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

Today's question comes from Daniel, who asks about switching his podcasting feed from Libsyn to SoundCloud. Daniel mentions my podcasting tutorial at PodcastingTutorial.com (http://www.podcastingtutorial.com). In this episode, we talk about four different podcast hosts, Libsyn (http://www.libsyn.com/), SoundCloud (https://soundcloud.com/), BuzzSprout (https://www.buzzsprout.com/), and Podbean (htt...

Today's question comes from Gideon, who asks about monetizing his site. Can he make his site profitable? Gideon's site is http://gideonhanekom.com/. I have covered website monetization and online passive income in depth on Smart Passive Income Sessions 192, 193, and 194: http://www.smartpassiveincome.com/session192 http://www.smartpassiveincome.com/session193 http://www.smartpassiveincome.com/sess...

Today's question comes from Scott, whose daughter is a competitive gymnast. He wants to build a niche site around his daughter's career, but is that okay? In this episode, I talk about Evan from EvanTubeHD (https://www.youtube.com/user/EvanTubeHD). If you have thoughts on this topic, share them on Twitter using #AskPat557. Do you have a question about the intersection between your business and you...

Today's question comes from Zycco, who asks about which sign-up forms his new website needs. Which services should he use to add these to his site? First, you need a good email service provider like ConvertKit (http://askpat.com/convertkit). Here are the tools I recommend in this episode: SumoMe (http://askpat.com/sumome) Rapidology (https://www.rapidology.com/) OptinMonster (http://optinmonster.c...

Today's question comes from Glen, who asks about podcasting. What are some tips for improving the speaking quality in his podcast? I have worked with Kerri Ho for some podcast coaching (her website: http://thesongbirdtree.com/ and her YouTube page: https://www.youtube.com/user/TheSongbirdtree). Do you have a question about podcasting? Record it at http://www.askpat.com/. See Privacy Policy at http...

Today's question comes from Carl, who has decided that entrepreneurship is the right route for him. What are the first steps toward getting started? Do you have a question about getting started in entrepreneurship? 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 Richard, who has some questions about podcast sponsorships. How much should he charge for advertisements? I also recommend Patreon as a way of monetizing your podcast. To learn more, listen to Smart Passive Income Podcast 188 (http://www.smartpassiveincome.com/patreon-a-potential-alternative-for-generating-an-income-online/). I use The Midroll for podcast sponsorships (...

Today's question comes from Paul, who has a question about email marketing. How should he go about cleaning his email list, to remove people who are no longer actively reading his emails? To share your thoughts on this topic on Twitter, use #AskPat552. Do you have a question about email marketing? Record it at http://www.askpat.com/. See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California P...

Today's question comes from Josh, who asks about an old episode of the Smart Passive Income Podcast that talks about writing for Infobarrel. Is this still a good way to make passive income? I recently updated my podcast series on getting started with passive income. There are three episodes in the series, Smart Passive Income Podcast No. 192–194: http://www.smartpassiveincome.com/session192 http:/...

Today's question comes from Harsh, who asks about selling a business. Is it hard for a solopreneur to sell a business? Harsh's site is http://fireyourmentor.com/. Do you have a question about selling your business? 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 Liz, who asks about insurance. Does she need insurance for an online business? Do you have a question about legal side of your business? 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 Josh, who asks how to prepare his social media presence before he starts his business. Do you have a question about social media? Record it at http://www.askpat.com/. Check out my new book on validating your idea for a business, Will It Fly?, at http://willitflybook.com. See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/p...

Today's question comes from Valerie, who asks a question about her ecommerce site. Should she narrow her offering to focus on what sold best in her brick-and-mortar shop? Valerie's site is http://bambulei.com/. One of the tools I recommend using is Optimizely (https://www.optimizely.com/). Learn more about retargeting, which I discuss with Kimra Luna in Smart Passive Income Episode 181 (http://www...

Today's question comes from Sarah, who has a question about using autoresponders for email marketing. Who should get the autoresponders and how long should they go on? Sarah talks about my guide, Email the Smart Way (http://emailthesmartway.com). Do you have a question about email marketing? Record it at http://www.askpat.com/. See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy...

Today's question comes from David, who has two brick and mortar businesses, but now he's ready to move online. He has previously used Weebly to build websites. Is WordPress what I would recommend for building a website for an online business? Find David online at https://twitter.com/mindfulmeanings. David has previously used Weebly (http://www.weebly.com/). WordPress is what I typically recommend...

Today's question comes from Andrew, who is struggling to overcome a fear of failure. Should he keep researching, or should he launch now? Do you have a question about getting your business started? 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 Collins, who wants to know why I formed an LLC for Smart Passive Income. This is the article Collins references: http://www.smartpassiveincome.com/why-i-switched-from-aweber-to-infusionsoft-to-convertkit/. Do you have a question about getting your business started? Record it at http://www.askpat.com/. See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privac...

Today's question comes from Yazmin, who is trying out a web service that hasn't worked as expected. How long should she test it out before turning it off? Yazmin's site is http://thefamilybrick.com/. Do you have a question about optimizing your website? 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...

Today's question comes from Benji, who asks about content. How should he choose what becomes a lead magnet and what becomes epic content that lives on the blog? Benji's site is http://www.thecoffeeconcierge.net/. Do you have a question about your blog content? Record it at http://www.askpat.com/. See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/pri...

AP 0540: I'm Starting a Website. Where Should I Spend My Money? Today's question comes from James, who asks where to spend money when starting a new website. Where's the best place to spend money when getting started? James's site is http://www.jamesjenneman.com/. The conference James references is the LeadPages Converted conference (http://converted.com/conference/). The course James mentions is...

Today's question comes from Matt, who asks which bloggers have influenced me and my sites. In this episode I talk about just-in-time learning. I was inspired to get started by Internet Business Mastery (http://www.internetbusinessmastery.com/). Darren Rowse has always been inspiring and has provided a great example (http://problogger.com/). The first person to share me with their audience was Yaro...

Today's question comes from Isloooboy, who asks why he should continue with content marketing, when after five years he hasn't made any profit. It's a great question. Isloooboy's site is http://isloootalkingpoint.com/. In this episode, I talk about my site, Security Guard Training HQ (http://www.securityguardtraininghq.com/) Do you have a question about content marketing? Record it at http://www.a...

Today's question comes from Dale, who asks how to get started in a saturated niche. How do you break in amongst the noise? I talk about crowded niches with Steve Kamb on Smart Passive Income Podcast 196 (http://www.smartpassiveincome.com/how-to-level-up-your-life-with-steve-kamb/). Neil Patel shared a good strategy for evaluating your competitors on Episode #67 (http://www.smartpassiveincome.com/n...

AP 0536: How Do I Write Review Posts on Expensive Equipment? Today's question comes from Curtis, who wants to write more review posts, but can't afford all of the equipment. How can he do this? Curtis's site is http://www.everythinghamradio.com/. Do you have a question about blogging? Record it at http://www.askpat.com/. See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice...

AP 0535: Which Type of Call To Action (CTA) Should I Use? Today's question comes from Ramon, who asks about the best way to handle call to action (CTAs) on a sales page. Do you have a question about selling products online? Record it at http://www.askpat.com/. Check out my new book on validating your idea for a business, Will It Fly?, at http://willitflybook.com. See Privacy Policy at https://art1...