Profitable Audiences: Find Your “Shoulder” Topics

Dustin shares a simple way to find profitable audiences to grow a business—without needing a huge following or the “perfect” show to pitch. Using the “Oprah effect,” Dustin explains how guest experts like Dr. Phil and Rachel Ray grew by borrowing trust from an established platform. The key is not trying to replace the host, but showing up as a complementary expert by finding the overlap between what you do and what the audience needs. Dustin walks through a practical “triggers and symptoms” framework (a Venn diagram + upstream/downstream thinking) to identify adjacent audiences where your expertise fills a content gap. You’ll hear real examples across industries—coaching, finance, leadership, and nutrition—plus a clear action step to brainstorm 6–12 “shoulder topics” you can target for podcast guesting, stages, communities, and more.'

Chapters:

• (00:00:00) Why “profitable audiences” matter more than finding the perfect platform
• (00:02:20) The Oprah effect: how guest experts borrowed trust and launched huge brands
• (00:05:10) The Venn diagram: overlap enough to fit, not so much that you compete
• (00:06:20) The 2 questions: triggers (upstream) and symptoms (downstream)
• (00:07:35) Marriage coach example: parenting, trauma, and money as adjacent audiences
• (00:12:40) Finance consultant examples: marriage podcasts, young adults, entrepreneurs
• (00:14:55) Leadership coach examples: parenting, nonprofits, healthcare practice owners
• (00:17:10) Nutritionist examples: entrepreneurs, parents, corporate/HR wellness audiences
• (00:19:40) How to choose your lane: use your story + personal interests as filters
• (00:20:45) Action step: create a list of 6–12 shoulder industries to pitch this week

Links and Resources

• Dustin on LinkedIn
• 7 Figure Leap

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