Today, I’m bringing on Stephanie King from My Essential Birth to the podcast. Stephanie has been instrumental in my pregnancy and birth journey with both of my boys. I discovered her online course and podcast early in my first pregnancy and have been a dedicated listener ever since. Her content, courses, and guidance have been invaluable. It's amazing how our paths crossed through social media, and we've since collaborated in a number of ways. Today, I'm excited to dive into a topic she doesn't often discuss: her business smarts and the journey behind My Essential Birth podcast. Welcome, Stephanie!
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Who is Stephanie King?
My name is Stephanie King, and I am a childbirth educator and doula, but I’m also an online course creator. I have a top-rated podcast for birth called Pregnancy and Birth Made Easy, and then my company, or the name of my birth course, is My Essential Birth. It’s online birth education, and I get to serve women all over the world doing that. I’m also a mom of five and I’m really active in my church, a follower of Christ. Faith is a big part of my journey as well.
When you were teaching in-person classes, how did people find you?
I attended every birth-related event, made cards, and networked extensively. I would go to birth centers, attend any birth meetings, and show up at La Leche Leagues so that people could tell their friends. If there were homeschool meetings nearby where kids got together for playgroups, I talked about it there. I went to any kind of birth get-together, including showings of "The Business of Being Born." It was a lot of showing up, making cards, and talking to people. Once I established a presence, word-of-mouth referrals also helped. It was a mix of networking and providing a great experience that kept people coming.
When you and your former business partner decided to take your education online, what was your process? Did you create the course first or start the podcast?
We created the course first, which I don't recommend now. We had no audience when we launched, which was a hard lesson. Our vision was clear and the production quality was high, but without an audience, it didn't sell initially. After the course, we started the podcast, which helped build our audience. It took a while, but eventually, we started making enough sales to cover our expenses.
Initially, our vision was very clear, and we wanted to ensure the quality of the content and the video was top-notch. We also went into a lot of debt over that, which I highly recommend you do not do. We did all the things that you could do wrong. We did that the wrong way. We launched it and nobody was interested in what we had because they didn’t know about it. We beta tested and did discounts but had no social media following. Then we started the birth course six months later. We had taken out all of that debt, probably at least $20,000 in debt for creating the course, which is so silly.
At that point, we were using debt to pay debt hoping that the birth course was going to start selling. When that didn’t happen, I was ready to quit. I prayed about it and had a clear answer to keep going. By August, we finally made enough sales to cover the debt payment and then always made enough sales to cover the debt and then some from that point. You should not have to go into debt to create, it's not that you don’t make sacrifices, but you do not have to go into debt to create a business. We didn’t have to do that professional video and all of these things. We could have built it up slowly. We should have also built our social media while creating the course.
If you were to redo it, would you start the podcast first and then make the course filmed with slides at home and record it yourself? Or would you still do the professional recording the first time, but just start with the podcast first?
I think it depends on where your budget is at. I could see it going either way, but I think it makes complete sense that while you are just getting started to not have to spend a bunch of money in the beginning. Start some kind of social following, whether you're going to choose Instagram, a blog, or a podcast, whatever you're going to use to start your email list and nurture them every week. Create the content while you're doing it and do something that is cheap and accessible and also full of really great content. Then when you have money coming in, you can put some into re-recording with a better camera or hire somebody.
There are lessons to be learned once you start recording too. Part of the reason it cost us so much is that the first time we recorded, we didn't know what we were doing. We did a pretty good job, but we missed things and had to hire them again for a second day, and then two rounds of editing. It gets expensive.
How do you approach updating your course content? Knowing you spend a lot of money on the production.
Initially, I felt intimidated about updating our professionally done course. Now, I've invested in equipment to record updates at home, allowing more flexibility. This setup helps me to make necessary updates without the high costs of professional studio time. So now, instead of hiring someone to come in and professionally do this, I set up a nice, clean, and pretty space at home with good lighting, cameras, and sound equipment. I spent about $6,000 on this setup, which allows me to record high-quality content at home and send it to an editor. This way, I can make updates as needed without the hefty price tag.
Read more: Podcast Equipment Guide: The 5 Pieces of Equipment You Need + How to Start Your Podcast for $90!
Spoiler alert for our listeners: Stephanie has had over 1,500 students and 2.29 million podcast downloads! What tips do you have for growing an online course and podcast listener base?
Understanding your ideal customer is key but also make your content fun, interesting, and informative. I've used a podcast headline analyzer to improve titles and make sure they’ll capture attention. Your first few episodes might feel awkward, but keep going. Also, engaging your audience through testimonials and consistent, quality content helps build a loyal following.
When we started, we recorded three episodes, and the first one was so bad we couldn't put it up. The second one referred to the first, so we had to figure out how to engage our audience from the start.
The headline analyzer helps with that by suggesting improvements to make titles more personal and engaging. It's important to keep your audience in mind and make your content relatable. And make sure you are showing up in search!
Having someone to host with me initially made the podcast more engaging, like friends talking about birth at a table. When I switched to solo episodes, I had to pretend I was talking to a friend to keep that personal touch.
Knowing your ideal customer and speaking directly to them helps create content that resonates. It's also about understanding their pain points and addressing those in your episodes. As you get more comfortable, it becomes easier to create valuable content.
EM: Yeah, I feel like I followed your customer journey in the way you would hope: I listened to your podcast, downloaded your freebie, got your emails, and ultimately purchased the course.
Why did you choose NOT to monetize your show with ads and promote your own stuff instead?
Yeah, I was going back and forth with that. In fact, I think it was probably about this time last year when I was considering maybe putting some sponsors on and/or adding some affiliate revenue streams. But I realized, honestly, just crunching the numbers and looking at what made sense financially, but also for my listeners and thinking about what's going to benefit them the most, I just didn’t want to do ads.
Read more: 3 Real Ways To *Actually* Make Money From Your Podcast
How do you target new listeners at the exact right time? Because there is only a short window between when someone’s pregnant and when they’re ready for your birth course or postpartum course.
The nice thing about that (pregnancy and women being involved in that experience in their life) is they really go searching within those nine months. They are searching for everything. They want to learn all the things. How big is my baby this week? Why do I have this symptom? Some people dive in right away with the first baby, and I absolutely love that, but a lot of times it really is those second babies. So a lot of my first-time moms, it's like they're finding me around 30-32 weeks, I'll have people jump into the course at 35-37 weeks, and it's because it's like we've ignored it long enough and now all of a sudden it's like, oh yeah, baby has to come out.
Because of this, every six to nine weeks, I have new people looking at my stuff. Which in turn, gives me an opportunity to reuse content more often, put it into a new light, say it a little bit differently, or something like that. When you get started with podcasting, I don't know if you felt this way, but I was like, oh my gosh, I'm six episodes in and I feel like I've shared everything. Now we're coming up to 300 episodes at this point, and I feel like I have new things to say all the time. I know my ideal client and I speak directly to her.
How do you convert podcast listeners into course customers without being too salesy?
Now, I incorporate testimonials and birth stories from course students in the podcast. If someone shares their birth story in our Facebook group, and we think it will be impactful, we will reach out and invite them to share their experience on the podcast. I also use dynamic ads through Buzzsprout during key promotional periods.
On top of that, I mention the course naturally within the content, emphasizing its value and how it complements the free content. For instance, when I share a birth story, I ask the students how they prepared, highlighting how the course helped them. I feel like this naturally showcases the course's value without being overly salesy.
How do you balance giving away valuable content on your podcast while ensuring people still see the value in your paid courses? Have you ever been concerned that you're giving away too much on your show?
I used to worry about giving away too much, but I realized the value of having everything organized in a course format. People appreciate the structured learning a course offers. Occasionally, someone might feel they've learned enough from the podcast alone, but the majority find immense value in the course's structure.
It's like this: you can get a lot of information from free resources, but the course provides a step-by-step, organized approach that’s hard to replicate through podcasts alone. Plus, I include bonuses and exclusive content in the course that aren't available anywhere else. So, while the podcast is valuable, the course offers a deeper dive into the topics.
You had only one main lead magnet for a long time. Can you explain your email marketing strategy for moving people from the freebie to the course?
Our welcome sequence has changed over time. Initially, it spanned several weeks, but now it’s a week-long series with daily emails and videos. This sequence introduces our content and leads to weekly emails that tie into our podcast topics. We also share more freebies to keep people engaged and provide value. For example, we have hospital tour questions, questions to ask your provider, and the "Find it and Flip it" exercise.
When guests have higher profiles, they will also often provide branded PDFs for our email list. This benefits both of us as it promotes their work and helps us grow our email list. It's a win-win because the guest gets exposure, and we get to offer valuable content to our audience. We've had great success with this, and it helps keep our email list growing with engaged subscribers.
Lastly, how do you balance motherhood and your business, especially with homeschooling? What tips do you have for other moms in similar situations who might want an online course and podcast business?
It varies by season. Right now, I'm working a lot because it's summer and I have the time. During the school year, I scale back to focus on homeschooling. Flexibility is key. Having a strong support system, like my virtual assistants, allows me to adjust my workload as needed.
With four teenagers and one almost-teen, life is busy. We recently adopted two of our nieces, so the dynamics have changed, but we’re managing. My business allows me to be present for my family while still working. Some weeks, I can work just a few hours, and others, I dive deep into projects. It's all about finding that balance and prioritizing what's important.
Connect With Stephanie
You can listen to my podcast, "Pregnancy and Birth Made Easy," on any podcast platform. You can also find my website here or come find me on Instagram here!
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