How I Built It

A few weeks ago Jay Clouse wrote about Experimentality on his blog. This is a concept I love because experimenting is the only way to know if what you're doing works as best as it can.I've been experimenting a lot with my podcast, content, and automation. I like writing about what I'm trying for my members...I think it's a big benefit of the membership.I thought I'd give you a little peek into two experiments I'm running now. Get your FREE copy of my Automations Library ★ Support this podcast ★

“I despise social media.” This was my first impression of Tim Stoddart, and I was hooked. If you're feeling frustrated and discouraged by the lack of engagement relying solely on social media posts, you are not alone! But you, like me, might be taking the wrong approach. Tim says long-form content is king, and he should know. He’s the CEO of Copyblogger and writes prolifically. If you’ve been struggling to make an impact through short-form content, this interview is a must-listen.Get the top takeaways, show notes, and transcript at https://howibuilt.it/323 Sponsored by:Sensei: Save 20% FOR LIFE with code JOECASABONAJoin my FREE Newsletter, Podcast Workflows ★ Support this podcast ★

Earlier this month I made two decisions about the newsletter that you may have noticed:I got rid of the “Quick Hits” section (which was mostly my own content) in favor of a 300-500 word section on some top-of-mind topic.I added a monthly digest of all the content I put out during the month, sent on the last weekday of the month.The two are related. I still want a way to let my newsletter subscribers know about the content I’ve put out, in case they missed it. But it also serves 2 other purposes:It allows me to promote the month’s podcast episodes one more time.The sponsors get one more mention in the newsletter each month.After putting it together manually, I knew there had to be a better way, so I built version one of a Monthly Digest Engine, designed to aggregate and format all of my links, which I can then add to ConvertKit.Here’s how I built it.Sign up at https://howibuilt.it/subscribehttps://casabona.org/2023/06/building-a-monthly-digest-engine/  Get your FREE copy of my Automations Library ★ Support

What do you get when you follow the pack instead of doing what’s best for you? A bad content strategy. A year ago, I decided to focus on short-form content because I saw all the “thread Bois” doing it and thought it would help my business. It didn’t. But luckily, you can course-correct your strategies. And thanks to some key talks and inspiration from CEX and Craft+Commerce, I’ve decided that long form is the best strategy for my business (and probably yours, too). Get the top takeaways, show notes, and transcript at https://howibuilt.it/322 Sponsored by:Sensei: Save 20% FOR LIFE with code JOECASABONAGapscout: ChatGPT insights, but for market researchJoin my FREE Newsletter, Podcast Workflows ★ Support this podcast ★

Picture this: it's 2020. Your spouse is a nurse. You have one small kid with another on the way. You know child care will fall full to you for at least half the week.Oh, and you're trying to run a business. What would you do if your work week was effectively cut in half?I knew I needed to get help in my business, so I found a VA. Over a few episodes, I'll talk about working with my VA, starting with how I decided I needed one and where I found her. Get your FREE copy of my Automations Library ★ Support this podcast ★

We live in an age where everything needs to be fast, easy, and in high volume. I’ve seen people say, “I’m going to write 8 books this year.” Josh Bernoff thinks that’s a load of crap. See, if you want to write a good book, just like anything of quality, you need to spend time on it. Josh’s new book, Build a Better Business Book, is a master class on how to do that. And today, he’s giving us the best parts of that book. In the PRO show, things get real as we talk more about the charlatans of writing, as well as ghostwriting.Top TakeawaysTo write a good book, your idea has to be big, right, and new. This will make it distinguishable from everything else, and increase your impact and influence. A good business book consists of two things: answers to reader questions, and case studies. Your book is nothing if you don’t have case studies to back up your claim.Are you a planner, or a panter? Panters write by the seat of their pants, which creates a long, rambling, incoherent book. Planners start with what Josh call

Apple is rarely the first to market with a product, and for good reason. Here are 4 lessons you can learn from Apple introducing the Vision Pro at the beginning of the month.Link: Thoughts and Lesson from the Apple Vision Pro Presentation at the WWDC Get your FREE copy of my Automations Library ★ Support this podcast ★

Are you a “Field of Dreams” marketer? Someone who thinks, “If I build it, they will come.” I was for a long time. Sometimes it feels like I still am. That’s why I was excited to talk to Julian Garsdean. He blends psychology and business in a way I haven’t seen before to help business owners stand out and sell more. As creators, we can learn a ton from addressing the 6 basic needs in our own content and products. Listen for these top takeaways:Top TakeawaysBusinesses aren’t just transactions. They are run by people, for people. The sooner you realize that the sooner you’ll connect with your potential customers. Establish your identity. Being too general means you’re not connecting with anyone. Doing a deep dive into your identity, and the persona of your customers, makes them relate to your more. The key to negotiations is…you guessed it…understanding the needs of the person on the other side of the table. Do that, and you’ll be able to quantify your value in something other than numbers.Show NotesJulian Garsd

About a month ago I went on a quest to find the perfect webinar software. I create a spreadsheet and everything.But at CEX, I had a great conversation with Luria Petrucci of Live Stream Pros and I asked her, “What do you think is the best way to run a webinar?”Here's what she said, and why. ★ Support this podcast ★

It would be a dream of mine to grow a newsletter from 0 to 8,000+ in less than 6 months. But that’s exactly what Chenell Basilio did. The way she did it? Deeply researched, super-helpful content. See, she teaches people how successful creators grew their newsletters to 50,000+ subscribers. And today, she’s going to tell us all about her process. And in How I Built It PRO, we talk about money and goals for the next 6 months.Top TakeawaysCreating unique, long-form content can be a boon to your website or newsletter; people want something good and helpful! Quick capture is important. Chenell uses Apple Notes because that allows her to quickly open and dictate notes while she’s listening to podcasts.Chenell will only do deep dives on creators who’ve built an audience since 2018. That way she can cover techniques that still work today, making the content relatable.Show NotesGrowth in ReverseChenell on TwitterChenell on LinkedinHow the best newsletter operators grow to 50K+ subscribersPodchaserListen NotesTweenMaxR

There are LOTS of great tips on LinkedIn these days, especially in the carousels. But the problem: you can’t easily get data out of the carousels. That means you can’t put them in your notes app, or even click on the links for more details.Here are 2 ways you can do it: one using macOS’s native image-to-text feature, and one using a great shortcut by David Sparks. LinksYouTube VideoBlog post on MacSparky ★ Support this podcast ★

Pitching the media is tough. After all, you’re competing with basically anyone who has something to say. So how do you make yourself stand out? That’s what Christina Nicholson is teaching us today. She’ll cover everything from coming up with an idea to landing the media spot to converting those viewers to your audience. This one is a MUST listen. Top TakeawaysPitch your story by following the “new, now, next” framework. You should be able to answer what’s new about your story, why it needs to be covered now, and what’s coming next to pitch effectivelyThis is a long game. Earned media is not about immediate ROI, because earned media is forever. So think of this as a long-term investment, not a get-rich-quick scheme. Every time you go into an interview, you need to think of the end goal. What you want will determine not only your CTA but also what kind of media you’ll pitch.Show NotesChristina NicholsonChristina on FacebookChristina on InstagramChristina on TwitterChristina on LinkedinChristina on YouTubeChrist

In Part 3 of my Stream Deck Series, I'm covering Page 3 of my Stream Deck XL. Let's Dive in! - Screenshot of Stream Deck XL Page 2- eCamm Live- How I've Configured my Stream Deck- Get Your Own Stream Deck ★ Support this podcast ★

A Rube Goldberg machine is an overly complex device that performs a simple task through a series of chain reactions. If you’re not familiar with automation, it can often feel like building a Rube Golberg machine. But it doesn’t have to! Today, I’m going to tell you how automation can be simple, and give you 12 examples from my own life that prove the point. In the PRO show, I tell you all about why I moved to Thrivecart, and how my “writing on Medium” experiment is going.Top TakeawaysThe point of automation is to do things so you don’t have to do them. That makes simple tasks the perfect candidates for automation. Voice and text expansion can be great ways to get started automating for capturing and writingTrigger emails based on status changes in Airtable or Google Sheets are slightly more complicated, but the concept is simple and the time savings are great!Show NotesAutomation can be SimpleAutomation is IterativeMake.comnoodlesoft.com with HazelTextExpanderAirtableSponsored by: Gapscout | Sendinblue Sponso

When I went back to Twitter, one of the first things I wanted to look into was how I can easily post…most ideally across multiple platforms.And as I’m using these channels to grow my own audience, I always want features like auto-DM and auto-plug. Hypefury fits the bill perfectly. ★ Support this podcast ★

To grow your podcast you need…Facebook?! That’s what Philip Better, self-described podcast mogul, says. But that’s just one piece of advice he offers, as we exchange notes and thoughts on things like YouTube, lead generation, and growing your podcast audience. In the PRO show, we talk about automation on social media!Top TakeawaysDon’t limit yourself to just one platform. Be on all the big ones like Apple, Spotify, Amazon, and Google/YouTube to maximize your podcast’s reach.Get people in your newsletter, and grow your podcast by sharing the top takeaways and what’s in the pro show instead of just announcing new episodes.Have a Facebook group and join groups in your niche to promote your podcast organically and get ideas for content.Show NotesPhilip BetterPhilip on InstagramMr. Beast Turned Down a $1 Billion Offer for His ChannelThe YouTube FormulaPodopoloDo we REALLY Need to Own Our Platform?Sponsored by: GapScout | TextExpander Brought to you by GapScout and TextExpanderJoin my FREE Newsletter, Podcast Workf

Today I'm tackling Apple Music vs. Spotify, and why I seemingly inexplicably use both!https://casabona.org/2023/04/using-spotify-more/ Get your FREE copy of my Automations Library ★ Support this podcast ★

In my opinion, there’s nothing better than brainstorming ideas with a fellow Automator, and that’s exactly what today’s episode is all about. Chris L. Davis is a marking automation expert, and he’s done a few things that have wowed and inspired me. Today, we’re breaking down what exactly email automation is, and how everyone can leverage it to understand and grow their business. In the PRO show, we espouse our love for Airtable.Top TakeawaysThere’s a difference between email marketing and marketing automation. One is about list management. The other is about contact management. Use UTM tags! Never posting a naked URL on social media. You want to know how effective your various channels are so you can double down on the right one.Chris has a FANTASTIC workflow for his webinars. Listen in to learn about it.Show NotesChris DavisChris on LinkedinChris on YouTubeWhy You’re Leaving Money on the Table with Email Automation with Kronda AdairWP FusionPresto PlayerSponsored by: Gapscout Brought to you by GapScoutListen

In Part 2 of my Stream Deck Series, I'm covering Page 1 of my Stream Deck XL. Let's Dive in! Screenshot of Stream Deck XL Page 1How I've Configured my Stream DeckGet Your Own Stream Deck Get your FREE copy of my Automations Library ★ Support this podcast ★

Nowadays, there are tons of automation tools out there, thanks to the Chat GPT and Generative AI Revolution. It’s easy to feel overwhelmed with all the options available that could potentially help you do your job better. But let me tell you, there’s a difference between using Generative AI tools to create content or creative assets and using automation tools that can actually perform tasks and make your life easier.So, in this Automated Solopreneur segment, I’m going to spill the beans on my top 5 favorite automation tools. And if you tune into the x`PRO show, I’ll also share why I decided to give Twitter another shot and how automation tools made my experience on the platform a whole lot better.Show NotesMake ShortcutsAirtableHazelKeyboard MaestroHypefuryKeyboard Maestro Takes It Up to 10 Brought to you by GapScout and TextExpanderJoin my FREE Newsletter, Podcast Workflows ★ Support this podcast ★