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

Today's question comes from Phil, who has a question about monetizing a niche website. How do you find affiliates to work with your niche business? Where do you look for affiliates? How do you get your website visitors to comment on your website, especially if it is a narrow niche/industry? Phil's website is at http://www.buildingautomationmonthly.com/. In this episode I mention Will It Fly?, my b...

Today's question comes from Ernie, who has a question about starting a YouTube channel. Should you start a YouTube channel to complement your website and brand? What types of videos can you add to your channel and your website? How do you enhance your brand with a YouTube channel? Ernie's website is at http://www.militarydiscountscentral.com/. Do you have a question about starting a YouTube channe...

Today's question comes from Z, who has a question about podcast episode titles. What are the pros and cons of using episode numbers? What should you keep in mind when you craft your podcast episode titles? Can you change the titles later after you publish? Do keywords in podcast titles matter? Z's website is at http://www.artofmfg.com/. In this episode, I mention SPI Session 78, which you can find...

Today's question comes from Henry, who has a question about how to keep track of his sales funnels. How does he make his website scalable as he grows? Are there any specific strategies to put in place to make his funnels more efficient and simpler? Henry's website is at http://www.guitareasier.com/. In this episode I mention Ramit Sethi's website at http://www.iwillteachyoutoberich.com/. I also me...

Today's question comes from David, who has a question about missing podcast episodes in iTunes. What do you do if your feed is missing episodes? What do you do if your iTunes feed is not working right? How do you validate your podcast feed? What do you need to know about your ID3 tags? David's website is at http://www.salesvideos.com/. In this episode, I mention Cast Feed Validator, a place where...

Today's question comes from Ryan, who sells posters in different niches. He's selling them from the same store; should he separate them into different sites? Ryan's site is http://designdifferent.ca/. Do you have a question about selling products on your site? Record it at http://www.askpat.com/. See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/pri...

Today's question comes from Joshua, who has a question about hosting plans. Is there any downside to setting up multiple websites on a single hosting environment? Joshua's site is http://informationtechnologytraining.biz/. The dedicated server I use is at Linode (http://linode.com/), but when you are getting started I highly recommend using Bluehost (http://askpat.com/bluehost). Do you have a ques...

Today's question comes from Dan, who asks about using Fiverr. Is it a good source for finding writers to help with his site's content? Find Fiverr at http://fiverr.com/. I prefer Upwork (http://askpat.com/upwork) or the Problogger Job Board (http://problogger.com/jobs/) for finding writers. The transcription app and website I use is Rev (http://rev.com). Do you have a question about content creati...

Today's question comes from Brandon, who asks about selling to his audience. How large of an audience does he need before he begins selling things? Brandon's site is http://www.startupmusician.co/. The episode of the Smart Passive Income Podcast with Brian Harris is Session #190 (http://www.smartpassiveincome.com/step-by-step-product-creation-with-bryan-harris/). Check out my new book on validatin...

Today's question comes from Brian, who is planning to sell a video course. How does he keep his course private? Brian's site is http://www.coachingclarity.org/. Brian mentions the course hosting site Udemy (https://www.udemy.com/), as well as the video host Wistia (http://wistia.com/). I also discuss the video hosts Vimeo (https://vimeo.com/) and Podbean (http://www.podbean.com/). The WordPress pl...

Today's question comes from Lauren, who asks about online business training courses. Which is best for her? The courses Lauren mentions are Internet Business Mastery (http://askpat.com/ibm) and Ramit Sethi's Zero to Launch (http://askpat.com/ztl). I also discuss Chris Ducker's Youpreneur (http://www.youpreneur.com/) and Fizzle (http://askpat.com/fizzle). See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/pri...

Today's question comes from Taj, who has claimed his social media accounts but has not started using them yet. Is it too early to start posting if he's not ready to start his business yet? Do you have a question about social media? Record it at http://www.askpat.com/. See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info .

Today's question comes from Garrett, who has an interview podcast that he records through Skype. How can he improve the audio quality from his guests? Garrett's site is http://www.thesquadroom.net/. The tool I recommend trying is Auphonic (https://auphonic.com/), which can help you automatically process your caller audio. Do you have a question about podcasting? Record it at http://www.askpat.com/...

Today's question comes from Riley, who asks how to promote himself better on Fiverr. What can he do to stand out? Also, should he build his own website? Riley talks about the work he does on Fiverr (https://www.fiverr.com/). Do you have a question about marketing your services? Record it at http://www.askpat.com/. See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at htt...

Today's question comes from Travis, who asks about the ethics of working with ghostwriters and guest writers. Is it ethical to use ghostwriters for blog posts published under your own name? How do you involve guest writers on your site while still maintaining a relationship with your readers? The transcription service I use is Rev (http://askpat.com/rev). Do you have a question about writing for y...

Today's question comes from Corey, who has a question about the right tools for estimating website traffic. What are the best tools I can use to estimate web traffic of my competitors? Are there other things I should be looking at for website rankings, traffic, and the like? In this episode, I mention a few great analytics tools, including Alexa at http://www.alexa.com/, SEM Rush at http://www.sem...

Today's question comes from Aaron, who has a question about communicating with your competition without burning bridges. How can we support each other without creating conflict? Is there room for building relationships with your competitors? What are some ways you can set your website apart from your competitors in your unique niche? Aaron's website is at http://www.hamconnect.com/. Do you have a...

Today's question comes from Jessica, who has a question about organizing the content on her website. Is it okay to have different types of videos on your website? Where do I put those videos? How do you build your website to make your brand more clear for your audience? What are some ways you can instantly explain who you are on your website? Jessica's website is at http://www.jessicacrossasmr.com...

Today's question comes from Mark, who has question about the "cold subscribers" on email lists. What are the pros and cons of engaging with cold, or inactive, subscribers? Should I delete my bounced subscribers? What are the best ways to reach out with inactive subscribers? What happens when they do not respond? How many emails do I send to my cold subscribers? Mark's website is at http://www.firs...

Today's question comes from Jeanette, who has a question about how her new book can help build her brand and monetize her website. How do I use my book to help promote my brand? What can I do to connect my book to my website? Can the book help me build my email list? Should I write a new book? You can find Jeanette's art and activity website at http://www.craftwhack.com/. In this episode, I mentio...

Today's question comes from Jake, who is interested in starting a niche site aimed at iPhone users. Is it okay to use the term "iPhone" in his website URL? Jake's website is http://www.goodnightjakeandtraci.com/. I have experience with this issue from my niche site, Green Exam Academy (http://www.greenexamacademy.com/). Jake mentions my book, Will It Fly? (http://willitflybook.com). Do you have a...

Today's question comes from Zubin, who is fatigued by spending so much time in front of his computer. What would I recommend to keep eye strain down? The tool I recommend for adjusting screen brightness is Flux (https://justgetflux.com/). Do you have a question about staying healthy as an entrepreneur? Record it at http://www.askpat.com/. See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and Califor...

Today's question comes from Rob, who is in the process of migrating his email list from AWeber into ConvertKit. What's the best way to migrate people from AWeber lists into ConvertKit? I'm an advisor for and big fan of the email service provider ConvertKit. They have made advanced email marketing easy and affordable. Check out my affiliate link: http://askpat.com/convertkit. Do you have a question...

Today's question comes from Lucas, who started his animation business a year ago. He needs to grow his business but doesn't have a significant email list or fan base. What should he focus on right now? Lucas's website is http://mudbrickstudios.com/. Do you have a question about growing your business? Record it at http://www.askpat.com/. See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and Californi...

Today's question comes from Glenn, who asks why I haven't built a marketplace for buying and selling successful niche websites. There are several marketplaces available where you can buy and sell niche websites, including Flippa (a past sponsor; http://www.flippa.com/). Do you have a question about buying a niche website? Record it at http://www.askpat.com/. See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com...