EP034 Reaching the right audience with Natasha Bazilevych

Hot Seat Series on Next Up Nation Evaluates the Speaking with Power Podcast

Natasha’s podcast, Speak with Power has released 56 episodes from January 2021 until the day of this recording, which is August 5th, 2021. The aim of the podcast is to help people overcome their fear of public speaking and give them the tools needed to give powerful presentations.

“I’m a public speaking coach, and my dream and my mission is to help other people also speak with power to get their idea, their business, their service.”

Natasha is an enthusiastic newcomer to the podcast industry. Now that her podcast has reached over 56 episodes, she is looking for guidance from more experienced podcasters like Tiffany, on how to expand her audience reach and connect with new listeners.

As an established public speaking coach and founder and president of Change View Academy, Natasha certainly knows how to communicate with an audience. However, finding the right audience and getting them hooked on your content is a whole different ball game.

When asked which she valued more, profitability or preeminence, Natasha chose preeminence.

Part 1: The WHY Behind Natasha Bazilevych’s Podcast, Speak with Power

As we’ve already mentioned, Natasha is an established public speaking coach and founder, and president of Change View Academy.

She knows exactly what it takes to speak with power in front of an audience, but now she’s looking for ways to expand her reach and connect with new listeners.

The idea of the Speak with Power Podcast actually came from one of her students.

“I never thought I would start a podcast, I just had a program, my public speaking program, and one of my clients after finishing it, she comes to me and she says, Natasha, I want to start a podcast. And you should create a course on how to start podcasts. And I said, Well, I don’t have mine. How can I teach others? If I haven’t started my own podcast?”

Once the idea had been planted, Natasha got to work. She began researching how other podcasters produced their shows, and quickly realized that the barrier to entry in terms of equipment was incredibly low.

“Okay, maybe I should start a podcast. It’s interesting. It’s connecting with people. It’s speaking. And it’s creating content. It’s everything I love. 

Not only did podcasting appeal to her on a personal level, but she also saw the financial opportunity in it.

“I talked to my business coach, and she said, it’s an amazing opportunity to meet and talk to people who otherwise wouldn’t give you their time.”

Part 2: WHO Natasha Bazilevych Considers the Ideal Audience for Speak with Power

For Natasha, the core audience for Speak with Power is entrepreneurs with an idea they want to market, but who may be lack the speaking skills to do so.

“It’s entrepreneurs, it’s people who have an idea already, they even have their own business. And they want to, they want to market it, because they want to, of course, grow their business,” she says. “I help them speak about their idea about their services, their business, so that they could market it out.” 

Fear of public speaking is a common one, so Bazilevych also believes that her podcast could be of help to those who want to get over their nerves.

“I help these people go from anxiety, nervousness, and maybe even just this paralysis when they can’t speak about it to actually going out and being an Instagram star like one of my clients.” 

Part 3: WHAT is Working Now to Get More Listeners to the Speak with Power

One thing Tiffany nails down early is how effectively Natasha communicates the promise of her podcast. With her background in public speaking and marketing, she’s a natural at driving the message home.

“So at the beginning of the show, we want our audience to know this is what you’re about to hear. And if you keep listening, this is the transformation you’re gonna see. And I think you nailed it.” 

Natasha’s longer format when talking to guest speakers results in less editing and more depth. She’s getting her message across to listeners, giving them a reason to keep listening. It also allows the guest to share more authentic thoughts and ideas, which is something Natasha is passionate about.

In contrast, her solo episodes are far more concise. She’s able to be more nimble with the content, sharing what she wants to share without feeling the need to fill every minute. This allows her to be more laser-focused on her message, and as a result, more impactful.

It’s clear that Natasha is intentional with her content, whether she’s solo or interviewing guests, which resonates with her core audience of business owners and entrepreneurs.

TIFFANY’S TAKE

While it’s clear that Natasha is passionate about sharing authentic content with her audience, she also seems to be very focused on delivering impactful messages. Her solo episodes demonstrate this focus and allow her to be more nimble in expressing what she wants to share. 

Overall, it’s clear that Natasha is a talented entrepreneur who truly values the success of her audience.

However, growing the audience of a podcast requires using all the tools at your disposal. For example, social media can be a powerful way to connect with new listeners and promote your show. 

SEO-optimized transcripts are another way to increase the visibility of your content, while the use of analytics can help you make important decisions.

#1: What Natasha is Doing Well

Content and promise are the strengths of the Speak with Power podcast. Natasha opens each episode with energy and a focus on the value her audience will receive.

In each solo episode, Natasha provides actionable tips that her listeners can use to improve their communication skills. She backs up these tips with interviews with experts and examples from her own life.

This strong focus on delivering value has helped the Speak with Power podcast build a loyal following. Listeners know that they will always get something useful out of Natasha’s show.

#2: Some Areas for Improvement For the Speak with Power Podcast

Although Natasha is doing a great job of delivering value to her listeners, she’s not using all the tools at her disposal to grow her audience.

Here are a few areas where she could improve:

1) Promoting the show: Natasha relies mostly on word-of-mouth and social media to promote the Speak with Power podcast. While these are both effective methods, there are other ways she could be getting the word out.

While her website is polished and professional-looking, Natasha is not actively using it to link to social media platforms like Facebook or Twitter where she is more active in promoting her show.

2) Creating additional content: Using SEO-optimized content as a marketing measure is an effective way to drive more traffic to the podcast. Natasha could consider creating additional content, such as blogs or infographics, that act as a resource for her listeners and help to grow her audience even further.

Blog posts based on podcast transcripts, or articles relating to topics that came up frequently on the show, could be a great way for Natasha to create more content and stay top-of-mind for her listeners. Similarly, infographics highlighting interesting statistics about her podcast’s topic would also be helpful in promoting the show and attracting new listeners.

3) Leveraging other platforms: Natasha is active on social media platforms like Facebook and Twitter, but she has not yet tapped into other platforms like Snapchat or Instagram. She could consider using these platforms to share snippets of her podcast or give listeners a behind-the-scenes look at the show.

4) Using analytics: The key to growing her audience is understanding who her listeners are and what they want. Natasha should consider using analytics tools, such as Google Analytics or Podtrac, to understand more about who listens to the show, where they come from, and how to improve content based on this feedback.

5) Future monetization: While Natasha isn’t currently monetizing her podcast, she could consider doing so in the future. There are a few options available, such as selling advertising space or partnering with brands that align with her show’s content.  While her focus is on preeminence over profitability, additional funds could help her to improve production quality or grow her team.

6) Incorporating a call to action:  While Natasha’s show is entertaining and informative, it lacks a clear call to action for her listeners. She could consider ending each episode with a brief summary of the key points covered and a suggestion for how her audience can apply these lessons in their own lives. Additionally, she could provide links to relevant resources or products that her listeners can use.

Overall, with a few small changes in her content strategy, Natasha has the potential to reach a wider audience and continue to grow her show.

The Best Action Step for a Bigger Audience and More Credibility in the Next 30 Days

Interlinking her podcast, social media channels, and website more effectively will be the best way for Natasha to grow her audience and increase her credibility in the next 30 days.

By sharing each episode across all of her channels and including links back to her website, she can ensure that her audience can always find her content.

Additionally, by regularly publishing SEO-optimized blog posts or articles that tie into her podcast topics, she can attract new listeners and continue to engage her current audience. With these strategies, Natasha can reach a much wider audience and build the credibility that she needs to succeed in her field.

About the Hot Seat Series

Just because many people have podcasts doesn’t mean it’s easy. It takes a lot of time, effort, and consistency to build an audience.

This is where the Hot Seat series comes in. The Hot Seat series is designed to help entrepreneurs, business owners, and content creators level up their podcasting presence.

In each episode, Host Tiffany Youngren interviews an up-and-coming podcaster about their show. Tiffany then gives actionable tips on how the interviewee can improve and grow their show, helping them to reach a wider audience and build the credibility they need to be successful.