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

Today's question comes from Andrew, who is struggling to overcome a fear of failure. Should he keep researching, or should he launch now? Do you have a question about getting your business started? Record it at http://www.askpat.com/.

Today's question comes from Yazmin, who is trying out a web service that hasn't worked as expected. How long should she test it out before turning it off? Yazmin's site is http://thefamilybrick.com/. Do you have a question about optimizing your website? Record it at http://www.askpat.com/.

Today's question comes from Collins, who wants to know why I formed an LLC for Smart Passive Income. This is the article Collins references: http://www.smartpassiveincome.com/why-i-switched-from-aweber-to-infusionsoft-to-convertkit/. Do you have a question about getting your business started? Record it at http://www.askpat.com/.

Today's question comes from Benji, who asks about content. How should he choose what becomes a lead magnet and what becomes epic content that lives on the blog? Benji's site is http://www.thecoffeeconcierge.net/. Do you have a question about your blog content? Record it at http://www.askpat.com/.

AP 0540: I'm Starting a Website. Where Should I Spend My Money? Today's question comes from James, who asks where to spend money when starting a new website. Where's the best place to spend money when getting started? James's site is http://www.jamesjenneman.com/. The conference James references is the LeadPages Converted conference (http://converted.com/conference/). The course James mentions is Ramit Sethi's Zero to Launch (http://askpat.com/ztls). Jamie Tardy Masters has a coaching course called Hustlers (http://eventualmillionaire.com/). Do you have a question about getting your business started? Record it at http://www.askpat.com/. LeadPages has a free tool called Rapidology, which will help you build your email list. Got to https://www.rapidology.com/. Thanks for helping me make the Wall Street Journal's bestseller list!

Today's question comes from Matt, who asks which bloggers have influenced me and my sites. In this episode I talk about just-in-time learning. I was inspired to get started by Internet Business Mastery (http://www.internetbusinessmastery.com/). Darren Rowse has always been inspiring and has provided a great example (http://problogger.com/). The first person to share me with their audience was Yaro Starak (https://www.entrepreneurs-journey.com/). Tim Ferriss (http://fourhourworkweek.com/), Ramit Sethi (http://www.iwillteachyoutoberich.com/), and Lewis Howes (http://lewishowes.com/) have inspired me to grow my business. Adam Braun has inspired me toward greater philanthropy (http://www.smartpassiveincome.com/changing-the-world/), including through Pencils of Promise (https://pencilsofpromise.org/). I'm also inspired by Elon Musk (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Elon_Musk). Do you have a question about getting your business started? Record it at http://www.askpat.com/. Check out my new book on validating your idea

Today's question comes from Isloooboy, who asks why he should continue with content marketing, when after five years he hasn't made any profit. It's a great question. Isloooboy's site is http://isloootalkingpoint.com/. In this episode, I talk about my site, Security Guard Training HQ (http://www.securityguardtraininghq.com/) Do you have a question about content marketing? Record it at http://www.askpat.com/. Thanks to ConvertKit for providing an excellent email experience for bloggers with online businesses like mine. Check out http://askpat.com/convertkit for more information.

Today's question comes from Dale, who asks how to get started in a saturated niche. How do you break in amongst the noise? I talk about crowded niches with Steve Kamb on Smart Passive Income Podcast 196 (http://www.smartpassiveincome.com/how-to-level-up-your-life-with-steve-kamb/). Neil Patel shared a good strategy for evaluating your competitors on Episode #67 (http://www.smartpassiveincome.com/neil-patel-seo/). Derek Halpern shares his strategies for getting your message seen on Episode #184 (http://www.smartpassiveincome.com/psychological-strategies-to-improve-email-conversion-with-derek-halpern/). I share an exercise from my new book on validating your idea for a business, Will It Fly?, at http://willitflybook.com. Do you have a question about crowded niches? Record it at http://www.askpat.com/.

AP 0536: How Do I Write Review Posts on Expensive Equipment? Today's question comes from Curtis, who wants to write more review posts, but can't afford all of the equipment. How can he do this? Curtis's site is http://www.everythinghamradio.com/. Do you have a question about blogging? Record it at http://www.askpat.com/.

AP 0535: Which Type of Call To Action (CTA) Should I Use? Today's question comes from Ramon, who asks about the best way to handle call to action (CTAs) on a sales page. Do you have a question about selling products online? Record it at http://www.askpat.com/. Check out my new book on validating your idea for a business, Will It Fly?, at http://willitflybook.com.

Today's question comes from Travis, who is planning a series of short-run podcasts (or nanocasts). Which is the best podcast host for this situation? Travis's site is http://www.providfilms.com/. The hosts I discuss in this episode are SoundCloud (https://soundcloud.com/stream), Libsyn (http://www.libsyn.com/ with the coupon code: SPI), and Podbean (http://www.podbean.com/). Do you have a question about podcasting? Record it at http://www.askpat.com/.

Today's question comes from Lain, who asks about transcriptions. Where is a good place to find a transcriptionist? In this episode I mention James Schramko's podcast (http://www.superfastbusiness.com/). I've used transcriptionists from Upwork (merger of oDesk and Elance; http://upwork.com). Lately I have been using Rev for some transcriptions (https://www.rev.com/freelancers/transcription) and Fiverr (https://www.fiverr.com/). Do you have a question about podcasting? Record it at http://www.askpat.com/. Check out my new book on validating your idea for a business, Will It Fly?, at http://willitflybook.com.

Today's question comes from Glenn, who asks about formatting ebooks. Should ebooks be graphic-heavy or should they be printable? Do you have a question about ebooks? Record it at http://www.askpat.com/. Check out my new book on validating your idea for a business, Will It Fly?, at http://willitflybook.com.

Today's question comes from Jeff, who asks about finding partners to collaborate on projects. How do you know if they have enough passion to be a good collaborator? Jeff's podcast is http://www.generallytrivial.com/. Do you have a question about finding good collaboration partners? Record it at http://www.askpat.com/. Check out my new book on validating your idea for a business, Will It Fly?, at http://willitflybook.com.

Today's episode is special! My new book, Will It Fly?, launches today! Learn how to validate your idea for a business, Will It Fly?, at http://willitflybook.com. If you picked up the book, let me know on Twitter @PatFlynn. Do you have a question about getting your business started? Record it at http://www.askpat.com/. Thank you so much for listening! I appreciate you!

AP 0529: Is My Potential Audience Large Enough? Today's question comes from Hunter, who has a website topic that he's ready to start, but he's worried the search volume is too low. How can he tell? In this episode, I talk about my niche site, Security Guard Training HQ (http://www.securityguardtraininghq.com/). Do you have a question about testing your website idea? Record it at http://www.askpat.com/. Check out my new book on validating your idea for a business, Will It Fly?, at http://willitflybook.com. Check out my friend John Lee Dumas's Kickstarter for The Freedom Journal (http://thefreedomjournal.com/).

Today's question comes from Marco, who has a few niche site ideas. How does he determine which niche will be most worth his time and effort? 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 niche site validation? Record it at http://www.askpat.com/. Check out my friend John Lee Dumas's Kickstarter for The Freedom Journal (http://thefreedomjournal.com/).

Today's question comes from Jae, who is beginning to feel discouraged and wants to know how I've dealt with these feelings in the past. In this episode, I talk about Hal Elrod's Miracle Morning book and strategy (http://www.smartpassiveincome.com/early-morning-routine/). Share your encouragement on Twitter with #AskPat527. Do you have a question about the emotional side of entrepreneurship? Record it at http://www.askpat.com/. Check out my new book on validating your idea for a business, Will It Fly?, at http://willitflybook.com.

Today's question comes from Rickey, who is planning to start a blog. What program do I use to write my blog posts? Also, do I use a PC or Mac? One text editor I've used is Byword (http://bywordapp.com/). Our team now does the initial writing in Google Docs (https://docs.google.com/). Other tools include Scrivener (https://www.literatureandlatte.com/scrivener.php) and Evernote (https://evernote.com/). Do you have a question about getting started with blogging? Record it at http://www.askpat.com/.

Today's question comes from Clifton, who is interested in hiring a WordPress developer to help develop a software product for his customers. How should he compensate them—should he hire them or partner with them? In this episode, I talk about the structure for Smart Podcast Player (http://smartpodcastplayer.com/). Do you have a question about developing software? Record it at http://www.askpat.com/. Check out my new book on validating your idea for a business, Will It Fly?, at http://willitflybook.com.