Become a Profitable Podcast Guest 🎙 | 3X Founder | 3X Father | Front Row Dad | StoryBrand Guide

Are you tired of wasting time and money on marketing efforts that just don't deliver results? Believe me, I've been there.

Picture this: it's 2020, the early days of the pandemic, and I'm on the brink of losing my business. Paid ads weren't converting, leads were inconsistent, and referrals, my lifeline, were drying up. 

Meanwhile, peers in my industry were thriving, getting featured on the podcasts I avidly listened to. I knew podcast guesting held the key to business growth, but I lacked the know-how to make it happen.

Driven by frustration and determination, I embarked on a journey to master the art of podcast guesting. Fast forward, and I've personally generated over $2M in revenue from podcasts alone. 

But the true reward? Helping over 250 entrepreneurs achieve similar success, transforming their businesses as podcast guests.

There's nothing more fulfilling to me than empowering expert entrepreneurs like you to achieve the recognition and results you deserve:

✔️ Secure coveted spots on top podcasts and make it your primary marketing strategy.

✔️ Attract ideal clients who seek you out, eager to work with the go-to expert in your field.

✔️ Consistently close high-ticket sales, fueling your business growth.

✔️ Establish yourself as the undisputed authority in your industry.

✔️ Expand your network exponentially, opening doors to new opportunities and collaborations.

If you're ready to amplify your brand by sharing your story, I'd be honored to guide you. Let's unlock the power of podcast guesting together and propel your business to new heights.

Book a complimentary strategy call here:

https://7figureleap.com/call

Dustin Riechmann 🔥

New identity unlocked.

My guitar has sat in the background of my zoom meetings for four years.

I constantly get asked if I play - and I’ve had to admit that I do not.

That changed on Christmas Day.

We got our youngest daughter a guitar and one of my mastermind members bought us each a great beginner’s book.

I’ve been practicing daily since then and learning alongside my daughter.

Do I really know how to play guitar?

Of course not.

***But I made an identity shift to see myself as a musician and someone who plays guitar.***

If you have big goals in the new year, don’t focus on how far you have to go.

Focus on becoming the type of person who achieves that goal.

And take on that new identity.

Any musicians reading this?

I’d love to read your best tips on making progress as a newbie!

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If a caveman wanted to read your website, and he only had three seconds to do it, would he understand the essence of it immediately?

If your answer is “No”, you’re probably trying to be cute and clever, and it might not be very clear.

This caveman thing is what Donald Miller, CEO of StoryBrand, would call the ‘grunt test’. The number one rule of messaging and marketing is having a clear, simple message that people understand immediately.

From local shops to industry leaders like Microsoft and Nextiva, thousands of businesses use the StoryBrand Soundbite Strategy to cut through the noise and grow faster.

Our shared passion for storytelling is what brought me to Donald’s community, having been a certified StoryBrand guide for nearly 3 years now.

And serving in Don’s community has been powerful way to get clients. We’ve had at least 35 StoryBrand Certified Guides and Coaches come through the Podcast Profits Accelerator so far.

Donald, I just wanted to say thank you. I’m always trying to embody what I’ve learned from you.

I’d rather have 2,000 right views than 200,000 random views - and I’ll die on that hill.

A few months ago, I was a guest on a podcast hosted by Nathan Barry.

It wasn’t a massive show by internet standards.

 - No viral clips
 - No giant spike in followers

But something interesting happened.

Those few thousand people who watched and listened?

 - They were the right people
 - They reached out
 - They booked calls
 - They invited me into rooms I care about
 - They became clients, collaborators, and long-term relationships

That experience reinforced a lesson Nathan has been teaching for years:

👉  Not all attention is equal.

Most creators are chasing reach. But reach without resonance just builds a crowd.

And crowds are expensive to entertain, exhausting to serve, and terrible at converting.

Here’s the real distinction:

A crowd is:
 – Random
 – Entertainment-driven
 – “Bigger is better”
 – Draining to keep up with

An audience is:
 – Focused
 – Trust-based
 – Identity-aligned
 – Energizing to serve

When you have an audience, you don’t need to perform. You get to teach.

You don’t need viral content. You need relevant content.

You don’t measure success by views alone. You measure it by what happens next.

Your business doesn’t need a bigger crowd.

It needs a tighter audience.

Would you rather have massive reach - or deep relevance with right audience?

I'd love to hear of any experiences you've had that back me up on this.

P.S. This is the 7-Figure Leap Mastermind at our last in-person retreat.  This is my tribe (the deepest form of audience IMO).

I’m probably going to disappoint some growth gurus here…

…but my goal for 2025 was to keep our revenue about the same. I wasn’t trying to 10X anything. Having lower margins sounded BETTER.

And I focused on my team development process.

At the end of each year, I create a notecard with a keystone goal. 2024 meant seven figures, with literally zero team support for the first half of the year. Exciting, but also exhausting.

The second part of that year was me basically admitting I needed help, starting on a basic level: hiring an executive assistant.

2025’s focus was all about creating a foundation and a more sustainable business for myself. I dabbled with team sizing, team building, and systems for different operations.

I don’t get a lot of joy from that, but it felt important and necessary so I wouldn’t burn out. Another point was growing in the future and focusing on my own zone of genius more deeply.

We now have two coaches in fulfillment, helping me deliver the 90 Day Podcast Profits Accelerator Program. I still like being a big part of the Accelerator and the Mastermind, but now I have some assistance and redundancy. I also got some marketing help, which allows me to ‘multiply myself’ in some ways.
2024 and 2025 were almost identical in terms of finances. Some higher expenses, sure, some things going down, but exactly what I expected and wanted.

I think this sets us up for a big 2026.

📌 PS—I put together a roadmap to help any mission-driven entrepreneur become a profitable podcast guest:
- Find your purpose
- Figure out which podcasts to pitch
- Create a podcast pitch that makes hosts say "yes"!
- Nail every podcast appearance and generate relevant leads
- Keep the flywheel going by building relationships

Click "Visit my website" at the top of this post for instant access.

$2,200. 

That was the opening slide of my keynote at PodFest yesterday. 

It’s also the average revenue per podcast guest interview for our clients. 

The poll that attendees took disclosed that 40% were making <$500 per interview. 

Worse?

60% had NO IDEA how much a guest opportunity was worth to them.  

It doesn’t have to be that way. 

If you want me to send you the exact playbook we use to ensure you KNOW how much profit you’ll create…

…and make it’s 4, 5 or 6 figures per appearance:

Comment $2200 and I’ll send it to you so you can get started and remove all the guesswork.

You're probably leaving money on the table.

The single biggest lever in your business is your offer.

Specifically, it's the mix of offers and how you position them.

Most coaches have too many offers and/or confusion in their value proposition.

From personal and client experience, I am convinced that you only need 3 offers (max) to grow your business to $1M+ in annual revenue.

In fact, we've reached that mark with only 2 offers.

Invest 16 minutes today to listen to this breakdown of The 3 Offers You Need to Hit 7 Figures:

https://lnkd.in/gXtehQMp

And leave me a comment with your current offers so I can give you my insights.

Open article: 7-Figure Leap with Dustin Riechmann by podcasts.apple.com

Everybody naturally knows how to speak on podcasts, right?!

I used to assume this was true. I’ve just done it so much, and in a lot of different industries and environments, that it became second nature, you know?

I sort of took it for granted — just show up and teach. Tell the stories!

But lots of our Podcast Profits Accelerator members are just starting out with podcast guesting. The ‘performance’ doesn’t always come naturally.

Luckily, people started asking questions:

→ What stories?
→ How do I introduce myself?
→ How do I formulate the call to action?

People understood, structurally, what would happen in a podcast — but we had to give them more individual support to make it really comfortable to show up in a way that didn’t fell overly scripted.

We’ve since added specific story templates to our framework, but also plenty of space for people to practice on one-on-one calls with me or in a breakout room with a partner.

This approach bears more fruit as people feel confident and equipped when they show up on interviews.

If you want to learn how to create and naturally tell the 3 Keystone Stories that you should feature in every podcast appearance, get my playbook here: 
https://lnkd.in/gkVTs_pH

Jordan West

E-Com Investor & Podcast Host | Multiple Exits| Avid Golfer, Biker + Hiker | Dad Of 3 | CEO + CMO | Mastermind Host

My Journey 
When I was 23 I decided to buy a Taco Del Mar restaurant... I knew I had made a huge mistake at 2pm the first day when only 3 customers had walked in... (and two of them were my parents haha) 
For 5 years I worked hard to grow sales every way I could think of and in the end, tripled our revenue which still didn't seem to matter on the profit side. (I lost a lot of money 💰)

The one thing that I seemed to be the best at in the restaurant endeavor was marketing and getting people in the door. 

Fast forward to 2014 when my wonderful wife Carmen (definitely my better half) started a modest baby clothing line and was selling at craft markets. 

I asked if I could test running a few ads on Facebook... and the rest is history. I learned every up-and-coming strategy and tactic and helped grow the small start-up to a multi-million dollar company and still growing!

Since then we have acquired multiple DTC brands and have built an agency (upGrowth Commerce) to service our brands as well as others who are in a similar situation to us!

In 2019 we started the podcast "secrets to scaling your e-commerce brand" which is now in the top 50 business/marketing podcasts in multiple countries including Canada and the United States.

I love connecting with people, so please connect. (I do have a no a**holes policy though, so don't connect if that's you.) 

I talk all about scaling businesses using paid ads on “Secrets To Scaling Your E-Commerce Brand”.

Chief Executive Officer

I will die on this hill 👇👇
Going on vacay next week.

Will not check slack.
Will not be online 
Will not check emails.
Will be present with my fam 
Will have more impactful ideas etc than ever 
Will come back ready to know what to work on for max impact 

Why? 

I have a team that handles everything. 
Because that is true freedom and leverage.

Just sayin Oliver 😆❤️🤷‍♂️

If you’re on TikTok Shop and you don’t use Reacher you are playing on hard mode!! 

But first a story… 

Last month I was in Vegas for business

 Bora Mutluoğlu and Jerry Qian flew out separately from SD and SF just for the night. 

Took me out for dinner. 
Hung out all night. 
Just because. 

I am so proud to have been their advisor. 

They will surpass any business success I’ve ever had very shortly. 

This is what I live for. 

So back to Reacher 

They have built every single feature I have asked for to build creator communities on TikTok Shop and beyond for brands. 

They are the obvious outreach tool for every brand (and it’s not even close) 

If I were a competitor I would just quit tbh 😆🤷‍♂️

They are on another plane. 

This isn’t sponsored - except maybe a friendship sponsor lol! 

Anyway just wanted the world of LinkedIn to know how much I appreciate these guys! 

I will bet on whatever they do in the future.

This is wild 👇🔥🔥
We have an internal channel at Social Commerce Club when new clients partner with us…

No word of a lie - that channel has been pinging at least 3-4x per week for the last couple of months.

Needless to say… we continue to hire 😆🤷‍♂️

This is super important for every single brand wanting to launch TikTok Shop  in 2026. 👇

If an agency tells you that you’ll be profitable in the first three months… 

RUN!!! 

Your goal in the first three months is…

1. Build the muscle 
2. Build a creator community 
3. Build momentum

That’s it! 

But… once you get momentum you’ll start seeing insane traction. 

And that’s when it gets fun! 

Thats what my team at Social Commerce Club loves for!!

2025 year in review (this will be juicy 😆🙌🏻) 
Highlights first (in order of importance) 👇

1. 4th baby arrived (me pictured trying to remember how to hold a new born ❤️) 

2. Acquired TUFF Media - unreal founder in Parker Kump and incredible team! Made Parker CEO (he’s a way better day to day operator than me)

3. Worked and scaled over 100 brands at Social Commerce Club - became one of the top 5 “gold status” TikTok Shop agencies in NA. 

We Should be the only platinum in Jan.

4. Founder/CEO Advising - worked one on one with 13 founders - mostly SAAS. 5 exits, 3 got into accelerators. (I’m waitlisting founders for this year btw - DM me if interested)

5. Acquired Roasberry to become Halo - the first omni channel decision engine for DTC brands (launching soon) 

6. Socials - over 10 million impressions between LinkedIn, X, YouTube etc 

7. Health (should have put this second but I’m typing and well…) 

Continued to not drink (highest leverage move and it’s not even close) 

Installed a “daily hike” into my work day - best new habit. 

Read/listened to over 50 books.

8. YouTube/podcasts - was only on 10 external podcasts (need to change that this year) 

Published 40 YouTube videos + 52 podcasts of Secrets To Scaling Your E-commerce Brand 

9. Friends (this should have been 3rd lol) 

Moved cuties 4 hours away and intentionally have made some amazing friendships even at 39! 

We’ve hosted at our house least 20 times since we’ve moved and made a lot of ribs and brisket!! 

Lowlights

1. Said yes too much that took away from my main goals.

2. Didn’t spend enough time one on one time with my kids. 

3. Worked too much on things that didn’t matter to ME. 

4. Made some poor cultural hiring decisions that I had to walk back (read fire) 🔥 

Ok that’s it! 

What was your 2025 highlight?

I’m going to be honest 😢
In Aug… we were churning a lot of clients and not hitting expectations…

September we made some Big personnel decisions and it changed everything!! (Not like things were terrible before) 

Seeing my Social Commerce Club team working at this level makes me realize that they ARE the number one world class team for TikTok shop IMO 

Oh also… Parker Kump taking over as CEO has helped too!! 😆🤷‍♂️

graphical user interface, text, application, chat or text message

“How should I think about sampling on TikTok Shop?” 👇 
We get this question from brands at Social Commerce Club constantly…

So... Here’s the framework we use. (probably save this one) 🔥 

Step 1: Stop treating sampling like a checklist
It’s not…

It’s an investment decision!! 👏 

Step 2: Use metrics as inputs

Not gates.

Yes, we look at…

→ Recent GMV
→ Post rate
→ Content quality
→ TikTok signals

Step 3: Zoom out and get the full context

Creator-side questions: (here's where the gold is people!!)

→ Is their content good enough to sell anything
→ Do they post like it’s a job… or like it’s a hobby
→ How long have they been on the platform
→ Do they engage in the community
→ Is there an obvious use case for the product
→ Does the page feel like someone who “gets it”

Brand-side questions

→ What’s the goal (GMV max vs brand control - this is something we contantly need to think about with the types ad size of brands we work with at Social Commerce Club)
→ What’s the sampling budget + volume we aligned on
→ Do unit economics work (COGS, shipping, margin)
→ Do we have inventory to support this
→ Does the category fit their audience
→ How aggressive does the brand want to be

Step 4: Make the bet

Every product we send is an investment!!!
We place it where it has the highest chance of creating real value…

Now (performance)
Or later (relationship)

And if you’re unsure…

That’s normal.

Pull someone in.

Pressure test it!

I hope that helps... questions?

Last month... I found an INSANE stat about TikTok Shop creators that EVERY brand needs to understand before going HARD on the platform. 👇 

1. there are OVER 3.5 million creators signed up on tiktok shop

2. Here's the part that will blow your mind... 

Of those 3.5 million creators... 

less than 50K of them produce more than 1k of GMV (sales) a month. (thanks to Bora Mutluoğlu and Reacher for the numbers btw)

First... I have been saying this for the last 2 years. 

There are so few AMAZING creators. 

Second - your job as a brand is to find these creators and keep them happy and working for your brand. 

We've known this as the case at Social Commerce Club for the past 2 years and built an INSANELY high performing network. (that we plug new brands into from day 1) 

The next thought I have is around strategy if you can't get those creators to pay attention. 

This isn't something that I talk about that often TBH. 

BUILD YOUR BRAND CONTENT on your TikTok page 

Seriously. 

Get someone fulltime to crank out at least 10 videos a day. (stay away from fully AI btw - TikTok is deprioritizing that right now) 

Look at your competitors top performing content creators on @FastMoss and use those videos as inspo for your brand. 

Am I saying don't work with affilaites?? 

No not at all! 

Affilaites are so important to your overall strategy. 

What I AM SAYING is... 

Control what you can at first. 

And you can control your own brand content and how much you put out daily. 

So do that. 

Know a brand thinking of launching on TikTok Shop in 2026? 

Send them this post - it may help them understand the platform that much better!

Off to Hawaii for the week. 
Any post you see from me this week was prescheduled. 😆🤷‍♂️🙌🏻

Will be turning off any work all week…

Why? 

Because time away breeds creativity and productivity.

I’ve said it before… if you can’t take a week away from your business… 

You don’t have a business.

You have an underpaid 24/7 job. 

Btw… my thoughts on this yesterday hit a nerve 😆🙌🏻- go back to my profile and read the comments 🤦‍♂️

THIS IS A JOB POST FOR Social Commerce Club 🔥 
The more TikTok Shop agencies appear on the scene... the more I realize that 99.9% of them just don't get it. (or the broader market)

This is a great opportunity for us at Social Commerce Club - but also really sucks for the broader DTC community trying to enter the channel! 

The ONLY THING I THINK ABOUT DAILY is on increasing capacity (because as you know... demand is not our problem! 

And to do that... we need people to join us that RAISE THE BAR (not just meet it which generally weeds out 99% of people) 

So... we are hiring for the role of "social commerce strategist" 

What is it? 

You work directly in between our brand partners and our creator community. 
You help BIG brands enter the social commerce world on Tiktok shop driving both massive AWARENESS but also massive amounts of net new customers and revenue. 

Who are you? 

your friends call you "tenancious" "can learn anything" "won't settle for good enough" "can take on any challenge" "methodical is getting results" 

What have you done in the past? 

Titles may have looked like "brand strategist" "growth strategists" "director of ecomm" etc. 

If that's you... I'm going to tag in Klaryssa Pangilinan, CPHR 

1. Connect with her. 
2. Tell her that Jordan West said you should message. 
3. Tell her why you would be a fit for Social Commerce Club
4. Let's goooooooo 

Also would love a share and tag anyone you know may be a fit (ps... the best usually already have a job)

What’s up with That smile? 
Well let me tell you… 👇

A few things 

1. Social Commerce Club is going to be the biggest TikTok Shop agency in NA this year 

2. I have an amazing leadership team and CEO at SCC 

3. I love doing what I do on a daily basis 

4. I get to work with some of the biggest brands in the world. 

5. I am launching the biggest disruptive tool for brands since iOS 14.5 

6. I love my life 

That’s why I’m smiling … but tbh I would be smiling if everything was in shambles too - it’s a skill 😆🤷‍♂️

I have a confession LinkedIn…
This time last year…

I hired…

A ghost writer! 😆😢🤞

And you know what? 

They wrote better than me. 

They got better engagement. 

They saved me time!! 

But you know what?? 

After 2 months… it felt kinda weird. 

It wasn’t me.

I missed the habit of writing every day. I felt less articulate. 

Same thing with experimenting with AI 🤖 content. 

Sure - it works ish - but it’s not me. 

And I LOVE articulating ideas. 

I had lost my voice. 

So I went back to writing daily and let me tell you… best decision ever!! 

It’s not for everyone - I get it. But it’s for me!! 

Anyone else gone through this??

TikTok shop growth is hard. I want to break down EXACTLY how to do it in 2026 for any brand.

Hot take for 2026 👇

AI is better than you at UGC 

But… I don’t think it matters. 

Why? 

It’s not real.

It may work for a short time… but in the end, humans want humans. 

We love watching each other struggle and overcome. 
 
The messiness - the pain. 

It’s built in. 

One of my biggest takes is that AI content will be completely deprioritized in 2026 - because people are spending less time online as a result. 

Thoughts?

🔥 2026 predictions (you may not want to read these if you don’t like change e-commerce brands)

1. AI UGC on social media will be almost completely deprioritized and companies that make AI UGC will struggle (plus there will be some big consumer lawsuits similar to to ADA level lawsuits IMO) 

Also as an aside AI written content here on LI will be deprioritized (we all hope lol) 😂 

2. 95% of enterprise brands (read household names… not DTC darlings though some may take it more seriously before it’s too late) will enter TikTok Shop in some form. 

This one is interesting because I obviously have a lot of insider knowledge at Social Commerce Club and it’s wild. 

3. The Ads that work on paid social will HAVE to be proven out on organic social first. Brands will return to organic first (again why I am obsessed with TTS) 

4. Organic Facebook reach is back baby!! Post at least 2 reels a day! 

5. MTA as a measurement system will die and more wholeistic measurements will take its place (read halo etc) 

6. Meta and TikTok will demand even more creative in their pursuit of personalized ads. (Hmmm where can a brand get thousands of videos to use across channels???) 

7. Agentic commerce will push 30% of referrals for big brands on DTC (get ready for the bots folks) 

8. Social Commerce Club will be the only platinum partner on TikTok Shop and triple in size this year and I AM here for it!! 

What did I miss??

BRANDS!!! DON'T GO ON TIKTOK SHOP! 
YES YOU HEARD ME RIGHT! 

Until you have this in place... (yes I hate the hook I just did too lol!) 

1. Your fulfillment needs to BE dialled. If you start out and don't have this (the most overlooked part of TT shop) dialed you will get penalized and in a HUGE WAY! 

Like one of my old mentors says "it's all in the set-up" 

Having your back-of-house operations right from day one...

shipping, returns, SLAs, and stock sync—is non-negotiable. 

TT Shop doesn’t care if you’re learning. 

Miss your fulfillment window? You’re getting flagged! 

2. Your listings need to sell WITHOUT a scroll.
 
Clear titles (keyword-optimized, benefit-led).
5+ high-res images.
500+ character descriptions that SELL.

This is your storefront. Optimize it like your life depends on it.

3. You need a bulletproof creator outreach + content system.
 
One-off creator outreach is NOT a strategy.
 
You need:

A CRM to manage collabs.

My number one recommendation (and it's not even close) is Reacher 
Automated follow-ups.
spark ads collection 
etc etc 

Ps - think minimum 200 samples a month for the first 3 months. 

Remember top TikTok Shop creators are the 80/20 of the 80/20!

3 things in life and business that matter WAY MORE than money 💰👇

1. Autonomy - I would take freedom over money basically any day - your time is so much more valuable than you treat it. 

2. Friendship - there’s a crazy stat about males in their 30s and the lack of friends most people have. 

I have felt this in the past but made a concerted effort to push against it! 

3. Who you work with (and why the pic of Parker Kump) 

At Social Commerce Club I have one person that reports to me - Parker. That’s it. 

And TBH he is above my level - pushes me daily and is just a blast to work with. 

I’ve had partners in the past that aren’t at the same level and it is painful. 

If that’s you and a partner - you need to have the hard conversation NOW - it doesn’t get better. ❤️‍🩹 

I will never again work with someone I don’t enjoy and isn’t at my level or above (that included advisory clients) 

Life is too short. 

Btw… do the above and you’ll probably have more than enough money 🤷‍♂️

Ok what’s your thing that’s more valuable than money?

Brands sleeping on TikTok Shop…
Here’s what you need to understand 👇 

1. This is a legitimate channel for legitimate brands. (we should know at Social Commerce Club)

2. 2 out of the top 3 products AOV is above $200 (so you can't see it's just for cheap junk) 

3. Social commerce is the future 

Live shopping 
Creator driven commerce 
Affiliate style commissions 

If you’re on the fence… 

This is your sign

A brand we work with had over 20k affiliate  videos in November alone 👇

There are levels to this stuff on TikTok Shop guys! 

My biggest concern is the lack of amazing agencies out there to fill the massive need. 

I am still wanting to launch a way to help agencies understand how to run this service - DM me if you’re interested or want to know more (also for all of you who have dmed me do it again to get to the top of my inbox lol)

Was off my phone for a week 
No LinkedIn 🔥🔥🔥
Had 37 DMs waiting for me…

3 were from people not pitching me and that I needed to respond to 

What has happened to LinkedIn??

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