The Kim Doyal Show

I first met Giancarlo Barraza at a mastermind event in January, 2014. My first impression of Giani? TONS of enthusiasm, passion and commitment (if you follow Giani on Facebook, which I recommend you do, you'll see what I'm talking about. Because his passion & commitment show in everything he does). Giani left the mastermind we were in together and I've watched his amazing growth over the past two years (and quite frankly have been in awe). I've said it before on the podcast and it bears repeating here... if you can learn how to do paid traffic (and I mean learn how to do it correctly and be profitable), you can succeed online. You simply have to be patient, test and measure everything you're doing. If you haven't heard of CPA marketing (and affiliate marketing), or aren't familiar with it, you will be after this interview. I specifically asked Giani how someone could get started if they were totally new to affiliate marketing and CPA. His answer? You have to listen to the podcast... :-) [Tweet ""You don't need a lot of money to get started, but you have to remember it's a business" - Coach Giani"] Questions I Asked Giani Can you fill the listeners in on what you were doing when we first met? Explain what it is you do (what your business is today). What are some of the challenges and struggles you've dealt with? What is something you see your students doing over and over again that gets in their way? Where would you suggest someone start when they're first getting into paid traffic? [Tweet ""Mostly it's about mindset... it's about how badly you want it" - Coach Giani"] What You're Going to Learn What he sacrificed when he was building his business (everyone thought he was crazy) The one place Giani recommends you get started... and why he recommends getting started this way How he's built his team Why he believes mindset is the most important thing you need when scaling a business What Giani does on Facebook everyday to reach his community Where can someone start with their mindset? [Tweet ""If you train your mind to believe, you can pretty much achieve anything you want" - Coach Giani"]   Connect with Coach Giani Website | Facebook | YouTube Other Episodes You Might Enjoy It's Time to Hack the Entrepreneur with Jon Nastor From Prison to Prosperity - My Interview with Mike Pisciotta Growing a Business with T-Shirts - My Interview with Trey Lewellen

Brandon Lewin. So much to say... so little time! :-) I had the good fortune of connecting with Brandon about a year and a half ago. He reached out to me via social media, we ended up on a Skype call and periodically stayed in touch. We reconnected when I did my first Periscope and I mentioned on that broadcast that I was looking for someone to help me with SEO, backlinks, site optimization, etc. Next thing I knew we were on another Skype call setting up a mutually beneficial business arrangement. I would coach him and he would manage that stuff for me. Best. Decision. Ever. Not only because Brandon is brilliant at what he does, but because he's just a great guy and someone I'm honored to consider a friend. I've referred to Brandon as my 'secret weapon' (on multiple occasions), because he's really helped me shift my content strategy and use of keywords. Now my challenge is simply getting clear on exactly what it is I want to be doing with my business, but we'll save that for another episode. Brandon made a big decision to move his family from Chicago to Austin, TX (yea... he was a little tired of the snow) and has taken massive action connecting and reaching out with other entrepreneurs (something I tend to stay away from where I live... I might head over to San Francisco once in a blue moon, but not often). Not only is Brandon great at what he does (writing, conversions, SEO & strategy), he's a genuine connector. Someone who truly enjoys connecting other people (which makes it super easy to want to make connections for him as well). Questions I Asked Brandon: Before starting your current business, can you let the listeners know what you were doing and how you decided to venture out on your own? Can you share with the listeners what your current business is You work with both online & offline businesses, so this might be a two-part answer. Is there a common mistake you see people making when it comes to SEO or their SEO strategy? (beyond not having one) Let's talk a little about content & SEO. We both know people who spend a LOT on paid traffic, but don't see the value in content. What's your take on this? Where would you start with someone who had an online business but wasn't getting the results they wanted (or any results at all)? Can you give us one strategy that people can start implementing today that will set them on the right path? How can people work with you? What's on the horizon for you? [Tweet ""It was the kick in the ass I needed to get me going" - @BrandonLewin"] What You're Going to Learn: How getting laid off was the best thing that could have happened Why I decided to move my family to Austin, TX from Chicago How he realized he was stuck in the time for money trap Why Brandon considers Austin the "mecca" of internet marketing Why SEO isn't just about looking at Google Analytics How you can take the data and drive it back to 'what the problem' is How you can identify 'low hanging fruit' on your blog and monetize it (or get better results) The role content should play in your marketing strategy [Tweet "You need both content & SEO to be successful" - @BrandonLewin"]   Where to Connect with Brandon Website | Facebook | Twitter Other Episodes You Might Enjoy Cashflow, GooRoos and My First Post on Medium Todd Brown & Conversions: SO Fly Starting an Online Business Today: What I'd do Different

In the last solo show I recorded I talked about what I would do different if I were starting my business today. I had also done a similar episode in the very early stages of the podcast (that's the beauty of this type of content, it's always relevant, even though certain elements may change). The one thing I don't think I talked much about (that's my brain for you)... was cashflow. Not from the basic accounting side of things, because I think we all get that concept. More about what you can do to keep if flowing and why it should be your absolute first priority... yes, even before doing the things you "want" to do. Which is a tough one for this chick. Remember, one of my motto's is "If it's not fun, I'm not doing it". But guess what? Earning money IS fun... and creating cashflow in your business can fuel you to pursue more of your passions. Here's where the GooRoo's go wrong... (and I have to credit Ben Settle with the 'gooroo' thing... I'm a fan of Ben's work and subscriber of his Email Players newsletter... and would LOVE to have him on the show. But that's another episode). Having been in this business for a while now, I've seen a boat load of product launches, huge courses and high end masterminds (I've invested in all of them). What you DON'T see very often is the one thing that will help you get closer to being able to invest in all of those things. Creating consistent cashflow in your business. Why? Because it's not super sexy and most people don't focus on what they need (what would really solve their problems), they focus on what they WANT. And gooroo's and marketers alike know this. But that's where the magic really starts to happen. When you can give someone what they want while solving what they need, it's a win-win, isn't it? Here's what I wish I had grasped early on. Get the cashflow set up FIRST, then pursue the fun stuff... the passion projects... whatever you want. Not that I necessarily would have listened. :-) I can be a little stubborn at times... but eventually I come around (ever wonder at what point we stop learning things the hard way?). When the money obstacle is removed (meaning you can cover all your expenses and still have the quality of life you want), you're in a completely different mental space to produce the things that make your heart sing. Before we move onto gooroos, let's talk a bit about what you can do to get the cash flowing. And I'm going to be a little firm with you here... but trust that it's coming from the right place, O.K.,? Please don't start with a bunch of "yeah, but..." reasons as to why you can't/don't/won't take the steps to get cash flowing in your business. Been there, done that. And it's bullshit. You absolutely can get these things going. And I get it that there are a lot of different types of business models out there, but you'd be hard pressed to find one of these things below that doesn't apply  or can't be implemented in your business. Even it if requires a few tweaks. I'm simply going to bullet point them here but go into more detail in the podcast itself. Cashflow opportunities: Do all of these take time? Absolutely. But the time is going to pass whether you implement these things or not. I have a friend who used to think of affiliate marketing from the perspective of "yea, but the money doesn't come in for at least 30 days". True. But in 30 days from now that is going to make a difference, right? It makes me cringe a bit when I think of the amount of affiliate income that I've left on the table over the past 8 years. It was that old, tired story of not wanting to offend anyone or seem cheesy because I was promoting affiliate offers. WTF?! And all of this can be chalked up to perception. Most people are too busy thinking about themselves to worry about what you're doing. Moving onto GooRoos The second I saw Ben Settle write that I was hooked.

This interview is another testament to reaching out and making real connections online. Paul and I connected through Facebook and went back and forth a few times via messenger, then set up a Skype call (I've made the mistake in the past of setting up interviews with people that I haven't had a chance to talk to prior... it doesn't always go so well. Not that the interview is bad, but it's not always the best fit for my show & audience). Obviously that wasn't the case with Paul Irvine. While WordPress Security is absolutely crucial... it's not always the most fun topics (or dare I say interesting? No offense Paul... because you certainly make it more interesting!). What tends to happen is that people get interested in security after the fact. As in, after they've been hacked, something has broken or things aren't working the way they're supposed to (nothing like a couple thousand spam comments, huh?). [Tweet ""The corporate world decided I was going to be part of the implosion in 2008" - @paulirvine79"] Like many of us, Paul tested a bunch of different things when starting his online business. The reason I always ask this question of my guests is because there is SO much value in hearing that you're not alone (we all beat ourselves up for the money we've spent on products, mentors or 'systems'.... and never got us the 'ROI' we wanted). The one common denominator in every story is that they didn't give up. They kept trying, testing and simply decided they were going to find a way to make this work. That's where Paul Irvine comes in (thankfully). What You're Going to Learn: How Paul made the most of the financial crisis in 2008 Where the search for 'make money online' took Paul (the rabbit hole) How he leveraged his corporate skills into his own business The few things that Paul did when trying to get his online business going (affiliate marketing, CPA marketing, article marketing... you name it) How he got his adsense account banned What you should be looking for with hosting [Tweet "There is a way to make money online, but there isn't a magic button. You have to have the drive to make it work" -@paulirvine79"] Questions I Asked Paul What were you doing before you started your current business? What made you decide to take the leap and go out on your own? You focus on WordPress & WP Security. What made you decide to focus on security? What are some common mistakes you see people making with security on their own sites? If you could get everyone to do ONE thing with their sites, in terms of security, what would that be? You have a course coming out soon. What's on the horizon for you this year?     Where to Connect with Paul Facebook | Twitter | Website Links mentioned in this episode Wordfence LiquidWeb Hosting   Other Episodes You Might Enjoy Lee Jackson of WP Innovator & a Ton of Fun Freelancing & WordPress - My Interview with Brennan Dunn Building a WordPress Business through Community - My Interview with Brandon Yanofsky

I've been following Todd Brown for a while now (I'd say I was stalking him, but that's just kind of creepy...and not really true). One thing I think a lot of online entrepreneurs take for granted is the ability to learn from other people simply by subscribing and paying attention to what they're doing (note: that doesn't mean you never invest in tools and training... it simply means you can take your time to get to know what someone is all about before you make the leap & invest their products and services). Todd is one of those 'funnel guys'. Now, before you decide you've had enough of the word funnel, listen to this interview. If you don't like the word funnel, call it something else (remember though, water isn't water because of what you call it... H20, aqua, etc. You get my point, right? It is what it is). And funnels WORK. Here's the awesome thing about Todd though... he's worked his arse off to master this stuff and is a true direct response marketer. We chatted at length about direct response marketing and why learning those principles is vital to the success of any business (especially an online business where you can track and measure everything you do). Enter Conversion Fly. Conversion Fly is Todd's new tracking software that is pretty friggin amazing if I do say so myself. As someone who is fascinated with the idea of a SaaS product (software as a service), I was super excited to not only connect with Todd but to hear his story of creating the product and how it's going so far. I think you're going to love it... both the interview and the software. Here's what you're going to learn: How Todd almost won a Ferrari (but didn't go away empty handed) What he bought on ebay when he was getting started (and why it made a HUGE difference) How he transitioned from working for a health club to his own business (Marketing Funnel Automation) What the difference is between marketing tactics and strategies Why Todd never reads books about marketing tactics (I literally just got rid of old social media books... because they're no longer applicable.... a couple years later) [Tweet ""You don't get enamored with tactics" @toddbrown"] Questions I asked Todd: Can you share your story of what you were doing before you built Marketing Funnel Automation & Conversion Fly? When did you launch Marketing Funnel Automation? What would you recommend to someone who wants to get started with funnels? What is Conversion Fly? And what made you want to launch a SaaS product? What was some of the feedback on the beta version of the product? Is Conversion Fly for someone who is just getting started with funnels? How can it help with lead generation? After the public launch of Conversion Fly, what else is on the horizon for you and your company this year? Where to Connect with Todd Facebook | Twitter | Website   Other Episodes You Might Enjoy Hani Mourra & Simple Podcast Press Jason Drohn & Scriptly - Email copy done for you What I'd Do Different If I Were Starting an Online Business Today

As always, I'm SUPER excited to have Lee Jackson from LeeJacksonDev.com  and the WP Innovator Podcast.  I had a great time talking and laughing with Lee and found out some really great tips and well as his background on how he got to where he is today.  Don't miss this episode! [Tweet ""Try and find that niche that you are passionate about." - Lee Jackson"] Questions I asked Lee Jackson: What were some of the things you did before getting into web development? Did you go to school for IT? When did you start your own agency? How did you approach increasing your prices so dramatically? How do you see yourself growing your business - where are you taking things? [Tweet ""I quadrupled my prices overnight and have since quadrupled them again. - Lee Jackson""] What you'll learn from this podcast: The process of starting your own agency How Lee transitioned into consulting The drive behind Lee starting his podcast and how it's going How Lee differentiates himself from other development companies Recommendations from Lee about what to do if you started today Lee's best lead source [Tweet ""Making sure we make products that are freakin' awesome is my goal." - Lee Jackson"]     Where you can connect with Lee Facebook | Twitter | Website   Other Episodes You Might Enjoy: Grow & Convert with Devesh Khanal & Benji Hyam Content, Metrics & List Building Interview with Jason Drohn

I'm super excited about this post and episode because it was inspired from a listeners email to me (Thanks Jen!). I don't know about you, but I often forget that just because I understand and know something doesn't mean everyone in my audience does. I won't go down my armchair psychologist rant and self diagnose on that one, but suffice it to say I've gotten away from some of the basics of what I've learned while growing my business. Which makes sense. By now you guys know that I'm a bit of an information nut and love testing and trying new things. However, as fun as all that is, am I overlooking an element that can be serving my audience? One of my first few podcast episodes I did was "What I Would Do Different if I Were Starting My Business Today". That was 3 years ago.  Holy moly have things changed. Not just in my business, but in how I do things. Fortunately, the 7 things I listed in that post are still relevant, but I'd like to approach it from a little different perspective and include some actual step-by-step direction in hopes that this will help someone. I'm going to use WordPress as the business example here but really you can use any niche or business, because most of this is going to be applicable across the board. Let's get into the updated version of "What I'd do different if I were starting my business today". While I'm a HUGE believer in jumping in and taking action there is something to be said for starting out with some sort of strategy in place. The challenge with this is that you don't know what you don't know, right? What's fantastic about the internet today (as opposed to 8 years ago when I started), is that you can pretty much find someone who has done what you want to do. The not-so fantastic part of finding someone who has blazed a trail before you is that you can quickly lose yourself in the process but feel like you're doing everything right (copying as opposed to modeling). Start with the end in mind I did this recently when I was re-designing my site (which still has plenty of tweaking to do, but hey ho). I really took some time to step back and think about what my goals were with my site. Then I backed into it. I know this sounds really ambiguous, so let's start from a fresh perspective. Let's say you're starting a new WordPress business. Maybe you're offering website services (new sites, hosting, maintenance). The bare bones minimum you have to start with is what your target income is (and while I am a HUGE believer in setting big goals and the right intentions, we're simply looking for your number here). Are you replacing income from a job? Do you need to bring in X amount of money to cover specific expenses? Do you not have to cover expenses? (have a spouse or partner whose income covers everything) What business expenses do you have to cover? Once you have your "number" in mind, then you can back into it. For me this was a little challenging because the industry was totally new to me and I did SO much second guessing because I wasn't a trained programmer or designer... thankfully those days are behind me). Here's what I wish someone had told me when I was getting started: "It's just as easy to find someone willing to pay what you're worth as it is to find someone who will negotiate the hell out of your value." That's where the almighty "C" word comes in. No, not that word you dirty bird. Clarity. I'm totally going to contradict myself here because you will constantly be getting clearer and clearer as your business evolves, so the things you're clear on today will be completely different from the things you're clear on 5 years from now. You need to get clear on both the tangibles and the intangibles. Here are some examples of both: Tangibles - Income / rates - Business hours - Communication (email only? phone calls? in-person meetings) - Profitability - Work you do (brochure sites? e-commerce sites? consulting?)

To say I had a blast on this interview would be an understatement. This interview came about from a Skype call I was having with a friend. We were talking about Pat's new book, "Will It Fly" and I thought, "duh! I should ask him to be on the show to share his book!" I tweeted him and we had the interview a month later. :-) Listening to Pat's podcast, The Smart Passive Income podcast, is the reason I launched my podcast. I loved the fact that I could take Pat with me when I went to the gym or grocery store. I've always been a huge fan of audio books so when I started listening to podcasts it was a perfect fit! Initially when I started listening to the SPI podcast it was only once a month (yep, I've been listening that long) so I was thrilled when it became a weekly show. Pat Flynn & Will It Fly Regardless of whether or not you're just getting started in your business or you've been in business for a while, Pat's new book, Will It Fly, can help you determine whether or not your idea for growing your business is viable. The book provides tangible steps (along with great stories) to see if what you want to do will work as well as being in alignment with your personal 'Why'. And because Pat tends to over deliver with everything he does, there's also a companion course (free) that will walk you through the book and steps. Questions I Asked Pat Flynn:  What compelled you to write the book? What do the listeners get with the book? What was the plugin idea that you had? What would you recommend to someone who is starting out brand new to build their audience? How do you work through your own ideas to pick the 'right' one? Things You’ll Learn from this Podcast: How you can align what is going on inside with what you should be doing for a living How Pat approached writing his book Some exercises on how to get clear on your idea Pat's $15,000 loss/learning experience How to learn the three P's of your audience Where to Connect with Pat Website | Twitter | Facebook   Other episodes you might enjoy Will You Make the Difficult Decisions When it Counts? - WPCP: 087 From Prison to Prosperity - WPCP: 089 Falling in Love with CoSchedule - WPCP: 084

Today we have Jon Nastor of Hack the Entrepreneur on the podcast! To say I was excited to talk with Jon would be an understatement... and I just got more excited as the conversation continued. It's refreshing for me to find like-minded individuals doing cool things online that don't believe you have to sacrifice everything else in your life to make things happen. When Jon was a teenager, way before he launched Hack the Entrepreneur, he spent a lot of time playing punk rock music. It was during this time he realized how much he loved “DIY” in the sense that if he wanted something, like making music, playing a show, etc. he had to do it himself to make it happen. He carried this with him into his 20’s and then in 2011 he discovered he could make a business on the internet. One of the biggest things he’s created is Velocity Page, a premium WordPress plug in. He created it with Bill, his brother in law, and Mark Jaquith. Velocity Page is a way to create WordPress pages without the “techy” mumbo jumbo. It takes you out of the admin panel so you can live edit on your page so what you see it what you get. Jon created this tool because a few years ago he needed something like this but he couldn’t find it so he went to Mark with this idea and they created it. In 2014 he went to Chris Ducker’s conference called Tropical Think Tank where there were a lot of serious podcasters (Chris runs Tropical Think Tank once a year and it's in the Philippines... and event I plan on attending at some point!). He realized he had both the time and the resources to start his own podcast. Even though he had little to no experience doing podcasts and interviewing people, he knew he just had to start somewhere. So that summer he made a list  of about 30 people that he wanted to interview and he thought he would interview them over the course of a few months and then be done. To his surprise, about 2 months later it got bigger than he expected so he ramped up production to 3 podcasts a week. The same sort of thing happened to me when I started my podcast... not that I jumped into multiple episodes per week (kudos to you Jon... I love it!), but my podcast definitely shifted everything in my business. For Jon he saw that there wasn’t really anything in the podcast space that he really like/captured his interest. So he decided to create it, just like one would create a product because they don’t see what they want out there already. He experienced the same sort of thing with Hack the Entrepreneur. With a little bit of help from a friend, Jon took the idea and ran with it. After the success of the show and his 5 categories of hacks (Being Wrong, Fears, Habits, Mindset and Ideas), he brought the best of all of this into a book! (Hardly a guy to rest on his laurels, right?). I highly recommend getting the book (in addition to the podcast). Questions I Asked: How did Jon create Velocity Page? What was it like for Jon to reach out to Mark? How did Jon come up with Hack the Entrepreneur? What is his book about? How does Jon come up with each hack? Things You’ll Learn: How to figure the right format of a podcast for you and your audience. Commonalities that Jon sees in a lot of entrepreneurs. The biggest thing you need to grow your business. Why “the hustle” isn’t relevant anymore when it comes to making money. A few of Jon’s favorite hacks from his book.   Where to connect with Jon Website | Podcast | Facebook | Twitter Links mentioned in this episode: Velocity Page Hack The Entrepreneur

Today I have a very special guest on the show, he's the first follow up interview with one of our guests! Josh Haynam of Interact, a company that makes it easy to create quizzes as a lead magnet. It's a unique and fun way to connect with your audience in a way they enjoy while getting those leads you want. I love all of those quizzes on Facebook (What Disney character am I? What's my word of 2016? etc.) so to actually find a quiz where the result is lead generation is so awesome. Businesses are taking from the entertainment world in the sense that these things that have been working for say Disney, Buzzfeed, and NY Times, you can then tweak these things so they relate to you and what you're doing while you create fun and entertaining content that will get you those leads. Ex. "What's you content marketing personality/superhero?" Hayman talks about how they have a "Shaq rule" (named after Shaquille O'Neal) and he says that 75% of all content you create should be for entertainment, 15% should be to educate, and 10% should be to sell... which actually ends up being the perfect ratio for a quiz. He also explains the significance of creating content, like a quiz, to use your own personal voice no matter how silly it may seem. Do you use funny/silly words or sayings? Use them! Humanizing your brand will keep you from sounding boring and will get people more interested and involved. [Tweet ""75% of all content you create should be for entertainment" @tryinteract"] Business really aren't the way they used to be. We're moving towards driving content through entertainment and then using that to gather information that is more relevant to your business. Josh team have done so and now help their customers figure out how to cost effectively generate leads from social media. It's always been pretty hard to really know how to use all the different types of social media ads and it sort of ends up being a "test and spend," "test and spend" situation for many people... But, by using a tool like a quiz from Interact, one can easily use entertainment and fun to capitalize on social media content. Whether or not it always converts, the engagement is huge. The entertainment part of your content will make people more inclined to share it which will bring you more likes, shares, etc. [Tweet ""Humanizing your brand will keep you from sounding boring and will get people more interested and involved." @tryinteract"] Questions I Asked: How did Interact come about? How does Josh drive revenue through entertainment? What types of quizzes besides personality quizzes do Josh and his team create? What is Interact's content strategy? What has Interact's journey looked like since we last talked a few years ago? Things You'll Learn: Why it's important to use your unique voice when creating content. How exactly these quizzes result in lead generation. How an entertaining quiz can be relevant to any type of business. How to drive traffic to your site after creating a quiz. What the optimal format for a quiz is. Where to Connect with Josh Website | Facebook | Twitter Links from this episode Interact Quiz Builder Easiest Quiz Builder - My Interview with Josh Haynam of Interact WPCP: 027