https://embolden.co Helping internet entrepreneurs create awesome stuff online episodic Embolden hosted by Embolden Embolden Helping internet entrepreneurs create awesome stuff online en-us Copyright 2018 Embolden podcast@blubrry.com (Blubrry Podcasting) Embolden podcast@blubrry.com https://embolden.co https://assets.blubrry.com/coverart/orig/29243.jpg Helping internet entrepreneurs create awesome stuff online Blubrry Podcasting: https://www.blubrry.com/ Mon, 22 Oct 2018 16:38:48 -0400 no http://blogs.law.harvard.edu/tech/rss Fri, 20 Mar 2015 11:53:29 -0400 http://laptopentrepreneurship.com/the-real-way-to-make-money-with-your-website-or-blog/ http://www.blubrry.com/laptopentrepreneurship/2618323/the-real-way-to-make-money-with-your-website-or-blog/ Embolden Podcast Fri, 20 Mar 2015 11:53:29 -0400 <img width="1280" height="720" src="http://laptopentrepreneurship.com/wp-content/uploads/realwaythumb.png" />One of the questions I frequently receive here on Laptop Entrepreneurship is how to actually make money with a website. A lot of you out there are creating websites, creating blogs, in several different niches and you&#8217;re not seeing an immediate return. Here&#8217;s what, traditionally, people do to try and monetize and make some money [&#8230;] One of the questions I frequently receive here on Laptop Entrepreneurship is how to actually make money with a website. A lot of you out there are creating websites, creating blogs, in several different niches and you’re not seeing an immediate return. Here’s what, traditionally, people do to try and monetize and make some money […]]]> 0:16:40 clean Embolden One of the questions I frequently receive here on Laptop Entrepreneurship is how to actually make money with a website. A lot of you out there are creating websites, creating blogs, in several different niches and you're not seeing an immediate return. One of the questions I frequently receive here on Laptop Entrepreneurship is how to actually make money with a website. A lot of you out there are creating websites, creating blogs, in several different niches and you're not seeing an immediate return. Here's what, traditionally, people do to try and monetize and make some money off of their blogs and websites. (i.e. the wrong ways) Ads Or Google Ads (Wrong) The classic trap most new website owners fall into. "I just created a new website, let me slap on some Google Ads over it!". You haven't even built up an audience yet, you likely receive little to no traffic, and you're immediately trying to monetize it. Here's the thing, placing ads on your website cheapens your brand. Additionally, it detracts from the goal of your website. Is your goal really to get people to click those ads? Or is your goal to get people to enjoy your content so that they keep coming back? Which do you ultimately think is the better thing to strive for in the long run? Secondly, Google Ads require too much traffic for it to be worthwhile. You will make pennies per day, a few dollars if you're lucky, with even a lot of traffic. To make anything worthwhile or very nice would take Buzzfeed levels of traffic. That is extremely unlikely. Lastly, Google Ads, or ads in general, are far too unstable. Google can decide to ban your ads account tomorrow without as much as a warning and your main source of income is gone. Don't put your eggs all in one basket or create content to help sell others people's products. Affiliate Links (Kind Of Wrong) The next thing most new website owners and bloggers will do is attempt to try and embed affiliate links and ads around their website. Sometimes, they'll create a website entirely focused on affiliate marketing with all the content being a way to drive traffic to affiliate offers, such as with niche sites. This can work, kind of. The first thing most people encounter is that they are not passionate or interested in the niches they are trying to do affiliate marketing for, which means this projects quickly die out. The next thing, is most people don't centralize their affiliate marketing efforts. They join every single affiliate program under the sun and never meet the minimum payout requirement since they've spread themselves out too thin. "Okay," you're thinking, "I'll just only promote products from one site, like Clickbank." Sure, but the problem you might run into there is that you're just promoting Clickbank products for the sake of them being Clickbank products. Centralizing won't come across as authentic and most people will see past that. Inauthentic websites look spammy, and usually have really thin content and articles that provide little to no value. There's no longevity there and no opportunity to build a community or audience. So, what are the pillars of a awesome website that will actually make money? Build your personal brand and be authentic, transparent The first pillar is you need to build your personal brand and be as authentic and transparent on your website as possible. This means including your face on your website. Put your face on the sidebar of your blog and allow people to immediately see and learn about who's behind the website. If you're not comfortable putting your face out there immediately, try a caricature or cartoon for now. Include your real name in your website and be sure to share your story that relates to your niche. Have a "My Story" or "About Me" page, with a link to it in your main navigation, describing yourself with more photos. Talk about how you became passionate or involved in this niche. Will everyone care about your story? No, of course not. However, the small percentage that do, you just allowed them to relate to you. That is how you build a fanbase and a community that supports and likes you. Why is this important? Not to sound like an evil marketer but when you like and trust someone, http://laptopentrepreneurship.com/wp-content/uploads/podcastcovernew-1.png http://laptopentrepreneurship.com/how-to-create-and-host-an-awesome-webinar-using-easy-webinar-and-google-hangouts/ http://www.blubrry.com/laptopentrepreneurship/2618322/how-to-create-and-host-an-awesome-webinar-using-easy-webinar-and-google-hangouts/ Embolden Podcast Wed, 18 Mar 2015 11:00:10 -0400 <img width="1280" height="720" src="http://laptopentrepreneurship.com/wp-content/uploads/webinars21.png" />What Is A Webinar? A webinar is exactly what it sounds like, web seminar. A virtual seminar where you&#8217;re able to host a presentation live with attendees anywhere in the world. Traditionally, webinars will have the host go through a slideshow or PowerPoint presentation that typically goes on for 1 hour. However, webinars are live [&#8230;] What Is A Webinar? A webinar is exactly what it sounds like, web seminar. A virtual seminar where you’re able to host a presentation live with attendees anywhere in the world. Traditionally, webinars will have the host go through a slideshow or PowerPoint presentation that typically goes on for 1 hour. However, webinars are live […]]]> 0:09:56 clean Embolden What Is A Webinar? A webinar is exactly what it sounds like, web seminar. A virtual seminar where you're able to host a presentation live with attendees anywhere in the world. Traditionally, webinars will have the host go through a slideshow or PowerPo... What Is A Webinar? A webinar is exactly what it sounds like, web seminar. A virtual seminar where you're able to host a presentation live with attendees anywhere in the world. Traditionally, webinars will have the host go through a slideshow or PowerPoint presentation that typically goes on for 1 hour. However, webinars are live events where you can do more than that. Share your screen, stream yourself, or even stream an event. To create and host your own webinar, you will need software. I recommend and use EasyWebinar. Why Webinars Work Webinars are live and provide you the opportunity to interact with your audience and get real-time feedback but also answer their questions real time in context to whatever you are teaching. It’s an excellent way add value, help people and make money as well. Webinars allow you to engage your audience, giving your brand and website a personal touch. Plus, you get feedback in real time. A lot of people love to attend webinars, and it’s a lot easier to convert people when you’re doing a webinar. That's why they work. Plus, webinars are an excellent way to build your list. Attendees will need to signup to register for your webinar, and most of the really good webinar software out there integrates with the best autoresponders. Ultimately, the way most internet marketers use webinars, is host a 1 hour live webinar, provide crazy value for 50 minutes and then in the last 10 minutes, pitch your product or course. Because your attendees received a lot of value and got a taste of the content you are able to put out, most people will be intrigued. At this point, you can respond to any questions or resistance people may have before buying, right there in the webinar. How To Use Webinars, The Types Of Webinars To Host Selling an information product: Provide a lot of value for most of the webinar, or even teach a condensed lesson from your information product and at the end, pitch the information product which contains comprehensive detail and an extension of what you were teaching. This also gives you an opportunity to answer questions. Seeking validation/feedback: Before committing to a project or information product, and pouring all your time and energy into it before knowing whether or not it will sell, it's a much better idea to seek and get validation for your idea. Launching a new course, as part of a launch funnel: Many launch funnels have your readers go through a sequence of videos that provide a lot of value, and at the end, invite them to participate in your online course. Why not throw in a live webinar either within that sequence or at the end of it to address any questions they might have? Q and A session, answering people’s questions before they buy, answering to people’s resistance: This is great way to practice hosting webinars. Never hosted a webinar before? Host a Q and A session. Let your readers and audience ask you questions in an informal format, and just have fun. Not only will this allow you to get comfortable and practice hosting webinars, but it will also allow you to give back and engage with your audience. Allow them to get to know you better, and you also get to know them better, too! Generate leads, people need to opt-in to attend webinar: Want to build your list? Webinars are an excellent way to generate leads and build your list. Members only bonus, members only webinar to get more value out of your course: If you have an information product or course and want to provide extra value to your buyers, host a monthly live webinar just for your members. Answer their questions, teach something new or relevant to the current landscape of your niche. Live events: If you're hosting a live event, you could stream it to your audience that are unable to attend it in person. How To Get People To Attend Your Webinars Create a landing page, with a great offer. Always point out a pain point in the headline, then address it with a solution. http://laptopentrepreneurship.com/wp-content/uploads/podcastcovernew-1.png http://laptopentrepreneurship.com/how-to-findform-a-mastermind-and-why-you-need-one/ http://www.blubrry.com/laptopentrepreneurship/2586022/how-to-findform-a-mastermind-and-why-you-need-one/ Embolden Podcast Mon, 09 Mar 2015 08:45:03 -0400 <img width="1280" height="720" src="http://laptopentrepreneurship.com/wp-content/uploads/mastermindthumb.png" />One of my New Year&#8217;s Resolutions for 2015 was to find and join a mastermind. Well, I&#8217;m happy to say that a few months ago (yes, that fast) I found and formed one! It&#8217;s 4 people total, including myself, and we meet the same time and day, once a week. Since participating in this mastermind, [&#8230;] One of my New Year’s Resolutions for 2015 was to find and join a mastermind. Well, I’m happy to say that a few months ago (yes, that fast) I found and formed one! It’s 4 people total, including myself, and we meet the same time and day, once a week. Since participating in this mastermind, […]]]> 0:08:09 clean Embolden I am in a mastermind! I already finished one of my goals for 2015, which was to find a mastermind group I could join. Masterminds are extremely beneficial to entrepreneurs as I share in this video. I also go through, step by step, I am in a mastermind! I already finished one of my goals for 2015, which was to find a mastermind group I could join. Masterminds are extremely beneficial to entrepreneurs as I share in this video. I also go through, step by step, how to find and form one and how I did it. http://laptopentrepreneurship.com/wp-content/uploads/podcastcovernew-1.png http://laptopentrepreneurship.com/5-quick-ways-to-increase-conversions-on-your-email-opt-in-forms/ http://www.blubrry.com/laptopentrepreneurship/2571314/5-quick-ways-to-increase-conversions-on-your-email-opt-in-forms/ Embolden Podcast Fri, 27 Feb 2015 10:21:14 -0500 <img width="1280" height="720" src="http://laptopentrepreneurship.com/wp-content/uploads/5quickwaysincrease.png" />As part of your list building efforts, I wanted to provide some quick and easy tips to help increase the conversions on your opt-in forms. These are really easy tweaks and things you can do to hopefully get more subscribers to your email list. If you want these suggestions to really work for you, I [&#8230;] As part of your list building efforts, I wanted to provide some quick and easy tips to help increase the conversions on your opt-in forms. These are really easy tweaks and things you can do to hopefully get more subscribers to your email list. If you want these suggestions to really work for you, I […]]]> 0:05:00 clean Embolden Here are 5 quick ways to increase the conversions on your opt-in forms scattered around your website. If you're struggling to build your list and get the traffic, these quick little tips don't hurt testing out. Here are 5 quick ways to increase the conversions on your opt-in forms scattered around your website. If you're struggling to build your list and get the traffic, these quick little tips don't hurt testing out. Remember it's important to split test a lot of what you do when building your email list. http://laptopentrepreneurship.com/wp-content/uploads/podcastcovernew-1.png http://laptopentrepreneurship.com/reminder-build-a-business-online-dont-pursue-money-making-methods/ http://www.blubrry.com/laptopentrepreneurship/2565103/reminder-build-a-business-online-dont-pursue-money-making-methods/ Embolden Podcast Mon, 23 Feb 2015 12:30:21 -0500 <img width="1280" height="720" src="http://laptopentrepreneurship.com/wp-content/uploads/reminderthumbbp.png" />I thought this blog post is a little over due and it was a long time coming. I wanted to quickly rant and write about this for a while but I never really knew how to express or articulate it. However, recently, something inspired me to discuss this topic briefly. Pinterest killed off allowing its [&#8230;] I thought this blog post is a little over due and it was a long time coming. I wanted to quickly rant and write about this for a while but I never really knew how to express or articulate it. However, recently, something inspired me to discuss this topic briefly. Pinterest killed off allowing its […]]]> 0:10:33 clean Embolden I think it's time we get serious for a moment. In light of this Pinterest fiasco and them killing off affiliate links, I think it's time we talk about putting this whole making money online thing in perspective. I think it's time we get serious for a moment. In light of this Pinterest fiasco and them killing off affiliate links, I think it's time we talk about putting this whole making money online thing in perspective. I wanted to remind you guys that your goal should be to build an online business not chase the next online money making method. This is why you are failing. http://laptopentrepreneurship.com/wp-content/uploads/podcastcovernew-1.png http://laptopentrepreneurship.com/the-importance-of-testing-your-site-and-how-to-do-it/ http://www.blubrry.com/laptopentrepreneurship/2561302/the-importance-of-getting-other-people-to-test-and-go-through-your-website-and-how-to-do-it/ Embolden Podcast Fri, 20 Feb 2015 13:15:51 -0500 <img width="1280" height="720" src="http://laptopentrepreneurship.com/wp-content/uploads/websitetesting.png" />Whether you&#8217;ve had a blog or website for a year or are just about to launch it, it&#8217;s really important that you have other people go through your website and give you feedback. Doing this allows you look at your website through the eyes of a completely new visitor. It lets you see what they see, [&#8230;] Whether you’ve had a blog or website for a year or are just about to launch it, it’s really important that you have other people go through your website and give you feedback. Doing this allows you look at your website through the eyes of a completely new visitor. It lets you see what they see, […]]]> 0:08:51 clean Embolden Why you need to start seeing how your website looks through your potential buyer's or new visitor's eyes and how to do it really easily with little to no budget. Why you need to start seeing how your website looks through your potential buyer's or new visitor's eyes and how to do it really easily with little to no budget. http://laptopentrepreneurship.com/wp-content/uploads/podcastcovernew-1.png http://laptopentrepreneurship.com/5-landing-pages-you-can-create-today-to-build-your-email-list/ http://www.blubrry.com/laptopentrepreneurship/2556268/5-landing-pages-you-can-create-today-to-build-your-email-list/ Embolden Podcast Tue, 17 Feb 2015 15:01:53 -0500 <img width="770" height="433" src="http://laptopentrepreneurship.com/wp-content/uploads/landingpagesthumb.png" />Finding unique places on your website and on the internet to build your list is what can easily get you from a low number of subscribers to doubling that number in a few weeks. A really powerful way to get people to opt-in from these unique places is through a landing page. Traffic is sent [&#8230;] Finding unique places on your website and on the internet to build your list is what can easily get you from a low number of subscribers to doubling that number in a few weeks. A really powerful way to get people to opt-in from these unique places is through a landing page. Traffic is sent […]]]> 0:08:31 clean Embolden If you're trying to build your list with your website or blog, you've probably scattered around a few opt-in forms and used a few popups. Maybe they've worked, maybe they haven't. Let me share with you 5 landing pages you can create for your website an... If you're trying to build your list with your website or blog, you've probably scattered around a few opt-in forms and used a few popups. Maybe they've worked, maybe they haven't. Let me share with you 5 landing pages you can create for your website and blog today to help grow and build your email list. http://laptopentrepreneurship.com/wp-content/uploads/podcastcovernew-1.png http://laptopentrepreneurship.com/win-more-freelance-jobs-on-elance-or-wherever-with-this-simple-tip/ http://www.blubrry.com/laptopentrepreneurship/2554372/win-more-freelance-jobs-on-elance-or-wherever-with-this-simple-tip/ Embolden Podcast Mon, 16 Feb 2015 13:30:41 -0500 <img width="1280" height="720" src="http://laptopentrepreneurship.com/wp-content/uploads/winmorejobs1.png" />If you are a freelancer on websites like Elance and Odesk, you probably know how difficult it can be to win a project. It&#8217;s really competitive on Elance, especially on really big and high paying jobs. How can you separate yourself from the rest of the pack? I found a majority of my winning bids [&#8230;] If you are a freelancer on websites like Elance and Odesk, you probably know how difficult it can be to win a project. It’s really competitive on Elance, especially on really big and high paying jobs. How can you separate yourself from the rest of the pack? I found a majority of my winning bids […]]]> 0:05:54 clean Embolden If you are a freelancer on websites like Elance and Odesk, you probably know how difficult it can be to win a project. It's really competitive on Elance, especially on really big and high paying jobs. How can you separate yourself from the rest of the... If you are a freelancer on websites like Elance and Odesk, you probably know how difficult it can be to win a project. It's really competitive on Elance, especially on really big and high paying jobs. How can you separate yourself from the rest of the pack? I found a majority of my winning bids were really unique. Often, the person hiring the freelancer would tell me "we chose you because you said X" or "we found X about you really interesting!" It actually doesn't come down to your portfolio or skill most of the time. There are a lot of skilled and experienced freelancers that simply choosing "the best" isn't that easy. Sometimes the person running the project will simply hire the cheapest person but at that point, not winning the project wasn't your fault. However, if you weren't selected because you didn't communicate well enough how you're different or better, I'm going to provide you one rock solid tip that will make you win A LOT more projects on sites like Elance. Create a video and attach that to your bid. When you bid on projects on Elance, you are able to upload files to the client. Usually, freelancers use this space to upload files to show of their experience and portfolio like a screenshot of a website, or a voice over sample. What you should be doing instead, is record a video of yourself, talking into the camera describing why you are the best freelancer for this job and what your approach to the job will be. So, you still write out your bid, but also include "please view the video attached to watch my proposal and learn more how I am a great fit for your project!" You need to get really comfortable with this. You might be thinking you're not confident enough to do this or you're too shy. That's the same reason nearly nobody else is doing this. This is how you will differentiate your proposal from everyone else's, especially on projects with over 40 bids. Put yourself in the client's shoes. They have to sift through all these different proposals of strangers on the internet. If you see a bid with a face and personality attached to it, it's a lot easier to trust that person. That's what the video bid does for you. It also allows for you to verbalize what you want to do instead of just writing it out. So what should you say in the video? Here's a breakdown: "Hi! My name is X" Your background, your experience and how long you've been doing what you're doing. Why you decided to bid on this project. Why you think you're a good fit. Your approach to the project. Your solution to solve their problem. Recommend them to see a similar project you've done in the past. "Feel free to ask me any questions or let me know if you need me to clarify anything about my bid." "Thank you for taking the time out to watch my bid! I'm looking forward to working with you." Another small tip, is to simply follow up. If you place a bid and after a few days, the person hiring hasn't selected a freelancer, follow up with them. Ask them what's preventing them from picking a freelancer. Ask them how you could improve your bid. You'd be surprised how a simple thing like following up (which nobody else does) can get you noticed. Don't make it sound desperate, simply come across as concerned. There's a difference! I hope this helps some of you struggling freelancers out there. I want you to let me know what you think below. Tell me where you're struggling in your freelancing career and I'll try to help out! http://laptopentrepreneurship.com/wp-content/uploads/podcastcovernew-1.png http://laptopentrepreneurship.com/the-proper-way-to-promote-clickbank-and-affiliate-products/ http://www.blubrry.com/laptopentrepreneurship/2544671/the-proper-way-to-promote-clickbank-and-affiliate-products/ Embolden Podcast Tue, 10 Feb 2015 14:04:49 -0500 <img width="1280" height="720" src="http://laptopentrepreneurship.com/wp-content/uploads/properwaycbthumb.png" />There is a wrong way and a right way to promote a Clickbank product or any affiliate product. If you&#8217;re just starting out in affiliate marketing, you probably make the same mistake a lot of other affiliate marketers do when they are promoting a Clickbank product. They go on Clickbank, pick a random product to [&#8230;] There is a wrong way and a right way to promote a Clickbank product or any affiliate product. If you’re just starting out in affiliate marketing, you probably make the same mistake a lot of other affiliate marketers do when they are promoting a Clickbank product. They go on Clickbank, pick a random product to […]]]> 0:07:55 clean Embolden The proper way to promote a Clickbank product or any affiliate offer. I show you the right way to do it, by creating a squeeze page, giving away a lead magnet, building a list and creating targeted Facebook ads. The proper way to promote a Clickbank product or any affiliate offer. I show you the right way to do it, by creating a squeeze page, giving away a lead magnet, building a list and creating targeted Facebook ads. http://laptopentrepreneurship.com/wp-content/uploads/podcastcovernew-1.png http://laptopentrepreneurship.com/25-blogging-tools-and-plugins-to-help-your-blog-work-better-and-get-more-readers/ http://www.blubrry.com/laptopentrepreneurship/2536011/25-blogging-tools-and-plugins-to-help-your-blog-work-better-and-get-more-readers/ Embolden Podcast Wed, 04 Feb 2015 15:10:32 -0500 <img width="770" height="433" src="http://laptopentrepreneurship.com/wp-content/uploads/bloggingtoolsthumb1.png" />Here is a list of tools and plugins I use on all of my blogs to help make my blog better and make it easier for me to create great content and draw traffic and readers into my blogs. Content Creation Research And Brainstorming Quick Sprout &#8211; Quick Sprout is primarily an SEO analysis tool but [&#8230;] Here is a list of tools and plugins I use on all of my blogs to help make my blog better and make it easier for me to create great content and draw traffic and readers into my blogs. Content Creation Research And Brainstorming Quick Sprout – Quick Sprout is primarily an SEO analysis tool but […]]]> 0:16:50 clean Embolden Here's a list of tools and resources to help your WordPress blog or website work better for you, get more readers, and be easier to create content for. These are all tools and plugins I use or have used. Here's a list of tools and resources to help your WordPress blog or website work better for you, get more readers, and be easier to create content for. These are all tools and plugins I use or have used. http://laptopentrepreneurship.com/wp-content/uploads/podcastcovernew-1.png