A drum I’ve been beating for a while is you don’t need sponsors to make money podcasting. In fact, it might not even be the best way to make money. What if you had a product so perfectly aligned with the audience of your podcast, that you could get your listeners to buy it? That’s exactly what Sam Munoz does, and her approach to free content is admirable. If you have ANY business where you’re creating content, you need to hear this conversation. Plus, in Build Something More, Sam and I exchange ...
Jul 18, 2022•1 hr 2 min•Season 1Ep. 276
Creating a course isn't just about making a series of videos. It's about doing it in a way that gives the students skills or knowledge they can use at the end of the course. Troy Dean calls that taking a student from "zero to win." Listen to the entire episode at https://howibuilt.it/027 Be sure to subscribe at https://howibuilt.it/subscribe This clip is brought to you by Sensei ———— Streamlined Solopreneur is the podcast for solopreneurs who want to automate their business and take time off wor...
Jul 16, 2022•10 min•Season 1Ep. 276
I’m going, to be honest with you: I’m squarely anti-hustle culture. I think it’s unnecessary and puts too much pressure on people to make “Gary Vee money.” So when I saw Dickie Bush’s Ship 30 project, I thought we had more of that narrative. Well let me tell you, I could not have been more wrong. Dickie’s approach to writing and his frameworks can help anyone become a better writer, and Ship 30 helps brand new creators go through the roller coaster that is content creation faster, and with a bet...
Jul 11, 2022•56 min•Season 1Ep. 275
Coming up with content can be a tough task, especially across multiple channels. But Nathan Ellering of CoSchedule gave us the perfect advice in episode 20: answer customer questions. Listen to the entire episode at https://howibuilt.it/020 Be sure to subscribe at https://howibuilt.it/subscribe This clip is brought to you by TextExpander ———— Streamlined Solopreneur is the podcast for solopreneurs who want to automate their business and take time off worry-free. Each week, Joe Casabona shares pr...
Jul 09, 2022•10 min•Season 1Ep. 275
“All of the worlds is experienced through code.” This is a statement Marcus Merrell makes on today’s podcast...and it’s absolutely true. See, even if you sell the most niche handmade thing, you probably sell it online, which means someone’s code is powering your business. And your buyers are experiencing your business through code. So the worst thing for your business is bad code because that makes for a bad experience. And I know what you’re thinking: “What if I don’t write code?” Well, if you’...
Jul 04, 2022•57 min•Season 1Ep. 274
“Creator” is a word that has really come into focus in an industry in the last few years. But content creation is nearly as old as the internet itself. And building businesses from your content…that’s not new either. Just ask Chris Coyier, the founder who recently sold his hugely popular blog, CSS Tricks, to Digital Ocean. We talk about his journey, how he made money, and answer the question: are we seeing an uptick in content acquisitions as more companies realize it’s a great way to establish ...
Jun 27, 2022•1 hr 1 min•Season 1Ep. 273
When you write content, who are you writing for? It’s an important question to consider— you need to have someone in mind when you write. But there’s another audience you should have the robots. Specifically, search engines. If you’re not writing for both, you could be missing out on traffic, signups, and sales. Luckily, Maddy Osman and her new book, Writing for Humans and Robots, is here to help. Top Takeaways: When writing for humans, you need to appeal to the people you’re writing for. This i...
Jun 20, 2022•54 min•Season 1Ep. 272
Jeff Sheldon does what he does extremely well. But he's also expanded his business from clothes to coffee and paper products. How does he do it without burning out? Listen to today's bit to find out. Listen to the entire episode at https://howibuilt.it/013 Be sure to subscribe at https://howibuilt.it/subscribe This clip is brought to you by WP Wallet ———— Streamlined Solopreneur is the podcast for solopreneurs who want to automate their business and take time off worry-free. Each week, Joe Casab...
Jun 18, 2022•8 min•Season 1Ep. 8
Over the last few weeks, I have been interviewing experts on communities, newsletters, referral programs, and more. As a result, I've taken some of my favorite advice and I've started implementing it. So today is going to be a solo episode where I'm going to tell you everything I've been doing to grow my audience. We'll take a look at some tools I've been using, some techniques I've been implementing, and perhaps the most important thing that I can do to grow my audience. In Build Something More...
Jun 13, 2022•49 min•Season 1Ep. 271
Chris Lema knows a lot about a lot. But did you know he was doing no-code well before it became the movement it is today? In this bit, he tells us a little about how to successfully build a web app without code. Listen to the entire episode at https://howibuilt.it/012 Be sure to subscribe at https://howibuilt.it/subscribe This clip is brought to you by WP Wallet ———— Streamlined Solopreneur is the podcast for solopreneurs who want to automate their business and take time off worry-free. Each wee...
Jun 11, 2022•7 min•Season 1Ep. 7
Can you build a business off of a Twitter challenge? Perhaps it’s not as simple as that, the core concept is there: create something for people to rally around, and you have a community. Participate with them and you have engagement. Jay Clouse knows a thing or two about building communities and successfully launched his own membership called Creative Companion…by basically starting with a Twitter challenge called #Tweet100. After comparing notes on how we manage our podcasts, we get into the cr...
Jun 06, 2022•1 hr 4 min•Season 1Ep. 270
Chris Coyier is a man of many hats and has successfully started and sold websites, wrote books, and has a great tech startup. In today's bit, he offers some advice that is the key to his success. Listen to the entire episode at https://howibuilt.it/006 Be sure to subscribe at https://howibuilt.it/subscribe This clip is brought to you by WP Wallet ———— Streamlined Solopreneur is the podcast for solopreneurs who want to automate their business and take time off worry-free. Each week, Joe Casabona ...
Jun 04, 2022•9 min•Season 1Ep. 6
What is stopping you from creating content? That’s the question that Alban Brooke and I set out to answer. But it didn’t start that way. I thought we’d talk about podcast stats and what creators can do to make money. But there is no making money if there is no content. So we get back to basics. And if you’re stuck, this is a conversation you need to hear. Top Takeaways: it’s really easy to see the end result you want: a book, a hugely popular YouTube channel, or a podcast with millions of downlo...
May 30, 2022•1 hr 4 min•Season 1Ep. 269
Carrie Dils was building communities before it was cool. And was actually doing the building! In today's bit, Carrie tells us about how she built her podcast community and the pros and cons of doing your own dev work. Listen to the entire episode at https://howibuilt.it/005 Be sure to subscribe at https://howibuilt.it/subscribe This clip is brought to you by WP Wallet ———— Streamlined Solopreneur is the podcast for solopreneurs who want to automate their business and take time off worry-free. Ea...
May 28, 2022•11 min•Season 1Ep. 5
LinkedIn Learning is a force in the online course space, with hundreds of courses, millions of learners, and a well-oiled machine for putting out great content. I, along with today’s guest, Carrie Dils, are fortunate to be long-time instructors for the platform. I invited Carrie on to catch up, and I thought it would be fun for us to exchange notes on how we come up with ideas for, and then record, our LinkedIn Learning courses. In Build Something More, it gets even more fun as we talk about the...
May 23, 2022•1 hr 3 min•Season 1Ep. 268
Cory Miller dolled out so much great advice in Episode 4 that we're getting a twofer. He tells us about how one of iThemes' most popular products came out of solving a big problem they had. Then he tells us the importance of maintaining an email list. Listen to the entire episode at https://howibuilt.it/004 Be sure to subscribe at https://howibuilt.it/subscribe This clip is brought to you by WP Wallet ———— Streamlined Solopreneur is the podcast for solopreneurs who want to automate their busines...
May 21, 2022•10 min•Season 1Ep. 4
A few weeks ago we talked to Louis Nicolls about the importance of having a good newsletter that helps people — some targeted, educational resource. Brennan Dunn knows a thing or two about that and has built an empire around segmentation and personalization. The last time he was on the show, we talked about Right Message. Today, we talk to him about email templates and newsletter strategies that we can implement with his new tool, Palladio. Top Takeaways Brennan equates emails to sales pages mul...
May 16, 2022•57 min•Season 1Ep. 267
When you have a membership or subscription, your goal is to prevent churn, or people leaving. The best way to do that is to deliver value. But it's also a matter of how often you ask your subscribers to evaluate the value they get. Here's what Brian Krogsgard recommended. Listen to the entire episode at https://howibuilt.it/003 Be sure to subscribe at https://howibuilt.it/subscribe This clip is brought to you by WP Wallet ———— Streamlined Solopreneur is the podcast for solopreneurs who want to a...
May 14, 2022•16 min•Season 1Ep. 3
Most people who start a business hate it when they get away from the actual work and move towards managing — the business and the people. But not James Laws. James has started several successful businesses and his favorite part is building the culture, ensuring employees are happy, and ultimately making sure everyone feels fulfilled…so much so that he wants to help more founders do just that. And he plans to, with tools, software, coaching, and more. But that’s a long game. It all starts with hi...
May 09, 2022•1 hr 9 min•Season 1Ep. 266
Too many people decided they want to make an online course, spend 6 months making it, and launch to crickets. Rebecca Gill knew better, and her advice from Episode 2 can save you a ton of time (and heartache). Listen to the entire episode at https://howibuilt.it/002 Be sure to subscribe at https://howibuilt.it/subscribe This clip is brought to you by WP Wallet ———— Streamlined Solopreneur is the podcast for solopreneurs who want to automate their business and take time off worry-free. Each week,...
May 07, 2022•12 min•Season 1Ep. 2
It’s the first-ever feedback episode! I read a couple of reviews — one good, one bad, and how I’m adjusting — and then answer listener questions. It’s a fun episode! We cover getting started in content creation, growing your audience, configuring a Stream Deck, and podcast interviews. Show Notes: My Live Stream Kit My Stream Deck blog post My Stream Deck video A specific use case for launching apps Masters of Doom Feedback Join Creator Crew Sponsored by: WP Wallet | Nexcess | LearnDash ———— Stre...
May 02, 2022•43 min•Season 1Ep. 265
Jason Coleman was the very first guest on How I Built It, and he started the show strong with a ton of fantastic advice. Here's my favorite: a bit about why charging monthly might not align with the value you deliver, as well as how to handle negative reviews. Listen to the entire episode at https://howibuilt.it/001 Be sure to subscribe at https://howibuilt.it/subscribe This clip is brought to you by WP Wallet ———— Streamlined Solopreneur is the podcast for solopreneurs who want to automate thei...
Apr 30, 2022•14 min•Season 1Ep. 265
How good is creating niche content? How about understanding the purpose of your content and focusing on providing value? Alexis Grant, founder, and CEO of They Got Acquired, understand the importance of both of these things. She has launched not one, not two, but 3 content businesses — successfully selling her previous ones. Today she’s here to share her insight on why she started They Got Acquired, doing research to produce good content, and how sponsorship is playing a bigger role than she exp...
Apr 25, 2022•56 min•Season 1Ep. 264
Have you ever seen a great talk, video, or even podcast episode that dolled out some fantastic advice, only for you to forget it before you implement it? Maybe that feeling is amplified when you go to a conference. There are so many great takeaways...how can you remember it all? It's almost like you need a TL;DR for when that happens. And How I Built It has been going pretty much weekly for nearly 7 years! As we approach 300 episodes, I wanted to surface some of the best advice from asking "how ...
Apr 22, 2022•2 min•Season 1Ep. 264
What if I told you the answer to better organic traffic isn’t more content…it’s less content? That’s what today’s guest, Farzad Rashidi, argues. That when it comes to SEO, link building, and organic traffic, quality outperforms quantity every time. And he doesn’t stop there. He provides a process for figuring out what content to write, and how to get people to it. Top Takeaways: Quality is better than quantity. Instead of spending 5 hours on 5 blog posts, spend 5 hours on one blog post and make ...
Apr 18, 2022•1 hr 1 min•Season 1Ep. 263
5 years ago, email was dead. Now it’s not only growing, it’s the life’s blood of the creator economy. As a creator or small business owner, without a good, helpful, and nurtured email list, you’re leaving money on the table. And to tell you why Louis Nicholls from SparkLoop is here this week. We talk all about what makes a good newsletter, what mistakes to avoid, how to come up with good content, and how to make money. It’s a packed episode, and totally worth your time — especially if you’re an ...
Apr 11, 2022•56 min•Season 1Ep. 262
Jack Kitterhing has been in the WordPress space for a while; you can say he deeply subscribes to the ethos that owning your own platform is one of the most important things a creator can do. That a SaaS, like Teachable, won’t be there for you like an owned platform, like WordPress + LearnDash, will. We have a good discussion about the merits of both. Is it really easier to set up a course on Teachable? What are the benefits of your own platform? We’ll get into all of that and more. Top Takeaways...
Apr 04, 2022•1 hr 3 min•Season 1Ep. 261
There are a few chains freelancers in the WordPress space carry if we’re being honest. Not charging what you’re worth is one. Not wanting to niche down is another. And thinking you need to grow to an agency to make “real” money is another. Tara Claeys bucks all of these trends, and we have a great discussion about it. How she decided to find a niche (and how her podcast helps her establish authority!), and why she doesn’t want to become an agent. In Build Something More, we talk about the new Ma...
Mar 28, 2022•1 hr 3 min•Season 1Ep. 260
"We need to de-stigmatize lending money to friends and family." It's one of the first things Brian Bristol said to me in today’s episode. See, Brian is the co-founder of Pigeon Loans — a place where anyone can set up a private loan, backed with tracking, interest, and a legally binding agreement. And this ethos is as interesting as the approach they are taking to content: show people that everyone has a story about lending or borrowing money. So today, we talk about the Pigeon Loans content stra...
Mar 21, 2022•48 min•Season 1Ep. 259
YouTube has been a regular topic on the show this year, and for good reason. More people need to build trust to make their business work, and as the second largest search engine, YouTube is a great place to do it. This week, marketing coach Nicole Osborne tells us why she started a YouTube channel, her process for publishing, and how it’s helped her business. In Build Something More, we talk about how marketing and web design changed over the past 20 years. Top Takeaways: Don’t compare yourself ...
Mar 14, 2022•1 hr 6 min•Season 1Ep. 258
