year and just how much of my time it consumed, and I just didn’t feel like I was the present mom I wanted to be, I decided to disenroll from the program and started looking at. Things that I could do from home because I did want to contribute to our household and just to kind of have something for myself as a mom. So I started out as a mom blog, which I think many moms do that, especially new moms, we start a mom blog, want to share our journey and everything, but I really enjoyed building my own website. And so. I started offering that as a service where I was just designing people would like purchase a template and I would design it, customize it and everything to match their brand. And then I started exploring becoming a virtual assistant. And so I launched my virtual assistant business October, 2021. Really interesting. Cause I had a one year old and I was 12 weeks pregnant with my daughter. So that was fun starting a business. while dealing with all the hormonal things you deal with when you’re pregnant.

[00:03:27] Andria Singletary: So I did that and my business actually took off fairly quickly. It was a lot of fun, but I quickly got burnt out because I was offering so many different services, everything from web design to blog copywriting to general admin, pretty much anything you could do as a virtual assistant. And I realized like I needed to niche down and find something that I really enjoyed and could really build a business that fit my current season of life. So I became an avid podcast listener when I had my son. I mean, a big part of that was because I, you know, during the pandemic. That support you normally get as a new mom. I didn’t get that. You know, we were all social distancing and everything. And so I needed somewhere to turn where we could normalize the things I was experiencing as a mom. And so started listening to so many different podcasts geared towards moms and. I wondered, like, who supports these women with getting their podcasts out there and everything. And so, did a whole, like, Google search, went down a rabbit hole, discovered podcast management. I ended up taking Lauren Wrighton’s podcast manager program.

[00:04:46] Andria Singletary: And literally I finished the program, I think a week before I went into labor with my daughter. And then a few weeks after that, I landed my first podcast management client. And I’ve just been with it ever since really just growing and learning more about the industry and how to best support my clients and eventually pivoted into more of a coaching and strategist type of role.

[00:05:12] Arianna Vernier: That’s Amazing. I see so many similarities between both of our stories. I started my virtual assistant business when my daughter was born. She’s four now. And then I have a son who’s one and a half. So kiddos around the same age, same desire as you just wanting to be home and be that present mom witness all my kiddos first. So I just absolutely love your story and I connect with it so much and shout out to you just for chasing those dreams and realizing that You could be that present mom and still provide for your family and have that thing for you, like you said. So that’s amazing.

[00:05:49] Andria Singletary: Thank you.

[00:05:51] Arianna Vernier: So today’s topic, we’re mostly talking about how podcasting can help people grow their businesses. A lot of the people on this show are virtual assistants or interested in becoming virtual assistants. And I just want to talk about how having a podcast can help them. Land more clients and just grow their business because a lot of times it’s overwhelming looking for new clients and all of that. And I think the idea of starting a podcast can also seem overwhelming to people. I personally know it’s not because I’ve been doing this for a while, but it does seem like that at first. So I am just so excited to pick your brain. I think the first question I want to ask you about is how can podcasting help you or help? whoever’s listening, simplify their marketing for their business.

[00:06:44] Andria Singletary: Yeah. So one thing I like to look at podcasting as it’s just another way of creating content. And so as a business owner, you have to create content. If not, people aren’t going to know about your business. And so because a podcast, it’s long form content. One, you’re able to take that podcast episode and repurpose it for other platforms. So again, you got to create content already, but if you’re able to take a long form piece of content, and then you can break it up for Instagram, you know, repurpose it into a blog and You know, for all of these other platforms, it makes your content creation process a lot easier, but it really creates this cohesiveness in your messaging. And 1 thing we know, like, when it comes to messaging and, you know, the buyer’s journey and everything, people need to see, like, the same messaging over and over again before they actually take action. So you’re basically setting it up. With your podcast to kind of do all of that work for you, because you’re pushing this content out on all these different platforms, but it has that same messaging, so that’s one of the things that does for you also to with a podcast, like when you leverage podcast SEO, you’re going to attract your ideal clients, those best fit people who are ready to invest because the podcast platforms, they are searchable.

[00:08:13] Andria Singletary: And so people search them looking. For specific answers to their questions, there was a survey done like a few years ago by the podcast host, and they found that 40 percent of people said that they search podcast platforms to find new podcasts versus going to Google, going to social media and different things like that. And we know podcasting, it has grown so much in the last few years, and it’s continuing to grow. So it’s a really strategic way to market your business, but also to as busy mamas, creating a podcast episode is a lot easier than trying to record a real, like, let’s just be honest about it. You know, especially you have little ones at home and everything. One of my coaches, she actually will sit in the middle of her bed, record her episodes on her phone while she has her little ones, you know, sleeping by her and everything. And she has like a top 1 percent podcast. She’s this amazing business owner and everything and has landed so many clients through her podcast. So. Just thinking about your current season of life and like what you realistically can commit to as far as like marketing your business, I’ve found that like for myself and my clients like podcasting has just simplified that for us.

[00:09:37] Arianna Vernier: I agree. I think it seems like one extra thing to add to your plate first, but then when you actually get in, you’re like, oh, I can actually take this. You can take this one episode, turn it into like five Instagram posts, two emails. Like, it just kind of, it’s that one big piece that you can then break down into bite sized pieces for all the other platforms. So I love that you mentioned that. And another thing that you mentioned was that it just helps like build that trust and makes it a lot easier for clients to say yes. And when they find you and they, they’re listening to you giving that free value, they’re a lot more likely to buy from you if they already have that trust in.

[00:10:22] Andria Singletary: Yes. Yeah, exactly. And you know, when you’re growing your podcast audience, these people are literally like you’re in their ears each week. And I know like a lot of the podcasts I listen to, I feel like the host is like my friend, like we have this close relationship and you know, the things that they’re saying is like, yes, I resonate with that 100%. And for me personally, like, I’m more likely to buy someone if I listen, like buy from someone if I listen to their podcast versus like going and trying to consume their Instagram content or something like that. Like, it’s just something about hearing someone’s voice. And again, you really resonating with their message where it’s like, you built that connection and it’s like, yes, I want to work with that person.

[00:11:12] Arianna Vernier: Definitely. So we talked about the trust aspect, building that trust with potential clients. What are some of the other benefits of adding a podcast to your business?

[00:11:24] Andria Singletary: Yeah, so one, just building that authority in your niche. I can say again for both me and my clients, like our podcast has opened us up to opportunities that most likely we wouldn’t have gotten or at least not have gotten so early on in our business journey without our podcast. It’s like it gives you this new level of credibility. So like for me, I was recently invited to speak at a podcasting conference geared towards moms. If I didn’t have my podcast, it didn’t matter that I was a podcast coach or strategist. I probably wouldn’t have gotten that opportunity, you know, because these are mom podcasters who want to learn from other mom podcasters who’ve reached, you know, levels that they want to get to. One of my clients, she’s landed, like, major sponsorships with companies in her industry, all because of her podcast. Now, she had a YouTube channel before she started her podcast, and it has a pretty big following, but she’s never landed any sponsorships through that YouTube. Channel. It took her adding in that podcast. So it’s just it gives you this new level of credibility. But again, like, you’re really able to demonstrate your expertise and build your authority. And I think just because of the type of platform, it is because you are able to freely speak and incorporate your personality and, you know, different things like that. It just opens you up to more opportunities.

[00:12:58] Arianna Vernier: Yeah, I agree. And I think with the social media platforms like Instagram and TikTok and whatever, there’s already so many people on those platforms that, that your content can get lost in the noise. But there is a way less percentage of podcasts. Now there’s still quite a bit of podcasts, but it’s way less than like all the Instagram accounts and all the TikTok and all the everything. So it’s, like you said, it’s just a really Easy way to reach that ideal client that you’re looking for, instead of just putting out a post on Instagram and hoping they’ll see it, you’re really targeting specific people when you’re using that SEO in your podcast. And for people who aren’t familiar with SEO, it’s not as hard as it sounds. It’s just using terms that people would be searching for if they’re looking for help in a specific area.

[00:13:50] Andria Singletary: Yes, that’s basically what it is.

[00:13:55] Arianna Vernier: So, what do you think are some misconceptions that people have about podcasting?

[00:14:01] Andria Singletary: One of the biggest ones is that people think that it’s a huge time commitment, and it’s not. It’s really based on you. You can make… 10 minute episodes and still have a very successful podcast. I think one of my shortest episodes is like eight minutes long, and it’s one of my most downloaded. So you don’t have to do super long episodes like they don’t need to be an hour or anything like that. And I actually don’t recommend that because, you know, people. People’s attention span and everything like they’re going to tune out probably after 30 minutes. So that’s 1 of the ones that I see come up often. And also to the tech aspect, people get really overwhelmed by the tech and you don’t need a fancy setup. You don’t need to go buy all of this equipment or anything like that just to get started. You can buy a microphone. I always recommend a dynamic microphone because it doesn’t bring in all of the background noise and different things like that. It’s better for like, recording at home. But even if you don’t, you’re not ready to invest in equipment.

[00:15:14] Andria Singletary: You don’t have to use a microphone, you know, like I mentioned earlier, one of my coaches, she records in her phone. You can just pull out the voice memo app on your phone and record in there. So don’t let the tech overwhelm you. You don’t need the fancy equipment, fancy setup or anything like that. Like you just need something that you can record and whether you use your phone, whether you are going to hop on zoom and record that way, you just need somewhere to record. Then you need your podcast host. And that’s pretty much it. Like, there are people who they literally publish their episodes as is, don’t do any formal editing or anything like that. And that is okay. Like, I always say it’s best to take messy action so you can get started and then you’re going to learn as you grow. But if you don’t take that first step to get started, then you’re never going to get to the next level in podcasting.

[00:16:13] Arianna Vernier: Absolutely. And even with like the, with editing episodes, the tool that a lot of people use to edit episodes is audacity. I know that’s what I use and it’s free. So you could even just download it, record yourself and then just practice editing, removing the ums and it doesn’t have to be anything more than that if you don’t want it to, it’s, it’s super simple and I love what you said about the time commitment and not taking as much time as a lot of people think, and you don’t have to get looking cute like I was just in my jammies recording a whole bunch of episodes, and I didn’t have to do my makeup or anything, and I can have my kids, if my kids are in the other room playing and I want to come record a quick episode because I have something on my heart, then it’s I can do that, but if they interrupt me, I can edit that out. And it’s a lot harder to do that with, with videos. So it is really conducive to moms. And like you said, that those bite sized episodes, they don’t have to be super long. Mine are not minor, like 10, 15 minutes. Most of the time you got to think about who your audience is. Cause like I know my audience is mostly moms and you don’t have a ton of time or the attention span to listen to a long episode. Their kids are distracting them. So I got to get in and get out with my message. And so, yeah, it doesn’t have to be, like, hour long episodes that are gonna take you so much time. You just get to the point, teach what you gotta teach, get out, and then, like you said, you can use that content everywhere, so that’s awesome.

[00:17:44] Andria Singletary: Yes.
[00:17:46] Arianna Vernier: What would you say, just an estimate, how long do you think it would take somebody to record an episode a week? How much time do you think that would take them a month to have, what is that, four episodes a month?

[00:18:01] Andria Singletary: So one, if you are like outlining or scripting your episodes, that’s going to help a lot with cutting down how much time you’re spending recording. So if you’re keeping your episodes like 20 minutes or less, I would say just for like that recording piece, anywhere from two to three hours is all you need. Again, it just depends on how long your episodes are, but yeah, it really. It’s, it’s all up to you basically is what I’m getting at. So you determine how long your episodes are. And if you do shorter ones, it’s going to take you less time to record. You may be able to batch record two months worth of episodes, especially if they’re like 10 to 15 minute episodes. So, yeah, I would say anywhere from like two to three hours.

[00:18:52] Arianna Vernier: Yeah, I personally do two episodes a week. And like I said, they’re 10 to 15 minutes ish each. And. I’ll batch record a whole month’s worth of episodes at a time. That usually takes me about two hours to get them all done. And then the next week is when I’ll do like all the show notes and all that. And then the following week I’ll do an outline for the next month’s episodes. And then the following month is like all the social media post scheduling so you can break it down like that. If you don’t want to do podcast recording every single week. I know for me, there’s some weeks where I’m just like, I just do not have the words this week. I’m getting all tongue tied. I try to plan specific weeks where specifically in my cycle. I know I’m going to be a little more fluent and eloquent, not getting not stumbling around. So, yeah. Yeah, I think you can definitely plan it out that way as well, or like you said, batch recording and staying in one zone, just recording for a couple of hours, and then the next week doing something else. And that’s really helpful as well. And it takes a little bit less time if you can batch like that.

[00:19:59] Andria Singletary: Yeah, definitely. And there are some things too that you can kind of like put in place to kind of cut down the whole production time. So like, I have templates already created for my show notes and those templates are housed on my website. I use show it integrated with WordPress. So I have it saved as a draft or literally I just copy and paste and I just fill in the missing pieces, you know, from my blog graphics, I have templates created. So again, just changing out the text or if it’s a guest interview, changing out the photo and different things like that, so there are things that you can already do ahead of time just to cut down that entire production process.

[00:20:39] Arianna Vernier: Yeah, absolutely. So how has having a podcast benefited you and how has it helped your clients with their businesses? What, what changes have you seen since you’ve done your podcast and your clients have done theirs?

[00:20:53] Andria Singletary: So for me personally, I, before I started my podcast, I really struggled with landing clients for my heights, higher ticket offers. So like my VIP podcast launch, and I was attracting those people who just weren’t in that position to invest. And since adding my podcast, I’ve been able to sell it. With no issues, like the people who find me through my podcast and they want to work with me for launching their podcast. There’s no objection to the price or anything like that. I consistently am able to close those cells and everything. And even when we get on a sales call, it’s more so just like a formality, like, so we can see each other face to face, but also to, to kind of just discuss like what’s required of them. So it’s really been a great way for attracting those best fit people for my higher ticket offers. I’ve also been able to land a lot of people for like some of my lower ticket offers through my podcast. So like just promoting my offers on my podcast and having new people come into my world and everything. And I’ve. Like, they’ll find me through my podcast and they’ll follow me on Instagram and then they’ll start messaging me and asking me different questions. And then it’s just more so like figuring out how I best can support them and everything. And so it’s kind of like, Just that whole process of selling innocence has been simplified because my pop up there and when we get to that stage of deciding on how we’re working together, it’s just more of again, talking out the logistics and everything that’s been really nice in that.

[00:22:49] Andria Singletary: Like, I know a lot of times people feel like they have to convince people to work with them and different things like that. And it’s. I don’t have to do that. You know, I’m attracting those best fit people and then just opening up opportunities to guest on other podcasts, especially like some of the top rated podcasts and everything and growing my network in general. I’ve been able to connect with so many other amazing business owners who, you know, We have that business relationship, but also just developing that friendship with as well, especially like other mom business owners and stuff. And so just growing my network that way has been phenomenal. And for some of my clients, one story that I know your audience will really enjoy is 1 of my clients. We started working together a year ago. She came to me. She was a stem teacher at the time. She’s had her shop and everything. She had a YouTube channel and stuff, but she, you know, decided to start a podcast cause she really wanted to use her podcast to drive more traffic to her TBT shop, as well as to eventually launch more offers. And so when we first started working together, she said, Andrea, I want to leave the classroom at the end of the school year. I was like, okay, you know, let’s make that happen. And so we did, like, we really were intentional in the type of podcast content she created. Literally within the first few months of us working together, she doubled her T P T cells compared to the previous year. And then at the end of the school year, so May of this year, she put in her notice and she left the classroom and she was so excited ’cause her. First month, officially not being a teacher. She was able to earn her teacher income just through like her TPT cells, as well as some of her other offers. So it was through her podcast that she was really able to do that. She was able to reach more of her ideal clients. But also to really just get her name out there and get like, she got a few paid sponsorships. She got a paid keynote speaker opportunity for a major conference in her industry. And so it was through her podcast, though, that all of these opportunities were presented to her.

[00:25:14] Arianna Vernier: That’s so amazing. I love hearing those stories of just like how it’s helped. And like we mentioned before, when we listen to podcasts, we see the hosts as like our new best friend. And so when they’re hopping, when these potential clients are hopping on a call with you, they’re seeing you already as like their new best friend. So like you said, it’s just a formality of like, Yeah. Seeing what they need, what you need from them. And then they’re like already ready. They’re already in, they’re ready to go sign that contract, pay that invoice, all the things. So I love that. I think that’s really helpful for people to know that it’s easier to land those clients if they’ve already got that trust in you.

[00:25:52] Andria Singletary: Yes,

[00:25:54] Arianna Vernier: So this has been so great and I think that it’s going to help a lot of people who are overwhelmed by the aspect of marketing their business. Just understanding that podcasting is a really great way to meet those new potential clients. Those new dream clients that are just going to light you up. I’m going to build that trust and just help you attract those people who are the right fit. I do want to have you share some of your resources and where people can connect with you because you’ve got a great resource and I know people are going to want to become your new best friend, but I do want to ask you a question first that I ask every guest that comes on the show, and it’s if someone wanted to start their journey out of their nine to five, but they just felt too overwhelmed, what would you tell them?

[00:26:40] Andria Singletary: So, basically the same thing I told that client who wanted to leave her 9 to 5 is really sit down, what do you want to do once you leave your 9 to 5? You know, what do you want your life to look like and everything? But also kind of figuring out what do you actually enjoy doing? So, if you haven’t, you know, started a side hustle yet or anything like that, Start exploring that, you know, looking at what your gifts are, what your skills are and different things like that, and seeing how you can turn that into a business. But you really have to kind of make a plan and really map it out, especially transitioning from a nine to five to full time entrepreneurship. There’s so much that goes into it. I mean, not just even thinking about financially, like the mindset shifts you have to have. Especially you’re going from employee to CEO, really getting crystal clear on what your goals are, what you want your life to look like your business to look like start there and then as you have that vision, you’ll be able to take action. But without the vision, you’re not going to be able to take that action.

[00:27:59] Arianna Vernier: In the teacher world, we call it backwards designing towards your goals, and so you have to have that goal that you know you’re working towards and then figure out what steps you’re going to take to get there. And if you don’t have a game plan, you’re going to find yourself. On the wrong street in the wrong neighborhood, not even close to where you were trying to get. So yeah, I agree 100%. So thank you so much, Andrea, for coming on today. Where can people come connect with you? What resources do you have to share? Give it all to me.

[00:28:29] Andria Singletary: Yeah, so I have my own podcast, Mama Turned Mompreneur Podcast, and I just reached a hundred episodes. So super excited about that. But yeah, on my podcast, I share my journey as a mom and business owner. I provide a lot of podcasting tips, whether you’re in the starting phase of launching a podcast or you already have a podcast and you’re looking to grow and monetize it. I provide a lot of tips and strategies for that, as well as have guest experts on to share about their journey as a business owner and mom.

[00:29:04] Andria Singletary: So that’s one of the main ways you can connect with me. I’m also pretty active on Instagram. My DMs are always open and my Instagram handle is @mamaturnedmompreneur. And then I do have a free podcast launch guide. Where it literally walks you through the entire process of launching a podcast. It also has a resource guide, letting, you know, like, what equipment and recording and editing software that I recommend, especially those that are either free or more cost effective. So you can download that as well.

[00:29:41] Arianna Vernier: Awesome. And for those of you listening, I will have all of those resources where you can connect with Andrea and her freebie in the show notes so you can grab the links for those there. All right. Thank you so, so much again, Andrea, for coming on today. It has been such a blessing having you and I cannot wait to get this episode into my listeners earbuds.

[00:30:03] Andria Singletary: Thank you for having me.

[00:30:05] Arianna Vernier: All right. Thank you guys so much for listening. Make sure you go and follow Andrea, get her free resource, connect with her, become her best friend. She’s amazing. And I just think she’s going to help you all so much with reaching those dream clients, building that trust with them, and really helping you market your business so you can replace your income and, yeah, just completely start working from home. I love y’all so so much and we will see you in the next episode.