PR powerhouse and CEO of Powerful Steps Tory Archbold talked with TV presenter Jacinta Tynan about how she’s grown her Podcast, Powerful Stories, to the point where it’s now hit 11,000 downloads a month.
Jacinta welcomed Tory to the podcast, congratulating her on being a person who empowers women from all over the world by sharing her business acumen and helpful information about how to use social media and podcasts as important business tools. Tory is the creator and host of the Powerful Stories podcast where she interviews extraordinary people who share their game changing experiences.
First up Jacinta asked Tory how she grew her podcast to hit the 11,000 downloads mark in just 12 months – an amazing achievement in such a small period of time?
Tory responded by saying: “Community. I think community is so important and tapping into your guests’ network. So when you are starting your first podcast, the question you should ask yourself if what is the intent and what is the purpose? What are you trying to achieve?”
“For me, it was about powerful connections and to build my community. For this, I tapped into people I had met along the highway of life and had an extraordinary story that I knew would resonate with my audience to level up in life so quickly we got an extraordinary following. But it wasn’t because of my platform, I have to credit the platform of the guests that I had on the podcast,” she added.
“Spoken like a true PR woman there,” said Jacinta, “because you have had your own global PR company Torstar for two decades, so you certainly know the tricks of the trade. For people with a great idea for a podcast who might not have this know-how, how do they leverage it?”
To build a podcast you need to look at your reasons for doing it
Tory went on to give some powerful insights into how you can build a podcast: “You really need to look at why you are doing this podcast. For me, I wanted to build a powerful brand. I wanted to build a brand that had global impact, so I looked at the brands out there that I would be competing against, and I saw that a lot of them had podcasts and YouTube channels so I thought how can I do this but how can I do this better?”
“So, I set about really understanding how I could create better creatives that stood out or was at the same level as them. I looked at the type of guests that I would have and most importantly, I looked at the shareability of the content that I was creating,” she added.
“And that was the best advice that I got through Nova Entertainment who signed me up to do a podcast 24 hours after I launched it. They said it is all about the content, it is all about the community, and it is all about the passion that you put in to grow the numbers,” Tory said.
“So, for the people who are watching who think they have a podcast in them,” said Jacinta, “… and a lot of people do, what’s the first thing you should do to get it off the ground?”
Tory answered: “Don’t be afraid of hard work. I think that is really important because the first thing you should do is identify why are you doing it? And also use it as a marketing tool because the more that people get to know you, the more they’ll be on your customer journey and the more likely they are to refer you to other people.”
“So, it’s really important that you look at what the intention and purpose is but also, surround yourself by the right people to produce it. I’ve got a great production team that surrounds me but I invested in that production team. Also, I wasn’t afraid – when I could see that the podcast numbers were levelling out – to then go, well how do I get the podcast to go to the next level?
“I had to go through that same process that I did when I started the podcast and ask myself – was my creative good enough? Was my content good enough? Was my guests’ topics good enough? And what I quickly realised was I had to transform this into the next level,” she said.
“What I did was I reinvested in the podcast – I got a new production team, I invested in video, YouTube, new creative and within 10 days we were the Apple Podcast of the week, we were number one in business for Apple Podcast in New Zealand, we were number three in Australia, Spotify backed us as Business Podcast of the Week as well. This is the power of understanding that when you start a podcast, it’s not just going to grow on its own. You have to be behind it, backing it with that intention, passion and delivery and not be afraid to change your format if you need to to take it to the next level,” Tory added.
How important is creating and sharing content?
Jacinta then asked Tory: “The other thing I know you are really good at is creating content and so you’ll take photos and videos of the guests when you’re recording and you get them to share it. How important then is it to have your guests engaged and get them to help you spread the word?”
Tory answered saying: “I think it’s a really big part of promoting the content and your podcast – and what I do is I always get my hair and makeup done before I interview people because I know that the content we create is going to do out into the mass market and I want it to be a really good representation of who I am. Now, because I set that benchmark, guess what my guests do? They come in with their hair and makeup done! They really look at their outfits and how they want to be positioned.”
Has your own YouTube channel helped grow the podcasts?
Jacinta asked Tory if her new YouTube channel, which runs beside her podcasts, has helped grow the podcast numbers?
“It’s been amazing,” said Tory. “Because now people can actually see my interview style. They can actually see the person behind the microphone which makes my talent more visible. And we interview a range of people from business leaders, entrepreneurs, people with side hustles, experiencing game changing moments, celebrities, influencers – and people want to get to know them.”
“I think when you’re a podcaster, don’t hide behind a microphone,” Tory added. “People want to see your great energy – they want to get a reading as to who you are. And because I’ve been doing a lot of video content in lockdown, what we’ve noticed is the numbers have shifted within the Powerful Steps business and 30 percent of our new business is now coming from the podcast.”
“It’s because we’re more visible but people are also saying: ‘Oh my gosh Tory, I love your energy – can I work with you? How can I get into your programs? So for me, we’ve taken it up another notch and it’s just given people an insight into what Powerful Steps is, what our connections are but most importantly, what are the game-changing moments – not only in my life but in the guest’s life as well, that can translate challenges into opportunities?” said Tory.
What are Tory’s next three powerful steps?
As they finished the interview, Jacinta asked Tory to tell us the next three powerful steps she’s planning?
“My first powerful step will be to take a holiday,” Tory laughed, “because it’s been a massive year and we’ve had incredible growth around the world with Powerful Steps and I believe if you’re going to get to the next level in life, the best person to do that is yourself. You can’t rely on anyone else but you’ve got to fuel the tank. So I’m taking some time out to refuel my tank.”
“The second thing is we’re going to create a new series of online masterclasses. So people all around the world will be able to tap into the power of the tool kit that we’ve created through Powerful Steps and the Business Attraction program,” Tory said.
“The third thing is I really want to build a powerful, global community and I’ve always committed to three coffee dates a week through Torstar and Powerful Steps – one with someone who’s in my tribe, one with someone I want to partner with and one completely outside my comfort zone – ‘Hello Oprah – one day that will be you!'”
“I want to double those coffee dates per week because I believe when you connect with others you learn, grow and evolve and I never, ever in this lifetime, want to stop learning and growing and evolving,” she added.
Jacinta concluded the interview by saying: “Well, Tory Archbold, you are indeed a powerhouse yourself. Thank you so much for your time today.”
Tory said: “You are most welcome, thank you for having me as a guest. I really appreciate it.”
For more information about Powerful Steps, visit Tory’s website here.
Listen to the Powerful Stories podcast here.
PR Guru Turned Mentor Tory Archbold Launches Inspiring Powerful Steps Podcast
