Podcast Case Study: From 27 to 2,274 Monthly Listens in 18 Months

How This Canadian Financial Advisor Grew a Retirement Podcast to 22,000+ Downloads (and Attracted the Right Clients)

Client: Joe Curry
Podcast: Your Retirement Planning Simplified
Industry: Retirement, Business, Personal Finance
Website: retirementplanningsimplified.ca
Listen to Your Retirement Planning Simplified on Apple, Spotify, or your favorite podcast platform!

Special Episode on Podcasting for Financial Professionals:

I interviewed Joe – Strategic Business Growth through Incremental Improvement

When Joe Curry and his co-host Lindsay Wilson launched Your Retirement Planning Simplified, they had a clear mission: simplify retirement planning for Canadians and become a trusted voice for pre-retirees navigating one of life’s biggest financial transitions.

But early on, keeping the podcast consistent and professional felt like too much to manage internally. That’s when they partnered with Podcast Abundance.

The Starting Point

Joe came to Podcast Abundance in late 2022, around episode 30 of the show. The podcast was gaining traction—but behind the scenes, the workflow was overwhelming.

“It was just too much for Lindsay to manage on her own,” says Virginia Elder, founder of Podcast Abundance. “Editing, writing show notes, and publishing episodes were slowing them down—and putting the podcast’s consistency at risk.”

The show was also missing some key strategy components:

• Audio-only, recorded via Zoom

• Professional voiceover intros that created distance between the hosts and the listener

• No video or YouTube presence

• No clear growth metrics being tracked

The foundation was there—but the system wasn’t built for sustainability or growth.

What We Implemented

Over 2.5 years, Podcast Abundance helped Joe and Lindsay go from DIY and overwhelmed to streamlined and strategic.

Together, we:

• Moved recording from Zoom to Riverside for better quality

• Simplified the opening of episodes to dive into content faster

• Swapped out the voiceover for a host-led intro/outro following our Conversion Blueprint formulas

• Introduced a consistent call-to-action to guide listeners

• Created a predictable workflow so Lindsay could hand off editing + posting

• Alternated between interviews and co-hosted episodes for variety + sustainability

• Supported their transition to video, helping Joe show up on camera with confidence

• Encouraged long-term consistency, quarterly stat reporting, and listener preference-based content strategy

“One of our core values in our financial planning firm is approachability,” Joe shared. “The podcast is a way to make our industry and our firm more approachable—because we’re just trying to simplify concepts related to retirement.”

The Results

Here’s what happened over our two-year partnership:

📈 Total downloads increased from 5,903 to 22,799
📅 Monthly listens jumped from 27 to over 2,200
📍 Audience shifted from 50/50 U.S./Canada to 75% Canadian listeners—Joe’s ideal clients
🎯 Every episode receives 100+ downloads within 30 days of airing

“We’re up at least 5x, if not 10x, from where we started… and now we’re seeing listeners actually reach out to work with us,” said Joe. “I was willing to commit to three years regardless—but we’re ahead of schedule.”

Joe’s Personal Growth Behind the Mic

Hosting a podcast hasn’t just grown Joe’s business—it’s sharpened his expertise and communication.

“It’s forced me to stay on top of my knowledge. Even if it’s a topic I talk about often, I’m brushing up on research before I record. It’s made me a better financial planner.”

It’s also built authority and trust with his current client base:

“If someone has a question, and we’ve done a deep dive on the podcast, we send it to them. It’s a perfect tool to educate and reinforce trust between meetings.”

Joe credits consistency, systems, and Podcast Abundance’s support for helping him stay on track:

“We’ve never missed a publish date. That’s a win. We’ve built our podcast into a consistent, reliable part of our marketing and service model.”

Advice for Advisors: Focus on the Long Game

Joe encourages fellow professionals to rethink their ROI expectations:

“If you expect to measure ROI in year one, you’ll probably be disappointed. But if you look at it over three years, the results start to show.”

He also recognizes that consistency wins in a space where many others quit:

“There are other retirement planning podcasts out there—but eventually, people stop. And when they do, listeners are looking for the next one. It becomes a game of staying in it.”

The Takeaway

With Podcast Abundance, Your Retirement Planning Simplified evolved from a promising in-house effort into a streamlined, listener-focused show with measurable business impact—and a loyal, growing audience of Canadian pre-retirees. From day one, Joe saw podcasting as a long-term strategy to build authority and attract ideal clients, and now it’s a key part of his firm’s client acquisition plan.

“It’s given us authority in our space. We’re big on podcasting and plan to keep going for years to come.” – Joe Curry

Could Your Podcast Be the Easiest Part of Your Marketing?

If you’re a financial professional who’s ready to stop treating podcasting like a side project and start using it to increase your authority, build trust, and attract the right clients—let’s talk.