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Artwork for indie business club

indie business club

Mel Barfield
Linkedin
Marketing
Video Marketing
Awards
Continuous Professional Development
Luck
Annual Planning
Newsletter
Starting Something New
Instagram
Freelancing
Women In Marketing Awards
Independent Podcast Awards
Copy Or Die
Behavioral Science
Community/networking
Building In Public
Indie Business Club
Personal Branding
Copywriting

A podcast for independent creatives. Packed with tips, advice, and food for thought for freelancers, founders, and business owners in creative industries. indiebusinessclub.substack.com

PublishesWeeklyEpisodes50Founded2 years ago
Number of ListenersCategories
MarketingBusinessEntrepreneurship

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Latest Episodes

We’re doing a double-header today to celebrate the Agnew Era of indie business club, with an episode on taking time off. So if you’re thinking “Mel, you JUST emailed me”, it’s on purpose. This episode is named after the absolute belter by Weezer beca... more

Listener, what do you reckon? Should I let Phill stay?

This episode is named after the Razorlight song Back To The Start - we’re talking origin stories.

In this first episode of a new era, my new co-host Phill Agnew joins me for storytime about how... more

Make sure we’re friends on LinkedIn - I’m revealing my new co-host tomorrow

This is a crossover episode of Search With Candour podcast (hosted by Jack Chambers-Ward) and indie business club podcast (hosted by me, Mel Barfield), discussing how you c... more

We get quite personal in this episode, so skip through from about 11minutes to about 13minutes in if you’d prefer not to hear the part where we talk about mental health, marital breakdown and suicidal ideation.

This episode of the podcast is all ab... more

Key Facts

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Recent Guests

Melanie Barfield
Founder/Director at Indie Business Club; freelance copywriter and marketer
Indie Business Club
Episode: Crossover episode: search with candour x indie business club
Dave Harland
Co-founder and Creative Director at Copy Or Die
Copy Or Die
Episode: 38 Seaside: LIVE at Creator Day 2026 with Dave Harland and Lea Turner
Lea Turner
Founder of The HoLT (HoLT community)
The HoLT
Episode: 38 Seaside: LIVE at Creator Day 2026 with Dave Harland and Lea Turner
Molly Scanlan
Web designer, event speaker, quiz master, puzzle nerd and karaoke diva
Freelancer Magazine; Social Enterprise (co-founder)
Episode: 36 Delivery: newsletters with Molly Scanlan
Sherelle Griffith
Business and marketing strategist
Episode: b-side: how I'm going to grow this podcast
Gus Bhandal
Marketing strategist, social media specialist, LinkedIn trainer, founder of The M Guru
The M Guru
Episode: 35 Hysteria: promoting yourself with Gus Bhandal
Charelle Griffith
Business and marketing strategist specializing in solo and microservice-based businesses
Episode: 34 Running/Planning: plan your business year with Charelle Griffith
Will Slater
Friend of the show, participates in Will's Book Club segment
Episode: 34 Running/Planning: plan your business year with Charelle Griffith
Joe Glover
Speaker from Marketing Meetup webinar guest on the session
Marketing Meetup / speaker
Episode: 33 Freelancing - indie business club x TMM

Hosts

Mel Barfield
Host of Indie Business Club; freelance copywriter / indie business creator.
Ben McKinney
Host of Indie Business Club; co-host of Indie Business Club podcast.

Reviews

4.9 out of 5 stars from 41 ratings
  • IBCing you again soon

    Even on the occasions when the subject matter isn’t directly relevant to me, Indie Business Club is always a fun and informative listen. And the episodes seem to scoot by. By which I mean there’s no sense of “Oh, my god, has it only been five minutes so far?” unlike, say, [NAME 1 REDACTED], [NAME 2 REDACTED] or even the awfully well-meaning but frankly tedious [NAME 3 REDACTED].

    Apple Podcasts
    5
    Meester Crease Meeler
    United Kingdom8 months ago
  • Fun podcast for freelancers/ small biz owners marketing themselves

    If you are new or seasoned to running your own biz/freelancing - this podcast is for you. Every episode has useful and has actionable tips. It is also fun - Ben and Mel are a dream team. I love the ‘Friend of the Show’ shout out and the voice notes on the episode topics. The creativity shines through with the themed names of each episode - genius. That’ll do for now ;) IYKYK

    Apple Podcasts
    5
    Lyonking 2k22
    United Kingdoma year ago
  • Freelancer life made a little lighter

    Being a freelancer is tough and these two make it a little lighter and brighter. Witty bants blended with some really helpful stuff to help you think different and make these best of the freelance life that we chose.

    Recommend for anybody that’s working freelance / running a small / indie business.

    Apple Podcasts
    5
    hendo55
    United Kingdoma year ago
  • Get this in your ears!

    A fab podcast that’s genuinely informative and interesting, makes you think and is also funny and entertaining.. Love it! ❤️

    Apple Podcasts
    5
    Mylifescribble
    United Kingdom2 years ago
  • Wisdom and Wisecracks in perfect balance

    The best thing about this show is that it’s hosted by two people who are genuinely hilarious. Their styles of humour complement each other very well.

    The wisdom though, don’t forget that. Their advice is superb, so don’t let all that laughing stop you from looking up at the many lightbulbs that will be going off above your head as you have insight after insight.

    As the great Indie Rock legend Robbie Williams sang: “Let me entertain you…”

    If whoever actually wrote the lyrics had heard this ... more

    Apple Podcasts
    5
    Tomg182
    United Kingdom2 years ago

Listeners Say

Key themes from listener reviews, highlighting what works and what could be improved about the show.

Shows a strong sense of community and actionable content.
The hosts' humor makes complex topics engaging.
Listeners praise practical tips that are easy to implement for freelancers.
Ideal for those building a personal brand and client pipelines.

Chart Rankings

How this podcast ranks in the Apple Podcasts, Spotify and YouTube charts.

Talking Points

Recent interactions between the hosts and their guests.

Crossover episode: search with candour x indie business club
Q: What is your biggest takeaway about personal branding for the listener who wants to start posting about themselves?
The advice centers on nerding out about genuine interests, being curious, and showing humanity; people connect with real passions, not perfect marketing personas, and it's okay to show gaps in knowledge while continuing to learn and share.
Crossover episode: search with candour x indie business club
Q: How do you balance building your personal brand with representing Candour as well?
Mel explains that balance comes from openly sharing authentic interests while setting boundaries about what represents Candour; she emphasizes the importance of not letting personal content overwhelm professional branding and maintaining a dialogue with leadership about what is allowed.
35 Hysteria: promoting yourself with Gus Bhandal
Q: What are content pillars and why should people use them?
Content pillars are regular, planned topics that help you stay efficient and relevant; they can be varied and reviewed periodically to avoid monotony, much like an album with different tracks.
35 Hysteria: promoting yourself with Gus Bhandal
Q: Can you give us a little backstory to your own personal marketing journey?
Gus describes a path from marketing roles to running a pub, then discovering the value of using his voice to grow his own business, and finally building a public speaking and LinkedIn training career.
38 Seaside: LIVE at Creator Day 2026 with Dave Harland and Lea Turner
Q: What are your thoughts on video vs. text on LinkedIn for engagement and reach?
Predominantly text-based posts with occasional video work well; video helps with trust, but consistency and staying true to your voice are more important than forcing video when it doesn't feel natural.

Audience Metrics

Listeners, social reach, demographics and more for this podcast.

Listeners per Episode
Gender Skew
Location
Interests
Professions
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Household Income
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Frequently Asked Questions About indie business club

What is indie business club about and what kind of topics does it cover?

A practical, founder-focused show that blends personal branding, indie entrepreneurship, and practical marketing for freelancers and small creative businesses. Episodes frequently explore building authentic personal brands, leveraging LinkedIn and newsletters, and running a sustainable solo or micro-agency with a focus on value, ethics, and relationship-building with clients. Notable strengths include a strong host dynamic, accessible tactics for content creation and outreach, and a willingness to tackle both tactical how-tos and mindset shifts that help independent creatives grow without feeling sleazy. The format often features actionable frameworks, guest expertise from copywriting, design, and marketing backgrounds, and lighthearted ban... more

Where can I find podcast stats for indie business club?

Rephonic provides a wide range of podcast stats for indie business club. We scanned the web and collated all of the information that we could find in our comprehensive podcast database. See how many people listen to indie business club and access YouTube viewership numbers, download stats, audience demographics, chart rankings, ratings, reviews and more.

How many listeners does indie business club get?

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How many subscribers and views does indie business club have?

To see how many followers or subscribers indie business club has on Spotify and other platforms such as Castbox and Podcast Addict, simply upgrade your account. You'll also find viewership figures for their YouTube channel if they have one.

Which podcasts are similar to indie business club?

These podcasts share a similar audience with indie business club:

1. Nudge
2. The Rest Is Entertainment
3. The Diary Of A CEO with Steven Bartlett

How many episodes of indie business club are there?

indie business club launched 2 years ago and published 50 episodes to date. You can find more information about this podcast including rankings, audience demographics and engagement in our podcast database.

How do I contact indie business club?

Our systems regularly scour the web to find email addresses and social media links for this podcast. We scanned the web and collated all of the contact information that we could find in our podcast database. But in the unlikely event that you can't find what you're looking for, our concierge service lets you request our research team to source better contacts for you.

Where can I see ratings and reviews for indie business club?

Rephonic pulls ratings and reviews for indie business club from multiple sources, including Spotify, Apple Podcasts, Castbox, and Podcast Addict.

View all the reviews in one place instead of visiting each platform individually and use this information to decide if a show is worth pitching or not.

How do I access podcast episode transcripts for indie business club?

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What guests have appeared on indie business club?

Recent guests on indie business club include:

1. Melanie Barfield
2. Dave Harland
3. Lea Turner
4. Molly Scanlan
5. Sherelle Griffith
6. Gus Bhandal
7. Charelle Griffith
8. Will Slater

To view more recent guests and their details, simply upgrade your Rephonic account. You'll also get access to a typical guest profile to help you decide if the show is worth pitching.

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