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

Today's question comes from Steve, who is looking to sell an online course. What are good platforms for selling online courses? In this episode, I discuss several different platforms and tools, including Udemy (https://www.udemy.com/), Lynda (http://lynda.com), Wistia (http://wistia.com/hub), Vimeo (https://vimeo.com/), Podbean (http://www.podbean.com/), WP Wishlist (http://member.wishlistproducts...

Today's question comes from Dana, who is still getting started and needs help getting organized. What information should she keep track of when she’s organizing her content plan? In this episode I mentioned Speakpipe, which we use for taking questions on the show (https://www.speakpipe.com/), as well as Google Drive spreadsheets (https://drive.google.com/). I would appreciate if you could fill out...

Today's question comes from Greg, who asks which should come first, the podcast or the blog. I have a lot of thoughts on how to get started. To learn about getting your podcast started, go to my podcasting tutorial (http://www.podcastingtutorial.com). I would appreciate if you could fill out my survey at http://spisurvey.com. Your responses will help me serve you better. Do you have a question abo...

Today's question comes from Dean, who asks about buying backlinks. Dean’s site is http://moderngreenlife.com/. Kimanzi Constable shares great information on how to become a contributing writer to large media sites on Smart Passive Income Podcast #145 (http://www.smartpassiveincome.com/how-to-become-a-contributing-writer-on-large-media-sites-kimanzi-constable/). Brian Dean’s article on backlinking...

Today's question comes from Chirag, who has two websites. How should he balance the effort spent on the two different sites? Chirag’s site is http://chiragmehta.co.uk/. I would appreciate if you could fill out my survey at http://spisurvey.com. Your responses will help me serve you better. Do you have a question about time management? Record it at http://www.askpat.com/. See Privacy Policy at http...

Today's question comes from Carlos, who is preparing to start a podcast. He asks how I structure my interviews and how I plan the questions. Carlos’s site is http://quietsalesguy.com/. Carlos mentions the event I held with Chris Ducker, 1-Day Business Breakthrough (https://1daybb.com/download). Do you have a question about interviewing? Record it at http://www.askpat.com/. See Privacy Policy at ht...

Today's question comes from Jason, who asks about protecting his online identity. What should he do to protect his identity? When should he use a pen name? Jason’s site is http://debtdeparture.com/. In this episode, I talk about my niche website Security Guard Training (http://www.securityguardtraininghq.com/) and why I used a pen name. Share your experience using a pen name with #AskPat378. Do yo...

Today's question comes from Kedar, who asks about how I built my niche sites. What did I know before I got started? How did I learn about the niches? In this episode, I talk about my niche websites Security Guard Training (http://www.securityguardtraininghq.com/) and FoodTruckr (http://www.foodtruckr.com/). Do you have a question about creating niche sites? Record it at http://www.askpat.com/. See...

Today's question comes from Filmon, who is looking to change his podcast’s intro music. Here are the tools and services I recommend. Music Radio Creative created the AskPat intro (http://askpat.com/mrc). For software, the Mac’s built-in Garage Band program works well, otherwise check out Audacity (http://sourceforge.net/projects/audacity/), Adobe Audition (https://creative.adobe.com/products/audit...

Today's question comes from Melody, who asks about email newsletters and lead magnets. Should she require her existing users to opt-in again to get new lead magnets? Melody’s site is http://melodywilding.com/. The tool I mention is LeadPages (http://askpat.com/leadpages). Also, find Josh Shipp here (http://joshshipp.com/). Do you have a question about email newsletters? Record it at http://www.ask...

Today's question comes from Adrian, who has a podcast in iTunes’s New and Noteworthy section. What happens when it ends? Adrian’s podcast is Your Daily 10 Minute Meditation Podcast (http://apple.co/1e5RB9p). Check out the Smart Podcast Player (http://smartpodcastplayer.com/). Do you have a question about podcasting? Record it at http://www.askpat.com/. See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/priva...

Today's question comes from Matt, who asks about making business decisions. How do I stay true to my morals when someone is offering me a lot of money? Do you have a question about making good business decisions? 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 Kirklan, who is having trouble finding his podcast stats. How does he figure out how many downloads his show has? Kirklan’s podcast is http://empowertk.org/. In this episode, I talk about Feedburner (http://feedburner.google.com). I share advice from Cliff Ravenscraft (http://podcastanswerman.com/). Do you have a question about podcasting? Record it at http://www.askpat...

Today's question comes from Maelisa, who asks about politely declining request for free content. In this episode I discuss my niche site, Green Exam Academy (http://www.greenexamacademy.com/) and my product Smart Podcast Player (http://www.smartpodcastplayer.com/). Do you have a question about fielding requests from your audience? Record it at http://www.askpat.com/. See Privacy Policy at https://...

Today's question comes from Roy, who is starting a new podcast. Should the podcast live on its own website? Roy’s site is http://www.idealdreammarriage.com/. In this episode, I talk about my project with Chris Ducker, 1-Day Business Breakthrough (https://1daybb.com/), as well as my main website, Smart Passive Income (http://www.smartpassiveincome.com/). Do you have a question about podcasting? Rec...

Today's question comes from Michael, who asks how to turn followers into relationships. What a great question! In this episode I talk about email service providers AWeber (http://askpat.com/aweber), Infusionsoft (http://askpat.com/infusionsoft), Ontraport (https://ontraport.com/), Constant Contact (http://www.constantcontact.com/index.jsp), iContact (http://www.icontact.com/), and MailChimp (http:...

Today's question comes from Joe, who is working to build his email list. Should he spend money on Facebook Ads? Joe’s site is http://panvisio.org/. Amy Porterfield has great advice on this topic (http://www.amyporterfield.com/), as does Rick Mulready (http://rickmulready.com/). In this episode, I also mention Gary Vaynerchuck (https://www.garyvaynerchuk.com/new-york-times-bestselling-aut-649919693...

Today's question comes from Daniel, who wants to record webinars for his organization. What equipment does he need? Webinar providers include GoToWebinar (http://askpat.com/gotowebinar), Google Hangouts (https://plus.google.com/hangouts/), and Webinar Jam (http://ww2.webinarjam.com/welcome/). Scheduling/signup tools include LeadPages plus your email service provider (http://askpat.com/leadpages) (...

Today's question comes from Bree, who asks about whether she should spend time creating digital products outside her niche. Do you have a question about digital products? 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 Joel, who is having trouble with the promotion of his podcast. Why is his strategy failing? Joel’s podcast is Look Like a Local (https://itunes.apple.com/us/podcast/look-like-local-travelers/id993214217?mt=2). In this episode, I talk about this FoodTruckr post: http://foodtruckr.com/2013/10/what-i-wish-id-known-before-starting-my-food-truck/. Do you have a question abou...

Today's question comes from Ron, who asks about domain names. Should he buy up all the variations (.net, .com, .org, etc.)? In this episode, I mention Zen Habits (http://zenhabits.net) and LeadPages (http://leadpages.net). Do you have a question about managing domain names? Record it at http://www.askpat.com/. See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https:/...

Today's question comes from Chastity, who asks about whether or not she should pursue an MBA. In this episode, I discuss starting Green Exam Academy (http://www.greenexamacademy.com/). Do you have a question about running your online 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-...

Today's question comes from Aaron, who has a question about standing out from the crowd. Does a professional appearance still have a place? Aaron’s site is http://freecustommusic.com/. To sign up for my email list, go to eBooks the Smart Way (http://ebooksthesmartway.com). In this episode, I mention a post I wrote for Fizzle about software development (http://fizzle.co/sparkline/five-lessons-learn...

Today's question comes from Saj, who is starting a new podcast. How do I promote my new podcast? You can find my podcast tutorial at PodcastingTutorial.com (http://podcastingtutorial.com/). In this episode I share my experience with podcast promotion. 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 Jordi, who is working to refine his target audience. Should his site be bilingual, with information in both English and Spanish? In this episode, I mention Google Analytics (https://www.google.com/analytics/). Share your experiences with bilingual websites using #AskPat360. Do you have a question about getting your website started? Record it at http://www.askpat.com/. S...