How often should you publish? Should you use affiliate links? DO those 30-day challenges really help? Alastair McDermott and I are both at the relative beginning of our YouTube journeys, and we’re each taking different approaches — hopefully, ones that suit our needs and goals appropriately. Listen in as we talk about what we're doing, how we’re doing it, and of course, why. We’ll also tell you why your phone is the best camera for you and your channel. In Build Something More, we talk about whe...
Mar 07, 2022•58 min•Season 1Ep. 257
Since leaving the classroom in 2016, I've missed one aspect of teaching more than any other: connecting with students in real-time, as I teach the material. And while I love creating evergreen courses, today's guest has a better way to teach online. Wes Kao, a co-founder of both altMBA and Maven, tells us about Cohort-based Courses (CBCs), and I am all in! She'll tell us how CBCs have better completion rates, allow for much less upfront work, and allow you to charge more. If you want to create a...
Feb 28, 2022•56 min•Season 1Ep. 256
One of the core beliefs at Apple is telling a good story; it’s weaved into everything they do — every product, service, and publication. Something you’ll notice with their commercials is that they open by telling you it was shot on iPhone 13 Pro. And in-fact that story they told at the iPhone event in September, about iPhone 13 Pro, was that it’s for movie makers and cinematographers. But who is the iPhone really for? And what other great tools are out there for creators? That’s what we’ll explo...
Feb 21, 2022•30 min•Season 1Ep. 255
Exactly how important is your marketing funnel? Ask R.T. Custer, who's built a funnel that allows his company, the Vortic Watch Company, to routinely sell out of watches that are priced between $2,500 and $10,000. In this conversation, R.T. tells us all about how he and his business partner came up with the idea to repurpose old pocket watches into all-American-made wristwatches, and how his 200-day email funnel is the key to their success. Part of the secret sauce: getting influencers to drive ...
Feb 14, 2022•1 hr•Season 1Ep. 254
Finding time as a busy creator or small business owner can be tough. But what about being a single mom, running a content business, in a competitive space, and making money doing? That's exactly what Christine Pittman does, running her hugely successfully cooking blogs and podcasts. Tune in to get tips about starting, staying consistent, making money, and the important role analytics plays in all of it. Plus, in Build Something More, we talk about what it's like cooking for our kids as business-...
Feb 07, 2022•1 hr 2 min•Season 1Ep. 253
More and more, we're hearing about why businesses should be on TikTok. As a creator, this can be a new place for you to gain an audience…if you do it right. And today's guest, Alex Rossman, knows a thing or two about TikTok. His agency, Rossman Media, is currently moving many of his B2B clients to the platform with great success. Today, Alex will tell you why you should be there, and how to make the most of being on the platform…from building community to generating more leads. In Build Somethin...
Jan 31, 2022•58 min•Season 1Ep. 252
Word of Mouth has long ruled the lead-generating roost for freelancers and small business owners. But that’s an untenable, unscalable business model. What does work, you wonder? Ask web designer Jess Freeman. 60% of Jess’ leads come from content creation alone; 40% from her blog and YouTube. While many view YouTube as a place for entertainment and influencers where only the most popular channels make money, Jess shows us that’s not true. And she shares some fantastic tips on how you can leverage...
Jan 24, 2022•1 hr 3 min•Season 1Ep. 251
They say one of the best ways to grow your audience is by getting in front of other people’s audiences, and today’s guest is an expert in helping you do that. Brittney Lynn understands how to pitch the media - both established media like publications and TV, and newer media, like podcasts. Today, she gives us some fantastic advice for finding and pitching podcasts, as well as what to think about if we’re going to pitch TV and publications. In Build Something More, we chat about the time I hired ...
Jan 17, 2022•51 min•Season 1Ep. 250
How do you become an authority in your field? What's the key to unlocking rewarding work and more sales with less selling? According to Rochelle Moulton, it's publishing. And Rochelle knows a thing or two. Not only has she been helping people become authorities in their fields since 2007, but her book, The Authority Code, will give you the blueprint — and the right prompts — to help you too. Rochelle and I have a great conversation around niching down, spending your time wisely, and publishing t...
Jan 10, 2022•58 min•Season 1Ep. 249
In 2021, there was a lot of good, but there was also a lot of stress. In fact, there was a lot of everything. Seems like a year or less would do me good. But not really less of everything. I need to do less of something specific — over-commitment. So I’ve come up with The Year of Retreat. Show Notes: Cortex My 2022 Yearly Theme Creator Crew Sponsored by: Nexcess | Ahrefs | TextExpander ———— Streamlined Solopreneur is the podcast for solopreneurs who want to automate their business and take time ...
Jan 03, 2022•35 min•Season 1Ep. 248
I knew from a young age, I wanted to play the drums. I got my first small kit when I was five and when my friends and I started a band, heavy quotes, I played paint buckets. When I was 15 years old, I knew I needed a real kit. It's the last episode of 2021, and it's a little different: I'm going to share with you my favorite Christmas story. I'll also tell you where the show is heading in 2022. Show Notes Read the Story at Casabona.org Join Creator Crew Rate: Apple Podcasts | Spotify | Podchaser...
Dec 20, 2021•13 min•Season 1Ep. 247
Back in October, I wrote a blog post called, "We Need to Talk About Speakers and Virtual Events." I outlined how I believe speakers should be treated when it comes to virtual events; See I feel like too many virtual event organizers treat speakers as their marketing arm too. Shortly after, my friend Nathan Wrigley reached out. See, he is a virtual event organizer. In fact, I've spoken at his events! We wanted to have a debate of sorts, so we recorded it. It was a truly fantastic conversation. I ...
Dec 13, 2021•1 hr 8 min•Season 1Ep. 246
This year, I made a concerted effort to have a good Black Friday sale. I started thinking about it early, put in a good sequence of emails, and promoted it more than I've promoted anything. The result? My best sale ever. So how did I do it, what were the numbers, and what did I learn? Listen to find out. Plus, in Build Something More, I share the actual revenue, and my thoughts on affiliate programs. Top Takeaways Preparation and messaging were instrumental. I started thinking about the sale in ...
Dec 06, 2021•44 min•Season 1Ep. 245
Sometimes it feels like Facebook gets a bad wrap. Of course, sometimes it feels like Facebook gets exactly what it deserves…so where should we, as small business owners, fall on how to use Facebook? Today's guests should help. Jono Petrohilos is a personal trainer and online educator who has a $1 Million online course business. He also runs huge Facebook groups, including one specifically for online course creators. Jono is SUPER passionate about FB groups -so much so that he made me excited abo...
Nov 29, 2021•1 hr•Season 1Ep. 244
A few weeks ago, we heard from John Warrillow about why we need to make subscriptions a core part of our businesses. Someone who's done that really well is a marketer and fellow creator Corey Haines. As we recorded this, he was going through the biggest change his membership has seem: consolidation of offerings, niching down, and increasing the price. And it was the best month of the membership to date. Listen on to find why and how he did it. Plus, in what I think is the best Build Something Mo...
Nov 22, 2021•58 min•Season 1Ep. 243
It's the 2021 Gift Guides episode! This year I revamped the guides to be clearer, including more tools for people who work from home and podcasters, and offering more options for people looking for the perfect pen. In Build Something More, I talk about the transition from Beaver Builder to Gutenberg - why I did it, and how it went. Show Notes: Gift Guides Work From Home Video Walkthrough Podcast Guide Video Walkthrough Creator Crew Sponsored by: Accessibility Checker by Equalize Digital | Nexces...
Nov 15, 2021•41 min•Season 1Ep. 242
Something I (and perhaps you) feel I do terribly is email marketing. I'm worried I'm not segmenting my list the right way, that I email them too much, and that what I send is not aligned with what they signed up for. But let me tell you, after this conversation with Samar Owais, I feel a lot better. Samar is an email expert, and we cover a lot of ground, from setting up a welcome sequence, to when you should sell to your list, to how to segment. This is a mini masterclass in email marketing and ...
Nov 08, 2021•47 min•Season 1Ep. 241
Subscription services are increasingly popular and for good reason. On top of creating more predictable income for your business, they allow you to really focus and serve your subscribers instead of constantly trying to grind out new sales. Plus, it makes your business more sellable. We'll talk about all of that and more in this week's episode with John Warrillow, best-selling author of Built to Sell, The Automatic Customer, and The Art of Selling your business. And in Build Something More, we'l...
Nov 01, 2021•46 min•Season 1Ep. 240
You've heard me say time and time again - build your list! If you want to grow your business, whether you sell products, services, or are a creator, you need to get people on your email list. And today's guest, Maciek Palmowski, has definitely done that. He and his wife started the only Polish-language WordPress-focused newsletter (quick a niche) and grew it into quite a popular English-language newsletter. The format and process for putting it together are interesting too - making this a fantas...
Oct 25, 2021•57 min•Season 1Ep. 239
As an elder millennial, TikTok as a platform scares and upsets me. I’m not really sure how to use it to grow my audience (if it even can) and I’m worried it’s just going to be a huge time suck. But according to Rebecca Simon, if your business isn’t on Tiktok, it’s a huge missed opportunity. SO naturally, I asked her how a small business owner can make the most of the platform; Rebecca offered some of the best advice I’ve heard for any social network! So if you’re wondering how you can grow your ...
Oct 18, 2021•42 min•Season 1Ep. 238
It's another live coaching call! This time I have podcaster and WordPress site builder Nathan Wrigley. We chat about how I format this show, record the bumpers and the intros, and the benefits (and potential pitfalls) of batching. Then we roll into making money: how to find and land sponsors, and when to think about monetizing your podcast. Nathan has been a podcaster for a long time, so it was great to field his questions as well as get his perspective. Plus in Build Something More, we talk abo...
Oct 11, 2021•39 min•Season 1Ep. 237
Sometimes you know you're destined to run your own business. You work for companies and realize that you can't really work within the confines of a corporate structure. It's something I realized pretty much in high school. And it's something today's guest, Lauren Kennedy, has known all her life. Realizing then, she took her drive and built a marketing automation company…with a twist. While both marketing and automation can be terms associated with the impersonal, she's set out to build a people-...
Oct 04, 2021•50 min•Season 1Ep. 236
Often, when it comes to launching, writing, recording, building funnels, or whatever else it is we need to do, it's easy to start because we're motivated. But the longer a project goes on, the harder it can be. The more frustrating it can get. And the more likely quality starts to go out the window. Well, today's guest, Elizabeth Pampalone, has a solution: get it all done in 1 day. From launching websites to writing a full year of blog posts, Elizabeth's process of blocking off a whole day and w...
Sep 27, 2021•47 min•Season 1Ep. 235
Hey everybody and welcome to episode 234 of How I Built It, the podcast that offers actionable tech tips for small business owners. Today's sponsors are TextExpander, and Nexcess. Jason How knows a thing or two about ads, start with this: don't start with Ads. Jason gives us a couple of important aspects of running ads you think to think about before actually running the ads - like how to get your offer to a place that will compel people to actually click on ads. Top Takeaways BEFORE you run any...
Sep 20, 2021•46 min•Season 1Ep. 234
Look. I get tons of backlinks and cold outreach every day. It’s frustrating and annoying. It’s frustrating and annoying because it’s blanket cold outreach. The people reaching out don’t know me and are just swinging wildly. There’s gotta be a better way, right? That’s what Andy Cabasso is here to talk about. How can YOU get effective with your cold outreach to grow your traffic and your business? It’s a great conversation. Plus in BSM we talk about domain authority. Top Takeaways People doing ou...
Sep 13, 2021•54 min•Season 1Ep. 233
It's a listener questions episode! I thought it would be fun to round out the summer by answering some questions you've asked about how to run and grow a podcast. I hope you enjoy! in Build Something More, I tell you all about what I learned at Skip the Grind and how it's shaping my business, and this podcast, moving forward. Top Takeaways The biggest way to grow your show is by having a clear Call to Action and a strong show notes page. BUILD YOUR LIST! No matter what you're trying to do - buil...
Sep 06, 2021•35 min•Season 1Ep. 232
Today's Episode is a little bit different. See, my friend Alastair McDermott has a couple of problems he'd like to solve: launching and promoting an online course, and growing his podcast. I believe these 2 things go hand-in-hand. A podcast is a great way to establish trust and expertise, which in-turn helps you sell more courses. So instead of Alastair dropping knowledge on us (which he does anyway...) we flip the script in this live coaching call, and he asks me a bunch of questions! This is o...
Aug 30, 2021•1 hr 26 min•Season 1Ep. 231
All too often, we hear only the success story. The Olympian who won the goal. The successful millionaire who launched a business from her dorm room. It's easy to assume these stories are without struggles. But what we don't see is the sacrifices the olympian made. We don't see the dozen other ideas and years of work the successful millionaire put in. Today we get to hear it all. Paul Lacey is as generous with his time as he is with his story. See, Paul has gone a long way in his travels as a web...
Aug 23, 2021•54 min•Season 1Ep. 230
Google has recently rolled out a new set of metrics to help website owners create better websites. They're called Core Web Vitals and understanding how they work will be important for building your website, and getting it ranked better. Luckily we have Andy Schaff. He's the Development Architect and Portent and we have a fantastic chat about how to make your website more performant, from the ground up. We get pretty technical - but don't worry because I rain down analogies like it's my job. Andy...
Aug 16, 2021•54 min•Season 1Ep. 229
If you're anything like me, you feel like there's not enough time in the day. Maybe you're take on too much, or maybe you're doing things you don't need to do. Either way, you (and I!) both need a change - and that's where Reinart Bacalso comes in. He specializes in helping business owners reclaim their time by automating what they can, and putting the right processes in place. And today he's going to give us his framework. Plus, in Build Something More, we talk all about his toolkit. Show Notes...
Aug 09, 2021•47 min•Season 1Ep. 228
