Mics To Millions: Podcast Growth & Monetization Strategies for Health & Wellness Podcasters
Jul 8, 2026 · 49 min · 13 segments
Wendy Valentine didn't chase a book deal. She built a podcast, and the book deal came to her. Here's the full story, and the exact strategy behind it. Wendy Valentine is the host of the Midlife…
Wendy ValentineGuest
Sam Brake GuiaHost
Welcome back to Mikes to Millions, I'm Sam Breakgear and today we have a special episode because it's a repeat guest who we've had on before, Wendy Valentine, and this time she's come back to tell us all about how she executed her boot launch.
For context, Wendy is the host of the Midlife Makeover show, a podcast for women ready to reinvent their second act.
And she's built it into one of the most strategically run podcasts in the health and wellness space that I know of, just from having worked with her for a number of years now.
She's also the author of Women Waking Up, the midlife manifesto for passion, purpose and play.
And we're going to be getting into a little bit about how she launched that book and what that looked like for her.
And even though we've covered it before, I think that this is a story that you're going to want to hear again, because Wendy's story is one that's really impressive.
I mean, in 2021, she quit her corporate job, drove across the US in an RV and launched a podcast with a three part plan, become a podcaster, write a book, become a keynote speaker.
She did them in this order and in these phases because she knew that the podcast had to come first.
In this episode, Wendy walks us through her journey as a podcaster and to become an author and what her book launch looked like.
We also talk about hiring a PR agency versus a podcast booking agency and why she would do things differently next time, the content strategy she used to build pre-launch momentum and the one thing she wishes that she had done six months earlier in her book launch.
If you have a book or a course or a product that you're trying to get out into the world and launch, and you want to hear someone who's genuinely done it and has executed well, this episode is for you.
Hi, I'm Sam Brakegear, and you're listening to Mites to Millions, your resource for monetizing and growing your health and wellness podcast.
My guest today is the host of the Midlife Makeover show, a podcast for women ready to reinvent their second act and live life on their own terms.
The show has been running since February 2022 and receives roughly 12,000 monthly listeners.
She's also the internationally published author of Women Waking Up, the midlife manifesto for passion, purpose, and play.
After navigating divorce, menopause, job loss, debt, and an empty nest all at once, she stopped living on autopilot and started designing a life that finally felt like her own.
Today, she empowers women to kick fear to the curb, reconnect with their purpose, and create bold, joy-fueled lives.
Splitting her time between Portugal and traveling the U.S. in her RV, she is living proof that life gets better with age.
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Welcome back to Mikes to Millions, I'm Sam Breakgear and today we have a special episode because it's a repeat guest who we've had on before, Wendy Valentine, and this time she's come back to tell us all about how she executed her boot launch.
For context, Wendy is the host of the Midlife Makeover show, a podcast for women ready to reinvent their second act.
And she's built it into one of the most strategically run podcasts in the health and wellness space that I know of, just from having worked with her for a number of years now.
She's also the author of Women Waking Up, the midlife manifesto for passion, purpose and play.
And we're going to be getting into a little bit about how she launched that book and what that looked like for her.
And even though we've covered it before, I think that this is a story that you're going to want to hear again, because Wendy's story is one that's really impressive.
I mean, in 2021, she quit her corporate job, drove across the US in an RV and launched a podcast with a three part plan, become a podcaster, write a book, become a keynote speaker.
She did them in this order and in these phases because she knew that the podcast had to come first.
In this episode, Wendy walks us through her journey as a podcaster and to become an author and what her book launch looked like.
We also talk about hiring a PR agency versus a podcast booking agency and why she would do things differently next time, the content strategy she used to build pre-launch momentum and the one thing she wishes that she had done six months earlier in her book launch.
If you have a book or a course or a product that you're trying to get out into the world and launch, and you want to hear someone who's genuinely done it and has executed well, this episode is for you.
Hi, I'm Sam Brakegear, and you're listening to Mites to Millions, your resource for monetizing and growing your health and wellness podcast.
My guest today is the host of the Midlife Makeover show, a podcast for women ready to reinvent their second act and live life on their own terms.
The show has been running since February 2022 and receives roughly 12,000 monthly listeners.
She's also the internationally published author of Women Waking Up, the midlife manifesto for passion, purpose, and play.
After navigating divorce, menopause, job loss, debt, and an empty nest all at once, she stopped living on autopilot and started designing a life that finally felt like her own.
Today, she empowers women to kick fear to the curb, reconnect with their purpose, and create bold, joy-fueled lives.
Splitting her time between Portugal and traveling the U.S. in her RV, she is living proof that life gets better with age.