Lloyd George is a SquadCaster and the host of Thoughts from a Content Creator podcast. On this episode of the SquadCast podcast, we’re featuring an episode of his show!

At SquadCast, we love showing off the podcast episodes and content recorded on our platform by incredible creators. In this episode, Lloyd interviews Henry G Lawrence of the Positive Mindset Podcast. Lloyd writes, “have you ever wondered how to get more podcast downloads? This podcaster was able to grow his podcast to 2 Million + Downloads.”

This episode is for you if

  • You’d like to become a full-time content creator one day
  • You are currently creating content via Tik Tok, Podcasting, Youtube, or Instagram
  • You believe there’s something greater for you out there
  • You’re a podcaster who hopes to one day accumulate 1 million+ podcast downloads

Also in this episode

Credits

  • Written and produced by Arielle Nissenblatt
  • Mixed and designed by Vince Moreno Jr
  • Artwork and logos by Alex Whedbee
  • Music by Shawn Valles
  • Hosted by Zach Moreno and Rock Felder
  • Transcripts by Sabeena Singhani

Episode Transcriptions

DANIEL GOLDBERG: Hey, before we get to this episode of The SquadCast Podcast, I wan to tell you about another show I know you’ll enjoy. And it’s recorded on SquadCast. I’m host Danny Goldberg, and by 25, I’d lost both my parents to rare cancers, and it changed how I lived forever. Since then, I’ve been on a simple mission: To find the world’s most passionate mentors, coaches, athletes, and entrepreneurs, and ask them the question: How do you truly live? Join me as I interview fascinating individuals who dive deep into thought provoking topics, offering bits of gold on navigating adversity, building resilience, finding joy, and living purposefully. Together, let’s discover the bits of gold we can all apply to live on purpose. You can find it at bitsofgold.co and wherever you get your podcasts. Now, onto the show.

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LLOYD: Hi, and welcome to The SquadCast Podcast. You may or may not recognize my voice from TikTok, or my own podcast. I’m Lloyd George. Usually this show is hosted by Zach and Rock, SquadCast co-founders. But today I’m here because in a moment, you’ll hear an episode from my podcast, Thoughts From a Content Creator. Usually on this show, Zach and Rock chat about remote content production, they share recommendations, they discuss product updates, and so much more. And lately on this feed, you’ve been hearing a bunch of SquadCast recorded podcasts. That’s because the SquadCast team loves showing off the amazing work of the Squad community. Here’s what you can expect to hear on this episode we’re about to play from my podcast. In this episode, I interview my friend Henry. He’s a podcaster and content creator. Since 2020, he’s been able to grow his show to 1.5 million downloads total, and 40,000 downloads per week. I chat with him about how he started his podcast and how exactly he’s been able to grow his podcast. Without further ado, let’s get to Thoughts From a Content Creator.

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LLOYD: Hello everyone. My name is Lloyd, and welcome to my podcast, Thoughts From a Content Creator. Where I’m documenting my journey to becoming a full-time content creator. In today’s episode, you’ll learn how one creator started his podcast during the pandemic, and has managed to go from zero downloads to 40,000 downloads per week. Hope you enjoy! He’s a friend that I met online. We’ve been friends on Instagram and TikTok. Um, he needs no introduction. He has a podcast called The Positive Mindset Podcast. He’s accumulated 1.6 million downloads since inception, and he gets an average of about 40,000 downloads per week. Please help me welcome Henry to the podcast. Henry, how are you? 

HENRY G LAWRENCE: Good. Good. I’m really excited to be here. I think that, uh, we’re gonna talk about some good stuff, especially if you’re interested in podcasting, because it’s just the beginning for what’s possible. 

LLOYD: I love that. Henry, when people ask you what your podcast is about, what do you say?

HENRY: So the easiest way to talk about it is… Well, for one it’s The Positive Mindset Podcast. So the name basically explains what, what it is, right? If you’re someone that’s looking to, uh, get out of a negative mindset or build your positive mindset, that’s what’s gonna get you to tune in. But the, uh, content of it has changed over time. And we’ll, we’ll talk about all this, you know, because I think as someone that might be new to podcasting or thinking about doing it, it’s gonna be really, um, important that we go through this story and the way that we’re going to, because it’s really daunting to start a podcast. And so, you know, it’s just about making someone excited or getting them in a different frame of mind, lifting their perspective. I mean, it’s just so much that we could talk about. So I’m excited about going into it, but yeah, positive mindset. Says it all.

LLOYD: I love that. And you know, when, when you’ve accumulated, I think success in the way that you have, I think the question that comes to a lot of people’s mind is how the heck did you start? Like when did you decide you wanted to start a podcast? 

HENRY: Yeah, so, um, well just for a hook, um, my podcast now, just on ad revenue, so this is not including sponsorship, coaching, like all the stuff I do outside of it, but just on ad revenue, um, there’s, there’s two forms, but total is about three grand a month. Um, through the podcast, and, uh, you know, so just for the hook right there. So that way, you know, if you wanna do something, it’s possible. But I started my podcast. So this is gonna be, you know, I think everyone’s gonna resonate with this. That’s either thought about starting one or started one the past, is I actually started a YouTube channel about four or five years ago. And it was with a friend, and it was, you know, I’m always been a positive guy. So it was like trying to, you know, talk about positive things with money or positive things with friends or positive things, you know? So that was kind of the theme of it. And it was a YouTube channel, and I was porting the audio over to Anchor. And just forgetting about it. So I use anchor.fm if you’re not familiar with that. And so that’s what I started doing. And then I just completely forgot about it. So it was like random episodes I did four or five years ago. And they just existed. And, um, in 2020, I work in fitness. Uh, the company, I was with, Gold’s Gym. They, they went through bankruptcy, and I was a remote employee, kind of like where I was stationed, and the company that bought them actually laid me off. And I was doing reflection on like, okay, well, what do I wanna do next? You know, kind of revamping my resume. The fitness industry was, you know, hit pretty hard. So, you know, I was like, okay, that’s, I’m gonna have to do something else. And one of my favorite things was coaching. Like I loved doing one-on-ones with people, I loved, you know, planning their like vision for their goals, you know, their development plans, all that stuff. And I started thinking about the people that I coached and how their career was going a lot faster than mine. And I’m thinking like, why is that the case? And it’s like, well, I’ve never had a coach. And so I started thinking about the situation I’m in. I gotta make this change. I don’t have a job. So I can’t really spend money on a coach right now. I need to save my money cuz I don’t know how long, you know, everything is gonna be out for, it was just the beginning of the pandemic. And I said, okay, well I will coach myself and put it on this podcast. And that’s what I started doing. I didn’t think anybody was gonna listen to it at the time. You know, it would get maybe four or five downloads at the time. And so that was back in August of 2020, and I just committed to doing a podcast. Uh, at that time I said, I’m gonna do one every day. So I did an episode seven days a week and, um, it slowly started changing, and I’ve left those episodes up there. They’re terrible compared to my ones I have now. Um, but, uh, it’s the foundation that created, you know, something that is turning in something really big.

LLOYD: Wow. I love that. I did not know that at all. And I think like you come across to me as someone that is very positive, very optimistic. You’re very like, cool. You’re very level-headed. And even just hearing how you thought about that is just like, maybe you didn’t feel like this at the time, but just so concise and, and to the point. When you think about maybe your first three to six months, starting out the podcast, what are some of the emotions you remember? And I’m only asking because sometimes it feels like when you’re creating content, it’s just you talking into a microphone or a camera, and there’s not really people and no one’s listening. You don’t know who’s resonating. So talk to me about your first three months.

HENRY: So I first wanna tell you how I started like equipment-wise. Cause that’s a big one. I, I get this message a lot. I’m sure you do. Um, people wanting to get like nice equipment and things like that. And everything that I use now is still not the best, but I bought it through my earnings. But I bought a, um, I actually have it here, don’t remember the name of it, but it’s basically. It was basically like one of those clips. Uh, I forget what you call ’em that you go goes on your neck. Um, it’s just one of those little mics, you can get ’em from Amazon for really cheap. So I bought that, and I would go in my car. And I hooked my-to set the phone up in the phone holder, and I hook it up, and I would just drive to the grocery store and record my podcast while I was driving. And so I, like, I knew I was gonna drive somewhere every day. So I was like, okay, well I’m alone. There’s not kids. You know, I can kind of just think while I’m in the car, and the sound, wasn’t very good and things like that, but that’s what started it. And that, I think just deciding to do it was helpful. Um, a lot of times people wait till things are perfect, till you have the best mic, the best sound equipment, or you know, like, your topic. And then the fact that I said, I’m just never gonna stop. And I’ve just never stopped. And there’s so many times where when no one listens to something, and you spend, you know, hours and hours and hours on it, every single day, it’s really easy to quit. And my commitment to it was never, this is gonna make me a bunch of money. It was just, I’m never gonna stop this, cuz my belief was in the energy of what I was doing. Uh, not necessarily the actual thing I was doing, because it was the one thing I loved the most about my job. Was helping people find, you know, their path. And we did that through, you know, perspective and really, you know, changing the point of view and then finding what they’re good at and then giving them solid actions along the way. And I could do that all day. Like I’d never get tired of that. And so I was like, okay, well, if I love doing that, I’m just gonna continue this podcast and I’m just gonna do, I’m never gonna stop. Um, and it might change into things in the future. It may not always be the podcast as it is, but I’m never gonna let that energy into me. And so every day I’m gonna do something towards it. And so that’s why I’ve continued to do it on the podcast. 

LLOYD: I love that perspective and outlook. Just this idea that it’s, it’s, um, almost like you’re building a habit and routine, and there might be other benefits that come from this habit. But if you just say like, I’m gonna do this one thing every single day, um, there, there’s so many benefits to that, you know, like, I, I love that perspective. Um, do you feel like you know, since that time, just now seeing everything you’ve accomplished, like, what do you feel like has really changed? Like what would you say is like your, like, why are you podcasting now? Like what would you say is like your goal?

HENRY: So my why has changed a lot, but I would say there’s a few motivating factors and one of them is impact. So because of my topic, so everyone’s not gonna start a podcast that has to do with mindset and stuff like that. You know, you might love, you know, model trains or something, you know, like that, and you can start around that. But because of my subject, I mean, I get messages where people will tell me they’ve been listening for a couple months, and they were suicidal. And that, that got ’em through a really tough time. And I know that’s pretty deep and hard to hear. Um, but like when you get that, it’s like, I can’t miss now. Like that’s how valuable this gift I was given is. Um, but it’s, you know, it can be the same for anything when you are in your true element, you know, and it maybe-I’ll use the model, the model trains as an example, cuz I, I like trains, but uh, you know, that if that’s your element and like someone else can tune into it, and they start like resonating and that like, oh, this person’s like me, you know, they have the same humor, they’re into the same things. Like it makes this world that seems pretty isolated right now, you know, really connected and it bridges a lot of gaps. So I think that’s probably the main one. And then, um, beyond that, like it started expanding like, okay, if I can help this person, how many more people can I help along the way, like how far can I push my capacity to connect with people and change their perspective? And it’s led into other things like coaching and stuff like that, that, uh, you know, we can talk about as well. But, um, yeah, that’s the motivating factor is like the impact you have on people, because life is pretty tough right now. A lot of people are struggling and something that you create, even if it’s a podcast, could be the one thing that when that person tunes in, they’re just like, oh, like I’m connected right here. I got 10 minutes. I can listen to this podcast, or an hour, and things are okay. 

LLOYD: Yeah. That’s the-you’re spot on. Um, and you know, sometimes it feels like we have these great ideas, like, you know, there’s times where I’ve maybe said like, I really think, not only would I be good at this, but I think I could really make an impact doing this thing. But it’s like, I just won’t act on it. Like, I’ll, I’ll be maybe afraid that like my family members, my friends, that they’re, they’re gonna judge me, or maybe like the idea that maybe they know me professionally, and the idea that they might see me, like trying to be like creative or doing something different. They’re gonna be like you’re a fraud. That’s not real. You know? I don’t know, like specifically, like what the fear is. But I do think like there is several times in my life where I’ve let the fear of what other people think limit me from starting new things. It sounds like when you started this podcast, you know, there was a lot going on. You had just been laid off. I mean, how did you avoid some of the distractions that come along when you’re starting something new from limiting you?

HENRY: Okay, so that’s a huge one. And, uh, I definitely did the same thing. So when I first started my podcast, I didn’t share it anywhere. I didn’t share it on my Facebook. I didn’t share it on social media. Um, because I was afraid of that. Um, you know, I go into some like esoteric stuff sometimes, and it’s like, okay, well, this person knows me from high school. And so they’re gonna think this about me. And it’s like, but why do I care? And-but that strength in that came over time, you know, when you put out something, and it gets 50,000 downloads, in podcasts, that’s pretty big, right? To, to people have listened to you that long. Um, it kind of auto corrects you in a sense of like, okay, like 50,000 people are saying, this is pretty good. Why am I worried about someone I haven’t talked to? Or why am I worried about like, they, you know, your job, your job doesn’t care, you know, they, you might have good people you work with, and, and things like that. But you know, if something happened to you today, you’d be replaced tomorrow, and that’s not a bad thing. It just, it is. It is. And so, you know, there’s-I think responsibility in finding like-there’s a reason you have a passion for something. And I don’t know what that reason is, but I don’t think it’s something that should be ignored. And so when you get these ideas and stuff, I think it’s indicators of like, hey, there’s more out there. And, um, so I, this exact topic, I work with a lot of people on actually/ And changing your perspective is a really powerful thing that you can do because it can take you out of you. Like that’s, the problem is like we’re stuck in ourselves. When you talk to someone else, and they were to tell you that, you’re like, oh, do it anyway. You know, it’s simple to see for them or for you and someone else, but you, um, would you wanna change? Things are gonna try to stop you, and it’s not because those things are bad. It’s because, you know, like attracts like, you’ve been in this energy for a long time. And so by you trying to move that, energy’s just trying to pull you back in. It’s not that it hates you. It’s not that it thinks less of you. It’s not that it’s judging you. It’s just gonna happen. You know, you hear about people going to do something, and then their car breaks down. It’s like, well, I was gonna go to this job and then this happened, or I was gonna start my own business. And then my house caught on fire. Like something devastating happens. And like, the timing is just so weird that happens right then. Then I just think that’s how the universe happens. When you try to change your energy, it wants you to stay in that same realm, you know, with it. And it’s up to you if you wanna push through it.

LLOYD: Yeah. That’s huge. And it’s like, you know, there’s times where we like push through some of those things. And what we find on the other side is miraculous. It’s bigger than what we could have even imagined. And so there’s so much power in, in pushing through some of those moments. I wanna take a step back and, and think about something. Here’s just like a crazy thought. In podcasting, if you get, I think the stat is like 4,000 downloads per episode, I think that puts you in like the top 1%. It’s like insane. And I like that is such a large number like, especially in podcasting, you’ve been able to amass 40,000 downloads in a week, maybe across multiple episodes. That is just like…Does that like, like if you, what, like, what do you attribute that to? Like, if you just had to pick like three things or three things that you feel like you’ve done that have helped you get to 40,000 downloads per uh, um, per month, what would you say like those three things are? 

HENRY: So, okay. So just to break down stats as they are right now, just so that the audience knows. Um, I’m currently doing an episode five days a week. So Monday through Friday, and I’m averaging between six and 7,000 per episode. Um, I did do a little season where I was doing less. So I was doing like two, I was doing three sessions a week. And so the downloads per episode was higher. Um, so if I were to just do like one episode, it would probably be about 45,000 downloads or something for that one episode, it’s just, you know, cuz the volume, you know, it lowers per episode, but so it’s about 50,000 per week right now. The number one, and this is, this is huge, is consistent, consistent timing on when you’re gonna do it. So my episode comes out on the same time, every single time. It’s not sporadic. It’s right there. Cuz people count on it. And so when people are used to tuning into you at a certain time, if you’re not there, they’re gonna get that fix somewhere else. And it’s hard to get that attention back. So that is huge. Um, the next one is spending time on your titles and your descriptions. Um, it took me a long time to understand the, the like importance of that, but that is huge. And then I think the third is like willingness to grow. Um, there’s some things that when I initially started my podcast that I really love doing. But I had to decide, like, do I want to do what I really love doing? Or do I want to pursue my vision and mission? And when I have that conversation with myself, sometimes you have to let pieces of the podcast go or whatever it is that you really love, but they’re not in alignment with your, you know, vision or your mission and what you’re doing. So those things, three things are huge. 

LLOYD: That’s incredible. I love that. And I’m gonna steal and use all of those. So I, I really appreciate that. Um, do you, do you, you spoke a bit about like monetizing your podcast, and I think that’s something almost every podcaster dreams about. Walk me through like, what that means and like how that works.

HENRY: So I use anchor.fm and, um, you know, I might be one of the biggest podcasts on Anchor which is kind of, you know, funny that, uh, it turned out that way as it just was something I had used way back when. But Anchor will sponsor you from the get go. They offer a, they call it an ambassador ad, and it’s basically a promotion to Anchor. So you record it yourself. It’ll sound something like, um, you know, if you wanna be a podcast or check out Anchor FM, it’ll help you grow your show, you know, just a little spot for it. And, um, they’ll pay you. I think their CRM is about 10 to 12 cents per thousand. So when you get it in your mind, that’s not a lot, right? You have to get a thousand dollars to make 12 cents. Um, what Anchor also has now is ads similar to, um, YouTube. So, you know, when you watch YouTube, and then like a real ad pops up, you know, for Chevy or for-so now you can import those into Anchor. Um, it’s still in beta, so I’m one of the beta testers for it. I’m sure it’s coming out soon. You know, I don’t know when it comes out fully, if they’ll lose the ambassador piece or if they’re gonna keep both or how that’ll go. But, um, you know, the ambassador was how initially started making money. And then, um, I started with the, um, additional ads, you know, those started about six months ago, you know, getting those. So that really helped because you went from just having one ad in an episode to as many as you’d like, you know, or at least as many as you could fit that makes sense. Um, there’s also another, uh, website called, uh, I think it’s AdvertiseCast. I dunno if you’ve heard of that, AdvertiseCast. So they, you put your information on your podcast. Like how many downloads you get that, the theme and how many episodes you release and stuff like that. And they will find sponsors. Um, those are host read ads usually. So, you know, you might get one for Domino’s Pizza and say, you might say to your on ICO, Hey, if you’re hungry, Domino’s Pizza’s the place to go. If you use this discount, you know, you’ll get this and that one’s okay. You know, I’ve gotten a few sponsorships through that. I think, uh, Podcorn is another one that I’ve used some, um, so Podcorn is one where you like bid on ads that are available. But you know, just one those things where you have to build up your volume first before you’re gonna make any money. If you’re trying to do it through ads. Um, you know, that would be the last way I would probably say someone should try to make money in podcasting right now. Um, just because there’s other ways, which we can talk about that, uh, you can monetize quicker. Um, and have a little bit more control over, you know, so if you build a business over stuff you have control over, it’s better.

LLOYD: Got it. That makes a lot of sense. Um, some people, I think, like the number one question I get oftentimes is just like how much money can you make from podcasting? I think people want to know, is this something I could make a side hustle? Can this eventually become a career? So on and so forth. Um, when you think about let’s just say like your best performing month. If you actually just give me a range of like your earnings, what would you say those are?

HENRY: If I, just podcasting, like, just like it, it could solely be connected to the podcast. Um, the best month was probably last month, and it was about 5,500.

LLOYD: That’s insane. That’s wild. That’s, that’s amazing. Uh, kudos to you, man. And congrats. And, and the bulk majority of that is like, all like, let’s just say like, um, you know, being able to do like the Anchor host read ads, then some of it is like dynamic or programmatic ads inside the podcast from Anchor, and then maybe like sponsors, maybe all-like, would you say like, am I maybe missing like another stream potentially?

HENRY: Those are the main ones, you know, um, that I’ve, that I’ve used. Um, the other one is coaching. So I do a lot of coaching. And so that one’s a little bit hard to, you know, say what really comes from the podcast because I do get some people directly from the podcast and I get referrals and, you know, so it’s like, you know, what number do I cap that as counting it? Um, but that’s probably the other huge one. Um, a good one I’m starting to get into also is, you know, I don’t know what you’d call it, but like a sponsorship. So like if someone wants to sponsor your show or things like that, um, I just recently started to get into that, but I really wanna provide value. I hate just doing some, like, asking for money for something. Um, so, you know, that’s kind of the question, you know, how do I provide solid value for, for, for that? But yeah, the main is ads. I would say, where you can directly say it’s from the podcast.

LLOYD: Got it. And because you have, um, a large number of listeners, you’re never having to like cold email people per se, or reach out to AdvertiseCast. You’re just going to like these platforms entering your stats and being paired with people that want to advertise on your platform?

HENRY: Exactly. Yeah. So. It’s probably better to do what you said. Um, honestly, you know, define a brand or something that aligns with your audience, you know, cuz you know who your audience is, their age, their, you know, gender, like all of those things and you know, go to one of them and say, Hey, you know, I get these people, you know, would you like to, you know, sponsor X amount of episodes for this price? I think that’s where you’re gonna get more of a premium. Um, I just haven’t taken a lot of time to do that, unfortunately.

LLOYD: No, that makes, um, a lot of sense. Henry, you said something, um, interesting at the start of this podcast, and it’s so clear that like your big focus is like making a positive impact on people’s lives. Um, to date, I think your podcast has accumulated 1.6 million downloads all in. What does that mean to you?

HENRY: So, so even better, uh, just crossed 2 million or right there, it should cross 2 million. Like by the time this goes live, I should cross 2 million. Uh, which is amazing. It’s, it’s hard to believe. Right? You know, it’s just like, okay, I think I’m just a person, and you know, you’re just a person, and I just listened to my heart and I reflect on my experiences, and then I put something out there. And that 2 million people have listened to, especially in podcasting where it’s hard to get attention, um, is, is, is crazy. Like it, it doesn’t feel real. It, it honestly doesn’t.

LLOYD: Yeah, no, that makes a lot of sense. And you know, Henry, if there’s someone out there that says, you know what I want to be just like him. I want to, at some point, get to 2 million podcast downloads, but maybe they’re afraid to start their podcast right now. What would you say to them? 

HENRY: I would say that, um, time is gonna happen, right? We’re, we’re going, we’re always moving through time. And in 10 years, I would love to have a conversation with you and talk about how you started 10 years ago. And you’re way past the 2 million mark at this point. But if you don’t start today, we can never have that conversation. So do something that the 10-year -from-now you is going to be proud of. 

LLOYD: I love that, Henry. Thank you so much for joining me. I really appreciate it. Your story is so inspiring, and the work you’ve been able to do is just incredible. Thank you so much. 

HENRY: Absolutely. I’m glad to have gotten to talk to you and, uh, like you said, just do it now. Like create that awesome podcast. Be the change you wanna see and don’t stop.

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LLOYD: Hey, thank you so much for listening. I really appreciate it. Please don’t forget to share this episode with another podcaster. And if you’re thinking about starting a podcast and you need help, you can always text me at 4 0 4 9 9 0 4 1 7 9 for podcast tips. Lastly, don’t forget to check out the show notes where you can subscribe for my newsletter, where I give podcast tips and microphone giveaways. Enjoy the rest of your day. And I hope you have an awesome week. Peace.