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

Today's question comes from Andrew, who asks about his backlog of YouTube videos. Does he need to keep a backup of the files after they are uploaded to YouTube? The video editing file I mention is Screenflow for Mac (http://www.telestream.net/screenflow/overview.htm). Do you have a question about your videos? Record it at http://www.askpat.com/. Thanks to our sponsor, MileIQ! MileIQ tracks your mileage automatically for your taxes. Text “Pat” to 31996 to try the app for free.

Today's question comes from Will, who asks about building a business based on a broad range of products and topics. Does his niche have to be narrow? Share your thoughts about this on Twitter using #AskPat483. Do you have a question about building your niche business? 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.

Today's question comes from Rocky, who asks how to bounce back from failure. I have found a lot of helpful advice on haters from Derek Halpern (http://socialtriggers.com/). The WordPress plugin I mentioned (the one that is successful) is the Smart Podcast Player (http://smartpodcastplayer.com). Do you have a question about improving your mental toughness? Record it at http://www.askpat.com/. Thanks to Zip Recruiter for sponsoring today's episode. Go to http://www.ziprecruiter.com/pat to get started posting jobs today.

Today's question comes from Scott, who asks how to make the most of his No. 1 Google ranking. What should he do to help build his business? Scott's site is http://cybergrooveam.com/. The keyword tool I use in this episode is SEM Rush (http://www.semrush.com/). The user testing site is http://peak.usertesting.com. Do you have a question about making the most of your site's traffic? Record it at http://www.askpat.com/. Today's sponsor is Earth Class Mail. Earth Class Mail brings your snail mail to the cloud. Go to https://www.earthclassmail.com/pat to get your first month free. Today's sponsor is Braintree. Braintree will help you accept business payments for your products from customers across the world. Go to http://braintreepayments.com/pat.

Today's question comes from Jackie, who asks about improving her site's page rank. She seems to be doing everything right, and yet her site is not ranking. What can she do to improve? I share my thoughts. Jackie's site is http://FreedomThroughPassiveIncome.com. Do you have a question about your website? 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.

Today's question comes from Reine, who asks how to livestream a podcast with interview over Periscope. Reine's site is http://www.pmchats.com/. The episode of the Smart Passive Income Podcast that Reine mentions is #177 (http://www.smartpassiveincome.com/periscope-another-fad-or-the-next-big-thing/). The plugins I recommend for recording calls over Skype are Ecamm Call Recorder for Macs (http://www.ecamm.com/mac/callrecorder/) or Pamela for PCs (http://www.pamela.biz/). The recording website I recommend is Blab.im (http://blab.im). The Periscope gear I discuss in the episode is all available here (http://www.smartpassiveincome.com/periscope-gear/). Do you have a question about Periscope? Record it at http://www.askpat.com/. Thanks to our sponsor, MileIQ! MileIQ tracks your mileage automatically for your taxes. Text “Pat” to 31996 to try the app for free. Thanks to Zip Recruiter for sponsoring today's episode. Go to http://www.ziprecruiter.com/pat to get started posting jobs today.

Today's question comes from Diego, who asks how to increase sales for the courses he has on Udemy.com. Diego's site is http://www.diegodavila.com/. Good plugins for hosting courses include WP WishList (http://member.wishlistproducts.com/), WP Courseware (https://flyplugins.com/wp-courseware/), and Zippy Courses (http://askpat.com/zippycourses). Another platform I've heard great things about is Teachable (https://teachable.com/). Do you have a question about creating and selling courses? 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.

Today's question comes from Casey, who asks about using the AudioTechnica ATR2100 microphone. The microphone is picking up too much of the breathing sounds. What should he do? Casey's site is http://www.ministerstoolbox.com/home. In this episode I recommend using a pop filter and/or a microphone pre-amp. The pre-amp I use is DBX 286s, connected to my microphone with an XLR cable. Here's the video from Music Radio Creative on how to set up your pre-amp (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SR1KoMAqfJA). Do you have a question about podcast quality? Record it at http://www.askpat.com/. Thanks to today's sponsor, AWeber. Your email list is your most valuable asset—get started today. Go to http://www.aweber.com/askpat.

Today's question comes from Laurence, who asks why I write ebooks instead of creating courses. Why do I choose ebooks? Laurence's site is http://learntocodewith.me/. We're giving away this episode's shirt on Twitter. Use #AskPat476 within the first week of launch to enter. Do you have a question about your information product strategy? 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.

Today's question comes from David, who asks how to build a business around one-time only transactions, rather than ongoing purchasing relationships. I discuss the marketing around my one-time sales at my niche site, Green Exam Academy (http://www.greenexamacademy.com/). Share your thoughts on Twitter with #AskPat475. Do you have a question about marketing to your audience? 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 sponsor is Braintree. Braintree will help you accept business payments for your products from customers across the world. Go to http://braintreepayments.com/pat.

Today's question comes from Erich, who wants share a behind-the-scenes look into a launch with a special audience. Where should that live? On his blog? On Facebook? Erich's site is http://harmonyinsights.com/. The community Erich mentions is at http://patsfirstbook.com/. I discuss building an ambassador group with Jeff Goins on Smart Passive Income Podcast Episode 79 (http://www.smartpassiveincome.com/book-marketing-time-travel/). Do you have a question about building an ambassador group? Record it at http://www.askpat.com/. To win the AskPat shirt, share a tweet using #AskPat474 within one week of this episode's publishing date. Today's sponsor is Freshbooks. Go to http://www.GetFreshBooks.com and enter "Ask Pat" for more information.

Today's question comes from Jourdan, who asks about building an audience of gamers. How can he draw this audience to his site? Jourdan's site is http://jourdanb.com/. Do you have a question about building traffic to your site? Record it at http://www.askpat.com/. Thanks to today's sponsor, AWeber. Your email list is your most valuable asset—get started today. Go to http://www.aweber.com/askpat.

Today's question comes from Keil, who has a question about website analytics. With so many factors that impact traffic, how do you know which variables to focus on? Ke's site is http://www.crostrength.com/. Do you have a question about your website's analytics? 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.

Today's question comes from Justin, who asks about choosing which affiliates to work with. What are my criteria for making these decisions? An example of the special landing page I mention is http://www.smartpassiveincome.com/bluehost. Do you have a question about affiliate marketing? 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. Thanks to LegalZoom for sponsoring today's episode. Go to http://www.legalzoom.com/ and enter the discount code "Pat" at checkout.

Today's question comes from Josh, who is trying to name a podcast without violating a government trademark. In this episode, I talk about the trademark problems I ran into with my niche site, Green Exam Academy (http://www.greenexamacademy.com/). Do you have a question about naming your podcast, blog, or product? 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 sponsor is Braintree. Braintree will help you accept business payments for your products from customers across the world. Go to http://braintreepayments.com/pat.

Today's question comes from Patrick, who asks about feeling overwhelmed at the prospect of getting into online business. Where does he get started? I recommend the book The One Thing by Gary Keller and Jay Papasan (http://www.the1thing.com/) and Essentialism by Greg McKeown (http://gregmckeown.com/essentialism-the-disciplined-pursuit-of-less/). I also recommend reading the post by Kevin Kelly called 1,000 True Fans (http://kk.org/thetechnium/1000-true-fans/). Do you have a question about getting started? Record it at http://www.askpat.com/. Thanks to LegalZoom for sponsoring today's episode. Go to http://www.legalzoom.com/ and enter the discount code "Pat" at checkout.

Today's question comes from Victor, who asks about insuring himself as a self-employed individual. How does he find insurance? Victor's site is http://moneyuseitwisely.com/. To find your state's health insurance marketplace, go to https://www.healthcare.gov/. Do you have a question about self-employment? 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.

Today's question comes from Ozzy, who asks about his podcasting strategy. Can one show have two formats? For advice on setting up a podcast, try my free podcasting tutorial (http://www.podcastingtutorial.com). Do you have a question about podcasting? 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.

Today's question comes from Jonah, who asks about curating content. He mentions paper.li, but asks if I recommend any content curation plugins. Jonah's site is http://testingthemuse.com/. The tool I recommend for finding out what people are sharing is BuzzSumo (http://buzzsumo.com/). Do you have a question about your blog's content strategy? Record it at http://www.askpat.com/. To share your own advice on this topic on Twitter, use #AskPat466. 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. Thanks to LegalZoom for sponsoring today's episode. Go to http://www.legalzoom.com/ and enter the discount code "Pat" at checkout.

Today's question comes from Paul, who asks how I would structure blog for preparing for a test and learning a new topic. Paul talks about my niche site, Green Exam Academy (http://www.greenexamacademy.com/), which I set up to prepare for the LEED exam. I recommend using a self-hosted WordPress blog (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wPwQvnar99w). Do you have a question about blogging? 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 sponsor is Braintree. Braintree will help you accept business payments for your products from customers across the world. Go to http://braintreepayments.com/pat.