How XYPN used their podcast to become the top RIA network.
When Madeline “Maddy” Roche isn’t hosting the popular #XYPNRadio podcast, she works as the Senior Director of Member Success at XY Planning Network, the leading organization of fee-only financial advisors who are focused on working with Generation X and Generation Y clients.
Maddy welcomes each of the Network’s members and helps them take advantage of their XYPN memberships to learn how to build their own successful financial planning firms.
And through hosting the Network’s podcast, she also helps educate members and non-members about what it takes to run a successful RIA.
“We want to be able to help business owners, specifically financial advisors, go out on their own and run independent, state-registered, fiduciary, fee-only rias.”
With over a million downloads (and counting), it’s safe to say the podcast has proved valuable to its audience.
And it’s a success story that reiterates what we’ve seen across the board:
BUSINESS PODCASTS DO THE BEST WHEN THEY HAVE A VERY SPECIFIC SOLUTION FOR A VERY SPECIFIC GROUP OF PEOPLE.
#XYPNRadio is a perfect reflection of that.
Each week, the show features financial advisor success stories, offering both inspiration and practical tips for those looking to create their own profitable and successful practices.
The show’s mission? To reach those who had maybe never even considered starting a firm of their own and let them know that it’s not only possible, but currently being done by plenty of people.
“We want to be providing consistent, repeatable proof of what is possible because this is a really Longterm play for folks.
Not everyone decides to leave their high-paying job and go out and start their own business.”
OVER TIME, THE PODCAST PROVED BENEFICIAL TO MORE THAN JUST ITS LISTENERS.
Yes, #XYPNRadio has paid off for listeners who gained (and continue to gain) valuable advice from those who have gone through the ups and downs of starting their own firms.
But it has also paid off in terms of XY Planning Network’s growth.
“Our exponential growth that we’ve experienced as a community and as a network can be attributed to the podcast.”
Maddy shared that people who join XYPN tell her they’ve been listening to the podcast for a while—sometimes for years before joining.
What’s more, the group’s members who become part of the Network after regularly tuning in to the show come in much more prepared to start their firms.
Hearing weekly tips from successful firm owners gives those just starting out a solid foundation of understanding, which Maddy says means they’re not showing up trying to shoot from the hip to start their businesses.
“The benefit of the podcast—outside of lead generation, which it clearly has done—is the quality of lead generation.”
We’re having advisors show up more prepared, with more context.”
And as time went on, the podcast offered even more unanticipated benefits.
Today, the show serves as a wealth of success stories and valuable advice, in addition to serving as an evergreen resource for community members.
Maddy says she often uses the Find command to search for buzzwords in the show notes and transcripts of previous episodes to point members to the information they need.
She also shared that she has come to rely on the podcast as an internal training tool for new staff.
“I could take ten podcasts and tell a new staff member the story of xypn through them.”
AND THAT STORY INCLUDES THE FACT THAT MADDY DID NOT ORIGINALLY HOST #XYPNRADIO.
The Network’s first employee, Maddy was hired by XYPN founders Michael Kitces and Alan Moore as the “Director of Getting S**t Done.”
(No, seriously. That was the title on her business card!)
From there, her role progressed from “doing everything” to managing the teams that do everything—and eventually, into podcast host.
When the show’s original host, Alan Moore, was preparing for his sabbatical, the podcast needed a new lead.
Given that Maddy was already used to having in-depth conversations with advisors (and sometimes thinking after those conversations that she should have recorded them to share the valuable knowledge with others), the transition was an easy one for her—and for listeners.
The show not only survived the shift, but it continues to thrive.
Which proves an important point:
A SHOW CAN CHANGE HOSTS AND STILL SUCCEED.
Plenty of would-be podcast hosts worry about starting a show because they believe they will have to host it forever, but that’s just not true.
As long as a podcast continues to provide value to its audience, it can handle a host change when necessary.
In fact, Maddy shared that she’s already thinking about her own succession plan if there ever came a time she would need to pass the baton—er, mic—to someone new.
And she feels confident that if the time came, the transition would work just as well as it did the first time.
“[Hosting the podcast] is something that I would trust all of our teammates with—that they should have the level of confidence with the work that we do to be able to facilitate a conversation with our advisors.”
SO WHAT DOES ANY GOOD PODCAST HOST NEED TO KNOW?
Maddy shared a few things she thinks make #XYPNRadio work (check out the video above to hear them all!), but a key takeaway is the importance of positioning yourself as an authority in your industry.
That means working to give your audience the answers they need—and giving them the confidence that they can reach out to you if/when they are looking for more information.
“Being a leader in the space is important to think about.
Ultimately, we want people to hear the podcast and say, ‘oh, if I’ve got more questions, xy has probably got the answers.’”
Maddy also offered two important questions to consider if you’re thinking about starting a podcast of your own:
Do you have people in your centers of influence circle that could be on the podcast?
Are there enough of them to feasibly provide enough content for your podcast long-term?
If you answered yes to both, it might be worth looking into podcasting for your business.
“If you’ve got content to share with your consumers and the folks that you’re looking at so that you can become the expert in your space, that Willbe a really good indicator that you should think about and consider a podcast.”
We couldn’t agree more!
As #XYPNRadio and plenty of other successful shows prove, podcasting is a powerful tool for growing businesses—or in XYPN’s case, building an impactful network of people.
It’s all about going in with the right knowledge and the right approach to ensure you really connect with your people.
Not sure where to start?
Click here to schedule a free consultation and talk through how creating a podcast can look for you.
It just might be the start of your own podcast success story.
Want to learn more about Maddy and XY Planning Network?
Visit XYPlanningNetwork.com.