• My wife and I had a beautiful baby boy almost 6 months ago (you parents know what that means)
• I’m a University Professor teaching Anatomy, Neuroscience and Pathophysiology in a Doctoral program
• I run Become A Blogger and Interactive Biology – my two blogs/businesses
• I’ve had to travel to Colombia twice over the last month to be with my mother who’s going through medical treatment
• I’m about to start my pHD

Now, I’m definitely NOT complaining here, just setting the foundation for what you’re going to listen to in this episode. Life gets CRAZY, but there are things we can do to make sure that our blogs/businesses will continue to grow even in those hectic times.

For this episode, we have a special gest – my little Noah. Yep, I was on “daddy duty” while recording this episode, and Noah was well behaved. So together, we spoke about some of the things that I’ve done that have really allowed my business to continue even when I’m not able to work.

I also share some of the things I didn’t do well and how you can do better. The fact is – having an online business these days allows you to set systems up in place like never before – so why not take advantage of that?

Announcements

• I’m going through the process of redoing Become A Blogger Premium. I didn’t share all of the details, but I wanted you to be aware of that fact and to be on the lookout for awesome things to come.
• I WILL be doing a meetup in Cincinnati, OH while I’m there for the Savvy Blogging Conference. I’ll be working on the details over the next few weeks and letting you know about it.

Hotline Calls

• June, from Journey With June called in to ask for general tips on how to improve her blog.
• Vincent Duncombe from Rich Sinners, Poor Saints called in to ask about the best format for engaging your email list.

Right Click To Download Episode

Are you a blogger? Do you find yourself glued to a computer for hours without end? Are your social relationships being strained as a result? Are you not reaching your full potential despite working REALLY, REALLY hard?

Have I got the podcast episode for you. Yep, we’re stepping OUTSIDE of our blogs and interfacing with the REAL WORLD today.

I decided to do something a bit different – to talk about “non-blogging things”, but here’s the twist – these “non-blogging things” can actually help your blog grow.

The great thing is that they won’t only help your blog. They’ll also help your overall quality of life – now that’s some serious bang for your buck.

Also, they will keep you from going insane

Announcements

• I’m back from Colombia, but going back in 2 days. Because of this, there may or may not be an episode next week. Thank you for your patience as my family deals with medical issues.
• I will be speaking at the Savvy Blogging Summit in Cincinnati, Ohio. The dates are June 20-22. If you live in the Cincinnati area, or can make it out there for a meetup, let me know in the comments below.

Listener Questions

• Kathy Strahan from Learn Body Works called in to ask about adsense. Her account was banned and she wants to open a new account in her husband name, but wanted to know if she would run into any problems by using her same site.
• Lucy Jennings called in to ask me about my impressions of Feedblitz, the feedburner alternative that I recently started using.
• Tumi, from Nigeria, called in to ask me about the WordPress theme I use on my Biology Blog.

If you have questions for me to answer on the podcast, feel free to call the hotline at (888) 835 – 2414.

10 Things To Do Outside Of Blogging

This is the main content of the episode, where I go into detail about the following 10 Things:

1. Attend conferences related to your niche
2. Go to meetups
3. Go to events
4. Connect with people on Skype
5. Use social media to deepen connections
6. Mastermind groups
7. Taking classes
8. Reading books or listening to audiobooks
9. Do random fun stuff
10. Relax and take a break.

These 10 things, if done well, can really help what you do online, as well as in your personal and professional life. So in this episode, I try to dissect each of them, by giving you examples of how I’ve done them to grow what I’m currently doing.

After listening to that episode, I ended up being even more important that I needed to figure out what my Single Motivating Purpose is (or SMP for short).

I’m in the country of Colombia right now, and I’ve had a few days to myself to really hone in on what my SMP will be and ended up deciding to go with something that didn’t even seem to make sense when it comes to what I think a single motivating purpose is supposed to accomplish.

It was so different from what I expected that I had to move away from SMP to just coming up with a Main Focus of my life.

I’ve decided to make my Main FOCUS to Know Jesus. As a result of that, I’ve been studying His life and was fascinated to see that as soon as I started to focus on His life, I started getting Blogging Lessons.

So, I decided to share 5 of these lessons with you, and to drive it home even more, I decided to make a very Pinnable Infographic that drives home those 5 points.

Strange right? I know. Maybe it’s because I’m a bit biased about this blogging stuff, lol.

Now, I know what some of you may be thinking – I come here for blogging lessons, not to be preached to.

Don’t worry, I’m not a pastor and I fully understand. In many ways, I feel that we preach to often instead of just living life and letting our lives do the preaching.

However, even if you aren’t a Christian, I think you can still get value from this podcast episode and learn lessons that can help your blog reach to the Heavens (pun intended).

I’m reminded of a quote by Michael Hiatt, that’s especially applicable here:

Even if you are not a Christian – or don’t consider yourself a spiritually-inclined person – the Bible is worth reading. Without question, it has had a greater impact on Western civilization than any other book Published – Michael Hyatt

So, have a listen, and let me know what you think in the comments below.

This is a Learning With Leslie First, and I enjoyed it so much. In this interview, I got on the line with Marlee Ward to talk about . . . well . . . we had NO IDEA what we were going to talk about.

I considered this interview an experimental interview. No plan, no outline, and lets see what happens.

It turns out that Marlee was the PERFECT person to do this with. We laughed, we discussed, and Marlee shared her VERY interesting journey with us.

Now, even though the conversation started without a plan, it went in a very specific direction where Marlee ended up sharing some KILLER TIPS for anyone looking to make money from their blogs by offering coaching.

This is an EXCELLENT way to use your expertise to help out your audience, and get customers to pay you for your time.

I plan on offering coaching (eventually) and when I start, I will be coming back to this interview to listen again so that I can get started on the right foot.

Here are just a few of the topics Marlee got into:

• How to know who your target audience is. I know – you’re thinking that you’ve heard this before, but I REALLY LOVE Marlee’s take on this
• How to decide if the potential client is the right fit. If they aren’t, don’t work with them.
• How to get your potential client to share their compelling vision
• How to create a plan of action to help them achieve their goals
• How to execute that plan
• How to monitor results

Notice something? The first two words on all those topics are “How To”. Yep, that’s just how she rolls! She really got into some practical and ACTIONABLE tips that I KNOW you’re gonna love.

So stop reading this right now and start listening to the interview. Wait – don’t stop yet!

One more thing before you go. When you are finished, I would LOVE to get your feedback on how you think this unplanned interview went. What did you like? What didn’t you like?

Let me know in the comments section below!

I sent out an email last week asking for you guys to call in your blogging questions to the hotline, and I got about 12 questions called in. Some really GREAT questions.

Not knowing how many questions to expect, it ended up being more than I can handle in one episode, so I’m going to have to record it in two parts (or more, depending on how many more questions come in between now and when I record the next one).

I covered lots of ground in this episode, and I know that you will find lots of value in it.

Here are the questions that were called in:

1. Pete from alljeepsforsale.com asks about how to increase traffic generation to the site and increase interaction between readers and eventually build a community.
2. Butch from butchgibson.com wants to know how to structure pages, posts and categories more effectively.
3. Catherine Ibarra from MerelyExpressingMyOpinion.com asks if BAB has a course on Twitter. BAB has none but, I have gone on to share a few tips on using Twitter the right way.
4. Dr. Nicki from ReverseDiabetesHolistically.com asks which place would be the best place to sell e-Books – through the Kindle store or through one’s own website?
5. Fawaz Al-Malood from FoodHandlerHQ.com asks my opinion and feedback on using video distribution services for marketing purposes.
6. Gary Palmer from OregonFishShow.com asks what is the best way to add videos to iTunes.
7. Jason Love from JasonLovesLife.com asks my opinion about using Tweet Adders.
8. Kamil Kuczinski asks how to create a product in a niche that he is not an expert in.

So as you can see, that’s a whole lot of stuff. Listen and enjoy!

Oh, and if you have a question that you’d like for me to answer in part 2 (in 2 weeks), feel free to call the hotline at (888) 835-2414 or go to the Feedback Page to ask your question directly from your computer.

Who:

In a world where Google is in the business of Pimp Slapping online entrepreneurs with their algorithm updates, Court Tuttle from The Blog Builders comes along and says something like “SEO is EASIER today than it has ever been”.

How is that even possible?

How does that make ANY sense?

People are loosing online businesses left and right with each flexing of the Google Muscle, but Court comes and makes these kinds of claims.

Well – Court doesn’t just say it, he gives us practical steps to show us HOW to do SEO in today’s online Economy.

In this interview, we cover:

• Why SEO is STILL relevant today
• How he went from working at Radio Shack to becoming the “SEO guy”
• How he went from doing SEO to teaching
• How To optimize your blog for the search engines
• How to do keyword research quickly, easily and for free
• What kind of numbers should you be looking for
• The secret of Orphan posts
• How to get your stuff shared like crazy
• MUCH, MUCH MORE

Court definitely has a fascinating story. And to add to the story, this is one of those interviews where you get so much actionable data that you leave on a high, equipped to do the kinds of things that will grow your business.

So pull out a pen and paper (or simply your laptop) and start taking notes.

I also said that I would be using Become A Blogger and the Learning With Leslie Podcast to share what I’m doing with you.

The idea is pretty simple. By being ACTIVELY involved in building a blog that I’m so passionate about, I would have more actionable content to share with you.

Not some theoretical mumbo jumbo, but actual results from what I’m doing right now.

Well, to get it all started, the first step for me was to work on a Marketing Plan. Shoot, if I’m gonna be building my blog to 1 million monthly visitors, I have to have a plan in place.

You know what they say - if you fail to plan, you plan to fail. I don’t like that plan, so I need something concrete.

In this episode, I decided to lay that plan out for you so that you can see how I’m structuring my plan, and hopefully be able to take some nuggets from it that can help you come up with your plan.

So, in this episode, I talk about the following:

The 2 courses that I decided to focus my efforts on – Autoresponder Madness and Mixergy premium.
Setting a strong foundation by coming up with my customer avatar
The 5 things I will be focusing my efforts on. These 5 things are – producing great quality content, connecting with bloggers in my niche, Facebook ads, iTunes, and Media exposure.

Of course, I don’t just mention them in the podcast episode, I also go into great detail about how I will be doing each.

So, if traffic is something you want more of, you should listen to this podcast episode to get an idea of how I will be going about growing my traffic.

My Question For You: What marketing strategy/strategies will you be focusing on to build YOUR blog? Let me know in the comments below.

When Moutassem Hammour contacted me and told me about how he launched his blog 6 months ago and then created a product, launched it and made $500, I was EXTREMELY excited.

Not just because he was able to make money. He is actually blogging about something that is helping people. Ok, so here are a few of the details:

Moutassem is a Chiropracter living in France. He decided to launch a blog about meditation because he had experience with the topic and has seen first hand how meditation helps so many people.

His blog is in French and is called Pratiquer La Meditation.

He knew that he wanted to turn it into a business and decided that the route to go was creating a digital product. After going through my Product Creation Simplified and Product Launch Simplified courses (you can find those on my courses page), he basically did EXACTLY what I covered in those courses and is thrilled with the results.

In this interview, we basically dissected what he did, one step at a time. Yes, it’s kind of strange that I would basically have him describe ALL the steps he went through, which is basically giving away almost all the details of what I cover in the course, but I was so excited that I just wanted him to share it all. Why? Because one of my main goals is to help you TAKE ACTION.

So, we dove into:

• How he started his blog
• How he used Facebook Ads to grow his exposure quickly – this is something I haven’t covered ANYWHERE!
• How he created the product – in great detail.
• How he launched the product – the exact steps
• How he made $500 from a list of 350 email subscribers

This is good stuff, and I think you’ll be excited after listening to it.

My Question For You: What’s Stopping you from launching YOUR PRODUCT? Let me know in the comments below.

Yes, we all know the typical answers we give. My answers are:

• I LOVE to teach
• I want to help people
• I want to Create Content that Inspires Others and Change The World.
• I want to equip people like YOU to do BIG things!

And if those truly are my answers, they will dictate every action I take.

Well, in this podcast episode, I talk about how I’m changing what I do to be able to accomplish more. I talk about my change in focus and my change in concept and I go into all the details.

Rather than explain those details in these show notes, I’m going to stop here. Why? Because I REALLY want you to LISTEN to it. Only then can you FULLY understand where I’m coming from.

So go ahead and have a listen, then leave a comment below and let me know your thoughts on the changes I’m making.

Looking forward to hearing from you.

So, if you’re going to start a blog today, you can’t just throw anything out there. Well, I guess you can, but if you really want to Create Content that will Inspire Others and even Change The World, you’ve gotta come correct.

There are some Key mistakes that I see beginning bloggers make and I wanted to provide 5 tips for anyone starting a blog, so that they can set a firm foundation to build their Blogging Empire (muhahahaaa).

Actually, these tips can help you even if you’ve been blogging for years. The truth is, I’ve only recently started to implement some of them, and it has been extremely helpful.

What are the 5 Tips? I’m Glad you asked, because that’s exactly what I talk about in this podcast episode.

Tip #1: Blog about something you are passionate about or can be passionate about. I know, you’ve heard me say this over and over, but it’s SOOOO true. If you want motivation to make it through the hard times, choose passion!

Tip #2: Choose a specific niche and then niche it down even further.  In the episode, I give you examples that illustrate how I’ve done this so that you can apply the same principles I’ve applied.

Tip #3: Have a Unique Selling Proposition. How do you make your blog stand out? Listen to how I’ve done it so that you can apply the same concepts.

Tip #4. Write down your Customer Avatar. In the episode, I share my Customer Avatar in the form of a story I created. You just may be surprised at how DETAILED I get about my customer avatar.

Tip #5. Everything You Do should Focus on the Above Mentioned tips. Yes everything – from your content to your marketing, it should all form one comprehensive picture.

If you can do these five things, you can set a firm foundation for your blog. Of course, just reading them won’t do it justice. You’ve got to listen to the podcast to get the juicy details. So what are you waiting for?

Your Comments:

Today’s question is simple – what is your Unique Selling Proposition? Yes, I’ve asked this before, but I think it’s so important that I’m asking it again. Let me know in the comments below.

Loving this Podcast? Why not take it with you?

Doing so will automatically deliver the podcast to the device or service of your choice. It’s actually pretty simple to do using one of the following two links.

• Subscribe to the podcast in iTunes
• Subscribe to the podcast via RSS

Who:

Man, I remember it as if it were yesterday. I found out about this new social network that was quickly on the rise. I went to my wife to show her it because it seemed like something she would like.

And her response was something like – “Oh Pinterest? I LOVE Pinterest!

WHAT? My wife knew about a social network before I did? What was this world coming to? I’m the “Online Guy”. I tell her about social networks and she takes a while to come on board.

Our relationship was entering a new, weird space. Ok, maybe it wasn’t that big of a deal, but you get the point.

Pinterest is a very fascinating phenomena. As one of the FASTEST GROWING social networks, it’s a serious force to be reckoned with. It’s so serious that I’ve found myself curious as to how to best use Pinterest to expand what I’m doing here at Become A Blogger.

So, if their somethings strange, in the Pinterest hood. Who you gonna call? CYNTHIA SANCHEZ (modified ghost busters theme song – p.s. if you knew what this was, that’s an indication that you’re getting old).

Since I first time I met Cynthia at Blog World in New York, there was one thing that was GLARINGLY obvious – Cynthia Loves (and knows) Pinterest. From her blog, Oh So Pinteresting, she shares that passion with the world, educating people on how to effectively use Pinterest.

In this interview, Cynthia talks about:

• How she got into this whole Pinterest thing
• Making the tough decision to leave her stable job as an Oncology nurse to focus on her online business
• The Challenges she faced while building her blog
• How Blogging lead to some AWESOME Opportunities
• What Bloggers need to do to be AWESOME on Pinterest (Step By Step)
• How to grow a following on Pinterest
• How to Make Money With Pinterest

So, if you’ve heard of this Pinterest thing and want to know how YOU can best use it for your blog, business, or whatever else you’re into, make sure to check out this interview. You’re gonna love it.

Your Comments

Are you using Pinterest? If so, How? Let me know in the comments section below.

What followed were a bunch of suggestions, but there was one that stood out for me. Farnoosh Brock from Prolific Living posted the following:

When I read that I thought to myself – AHA, THAT’S IT!

A few weeks ago, I got an email from my partner Cassandre Beccai because she had started experiencing just that! She was slaving away creating awesome videos for her audience and within a few hours, she could tell that there were certain people hating on her by giving her videos a bunch of thumbs down.

What she wanted to know was How I would recommend dealing with those individuals.

This is something I’ve had to face and as you get YOUR blog out there, it doesn’t matter how awesome it is, you WILL start receiving negative comments.

In this Episode, I share 10 Tips on How To Handle Trolls, Personal Attacks and Negative comments on your blog.

What are my top tips? Here’s a quick summary:

• Tip 1: Acknowledge that YOUR blog is YOUR blog
• Tip 2: Make sure that what you are doing at your blog lines up with YOUR core values
• Tip 3: Keep track of ALL the positive comments you get
• Tip 4: Review those positive comments from time to time
• Tip 5: Celebrate the haters
• Tip 6: Decide on how you want to deal with those negative comments
• Tip 7: IF you decide respond to negative comments, respond with positivity
• Tip 8: Pay attention to trends
• Tip 9: Remember the positive comments and WHY you are doing what you are doing
• Tip 10: Plow straight ahead

Of course, in the episode I dig deep into each of these points, so make sure to have a listen

Listener Questions

I also answer a Question that was called in by Elby Higginbotham about How to drive traffic to your blog regularly when there are so many things to take into consideration like ALL the different social media sites.

Your Comments

Have you ever had to deal with trolls, personal attacks or negative comments on your blog? If so, how do YOU deal with it? Let me know in the comments below.

In Episode 99 I dealt with How to get traffic to your blog. In that episode, I spoke about ALL the free methods I used to build my biology blog to over 50,000 visitors/month.

However, when Warren Gibbons from Salt Water Aquariums Explained called in a question about engagement, I thought to myself – “Yeah, I should definitely record an entire podcast episode answering his question”.

The fact is – getting people to your blog is only ONE part of the equation. The other part (which in my opinion is even more exciting) is getting to actually engage with your content. Whenever you get that one comment, it almost feel like validation of the work you put in.

So, in this episode I gave 10 ways to get more engagement. Those ways are:

1. Get More traffic. Yep, this one is an obvious one. The more people come to your blog, the more likely you are to get engagement. How do you get more traffic? Check out This Episode.

2. Create Great Content. This is something I keep saying OVER AND OVER, and you know what? I won’t stop saying it. If your content sucks. People won’t engage.

3. Create Emotional Content. This is something that I’m learning can have a significant impact on audience engagement. When you tug on people’s emotions (not in a manipulative way of course), engagement goes up. Just watch how this video makes you smile and you’ll see exactly what I mean:

Click here to view the embedded video.

4. Facts tell, stories SELL. So, tell more stories. People don’t remember all those facts, but if you can embed the facts into an awesome story, that’s memorable.

5. Ask For It. This is the simplest of all the tips. If you want people to do something, ask them to do it. That’ll increase the likelihood that they’ll actually do it. Don’t just assume.

6. Give ONE call to action at a time. If you ask people to do more than one thing, the chances of them doing ANY of them decreases (at least, that’s what I’ve seen from my stats).

7. Respond to ALL your comments. Go ahead, leave a comment on this episode. I bet you’ll get a response from yours truly. And when people see that you respond, they’ll be more likely to comment.

8. Engage with others. Go out there and find other blogs, communities and groups in your niche. If people are passionate enough to be in those places, they are more likely to comment on your blog and engage with your content.

9. Do something special for your audience. This is something I “stole” from Pat Flynn from Smart Passive Income. He calls it Random Acts of Kindness, and it works!

10. CARE. This one I stole from Gary Vaynerchuk’s book “Crush It”. Awesome book! The fact is – people don’t care how much you know until they know how much you care.

Now of course, In the episode I unpack all of the juicy details, so don’t just read the show notes and think that you got it all. Make sure to listen to the episode so that you can get the full effect.

Your Input

So, my question for you is simple – What do YOU do to increase engagement on your blog? Let me know in the comments bellow.

Well that’s EXACTLY what I did. On January 8th, I was privileged to speak at the New Media Expo in Las Vegas, NV and I recorded this very special episode, both as an audio podcast AND as video. Yes, I went all out on this one.

In fact, you can watch the video right here:

Click here to view the embedded video.

In the presentation, I covered:

• Who I was and Why I got into Podcasting
• What my podcasting workflow looked like before and what it looks like now
• Different equipment options for podcasting professionally
• How To Go about PLANNING your episode
• How to deal with mistakes

But here’s the thing. This is Episode 100, which is a pretty big Milestone. And to celebrate, I decided to go all out and try to make this podcast episode and blog post into a significant resource for anyone interested in getting into podcasting.

That’s where this next section comes into play

What’s YOUR Podcasting Budget?

When it comes to podcasting, there are so many equipment options that it can be difficult to make a decision. I wanted to put together a resource to go along with my presentation that can work for any budget.

I know how it is to be just starting out and not have money to spend on expensive equipment. However, that’s no reason not to start podcasting. I put together packages that range from under $60 to $1,000+. With ALL of these setups, you will get a good quality recording. However, as expected – the more you spend, the better quality you will get.

These packages are put together in a way that you can start with the absolute minimum, get a good quality sound, and upgrade in the future by just adding other components to what you already have. So, you don’t have to worry about your equipment no longer being applicable as you grow.

If you have questions about any of the products, don’t hesitate to ask in the comments section below. I LOVE this stuff. In fact, many people don’t know this but I’m actually a certified Recording Engineer. I love audio production so much that I had to get all official and stuff!

To see the details of any of the packages, simply click on any of the following options . . .

Under $60 Budget

• Audio-Technica ATR2100-USB Cardioid Dynamic USB/XLR Microphone – $43.60
• Microphone Windscreen – $3.99
• Desktop Mic Stand – $10.15

Total Cost: $57.74

Notes: With this setup, you can get started with a good quality sound for a low price. Microphone is both USB AND XLR. This means that you can start recording by plugging it into your computer via USB directly, and if you decide to upgrade to a mixer in the future, you can bring it along with you.

If I had a nickel for every time I had someone ask me how to get traffic to their blog, I would quit blogging and just live off of that income.

Ok, maybe I’m exaggerating just a tad bit.

Either way, traffic is a HOT topic when it comes to building a blog and an online business. Unfortunately, if you build it, they won’t necessarily come. You’ve actually got to go out there and get your stuff in front of the people who are looking for your awesome content.

So how exactly do you do that? I’m glad you asked.

Here’s what I talk about in this episode:

Answers to Listener Questions

Norma Hamilton calls in to ask about a wordpress plugin she can use to turn her blog into an eCommerce site. I tell her about the Woocommerce plugin from Woothemes. It’s the plugin we use on my partners blog at CassandreBeccai.com. It’s free and allows you to sell both physical and digital products.

Scarlet from the Teen Babble Blog calls in specifically to ask about how she can increase the traffic to her blog. I respond by going into how narrowing her niche even further can help her use the strategies I mention in this podcast episode to drive even more traffic to her blog.

10 Strategies For Driving FREE traffic

I then go into the ten strategies I’ve used for driving FREE traffic to my Interactive Biology Blog. Here’s a brief summary of everything I’ve done that has resulted in traffic to my blog.

• Strategy 1: Contacted one high profile blogger in my niche in a specific way that result in a HIGH VALUE link back to my site that gave me a jump start in terms of traffic.
• Strategy 2: Video Marketing on Youtube. I posted short videos on youtube with a clear call to action to come back to my blog and a link back to my blog in the description.
• Strategy 3: Posting in related forums in my niche. I found 2 biology forums and started participating and adding value.
• Strategy 4: Compiled a database of biology and education sites and contacted them for links.
• Strategy 5: Directory submission. I submitted my blog to Biology and Educational directories.
• Strategy 6: Facebook marketing. I started a Facebook page for my blog and interacted with my audience there regularly in specific ways.
• Strategy 7: Media Promotion. Was promoted by Leo Laporte on The Tech Guy show.
• Strategy 8: Built and used my list. Whenever I had something valuable to share on my blog, I sent a link to my list and that result in almost instant traffic.
• Strategy 9: Won 2 awards. I asked my list to nominate and vote for me for 2 awards. This brought exposure and traffic.
• Strategy 10: Guest posting. I guest posted on blogs that were outside my niche. This resulted in traffic and some of that traffic stuck.

In the episode, I don’t just mention the ten strategies, but I also go into detail about each one and shared how it resulted in the traffic that I have today.

Brought To You By

This podcast episode is brought to you by my 10 Free Videos on Becoming A Blogger at www.FreeBloggingVideos.com. You can go there and learn to get your blog up and running fast so that you can create content that inspires others and even change the world.

Click Here To Sign Up For My 10 Free Videos

Your Comments

What strategies have you tried that have worked for you in getting traffic back to your blog? Share them in the comments below.

I just got back from New Media Expo in Las Vegas, Nevada, where I did a talk on How I do my podcast without having to edit.

While in Vegas, I had the privilege of recording an AWESOME podcast episode with my VERY good friends Chris Deals from Day Job Knockout and Crystal Collins from Savvy Blogging.

Since New Media Expo was right at the beginning of the year, we decided to have a discussion about Setting Goals for 2013.

What are your Goals?

How do you plan on achieving them?

Do you have a content strategy? A Marketing strategy?

Or are you just going into 2013 blindly?

Nahh, you don’t want to do that, and we want to help you. So, we got together and recorded this episode. We had lots of fun with it. I knew we would, so I decided to not only record the audio, but also do the video.

So you can listen to it above, or watch the video right here:

Click here to view the embedded video.

In this episode, we also spoke about a cool resource that Crystal put together with our good friend Dan Morris. What is it? I’m glad you asked.

The Marketing Calendar Blueprint

This is something that we spoke about before in my last Interview with Crystal. When we did that interview, the Marketing Calendar Blueprint sounded like a great idea, but I hadn’t checked it out as yet. Well now I have and I’m thoroughly impressed.

It’s a tool to help you come up with your marketing calendar, but it really does more than that.

It helps you to narrow down on WHAT your audience wants so that you can give it to them, how to actually reach your target audience, the best ways to engage them and a number of other important factors.

Then, taking that info, you can set up a Marketing Calendar that can help you accomplish your goals for 2013 and beyond.

If this is something you’re interested in, you should definitely check it out.

Click Here To Go To The Marketing Calendar Blueprint

Today’s episode is a bit different. Well, it’s been a while since I’ve done something like this.

As you may or may not know, I take questions for my podcast episode. In fact, you can always go to my Feedback Page, leave a question/comment and I will play it on the show and answer it, if it’s a question.

You can use that page to record your message as long as you have a mic attached to your computer. OR, you can call the hotline at (888) 835-2414.

Well, I’ve had a few questions that were called in over the last few weeks that I haven’t been able to get to. So I decided to rectify that situation by making this episode a Q&A episode.

Here are the five questions that were called in:

Ebook Promotion

Alain from AlainInternetMarketing.com called to ask for my advice on how to promote his ebook. So, I give him some actionable advice on how he can do just that.

Disappearing from iTunes

Bob Skelton from NetworkMarketersJournal.com called to ask if I dropped off of iTunes. In short, I did. Find out what happened.

Duplicate Content

Jason from ApplicationTalk.com referred back to my interview with Kim Roach and had some Duplicate Content concerns. He wanted to know if that was something he should be worried about. I talk about the downfalls of duplicate content and ways to avoid it.

Banned From Adsense

Kathy from LeanBodyWorks.com wanted to know her options for making money through advertising after being banned from Adsense. I share an interesting story about how I was banned from Adsense and what I did about it.

Problems with your Job

Paul wants to know how I deal with blogging in the same industry I work and whether that causes problems with my employer. I give some ways that I recommend dealing with this issue.

Another year of life. YAYYY. So, I decided to do something extra special. Some of you are going to LOVE this and some of you are going to HATE this. And that’s ok.

It’s not about blogging, it’s about something way bigger.

Warning: This episode is going to be VERY mushy, and if you aren’t into all that mushy love stuff, this isn’t the episode for you!

In this episode, I share the following:

• Where my wife and I met
• How we started doing music together
• The great disappointment that I faced when she disappeared one weekend
• How I asked her to be my girlfriend
• The longest proposal you’ve ever heard of
• Our new journey that we’re about to embark on

All of that, and a whole bunch of cheese in between. So I hope you enjoy, and if it’s not for you, I will see you again next week

Oh, and here’s a video of her singing a Duet:

Click here to view the embedded video.

And here’s a video of her conducting

Click here to view the embedded video.

Who:

I’ve been blogging since September of 2008, which is a little over four years now. For most of that journey, it has been me, in my office (or any other part of the house – or world). It’s one of the things I REALLY love about blogging.

Then, something happened – I attended a live event. I was able to connect with people on a whole different level. It was where online and offline came together and had beautiful offspring

Well, in June of this year, I had the opportunity to attend Blog World and New Media Expo in New York city, and also take part in a panel discussion on how to Podcast your way to your Dream Job. Ahh mannn, it was sooo awesome.

Why? There are So many reasons. However, the BEST part was that I was able to meet some AWESOME like-minded individuals – People I had known from online, AND new friends who I know now.

Honestly, when I think about Blogworld, as awesome as the event was, I think mostly about individuals like Chris Deals from Day Job Knockout, Crystal Collins from The Thrifty Mama, Dan Morris from Letters From Dan.

I think about our trip into town looking for a place to hang out. I think about an weird and TWISTED moment we had going to a certain place that will remained nameless and hopefully never see the light of day again, lol (inside joke).

I think of the fact that I believe that I’ve gotten lifelong friends who I’ve been able to make REALLY deep connections with that would’ve NEVER happened if I didn’t get out of the internet box and ventured out into new territories.

These are a fraction of all the memories, and awesome people I’ve been able to connect with. Why? Because Rick Calvert and his team decided to put this great even together.

So, I decided to grab Rick on the line to talk about the history of Blog World and New Media Expo, where it is now and where it’s heading in the future.

In this interview, Rick talks about:

• Where he was before starting Blog World and New Media Expo
• Why he decided to start the conference
• How they managed to get 1,600 attendees to the first conference
• How they got Mark Cuban to speak at their very first event
• What’s the best part about coming to New Media Expo
• How they choose their speakers
• Advice for New Bloggers
• What to expect from New Media Expo in the future

Who:

Ok, I need to let you know how this happened. The truth is that I don’t know where I found out about Natalie, a.k.a. the “Mogul Mom”, but somehow I stumbled onto one of her videos.

When I saw the video, I said to myself – man, I need to check this girl out a little more.

Why? Because she seemed SO genuine. So, I followed the trail, checked her out in a number of places and was SO IMPRESSED with who she is and what she has been able to accomplish, while being a wife, mom, model, blogger AND entrepreneur.

And you guys thought I was crazy (in a good way of course)? This girl takes things to the next level!

In fact, after working online for ONLY 3 MONTHS, she ended up quitting her job so that she could be at home taking care of her daughter – I love it!

Ok, I know I know. You’re probably wondering what the video I saw was about, and how it lead me down this trail of getting her on the show. To satisfy your curiosity, here it is:

Click here to view the embedded video.

How can you NOT be instantly captivated? I know I was.

So, I connected with her and grabbed her on this interview, and she overdelivered (as my guests normally do).

Natalie is known for helping people use social media to get themselves and their ideas out there and in front of the world. Here are some of the things Natalie Covers in this interview:

• What the term Mogul Mom means
• How she got into social media/blogging
• How to use Social Media (especially Facebook) to grow your blog
• “My Story” marketing and how that can help maximize your success
• How to not Waste Time on social media
• Answers to questions from the community
• She even offers me a little bit of parenting advice, which my ears are ALWAYS open for

All in all, there was a TON of value offered in this interview. My recommendation – Sit back, relax, grab a cup of tea (or whatever else you drink when you’re relaxing) and listen in, undisturbed.

Then, once you’re finished, make sure to leave me a comment below with your thoughts

That’s all for now, until next time – Take Care and God Bless

Who: Kim Roach
Blog: Buzz Blogger
Transcript: Click Here To Download

It’s one of the TOP questions I get asked – “Leslie, can you show me how to get MORE TRAFFIC to my blog?”

The question makes sense. I mean – if you’re going to spend your time building your blog, if you hope to be able to influence others, if you’re trying to make a difference in the world, or if you’re just doing it to make money, you’re gonna need to have people actually visit your site. Right?

OF COURSE! Well, for that very reason, I’m so glad to have my new friend Kim Roach, from Buzz Blogger on this interview today, because she knows traffic.

She has written extensively on the topic from first hand experience, and has lots of experience helping others achieve the same.

So in this interview, Kim talks about the following:

• How she started a website in High School that got 50,000 visitors per month and made $1,000 per month.
• How she learned the importance of a subscriber list
• What her Absolute BEST strategy is for driving HIGH QUALITY, targeted traffic to her blog is
• The importance of Epic Content
• How to Promote your content once you’ve created it
• How to start a Blogging alliance that will promote your content for you
• Why she doesn’t pay attention to Google anymore

She then goes on to talk about a bunch of traffic strategies, some things I’ve never thought of doing, but make sense. She also included a list of resources that we can use to drive more traffic to our blogs.

So, if you’re the person who wants to get more traffic (and who doesn’t want that), make sure to listen in. I’m sure you’ll find at least 1 strategy that can help you take your traffic to the next level.

Enjoy!

Transcript:

For today’s episode, I decided to get a littler more detailed with what I do here. You see, one of the things I get asked A LOT is how I create my Squeeze Pages.

This is something I didn’t do for a long time. However, when coming into the launch of Become A Blogger Premium, I knew it would be essential for me to generate MULTIPLE squeeze pages (and sales pages, launch pages, and membership pages).

Here’s the thing – I’m no designer!

In fact, I’ve tried designing a few things for my blogs in the past and every time I show them to my trusted friends, they tell me the same thing – It looks like crap.

Side note: Can you imagine how that feels when you spend hours working on something and finally thinks it looks great, just to have everyone say it looks like crap? lol.

Anyways, it become very clear to me that design wasn’t my fortay. Then I found OptimizePress – A wordpress theme that allows you to make your squeeze pages (and sales, membership and launch pages) look awesome, without needing to have ANY design skills.

In fact, it’s SOOO SIMPLE that I decided to make a quick video that will show you How To Create A Squeeze Page In EXACTLY 3 Minutes. Check it out:

Click here to view the embedded video.

Wasn’t that EASY? Yeah, I know!

Ok, enough about the video, here’s what I cover in this episode:

• What is a Squeeze Page
• What kinds of things can you give away to get people to Sign Up for your list
• Why You Should Create A Squeeze Page (or two, or three . . .)
• What You Will Need To Create Your Squeeze Page
• The 3 Elements Of An Effective Squeeze Page

In 30 Minutes, I go through all of that Jazz, and it’s some valuable Jazz. So make sure to check it out and then let me know what you think in the comments below.

About OptimizePress

As you probably already know, I love me some OptimizePress. Why? It’s very simple – it allows you to create the kind of pages you need as an info marketer without having to go through all the headache of hiring a designer.

And yes – I’m talking about Squeeze Pages, Sales Pages, Launch Pages, and Membership Pages. I’m currently using ALL of these types of pages here at Become A Blogger and without those pages, it would cost me an arm, a leg, and my firstborn (coming in November – YAYY) just to get the look I want to get.

The design of THIS BLOG that you’re reading right now cost me approximately $1,800, which isn’t a ridiculous amount of money considering what I got, BUT if I had to get individual designs done for EACH of the kinds of pages I need done . . . yeah . . . that would’ve been a pretty penny.

So Opted for OptimizePress (get it? That was one of my corny jokes, lol). If you want to check out all the different types of designs that come out of the box, check out the OptimizePress Template Library.

Action Steps

Alrighty, as usual I want you to interact with me below. So here’s the assignment for today (and you’re gonna love it)

Option #1: Leave a link to your squeeze page below and let me know what it’s about. Yes, I’m actually asking you to promote yourself in my comments area (and I don’t ask that a lot)
Option #2: If you DON’T have a Squeeze Page, then let me know what idea you have for something you can give away using the squeeze page techniques I talk about in today’s episode.

p.s. Yes, the links to OptimizePress and Aweber are Affiliate Links. As you probably already know, if I’m promoting something, it’s because I BELIEVE in the product/service and know that they will benefit you. Otherwise, I’d rather be sitting on the side of the street with no food to eat (not sure where that came from, but it’s true)

Who:

Hey, did you know I’m from the Caribbean? Ok, you probably guessed that because of my cool accent

Well, today I’m super excited because I actually get to interview a fellow Caribbean. Not only that, but he’s someone who Blogs about Caribbean food (side note: It’s the BEST FOOD IN THE WORLD).

So, if you hear my Caribbean Accent a little stronger in this episode, you know why

Today’s guest is none other than Chris De La Rosa from from the Caribbean Pot blog. Chris was able to take his passion for Caribbean cuisine and culture and share this on his blog that gets over 100,000 Unique visitors every month.

Now, I don’t know about you but I think that’s A WHOLE LOT OF PEOPLE.

Here are some of the other cool things he has been able to build to:

• Over 21,000 Likes on Facebook
• Over 14,000 Subscribers on Youtube
• Over 2.3 MILLION Videos views for his Caribbean Cooking Videos

Is that significant? It totally is. But that’s not the most powerful thing in my opinion.

What makes what he does great is that he is able to take something he’s EXTREMELY passionate about, share it with the world, and build a business around it. It’s a beautiful thing.

Inside This Interview, Chris shares the following:

• How he got into blogging
• One change he made to his videos that propelled his blog forward
• How he gets traffic to his site
• How he used social media to take his blog to the next level

I know you’ll enjoy this interview, because I sure did. And yes, you’ll get lots of value from it, in addition to practical tips to implement to grow your blog. So what are you waiting for? Have a listen

Loving this Podcast? Why not take it with you?

Doing so will automatically deliver the podcast to the device or service of your choice. It’s actually pretty simple to do using one of the following two links.

• Subscribe to the podcast in iTunes
• Subscribe to the podcast via RSS

Hey Leslie, I’ve been blogging for (INSERT TIME PERIOD HERE) and I still can’t manage to get any traffic, build my list, and make sales. Should I give up? What should I do? I CAN’T TAKE THIS! AAAAAHHHHHHH (added for emphasis)

Well, for the person who has those questions, LISTEN TO THIS EPISODE.

In this episode, I talk about the one question EVERY blogger should answer. This will help you really take your blogging to the next level, and until you can answer this question, your blog will continue to be mediocre.

It’s a simple question that goes like this – “What Makes Your Blog Different?”

Ok, I know what you’re thinking – “Oh, that’s it? I don’t need to listen to the episode then, because I got the gist.”

Oh no grasshopper, you really want to listen, because I break it down in a way that makes it easy for you to answer that question and then take the right kind of action.

In addition to that awesome content, I also make the following announcements:

• Become A Blogger Premium is relaunched, and will be open indefinitely.
• I’ve reorganized the navigation of the blog. Check out the menu above.
• I will be speaking at New Media Expo in Las Vegas, NV in January. Come and meet me. I’d love to connect with you.

I also answer 3 questions that were called into the hotline:

• Carey Green from Christian Home And Family - What’s more important, getting your keywords in your title or having a catchy title?
• Jason from Application Talk – Since I recommend NOT using link building software, what do I think about the enhanced distribution feature of Jetpack?
• John from Ask John English – 1. How did my Health Challenge go? 2. What other expenses, legal ramification, etc do bloggers encounter?

That’s pretty much it. Oh wait, one more thing. Your Homework:

Today’s Homework

Answer the following question below in the comments – What makes YOUR blog DIFFERENT? See ya in the comments.

Loving this Podcast? Why not take it with you?

Doing so will automatically deliver the podcast to the device or service of your choice. It’s actually pretty simple to do using one of the following two links.

• Subscribe to the podcast in iTunes
• Subscribe to the podcast via RSS

Who:

Today’s interview was a tremendous pleasure. I met Crystal at Blog World in New York this summer and we had a blast getting to know her.

Well, I knew that Crystal was into big things, but I didn’t fully understand how AWESOME she is when it comes to blogging and building online businesses. I mean – I knew she was awesome, but now I know that awesome doesn’t begin to describe it.

I grabbed her on this interview and she shared some awesome tips on how to really build a SERIOUS business with your blog. This interview isn’t for anyone who doesn’t want to take their blogging seriously.

I mean, it has even caused me to reevaluate how I do my business. So trust me on this one – you want to listen to this one, especially if you are someone who thinks big.

Inside the interview, Crystal talks about

• How she got into blogging in the first place
• Why it’s Essential to be passionate about what you’re doing
• How to take your blogging business to the next level in 3 steps
• What a Keyword Theme Map is and why you need one

So, What did you think about this interview? Make sure to let me know in the comments below.

Loving this Podcast? Why not take it with you?

Doing so will automatically deliver the podcast to the device or service of your choice. It’s actually pretty simple to do using one of the following two links.

• Subscribe to the podcast in iTunes
• Subscribe to the podcast via RSS

Who:

Man, I just love having awesome conversations with Awesome people. Well, today’s episode is no exception.

Today, I interview my good friend Pat Flynn from Smart Passive Income. Now, I’ve been checking this dude out for a while, and I must say that he is one of the bloggers I’ve come to hold with high regard.

Why? Because he doesn’t come with all that spammy, hard-selling crap that so many marketers force down your throat.

In fact – he has a HIGHLY responsive list, and doesn’t sell directly to that list. Sounds strange, doesn’t it?

Well, I had to get Pat on the line to talk about this topic – how to be an ethical blogger/marketer and still make money. Yes, he makes money, and lots of it.

How do I know? Because, Pat is probably one of the most transparent marketers out there. He is open about his income, successes and failures, and does it in a way that does not come off as bragging. In fact, it comes off as being very inspirational.

So, in this interview, we don’t go into a lot of detail about Pat’s history, since I already interviewed him about that in my very first interview on this podcast.

Instead, I ask Pat to share his best tips on how to be an awesome marketer in a very ethical way.

In the interview, Pat shares:

• What it means to be an ethical marketer
• How he makes money without hard selling
• Why he never sells directly to his list
• 9 Awesome Tips on how to be a Successful, Ethical blogger/marketer

He also answers two questions called into the hotline by two members of the Become A Blogger Community:

• Alain, from AlainInternetMarketing.com called in to ask how so many people fall prey to the Internet Marketing Scams out there.
• Rochelle, From The Single Status called in to ask about whether she should disclose that her links are affiliate links even if her audience has no idea what affiliate marketing is.

If you’re looking for inspiration, and want to take your blogging efforts to the next level in an awesome way, listen to this interview.

Loving this Podcast? Why not take it with you?

Doing so will automatically deliver the podcast to the device or service of your choice. It’s actually pretty simple to do using one of the following two links.

• Subscribe to the podcast in iTunes
• Subscribe to the podcast via RSS

The first time we launched was back in March, and during that launch, I was testing out the “system”. I wanted to make sure the technology was working right and that the members who signed up were getting as much value as possible.

Then, we relaunched on August 9 and opened it up for affiliates to promote.

Well – it has been a very fun ride, and it’s great to see how Become A Blogger has grown. Along the way, I’ve learnt A LOT.

In this episode, I wanted to share with you 5 lessons I learned from doing Two Successful Product Launches.

So go ahead and have a listen.

Your Homework Assignment:

Launch a product. I know – sounds crazy, but it can do so much for your online business. Just the experience of doing it is great, and if you do it well, you can even create a decent income.

Question: What product are you thinking about launching? Let me know below . . .

Transcript

Blogging is all about community. Wait, you don’t think so? What? You haven’t been focusing on building community?

Ok, it’s time to pause then. Building a community around your blog is an AWESOME thing. Why? I’m glad you ask:

•  It ads a sense of belonging.
•  You can get feedback easily if you have a community.
•  It allows you to have a greater impact on the world.
•  Your community becomes your biggest advocates.
•  When you do have a product, it’s easier to sell if you already have a loyal community.

And those are only SOME of the many reasons.

In this podcast episode, I give some practical tips for how you can go about building a community around your blog.

This is something I’m actively working on doing right now for Become A Blogger, and I’m starting to see the many benefits of doing so.

Then, I take 3 listener questions:

Michael Griffith (on Facebook) asks what the best platform is for building a community

Holly from Happy Food Healthy Life, Carey from Christian Home and Family, and Vanessa Jeny (on Facebook) asks about how to get people to comment on your blog.

Chris Ducker from ChrisDucker.com asks (on Facebook) about how to go about automating the process so that you can spend time focusing on Content Creation.

Lots of awesome value in the episode, so make sure to listen in, and even take notes:

Today’s Homework Assignment:

Do something nice for one person in your audience/community, and come back and tell me about it

Transcript

Why? Simple – because they can send you A LOT of traffic. Trust me – I know. Google is the #1 source of traffic for my Biology Website, and I’m not complaining. Just look at this graph:

Yes, that’s almost 20,000 visits from the search engines in 1 month, and yes my search engine traffic is probably around 95% Google (didn’t do the exact calculations, but that’s close to accurate).

And yet, for many “internet marketers” out there, this can be a scary thing. Why? They try all kinds of “clever tricks” for ranking well in Google, and from one day to the next, Google can make an algorithm change that takes their blog/website/online presence from 60 to 0 in 2.5 seconds.

In fact, in a recent talk at SES San Francisco, Matt Cutts, head of Google’s Web Spam team warns SEO experts about the next update by saying: “You don’t want the next Penguin update, the engineers have been working hard” and that, “The updates are going the be jarring and julting for a while”.

According to 1 report, over 250 Million websites have been affected by the penguin update.

In a poll done by Search Engine Roundtable with 1000 responses, 65% of them responded that they were hurt by the Penguin update.

What does that mean for the blogosphere?

No – Forget that. What does it mean for YOU? Yes, YOU who are just getting started with your blog, and YOU who have been working on your blog for a while? That’s exactly what this episode is about.

So don’t get PIMP slapped by Google

Right Click To Download Transcript

One of the things I had to come to accept is that a blog is NOT a business. I’ve said it before, and it’s true.

A blog is a platform around which you can build a SIGNIFICANT business, but in order to do so, there are certain steps that you have to take.

In this episode, I discuss what I consider to be the essential components that help you to take your blog and build something bigger.

There are more than one way to do it, but as usual, I will share what has worked for me from my own personal experience. The last few months of building Become A Blogger has REALLY taught me a whole lot, and I want to share that with you so that you can do something similar.

So sit back, relax, and enjoy the episode.

Yes, I was surprised, but also VERY HAPPY. As a result of this survey, I have enough ideas to probably last me the next year.

In this episode, I share what the results were and how I’m going to be changing what I do here at Become A Blogger.

Not only that, I also share some strategies that you can use for building surveys that allow you to find out EXACTLY what YOUR audience wants, and I challenge you to actually go out and do it.

So go ahead and listen to the episode, and then take action.

This was Bound to happen, and it finally did.

When I first started with Internet Marketing back in 2008, I met this guy by the name of Chris Deals from Day Job Knockout. We hit it off right from the beginning and have been in constant contact since.

Chances are, if you see something I do online, you’ve seen it after I’ve been through a few convos with him. It’s like a two person mastermind.

This is the way it usually happens: Chris and I are on the phone having a discussion about online business. The discussion goes into a lot of detail, and has a bunch of value for both of us. Then we end up saying – MAN, we should’ve recorded this!

So, we decided to have a planned discussion this time, record it, and release it as a Podcast Episode for Learning With Leslie.

In this discussion, my cohost and I talk all about Relationships.

What it really comes down to is this – To be successful online, you have to nurture relationships, and be able to leverage those relationships to help you succeed.

However, there are right ways and wrong ways to go about doing this. Trust me, I’ve seen MANY of the WRONG ways, and you don’t want to go down that road.

Chris and I want to make sure you do it the right way, so make sure to listen and take notes.

Inside this episode, we cover:

• How to identify people in your Niche to Form relationships with
• What a Relationship database is and how to build one
• Basic tips for building relationships that will accelerate your success
• Advanced tips for taking your relationship building to the next level

Who:

Today’s interviews was such a privilege to do. In my early days of blogging, when I blogged about Freebie Trading, I was interviewed by Today’s guest.

It was a fun interview, but what happened afterwards absolutely BLEW MY MIND.

Someone else wrote an article that mentioned the interview, and that article got picked up by MSN Money.

All I’m saying is this – it resulted in so much traffic, and opt ins to my Mailing list that I thought there was a serious glitch in Aweber.

So come full circle, Bot is a very successful blogger who managed to build a successful blog in a very competitive niche – Personal Finance. How did he do it?

Well I can’t tell you here, or you wouldn’t listen to the interview. Press the play button above and you’ll hear all the juicy details.

Inside the interview, Bob talks about:

• How he got into blogging in the first place
• How he was able to stand out in a competitive niche
• How he uses keyword research and which tools he uses
• The awesome training he offers

Your blog is not a business!

I know, it’s very disappointing isn’t it? All this talk about making money blogging and I’m gonna start out this post by saying something like that.

It’s true though. Your blog is not a business, but it’s a platform around which you can build a MASSIVE business. Yeah, I know – That sounds much better than that first line.

So when I got two questions on the hotline a few days apart about making money, I decided to devote this entire episode to talking about that.

The Questions

Alex called in to ask about all the different ways you can make money with your blog. So, I answered his question first.

Then Rochelle, from Simply Natural Ideas called in to ask about how she could take a presentation that she’s already doing and turn it into a product. So, I spend the rest of the episode talking about how to make money with your blog with what you are already doing.

This is something that I did with my Biology blog. I took the content that was freely available on my blog and converted it into a paid product. Since then, I’ve sold over 400 copies.

How do you do that? Listen to this episode and you’ll understand.

Btw, if you have any questions you’d like me to answer on the show, don’t hesitate to call the hotline at (888) 835 – 2414.

I got rid of my Learning With Leslie Blog and brought it all under Become A Blogger with a renewed focus of providing you with even more value.

So, I’d like for you to watch the following video and then Click play above. When you do that, you’ll get an insight into a lot of the changes that have been happening behind the scenes that I’m super excited to share with you.

Click here to view the embedded video.

Now for the details of this podcast episode . . .

First, I play and respond to feedback from Matt, from FitDeskJockey.com on how he was able to land a guest post. Guest posting is something I highly recommend for growing your blog audience and getting more traffic to your blog. Matt was able to not only do a guest post, but he went the extra mile of making a VIDEO guest post. Go ahead and check out his guest video on How To Do Pull Ups.We all know how much I love video!

Then, I get into the following details:

• Why I decided to get rid of my Learning With Leslie Blog and merge it with Become A Blogger
• The importance of narrowing your focus and what Physics teaches us about this concept
• What this merger means for YOU.
• What you can expect over the next month (you want to know this)

Lastly, I pose the following question to you:

What is the important thing in your business that you are going to spend most of your energy focusing on?

I’d love to hear your answer. You can leave your answer below.

Also, if you have any questions, comments or suggestions, feel free to call the hotline @ (888) 835 – 2414.

” alt=”" width=”288″ height=”192″ />Who:

I know of a bunch of people who are looking for ways to market their services online. What’s the best way to do it? Well, there really isn’t ONE best way.

What’s the way I recommend? Using your blog to market your service. Whether you’re a writer, graphic designer, web designer, life coach or someone else who exchanges time (yours or your outsourcer’s), I think blogging can be a powerful tool.

So I invited Joe Bunting to do an interview. Joe is a blogger who uses his blog to market his editing and ghost writing services and has a very interesting story to tell.

He built his blog in a relatively short time using some interesting strategies, and has an interesting philosophy on how to be a service oriented blogger.

Inside this interview, we cover . . .

• Why Joe started his blog
• How he got traffic to his blog in a relatively short period of time
• How he got featured on popular blogs and how we can do the same
• The best way to blog if you’re marketing a service
• Much, much more

Attention: This interview was scheduled for next week, but was so good and promotes something that will help so many people that I decided to post it 1 week early. So the reference to Blog World at the end refers to Next Week.

I meet Authority Bloggers all the time – people who have built blogs that have established them as an authority in their niche. This is pretty commonplace today – People start blogs, become popular, start selling info products and make a significant amount of Cashy Cashy.

However, every once in a blue moon, I meet someone who is doing something that just REALLY STANDS OUT!

Well, let me tell you. I saw a tweet about something Adam Baker was doing, within an hour we had arranged to do an interview that same day (which was yesterday), we did the interview and I’m posting it today.

Why such a quick turnaround? Because I BELIEVE IN WHAT HE’S DOING and I want to do my part to let the world know.

When I was in college, I read a book called Rich Dad, Poor Dad and it completely changed my mindset. For the first time in my life, I knew that I could do something HUGE in my lifetime, and I didn’t have to settle for the status quo.

Adam and his team are working on a project that I believe can serve as that kind of inspiration for people all over the world, and I wanted to share it with you so that you can be one of the first people to have that experience.

Just check out the trailer below:

Click here to view the embedded video.

Ok, so now you see what I mean. I think that this film can transform the lives of so many people that I needed to grab him up for this interview.

Inside the interview, you will discover:

• The catalyst that changed Adam’s life forever
• How him and his wife decided to Sell their crap, get out of debt and live the life of their dreams
• How the “Man Vs. Debt” blog started and grew into the powerful force that it is today
• Elements of a successful blog
• About the “I’m Fine, thanks” project
• What to do if you don’t know what to do in life
• And MUCH, MUCH MORE . . .

So I decided to recorded this episode to help our relationship grow a little better

Actually, I NEEDED to record this one, because it’s been on my mind so much and I had to get it out there and share it with you. Today’s episode deals with the concept of Success.

First, I make two very BIG announcements:

1. The first is so big that you will have to listen to hear it.

2. I’m speaking at BLOGWORLD in New York (in 2 weeks). I know it’s short notice, but if you’re interested click here to register and use the coupon code PodLearn10 for 10% off. There’s also a Virtual Ticket Option if you just want the recordings of the sessions (SOO worth it).

Then, I answer two questions from Lynn about blogging about multiple topics and branding yourself.

Then I get into the main content . . .

I found this video with excerpts from interviews that Will Smith has done. I saw it floating around on Facebook somewhere and decided that I HAD TO share it with you and break it down in terms of what it means for authority bloggers.

I listen to the MP3 of this video every single day, at least once. Why? Because it helps me to keep things in perspective, and it helps me to push beyond any discouragement that might come up in my Blogging Business.

You can go ahead and watch the video below:

Click here to view the embedded video.

Here are some of the things I cover in this episode:

• Finding your Motivation
• Talent vs. Skill – which is more important
• Be willing to work your Behind off
• Your current situation doesn’t matter. Find out what does.
• The best way to build your business (one brick at a time)
• Forget being realistic. Everybody else will do that for you

Who:

How dare they come on my podcast and CHALLENGE ME?

Yep, that’s exactly what they did – and you know what? I’m going to take them up on their stinkin challenge.

Today’s power couple (yes, couple – my first “three way”) are on a mission – to help people to live life now, instead of deferring their dreams to later in life.

They started Jet Set Life, their online business with the purpose of doing just that, and they’ve been sharing travel tips to Jet Setters like themselves.

If you check out their blog, you will see examples of all the places they’ve been. In fact, what they are doing is a perfect example of a couple who has taken their passion/hobby and turned it into a business.

Do they love to travel? YES SIR, they do. Check out this video they made of their trip to St. Barths (p.s. the only reason I’m showing it is because they were in St. Maarten, my island, for part of the video).

Click here to view the embedded video.

Jet Set Body

A HUGE aspect of what they do (and a big part of their lifestyle) is their flagship program called Jet Set Body – A 90-day fitness program designed to get people into the best shape of their lives.

Rob and Kim are actually fitness models (go figure, no pun intended) who have been competing in fitness competitions for a while now. And as you can see from the pic below – they ain’t no joke!

This is how I came to know them – I’ve seen the transformations that some of their members have gone through. In fact, I first heard about them from David Siteman Garland, another podcaster who interviewed them after having tremendous success with their program.

In this interview, they share their story (a very interesting one) and how they’ve been able to build an online empire around their passion.

Here are SOME of what we cover in the interview:

• What it means to live a Jet Set Life
• Building a business around your passion
• How they’ve built their online business
• The role that Blogging has played in their business
• How they manage to travel so much while having a teenage daughter (that they almost gave away to me, lol)
• They challenge me to the BIGGEST challenge I’ve ever faced as a blogger
• I accept their challenge (proudly, but I’m still afraid, lol)

This was one of the most fun interviews I’ve done – not just because it was my first three-way, but because these guys are a hoot. Trust me on this one – you’ll enjoy it, and you’ll get to follow my interesting journey through their challenge.

Who:

One of the things I get asked a lot is how in the world I’m able to do all that I do online while having a full time job.

Then, I meet someone like Kimberly Gauthier, who is a full time accountant, has 3 BLOGS and contributes to 2 other blogs, and my mind gets Befuddled.

Well, I grabbed Kimberly on this interview to see how she does what she does. I was impressed because she started a blog in January, and in 1 month, she had over 1000 fans on her Facebook page. Now – only 4 months later, she has over 4,500.

How did she do it? Pure passion, and doing whatever she could to get the word out there.

In this interview, we talk about:

• How she got into blogging
• How she is able to do so much online while having a full time job
• What she did to grow her traffic so quickly
• The 3 things it takes to get traffic quickly
• How to use LinkedIn effectively to get traffic (step by step)

Resources Mentioned in this interview

Right Click To Download PDF Transcript

Can you take your passion and turn it into a business? I know – it’s a rhetorical question. That’s what this podcast is all about.

In fact, that’s EXACTLY what today’s guest has done. Patricia Davis Brown just LOVES design. So much so, that she started an entire online brand that deals with design, and uses her blog to grow that brand.

Wait, did I say online brand? I meant to say ONLINE EMPIRE. What do I mean? Well – just listen to the interview and you’ll understand completely.

This interview is inspirational. Yes, there are many bloggers out there, but the kind of blogger I like to see is the one that is Passionate about something, and shares that passion with the world.

Patricia doesn’t share that passion with the world in a small way – she goes all out!

Inside the Interview, We talk about:

• Why She loves Design
• Why she decided to go online
• How she Chooses what to blog about
• How she gets traffic to her blog
• The kinds of opportunities that have opened up as a result of her blog
• How she outsources to be more efficient and get more done

Resources Mentioned in Today’s Episode

Click Here To Download PDF

Yes, traffic has been VERY strong and steady. Yes, it has been making a consistent passive income, but it’s time to take things to the next level.

Since I’ve been sooo busy, I haven’t had time to do ANY work on the site. The last video I posted was back in February. So what I decided to do was bring on a team of writers.

Well, this is the first week that I have writers publishing to my blog and I’m excited about it.

So I wanted to share with you what I’ve done to facilitate this process and make it run relatively smoothly. In this episode, I talk about how to set up your Authority Blog to work without you.

Why you would want to set your blog up in this way

• Less work for you to do because your blog functions without you. Takes time to build, but the rewards are GREAT
• Helps in building a community. When Others feel involved, they feel as a part of something significant and want to help it succeed.
• You get other people involved in promoting the blog.
• It give you more CONTENT and Content is KING
• It makes your blog MUCH easier to Sell.

What to do BEFORE starting the process

Not only did it stick with me, I also got a call from a friend of mine and also from a listener who commented on that phrase. I like it!

What I meant was that once you have your single focus, that needs to be clear from the layout of your site (i.e. the blog design) to the way out of the site (i.e. your links and the products you promote).

So, I decided to run with it, and make this episode about how to Optimize your blog from the Layout to the Way Out.

I talk about some of the questions you need to answer. Questions like:

• What is the benefit to your readers? In other words – why should they read your blog?
• What is the primary goal you have for when people visit your blog?
• What are your secondary goals for your readers?

Oh, and don’t forget to leave a comment

“What is my niche?”

I know what you’re thinking. Leslie, you teach people how to find their niches. Leslie, you know what your niche is? You run the podcast where I learn, you learn, we all learn about those things like Internet marketing, online business blogging, traffic generation, social media, all that www stuff.

Yeah, I know – but really? If you read that line again, you will notice that it’s one of the most vague statements in internet marketing, lol.

So off I went, on a quest to rediscover what I’m about, and what my podcast is about.

I can now say that I’ve narrowed down my niche. I teach people how to build an online business with an authority blog. That’s EXACTLY what I do!

How did I narrow it down? That’s what I share in this episode with you.

Outline of Today’s episode:

The benefits of having a single focus:

• It allows you to have a greater impact.
• People know exactly what to expect
• It brings you the right audience
• It gives you Clarity
• It allows you to be able to get into a sub niche of a very popular niche and thrive
• Much, much more . . .

And of course, I go into MUCH more detail in the podcast, so make sure to listen in!

Who:

Back in September of last year, I sat down in the Cafeteria at the university where I teach and had a conversation with a good ‘ol friend – Matthew Harris.

In that conversation, he told me about where he was in his Network Marketing Business and how he had used Facebook to build a pretty successful team of entrepreneurs and have been able to make a significant income doing so. I’m not into Network Marketing, but I was intrigued by what he was able to do using Facebook.

However, the more we spoke, the more I realized that he was on to something – something that could be a product that would potentially make him some decent cash.

So I outlined for him how I would recommend for him to proceed with product development and was amazed to see the MASSIVE ACTION he had taken over the next few DAYS (Yes, I said DAYS, not Weeks or Months).

Not just that – when he launched the product, it was an INSTANT success – and I’m not exaggerating.

So I just HAD TO get him on a call to do an interview, as a case study of what can happen when we TAKE ACTION (yeah, you’re probably sick of hearing me say that by now, lol).

In this interview, here are some of the juicy details we cover:

• How Matthew got into entrepreneurship in the first place
• Why he failed for the first few years
• What he learned from that failure
• What he did differently in order to achieve success
• The role that mentors have played in his success
• What tools he used to develop his product
• And MUCH MORE . . .

This is an interview that is full of inspiration, and I know you’re going to enjoy every bit of it. So sit back, relax, grab a cup of tea (or whatever else you drink while listening to podcasts), and enjoy!

Tools Matt Used for His Product Launch

• Camtasia – for recording his screen
• Optimize Press – for his squeeze and sales pages
• Digital Access Pass – to Manage his memberships
• Paypal – for getting paid

One of the things we teach inside Become A Blogger is that bloggers should take some time and write out their life stories as it pertains to their blogs.

This is a very good thing to do because it helps your audience to be able to connect with you as a person – not just a website with great content, but a great person with a great website with great content.

So, I decided that I need to walk the walk, but do it in my own unique way – instead of writing my life story, I decided to record a podcast episode about my life story.

Yep, it’s all about who I am in this episode. Well, not really. It’s moreso about how I came to be doing what I’m doing today and what lessons I’ve learnt along the way.

I really have learnt a lot and continue to learn more every day, which is why I REALLY love what I do.

So, sit back, relax, grab a cup of Tea (or whatever you do when you’re relaxing) and get to know me a little better.

Inside This Episode, I talk about:

• My childhood and how it set the stage for what I do today
• My experience leaving St. Maarten and moving to the United States
• How my relationship with God affected my life
• The book that gave me the Entrepreneurial urge
• My past FAILED “internet marketing” experiences
• How I made $70 in my first day as a real Internet Marketer
• How and Why I started my Biology Blog
• How blogging has enhanced what I do

There’s a lot in this episode, and I’m excited to share it with you. Hope you enjoy!

Leave a comment below and let me know what you thought.

Who: Farnoosh Brock
Website: Prolific Living
Podcast: The Daily Interaction - Subscribe in iTunes or Stitcher
Connect: Farnoosh on Twitter and Facebook

A few months ago, I mistakenly sent an email to Farnoosh Brock, because I thought she was someone else. That was awkward, right?

Well not at all. Farnoosh used that as an opportunity to connect with me in a way that left an impression of me and what has developed since is one of the best friendships I’ve established with someone online. (Check out my Previous interview with Farnoosh).

Since then, I’ve met a number of people who know her and they all have the same thing to say about her – she’s such an awesome person.

What I realized was this – Farnoosh is AWESOME at connecting (and networking) with others online.

This is something that is very powerful, and I wanted to get her on here to talk about HOW she goes about networking with others in this “internetty world”.

Facebook and Twitter has often been looked at as platforms that have made our interactions more “shallow”, but if we use it correctly, they can actually help us establish REAL relationships and REAL friendships.

As entrepreneurs, networking is essential. Listen to this interview and find out how to do it the RIGHT way.

Inside this interview, we cover:

• How networking has benefited Farnoosh
• Why Networking is so important
• How to Manage contacts effectively
• Why it is important to CARE!
• How to make people feel special online
• Why Live meet ups are so significant

Farnoosh also runs a podcast called The Daily Interaction, where she talks about talks about all the social exchanges in your world and helps you to be effective and understood. It’s a podcast that’s on my shortlist of podcasts that I listen to, and if you are at all interested in understanding these exchanges and taking them to the next level, I highly recommend for you to check it out.

However, only a small fraction of the people who join actually accomplish some level of success? Why, because most people go about it the wrong way.

In today’s episode, I give 10 ways to Maximize your investment in any coaching program, regardless of the topic.

Before I get into the meat of the episode, I make 2 announcements and answer a question from the hotline

Announcement #1 - Become A Blogger 2.0 is coming VERY soon. In fact, we’re holding a LIVE Webinar on Thursday to Kick it Off and will be giving away a TON of Valuable info, in addition to some gifts on the live webinar.

Announcement #2 – I’ve set up some easy URLs for you to connect with me on Social Networking Sites:

• LeslieOnFacebook.com
• LeslieOnTwitter.com
• LeslieOnPlus.com - in the episode I said LeslieOnGooglePlus.com, but that was the wrong URL
• LeslieOnYoutube.com
• LeslieOnPinterest.com

Butch Gibson called in to ask if it’s a good idea to target specific keywords phrases by using one of the keywords and not the others, or by using a different variation on the keyword. I answer his question in some detail, showing that it all depends on what you are targeting and how closely the content relates to the keywords. Listen to the episode to understand my explanation.

The Feature Segment

Alrighty, here are the 10 ways I talk about to help you maximize your investment in ANY Coaching Program:

Only take part in ONE coaching Program, especially if you’re a beginner. Avoid the Shiny object syndrome. There are always other programs out there, and other “gurus” out there encouraging you to buy their program, because it’s the best thing since sliced bread. However, you should choose a program that solves the problem you are dealing with at the time, and focus on that program.

Take Notes. Most coaching programs these days are video-based. It can be annoying to try to sort through a bunch of videos to find a specific topic. By taking notes, and doing so in an organized way, you are better able to keep track of the main ideas, and to focus on what needs to be done.

Take Consistent Action. Yes, if you’ve been listening to me for a while, then you’ve heard me mention this a Billion and a half times. In fact, I dedicated an entire episode (Episode 63) to the topic. Don’t just learn. Learn and act immediately.

Ask too many questions – Even the annoying ones. Yes, you can spend hundreds of hours trying to find the answer to a simple question, or you can just ask someone who knows. If you are in a good training program, there will be ways for you to ask questions. Take advantage of those systems.

Connect with others in the program. Building a business is hard work. Building a business alone is MUCH HARDER. No man is an island. We all need people to help us accomplish our goals, especially if those goals are HUGE. If you are in a coaching program, there will most likely be other like-minded individuals in that program. Seek them out, connect with them, share ideas and grow together.

Hold each other accountable. One of the best decisions I’ve made since getting into blogging has been to not only connect with other like-minded individuals, but to have a select few that hold each other accountable. That extra accountability has done wonders to increase my productivity. I would recommend for you to do the same.

Take one step at a time. Multitasking sucks. We think we’re good at it, but it’s not true. In 2005, a study showed that individuals who were multitasking during an IQ test scored an average of 6 points lower than individuals who were stoned on marijuana. Focus on one aspect of the program at a time.

Repeat the coaching program and see what you missed. This is something I still do today. I’ve been fortunate to go through A NUMBER of coaching programs on specific topics related to internet marketing and blogging. I have a folder of a ton of courses I’ve taken. Every so often, I find myself reaching back into that bag of goodies to find a way to tweak what I’m currently doing and make it better.

Systematize your actions. Taking action is great, but if you can systemize what you are doing, all the better. What do I mean by that? Instead of doing everything manually, put systems in place that can take care of certain things in an automated (or easier) way. For example, you can use autoresponders like Aweber for following up with prospects or subscribers. Another example is by using TextExpander.

Focus on the Essentials. In any program that you are going through, identify the core 2 or 3 things that will give you the biggest bang for your buck. Focus on those things. For me, that’s Content and Relationships (subscribers, peers, coaches).

Outsource mundane tasks. There are certain tasks that are essential for your business to run, but they don’t have to be done by you. Decide what they are and outsource them. Odesk is a great place for finding outsourcers. (answering emails, transcribing videos, posting to the blog, etc).

Resources Mentioned in Today’s Episode

• The Ultimate, Step-By-Step Guide To Becoming A Successful Blogger, Without The Complicated Geek Talk… (Live Webinar this Thursday)
• Become A Blogger 2.0

Yes indeed. In fact, it’s the model that I’ve been using over the last few years to build my successful online businesses – both with my Biology Blog and here at Learning With Leslie. It’s the model that I love, and is the model that many people from all over the world have used to build a bunch of successful businesses.

There are different ways to accomplish this, and that’s what I’m talking about in today’s episode.

Your Calls

Before I get into the main topic for today, I take a call from Butch Gibson, who wanted to provide feedback on what he has been learning from the show, and from my 7 Day bootcamp. I play his feedback and then respond with a call for YOU to take ACTION.

Announcements

As of today, I will be posting a new episode of Learning With Leslie once weekly, instead of twice. This is something I’ve been thinking about for a while, and I finally decided to give it a ago. Not only will this allow me to do other things that I’m working on, but it will allow me to focus ALL of my energy for learning with Leslie into one episode and make it as good as it gets. My hope is to deliver even more value as I move forward.

Also, if you ever have feedback, a comment or questions that you would like me to deal with on the show, you can call the hotline at (888) 835 – 2414 or you can click on the tab all the way to the right of the screen and record your comment right there.

The Feature Segment

Alrighty, lets get into the meat of this episode. In this section I cover 10 different ways that you can make money while giving away free info. But first, I talk about the benefits of giving away free info:

• It helps you to establish credibility and build trust
• People are more likely to share stuff when it’s free
• You can take advantage of sites like Youtube and directories like iTunes
• In general, it makes it EASIER for you to get traffic.

Then I give a few reasons why you should be making money from your site:

• It helps you to be able to accomplish more
• It gives you the ability to outsource (and yet again, accomplish more)
• It helps with the development of your website
• Your business is not a business unless you’re making money
• Not to mention, it gives you the ability to take care of your family, yourself, and to do the things you love.

Then, I go into the 10 ways to make money in details. Here are the ways I cover:

• Take your free stuff and repurpose it into an ebook
• Record an audio version of your ebook
• Create an iBook
• Use a service like Kunaki to make your videos into a DVD
• Promote affiliate products
• Sell Advertising
• Use Adsense
• Get Sponsors
• Have Premium Content
• Bonus Tip: Accept Donations.

Of course, in the episode, I go into a lot more detail on each point, so go ahead and have a listen.

Resources Mentioned in this episode

For eBook and iBook Creation

• Pages for Mac - Word Processor for Mac only
• Microsoft Word - Word processor for PC or Mac
• Open Office - Free word processor for PC or Mac
• E-Junkie – For selling and delivering your digital product (ebook, audio, etc)
• iBooks Author - For creating multi-touch ebooks for the iPad

Audio Resources:

• Rode Podcaster - A great USB mic
• Plantronics Audio 655 – USB Headset
• Plantronics DSP 400 – Another USB Headset
• Audacity – Free audio editing software

Other Resources:

• Kunaki – Creating DVDs from your videos
• CrankyAds – Advertising-management software
• Google Adsense - Google Pay Per Click service
• Donate Plus - For accepting donations

Who:

Have you ever known someone who just  can’t stop complaining about what’s happening in their life?

Have you ever known someone who always sees the negative?

Are YOU that Someone? If so (and even if it’s not the case), you want to check out this interview because it’s AWESOME, and it will help you to see beyond the negative.

Today’s interviewee has a very interesting story and it was great to sit down and chat with her.

Sibyl Chavis quit her job, sold her house, packed up her stuff (and family) and decided to switch things up a bit.

What I loved was a little experiment that she ran – to stop complaining for 40 days. Then, 40 days turned into 5 years and her life has never been the same.

Today, she blogs at Possibility Of Today – a very interesting blog teaching how to live today better than yesterday.

You should check her out on Facebook – Over 30,000 fans and over 10,000 twitter followers. It’s very clear that she knows what she’s doing, so I was glad to have her on the show.

Here are some of the points we touched:

• How she made the decision to leave everything behind and start a new life
• The challenges involved with that change
• What she learned from her days without complaining
• How She started and Grew her blog
• Why you won’t find ANYTHING for sale on her blog
• How to deal with failure
• How to grow a strong following

I know you are going to enjoy this one, so sit back, relax and just listen.

As usual, if you have any questions, comments or suggestions, you know what to do – Call the Hotline at (888) 835 – 2414

Take care, and God Bless!

- Leslie Samuel