It’s time to dive into the ol’ listener mailbag and answer a few questions in this special Friday edition of The Side Hustle Show.
The last Q&A show I did was back in November and I’ve had quite a few interesting questions come in since then.
Suggested Playlist: 20 Questions with Nick
Today we’re chatting about SEO tools and strategies, affiliate marketing, self-publishing, Udemy, real estate, taxes, consulting, and more.
Have you left an iTunes review for the show yet?
We’re closing in on 200 reviews in the US iTunes store! Can you help me get there by dropping in your honest review of the show?
The Questions
- How much vetting do you do of your guests?
- What happened with the public coaching experiment from last year?
- Will you join my MLM?
- “I created something that I think your followers would enjoy! It’s an article / podcast / infographic about __________. Let me know if this is something you’d be interested in and I can send it your way to check it out.”
- I want to interview other entrepreneurs and have them share how they started their business. What’s your opinion on how to start that and get paid for that service?
- I actually write about some of the topics that are covered in your blog. Would you accept a guest post on one of those topics?
- How can I get started as an affiliate and build a successful business?
- I’m trying to get my computer genius son involved in affiliate marketing. Is there a profitable program or product you can recommend?
- Kindle Question: Based on a selling price of $1.99 to $2.99, any idea what someone could hope to earn from one book being sold at moderate level?
- Can I become a millionaire reselling?
- I want to start a real estate business but I can’t afford to buy rental property. What do I do?
- Any experience on getting AdSense going in Weebly?
- If you could only use 3 tools to build and run a successful SEO campaign, which 3 would you choose?
- I’ve been wondering as I read about your different streams of income: what’s it like for you at tax time? How do you keep track of the earnings from the various channels and do you have to report each activity separately?
- Can you please send me a PDF of “Will It Fly” by Thomas McKnight?
- Can you send me a free copy of Work Smarter?
- When companies email you offering to pay you in order to place a link or an article with a link on your site, do you go for it? If so, what’s your minimum price?
- What do you do for your own SEO link building?
- I created a paid online forum — a virtual mastermind group. How do you attract members?
- What do you think about the new pricing strategy on Udemy?
Links and Resources
- Side Hustle Coaching: What it REALLY Takes to Build a SaaS Business, with Dane Maxwell
- Side Hustle Coaching: When to Pause
- PodcastingTutorial.com
- FreePodcastCourse.com
- How Much Does it Cost to Start a Podcast?
- How to Get Sponsorships for Anything, with Jason Zook
- How to Start a Consulting Business: Your First $5k, with Jonathan Stark
- Stop Building Affiliate Sites
- Kindlepreneur Sales Estimator
- Ryan Finlay from Recraigslist
- The Flea Market Flipper, Rob Stephenson
- Travis Scott’s $4k a Month Amazon FBA Business
- Assad Siddiqi’s Retail Arbitrage on Steroids
- Darrel Fitzpatrick’s 6-figure eBay Reselling Business
- Getting Started in Real Estate Investing for Less Than $100
- The Best Passive Income Model: Raw Land Investing
- The Best Passive Income Model: Listener Success Story 1
- The Best Passive Income Model: Listener Success Story 2
- The Fastest and Cheapest Way to Build a Great-Looking Website for your Side Hustle Service [Case Study]
- Yoast SEO plugin
- Google Keyword Planner
- 150+ Ways to Make Extra Money in Your Spare Time
- Chris Ducker’s YOUpreneur
- Screw the 9 to 5 Facebook Community
- Fizzle
Your Turn
Is there a topic you’d like to hear covered on the show? Is there a guest I absolutely NEED to have on?
What can I do to serve you better in the coming months?
Let me know in the comments below and score a free copy of my next book when it comes out! (I don’t have a title yet, but it’s about one of the common themes of The Side Hustle Show: tapping into pre-existing marketplaces to make money.)


Hi,
wow this is an amazing podcast. lot of amazing questions.
I think it would be amazing to have more podcast of DIY people like repair or creative people who start small side businesses. also very important i am looking for you to talk more about how to balance work life with family life.
Thank You
Avi L
Thanks Avi — appreciate the feedback.
Very useful format this time, Nick. Several questions really resonated with me, under the general subject of emails to ask about guest posting, reviews of someone’s site, etc.
You already said what needed to be said, I’m hoping someone who really didn’t listen will read this comment and take heed.
If you want to publish an article on someone else’s site, or ask for a review, etc., then send along what you are proposing in the initial email!
I generally just delete all these type requests with no content, becuase I don’t have the time or inclination to engage in 3 or 6 or even more emails back and forth before we can even get to the “meat” of the request.
Think of it this way guys and gals, you’re asking a favor of me, which is fine, but don’t make it hard on me. Just send what you are proposing instead of yakking back and forth about it.
And one general comment to all those asking “how can I get paid” when talking about starting a new venture. If it’s any good, people will want to pay you, if not, you’re not solving anyone’s problem, not relieving any “pain point”, so you need to pivot and re-think.
Keep hustling.
Amen! Thanks Dave.
Hey Nick,
I just listened to this podcast episode and I wanted to drop by to just let you know that I absolutely love your show. Since I’ve been working on my two side hustles for the past year while working a 9-5 (and commuting 3+ hrs a day! yikes), your content and interviews have been incredibly valuable and your podcast is literally one of the top podcasts that I listen to religiously! You always make my commute go by so much faster and I learn so much valuable info and tips from your experiments and interviews!
I think it would be really interesting if you could dive deeper into when is a good time to sell a digital course or info product to your list if you’re just starting out. Should you start small with a guide, ebook, or mini course as a tripwire first and then later ease into selling a course a couple months later? Or just jump into selling a course right away and use Facebook ads to drive traffic to a webinar registration page?
Also, I agree with Avi that it would be really cool to hear from DIY Etsy Hustlers who scaled their businesses. Specifically, if they started their own websites or expanded into Amazon!
Thanks so much and keep up the good work!
Athena
Good stuff, thanks Athena! As luck would have it, I’ve got an episode coming up about selling a course even with a small audience :)
Hi Nick,
I enjoyed the 20 Questions format and would like to hear more shows like this.
I would also like to hear more shows that cover older side hustle entrepreneurs. I am 59 years old and am starting a side hustle to help me earn extra money for retirement and to provide income after I retire from my full time job.
O that’s great! Can’t wait to listen to it!
Hi Nick, long time listener. First off, I loved this style of episode, cool to hear your feedback to questions from regular people. Along those lines I think it could be cool to hear more from people that haven’t had huge success, but are hoping to and are currently in the thick of hustling. Along similar lines to your public coaching, but less demanding, I’m thinking a 3 or 6 monthly check in to see what their plans are, how to hope to achieve their goals, and you could pepper them with advice given your knowledge and experience. I love hearing from people that have “made it” but I would really like hearing from people trying to make it. Keep up the good work!
Thanks Jarratt — that could work, and would be less demanding time-wise for me :)
Yes! This is a good compromise.
Hey Nick! Really enjoyed the episode. I was thinking about doing a Udemy course myself so hearing your feedback on how the pricing has changed was investing. Would be great to hear more about that later on in the year. I think as I’m new to online courses Udemy would still be a good platform for me to start on or Teachable. As well as this question, i found the 3 tools for SEO, guest posting on Side Hustle Nation and the public coaching very interesting. I’d love to see the public coaching return, you’ll have one eager candidate here already. Great podcast, always a great listen. Keep it up and keep hustling!
Hi Nick,
I love your podcast and the content. Loads of varied useful stuff to dig in to. Listening to your latest Q&A I went back and listened to Wellington and Dane and found it fascinating. It was so helpful to hear the real emotions of someone struggling to follow their dream and it resonated massively with where I am now. So to answer your Question 20. I would say more of the questioning around our ‘Why’ would be awesome.
Keep up the good work and I hope this is working for you and the family too. Jay.
Thanks Jay – appreciate the feedback!
Great episode Nick! I’d love to see someone profile a bunch of online entrepreneurs and report on the revenue share from different revenue streams e.g. affiliate marketing (30%) vs. products (60%) vs. sponsorships (10%) etc… For me this would be interesting to see what kind of targets I should be aiming for across different channels.
Thanks Paul — that would be interesting. What do the percentages look like for you at the moment?