How to Start from Scratch with No List And No Audience!
The Proven Formula to Create Passive Income Online
Pat Flynn has unlocked the secrets to create passive income online. He’s one of the most proficient online marketers out there today, with multiple streams of income, from multiple niches.
If that’s not enough, he’s also a massively successful podcaster, with over 50 MILLION downloads of his 2 podcasts ‘Smart Passive Income’ and the ‘Ask Pat Podcast’. He teaches everyday people how to start and grow an online business that eventually runs automatically, pumping out cash in the background, while you live the life of your dreams.
One of the coolest things about Pat Flynn is his total transparency. This guy posts everything he’s doing with income reports, split test and experimental results. Nothing is hidden.
He’s simply about service and adding value to the online marketing community. Which of course is a lesson all it’s own. Because the byproduct of how much your earn…is simply how well you serve your audience!
WHO IS PAT FLYNN?The Entrepreneur, Blogger and Podcaster behind the Smart Passive Income Brand
Pat’s dream was to become an architect. He went to school, earned a degree, and got a job doing what he’d dreamed about. However 10 years ago in 2008 he was laid off from that architecture job.
It was taken away from him, like so many others, during the financial crisis.
During this time he discovered a person making six-figures helping people pass the ‘project managers’ exam.
This sparked a thought in Pat’s mind. He remembered he’d taken a ton of exams when training for architecture. There was one exam in particular that there wasn’t too much information on, that he knew a ton about.
He thought maybe he could package the information into something that he could maybe sell online, to help others pass their tests. (An audience!)
Pat built a website doing just that, which is still generating an income 10 years later.
Pat’s First Experience with Passive Income Online
He launched the website with a $19.99 ebook in October of 2008, and that same month generated $7,908.55, which absolutely blew his mind. This after all was 2 1/2 times what he was making as an architect.
He actually thought he was doing something illegal since it worked so well, so fast!
This made Pat understand how valuable it was to have the the power and the ability to have his own little micro-niche market that he could conquer! And he knew there were so many other micro niches out there.
What if he could help others, and show them how to do the same thing?
That’s how his website Smart Passive Income was born. He simply started to share everything he was learning, exactly how much money he was making, what was working, and what was failing.
Pat created a website where he provided his target market with consistent VALUE
This was quite different from what everyone else was doing.
During this time, he came to understand the meaning of time freedom. It wasn’t all about what he could earn, but the flexibility of time that this type of business could give him because of the PASSIVE INCOME.
It’s about creating assets and building businesses around a niche audience’s needs, and allowing for automation to help continue serving that audience – without you having to constantly be there to do it.
Pat emphasises that it’s by no means a “set-it-and-forget-it” situation. There is upkeep, but it still allows him to take a two week (or longer vacation), and the business runs like you never left.
It’s amazing what you can do with your life when you set things up that way.
Now, 10 years later, he tries to teach people just like YOU to:
A) Discover your superpowers!
B) Identify problems that people have where you can use those superpowers.
C) Put things together to help people solve their problems!
And THAT is what makes the money!
COMPANION VIDEOWatch the Video Below As Pat Flynn Tells His Backstory and How He Got Started Building Online Passive Income!
No Money, No List, and No Influence? What Pat Flynn Would Do If He Had to Start Over from Scratch Today To Create a Passive Income!
By now you’re probably wondering how you can put together an online business to earn passive income like Pat has done several times over.
First of all you must realize that the passive income is the last step in the process. The first order of business is to solve people’s problems. In order to do that…you must put in the work to understand those problems.
You then start to create the solutions (still not passive) to serve your audience and solve those problems. Products, courses, etc. that give people a beneficial solution.
Only after that initial work is done, do you begin to experience passive income by using tools, employees, or have others run the business!
Where to Start When Creating a Passive Income Business
Pat Flynn says you should combine an interest you have, with the CURIOSITY to figure out what can be done to improve that space.
Curiosity is the key term here. How can you make things better for people in that niche interest?
The best way to find that out, is to simply go into the spaces where these people are, and talk to as many as possible about the problems they’re having, and the solutions that they’re looking for.
One thing Pat does is go to LIVE conferences and build personal relationships with attendees.
Can’t afford to actually purchase the tickets to get into the conferences themselves? That’s fine, because you can still be where the conference is, and talk to the attendees outside the conference, in hotel lobbies, etc.
This allows you to understand things from them on a deep personal level. In their own words, You can see exactly what’s going on!
- What do they wish was better?
- What’s something that’s only half way good?
- What can be made more conveniently?
- What tools are they using that don’t have the features they want?
How to Create a ‘Market Map’ and Get Down to the 4 P’s!
If you want to get anywhere, you’ve got to have a map. Pat creates a Market Map built upon 4 P’s that he believes are essential for creating these niche passive income machines.
Where Is Your Market Hanging Out? (offline and online)
Knowing where people hang out most gives you the jumpstart when it comes time to put your product or service in front of them. And of course it allows you to build relationships to truly understand their needs.
Who Are the Influencers?
Who has earned trust with that particular audience? What do people like about these influencers? What are they talking to this audience about? Why do some people dislike these people?
What Is the Audience Already Buying?
What are the people in this audience already spending money on? What’s out there serving them already?
How Can YOU Better Serve That Audience?
With those 3 P’s in place we can find our 4th and final P – Position. The position in that space to BETTER SERVE THAT AUDIENCE!
This ‘market map’ guides you through the lay of the land. Now you can understand how you can place yourself in a better position than what’s already in existence.
They often say you must stand out in front of the crowd, but how do you stand out from the crowd when you don’t know what (or who) is in the crowd in the first place? Anyone can do that right now and benefit when you lay out a Market Map like Pat Flynn does.
When you go to the places where your audience is hanging out, actually talk to people without trying to sell them something, you learn so much more than most people who skip this crucial step.
Most people struggle because they create a product by guessing what the audience wants. Creating a Market Map removes as much guesswork as possible.
You quickly create advantage because it allows you to…
- Understand what the biggest pain points are
- Know what other solutions have attempted to solve that problem
- Can see where these existing solutions are lacking
- Are able to develop a unique way to build something better or different (Better does not necessarily mean fancier, but could be something easier or simpler!)
Armed with this knowledge you can go out and create prototype for the audience to test. In our world of online marketing, this could mean something as simple as the outline for a course.
Now you can go back to the people in those places, show them what you’ve created, and get their gut reaction. You get to find out NOW, instead of after you’ve spent all the money and time, often only to realize that you were missing something completely.
You’ve removed the guesswork, because they’re telling you exactly what you should be creating for them!
How to Pre-sell Your Product Before You Actually Create It!
What if you could create the validation that people actually want to buy your product? How about if you just tell people that you’re going to build what they said they need?
You can even ask them to pay upfront!
Sound weird? It shouldn’t at all because when you think about it, people are doing it on Kickstarter already!
You let the people that you’ve met and talked to know what you’re going to build. Then you get them in early. If you get a certain number of people, then you’ll go ahead and build it.
Pat says you should STAY in contact through the entire build.
Don’t disappear. Let them see the process so they feel as though they’re apart of it. Work with them, and build what they want. Create a pre-launch of your “beta” product, and get results. The people who jump on board with you from the beginning are your “Champion” members.
They feel special because they’re the first to access it. Plus you’ll be able to get some amazing testimonials for when you launch to the public. This will give you the confidence to be assertive in your selling because you’ll KNOW without a shadow of doubt that you’ve created the product that they need.
What is the Biggest Mistake People Make Trying to Build an Online Business?
One of the greatest ways to avoid common mistakes is to learn from the mistakes of those that came before you.
Pat Flynn has both personal and coaching sources to draw from, and he shared some ways for you to avoid common mistakes.
One thing that he’s realized is that most people try to focus on too many things at once.
You should not divide your energy into different things.
Stay on point, and be patient.
In the age of instant gratification, we’re certainly not as patient as we need to be. Of course, you must hustle to get things done, but you’ve got to be patient with the results. We too often think that how fast we can get something equates to how great it is, and that’s not true. Especially when it comes to building a business.
Remember you’re trying to build something that’s going to last so that you can get to the passive income stage. Most people aren’t patient enough to get there. Too many people give up way too soon because they’re expecting things to happen right away.
Appreciate the small wins, and know you’re at least taking strides and moving forward. If you’re serving people, it WILL eventually go your way. Then…and only then… can you scale up.
That’s why It’s called a hockey stick curve because it starts slow then all of a sudden boom, it shoots up. Most people give up right before that point. And frankly, those people weren’t meant to be entrepreneurs
What Moves You Forward and What Holds You Back? MINDSET!
Becoming a successful entrepreneur requires a certain mindset.
The truth is we humans make up any excuse to not doing something out of our comfort zone. We’ve been conditioned from a young age to stay safe because “it’s dangerous out there!”
However, if we take that with us into entrepreneurship, then we fail. It causes you to create average products, instead of having a stance on something, and create a superior product.
You’ve got to go all in, not worry about what the haters are going to say. Simply care only about the people who really care about what YOU are saying!
If you fear something, that fear will always be there.
You must choose to do things even when they scare you. Do them because of the impact it will have on people. The pros far outway the cons when you think this way. When you fear something, you’ll put extra work into it. Go Toward the Fear!
How to Flip the Script On Yourself
Ever procrastinate on starting something you know you need to start in order to move forward and become successful?
For instance, let’s say you won’t even take the first steps to create a lead magnet (fear). That’s when you must flip the switch. You must ask yourself “What would others lose out on if I don’t do this?”
These are the people that Pat Flynn thinks about when he’s scared.
The example he gave MLSP founder and CEO Brian Fanale is his fear of speaking in public. Surprised to hear that a guy who is a frequent keynote speaker has this fear?
Yet, when his fear of public speaking kicks in… he feels like he MUST go do it. Because he knows that there might be someone in the audience whose life he can change forever!
Fear is often selfish because it keeps you from serving others.
What if you had a cure for a disease? Would you hold it in because you’re afraid of what some people are going to say? Or are you going to go out there and actually cure some people?
It’s time to start thinking of your product as the cure for someone’s diseases or ailments.
THE FIRST STEP IN BUILDING AN ONLINE BUSINESS
Where to Start Building an Audience to Create Passive Income Online!
To start building your audience, Pat recommends starting a podcast or YouTube channel.
His favourite of course is podcasting because there’s something intimate with the consumption behaviour with a podcast. People are also able to listen to your podcast in places where nobody else can. It’s literally a person listening to you with no other distractions. Somebody in their car, doing dishes, walking the dog, working out, etc.
People listen to a podcast for a much longer period of time. For instance, if you can get someone to watch 5 minutes of your YouTube video, you’re doing great.
However, with Podcasts, your audience will listen to 85% to 100% of all episodes they have on their device. They binge listen much like they do on Netflix.
People then begin to see YOU as a part of their life. As a friend. In fact, you may actually be talking to them more than some of their loved ones do. Consider how powerful that is!
And when you have a message that aligns with them, you can get them to do amazing things.
To become customers, to donate to causes that YOU have. For instance, Pat Flynn built two schools in Ghana, because of his podcasting audience.
How to Grow a Podcast Audience
One of the big questions that people have for Pat is “How to build an audience for their podcast!”
The best way is to invite other influencers in your niche on your show podcast. When you start doing collaborations, you get other audience members, PLUS you build powerful business relationships.
BUILD A TRIBE OF RAVING FANS
How to Turn Casual Fans Into Super Fans for Your Brand!
Most of us focus on growing our business from the ground up, which of course is essential in the beginning. But where we lack focus, is on how to create superfans who will be there, buy every product, defend us from trolls (before we even know they’re there), consume all your content, and who will shout YOUR NAME from the rooftops.
Nobody becomes a superfan overnight. It’s something that you must cultivate.
Quick Tip to Developing Super Fans… Give Your Audience a QUICK Win
We talked about patience. You must remember your audience is a lot like you. They don’t have a lot of patience. You can use that to YOUR advantage. Simply give them a quick win!
Give them a small task they can do in 5 to 10 minutes, that gives them something new that they didn’t have before. They quickly look at you as a person who knows what you’re talking about.
Now they want to open your next email and consume more of your content to see what else you’ve got. They want more!
How Do You Create Passive Income Online?
As Pat Flynn has proven, it all starts at understanding the 4-P’s!
Places, People, Products, and Position! Once you know those 4 elements as described above, then you’ve got half the battle won. You can create the products that you know people want, you can find these people, and you can show them how you and your products are superior.
Now it’s up to YOU to go out there, start taking action TODAY, and do the work to find out the 4 P’s of YOUR market!
ACKNOWLEDGEMENT: We want to acknowledge and honor Pat Flynn for providing the interview above so that we could serve YOU, our beloved audience. Got value from this post? Have your own thoughts? Think we need to add anything here or just want to give Pat Flynn props?
Then we would LOVE for you to comment below and share on FaceBook
