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

Today's question comes from Tony, who is overwhelmed by spam email. What can he do to combat the huge amount of spam emails? Tony’s site is http://bloggingdiabetes.com/. For blog comments, I recommend getting a captcha plugin for your WordPress website or switching your commenting system to Disqus (https://disqus.com/). I use a paid service called Sanebox (http://sanebox.com/pat), combined with Go...

Today's question comes from Nicholas, who is trying to understand how to promote his business using Pinterest. Nicholas’s website is http://informationalcuisine.com/. I recommend looking to Social Media Examiner for advice on Pinterest (http://www.socialmediaexaminer.com/). Check out the Everything Food Conference (http://www.foodbloggingconference.com/) and listen to Smart Passive Income Session...

Today's question comes from Joe, who is having trouble converting podcast listeners into email list subscribers. How can he improve this conversion rate? Joe’s podcast is The Q2 Podcast (https://itunes.apple.com/us/podcast/the-q2-podcast/id897345646?mt=2). Joe’s podcast host is Podbean (http://www.podbean.com/). The WordPress plugin I mention is Pretty Links (https://wordpress.org/plugins/pretty-l...

Today's question comes from Wayne, who is looking to hire a software developer. How does he find someone who can make his idea a reality? I recommend Upwork, which is the new company created by the merger of Elance and oDesk (https://www.upwork.com/). For team communication, I highly recommend Slack (http://askpat.com/slack-communication). Do you have a question about hiring staff to help create y...

Today's question comes from Tara, who asks if ebooks are too old school. Is something fancier, like video, a better choice? Good platforms for hosting courses include WP WishList (http://member.wishlistproducts.com/), WP Courseware (https://flyplugins.com/wp-courseware/), and Zippy Courses (http://askpat.com/zippycourses). The entrepreneurs I mentioned in this episode are Nathan Barry (http://nath...

Today's question comes from Karin, whose business is growing rapidly. Her email inbox is getting out of hand—what strategies can she use to keep the personal touch without getting overwhelmed? For more on how Jessica and I handle email, listen to Smart Passive Income Podcast Episode 115 (http://www.smartpassiveincome.com/email-management/). Do you have a question about email management? Record it...

Today's question comes from Rachel, who wants to build a business without creating a specific niche site. How can she do that? In this episode, I talk about Glen Allsopp from Viperchill (http://www.viperchill.com/). The tool I talk about is LeadPages (http://askpat.com/leadpages). The affiliate marketplaces mentioned are ClickBank (http://www.clickbank.com/) and CJ (formerly Commission Junction; h...

Today's question comes from Corey, who is looking for a mentor. How can he find one? In this episode, I talk about Brian Harris’s “Poster Boy” strategy (http://blog.videofruit.com/poster-boy/). Do you have a question about mentors? Record it at http://www.askpat.com/. Today's sponsor is Freshbooks. Go to http://www. GetFreshBooks.com and enter "Ask Pat" for more information. See Privacy Policy at...

Today's question comes from Nick, who needs some suggestions for better lead generation for his home building company. To learn about content marketing, check out Marcus Sheridan (http://www.thesaleslion.com/). Do you have a question about lead generation? Record it at http://www.askpat.com/. Thanks to our sponsor, Lynda.com. Try out all of Lynda.com's courses for free for seven days. Go http://ly...

Today's question comes from Amanda, who wants to get back to blogging again. How can she make her Blogger site more mobile-friendly? Amanda’s site is http://www.mommymiamonologues.com/. In this episode, I mention this article from Big Little Geek on responsive Blogger templates (http://www.biglittlegeek.com/best-responsive-seo-optimized-blogger-templates-2015/). If you’re using the Amazon Associat...

Today's question comes from Rachel, who has a question about email lists and lead magnets. How can she keep subscribers from receiving duplicate emails? Rachel’s site is http://www.candokiddo.com/. Rachel mentions the Smart Passive Income Podcast Episode 78 with Clay Collins (http://www.smartpassiveincome.com/rapid-list-building/), which talks about how to use LeadPages (http://www.askpat.com/lead...

Today's question comes from AJ, who asks about sending cold emails. Are they a good tool for generating new business? Do you have a question about using email to build your business? Record it at http://www.askpat.com/. Today's sponsor is Freshbooks. Go to http://www. GetFreshBooks.com and enter "Ask Pat" for more information. See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy...

Today's question comes from Brian, who has a question about the sharing the work of a much more established individual in his market. Is it a good idea to share a competitor’s site when they have a much larger presence? Brian’s site is http://www.askadaddy.com/. Do you have a question about the competition? Record it at http://www.askpat.com/. Thanks to our sponsor, Lynda.com. Try out all of Lynda...

Today's question comes from Jon, who is setting up a video studio in the corner of his home office. What some space-saving advice do I have to recommend? In this episode I mention a bunch of photography tools, including using a wide angle lens, using bokeh effect (works better on a standard lens), using LED lights to save on space and heat, folding light reflectors, and ring lights. The lenses I m...

Today's question comes from Ann, who asks about the Periscope platform. What is its potential for marketing a business? Chris Ducker inspired me to get started using Periscope (http://www.chrisducker.com). Do you have a question about social media? Record it at http://www.askpat.com/. Today's sponsor is Braintree. Braintree will help you accept business payments for your products from customers ac...

Today's question comes from Mary, who asks how much a new business owner needs to work in the beginning. Is it important to work long hours when you’re first getting a business started? The two authors I contrast are Gary Vaynerchuck (https://www.garyvaynerchuk.com/) and Tim Ferriss (http://fourhourworkweek.com/). Do you have a question about getting your business started? Record it at http://www....

Today's question comes from Megan, who asks about leaving a traditional product-based business to start an online business. How does she make sure this new business will last? In this episode I mention the post by Kevin Kelly called 1,000 True Fans (http://kk.org/thetechnium/1000-true-fans/). Do you have a question about starting your online business? Record it at http://www.askpat.com/. Thanks to...

Today's question comes from Chris, who is planning to interview some audience members. What questions should he ask his audience members? Chris’s site is http://sidehustleacademy.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 have a question...

Today's question comes from Elizabeth, who asks about business plans. How important is having a business plan? Elizabeth’s site is http://www.theseniorgap.com/. In this episode I mention the SBA, which is the Small Business Administration (https://www.sba.gov/). I recommend the book The One Thing by Gary Keller and Jay Papasan (http://www.the1thing.com/). Do you have a question about getting start...

Today's question comes from Josh, who wants to know how to convert his Instagram followers to newsletter followers and customers. Josh’s site is http://mad-realestate.com/. I cover strategies for converting Instagram followers on my interviews on Smart Passive Income Podcast Podcast 165 with Susan Petersen (http://www.smartpassiveincome.com/susan-petersen-from-freshly-picked-on-selling-moccasins-a...

Today's question comes from Greg, who asks about affiliate products and email lists. Can he promote multiple products to a single list, or should he set up several email lists? For affiliate marketing advice check out this page: http://www.smartpassiveincome.com/affiliate-marketing-strategies/. Do you have a question about affiliate marketing. Record it at http://www.askpat.com/. Thanks to Zip Rec...

Today's question comes from Michael, who asks how I stay motivated when work and life gets tough. It’s a great question, because life is a roller coaster. Here’s what I do. Do you have a question about staying motivated? Record it at http://www.askpat.com/. Today's sponsor is Freshbooks. Go to http://www. GetFreshBooks.com and enter "Ask Pat" for more information. See Privacy Policy at https://art...

Today's question comes from Saj, whose audience is asking him to create some coaching courses. What tools does he need to create a course? These are the tools I recommend. For hosting the course, if you don’t want to create your own website, you can use Udemy (http://www.udemy.com/) or Teachery (https://www.teachery.co/). For a merchant account, you can use Stripe (https://stripe.com/), PayPal (ht...

Today's question comes from Elyse, who writes online content for a living. How can she increase traffic to her site to help her find more customers? Elyse’s site is http://www.contentbyelyse.com/. Take a listen to Smart Passive Income Podcast 158 with Brian Casel, where we discuss how to productize a service-based business (http://www.smartpassiveincome.com/how-to-productize-your-service-based-bus...

Today's question comes from Gaynete, who asks about the time my website got hacked. What did I learn from getting the site hacked? What would I do differently to prevent future attacks? I share the 11 things I learned from the DDOS attack that will help you prevent your site from getting hacked—or help you recover if a site hack happens to you. The plugins I discuss for limiting logins are Limit L...