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

Today’s question comes from Kevin, who asks if he can forgo his website and rely on Facebook for his affiliate income. You can bet I have opinions! Kevin’s site is http://soccerpracticevideos.com/. In this episode, I talk about my buddy, Chris Ducker: http://www.chrisducker.com/; Gary Vaynerchuck: http://garyvaynerchuk.com/; and Tim Ferriss: http://fourhourworkweek.com/podcast/. Do you have a question about Facebook? 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.

Isaac has an existing website, but he’s considering switching to a domain name that’s more keyword-rich. Should he switch to a domain name with keywords in it? How hard would it be to switch his domain name? The tool I discuss is SEMRush: http://www.semrush.com/. Do you have a question about using keywords? 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 Brian. He’s starting a new podcast and wants to know my thoughts about the ideal show length. 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 Patrick, who asks how to write content for a niche site. I share my experiences writing when I was new to an industry. Do you have a question about writing for your site? Record it at http://www.askpat.com/.

Christian has been building a website, regularly posting great content, but the traffic has not grown. What should he do differently? Christian's website is http://daddylibrium.com/. In this episode, I mention http://www.destinationqueensland.com/ and http://www.problogger.net/. Do you have a question about blogging? Record it at http://www.askpat.com/.

Ryan is considering starting an online business to teach people how to start businesses, and he's asking for my opinion. In this episode I mention Derek Halpern's http://socialtriggers.com/, Yaro Starak's http://www.entrepreneurs-journey.com/, and Glen Allsop's http://www.viperchill.com/. Do you have a question about starting a 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.

Today's question comes from Gavin, who asks about how I reinvest back into my business. Gavin's site is: http://disneydose.com/. Do you have a question about how to make your business stronger? 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.

Don has trouble keeping up with writing for his site. He asks if a blog that is focused on audio and video can be successful. Don's site is http://3rhinomedia.com/. In my answer, I mention http://www.internetbusinessmastery.com/, http://entrepreneuronfire.com/, and https://www.youtube.com/user/sxephil. Do you have a question about the content strategy for your 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.

Carly has two business ideas that are very different. Should she tackle them both or just focus on one? The book I recommend is The One Thing by Gary Keller and Jay Papasan. Do you have a question about starting 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.

Today's question comes from Chris, a composer who wants to blog for game developers. How does he get started when he doesn't have expertise in gaming? Do you have a question about blogging? 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.

Skip is planning to start a podcast in a crowded niche. How can he differentiate himself? I mention these podcasts in my answer: http://www.entrepreneuronfire.com/, http://mixergy.com/interviews/, and http://podcast.leadpages.net/. Do you have a question about starting a podcast? Record it at http://www.askpat.com/.

Heidi has a website and she is wondering at what point she should create a "Getting Started" page for new visitors. Heidi's site is http://www.tonsofthanks.com/. Do you have a question about the pages on your website? Record it at http://www.askpat.com/. Thanks to today's sponsor, 99Designs. Go to http://www.99designs.com/pat to get a Power Pack upgrade for free.

Kim has an Etsy shop and asks about the best way to optimize her site for SEO. Should she use internal links or should she link out to her shop? Kim's site is http://trashycrafter.com/. Do you have a question about linking to an external sales site? Record it at http://www.askpat.com/. Thanks to today's sponsor, 99Designs. Go to http://www.99designs.com/pat to get a Power Pack upgrade for free.

Pete's website loads slowly. How can he speed it up? Pete's site is http://www.elfboxes.com/. I recommend a bunch of resources in this episode. Bluehost is a great option for a shared server: http://askpat.com/bluehost. Resize large pictures with http://picresize.com/. Check your load times with http://gtmetrix.com/, http://yslow.org/, and http://whichloadsfaster.com/. Two WordPress plugins that can help are W3 Total Cache (https://wordpress.org/plugins/w3-total-cache/) and W3 Super Cache (https://wordpress.org/plugins/wp-super-cache/). Finally, the CDN I recommend is http://www.maxcdn.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 Jared and Dan from Podcast Movement. You can find Podcast Movement at http://podcastmovement.com/. Do you have a question you'd like me to answer? Record it at http://www.askpat.com/.

Cy noticed that my Bluehost affiliate income is really high, and was wondering why. Is my volume really high, or am I doing something differently? Check out my resources page—you need one too! www.smartpassiveincome.com/resources/ 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.

David had an experience where a marketer said one thing and did another. While the information the marketer offered was good, how can he trust anything that they say if they were dishonest? I mention my friend John Lee Dumas from http://www.entrepreneuronfire.com/ because I know he understands that integrity is important. Do you have a question about ethics? Record it at http://www.askpat.com/. Thanks to our sponsor, Flippa. Flippa is the #1 marketplace for buying and selling websites. Go to http://www.flippa.com/pat.

Jessica has a great idea, but has let fear hold her back. How can she tell the difference between distractions and real business concerns? I highly recommend reading two books, The War of Art by Steven Pressfield and The Obstacle Is the Way by Ryan Holiday. Do you have a question about overcoming fears with your business? 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.

Jo asks about my social media strategy, and if it's really me managing all of my social media accounts. Jo's site is http://dexterousdiva.co.uk/. Do you have a question about time management? 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 has a lot of knowledge in a particular topic, and is ready to build an authority site—but how much information should he share immediately? In this episode, I talk about my sites http://www.securityguardtraininghq.com/, http://www.nichesiteduel.com/, and http://foodtruckr.com/. Do you have a question about building an authority site? Record it at http://www.askpat.com/. Thanks to our sponsor, Flippa. Flippa is the #1 marketplace for buying and selling websites. Go to http://www.flippa.com/pat.