Mics To Millions: Podcast Growth & Monetization Strategies for Health & Wellness Podcasters

Wendy Valentine didn't chase a book deal. She built a podcast, and the book deal came to her. Here's the full story, and the exact strategy behind it. Wendy Valentine is the host of the Midlife Makeover Show, a podcast for women ready to reinvent their second act. She launched the show on 2/22/22 and has grown it to over 12,000 monthly listeners. She's the internationally published author of Women...

Most podcasters don't really know what a network does for them, or what they're signing away when they join one. Clio and Nadine are pulling back the curtain. Clio de la Llave and Nadine Robinson are the co-founders of Podcast Nation, a full-service podcast network home to top-ranking shows across lifestyle, wellness, business, and culture. They also run Boug Media, a talent agency Clio founded in...

His product can't be explained in 60 seconds, so he built a podcast to do it for him. The result? Relationships with the biggest names in longevity. Chris Burres is the host of Live Beyond the Norms, a podcast sharing cutting-edge health and longevity research. He's a research engineer, scientist, and founder of My Vital C, a health supplement built around ESS60, a Nobel Prize-winning carbon molec...

Most podcasters don't realise how much leverage their show actually gives them. Erin Treloar figured it out, and she's been cashing in ever since. Erin is the host of Well Within, a podcast for women ready to feel their best in body and life, covering health, wealth, relationships, spirituality, and more. She's been podcasting for six years, releasing episodes almost every single week. An award-wi...

She built a $500K business from a podcast most platforms try to shadow ban, and she's here to show you exactly how she did it. Danielle Bezalel, host of Sex Ed with DB, built a $500K+ podcast sponsorship business as an indie podcaster averaging around 1,200 downloads per episode. She just launched  Monetize Your Indie Podcast , a self-paced resource hub with her exact masterclass, sponsor ad deck,...

You're putting out episodes every week, but are you actually listening to podcasts? The single best (and completely free) growth tactic most health and wellness podcasters skip might be the simplest one of all. In this solo episode, Sam draws on a principle from Stephen King's On Writing, that great writers read voraciously, and applies it directly to podcasting. If you want to get better at inter...

He turned down more than half his income on principle, and he'd do it again. Paul Gilmartin is the host and producer of the Mental Illness Happy Hour, one of the longest-running mental health podcasts in existence. Running since 2011 with roughly 70,000 monthly downloads, the show has been praised by Psychology Today, Esquire, and The New York Times as a vital, compassionate space where guests ope...

She hit 100,000 monthly downloads in just a few years, and it wasn't luck. Dating coach and podcast host Talia Koren breaks down the strategic decisions behind one of the fastest-growing shows in her space. Talia Koren is the host of Dating Intentionally, a podcast helping singles navigate the modern dating world with confidence. She built her audience by applying sharp analytical thinking to ever...

Podcast guesting has been praised as one of the most powerful growth tools for podcasters, but most hosts either never try it, or try it once and walk away empty handed. Susie Pettit is living proof that the strategy works, when you approach it the right way. Susie is the host of The Love Your Life Show, a podcast focused on life empowerment, self-growth, and midlife wellness that she has publishe...

Is podcast guesting actually an effective strategy for growing your show? The honest answer might surprise you, especially coming from someone who runs a podcast guest booking agency. In this solo episode, I break down why guesting on other podcasts is often misunderstood as a growth tool, when it can move the needle on downloads, and why chasing download numbers might be the wrong goal altogether...

Cynthia Thurlow is the host of Everyday Wellness, a podcast dedicated to midlife hormones, menopause, and science-backed health for women over 35. With nearly two decades of experience in emergency and cardiology medicine, a viral TEDx talk with over 15 million views, and half a million monthly downloads, Cynthia has built one of the most trusted voices in women's health. In this episode, Cynthia...

There's a quiet mental trap that's slowly killing the ambitions of health and wellness podcasters,  and chances are, you've fallen into it without even realising. In this solo episode, I dig into survivorship bias: why comparing your podcast to the biggest shows in the game is setting you up for frustration, and what to focus on instead. In this episode I cover: What survivorship bias is and why i...

This week’s episode is a little different. I’m sharing a recent interview I did that I think you’ll genuinely enjoy.   It’s from my interview on Podcast Advertising Playbook, where I was interviewed by host Heather Osgood.   In the episode, we discuss how brands and personalities can use interviews to increase visibility and connect with targeted audiences, what makes for successful guest pitching...

Kattie Laur has been shaping the Canadian podcast landscape for more than a decade. She’s produced award-winning shows as a freelancer, worked as a podcast growth specialist, and built her own independent podcast from the ground up. Today, she’s the Principal and Executive Producer of Pod the North, where she provides strategic guidance, creative support, and community-building initiatives for Can...

Your podcast can become the most powerful marketing engine behind your coaching business, and today’s conversation shows exactly how one host made that transformation.   Our guest is the creator of a long-running recovery podcast with more than 20,000 monthly downloads, 30 years of lived expertise, and a show that now brings in a steady stream of high-quality, highly motivated coaching clients. Wh...

Find out how one podcast became the engine behind a thriving therapy practice.   Dr. Nazanin Moali is a licensed clinical psychologist, AASECT-certified sex therapist, and the host of Sexology Podcast. Since launching in 2017, she has published huindreds of episodes, built a deeply loyal audience, and turned her podcast into the primary driver of clients for her practice.   In this episode, Dr. Mo...

Erika De Pellegrin is the host of The Balance Theory, a show she launched in 2020 that has since grown to nearly 400,000 monthly downloads. With a thriving YouTube presence, a studio-quality production setup, and a fiercely loyal audience, Erika has built a thriving mindset-focused podcasts, all while juggling life as a full-time mom and part-time lawyer. In this episode, Erika breaks down how she...

Your podcast doesn’t grow just because you want it to. Here’s what actually moves the needle according to one of the industry’s most trusted voices. Arielle Nissenblatt is a podcast industry leader, storyteller, and community strategist whose work spans nearly every corner of the audio world. She runs Earbuds Podcast Collective, leads community and content at Pinwheel by Audily, hosts multiple sho...

Find out how to choose the right podcast editor to skyrocket your show’s success. Matthew Bliss is a podcast engineer, producer, and educator from Australia now living in Ireland. As the founder of mbpod.com and host of Rethinking Podcasting, he brings both philosophical and practical insight into what makes a podcast truly work. He has spent years helping creators refine their systems, elevate pr...

Want to discover how health and wellness podcasters can secure lucrative sponsorship deals and build long-term brand partnerships that actually pay?  Bev Hampson is the founder and CEO of Category Three Media Group, a sponsorship and monetization agency specializing in health and wellness creators. With over a decade of experience in podcasting and eight years focused specifically on women’s healt...

Jonathan Levitt is the host of For The Long Run and the founder of Long Run Labs, a fast-growing podcast collective serving the endurance, outdoor, and performance industry. After leaving his high-paying tech job in 2025, Jonathan went all-in on podcasting and brand partnerships, building a network of 24 shows and more than 600,000 combined monthly downloads. In this conversation, Jonathan reveals...

Your life experiences can become the foundation of a strong brand, and today’s episode shows exactly what that looks like when someone builds a podcast that becomes bigger than content, bigger than metrics, and bigger than the original idea. Broke Girl Therapy, a podcast by content creator Stefanie Meghan, began as a personal outlet during a chaotic period of life, with no budget, no equipment, an...

Here’s why most podcasters are measuring the wrong thing, and what to track instead.   Dan Misener is one of the most respected voices in podcast analytics and audience development. Dan, co-founder of Bumper, has spent years helping publishers, networks, and brands understand real listener behavior.   In this episode, Dan breaks down why downloads are becoming less meaningful, what loyalty data ac...

Here is a quick taste of what you can expect from next week's episode with Dan Misener, co-founder of Bumper. This is what you can expect to hear in our conversation with Dan: Why “average lifetime value” and loyalty are often more useful than raw download numbers How he thinks about new vs returning listeners, and the danger of fixing the wrong problem What happens when you publish more episodes...

In this episode, I’m breaking down the four biggest lessons I learned in 2025, insights that completely reshaped how I approach podcasting and the way we run PodWritten.    From why changing my show’s title backfired, to the real cost of being “cheap” with your tools, to why summer is the worst time for guest outreach, and why downloads are never the true goal, this episode gives you a candid, beh...