AP 0760: How Do I Get Exposure for My New Website?

AskPat 760 Episode Transcript

Pat Flynn: Hey, what's up, everybody? Pat Flynn here, and welcome to Episode 760 of AskPat. Thank you so much for joining me today. As always, I'm here to help you by answering your online business questions, five days a week.

All right, now here's today's question from Brandy.

Brandi: Hey, Pat. Thanks so much for all of this information that you give out. I've been listening to the SPI podcast and I've had so many questions answered, so thank you for that. I am a therapist, I have a private practice, and I have this idea that I think is a good one. Obviously, it involves an online business and I've been researching a ton and I have found a couple other people that are doing almost exactly what I would like to do. I know you had said, “Don't let that stop you,” however, when I go on their sites and I look at everything that they've done.

They have reviews from the Wall Street Journal, they have interviews on their local NBC station, they have all of these big-name supporters they've won awards for their blogs. You know, it is certainly discouraging and makes me feel like, why would someone go with me when I don't know how to get that kind of access to those outlets? So, I guess the question is, how do I get access to those? Or, do I not worry about that and just create it and see what happens? Also, this feature that you have on your site this ability to ask a question and then that is how you do your podcast, I think is really cool and I think could actually work for my business, as well. So, I'm wondering how I would go about doing something like this on my site? Thanks.

Pat Flynn: Hey, Brandi. Thank you so much for the question and all the kind words. I'm so glad you're here. To answer your last question really quick, how am I taking these questions, which I really encourage everybody to do. This is a fantastic way to not only answer questions in a way that's sometimes easier than answering them in email, but when you publicly share those responses, you're answering other people who may have the same questions. And you could potentially build your brand and build your authority at the same time.

And, this is one of those things, Brandi, that may be different than those other people who are doing the same thing that you want to do. That might be a great way for you to stand out and make a name for yourself in this space. The way that I'm collecting these questions is through a tool called SpeakPipe, S-P-E-A-K-P-I-P-E. What it allows me to do is put a webpage up or a button up on an existing webpage. You can also create the webpage through SpeakPipe alone if you want and share that link.

But, on that webpage that people land on, or that button. They can just . . . using whatever recording equipment they have, even if it's the system equipment on their laptop or desktop. They can record a question for you. Then, it comes into me as an MP3 and you can do what you want with that MP3. Now, of course, on that page where you're collecting those or before you tell people that you're going to use the audio file, you want to make sure that you make it known that you are going to be using it if you are going to be using it. Many people use SpeakPipe just to answer questions directly and privately. And, it's a little bit better than email because you can respond with your voice and people can hear you. And, if you're just starting out it's a great way to actually build those relationships much sooner.

Now, to answer your first question related to you finding people that are doing exactly what you want to do, that's actually good news. The reason that's good news is because it means that there's a market out there for whatever it is you're trying to do and other people have already started paving the way. Now, of course, you need to start finding your own voice and your own path into that space, but it's a great sign that there are people already there because maybe you might see them as competition right now, but, what about partners? What about potential people you can JV with or joint venture with? Perhaps they already have products that you can become an affiliate for. This is a huge advantage that you have, not a disadvantage. Now, I totally understand where you're coming from in terms of, “Aw, man. There's people out there doing this already. How can I even stand out?”

Well, here's the thing. There are tens of thousands of websites like Smart Passive Income. I was definitely not the first one to put this information out there, but I was the first one to do it in specific ways. For example, The Income Report and more than that, and this is where I feel, Brandi, that you have the advantage over everybody else is that nobody is like you. You are 100 percent original. And, so, if you can put your own spin on it. If you can put your own voice, even if you're talking about the same things. Because really, it's really difficult to come up with something 100 percent brand new, but when you put it in your own voice and you put you own experience behind it, and you share your own posts and your own podcasts episodes and videos . . .now, I wouldn't recommend doing all of those at the same time at the start, but pick one, go with it, and you're going to see that your vibe will attract your tribe.

Now, yes, these other people may have accolades and all these credentials and all these awards and what not. So what? You can potentially get those in the future, too. When it comes to outlets such NBC and all those kinds of things, sure, that's cool, but it's not very difficult to get those anymore. And, I wouldn't even actually worry about that at the start. What I would worry about is creating your brand, finding your position in the space. I would recommend that you read Will It Fly? so you can learn how to differentiate yourself from the existing market out there. WillItFlyBook.com, it's my book, if you don't know already. And, that's going to help you determine what position to take in the space that you're in already. To determine what traffic is there, what audiences you should be serving, and how to serve them and what language you use, and where those holes are in that market that you can come in and fill yourself.

And, that's actually the advantage that you have coming in later. There are people out there who have already validated this market for you. But, that also means that there's probably holes that you can fill in. And, you can come in as somebody who's going to serve this audience even better. There's a number of different ways that you can get on those syndicates and those different websites. There's a couple podcast episodes that I want to talk about that will help you actually. There's one with a man named Kimanzi from the Smart Passive Income Podcast. Let me see if I can find that number. That's episode 145. So, SmartPassiveIncome.com/session145. That's with Kimanzi Constable and about how to become a contributing writer on large media sites. From entrepreneurship to health food sites, to any digital online magazine that is out there publishing content about your topic. That's going to hep you figure out how to get in front of the line and actually start being published in those places. So, SmartPassiveIncome.com/session145.

There's also another cool website called Help a Reporter Out, or HARO, H-A-R-O. Just look up Help a Reporter Out. This is a site that you can subscribe to for free and you can follow certain topics that journalists are looking to get information about. And, what's cool is sometimes they're from these large websites because they're looking for sources. You can be in there and become one of those sources that you can then get referenced on and then, once you get that, that's all it takes. Just one of those little mentions on an NBC-type website that you're allowed to then pull that logo out and put it on your website. It's not very difficult to get those things, but it's not the thing you should be striving for. What you should be striving for is putting up your stuff and getting name for yourself out there and start to build your tribe, build your audience, build those relationships with the people out there who are in that space, who can learn from you in the way that you know how to teach. That's going to be the biggest differentiator between all those other people and yourself.

So, Brandi, hopefully that helps. Thank you so much for the question and I want to wish you all the best. I also want to send you an AskPat T-shirt for having your question featured here on the show. And, for those of you listening, if you have a question that you'd like potentially featured here on the show, just head on over to askpat.com and you can ask right there on that page.

All right, now, here's a quote to finish off the day. This is a quote from Marie Forleo, a good friend of mine, although I think a number of other people have said this as well. But, I know that she said this to you, so I'll credit her for now. And, that is, “The key to success is to start before you're ready.” So, if you're worried about perfect timing, guess what? Perfect timing is never going to happen. Perfect timing was yesterday, so get started now.

Thanks, take care, and I'll see you the next episode of AskPat. Bye.