Grow The Show – Episode 249

Strategy vs. Execution: What's Your Podcast Growth Problem?
Date: December 16, 2025
Host: Kev Michael

Overview

In this episode, Kev Michael, seasoned podcaster and growth coach, delves deep into one of the most common stumbling blocks for podcasters trying to grow their shows: distinguishing between a strategy problem and an execution problem. Kev lays out how the landscape has shifted from strategy-centric bottlenecks to execution-based challenges—especially in the competitive era of video and YouTube podcasts. With frank advice and actionable steps, he helps listeners diagnose which core issue holds their podcast back and offers practical solutions tailored to all resource levels.

Key Discussion Points & Insights

1. Is it Your Strategy or Your Execution? (00:00–04:30)

• Many podcasters incorrectly blame their lack of growth on strategy (niche, audience, title), when often, the real culprit is poor execution.
• Kev: “You are not competing with hobbyists anymore. You are competing with professionals, with teams, with editors, with designers… who execute their individual skills at a professional level every single week.”
• Podcasters may have a solid concept, but if the technical and creative execution lags, growth stalls.
• Kev stresses that changing your show strategy is sometimes the worst move if the core issue isn’t strategy.

2. The Modern Podcasting Landscape (04:30–08:15)

• Podcasting has shifted. You’re not just recording audio into the void like in 2015—the bar is higher.
• Kev notes the direct impact of YouTube: “While YouTube is providing many podcasters unbelievable growth, YouTube is also what's causing this execution problem.” (08:00)
  • Audio-only podcasting can be more forgiving, but YouTube puts every flaw in packaging and production on full display.
• The days when “lo-fi” was cute are fading, especially for those seeking to grow beyond friends and family.

3. What is a Strategy Problem? (08:15–14:20)

• Signs You Have a Strategy Problem:
  • Vague or undefined target audience (using demographics instead of psychographics)
    • Kev: “Your show is for people who feel and think a certain way and would rather feel or think another way. That is the point A and that is the point B.”
  • Unclear show-level promise or episode-level topics disconnected from listener pain points and desires.
  • Lack of proven formatting or alignment between audience needs and show design.
• Kev describes strategy as iterative: “You never get your strategy perfect on day one… you have to start with something and tweak.”

4. The Real Shift: Execution is Now the Bottleneck (14:20–18:45)

• Most serious podcasters today have decent strategy. Their real growth bottleneck: amateurish execution.
• Execution means having high skill at each step of producing and promoting an episode:
  • Topic selection tied to audience promise
  • Episode organization—delivers value fast and keeps attention
  • Professional packaging: titles and thumbnails that win the click on YouTube
  • Strong intros that immediately state the problem, promise, proof, and plan
  • Clean, engaging video editing
  • Effective CTAs (Calls To Action) with compelling copy and clear next steps

5. The “Execution Chain” for Podcast Growth (18:45–32:15)

• Kev outlines the skills you need for each link in the chain:
  • Topic selection & execution: Picking what the audience craves and framing it right.
  • Episode organization: Delivering promise early; don’t bury the lede!
  • Packaging (Titles & Thumbnails): “If it looks like somebody who is not a graphic designer threw it together on Canva, that’s going to signal that the episode is amateur and it’s going to remove any credibility.” (24:30)
    • Entire agencies exist just for thumbnail design and title copy.
  • Intro Execution: Must state the problem, make a promise, offer proof, and outline the plan in under a minute.
    • “There are entire agencies. All they do is intros.” (27:10)
  • Video Editing: Doesn’t need to be “Mr. Beast,” but must be smooth, professional, and not distract from the message.
  • CTA: Has to be strategically placed, with strong copy and a compelling offer.

6. Harsh Truths & Encouragement (32:15–34:40)

• Kev acknowledges that this reality can seem discouraging, but insists it’s just “a reality check.”
• Quote: “It doesn’t mean you're a bad person if you don’t have these skills. It just means you don't have these skills.” (33:00)
• The solution is not “just try harder”—it’s getting real about the dozens of skills now demanded.

Notable Quotes & Memorable Moments

• On Competitiveness:
  • “We are competing with teams. We are competing with budgets. We are competing with professionals, editors, strategists, designers, celebrities. And there's only so much podcast attention to go around.” (10:55)
• On Packaging:
  • “Your thumbnail must not only have good language that calls out and grabs the attention of your target audience among 12 other thumbnails that YouTube has hand-selected… yours has to win.” (23:30)
• On Episode Organization:
  • “In the first five minutes of your podcast episode, are you talking about what you promoted?… They came for X and… you didn’t give them X and they didn’t trust that they were going to get X.” (20:30)

Actionable Advice: What To Do Next

If You Have Resources (34:40–38:40)

• Hire specialists for skills you lack (titles, thumbnails, intros, editing).
• Kev introduces his new “Complete Done For You” agency offer: “For the first time in seven years, I’m launching Complete Done for you where the people that I work with just record. And I am responsible for the rest.” (35:00)
• If you have a team struggling with execution, consider letting an agency launch your show for 10 episodes to get quality, then hand off once it’s proven and “at altitude.”

If You’re Solo or On a Budget (38:40–42:00)

• Use Upwork or similar platforms to hire affordable designers and editors (“Good thumbnail designers… charge like $10 a thumbnail… it’s going to be better than what you’re making in Canva.” (38:55))
• If you must DIY it all, publish less frequently to allow more time per episode.
  • Kev did 2 episodes/month for the first year and a half of Grow The Show, focusing on quality: “And that worked because I was able to have more time to execute at a high level while I was doing everything myself.” (41:20)

Closing Message (42:00–end)

• Kev reinforces that consistent, high-quality execution each week is critical for podcast growth.
• Final advice:
  • “If you’re a solopreneur and you have no ability to get help… publish less frequently so you can have more time to do all that stuff well, or so that you can afford to get help with it.”
  • “If you’re not a solopreneur and you’re an entrepreneur with resources… get help. Work with an agency who can execute at a high level. Get the show growing with the right execution to prove the strategy, and then hand the show over to your team while the plane is at altitude.”
• “My hope is that this was not discouraging… but a reality check so that you understand what you’ve gotten yourself into and what it takes in order to grow and monetize a podcast.” (44:15)

Structured Timestamps of Key Segments

• 00:00–04:30 – Why podcasts stall: Is it strategy or execution?
• 04:30–08:15 – How the podcasting landscape has changed
• 08:15–14:20 – Diagnosing a strategy problem
• 14:20–18:45 – When execution—not strategy—is the culprit
• 18:45–32:15 – The “execution chain”: All the skills you need
• 32:15–34:40 – Facing the truth: skill requirements in 2025
• 34:40–38:40 – Solutions if you have resources: Hire or outsource
• 38:40–42:00 – Solo and on a budget? Publish less, focus on quality
• 42:00–end – Consistency, options, and your next step

Summary

Kev Michael brings an unvarnished, practical lens to podcast growth in 2025: Strategy matters, but for most, effective execution is the primary hurdle. Hobby-level effort won’t cut it against professional teams producing slick, enticing content—especially on YouTube. Podcasters must honestly assess their execution skills at every step, outsource where feasible, or adjust their production cadence to ensure quality. The episode serves as a reality check and roadmap, giving listeners clarity on why their show may not be growing—and what to do about it.