Podcasting on Substack
Take your podcast from a lone hosting service to your multimedia marketing hub - Substack.
I started my business as a podcast.
Not a website. Not an Instagram page. A podcast. That was the summer of 2018. Here we are heading into the spring of 2026, and I’m still talking about podcasting — because it’s still one of the most powerful things you can do in your business. Maybe even more so now than when I started.
Here’s what I want you to walk away with today: why podcasting matters, the trends you need to know, and why I just moved my entire podcast over to Substack (and why you might want to do the same).
But first — if you want the full how-to, I’m teaching The Podcast Playbook for Substack this Friday inside our Soapbox membership. Strategy. Step-by-step. Whether you’re starting fresh or moving an existing show. $79 for the year. No-brainer. Come join us.
Now let’s talk about why podcasting should be in your main strategy. Not a side thing. Not a “nice to have.” Your main strategy.
Why Podcasting? Because It Works Across the Entire Client Journey.
This is the part most people miss - they think it is a front end to their business.
Podcasting isn’t just for discovery — although it’s incredible for that. A stranger finds your show, listens to a few episodes, and suddenly she feels like she knows you. That’s the magic of voice.
But it doesn’t stop there. Podcasting works for nurture — deepening the relationship with people who already know about you. It works for sales — you can create a private podcast series that walks someone through exactly why and how to work with you. It works for delivery — I have a daily podcast I create just for my clients.
Your job description is the client journey. Take a stranger, turn her into a curious prospect, get her to become an interested buyer, make her a raving client, and ultimately, a superfan. Podcasting can go across that entire journey.
And the cool thing? Substack can do all of it for you. But more on that in a minute.
The Top 5 Reasons Podcasting Should Be in Your Playbook
1. Simplicity
It has never been easier to podcast. Never.
There are many times I just pull out my phone, open my voice recording app, and start talking. Right now I’m behind my Yeti mic in my home office — sweatshirt on, hair up in a bun, 6:30 in the morning, no one awake in my house. This is not a production. This is a conversation.
And honestly? We’re a little turned off by the overly produced podcasts these days. The sound clips, the ads that cut in right when things are getting good — I’m over it. What I love is when someone is just talking to me. Having a real conversation through audio.
You don’t need a studio. You don’t need a team. You don’t need a degree in audio engineering. You need a mic (or your phone), your voice, and something to say.
If you can have a conversation, you can have a podcast. Consistency beats perfection. Every time.
2. Trust
This one is everything right now.
Podcast hosts are ranking just below friends and family when it comes to recommendations. Let that sink in. No other media channel comes close to that.
Over 30% of listeners purchase something they hear about on a podcast. Not because of some slick sales page — because of relationship. Because of time spent together. Because of the deep intimacy that gets built when someone listens to your voice, episode after episode.
We’ve moved out of the era of the 60-to-90-minute webinar song and dance. We’re all onto it. Now it’s about relationship and trust. And there is nothing — nothing — more powerful for building trust than someone hearing your voice. Your frequency. Over time.
Deep intimacy creates trust. Period.
3. Convenience
Your dream client has a lot going on. She’s juggling real life. Audio just fits.
Commutes. Walks. Cooking. Folding laundry. 87% of podcast listeners use a mobile device. We don’t need her eyes. We don’t need her full, undivided attention. We just need her ears.
You’re not asking her to sit down and watch something. You’re walking alongside her. Meeting her exactly where she is.
I’m curious — what are you doing right now as you’re reading this?
4. The Power of Voice — Your Soapbox
I say it all the time: don’t pick a niche, pick a soapbox.
Your podcast is your soapbox. Your voice carries conviction, warmth, and authority — things that email text, Instagram graphics, and captions simply cannot replicate. A podcast gives you an unfiltered platform to say what you actually believe.
No character limits. No algorithm deciding who sees it. No dancing for attention.
Nobody can hear the frequency of your voice in an Instagram caption. But they can hear it in a podcast. And that Instagram caption? An algorithm is deciding who gets to see it anyway.
5. Off Social Media
This is where I started this whole conversation, and it’s the big one.
You own your podcast. No algorithm is gatekeeping your reach. No platform is telling you your content is “too long” and probably won’t get much reach. (Yes, Instagram literally tells me this every time I post a video over three minutes. Every. Time.)
Our best buyers are spending less and less time on social media. I know I am — and I’m a lot of people’s best buyer.
If people are leaving social media, your organic content and your paid ads are going to perform less and less. Unless Meta figures out how to clean up the AI slop and bring some integrity back to the platform — which they could — I’m not going to sit around hoping and praying they do.
I’m taking my business into my own hands. And podcasting is how you do that. It’s your insurance policy.
3 Trends You Need to Know Right Now
Video Podcasting Is No Longer Optional
Now, I take a slightly different approach here. I don’t sit and video my podcast. Instead, I record my audio first — because it flows more naturally from my heart and intuition when I just speak — and then I create a live video about the same content (and here on Substack? It posts to Youtube automatically!).
The point is this: we are multimedia now. Audio and video. And when you combine them in a way that lets people consume however they choose, you win. Substack even connects to YouTube, so your videos can publish right from Substack. Find what works for you. There’s no one right way.
Your Podcast Is Your Content Engine
This is what I do. This is what I teach. And it is so incredibly powerful.
One episode becomes your content for the entire week. This audio becomes a Substack article, which goes out as a newsletter to my email list. Substack creates shareable social clips for me. I can pull the transcript and turn it into a written post. I can create notes from it. One great conversation multiplies into everything else.
Stop creating content from scratch every week. Start creating one great conversation and let it do the work.
Women Are the Fastest-Growing Podcast Audience
45% of U.S. women listened to a podcast in the last month — that’s a 15% increase year over year. And women are consuming an average of 9.5 episodes per week, compared to 7 for men.
She’s not scrolling social for transformational content anymore. She’s listening. She’s bingeing. She’s looking for a trusted guide.
The question is: can she find you?
Why Substack Changes Everything
Here’s why I moved my podcast from Libsyn to Substack: simplicity and centralization.
When I published on Libsyn, everything after the upload was manual. My team had to create the email, the social content, the blog post, all of it. With Substack, when I upload an audio, it goes out to Apple, Spotify, and all the podcast platforms — and it gets emailed to my list, and shareable assets get created, and I can publish an article right alongside it.
It’s an all-in-one. For free.
Most of you are solopreneurs. Maybe you have a VA. You’re trying to reduce costs and simplify your life. Substack lets you run your business leveraging audio in a way that takes away so much of the busywork.
And for your dream client? She gets one centralized hub where she can find everything — your latest episode, your latest posts, all of it — updated dynamically without you having to remember a checklist or hire someone to update your website.
We want to be bingeable. When a stranger discovers us, we want her to quickly immerse herself in our world and decide: this person is for me. Substack makes that possible.
Your Next Step
If this lit something up in you, here’s what I want you to do.
This Friday, I’m teaching The Podcast Playbook for Substack — live at 10 a.m. Eastern inside our Soapbox membership. You’ll get the full strategy, the step-by-step guide, and a printable playbook you can have in your hands.
This is for you whether you’re starting something brand new, moving an existing podcast, or want to explore things like private podcasts, audio books, or multiple shows across your client journey.
Join the Substack Soapbox — $79 for the year.
Podcasting has completely changed my business. It’s grown my revenue, deepened my client relationships, and created lifelong listeners. I want to help you do the same.
Your voice matters. Your story matters. And there’s a woman out there right now who needs to hear it.
Let’s make that happen. See you Friday. 🎙️
It's brilliant! Thank you Julie-you've simplified my life
I love how you look at the clients journey in every decision and recommendation you make!