First impressions are crucial, especially in the noisy landscape of podcasting where dozens of new podcast shows are launched every day.

The truth is, your next potential listener will probably judge your podcast based on its artwork before even getting around to listening to your first episode.

Great artwork means investing real time, thought and effort into creating a quality image that will stand out in the iTunes store and make potential listeners want to hit the play button. Here are a few guidelines on how to get podcast artwork looking great in iTunes and beyond – getting the attention is deserves!

Design for Different Sizes

Create your podcast artwork that works on both a large and small scale to have it fit in areas like the iTunes Podcast Page, New and Noteworthy Section as well as other podcast apps.

Keep Words to a Minimum

Remember: your cover art isn’t your podcast’s about page. A good rule of thumb is to stick to five words or less to make your podcast artwork easy to read when it’s at thumbnail size.

Stick to Clean, Legible Fonts

Your podcast artwork needs to stand out. Stick to fonts that make it easy to read, like Sans Serif fonts instead of Script fonts that might get lost in the details of the other elements of your podcast’s artwork.

Avoid the Cliché

Use images that are relevant to the topic. Skip the artwork that involves microphones, headsets and other overused podcast gear.. unless your podcast happens to be about podcasting, of course!

Branding Consistency

Your podcast is part of your overall brand, so remember to use consistent imagery like sticking with the same colors, logos, and images to help your followers recognize you!

Test it Out

Test out your artwork by shrinking your image and placing it on a screenshot of the iTunes podcast section to check how it shapes up against others. Ask yourself, does your artwork standout? Does it relay the right message?

The content of your podcast is what will ultimately determine if your listeners will stay and become loyal subscribers, but having eye-catching artwork is what can help elevate your image as a professional podcaster with a real message to share.

What’s your favorite podcast artwork so far? I’d love to check them out – let me know over on Twitter and via Facebook – I’d love to hear from you!

I’ve worked with a lot of people on their brands and sites, and one of the most notorious areas that entrepreneurs tend to neglect is their About Page.

After your homepage, your about page is probably the second most visited static page on your site. So my mission for today’s post is to bring you up to speed on what you should and shouldn’t be doing – yes… we’re diving deep (but, quickly!) into what to include on your about page.

First Up – The Headline

Your headline should be benefit-driven and answer the visitor’s question of “what’s in it for me?”. This should be tackled right at the top of the page to confirm that your visitors have come to the right place for their questions and needs.

Master Your Introduction

This is a pretty common mistake that a lot of people make, where they start everything off with talking about themselves. What you need to do is focus on your visitor and make it about them. You will want to highlight four to five key selling points and sell them as to why they should stick around.

Social Proof

Make sure you leverage social proof by including logos of press mentions or features along with displaying testimonials from previous clients to further drive home the point that your brand is the real deal.

Now It’s Time For.. YOU!

While it’s important to initially show your visitors what you can do for them, you will also need to give them a clear look of what you are all about (that’s what they are there for, right?). Give a quick background, talk about your passions and focuses and tell them how you are going to help them.

Get Personal

Here is where you can add personal touches to your About Page to show your fun side. A quick video clip is a great way to give your visitors an idea of who you are and what you can offer them.

CTA Offer

So many entrepreneurs make the mistake of offering several different offers, confusing visitors. What you will want to show is one attractive, clear and concise offer that focuses on a ‘quick win’ to gain momentum straight off the bat for your visitors.

Show Your Best Stuff

Many visitors will go straight to the About Page before searching anywhere else, so why not make it easier for them by showing two or three pieces of your highest converting content or even an exercise to promote action to turn your casual visitors into real followers.

The Invite to Connect

The final element you need on your About Page is how people can reach you on social media. Place links to your social media profiles and let them know where you like to hang out specifically so they know which platform they can engage with you the best.

The fact is, your about page is just as important as your product and sales pages so you need to treat it as such. You need to figure out what to include on your about page early on, and keep it updated on a regular basis.

Placing a quick bio and a photograph isn’t what is going to get visitors to connect with you so go the extra mile and take the time out to build your About Page right and make the right first impression.

What did you think of today’s post? Let me know if there are any cool elements you’ve included on your own About Page. Tweet me, or drop me a message on Facebook!

Even with different formats and media types joining the game lately, no one can deny that ‘Content is King’.

No matter the type, whether it’s video, podcasting or blogging, creating quality content will always be a staple in determining the success of your brand. So here are my favorite tips and tricks to help you get serious about your content creation and to inspire you to figure out how to improve your content creation – fast!

Schedule It

Make sure that you take your content marketing seriously by creating a content calendar, where not only your blog, podcast and video content are included but also your social media and YouTube content as well. Remember: if it doesn’t get scheduled, it doesn’t get done!

Take Inventory

One of the first steps to creating killer content is to take stock of what is working for you and your audience right now. It’s time for you to spend some time with your analytics and see how are you serving your audience and what kind of content do they respond to.

Pay Attention to Your Community

When we first start out with our blogs, we create content that we think our audience wants. As our brands grow and we pay attention to our community, we then start creating content that our audience needs. The easiest way to make this happen is by simply asking. Whether it’s through your comments section or being available to reach on social media, it’s important to ask your audience and really listen to them.

Social Media Trends

Take note of what’s going on around you online by paying attention to social media hashtags (ex. #entrepreneurstruggles, #solopreneurproblems) or visit Facebook to see what topics are being discussed in your industry circles. The information you can glean from social media platforms could be priceless.

Industry Competitors

Check out what others in your niche are saying, this could mean your peers or even major industry influencers to see what topics are interesting them. It’s important to remember however, you don’t want to copy what they are saying – instead, react to it. There’s no need to copy a Gary Vaynerchuk video. Making a blog post and sharing your thoughts on it pushes your brand even further than if you were just going to make an imitation of it.

Conference Agenda Ideas

Conference topics are always a great way to see check out industry trends and what they can expect to be the next big thing. Make a list of industry conferences and take note of any hot topics that you feel you could create content on.

Guest Content

You don’t have to do content creation alone. You can bring on guests for podcast interviews or ask guests to write for your blog. Getting different perspectives and opinions is a great way to keep your content fresh for audience, but remember that guest posting shouldn’t be seen as an easy way out of creating content for the week so only do it when it makes sense for you and your brand.

Content Curation

Not every piece of content you produce has to be 100% original and brand new, you can also curate content that aligns with your brand like round-up posts or ‘best of’ lists. This is also a great opportunity to backlink to any older content you feel could be promoted again as well.

Don’t Forget to Breathe

It can be very easy to get on that hamster wheel of constantly creating content until you find yourself burned out, so don’t forget to take some time out to recharge and restart the creativity you will need as a content creator. Figuring out how to improve your content creation is just the beginning – it’s the hard work connected to it that’ll help grow your business fast!

There are so many ways to come up with different kinds of content, but the most important rule to keep in mind is to generate solid content consistently so that your audience can grow to trust and respect your brand as an industry authority.

How do you keep up with content creation? Let me know over on Twitter and via Facebook – I’d love to hear from you!

SEO is probably one of the most popular tasks that entrepreneurs either prefer to put off or not bother with altogether. Some entrepreneurs feel like they aren’t at the level where they have to worry about it, whereas others get overwhelmed at keeping up with the “SEO Game”.

The truth is that while SEO can seem pretty intimidating, it doesn’t have to be as complicated, or as expensive as you think. The focus here is understanding why SEO is important in the first place. By following a few basic rules, you’ll find that you will get some pretty powerful results.

Choose the Right Keywords

Remember to do your keyword research first – this doesn’t mean you have to spend hours at it but you must determine what are the main phrases you want to be known for. This includes long tail keywords, industry related keywords to make sure your content gets brought to the forefront. Another quick tip is to make sure you use keywords in your images as well.

Onsite SEO Checklist

A good general rule to follow is to make sure that you have the right keywords in the right areas of your website including keywords in the title of your page, the URL of your page, in the content of the post itself, within the keyword section and in the meta description.

Offsite SEO

This SEO is what others can control such as links to your homepage, blog posts, social profiles and your landing pages. You can only control a certain amount of this.

Keep Your URL’s Readable

Remember, the more readable your URL’s are for a human – the better! So try to stick to hyphens instead of underscores when it comes to creating URL’s, as well as lower case letters as URL’s are case sensitive.

Improve Your Site’s Loading Time

Page speed is now a pretty major ranking factor so you will want to remove any non-essential elements to your site such as music players or graphics that might slow things down. Faster websites generate more conversions so this is a big must! An important tip is to make sure your site is mobile responsive.

At the end of the day, it’s clear to see why SEO is important – and let’s face it, SEO tips and tricks are always useful but we always need to remind ourselves that the content is for your audience and not Google.

When you cover the basics of SEO and are consistent in publishing high-quality content naturally without “keyword stuffing” or trying to game the system, Google will effortlessly look at your site as an authority in your niche.

Do you go in-depth with your SEO? Let me know what are the most powerful SEO practices you use over on Twitter and via Facebook – I’d love to hear from you!

You may have noticed that this month here on the blog, the content has been all about how entrepreneurs break the rules.

From adopting a profit-first mentality to acting like a beginner to taking action in spite of fear, entrepreneurs are constantly busting myths about how to succeed as you build your personal brands.

What we haven’t touched on yet is WHY the most successful entrepreneurs always appear to be breaking rules.

You might think you already know: to achieve different results, right? To find status or attention for their groundbreaking ideas?

Well, yes. Sometimes. But that’s only part of the story. The real reason to break the rules is much simpler…and much more complex.

There ARE No Rules

I think we all know this, to be honest, but none of us really believe it. After all, there have to be SOME rules, right? There has be to some authority out there telling us what we’re all “supposed” to do in business so that when someone does it differently, it makes the news?

Nope.

It’s The Matrix all over again, you guys. There is no spoon, and there are no rules. When you find your tribe, you can succeed doing anything you want and in any WAY you want.

I’m serious. There are entrepreneurs out there flourishing as professional cuddlers, as reading coaches for literate people, and as shippers of snow. Do you think these people would’ve ever gotten started building a successful business if they’d listened to the rules?

The same is true for you.

In fact, I’d wager that the more rules you try to find and follow, the less likely you are EVER to succeed in business.

Don’t misunderstand: you need not have a crazy, unheard-of idea in order to qualify for “not following the rules.” It doesn’t matter what kind of business you want to grow; what I want you to understand is that you have to build your business your way. Even if there were rules (which there are not!!), they wouldn’t apply to you.

Well, What Do I Do Now?

I get why rules are such a comfortable idea. They can make you feel safe when you’re considering a major thing like starting or growing a business, and it’s reassuring to think that if you follow the rules, you’re assured of success.

Well, for better or worse, that’s never been and never WILL be the case, my friends. No one who’s ever succeeded beyond their wildest dreams ever got there by sitting back and wondering, “What do the rules say about this?” Can you imagine Steve Jobs or Jeff Bezos knowing or even caring what anyone else was doing?

This means that the next time you’re considering a major decision, there’s very little measurable benefit in googling “What should I do about X?” or “What did [insert famous entrepreneur here] do about Y?” You’ll find lots of great answers about what OTHER people have done, which can be nice for context and inspiration, but I caution you against doing what they’ve done just because they’ve done it and written about it.

They’ve found a way that works for them, and that’s fantastic, but that doesn’t even come close to predicting how much success you’ll have with the same approach.

Instead, try this: when you need to make a decision, just make it. That’s how it becomes your rule.

Too simple? That’s exactly the point!

The only way to get comfortable making decisions is to make decisions, and the more you build that muscle, the more you become the authority you want to become in your space. Besides, if you’re relying on someone else’s “rules” to make those decisions for you, you’re not building your own business anymore. You’re building theirs.

A Thought Experiment

The next time you see an article about someone “breaking the rules,” ask yourself what the rule was in the first place. I’ve done this a few times, and the answer is always laughable because you’ll see very quickly how they don’t exist. When Bezos created Amazon, was the rule, “Don’t create an online company?” Of course not, though his story is often framed that way. In reality, the rule didn’t exist because the context didn’t exist.

The same is true for you. Every decision you make becomes a rule, and your specific set of rules will work for no one else but you.

If you enjoyed this post, please let me know on my Facebook page or via Twitter. And… if you have some likeminded friends, I’d love for you to share it with them. Thank you!

Not so long ago I published a video post on the subject of the YouEconomy and how every entrepreneur (regardless of industry) should and can claim their own piece of this new, booming segment of the business world.

Perfect for entrepreneurs such as coaches, consultants, speakers, authors, bloggers, podcasters and experts – the interest on carving out a solid slice of the YouEconomy pie should be a focus.

To elaborate things further, I put together this infogaphic, which I think showcases exactly how important the niche industry is, and just how easy it to to get hold of what’s yours!

To further support this infographic, I strongly suggest you check out my Youpreneur Community. Along with finding ‘your people’ and delving into high-impact mastermind groups, you’ll also learn everything you need to, to start taking all your efforts as a Youpreneur to the next level.

Other Related Content:

• The ‘Chase it Down’ Miniseries on my YouTube Channel
• How to Become the Best ‘Coach of Coaches’ You Can Be
• 5 New Words for Entrepreneurial Fear
• 5 Daily Habits to Grow Your Business FREAKISHLY Fast!

Did this infographic help you? If so, please consider sharing it and be sure to tweet me and let me know your biggest takeaway!

Facebook has predicted that the web will go entirely video-based in the near future, so my question for you this week is, are you making any money from video blogging yet? If you’re NOT, sit back for a few minutes to learn how to monetize your online videos, and turn that train around.

Ready. Set. Go!

1. Sponsorships

If you’re a vlogger with a decently sized audience, you can approach potential sponsors and request their support for your show. They might sponsor a single episode, support a whole or partial season, or compensate you for published reviews of their products or services.

If you want to work with a brand, put together a comprehensive proposal that outlines who you are, what your vlog is about, why your expertise and theirs align, and some potential collaboration opportunities. They may have their own process as well for dealing with vloggers, so be open to the process and see where it leads.

2. Your own merchandise

Some vloggers sell branded merchandise, products, and/or services to support the costs of running the show. This is a unique and fun way to expand your relationship with your viewers since it means they can take their appreciation of the show beyond the show itself. Merchandise could be as simple as a T-shirt, so don’t get too worried that you’ll have to get completely crazy, but do take the time to select quality merchandise that represents your brand.

As for selling products and services, this is kind of like seeing your vlog as a webinar of sorts. You’ll spend the bulk of your time teaching and connecting with your community, sharing what you know generously and in the spirit of service. At the end of your show, or on the occasional special-edition episode, you’ll devote some time to explaining the kinds of products and services you have available for purchase. Remember that you’re providing a service by making your expertise accessible to as many people as possible. It would literally be a DISSERVICE to keep quiet about your products and services.

3. Ads

Different from sponsorship relationships, you can set up your YouTube channel to play standard-issue ads before your show. A Google AdSense account is completely free to set up, and your revenue will relate directly to users’ engagement with the ads themselves.

4. Viewer contributions

Many content creators have set up accounts with Patreon, which is basically like crowd-funding your vlog revenue. They can donate once or on an ongoing basis, and their direct support is wonderful evidence that you’re contributing to their lives and their goals, just as you set out to do!

Charge What You’re Worth

Over the last few weeks, we’ve discussed monetising your podcast, your blog and now today, your online videos. However, I have one last parting thought on monetization and pricing in general that I want to share with you… be sure to charge what you’re worth – and don’t apologize. People will gladly part with their hard earned cash if you’re providing them value and affecting positive change in their lives.

Did you enjoy this episode of #DuckerZone? Let me know on Twitter and via Facebook!

Okay, so you’ve got a podcast, right? If so, I want you to know something important: you absolutely CAN make money from it—some even make a very nice full-time living this way! But it’s important to know how to monetize your podcast in the right way.

How do we do it, Chris? I hear you ask..

Check out these steps below to help you monetize your own podcast!

1. Make a list of potential sponsors.

Think of the brands you like and use, and think of the sponsors on shows you currently listen to. Write them all down, and note the similarities and differences between them. I bet you’ll notice that they aren’t all necessarily related to the topic of your show. And that’s OK! Some brands are super specific in their marketing efforts, while others are keen to advertise on a variety of podcasts.

2. Make brand contact.

Step away from the form letter, friends! Please do not ever send a form letter request to a bunch of brands asking them to sponsor your show. It’ll get almost automatically deleted, I can guarantee it. Instead, making contact with a brand is very much a personal (and personalized!) effort. If you can’t get a direct introduction from a friend or network contact, see if you can make a personal connection on social media or over email.

3. Consider your existing network.

If the bigger brands aren’t responding to your outreach efforts, they’re not the only options available to you! Consider your own network of fellow entrepreneurs and business owners. Might they be interested in getting into the advertising space? You can’t possibly know until you ask, and this could be a really great opportunity to strengthen and build some of your existing business relationships.

4. Ask listeners to sponsor you.

The patron model of supporting podcasters is getting more and more popular these days. If you haven’t heard of it, check out Patreon, where avid fans or a creator’s work can sponsor that creator on a one-time or even ongoing basis. Your listeners can contribute directly to your show, and you can build a Patreon community with them right there where you can share exclusive info, connect listeners to each other, and really take your podcasting to the next level.

5. Monetize indirectly.

Does your podcast have to make money all by itself? Maybe, maybe not. I know of some podcasters out there who run the show completely pro-bono but have a killer conversion rate when it comes to getting listeners to sign up for their mailing list. And we all know what happens when someone signs up for your mailing list—you just got a great opportunity to serve that person with even more of your content and solutions, including the paid options.

Monetizating doesn’t have to be overwhelming if you know how to monetize your podcast the right way. Use these tips as you get more serious about leveling up, and let me know how you get on!

Enjoy this episode of #DuckerZone? Let me know on Twitter and via Facebook – and… be sure to submit your own question by posting it on social, using the hashtag… #DuckerZone

Now if you’ve never made money online before, monetizing your blog is basically the Holy Grail of online business right now. It’s incredibly doable if you’re excellent at what you do and dedicated to pursuing it until it pays off. And it will pay off, I know that much. But, like most things, when you have a proven system to follow it makes everything easier and THIS is my process on how to monetize your blogging.

1. Get comfortable!

The biggest mistake entrepreneurs make is choosing a niche to blog about and then getting tired of it and switching niches. I know of people who’ve started dozens of blogs over the years, only to abandon them when they changed their minds. And then they wonder why they aren’t successful at monetizing.

Friends, don’t make this mistake! The success of your blog depends to a HUGE extent on your willingness to dive DEEP into a topic for a long period of time. You’ve got to become THE guy or gal who knows everything about your area of expertise, so much so that you’re the ultimate authority every time someone in your audience thinks of that topic.

2. Start a mailing list!

Blog traffic is great, and it’s fun to watch those numbers go up when you share valuable content, but the real monetization of a blog comes from creating an email list. If you’re not already familiar with this, it means offering blog visitors an opportunity to receive regular emails from you by inputting their email address on your site. It’s easy and free to set up through MailChimp, and I also like Constant Contact for blog-specific mailing lists.

3. Ask your readers what they want to buy!

When you’ve grown a blog audience and mailing list that loves your content, the next step is simply to reach out and ask them what they would be willing to invest in if you created it. This can be an open-ended question or a multiple choice format if you already have a few ideas in mind. Don’t be surprised if your audience tells you they want you to write a book, develop a course, host a conference, or launch a mastermind. Your audience believes in you BIG TIME, and their willingness to share big dreams might be just the fuel you need to get creating.

4. Give the people what they want!

If your audience’s needs and requests line up with what you can and want to create, well, bingo! Create the thing they’ve told you they want, and offer it to them at a great price. Take their feedback and suggestions, improve the product, and continue doing that in a solid, on-going fashion. This is exactly how to launch your products and courses into the world. Simply solve people’s problems. It’s this easy.

Repeating steps 3 and 4 is your path to a monetized blog, my friends. And more importantly, it’s your path to a growing and sustainable community of readers who trust you for your expertise and turn to you for all their challenges, when it comes to your chosen topic of focus.

Remember we want to become somebody’s favorite. That’s it. Become a favorite and your readers will return to you over and over again – creating more opportunity for you to serve them over and over.

Did you enjoy this episode of #DuckerZone? Let me know on Twitter and via Facebook – and… be sure to submit your own question by posting it on social, using the hashtag… #DuckerZone