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

Today's question comes from Chris, who in the process of launching a website with a blog. How much content should he have prepared before launch? Here is the FoodTruckr launch post I discuss: http://foodtruckr.com/2013/10/what-i-wish-id-known-before-starting-my-food-truck/. Do you have a question about getting started? Record it at http://www.askpat.com/. See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/pr...

Today's question comes from Abel, who asks about how Tim Ferriss's business model compares to mine. Tim doesn't seem to focus as narrowly on a niche as I do—is that a bad business model? Tim was my guest on Smart Passive Income Episode 51 (http://smartpassiveincome.com/session51) and Episode 110 (http://www.smartpassiveincome.com/session110). I also discuss Ramit Sethi (http://www.iwillteachyoutob...

Today's question comes from Bryan, who asks about using music in videos and on podcasts. Does he need to buy music or is it sufficient merely to give credit to the artists? Bryan's site is http://thebusinessplan.co/. You can buy music at iStockPhoto.com (http://www.askpat.com/istock-photo) or AudioJungle (https://audiojungle.net/) or use music in the public domain (http://www.pdinfo.com/public-dom...

Today's question comes from Adriaan, who sends a regular newsletter to his clients. How can he "spice up" his newsletter so that it is valuable for his customers? 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 about email marketing...

Today's question comes from Paul, who has a weekly podcast that relies on listener-submitted questions. How can he ensure that he gets enough submissions on an ongoing basis? Is there a baseline amount of traffic his website needs? Paul's website is http://godzoneshow.com/. Paul and I both use Speakpipe to collect recorded questions from our audience (http://askpat.com/speakpipe). Do you have a qu...

Today's question comes from Khizer, who has a question about growing his audience. How do I grow an email list at the beginning stages of my website? As a musician, are there any unique ways to gain attention? What are some platforms I can use to grow my listening audience or subscriber base? Khizer's website is at http://www.hizerk.com/. In this episode, I mention Huzza as a neat interactive tool...

Today's question comes from Tim, who has a question about rebranding a podcast. How do I go about rebranding a podcast? Should I rebrand my podcast to reach a wider audience? What are the pros and cons of rebranding? Tim's website is at http://www.aggrad.com/. In this episode, I mention Libsyn (http://www.libsyn.com/) and BuzzSprout (http://www.buzzsprout.com/). Do you have a question about rebran...

Today's question comes from Keri, who asks about Udemy (https://www.udemy.com/). Is Udemy a good platform for repurposing content? For course hosting, I'm using Teachable (http://teachable.com/). Here's Udemy's Course Quality Checklist (https://teach.udemy.com/course-quality-checklist/). I also mention Smart Passive Income Session 009 with Nicole Dean, where we discuss PLR content (http://www.smar...

Today's question comes from Amy, who has a question about forums. How can she increase traffic on her forum? Should she replace the forum with a different solution? Amy's site is http://www.mphgrads.com/. Do you have a question about website forums? 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...

Today's question comes from Saj, who asks about video podcasting. What is the procedure for posting a video podcast? I recommend using Podbean for your file host (http://www.podbean.com/). Check out my audio podcasting tutorial for more on audio podcasts. (http://www.podcastingtutorial.com) Do you have a question about video production? Record it at http://www.askpat.com/. See Privacy Policy at ht...

Today's question comes from Tyler, who has a question about what to do if you have a great business idea but don't have the necessary funds to get started. How do you validate your business idea before spending money? What are a few strategies to get your business running without having to go into debt? In this episode, I mention Will It Fly?, my book about validating your business idea, which you...

Today's question comes from Karyn, who has a question about how she can shift her mindset to overcome adversity. What do you do when you face adversity? What do you do about negative comments on your website? Do you allow yourself time to grieve? How do you overcome those obstacles? What are a few tips to change your perspective for the better so you can move forward and stay positive? Karyn's web...

Today's question comes from Eric, who has a question about how he can create a niche website as someone who's just starting out. What are the essential elements of a niche website? How do I host a niche website? How do I monetize my niche website? In this episode, I mention Niche Site Duel where you can learn more about how I launched, grew, and monetized my niche sites. You can learn more at http...

Today's question comes from Mark, who has a question about where to go to find affiliate links when you're first starting out. If you don't have a big following or recognition in your niche, how do you discover affiliates? Do you launch with Amazon's affiliate program? Do you start with the products you trust? How difficult is it to get affiliate links for those products? In this episode, I mentio...

Today's question comes from Mark, who has a question about how he can attain a truly "passive" income. How do I find the right balance of effort and passive income? When do I have the time to stop actively working and start passively reaping the rewards? Mark's website is at http://www.exceptionalpoker.com/. In this episode, I mention the 4-Hour Work Week from Tim Ferriss as an example of earning...

Today's question comes from Jerold, who is in cycling niche. There are no lasting podcasts in this niche—why is that? Jerold's site is http://www.cargobikelane.com/. If you're looking to start a podcast, check out my podcasting tutorial (http://www.podcastingtutorial.com). Do you have a question about podcasting? Record it at http://www.askpat.com/. Today's sponsor is Freshbooks. See Privacy Polic...

Today's question comes from someone who wishes to remain anonymous. If he wants to link to other web shops from his site, does he need to work with the owners of those sites? In this episode, I talk about Houzz (http://www.houzz.com/). Do you have a question about working with web shops? Record it at http://www.askpat.com/. See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Not...

Today's question comes from Nick, who has started a business model, but he has discovered that he does not enjoy the work involved in running the business. Nick's site is https://compassionateman.com/. In this episode I talk about a few exercises from my book on validating your idea for a business, Will It Fly? (http://willitflybook.com). Do you have a question about running a business? Record it...

Today's question comes from Brad, who has a question about podcasting. How do I feel about podcasters who ask for reviews on a regular basis? Brad's site is http://89days.net/. Brad mentions my podcasting tutorial (http://www.podcastingtutorial.com). Do you have a question about podcasting? Record it at http://www.askpat.com/. See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy...

Today's question comes from John, who is a photographer with several different client types. Should he build a separate website for each specialty? John's site is http://naccaratophotography.com/. I recommend Ryan Levesque's excellent book on how to conduct audience surveys (http://www.amazon.com/Ask-Counterintuitive-Discover-Customers-Business/dp/1939447720/&tag=smartpassiveincome-20). Do you hav...

Today's question comes from Matthew, who has asks about using ConvertKit. Can ConvertKit help him set up a system for delivering ebooks to new email subscribers? Is a free ebook even a good idea? I'm an advisor 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. The conversion...

Today's question comes from Kamil, who asks about my blog planning process. How do I decide what to do and how often? Kamil's site is http://www.excelonomia.pl/. Check out Smart Passive Income Podcast Episode 215 with my managing editor, Janna Maron (http://www.smartpassiveincome.com/podcasts/keep-your-editorial-calendar-ahead/). The two biggest tools we use are CoSchedule (http://askpat.com/cosch...

Today's question comes from Cynthia, who has a huge backlog of YouTube videos. How can she turn these videos into a podcast? Cynthia's site is http://signbabysign.org/. For audio podcasts, check out my podcasting tutorial (http://www.podcastingtutorial.com). For hosting, my favorite audio hosts are Libysn (http://www.libsyn.com) and Buzzsprout (http://www.buzzsprout.com); my favorite video podcast...

Today's question comes from Nadeem, who is a real estate agent and is starting a blog. Is it okay to include the "I appreciate you" phrase at the end of posts? In this episode I talk about Gary Vaynerchuk's social media appreciation (https://www.garyvaynerchuk.com/). Do you have a question about blogging? Record it at http://www.askpat.com/. Thanks to our sponsor, Design Crowd. To learn more about...

Today's question comes from Max, who asks about my new website design. It doesn't include a feature box on the home page. Why did I leave that out? Max's site is http://copypulse.com/. Max references Derek Halpern's critique of my old website design (http://www.smartpassiveincome.com/conversion-strategies/). Do you have a question about web design? Record it at http://www.askpat.com/. Today's spon...