The first successful business Justin Malik and Lee Rankinen started was reskinning pinball games for the iPhone, back in the old Wild West of the app world. Eventually, Apple moseyed over and kicked them out for being too spammy. They had lost their business, but they still had their idea.

Lee and Justin turned to their love of optimal and minimalist living and asked their favorite writers for permission to make a daily, highly polished podcast from their work. That podcast was such a hit they started 4 more. Now The Optimal Living Daily podcast network is often ranked #1 on iTunes for health, with over 77 million downloads and counting.

Listen in as Lee Rankinen and Justin Malik compare notes with Matt and Joe about how to monetize your podcast, overcome your anxieties to get on stage, and their many tips and tricks to automate your content production. After you’re done, check out our talks with Nick Loper and Tim Francis to learn more about automating your business to free up your life.

“If the content is really good I don’t care who wrote it. If someone has a blog with 1 follower but their content is gold, I would much rather have that.” - Lee Rankinen

Some Topics We Discussed Include:

• Why curated content is key for any podcast to succeed
• What kind of “reskinned” content you can’t use anymore
• How a minimalist lifestyle will get you to your life’s goals
• An essential trick to make editing audio a breeze
• The best way to find gaps in the market for your business
• Why using others content is actually hard work (and how to, eventually, make it easy!)
• How to comb hundreds of websites for content and not lose your mind
• The best sources to find fresh content for your podcast
• Monetizing your podcast with advertising vs sponsorship
• How to use your episode titles to organically improve your ranking
• Why the best testimonials are often outside your niche

Contact Justin Malik & Lee Rankinen:

• Optimal Living Daily Podcasts
• Connect on Twitter
• And on Facebook
• The Sweater Guys On Craig Ferguson

References and Links Mentioned:

• GenM (Sponsor) – Find marketing apprentices for $50/mo
• AdvertiseCast
• Podcast Movement
• Gaps.com
• Becoming Minimalist
• My Wife Quit Her Job
• The Minimalists Podcast
• How to Win Friends & Influence People by Dale Carnegie (Audiobook)
• Your Life Is Your Message by Eknath Easwaran
• Side-Hustles To Make Money In Your Spare Time – Nick Loper
• A Masterclass On Finding And Hiring The Right People – Tim Francis