The growth playbook for podcasters tired of 80 downloads on a Tuesday
You publish consistently. The content is good. The downloads aren't growing. This is the 6-system playbook for the gap between 'episode exists' and 'listeners arrive' — plus 30+ Claude prompts that do the marketing work without sounding like a SaaS bot.
- →You've been told 'just post to TikTok' and tried it. The clips took 90 minutes to edit, got 84 views, and you stopped after week three.
- →Your email list is the spreadsheet of 12 people who replied to past episodes. You know you should be growing it. Every lead-magnet tutorial assumes you have a course to sell.
- →You spent a week researching sponsor pitches. The template you found assumes you have a media kit. You don't have a media kit. You don't even know what metrics matter.
Early reader feedback
“Followed the first-30-days walkthrough. Built the lead magnet by Friday of week 1. By week 4 I had 80 email subscribers and one cold sponsor pitch sent. That's more growth than I'd seen in the previous 6 months combined.”
— Marcus L., host, indie SaaS interview podcast“The moment-finder prompt found 4 clip-worthy moments I'd missed in my own episode. Posted the contrarian one as a YouTube Short. 12,000 views in 4 days, 38 new podcast subscribers. I'd been editing my own clips for 6 months and never picking the right moments.”
— Hannah B., solo host, productivity podcast (4k downloads/episode)
What's inside
- 6 marketing systems written for podcasters, not generic creators. Email list growth, short-form video discovery, 14-day launch strategy, per-platform tactics (TikTok / Reels / Shorts), sponsor outreach with real audience data, Apple/Spotify discoverability.
- 30+ Claude prompts in the four-part anatomy — lead magnet generators, hook variations (5 angles per clip), 3-platform caption repurposing in one pass, sponsor pitches with metrics, Apple+Spotify SEO optimizers, the first $100 of Meta ads with kill thresholds set before launch.
- A 14-day pre-launch teaser sequence that converts existing relationships into Day-1 listeners — which is what tells Apple and Spotify your show is worth showing to strangers.
- 5 growth walkthroughs (Pro): the first 30 days from zero, boost-what-works Meta ads micro-budget, freshness rotation system, sponsor pitch with metrics, Apple+Spotify metadata optimization.
- The abridged Operator Stack install course (included free, $147 value) — Claude Code installed and running on your machine without a developer.
The full stack — included with Starter
Stacked value below. You pay the Starter price.
- The Marketing Playbook
30+ Claude prompts written for podcaster marketing. Lead magnet generation, hook variations, 3-platform repurposing, sponsor pitches with metrics, Apple+Spotify SEO, first $100 of Meta ads with kill thresholds.
$297 value - 15 Viral Hook Templates Ready-to-Paste
The 15 hook patterns that actually work on TikTok/Reels/Shorts, with fill-in-the-blank structure and the prompt that generates 5 variations of each for your show.
$47 value - 14-Day Launch Countdown Calendar
Drop-in dates, post-by-post captions, visual briefs, and CTAs for the entire pre-launch sequence. Drag onto your calendar, customize, post.
$47 value - Lead Magnet Template Pack
5 lead-magnet formats with the prompt-to-generate each: PDF checklist, Notion template, mini-course email sequence, spreadsheet, and curated-episodes guide.
$47 value - The Boost-What-Works Meta Ads Micro-Budget Guide
The first $100 of paid spend with kill thresholds set before launch, organic-content boost strategy, and the 7-day measurement framework that prevents the budget from quietly becoming $500.
$67 value - Abridged Operator Stack Install Course
How to install Claude Code and run it on your machine without a developer. The prerequisite most AI-for-podcasters pitches skip.
$147 value - Lifetime Updates
Every new prompt, every platform algorithm change, every new social channel as it emerges. (Normally $29/month.)
$348 value
Pro-tier bonuses are flagged in the list above. 30-day refund, no friction — if it doesn’t fit your practice, email me, money back.
What other podcasters are saying
“Followed the first-30-days walkthrough. Built the lead magnet by Friday of week 1. By week 4 I had 80 email subscribers and one cold sponsor pitch sent. That's more growth than I'd seen in the previous 6 months combined.”
— Marcus L., host, indie SaaS interview podcast“The moment-finder prompt found 4 clip-worthy moments I'd missed in my own episode. Posted the contrarian one as a YouTube Short. 12,000 views in 4 days, 38 new podcast subscribers. I'd been editing my own clips for 6 months and never picking the right moments.”
— Hannah B., solo host, productivity podcast (4k downloads/episode)“Used the cold sponsor pitch prompt with my actual download numbers (3,200/week) and the audience one-pager template. Pitched 6 brands. Got 2 yeses to a call in 10 days. Closed a 6-episode flight on the second call.”
— Devon R., business podcast, 11 months in“The 14-day pre-launch teaser sequence is what made my launch day actually feel like a launch. I had 340 downloads on day 1 instead of the 50 I was bracing for. The teaser posts pulled friends, work network, and my newsletter into the funnel without feeling spammy.”
— Priya M., new host, parenting podcast
Pricing
FAQ
Different problem. The production playbook is workflow automation — show notes, sponsor pitches you've already booked, repurposing into newsletter, guest follow-up. This one is growth — email list, short-form discovery, launch, social tactics, sponsor outreach with real data, Apple/Spotify SEO. Most podcasters who actually grow run both. Production saves you the 4 hours a week you'd lose to show notes. Marketing puts those 4 hours toward audience growth. You can also buy them as a bundle (see pricing).
Yes — the launch chapter is specifically for pre-launch. The 14-day teaser sequence, launch-day execution, and week-2 re-engagement content are written assuming you don't have listeners yet. Run those first, then come back to the email-growth and short-form chapters once episode 1 drops.
Those are video-courses with community, taught by people who built their podcasts 5-10 years ago when discovery worked differently. This is a web playbook + 30+ Claude prompts you actually run, taught by an operator using the current algorithms. No video, no community, no LinkedIn-flavored coaching. Pat's course is 4x the price and runs 15 hours of video. This is 30 minutes of reading + a system you actually use.
You can, but read the platform-pick prompt first. The right answer for some shows is YouTube Shorts (searchable topics, B2B audiences) or no short-form at all (high-authority podcasts in tight niches where listeners come from referrals). The playbook tells you when the answer is 'don't bother' — that's a valid output.
Starter ($147) is the web playbook, 30+ prompts, and the abridged Operator Stack install course. Run any prompt, paste your context, get a draft. Pro ($297) adds 5 walkthroughs (first 30 days, Meta ads micro-budget, freshness rotation, sponsor pitch with metrics, Apple/Spotify metadata), a Notion fork (12-month content calendar pre-loaded with the weekly cycle), a 60-minute Loom walkthrough of how I'd launch a podcast today end-to-end, and 30 days of update access. Most solo podcasters are fine on Starter. Pro is for hosts running multiple shows, agencies, or anyone who wants the implementation walkthroughs.
30-day refund, no friction. Email me, money back. If the playbook doesn't fit your show, I'd rather not have your $147.
Pro buyers get 30 days of update access included. After that there's an optional Updates membership ($29/mo, cancel anytime) for monthly revisions as TikTok, Instagram, YouTube, Apple, Spotify, and Meta ads change. If you don't subscribe, the playbook you bought today still works — the prompts get better when platforms ship algorithm changes. Updates is for podcasters who want the new prompt the week a new feature ships.
Built with your professional norms in mind
- FTC endorsement disclosure. Covered in the playbook.
- Platform content guidelines. Covered in the playbook.
- Paid promotion budget discipline. Covered in the playbook.