Podcasting Power Moves: Ask Better Questions, Build Trust, Grow Sales | #255

Are you asking all the wrong questions?

That is a HORRIBLE question!

Instead, it would be a much better question to ask you this:  "What type of questions do you ask to create conversions from each episode?"

When we avoid Yes/No questions or generic icebreakers, we'll create stronger episodes that convert while increasing our credibility and thought leadership as a podcast host or podcast guest.

In #255, we'll unpack how to ask specific, story-driven questions which build trust and increase audience engagement.

❌ Not-So-Great Questions versus ✅ Better Questions

There are 6 categories of questions

1. Vague, Boring Icebreakers

2. Overly Broad Business Questions

3. The Yes-No Trap

4. Overly Self-Serving Questions

5. Fluffy, No Value Closers

6. The Unprepared Question

Hi! I'm Jen! I believe when you ask better questions, you work towards better solutions.  What strategies do you have in place to leverage podcasting in 2025? Book a call with me to leverage faster in your own 90-Day Private Sprint.

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Transcript

Time To Simplify Podcasting
Jen Rogers | Creator of the 90-Day Sprint | Certified Coach | Keynote Speaker

I teach experienced Christian entrepreneurs how to leverage podcasting so they can grow their impact, influence + income.

If you’re a successful business owner and you haven’t launched a show, it’s time to talk about how to put your voice and proven offers to work for you!

📲Book a call with me when you're serious about monetizing podcasting.

2025 is the year of PODCASTING WINS with explosive growth + booming sales! www.coachjenrogers.com/VIPCoach

Podcasting Power Moves: Ask Better Questions, Build Trust, Grow Sales | #255

What is 100 times more valuable than an engagement on social media? What does the number 100 have in common with real results? What does Blue Ocean mean to you? First things first, the answer to the first question. What is 100 times more valuable than an engagement on social media?

 The answer, the value of a podcast listener.  The answer to the second question, what does the number 100 have in common with real results? The average number of episodes it takes to see real results is 100.

When you host your show. Are you in podcasting for the long haul? Well, my friend, then you are in exactly the right place. 

Third question, what does Blue Ocean mean to you? My husband and I were chatting about this and he said, Jen, you don't need to be in a blue ocean to have a strategy that works. You can be in the red ocean with blue ideas that draw people to you.

I put a post in our Facebook group inside the Virtual Podcast school. I will link it to the show notes. I would love to hear your answer to what does Blue Ocean mean to you? So if you are into Facebook, join us inside the Virtual Podcast School and put your answer to the question, what does Blue Ocean mean to you?

I know we're gonna have a great conversation inside the virtual podcast school with this question. So what do you think? what does Blue Ocean mean to you? My blue ocean strategy relates to my ability to synthesize complex ideas. Which reminds me of one of my guests inside the podcast Monetization bootcamp, Chelsea Burns. She's a marketing psychologist.

she and I have become friends on LinkedIn , and now we're exchanging our expertise with the others audiences. It is wonderful collaboration. [00:02:00] She left me a great review that stated the very thing I just mentioned to you. Jen is a fantastic host and idea synthesizer.

So my Blue Ocean strategy relates to that: synthesizing complex ideas. Chelsea also says Jen is insightful. She's a poignant host who has an uncanny ability to distill every topic into simple, actionable steps for her listeners. I highly recommend putting Jen in your ears. Her voice will help you uplevel your success.

That is a great review! Chelsea. Thank you so much for that. Do you know how you can get a great review from your audience and your collaborators too? When you embrace your blue ocean giftings in every area of service you provide, you'll not only survive in the red ocean, you'll create well your own school of fish that follow you exclusively.

Let's face it, when you are in the ocean, the likelihood of a shark attack is significantly higher than when you're on dry land. In today's episode, I'll share how you can handle awkward questions and bad setups from a host. Or from a guest. A quick note, if you are a host who is not yet guesting, consider this your official invite to get to guesting.

You'll not only create incredible collaborations like Chelsea and I did. You'll learn how to ask better questions on either side of the microphone. I. As an added bonus, you'll create a more memorable guesting experience and workflow for your future guests.

When you learn what it feels like to be a guest and there are things you experience that you don't particularly care for, or things that you want to duplicate in your own onboarding guest experience, you will implement changes that create a higher comfort level for your guest. when your guests are more comfortable, do you know what they do? They talk more [00:04:00] freely, they feel warmth in that environment. They feel expected and welcome in your podcasting house, which is exactly what we want them to feel because when they feel comfortable, they will share more from the heart.

And when they share more from the heart, they will have a more meaningful impact on your audience. 

The mission of time to simplify podcasting is to synthesize complex ideas so you can implement tactics to monetize every podcasting experience on either side of the microphone. Hey there, I'm Jen Rogers, your Hostess with the Mostest, and you are listening to episode number 255 of Time To Simplify podcasting.

I am on a mission to work with 100 podcasters each month to generate content that creates recurring ROI. While I cannot take on 100 individual clients monthly, I do have openings for a select few. If we're not working together privately, then you are part of the 98% I'm serving through this podcast on LinkedIn and inside the virtual podcast school.

I love podcasting. I love podcasting and making money even more. Hey, there is a ministry purpose for my show. I believe in Jesus and share my insights with you from a biblical perspective.

If you want to know more about Jesus' call to action for you to come into the kingdom. Send me a voicemail by clicking the red phone in the show notes. I'll share the good news of the gospel with you. 

when it comes to podcasting. I'm sharing all I'm learning as I grow, my impact, my influence, and yes, my income with you.

I don't want you to experience unnecessary pitfalls and throw in the towel on podcasting like 95 plus percent of podcast hosts do because they do not have a strategy for how their show reflects their brands and grows their businesses. There are learning curves for sure.

[00:06:00] when you work with me, I can save you from tech overwhelm. I can save you from decision fatigue, and I can save you from the content creation hamster wheel, so you leverage podcasting to grow your business. When you have a proven offer and you're willing to do the work to create a show that serves your audience.

I just finished the second podcast bootcamp inside the Virtual podcast school. We are in replay mode right now through March 9th. If you wanna get in on the replays, I highly recommend them. Join us inside the Virtual Podcast school. The link is in the show notes. . If you're on Facebook, simply search for the virtual podcast school.

I'm confident you will find us in that red ocean. If Facebook isn't your thing, totally cool, send me a message and I'll share bootcamp intel and replays with you based on what your specific needs are. If you are in that 2%, who's looking for one-on-one coaching with me? Let's have a conversation. 

Head on over to coach jen rogers.com/vip coach. Together we'll explore how you can take your blue ocean giftings and make money in the red ocean. Alright, let's get started with episode number 255.

In this episode, I'll share how to handle a shark attack of a question and turn it into a powerful, influential and mic drop moment answer.Alright, let's go off the deep end together.  

 When I was putting this episode together, I came up with a not so great question. I. A much better question. I'm going to give you a few examples, and then what we'll do is we'll break them down in categories with further examples.

Since I became a certified professional life coach, the questions I ask are deeper questions. I work to avoid yes or no questions. I work to go deeper. It is [00:08:00] an approach I highly recommend for you on either side of the microphone. Before I share a couple of examples, let me give you one tidbit I share frequently.

Here it is. Just because someone asks you a question does not require you to answer it. Now, I know when we're hosting and guesting, it is a back and forth interview process where typically that's what goes on. Remember, you are in control of your message. Ensure however you respond, you are responding on message.

Aligned with your values and you are answering questions you are prepared to answer. That doesn't mean you have a rehearsed answer. It means you have prepared, you understand what the takeaways for the audience will be and what your host is expecting, or if you're the host, what you want your audience to experience.

What I want you to experience by the end of this episode is to create better questions. Which will lead to better interviews, which will lead to better serving your ideal clients, which means they will trust you more. And when they trust you more, they will come to you for your solution because you have earned the right to offer your solution.

Okay, let's jump into a few examples. Are you ready? A, not so great question. Why did you decide to start a podcast? A better question. You have a proven offer. What made you realize podcasting was the missing piece to scale your business? if you are a guest and you get a question like this, why did you decide to do such and such a thing?

You can flip it into I have a proven offer that does this very thing, and I realized this was the missing piece to scale my business. What makes this a better question, [00:10:00] a better way of flipping the why did you decide to start a podcast is because it focuses on monetization and business growth, not just storytelling.

We want to story tell with purpose. This is exactly what we talked about in day four of the podcast, monetization bootcamp. Quick reminder, if you want the replays. They're available now through Sunday, March 9th, so be sure you get into the replay party.

Okay, let's keep going to a not so great question and a better question. A not so great question. What is your podcast about? A better question, who is your dream listener and what's the transformation they'll experience from tuning in? What makes this a better question?

The second question, who is your dream listener and what's the transformational experience from tuning in is it clarifies the ideal audience and the impact which ties directly into the coaching process. Okay. I'm gonna share one more with you and then we're gonna break these down in categories.

A not so great question. How long does it take to launch a podcast? A better question. What held you back from launching sooner? What finally got you over the hump where you took action? What makes this a great question? It uncovers pain points, you know, when you're launching your podcast.

Pain points like tech overwhelm, struggling to create content each week, confusion on your strategy, brand misalignment, not having a great plan for how your podcast goes into your business. Those are all pain points that get uncovered when you ask a better question.

By the way, this is why I promote a 90-day sprint because you go all in all to the wall 90 [00:12:00] days, and you don't have to worry about all those things that you don't want to worry about. Instead, you focus on getting that podcast. Launched. So the not so great question was, how long does it take to launch a podcast?

Now for you fit this in your frame of reference for the business that you do. how long does it take to lose 50 pounds? Instead of asking that question, A better question would be what held you back from taking that first step to losing that first pound, which led to you losing 50 pounds?

Because that question will uncover the pain points your audience is experiencing.  

No matter who is asking the question, whether the host is asking the guest, or the guest is asking the host, remember those two very important things to monetize every episode. You want to remember the business purpose for this episode, and you want to remember what it is that you want your audience to take away.

What is that one thing you want them to know for sure? For example, in this episode, number 255 of time, to simplify podcasting, I'm helping you ask better questions so you can build more trust with your audience so your CTAs will garner more responses because people will trust you as the thought leader in your field because you ask and answer questions in a powerful way.

Okay, let's jump into the different categories 

 of questions you can work on from taking a not so great question to a really powerful question. I have six basic categories. 

Number one, the vague, boring icebreaker. So tell us a little about yourself. Oh, what a horrible, horrible question. It's not just a not great question.

That's a horrible [00:14:00] question. Ask better questions to get better answers. instead of asking a generic, tell us a little bit about yourself. One, it's overused, and two, there's a better way 

to hone in on your guests expertise right from the get go. You could ask this instead. what is one moment in your journey that completely changed the way you do business?

that's flipping a vague, boring icebreaker into a really great question. 

The second type of question is the overly broad business question. A not so great question. How did you start your business? A better question, which will avoid a long-winded backstory, will focus on a key lesson that you know your audience needs to hear.

instead of asking, how did you start your business, you could ask this, what was the biggest challenge in scaling your business past six figures, and how did you solve it? 

The third type of question, I mentioned this earlier when I was sharing a little bit about my coaching journey.

Avoid the yes/no trap. Avoid yes or no questions, a not so great question. Do you think podcasting is a good strategy for business owners? Of course, you know, my answer would be yes. Even I would even answer that question and then I would extract it from the yes no trap, and I would build upon that answer. A better question instead of, do you think something is a good strategy?

You could ask, can you share a real example of how podcasting has directly impacted your business revenue or your visibility? Well, of course I can. I definitely can share visibility. I can share client success wins. I can share monetization goals. I can share shifts in downloads. I can share a number of different things with this better question and avoid the [00:16:00] yes no trap.

instead of asking questions that lead to a simple yes or no, the better question prompts a story with proof, which elevates the credibility of that person in your audience's eyes, or I, I guess I could say in their earbuds.

All right, number four, we have three more to go. Number four, the overly self-serving question. A not so great question. What do you love most about my podcast? A much better question would be from what you've seen in our conversations, what's one thing you think my audience needs to hear today? Because we all know that first question is self-serving.

The second question will have your guest feeling valued for asking their opinion, and it will also keep you on track and will stay relevant to your audience.

Okay. Number five. Let me see. Before I go on to number five, let me recap. We're gonna avoid vague, boring icebreakers. We will avoid overly broad business questions. We will also avoid the yes no trap. We want to ask powerful questions. We just covered. We are avoiding the overly self-indulgent questions.

Instead, we wanna make sure questions that we ask, serve the needs of our audience and highlight the expertise of both the host and the guest. Okay,Let's move to the last two. Number five, the fluffy, no value closer question. A not so great question. Any final thoughts? Oh my goodness, that is wide open. Talk about getting chomped up by the sharks in the red ocean. That is a wide open question. Avoid asking a question like that. You have no idea where it's going to go, so you're gonna create a lot more editing work for you or your producer.

avoid a fluffy, [00:18:00] no value closer. Instead ask a better question. If listeners take just one action after hearing this episode, what action do you recommend? The first question, any final thoughts? Wide open. Red Ocean Blooding question is vague and invites a forgettable answer. The second is a clear call to action.

And finally, the sixth type of question is the, I didn't do my homework question. or I suppose you could say the dog ate my homework question. So the not so great question is, so what do you do again, much better question is you have helped X type of clients do this thing.

What would you say is the most overlooked strategy you teach that gets them results? If you ask that first question, so what do you do again, or tell me a little bit more about what you do, it shows you didn't really do your research. Whereas when you ask a better question. It shows your guest you know their expertise and it gets them talking about their best insights.

The other thing it does is it lets your audience know that you have prepared for this interview. You just didn't flip on the mic, and you want your audience to feel cherished. You want them to know you have taken time to put together an episode that is going to serve them well. speaking of serving your audience well, I prepared for today's episode and I know these questions will help you create better experiences for your audiences, and when you create a better experience, they will come back for the next episode.

That is a wrap for how you can increase your downloads and practice monetizing every single episode when you approach the [00:20:00] episode with intention, when you show up to serve your audience, when you understand what your business purpose is and what the one thing this episode is to do for your listener.

The one thing this episode did for you was help you ask better questions on either side of the microphone. When you establish your thought leadership, when you share stories that tie into the solutions you offer, you build trust, and when you build trust, people trust you and they want to come and do business with you. 

If your podcast is not going exactly the way you were hoping it was going, or you're considering launching or relaunching, then book a call with me. Head on over to coach jen rogers.com/vip coach, and we can talk about how you too can ask powerful questions. To monetize every episode so you can

expand your impact, your influence, and your income with your microphone. Podcasting is the best platform for 2025. It is a highly trusted platform, and in 90 days from the day you say yes to launching your show and we begin working together, you can share your episodes with your

Collaborators with your clients, with your business partners, and yes, even with your family and friends. When people listen to your show and they recommend your show to other people. That is referral influence. People respond to invitations from other people more so than they're gonna respond to any audiogram or videogram that you will post.

remember the question I asked at the very beginning of this episode? What is 100 times more valuable than an engagement on social media? The answer is exactly what you've been listening to, creating [00:22:00] binge-worthy episodes that elevate your credibility with your ideal client.

I'm Jen Rogers. Thanks so much for listening today. I cannot wait to catch you in the next episode. Between now and then, be sure to join us inside the Virtual Podcast School. 

PS that review I shared at the beginning from Chelsea Burns. I invite you to do what Chelsea did 

Will you spread your referral love by using your voice to leave an amazing review so other entrepreneurs can find time to simplify podcasting? Your words have power, my friend. Please use them well and the chances of me reading it on the show are pretty high. Alright, I'll catch you in the next episode.