Lessons From An Entrepreneur

I always love creative blogs, especially because I could see myself writing all kinds of creative posts. This week, I was asked about a craft blog, so I really had to dig deep to find some solid solutions for a craft blogger. Are affiliates really the best option for the crafters? Find out today!   Further Reading: "How to Monetize a Craft Blog" - CraftyPod.com "Monetize Your Craft Blog With Affiliate Ads" - Lindsay via CraftBuds.com

Many webinars have sales pitches at the end. Can you do one without a pitch? If so, what does it look like? The answer is simply; OF COURSE YOU CAN. There are many reasons to do a webinar, where you don't pitch at the end. Don't see this as a waste of time. In fact, see this as an opportunity to really grow your list, build some trust and get to know your audience.   Further Reading: "How to Sell Without Selling - The Art of No-Pitch Promotion" - Pat Flynn "Building Trust Through Webinars" - Nicole Baldinu

Have you ever started a free video series and then gotten to the last video, only to be bombarded with a sales pitch? Yup, those three-video series are growing on us all. When I see a free video series, I expect to see a pitch at the end. Here are my thoughts on video series.   Further Reading:  "3 Rules For Better Video Marketing" - Tyler Lessard "3 Sales Strategies To Increase Your Cash Flow" - Brian Tracy

A week after getting a question about my podcast show, I get a question about show notes. Yes, I actually don't really do show notes except for the podcast player, because I find them boring and daunting. I am one of those people, unfortunately. But I still offer up my thoughts on show notes - what you should at least have for each episode.   Further Reading: Shownotesmadeeasy.com "The Good, Bad, and Ugly Podcasting Lessons From The 9th Podcast Awards" - Daniel J. Lewis

I'm very new at podcast - a whole 22 episodes in! But the numbers tell me that there are listeners out there, waiting to hear what I have to say. Interesting, right? So when I got an email, asking me what I had learned from being a podcaster, I thought to myself; "hmm, what I have learned?" Actually, quite a bit...   Further Reading: "24 Lessons Learned In A Year Of Podcasting (To 10,000+ Listeners)" - Chase Reeves "7 Top Marketing Podcasts and the Lessons They've Taught Me" - Paul Minors

When I got this question in my inbox, I was a little surprised. But I like a challenge. The question asked if I was a competitor to Nikki Elledge Brown. Oddly enough, I had just met Nikki a couple of weeks prior to recording this episode. Learn more about Nikki and what she does in this episode.   Further Reading: Nikki Elledge Brown's Website A Course About Copy

When you hear the words "Niche Sites," are you one of those who turn away? Is it scary to you? Yes, it is to many. But that doesn't mean they can't work for you - financially as well. If you want to start a niche site, this episode is for you. Today, I talk about niche sites, how they have changed and how you can add value to your site.   Further Reading: "How to Build a Niche Site" - Pat Flynn "How to Build a Niche Site That Brings In At Least $500 / Month" - Sean Ogle

Instagram is an interesting marketing platform. You are limited in many ways because of the lack of hyperlinks. And yet, many people have found tremendous success on the network. Today, I reveal how I use Instagram to market my business.   Further Reading: "52 Tips: How to Market on Instagram" - Wishpond.com "10 Instagram Marketing Tips To Make People <3 Your Brand" - Margot da Cunha  

Sure, we always talk about how to drive traffic to your website. We want to see those numbers on the blog. But what about podcasts? How can we drive more traffic to our episode to grow our audience there? For today's episode, I was asked about podcast shows, SEO and how to combine the two in regards to marketing. The focus is on URLs, keywords and show notes.   Further Reading: "How to Launch And Grow a Podcast To 1,000,000 Downloads" - John Dumas "8 Unique Marketing Strategies To Grow A Podcast To The Top of iTunes" - Scott at Long-Long Learner

Are you tired of creating the same old opt-ins as everyone else? Do you want to step up your game and try something new? Yes, I totally feel your pain.  This week, we talk about different opt-in ideas and how to make them really work for you - the way you want.   Further Reading: "3 Creative Opt-In Ideas That Will Delight Your Dream Customers" - Sarah Hart "7 Clever Ways You Can Increase Email Opt-Ins and Get More Subscribers" - Michael Zipursky "The Art of Writing an Email Opt-In" - SecondStreetLab.com  

Today, we tackle an interesting question; should I use keywords in my book titles? Of course, this is an interesting question and one I think you should be careful with. Sometimes it works - other times it does not. So, should you?   Further Reading: "The Importance of Keywords For MetaData Discoverability of Your Book" - Joanna Penn "Choose Keywords That Sell Your Books" - Marketing School Series "How Searchable Are Your Book's Title and Subtitle" - Joel Friedlander "Make Your Book More Discoverable with Keywords" - Kindle Direct Publishing

There is nothing worse than putting everything into a newsletter and then....crickets. Is your newsletter not converting in terms of your opt-in list? Maybe it is time to try something different.  Today, we talk about newsletters that aren't converting and what to do about it.   Further Reading:  "Boost Your Newsletter Conversion Rate In 5 Easy Steps" - artofblog.com "The Anatomy Of a High-Converting Email Newsletter" - Aaron Beashel "7 Steps To A High Converting Email Marketing Campaign" - Sherice Jacob

Oh, the age old question: Should I invest time in Facebook or Twitter? As much as I would like to give you a solid answer here, I simply can't. There are many things to consider in making such a big decision. In fact, if you are selling a product or a service, it could be a numbers game. Listen to this episode, if you are wondering what to do.   Further Reading:  "Facebook vs. Twitter" - Diffen.com "Facebook vs. Twitter: Battle of the Social Network Stars" - Curt Tagtmeier "Facebook vs. Twitter In Numbers" - Niall McCarthy

This is one question that I get quite a bit. Is the Wordpress learning curve really worth it? Is it truly worth the blood, sweat and tears to learn everything on the Wordpress dashboard? I say; it really depends. See if you fall into the group of "yes, absolutely" in this episode.   Further Reading:  "Learning Wordpress: Is It Better to Self-Teach Or Do An Online Course?" - Tom Ewer "9 Ways To Beat The Wordpress Learning Curve" - Rob Orr

Today's question is about categories. How many Wordpress categories is too many? Do you feel completely overwhelmed with categories to the point where you simply have too many? Or maybe you lack a category system? In this episode, I talk about how I use categories on my site and I challenge my listeners to think differently about categories.   Further Reading: "What is: Category" - WP Beginner "Posts >> Cateogories" - Wordpress Support "How to Add Categories to a Wordpress Blog Site" - WikiHow  

Back in April, I went to The Hive Blogging Conference in Berlin. It was an amazing experience where I got to meet some incredible bloggers and influencers from around the world. Travelling all the way from Canada was amazing.  In this week's episode, I share some of the things I learned from being there.   Further Reading: The Hive

What is success in blogging? Are you sharing a message? Sharing a story? Educating others? Making money? Whatever it may be, everyone seems to have it - but you. Of course, blogging success is really defined by the person in question. What is a successful blog? What does it do? What purpose does it serve? This week, we dive deep into success.   Further Reading: "How to Start a Successful Blog Today" - Joshua Fields Millburn "26 Essentials For Blogging Success: What You Need To Know" - Ali Luke "6 Strategies for Launching a Successful Blog" - Entrepreneur Press and Jason R. Rich

There is nothing more heartbreaking than having no one see your blog posts. You were motivated. You were excited. You were thrilled to have that first post out. And now, you are left with an exhaustive mind and no readers. People often give up after a few months of blogging, because they are not seeing the results they were expecting. What is realistic in blogging? This week, we take a look at some realistic blogging goals.   Further Reading: "How to Set Blogging Goals You Can Actually Achieve" - Ginny Soskey "Are Your Blogging Goals Realistic?" - Allison Boyer "Why Setting Realistic Goals For Your Blog Is So Important" - Mack Collier  

The internet appears to be all about B2B and B2C marketing. But none of those models would work if it wasn't for the individual person - the human. P2P marketing is often overlooked, especially in the online world, as many disregard it completely due to the lack of face-to-face interaction. But you can use it. And you should.   Further Reading: "Why P2P Marketing Is The Key To Everything" - Adam Fridman

When you sit down to write a blog post, you may feel completely overwhelmed because you have so much to focus on. What will your blog post be about? What are you writing about? Who are you trying to reach? There are many things that could prevent you from writing a kick-butt article. So, what research do you need to do before writing a post?   Further Reading: "Ultimate Step-by-Step Guide to Writing a Blog Post" - Nicholas Tart "How to do Content Marketing Research for a Blog Post" - Julie Niedlinger