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Money Lab
Matt Giovanisci and friends drop the gauntlet of truth about being self-employed, serial entrepreneurs. They're not "teaching" how to build a successful company. Instead, they run business challenges and experiments offering a transparent view of what it takes to make money online.
ChatGPT May Destroy SEO
The Rise of Chatbots and the Threat to SEO: How Chat GPT could change the game for search engines forever.
In this episode, we dive into the world of Chatbots and how the development of advanced AI language models like Chat GPT could have a significant impact on the world of SEO. We discuss the potential benefits and drawbacks of this technology, and how it may change the way we think about optimizing content for search engines.
- This description was written by ChatGPT 3
39:1206/02/2023
How I Come Up With Brand Names
This decision could impact your online business forever. You need to consider many factors for it to be successful long-term. But if you get it right, it'll pay off forever in ways you cannot measure. Are you feeling overwhelmed? I get it. But I'm here to tell you that you're overthinking it. Picking a brand name is easy with the methods I created. After listening, you'll come out on the other side with a kickass brand name and domain that'll make it effortless to scale your business in the future.
01:02:5430/01/2023
Facebook Ad Strategy with Miles Beckler
I ask Miles Beckler to share his Facebook Ad strategy for getting more sales on his digital products.
02:18:3928/01/2023
How I Pick a Profitable Niche In 5 Minutes
What’s the best way to discover a profitable niche? Find something you already enjoy or have a good amount of knowledge about.Most people hate this advice.I suspect they want a different answer. They’re looking for the undiscovered niche to help them get rich quickly.There are no tricks or secrets to uncovering a profitable niche or topic for your business.Everyone has an interest. That’s your niche.Everyone knows a lot about one topic. That’s your niche.Every niche can be profitable. The variable is not the topic; it’s the person creating the business.The Fastest Way to Discover a Profitable NicheI’ve been practicing this technique since 2008. And it’s the simplest exercise in the world.NOTE: Don’t use a computer. Get a notebook or piece of paper and a pen. You must do this exercise by hand. No typing. I’ll explain why later.Sit down for 5 minutes in every room in your home.Write down every significant product you see.Group products into obvious categoriesCross out the dumb categories you know you’ll never build a business around.Highlight categories that you could easily write about with no research.After performing this exercise, there will probably be only 1-3 ideas. If there are more, you’re lying to yourself. Repeat steps four and five.You should now have your niche. No research is required.And there’s an important reason not to open your computer during this exercise…Analysis Paralysis: The Reason You Struggle to Pick a NicheIf you follow my analog method of finding a niche, you’ll want to research to see if there are good keywords. But I strongly urge you not to do that.This is exactly why you’re struggling to pick a niche.You can research to uncover a “secret” niche or choose a familiar niche (using my analog method). But both paths can lead to two outcomes: insufficient keywords or too many (and therefore “saturated”).Researching a niche will kill your confidence. It might not, but I wouldn’t take that chance.When I started my coffee website, I purposely didn’t research shit. I knew that if I did, I would be discouraged.And as a result, do absolutely nothing.Broad Brand, Narrow NicheAnother way to avoid struggle is to go wide with your brand. I see too many first-time entrepreneurs box themselves into a corner.Your brand doesn’t have to be the niche. It doesn’t have to be anything. It can be nonsense.The niche doesn’t need to be part of the domain name. Domains don’t matter for SEO anymore. They haven’t for a long time.Think about Amazon. That word has NOTHING to do with selling everything in the world. It’s just a word. But now you know exactly what they do.Amazon is a broad brand that started with a narrow niche: books.Once they mastered selling books, they expanded into other niches or categories. You can do the same thing.I have a niche site around the topic of homebrewing beer. I named the brand BREW Cabin. Not BEER Cabin. Why?I gave myself room to expand the brand. I can discuss brewing coffee, tea, kombucha, whiskey, and witch potions.There Are NO Saturated NichesThink your niche is saturated? You’re wrong. Nothing’s saturated.If your market is “saturated,” doesn’t that imply there’s more juice to squeeze?You must carve out a space to stand out. And the best way to do that is to be your fucking self. Get started now and develop your voice.Write your own content. You can always hire later when you earn enough money to afford a writer.The first niche site I ever started was Swim University in 2006. I still run it today.It was something I knew because it was my first summer job. It wasn’t sexy or “profitable.” It wasn’t a secret undiscovered niche through keyword research.I wasn’t the first to start a pool website, and I won’t be the last. It was saturated then, and it’s saturated now.And yet I’m still doing it.You’re procrastinating because you want to be 100% sure your idea will work. You don’t want to be wrong or waste years of your life.But remember…It’s not the topic; it’s the person creating the business. You’ll be the only reason it doesn’t work. You must be willing to invest time and money to make it work.“There are no bad ideas; only great ideas that go horribly wrong.”– Jack Donaghy (30 Rock)The 4-Year Profitable Business PlanDespite what lying marketing gurus tell you, building a business takes a long time. You won’t be an overnight success. You won’t make money fast.The stories you’ve read are probably bullshit or extreme outliers. Take them with a big ass grain of salt.I’ve witnessed thousands of people building businesses around me. And there’s one thing I’ve noticed…It takes most people about four years to make good money with their online business. They must learn, try, and fail until they finally get it right. It’s the nature of the beast.Think of it like getting a college degree. But instead, you make money instead of going into debt.I’d take that trade any day.In other words, you have to stay focused on one thing to gain traction.The Power of One: Protect Yourself Against Shiny Object SyndromeThings were moving too slowly when I first started my website in 2006. I wasn’t making money fast enough. So I started 10 more niche sites.Instead of putting all my eggs in one basket, I’d hedge my bets. Increase my chances of one of them paying off.It’s diversifying! Sounds smart, right?This is considered good advice in some circles. Let me be straight with you: it’s the worst fucking advice you’ll ever hear.The better way forward is committing to a single brand, one niche, and diversifying your revenue streams.Stick with any niche long enough and give it your best shot. I promise it’ll pay off.Once it pays off, you can scale by adding more niches and revenue streams to your broad brand.The Perfect Niche Was Inside You All AlongYour profitable niche is right in front of you. You already know it. The reason you’re struggling is that you don’t believe in it.But let me tell you. I’ve been doing this shit forever. It doesn’t matter which topic you choose.I could take any item in my home and turn it into a website or brand. Because I spent 20 years working on ONE niche.I picked it and fucking did it.And I can teach you to do it in way less time. But I can’t help you pick a niche. You have to do that yourself. Only you know yourself.I can help you brand it. I can help you do keyword research. I can help you monetize. And if you want to move on to something else, I can help y...
45:1804/01/2023
How to Optimize Old Content to Rank on Google
26:2306/05/2022
How to Repurpose Content Forever
43:0004/05/2022
The Lifeblood of My Business
37:4719/04/2022
Death to Affiliate Marketing
The writing’s on the wall. It’s been there for years. Affiliate marketing is dying a slow and painful death. And I won’t be dragged down with it!
Before you freak out and start @ing me on Twitter, Affiliate marketing is dead to me. I’m no longer making it a priority in my business. And I want to share the reasons why.
Am I gonna remove all the affiliate links on my site? No. Am I going to prioritize other revenue streams that actually grow my business and don’t try to fuck me over? Yes.
So here is my latest business manifesto: why I think affiliate marketing is dying and what my strategy will be moving forward.
51:1708/03/2022
How to Restore a Failing Niche Site in Less Than 3 Months
Talk to me:Twitter: @MattGiovanisciEmail: [email protected]
48:5008/02/2022
Rethinking Email Marketing in 2022
Talk to me:Twitter: @MattGiovanisciEmail: [email protected]
30:2431/01/2022
Why I Don't Outsource Content Anymore
Talk to me:Twitter: @MattGiovanisciEmail: [email protected]
36:2010/01/2022
My Favorite Tools for Online Business in 2022
Talk to me:Twitter: @MattGiovanisciEmail: [email protected]
35:2503/01/2022
My 2021 Annual Business Review
Talk to me:Twitter: @MattGiovanisciEmail: [email protected]
44:5920/12/2021
The Gazillion Dollar Sales Funnel Experiment
Talk to me:Twitter: @MattGiovanisciEmail: [email protected]
36:1306/12/2021
The Great Website Optimization Experiment 2: Electric Boogaloo
Talk to me:Twitter: @MattGiovanisciEmail: [email protected]
32:3029/11/2021
The Great Website Optimization Experiment
Talk to me:Twitter: @MattGiovanisciEmail: [email protected]
35:1222/11/2021
The Untouchable Online Business Model: Future-Proofing Your Brand
Talk to me:Twitter: @MattGiovanisciEmail: [email protected]
31:5315/11/2021
The YouTube Publishing Challenge
Talk to me:Twitter: @MattGiovanisciEmail: [email protected]
33:3109/11/2021
Money Lab Season Three Announcement!
Talk to me:Twitter: @MattGiovanisciEmail: [email protected]
10:5509/11/2021
Create and Sell Your Own Physical Products Online with Andy Humphrey
Want to create and sell your own physical products? Same! That's why I talked to a master of Amazon FBA and e-commerce (Andy Humphrey) who schooled me what it takes to do it successfully.
47:5410/06/2021
The BEST Business Move I Made in 2021
I'm breaking down a two-month marketing plan that increased my business revenue (digital product sales) by 66%.
01:16:5619/05/2021
Should You Start a SaaS BUSINESS? A Chat with Omar Zenhom of The $100 MBA Show and Webinar Ninja
I talk to Omar Zenhom about what it's like to run a SaaS company and all the stress and frustrations that go along with it. This forces me to ask, is it worth starting a software business?
01:14:0905/05/2021
How to Increase PAGESPEED for CORE WEB VITALS
I'll walk you through every step on how to speed up your WordPress site so your site passes Google's Core Web Vitals update.
01:39:5828/04/2021
The BEST Writing Tips and Tools for SEO and More
These are my favorite writing tips I've learned over the years to improve my writing for blog posts, emails, and more. Plus, all the tools I use to write better content online.
01:36:2721/04/2021
How to Build a PROFITABLE Product in Less Than 7 Days
I've built several digital products including online video courses, ebooks, and software. All in less than a week without spending a dime. Here's how I do it.
01:26:0809/04/2021
Homepage Improvement #2 with WP Eagle
Alex (WP Eagle) and Matt take your website submissions and offer ways to improve your SEO, page speed, design, and copywriting LIVE!
01:44:3301/04/2021
How to Create a Marketing Bridge with Jason Zook
Jason Zook and Matt Giovanisci discuss how to market yourself as a creator without feeling slimy, FOSO, and when weird doesn't work.
01:22:5722/03/2021
How to Simplify Your Online Business with Sean Ogle
Sean Ogle and Matt Giovanisci talk about how they're simplifying their online businesses in 2021 and beyond. Topics include: how to stay more organized, managing fewer brands, doubling-down on the right platforms, limiting distractions, and knowing your numbers so you know what to focus on. Online business courses, tools, & community: https://www.moneylab.co/pro
01:09:3110/03/2021
Homepage Improvement #1 with Miles Beckler (6 Website Teardowns)
Miles and Matt take your website submissions and offer ways to improve your SEO, page speed, design, and copywriting.
02:09:0818/02/2021
Should you BUILD YOUR BUSINESS in Public?
Is "building in public" a useful marketing tool or a distraction from growth? Brendan Hufford and I hash it out!
01:01:4511/02/2021
The Most Important SEO Trends in 2021
Is SEO changing in 2021? We rank the importance of SEO trends. What you need to change on your website, what new tools are available, and the importance of EAT and editorial SEO.
01:56:0804/02/2021
Behind The Scenes: Running a Digital Media Company
Take a behind-the-scenes look at what goes into running a digital media company with three different brands all producing weekly content for traffic.
01:19:2127/01/2021
The Keyword Golden Ratio Challenge with Doug Cunnington
Find the right keywords to rank fast on Google using the Keyword Golden Ratio method of research with Ahrefs. Matt and Doug create a brand new authority niche site and build a massive keyword list using Doug's KGR method.
01:40:1920/01/2021
Digital Housecleaning and New Community Management with Corbett Barr
Would you delete all your online content just to start over and digitally reset? That's what Corbett and others are doing in 2021 and we're gonna talk about it. Plus, what it's like to run an online community/membership.
01:36:3713/01/2021
Easy EMAIL MARKETING Strategies for 2021 with Miles Beckler
We discuss some simple email marketing blueprints to implement in our own businesses in 2021 using ActiveCampaign. 😀 Today's Guest is Miles Beckler: https://www.youtube.com/milesb
01:32:4011/01/2021
Discussing The GOOGLE CORE UPDATE 2020 with Brendan Hufford
We talk about what happened to everyone's website in the December Google Core Update 2020 and how to make your website better going forward. 😀 Today's Guest is Brendan Hufford of SEO For The Rest of Us: https://seofortherestofus.org/
01:51:0011/01/2021
My 2020 Annual Business Review with Sean Ogle
I compile all the data every month into one big journal entry with all the tasks I completed, what went well, what didn't, and what I plan to work on next.
01:32:3511/01/2021
The Money Lab Show is Back! Let me explain...
Every Wednesday at 2 pm EST, I host a show on YouTube called Money Lab LIVE. And now that show will be available as a podcast. So if you want to follow along and get new episodes of Money Lab LIVE, visit YouTube.com/MoneyLab. But now you can listen to them too!
47:0411/01/2021
Long-Term Success with Miles Beckler
Has Matt found his online doppelgänger? Miles Beckler, of digital marketer YouTube fame and Milesbeckler.com, joins the show to talk all things online entrepreneur. Matt and Miles both run niche sites that they've had for years and years. They both run tons of experiments and share what they've learned online. And they both have a super strong hat game (have you seen their YouTube thumbnails?), So how do you stay committed to a businesses over the years without any viral, hockey stick moments? What are the small, boring things that add up to long-term success? And how do you have fun in the long-run? Enjoy!P.S. You can check out Miles at YouTube.com/milesb
01:03:4325/05/2020
Online Business Experiment Formulas
Matt just ran two business experiments that failed miserably. But they ended up being really valuable learning processes. Matt and Andrew discuss how to run useful, measurable tests in an online business. How do you come up with a legit hypothesis? How do you get meaningful data and results? And how do you move on if you find out it doesn't work? If you've ever wondered if something like Pinterest or starting a podcast would (or wouldn't) work for your business, this episode is for you. Enjoy!P.S. You can binge-read all of Matt's business experiments from the last few years here: Moneylab.co/content
52:3418/05/2020
5 Questions: Dying Industries, Side Hustles and Business with Friends
It's listener question time! From changing course in a dying industry to starting a business with a friend, Matt and Andrew debate the answers to your burning questions:
What would you if your niche site was in a stagnant or dying industry?
What are your favorite strategies for helping drive traffic to the newer websites you have built?
What's the best side hustle to start right now?
How do you set up and structure a business with friends?
And how do you find your own Andrew or Matt?
Keep your questions coming! We'll be doing more of these in the future, so head over to MoneyLab.co and email us your Qs to get yourself some As.
49:5211/05/2020
The Profit First Framework
What does it actually mean to run a profitable business? Matt breaks down how he uses the Profit First accounting model to manage and allocate money made in his online business. Matt explains how he divides up his business revenue into certain Target Allocation Percentages and how this framework has helped him: 1) Pay himself more money as the business owner, 2) build up an account with reserves in it, and 3) have more than enough saved up for taxes every year.Matt and Andrew talk about how they pay themselves from their businesses and make sure they have enough of a buffer for lean times. If you've ever looked for a better way to divide up the money your business brings in, this episode is for you. Enjoy!P.S. You can see and download Matt's Profit First spreadsheet on YouTube.P.P.S. Check out the Profit First book here: ProfitFirstBook.com
37:5004/05/2020
I'm Losing $176,929 in Revenue. Now What?
Amazon just ripped the rug out from underneath every affiliate marketer, announcing their plan to slash affiliate marketing rates. And with just 7 days notice. Matt's business is set out to lose a whopping $176,929 with this change -- that's 40% of his entire business. So what does he plan to do about it? How does it affect Andrew? And what can every Amazon Associates member do going forward? Matt and Andrew spend the episode coming up with solutions in real time and trying to figure out the path forward. Enjoy!P.S. You can read about Matt's entire plan of action at Moneylab.coP.P.S. Matt and Andrew posted a video recording of this episode over on the Money Lab YouTube Channel.
54:5827/04/2020
Low Competition Gold Mines
Does low competition equal instant success? Matt just wrapped up his experiment to launch a podcast in a low-competition category. The goal: trying to naturally rank and gain listeners where there's no competition. Spoiler: it didn't work. So when does focusing on low competition categories work in business? Why are Andrew's low-competition niche sites taking off but something like Matt's podcast doesn't? Matt and Andrew debate when low competition pays off and when it's not worth the pursuit. Enjoy!P.S. You can read all about Matt's podcast experiment here: Moneylab.co/money-making-podcastP.P.S. You can check out the Rental Properties course Matt and Andrew made at Listenmoneymatters.com/rei
52:0720/04/2020
When Your Business Model Isn't Working with Jason Zook
Time to change things up! Jason Zook, founder of WanderingAimfully.com and Teachery.co, joins the show to talk about changing business models. Jason outlines how he and his wife decided to combine their businesses, launched a monthly membership site and changed their business model when they realized things weren't working. So how do you know when something's not working in your business? How do you find the right model and offerings that work for you and your customers? If you've been sensing a change on the horizon, this episode is for you. Enjoy!P.S. If you've never heard Matt's Entreprenuer album, check it out here: Moneylab.co/rap
01:29:2513/04/2020
3 Things We'd Do If Our Websites Tanked
What would you do if your traffic went south? Matt and Andrew answer an interesting question from a listener that applies to websites in slow decline and anyone seeing a dramatic drop-off this year. Here's the question:Let's say your SwimU traffic has been in a slow, gradual decline since 2016. You didn't notice it at first, but as you compare year-over-year in Google Analytics, it's obvious. And your monthly pageviews are lower now than they were this time last year, and the year before (taking into account any seasonal dips, of course). Where would you start to diagnose the issue? What are the first 3 things you'd do?Hopefully this episode helps anyone who's gone through this (or who's worried about going through this). And let us know if you have any more questions we can answer on the air!P.S. You can see how Matt uses Ahrefs for competitor research and website audits in his course, SEO for Bloggers.
37:1706/04/2020
5 Questions: Focusing On One Site, Making Friends and Starting Over
We're answering your questions on the show today! Matt and Andrew debate what they're doing about the dips in the market (and dips in SEO) before diving into your questions:
How do you focus on growing just one website?
How do you manage an affiliate site when most affiliate programs are localized by country?
If your current businesses just disappeared overnight and you know they were not recoverable, what would you do to start from scratch in 2020?
Has either of you had anyone quit in your business?
How have you guys formed most of your relationships with other online creators?
We love these episodes, and we hope you do, too. So keep 'em coming! Enjoy!P.S. Would you take Matt or Andrew out to no-agenda coffee or happy hour?P.P.S. As always, you can check out Matt's latest experiment here: Moneylab.co/content
01:02:3230/03/2020
Affiliate Marketing Philosophies with Doug Cunnington
The script is flipped! Matt was recently interviewed by fellow online entrepreneur Doug Cunnington who runs NicheSiteProject.com. They spent an hour in Matt's studio talking about their different affiliate marketing philosophies, from keyword research to being public with your affiliate sites (which not everyone does). And since Doug was doing the interviewing, Matt got to give an entire overview of how he got started and how he runs each of his online brands. We thought it’d be nice to share that perspective on this show, for both new and long-time listeners who want a 10,000 foot view of how Matt approaches affiliate marketing. Enjoy!P.S. You can find Doug at NicheSiteProject.com and at YouTube.com/DougCunnington
01:23:1223/03/2020
The Need for Page Speed
Guess what: Google wants your website to load in under 1 second. Matt and Andrew talk about why they're obsessed with page speed as a competitive advantage in their online niches. They talk about the "easy, big wins" you can do today to speed up a site. They also debate how they decide what features to keep and what to cut to help speed things up. If you're looking for a way to one-up your competition on Google, this page speed optimization episode is for you. Enjoy!P.S. Check out Matt's Page Speed Course here: Moneylab.co/pagespeedP.P.S. Here's the YouTube video where Matt explains how to stop Google Analytics from slowing your site down.
46:0616/03/2020
Just Get It Done and Launch It, Already!
Procrastinate much? Matt and Andrew talk about the roadblocks they've hit in creating online products and what happened during the 30-Day Build and Launch a Course Challenge. They dissect why Matt hated the 30-day timeframe and Andrew's mental roadblocks to finishing his course. They also talk about the other distractions that got in the way, i.e. other projects that feel more in their wheel house. So what do you do when you start procrastinating on a project that needs to ship? Should you just suck it up and finish it? Or is procrastination a signal that you should be working on something else? Take a listen to find out how Andrew plans to hack through his mental block. Enjoy!P.S. Matt's course DID launch. You can check it out here: Moneylab.co/Pagespeed
39:1209/03/2020