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

Merry Christmas and Happy Holidays! Thank you so much for listening to AskPat this year.

Reuben asks for a list of five conferences I would recommend attending in 2015. I give a top seven—conferences I have attended in the past that have been very useful for me. Social Media Marketing World: http://www.socialmediaexaminer.com/smmworld/ New Media Expo: http://nmxlive.com/2015-lv/ Podcast Movement: http://podcastmovement.com/ New Media Europe: http://newmediaeurope.com/2015/ Platform Conference: http://www.platformconference.tv/ FinCon: http://finconexpo.com/ 1DayBB: http://1daybb.com/ Do you have a question about conferences? Record it at http://www.askpat.com/.

Today’s question comes from Jim, who wants to advertise his sales site on Facebook. Because people are less likely to purchase from a mobile phone, should he only advertise to desktop computer users? Jim’s site is http://huntersapron.com/. For this episode, I brought in my friend Rick Mulready, who is an expert in Facebook advertising. Find more from Rick at http://rickmulready.com/. His new podcast, The Art of Paid Traffic, is coming soon! Do you have a question about advertising your business? Record it at http://www.askpat.com/. If you have advice to share with Jim, use #AP242.

Today’s question comes from Joseph. He references episode #0089 of AskPat, which tackled the best time to post a blog post. Should he publish his blog post a little before the ideal time? Joseph’s site is http://www.jmlalonde.com/. You can find episode #0089 here: https://soundcloud.com/askpat/best-day-and-time-to-publish-blog-post. I mention the book The Bulletproof Diet: http://www.amazon.com/The-Bulletproof-Diet-Reclaim-Upgrade/dp/162336518X/&tag=smartpassiveincome-20. Do you have a question about publishing schedules? 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 Benjamin, who asks if I had experience in the security guard or food truck industries before creating my niche sites, http://www.securityguardtraininghq.com/ and http://foodtruckr.com/. In this episode, I mention using Elance for writing help (http://askpat.com/elance). Do you have a question about writing for a niche site? 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 Dan, who wants to know if he can use Fiverr for written content. In today’s episode, I discuss how to use Fiverr (http://fiverr.com/) and Elance (http://www.askpat.com/elance) to help with your blog writing. Also, check out Speakpipe if you need to take questions from your audience (https://www.speakpipe.com/). Do you have a question about blogging? Record it at http://www.askpat.com/. Tag your guess for who said today’s quote with #AskPat239. Thanks to today's sponsor, AWeber. Your email list is your most valuable asset—get started today. Go to http://www.aweber.com/askpat

E.J. has a niche site with a #1 Google ranking—but no affiliate offers. What else can he do to monetize the site? E.J.’s site is http://cubicletent.com/. Do you have a question about site monetization? 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.

We have a special guest today! Stephanie wants to limit the number of free podcasts her audience can access, so that they will subscribe to her premium podcast. I’ve brought in my friend, Cliff Ravenscraft, also known as Podcast Answer Man, to answer this question. Find Cliff at http://podcastanswerman.com/. Do you have a question about podcasting? 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 Rowland, an experienced business owner looking for a mastermind group. Rowland’s site is http://winestorageguide.com/. I discuss the mastermind groups I am in with Cliff from http://podcastanswerman.com/ and Jaime from http://eventualmillionaire.com/. I also mention checking http://www.meetup.com/. Do you have a question about running your mastermind group? 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.

Chris is in the process of reviving his nearly dead blog (http://golfmoreswingless.com/) and he wants to add a book club. How can he add value and monetize it? I have a book club, which you can join here: http://patflynn.com/book-club/. Do you have a question about ways to reach 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

Dan has a niche site that is cyclical in nature and he feels he has taken the site as far as he can. What should he do next? Dan’s site is http://www.howtogetonrealitytv.net/. Do you have a question about taking your niche site to the next level? 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.

Cassel is considering repurposing content and wants to know if there are any problems she might encounter. Cassel’s site is http://scrapbookcampus.com/. Do you have a question about content repurposing? Record it at http://www.askpat.com/. Today’s sponsor is Music Radio Creative. Go to http://musicradiocreative.com/askpat for more information on podcast intros, commercials, and jingles.

Mike is getting started with his online business and he wants to know how I knew my business was going to succeed. I recommend reading Steven Pressfield’s book, The War of Art. I also recommend listening to the Internet Business Mastery podcast (http://www.internetbusinessmastery.com/). Do you have a question about getting started with your business? 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.

Jackson is about to start his podcast and is interested in having sponsors. Should he recruit sponsors for the first episode or should he build up a listener base first? Jackson’s site is http://incredibleentrepreneurs.com/. Check out my chat with John Lee Dumas about finding sponsors on Smart Passive Income episode 97: http://smartpassiveincome.com/session97. Do you have a question about podcast sponsorships? 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 Avi, who asks why I don’t use Google Adsense on the Smart Passive Income blog. I don’t use it on http://www.smartpassiveincome.com/ but I do use it on http://www.foodtruckr.com and http://www.securityguardtraininghq.com/. Here’s why. To celebrate my birthday, I’m raising money for Pencils of Promise to build schools in Ghana. Learn more and donate at http://askpat.com/birthday. Today's sponsor is Freshbooks. Go to http://www.GetFreshBooks.com and enter "Ask Pat" for more information.

Today’s question comes from Lain, who was my guest on the Smart Passive Income Podcast episode 37: (http://www.smartpassiveincome.com/how-to-monetize-a-hobby/). Lain’s sites are http://www.layoutaday.com/ and http://lainehmann.com/. She has a popular, established business in the scrapbooking niche, and is creating a new business in a different niche. Should she create separate social media profiles for the new business, or should she mix in the new information with her existing accounts? Share your thoughts using the hashtag #AskPat229. Thanks to today's sponsor, AWeber. Your email list is your most valuable asset—get started today. Go to http://www.aweber.com/askpat

Annette is looking to promote her products and wants to find the fastest way to promote her products. Annette’s site is http://www.thomasapublishing.com/. Do you have a question about selling your products to a new audience? 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.

Jarrod is ready to launch his product and wants to know about the pros and cons of offering a free trial. Jarrod’s site is http://thepegeek.com/. Jarrod was a part of 1 Day Business Breakthrough; more coming soon at http://1daybb.com. In this episode, I recommend Flurry Analytics (http://www.flurry.com/solutions/analytics). Do you have a question about selling your product? 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.

Stephanie is a college student with a blog that has started to generate income. She is looking for some free strategies to get started tracking her business income and expenses. The app I recommend is TaxBot (https://taxbot.com/landing/home). Do you have an accounting strategy you’d like to suggest? Use the hashtag #AskPat226 to share it with us. Do you have a question about tracking your business records? Record it at http://www.askpat.com/. Today’s sponsor is Music Radio Creative. Go to http://musicradiocreative.com/askpat for more information on podcast intros, commercials, and jingles.

Gabe is interested in starting a podcast and video blog and is looking for recommendations on the best equipment to use. For a complete list of equipment, visit my podcasting tutorial at http://podcastingtutorial.com/. A few highlights from the list: the Heil PR-40 microphone or the ATR2100 microphone and the Xeynx 1002 mixer or the Scarlett 2i2 mixer. The DSLRs that I love are the Canon Rebel series. The webcam I like is the Logitech C920. Check out Caleb Wojcik’s site for more video and audio advice, DIY Video Guy: http://diyvideoguy.com/. Do you have a question about video and audio recording? 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.