Find Your Groove to Create a Bingeable Podcast with Stacy Tuschl of the Foot Traffic Podcast

 

As part of my series of interviews about “5 things you need to know to create a very bingeable podcast”, I had the pleasure of interviewing Stacy Tuschl.

Stacy has made a name for herself as an expert in growing small businesses. Put it this way, Stacy started her own business at the age of 18 in her parents’ backyard and turned that company into a multi-million dollar business she still runs today (The Academy of Performing Arts has two locations in her home state of Wisconsin). In addition to being a Small Business Growth Coach, Stacy is a bestselling author, and founder of the Foot Traffic Formula — helping small businesses around the world get more customers in the door, more profit in their pocket and more happiness in their homes.

When local area businesses started asking Stacy how she grew her company so rapidly, it sparked the inspiration needed to launch The Foot Traffic Podcast. Her podcast now has over 1 million downloads and is frequently on the top 30 of all marketing on iTunes. She’s interviewed leading experts like Suze Orman, Dave Hollis, Jasmine Star, and Amy Porterfield.

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Can you tell us a bit of your “personal backstory? What is your background and what eventually brought you to this particular career path?

I started teaching dance in my parents’ backyard the summer I graduated high school. I thought this was just going to be a hobby while I was getting my marketing degree from the University of Wisconsin, Milwaukee. Little did I know, my backyard hobby took off and just three years later we had over 100 students who were still coming to my parents’ backyard. Then in 2005, I decided to incorporate and turn my hobby into a business.

Today I own two performing arts academies in Milwaukee, Wisconsin with almost 1000 dance and music students. My business exploded, even through the 2008 recession, and the community started to notice. I started getting lunch requests to “pick my brain” and eventually turned that into Foot Traffic Consulting. Today I help small business owners all over the world get more customers in the door.

Can you share a story about the most interesting thing that has happened to you since you started podcasting?

Self discovery has been an unexpected surprise for me. I’ve never been more in alignment with my zone of genius. I didn’t fully understand my zone of genius until others told me what they enjoyed most with my podcast. I think it is pretty common to undervalue ourselves and think that no one cares what we have to say. However, when you lean into your strengths and teach it in your own unique way, you attract the people that want to hear your version.

Can you share a story about the biggest or funniest mistake you made when you were first starting? Can you tell us what lesson or takeaways you learned from that?

I’m so embarrassed to admit this but when I started my business, my list at that time was my registration forms. I had all of my clients and customers information on paper and after the dance year was over I threw those all away. I was so naive that I thought, of course, they will sign back up again. Why would I need their old registration forms when they are going to sign back up? It never occurred to me that I would need to follow up and reach back out to the ones that didn’t register.

How long have you been podcasting and how many shows have you aired?

I’ve been podcasting since 2017 and have aired over 400 episodes!

What are the main takeaways, lessons, or messages that you want your listeners to walk away with after listening to your show?

My goal is always for my listeners to take action. If they just consume my content but nothing else it’s a waste of everyone’s time. I want my listeners to be inspired to implement and actually make a change in their businesses and to create lasting impact for years to come.

Check out the full interview in Tracy Hazzard’s Authority Magazine article about Stacy Tuschl!

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Stacy Tuschl of the Foot Traffic Podcast shares the best way to:

1) Book Great Guests. Make sure you are pitching enough people. The first time, I emailed about ten people inviting them to be on the show. I remember the feeling of how did I only get one response back? I realized it was going to be a lot more work than I realized. The good news is that it will snowball. Once you start to grow your podcast and get a big name guest on the show, you can use that to pitch someone else to give you credibility.

2) Increase Listeners. Get on other podcasts as a guest. At the end of the episode, a podcaster will say what is the best place for my community to connect with you. Make sure to list your podcast as your #1 destination.

3) Produce in a Professional Way. Come prepared. Test your microphone and audio to make sure it sounds great. Be in a quiet place with no distractions. If you have kids, make sure to have a sign on the door so they know when you are recording.

4) Encourage Engagement. Start a complimentary Facebook group to be able to engage with your audience and then also tell them to tag you and share their biggest takeaway from today’s episode.

5) Monetize. Make sure you have a call to action in every episode getting listeners on your email list. Now that email needs to have a nurture email sequence leading to sale if you want to monetize. Another great way is simply in your outro (the music at the end). Let them know if they are loving the podcast, they need to check out your product, program, or service and give them the URL.

In your opinion what makes your podcast binge-listenable? What do you think makes your podcast unique from the others in your category? What do you think is special about you as a host, your guests, or your content?

Check out the full interview in Tracy Hazzard’s Authority Magazine article about Stacy Tuschl!