In this final episode of The Podcast Rethink, Sadaf Beynon explores why so much of the podcasting advice online doesn’t work — and what actually does when your goal is to build meaningful authority and long-term business growth.
Drawing from conversations with past guests and lessons learned behind the mic, Sadaf covers:
Why chasing numbers can sabotage genuine success
The truth about sponsorships and monetisation
Why social media isn’t the growth engine you think it is
The three principles that make a podcast truly work: Focus, Consistency, and Connection
What to measure when you care about real ROI
Takeaway Challenge:
🎧 If you’re starting: record three honest solo episodes about something you care about.
🎙️ If you’re a few months in: review your last five episodes — did they serve your audience or just fill airtime?
📈 If you’re established: trace one client or collaboration back to your podcast. That’s your ROI.
Podcasting might not be the fastest route to success — but it might just be the most meaningful.
Hey there, I'm Sadef Beynon and this is Pod Junction Podcast, the show where business leaders share how they use podcasting to grow, connect and build their brands. We're back for the last time in my short solo series, The Podcast Rethink, where I've been pressing pause on the interviews to explore some of the biggest myths in podcasting. Over the past few weeks, we've talked about why chasing downloads can hold your business back, how too many interviews can dilute your brand.
why starting solo can be the smartest move you make, and how to measure what really matters, relationships, authority, and engagement. And today we're wrapping things up with what might be the most important rethink of all.
why so much podcast business advice is wrong and what actually works instead. When I first stepped behind the mic, I already knew the playbook. I'd seen it while producing the e-commerce podcast, Grow Fast, land sponsors, chase downloads.
But even then I knew that wasn't how real growth works.
It's never instant. It's always earned through consistency, connection, and trust. Still, I get it. It's really easy to get pulled in by the noise. You only have to scroll through social media and you'll see the same headlines again and again. Grow your show overnight. 10 hacks to make six figures. We all know that temptation. But the truth is that most of that advice misses the point. Because if you're building a podcast to serve your business,
your clients or your mission, the goal isn't growth at any cost. It's always alignment. So let's start with the myth that bigger numbers mean bigger success. Downloads, likes, followers, they look like progress, but they don't always tell you much. Norm Farrar, host of Lunch with Norm, told me he once chased reach, but the real breakthrough came later when smaller, loyal audiences began listening deeply and reaching out.
real data point to remember.:
and you're already outperforming most podcasts. So instead of asking how many listened, maybe the better question is who cared and what happened next? Because influence isn't in the numbers, it's in the follow through. Then there's the idea that you have to make money early or you're wasting your time. We've all heard get sponsors, that's how you win. But most business podcasts aren't built for ad revenue. They're built for relationships.
When I produced Matt Edmondson's The E-Commerce Podcast, we never chase sponsors. The show itself was the strategy, a space to share ideas, build authority, and deepen trust with the right audience. If you speak to Matt, he will still say that the podcast has brought in more meaningful business than any paid campaign. And it's the same story for Michelle Thames. She focused on creating solo content that served listeners first. And that generosity
built credibility and the clients just came in naturally. So maybe the question isn't who will pay to be on my podcast. It's more along the lines of how can my podcast serve my audience so well that they want to work with me? And then there's the social media trap. We've all been there cutting clips, posting reels, hoping one goes viral. But the thing is people don't open LinkedIn or TikTok or Instagram.
ay. According to Buzzsprout's:
cross promotions, guest swaps, newsletter mentions, and the email list that you already own.
So if the myths don't hold up, what does? And I would say there's three things, focus, consistency, and connection.
Focus, be known for something specific. You may recall Scott McKinnis, he was on the podcast a few months ago now. And one of the things that he said that really stuck out to me was that the advice he was given was to go an inch wide and a mile deep. And I can say categorically that the podcasts that perform best are narrow, not broad. They speak to one clear listener, not everyone at once. Second was consistency.
Most shows fade after eight episodes, but traction really starts to happen around episode 50. So you have to keep showing up consistently and know that every episode release compounds authority, trust, and recognition. And finally, connection. Podcasting wins because it's personal. Imagine one listener across the table from you, the person you most want to help, and then talk to them.
That's how content becomes community. It's quite simple. It
If you're measuring ROI, look beyond the surface. One, look at retention. How long do people stay? Aim for 60 % completion or higher. Two, engagement. Who's leaving reviews or sending feedback? Three, pipeline. Which relationships or leads started because of your show? Four, brand lift. Are you being mentioned in new spaces or being invited to new opportunities? And fifth and final, audience insight.
What do you know about who's listening? What are their roles? What industries are they in? What are their interests? because the thing is that data only matters if you act on it. So I'd encourage you to reflect, adjust, refine, and let your audience guide your evolution. I've seen brilliant founders give up because they thought their numbers weren't good enough.
They were comparing their steady loyal hundred listeners to someone else's viral thousand and missing the quiet power of consistency. And that's why so much podcast advice out there can be so frustrating. It promises shortcuts in a craft that's meant to be slow. Podcasting isn't a sprint. It's a skill. It's a discipline, a dialogue, all of which take time. So
If you've journeyed with me through the podcast Rethink, you'll have seen the pattern. The podcasts that last and the people who grow through them focus on depth, not speed. They want to build relationships and choose meaning over metrics. So the next time you see a grow fast headline, just ask yourself, does this align with the kind of podcast I want to build? Does it help me serve my audience better? If it doesn't, you've got to let it go because the shows that endure
aren't built on hacks. Before we close this series, I'd love you to think about this. What's one podcast myth that you have believed and how will you replace it with something better?
And here's your final challenge. If you're just starting, honest solo episodes in your niche on topics that you genuinely care about. If you're a few months in, review your last five episodes. Did they serve your audience or just fill airtime? And if you're established, trace one real relationship, client or collaboration back to your show. That's your ROI. And if you haven't yet,
Try using one analytics platform that gives you listener retention and audience data in one place so that you can really measure what truly matters. Thank you for joining me for the podcast Rethink. It's been such a joy to share these reflections with you. If this episode or the series has shifted how you think about podcasting, I'd love to hear it.
As always, message me on LinkedIn or reach out through the Pod Junction website. And remember, podcasting will never be the fastest route to success, but it might just be the most meaningful because every episode, every connection, every moment behind the mic is the reminder that growth begins with a conversation. Thanks for listening and bye for now.
