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Episode 27 · 3 March 2026 · 62 min

How to Get Brand Deals Before You Have 1,000 Downloads with Madelyn from The Healthy Hustler

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Most podcasters think they need thousands of downloads before a brand will take them seriously. Madelyn from The Healthy Hustlers monetised within her first six months. And now she’s reached 4 million downloads across the podcast, and brand deals are her number 1 source of income 7 years later … but they’re not the brand deals you’ve heard about before! Still not convinced? One of her clients landed a $1,000 brand deal with just 30 downloads per episode. There is a way to approach brands when you’re a smaller podcast but hardly anyone ever talks about it! This episode is a masterclass in how to show brands what you’re worth, how to price your deals and how to land partnerships before your download numbers look “impressive.” We chat about:  🎙️How to land brand deals before you have big download numbers 🎙️What most podcasters get wrong when pitching sponsors 🎙️How to make brands see the value in your show You’ll hear:  0:00 - How Madelyn built Healthy Hustlers to over 4 million downloads and why monetisation started way earlier than most people think 3:44 - How to start recording solo episodes when you feel awkward, nervous and like you’ve got nothing valuable to say 12:28 - What she’s learnt about podcasting after interviewing some of the biggest  names 14:44 - How to land bigger names on your show (even if your podcast isn’t “big” yet) 18:46 - The scripting strategy she used to get Kayla Itsines saying “I’ve never spoken about this before” on her show 21:33 - One of the first things Madelyn did that saw HUGE growth in her podcast 25:50 - Doing series with other people on your podcast: how to leverage guest’s audiences 30:58 - What it’s like signing to a podcast network and things you need to be aware of 35:08 - The kind of brand deals most podcasters overlook (and why small shows are more powerful than they realise) 38:44 - How to pitch your dream brands 40:44 - The most important thing you need to get big brand deals + how to find what brands you’re aligned with 44:48 - The kinds of ads you can actually place in your podcast 49:50 - How to price your podcast to brands even if you have a small audience 54:27 -  After 7 years of podcasting - how Madelyn keeps herself motivated to keep recording 58:18 - The podcast she loves right now and why she avoids consuming too much content in her own niche Follow Madelyn over at https://www.instagram.com/madelyncarafa/ and https://www.instagram.com/thehealthyhustlers/  Listen to The Healthy Hustlers on Apple - https://podcasts.apple.com/au/podcast/the-healthy-hustlers-podcast/id1400257108 or Spotify - https://open.spotify.com/show/0JbdhahNuAtoJlp4TPSGDt  Find your human design here (https://www.myhumandesign.com/). Have a guest you want to hear from? Question you want answered? Send me a DM over at  www.instagram.com/alyciachapman_ or https://www.instagram.com/howdoipodcast  Watch the podcast on Youtube  - https://www.youtube.com/@HowDoIPodcast

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