Episode 64: Podcast to Email List: Why Listeners Aren’t Converting into Subscribers (And the Exact Shifts That Work)
Loyal Podcast Listeners but a Dead Email List? Here’s What’s Actually Happening
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You’re getting messages from listeners telling you how much they love your podcast.
They reference episodes you recorded months ago.
They binge your content.
They trust your advice.
But when you look at your email list… it’s quiet.
Your open rates are low.
Your list isn’t growing.
And when it’s time to launch something, your email list isn’t converting the way you expected.
If this feels familiar, you’re not alone.
In this episode of Podcast Growth Tools, Kylee breaks down one of the most common patterns she sees when working with established podcasters: a podcast that’s building deep trust with listeners, but an email list that feels disconnected from the show.
The good news? Nothing is broken.
Your podcast is actually doing exactly what it’s supposed to do.
You just need to connect the bridge between your podcast audience and your email ecosystem so that the relationship you’re building through audio can translate into engagement, subscribers, and sales.
Why Podcasts Build Trust (But Email Lists Require Action)
Podcasting is one of the most powerful trust-building tools in modern marketing.
Listeners spend time with you while they’re:
Walking
Driving
Folding laundry
Cooking dinner
They hear your voice regularly and feel like they know you.
This creates what Kylee calls passive trust.
But email requires something very different.
For someone to join your email list, they must:
Stop what they’re doing
Click a link
Enter their email address
Confirm their subscription
Decide to keep opening your emails
That’s an entirely different level of commitment.
So if someone loves your podcast but hasn’t joined your email list yet, it doesn’t mean they aren’t interested.
It simply means there isn’t a clear bridge guiding them from listener to subscriber.
The Real Problem: Your Podcast and Email List Are Disconnected
Many podcasters assume that if someone enjoys their show, they will naturally subscribe to their email list.
But liking your podcast doesn’t automatically tell someone what to do next.
Kylee explains it this way:
Your podcast is a relationship.
Your email list is a system.
Relationships without systems rarely convert.
Systems without relationships feel cold.
Right now, many podcasters have one without the other.
The key is creating a marketing ecosystem where your podcast naturally leads listeners into your email list experience.
The Generic Freebie Problem
One of the most common mistakes Kylee sees is what she calls the generic freebie problem.
Most podcasters create one opt-in and expect every listener to sign up for it.
Examples include:
A single checklist
One downloadable guide
A vague “join my newsletter” invitation
But your podcast audience is not one type of listener.
Some people are:
Just discovering your show
Feeling overwhelmed and stuck
Actively implementing strategies
Much further along in their journey
When every listener is directed to the same opt-in, many of them won’t feel like it’s relevant to where they currently are.
And when something doesn’t feel immediately useful, people simply move on.
Why Misaligned CTAs Kill Email List Growth
Another issue Kylee sees frequently is misaligned entry points.
Think about the moment when someone is listening to your podcast.
They’re engaged in a specific topic or conversation.
Then suddenly they hear:
“Join my newsletter.”
That request often feels disconnected from the episode they just listened to.
Listeners subconsciously think:
Why should I stop what I’m doing and sign up for this?
But when the opt-in is directly connected to the topic of the episode, the experience changes completely.
Instead of feeling random, it feels like the natural next step in the conversation.
And that’s when people are far more likely to subscribe.
The Truth About the Podcast-to-Email Jump
Another important point Kylee shares is that joining your email list is actually a bigger step than most podcasters realize.
Moving from podcast listener to email subscriber involves:
A platform shift
An attention shift
A small trust shift
Listeners may enjoy your free content, but giving you their email address means opening the door to ongoing communication.
And in today’s world, where inboxes are overflowing, people are incredibly selective about what they subscribe to.
That means the value of joining your list needs to be immediately obvious.
The Reframe That Changes Everything
Here’s the mindset shift Kylee wants every podcaster to understand.
Your email list should not be a completely separate ecosystem from your podcast.
Instead, it should feel like an extension of the episode.
Your email list should function as:
A continuation of the conversation
A deeper layer of support
A place where listeners can take the next step
When those two platforms work together, engagement stops feeling forced.
Instead, it becomes a natural progression.
Shift #1: Focus on Intentional Entry Points
One of the most powerful improvements you can make is creating intentional entry points from your podcast into your email list.
Different podcast episodes create different listener needs.
For example:
An episode about SEO creates a different next step than:
An episode about burnout
A conversation about monetization
A mindset-focused episode
This is why strategies like these work so well:
Episode-specific opt-ins
Podcast bundles
Curated episode playlists
Guided learning pathways
Instead of simply promoting your podcast, you’re offering the exact next step someone needs after listening.
Shift #2: Let Your Opt-In Finish the Episode
A strong podcast episode builds:
Awareness
Curiosity
Momentum
But your opt-in should complete the experience.
Instead of repeating the same information from the episode, your free resource should take listeners one step further.
Ask yourself this question:
What would someone want immediately after listening to this episode?
When your opt-in answers that question, the decision to subscribe becomes much easier.
Shift #3: Treat Your Emails Like Podcast Episodes
One of the most overlooked strategies Kylee shares in this episode is how you approach your nurture emails.
Many podcasters write emails that sound like marketing announcements.
But if someone joined your list from your podcast, they already know you.
They trust your voice.
Your emails should feel like:
Episode 1.5
A behind-the-scenes conversation
A deeper continuation of the topic
This allows your audience to stay connected with you between podcast episodes.
What a High-Engagement Email List Actually Looks Like
Kylee also shares what’s possible when your podcast and email strategy are aligned.
For example, she regularly sees open rates around 50–60% on her emails, even during sales periods.
That level of engagement happens when your newsletter becomes a true extension of your podcast.
Her newsletter includes:
Industry insights for podcasters
Practical marketing tips
Lessons from her clients and students
Personal stories and behind-the-scenes moments
When people consistently receive that kind of value, they look forward to opening your emails.
The Metrics Podcasters Should Actually Track
Many podcasters focus on list size alone.
But the more important metrics include:
Which podcast episodes drive the most subscribers
Which opt-ins create buyers
Which topics lead to action
A smaller email list with high engagement will almost always outperform a large list with low open rates.
For example, a list of 500 engaged subscribers with 60% open rates can generate far more revenue than a list of 10,000 people who rarely open emails.
A Simple Framework to Grow Your Podcast Email List
To start connecting your podcast and email list more effectively, Kylee recommends:
Identify your audience “customer buckets.”
Create a small number of targeted freebies that meet each group where they are.
Rotate those opt-ins naturally throughout your episodes.
Use podcast bundles or curated playlists to guide new listeners.
When listeners feel like they’re receiving something specifically designed for them, they’re much more likely to subscribe.
The Simple Funnel Most Podcasters Need
At its core, the system Kylee teaches is very simple.
Podcast → Newsletter → Buyer
Your podcast builds trust.
Your email list nurtures that relationship.
And eventually, your email list becomes the place where you can sell your offers with confidence.
Should You Build a Product First or Grow Your Audience?
Kylee ends the episode by answering a question she hears often from newer entrepreneurs.
Should you create a product first?
Or grow your podcast and email list first?
Her answer is simple.
Build your podcast and grow your email list first.
When you consistently deliver value through those channels, you’ll naturally learn what your audience actually wants to buy.
And that makes creating the right product much easier.
Your Next Steps
If you want weekly insights on podcast growth, marketing strategy, and turning listeners into subscribers, join the newsletter at:
Resources & Links
Connect with Kylee
Website: podcastmarketinghub.com
Podcast: Podcast Growth Tools
Instagram: @kyleejchandler
Let’s Connect!
Share your favorite trend from this episode or ask questions by DMing me on Instagram at @thepodcastmarketinghub.
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Kylee Chandler (00:05.26)
So I am just coming off of hosting my podcast glow up party, which was amazing. And diving into my mastermind with just some phenomenal female podcasters. And it's so interesting because now that I have been really supporting podcasters for over a year now, I'm seeing a pattern and I wanted to call it out so that maybe
If you feel like this is something you can relate to, you can get out of that hole or out of being stuck in this place. So it's that my podcasters that I speak with have a loyal listener.
Kylee Chandler (01:02.574)
which is how it works.
Kylee Chandler (01:07.16)
gonna be okay.
It's that my podcasters that I've worked with or even just people I've chat with in the DMs are saying they have loyal listeners. People DM them about how great their episodes are all the time. You know, people will even reference things they said months ago in a podcast episode. Or they'll say, I just finished binging all your shows or your, you know, I trust you so much. They love you. They like you. But here's the thing. Your email list is dead. It's quiet. It's not growing.
You know, your launches aren't
Kylee Chandler (01:47.574)
Your launches aren't
Kylee Chandler (01:57.356)
You're not able to go to your email list and know that you can sell something. Your open rates are not that impressive. Your clicks are low. And I know how frustrating this is, right? Because you're thinking I have this loyal audience. So how is this possible? How is this possible that people are listening to my podcast, but nobody's on my email list. Nobody's buying from my email list. My open rates aren't great. And here's what I want to tell you. If you have a podcast that people love,
Don't you feel like your podcast should be thriving? It should be growing? And the answer is yes, it is. So if this is you, if you're like raising your hand, I want you to hear this clearly right out of the gate. You're not doing anything wrong, okay? Your podcast isn't broken. It's, you know, there's just, there's some things that we need to do to connect the two. And once you see what's actually happening, it becomes very fixable and you can start growing your email list. So.
Let's talk about it today. So here's the core issue I'm seeing. Your podcast is doing its job, right? Your email list is just simply disconnected from it. Podcasting is beautiful because it builds passive trust. People listen while they're walking, driving, folding laundry, making dinner. They feel like they know you. They want to know you. They want to feel close to you and feel supported by you, right? You become their favorite teacher.
Email, on the other hand, requires active participation, and that's just the truth of it all. Someone has to stop what they're doing, open a link, type in their email, confirm it, and then decide to keep opening it, meaning you have to send content that's interesting enough to get them to keep opening it. It's a very level.
Kylee Chandler (03:42.902)
It's a very different level of commitment and trust. And podcasters assume that if somebody loves the show, they'll naturally take the next step. But liking you doesn't automatically tell them what to do next, right? This is one of my favorite ways to explain it. Your podcast is a relationship. Your email list is more of a system. So relationships without systems don't convert. Not in our world. Systems without relationships feel cold.
So right now most podcasters have one without the other or have one that they focus on, but dabble in the other and they're not working together. So let's talk about why your email list feels dead, even though your podcast is very much alive or, and when I say very much alive, like remember we don't have to have a million listeners to make an email list successful, to make a business successful. It can be 500 listeners. It can be
100 listeners. So the first thing, the first problem I see universally is this generic freebie problem. Most podcasters create one opt-in and expect everybody to come and sign up for it, right? One checklist, one guide, one join my newsletter, kind of a bland CTA. But here's the thing. That's just what we were taught to do, right? The problem is that your audience is not one person at one stage.
So one freebie, one generic freebie isn't going to cut it. Or on the flip side, just asking them to join your newsletter feels a little meh. Their inbox is full. Why? What is it? What's in it for them? Right.
Kylee Chandler (05:31.182)
So let's remember we have listeners who are just discovering us, listeners who are stuck and overwhelmed, listeners who are actively trying to implement, right? And listeners who might be a little bit further along, right? So when they're all sent to the same opt-in, no one feels fully anchored. They might join your list, but if they don't feel truly there for it, if it doesn't really resonate with them,
they might not feel like it's for them, right? So they disengage quietly and it becomes.
Kylee Chandler (06:13.998)
So they disengage quietly. It happens. It happens to all of us. So the second issue is the misaligned entry points. So I want to ask you to ask yourself this honestly. Why should someone who listens to that specific episode join this specific email list? So most CTAs don't answer that question, right? They sound like join my newsletter, get my free guide, get on my email list. But the listener that feels like
stopping one conversation to start a completely new one, they're not going to take that step. So instead of saying this is the next step, it feels like, wait, wait, now what am I supposed to do? Is that worth it? I'm kind of in it. I'm doing dishes. I'm on a walk. Do I really want to pull up my phone, pause the podcast, go to this link, this URL that you're sharing and opt in. So when the opt in doesn't directly connect to what they just heard,
The moment very, very much passes because they're not feeling like they're not feeling the connection, but when they're in the moment and there's something that they can, you know, give you their email list and go further with they're in it there. It's a heck yes, because they're in that moment with you. Right. But if you throw a curve ball and say that, you know, I have this great freebie that's about XYZ, which has really not a direct tie to what you're talking about.
it doesn't pull them in because they're not there with you right now. Right. So we need to be so mindful of that. And then the third piece, and this one is important, is that most podcasters are asking for too big of a jump. Going from podcast listener to email subscriber is not necessarily just a given a small step. It's literally an attention shift, a platform shift, a little bit of a trust shift because
Yes, I love listening to you. I love this free content, but giving you my emails like, that next step, how much are you going to email me? Right? What are you going to ask of me, especially for women who already get a lot of emails, right? Like raise your hand. If you are have an inbox, that's just overflowing. I think we all do. Right. We're very selective about where we give attention, what emails we open up.
Kylee Chandler (08:29.08)
So if the value of joining your list isn't immediately obvious, even to your biggest fans, they're going to skip it. Now here's the reframe that changes everything. Your email list is not meant to be a separate ecosystem from your podcast. It's meant to feel like an extension of your episodes, right? The continuation of conversation, a place to get clear on things, a place to build momentum, a place to get more support.
And when those are aligned, engagement doesn't feel forced. It becomes very natural. And that's what we want. So let's talk about the exact shifts to actually fix this, right? So the first shift is realizing that you don't need more content. You need more intentional entry points. That's it. More intentional entry points. Different episode creates different needs, right? An episode about SEO creates a very different next step.
than an episode about burnout, monetization, or mindset. So this is why things like episode specific opt-ins, bundles, playlists, and curated pathways can work really, really well. So instead of saying, here's my podcast, you're saying here's the exact thing that you need for this problem that's related to what we just talked about, what we just went through together, right? This alone can change how people experience your email list. So the second shift is
making your opt-in finish the episode. So this is so great and cool and I love doing this and we always did this with Amy's was it wasn't just an opt-in listing out what we just talked about. It was an opt-in that took them one step further, right?
Kylee Chandler (10:19.342)
So every good podcast creates awareness, tension, curiosity, you you teach in them, but your CTA should really resolve that. So I want you to ask yourself, what would someone want immediately after listening to this episode? Now, what you want them to do.
Kylee Chandler (10:45.998)
is be so excited to go get that free resource that it's not even a question, right? And I want to stop here and I want to say one thing. I have found a very, very sweet spot for my email list. mean, those of you who are on my email list, you guys open up my emails. I mean, I easily get 60 % open rate.
I was even in my sales period and I was getting like 50 to 60 % open rates on sales emails, people who didn't even end up buying. Like that is what you want. And so I have gotten to a point where when I say that, that your email list should be the next steps, essentially it should be the next place where you can nurture and continue the conversation. That is what my newsletter does. And so I am able to sit here and tell you to join my newsletter.
But I dive into deeper than just join my newsletter. I literally share like I talk about industry updates. I keep you updated so that you don't have to worry about figuring all that out as a podcaster. I teach inside of my newsletter. I give you tidbits to help you grow and things that I'm learning. I give just insights into everything that's going on not only in my world, but with my students. I take you so much deeper. We continue the conversation.
I put my free resources inside of my newsletter so that you don't have to worry about hunting and pecking and finding them. There's so much value within my newsletter that it is the next level of support, right? So if you love my podcast, you get on my newsletter. So if you have a juicy, juicy, juicy newsletter like that, you can use that as the next step in the conversation. And you can say those things. My newsletter is where I support you even further. If you think you love this podcast, right? So you can talk about that without creating
an episode specific freebie, but you have to make sure you deliver. That is the key. You have to make sure you deliver a really juicy newsletter and you can't give up on that. Right. So you have to make sure you have to decide what you want to commit to there. Okay.
Kylee Chandler (13:02.254)
Okay, let's get back to the third shift. And that is treating your nurture emails like podcast episodes, not marketing emails, right? So your subscribers already know you, they already trust you, they already like your voice. So it's not necessarily important that if somebody is coming into your email list from your podcast that you reintroduce yourself, right? You already have a warm relationship with them.
Your episode should your email should feel like episode one point five or maybe episode two or behind the scenes. Right. Like that's I peel back the curtain and I share private things there like my my email list knew I was pregnant before my podcasters actually know and they know a lot more about my personal life because I want to nurture them so deeply there, which I do on my podcast as well. But it's a different layer. Right. I like to teach on my podcast.
I like to take it a little bit further and peel back a little bit of my personal side on my newsletter. And if that feels good and comfortable to you, it is what people are loving these days. So finally, the shift most people are missing is measuring the right things. So list size alone isn't necessarily the one thing we want to focus on. Of course we want to see it growing. But what else matters is what episodes are bringing in subscribers? What ops opt ins are creating buyers, right?
Which topics are leading to action? How much money could you can you lean on your email list and know that if you sent out an email, you could generate some revenue. That's what you want. That's what you want to get to. Right. Again, you want you don't want to have 10,000 people on your email list with a 2 % open rate. You might want an email list of 1000 people or 500 people with an open rate of 60 % and they're all ready to buy.
Right. So let's start paying attention to the right metrics.
Kylee Chandler (15:04.632)
All right, so here are a few shifts I want you to make. I want you to consider your entry points. Do you have, if you, so actually let me identify what episode number I want you to listen to if you haven't yet. So if you have not checked out episode 57, the customer journey method my clients rave about for boosting sales, I want you to go listen to it because in that I talk about how to create customer journey buckets and you should have three to four, no more.
But if you create one freebie that meets each of them where they are and you circulate through those, you're going to start to see more people get onto your email list because that specific freebie is going to meet them where they're at. The other thing that can work so well is using your podcast to create bundles so people can again get a curated experience, especially if you have a ton of podcast episodes. It's so hard to know where to start. And if they land on one that maybe wasn't your best,
Well, nobody wants that. Right. So creating bundles and using those is such a great way to get people from your podcast to your email list or use those anywhere else. Right. And then again, remember your newsletter is the next step of support. Right. We go podcast to newsletter to buyer. That is the that's the process. That is the funnel. So let's set it up for them to be that. OK.
And again, if you want to do the get on my newsletter, CTA, you got to give them juice. You got to give them a reason why it's going to be so worth getting in it. Your newsletter every single week. I literally get emails back all the time for people on my email is just telling them how much telling me how much they love my newsletter. I am committed to writing juicy newsletters that are that go beyond not just industry insights, but all the things you need to know as a podcaster and
I invite them into my world a little bit so they feel like they know me. And that's really important, right? So it's a really beautiful way to build trust. I love love my email list. And I am so committed to my newsletter and sitting down and writing it. I always I do use AI to support me a little bit, but that's one area I'm not letting AI take over. I can't. So if you're not on my newsletter, go ahead and go to podcast marketing hub.com forward slash subscribe.
Kylee Chandler (17:28.81)
If you want to see what it looks like to get more of a lifestyle newsletter, that's really juicy, that people are really excited to open up and you're, you're welcome to model it, right? You're welcome to model that a hundred percent, but let's start to make these briefs. Let's start to use our podcast a little bit more intentionally to drive people to our email list. So when we get them on there, we have a touch point. We don't just leave them there and not talk to them, right? Because then when we do go to email them, they're like, I don't know who this is. don't
or you know, it's just not familiar. So get into their email after they sign up. Touch points are so important. All right, so if your podcast has a loyal listening audience, but your email list feels a little dead, I want you to hear this. You don't necessarily need way more visibility, right? You don't need to start over. You just need to have better bridges. Pick one episode, create those customer buckets, get intentional, and start to see those changes.
All right, so I hope you enjoyed this episode. I hope that it fired you up for growing your email list. Every podcaster should truly have an email list without question, even if you're early on. In fact, I just said to a woman, I was chatting with one of my students and I'll leave you with this. She said, I don't know if I should create the product first or launch my podcast and grow my email list. And I said, my gosh, that's so easy to answer.
launch your podcast and grow your email list and then sell to them after they've been on your email list and they've gotten so much free value. I really do believe that if you're starting out, get the podcast, get the newsletter, get the email list and then create the product. Right. Because you'll also be able to lean on them for what kind of product is best. All right. I'm going to wrap it up there. Thank you so much for listening today. And again, if you
Please share this with any other podcasters who aren't listening yet and jump into my DMs. I'm always there if you wanna chat and thank you so much.
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