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8-Figure Entrepreneur Noah Kagan Business School – What I Learned

October 13, 2020 By Darin Thompson

Noah Kagan 8-Figure Entrepreneur Business School

Years ago, I thought it would be neat to start an interview podcast where I would talk with successful entrepreneurs and uncover the specific moment in time and that one fundamental thing they did that allowed them to crush it.

I wanted answers to questions no one was asking.

For example, I saw John Lee Dumas of Entrepreneur on Fire podcast fame achieve massive success. For what seemed like years in a row, he was generating half a million dollars in monthly recurring revenue, as a solopreneur in his San Diego apartment no less.

The question no one ever asked him was: Can you walk me through the thought process, let’s dig deep, on the moment when you realized producing a daily business podcast using batch processing was not going to be the real revenue-generating business, but rather, it would be a membership community (Podcaster’s Paradise) you would create adjacent to that podcast and so much more at a meta-level?

Fast-forward to April 2020, Noah Kagan self-published a YouTube video entitled “How I Run an 8-Figure Company (How I created it, Made first sale & got BIG)” where he revealed fantastically thoughtful business advice, the depth of which I’m so appreciative to hear – Noah’s monologue goes far beyond the surface questions of an interview, gets into some fundamental philosophical stuff on how he’s wired and approaches growing a digital business, and unlocks meta-level guidance.

Best entrepreneur advice and 11 business tips from Noah Kagan that will help and teach you how to grow an 8-figure business.

  1. Get started today
  2. Establish a clear goal with a deadline
  3. Make 8-figure decisions
  4. 10x things that work
  5. Weekly pulses
  6. Optimize the 80%
  7. Sleep is critical
  8. Align your calendar to your most important goal
  9. 2 ways to grow a large company, people and software
  10. The 10-year rule
  11. Find and solve your own problems

Game-Changing Noah Kagan Business School Insights & Best Advice

I’m going to share the top things I learned from the Noah Kagan business school and that are encouraging to any entrepreneur.

The hyperlinks below will take you to the corresponding timestamp in Noah’s video – now that’s efficient!

Get started today. Stop procrastinating, just take the first step, today! I constantly need to lean into this advice. A smart guy named James Wedmore told me you can overthink it and be a perfectionist all you want, but you already know by now that perfectionism is a survival tactic for trying to avoid criticism – the only reason you’re a perfectionist is because you’re trying to avoid judgment and criticism – wow, that’s speaking truth in love.

Establish a clear goal with a deadline. Noah shared his goal in the first year of AppSumo was to make $3,500 per month so he could create the lifestyle he wanted. Noah’s second-year goal for AppSumo was to get 100,000 email signups. That’s impressive how he (1) took action and got started with something (Noah was even transparent enough to show us the Internet Archive on AppSumo, the first version wasn’t pretty) putting some revenue on the board and then (2) he became far more strategic about what was going to unlock long-term platform growth, nice work.

Make 8-figure decisions. This is a really subtle concept yet can be super powerful even when just starting. When evaluating strategy, ask yourself whether this is a 6,7, 8-figure opportunity. Doing so will increase your discipline and make it easier to identify the best use of your time (for higher figure activities) – for anyone with an MBA, fundamentally, this is “opportunity cost” but with a more impactful spin in my opinion. I think this goes hand-in-hand with a concept Michael Hyatt talks about in his fantastic book The Vision Driven Leader (Amazon), specifically the sheer fact you have a vision will allow you to say no to things that divert you from accomplishing your vision for your business.

When evaluating new ideas, ask yourself: Is this a 6,7, or 8-figure opportunity?

10x things that work. This concept makes a ton of sense to me, but it’s easy to lose your way or chase a new shiny growth tactic. Think about it this way, if you’re running Google Ads and they’re working, review your 10 ads and double-down on the top 2 or 3 and drop the rest and continue to optimize in this manner. It would have been interesting to hear from Noah on how he balances trying new things and optimizing existing initiatives.

Weekly pulses. As your business grows, scales, and becomes more sophisticated, there are going to be more dials. Yet, keep it simple, focus on (1) your key yearly goal and (2) leading indicators, the things you can observe that will reveal whether you’re on the right track. How are the indicators trending? Figure out what you can control. With AppSumo, the leading indicators Noah focuses on are (1) email signups (2) traffic (3) refund rate and (4) conversion rate. 

Optimize the 80%. Noah talks about whether the foundation of your house is great. There are basic foundational things in running a digital business, how is my typing speed (keybr.com, 10 fast fingers – 80 WPM for me), how is my tracking mouse speed, how is my device on which I primarily work performing?  Think about it this way, what am I working on 80% of the time, if I can make that more effective, everything else will produce amplified results.  In the digital age, your computer is the gateway to all your productivity, so make sure you have all the right tools in place and have them optimized. I took action and made the investment into top gear and I really don’t know how I was productive previously. Turn on Gmail shortcuts – Shift + ? to see all shortcuts. Be intentional about saving time with the small things (which clearly add up) so you can focus on what actually matters. 

Your sleep is critical. Why is this topic not covered in traditional business schools? It’s really that important. Noah recommends the Signature sleep memoir foam mattress (Amazon), the Oura ring to track and intentionally optimize sleep, the Chilisleep coler, an air conditioning system for your mattress, and the Tuft & Needle original foam pillow (Amazon). Overall, how do you set things up so every day is great and you’re setup to succeed. 

Setup your calendar to align your time to your most important goal. We all have the same amount of time, so how are certain people able to get more done? They have a clear goal and they align their priorities throughout the week toward that goal. So ask yourself how much of your week is spent on your most important goal, do you have a goal? Color-code your calendar so you know visually with a quick glance you’re working on your goal, and be brutally honest with how much of your week is in the sweet spot of where you actually want to spend your time. Noah suggests auto-repeating activities you know you love as it reduces the mental energy needed to ensure they happen. If you’re skipping certain meetings often, that’s a sign they can safely be canceled. And here’s a game-changer, ask yourself what you are looking forward to on your calendar, what are you excited about and do more of that.

There are 2 ways to grow a large company, people and software.  People are a differentiator, make sure you have the best people. People can often unlock higher leveraged tasks for you too. Ask yourself what’s holding me back from my next level of growth? What if you could get someone to do it for you, would that help you grow? Get started and make sure you have amazing people around you. 

The 10-year rule. Have you picked a tidal wave (Shopify and e-commerce is a tidal wave)? It’s going to take you a bunch of time to do anything, so why not pick something that’s a “bigger market” thing, and, something you enjoy. Take action and start, knowing whatever you build can pivot and/or be expanded. Practically speaking, you’re going to start small with one thing that provides value, but as Mitch Harper teaches, have the “value ladder” in mind – the concept of creating adjacent niched-down offers that increase customer lifetime value.

Find and solve your own problems. Find something you could work on for the next 10 years.  Find something you actually enjoy and want to solve because it might take 10 years to get the results you want. 

Noah Kagan Encouraging Entrepreneurs. Thank You!

What an encouragement and an example of someone who has taken action. All 11 pieces of advice are top-notch. Thank you, Noah Kagan!

After recently reading Michael Hyatt’s The Vision Driven Leader, I find myself focusing right now on “Establish a clear goal with a deadline” as it aligns well to Hyatt’s vision script concept, and, it forces you to establish clarity on everything from your “why” to the leading indicators Noah highlighted.

I’m focused on “Find and solve your own problems” too, as I believe doing so creates inherent and immediate authority along with the credibility to launch a done-with-you type program where you teach what you’re already doing to others to help them solve their challenges and reach their goals faster.

Filed Under: Personal Development

Wow, I really like Grammarly

June 19, 2020 By Darin Thompson

I had heard and seen so many ads for Grammarly over the past few years, but never bothered to check it out.

In April 2020, I decided to install the Grammarly Chrome extension.

I love it.

While I appreciate the real-time super clear and visible proofreading of copy I’m writing, I think I love the weekly stats they send me about my writing even more.

On April 20, 2020, at 8:43 PM, I received my first Grammarly Insights email. I remember saying, “this is cool.”

Grammarly Insights is a weekly writing stats update about my writing. The email is packed full of information about my writing, and I find it fascinating to look at and eagerly await its arrival.

I can see things like…

  • Raw numbers in Productivity, Mastery, and Vocabulary
  • The tone of my writing
  • The top 3 writing mistakes I made

Benchmarking brings this to a whole new level.

Grammarly tells me not only how well I did and how I’m trending, but they also benchmark me against the entire Grammarly user base – wow!

Did I mention, it’s free. Check it out.

Grammarly - world's best grammar checker

Filed Under: Personal Development Tagged With: Grammarly

Google WiFi System Review: How to Increase Wireless Speed 468% in Your Home

January 5, 2019 By Darin Thompson Leave a Comment

Google WiFi system 3-Pack is easy to install, offers blazing fast WiFi speeds, and worth the relatively steep investment.  Using Google Wifi revealed the wireless network my Internet Service Provider (ISP) was emitting through their native device was shockingly inferior to the wireless network Google WiFi system 3-Pack creates.

I bought this exact 3-pack on Amazon and personally vouch for it. A newer version of the mesh Google WiFi 3-pack was released in 2020 and I have to imagine its wireless speeds are just as fast, if not faster, than mine.

Disclosure: I joined the Amazon Associates Program, as an Amazon Associate I earn from qualifying purchases, yet this in no way changes the price you pay for an item.

Is Google WiFi Easy to Install?

Yes, it took me no more than 20 minutes to completely install and setup Google WiFi system 3-Pack. While I left the system unopened and nestled in its sleek minimalist packaging for quite some time thinking I needed to allocate a substantial chunk of time for install, that was simple procrastination – it’s a breeze to install Google WiFi and is as simple as following the two-step instruction card provided in the box!

  1. Simply connect one of the devices to power using the power cord included and connect the device to one of the out ports on your existing ISP’s router using the Ethernet cable provided
  2. Download the Google Wifi app on your mobile device and follow the basic prompts
Google Wifi System Instruction Card

Before purchasing, I was slightly confused by the phrase Google uses in promotional content, “Google Wifi home replaces your existing router.”  This is a bit of a misnomer, or more accurately, it doesn’t tell the whole story, but it’s not bad news. 

I like to think of Google WiFi system 3-Pack as sitting on top, and making use, of both my existing ISP’s equipment and service. 

I did not throw away or shut down my ISP-issued router once Google WiFi system 3-Pack was installed, rather, the Google device sits side by side with my existing ISP-issued equipment (which ironically is Google Fiber) – both are powered and running.

My pre-existing wireless networks emanating from my ISP-issued router are still running.  Google WiFi system 3-Pack created a new wireless network and runs in parallel to my existing networks (hint: think of a new network name before you begin the install).  You’ll be shocked with the difference in network speeds between the old and new, more on that later.

Before purchasing, it wasn’t terribly clear the actual size of the Google WiFi system 3-Pack devices – they have the circumference of a large coffee mug and are slightly more than half the height. The devices emit a blue light (which you can dim or turn off entirely, using the Google WiFi app).  I did not purchase the pack of wall mounts but my father in law did to secure the devices directly to wall power and not have them standing alone – while this may be a nice to have, it’s not absolutely necessary and using the wall clips or not has no impact on functionality of the devices in any way.

Google WiFi System Device Size

Does Google Wifi Work? Is Google Wifi System 3-Pack Fast?

Yes and yes!  I was happily surprised, shocked really, with (a) the increase in both download and upload speeds of the wireless network created by Google WiFi system 3-Pack and (b) how Google WiFi system 3-Pack does a great job extending and permeating a strong wireless signal throughout my home with a seamless mesh wireless network.

The differences in wireless network speeds between my existing ISP (Google Fiber) equipment and Google WiFi system 3-Pack were silly.  Google WiFi system 3-Pack download speeds, in almost all locations throughout my home, crushed the existing speeds I was getting.

This piece was baffling to me.  My ISP is Google Fiber, there’s 1 gigabit speeds coming into my home over fiber optic cable.  This 1 gigabit speed over fiber optic cable that is literally run to my house hits Google’s router, and emanates a wireless network.  One would think that router device would be a peak performer.  After plugging the first Google WiFi system device into the existing router and testing the speed between the networks with the Ookla speed test app on a late model iPhone, sitting in the same spot only feet from the two devices, Google WiFi system 3-Pack crushed the ISP driven network by a triple digit percentage – that early test brought a smile to my face.

How to Speed Up Google Wifi

But it only got better once I navigated throughout the house to do speed tests between the “old” and “new” networks.  The highest increase in download speed I saw was 468% in one spot in my home.  Many were triple digit percentage increases in download (and upload) speed when using the Google WiFi system 3-Pack mesh wireless network.

I was similarly impressed with how well Google WiFi system 3-Pack eliminated wireless dead spots throughout the house and created relative uniformity in network speeds across my entire home.  I performed speed test comparisons all throughout the house and specifically focused on a few locations that were chronically plagued with slow speeds, and magically, with Google WiFi system 3-Pack and distributing the 3 devices throughout the home, the wireless mesh network exceeded my expectations.

Google Wifi System 3-Pack Is Not Cheap, Is Google WiFi Worth it?

Yes, however, it’s not lost on me I’m optimizing “first world problems”.  I had, relatively speaking, great service and Internet speed directly from my existing ISP and their modem.

I paid $249 for Google WiFi system 3-Pack with this Amazon offer.

I recall a time not long after 2010 when I was driving down I-35 with two friends and one of them handed me their new phone enabled with LTE and I ran a speed test that spiked at 50 Mbps download speeds, and I laughed giddily as I had never seen that speed for personal use in the US before, only in recent business trips to Japan. 

Said differently, for me to already have triple digit download and upload speeds in my home was perhaps more than I needed.  With Google WiFi system 3-Pack, I optimized and made things a whole lot better in a number of capacities, but it wasn’t absolutely necessary to do so.

As homes become more connected, with Internet of things (IoT) and connected home devices, load on a home network is only going to increase, perhaps exponentially, so I do believe it will become increasingly important to have infrastructure that can keep up – it does appear Google WiFi system 3-Pack allows you to take a big step forward in multiple ways.

Filed Under: Gear

The Secret to Not Getting Sick on Business Travel to India

September 6, 2016 By Darin Thompson

Business Traveler at Taj Mahal Agra India

As my first international business trip to India in 2007 approached, I methodically prepared for both how to do business well in India, and importantly, how to avoid getting sick on business travel to India, the second most populated country in the world.

I’m excited to share I published my India Business Travel Guide – an insider’s guide, packed with business travel tips and tricks, that reveals the secrets of how to not get sick when traveling to India on business.

Plan Ahead & Don’t Get Sick on India Business Travel

While India was positioned as an epicenter for tech, and was such an intriguing place to me, nearly every person I came across who had traveled to India on business had gotten sick, many to the point they avoided ever returning.

The stakes, as an American traveling to India for the first time, seemed high to me.

The basis for much of a safe and successful first business trip to India was a set of guidelines shared with me by a friend and former colleague at IBM, Prathap Dendi. Prathap not only seeded me with an initial set of tips, namely related to food and hygiene, he joined me a day or two after I first arrived in Mumbai (BOM) for business meetings with business partners and systems integrators.

Having had the opportunity to return to India multiple times, both international in and out trips as well as extensive domestic travel across the business hubs of Bangalore / Bengaluru, Pune, Chennai, Kolkata, New Delhi, and Mumbai, I’ve built up a more extensive personal understanding of doing business in India and staying safe and healthy while there.

In 2015, I shared a first cut at an India travel guide with colleagues who were traveling to India for the first time. That first edition was a simple Word document, and had some notion of headings and sections. I joined that trip in 2015, and everyone returned back to the US without getting sick.

I refined the travel guide quite extensively over the years, especially after I personally got sick, quite violently ill actually, in 2014 – in Delhi no less, the infamous Delhi Belly!

The essence of my refined approach was put to the true test in a 2015 return trip in which I did not get sick, and so I’m really happy to share the updated India Business Travel Guide here on Your Entrepreneur Inside.

Moving the travel guide online will make it more easily accessible, and that much easier to update with what I anticipate will be incremental revisions from colleagues and friends as the guide has truly been a collaboration in due diligence starting with Prathap’s initial input all the way back in 2007.

International Business Travel Is Fascinating to Me

I have a sincere appreciation for the blessing and honor it is to see the world through international business travel.

To gain insight and understanding of how business is done in foreign countries, to intentionally insert myself into situations where you have the chance to see first-hand the subtle nuances of culture, it’s eye-opening, humbling, and makes me better.

I’m a much more effective businessman, both at home and abroad, and able to add more value and be more effective, because of the reps and experience I’ve had via international business travel.

Whether that’s knowing the subtle methods of how to get a deal done in a foreign country, to being an effective international public speaker, giving presentations in foreign countries, with and without interpreters, truly being understood by your audience because you’ve been given the opportunity to study the art of international public speaking, international business travel is a launchpad for all of it.

It would be an honor if you checked out the Guide, and, shared your feedback with me in an effort to continue to refine the content and make it better.

Filed Under: International Business Travel Tagged With: India Business Travel

Leadpages’ Most Important Update Ever (and Why You Need It) and 17 Bonus Expert Landing Pages to Use in Your Business

July 29, 2016 By Darin Thompson

Disclaimer: I stopped using LeadPages in July 2021, keep an eye on the small business resources page to see who claimed the spot of best landing page software for small business owners and entrepreneurs.

It’s great software, but I’d rather be able to create any landing page I want.”

I’ve heard that a lot from marketers when talking about Leadpages, or, in critical reviews of the landing page software maker.

Many marketers I follow in the industry loved the fact that Leadpages allowed you to create high-converting landing pages in less than 5 minutes, Leadpages even visually ranks the success of each landing page type in their system based on analytics from millions of conversions so you know immediately what pages to try.

But many marketers also wanted more flexibility. They wanted the chance to create any landing page they wanted from scratch.

Well, they asked for it, and Leadpages listened.

Leadpages just launched an entirely new landing page builder that allows you to create absolutely any landing page you want—no tech skills needed.

This new landing page builder allows you to add, move, or rearrange any videos, copy, images, or anything else on your landing pages, so you can design the exact landing page you want.

Even better, Leadpages ensures that your landing pages stay mobile-responsive no matter what elements you add to your landing pages.

Best Landing Page Builder Software

This week, Leadpages is giving you the ultimate incentive to get started. They’re giving you 17 expert landing pages free when you purchase an annual Leadpages membership.

I personally use Leadpages (I have the Advanced plan).  It’s an investment, no doubt.

I stepped up several years ago to bring Leadpages into the fold of my online businesses as I came to the realization that in order to progress and evolve forward, I needed to invest actual money back into the business.

Go check out what Leadpages can do for you (and claim your 17 pages).

17 Expert Landing Pages for Your Business Used by Some of the Most Successful Online Entrepreneurs

This week, Leadpages is giving you a little extra incentive to try out the #1 landing page and audience growth software for yourself.

When you purchase an annual plan this week, Leadpages is giving you 17 extra landing pages from some of the world’s top marketing leaders. (That’s in addition to the 150+ templates that already come with Leadpages.)

These 17 expert landing pages include. . .

  • Pat Flynn’s Dual-Purpose Leads and Sales Page: This favorite page from Pat Flynn is designed to both grow your email list and sell your products at the same time.
  • Amanda Holmes’ Virtual Summit Page: You can use this event page from Chet Holmes International to sell out your next conference, mastermind or online event.
  • David Siteman Garland’s Webinar Page: This “ultimate webinar page” from David Siteman Garland is engineered specifically to fill up your next webinar or online event.
  • Mariah Coz’s Blog Home Page: Whether you’re blogging or not, you can use this stunning home page to grow your list the second new visitors come to your site.
  • James Wedmore’s Product Launch Page: This proven launch page is perfect for releasing your new course, book, product, service, or even a whole new business.

Even better, you can use Leadpages’ new drag-and-drop landing page builder to customize these 17 gorgeous pages any way you like for your own business.

Expert landing pages from some of the best, including Pat Flynn, Amanda Holmes, Mariah Coz, and James Wedmore

Leadpages Launched Their #1 Most Requested Feature This Year

It’s not even a feature per se. It’s an entirely new experience for customizing your landing pages: Leadpages’ new drag-and-drop landing page builder.

This all-new drag-and-drop builder gives you the ultimate flexibility so you can add, move or rearrange any elements on your landing pages while still ensuring 100% mobile responsiveness for your pages.

Leadpages is giving you extra incentive to try out their new drag-and-drop builder.

Leadpages is giving you 17 landing page templates designed by top marketing professionals—at no extra cost—when you join Leadpages.

Interested?  Want to research LeadPages a little more?  Don’t worry, I did too.  Watch a quick 10-minute LeadPages demo that will put you in the driver’s seat.

Watch LeadPages Demo

P.S. Like any reputable software company, all Leadpages memberships come with a 30-day money-back guarantee. So I’d suggest you try it. Find out if it’s for you. If not, just let them know within 30 days and they’ll issue a full refund.

P.P.S. Check out Leadpages in action immediately below with the Leadpages’ Leadbox created to give you, for free, the 3 entrepreneur tools you should be using, and probably aren’t!

Filed Under: Audience Growth Tagged With: LeadPages

Have You Read REWORK? Listen to My Business Book Review, in High-Quality Audio

July 5, 2016 By Darin Thompson Leave a Comment

Here’s an interesting spin on a book report…

I read the business book REWORK, wrote a 1,700+ word review of it, but then decided to change things up a bit by recording a REWORK book review in high quality audio.

REWORK Business Book - Audio Review

Many who read REWORK boast the collection of short essays will change the way you work, forever.

It was the subtle insight taken from reading REWORK that was so inspiring for me.  Authors Jason Fried and David Heinemeier Hansson, the guys behind 37signals (now Basecamp) business fame, have a tremendous amount of practical experience, insight that I like to call “right around the corner knowledge“.

There is some really thoughtful knowledge out there that, for some, can be taken for granted, it’s just out of the reach of those who have not had the experience themselves, and thus, just right around the corner.  Fried and Hansson do a great job in taking you by the hand and giving you a guided tour of the windy roads of the entrepreneurial business realm.

In my book review, I talk about the concept of receiving the gift of entrepreneurial permission from Fried and Hansson – as an entrepreneur, it’s easy to shoulder the burden of trying to live up to big corporate norms and processes, while Fried and Hansson, business leaders who have been there done that, just cut through it all and assure you the reasonable approach can indeed work, and not just work, but become wildly successful.

As an example, one of my favorite subtle insights from REWORK is on corporate growth, and exactly how much growth is enough. In my audio review of REWORK, I share that I’ve mentally wrestled with the concept of corporate growth for most of my adult life, which more than likely stems from attempting to balance the entrepreneur inside me and my appreciation for organic growth and scale in business, and separately, my appreciation for the intricacies of successfully navigating and driving results at Fortune 100 companies (most notably for me, IBM, where I spent approximately 15 years of my full-time corporate career).

Fried and Hansson practically hit you upside the head on page 22 of REWORK with an essay called “Why grow?” that has one of the most articulately composed analogies that will undoubtedly make you look at growth, and the extent to which it is pursued unnaturally, like you never have before.

Have you ever felt awkward leaving work at 5pm?

If you’ve got any sort of hustle in you, no doubt, you have indeed felt awkward at some point cutting out “early”.

Shocker, REWORK addresses the topic, and probably in a much different way than you would think, especially considering we’re talking about authors who are entrepreneurs easily generating 8 figures in recurring annual revenue (Fried doesn’t seem to care about valuations, yet, doesn’t that perfectly align with the general sentiment you take away from REWORK – but, what if it’s a $100 billion valuation?!?).

I highlighted a number of really solid insights in REWORK that I look forward to returning to in the coming years, be that for inspiration, the entrepreneurial permission I was talking about, or, simply a level set on what’s reasonable in trying to grow and scale a business.

Check out and listen to the REWORK book review, and, share your feedback using the social share buttons, it would mean a lot to me, and, I’m sure it will help others too!

Filed Under: Books I've Read

Inline Icons on StudioPress Genesis Navigation Menus

March 20, 2015 By Darin Thompson Leave a Comment

Curious how to add inline icons to WordPress navigation menus?

It’s easier than you might think.

WordPress Navigation Menu Icons with Font Awesome

I’ll share exactly how to add icons next to navigation menu items in WordPress using Font Awesome, an icon font set consisting of scalable vector icons that can be used to place icons inline (i.e. right next to and in the same row) to your navigation menu titles.

Font Awesome 4 Menus Plugin is the easiest way to add icons to your WordPress navigation menus – now available in the WordPress Plugin Directory boasting more than 10,000 active WordPress installs.

Adding icons to WordPress navigation menus with a plugin is clearly the easiest way to get to end of job, and is the route I use to place icons inline to WordPress navigation menus in premium WordPress themes by StudioPress.

Why Use Font Awesome for WordPress Navigation Menus?

In essence, Font Awesome is a instantly CSS customizable font set of scalable vector icons.

While you’ve got other options, including dashicons, which is already included in WordPress, I like Font Awesome because it gives you a simple way to make icons appear inline to navigation menu titles rather than above – for dashicons, which appear on top of your navigation menu title instead of inline, check out Brad Potter’s dashicons tutorial for StudioPress Genesis Framework navigation menus.

In addition to giving you inline navigation menu icons, Font Awesome is packed with feature / function.

  • 500+ icons in a single collection, giving you an icon-based language to write in
  • No requirement for JavaScript means fewer cross-browser compatibility issues
  • Infinite scalability makes each vector-based icon graphic look good at any size on all displays, including high-resolution retina displays.
  • Free (even for commercial use), that’s always nice
  • Style, icon color, size, shadow, and anything possible with CSS you can do with Font Awesome
  • Originally designed for Bootstrap, solid compatibility with all frameworks
  • Screen reader compatible
  • Desktop edition available (use it in Microsoft Word if you want)

It wasn’t all that long ago when Font Awesome was banned from the WordPress Plugin Directory, but in May 2013, WordPress lifted the ban following open source and GPL related licensing changes by Font Awesome.

3 Steps to Add Font Awesome Icons to Genesis Menus

It’s relatively simple to incorporate Font Awesome into your theme’s navigation menus, here are the 3 easy steps to make it happen.

1. Install Font Awesome 4 Menus Plugin
2. Enable CSS Classes screen option in Appearance > Menus
3. Enter a CSS Class for the icon you want

Step 1: Install Font Awesome 4 Menus Plugin

Font Awesome 4 Menus Plugin

Because the plugin is in the WordPress Plugin Directory, simply navigate over to Plugins > Add New within your WordPress Dashboard navigation, search for “Font Awesome 4 Menus”, install and activate the plugin – there are no settings or the like to adjust, cruise right over to step 2.

Step 2: Enable CSS Classes screen option in Appearance > Menus

Enable CSS Classes Screen Option in Appearance > Menus

By default, WordPress ships with a number of menu visibility options disabled, in this step, you’ll enable one of those options so that you can actually see and create a placeholder if you will, for an icon CSS Class name that will eventually render your icons on your navigation menu.

Go to Appearance > Menus within the WordPress Dashboard, click Screen Options near the top right, and check the CSS Classes option. Now you’re cooking with gas and ready to add an icon to your navigation menu in step 3.

Step 3: Enter a CSS Class for the icon you want

Enter a CSS Class for the icon you want

In this final sep, you’ll actually tell WordPress what icon you want it to display inline to, and in front of, your navigation menu title.

First, use the Font Awesome Cheatsheet to copy the CSS Class name associated with the icon you want to use (CSS Class names begin with “fa-“).

Back in Appearance > Menus within the WordPress Dashboard, open the Menu Structure for the menu you want to edit, open the navigation menu item you’d like to add an icon to and you’ll now see a “CSS Classes” field. As you might have guessed, you’ll paste the CSS Class name from the Cheatsheet in that field, save your changes, and you should now have an icon inline to your navigation menu title!

Further Reading: Font Awesome

Once you have the basics of Font Awesome nailed, you can start to get creative with things like stacked icons, animated icons, fixed with (stacked) icons, and making icons larger – the Font Awesome team created a list of examples to help.

If you make the investment (of implementation time) into using the Font Awesome 4 Menus Plugin, an incremental step forward you might want to consider is adding the Font Awesome CDN to WordPress without a plugin. This involves editing several files in your WordPress install (Jan Hoek shares how to do this in Add Font Awesome Icons to the Genesis Menus). Is it worth doing? Perhaps if you’re making heavy use of the font, leveraging a content delivery network (CDN), which is global, would be worthwhile from a page load time perspective. Further, if you’re averse to adding yet another plugin to your install for fear of bloat, taking a CDN approach is ideal.

Filed Under: WordPress How To

Growing a Business? How to Create Your Own Evergreen Sales Funnel

March 16, 2015 By Darin Thompson Leave a Comment

Disclaimer: I stopped using LeadPages in July 2021, keep an eye on the small business resources page to see who claimed the spot of the best landing page software for small business owners and entrepreneurs.

Ever heard “the money is in the list“?

Yeah, me too.

One of the biggest mistakes I made as an entrepreneur was not starting email lists for my ventures from the beginning.

Entrepreneur Advice: Start an Email List

I did a ton of research on email list building software, focusing my attention on products that made it easy to generate landing pages and lead boxes for WordPress sites, easily integrated with AWeber or MailChimp, had slick A/B split testing capabilities, and looked professional (it’s somewhat surprising that not all list building software is equal in this regard).

I honed in on a product, bought and tested it out, and after realizing it didn’t do what I wanted it to do…continued to do more research.

I now realize the research was simply, procrastination.

Despite taking a few steps forward towards email list growth early on, it wasn’t until I discovered LeadPages (software that allows you to easily create, split test, and optimize mobile responsive landing pages that can drive sales and email list growth) in 2013 that I got serious about, and started to actually implement list building techniques.

I think it was Abraham Lincoln who said it’s never too late to do the right thing.

LeadPages, at least for me, just seemed to “get it”. Their webinars, which I attended several of before ever becoming a customer, were always on point – I took copious notes at all of them. Webinars were hosted by Tim Paige, and he usually has a high-profile online business expert alongside him.

Always packed with entrepreneurial value, LeadPages webinars are for all online entrepreneurs, regardless of where you’re at in your email list building journey (even if you haven’t captured a single email address yet).

LeadPages Used Its Own Conversion Optimized & Mobile Responsive Landing Pages to Grow from Zero to 35,000 Customers in Two Years

That’s how fast LeadPages has grown since they first launched their business in January 2013. As one of their customers, I can attest this company is impressive to say the least.

In Wednesday’s (March 18, 2015 3 pm EST) live training, LeadPages is showing you how they did it (go check this out).

Inside this live training, the lead-generation experts at LeadPages will show you the same sales funnel they have used to grow their start-up from day one.

They will also walk you step-by-step through how you can create this exact funnel for your business — so you can continuously grow your business this year and beyond.

If you have an interest in growing a business or just creating a more strategic marketing plan, I encourage you to make time to attend this live training.

“Must Have” Knowledge for Developing Online Evergreen Sales Funnels

Here’s a glimpse at what you can expect in this 1 hour + live training session on how to build an evergreen sales funnel for your website.

  • Your Own Simple Sales Funnel That Sells 24/7: You’ll discover how to build a simple sales funnel that can grow your email list and boost your sales every day of the week — without launching a new product or running a special promotion.
  • 4 Kinds of Content to Boost Your Sales Further: You’ll see the types of content that are designed to drive more sales, so you can use every blog post and other content to continuously grow your business.
  • The Proven Funnel = 35,000 Customers: Once again, you’ll get an insider’s look at the sales funnel that has built LeadPages into an industry leader in just over two years.

This training goes live at 3 pm EST on Wednesday, March 18, 2015.

P.S. The last time LeadPages hosted this live training, over 2,000 people registered in just 24 hours. It’s highly likely that Wednesday’s live training will fill up just as fast. I recommend you claim your spot right now (and show up a few minutes early to the webinar so as not to get locked out when capacity is reached).

Filed Under: Audience Growth Tagged With: Email List Building, LeadPages

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