The Smart Passive Income Online Business And Blogging Podcast

#511 Perhaps you've heard about the four-hour workweek. Well, a lot of us have come to realize that it's kind of hard to come by. Even Tim Ferriss, author of The 4-Hour Work Week, has said that maybe wasn't the best title for his book. Because even with passive income coming in, you still have to do work to maintain things. Four hours is probably out of the question for most of us—but what about a four-day workweek? That's three days for a weekend, four days of work, then rinse and repeat. In fact, this has become the norm in places like Iceland, where 85 percent of workers are working just four days a week. And guess what? They still get paid the same, and productivity is up. So the question is, when is this going to happen in the US? Well, the truth is it can happen right now if you are an entrepreneur and you control your own time. And even if you're not an entrepreneur, you can still make this happen if you're smart about it and willing to have the right conversations with your employer. Thankfully, my go

#510 Earlier this week, we spoke with Dorie Clark, author of the brand new book The Long Game, about being in it for the long haul and doing the things now that will ensure long-term success in your business and your life. And we talked about a lot of strategies to ensure that you're always staying on top of your business, your community, and your physical and mental health. Today I want to talk a little about a related question: how do we remain consistent? Because if you're in it for the long haul in this creator economy, it can take a lot to remain consistent. It can be tough to be continually uploading and creating content, continually showing up for your community, and continually providing value. It takes a lot of energy. And having now created 510 episodes of the Smart Passive Income Podcast, nearly 1,200 episodes of AskPat, more than 1,000 videos on YouTube, and more than 1,000 blog posts, we've been pretty consistent. Now, I haven't been consistent the entire time. There've been moments where I've be

#509 Are you in this for the long game, or the quick buck? The problem with short-term thinking is that it's so vulnerable. When you go for the long game, you're building something that will last—and perhaps even outlast you. Thankfully, most of the entrepreneurs I speak to are thinking about how to succeed in the long term. Now, you may not make a lot of money upfront by playing the long game. And you may have to dedicate more time than you'd like initially. But the end result is that you'll have more time and money and freedom down the road. We're talking with one of my favorite people today: Dorie Clark, author of The Long Game: How to Be a Long-Term Thinker in a Short-Term World. Dorie and I chatted on here a long time ago, in session 161. She had just come out with a couple of books, Entrepreneurial You and Stand Out that have gotten really great reviews. We're going to discuss what it actually means to play the long game in today's world of short attention spans. What does it mean to sacrifice now so we

#508 Today we're following up on the episode we did in 507 with Jeff Walker, the creator of the PLF or Product Launch Formula. If you missed the episode, PLF is essentially a way to warm up an audience, to give them value, and to bring them on a journey that all leads to a product launch. And this could be the launch of any kind of product or service or course. In our conversation, we discussed how Jeff has updated and revised PLF over the years since he created it in 1996, and how to go about launching things today. Because the truth is, things are a little bit different than they were before. And that's the topic of today's conversation. Not when it comes PLF, specifically, but the fact that we as entrepreneurs, we do have to learn how to adapt and to change. We can't expect that things that we once used and succeeded with, are going to continue working just as well for us over time. Blogs used to be the cornerstone of online content and connection, but things have changed, and live streaming and online com

#507 Maybe you've heard the name Jeff Walker. Even if you haven't, you've probably heard of something called the Product Launch Formula (PLF). If you've been in business online for any number of years, PLF has become the staple way that people launch their products online. It's also referred to as the “three-video series formula” for pre-launching a product of any kind: a service, a physical product, digital product, online course, training—you get the picture. PLF has become ingrained in the world of internet marketing and online business, and today, we're talking with the man himself, the legend, Jeff Walker. Jeff "launched" his book Launch in 2014, and it went on to become a New York Times bestseller. He recently came out with a new, revised version of the book that updates the PLF formula to cover how to launch products in today's world, with shorter attention spans and shorter sales cycles. This is Jeff's first time on the show, and he's going to share with us his framework for launching a product online

#506 This week we spoke with Anthony Sarandrea, who gave us a lot of gold nuggets about generating leads online. But I know what some of you may be thinking: “I'm not even close to being able to do some of the things you talk about in that episode.” I still recommend listening to it, because we discuss an amazing approach to generating leads for your business. However, if you're just starting out, I want to point out one thing Anthony mentioned that's so important when you're starting to build your business because it makes everything else so much easier: before you start trying to generate leads, you need to know exactly what your target audience is going through. Hopefully, this won't be a foreign concept. But it bears repeating: everything else comes more easily when you know who your audience is. so how do you learn about them? Well, it's one thing to say, “I'm going to do some research, have conversations with people. I'll see what the forums are saying, put myself in people's shoes, and try to figure ou

#505 They often say that this world is very small, especially the world of online business. When I go to conferences (or at least when I did before COVID), I'd often get introduced to somebody, and we'll find that we've already connected before, or we have a second- or third-degree connection. Today's guest is someone I'd never connected with, or even heard of long before we talked, but I'm so glad that we met because we had one of the best conversations I've had about lead generation in a very long time on the show. His name is Anthony Sarandrea, and I'm so grateful he's joining us today because he is a master at lead generation. Anthony has a number of different businesses. One in particular, Pocket Your Dollars, helps people become the financial experts of their own lives, and generates a ton of leads doing it. He also helps other businesses generate their own leads, and he's got some systems and approaches that I very much resonate with—especially when it comes to immersing yourself into that space you're

#504 That's right—follow-up Friday episodes are back! I wanted to talk about something that crossed my mind after this week's conversation with Ali Abdaal. And this is a result of “competition.” When you start to build a business and do competitive research, you come across people who are already doing amazing things in the space. You come across people who are amazing writers. You come across people who write just the most beautiful emails in the world. You come across people, like Ali, who have incredible storytelling capabilities and who have the ability to create very professional videos. And you always wonder to yourself, “Man, why can't I do it like them?” And sometimes you'll try to do it like them—but that's almost never the right choice. You've got to check yourself before you wreck yourself, and that's what I want to talk about today. Show notes and more at SmartPassiveIncome.com/session504.See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-

#503 Has this ever happened to you? About a year and a half ago, I discovered a six-minute YouTube video about note-taking, by someone named Ali Abdaal. After I finished watching it, I thought, "Whoa, I really like this guy." So I watched the next video, which was about iPads. (I had just recently bought an iPad Pro and I wanted to learn how to make the most out of it.) Thanks to the way Ali taught, and his easy-to-listen-to accent, I started binge-watching everything on his channel. Ever since I started paying attention to Ali, things have been really taking off him for him. His brand and community have grown tremendously, and he's even released his own online course. And we've become good friends! I knew I had to ask him to come onto the podcast to share his journey from med school student to creating a YouTube channel, and how he's grown it to nearly two million subscribers, with passive income now coming in from multiple sources. We'll unpack the strategy behind Ali's impressive rise, and if you're intere

Welcome to the inaugural episode of The Community Experience, a brand-new podcast from SPI!In this feed drop (episode 001), hosts Tony Bacigalupo and Jillian Benbow are hanging out with a different Jillian, Jillian Richardson, a woman on a quest to cure the world of its loneliness epidemic. Through her popular newsletter, the Joy List, and her book, Unlonely Planet, Jillian is doing remarkable work.We invited her onto the show to try to understand why community is such a hot topic right now. How can you integrate community into what you’re building and keep it authentic? Whether you hope to find a new community or want to build a more impactful community yourself, there's something here for you.Let us know what you thought of episode 001! Reach out to us @TeamSPI on Twitter. Show notes and more at SmartPassiveIncome.com/cx001. Don't forget to subscribe and leave a review!See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-m

#502 Have you tried live video yet? If you haven't, this episode is for you. And even if you've already been using live video in your business (no matter what platform), this episode is also for you! Wherever you land on that spectrum, I want you to consider using live video more because it's the best way to engage with an audience. I've experienced this firsthand in the past year and a half with my live video show, the Income Stream. It's been fascinating to see what going live on YouTube every day has done for the brand for the connections. Live streaming is such a wonderful tool, whether you're pre-launching something, pitching something, or simply trying to build a deeper relationship with your audience. Today we're speaking with none other than Luria Petrucci from LiveStreamingPros.com. Luria has personally helped me with setting up my live streaming stuff, from gear selection to strategies, to how to be engaging on camera. She's such a wonderful person, and I can't wait for you to hear fr

#501 Do you ever wonder what your life or career would be like if you'd made a different decision at a fork in the road? I definitely don't use my architecture degree anymore. But at the same time, I think about the skills I've learned and the things that happened early in my career that helped get me to where I'm at today. If I'd taken a different path, I wouldn't be where I am today. And I'm grateful for the experiences. In fact, some of my favorite stories and conversations are about starting down a path that pivots into something else, whether it's niching down into something specific, or making a more radical change. Either way, it's always an amazing story—and you're going to hear one of those stories today from Megan Gilger from Fresh Exchange. Megan and her husband, Mike, started a design studio that evolved into something completely different. Today they have an amazing blog and online community at FreshExchange.com that's all about the pursuit of community and connection and reciprocity with the ear

#500 Significant number alert! This is episode 500 of the Smart Passive Income Podcast, and to celebrate the milestone, we're doing something a little different. We're flipping the script. Today we have a guest host running the show, and although we won't say who it is (you'll have to listen to find out!), you may remember this person and his wife from two hugely popular episodes of the show (122 and 265). Anyway, our mystery host is taking over the mic today and interviewing his "guest," Pat Flynn, about his online journey. They talk about Pat's experience losing his architecture job, and how he started, built, and grew his first online business. You've probably heard some version of this story before, but this episode is different—Pat and our host go really deep to uncover some of the nitty-gritty details of the struggles and the excitement on Pat's path to creating multiple online businesses and becoming a trusted educator for entrepreneurs everywhere. Pat also reveals a little about what's coming next for

#499 If you're a business owner, this might be one of the most important podcast episodes you listen to. That's because as an entrepreneur, whether you're just starting out or you have been doing this for a while, you're probably constantly coming up with ideas. Some of those ideas are probably great. Some of them, not so great! But when it comes to great ideas, you need to know how to actually get them out into the world. And I'm not talking about specific strategies, like email or advertising. What I'm talking about is this: How do we take our ideas and put them out there so they'll spread? That's the big idea behind today's episode. This stuff is on the level of Made to Stick by Chip and Dan Heath, or Outliers by Malcolm Gladwell. Today I'm talking to Jeff Goins, from GoinsWriter.com. Jeff is a great friend of mine, someone I've known for over a decade now, who's been on the show before and has helped me with my book writing. And he's here today to help us all out. So if you're looking to create ideas that

#498 If you're running a business, you need an email list. But you also need to send the right emails. And you also need to make sure those emails are actually getting into your subscribers' inboxes. I often talk about the fact that email is the way to go. And it is! I only wish I'd started my email list sooner. And email does offer advantages over platforms like Facebook, Instagram, TikTok, and YouTube, with their algorithms that can block our messages from the audiences that want to hear from us. But email has a similar issue, and it's one you need to address if you want to reach more people: the dreaded spam folder. Why do emails end up in spam, and what can you do about it? That's what we're talking about today with Adrian Savage, the founder of Deliverability Dashboard. Adrian is a wizard when it comes to all things email, and he goes over the four keys to massively improving your deliverability rates. If you have an email list or are thinking of starting one, this episode is a must-listen. You can also

#497 Today, you're going to hear an incredible level of detail on how to build a brand, write a bestselling book (or two), and make business and family life work together in a powerful way—plus why health and sleep are so crucial, and much more. Our guest is an SPI fan favorite: Shawn Stevenson of the Model Health Show, and he's going to take us behind the scenes of how he runs his business and gets things done, from his podcast to his books and everything else that's gone into building his incredibly successful brand. In fact, some of what Shawn shares in this episode is stuff he's never shared, because nobody's ever asked him these questions before! I cannot wait to go behind the scenes with you. How does the man run the show? Let's find out! Show notes and more at SmartPassiveIncome.com/session497.See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

#496 How do you position yourself as an expert? How do you talk about yourself online so that other people become interested, not just in following you, but potentially buying from you? How do you sell yourself in a way that's not sleazy? It starts by remembering that you are the only you that exists. Today we're talking with Mike Kim from youarethebrandbook.com about how to turn your youness into a personal brand that gets people's attention and makes you money. Mike is one of the most genuine people I know. He's been through the ranks and gone through a lot of ups and downs, to now be helping people build their brands online. I'm really excited for you to hear this episode because it could be the refresher you need to take hold of who you are and how you position and talk about yourself online. In fact, Mike and I go through an entire blueprint on how to do this yourself. So sit back, relax, and take notes if you need to, because this is a great one. Show notes and more at SmartPassiveIncome.com/session496.

#495 The future of business is about community and connection. And, it's more than just creating Facebook or LinkedIn groups—now your entire business can be run like a membership site. That's exactly what we're going to be talking about today with Jillian Benbow, the manager of our membership community, SPI Pro. Jillian and I cover what it takes to create a thriving community where members feel welcomed and excited to engage and grow together. She's a pro at fostering connection and managing all the different facets of running a community of diverse people with all kinds of businesses and goals. We talk meetups, networking, AMAs, gamification, and much more—it's a wealth of information on how to manage a community, so don't miss it. Show notes and more at SmartPassiveIncome.com/session495.See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

#494: A long, long time ago—before Zoom was even a thing—we were talking about summits here on SPI. And guess what? Summits are back, and they're hotter and better than ever, especially because now we have even more tools to create and run amazing summits. One of those tools is HeySummit. It's a platform Rob Geld cofounded to help make online summits more flexible, more customizable, and easier to run. I'm really excited to welcome Rob to the show to share all the ins and outs, plus the practical, strategic step-by-step advice to create your first summit. Where do you start? How do you make it happen? Rob's got the answers, so check it out. Show notes and more at SmartPassiveIncome.com/session494.See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

#493 So by now you've probably heard about Clubhouse Let me tell you, Clubhouse is here, social audio is definitely here to stay, and it's not going anywhere. Having spent some time on Clubhouse (80,000 followers and counting), I can tell you that some of the connections and experiences I've had there have been amazing. Clubhouse can be a fantastic way to spark genuine conversations, create powerful connections, and take your business to the next level. It can be an absolute game changer! But you gotta do it right, and that's why I have Mike Stelzner on the show today, founder of Social Media Examiner. Today he'll be breaking down what you should and shouldn't do when joining the platform, how it works, how to promote your brand on Clubhouse, and more. Let's dig in! Show notes and more at SmartPassiveIncome.com/session493See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.