Business lessons from my (struggling) garden [Smart Digest]

[The SMART Digest: Useful content, powerful tools, and exclusive deals from Pat Flynn and Smart Passive Income] Hi, {NAME}! It's growing season out here in California, which means I've started gardening again! I started last year and had so much fun, I couldn't wait to get back at it. But the season hasn't started off very well, mainly because of pests. A lot of my plants have been eaten and killed by pests and I have to say, it's very discouraging. The solution is the same as when I run into problems in business...patience. You have to just keep going and doing the work every day, even if you can't see the results yet. And for both gardening and business, it's even more important in the early phases where things are just getting off the ground and they can't flourish on their own yet. By showing up, being faithful, and staying patient, you can grow your business (and garden) into something healthy and thriving. How can you keep showing up for your business right now? Have a great week, and stay strong #TeamFlynn! Pat Flynn, Founder and CEO SPI TIP Email Marketing Keep Your Email Formatting Simple When it comes to emails, less is more! There are exceptions, but for most of your emails, make sure you're not distracting your readers with complicated design or too many images. A little branding (like a logo) is okay, but even then not all email service providers (ESPs) include options for images. Plus, adding designs to your email just means another opportunity for something to break. Because you’re looking to build a real relationship with your subscribers, send an email that looks like one you'd send to a friend. Would you send a super fancy, heavily designed email to a friend? Not usually. Typically you just write something up and hit send. Just text on a white background. There are exceptions, however. If you have an ecommerce store, your subscribers may expect more structure and design in your emails, with lots of links and things to look at. And if you have a newsletter that you send out weekly or monthly, some design elements will set it apart from your usual emails. If you’re just getting started with email marketing, keep it simple. And if you’re having issues with your emails not making it to people’s inboxes and ending up in the spam folder, stripping down your emails could help you get them through the filters. ​ ​ Learn Everything You Need to Grow Your Freelancing Business When most people begin freelancing, they have an incredible set of skills they know people will value. It may be copywriting, design, narrating audiobooks, or architectural design. But to succeed as a freelancer, you need to develop another set of skills: - Sales - Marketing - Business administration (finance, legal, etc.) Because to be a freelancer means to own and operate a freelance business. My friend Jay Clouse has been teaching this to thousands of students, and right now you can get his Freelancing School Course Bundle for 25% off, where you’ll learn the advanced sales, marketing, and business skills you need to earn a great living as a freelancer. [GET THE BUNDLE]( ​ NEWS AND UPDATES SPI 462: Everything about Podcast Advertising: Growing Your Business and Making More Money with Podcast Ads with Heather Osgood The cash flow between advertisers and podcasters recently has been insane — some projections say over $1 billion will be spent on podcast ads in 2021. So where do you start, whether you're someone with their own show or an advertiser with a product or service you want to spread the word about? Here to help answer your questions about podcast ads — whether you're a podcaster or an advertiser — is Heather Osgood of True Native Media, the agency we use at Team SPI to book podcast ads for this show (and AskPat). Heather has a ton of wisdom to share on the topic so don't miss it! [Listen Now]( AP 1158: Where Are They Now: Leili Farzaneh from Supakit We last chatted with Leila in Episode 1069, where I coached her on scaling up and expanding her business, Supakit, which creates cat harnesses and collars. She's back today to tell us how it went and what's next! We recap her big takeaways from our first coaching session, dive into what she's learned by building relationships online, and what advice she would give someone struggling to get into the flow with their business. There's a lot to learn from today, so let's get going! [Listen Now]( 4 Problem-Solving Reasons to Develop Core Values for Your Business On the surface, core values may not look like competitive advantages, but they are! They bring your business into sharper focus. This week on the blog, our co-CEO Matt Gartland writes about four common problems that entrepreneurs and small business owners struggle with, and how core values can address them. [Read Now]( ​ Announcing SPI Podcast Premium Pass: An paid podcast subscription with exclusive content We're excited to offer a new listening experience to the SPI audience with the SPI Podcast Premium Pass! We teamed up with our friends at Supercast to build an exclusive feed that gives you the same episodes you know and trust, plus new content you won't find anywhere else—all without ads. For just $5/mo, you get: - All episodes of the SPI Podcast, published a day before they are publicly available - Ad-free listening experience - Exclusive, subscriber-only episodes that go "backstage" with SPI Podcast guests (starting in April) And, you’ll be supporting us directly, so we can keep producing valuable content that helps you grow your business, including podcast episodes. Click below to learn more and sign up for the SPI Podcast Premium Pass. [LEARN MORE](=) ​ (Some of the links mentioned above are affiliate links, which means that if you choose to make a purchase, I will earn a commission. This commission comes at no additional cost to you.) --------------------------------------------------------------- See you next week! P.S.: Not sure what to promote to your audience next? Learn how to generate extra income by promoting the right products with the [Affiliate Marketing Cheat Sheet](=). ​ --------------------------------------------------------------- = = --------------------------------------------------------------- To unsubscribe from The SMART Digest, click here: [The SMART Digest Unsubscribe](. To unsubscribe from ALL Smart Passive Income emails, click here: [Unsubscribe](. Did I call you by the wrong name at the top of this email? 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