How You Really Make Money Online with Blogging
by Case Lane
This post is part of the Real Stories Behind Making Money Online Series
In the beginning, it was the Internet curious’s first introduction to creating online – starting a blog. Today, it remains the most dominate creative platform – more than 600 million blogs – more than ten times the number of YouTube channels and podcast shows combined.
That fact should make one point obvious…blogs are, arguably, the easiest online platform for launching your online business.
But how many of those 600 million blogs are making money for the blogger?
Blogs operate in a crowded marketplace where you have to be prepared to promote and market your message. So if you’re shy about telling people about your thoughts or creativity, blogging may not be for you.
Blogging as Your Online Business
While starting an online business is an extraordinary opportunity for you to establish a foundation for your own professional satisfaction, financial security, and lifestyle freedom, to get started you have to select an online platform that fits your interests, skills and budget.
Blogging remains an incredible force for delivering a message, creating a community, and earning advertising revenue. But does the platform have all the elements you want and need for an online business venture?
If your online platform of choice is to create a blog, you need to be aware of the joys and limitations of the effort.
In this article, I explain the real story behind blogging to make money online.
Blogging is for Writers
Blogs are websites, almost always supported by advertising, that writers fill with content aimed at their target audience.
At its core, blogging is the written word. For creators, blogging means consistently writing articles online around a specific theme or subject. The word blog comes from ‘web log…weblog’ a phrase used to describe the act of journaling or recording (logging) information online.
To create a blog to start an online business, you must create written content…or have it created for you.
Blogging is for writers, and blogs are for readers. People who want to get their information in written words.
Types of Blogs for Making Money Online
With 600 million options, breaking blogs down into specific categories may be an overreach, but in general there are three popular types of blogs – information, commentary and product-specific.
Information Blogs
The most popular blogs offer information, such as How-Tos and guides. They provide step-by-step processes, and insight into products, services and issues. For many readers, these types of blogs are consistently delivering information they want to learn more about or research.
A blogger who provides information is creating a go-to platform for a topic or idea. Once enough interested readers learn about the blog’s existence, it can jump to the top of search rankings for the topic, and become a popular site.
If you are planning to create an information blog, the key is to be a great resource. You do the research your readers want to avoid, and you put the information together in easily digestible articles.
In this case, you do not have to be a great writer. You just have to make sure you are delivering information that a particular audience is seeking.
Because you already know the information readers are searching for, these types of blogs are the fastest and easiest blogs to create. Spend time researching the topic, then re-organize, re-write, and aggregate the data you find into new articles that address the topic for your target audience.
This approach also allows you to outsource the work. If writing is not your strength, or you have no time to do the research, you can use a freelancer site like Fiverr to find someone who can put together the information based on your ideas.
For example, you may find a subject where most of the existing blogs are aimed at college students, and you decide to do one aimed at the parents of college students. It can be similar information, but re-written for the parents consumption, and interests.
Also, if you can write well (or outsource) in a language other than English, there is extraordinary opportunity available to write about popular blog subjects in other global languages.
As the Internet continues to grow and spread around the world, you may find your ability to deliver information in a language used where online usage is on the rise, provides you with an opening where other bloggers cannot compete.
Commentary Blogs
Another successful blog theme is commentary – the original web log. Some famous bloggers are known only for their comments and observations about society and the world. These blogs can have millions of readers who enjoy the writer’s viewpoint, and learn from their perspective.
If you are writing a commentary blog, then you do have to be a good writer because the blog is directly from you, and your ideas have to resonate with the reader. These types of blog literally hang on the word of the blogger. If the writing is bad, the blog is a non-starter.
That said, the definition of ‘bad’ is relevant to the audience you are targeting. If you want to write a slang-filled, emoji-driven commentary blog aimed at high school students, then you may have a niche. But you still have to make the content valuable to that audience. It has to be ‘good’ to them.
Commentary blogs are the most difficult to launch because everyone has an opinion these days. But if you have a way of looking at the world that is unique, and underserved, you may be able to take a commentary blog to an audience that wants to learn more from you.
Product-Specific Blogs
Another type of blog is a mini-website aimed specifically at marketing a product by providing content-rich articles related to the product’s purpose.
The site will have ten to fifteen articles all leading to the same conclusion – the reader should get the product.
These blogs are advertising and affiliate marketing vehicles designed as information blogs, but the content is legitimate (assuming you are not a scammer).
This is a blog where the idea is to deliver information, but it’s not general information, it’s tailored to the product and all issues related to the product.
For example, if you are marketing a new vacuum cleaner, you could have articles about the perils of dust, carpet maintenance, keeping your family healthy, the exercise benefits of doing household chores, and so on.
These types of blogs are one-and-done. You write the core articles, set-up the webpages, and drive traffic to the site.
Once again, you do not need to be a creative writer, you are aggregating topic-specific information for an audience that is looking for the insight. Your articles must be valuable and useful to them, especially if it is new or misunderstood information.
This is also an opportunity to outsource the writing, but you have to be creative about the topics related to the product. You are looking for products that cross over a variety of different issues, and give you sufficient content to create a legitimate site.
Who Should Start a Blog?
Regardless of your type of blog, you want the content to stay consistent and reliable. So the hard truth about blogging is that you have to keep posting relevant content. You have to find enough content to maintain interest for a growing audience. That is a challenge that many aspiring entrepreneurs do not conquer.
If you:
- Like to write
- Come up with good ideas
- Are not afraid to promote your own writing to strangers
- Have a good subject area or topic
- Have money each month to spend on maintaining your website until you can grow your advertising revenue
- Are prepared to be consistently and reliably posting to your website
…then you are likely ready to move forward with starting a blog.
But blogging can be tedious, especially if you are lukewarm about your subject, and since it’s the most crowded online platform, you have to be creative to stand-out and be counted.
How to Start a Blog
As mentioned earlier, blogs are the easiest online business to start, but one that requires maintenance and has up-front costs to do it right.
The basic approach is:
- Get a domain name
- Set-up a webpage
- Start writing and posting content
Domain Name
Free Domain name
If you decide to use free website hosting, you will also likely receive a free ‘hosting’ domain, which typically includes the name of the website provider in your domain name.
This is a domain name you do not own, and one that may be long and cumbersome to use when speaking or posting about your new blog.
But for some, a free domain may be a necessary option for getting started without any upfront costs, but if you have a few dollars ready, and you are serious about your blog, you should start with a custom domain name.
Custom Domain name
The domain name is the name of your website. For many bloggers, it can be their ownname.com, for others it’s the subject they are discussing. You just have to decide.
Domains can cost as little as $3 a month to start. You can buy the domain from a stand-alone site, or purchase it when you set-up your webpage on a hosting site.
Carefully check the renewal terms for your domain name. Sometimes you can get the domain for a low introductory price, but it renews at ten times that rate, a year later.
Although a great domain name is valuable, like all actions in starting an online business, it is better to move forward than to worry about picking the perfect domain.
If you’re not sure, go with your own name or a made-up-name and move on. You have no online business until your site is live, so getting launched should be your focus.
Website
Free or Paid
Before you create your website, you must decide if you want to use free or paid blog hosting services.
Your blog is hosted on a website, which is hosted on a server managed by a website hosting provider.
‘Free’ means you sign-up and begin writing and posting content without paying any upfront fees. The ‘catch’ with free is there may be limitations on whether or not you can advertise on the platform. Since you are starting the blog to make money, this would be a limitation, but not an obstruction to making money.
But, If you are not sure if blogging is right for you, start with free services, and switch to paid when you are certain you want to move forward with the platform.
If you know you want to be a blogger and start with paid hosting, you have more flexibility to do what you want with the blog.
Your Own Website
Once you select your paid provider, they typically provide basic services aimed at getting you set-up. There are many blogging apps, but the most popular is WordPress, and you can quickly set-up a basic WordPress site through your provider.
Since WordPress provides flexible functionality for a website, for example, you can host an eCommerce store with your blogs, some bloggers find WordPress too complex for their plans, and are comfortable with a ‘blogging’ only app.
If you think you might want to do more with your blog – for example on my website for Ready Entrepreneur, along with the blog, I have my podcast embedded, links to online courses, and a store – and I am able to use plugins to extend the capabilities of the site from inserting landing pages from another app under the same domain, to capturing contact information.
As always, if you are unsure, start with the most basic option and be prepared to build from there.
Third Party Website
Blogging platforms, like Medium.com are websites where bloggers can establish their reputation and build an audience. These sites allow anyone to open an account and posts blogs, for free. Although these sites lead to a variety of subjects, they also attract a variety of readers who want to discover new voices, and learn more.
If you want to access the reader audience on these platforms, you can repurpose the blogs you create on your website. This allows you to gain both the traffic on the platform that is casually browsing, and the followers on your site who could one day become your dream customers.
Writing, Posting and Distributing Your Content
Once you have set-up your domain and webpage or site account, it’s time to write and post content.
Refer back to the Types of Blogs section to pick the direction you want to take your content.
If you are looking for topic ideas, listen to your friends, colleagues and neighbors, check social media, Google trends, and news headlines, and remember how you became interested in the subject in the first place. You probably have stories, ideas and anecdotes from your own experiences that could make the content for a blog.
Take a look at the work other bloggers are doing. Do not copy. Instead use other content as inspiration, and as a springboard for developing your own ideas.
You can post blogs on your own schedule as little or as often as you wish. But the more consistently you post, the more reliable you will appear to your readers. If readers enjoy one article, and they see another one the following week, and the week after, they are more likely to remember you, and maybe even recommend your work to others.
Search Engine Optimization
Search Engine Optimization (SEO) is the process, both technical and creative, that you use to help search engines find your blog. When you distribute your blog online, you should always make sure that you are search optimized, to drive organic traffic doing searches.
You will find many SEO apps and plugins online, and implementing SEO practices is not difficult. But being noticed is a challenge, you will have to do your own work to ensure people click on your blog.
Do Your Own Promotion
While search engines can organically find your blog, you will have to do your own distribution and promotion to drive traffic to your site.
Social Media
You can use social media to drive traffic to your blog by posting about the topic you wrote about and including the direct link to your blog in your posts. Add images or videos to attract attention, and ignite curiosity about your content.
For bloggers, all of the big social media sites are helpful, except Instagram, which does not have links in regular content. So if your content is visual, and insta-perfect, this limitation will be a concern, but you have the work-around of using the other platforms.
If your social media followers are mostly friends and family, include a Call-to-Action for them to share the post with their networks.
Track Your Traffic
If you have your own website, you can set-up analytics to track your visitors and the pages they frequent. This data will help you understand your most popular content, and perhaps give you additional content ideas, or more promotions you can do for specific content.
Track consistently to look for trends and opportunities to grow your blog’s popularity. For example, if you notice more traffic is coming from mobile, you can do a more mobile-friendly layout for those users.
How Blogs Make Money Online
The final part of your blog set-up is monetization…making money from the blog.
For the most part, your revenue opportunity comes from placing advertising on your blog pages. You can have Google ads automatically on your pages, affiliate ads that you place yourself, or links to your own digital or physical products that you sell in your own store or on a third party platform.
Essentially, having a blog works like a broadcast television network that creates lots of content, and drives ‘eyeballs’ to the shows that advertisers are paying to be featured on.
Your opportunity in earning for your blog comes from driving as much traffic as possible to your site, and having a percentage of that traffic click on the ads, and in the case of affiliates, making a purchase.
Google Ad Sense
The fastest way to begin making money with a blog is to set up a free account with Google Ad Sense, and let the search engine automatically post ads on your blog pages. Google’s advertising program pays you for clicks through to the sponsored ad pages.
You can control where the ads are placed, and to which pages, and you can ban content you don’t want associated with your work.
Google is set to match your blog content to related ads, but if subject matter is beyond the translation of Google’s A.I., you might find the ads do not match at all.
Once you set-up with Ad Sense, continuing monitoring the placement of ads to make sure they are where you expect to see them.
Affiliate Ads
Affiliate advertising is when you align with a third party to promote their product or service, and earn a flat rate or percentage for purchases made by other people through your links.
With many affiliate programs, you can sign-up for free on sites like Swagbucks, and place their advertising images with your affiliate link directly on your page. As more people sign-up, you earn a ‘bounty’ for bringing in new affiliates.
If you join the Amazon Affiliates program, you can also earn a ‘bounty’ for sign-ups to continuity programs like Amazon Prime.
Or you can promote products, including almost everything on Amazon.com, and earn whenever someone purchases a product through your link. As mentioned in the content section, you can even have an entire blog that is linked to affiliate products.
Because there are affiliate programs for almost every product you can think of, you should be able to find products that align with your blog content.
To keep your blog orderly, you want to have ads that support your product, and do not make your site look just like an advertising vehicle for sponsored products, or worse, a scam.
Links to Your Own Products
If you sell your own physical or digital products, you can use a blog to drive people to your products.
Write blogs that align with your product, then promote your product links directly in the blog or in the sidebars of your website.
This is often done with reviews (which you do not write for your own product, but you can post what others write), the review is linked back to the product.
But the real success in using this process is to write the definitive article about the value of your product, and then drive people through the links to your purchase pages.
Extension Products
Advertising is the direct way that blogs make money, but if you have a successful blog you can repurpose it to make money on other online platforms like podcasts and YouTube.
If your blogging positions you as an authority on a subject, you can also create courses, sell coaching, write books, or do speeches or other activities that are related to your blogging content, but are not directly revenue created from the blog.
All of these opportunities come with time, once you make your blog successful.
But when you are starting out, and you have no traffic to your blog, you will have no money from your blog, that’s the reality.
That’s why you must think carefully about how much you are willing to spend up-front, and how much time you will place in promoting your blog.
If your SEO is working, or your topic is unique and sought after, it’s possible for organic traffic to discover your blog, click on your ads, and you make money. But in general, if you are too shy promote your own work, you will not have a chance to earn from your blog.
What Makes Blogs Successful
A successful blog has great content. But that’s only the beginning.
The most popular blogs are delivering a form of comfort to readers. Whether it’s in the form of information or provocative statements or how-tos, a reader is satisfied after reading a great blog. And they’ll keep coming back for more if they feel the content is consistent and always appealing.
To get your blog into a success position, which means it starts paying you, build on the positive comments and reviews you receive.
Try to discover what appealed most to those readers, and why. You don’t have to start trying to tailor every blog to a raving fan, but it helps if you have an understanding as to why a specific blog post resonated with people.
From the beginning, blogging has been about the writing. While many blogs contain great visuals or videos, it’s the writing that brings people back time and again. If you want your blog to stand out and be noticed, that’s where to start.
But all the other activities must be completed also to make your blog a professional and reliable site for return readers. And you must promote the blog to as many people as possible to get the traffic on your site that will make your business profitable.
Choose blogging as your online business platform if you’ve come this far and believe you have the ingredients to make it work. But, ignore blogging if you plan to only do a superficial job of writing and promoting your site.
The real story behind starting a blog to make money is to make an effort marketing and promoting your blog to drive traffic to your site. Because without the upfront effort in creating your own publicity, you are unlikely to make any money. But with it, you give yourself a chance to stand-out among the 600 million and take your place in the online entrepreneur community.
Check out Case Lane’s blogs:
For aspiring entrepreneurs: https://www.readyentrepreneur.com/blog-posts/
For guest podcasting: https://podcastgueststar.com/
For fast, healthy eating: https://food.readyentrepreneur.com/blog/
For travel: https://travel.readyentrepreneur.com/
For Case Lane books: https://caselane.com/blog/
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Your Only Hope…is You
In a world where many believe money is the answer to all your problems, you may soon find out that really…you are the answer.
If you are a thinker who considers opportunity to grow and evolve as a challenge, then you have the chance to transform your life and lives of those around you.
Without people like you, we would not know how to move forward. But you have to learn to believe in yourself and what you can do.
Below is the Your Only Hope YouTube video and the video transcript
Video Transcript
Is this your only hope? If you only had more of these everything would be great…
You could pay all your bills, the mortgage, credit cards…
Set up the kids college funds…
Know that retirement will be relaxed and easy…
If you only had more of these…
When did it all get so difficult, so hard…
Why didn’t anyone tell you…teach you how to be wealthy and successful…
You know some people are just born with money, some people have great teachers and get great information, some people are lucky, some people have wonderful parents, and some people…
Earn it.
Oh yeah…there’s that too…
The fact that you can actually just earn these by delivering some kind of value to others that they will exchange for these.
But what value?
You’ve probably already thought about it. You’ve probably said…
I can do this better? Or
I wish this was better? Or
I’d like to do this? Or
I’d like to have something that does that?
You might have already recognized the gap that exists between the products and services that are available, and the wants and needs that people have.
And if you have seen that gap AND you’ve thought about how you could fill it. You’re probably an aspiring entrepreneur.
And if you’re an aspiring entrepreneur…it’s probably time to remove the ‘aspiring’ from your lexicon…
Because if you are the type of person who recognizes gaps, and sees problems AND you have solutions, you have ideas, you actually think about making a difference…
Then you need to act on what you see.
Entrepreneurship is for those who want to contribute, to do more with life than just complain…
And if that’s you, it’s time to start moving forward.
It’s starts with an idea…and it has to continue with action…then you can be that person who sees the other side.
Your only hope is not just more of these.
Your only hope is yourself…
You…how you think and what you do.
No one is going to rescue you…
No one is going to make it easy…
No one else will pay the bills…
No one else will give the people you love the best life possible…
No one else will give you the life you have always dreamed of.
Only you.
You have to put your trust in you and your ability, and make your move.
I’m Case Lane, the author of Recast, a book about the first ten actions to take when getting started with an online business.
You recast to play a new role in your own life…this time as an online entrepreneur.
You take practical action to overcome your own doubts and distractions, and do what you have been thinking about doing, which is to start your own business.
Becoming an entrepreneur and starting your own business is about giving yourself a chance to live the life you have always wanted to live…
Do work that creates value and gives you meaning and purpose in your life…not anger and complaint.
Make yourself busy, involved and committed to doing something…anything…that’s about moving forward not backward…
Set yourself up for a future you want to live in…not one that will be handed to you
Entrepreneurship is about being free…
It’s not just about this…although you can do a lot with this…
You can do what you want…
For those you most want to do it for.
If you are an aspiring entrepreneur, it’s time to take away the aspiring…
Take a look at the description for this video to get access to resources you can use right now to get your online business started.
Video Description
Recast Inspiration to Start Your Own Business. This video is called Your Only Hope…is You.
FREE // Learn the first 5 Actions to take when getting started with an online business. It’s not what you may be thinking think…but it may be the answer to getting past your procrastination and distractions. Download here: https://www.caselane.net/recast-actions
Maybe like you, I did all the ‘right’ things to end up in all the ‘right’ places only to discover that what I really wanted to do was contribute and add value on my terms. I started out in the online business game chasing all the shiny apples, only to discover that none of them laid out a clear plan for actually getting started with an online business, and working through the details to launch a business.
So I’ve learned the lessons, and now I pass them on to you…
Recast is the path you need to follow FIRST before you take any more confusing steps towards becoming an online entrepreneur.
WHAT TO WATCH NEXT
If you have business ideas in your head, but you’re still thinking maybe entrepreneurship is not for you, you must FIND THE CONFIDENCE TO START YOUR BUSINESS, https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xstvw…
GET THE RECAST BOOK
Recast is my Practical Guide to Getting Started with Your Online Business. You will learn the foundational actions to take to set yourself up for success, followed by the creative actions that take you towards launching your online business. These are the practical actions no one talks about, but everyone should do BEFORE you start chasing a specific online business ‘magic’ plan. Click here for the book: https://caselane.com/books/recast/
TAKE THE DOMINATE ONLINE BUSINESS COURSE
Already set to get your online business started? Get all the training and information you need to launch your business in the Dominate the Year Start Your Online Business course. This comprehensive program is like no other – it’s total and complete details for you to understand the online business landscape, pick your idea, pick your platform, create your content, find your niche market, launch with confidence…and much, much more. Learn more about the course here: https://www.caselane.net/dominate-course
Get more information…much more about how to move from ‘aspiring’ entrepreneur to online entrepreneur at the Ready Entrepreneur website https://www.readyentrepreneur.com/
CONNECT ON SOCIAL MEDIA
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Podcast: The Ready Entrepreneur podcast available wherever you listen to podcasts https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast…
WHO IS CASE LANE?
Hello, I’m Case Lane. I’m a global entrepreneur, writer, traveler and observer to the future.
But to start out, I followed all the traditional paths and ended up as a lawyer, economist, corporate executive, management consultant and diplomat.
Along the way I lived, worked and studied in ten different countries, learned to speak three languages, and became focused on economic development through business enterprise.
In my travels and living in different countries, I observed how entrepreneurs in all economic circumstances take the resources at hand, and build not only thriving businesses, but rising wealth. In the humblest rural small towns, or in the midst of a chaotic unregulated urban centers, action-takers who want to start a business implement their ideas, change their lives, and the community around them.
I decided to bring those similar tactics to a broader audience by creating Ready Entrepreneur as a comprehensive guide for taking your business from IDEA to OPEN.
And I wrote Recast, specifically to help you get started, when you have no idea how to begin your entrepreneurial journey.
I want to make sure you have practical, doable action you can take right now, to get past the obstacles that have been holding you back from pursuing your dreams.
If you think this sounds right to you, subscribe to my channel, and make sure you get your free copy of the Recast First 5 Actions so that you don’t miss more great information that you can use to get started as an online entrepreneur.
#caselane #readyentrepreneur #recastbook #recastmovement #aspiringentrepreneur #onlinebusiness #startanonlinebusiness #onlinebusinesstips #entrepreneurinspiration #inspirationtostartabusiness #onlineentrepreneur
The Art of Recasting as an Aspiring Entrepreneur
by Case Lane
For every person who is thinking about getting started with an online business, there is someone who understands why they have waited so long to do it.
The story usually begins with indoctrination into the status quo. The average person – you, me and the neighbors – have been told as long as we can remember that the ‘right’ thing to do with your life is something like finish high school – go to college – get a professional job – get married – get a house with a mortgage – have a family – retire. If you do that you are said to have ‘made it,’ your time on earth considered well spent.
But if you are reading this article, you may be one of those who wondered if the familiar road really is all ‘they’ say it should be. For some reason, you’re restless. You want more, or something different. Maybe you want to be more or feel that your life has a deeper value or meaning.
Whatever the reason, your thoughts have led you to entrepreneurship, and the promise inherent in building your own enterprise.
The Gold
Entrepreneurship carries the promise of being able to earn enough money to do your own thing, be your own boss, and live as you choose. You can build a community you own by delivering value to enough people who want what you have to offer.
Even though you may have heard all the stories about entrepreneurs working day and night to bring their idea to the public, and then having to fight to get people to believe them, or make a purchase, you still see entrepreneurship as the opportunity you have missed so far.
What’s not to like about living your dream life? Doing work you really enjoy? And having a world you control?
In the back of your mind, you know that if it was easy, everyone would be doing it, and succeeding. But you know, you’re not ‘everyone.’ You question the status quo, you strive for more, and you are willing to work to get it.
So what should you do next?
Recast Yourself as an Entrepreneur
Since you have followed the familiar road, the first thing you have to do is recast yourself to think and act like an entrepreneur.
If you are in Hollywood or on Broadway, recasting is when the person who got the original part is replaced. Depending on which side you’re on, this is a fantastic or devastating moment. Someone’s big break can be your heartbreak.
The same is true when you recast to entrepreneurship. You are going to play a new role in your own life. That means changing some of the things you do now.
When you recast and start focusing on your business, you are probably going to stop focusing on friends, maybe family, or maybe even the 9-to-5 job you’re doing now. That’s someone else’s loss, so those someones are going to try and stop you from making the move.
So the first thing you have to do to recast is work on your mindset. There is an enormous body of work dedicated to this subject, but the bottom line is you have to know that your mind is controlling your emotions, and therefore your actions.
When someone tells you, you are bad at business, you start to feel bad. You question yourself as you wonder why they came to that conclusion. And you probably ignore your business idea, while you try to come to terms with this feeling.
So make sure you are aware that you are doing this. You will not be able to change your feelings overnight. But each time you hear something negative about your plans, remind yourself why you have decided to become an entrepreneur.
Focus on the work you have to do for getting started like finding somewhere to work and removing distractions. Set aside the time, at least 15 minutes a day to research your business idea. The more you start thinking as a business owner, the more you will become one. If you make your business plans a core part of your everyday, your recasting will evolve into your version of a new normal.
Set Boundaries With Others
For many aspiring entrepreneurs, losing connection to the people closest to them creates the fear and reluctance associated with starting an online business. It is one thing to recast yourself, but it’s quite another to disentangle from the world you have created.
What do you do when people are used to, or even dependent on, having you around?
You set boundaries. Not overnight, but over time.
First, decide on your own how you would like the situation to unfold. You can control your plans if you have an idea about where you are going.
So if you want to start a business as a short-term endeavor, or without the pressure of replacing your current income, you can tell your family and friends that you have this plan and will be taking time to work on it, but can be flexible.
If you are looking to replace your income, then you have to say you will take all the time you need, for as long as you need to get it done.
In all cases, remember now you are wearing your entrepreneur hat. You want to walk and talk your business. If appropriate, try incorporating your family and friends into the story. Draw on their strengths to support you. If someone is a good proof-reader have them look at your copy, if your kids like creative design apps have them find your logo.
It may be a little extra work or extra step to draw in those who are trying to hold you back, but it will be worth it.
Create Your Action Plan
Recasting is set-up around two groups of actions – the foundational actions like setting up your workspace that will help you get organized, – and the creative actions like deciding on your business idea.
Once you’ve found your idea and done your research, create an Action Plan that you will work through to establish the business. Your Action Plan is a fluid document that will constantly be updated and changed. But it’s also a blueprint for moving forward. Use it to decide the actual activities you need to do to get started.
For example, for people in the information products business who want to start by determining the interest in their product, start with a one-page landing page offering a free lead magnet to capture email addresses. Your Action Plan could be:
- Create lead magnet
- Set up landing page
- Set up email management
- Write email sequence for leads
- Post landing page URL on all social media
You can also have sub-activities, a more detailed action plan might be:
- Create lead magnet
- Research potential free products
- Write 2-page PDF document
- Outsource PDF design to freelancer
- Set up landing page
- Write landing page copy – headline, text copy
- Find images for landing page
- Buy domain
- Set-up custom domain in landing page app
- Set up email management
- Write email sequence for leads
- Include coaching offer in 10th email
- Set up sign-up page for coaching consultations
- Include coaching offer in 10th email
- Post landing page URL on all social media
- Create Facebook post about new landing page
- Find images for Instagram post
- Post one-line for Twitter
As you complete each action, do a quick review to make sure you are still on the right track and aimed at hitting your business goals.
Your Action Plan can also have many sections or different paths. And you can constantly change it, even to the point of starting all over again.
But the key is you have to start.
The Only Way to Finish Strong is to Start
You have to start your online business somewhere. Every major billion-dollar corporation you know started with a simple plan. They made one sale, and they grew from there.
But if you don’t start, you will not get that first sale.
To give yourself the opportunity to make your business dream a reality, you have to make the time to get to work. Every daily effort is progress towards your goals. Constantly ‘hoping’ to start or ‘planning’ to start will not create an online business for you.
Only starting will.
And starting your business does not have to be an elaborate show. It’s not about filling out a stack of legal forms, or agonizing over a logo, or making sure every line of copy is perfect…it’s about finding out if someone…anyone is interested in the product or service you have to offer.
Business is make a product, sell a product.
If you come up with an idea, the next thing you should do is try and sell it to one person. If you can prove that there is demand for your product, then you can move forward with all the other necessary actions to make your business a viable commercial enterprise.
But spending money on non-revenue generating activities before you know if the product is of interest will only send you down the road to disappointment and abandonment before you have even really started.
As you research before starting your business, think about your first ‘quick win.’ Consider a lead magnet with an email sequence that leads to an inexpensive offer that your dream customers can use to understand the value you deliver.
Focus your attention on this one sequence – changing and updating it as necessary – until you have revenue. If you cannot get enough people interested, move on to another idea, or adapt and change your plan again.
Your online business is the opportunity you can use to change your life…for the better, and open up all the promises that entrepreneurship offers to those who are willing to do the work.
Give yourself the best chance possible by recasting – changing your mind and actions – to be, become and think as an entrepreneur.
Make Recasting your first action, and then keep going until you have the business you want, the life you seek, and the smile on your face to prove it.
You can get your copy of Recast: The Aspiring Entrepreneur’s Practical Guide to Getting Started With An Online Business by Case Lane at in print, audio or ebook at Amazon.com, or in all digital formats wherever you buy your ebooks.
Disclosure: Links to Amazon.com are affiliate links that earn for eligible purchases at no additional cost to you.
What is Guest Podcasting?
by Case Lane
In a Mexican telenovela, aka a television soap opera, you can occasionally see that when a major movie star or esteemed talent or famous personality decides to make a guest appearance, the credits will say something like…
…we welcome to television, the great…- name of person-…
Or if it’s a former star who has not done TV for awhile…then the credits will acknowledge…
…we welcome back to television – name of person – …
The guest star is elevated to a kind of reverential position – a proud, open armed moment of mutual accomplishment and acclaim.
And the terms ‘Guest Star’ or ‘Guest Starring’ or even better ‘Special Guest Star’ or ‘Special Guest Appearance by’ are all used regularly, especially by Hollywood productions, to signal to viewers that someone has joined the cast temporarily to bring new interest and life to the show.
The guest star is a welcome visitor in a mutually beneficial position for the host and guest.
If you guest podcast, that is the role you will play.
The Guest Star Role
Guest podcasting is appearing on a podcast for an interview or conversations, or sometimes to teach, entertain or provide commentary or analysis. The guest’s role is to add value to the show by providing new insights outside of the normal routine and intentions.
Anyone with valuable communication to share should consider guest podcasting. There are now nearly two million podcasts, many with conversations covering almost every topic imaginable.
While established public speakers or subject matter experts may be the first to think of the podcast stage as an opportunity to spread their message, aspiring entrepreneurs should not overlook the possibility of building an audience and testing ideas in a public space.
The Opportunity for Aspiring Entrepreneurs
As an aspiring entrepreneur, if you have a business idea, then you likely recognized a problem that needs to be solved, and you have a solution. Since you are planning on building a business, you are going to need to inform your potential customers of your proposed solution.
Guest podcasting is one of the best ways to raise your visibility. From the podcast stage, you can grow your audience, expand your authority and influence, promote your product or service, enhance your brand or marketing…or any of several other benefits.
You may not immediately know what your impact will be, but if your audience begins to grow after you start guest podcasting, you will receive feedback that determines how influential you have been.
Collaborate With the Podcast Host
Guest podcasting is a two-way street…always. You provide value to the audience, and some of them may follow up with you, or look for your products. Therefore when requesting an interview, potential guests should focus on the content and value they offer.
In a 15, 30 or 60 minute segment, your product or service is secondary to delivering on the outcomes the audience is seeking. You have to know what the audience is expecting to hear, and why they are listening to that specific podcast.
When you set out to guest podcast, do your homework. Research the podcast you are pitching for an interview, and make sure you know the kinds of topics that are covered by the host. You do not want to repeat a topic that was already covered on the show. You want to demonstrate why your work is different.
Guest podcasting means finding those differentiators so that you can engage in a more fulfilling conversation with your host. And your appearance may extend beyond the interview, by leading to other opportunities, collaborations, or projects with your new growing network of podcast friends.
The D-I-Y Process for Finding Podcasts That Fit Your Subject
You can decide how to use guest podcasting as part of your business strategy, by looking for podcasts that are a relevant fit for your topic, confirming that you might be a good guest, and reaching out to the podcaster to request an interview.
You can also become a successful podcast guest without hiring an agency, connecting with influencers, or networking, by following this Do-It-Yourself process that uses the podcast directories to find relevant shows.
Select Keywords
After deciding on the topics you want to cover on the show, select keywords that reflect your subject area, and related topics.
For example, if you’re an expert on tulips – select keywords like flowers, gardening, fragrance, outdoor activity, and so on. Be as broad as possible because different podcasts will use different words to talk about similar subjects.
Search for Podcast Names
To find potential shows, search for podcast names in the podcast directories. The directories are online databases where podcasts are listed. Directories include the podcast apps like Apple or Spotify, as well as websites that provide podcast information.
The best directories for search are those that return sufficient information on initial search – that is after entering a keyword in the search bar – that allow you to make a decision about whether to continue researching the show.
Looking at hundreds of podcasts in directories can be time consuming. But if you do the work yourself, or outsource the work to someone who reports to you, you give yourself an opportunity to find more shows than an agency typically delivers.
You also connect directly to the podcaster, increasing your chances for follow-up or additional collaboration. Podcasters often report receiving pitches that do not fit their show, if you do the work yourself, you improve your chance of making a good impression based on the research you have conducted.
Read Relevant Details
When searching in the directories, check the last episode upload date. Many shows are no longer active, and as an interviewee, you only want to spend time researching active shows that are conducting interviews.
If the show is active, read the description. Show descriptions vary from a few lines to multiple paragraphs. But if the information looks promising, check the show page for more details.
On the show page, read episode descriptions to verify that the show has interview episodes. Also check the episode duration.
When researching the show details, take some time to listen to a few episodes to learn how information is presented, and how the host likes to manage the show.
Find Contact Information
Once you have covered all the research points, if you are still interested, begin searching for contact information for the host or show. Some show pages provide links to the website or an email.
Check the Show or Host Website
Always look at the show or host website to see if there is a podcast guest interview submission process that you should follow.
If there is a specific process, this indicates the show is open to interviews. If there is no form to complete, you can still look for an email address or contact page on the website.
Many shows, especially the most popular, have no contact information. You can try to reach out on social media, or through their other previous guests.
But remember there are thousands of shows to consider, so if contact information remains elusive, move on to the next show.
Send Your Pitch
Once all the above points have led you to a relevant podcast, send your pitch and wait to hear. Many podcasters receive hundreds of pitches, and will not respond to every email. But if you think a show is absolutely perfect, you can probably follow up after around 3 to 6 months.
Seize the Opportunity Now
Guest podcasting is one of the most important activities you can do to get your work in front of new audiences. And you can find podcasts on your own, by reaching out to podcasters to create your own network of podcasting opportunities.
Summary
- Guest podcasting is appearing on a podcast show – to add value to that show’s audience.
- A guest podcast appearance is typically for an interview, but you can also have a conversation, teach, entertain or give analysis on your subject.
- Prepare your message. You must have something to say, and be willing to work with the podcast host to make a great show.
- Utilize the asset. You can promote your appearance to your audience as an example of your expertise, and to those who are interested in your work, as an example of what you do
- Find relevant shows for guest podcasting by doing your own search
- Create a list of keywords that match your subject
- Use the podcast directories to look for shows that match your keywords
- Check the last episode upload date – to make sure you only research active shows
- Go to the show page and check the episode descriptions and duration
- Look for links to the website or email to find the host or show contact information.
- Research the show by looking at the show or host website, listening to at least one or two episodes, and confirming that your topic would be valuable to the audience
- Send your pitch and get ready to enjoy the benefits of guest podcasting
For more information: Listen to the Podcast Discovery series of the Ready Entrepreneur podcast, episodes 92 to 97 that was posted in late September through October 2020.
Click the show graphic to go to Episode 92 for the Podcast Discovery Series Introduction on Apple Podcasts
- If you want to get started with guest podcasting, go to podcastgueststar.com/blueprint, to get your copy of my comprehensive guide to finding, researching and contacting podcasts for an interview.
On a recent Russell Brunson webinar, I started reading the chat. I would not normally do this, but Russell, the Co-Founder of ClickFunnels, was telling a story I had already heard, and the chat was going ballistic about it.
Essentially, many of those who chose to chat were complaining (or spamming) instead of listening. In a world where they are attending webinars, apparently because they are desperate to learn how to generate leads, they were complaining about the teaching approach from a man generating a $100 million dollars a year and counting…up!
This was teaching being offered for free to help aspiring entrepreneurs get where they want to go.
The Zoom call was left open after the presentation and I was able to read the entire chat feed. I had never seen this type of negative commentary on a webinar before, and I was stunned.
What’s happening to everyone?
Is Entrepreneurship Exclusive…?
Entrepreneurship is the critical engine needed for our progress and prosperity. Entrepreneurs are people who solve problems and deliver solutions.
But for the first time, I noticed that a segment of those who are interested enough in starting a business to sign up for a webinar on how to generate leads, appear to be no longer patient enough to grasp the information they need to be successful.
Yet they fail to recognize the irony.
They are the ones who are broke, hate their jobs, and stuck in a pattern of life they cannot stand. They are the ones who want out.
Yet they also apparently want the path to be cleared for them, decorated as they see fit, and playing their music.
Our society is in for a world of hurt if the people who want to be entrepreneurs no longer have the drive, perseverance, courage, and commitment necessary to make business work in the 21st century.
If they too are looking for a shortcut.
I would hate to think we are stuck with the companies, organizations and ideas, we have now because the likes of future Russell Brunsons no longer know how to listen.
In fact, if that’s what’s happening…that attention spans have really dropped to zero…then we are doomed.
…Or is Being an Entrepreneur Critical?
While many people may be angry about 2020 and the disruption to their plans, others assessed the situation and thrived. And many of those people who were able to make the most of a pandemic year are online entrepreneurs.
The pandemic actually allowed the already growing force of technology and access to the global market to become ‘normal,’ and solidified a future economy based on Internet practices.
Whether that terrifies or excites people is not the point, it has happened, and it’s here to stay.
For anyone…literally anyone…who has ever thought about getting a business started, you are living in the best time in history to jump right in.
The Internet is young enough that it can still be molded and shaped by individual actions; but it’s old enough to have an endless stack of free resources that allow you to learn anything you need to know about how to get started.
When I first started in the game just four years ago, I had no idea how to move forward.
Now an aspiring entrepreneur has no excuse.
Fear, Excuse or Something Else?
Except for the ones so often used…to avoid actually doing the work.
That excuse is typically coated in sympathy expected language like: ‘I don’t have enough time,’ or ‘I don’t have enough money’ or ‘I don’t understand technology’ or ‘I don’t want to be a sleazy salesman’ or ‘There’s too much competition,’ or ‘Everything’s already been done.’
To be fair, one of the challenges for aspiring entrepreneurs is that too many people, including the famous gurus, often claim the path is ‘easy’ especially if you buy their course and do exactly what they do.
The problem is no one can do exactly what they did. The technical or foundational work may be the same, but there is always something else – especially when it comes to the actual business idea.
An aspiring entrepreneur needs to adapt their idea to the current environment. And when the adaptation does not work, they have to try again some other way, and again, and again, and again, and again…and that takes work. That’s the part so many people miss, and few ever talk about.
With millions posting images every day of an Instagram lifestyle of luxury and comfort generated by online riches, many aspiring entrepreneurs want to jump straight in to that scene, and fail to acknowledge the part about actually creating a business.
Even if the business is taking beautiful pictures of yourself and consistently posting them on Instagram…that’s still more work than the typical person who is trying to decide what to watch next on Netflix.
But if you are looking at that lifestyle, and you have business ideas in your head, or you have always wanted to be an entrepreneur, you have to make a move forward.
Just coveting the lifestyle without actually doing the work will not help you achieve success.
Decide to Be Successful
I can already guess that the process Russell teaches in his webinar challenge will work. I create and buy from sales funnels all the time.
But if you don’t know anything about the process, and you sign up for the webinar, you should listen and learn.
If you are an aspiring entrepreneur because you want the professional satisfaction, financial security and lifestyle freedom that comes with being you own boss then, guess what…the only way you are going to be successful is to do the work.
Doing the work is the only common denominator among the world’s successful entrepreneurs.
Nothing else matters. Not background, circumstances, gender, ethnicity, location, education, experience…nothing. All they have in common is that they did the work.
They learned what needed to be done…often from those who have done it before, and applied those learnings to their own ideas and situation. That’s the path. It has not changed.
Aspiring entrepreneurs who do not want to listen, and do not want to do the work will not be successful. The word ‘aspiring’ will never fall off their bio page. And their lot in life will not change.
The only way to reverse this inevitability is to actually pay attention, model and refine what works, adapt your idea to your audience and situation, and get the job done.
If you are ready to move forward, join our Dominate 2021 Mastermind group for FREE and get your online business started in 90 days! Starts January 16, 2021, register here: http://dominatetheyear.com/
If you are trying to get organized to become an online entrepreneur, read Recast: The Aspiring Entrepreneur’s Practical Guide to Getting Started With An Online Business. Click here to download at Amazon.com.
Links to the 5 Day Lead Challenge, ClickFunnels and Amazon.com are affiliate links. I earn for eligible purchases at no additional cost to you.
Defining the World’s Most Entrepreneurial Countries
by Case Lane
In the summer of 2020, global travel is largely off limits for most people, but there are other ways to travel around the world.
The global pandemic situation has prompted many people to begin considering the need to create an additional stream of income through an online business. But how many people live in a country that fully supports their intentions.
Researchers use different measures to determine an answer to this question. Studies ask: who is entrepreneurial or who isn’t…and what about whole countries?
Can the entrepreneurial receipt-ability of entire people be determined? And if yes, what would be the factors? Why would some people be considered more entrepreneurial than others?
And if you are or are not in one of these countries, what does it say about your chances for starting a business?
If you’ve read my book Life Dream, you know I’ve observed entrepreneurial behavior all over the world that supports my belief that the entrepreneurial strain runs through our human DNA. So when smart people come up with their fancy lists defining who is and is not entrepreneurial, I wonder where are the world’s most entrepreneurial countries and why were they selected for the title?
Defining World’s Most Entrepreneurial
When you look at a shanty town or slum, an informal residential area of poor people who are living perhaps in wood or mud huts or cardboard boxes, you might think…these are poor people and there’s not much going on…
…But when you look closely, you might see an incredible depth of activity that can only be described as entrepreneurial.
So what really are the world’s most entrepreneurial countries?
A quick check online reveals there are many lists ranking the world’s most entrepreneurial countries along defined terms. In this article, I’m going to review two that stood out because they reach two different conclusions. Their conflicting results speak volumes about who are the entrepreneurs in the world.
One list comes from the Global Entrepreneurship Index from the Global Entrepreneurship and Development Institute (GEDI) in Washington, DC.
The index uses 14 pillars to rank entrepreneurship, based on concepts like attitude, ability, transportation infrastructure, broadband and similar factors.
At a glance, the list appears…unimaginative. The emphasis, and credit, for entrepreneurship appears to be awarded to the dollar value created by companies in advanced economies, not the more global entrepreneurship definition of delivering value to solve a problem.
The other list comes from Latona’s analysis of the report from Global Entrepreneur Monitor (GEM). And not only did they create a different list of top countries, but also the factors used to determine entrepreneurial tendencies might not even be considered relevant by typical entrepreneurs.
The Entrepreneurial Factors
The GEM list has six fascinating questions. Consider how an aspiring entrepreneur in your culture might respond to these prompts.
GEM asked 18 – 64 year olds whether ‘fear of failure’ would prevent them from starting a business. The assumption, I assume, is that a population that answers ‘yes,’ they are too afraid of failure to start a business, would have a hard time encouraging aspiring entrepreneurs.
But would not a true aspiring entrepreneur, by definition, answer ‘no’ to that question because the true entrepreneur overcomes fears and starts a business with confidence. In other words, the question might be ‘yes’ for the typical population, but ‘no’ for anyone who would ever consider becoming an entrepreneur.
The next question was about entrepreneurial intentions – who was planning to start a business within 3 years.
One result which stood out was Switzerland. The wealthy country ranked #2 on the GEDI list of world’s most entrepreneurial. But in the GEM survey just 7% of Swiss answered ‘yes’ to entrepreneurial intentions questions. The country scored .87 (less than 1 point) out of 10 on this question.
This result reflects the concern raised at the beginning of this article. A wealthy industrial country may not be entrepreneurial on measures that count for the future, like the ability to nurture sustained entrepreneurship.
As always with numbers, be wary of statistics, surveys and lists.
Weighing Innovation
The GEM list also weighted the questions, further indicating the factors they considered important to an entrepreneurial culture.
One question alone, on innovation, represented 40% of the country’s entrepreneurial value, the heaviest weight awarded in the overall score.
But the wording of the question uniquely defined innovation as the percentage of those involved in total early-stage entrepreneurial activity (TEA) who indicate that their product or service is new to at least some customers AND that few/no businesses offer the same product.
That is an extraordinary measure to quantify. How many people can really answer ‘yes’ to that question? If an entrepreneur introduces a product or service adaptation with features that do not exist elsewhere, and puts their own unique perspective, and singular approach into the creation of the product or service, does it count as new or old?
Where is ‘same’ product defined? At the macro level, almost everything can fit somewhere. If you start creating t-shirts with cool sayings on them, the product is a t-shirt which is not new, but your cool sayings are your differentiator. And it is that difference that makes for your success as an entrepreneur.
However, it appears that the weight of the ‘yes’ answer to that question helped define the overall list. The three countries with the highest percentage of ‘yes’ where Chile, India and Luxembourg – who ranked 1, 2 and 5 on the overall list.
If innovation, being first and new, is considered the hallmark of entrepreneurship, then those who demonstrate that intention come out ahead.
The Important but Unavailable Factors
Another question was around the availability of financing, and the last one was on the inclusion of entrepreneurship in basic school education. Those are two factors that the most famous entrepreneurs’ stories do not really cultivate. Most countries do not include entrepreneurship in their basic education, and many successful entrepreneurs boot-strapped their way to initial success.
The rating for those two questions were not yes-no but an index number.
The ‘What Will People Say Question’
Another index question, which was left out of the final score was: The extent to which social and cultural norms encourage or allow actions leading to new business methods or activities that can potentially increase personal wealth and income.
Amazingly that loaded question could in fact be the basis for the entire answer on any country’s score. The question should carry weight in many cultures.
Many successful entrepreneurs talk about how they were discouraged from pursuing their business ideas, and made to feel that they were doing something wrong. But their perseverance, and desire, to step away from the status quo, and pursue their own vision, ultimately led them to defy their culture and take the next step.
Since the story of getting past the backlash is one of the most common entrepreneurial stories, one that transcends cultures and locations, it could be argued that experience is the only qualifier for entrepreneurship, anywhere in the world.
The World’s Most Entrepreneurial Countries?
Given the factors used to create the GEM list and GEDI list, only three countries appeared on both: Canada, Ireland and the United States. If you live in one of those three countries, you might be feeling a little more relaxed about your entrepreneurial chances across a variety of measures.
In fact, Ireland ranks in the same place, at #8 on both lists!
The rest of the GEDI list is all economically advanced countries, and the rest of the GEM list is 5 out of 7 developing countries.
So what does it all mean?
Entrepreneurs exist everywhere in the world. And the factors that make an entrepreneur vary across every possible variable. Except the one common reality…
…If you have business ideas in your head, and you are ready and willing to do the work to create a product or service that delivers value. Then you’re an entrepreneur.
The GEDI list is:
1. United States
2. Switzerland
3. Canada
4. United Kingdom
5. Australia
6. Denmark
7. Iceland
8. Ireland
9. Sweden
10. France
The GEM list
1. Chile
2. India
3. Guatemala
4. Canada
5. Luxembourg
6. Angola
7. United States
8. Ireland
9. Turkey
10. Austria
Summary
Reviewing just two of the many lists that attempt to define entrepreneurial tendencies in national populations, you would have to concede – it depends on who you ask and how you ask…
- You can count the availability of roads and high-speed internet or
- You can count the variety of new ideas or public school courses
- But in total what counts is the ability to create new businesses and add value to the economy
- Countries that do that are the true entrepreneurial champions.
Free Copy of the Recast 30 Day Actions Plan
To download your free copy of the Recast 30 Day Actions Plan
Get Your Copy of Recast
Download your own copy of Recast: The Aspiring Entrepreneur’s Practical Guide to Getting Started with an Online Business
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Why You Should Not Give Up
After several months, 12 to 14 hour days, courses, webinars, lectures, gurus, online forums, Facebook groups, so much advice, so many ideas, so much noise, and so much money spent…
Are you still not even close to where you want to be with your business?
Maybe even a creeping sensation is starting to set in. You know the one that says maybe you should go get a ‘real’ job, or maybe everyone was right and this business thing is not for you, or maybe you’re doing it all wrong and you’re just not cut out for this life.
All those comments can become louder and louder as each day goes by and you are not one step closer. So do you keep going through the negative wall you’ve built for yourself…or give up and take the easy road?
Is Entrepreneurship Really for Everyone?
You are bound to hear people say that entrepreneurship is not for everyone. And that’s true. Sky-diving is not for everyone either. Neither is cooking or data analysis.
Image by antoine carrion from Pixabay
Yet somehow when people tell an aspiring entrepreneur that entrepreneurship is not for everyone, the comment comes with an…I told you so…overtone.
When you are about to quit accounting or nursing or teaching, you might still get at least one person telling you to not be crazy, and give up your ‘good’ job, but you’re probably not going to get the same kind of superiority mandate that comes with proclaiming entrepreneurship is not for everyone.
In fact, .entrepreneurship is for anyone who has business ideas in their head, wants to be an entrepreneur, and is willing to work until the business meets your definition of success.
This could mean you try 127 different business idea. But as long as you keep trying…and you can feel the thrill in the effort…you are on the right path to becoming an entrepreneur.
How The Great Showman Did It
Recently I was reading the recollections of P.T. Barnum, the great showman. The book came out in 1872, so there’s no political correctness if that sort of thing bugs you – and if not, you can click this link to download a copy of the book for free (the book downloads automatically, there is no separate login).
Barnum was a regular farm boy, did chores, and then worked in the corner store as a stock boy. But over the years while he was working for others, He was hoping to do something on his own.
When someone brought him a ‘curiosity’ to exhibit, he jumped at the chance. This ‘curiosity’ was a human being, so we won’t jump on the merits of selling staring access to people with no televisions and no smartphones – we will only look at how he made the decision that eventually led to his entrepreneurial career.
Many people, given the opportunity to exhibit a curiosity would just say ‘no.’ Not for political correctness reasons, but because they’d have no idea what to do.
Barnum had no idea either. He had never done a show before. But he knew he wanted his own business. His mind was already tuned to watch out for an idea that might become a business. So when the idea was presented, he grabbed it.
If you had met him working behind the counter of the corner grocery store, would you have guessed he was going to become a world-famous millionaire showman? Probably not.
When you see yourself, and wonder what you’re capable of, do you guess who you could be?
You don’t have to end up as a world famous showman, but if you have business ideas in your head, and you are thinking about becoming an entrepreneur then at the very least, you want to give yourself a chance to end up somewhere in the realm of your own ideas.
How Will You Do It
If you tell yourself upfront that you know getting your own business up and running is going to take time; and you know there could be many mistakes; and some things will not work out; and you have to try multiple iterations of your idea to get to the one that can be a viable business…then you should not be too surprised when these obstacles arise.
In fact, you should take each one as a learning experience, build on it, and push forward with the next idea. You don’t get much traction in complaining that your business is not working, or you have no idea if you’re going to make it.
But you get a lot out of working every day to learn 1% more, and to gain a 1% higher return. The real value of the experience is never lost as long as you keep going to build your business.
In my new book Recast: The Aspiring Entrepreneur’s Practical Guide to Getting Started with an Online Business, I talk about beginning the entire process by taking a deep breath – and by that I mean, assessing your mental and physical stamina for moving forward.
If you have never done any personal development work around building your success consciousness, and affirming yourself and your goals – this may be the time to get started. These practices help you keep the down parts of the ups and downs of entrepreneurship in perspective – and give you the confidence and perseverance to move forward.
This new era of life – beyond the pandemic – to just the transition to the global high tech world has given you the opening to have the life you want through entrepreneurship.
But you have to get started…and keep going…to make it work
The number one reason is…
- If you have business ideas in your head, and
- You want to be an entrepreneur, and
- You’re willing to do the work…
…You’re about 3/4 of the way there, so keep going…
Summary
- You will have ups and downs trying something new, learning, and making your mark in a new field.
- But your vision for the business you want to create, the solution you want to deliver, and the life you really want will keep you going
- Your desire to be an entrepreneur will be the fuel that keeps you going, because – like P.T. Barnum – you will always be on the look out for an opportunity…
- You just have to know it when you see it, and move forward as soon as you can
Free Copy of the Recast 30 Day Actions Plan
To download your free copy of the Recast 30 Day Actions Plan
Get Your Copy of Recast
Download your own copy of Recast: The Aspiring Entrepreneur’s Practical Guide to Getting Started with an Online Business
Click to Download at Amazon.com
DISCLOSURE: Links to Amazon.com are affiliate links that earn for eligible purchases at no additional cost to you.
The Recast 30 Day Actions Plan
A couple of weeks ago I was thrilled to release my new book Recast: The Aspiring Entrepreneur’s Practical Guide to Getting Started with an Online Business – a long title for a short point.
I wanted to lay out in a clear form the first ten actions to take when you are getting started with an online business. Most gurus over look this part because they are teaching their guru ways.
But many aspiring entrepreneurs get stuck right at the beginning because they did not take the time to work out a few logistical details before getting started.
Recasting is about playing a new role in your own life – so you have to lay some ground work to make it happen. If you’ve picked up a copy of the book, thank you, and you may have noticed a link to download a 30-day Actions plan.
There are some instructions that come with the download, but the most common question seems to be: What do I do with it?
If you do not have a copy of the Recast 30-day actions plan, click any of the links in this blog, or at the end. This article explains how to use the document to your advantage when you are first starting out.
The 30-Day Actions Plan is a document Word or PDF where you check off your activities related to getting the first 10 actions done when starting out with your online business.
The Foundational Actions
The first 5 actions are foundational – and for some people – may only take an afternoon.
You take a deep breath – making sure you are mentally and physically ready to start working on your business; then find a comfortable place to work that can remain your place to work; gather the tools and resources you need around you; remove all distractions; and create your schedule.
Now for some people – especially those who do not have a place to work – this part may take a week.
In the Actions Plan document, each action is given 3 days. In the left column, I list the questions you want to ask yourself, or the actual activities you can do to complete the action. I don’t list every possibility because then the document would go on for 30 pages instead of 6 or 7, but I list the highlights.
On the right column, the lines are blank. Use those lines to make notes to yourself, or just check off that you’ve done the expected activity.
For the first 5 foundational actions, you have to go through the process in any format that works for you.
The Creative Actions
The second 5 actions are creative – and this is where things can become more complicated.
Actions 6 through 10 are to develop your business idea; research; connect with others; create your action plan; and do the first activity on your list.
Your Business Idea
Let’s start with the business idea.
If you do not have an idea, you may have to spend some time working through your interests and passions until you decide what you would like to do.
If you have a business idea, but have no idea how you want to bring it to the world, you have to work on the platform and approach you want to use.
Depending on where you are in your thought process, the creative actions can take a long time, and involve a lot more steps.
Fill In the Blanks
On the Recast Action plan, you’re only going to find 5 blank lines per column.
But you can download the Google docs version, edit, and add as many lines as you want. The Google Doc version is open for your customization. The layout may not be pretty, but it’s functional because I wanted you to be able to edit it any way that you wanted.
Take all of your creative actions and work through them at your own pace. The key with the creative actions is not to get bogged down in analysis paralysis.
Only do enough research to get started. Once you have a good list of activities that you can use to set your business up, go ahead and start. You do not need more information.
Action is the Key
Once you have your action plan, you need to start taking action.
Ready Entrepreneur is all about action. The more you do, the better you will feel about your business. You will give yourself the momentum to move forward.
If the Recast 30-Day Actions Plan is not your style, no worries. This explanation for how to use the plan is for information purposes.
You can develop your own plan. The real point is that you have the first 10 actions to get started, and however you want to organize and track them is up to you.
Adapt the information to your preferences. This is how it is in online business. You will find a lot of great information online, but it may not apply to you.
You have to adapt the information to your preferences and set up your plan as you see fit.
Summary
You can find the Recast 30-day Action Plan inside the front and back cover of the book Recast. You can also find the link in certain chapters.
- Look at the suggestions in the left column to see where you are or what you have to do
- In the right column, check off the things you have done or make notes about what you need to do
- You get the PDF version with the download, but there’s a link to get the Google Doc version so you can edit and change it as you see fit
- Continue to update your Actions Plan worksheet as you go along, and use it to keep yourself on track with the first 10 actions for getting started with an online business
- And then just start, and get your online business in to the world
That’s the 30 day Actions Plan worksheet inside the Recast book for your use and fun.
Free Copy of the Recast 30 Day Actions Plan
To download your free copy of the Recast 30 Day Actions Plan
Get Your Copy of Recast
Download your own copy of Recast: The Aspiring Entrepreneur’s Practical Guide to Getting Started with an Online Business
Click to Download at Amazon.com
DISCLOSURE: Links to Amazon.com are affiliate links that earn for eligible purchases, at no additional cost to you.
Maximize Your Podcast Listening: Use Interviews to Learn from Virtual Mentors
The Podcast Discoveries Series
by Case Lane
Life in the Internet Age is really two lives.
One is online where you now engage with family, friends, colleagues, and strangers through screens providing a heightened literal face-to-face communication confrontation.
When that harrowing ordeal is over, you check your phone for texts, images, emojis and videos conveying accompanying messages – as vital as your grandmother’s health report, to as trivial as a bird on a giraffe’s back – with the same flat, rapid, flash of presentation.
Sliding over to your social feeds, you post a few images about your delicious meal, new shoes, or child’s messy face, and then stare jealously at your friends’ more delicious meal, hipper shoes and cuter child.
With heightened reluctance you switch off the screen to tend to your other life…the real one.
Your physical life is the one of private discussion, gentle cries, confusion, fear and misunderstanding.
And never more so has this mood stood out than now, when you face a world where you have to learn to operate in crisis and disruption.
Sadly you know no one who has ever faced this type of turmoil.
Neither does anyone you know.
The knowledge circle that used to come from experiences of extended family, teachers or community leaders is closed.
Your chance to extract information has disappeared, and perhaps your opportunity to be successful, and have the comfortable life you expect, has gone with them.
Where do you turn?
To the fastest rising information, education and communication platform in the world…podcasts.
The Surprise Behind the Mic
If you thought podcasts were only for big name stars, provocative politics or senseless comedy, you may have missed the extraordinary bucket of information burgeoning from the 99.99% of podcasts that create most of the content.
Across all categories from activists to educators to professionals, non-profits, entrepreneurs and health practionners, podcasters are having the conversations you used to hear in your living room.
The conversations once offered by mentors, community leaders, and instructors in limited circles, and behind closed doors, are now offered to everyone within earshot of a connected device.
If you are a professional seeking to hear detailed information about how to grow your career; or a college student wondering how life in the ‘real world’ really plays out; or a concerned citizen who is uncertain how best to contribute to building a better society; or an aspiring entrepreneur who wants to understand how to really get a business going…there is a podcast conversation waiting for you and your notepad.
But how do you find this treasure trove of knowledge and information in the massive sea of options presented on your smartphone?
You start here.
How to Find Your Relevant Podcasts
This post highlights what you should know about extracting valuable information from podcasts available right now for your listening pleasure.
But instead of passively absorbing the conversation, this post recommends you take the guidance you hear to the next level, and apply the knowledge to your career path, education or entrepreneurial decisions going forward.
The purpose of a podcast interview is to give the listener new insights to absorb and implement. The opportunity for you is to take the advice and run with it.
Present at the Beginning
Podcasting is a fairly new industry with no formal structures or established reference resources. Podcasts are hosted by dozens of platforms, and listed in dozens more directories.
But most directories limit search results to the most ‘relevant.’ This presents the top podcasts with unlimited search result real estate, and all the rest lost behind algorithms designed to ignore them.
A podcast capturing valuable specific interview content for a young professional, rising business owner or college student could be ranked from #101 to #1,000,000, and effectively be ‘undiscoverable.’
But if you are that person who wants that information, the question is: how can find the 99.99%?
And when you do…what should you do with the information?
The Value of Virtual Mentors
Most people do not have the information they need to be successful. The schools do not teach the personal development and self-help ideologies, that tens of millions of adults will go on to purchase in later life.
And the majority will fail to learn that some people are successful not because of demographics or wealth or education, but simply because they get great information they understand early enough to apply it to their life choices.
In a world built on democracy and free enterprise, there’s a belief that people operate on a leveling playing field – that the society by virtue of its success values will encourage anyone to be successful.
But in reality, success often comes to those who have the right information.
Rich Dad Poor Dad and The Information Privilege
In Robert Kiyosaki’s best selling book Rich Dad Poor Dad, he explained this reality. You get the right information by either having a ‘Rich Dad’ who will impart it to you, or by knowing you are missing out, and finding where you can learn what you need.
A ‘Rich Dad’ is any human who pro-actively teaches or demonstrates how to maximize your resources to grow for success; and ‘Poor Dad’ teaches nothing but following the status quo.
The most effective ‘Rich Dads’ provide not only the knowledge, but the life skills to understand how to apply what you have learned for the long-term. ‘Poor Dad’ is rarely economically poor, yet leads a life where decisions are driven by earning a salary to pay monthly bills, and scrimping and saving for retirement.
People who grow up with ‘Poor Dad’ often believe they are doing everything right, and to society, they are, until they hit financial concerns. ‘Poor Dad’ learners are the ones who are shocked by financial crises, rising mortgage rates, equity market swings, and the interest rates on their car loans, student loans and credit card debt.
Following ‘Poor Dad’s’ example means spending on the items you believe you should buy like a house and car, and being worried that you cannot afford those same items whenever there is a crisis.
Even the ‘Poor Dads’ who teach frugality, and end up with a couple million dollars in the bank at retirement, don’t seem to be having a good time. They have never learned how to spend money for enjoyment, and are constantly managing to the last penny in fear of ‘running out.’
For those who are interested in entrepreneurship and starting a business, ‘Poor Dads’ caution and insecurity is discouraging. Entrepreneurial ideas go untested because of fear, and the inability to break habits from the past.
But those same people, maybe even you, know about ‘Rich Dad,’ and maybe are watching, wondering and asking, how do you have a great life now?
Find a Virtual Mentor
If a potential ‘Rich Dad’ is not within your reach, you can find one as a virtual mentor who will give you the guidance and wisdom you need to ensure your life meets your expectations.
Since financial education is not taught in schools, you have to be exposed to ‘Rich Dad’ in some other form.
But if you don’t have a ‘Rich Dad,’ and you know you are missing out on the information you need, and you are ready, willing and able to implement good advice, you can discover these valuable mentors for yourself by absorbing and applying the lessons being taught…in podcasts.
You can make yourself information privileged by finding the podcasts that are having conversations with people who have the knowledge you need.
How to Find Your Podcast
Podcasts grow by word of mouth, which means the most successful podcasts are those that have been recommended. And the interview podcasts tend to be successful for the same reason. Interviewers speak to a finite rotating list of A-name stars who tell the same stories over and over again.
Even on podcasts that purport to offer a different perspective, or unique angle, the same story is being told by the same people.
To break away from these familiar conversations, and find podcasts you can use to advance your life, you have to become more creative in your podcast search.
If those in your circle are not interested in enhancing their lives, they will not be the ones to recommend the podcasts you should be listening to. You will have to find these shows on your own.
Search by Keyword
The podcast description is the main location where podcasters state the nature of their content. But a podcaster can state this information in a variety of different forms.
A keyword you are searching for may not appear in the podcast title or description, yet be valid for the type of content provided. You will have to assess each description as you see fit.
Some podcasters also have episode descriptions that state the episode features, and expert or specialist interview content. But this information varies by podcast.
When using keywords to search for podcasts:
- Search for your unique podcasts by using Google or another search engine for [your keyword] podcasts to see a list of possibilities.
- Read the descriptions to see if the information sounds valuable to you.
- Since your search topic may cover more than one area, try different categories and keywords around broad subjects. For example, entrepreneurs can look for: ‘entrepreneur,’ ‘entrepreneurship,’ ‘business,’ ‘success,’ ‘startup,’ ‘side hustle,’ ‘action,’ ‘boss,’ and all variations of ‘boss lady.’
- If you are aware of experts in your field such as professors, researchers, and organizers search [their name] podcast – the person’s name with the word ‘podcast’ written after it – to see if you can find their appearances on different shows. When you find the appearance of someone you admire, you may find others who have appeared on the same podcast, and discussed similar topics.
- You can stop when you have at least 100 podcasts to research. Avoid trying to find every possible category, every type of podcast may be lurking in. Once you begin by searching one or two categories the results will lead you on to more.
Social Media
Searching social media hashtags and keywords can also help discover previously unknown podcasts. However, social media generally takes more time, and does not often provide additional information about the show.
Social media may be more valuable AFTER you have listened to an interview, and want to learn more about your virtual mentor.
How to Listen to the Interview
When you discover a podcast with interviews with people whose advice you may wish to add to your ‘Rich Dad’ information library, listen to the conversation as if that person were providing the details directly to you.
If your hands are free, take notes on important points you may want to clarify or research later.
For example, if you want to be an entrepreneur, and listen to entrepreneur interviews on podcasts, you could be considering:
- How the entrepreneur got started
- Where their opportunities came from
- How they made money.
For example, on the Trailblazers Impact podcast, ‘Financial Diva’ Victoria Woods, the CEO of ChappelWoods Financial Services spoke about her rise.
An aspiring entrepreneur listening to this interview may realize:
- You have to keep your eyes open for opportunities to make money, like babysitting 6 kids at a time, instead of one
How can you enhance your existing work right now to earn more money?
- You maintain your opportunity by being responsible, organized and reliable
Do you need to improve in any of these areas?
- You should be productive with your free time, for example take an accounting class or other continuous learning. You may be surprised to discover a subject you love that is also a career opportunity
What subject could you be studying right now to add to your skills?
- Accept no limits – use your energy and effort
Are you feeling strong and capable, or do you need to improve your energy and motivation?
- Follow the trails of those who have done it before
Who are the successful people around you? Who should you be following online to better understand the road to success?
- Stay open for new opportunities
What have people told you lately or what have you seen that could lead to an opportunity for you?
- Find the right partner by making sure your goals and lifestyle are aligned
Are you aligned with your partner on your goals? If not, what can you do to fix the situation?
- Always ask why a customer decided to work with you, why were they motivated to call you. You can learn from what you’re doing right
If you have a business now, how often do you communicate with customers outside of transactions, and what do you say?
- Decide where you are and where you want to be, then fill in the blanks about how you want to get there
Write down your goals and your envisioned future. Document the blanks and what you need to do to fill them.
- Don’t take advice from broke people – physically, financially or spiritually
When somebody offers you advice, ask yourself if you would like to have that person’s life, if the answer is ‘no,’ you know what to do with the advice!
If you had this information imparted directly to you over coffee or dinner, what would you do with it?
Use the Knowledge to Build your Life Going Forward
Use the information you hear in podcast interviews to begin building a store of knowledge that can help you design your life to ensure you accomplish your goals, without waiting for circumstances to take you in another direction.
Unlike generations past when good advice was kept among families or scholars, the average person now has the information freely available, and ready for use.
If you are serious about having the life you really want, being proactive about your choices, and making your own success, use quality podcast interviews – beyond the top 100 – to get your share of the information privilege you are unlikely to receive anywhere else.
Let the podcast world provide you with an additional education, grounded in realities that you will not hear about from those around you.
This is an exciting time to be a participant in the new economy, now you can adapt the possibilities to your own ends.
Conclusion
Why should you be listening to podcasts?
For the information, knowledge, entertainment and news.
But why should you try and find the #101 to #1,000,000 ranked podcasts?
Because in the interviews and information of the 99.99% of podcasts lies a layer of wisdom that would otherwise be completely inaccessible to you.
The manor door has been left wide-open, you can slip in, and absorb the next level of higher living that comes not from money, but from information, heard, absorbed and used to repeat success, not let it fall away.
Take advantage of this moment while you can, by taking a step beyond the obvious, and making your podcast listening count for more.
More Information
The best part about researching 1,117 podcasts was being accepted as a guest on so many awesome shows! You can find links to all of those fabulous podcasts here.
The second best part was my new found insight into the podcast industry.
This research was so eye-opening that this post is one of five about what I learned about the podcast industry from researching 1,117 podcasts.
Here are the links to all of the posts in the Podcast Discoveries Series:
Introduction to the Podcast Discoveries Series
How to Become A Guest on a Podcast
How to be a Welcoming Podcast Interview Host: The Best and Worst Practices
How to be a Valued Podcast Interview Guest: The Best and Worst Practices
Maximize Your Podcast Listening: Use Interviews to learn from Virtual Mentors
Additional Resources
Research Checklist: Podcast Guests: If you would like a free checklist for how to research and find the right podcast for you. Click here to download.
Podcast Directories: If you would like to get your own copy of the podcast directory listing and instructions based on my research click here (coming soon)
Podcast Guest Interview Blueprint Package (the ultimate course for podcast guests): Podcast Guests: If you would like the comprehensive guide to finding and contacting podcasts that are right for you, including as bonuses the Interview Checklist and the Directories List. Click here for this special offer.
Podcast Discoveries Book: Readers: If you would like the entire story of this epic research journey to discover and contact podcasts for guest interviews. Click here to download at Amazon.com. NOTE: the book is also available at Apple Bookstore, Barnes & Noble, Kobo and other popular sites where ebooks are sold.
Research Report: To purchase, the entire research report click here (coming soon)
Podcast Discoveries on the Ready Entrepreneur Podcast: This information will be explained in upcoming episodes of The Ready Entrepreneur Podcast. Subscribe at Apple Podcasts to stay up to date.
Podcast Discoveries on YouTube: To watch videos explaining the Podcast Discoveries process for finding your new favorite podcasts, click here (coming soon)
Disclosure: Links to Amazon.com and related companies are affiliate links that earn for eligible purchases at no additional cost to you.
How to be a Valued Podcast Interview Guest: The Best and Worst Practices
The Podcast Discoveries Series
by Case Lane
In just a few short years, podcasting has arisen as the one online activity everyone must do. Not only comedians, newscasters and historians, but also corporate executives, specialized professionals, and the kid next door.
Unlike blogging which required at a minimum the ability to write, podcasting is the audio medium, a stage that permits and embraces the same chatter, banter and jokes that take place between ordinary people on average days.
In fact, the gentle nature of conversation has become the hallmark of podcasting. The platform’s success lies in its intimate connection with the listener’s ears, and its soothing waves playing in the background of walks, workouts, and commutes everywhere.
For those who wish to use podcast appearances to bolster their careers, products, services, businesses and authority, the opportunity comes with a challenge.
With an estimated one million podcasts available for download all over the world…
How do you find a podcast where you can present yourself as someone who is valuable and useful to interview?
And once you do convince someone to talk to you…
How do you leverage your appearance to grow the community or audience you are hoping to reach?
Behind the Mic: The Inadvertent Research Project
From May until August 2020, I researched over one thousand podcasts in search of relevant shows that may be interested in having me on as a guest.
I was startled to learn that what we think we may know about the podcast industry may not be true.
What we think is competition may not exist. And what we think is opportunity, may be stunningly more real than we could ever have imagined.
In this blog series, I am going to let you know what I learned from my inadvertent deep research quest into what’s really going on in the podcast industry.
Building from my How to Become a Podcast Guest post, this post provides more detailed information for potential podcast guests. Including after obtaining the interview, what should do between the confirmation of your appearance, and the day your show goes live?
The Background
If you have not read the How to Become a Guest post in this series, start there for details about my journey to be interviewed on 50 podcasts as part of a virtual promotional tour for my new book Recast. What I did not know then is I would have to research more than 1,000 podcasts, to find the 50 who have now said ‘yes’ or ‘maybe’ so far.
On purpose, I only approached podcasters, I had never heard of before. The podcasters I have heard of are some of the biggest names in the business. I immediately put them on my dream list to be approached some day in the future.
Instead, I wanted to meet and work with the vast majority of podcasters, those with shows ranked from #101 to #1,000,000 on the listener charts, in all the categories that might be applicable to my message.
I researched 1,117 podcasts
About two-thirds were not relevant to my topic.
The remaining were sent a request for an interview.
Of those who were sent a request, 25% replied – that’s double the rate quoted in most how-to articles.
Of those who replied:
About half said ‘Yes,’ and those interviews have taken place or have been scheduled. Another third said ‘Maybe’ and the balance said ‘No.’
Based on my learnings from the above, here is how to be a Valued Podcast Interview Guest: The Best and Worst Practices.
- Follow-up Immediately on Communications
- Manage Requests for Payments, Reviews and other Contentious Issues on Your Terms
- Check Technical Requirements
- Read Pre-Interview Documents and E-mail Instructions
- Know Your Subject
- Be Clear About Uncomfortable Topics
- Get Names Right
- Speak to Their Audience
- Confirm Promotional Expectations
- Embrace the New Relationships
Follow-up Immediately on Communications
Once you have a host’s attention, and receive an offer to appear on a show, make sure you follow-up with a confirmation, and any questions, comments, interview date or other requests, as soon as possible.
If the response is a ‘maybe,’ follow-up with the criteria that could make it a yes – ie, I’ll reach out again in 6 months to see if your calendar has freed up.
If it’s an outright ‘no,’ send a thank you for replying.
If it’s no response, there’s no need to send a follow-up unless you desperately want to interview with that host. Many podcasters know exactly what they want and who they’re looking for, and have no time to respond to every request.
Manage Requests for Payments, Reviews or other contentious practices on Your Terms
Some podcasters are asking for payment, review requests (often 5-star), listens or subscribers before they commit to an interview, or even before they consider an interview.
In my research, payment requests ranged from a $15 ‘application fee,’ to over $500 ‘premium’ service. Some stated the fees were to help them defray costs, others said it was to limit the number of requests they received.
This was not common practice, less than 2% of all requests required potential guests to make a financial or review commitment.
But potential guests should be prepared for these requests, and create your own guidelines for how to handle them.
In all cases it is up to you, the potential guest, to decide if you wish to participate.
Presumably, each host has decided the request practices are valuable to their brand, reputation, or viability. They are free to manage their podcast as they see fit, and potential guests are free to accept or reject the request.
Given that there are tens of thousands of podcast interview opportunities for guests to choose from, a potential guest should not feel compelled to engage in any practice that they do not support, or that makes them feel uncomfortable.
The best part of the online entrepreneurship world is the diversity of action, opinion, behavior, and circumstance that allows participants to choose the types of niches, communities or tribes to which they wish to belong.
This wide-open field is loaded with opportunity. There is no point contemplating a practice you do not support. Once you feel any hesitation about whether or not to contribute, move on to the next podcast on your list.
You can always go back if you feel you have not received enough interview opportunities or audience exposure, or if you really want to engage with a specific podcaster.
Check Technical Requirements
While Zoom Video has become the default provider of face-to-face global communications, it is possible for hosts to be using a different app. You should be able to confirm the technical requirements at the time of interview confirmation.
If you think you will have an issue, communicate your concern to your host as soon as possible, or at least one week before the interview so that there are no delays on the interview day.
Read any Pre-Interview Documents and E-Mail instructions the Host Sends You
Some hosts prepare an overview of the episode, or notes about the topics they want to cover. Make sure you read this document, and ask any clarifying questions prior to the interview.
If you are concerned about the structures, topics or intentions of the interview, send an email to clear the air. Or suggest a brief preliminary conversation, prior to the interview, to cover any questions.
Know Your Subject
If you sent a pitch e-mail with suggested interview topics, make sure you are able to respond to any of those suggestions. The value in your recorded conversation is in the talking. You must have something to say.
If you are promoting a book, product or service, consider making a related offer to the listeners. But make sure you ask the host’s permission first. Do not try and promote a product in the middle of the interview. The product should be relevant to your topic of discussion, and valuable to the listeners.
Be Clear About Uncomfortable Topics
If you do not wish to discuss a particular subject make sure you tell your host. At a minimum, your public information on your social media and website is open for any type of follow-up question. Assume your host will ask you about anything you have already placed in the public domain.
If the interview veers towards a topic you are not prepared to speak about, you can either side-step the question or say you do not want to discuss it. Most shows are not live, or if they are, there is a separate podcast version that can be edited later. However, do not assume this will be done. If you have concerns, discuss the issue with your host first.
Get Names Right
If you are planning to say your host’s name, make sure you are pronouncing it correctly. Clarify name pronunciations in the pre-interview, or at the beginning of the interview before you start recording.
Sometimes in the excitement of preparing for a show, you may stumble over names so it’s best to double-check that you know the correct pronunciation of both the host and show name.
Speak to their Audience
If you read the How to Become a Podcast Guest Interview in this series, you will have done your homework around the host’s podcast category, description, episode description, and episode content.
You should have an idea about how they speak to the audience of the show. Podcasters with a vibrant community may refer to their listeners by a nickname, like John Lee Dumas’ Fire Nation. If you pick up on that reference, the host will likely note your attention to detail.
Confirm Promotional Expectations
A host should not have to ask you to promote the episode you are on, but surprisingly, podcast hosts are frustrated by the lack of promotion done by podcast guests.
For hosts, the minimum requirement is to advise the guest when the show is available, and include their preferred episode link for posts.
If the host does not provide a preferred link, select your own option, like Apple Podcasts, or your preferred platform.
When the show is available, promote to your social media and e-mail lists. The number and frequency of these posts is up to you. Research or ask for the host or show’s social media handles so you can tag them when you post on your feeds.
Some hosts will provide you with episode graphics. If they do not, you can create your own. You can create a template for free using Canva, and change the podcast image and the text with each guest appearance. Copy and paste the host’s podcast art image from a directory, and give the episode number and/or title in your post.
Once you have a template, creating the graphic takes less than 5 minutes, and provides a good alternative to only posting a link.
If the host provides you with a graphic make sure you use that one.
You can also create a page on your website with graphics linking to the shows you have appeared on.
Embrace the New Relationships
The best part of this virtual podcasting tour has been meeting so many great podcasters who are doing awesome shows about a subject I champion.
As you reach out to others in your category about their shows, and your ability to provide value for their audience, you may find yourself making new friends and colleagues who become part of your community for years to come.
The opportunity to speak on their show would be the beginning of your collaboration.
Conclusion
The value of a conversation on a subject specific broadcast is timeless.
Online entrepreneurship has changed the game for so many who thought they might never be able to have a business, and the open fields for communication and information-exchange have only made the opportunity more exciting.
If you have knowledge to share with an audience, participating in the field of podcast interviews is a valuable and important contribution.
When you have the opportunity to work with a host, do your part, help grow the industry, improve everyone’s processes, and change the world.
More Information
The best part about researching 1,117 podcasts was being accepted as a guest on so many awesome shows! You can find links to all of those fabulous podcasts here.
The second best part was my new found insight into the podcast industry.
This research was so eye-opening that this post is one of five about what I learned about the podcast industry from researching 1,117 podcasts.
Here are the links to all of the posts in the Podcast Discoveries Series:
Introduction to the Podcast Discoveries Series
How to Become A Guest on a Podcast
How to be a Welcoming Podcast Interview Host: The Best and Worst Practices
How to be a Valued Podcast Interview Guest: The Best and Worst Practices
Maximize Your Podcast Listening: Use Interviews to learn from Virtual Mentors
Additional Resources
Research Checklist: Podcast Guests: If you would like a free checklist for how to research and find the right podcast for you. Click here to download.
Podcast Directories: If you would like to get your own copy of the podcast directory listing and instructions based on my research click here (coming soon)
Podcast Guest Interview Blueprint Package (the ultimate course for podcast guests): Podcast Guests: If you would like the comprehensive guide to finding and contacting podcasts that are right for you, including as bonuses the Interview Checklist and the Directories List. Click here for this special offer.
Podcast Discoveries Book: Readers: If you would like the entire story of this epic research journey to discover and contact podcasts for guest interviews. Click here to download at Amazon.com. NOTE: the book is also available at Apple Bookstore, Barnes & Noble, Kobo and other popular sites where ebooks are sold.
Research Report: To purchase, the entire research report click here (coming soon)
Podcast Discoveries on the Ready Entrepreneur Podcast: This information will be explained in upcoming episodes of The Ready Entrepreneur Podcast. Subscribe at Apple Podcasts to stay up to date.
Podcast Discoveries on YouTube: To watch videos explaining the Podcast Discoveries process for finding your new favorite podcasts, click here (coming soon)
Disclosure: Links to Amazon.com and related companies are affiliate links that earn for eligible purchases at no additional cost to you.
