Amplify Your Authority: Leveraging Collaboration With Podcast Hosts with Melanie Benson

Hello, everyone, and welcome to today's episode of the Marketing Media and Money Podcast. I'm excited that you're here and I am really excited about the topic we are going to be talking about today. Because we are going to be talking about how to activate a steady stream of great leads by collaboration with podcast and show host and how this can be a massive authority booster, as well as a source of million dollar visibility. So today, my guest is this is her this is really her claim to fame, her walk the talk, for sure. So she is an authority amplifier and a possibility igniter for expert foreigners showing you how to be a million dollar authority. With over 12 years experience in corporate America and 21 years as an entrepreneur and coach Melanie specializes in transforming wisdom, into wealth through powerful mindset shifts, influence boosting strategies and aligned visibility that generates an endless supply of clients and opportunity. She's the host of the one and a half percent podcast. amplify your success is author of rewired for wealth and entrepreneur.com Startup Guide to starting an information marketing business and has been featured and authority magazine, Bloomberg Businessweek Women's Day parenting and marketing media Money Magazine. So thank you, Melanie, for being here with me today. Yeah,

I can't wait to add that last magazine to the accolades list. Right.

Exactly. But by the time the podcast comes out, you already will be so we'll jump right on that. Yeah. So let's just jump right in. So talking about podcast hosts and show host. You have a podcast too. And like you said, it's in the top one and a half percent podcast, amplify your success, what would you say have been some of the most insightful moments or lessons you've learned from your guests.

There's been a lot of them. I actually just published a newsletter on this because I learned so much. And part of it is that my guests are constantly finding that like next big thing. They're they're searching, they're testing, they're figuring things out, I've learned everything from the way they need to be thinking. Interestingly enough, as a rule, every guest I've had has said that the big turning point in their business and in their life, was learning to think like a seven figure earner, or being able to step into consistent visibility. They talk about strategies that are performing well for them from collaborating all the way through doing things like virtual speaking tours, or what's working right now on Instagram, or how LinkedIn is shifting and what you need to be doing there to stay relevant. But you know, interestingly enough, one of the things that every single one of them has said over time is they wish they would have had invested in like a mastermind or a mentor much earlier. Like those were real game changing moments for them. So yeah, I mean, I could do the whole episode on just what I've learned from my guests.

Isn't that a wonderful thing, though? So I love it. A lot of times when I am thinking about who I want to have on my podcast, it really comes from my audience or my clients saying, You know what, Patti? I'd really love to learn more about this. And if that's not something that I'm an expert on, it's like, oh, well, let me go and find that person here. Right? And what a great ways to put them on a podcast, and really be able to see what are the behind the scenes things? What are they doing now? That's working not 10 years ago, or five years ago, but what's working now? And I think that is one of the great things about having a podcast and about collaborating, because I find that the people who guest on my show often become the people that I collaborate with. So I think that is kind of what we want, right? Yeah.

And I'm glad you brought that up. Because that to me, is this is how you get to date. Before you get married. Or at you get to have an you know, I'm often exploring people's content online. It's why I teach in my programs that you need to have a consistent, brand aligned presence on social media, not just your kids and your cats because people like me and like you. We're constantly staying tuned into what's being shared on social media. And we're often going to invite somebody to our show, rather than wait to get pitched because you don't know the quality of the person that's pitching you. And we date when we have the conversation on the podcast. I want to know is there synergy? Do we create good energy together? Do you show up and be a good guest when it's your turn to showcase the episode and you're done? immunity. And that tells me a lot about do I want to collaborate further with this person?

And for me, especially as somebody who does events, I will always have somebody on my podcast before they're ever on my stage. Right? You know, I mean, it's a, it's a great way to be able to see, like, what they understand about what collaboration really is, right? It's not just slapping something on Facebook and saying, I was really excited to be on this blog post, right, you know, so there's, there's a lot more. There's a lot more to it than that. So, Melanie, you've been instrumental in helping entrepreneurs activate that steady stream of leads through collaborating with podcast and show hosts? Could you walk us through some of the like, foundational steps of this strategy? Yes.

So I'm been affectionately calling it tapping into million dollar visibility streams, borrowing Million Dollar, visibility streams, from colleagues, and sometimes even your competitors. Because anybody that has a platform, a podcast, a magazine, an event, you know, that they're booking speakers for, they have a need for content, they can't do all of it themselves. And little known secret, we can unpack this more if it fits. But when you have a podcast, getting traction, if you're only doing your own episodes is so much harder than if you collaborate with other people, and you invite guests in. So this is a accelerator to reach new audiences to collaborate. One of the things that I think we find is a lot of people are trying to get in front of these kinds of audiences, but they don't really have a foundation that's going to make them bookable. Oftentimes, what gets skipped is Oh, I know my stuff, I should just be able to talk and tell stories and have a great conversation. But you don't really have a topic that makes you stand out from everybody else. Everybody that talks about marketing starts to sound same, everybody that talks about health and wellness starts to sound the same, everybody that talks about, you know, social media starts to sound the same if you don't know how to craft compelling and magnetic topics that cut through the noise, and amplify your the energy of what you can bring to the table. So you got to have a really clear, compelling, and I like to call them magnetic topic, because that is like that's your calling card, that's what gets you you know, the door open in the first place. And you've got to be able to have, like a track record of some kind, you can't just be a flash in the pan and expect to get on high profile shows and, you know, amazing magazines like yours, that you can't expect for top podcasters to say yes to you, if you don't have a track record of consistent visibility and value driven content like the that's what you were referring to earlier when you look on people's social media. So we actually vet our guests, when they pitch us on social media to see what kind of content are they publishing? Are they actually sharing the episodes of podcasts or shows or events that they're speaking at? And how do they showcase it? Do they have people engaging with them? So that tells us a little bit about a what kind of fan base you have? Or what kind of audience you've been cultivating with the culture of your community is, but it also will tell us like you said, like, is this content and thought leadership that you have spent time developing? Or are you kind of trying something new? And now we don't know like, how well is that going to be received by our audience? Have you worked out all of your sound bites in your brain work so that what you can deliver on the interview makes sense? So I think the third thing is, you need some kind of credibility. And in this marketplace, when everyone starts to sound the same, there are certain things that help you stand out as an authority in that, Can you are you recognized for the work you do on the world? Do you you gave me such a generous compliment earlier. And I remember exactly how you said it. But you said something to the effect of like I live and breathe this. Well, this isn't something I learned from somebody else. And now I teach. This is a proven strategy that I've been using for over 20 years, to quickly build buzz and momentum, and to stand out in my marketplace and to be able to collaborate with other people but be massively valuable in the process. And we've known each other for quite some time. You know, I have been literally been doing this for, you know, over two decades. And I think that's what we want. Like we're in a somebody said this the other day, I'm not going to note remember who it was I can't give them proper credit. But we're like in a trust tsunami in this marketplace. We have trust issues. We have so many people that are touting one thing, but living something else behind the scenes and we want to know that we have trust and credibility was somebody that we want to learn from. And the way to do that is by a Association and be backing it up with proven strategies and a track record that you can speak to that you can demonstrate.

Now, I think we live in a world and why we have that trust issue is because for a while now, we haven't been able to believe what we hear. But now we really can't always believe what we see either. Right, you know, so we know that, you know, we live in a world of fake news. But I don't think you can fake people for very long, maybe one time, but I don't think you could do it for very long. And that's why I think it's so important. You know, with my podcast being about marketing, one of the things people say to me all the time makes me laugh so hard when they say so Patti, you put people on your podcasts that talk about marketing. I'm like, well, because my podcast is about marketing. That's why people listen. Yeah. Otherwise, I just have a solo show. Right? So I feel like, I'd love it when somebody comes in tells me that they do marketing. And I'm like, well, that's great. But what do you do? Like, what's your book? Like? What's the what's the thing? Your differentiator, right, like your magnetic thing? Because that's what my audience wants to know. They want to know, oh, Patti, because this is what you do. You're bringing people on the show, and you're our go to person who I know that the guests you bring are going to do that. So I think it is very, very important. And then because we do live in a world of collaboration, that's how I built my business, is by collaborating, right? Yeah. So what would you say are some of the key benefits that entrepreneurs can expect from collaborating with other podcasts and show hopes in terms of lead generation and authority building? Because I think a lot of times people just worry about getting in front of their people, which of course, that's a strategy to stop the strategy we're talking about today. But it is a strategy, but specifically, since we're talking about collaborating with the hosts, what would you say some of the benefits of that are? I passed a whole list, but your

Yeah I could go on for a while. Well, I mean, let's take a step back for a second. And just make sure that there's alignment first. And I think that's where the most powerful return on the investment of your time, your energy and sometimes financial commitment is, you have to make sure that there's an aligned audience. And let's just take a step back to this idea of, well, why would you have a competitor on your show? Okay, I talked about marketing, you talk about marketing, why would we have somebody that teaches something similar? I think this idea of competition is a very scarcity oriented mindset, right? And yes, there are moments where there's like, people are just so doing the same exact thing, it wouldn't make sense. But most of the time, and this is where you get great content and aligned audiences is us somebody who shares something similar, but there's just enough of a difference to it, that you're not teaching the same thing. And often, that person's teachings or programs creates a need for what you do. And if you can find the synergy, or the I teach this and then you teach that piece of it, then you've got a very powerful platform to be in front of that actually speeds up your path to attracting ideal clients. Because the people in their audience already need and want what that person teaches. They may not be aligned with that particular mentor, or they may have already done work with them and they're like, Okay, I've gone as far as I can with that person. Or maybe they're just a little bit ahead or just a little bit hind or that person specialized and they need other people that are the guests. So a it is a very, very powerful client attraction accelerator. Be Alissa's actually think what you and I both done, whether we did it consciously or not. You're borrowing influence from the person who invites you to be a guest in their platform. I want to go back in time to 2002 I think it was and I had just started to get a lot of traction in my business. And I was masterminding and collaborating with some other really big name marketing experts in our field. And at that time, I was still a newbie, I was still kind of emerging as somebody with an expertise. At that time, I was teaching people how to get out of overwhelm. That was my first product. And I was being invited to very influential stages. So you know what was happening, instead of people going well, who the heck is this? Melanie Benson. They're like, Oh, she's on that stage. Oh my gosh, well, she must be something important or she must have something really valuable. And that time to purchase was shortened. Why? It least 50 to 70%. So I would have by hairs coming through faster because I was borrowing the credibility and the influence of the host. I think the third thing is, when we think about how to really stand out in a crowded market, let's just say authority by association can actually help elevate your how quickly your material gets read how quickly your audios, get listened to your videos get consumed, whatever you're doing, when you are associated with other people that already have the know like and trust factor, you're going to be able to step into that know like and trust factor quicker, instead of having to cultivate it for decades on your own.

And then when I think when you collaborate, this is how I have done it really is, when I collaborate with them, it like gets you to the marketplace faster.

That's really what it is it opens that door, what I was able to accomplish in the first two to three years of my business would have taken me a decade on my own. But you know, I had broken six figures within three years, and literally within nine months of really getting traction and figuring out what I was doing him because it took me a little while I was like a fish swimming in the ocean trying to figure out what my thing was. And once they figured out what my thing was, and I knew what pond to really be in, everything changed very rapidly.

So what would you say to entrepreneurs on how to identify who those right podcasts and shows are to collaborate with to get the most maximum impact?

You know, I get I get asked this question a lot. And I think that first of all, we have to decide what is our definition of collaboration? Are we willing to collaborate with people to co create new visibility, new opportunities and speed up that path to market? And if we're willing to collaborate, that means you're going to open up a much greater realm of podcast hosts and collaboration partners? I think the first thing I'm looking for is do we share enough similarity in our values, and in what we teach that I believe this person is cultivating an audience that I make sense to be in front of? So that's one of the things I bet that very heavily. Secondly, do I believe that there is a one time transaction here? Or is there a lifetime of collaboration potential? I'm looking for lifetime collaboration potential, whether that lifetime is a year or 10 years, or I'm still collaborating with people from two decades ago. I'm still finding new ways we keep reemerging in each other's lives. And I really believe that if we go in with the long term concept, how do we co create for life? Like how do we keep supporting each other, then I want somebody where I know, okay, we're going to find unique ways to give each other visibility to put each other in front of our each other's audiences. One of the reasons I have a show, Paddy was because I originally knew I needed a platform that would be massively valuable to potential collaboration partners, I wanted to give visibility and have a opportunity to activate that reciprocity, and be massively generous right out of the gate. And so lifetime collaboration is my thing. And then third, to I like this person, right? Do they make collaborating fun? Or do they make it so much work? I'm like, I'm out. I can't do this. And I think people forget, we need to make collaborating together. Joyful, fun, you know, it's like, it's gotta be, it's not easy. Let's say business is not easy as a rule, but we want to make it easy to support each other. Because if he feels like work,

Why feel to like when, like, when you're talking about the lifetime thing. Now, that doesn't necessarily mean every single thing you do, you're going to do together. So people start thinking your business partners, right? You know, but the reality really is, when does it make sense? And once you build a relationship, which is what we're talking about when you collaborate in kind of scenes together and brings you joy, and it kind of feeds your soul when you're like, Oh, that was just so easy. And it was fun. And, and you really like it? Well, then what happens is you start thinking for the future, and why it kind of goes that way is because you start thinking, wow, that was really great. What else can we do? Yeah, it sounds like it was the plan from the beginning. But they were like, Oh, wow, that was really great. What else can we do? And then it's like, what else can we do? And so yeah, he'll like, that works great. And then just kind of by what we're talking about in collaborating. When that happens, you end up introducing them to other people that you're collaborating and that's where the magic really happens, where you're like what you know what, such as such I know is actually doing this event and they could use somebody who did Does what you do. It's not the right fit for me this time. But I would love to have that happen for you let me do that introduction. And so that's actually a form of collaboration in itself. Right? You know, I, I do so many introductions, I bet you, I used to keep track of it. But I know that I have done, I have done more than 3000 introductions that actually led to something not just, you know, we do know what back of the day people would do introductions, and I'm sure that everybody that's listening has had somebody introduced them to somebody and said, such and such is amazing. And you should know her and, and you will love her and I can't wait to you know, I mean, while that is beautiful, and it, you know, makes my heart sing, it doesn't actually lead to something without more information or context than Yeah, right. You know, they kind of bury the lead. So I feel like for me, it is all about how do you do an introduction, that really sets the stage. So when they have a conversation, I've already done some of that work for them, right. So that when they have the conversation, like, okay, she said, we should connect, and then they spend half their time together trying to figure out why when I could have just told them at the beginning, right, you know, so I feel like I really fine tune that process. But I love when you're thinking about. So when you're thinking about collaborating with podcasts, and radio show hosts, you already have the thing in common, right? This is the thing in common that you already have. So it's really like, how can we compound on that? So what would you say would be some strategies for approaching podcast and show hosts about those collaboration opportunities? I like you know that there's things to do to get them to say yes, right. Yeah. Then I also want to say before you do that, sometimes, when people say no, it's just no, not now, like the timing just isn't right. It doesn't mean it's no, correct?

Well, I think, let's just start with the fact that you need to know what your value is in the greater collaboration pool, right? And I know a lot of times people second guess their value. They're like, Ah, I don't have a list or I don't have a show or I don't have anything I can give right now. Well, if you know, what you are, and what you're about, and what your recognized authority is, I think the fundamental piece that everybody has to do is really figure out what am I willing to give in the collaboration model, so that I can be massively valuable. If you don't have your own platform, learn how to be the most powerful, and the most engaging guest you can possibly be. And I'm happy to share a tool or resource actually, that I developed around that because this is where most people drop the ball. They don't know how to bring it even if all you're doing is creating buzz around the episode that you're featured in most hosts. So if you tell them Well, look, I've got, you know, 10,000 followers, or I've got 100,000 followers or 200,000 followers, or whatever it is that you do. I'm happy to showcase you several times to that audience. Pure goal. Most podcast hosts are salivating over that right? Especially once you've identified that there's a content or topic or something you have expertise in, that wouldn't be really engaging to their audience. So figure out how to be a great guest. Now let's put this on steroids. This is where the compounding effect really takes over. Hold. I love the compounding effect. Yes, it's so powerful. And by the way, part of what happens with the compounding effect is when you are being featured on somebody's podcast. First of all, you're opening that relationship, you're nurturing a new relationship with the host. But there are so many other people that are going to hear this and invite you every single time I featured. So generously on someone show I get another two to three, maybe five interview or speaking requests that come out of that. So that's that's one tentacle, if you will, of how that compounding effect takes over. Well, the other thing that happens is, now let's say you don't have a podcast of your own, but you're like, I know I would probably score so many more really great opportunities to be a guest. If I had a way to give visibility. Well make something up. If you got a social media platform, you have an asset, offer to interview them to your social media community. If you're on Instagram, do a live stream series when your episode goes live. Interview them back on your streaming service wherever you stream your video. There are so many different ways I once had a guy very early on. We're like in you're going on your six in my podcast, but the very first year, this was one of my friends and I said hey, you know I'll interview on my show. And he said I want to give something back to you. He's like you're such a great host you have so many great Questions? How about I interviewed you on my Facebook profile? And I was thinking to myself, I don't know what, you know, this guy isn't really going to have my people at his audience. I was so wrong. I got five clients from the interview series he did on his Facebook profile. And it was like a 20 minute conversation. And so I don't think we oftentimes recognize the power and the value we have in simple things. Like, let me send an email to my community for you. If you don't have a podcast, find a way to have a gift. That's just as valuable as what you what they're giving to you in terms of the visibility. I know, you asked me another question in there.

No, it's just more like, what are like some of the strategies for approaching them?

Okay, and you're gonna approach Yes, sorry. So, the approach? Well, first of all, if you have a give lead with the give, open up the door, the second thing that you can do is do your research. It would blow your mind, Patti, and I sure you get this to so many people don't research. They're just hiring booking agencies that are blind pitching, whatever popular show they know about. Do your research, find out the people who are really serving your audience are having conversations that you know, you could contribute value to, and create a very thoughtful and very host oriented pitch and say, Look, I've been loving this podcast, here's what I've learned so far, here's some episodes, or here's a conversation that was really meaningful to me, I happen to have a topic that I think would be really great, what would be the best way to pitch this topic to you find out how they want to be pitched. And don't just blind pitch them in the in the, the DMS of the social media, the minute you guys are friend connected, you know, like be like,

I'd have to tell you, the best pitch I ever got. And I use this example all the time, because I thought it was just so phenomenal. is on my social media on Facebook, this person posted on my social media like this, post it on there and said, Patti, I would love to be on your show. I listened to this episode told me what the episode was said, I feel like I could add to that conversation. And I already went and left a review of your show. And then because we know that review, sometimes take a day or so to show up. She screenshot that review and post it out as an image when Jan posted on my social so I could see it and then said, how do you I would love to discuss with you how I feel like I could add to that conversation. I was literally so blown away by her doing that, that I was like, wow, like she did. So of course, she made it to my show, she really did add a lot to the conversation. But what was so funny about it is that she told me later that when she did that, that she got five invitations to be on other shows, because she did it. And I got three invitations to be on other ones because she did it for people who didn't know that I talked about that. That when she said how great that episode was. They wanted to go hear that episode too. But I have to tell you that that was really it's like, you know, sometimes people encourage us invite us to leave a review, I always leave a review. But I never really up until she did that thought about taking that review, and posting it on their social media and saying I left you this review, because I thought your podcast was so amazing. And now my whole audience saw it. And then because I tagged her so did hers. Yeah. So I'm there's some variations on that. Right? I mean, a lot of different ways. I have to tell you hands down. I thought that was like the best strategy at that point that anybody had ever done. And I literally use her as an example all the time because it was just so good.

Well, let's talk about edifying the host for a minute, because I think a lot of people forget, like we're putting so much money and time into curating the right guest for our show. And we invest in the marketing and the production of our show. And it's on us, right. So what would it look like? Or what imagine what the host would feel like if you created a video and you either A or reviewing all these episodes on the other show and said, Oh my gosh, I've just stumbled into this new podcast or this new show. Here's all these episodes I just finished. I love it so much. Right and Patti, thank you so much for producing the show. I'm actually going to reach out to you because I have an idea. Right so now we're giving them love and praise on social media. Okay, so that's one way another way while your host connect with them on social media, on every episode that you've listened to give Have a little tip or an insight you got from that episode. Okay, it's one thing to say, I know, we always want the reviews, right? Let's face it, that's what drives the listenership. But let's go beyond the review and say, All right, here's why I love the show. And you share the episodes that your host is putting out on your social media create be the buzz and momentum creator, before you ever get an invitation to be on the show, give value first, right?

And to add to that, not only will that host love that, and podcasting, even though there's so many of them, it is still somewhat of a small world, and people will talk about that. But not only that, when people see you do that about somebody else's show, they're gonna be like, Wow, I want you to be on my show. Man, if you're doing that percentage on grad is something I would love for you to do for me. You know, just last week, I had somebody on my podcast, and they actually what their what their expertise is that they help people to leverage podcast guest. That's what they did? Well, one of the things that I do is, it's just kind of like when you're a speaker, right? You know, when we're a speaker, we speak at somebody's event, we really would love for them to give us a testimonial or something to say, you know how great we were right. But one of the things that I have found because I come from that world, I always go out to my guest, and I leave them a LinkedIn recommendation, thanking them for being on my show. What a great guest. They were I loved and I'll always pick something they said, a value, some value nugget and say, I love that you shared this with my audience. I can't wait to you know, to share you all over social when it comes out. But I just want you to know, I really loved it. Yeah, when I sign it, I always do put my podcast at the end, right? So you know, I'm strategic, right? But with that said, this girl who was on my show, she literally when she hosted, she said, and would you believe I woke up this morning. And she left me a LinkedIn recommendation not asked me to do it for her, but she left one for me. And she literally told everybody about it. And so I have to tell you, you shouldn't do it for those reasons it shouldn't genuine and authentic, right? However, you know, you can be strategic and authentic at the same time, right? So I'd love to thank them. Because the people who come on your show, they are giving their content, right, they are sharing their content. And so I feel like if someone shows up on my show, and they're very authentic, they they love to share, and they're willing to, to share with the audience, and you can really tell that they they get it right, they get it. I want to do everything I can I mean, their show might not come out for a month. But what could I do now. And this is kind of a way that I can actually let them know, none a month from now when their show comes out, and I promote it like crazy. But now I can let them know that I really value that and start that relationship, right. And it can happen right away. So I think there's a lot of things that we can do. And I think the other thing for me is whenever I'm on somebody else's podcast, I feel like you know, their job, per se, right? They're interviewing you, right? This is what they're doing. They don't always talk about themselves writing, you know, and I always like to go to their website, to their blog, post whoever. And I always try to find some way in the conversation to say something about them that I can plug them in some way so that I opened the door for them to be able to, to share it because they are, you know, it does cost money to have a podcast does take a lot of time. So I always like to let them know that right up front that you know, this isn't even done. We're not even promoting it yet. But I want you to know, I got your back to Oh,

I love that. You know what you've been describing. And I think what we've been talking about is we keep bringing up the relationship word, the nurture relationships, the collaboration. And one of the things that I discovered in this these two decades is we will go above and beyond for people we like when we have a relationship. Even if my promo schedule is absolutely jam packed and full. You know what I'm doing? If you say, Hey, I got something going on, you will be able to promote it. I'm going to look and figure out how do I squeeze you in so that you're not getting that automatic know, when we'd like somebody, we have a relationship and we're nurturing that relationship. We're gonna do everything we can to support them. And we talked earlier about like, what do we look for in collaborations? That's what I look for. Is this a relationship that I want to keep building and I'm going to do anything I can to help support that person? If yes, I want to figure out how do we like date, long term, right? Let's be in a relationship where there's a continual Win, win win.

I love that. So we've been spent a little bit of time talking about all these different ways that we can Help and collaborate, which I think is super important. And we'll get back to that too. But I think sometimes it's important to know what not to do, right? Sometimes it really is because sometimes people are doing stuff and they don't even realize that they're shooting themselves in the foot. Right? So what would you say are some of the mistakes that you see entrepreneurs make when they are trying to activate leads through podcasts or collaboration? And how can they avoid them?

Well, we've talked about some by talking about what to do. So I'm not going to cover those again. But I think one of the big things, I found 17 Pretty common mistakes that people make when they're starting this collaborative venture, and you're the guest. And one of them is winging it. And what I found is a lot of people wing it, because they're like, Oh, I know my stuff. But they don't really understand how valuable this moment is when you're being spotlighted. And people forget, because podcasts are becoming more and more common. This is media. Yes, I'm interviewing from my home office, you're interviewing from your home office. But this is media and you wouldn't wing going to a TV studio and being interviewed by a news anchor for your local news channel. So don't wing the interview with the podcast host, you need to have a strategy otherwise. And this is what my clients have lovingly started to say I have not I'm squandering my visibility opportunity, right, because you don't have a magnetic topic. You don't have any kind of a story arc or a framework or talking points that really you can speak to that make you memorable, and pull in the guests in a way or the listener in a way that causes them to go from being interested to being intrigued to being invested. I call that building a golden thread. And when you know how to build a golden thread, then people who are kind of lurking about and kind of half listening, they lean in and they're like, Wow, she's talking to me right now, this is exactly what I've been struggling with. I have not been monetizing my visibility. I've not. I've been squandering these opportunities, because I thought, yeah, I can just show up and have a great conversation. So winging in is probably the most pervasive and costly mistake that I see people make. And it's not like you have to go and be structured in a way that's inauthentic. That's not what I'm mentioning here. What I'm talking about is having a strategy for picking the right audiences with showcasing the right topic, being able to navigate the different questions that come your way. And in essence, do your best job to inspire the listeners to want to go deeper with you and learn with you because there's something valuable you have to offer. So waiting, it's a big one. I have to tell one, and Patti, I know you're gonna get this one. It's what I call being a Rambling Rose. Now, I know when I explain this, you're gonna think of at least five guests that have done this, right? Rambling roses, they mean well, but they're like fire hoses. And they just spew all this stuff out without any context. And so they love to tell stories, but the stories go on and on and on, and they don't end. And it confuses the listener and the host is starts to get bored, basically. And there's no value driven by this ramble that went on and on and on. And I've had so many people, some of them really big names, very, very big earners. Been on stages all over the world. That rambled so much. And I was like, Are they winging it? Or is this just their style, right? So rambling roses tend to bore the audience for the host. And it doesn't translate well to leads and clients and more bookings. I could go on and on how many more you want me to cover here.

I love that so much. I remember when I was relatively new to podcasting. I used to start every one of my podcasts, because I thought people wanted to know the backstory of Yes, right. So I used to ask them, like, you know, what is, you know, the aha moment that, you know, really changed the trajectory of your story, whatever. And I said it different ways. But basically, it was one of the first questions I would ask, and I will never forget, I never asked that question like that again. One girl, she was probably I want to say in her 50s. And she said, Well, when I was in college, and literally she wanted a taking forward from college, like, she was like, literally kind of like when Facebook used to say, what are you doing? Right, you know, and so she wanted to tell me, I was like, Oh, my goodness. So I think part of being a good host also, too is knowing how to control the narrative, right? He has. I never forgot that. But I know that as you're sharing those mistakes, that you did share some good ones, but like you said you had 17 of them, and you're actually going to go is those too wide audience? So tell us a little bit about that gift.

Yeah, so I ended up creating a scorecard because I do have so many people asking to be on my show, I have a lot of clients that I coach and mentor around being able to optimize your presence online in interviews as a guest, I created this scorecard has 17 common mistakes that guest experts make that end up costing them the lead in the client. And it's literally you can go through and I've got them all listed free, you can self assess where you're at, and I unpack each of them a little bit. And then they tell you a little bit more about what does work. Because if you are going to dedicate time and energy to the strategy, which hope Patti and I have convinced you how valuable this strategy is for not just your business, but growing the leads, being able to attract paying clients, four and five figure clients, sometimes six figure clients depending on what your business model is. And you can get it at Melanie benson.com, forward slash m m m podcast, see what I did there Patty, marketing media and what a podcast right? Hopefully I got the right order there. But mmm, podcast, if you go and download that, what you'll find is, you will literally transform how you show up behind the microphone, when you're being interviewed, and be able to not just command the microphone and gain your authority. Also, you will find that you're gonna have so much more fun, you're gonna feel so much more confident. And it's just going to flow with so much more ease, because you're going to know exactly how to structure it. So it feels authentic and powerful.

Thank you so much. One of the things I loved about the way you structured it is even though you're telling the 17 mistakes, you're flipping it around and showing them how not to do it and what they can do instead. So not just saying no, no, no, that's a mistake. But here's how you can do it better. So I think that is really valuable. And I love that gift. So thank you so much. What I'd love to have you do now is I feel like you're very insightful. You know, you've been doing this for a while. So could you share with the audience a success story of an entrepreneur who was very effective leveraging podcast and show host collaboration, on how to get a significant boost in their leads and their authority. Oh,

Okay, gotta pick one. You know, the one that's coming to mind is somebody who I worked with, in my, what I call my 100k Three accelerator, and she is somebody who is very good at running a business, she had actually built a event business that was huge. She sold it for eight figures, and had this calling to do a different kind of work. And so she came out of retirement, and pivoted her entire brand and a whole new direction, and had no idea how to talk about it in a way that other people would get it. And so we worked on messaging, sound bites and what to call it and how to give it a framework that mattered. And I suggested that she go on a podcast tour and really test drive this material in with audiences that I thought would be really aligned with her work. And what was really interesting is she was super nervous to do it. But I taught her my whole pitch process, which is a very authentic and very carefully crafted pitch, so that it cuts through all the other pitches and really has meaning and value to the host. And a couple of pitches in. She she said to me, she said, Oh my gosh, I just landed one of my top five picks, because I always have my clients do like a top 25 list where you want to be featured. And she's like, and the lady said, I never received I never booked people that pitch me this was so good, that I'm booking you ASAP. Well, here's where it gets even better. She sold $50,000 with a business from that showcase, one of which was the host. So that's awesome. And I'm not saying your host is always going to become your client. But when you really do a good job of going through the whole process, and you understand who your audience is, and you don't just like spray and pray. Like you don't need to be everywhere. You need to be where your ideal clients are. So that was a definite return on investment for her and it gave her a big boost of confidence because she was nervous about it. This was a whole new body of work for her and she didn't have a decade of experience to lean on. So being able to test drive it and get that kind of feedback in real time was a real confidence booster and a revenue booster for her to so I got lots and lots of stories to add. That one really sticks out in my mind as

That was a good one. I mean, that was a really good that was a really really good Edie example. So Melanie, I know we talked about a lot of things. And that's the portion of the show that I always like to call hashtag open mic where you had to take all of that. And you got to narrow it down to what the number one marketing media money strategy would be. What would that strategy be? Whoo,

I teach something called the authority trifecta. Because I've had a lot of people come to me and say, Melanie, how did all this start popping the way it does for you? Like, how did you pivot your business and get the buzzer momentum going? How are you getting all of these invitations to go and other people shows up? I've never paid for a booking service, like, how do you do that. And when I look at what I did, organically, I now call it the authority trifecta. And there are three components obviously, in the trifecta. One is your social content. One is your speaking, and where you're being present. Right. And one is the alignment of the audience, right, like really making sure you're in front of the right audiences, and to sharing that to your audience. So first of all, your content should be showcasing and educating people on what you do what your recognized authority, and because if they can't recognize it, they're not going to lean in and ask you to do anything. So you have to be clear and concise and consistent with your messaging and with your content. So that it's, it's really clear, this is what she does, this is what he does, then when hosts invite you, you gotta bring your A game to that show, you've got it not, don't be winging it. Don't be rambling, Rose, don't do any of the 17 mistakes, but really bring your A game and drop massive value. And think about how can I leave a lasting imprint, not just on the show host because we're nurturing the relationship, but also on the listener. And then third, when you share that episode in front of your audience that you've been cultivating in every place that you have an audience, your social media, your list, on your podcast, whatever makes sense. You're now borrowing that influence from the host and showcasing why you are the most logical choice for them to do business with through the lens of the conversation with your host. So you're not touting your own horn, so to speak, you're literally saying, Hey, I had this amazing conversation with Patty, about how you can collaborate with your competitors and open up a million dollar visibility stream. And here's the simple steps, you could do it. Like, listen to the episode, you'll have everything you need, right. So you're now winning over your audience, again, with content that should be highly influential and authority positioning, because it was featured on someone else's stage first. And that compounding effect, that it builds this ripple impact throughout your industry. And that's what leads to the million dollar authority. Because little known secret Patty are not a secret, but look back, podcasts, YouTube channels, people are watching them. 24/7, right. People are listening all day long. They're walking their dogs are at the gym, they're driving across country, whatever they're doing, they're on vacation, they want a little escape earbuds in their ears. 10 years later, five years later, that episode could continue to be a client attraction magnet for you. Okay, so there's nothing else like it in the industry. I have an episode it went live in, I think it was like 2010 2011 that episode produced leads for me for seven years before it got archived in iTunes infinite wisdom of archive, archiving the first episodes, they can produce leads for life.

I'm not going to tell you how many people who have become clients or I've gotten opportunities to speak or whatever they come from when I decided on somebody else's, or just podcast that they listened to ones that Oh, wow. And then they go and binge listen. Yeah, you know, they binge listen. And then they come back to you say, Oh, my goodness, Patti, like I saw this one or that one. So yes, I think that is really an amazing strategy. So thank you so much for sharing it and breaking it down for us not just giving us the strategy, but breaking it down for us. So I have to tell you, Melanie, thank you so much for being here with me today. And just being so generous with your brilliance.

Thank you. Thank you for inviting me. I love what you're doing with the magazine with the podcast and you just interview the most amazing guests and I'm very honored to be a part of that lineup.

Thank you so much. And to my audience. Thank you so much for being here again this week and every week on our show. Thank you for listening to the show and also reading The Marketing Media And Money Magazine as well. If you haven't checked out the magazine yet you can find it at www.m3magazine.com If you'd like today's episode and I am sure you did please like and review it on your favorite listening platform until next week thank you so much have a great week