Money Lab

Should you try turning a hobby you love into a money-making website? Sean Ogle, founder of BreakingEighty.com and LocationRebel.com, joins the show to talk about turning a hobby into an online business. Both Sean and Matt run websites based on hobbies they love: Sean runs a golf site and Matt runs a homebrewing website, BrewCabin.com. So how do they approach monetizing their hobbies? What does it take to create a paid community around something you love? And how do you make sure you keep the passion alive with your hobby when it's a business? If you've ever considered turning a hobby into an online business, this episode is for you. Enjoy!P.S. You can find more about Sean at LocationRebel.com and BreakingEighty.com.P.P.S. If you want to see a behind-the-scenes look at how Matt monetizes own hobby-based site, check out his course SEO for Bloggers: Moneylab.co/SEO

It's listener question time! Matt and Andrew answer everything from how to keep on top of the changes to the Google algorithm, how to treat nofollow vs. dofollow links and how site performance affects for SEO. Oh, and what happens to your website when you die? Matt and Andrew answer all your questions about optimizing your site for speed and prepping your website for the day you kick the bucket. Enjoy!P.S. Want to organize your business as if you were a ghost? Check out Matt's Asana for Bloggers course: Moneylab.co/Asana

Good news: SEO isn't as complicated as you think. Digital content editor and writer Michelle Lowery joins the show to share her best practices for SEO writing and editing. Matt and Michelle chat about how they approach creating content that ranks on Swim University, including clever ways to incorporate keywords and how to optimize text for both robots and humans. Michelle also shares some of her favorite strategies for researching keywords and how she weaves a human-centered approach into her work. This is a behind-the-scenes look at Swim University's entire SEO process and how Michelle creates articles that are more likely to rank. Enjoy!P.S. If you want to learn more about writing SEO friendly content, check out Matt's course SEO for Bloggers: Moneylab.co/SEOP.P.S. You can find Michelle on Twitter @MichelleDLowery

Why is it so dang hard to ask for help? Matt and Andrew debate why they have so much trouble reaching out to their network and asking for favors -- even though they both have entrepreneur friends who would gladly help. How can they start leveraging their networks without coming across as fake or needy? They discuss everything from how to craft emails and how to stop procrastinating with pitching their work. Enjoy!P.S. Have you seen the new Lasso sales page? Matt and Andrew are pretty proud of how it turned out. Check out the experiment here: Moneylab.co/MRR

Earning thousands more a month with just a flip of the switch? It's possible. Small changes can pay off in big ways in the online business world. Matt and Andrew talk about the tiny tweaks they've made that have lead to more money. And we're talking really tiny tweaks, like moving around existing links, adding new featured images and making minor updates to existing products. It can take lots of tracking to figure out what changes work, but it makes for a better business in the long run. Maybe it really is the little things in life. Especially if they make you more money. Enjoy!P.S. One of Matt's biggest payoffs? A small change to how he tracks his revenue. Check out his write up about his Lean Business Model at Moneylab.co/Lean-Business

How do you hack the YouTube algorithm? Tom Martin joins the show to teach us everything he knows about YouTube SEO and do a live teardown of Matt's Swim University YouTube channel. Tom is the YouTube mastermind behind several multi-million subscriber YouTube channels, including BBC's Mr. Bean. He shares strategies for getting viewers to binge watch your videos, designing thumbnails with great click through rates and increasing the total watch time on your channel. If you're looking for a step-by-step guide to YouTube SEO and growing a channel to Mr. Bean-level proportions, consider this episode your hands-on tutorial. Enjoy!P.S. Tom was generous enough to offer a few YouTube intro course to MoneyLab listeners at VidPro.com/MoneyLab. Thanks, Tom!P.P.S. Follow along with Matt's YouTube Optimization experiment here: Moneylab.co/Youtube-Optimization

There's money to be made in the advertising world. But is it the right business model for everyone? Both Matt and Andrew have made a living selling sponsorships and advertising through their online businesses. But over the years, they've both realized that it's not the right fit for their businesses or the way they like to work. Why did they abandon that business model? And what is the right business set up for making money through ads? Spoiler: it may just be peddling your own wares. Enjoy!P.S. This episode is brought to you by... Money Lab! (Spoiler). If you want to support the show, check out the extensive menu of Money Lab courses here: Moneylab.co/Products

Ooh, piece of candy! As entrepreneurs, we're constantly being sold on new ideas. And some of us end up "impulse buying" those new ideas. It's classic Shiny Object Syndrome. Like an excited little puppy running after a bouncing tennis ball, it's super tempting to chase after new and exciting business ideas, tools and projects. Matt and Andrew talk about how they've fallen victim to Shiny Object Syndrome and how they avoid running after every idea that comes their way. Enjoy!P.S. If you're looking for a new business idea to run after... check out Matt's course, SEO for Bloggers! But seriously: if you're in the market specifically for SEO training, this is the perfect course for that.

YouTube is soooo hot right now. Matt's noticing an uptick in sales, traffic and ad revenue from the new YouTube videos he's produced and published for SwimU. So he's running an experiment to see if he can make more money through the 'Tube on both of his affiliate websites. Will producing YouTube videos again pay off in the long run? How the heck does YouTube SEO work? And how can you measure if it's working? If you're YouTube curious, this episode is for you. Enjoy!P.S. Check out Matt's sweet new pool videos here on YouTube.P.P.S. Here's a link to the Veritasium YouTube video analyzing why YouTube videos go viral.

FOCUS, PEOPLE! Both Matt and Andrew have historically sucked at setting boundaries with their businesses and focusing on what they actually need to do. But all that's about to change! And Andrew's about to start a family, so he's got extra incentive to figure how to manage his time. They both love working on their businesses, but it means it's easy to get lost in their work or go down a rabbit hole with tasks that aren’t actually that important. So what are the critical areas they need to focus on with their business? And how do they start working smarter (not harder) with the hours they have? The clock starts... now. Enjoy!P.S. Parkinson's Law is the old adage that "work expands so as to fill the time available for its completion." Definitely not "Oslo's Law," guys.P.P.S. If you need some organizational help with your online business, check out Matt's course Asana for Bloggers: Moneylab.co/Asana

You've got business questions, we've got business answers! Matt and Andrew bring all the A's to your Q's, including a deep dive into measuring click-through rates and why goals might be more distracting than helpful. How do you improve affiliate marketing conversions on your website? How do you protect yourself from getting your ideas stolen on the internet? And how do you deal with running a niche website with traffic that dries up in the winter? Keep the questions coming and we'll keep the answers flowing. Enjoy!P.S. Matt mentions his post on website optimization. Check it out on Money Lab here: Moneylab.co/Website-optimizationP.P.S. If you haven't already checked out Matt and Andrew's latest software Lasso, check it out at GetLasso.co

Matt needs money! He's already trimmed his costs down to the bone in his business and now he wants to focus on efficient ways to ratchet up his revenue. So how can he increase the flow of his existing income streams on his websites? Should he focus on micro changes, like optimizing click through rates? Or is it something bigger, like monetizing his video content on his YouTube channel? In this conversation, Matt and Andrew debate ways to increase their revenue without adding additional costs and by leveraging their super powers. Enjoy! P.S. Want to create some affiliate marketing income streams in your business? Check out Matt's affiliate marketing course at Moneylab.co/Affiliate

Getting to $15,000 monthly recurring revenue in 6 months... piece of cake, right? Matt and Andrew have challenged themselves to get their product Lasso into the hands of 300 customers by the end of November. It's a time crunch, which means not relying on long-term SEO and focusing on strategies that'll get more customers in the first few months. What tactics will get them the quickest and most impactful results? And how can they leverage their personal superpowers to get to that 6 month finish line? Enjoy!P.S. You can read about the entire $15,000 MRR challenge at Moneylab.co/MRRP.P.S. Jump on the Lasso waiting list at GetLasso.co. Giddy up, cowboy.

You know you should have processes in place for your business. So why does every entrepreneur avoid this? At what point is it time to create better processes versus always fixing things as you go? Matt and Andrew break down the process of creating processes, including how to trick yourself into doing the really un-sexy work of building a business operating system. Matt has a literal gasping ah-ha moment in this one and maybe even solves the reason why Andrew has avoided this work. Enjoy!P.S. Need better business operating systems? Have you seen Matt's Asana for Bloggers course? Check it out here: Moneylab.co/Asana

Spoiler: classic email marketing tactics don't work for every online business. Can complex marketing funnels, slow drip campaigns and content upgrades actually hurt sales? Matt and Andrew dive into the details of Matt's multi-month experiment trying to optimize his sales funnel at Swim University. They pick through Matt's sales stats, walk through his elaborate email set up for converting readers to customers and debate why a complicated funnel wasn't the right move for his website. Get ready to talk UTM codes, conversion rates and customer avatars. Enjoy!P.S. Check out Matt's full write up about his email marketing experiment here: Moneylab.co/email-funnels

WWMD (What Would Matt Do)? Travis Sherry of Extra Pack of Peanuts joins the show as Matt plays business consultant and dives into what's working and what's not on Travis' website. Travis shares all the juicy details (revenue, traffic, subscribers) and Matt unloads his advice on how he thinks Travis can start to rank for some meaty keywords and pull in more revenue. Buckle up: this episode is like a live mini course/case study in auditing an online business. Enjoy! P.S. You can find Travis at ExtraPackofPeanuts.com P.P.S. Want Matt to play consultant with your business? You can get the next best thing by checking out his SEO and Affiliate Marketing Courses: Moneylab.co/products/

It's listener question time again! Matt and Andrew unpack all of your burning questions. How do you save an article that flopped in the SEO rankings? What should you focus on if you're only one person trying to build an affiliate site? And how much does Matt LOVE banner ads? (Hint: 0%). Thank you everyone for sending in your questions. Enjoy!P.S. The Affiliate Marketing Video Course is on sale for $149! Check it out here: Moneylab.co/affiliate AND since you're a beautiful listener of the show, you can use the promo code PODCAST for 10% off.P.P.S. Do you know what a meatball shorty is?

Move, please! Get out the way! Like any good entrepreneur that cares too much, Matt and Andrew are prone to self-sabotaging the very same business that they love so dearly. So how do you stop yourself from derailing the growth and success of your online business? In this episode, Matt and Andrew discuss how to stop micromanaging and create business processes that last. Their little business babies grow up so fast - time to finally set them free! Enjoy!P.S. Have you checked out Matt's Affiliate Marketing Video Course yet? It's a ton of affiliate marketing how-to video content (duh) and it's 10% off if you use the promo code PODCAST. Check it out here: Moneylab.co/Affiliate

It's the one year anniversary of the Money Lab Podcast! Steph Halligan joins the show today to celebrate with Matt and take a behind-the-scenes look at everything that goes into an episode of Money Lab. From the work flow that makes podcasting easier to Matt's crazy tech setup in his new office-turned-podcast-studio, we explore each piece that make for an entertaining podcast. Enjoy! P.S. You can find Steph hanging out on Twitter @StephHalligan P.P.S. Matt documented his super profesh podcast set up here: www.Moneylab.co/professional-podcast P.P.P.S. Have you seen Matt's Affiliate Marketing Video Course yet? Check out www.MoneyLab.co/Affiliate and get 10% off when you use the promo code PODCAST.

Time to wrap it up? Matt and Andrew debate how to know when it's stop growing a revenue-generating website. Is there a moment when an online business is “done” and it’s time to move on to other projects? Or should they always double down on the work if a website is making money? I don't think there was ever an episode where Matt and Andrew disagreed more ;-) Enjoy!P.S. The Affiliate Marketing Video Course is here! And it's 10% off for listeners with the promo code PODCAST. Check it out at www.MoneyLab.co/Affiliate