ETG Podcast 5: The Interview Made Awesome By Johnny B Truant
Jun

ETG Podcast: Episode 5
Podcast: Play in new window | Download
I’ve been a fan of Johnny’s blog since I first found it about 8 months ago. JohnnyBTruant.com has seen rapid success largely in part to his unorthodox approach to online business.
He will be the first one to tell you that he breaks all the “norms” of Internet marketing and does things his way. He doesn’t worry about keywords or try to optimize his titles for search engines. No, he just tells it like it is. He knows his shit and it sells!
He speaks his mind and it works, plain and simple.
The Twitter Story
What I like about Johnny is his straight up honesty and in your face attitude. I have to be honest and say that his brashness rubbed me the wrong way at first.
After reading his blog for a while and thinking that he was a little too full of himself, I stumbled into an interview he did at BlogCastFM. I was actually very surprised to find that he was a soft spoken, very articulate guy. Not at all what I thought!
So I sent him the following Tweet telling him so.
I didn’t think much about it until a got an email from a friend a few months later telling me I had gotten some good publicity on JBT. As it turns out, Johnny wrote a post about it titled “I’m An Arrogant Prick“. Gotta love this guy.
When I started this Podcast, I knew he was one person I had to speak with. And as it turns out, we had a great conversation. A few of the things we chatted about were:
- The price of entrepreneurship versus the price we pay for having a job.
- The myth of a “secure” job, which means nothing more than knowing you will be paid for the next 2 weeks.
- The choice between security and freedom.
- Why you cannot afford to be boring online.
- The worst case scenario for entrepreneurs.
I hope you find this interview helpful, I know I did.
Thanks for listening and don’t forget to subscribe to my Podcast in iTunes!

TrafficColeman
Johnny can come off as a prick, but that is his way of communicating and one reason why people follow him.
“Black Seo Guy “Signing Off”
Steve
That’s true. If his persona wasn’t so snarky, I’m sure his success would be different. It doesn’t work for everyone but definitely works for him!
David
Never read anything by Johnny so I am surprised from listening to the interview that you thought he was a prick. Guess I’ll have to check out his blog. Another good interview Steve, keep em coming!
Steve
Yea, I was just going off of his blog. His bad ass online personality with his “who gives a shit” style led me to believe he was a prick. When I heard his interview with Srini at BlogcastFM, I realized that he was in fact, a really nice guy.
As far as the interviews, I’ve got lots more to come…..
Justin | Mazzastick
I found with blogs that the whole personality doesn’t always come through. We may get one piece or part of their persona that is the most marketable.
Either way, I don’t judge a blogger by their online persona only. Podcasts and videos are a great way to get a better idea of what a blogger is like.
Steve
You make a great point Justin. Being a bad ass is marketable and Johnny uses it very well. If he was just another normal guy, he probably wouldn’t have seen his super fast rise to success.
I don’t know of you’re familiar with Nathan Hangen, but he is another person who originally had rubbed me the wrong way. When I started listening to his interviews, I realized that I was way off again as he seems like a great dude.
MikeTek
Great podcast, Steve. Johnny is a good guy, been following his stuff for a while.
I find myself back in “the grind” after 2-3 years running my own show and schedule. I miss the freedom, but not the freaking out when money ran tight.
But I’ll tell you what: I think every day about going back, and I will. It’ll stick in my craw forever if I don’t – as, I expect, it’ll stick in yours.
Sometimes you hear people like Johnny (and others) stating something you’ve heard so many times before. The fear, the scramble and the human will to “get by” – and the relative luxury even those of us scraping the barrel enjoy compared with most of the rest of the world – we read/hear these things hundreds of times. It’s “old news,” but it never seems to sink in.
Until it does.