The Growth Show with Whitney Bateson

Dr. Annie Cole is back on the show and this conversation might just give you permission to stop doing the marketing thing you secretly hate. Her new book lays out 15 different customer attraction strategies, and the central argument is that every business has one that's built for it... most practitioners are exhausting themselves on the wrong one. We talk through which strategies tend to fit health practitioners best (referrals and partnerships, SEO and AI optimization, lead magnet workshops, gig platforms for those side income streams), which ones to maybe leave behind, and how to do an honest audit of what's actually working in your business versus what just feels like it should be. Annie also shares how she's made almost half a million dollars in two years with an Instagram following of 800... a great reminder that audience size isn't the metric that matters. If you've felt stuck doing all the things and seeing none of the results, this one will land.Takeaways:There isn't one universal marketing strategy. There are 15, and the right one depends on how your customer actually finds solutions to their problem (Googling? asking their doctor? scrolling Instagram?).Partnerships and referrals tend to be one of the highest-leverage strategies for health practitioners, especially when you set up casual referral arrangements with complementary providers.Don't sleep on SEO and AI optimization. Getting your website to show up in Google and ChatGPT is a long game that pays off over months, not weeks.Borrow other people's audiences instead of trying to build your own from scratch — podcasts, media features, paid newsletter spots, and gig platforms all put you in front of people without building a following first.When you feel like nothing's working, do a personal audit: are people not seeing you (visibility problem) or are they seeing you and not converting (offer or messaging problem)? Pick two to three strategies and give them 30–60 days before pivoting.Connect with Dr. Annie Cole:Website: https://www.money-essentials.com/LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/dr-annie-cole-edd-16ab59135Book: How Six-Figure Business Owners Attract More Customers — https://www.money-essentials.com/6-figure-customer-attractionFree Quiz: https://www.money-essentials.com/6-figure-customers-quizInstagram: @buildwealthwithannieResources Mentioned:Quoted (PR pitching marketplace) — qwoted.comPaved (newsletter advertising directory) — paved.comGig and freelancer platforms: Upwork, Fiverr, Catalant, Contra, Freelancer.comConnect with Whitney:Follow Whitney on Instagram @whitneybatesonSubscribe & Review:If you're enjoying the podcast, don't forget to follow and leave a review! Your support helps others discover the show.

If the idea of stepping away from your practice for a week makes you cringe a little, this conversation is for you. Whitney is joined by Charlie Golightly, founder of Group Practice Partner, to unpack what real delegation looks like for human-centered practice owners — and why so many of us stay stuck doing everything even when we know it's not sustainable. Charlie shares the "house" metaphor for understanding what room you should actually be working in, the difference between delegating a task versus a full role, and the surprisingly common responsibilities practice owners cling to long past the point it serves them. They also get into trust, neurodivergent-friendly communication, and what to do when your last hire didn't work out and you're nervous to try again. It's a warm, honest conversation for anyone feeling the friction of growth... whether you're a solopreneur making your first hire or a group practice owner managing 20 clinicians solo.Takeaways:Good delegation should feel like an extension of you and your values, not another thing to micromanage. Do a "24-hour recall" of the tasks you've actually done this week, and sort them by category to see where your time is really going. Delegating a task is often a Hail Mary; delegating a role gives someone ownership and gives you lasting relief. If you've got 10+ clinicians and you're still the only manager, you don't need another admin... you need another leader. Trust doesn't have to be fully baked before you hire; setting clear expectations and talking about how you work is often where trust actually gets built.Connect with Charlie:Website: grouppracticepartner.com LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/charliegolightly/ Free resource - Business Vitality Assessment: charlie.myflodesk.com/jivn5czyaResources Mentioned:Business Vitality Assessment (linked above)Connect with Whitney:Follow Whitney on Instagram @whitneybatesonSubscribe & Review:If you’re enjoying the podcast, don’t forget to follow and leave a review! Your support helps others discover the show.

Katie Dodd didn't set out to be an entrepreneur. She was a geriatric dietitian happily working for the VA — with a plan to stay there until she was 68 and a half, as she puts it — until a chance conversation on a plane sparked her first side hustle opportunity. From that one freelance writing gig, she built a thriving multi-stream business that eventually gave her the freedom to leave her full-time job, be present for her kids, and build a life on her own terms. In this episode, Katie shares her full journey and breaks down 34 (yes, 34!) different side hustle opportunities available to dietitians and healthcare professionals. She explains the real difference between active and passive income, why passive income isn't actually "do nothing and get paid," and how to approach building multiple revenue streams without overwhelming yourself. Whether you're curious about starting a side hustle or ready to go all in, this episode is packed with inspiration and a clear-headed framework for getting started.Takeaways:Passive income takes real groundwork. Katie spent 18 months building her blog before it generated meaningful income, but now it earns thousands of dollars per month on autopilot through ads, digital products, affiliates, and courses. Systems and traffic are everything. Start with "now money" before chasing "later money." Active income keeps the lights on while you build passive revenue in the background. Don't try to skip the active income phase, it's a necessary part of the journey. Pick one thing and do it well. Katie started with her blog, then added digital products, then a course, then a food blog... strategically and sequentially. She credits this focused approach with her long-term success. Your expertise is worth more than a salary. Dietitians have a wide range of monetizable skills — writing, speaking, teaching, consulting, culinary work, brand partnerships — that most never consider because they were only taught one path in school. Failure is part of the plan. As Katie says in her book: if you keep going, your dreams are probable. Not everything will work, and that's okay. The entrepreneurs who succeed are the ones who don't take themselves out of the game.Connect with Katie:Website: katiedodd.com Instagram: @thekatieddodd Podcast: Dietitian Side Hustle Book: Dietitian Side Hustle: A Comprehensive Guide for Starting a Side Hustle, Making More Money, and Loving What You Do — available on Amazon in paperback, hardcover, Kindle, and Audible (https://dietitiansidehustlebook.com/)Resources Mentioned:RD to RD / The Well-Resourced Dietitian: platform for selling dietitian-created handouts Kindle Direct Publishing (KDP): Amazon's free self-publishing platform Mediavine: ad revenue platform for bloggers Fullscript: supplement dispensing platformConnect with Whitney:Follow Whitney on Instagram @whitneybatesonSubscribe & Review:If you’re enjoying the podcast, don’t forget to follow and leave a review! Your support helps others discover th

Ads Made Simple: whitneybateson.com/adsmadesimpleIf you listened to the three-part ads series and still had questions, Whitney and Priscilla recorded this bonus FAQ episode just for you. They walk through the most common concerns holding practitioners back from getting started — including budget worries, tech overwhelm, and not being sure if the timing is right — and give clear, honest answers to all of it. They also break down each of the three options inside Ads Made Simple so you know exactly what you'd be signing up for, what's included, and what other costs (if any) to plan for. Whether you're brand new to ads or you've tried them before and had a frustrating experience, this episode will help you figure out your next step.Takeaways:You don't need a big budget. $5/day is enough to get started, and that number is likely already being spent somewhere in your business that isn't generating the same return. Ads Made Simple is focused on one funnel, one campaign, one result. Not everything under the sun. Think of it like learning to make meatballs, not learning all of Italian cooking. Before enrolling, you need three things in place: an email platform, a lead magnet, and a website. If you're missing any of those, Whitney and Priscilla can help with that too. Besides the enrollment fee and ad spend, the only additional tool you'll need to Zapier ($20/month) - and they'll show you how to use it well beyond jsut your ads. All three options inside Ads Made Simple include two weeks of live Slack support from Whitney and Priscilla, plus lifetime access to the course and any future updates.Connect with Priscilla:Website: priscillazaehringer.comConnect with Whitney:Follow Whitney on Instagram @whitneybatesonSubscribe & Review:If you’re enjoying the podcast, don’t forget to follow and leave a review! Your support helps others discover the show.

Ads Made Simple: whitneybateson.com/adsmadesimpleIn the third and final part of the ad series, Whitney and Priscilla wrap things up with the question that's probably been sitting in the back of your mind: how do you actually know when you're ready to run ads? Whitney shares that she held herself back for two or three years longer than she should have, feeling like she hadn't "earned the right" to run ads yet — and she doesn't want that for you. Priscilla lays out the three clear things you need before spending a single dollar: a clear niche, a lead magnet connected to a proven offer, and at least $5/day in budget. They also walk through what's inside Ads Made Simple — their new course designed to get your first lead-gen campaign live in an afternoon — and explain why Facebook and Instagram remain the highest-ROI ad platforms for practitioners serving women 30–50. If you've been on the fence, this episode will help you get off it.Takeaways:You need a proven offer before you run ads. If people who already trust you aren't buying what you're selling yet, do the validation work first - network, get referrals, talk to warm audiences - then scale with ads once you know it sells.A clear niche makes your ads dramatically more effective. Ads that speak to everyone convert for no one. The more specific your copy and creative, the more traction you'll get and the lower your cost-per-lead will be.Your "offer" doesn't have to be a course or program. It can be your services, a package, or even a waitlist — as long as it leads to some kind of financial return. The funnel just needs a destination.Waiting costs you real data. Every month you delay is a month you're not learning what works in your funnel, what your conversion rates are, or how to optimize. The longer you wait, the longer it takes to see results.Running ads signals you're a serious business. There's a confidence shift that happens when you invest in ads... and people who find you through them notice too. It signals that what you offer is worth paying to promote.Connect with Priscilla:Website: priscillazaehringer.comConnect with Whitney:Follow Whitney on Instagram @whitneybatesonSubscribe & Review:If you’re enjoying the podcast, don’t forget to follow and leave a review! Your support helps others discover the s

In Part 2 of our ads series, Whitney and her team member (and ads manager) Priscilla Zaehringer get into the numbers — and it's genuinely exciting. They walk through a real calculator showing what's possible when you run a simple Meta ads funnel to a free lead magnet, starting with just $5 a day. Whether you're skeptical about the cost or just not sure what kind of return to expect, this episode makes the math feel accessible and real. They also dig into why Meta beats Google for health and wellness practitioners, why sending people to your email list beats sending them straight to a sales page, and how the compounding effect of list growth is what really makes this whole thing work over time. If you've been sitting on the fence about ads, this episode might just be the push you needed.Takeaways:You don't need a big budget. $5/day is enough to start seeing leads come in, and costs can get as low as $1.30 per subscriber Your email list is a long game: many people who buy a program six months later originally found you through an ad Ads give you data, and data gives you the ability to optimize every step of your funnel, from open rates to discovery call close rates Meta ads outperform Google ads for wellness practitioners because Meta finds people who don't even know they need you yet Running ads to a free lead magnet (vs. directly to a sales page) is more cost-effective and lets you nurture people at their own paceConnect with Priscilla:Website: priscillazaehringer.comConnect with Whitney:Follow Whitney on Instagram @whitneybatesonSubscribe & Review:If you’re enjoying the podcast, don’t forget to follow and leave a review! Your support helps others discover the show.

Whitney and her online business manager Priscilla Zaehringer are kicking off a three-part series all about ads — and not the intimidating, agency-speak kind. In this first episode, they break down the concept of the "silent funnel": a simple automated system that runs ads to a lead magnet, grows your email list, and warms up new subscribers — all without you having to post a reel every other day. Whitney and Priscilla share their own journey to ads, why organic social media reach (yes, that 1–3% stat is real) just doesn't cut it for business growth anymore, and why your email list is still the highest-ROI channel in your marketing toolkit. If you've been spinning your wheels on social or just wondering how to bring in a steadier stream of new leads, this honest, no-fluff conversation will give you a solid foundation before they go deep on the numbers and strategy in Parts 2 and 3.Takeaways:Organic social media only reaches 1–3% of your followers. Your email list, by comparison, can hit 40–45% open rates, making it a far more reliable channel for nurturing leads and driving sales. Ads aren't a replacement for relationship-building strategies like referrals or networking, they're an additional lead-generation stream that works faster and at higher volume. The "silent funnel" is straightforward: run an ad to a lead magnet → automated welcome email sequence → ongoing nurture emails. Set it up once, monitor the costs, and let it run in the background. You don't need to be an ads expert to use them effectively, but knowing the basics matters... especially if you ever hire help, so you can evaluate whether it's actually working. Your email list is a conveyor belt: the more people you add consistently, the more opportunities you create for sales down the line. Ads supercharge that rate of growth.Connect with Priscilla:Website: priscillazaehringer.comConnect with Whitney:Follow Whitney on Instagram @whitneybatesonSubscribe & Review:If you’re enjoying the podcast, don’t forget to follow and leave a review! Your support helps others discover the show.

In this episode, I'm pulling back the curtain on some really big changes — both personally and professionally. After eight years of full-time travel with my husband Dylan, we're officially putting down roots in Berlin, Germany. I walk you through the logistics of how we've been living abroad (visas, taxes, Airbnb hacks, buying desks from Mercado Libre), why we're pursuing permanent residency in Europe, and what this next chapter looks like. Then I get into what's shifting in the business… why our last launch was a wake-up call, how I'm finally pushing past limiting beliefs that held me back for years, and the new done-for-you direction we're heading. I also give you a sneak peek at our upcoming three-part series on Facebook and Instagram ads.Takeaways:If something in your business isn't working the way it used to, that doesn't mean something is wrong with you… the market has changed, and it's time to pivot rather than keep pushing through what no longer fits. Systems are what allow you to free up your time and build a business that doesn't require you to be glued to your desk. Prioritize automating lead generation, nurture sequences, and booking flows. Done-for-you support is becoming more valuable than ever because time and bandwidth are at an all-time low — getting closer to implementation faster is the move right now. Facebook and Instagram ads can be a powerful underlying system that supplements your marketing without requiring you to be "on" all the time, and you don't need a huge budget to start. When you finally move past fear and limiting beliefs around trying something new, pay attention to how you feel. If you're waking up energized and excited, that's your sign you're heading in the right direction.Connect with Whitney:Follow Whitney on Instagram @whitneybatesonSubscribe & Review:If you’re enjoying the podcast, don’t forget to follow and leave a review! Your support helps others discover the show.