Summary:
In the first ever episode of the Help Start My Site podcast, we discuss what you can expect from the show in the future, along with an introduction to your host.
Links Mentioned In This Podcast:
In This Podcast, You Will Learn:
- Who I am and my story as an entrepreneur.
- Why I started the Help Start My Site podcast.
- What you can expect to hear in the future episodes of this podcast.
- My ideas and plans for the future!
Transcript:
Hello everybody, and welcome to the Help Start My Site podcast – your guide to business, blogging, and making money online.
I am so excited to bring you the first ever episode of this podcast because I know it’s going to be an exciting project for you, and for me as well, so I’m really looking forward to it.
Since this is the first episode, it’s not going to be the same as other episodes. It’s a bit special because it’s going to have a different structure. And I will talk about the structure of the normal podcast later, but before we actually get into talking about the podcast itself, I’d like to talk a bit about me for those who aren’t already familiar with me or my projects.
So my name is James McAllister, I’m an 18 year old successful entrepreneur and I actually started blogging 7 years ago in 2008 at the age of 11. Of course back then it wasn’t anything serious and I wasn’t making any money, but I did get that experience of writing and publishing online, and familiarizing myself with content management systems. At the time I believe I was using BlogSpot.
Three years later it was my freshmen year of high school, I actually figured out that I could make money doing what I was already doing. That was mind blowing; I could make money at home online, from my computer, just by writing about my thoughts which was pretty incredible. So I found out, and purchased web hosting and a domain that same weekend, and started a general technology blog. Very unrefined, very basic, just covering all aspects of technology.
Now, if you’ve ever blogged before, you’ll know that’s extremely important to choose your niche, a very refined topic. Because I worked in such a large market, I had a hard time retaining visitors and never really made that much money from that blog.
For the next two years I ended up working on various other projects until I found one that actually worked. It ended up being an iPhone blog called iOSUniverse.com which is actually still online if you want to take a look at it. I ended up working on that site for about a year and at one point it was making over $1000 a month and at that time, when I hit that milestone, I started to realize, “wow, this is actually possible!” Here I am, a 17 year old kid, making a real living wage online, getting contacted by all of these different companies, even once being contacted by NBC for a press release on one of their TV shows. It was absolutely incredible.
The problem with the iPhone market however was at that time, I eventually hit a ceiling because there is only so much a blog can actually do. I didn’t have any program experience so I couldn’t create apps to market. I didn’t have the business side of things down, and I didn’t have anything to promote. I was mainly relying on advertising revenue and sponsored posts to make money. So eventually I did hit a ceiling where I couldn’t make any more money, so I had to stop working on that site to focus on other projects. However, I know if I could make that site succeed, I could exceed in another market as well.
That is when I started Help Start My Site.
To date, Help Start My Site has been my biggest and most challenging project yet, but also my most fun. I knew when I started Help Start My Site I would have to do things differently if I wanted to stand out in such a competitive market. Part of the reason why it took me so long to begin making money is because I was told a lot of straight out bad advice when I started out that wasn’t designed to help me, it was designed to make me feel good about myself so I’d give the marketer more money.
That is why with Help Start My Site as well as my podcast, I’ll tell you what works instead of what you want to hear. Some people find my blunt approach to business a bit too harsh for their tastes, but the way I see it, the people that can’t accept things for how they are aren’t the ones who are going to succeed in the long run anyway.
Since I began taking Help Start My Site seriously about 6 months ago, I’ve already written two books with more on the way. I will include links to those in the show notes which you can find on [this page.]
Despite my extremely quick growth, I wanted to branch out into other areas as well, which is why I’ve created this podcast here for you now.
So now that you know a bit about my story and what has actually led up to this point, let’s talk a bit about why exactly I’m starting a podcast. First of all, I want to give even more value to my existing readers, and provide even more for those who want it. If you already visit my site regularly, you’ll know that I publish about 1 2000 or so word long post every week. While that really is a lot of content to consume, I know that there are people who want more, so this podcast is for them.
Secondly, even if you’ve never even heard of me before, this podcast is for you as well. The truth is, I want to grow my brand. Podcasting is a great way to do that. I always love working in areas my competitors aren’t bothering to work in, because that allows me to expose myself to an entirely new set of people. While there certainly is a bit of overlap, I know that there are people who would much rather listen to me talk than read something I’ve written. This podcast allows me to appeal to those sorts of people.
Now, I am talking about different content on this podcast than I talk about on my site, so if you really want to get everything I have to offer, you’ll want to check out my website, and subscribe to my podcast as well.
The final main reason I’m starting this podcast is because I want to become more of an authority figure in my area. I really want Help Start My Site to be a huge brand, rather than just a blog. Again, many other bloggers in my space aren’t bothering to work on podcasts so this is something I’m doing that they’re not, and that helps me be seen as more of an authority figure.
Ok, I’ve talked a lot about me in this podcast so far, which is not something that I want to do because after all, this podcast is for you. Of course, this episode is a bit special because it’s the first one, so it is a bit different. What I actually want to talk about now is what will be in the future episodes of this podcast, and what you can expect from it when tuning in.
You’ll find out pretty quickly that I’m a pretty laid back sort of guy. While this podcast will have a schedule and a structure, I don’t want it to be boring or super strict. I want this to be fun for both you as a listener and for me as a podcaster as well.
So in short, I plan on publishing one 15 minute or so episode once a week for the foreseeable future. Of course, it may not be exactly 15 minutes, it could go over a few minutes if I’m talking about something I find interesting, or I can cut it short if I feel it’s necessary. The day of the week I’m planning on publishing after today is Friday. Nothing is set in stone right now though, and I’m sure things will change as time goes on.
As far as content goes, nothing is set in stone right now either. As mentioned earlier, I want to make the content on my podcast different than the same content that’s available on my site, and I want to make this podcast different from podcasts available as well.
So here’s what I’m thinking: Each episode will have one segment that goes into detail about one large topic. This topic will have something to do with some aspect of either blogging, business, entrepreneurship, or making money online. While I do not have any plans for this right now, I may invite a few established experts on here as well that we can both learn from. The reason I’ve put this off at the moment anyway, is because I don’t want the Help Start My Site podcast to be just another show where the host interviews someone every week. Honestly, I think those can get quite repetitive and boring, which are two things I’m trying to avoid with this podcast.
Other than just going into detail about one specific topic, I want to have a few other segments as well, which I am still deciding on. One segment I’m planning on introducing is weekly news, because I noticed that many other podcasts don’t actually talk about what’s happening in the marketing world. Each week, I’ll take what I believe to be some of the most important pieces of news, give my opinion on them, and teach you how you can use each piece of news to your advantage. As I’m sure you know, the world of internet marketing is constantly changing and I feel it’s extremely important to stay on top of things if you want to get ahead. That is exactly why I’m going to help you use the news to your advantage as part of your marketing strategy.
Because this podcast is largely geared towards bloggers and entrepreneurs, I think it would also be a great idea to briefly feature one person a week here on the podcast as well. I think it would be great to discover who your fellow listeners are, and this would give you the chance to receive some exposure for your website as well. I’m not entirely sure how this one will work out yet, but I’m sure we’ll figure it out.
Finally, I think it’d be a great idea to showcase some of the standout business and blogging articles from around the web that have been published each week. Obviously I can’t feature every great article that gets published, but I will share some of the ones I think you should read and talk briefly about them.
I’m sure I’ll come up with new ideas as well, and I’ll introduce you to them when that happens. If you have any ideas of your own that you think would be a good fit for this show, I’d really appreciate it if you’d let me know by sending an email to james@jamesmcallisteronline.com. If I think the idea is good and my audience would enjoy it, I’ll work it into the show.
Moving on, I’m going to be completely open and honest with you, because I know that’s how I would want to be treated if I were in your position as a listener. I’m not the world’s best podcaster, and my first few episodes probably won’t be the greatest available. That’s fine. One thing I can tell you for sure is that I’m completely committed to making this project a success, and I know with practice and time, it will be something you’ll be looking forward to listening to every week.
You know, I’ve put this project off for a long time making excuses like, “oh my voice isn’t good enough” or “I don’t have anything to say” or “nobody will listen” but you know… so what? I spent two years working on a site and messing around and tweaking things and improving and that site never got anywhere, but I kept working and improving and eventually I did get somewhere. That’s why I’m here and I’m able to bring this podcast to you know, because I got out there and did something, and stopped hesitating and stopped making excuses, because if you just sit around and make excuses instead of doing the actual work, you’ll never improve. That’s just the way it is.
This really applies to any skill. You could spend hundreds of hours reading about something but if you don’t actually put yourself out there and do it, you’ll never know how good you are. You may start out really bad but if you keep seeking to improve and keep practicing then eventually you will get better. The only real way to fail is to give up which is not something I’m planning on doing at all.
So that’s really all we have for this episode. I know I’m cutting it off short, I really just wanted to take some time to introduce myself and introduce the podcast as well. Now normally the podcasts will be longer and will go into all the various segments that I just mentioned, so be sure to tune into that one. In fact, I’ll be making episode 2 immediately available alongside this one, so be sure to check it out if you want a taste of what the show is actually like.
I’d like to thank you for taking the time to tune in, and I’ll catch you later.
Until then, make sure to pay me a visit on my blog, HelpStartMySite.com, and sign up for my free email newsletter if you haven’t already. See you there!
Conclusion:
If you took the time to listen to this episode, I’d love to hear your feedback! Leave a comment below and let me know.
I’d also really appreciate if you’d share this episode with your friends and followers using the social sharing buttons on the side of this page.
Finally, I would really appreciate if you’d subscribe to the podcast on your platform of choice and leave an honest rating of the show.
Thanks for tuning in, and I hope to see you at the next episode!