01
You publish, and it lands on nobody.
Days of work, and the number that comes back is not a number you want to look at. The show is not bad. Nothing about it is aimed.
The Producer's Chair
The Producer's Chair
Somebody has to decide what the show does next. Right now that is you, alone.
Your editor cuts what you hand them. Your designer makes what you brief. Nobody above them is making editorial calls. We put a senior producer in that seat, and the important decisions arrive in writing.
30 minutes, free, and not a stripped down version of the paid audit.
On air
Correct first
Title
Episode 47: A Conversation With Dana ReyesThe pricing mistake that cost Dana $400kSearchable, and it names the stake. The old one needed you to already care.
Cold open
Start at 04:12. Your retention graph has fallen off a cliff in the first four minutes for three episodes running.
Gate watch
HOLD is the constraint this month, not FIND. Do not buy reach for an episode people are leaving at minute four.
David S. · Executive Producer
Example
Shows we have worked with
Living Waters
The Liz Moody Podcast
In The Money
Pillow Talks
The Millionaire Blueprint
Never In Reverse
Why this exists
A stuck show is almost never a production problem.
The episode gets cut. The clip gets posted. The thumbnail gets made. Then everyone waits, and the one job nobody is doing is deciding what any of it should have been.
02
You have already tried the obvious things.
Guests, clips, a boosted post, a few hundred on ads. Every one has a disappointing number next to it. You do not need a beginner checklist. You have run the checklist.
03
Nobody will tell you why.
Your production vendor stops at published. Your editor cannot answer a strategy question, because that was never their job. So the biggest calls get made by you, with no second opinion.
How we decide what to fix
Four gates. Find the constraint.
A show almost never fails for one dramatic reason. It gets constrained somewhere across discovery, packaging, retention or conversion. We identify the primary constraint before we start throwing tactics at it.
The rule
Fix the constraint before you add more volume. If HOLD is broken, pushing FIND harder only sends more people into the leak. We use the gates to decide what deserves attention first, then test whether the change actually worked.
The work
You are not buying calls. You are buying the paperwork.
Five things arrive, on a schedule, all of them written down in a form your existing team can act on without you translating. This is the whole product.
Monthly, looking forward
The slate
The next six episodes, with the reason each one is on the list. Topics pulled from what your own numbers say is working, guests named because of who they reach and what they can actually talk about. You stop deciding next week's episode on Sunday night.
EP 49
The pricing mistake, part twoEP 47 held 61% to the end, your best this year. Run the thread again while the audience is warm.
EP 50
Guest: Marcus HaleSame buyer as you, 2.1k newsletter, and Dana can make the intro. He has the churn numbers nobody publishes.
EP 51
The one number to check before you raise a priceYour solo episodes convert roughly three to one against interviews. You have been under-making them.
Parked
Two guest ideas moved to Q2 until retention is fixed. Sending a big audience to a leaky episode wastes the relationship.
Pitched, not booked. Outreach stays yours.
Example
Two days before you record
The episode brief
Before you sit down, you know what this episode is for, who it is aimed at, and the one promise it has to keep. Guests get better because the questions got better. This is where the show starts changing before the cameras roll.
The angle
Not "how Dana scaled." Every founder show has that. This one is the pricing decision she got wrong for two years and what it actually cost her.
Aimed at
Founders between $1M and $5M who are about to raise prices and are afraid of it.
The promise
Leave knowing the one number to check before you change a price.
Working title
The pricing mistake that cost Dana $400k
The flow
1Cold open on the number, before any introductions.
2How the price was set originally, and who set it.
3The month she found out.
4What churn actually did versus what she feared.
5The test she runs now.
6Close on what she would tell a founder mid-raise.
2How the price was set originally, and who set it.
3The month she found out.
4What churn actually did versus what she feared.
5The test she runs now.
6Close on what she would tell a founder mid-raise.
Questions
"What did you think would happen if you raised the price?""What actually happened to churn in the first sixty days?""Who told you not to do it, and were they right?""What is the number you check now before any price change?"
Must hit
The moment she found out. What the churn actually did versus what she feared. The exact test she runs now.
Do not
Open with her background. It is on the thumbnail and it costs you four minutes.
David S. · Executive Producer
Example
Before it goes out
Your titles, written for you
Not feedback on a title you wrote. The title. It has to make the episode clear to the right viewer, match the actual promise of the episode, and earn the click wherever the show is discovered. So we treat it as the asset it is, and we write it every time.
EP 44
Building a Team That LastsWe lost 4 of 11 people in a year. Here is what we got wrong.
EP 45
Marketing Strategy for 2026The channel that made us money is the one we almost cut
EP 46
An Interview With Marcus HaleMarcus took the deal everyone told him to refuse
Thumbnail direction ships with each one
Example
Days after, then monthly
The pulse, then the report
A short read on how the episode opened while you can still act on it, and then once a month the full picture: all four gates, what moved, the primary constraint, and the few decisions worth carrying into the next month.
FIND+18%
CLICK5.4%
HOLD38%
CONVERT9 replies
Primary priority for next monthCold opens. Impressions are climbing and the title is doing its job, so more reach only buys a bigger audience for the drop off at minute four. Fix HOLD first, then push FIND again.
Once each month
Example
Whenever it comes up
Somebody to ask
Show direction questions get a written answer inside one business day. Not a scheduled call three weeks out, and not silence. This is the part clients tell us they underestimated.
You, 9:14Got offered a guest with 200k followers but he is off topic. Take it for the reach?
David, 13:02No. His audience does not map cleanly to yours, so reach alone is not a reason to put him in the feed. If you want him, do it as a standalone, not in the core show. Better use of that relationship is asking him to come on once the retention issue is fixed.
One business day, Monday to Friday
Example
Proof the judgment is real
The same work got a show fully sponsored before episode one aired.
In The MoneyWith Amber Kanwar
Amber Kanwar was an anchor at BNN Bloomberg. She left the network to build her own platform, and Podcast Monkey built it with her from nothing: the positioning, the show strategy, the brand, the channel, the packaging, and the weekly production system.
In The Money was 100% sponsored before episode one ever aired. The asset was earning before it had an audience.
That engagement was strategy first and production second. The Producer's Chair is that first part, sold on its own, for shows that already have the second part handled.
550K+Views
104K+Downloads
74K+Watch hours
8.7K+Subscribers
First six months. One show, one set of circumstances. We are showing you what the work is, not promising you this. Nobody can promise you this.
In their words
The thing clients say without being asked.
"Podcast Monkey is so much more than editing. I truly felt like I had a partner invested in my success."
Joseph MireaultRevenue RX
"We used Podcast Monkey to help us discover our true meaning and our show name and brand. An awesome experience that is challenging to do alone."
Jeremy Axel & Doug CoxNever In Reverse
"We were all unanimous that we've been really impressed with the quality you produce. Very glad we switched."
Vaibhav GuptaBoundary
Two ways to work
Pick how much producer you need.
One helps you steer. The other sits inside the workflow, episode by episode. Genuinely different jobs, priced that way.
Show Advisor
We help you steer it.
For a team that can execute the show but wants senior strategic guidance on what to improve, what to stop doing, and where to point next.
$1,200per month · 3 month initial term
Every month
- Monthly Four Gates performance review using your real show data
- One published episode deep dive: content, structure, opening, packaging, and CTA
- One strategy session each month, up to 60 minutes
- A concise Next-Month Direction Brief with the decisions and priorities to carry forward
Senior guidance on
- Content strategy and show direction for topics, formats, guests, and recurring ideas
- Audience growth and distribution guidance based on the gate actually constraining the show
- Host coaching, packaging guidance, and show improvement recommendations
- Monetization and business-strategy guidance when the show is meant to drive leads, authority, sponsors, or sales
Show Advisor is analysis and direction. It does not include weekly episode prep, titles written for every episode, pre-publish responsibility, or ongoing async access. If you need us inside the episode workflow, you need the chair.
Best for: "We can run the show. We need a senior person helping us make better decisions."
Fractional Executive Producer
We sit in the chair.
For a show with production handled and nobody senior inside the weekly workflow shaping the episodes, packaging, and next move.
$2,500per month · up to 4 episodes · 3 month initial term
One price for the seat. Additional episodes beyond four are $400 each.
Before you record
- A monthly slate: the next six episode topics and guest directions, with the reason behind each one
- A full Episode Brief before every record: the angle, who it is aimed at, the promise, a working title, the segment flow, the interview questions, and the must-hit moments
Before it publishes
- Strategic review of every near-final episode for opening, structure, buried payoff, CTA, and promise match
- Your episode titles written, not just reviewed
- Thumbnail concept direction and a written Publish Call on every episode
After it publishes
- An early performance pulse after each episode, with useful lessons fed into the next one
- Monthly Show Direction Report and Four Gates review: what happened, why we think it happened, and what changes next
Every month, and in between
- One monthly strategy session up to 60 minutes, plus a second as-needed call for host coaching, guest prep, team alignment, or a major show decision
- A quarterly direction reset at the end of the initial term
- Direct producer access for direction questions, with a one-business-day response target Monday through Friday
Two episodes a month costs the same as four, because the thinking is the same. Production labor is not included.
Best for: "We do not want more advice. We want a senior producer inside the workflow."
The termThree monthsLong enough for a change to show up in the numbers. Shorter and you are paying us to guess.
The doorOut at day 30If month one is not obviously worth it, end it there with nothing further owed. Month one is not refunded, because the work is done.
The guaranteeThere isn't oneA thousand downloads can be bought for pocket change, which is exactly why a promised number is worthless. You get the door instead.
Where the line is
We are not replacing your team. We are adding the seat above it.
You keep, and we work through
Everything arrives in a form your existing people can act on, which is why this does not create a second workflow to manage.
Not included, at any tier
We direct the thumbnail, we do not design it. If you want Podcast Monkey doing the production too, that is a different conversation and a happy one.
What else you could do
The honest comparison.
Four real options for a show that publishes consistently and does not grow. Only one of them is us.
| Option | What they decide | Typical cost |
|---|---|---|
| A good editorOr a cheaper one, or a tool | Nothing about direction. They execute the brief you hand them, and they are right to. It was never their job. | Per episode |
| A course or a coachGroup or one to one | A general method, taught to a room. Useful once. Nobody is looking at your show on the Tuesday you need an answer. | $500 to $2,500 / mo |
| Hire an executive producerFull time, in house | Everything, and well, if you can find one and keep them busy enough to justify the seat. | $12,000 to $17,000 / mo |
| The Producer's ChairFractional, three seats | The angle before you record, the title, the packaging direction, the publish call, and the one change that goes into next month. | $2,500 / mo |
When nobody knows what is wrong yet
Show Audit and 90 Day Roadmap
Sometimes the honest answer on the first call is that we cannot tell you what to fix without going through the numbers properly. This is that. One time, not a trial, and not required before anything else. It reads the entire history of the show in one pass, which is a different job from a month of advisory, and it hands you the order of operations rather than a list.
$1,500one time
- All four gates read on your real show data
- The gate that is actually constraining the show, named
- A 90 day sequence: what to change, in what order, and why that order
The first call
What actually happens on a show strategy call.
The job of the first conversation is to find the right next step, including the one where we tell you there isn't one.
Step 01
We look first
Before the call we spend a few focused minutes in your public channel and feed, so the conversation starts with context instead of a generic pitch.
Step 02
We ask what it is for
Why the show exists, what it should do for the business, and what feels stuck.
Step 03
We find the gate
If the constraint is visible from outside, we tell you which one and how we know.
Step 04
We prescribe
Advisor, the chair, the audit, production, or nothing, if we are not your answer.
Bring the show URL, what you have already tried, and what a win would actually look like. Show Advisor is $1,200 a month and Fractional Executive Producer is $2,500 a month. EP capacity stays intentionally limited so the work remains senior and hands-on.
The objections
If you have been burned by podcast help before, here are the straight answers.
Is this coaching with a better name?
No. Coaching teaches you a method. The chair produces artifacts about your specific episodes: the brief before you record, the title you publish, the call on whether it is ready. Show Advisor is lighter and still tied to your real numbers, not a curriculum.
Why is it the same price if I only publish twice a month?
Because the thinking does not halve. Reading the gates, finding the constraint and deciding the change takes the same work at two episodes as at four. We priced the seat, not the volume. Episodes beyond four are $400 each.
We already have an editor. Do we replace them?
The opposite. Keep them. This only works when someone is already executing well. We are the layer above, deciding what they should be making.
Can you guarantee views, downloads or leads?
No, and be careful with anyone who does. A thousand downloads can be bought for pocket change, which is exactly why a promised number means nothing. You get a 30 day exit instead, which costs us more than a promise would.
Is any of this AI generated?
No. We use tools internally like any modern shop, but every judgment on your show is made by a named senior producer who has looked at it. A generated teardown takes four minutes and will not know what your show is for.
What if the real problem is production?
Then we say so on the first call. Podcast Monkey does production and launches too, and we would rather point you at the right thing than sell you this one.
Keep your team. Add the seat.
Stop making the biggest calls about your show alone.
If you are publishing consistently and still cannot say what is holding the show back, that is the conversation to have.
Limited EP capacity. Senior producer, not an account manager.
