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

Today's question comes from Donna, who has an observation about the way she uses emails from companies. When is it a good idea to clean your email list? Share your thoughts at #AskPat309. Do you have a question about managing your email list? 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-m...

Today's question comes from Jake, who wants to know why I recommend Pretty Link Lite vs Simple 301 Redirects. Jake’s site is http://www.familybeforefortune.com/. The two plugins Jake references are Pretty Link Lite (https://wordpress.org/plugins/pretty-link/) and Simple 301 Redirects (https://wordpress.org/plugins/simple-301-redirects/). I also explain what 301 redirects are. Do you have a questio...

Today's question comes from Richelle, who asks if the information on my site is current. I take a wider view of the question and share how to tell if what you’re reading online is current. For current social media advice, check out Social Media Examiner (http://socialmediaexaminer.com/). Share your tips on this topic using #AskPat307. Do you have a question about keeping your blog current? Record...

Today's question comes from Giovanni, who asks about the use of a donation button. Is it a good idea to add a donation button to his site? Giovanni’s site is http://liveanddare.com/. I talk about the Muse headset (http://www.choosemuse.com/) and the Headspace app (https://www.headspace.com/). I also mention the guide I created for my niche site, Green Exam Academy (http://www.greenexamacademy.com/...

Today's question comes from Daniel, who wants to know how to get traffic to a new site without paid advertising. I share my advice; share yours using #AskPat305. I mention the Smart Passive Income Podcast session 145 with Kimanzi Constable (http://www.smartpassiveincome.com/session145) and the roundup post on FoodTruckr (http://foodtruckr.com/2013/10/what-i-wish-id-known-before-starting-my-food-tr...

Today’s question comes from Bradley, who wonders what makes for a good email list incentive. Bradley’s site is http://senseyourenergy.com/. Bradley mentions eBooks the Smart Way (http://ebooksthesmartway.com/). I also discuss Smart Passive Income Podcast session 145 with Kimanzi Constable (http://www.smartpassiveincome.com/session145), session 78 with Clay Collins (http://www.smartpassiveincome.co...

Today’s question comes from Chris, who asks about my current website design. I review what I’ve learned about web design. Here’s the post I reference about my theme design: http://www.smartpassiveincome.com/history-of-themes-smart-passive-income/. Some of the resources I mention are Thesis (http://diythemes.com/), Copyblogger (http://www.copyblogger.com/), E-Junkie (http://www.e-junkie.com/), and...

Today’s question comes from Anabell, who is looking for a way to distribute paid MP3s. Anabell’s site is http://pregnancyperfect.com/. Do you have a question about delivering paid 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 Gaby, who wants to know if her website topic is too broad. I share my thoughts—share yours using #AskPat301. In this episode, I mention Andrew Warner (http://www.mixergy.com); the Smart Passive Income episode with Lain Ehmann (http://smartpassiveincome.com/session151); Gary Keller and Jay Papasan’s book, The One Thing (http://www.the1thing.com/); and Greg McKeown’s book...

Today’s question comes from Emilio, who wants to know what kinds of questions I get for AskPat. I share my thoughts on content strategy. Share yours using #AskPat300. Do you have a question about your content strategy? 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 Laurence, who wants to be transparent with her affiliate income. When is the right time to start sharing income reports? Laurence’s site is http://learntocodewith.me/. You can see my income reports here: http://www.smartpassiveincome.com/my-income-reports/. You can find Pinch of Yum’s income reports here: http://pinchofyum.com/category/making-money-from-a-food-blog. Nat...

Today’s question comes from Belah, who is looking for advice on how to appropriately promote her products while interviewing guests who also have something to promote. Belah’s site is http://delightyourmarriage.com/. If you have advice for Belah, share it using #AskPat298. Do you have a question about promoting products? Record it at http://www.askpat.com/. See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/...

Today’s question comes from Mike, who wants to know how I create the images for my podcast posts. Here are the tools I use to make these look nice. Canva (http://canva.com/) is a great tool for creating shareable images. The big listing of resources from the Fizzle guys is available here: http://askpat.com/fizzle-images. For stock photography, I like Deposit Photos (http://depositphotos.com) and i...

Today’s question comes from Mike, who has a question about private label rights, also called PLR. Are they still a good strategy for internet marketing? The episode of Smart Passive Income Podcast regarding Private Label Rights is Session #9 (http://smartpassiveincome.com/session9). My guest for that episode was Nicole Dean (http://www.smartpassiveincome.com/plr). Do you have a question about writ...

Today’s question comes from Aaron, who has been focusing intently on writing. How much time should he spend on promotion? The book Aaron mentions is The One Thing by Gary Keller and Jay Papasan (http://www.the1thing.com/). Check out the episode of the Smart Passive Income Podcast with Kimanzi Constable to learn about writing for news sites (http://www.smartpassiveincome.com/session145). I also men...

Today’s question comes from Tim, who wants to know why I chose the niche markets I chose. My niche sites include serving security guard training (http://securityguardtraininghq.com) and food trucks (http://foodtruckr). I mention Gary Vaynerchuck’s book, Crush It (https://www.garyvaynerchuk.com/new-york-times-bestselling-aut-649919693.html). Do you have a question about niche sites? Record it at ht...

Today’s question comes from Melissa, who feels overwhelmed by the technical aspects of creating a website. Is it okay to outsource web design? What are some simple search engine optimization tips for the non-technically savvy? I recommend checking out WPCurve (http://askpat.com/wpcurve), Themeforest (http://themeforest.net), and WordPress SEO by Yoast (https://wordpress.org/plugins/wordpress-seo/)...

Today’s question comes from Matt, who wants build his brand without alienating existing brands in his niche. Matt’s site is http://www.whyiwetshave.com/. I have tons of advice for him, but I want to hear yours as well. Share your advice using #AskPat292. I mention Themeforest, a great place for finding WordPress themes (http://themeforest.net/). Do you have a question about building your brand? Re...

Today’s question comes from Linda, who has a question about recording her podcast using Skype. Find Skype at http://skype.com/. The recorders I mention are Call Recorder by Ecamm for Macs (http://www.ecamm.com/mac/callrecorder/) and Pamela for PCs (http://www.pamela.biz/en/download/). Do you have a question about podcast recording? Record it at http://www.askpat.com/. See Privacy Policy at https:/...

Today’s question comes from Sara, who has a question about a service I’ve recommended, E-junkie. Sara’s site is http://www.inventingclarified.com/. Sara mentions my book, eBooks the Smart Way (http://ebooksthesmartway.com) and E-junkie, a tool for selling ebooks (http://www.e-junkie.com/). Another shopping solution I mention is Gumroad (http://gumroad.com/), which we’re using over at FoodTruckr (h...

AP 0289: Should I Change the Order of My Autoresponder Series? Today’s question comes from Andy, who has an autoresponder series. Some have a higher open rate—should he rearrange the emails so that those ones come first? Andy’s site is http://channelempire.com/. Do you have a question about email marketing? Record it at http://www.askpat.com/. Thanks to today's sponsor, AWeber. Your email list is...

Today’s question comes from Chris, who would like to know how I relax after working long into the night. I recommend Flux (https://justgetflux.com/) for automatically adjusting the brightness of your screen. I also talk about Smart Passive Income Podcast #150 (http://www.smartpassiveincome.com/session150). Do you have a question about maintaining a daily schedule? Record it at http://www.askpat.co...

Today’s question comes from Nick, who is in the process of creating an online business. He’d like his day job to help him build skills useful to his business. What’s a good field to work in? I give my advice—share yours with #AskPat287. Do you have a question about your career? Record it at http://www.askpat.com/. Thanks to today's sponsor, SkilledUp, who helps you find the online courses you need...

Today’s question comes from David, who asks about podcasting traffic. His show’s traffic fell over the holidays and hasn’t rebounded yet. Is this normal? David’s site is http://www.xonebros.com/. I mention GameFly (http://www.gamefly.com/) and one of my other podcasts, 1 Day Business Breakthrough (http://1daybb.com/). Do you have a question about your podcast? Record it at http://www.askpat.com/....

Today’s question comes from Gary, who wants to know how best encourage his social media following to contribute to his charitable cause. Gary’s site is http://www.545miles.com. I mention my videographer, Caleb Wocjik (http://diyvideoguy.com/), as well as Edgar (http://meetedgar.com/), Buffer (http://bufferapp.com/), and using image posts on Facebook. The campaign sites that allow fundraising are I...