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

Ryan is considering starting an online business to teach people how to start businesses, and he's asking for my opinion. In this episode I mention Derek Halpern's http://socialtriggers.com/, Yaro Starak's http://www.entrepreneurs-journey.com/, and Glen Allsop's http://www.viperchill.com/. Do you have a question about starting a business? Record it at http://www.askpat.com/. Thanks to our sponsor,...

Today's question comes from Gavin, who asks about how I reinvest back into my business. Gavin's site is: http://disneydose.com/. Do you have a question about how to make your business stronger? 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 Californ...

Don has trouble keeping up with writing for his site. He asks if a blog that is focused on audio and video can be successful. Don's site is http://3rhinomedia.com/. In my answer, I mention http://www.internetbusinessmastery.com/, http://entrepreneuronfire.com/, and https://www.youtube.com/user/sxephil. Do you have a question about the content strategy for your site? Record it at http://www.askpat....

Carly has two business ideas that are very different. Should she tackle them both or just focus on one? The book I recommend is The One Thing by Gary Keller and Jay Papasan. Do you have a question about starting your business? 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://lynda.com/AskPat to get started....

Today's question comes from Chris, a composer who wants to blog for game developers. How does he get started when he doesn't have expertise in gaming? Do you have a question about blogging? 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 P...

Skip is planning to start a podcast in a crowded niche. How can he differentiate himself? I mention these podcasts in my answer: http://www.entrepreneuronfire.com/, http://mixergy.com/interviews/, and http://podcast.leadpages.net/. Do you have a question about starting a podcast? Record it at http://www.askpat.com/. See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at h...

Heidi has a website and she is wondering at what point she should create a "Getting Started" page for new visitors. Heidi's site is http://www.tonsofthanks.com/. Do you have a question about the pages on your website? Record it at http://www.askpat.com/. Thanks to today's sponsor, 99Designs. Go to http://www.99designs.com/pat to get a Power Pack upgrade for free. See Privacy Policy at https://art1...

Kim has an Etsy shop and asks about the best way to optimize her site for SEO. Should she use internal links or should she link out to her shop? Kim's site is http://trashycrafter.com/. Do you have a question about linking to an external sales site? Record it at http://www.askpat.com/. Thanks to today's sponsor, 99Designs. Go to http://www.99designs.com/pat to get a Power Pack upgrade for free. Se...

Pete's website loads slowly. How can he speed it up? Pete's site is http://www.elfboxes.com/. I recommend a bunch of resources in this episode. Bluehost is a great option for a shared server: http://askpat.com/bluehost. Resize large pictures with http://picresize.com/. Check your load times with http://gtmetrix.com/, http://yslow.org/, and http://whichloadsfaster.com/. Two WordPress plugins that c...

Today's question comes from Jared and Dan from Podcast Movement. You can find Podcast Movement at http://podcastmovement.com/. Do you have a question you'd like me to answer? 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.

Cy noticed that my Bluehost affiliate income is really high, and was wondering why. Is my volume really high, or am I doing something differently? Check out my resources page—you need one too! www.smartpassiveincome.com/resources/ Do you have a question about affiliate income? Record it at http://www.askpat.com/. Today's sponsor is Freshbooks. Go to http://www. GetFreshBooks.com and enter "Ask Pat...

David had an experience where a marketer said one thing and did another. While the information the marketer offered was good, how can he trust anything that they say if they were dishonest? I mention my friend John Lee Dumas from http://www.entrepreneuronfire.com/ because I know he understands that integrity is important. Do you have a question about ethics? Record it at http://www.askpat.com/. Th...

Jessica has a great idea, but has let fear hold her back. How can she tell the difference between distractions and real business concerns? I highly recommend reading two books, The War of Art by Steven Pressfield and The Obstacle Is the Way by Ryan Holiday. Do you have a question about overcoming fears with your business? Record it at http://www.askpat.com/. Thanks to Zip Recruiter for sponsoring...

Jo asks about my social media strategy, and if it's really me managing all of my social media accounts. Jo's site is http://dexterousdiva.co.uk/. Do you have a question about time management? 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...

Chris has a lot of knowledge in a particular topic, and is ready to build an authority site—but how much information should he share immediately? In this episode, I talk about my sites http://www.securityguardtraininghq.com/, http://www.nichesiteduel.com/, and http://foodtruckr.com/. Do you have a question about building an authority site? Record it at http://www.askpat.com/. Thanks to our sponsor...

Zane has a website with a good traffic and engaged readers, but he's worried that his lack of focus is holding him back. Zane's site is http://lifebyexperimentation.com/. Do you have a question about your blog's direction? 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://a...

AJ has an interesting situation, and I'd like us all to offer some advice. An investor from a single business of AJ's has become a mentor, and now feels entitled to a cut of all AJ's businesses. Tweet your advice for AJ with the #AskPat143. I look forward to reading your advice! Do you have a question about working with investors and mentors? Record it at http://www.askpat.com/. See Privacy Policy...

Today's question comes from Michael, who wants to know my opinion of the book "The Secret" by Rhonda Byrne and "Think and Grow Rich" by Napoleon Hill. Michael's site is http://mcostanzo4.wordpress.com/. Do you have a question about an inspirational or business book you've read? Record it at http://www.askpat.com/. Thanks to today's sponsor, 99Designs. Go to http://www.99designs.com/pat to get a Po...

Jeff has a great question about landing pages: how long should he wait to see if it converts before making changes? Jeff's site is http://www.salonbusinesspodcast.com/. Do you have a question about landing pages? Record it at http://www.askpat.com/. Thanks to today's sponsor, 99Designs. Go to http://www.99designs.com/pat to get a Power Pack upgrade for free. See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com...

Helen needs a website, but she's not technically savvy, and she wonders if she should try to build it herself or if she should hire a developer to do it for her. Do you have a question about building your website? Record it at http://www.askpat.com/. Thanks to today's sponsor, 99Designs. Go to http://www.99designs.com/pat to get a Power Pack upgrade for free. See Privacy Policy at https://art19.co...

Mary has a very specific podcast, and she's having trouble ranking well in iTunes against her competitors. I have some advice for improving those rankings. Mary's site is http://www.thelivingreminders.com/. I mention my friend Cliff Ravenscraft, better known as http://podcastanswerman.com/. Do you have a question about podcast promotion? Record it at http://www.askpat.com/. Thanks to our sponsor,...

Ryan asks about how he should balance his time between writing blog posts and marketing blog posts. The site I talk about today is Derek Halpern's Social Triggers: http://socialtriggers.com/, specifically the "Design is king" post: http://socialtriggers.com/content-is-king-myth/. Also, check out Help a Reporter Out: http://www.helpareporter.com/. Do you have a question about marketing your content...

Alex is considering changing his WordPress theme, and he wonders what affect it could have on his traffic. Also, he asks about the best structure for a website. Do you have a question about making changes to your website? Record it at http://www.askpat.com/. Thanks to our sponsor, Flippa. Flippa is the #1 marketplace for buying and selling websites. Go to http://www.flippa.com/pat. See Privacy Pol...

Today's question comes from Keith, who has a successful podcast and no time to blog. Should he invest in having his podcast transcribed? Keith's site is http://www.pdrcollege.com/. Do you have a question about podcast strategy? Record it at http://www.askpat.com/. Thanks to our sponsor, Flippa. Flippa is the #1 marketplace for buying and selling websites. Go to http://www.flippa.com/pat. See Priva...

Today's question comes from Stephen, who wants to know, knowing what I do now, what I would in my first 90 days of business. Stephen's site is http://freeandrichin90days.com/. Other resources mention in this episode include Smart Passive Income Podcast episodes 046 and 085 with Dane Maxwell: http://www.smartpassiveincome.com/no-ideas-no-expertise-no-money-business/ http://www.smartpassiveincome.co...