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

Today’s question comes from Cornell, who took time off of his podcast due to some hard moments in his life. How does he explain the downtime to his audience? If you have advice for Cornell, share it using #AskPat284. My video channel is SPI TV (http://watchspi.tv), produced by Caleb Wojcik from DIY Video Guy (http://diyvideoguy.com/). Do you have a question about communicating with your audience? 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 Marlin, who wants to transition a niche site to an affiliate site. What’s the best way to do this? Marlin’s site is http://www.plantoprep.com/. Do you have a question about niche or affiliate sites? 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 Lee, who asks how to choose which project to start on first. How do you stay on track? We’ve all experienced this. Do you have a question about project planning? 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 Alex, who would like to start a podcast in an already saturated niche. Is it worth trying to compete? Alex mentions one of my other podcasts, 1 Day Business Breakthrough (http://1daybb.com/). Do you have a question about podcasting? 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 come from Alain, who is planning to start a podcast but not a blog. What should his website look like? Alain references my podcasting tutorial (http://www.podcastingtutorial.com), as well as the Smart Podcast Player (http://www.smartpodcastplayer.com/). The premium programs I recommend are Podcasting A to Z (http://podcastanswerman.com/atoz/) Do you have a question about podcasting? Record it at http://www.askpat.com/. To see the oldest episodes of AskPat, go to http://soundcloud.com/askpat. 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 Drew, who wants to know which habits have had a big impact on my life. Here’s the Smart Passive Income Podcast episode that Drew mentions: http://www.smartpassiveincome.com/early-morning-routine/. The projects I mention are 1 Day Business Breakthrough (http://1daybb.com/), the Smart Podcast Player (http://www.smartpodcastplayer.com/), and SPI TV (http://watchspi.tv/). I also talk about Muse (http://choosemuse.com/). Do you have a question about habits? 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 Richard, who is selling a product and wants to write articles to demonstrate his authority. Is it better to post the articles on his own blog or on an article-sharing site? Here’s my most recent post on backlinking: http://www.smartpassiveincome.com/backlinking-strategy-2014-beyond/. Do you have a question about increasing your online authority? 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 Eddie, who is looking for tips on how to promote an ebook geared toward kids. My friend Katie Davis has lots of great advice for children’s authors: http://katiedavis.com/. The Amazon programs I discuss are KDP Select (https://kdp.amazon.com/select) and Giveaway (I called it Sweepstakes in the recording; http://www.amazon.com/gp/giveaway/home). The Smart Passive Income Podcast episode with Jeff Goins is session #079 (http://www.smartpassiveincome.com/book-marketing-time-travel/). Do you have a question about promoting your paid products? 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 Singleton, who is struggling with using Photoshop. What are some other resources for design? I recommend iStockPhoto (http://www.istockphoto.com/) and DepositPhotos (http://depositphotos.com/) for finding stock photos. If you use Flickr, make sure to use the advanced search (https://www.flickr.com/search/advanced) to filter for the appropriate Creative Commons license. Here’s the link to my article on how to appropriately use images: askpat.com/images2. For image creation and manipulation, I recommend Canva (http://canva.com/), PicMonkey(http://www.picmonkey.com/), and Paint (http://www.getpaint.net/). Do you have a question about the look of 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 Kevin, who is just getting his website started. When is the appropriate time to start sharing the site on social media? Kevin’s site is http://www.kevinburke2.com/. The article on website launches I reference is http://www.smartpassiveincome.com/how-to-launch-a-brand-new-website/. I also discuss my niche site FoodTruckr (http://www.foodtruckr.com) and Corbett Barr, from Think Traffic, which is now Sparkline at Fizzle (http://fizzle.co/sparkline). Do you have advice to share? Use the hashtag #AskPat275. Do you have a question about social media and your website? Record it at http://www.askpat.com/. Thanks to everyone who has subscribe to SPI TV! You can watch it here: (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RlDJEdc_B8s). 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 Robert, who asks what replaces a book signing with digital-only books. Robert’s site is http://www.hardcoreselfhelp.com/. If you have a suggestion for what Robert can do, share it with #AskPat274. Do you have a question about ebooks? 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 Bartek, who purchased and repurposed an active website. He’s getting traffic to the previous owner’s old posts, and they get a 404 error. Should he try to capture this traffic? Bartek’s site is http://rozmowyodzieciach.pl. Do you have a question about optimizing the pages on 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 Kris, who is looking for some guidance in creating his product tiers. Kris’s site is http://www.essentialsql.com/. I’ve learned a lot from Nathan Barry on tiered pricing (http://nathanbarry.com/). Do you have a question about product pricing? 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 Angeline, who has identified her target audience—but now needs to know how to find them! What can she do to connect with them? Angeline’s site is http://sensiblegirlfriend.com/. I walk you through a neat tool for finding where your audience spends time online. Do you have a question about finding your audience? 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 Bill, who asks if his online brand should be him or his company. What a great question! Bill’s site is http://digitalfarm.com/. Do you have a question about branding? 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 Jeff, who wants to know what is considered a good click-through rate for email newsletters. Jeff’s site is http://www.homerepairtutor.com/. Do you have a question about building your email list? 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.

Ali has just gotten started with her website, but she has found another niche that is inspiring to her. Should she switch to the other niche? The book I mention is The One Thing by Gary Keller and Jay Papasan (http://www.the1thing.com/). Derek Halpern’s site is Social Triggers (http://socialtriggers.com/). Today's sponsor is Freshbooks. Go to http://www.GetFreshBooks.com and enter "Ask Pat" for more information.

Today’s question comes from TJ, who has a parenting sites for dads. How can he monetize his site? I have lots of ideas. Do you have a question about monetizing your site? Record it at http://www.askpat.com/. Thanks to those of you will be attending 1 Day Business Breakthrough, either in person or virtually! Go to http://1daybb.com/ and use the promo code ASKPAT to take 15% off.

Today’s question from Sean who is just getting started setting up his business. How can he grow his business? Where is the best place to recruit web support staff? I reference Smart Passive Income podcast episode 144 (http://www.smartpassiveincome.com/session144) and episode 99 (http://www.smartpassiveincome.com/99). Check out the Fulfilled by Amazon program (http://services.amazon.com/content/fulfillment-by-amazon.htm). I also discuss working with contractors on Elance (http://askpat.com/elance)and oDesk (http://askpat.com/odesk). Do you have a question about how to grow your business? 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 Bobbie, who wonders how my relationship with Bluehost has grown over the years, and what I’ve done to foster that growth. What a great question! I share my history with Bluehost and how I grew my affiliate income with them. 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" for more information.