Askpat 2.0: A Weekly Coaching Call On Online Business, Blogging, Marketing, And Lifestyle Design

Today's question comes from Amanda, who is planning to have a book club as part of her website. Is it okay to ask her readers to use her affiliate link when they buy the recommended books? Check out my book club at http://www.patsbookclub.com. Do you have a question about book clubs? Record it at http://www.askpat.com/.

Today's question comes from Matt, whose website is growing. He appreciates the 1:1 interaction he has with his readers right now, but that won't scale. How can he keep the connection with his readers when he can't have as deep of an interaction with each one? Matt's website is http://www.timezillionaire.com/. My assistant Jessica talks about how she approaches my email in Smart Passive Income Podcast #115: http://www.smartpassiveincome.com/podcasts/email-management. Do you have a question about connecting with your audience? Record it at http://www.askpat.com/.

Today's question comes from Andy, who is planning to launch a forum on his site. How can he launch it with a big enough pool of users from day one? Andy's site is http://iporada.com/. Andy mentions my post on how to keep a forum active: http://www.smartpassiveincome.com/how-to-keep-a-forum-active. Do you have a question about community forums? Record it at http://www.askpat.com/.

AP 0741: Should I Sell to My Whole Email List or Just to a Segment? Today's question comes from Tracy, who asks about selling to her email list. Should she pitch her product to her entire list or just to a targeted segment? Tracy's site is http://mumswithhustle.com/. I'm an advisor for and big fan of the email service provider ConvertKit: http://askpat.com/convertkit. Do you have a question about selling to your email list? Record it at http://www.askpat.com/.

Today's question comes from Huw, who is planning ahead for a launch in four months. How early is too early to start the marketing for this launch? Huw's YouTube channel is at https://www.youtube.com/user/HuwsNursery. For more on launches, check out Smart Passive Income Podcast Session 137 with Amy Porterfield (http://www.smartpassiveincome.com/session137). Do you have a question about launches? Record it at http://www.askpat.com/.

Today's question comes from Mary, who is a college professor and is planning to create both an ebook and a video series based on a topic she teaches. Which should she focus on first? For more on creating an ebook, check out my guide Ebooks the Smart Way (http://ebooksthesmartway.com). Teachable is a great platform for setting up a paid or free video course. Do you have a question about creating content? Record it at http://www.askpat.com/.

Today's question comes from Brad, who asks a great question about his website. What makes a good homepage? What content should he have and how does he make it useful to his readers? Brad's site is http://growmilkweedplants.com/. We talk about the design on my website Smart Passive Income (http://www.smartpassiveincome.com), as well as my SPI Pro Theme from StudioPress (http://askpat.com/spitheme). Do you have a question about your website's content? Record it at http://www.askpat.com/.

Today's question comes from Leslie, who has a question about building email lists. What email marketing plugins works best for a WordPress.com (not self-hosted) site? How do you grow your email list without a self-hosted website platform? Leslie's website is at http://www.pureenergylifestyle.com/. In this episode, I mention Mail Chimp's subscriber pop-up feature, which you can find in the Mail Chimp database. I also mention Drip, which is a new tool I use. You can get started with Drip for free at http://www.askpat.com/drip/. Do you have a question about building your email list? Record it at http://www.askpat.com/. Thanks to our sponsor, Design Crowd. To learn more about working with their designers, go to http://designcrowd.com/askpat.

Today's question comes from Frank, who has a question about writing blog posts while traveling. What do you do while you're offline? Do you recommend any offline writing tips and tools so you can maintain productivity? Frank's website is at http://www.frankcjones.com/. In this episode, I mention Michael Hyatt's blog post, 5 Reasons Why I Switched to Scrivener (http://www.michaelhyatt.com/switched-to-scrivener.html/). You can get a 20% discount off Scrivener with Michael Hyatt's code: MICHAELHYATT. I also mention Byword, a distraction-free writing tool (http://www.bywordapp.com/). Do you have a question about writing offline? Record it at http://www.askpat.com/.

Today's question comes from Pascal, who has a question about conversion rates for Amazon Associates. How do you increase your conversion rates? Are there other products you can promote to increase your affiliate income? What are some specific ways you can promote your affiliate products and earn better commissions? Pascal's website is at http://www.cuisinealaplancha.com/. In this episode, I mention my free ebook, Affiliate Marketing the Smart Way. You can get this today at http://www.affiliatemarketingthesmartway.com/. Do you have a question about increasing conversion rates for your affiliate relationships? Record it at http://www.askpat.com/.

Today's question comes from Phil, who has a question about monetizing a niche website. How do you find affiliates to work with your niche business? Where do you look for affiliates? How do you get your website visitors to comment on your website, especially if it is a narrow niche/industry? Phil's website is at http://www.buildingautomationmonthly.com/. In this episode I mention Will It Fly?, my book on validating your idea for a business. Pick up your copy at http://willitflybook.com. Do you have a question about monetizing a niche website? Record it at http://www.askpat.com/.

Today's question comes from Ernie, who has a question about starting a YouTube channel. Should you start a YouTube channel to complement your website and brand? What types of videos can you add to your channel and your website? How do you enhance your brand with a YouTube channel? Ernie's website is at http://www.militarydiscountscentral.com/. Do you have a question about starting a YouTube channel for your brand? Record it at http://www.askpat.com/.

Today's question comes from Z, who has a question about podcast episode titles. What are the pros and cons of using episode numbers? What should you keep in mind when you craft your podcast episode titles? Can you change the titles later after you publish? Do keywords in podcast titles matter? Z's website is at http://www.artofmfg.com/. In this episode, I mention SPI Session 78, which you can find at http://www.smartpassiveincome.com/session78/. Do you have a question about improving your podcast episode titles? Record it at http://www.askpat.com/.

Today's question comes from Henry, who has a question about how to keep track of his sales funnels. How does he make his website scalable as he grows? Are there any specific strategies to put in place to make his funnels more efficient and simpler? Henry's website is at http://www.guitareasier.com/. In this episode I mention Ramit Sethi's website at http://www.iwillteachyoutoberich.com/. I also mention the book Ask by Ryan Levesque at http://www.smartpassiveincome.com/ask-amazon/. Do you have a question about organizing your sales funnel? Record it at http://www.askpat.com/.

Today's question comes from David, who has a question about missing podcast episodes in iTunes. What do you do if your feed is missing episodes? What do you do if your iTunes feed is not working right? How do you validate your podcast feed? What do you need to know about your ID3 tags? David's website is at http://www.salesvideos.com/. In this episode, I mention Cast Feed Validator, a place where you can validate your podcast feed, at http://www.castfeedvalidator.com/. Do you have a question about troubleshooting your podcast feed? Record it at http://www.askpat.com/.

Today's question comes from Ryan, who sells posters in different niches. He's selling them from the same store; should he separate them into different sites? Ryan's site is http://designdifferent.ca/. Do you have a question about selling products on your site? Record it at http://www.askpat.com/.

Today's question comes from Joshua, who has a question about hosting plans. Is there any downside to setting up multiple websites on a single hosting environment? Joshua's site is http://informationtechnologytraining.biz/. The dedicated server I use is at Linode (http://linode.com/), but when you are getting started I highly recommend using Bluehost (http://askpat.com/bluehost). Do you have a question about your website hosting? Record it at http://www.askpat.com/.

Today's question comes from Dan, who asks about using Fiverr. Is it a good source for finding writers to help with his site's content? Find Fiverr at http://fiverr.com/. I prefer Upwork (http://askpat.com/upwork) or the Problogger Job Board (http://problogger.com/jobs/) for finding writers. The transcription app and website I use is Rev (http://rev.com). Do you have a question about content creation? Record it at http://www.askpat.com/.

Today's question comes from Brandon, who asks about selling to his audience. How large of an audience does he need before he begins selling things? Brandon's site is http://www.startupmusician.co/. The episode of the Smart Passive Income Podcast with Brian Harris is Session #190 (http://www.smartpassiveincome.com/step-by-step-product-creation-with-bryan-harris/). Check out my new book on validating your idea for a business, Will It Fly?, at http://willitflybook.com. Do you have a question about selling to your audience? Record it at http://www.askpat.com/.

Today's question comes from Brian, who is planning to sell a video course. How does he keep his course private? Brian's site is http://www.coachingclarity.org/. Brian mentions the course hosting site Udemy (https://www.udemy.com/), as well as the video host Wistia (http://wistia.com/). I also discuss the video hosts Vimeo (https://vimeo.com/) and Podbean (http://www.podbean.com/). The WordPress plugins I mention are WP WishList (http://member.wishlistproducts.com/) and Zippy Courses (http://askpat.com/zippycourses). The course host I use is Teachable (http://askpat.com/teachable). Another option is Gumroad (http://askpat.com/gumroad) Do you have a question about creating and selling courses? Record it at http://www.askpat.com/.