AskPat 2.0: A Weekly Coaching Call on Online Business, Blogging, Marketing, and Lifestyle Design

Today's question comes from Alexander, who is planning a website for the food and website industry. Does the main color of the site matter? Is there a bad choice? Do you have a question about your website design? Record it at http://www.askpat.com/. Thanks to our sponsor, Design Crowd. To learn more about working with their designers, go to http://designcrowd.com/askpat. See Privacy Policy at http...

Today's question comes from Maya, and it's the kind I love! She asks if she is able to start a business at the age of eleven. Maya's mom's site is http://www.familyfuntwincities.com/. In this episode, I talk about EvanTubeHD (https://www.youtube.com/user/EvanTubeHD). Do you have a question about starting a business? Record it at http://www.askpat.com/. Today's sponsor is Freshbooks. Go to http://w...

Today’s question comes from Richard, who has a question about how much free content he should add within his online course. How much content should he give for free as a teaser for his online course? What are some ways I can show how valuable my online course is without giving it away entirely for free? Richard’s website is at AFlexibleYou.com. In this episode, I mention AskPat Live. You can check...

Today’s question comes from Dave, who has a question about adding songs to his podcast. Can he add music that is not his? Even if he credits the author of the music, can he add that to his podcast? If any, what are the licensing and legal implications? What are some alternatives to adding his favorite song or band of the week to his podcast? Do you have a question about adding music to your podcas...

Today’s question comes from Dan, who has a question about tutorials. Where does he start in tutorial creation? Should he first start with YouTube? Does he post that on his blog? How does he make the most out of the content he’s creating while growing his audience on YouTube and his website? Dan’s website is at TheRealDanVega.com. On this episode, I mention Rev as a neat tool for transcribing your...

Today’s question comes from Muj, who has a question about creating a niche product as a teenager. How does he overcome the age obstacle? What can he do to create a niche product from the perspective of a teenager that will still be relevant for a wide audience? Should age matter? Do you have a question about creating a niche product or business? Record it at http://askpat.com. Thanks to our sponso...

Today’s question comes from Glen, who has a question about image use on his website. Can he use images from Google on his website? What are some good alternatives to iStock or other stock image websites? Are there free to use images on Google? What are the legal implications for using images from Google on his website? In this episode, I mention Flickr as good alternative to iStock. Check them out...

Today’s question comes from Andre, who has a question about promoting his new book. Should he create a website for his book? What other promotion opportunities does he have? What else can he do to get the word out about his new book? How does he expand on that to help promote himself? Do you have a question about promoting your book? Record it at http://askpat.com. Today’s sponsor is Freshbooks. G...

Today's question comes from Vitaliy, who has a question about the SPI Pro Theme and how it compares with other premium WordPress themes. What is the difference between the SPI Pro Theme and other WordPress themes? What are the pros and cons? In this episode, we mention the SPI Pro Theme, which you can learn more about at http://www. AskPat.com/SPITheme. I also mention that, each Friday at 1:30 p.m...

Today’s question comes from Sarah, who has a question about how she determines if her niche is a good one for an online course. How does she determine if her niche and topic are right for an online course? What can she do to drum up interest in her online course? How should she design her online course? In this episode, I mention LeadPages (https://www.smartpassiveincome.com/leadpages) as a good p...

Today’s question comes from Ashley, who has a question about looking for and landing interviews for her new podcast. Where should she start in finding the right people to interview? What are some tips to reaching out to people for interviews? Since she’s new to podcasting, who should she reach out to for interviews? In this episode, I mention the calendar tool Calendly. Check it out at http://cale...

Today’s question comes from Kris, who has a question about supporting and serving her audience with an app she purchased. As a non-developer, what should she do? Should she hire someone to help with the development of the app? Does she learn the software on her own? Do you have a question about serving your audience with apps? Record it at http://askpat.com. Today’s sponsor is Freshbooks. Go to ht...

Today’s question comes from Katie, who has a question about the SEO impact of deleting old content and setting up redirects for her website. Should she delete her content that’s under 300 words? Should she set up 301 redirects or 410 redirects? What is going to happen to my carnival links? Katie’s website is at http://kitchenstewardship.com. In this episode, we mention SPI Session #200 about doing...

Today’s question comes from Josh, who has a question about how entrepreneurs start making money online when they’re first starting out. What should he do first to start making money online? Where should he start when he doesn’t yet have an audience? How does he find and focus on his unique value proposition? In this episode, I mention my book on validating your idea for a business, Will It Fly?, a...

Today’s question comes from Greg, who has a question about content scheduling. How does he determine how to get his content into an actionable format? What steps should he take to get his content into a consistent schedule? How should he organize and plan his content? Greg’s website is at http://musicianmonster.com. In this episode, I mention my chat with my Managing Editor, Janna, at http://smart...

Today's question comes from Jeff, who has a question about creating one large blog post to launch his new blog. Should he create one epic blog post to launch his new blog? What other content should he create to launch his blog? As his blog grows, how does he balance the larger blog posts and the smaller posts? Jeff’s website is at NewMiddleClassDad.com. In this episode, we mention my interview wit...

Today's question comes from Mike, who has a question about managing a variety of different podcasts. If he has a variety of different themed shows, should he keep them under the same brand and website? Does starting a podcast network make sense? Or should he separate them under different brands and websites? Mike’s website is at http://www.mongoals.com/. Do you have a question about managing multi...

Today's question comes from Amirra, who has a question about creating a subscription service and creating an online course in the education space. Should she create a subscription service or create an online course? Is there room for both as an educator online? What is the difference between a subscription service and an online course? Should she create specific online courses to help solve specif...

Today's question comes from Teresa, who has a question about building an audience for her new podcast. What should she focus on first to reach and grow her audience? Is Instagram a good platform to promote her podcast? How can she focus on her niche and set her podcast apart in that niche? Teresa’s website is at http://www.popcollectorspodcast.com/. Do you have a question about building your podca...

Today's question comes from Tyler, who has a question about writing with a learning disability. Should he throw in the towel after receiving some negative feedback about his writing? What can he do to overcome this obstacle? How can he improve upon the writing he puts out on his website? Should he hire an editor, or someone to help him improve his writing? Do you have a question about improving yo...

Today's question comes from Max, who has a question about monetizing his website. How does he monetize his website? What can he do to incorporate and improve Google AdSense for his website monetization? What are his options for private advertising on his website? Max's website is at http://www.ruinmyweek.com/. In this episode, I mention SEM Rush as a neat tool to help support website monetization....

Today's question comes from Otis, who has a question about starting a YouTube channel. How can he determine what topics his videos should cover? Otis's website is at http://www.lakecitytactical.com/. Do you have a question about YouTube? Record it at http://www.askpat.com/. Today's sponsor is Freshbooks. Go to http://www.freshbooks.com/askpat and enter "Ask Pat" for more information. See Privacy P...

Today's question comes from Jeff, who has a question about using webinars to grow his list. Should he wait until he has a big audience to host a webinar? Can he use a webinar to grow his audience? Jeff's website is at http://www.newmiddleclassdad.com/. In this episode I mention http://www.webinarninja.co/ as a good webinar tool to use. I also mention SPI Session 29 with Lewis Howes on mastering an...

Today's question comes from Tyron, who has a question about collecting data on his customers. How does he better collect data on his customers? What are some ways he can monetize that data? How can he start marketing to his list? What is the best way to serve his customers beyond his business? Tyron's website is at http://www.tigdress.com/. In this episode, I mention that we're in launch week for...

Today's question comes from Brian, who has a question about business cards. Should he create business cards when he first starts his business? Does he bring business cards with him when he goes to conferences? What are some strategies to use to connect and engage with people at conferences? Are there any alternatives to business cards? In this episode, I mention that today is launch day for Smart...