If you want to build a show that stands the test of time, start treating it like the business it is. Lean into strategy, know your value, and keep evolving so your podcast becomes an asset to both you and your community.

I’m joined by Tonnisha English-Amamoo of TJE Communications to talk about what it truly means to grow your podcast like a business.

So many of us start our shows as passion projects, but without a business-driven strategy, it’s easy for things to fall apart or lose momentum. Tonnisha reflects on her personal experiences starting and stopping podcasts, and we discuss how crucial it is to blend creativity with intentional strategy—especially if you want your show to stand the test of time.

Together, we examine how treating your podcast like a business means putting clear logistics in place: everything from scheduling recordings and editing, to writing episode descriptions and handling marketing. We compare the division of roles and responsibilities on a podcast to any other business, highlighting the importance of designating tasks, setting deadlines, and holding each other accountable while still allowing for flexibility.

Another big takeaway from our conversation is the power of understanding your niche. We talk about what makes a podcast stand out, using examples from the true crime genre and storytelling formats, and encourage you to analyze your favorite podcasts—even those outside your category—for inspiration.

We also explore how adding new voices and guests can help evolve your podcast, much like a business brings in new team members to grow and adapt. Whether you’re doing solo episodes or thinking about a bigger team, we share how slowly introducing others can make your workload more manageable while keeping your show fresh.

Finally, we share thoughts on building community and remind listeners that the podcasting journey doesn’t have to be a lonely one.

If you’re looking for help or want to chat about your entrepreneurial path, both Tonnisha and I invite you to reach out and connect. Growing your podcast like a business is all about having a plan, staying adaptable, and supporting each other along the way.

Moments

00:00 Podcast Success: Passion Meets Strategy

03:38 Podcast Planning Analogies

07:11 Podcast Planning and Niche Focus

11:57 "Serial's Transformative Podcasting Approach"

15:18 Business Delegation Strategy

18:08 Guest Strategy for Solo Podcasts

Here’s what you’ll discover in this episode:

1. The Business Mindset for Podcasters: Why thinking like a business owner, not just a creator, is the cornerstone of long-term success.
2. The Power of Planning & Logistics: Learn the behind-the-scenes essentials—like creating a strategy, delegating roles, and sticking to schedules—that keep a podcast running smoothly.
3. Finding Your Unique Podcast Niche: Uncover tips to make your show stand out, grab your audience’s attention, and keep them coming back for more.
4. Evolving with Your Podcast: How to introduce new voices, adapt your format, and build a sustainable platform beyond just one person.
5. Accountability & Teamwork: Why honesty about your time and commitments can make or break your podcast when you’re collaborating with others.

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Each week, one of The Circle of Experts talks about critical aspects of growing your podcast. We focus on marketing, social media, monetization, website design, and implementation of all of these to help you make the best podcast possible.

Have a question or an idea for one of our episodes? Send us an email at podcasts@circle270media.com.

The Circle of Experts are:

Yasmine Robles from Rebel Marketing

Tonnisha English-Amamoo of TJE Communications

Don The Idea Guy

Brett Johnson, My Podcast Guy®, from Circle 270 Media® Podcast Consultants

Copyright 2025 Brett Johnson, My Podcast Guy™

https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nd/4.0/

Welcome to the Circle Sessions featuring the Circle of Experts. Each week, one of the Circle of Experts joins me to talk about critical aspects of growing your podcast. The Circle of Experts are Yasmine Robles and Izzy Dadosky from Rebel Marketing, Tonnisha English Amamoo of TJE Communications, and Don The idea Guy. I'm Brett Johnson, My Podcast Guy from Circle 270 Media Podcast Consultants. This week, Tonnisha is here. Tonnisha's on a mission to help small businesses level the playing field through her digital marketing solutions. Tonnisha, thanks for joining me again today.

Yeah, thanks for having me.

I like this idea and I think those walking into a podcast, if they're looking at it as a marketing tool for their business, they'll get this mindset. But it's, but it, but they sometimes don't because it's still kind of a fun project for them. But it's considering your podcast, thinking of your podcast as a business. Yeah, as a business. Because some of the same strategies, almost all the same strategies and building your business can be applied to building a podcast.

Right.

And therefore they kind of stay in line. So let's jump into that. So what are your first thoughts about this strategy around, you know, keeping the podcast as a, as a business mindset?

Yeah, you know, I, I feel like podcasts sometimes can fail because they do get treated as passion projects and there's not always a clear plan of success I can even use myself for. As an example. I've started and stopped multiple podcasts, some of, you know, with friends. Friends, some on my own. And even with my, my latest podcast I'm working on, I did like a three episode kind of like pilot to kind of see how I wanted things to go. And now I realized like, okay, there are actually some tools that I need to put in place. There is some strategies that I need to put in place to be able to make this successful. And so really when it comes with our podcast, we have to kind of blend our creativity and our passion with like, intention, intentional strategy if it's something that we want to keep going, especially for those who are recording podcasts every single week, you definitely have to have a game plan for not only just getting everybody on the same schedule to get into the studio, but then from there you have to think about, okay, who's, who's going to edit this, who's going to create the description, who's going to put that out, and if you're a, a one man band, then there's a lot of things that you have to, to think about when you're going into, you know, starting your own podcast.

Right. And then, you know, aligning that with the thought process of building a business. Okay. So when you are an entrepreneur or building business, whatever the case might be, you need somebody to take care of the, the books. Okay. You're not going to do that same thing. Okay, we'll put that in. In the bucket of editing.

Exactly.

Promotion. Okay. You own a business, but you really don't know much about marketing. You outsource marketing.

Yeah.

Your podcast. Okay. Of the podcast, who's handling the marketing? How is this going to be marketed? That sort of thing. So samples right there. The logistics, like you said, of, of scheduling everybody in the same place, record. Well, that's your place of business.

Yeah.

Location. Or are you working out of a co working space or whatever.

Exactly.

There are a lot of analogies here. Like, oh, okay, this is, this is the same trajectory as building a business, as putting a podcast together. And one of the more successful tools that I work with, podcasters that, you know, that they utilize for me is a strap plan. Literally laying out, what are you going to do over the next 12 months or whatever, whatever your season is, you know, not putting you in a walled situation like, you must do this no season, but what are you going to do within that season? How are you going to every other week, episodes or once a month, or whatever your prodigy is of producing and publishing, how are you going to get there? And that's just a piece of it, along with the format and the genre and. But if you don't map it out like you would a business success plan, at least you're giving yourself the incentive to succeed. The incentive to, okay, if I fail, it's because I didn't follow the plan.

Right. And I think the logistics is the first thing that we should be thinking about. But we often think about the content first. But the content can't go out into the world without the logistics being in place. And so, you know, I have a client where their podcast work was virtual, but they are trying to get this in person aspect going. And I've reached out to you about it. Like, we've been, you know, reaching out to different places and trying to get an idea. And we had, you know, multiple people helping us.

But when people don't have a clear like role, then that's when things can start to get messy or things are not getting done how they should get done. So it's really important if you're going to have multiple people working on your podcast, that everybody is on the same page about what that game plan is for the next 12 months, six months, whatever.

And it's also, you know, with a. With a group of people really designating who does what.

Yeah.

And comfortable in doing it, as well as laying out deadlines. Walk away from a meeting going, okay, we're all on page.

We're all know, where are the next steps?

Yeah, everybody knows what the next steps are. That's where it falls apart. Like, oh, I thought. I didn't know when we were supposed to have that done. Or, oh, I was supposed to contact the studio to get this done, you know, laying it out. Well, at least everybody knows what their goals are, what their deadlines are to move forward and. And hold each other accountable. Not necessarily.

You don't do it, you're off the team situation.

Right.

But there are no hard feelings. There are. And also looking at, from the aspect of, okay, is this a project you can do? You know, it's like, okay, you're all excited about being around the table and you're going to do this podcast, but all of a sudden the deadlines are in play and you realize, oh, this is kind of another job, quote, unquote, that I'm doing. If you're not on board, that'll soon be evident. Yeah, things will start to fall apart. So you got to be honest with each other. And a lot of the conversation I had with podcasters, too, at the beginning is be honest with your time. Do you have the time to do this? And it's not unique to podcasting.

It's. It's unique to any content creation you're doing, video blogs, networking, whatever it might be to grow your business. You need to be honest about the time you're going to dedicate. And honest to your team members as well, too.

Exactly, exactly. Because the last thing you want to do is have someone on the team who's putting in a ton of work to create, you know, the outline for a podcast. And then there's no studio books or. Or you spend all this time, you know, recording all these episodes, and then you're like me, where they're all sitting in a Google Drive and they haven't been edited yet. So you have to think about, you know, everything with your podcast from start to finish to getting those things complete so that they can go out there. And, you know, another thing I think we don't think about deeply enough as well is really defining, like, what is our niche with our podcast? You know, what is going to make this podcast different from others? You Know, as y' all know, I love true crime. And so it's like, what about a true crime podcast is going to stand out to me to make me stop and listen to not just one episode, but then also becoming a subscriber and becoming a loyal fan, like I am, to pay Lindsay and Tenderfoot tv, which I've talked about so many times. Right.

They're paying you now, right?

They should be. I mean, come on. Right. So, you know, it's like, what. What is. What is going to make your podcast something that people want to. To listen to? So, like with us, for example, I think what makes the Circle Sessions unique is that you're not just hearing, you know, me and Brett talk every single time. You know, there are multiple people who are part of this podcast who share their perspective and their expertise.

Ultimately, we're talking about the topic of podcasting, but we're talking about it from different angles and different perspectives, different ideas. And so that's what makes this different than, you know, maybe just a regular business podcast where it's just the same host or the same two co hosts every single week. And so thinking about how you can get your podcast to stand out from others, and I think once you really have a clear understanding of whatever your mission or your niche is with your podcast, I think from there you're able to get more creative and be able to create the type of content not even just within the podcast, but the marketing for the podcast to make you stand out just as you would with the business. Right. I mean, I offer marketing services. So does Yasmin. But the way that we go about our businesses or like, marketing and promotion are very different, and that's what makes us both unique and also makes us both stand. Stand out, but still able to stand together on this podcast.

So thinking about that, just as you would with your business and your podcast, too.

Right. Yeah. Your point of understanding that target audience when you begin your business is that, yes, there are probably other people in this industry that you're in.

Yeah.

That are doing it, but you're going at it differently.

Yeah.

Unique perspective that basically you have. You've heard feedback from people you've worked with. Note that I like working with you because. And you go, wow, I have something different than anybody else here.

Yeah.

So I'm going to go. I'm going to run with it.

Yeah.

Same thing with the podcast. Look at it as that business piece. Okay. What do you bring uniquely to this podcast that you're comfortable in your own skin every time you're on Mic or video and. Or video. You're having a great time with it. You. You're just killing brain power onto, you know, a podcast or a video cast, and you can't wait till the next time you're able to talk about stuff you're excited about.

Yeah. And, you know, I would encourage the listeners to study podcasts that aren't even related to your topic and think about. I mean, go through your own Spotify or Apple or Google and see what podcasts are you subscribed to and why Write out, like, the pros and the cons of the podcast. Like, what are things that you like about it? What are things that, you know, if it were up to you, maybe you would do differently and think about how that could be applicable to your own podcast. There probably are things about the podcast that you already listen to that you may be able to find a way to fit into what you're doing, even if it's not related at all.

Right.

You know, thinking about a transformative podcast, Serial, right? What made Serial so unique was one. It was like one of the first of its kind. But then also, that entire podcast was dedicated to this one one thing. Now, can that be dangerous? Sure. Because I think when they started season two, people were not interested. They were interested in this one story. So then you look at Payne Lindsay from Tenderfoot tv, who also started his podcast, focused on this one thing, and instead of just staying in that type of podcast, when he wanted to do another story, he started a new podcast, and people followed him there. And then people still went back to the old one because they hadn't heard it before.

And then now he has a whole network of multiple different podcasts. So that's how you can take something and figure out, okay, I love this, but how can I turn this into something even bigger or better that would fit me and my audience so highly recommend, you know, thinking about your favorite podcast and. And really just getting out a piece of paper and writing down, like, what makes this so unique that you want to listen to it every week.

Right. That you can't wait for the next episode. You carve out time to actually listen to it. Is it the storytelling? Is it just how the co hosts interact or the person? And. And it's not to emulate, but it's that. Understand, okay, that's what attracts me. And that, sure, it's the same kind of audience that he has or she has that I would want, but also match your personality to it. And again, it's all back to.

This is why, as an entrepreneur or a business owner, you do this as well too. It's an extension of who you are, what you know best, it's natural to. You want to do something that's not natural to you.

Right, Right.

And if you are, if it's one of those, I want to. And I've had a couple of clients that have looked at a podcast as skill building for them. They wanted speaking better. They were good. But they just, you know what, I need this microphone to even be better. I hone in these skills that I can create 20 minute pieces and, and really more of, if nothing else, solidify my, my, my thoughts in 20 minutes rather than just rambling on. So they used as a, as a platform to do that and to just almost every time they were on the mic, they, they were coming up with these ideas and they wanted to kind of fill it out and they used the podcast to create more and more about, around what they're doing. Then it ended for them, you know, and they said, you know what, I have nothing else to say, so why should I continue? And I nodded my head going, you, you're right.

Yeah, you did what you're supposed to do. So such a flexible platform to do what you want to do. And again, looking at it from the aspect of how did you build your business? There are some principles of building a business that go along with creating a podcast as well too. And use those strategies you've already used.

Yeah. And you know, looking at, I mean, thinking about my own business, you, you know, I, my business coach recommended because I was kind of getting to a point where I was kind of tapped out with clients and client meetings and really wanted to pivot to kind of not always have to be the only person around for a client to feel comfortable. And so one thing that he recommended it was to update my website so that it wasn't just my face. And so I added some of the contractors that I work with, they were a part of the next photo shoot so that when they go out for client events to get content and if it's not me, it's still somebody that's a familiar face because they're used to seeing my team out and around. And that made me think about, as you were talking, the New York Times podcast we talked about before called the Daily. And initially when I started listening to the Daily, it was hosted by a journalist named Michael Barboa. And then when he went on paternity leave, they started introducing new people. And at first I was not, I did, I don't Want to hear anybody else? I want to hear Michael.

But over time, you start to hear these people more and more and more. Then they start adding in a few more people. And then they did an episode maybe a couple months ago where it was Michael and like two or three of the new co hosts all doing an episode together. So now when the episode starts, when I hear Michael, I am like, ooh, it's Michael today. But when I hear other people, I'm like, okay, cool. Like, I'm comfortable with this person because I've heard them do their storytelling before and I'm okay with them. And so that's another example of how, you know, in our businesses. For me, I was trying to pivot as a business owner to be able to focus on working on the business and not always in the business.

So I had to do some things to pivot. Same with the daily. I mean, Michael is doing this podcast every single day at like 4 o' clock in the morning to get it out by 6am that's not going to be sustainable for a podcast that comes out Monday through Friday every single day. And so how do you pivot? You know, even thinking about the podcasters that may be listening now, if you are a one person host, can you slowly start to introduce other thought leaders, other people on your team, maybe your clients, and that way you don't have to necessarily own everything. So then you can treat this like a business and focus on the development and building up the podcast. And maybe you're not the person that's always the person that people hear every single episode.

Right? Yeah, that's a nice transition from, you know, being a, you may start out as a solo episode and all of a sudden it's like, okay, this is a lot of work to be a solo episode. I need to bring in guests. Well, there's another strategy to guest in regards to, okay, why do you want to bring in guests and who are they? But you're right, you know, to that end, yes, it's a nice reprieve having to be on all the time. But you're, you know, but that's a whole different strategy and it works really, really well. Comes down to why do you want to. And then who are you going to target to be on your podcast that, you know that your listeners won't be tuning out? Because, like, wait a minute, I just want to hear you talk. Yeah, but you're bringing, you're, you're, you're laying the ground. We're going.

I need, I, I need you to hear from this person.

Exactly.

Or she has influenced me. And if you like what I bring to the table, you're going to love what they bring to the table.

Exactly.

So those sorts of things can really work for you as a podcaster. Just like you said, building business. Business bringing additional resources in that. Yes. You're still the face of it. You're still.

Right.

Of your business. You're still the face of your.

Exactly.

But you're standing to, to make it work for you. And, and, and all businesses evolve. All podcasts evolve.

Yeah.

You allow it to happen because those opportunities help growth. They really, really do. Exactly. You know, I, I think, you know, looking as we're talking about here, looking at as a, a podcast, as a business and using this strange same strategies is really, really smart. But I also know that we don't work in a vacuum, that we need to bounce ideas off of each other. And I think, you know, this is what, at the point in the show where we talk about how do we get a hold of each other. We're both independent contractors, we're both owning our own business, you know, that sort of thing. We're entrepreneurs.

I think, you know, anyone listening to this podcast can, can use this as a resource too. About. Okay, how did you build your business as a podcast? How did you build as. As a marketing consultant?

Right.

All the different things that you're doing and, and how does that play into a podcast or podcasts that you have been a part of? How can they get ahold of you to talk a little bit more about this aspect?

Yes, yes, you can go to my website, www.tjecommunications.com I offer free. We can definitely talk through, through these ideas and even I, I always love sharing my entrepreneurial journey and how I got to this point. So always loved to share that. So please don't hesitate to schedule some time to chat if you're interested.

Yeah, same with me. You can go to my podcastguy.com set up a time or you know, actually go to LinkedIn find me. I've got links, that sort of thing. That's a great way to do it too. DM me and we'll set up. That may be a little bit easier than scheduling a time just because I'll. It's the same thing ultimately, but it's that I'd love to connect with you on LinkedIn as well. That's my, you know, my main platform doing business and you know, talking to people and that sort of thing.

But that's an easy way to do it as well, too, so, but I, I, I think this is a, a fun conversation to have with other people again. I think it's that as podcasters, as entrepreneurs, we think we're alone, but we're not.

Right.

And, and I think there's a lot of shared journey that we can talk about to help people get, get to where they want to be faster. By just knowing that you're not alone.

Right, Exactly.

By just reaching out. So thanks for joining me again, Tonnisha.

Yeah, anytime.