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

Mike is giving a presentation and is looking for a way to map/illustrate his business process when he’s giving a presentation. I recommend Lucid Chart (https://www.lucidchart.com/) and Draw.io (http://draw.io/), as well as FreeMind (http://freemind.sourceforge.net/) and MindMeister (http://mindmeister.com/). Do you have a question about giving presentations? 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 is Thanksgiving in the United States. I share my family's gratitude practice on Thanksgiving. I'm so grateful to have the chance to know you and to serve you. Thanks for listening to AskPat and thank you so much for being part of my life.

Catherine wants to begin offering enhanced content and wants to make sure her users have a good experience. Catharine’s site is http://askthedentist.com/. Do you have a question about offering downloads? 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 Joel, who asks how to balance the time spent creating content versus promoting content. Do you have a question about balancing your work schedule? 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.

Glenn’s growth strategy relies on networking with people with large email lists. How can he find these people? Glenn’s site is http://survivalstill.com/. Do you have a question about finding the people you want to help? 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.

Mike is selling a product. He offers a money-back guarantee and wants to know more about best practices and acceptable cancellation rates. Mike’s site is http://aceorganicchem.com/. Do you have a question about selling best practices? 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

Doug is getting his niche site started and he wants to know how to create tutorials for his site. Go to http://podcastingtutorial.com for an example of the tutorials Doug is talking about. Splasheo (http://www.splasheo.com/) made my video intros. Screenflow (http://www.telestream.net/screenflow/overview.htm) and Camtasia (http://www.techsmith.com/camtasia.html) are great video tutorial editors. The microphone I recommend is the AudioTechnica ATR 2100. The lavalier microphone I recommend is the Rode smartLav. The widget I use for taking questions is Speakpipe (http://askpat.com/speakpipe). Do you have a question about creating tutorials? 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.

Britney has an app idea, but doesn’t have the money to get started developing it. Where should she start? In this episode, I recommend Kickstarter (https://www.kickstarter.com/) and Indiegogo (http://www.indiegogo.com/) to test out the idea and to raise funds. Do you have a question about app development? 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.

April from DIY Nuru (http://diynuru.com/) wants to know if she should change her website and podcast name. I’d like your opinion—tell us what you think April should do using #AskPat216. I tell my story of what happened to my “In the LEED” website and how to do a permanent 301 redirect. Do you have a question about naming a website or 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.

Cindy has followed by advice in building her website. She’s ready to level up her resources page and wants to know where to get started. Cindy’s site is http://realfoodwithcindy.com/. The WordPress plugin I recommend is Pretty Link Lite: https://wordpress.org/plugins/pretty-link/. Do you have a question about improving your website? 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

Melanie is ready to set up her own affiliate program and is looking for the best practices to set it up right. Melanie’s site is http://fit4two.ca/. In this episode, I recommend Commission Junction (http://www.cj.com/), Neverblue (http://www.neverblue.com/), and Clickbank (http://www.clickbank.com). I also share these services: Post Affiliate Pro (http://postaffiliatepro.com/), Affiliate Royale (http://www.affiliateroyale.com/), Infusionsoft (http://www.infusionsoft.com/), E-Junkie (http://www.e-junkie.com/), aMember (http://www.amember.com/), AffiliateWP (http://affiliatewp.com/), iDevAffiliate (http://www.idevdirect.com/), and 1ShoppingCart (http://www.1shoppingcart.com/). Do you have a question about affiliate programs? 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.

Trends asks me how I stay motivated to keep producing on my businesses. Trends’s website is http://www.masteringevents.com/. Do you have a question about finding the right mindset to keep you running your 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 Matt, who asks which are my favorite books for learning the specific skills needed to run an online business. Matt’s site is http://www.introvertimpact.com/. The books I recommend: Virtual Freedom by Chris Ducker, Bird by Bird by Anne Lamott, Book Yourself Solid by Michael Port, The War of Art by Steven Pressfield, The 4-Hour Chef by Tim Ferriss, and How to Win Friends and Influence People by Dale Carnegie. Do you have a question about skill development? 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.

Today’s question comes from Jon, who has a question about his mailing list. Jon’s site is http://classicallytrained.net/. Share your thoughts on this question by using the hashtag #AskPat211. Do you have a question about your mailing list? 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.

Our question today comes from Peter, who is starting a business-to-business podcast. He would like to run a sample episode past a focus group, and wants to know where to find participants who will give honest feedback. Check out the Smart Passive Income Podcast #129 (http://smartpassiveincome.com/session129) to learn more about Peek (http://peek.usertesting.com/), which is a great user-testing tool. I also mention Fiverr (http://fiverr.com) Do you have a question about improving 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.

John is getting started with his YouTube channel, and is considering sharing other people’s videos in his feed. Is this a good idea? Do you have a question about creating and sharing videos? 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 Craig, who has a question about welcoming an audience who comes to his site through a guest post. In this episode, I recommend the LeadBoxes feature from LeadPages (http://www.askpat.com/leadpages). Do you have a question about making the most of the traffic that comes to your site? 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.

Andrew has a question about my very first business, Green Exam Academy. Now that I’m no longer active in the architecture industry, how do I stay informed enough to keep my advice current? I recommend using Google Alerts (http://alerts.google.com/). Do you have a question about creating information products? 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.

Ari has noticed other blogs that have copied aspects of my design, and he wants to know how that makes me feel. Do you have a question about running an online 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.

Jeff is using an older email provider and needs advice for switching to a more professional solution. Jeff’s site is http://customstix.com/. Check out the Smart Passive Income Podcast 115 on email management: http://smartpassiveincome.com/session115 I also love Boomerang for Gmail, which allows you to schedule email: http://www.boomeranggmail.com/. I also mention Rapportive: https://rapportive.com/. Do you have a question about improving your business systems? 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.