Tips, tricks and strategies for women juggling it all to feel happier and healthier as they heal from their own traumas.

One year ago I was a successful marketing executive at a Fortune 500 company, living the life I always dreamed of having. That is until one day traveling for business, I stumbled upon a book that changed everything. The Body Keeps the Score by Bessel Van der Kolk speaks to how trauma changes us on a biological level, impacting our ability to engage with the world, which is when I knew that my long history of digestive challenges, anxiety, and a general sense that I should be happier were likely symptoms of my childhood traumas and more specifically, the abuse I had endured. That singular realization led me on a journey to heal that completely transformed how I experience the world at large, a mid-life gift I hope to offer other busy, high-achieving women who are looking to feel healthier and happier in their own lives every day.

And so The Healing Heroes podcast was born – a show where I interview my twelve healers (now heroes!) on their areas of expertise so other women can learn about holistic approaches to feeling better and unlocking more joy. Our model is different from other podcasts in that we choose not to showcase a revolving door of guests, instead introducing these twelve experts as permanent fixtures and household names that can serve as trusted guides for women wanting to live happier and more fulfilling lives.
 

Podcasting as a medium is so intimate – you are often and quite literally in the listeners’ heads since many people engage with podcast content through earbuds or headphones, so I view that as an enormous responsibility. Healing is also a very individual and emotional experience, so a podcast felt like the most appropriate channel for helping women connect with these influential and expert voices. Additionally, I realized it was an easy way for me to serve as a conduit for these important messages – authoring a book would have required me to become an expert in 15+ healing modalities, which would have been near impossible and have taken years to accomplish, whereas with podcast interviews I simply serve as a liaison for listeners to learn from and gain access to these influential practitioners.

I’ll also mention there were a couple podcasts in particular that played enormous roles in my own healing journey, so I would say leaders in the space like Mel Robbins and Oprah’s SuperSoul really helped inspire me by demonstrating the power of audio as a medium for connection and communication.
 

I was fortunate enough to have saved responsibly over my ten-year tenure at my corporate job, plus I have a spouse who works so it felt like the right time to take a risk and leap into content creation full time. I initially thought I could produce the podcast outside of my day job, which I do think is possible for anyone just starting out and depending on what your 9 to 5 looks like, but I was a fairly senior corporate marketer so often found myself working from home in the evenings and knew something would have to give. I also recognized that I wanted this to be more than a hobby given I had the relevant training to create a high-quality show and go-to-market strategy, so knew it would take everything I had to make it as successful as I know it can (and will!) be.

It’s certainly nerve-racking to not know when or how I’ll generate income again, but I have learned throughout this process to have faith in myself and my abilities, and remain confident it will all work out in the end. It's all about trusting the process and knowing that the universe, God, or whatever you believe in has got your back if you let it.
 

My primary driver and reward for podcasting is all about my love for creativity and the connections I’m fostering - not just with listeners but also with my heroes! I love interviewing my own healers because I learn something new from every conversation, and I have such a deep respect for the work they do. It’s truly the most fulfilling work I’ve ever done – creating something from nothing that inspires and helps women lead better lives.

I currently do have one sponsor but am not generating recurring revenue…yet! The sponsor found me, I think mostly because of our highly successful launch performance and targeting women. In order to get listeners hooked on the podcast concept and content, I knew I needed to introduce each hero and healing approach right away, so we launched with thirteen episodes in total – the pilot consisted of me telling my story and what listeners stand to gain from tuning in, and the other twelve episodes represented my first interview with each hero. We hit over 750 downloads on our first day, and now almost five months later surpassed over 8,000 downloads!
 

Learning all about podcasting software, hardware, and production support was definitely the biggest challenge for me. I spent a ton of time on google, review sites, and even hired a podcast consultant leading up to our launch. I thankfully don’t have to worry about finding guests to interview since I already have my cast of characters, but there was a substantial amount of work involved in ensuring we captured high quality audio from the start.

For example with respect to equipment, I spent heavily in purchasing and shipping thirteen full recording setups (mic, boom arm, and headphones) for everyone, including myself. I knew Shure had some of the best products out there, and decided that sound quality was an investment I wouldn’t regret. I use Riverside.fm for capturing my interview content since I conduct all my episode conversations virtually and can’t say enough good things about it as a recording platform.

I’d also be lost without my amazing editing partners – Nextday Podcast. Their team turns episode content around incredibly fast and has done a great job handling complex edits. I release new episodes every Wednesday morning, so I also work with a freelance producer who has been an absolute godsend for me in managing transcript edits and working directly with Nextday on my behalf. Her name is Amber, and she’s a rockstar!
 

I admittedly need to do a bit more to evaluate and optimize performance across my various channels, but to start I focused on ensuring that prospective listeners could find the show in as many places as possible. With a background in brand marketing, it was also important to me to have a very consistent and differentiated brand identity. I worked with a very talented brand & website designer named Brittany of The Cultivators based in Canada, who I found through a friend to help fine tune my logo and build a gorgeous website to serve as a destination for listeners. From there I added a blog, monthly email templates, and an ‘in the press’ page. Currently, we’re live on almost every podcast platform, and since we’re also a video podcast every episode can be found on our YouTube channel. It’s certainly a number of channels to maintain and content to create, but it’s worth it because you want prospects and existing listeners to be able to engage with you anywhere.

Most of my ongoing marketing effort is done in social, specifically Instagram since that’s still the most popular platform for 40 something females, my target demographic. I’ve also come to LOVE Threads, since I’m in the self-improvement space and it is such a great place to inspire and connect with like-minded individuals. I post on Instagram and Facebook a couple times a day Tuesday-Friday when promoting episodes, and switch to other types of branded content over the weekends usually since that tends to align with the cyclical nature of downloads knowing they peak around releases and diminish 3+ days after an episode goes live.

I also invested in a PR team to help with show promotion for the first six months after going live. This was admittedly my largest investment and won’t be a feasible solution for everyone given the financial commitment, but I think it can be an effective way to grow brand awareness in a variety of places if you have the budget for it.
 

I think the most valuable lesson I’ve learned along the way is to trust your gut and be your authentic self at all times. Don’t try to copy what someone else is doing – they are already doing it, and nobody else in the world is you! You will always have a unique and distinct way to approach your own content, whether in how you brand your show, source guests, interview, produce, edit, market, and more! YOU are your most valuable and effective competitive advantage.
 

Find us anywhere you podcast by searching The Healing Heroes!
On Apple Podcasts: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/the-healing-heroes/id1755264406
YouTube Channel: https://www.youtube.com/@HealingHeroesPodcast
Website: www.healingheroespodcast.com
Instagram: @healingheroespodcast