The Smart Passive Income Online Business and Blogging Podcast

#951 When I took over SPI, Pat told me that one of the secrets to his success was staying curious. And that's actually a great approach to entrepreneurship! With "play" as my word of the year for 2026, curiosity keeps things interesting. But it does a lot more than that when you use it to fuel business experimentation. Like, $500,000 more, as you'll hear in today's awesome session with Sam Vander Wielen! She's built an incredible brand around her legal expertise and is now the go-to resource for entrepreneurs looking to protect their businesses. Sam not only shares essential insights on setting...

MM #002 Have you ever crunched the numbers on a traditional job and realized it would never get you to the lifestyle you want? Like, sometimes the math just ain't mathing. If you're like many of us, that's how you found your way to online entrepreneurship! But how do you go from a dream of building your own thing to "making it" for real? To explore this question, I knew my friend Nadalie Bardo would have to join me. She's just the best! Nadalie has absolutely been one of the most consistent and resilient people I've met in the online...

Al #019 If you lean into having fun running your business, you'll see results. That's why "playful" has been my word of the year for 2026. And maybe one of the best examples of how I've applied this mindset is my Christmas in July sale. While this is something I do every year over on LizWilcox.com, I knew I wanted to try something new and different this time around. And it all started with a waitlist, which is the part people ask me about the most. If you listen in on today's session, you'll hear how limiting access to this...

#950 Right now, you likely have the smallest audience you'll ever have. And while I hope you're constantly getting more followers, ask yourself: Why are you starting your business with a product that needs lots of customers to be successful? Run the numbers. Unless you're getting thousands of sales, a $10 ebook or $50 course won't change your life. That's why you have to listen in on today's incredible session with my friend John Meese! No joke. If you're tired of working for scraps despite being an expert with plenty of value to offer, you need to get into group coaching! John...

Most entrepreneurship advice assumes you already have clarity around what you want to pursue. But that's not the starting point for most people. Like many, you might get stuck before you even find a business idea that excites you. That's why I knew I had to talk to Ryan as soon as possible. And it turns out that this conversation is the perfect way to kick off my new Monday Members series! You see, Ryan is debating whether the SPI Community is worth it for him anymore. His business isn't where he wants it to be, despite being in...

AL #018 Re-engaging cold subscribers is super doable! Today, I'll share a 14-day strategy to help you do just that. But here's the thing. Building an engaged email list starts with not being afraid to lose subscribers who aren't meant for your business! So if you've been struggling with cold leads, listen in on this AskLiz session for the fix! To answer a question from Nadalie Bardo of YourPinCoach.com, the tactic I'll share today is all about being upfront to re-engage the people who actually want to stick around with you. It's also a great way to get a...

Hey, it's Pat here! Even before selling SPI, logging into Liz's community for an online event was absolutely eye-opening for me. The vibe in there was just something else. It blew me away! Immediately, it was clear to me that that's how I wanted the SPI Community to feel. And who better to make it happen than Liz herself? Now, as she leads our people into the new era of SPI, I wanted to chat with a couple of her longtime superfans to have them share their excitement for this next chapter. Listen in because I'm joined by Allan...

AL #017 There's a fear among email marketers that adding videos to newsletters hurts deliverability. While there's some truth to that, we still have powerful workarounds at our disposal. If anything, videos can enhance your reach and engagement when used the right way! In today's AskLiz session, I'll walk you through the best practices that can help your emails and videos get delivered and seen. To make it easy, I'll cover the two most important metrics you need to consider before sending anything out. In fact, if you build your newsletter around these two factors, you don't need to worry...

#948 Big business moves are scary. Something like, say, taking over a brand synonymous with one of online entrepreneurship's greatest pioneers might seem risky. But here's the thing. Even if you never rock the boat, change is still coming. The most dangerous position is assuming you can do your thing forever without the inevitable shifts affecting you! So how do you stay ahead of the curve and get the timing right on big opportunities? Today, I sit down with Pat and Matt to discuss this as we look back at some of the biggest moves of our lives. Of course...

AL #016 I'm always asked about how I launched my very first digital product when I was still living in an RV. In fact, I didn't even have an internet connection back then! So how the heck did a travel blogger who hadn't traveled yet win big with a book release for an audience of three hundred people? First, shout-out to Lowe's for having the best free Wi-Fi in their parking lots! At the time, I couldn't have launched anything without figuring out how to work on the margins of life. So listen in on today's AskLiz session and let...

#947 Following Pat over the years has influenced and reshaped my business in a big way. That's why today's episode is a special one! I'm sharing the top lessons that have stuck with me both as a follower and fan of SPI and as someone who's gotten to see how Pat works behind the scenes. So, listen in because these last few months leading up to me taking over the company have been absolute game-changers for how I operate! But that's not all. Today, I'm also bringing on a member of our community to discuss Pat's influence over the years...

AL #015 Today's short and sweet session of AskLiz cuts straight to the point. That's because we can sometimes get stuck on problems that aren't actually problematic at all! April Roga, whose question I'm answering, wants to attract women entrepreneurs around her mission. But not wanting anyone to feel excluded, she's afraid to niche down in her branding. Listen. We have to stop worrying about only targeting specific audiences, especially if we haven't even built a solid following yet. I say this with love, but you won't please anyone by trying to please everyone! So listen in on this episode...

#946 For a while, Smart Passive Income was synonymous with my name. Essentially, the whole business was built around the Pat Flynn personal brand. But now that I sold the company, it's interesting to look back at the key decisions that turned SPI into an asset someone would actually want to buy. And for that, I have my friend and business partner Matt Gartland to thank! He's the numbers mastermind who turned the brand I had duct-taped together into something that has grown well beyond my original vision. So join Matt and me for this session to get a look...

AL #014 At SPI, we're Team WIN. That stands for What's Important Now because time and focus are our top resources. So what's moving the needle most for you? Karen Whooley, whose question I'm answering today, is ready to leave Instagram. She's doubling down on the top driver of sales for her crochet brand. That, of course, is her newsletter! But I don't want her just losing Instagram followers. Instead, we need to convert as many of them as possible into email list subscribers before bowing out. Listen in on today's AskLiz session because the strategies I share apply to...

Hey, it's Liz! Listen in to get to know me better and find out what's next for SPI!

See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

I'm nervous and excited about this one. So here's the big news: I sold the company. Liz Wilcox, our incredible Director of Community and CEO for the last six months, is the new owner of SPI! So what will the next era of our brand, podcast, and community look like? And where does this leave me? The truth is, I've been straddling two ladders for too long. Even with Deep Pocket Monster having a massive impact on families and children, something I've always cared strongly about, I kept holding on to SPI. Then Liz helped our community thrive like...

AL #013 Building and maintaining an engaged community doesn't have to be complicated. In fact, you don't need to do much to get the ball rolling with your people. If you've been overthinking how to connect with your audience, listen in on this AskLiz session for two easy tricks that work wonders! Today, I'm replying to Anita Sandoval, who needs simple and repeatable tactics to stay focused and move the needle for her brand. The first strategy I share is to ask simple yes-or-no questions in your emails or social posts to activate your readers. This is a surprising way...

Don't buy into the myth that you need a massive audience to start earning revenue through sponsorships! With brands willing to pay a premium for targeted reach, your niche following could be a big asset! But you can't just wait for offers to come your way. The truth is you're unlikely to be discovered without taking action and actively pursuing the right deals! You can start by listening in on today's incredible interview with the absolute brand partnership master, Justin Moore! From timeless tactics to strategies getting huge results in 2026, this session has it all! So how do you...

AL #012 Building on-camera confidence and the consistency to post daily is like having a superpower. And that's exactly where many of our short-form video challenge participants are at right now! But what if you've built up a solid posting streak and still haven't gone viral? Do you double down and hope for the best or switch tactics? If this sounds like what you're going through, listen in on this AskLiz session! Today, I'm helping Brandon from Goodbye TOO Good Guy figure out what to do next. And first, I want you and Brandon to stop relying on going viral...

If your best content is text-based, readers love Substack nowadays! It's essentially the modern-day blogging platform. And while we don't mention Substack much on the show, they have many great features to help you build your audience.

That's why we're kicking off day three of our very first virtual audio summit with a chat on Substack recommendations. Our speaker, Airial Re’Nal, shares how she taps into the platform for daily growth and pairs it with Kit for next-level list building!

So listen in to hear more from Airial, and visit YourTechAngel.com/operation-black-friday-readiness/ for he...

Wow. Nobody comes up with unconventional email list building strategies quite like Pete McPherson! If you need a bunch of inspiration to get the gears turning, this is the session to listen in on!

Hijacks, back-in-my-day tactics, controversial ideas, and off-the-wall suggestions are all right in Pete's wheelhouse. We cover everything from popups to why you should stop linking to your homepage and more! Day three of our List Building Live summit is one awesome session after another, so don't miss out!

Listen in to hear more from Pete, and visit PeteClub.com/funnel-box to...

SEO isn't dead in 2026! Especially with AI platforms popping off, there's a lot of traffic that might come your way nowadays from the likes of ChatGPT, Gemini, and Claude.

But how do you know what people are searching for and what you should write blog posts about? And more importantly, how do you turn clicks and readers into email list subscribers with a good freebie strategy?

For answers, listen in on this awesome session with our List Building Live speaker, Leanne Wong! She covers everything from the top SEO tools to designing custom lead magnets...

Day three of our very first virtual audio summit, List Building Live, is one awesome session after another. This one, featuring Lorraine Lane, is no exception!

That's because she shares something we all need to be reminded of: in-person is just better. Especially when it comes to building relationships and networking, you can't beat being in the same room with your top people!

Listen in to hear more from Lorraine, and visit My.LaneBC.com/get-clients to build a stand-out brand!

Also, if you need a group of business peers to team up...

Everyone always talks about joining creator bundles to grow your email list. Even on the SPI Podcast, we've been discussing this a lot lately. But how do you find good bundles to join? How do you partner up with creators that are the right fit for your brand?

Hint: this session will probably get you to log back into your old Facebook account again!

Our List Building Live speaker, Courtney Vickery, shares her best tips for bundle collabs. From joining to hosting, Courtney has you covered today!

Listen in for more, and visit...

The internet gods don't like posting and ghosting. If you email a cold list, they get ticked off. That's because they like you to be consistent, and they like people opening your emails!

But what happens if you go into a literal coma, like our next List Building Live speaker? How do you restart your list after disappearing for a while? It's all about the work you do before you send out your revamped welcome sequences!

Kat Sturtz shares exactly how you can appease the internet gods. Tune in because it's not about scalability, at...

If you're not using Facebook lead ads to grow your email list, you're missing out!

Like we've said before, day three of our List Building Live summit is one awesome session after another. This one, featuring Adrienne Farrow, will loop you in on a tactic that isn't discussed often enough! With all the ad options available from Meta, no one can blame online entrepreneurs for overlooking some truly useful features.

Adrienne shares her exact strategy for acquiring new leads with highly targeted freebies. She also reveals how she funnels new subscribers into a Facebook Group...

Are you sleeping on Pinterest? Wake up! We're starting day two of our List Building Live summit with another awesome strategy. This one, you're likely ignoring if you're too focused on the social platforms everyone always talks about.

So how do you build a Pinterest-to-profits pipeline? Listen in because our speaker, Jen Chapin, shares the highly effective blueprint she's developed. With only 90 minutes of work per week, she's getting hundreds of new email signups through her cleverly designed pins!

And for more from Jen, visit JenVhapin.net/pinterest-to-profit-guide to grab her free Pinterest guide!

Collaboration opportunities are everywhere. That's why getting you to partner up with other creators has been such a big theme for us this year! But we're now walking the walk ourselves like never before with day two of our List Building Live summit!

And this session with our speaker, Diana Alt, is just as valuable as everything we've shared so far. Tune in because Diana shares her strategy for hosting private livestreams where she answers questions on job search and career development. Of course, she always has collaborators on with her to reach new audiences. But the...

Most people either have time or money to invest in growing a brand. But what happens when you get to the point where you have both?

This incredible session with Daniel Throssell, Australia's number one copywriter, is a part of our List Building Live summit you absolutely shouldn't miss! That's because Daniel is a perfect example of what happens when you put your personality out there and build an audience around it. As you know, that's something we always talk about and recommend on the show!

So listen in to get Daniel's 1000% ROI classified ad...

There are many growth strategies out there, but real results most often come from finding something that's simple and repeatable for you! That's what you'll walk away with if you listen in on this awesome List Building Live session!

Of course, we're continuing day two of our very first virtual audio summit with another great chat. Our speaker, Asmita Jason, shares how she leverages no-opt-in giveaways as an efficient and consistent monthly newsletter growth tactic. But the best part about it is how easy it is to rinse and repeat this method as often as you want!<...

Creators often default to bundles as their collab tactic and call it a day. But there are so many more opportunities out there! Not only that, but you can often get better results by tightening your circle and working with a few key people!

Our List Building Live speaker, Nadalie Bardo, is all about partnering up to reach highly targeted audiences. Essentially, she's down with OPP! That's to say she often shows up on other people's platforms to teach and deliver massive value. You already know we love that here!

Joint venture webinars, workshop swaps...

You don't want to be the best-kept secret! If people don't know who you are and what you do, they can't help you. That's why finding networking opportunities is vital even if you're running your whole brand online! So how do you put yourself and your goals out there? More importantly, how do you then convert your visibility into clients?

If you're posting but nothing's actually happening in your business, listen in on this expert session with Tracy Beavers! This List Building Live talk will help you find more leads and networking opportunities than you'll know what...

#943 It's gotten to the point where my kids roll their eyes every time I say this. But "you can have everything in life you want, if you will just help other people get what they want." And if there's one regret I have in entrepreneurship, it's that I didn't fully understand the power of building relationships and collaborating sooner! Don't make the same mistake, because growing alongside other creators and brands is the absolute fast track to success. And that's what today's episode is all about! Liz and I are coming at this from two different angles because you...

We've been discussing collaboration a lot lately. Now, we're walking the walk with our first virtual audio summit. Tune in because this session is the perfect place to start to understand the power of bringing creators together!

Our speaker, Leticia Jadene, shares how she regularly hosts collaborative bundles, freebie galas, and summits to supercharge her email list growth and build niche authority. Her collabs regularly get her thousands of new subscribers! And while you have a lot to gain by participating in these kinds of events, going the extra mile to become a host is where it's...

With the right funnel in place, running ads to get newsletter subscribers can pay for itself and then some! So why aren't more email marketers learning how to leverage this strategy the right way?

This awesome session with Chris Orzechowski is part of our very first virtual audio summit. Don't miss out because this is the perfect place to start if you're too busy to rely on content creation for email list growth! Chris shares how he engineers his ads to bring in dozens of new subscribers per day. But that's just the start. It's his next-level...

Getting people off social media and onto your email list is an uphill battle. Not least because platforms like Facebook and Instagram are actively working against you. They absolutely don't want you moving people off their platforms! That's why hosting your own virtual events with like-minded creators is such a powerful alternative path to massive growth!

Gabe Cox, our speaker for this List Building Live summit session, is a perfect example of what can happen when you sidestep the social media system! That's because five years of the content grind netted her about 350 email list subscribers. One...

When the views and likes come in on social media, the dopamine hit tricks you into thinking your business is growing. But what happens when you run the numbers and your posts aren't bringing in any real revenue?

Listen in on this List Building Live session for the freebie swap tactic that sidesteps the social trap and sets you up for actual results!

Allyn Miller is joining us for our very first virtual audio summit to deliver an inspiring look at what happens when you stop chasing validation. She shares her cold outreach tactic, how...

Some paid opportunities cost way less than you would expect. They might also deliver much greater results! We're talking the kind of growth you'd have to spend months posting on social media to recreate. So why not fast-track your audience building with sponsored emails?

Sara Obando is joining us for our very first virtual audio summit to share how she's getting hundreds of new subscribers with paid mentions on other people's newsletters.$97 is all she paid for a full week's worth of sponsored emails. Not only that, but she converted almost 50% of the clicks she got into...

The benefits of hosting collaborative virtual events go way beyond just growing your email list. Don't underestimate what the boost in niche credibility and authority can do for your brand!

Join us for our very first virtual audio summit to get a glimpse at the power of bringing creators together. And since we've been going on and on about collaboration lately, we're now walking the walk with another incredible session!

Don't miss out on this one because our speaker, Cat Griffin, shares her unique $1 event strategy! This is a great tactic to use if you're...

AL #011 Social media is not the end-all, be-all in audience building. You know me, I'm always down with OPP. Jumping on other people's platforms is one of my top strategies to pop up, serve, and get new leads! And that's a great place to start for Julie Kleinhans of Reshape and Recover, who's submitted the topic for today's AskLiz session! Julie is worried that people in her weight loss niche might shy away from publicly engaging with her posts. So how do we get creative with our growth when traditional advice doesn't seem to work? Listen in on today's...