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

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.com/session78), and session 115 with Jessica (http://www.smartpassiveincome.com/session115); as well as Ramit Sethi’s site (http://www.iwillteachyoutoberich.com/) and LeadPages (http://leadpages.net/). Do you have a question about your email list? Record it at http://www.askpat.com/.

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 Libsyn. My WordPress podcast player plugin is the Smart Podcast Player (http://www.smartpodcastplayer.com/). Do you have a question about your website design? Record it at http://www.askpat.com/.

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/.

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, Essentialism (http://gregmckeown.com/essentialism-the-disciplined-pursuit-of-less/). Do you have a question about your website’s topic? Record it at http://www.askpat.com/.

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/.

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. National Novel Writing Month is http://nanowrimo.org/. Do you have a question about affiliate sales? Record it at http://www.askpat.com/. If you have any ideas, share them with #AskPat299.

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/.

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 iStockPhotos (http://istockphotos.com/). The fonts I use are Proxima Nova (extra bold) and Pacifico. Do you have a question about the images on your website? Record it at http://www.askpat.com/.

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 writing for your site? Record it at http://www.askpat.com/.

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 mention this post on the FoodTruckr niche site: http://foodtruckr.com/2013/10/what-i-wish-id-known-before-starting-my-food-truck/. Do you have a question about promoting your content? Record it at http://www.askpat.com/.

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 http://www.askpat.com/.

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/). Do you have a question about your website’s design? Record it at http://www.askpat.com/.

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? Record it at http://www.askpat.com/.

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/.

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 (http://foodtruckr.com). Do you have a question about selling ebooks? 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.

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 your most valuable asset—get started today. Go to http://www.aweber.com/askpat

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.com/. Today's sponsor is Freshbooks. Go to http://www.GetFreshBooks.com and enter "Ask Pat" for more information.

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 to build your skills. Go to http://www.askpat.com/skilledup to download the free toolkit for web entrepreneurs.

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 sponsor is Freshbooks. Go to http://www.GetFreshBooks.com and enter "Ask Pat" for more information.

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 Indiegogo (http://indiegogo.com/) and GoFundMe (http://www.gofundme.com/). Do you have a question about promoting your cause? Record it at http://www.askpat.com/. Thanks to today's sponsor, SkilledUp, who helps you find the online courses you need to build your skills. Go to http://www.askpat.com/skilledup to download the free toolkit for web entrepreneurs. Thanks also to our other sponsor, 99Designs. Go to http://www.99designs.com/pat to get a Power Pack upgrade for free.