If you want detailed tactics and hilarity, Ramit Sethi is your man. Here one quote from this episode, to give you an idea: “Indian people don’t get punched, dude. We don’t get into fights. We’re doing spelling bees.”

Ramit Sethi built his personal finance blog up to 500,000+ readers per month, and has since turned it into a revenue generating monster. I don’t use that phrasing lightly. In this episode, we dig into the nitty-gritty tools, software, and experiments he’s used to turn a college side project into a multi-million-dollar business with 30+ employees.

Tons of amazing links and goodies below…

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QUESTION(S) OF THE DAY: Do you think I should create a course of some type? If not (and if writing a book isn’t an option), what would you like to see me create next? What would be most helpful to you? Please let me know in the comments.

Scroll below for all show notes.

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LINKS FROM THE EPISODE

Visit the Tim Ferriss Book Club on Audible
www.IWillTeachYouToBeRich.com
www.PBWorks.com
Ramit’s compilation of the best “Freeloader Comments”
Kevin Kelly article: 1000 True Fans
From Geek to Freak: How I Gained 34 lbs. of Muscle in 4 Weeks
Digg.com
Gigaom.com
Ramit’s post on the 4 Hour Blog: The Psychology of Automation: Building a Bulletproof Personal-Finance System
Hacking Kickstarter: How to Raise $100,000 in 10 Days
The $28,000 question: Why are we all hypocrites about weddings?
Learn more about Opening the Kimono® Event
How to Raise a Financial Wizard
YourSurrogateAsianFather.com
Check out Mark Bustos’ Instagram
50ProvenEmailScripts.com
12 Lessons Learned While Marketing “The 4-Hour Body”
A special giveaway from Ramit for our listeners

Books Mentioned in the Episode

The Checklist Manifesto: How to Get Things Right by Atul Gawande
Mindless Eating: Why We Eat More Than We Think Mass Market by Brian Wansink
The Robert Collier Letter Book by Robert Collier
Age of Propaganda: The Everyday Use and Abuse of Persuasion by Anthony Pratkanis and Elliot Aronson
The Social Animal by Elliot Aronson
Never Eat Alone: And Other Secrets to Success, One Relationship at a Time by Keith Ferrazzi
Iacocca: An Autobiography Mass Market by Lee Iacocca and William Novak
What They Don’t Teach You At Harvard Business School: Notes From A Street-Smart Executive by Mark H. McCormack

Entrepreneur Resources Mentioned in the Episode

Basecamp – Web-based project-management tool
Google Docs
Aweber – Email marketing and autoresponder software
Infusionsoft – A complete sales and marketing automation software for small businesses
Surverymonkey – Create and publish online surveys in minutes, and view results graphically and in real time
GitHub – Powerful collaboration, code review, and code management for open source and private projects.
Asana – A web and mobile application designed to enable teamwork without email.
Screenflow – Screen recording and editing software for Mac
Dropbox – A free service that lets you bring your photos, docs, and videos anywhere and share them easily
Wufoo - Online form builder with cloud storage database
Skype – A freemium voice over IP service and instant messaging client
Visual Website Optimizer – A/B Testing Software for Marketers
Umbel – a tool for understanding your audience

Documentaries Mentioned in the Episode

2 Million Minutes: A Documentary Calculating the Educational Divide 
Jiro Dreams of Sushi

Show Notes

Why Ramit Sethi’s parents added the “R” to his original name, Amit
His grassroots beginnings as a personal finance teacher to friends
How his persistence garnered exposure for his blog in the Wall Street Journal
How his site functions like a laboratory
Why you only need to focus on caring for 1,000 die-hard fans
How a few world-class posts can change your life forever
The “secret recipe” for attracting lots of people to your posts and making them fall in love with your content
Ramit’s email practices and marketing techniques that generate 99% of his revenue
The entrepreneurial tools and software Ramit’s team uses to systematize the daily functioning of the business
A common email practice that people share as the “Law of God” that is completely false
Why you should encourage people to unsubscribe from your email list
How to sell a product without coming off like a spammy Internet marketer
Why Ramit turns away customers who have personal debt
What roles race and culture play in Ramit’s life
How I Will Teach You To Be Rich is like the Asian father some of us never had
His book recommendations for entrepreneurs
The longest lie his father ever told and why Ramit can’t wait to do the same to his children
The best investment he’s made for under $100
Email tips for building respectful relationships with busy people