If you’ve made it to 10 podcast episodes, first of all — congratulations. That’s a big milestone, and you should absolutely be proud of yourself.

In this episode of Press Play, I walk you through what I call the 10 Episode Checkpoint. This is the point where you pause for a moment, look at what you’ve created so far, and evaluate a few important things about your podcast strategy.

Now let me be clear: 10 episodes is not the time to decide your podcast isn’t working. It’s way too early for that. This checkpoint isn’t about quitting — it’s about learning, adjusting, and fine-tuning your podcast so it can keep growing.

After 10 episodes, you finally have a little bit of experience and some early data. You’ve gotten a feel for recording, publishing, and how much time everything takes. That makes this the perfect moment to reflect and make small improvements.

Here are four things I recommend evaluating at the 10 episode mark.

First, look at the clarity of your podcast positioning.

Ask yourself:

1. Can someone describe what your podcast is about in one sentence?
2. Are your episodes clearly focused on one core topic or problem?
3. Are your episode titles aligned with what you want to rank for in podcast SEO?

Sometimes the content is great, but the titles could be stronger or more searchable. This can be a great time to refine your episode titles or descriptions so they better attract your ideal listener.

Next, evaluate how consistent your publishing schedule has been.

Did you release episodes when you planned to?

Did recording feel rushed or stressful?

If your current schedule feels overwhelming, this is the time to adjust it. Maybe you need to batch record, or maybe you need to move from weekly episodes to biweekly. The most important thing is choosing a schedule you can maintain consistently.

Now look at the content itself.

Are your episodes focused on solving the same core problem for your audience? Or are you experimenting with too many different topics?

At this stage, repetition is actually a good thing. Reinforcing your main topic helps strengthen your positioning and build authority with your listeners.

You can also start checking your consumption rates to see if people are listening through your episodes. This gives you early insight into whether your content is resonating.

Finally, pay attention to early feedback signals.

This isn’t just about downloads. Look for signs that people are engaging with your podcast, such as:

1. Messages or DMs from listeners
2. Reviews on your podcast
3. People responding to your call-to-action
4. Listener numbers slowly increasing

These are early indicators that your podcast is connecting with the right people.

The most important thing at this stage is recognizing that you’ve already done something many people never do: you actually started and published 10 episodes.

That’s huge.

Now it’s time to make a few tweaks, keep going, and continue building momentum with your podcast.

If you are ready to create a podcast that pays for your business, come join the 7 day accelerator over on my Skool community! It's free for the first 7 days. Head over to www.podcastthatpays.com

Follow me on TikTok @podcastlaunchbestie

Music credit: Mavericks by Harrison Amer. A Podcast Launch Bestie production

One of the questions I hear all the time is this: Can you grow a podcast without social media?

And honestly, I get why people ask this. A lot of podcasters start their show because they want a marketing channel that doesn’t rely on the constant grind of social media.

So let’s talk about it.

The short answer is yes — but it depends.

It really comes down to your goals and where you’re starting from. Ideally, the goal of your podcast should be organic growth outside of social media. That means people finding your podcast through search engine optimization (SEO), podcast apps, and Google searches. When your podcast is optimized correctly, listeners can discover you even if they’ve never followed you on social media.

That’s one of the biggest advantages of podcasting. Your podcast can become a standalone marketing channel that brings in new listeners through search instead of relying on social media algorithms.

However, there is one big caveat.

If you already have a social media audience, it makes sense to leverage that audience when you launch your podcast. Those people already know you, trust you, and are more likely to support your show in the beginning.

If you don’t have a social media following, you can still grow your podcast. It will just take longer because you’re starting from zero visibility.

In that case, your strategy needs to focus heavily on things like:

1. Podcast SEO and keyword optimization
2. Guest podcast appearances
3. Collaborations with other creators
4. Email list partnerships or newsletter features
5. Advertising on other podcasts
6. Google or YouTube ads

You can absolutely grow a podcast without social media, but you need a clear strategy to get your podcast in front of new listeners.

The key is remembering that social media isn’t the only way to grow. SEO, collaborations, podcast guesting, and paid promotion can all bring new listeners to your show.

So if you hate social media or simply don’t want to rely on it, you still have options.

Your podcast can grow — you just have to be intentional about how people discover it.

If you are ready to create a podcast that pays for your business, come join the 7 day accelerator over on my Skool community! It's free for the first 7 days. Head over to www.podcastthatpays.com

Follow me on TikTok @podcastlaunchbestie

Music credit: Mavericks by Harrison Amer. A Podcast Launch Bestie production

In this episode of Press Play, I want to give you permission to do something that a lot of podcasters struggle with: changing your mind.

When you start a podcast, it’s easy to feel like every decision you make is permanent. You might stress about the name of your podcast, the format, whether you should do interviews or solo episodes, or how long your episodes should be. All of those choices can feel really heavy at the beginning.

But the truth is, the only guarantee in the podcast journey is that you will change.

You’ll grow.

Your ideas will evolve.

Your content will shift.

And your podcast will likely change right along with you.

Maybe you start a 30-day podcast series and realize halfway through that it doesn’t feel aligned anymore. Maybe you launch your podcast thinking it’s going to focus on one topic and later realize you want to pivot. That’s completely normal.

Changing direction doesn’t mean you’re flaky or not committed. It means you’re learning. Podcasting is something you figure out by doing, not by planning everything perfectly ahead of time.

You won’t know what format you enjoy, what topics resonate most, or what workflow works best for you until you actually start creating episodes.

So if you’re feeling overwhelmed trying to make the “perfect” decisions before launching your podcast, I want you to take the pressure off. You don’t need to have everything figured out right now.

Start where you are.

Learn as you go.

And give yourself the space to evolve.

Being committed to your podcast doesn’t mean locking yourself into decisions forever. It means showing up, learning through the process, and adjusting as you grow.

Your podcast will evolve because you will evolve — and that’s exactly how it’s supposed to work.

If you are ready to create a podcast that pays for your business, come join the 7 day accelerator over on my Skool community! It's free for the first 7 days. Head over to www.podcastthatpays.com

Follow me on TikTok @podcastlaunchbestie

Music credit: Mavericks by Harrison Amer. A Podcast Launch Bestie production