Introductions Thread

I experimented a bit with Facebook ads when my software product was a service. It started as a service, we got some sign-ups, but it was a little too labor intensive to feasibly scale, so we started turning it into the app.

With the info product, I expect to go very heavy on PPC. I've had a landing page up for a couple years that collects emails on a regular basis with zero promotion. I've even had people email me to follow up because they want my product. Similar to starting the software product as a service, I just started coaching people one on one before I had any actual product to offer. My idea was that offering some free coaching (nothing too time consuming) would give me a means for creating content. Now I have some content and I have a team of writers working on finishing up an e-book. As soon as the e-book is complete (look like it's be 3-4 weeks from now) my next step is to re-visit the landing page, start some PPC campaigns, and get busy split testing.
 
YPZybpY.gif

Long time lurker...

So many great people and so much useful content in this society, however, there are a few "key players" who directly gave me the opportunity to make a few money on the side.

I have been working with affiliate marketing for quite awhile now, however, I don't limit myself to only working with one specific thing.
Due to all the WordPress performance optimization posts and threads, I was actually able to offer it as a service with amazing results and without ripping off people.
rdJZFUd.gif

It has been great not having all eggs in one basket.

There are plenty of knowledge on BuSo to make a living.

Special thanks to @Ryuzaki for the crash course which got it started - Day 27 - Page Speed Optimization (I can't post link, but thread ID 1288)
and @turbin3 and @CCarter for tips on WordPress and performance optimization in general.
Which also led me to realize how flawed and bloated WordPress have become.
I have recent been testing and moving towards flat-file CMS, however, I am not there yet - hopefully, next big project/website will be built on such.
 
@Robin if you can learn how to work with Lektor (it's a flat-file CMS) then I have some work I can throw your way!
 
Fantastic, I'm glad you got some use out of my ramblings. You're a prime example of how ideas mean nothing without execution, which is to say that execution is everything.

There's more gold in this forum than pretty much all of the others combined at this point, perhaps a little too late for most of the would-be career IMers out there, especially those who banked it all on SEO.

Most of the old spirits are broken and defeated and not willing to come into alignment with what they should have been doing anyways. The newcomers have a more difficult, yet wide open playing field and they aren't dragging an anchor behind them that constantly nags them about how easy it used to be to fire up the off-the-shelf spam software and walk away.

And for anyone who says, for example, they can't or hate writing content, and then we say to outsource and then they hit the ping pong ball back and say "well I can't afford it," then get a day job, "but I don't want to," then be a freelancer, "but I don't know anything..." You've shown that not only are there no excuses but everything needed besides execution is already here for free.

All of us combined have literally thrown the keys to the gates of heaven on the ground for anyone to pick up and use. But they're too {lazy|scared|content} to pick them up, put them in the lock, and give'm the ole twisteroonie.

I don't mean to make it sound like it's that simple... but it really is.

It's like Dan Peña said (paraphrased), "we gave you the blueprint. Stop changing the steps, stop thinking about it and just do step 1 and then step 2, and so forth. A monkey can do it. A child can do it." The only possible outcome is success.

There are literally 1000's of single posts on this forum with some off-the-cuff comments, each of which can become full fledged businesses. If only people had the eyes to see and ears to hear and work ethic like @Robin.
 
Glad to have you here Robin!

Thanks for the kind words, and that's great to hear about the success you've been having.

In my opinion, the BuSo Digital Strategy guide is a shining example of how, you can literally give the keys to the kingdom away, and for free....and you don't even have to worry about it. The vast majority don't know what to do with the "Glengarry leads" anyways, so it doesn't even matter.
 
pfingy said:
@Robin if you can learn how to work with Lektor (it's a flat-file CMS) then I have some work I can throw your way!
Click to expand...
Thanks for the offer pfingy - regarding web development on a flat-file CMS, I prefer to only touch own projects, as I am definitely not skilled enough to charge even a cent/h. for it... yet..

Ryuzaki said:
Fantastic, I'm glad you got some use out of my ramblings. You're a prime example of how ideas mean nothing without execution, which is to say that execution is everything...
Click to expand...

turbin3 said:
Glad to have you here Robin!

Thanks for the kind words, and that's great to...
Click to expand...

Ya, it has definitely been all about just doing it - all the knowledge, know-how and tips are all there, just go for it.

---

I will this weekend create a thread/journal, as I will be "reviving" an older affiliate website (very small).
It might be useful for some with a smaller project, additionally, I think it will personally be beneficial by "keeping a small log" and sharing ups and downs.
 
DAY ONE

My weaknesses
Not sure.
I get bored easily but I can slog it out if I can see the purpose.
But analysing and split testing etc does sound boring.
I am wary of spending money on advertising unless I can really see it will work.

My strengths
I have a cabin in the garden which is my office. I enough money to live on at present so I can really give this a try. My wife is pretty understanding and supportive, but I don't talk about this stuff.

Over the last 10 years or so I have learnt a fair bit of HTML and php and other bits and I completely agree with this ...
I say all of that to say, get ready to become a Jack-Of-All-Internet-Trades or lose a lot of time and money. Only by knowing how these things work can you save time and money by outsourcing it.

I have am currently creating webapps for mobiles but want to learn more about passive methods.

So, onward and upward :D
 
What up all. Looking to soak up all of the knowledge that I can from this place. Me in a nutshell...:
  • Slightly above peasant level hoping to move up to minor-league baller status
  • Been in the SEO/internet marketing game since 2004
  • Former frequent visitor of Wickedfire before it turned into Digital Point
  • Favorite bands: Soundgarden, Pink Floyd, Foo Fighters, Alice in Chains, Chevelle
  • Guilty pleasure: late 80s and early 90s rap
  • Favorite movie: Pulp Fiction
  • Favorite show: Breaking Bad
Thanks for creating a wealth of info for us internet marketing geeks and wannabe entrepreneurs...
 
Welcome. I like your taste in music and movies/shows. That new Foo Fighters song, "Run" is badass. I've been playing it over and over again, hah.
 
Also liking taste in music and favorite show. Also coming from Wickedfire. My entire professional life took a start with clients on WF. Miss the forum.
 
Hey all!

Signed up a couple of months back after hearing about it from Charles Floate and been lurking and reading the goldmine of information that's here and it is truly a goldmine!

A little bit about me...

First discovered IM early 2011.

Started off with Clickbank (who didn't!!!) then onto Market Health and then onto CPA (education).
Did reasonably well with the latter two back in these days by using gray hat techniques (fast rankings = fast cash) .

Left IM when Google took matters into their hands and decided to clean up the Internet backyard (Panda, etc) so rankings dropped and earnings dropped. Luckily I saved a good bit of my earnings which to this day I still have (I'm a hoarder not a spender :smile: )

Unlucky for me is that I should have ploughed ahead and start again but life took over (when does it not?).

So decided to revisit IM again in 2016 built a new site already getting good traffic (it took a good 3 months) and earnings are coming along nicely with Amazon but will add some CPA and AdSense to it. I don't know why Amazon never appealed to me before!

Second new site started earlier this year and have two old sites with good aging and decent traffic that I plan to revamp and see if these can be resurrected somehow.

Using white hat techniques now which is painfully slower but hopefully foolproof in the long term (ceteris paribus).

That's my experience and brief intro in a nutshell and hope to give back from both current and past experiences.
 
Welcome aboard space vessel BuSo, destination the stars!

Crystall said:
Started off with Clickbank (who didn't!!!)
Click to expand...

So many people did, but even to this day I've never messed with Clickbank. The quality of the offers seems to be not-so-good. I did sign up to get whitelisted to this one product and a week later the guy killed his offer altogether. So in the end I'm still a Clickbank newb.

I started with Adsense. Easy way to make cash but once you know what you're doing you realize you're likely leaving a lot of money on the table in any of the big verticals besides the high traffic, low intent ones like entertainment.

Crystall said:
Luckily I saved a good bit of my earnings which to this day I still have (I'm a hoarder not a spender :smile: )
Click to expand...

Nice. I know a lot of people who made fast cash and immediately blew it and even more, digging quite the hole that took half a decade to get out of. I'm also a saver but breaking out of that mentality these days and heavily reinvesting to accelerate growth. I figure in the future I can reduce expenses for one month and save up all I would have, since I'll have grown tremendously thanks to not saving.

I sold a couple sites a while back and decided to live on the cash with minimal expenses and build a new project by hand with no outsourcing. Two years later and I'm back and running with more income than I had from the other projects and the ones that tanked before. It's a good move if you're patient and willing to grind and have the experience to guarantee success. My main prob was always compromising my immaculate sites with links that got me in trouble. No more spam and link buying for me!

Crystall said:
I don't know why Amazon never appealed to me before!
Click to expand...

Yeah, I started messing with Amazon a few years back and realized it's quite the opportunity, since they convert so well on their end. I guess Clickbank is like that if the seller has optimized their landers.

Welcome again, glad to have learned some about you and I'm excited to see you around the forums, maybe with a Laboratory thread.
 
Thank you Ryuzaki and for sharing more about you!

Clickbank remains the starting point for many newbies and perhaps a good earner for vendors in particular. So I wouldn't rule it out altogether especially if developing a Clickbank product in the future.
A good salescopy landing page is key!

Adding Adsense to the mix going forward also. Yes saving because frankly didn't have the knowledge to invest in other things (talking property, stocks etc) but now leveraging some of it to try and catch up in something I do know a little bit about. The IM landscape has changed for sure but that is not a bad thing as long as you change with it.

You said it = patience + grind and consistency= results. I'll give Amazon a go as long as the gravy train is still there. Thanks again and yes a Lab thread is good for accountability!
 
Hello guys, it's such a pleasure to join this forum.

I'm very glad to see old names who were former WickedFire contributors. It's like going back to home, just that this is a new home.

A little bit about myself.

Back in the day I used to have some AdSense sites that were making me ~$400/mo. After some years, I finished my bachelor's degree in comp sci and became a web developer. I have a nice 9-5 job, but obviously I'd love to be financially free and don't depend on my paychecks.

In the last 2 days I've been reading a lot, trying to motivate myself once again and I'm so glad that many of you guys are following the teaching of bright people like @eliquid, @ddasilva, @Tavin and of course, the great master of marketing, @CCarter.

Hope to learn a lot in this place.

Peace bros.

PS: Gonna miss the dic*-rolls here.
 
Hi guys,

First post here. Been really impressed with the quality of content on here so far.

My situation is that I have a website in a business niche. It gets a little over 20k page views per month. All organic. Right now it makes about $150-$175 per month solely from adsense.

I’ve also got a couple of ebooks for sale but they don’t sell - I think I’ve sold 4 in 6 months. People love my content, so I’ve no idea why they don’t buy the books!

The site has never had any backlinks built to it.

Here is my plan:
  • Switch mindset from content creation to content marketing. I’d like to get to 2 backlinks per week soon, get the process nailed, and take it from there.
  • Start adding more content to my YouTube channels. I started this just a couple of months ago and it’s only got 6 videos, but it seems to be growing on it’s own - up to 3k views so far with no effort.
  • Start attacking a social platform. I’m thinking Pinterest is a good fit and the competition don’t use it.
  • Create a product based on video content + community + workshops. This won't come until the traffic is higher. The biggest competitor does this and generates multiple millions pa.
My goal is $5k per month, which I know is small fry to a lot of you but would be fantastic for me.

I've also got a 3k mailing list that I'm completely unsure how to monetize. If anyone has any ideas here let me know.

Please comment on the plan above if you can think of any way to accelerate things. Overall I think my plan revolves around focusing massively on this project to get some real momentum, rather than the part time way I've approached it before.

Thanks!
Denis
 
Glad to have you here Denis, and it sounds like you're off to a great start! One thing I would add to the strategies you've mentioned is, I'd recommend testing some traffic leaks and see what happens.

As far as monetization, Day 9 of the Digital Strategy Crash Course I find to be incredibly useful. It's way too easy to get "caught in the weeds" and end up with a narrow focus on projects like this. The guide does a great job at helping you take a step back to see things from that higher level.

On the subject of working and monetizing your email list, Day 21 of the guide is also great for the same reasons. 3K might not sound like a big list, but in many business niches that can still equate to decent revenue if monetized correctly.
 
Thanks turbin3! Will definitely check both of those resources out.

I do sometimes find it all a bit overwhelming when I'm trying to do everything myself. Which is why to date the project has been a bit stop start.

Right now I'm feeling like that with 6 months serious effort I can take the next step. If that happens then I'm hoping that will be motivation enough to keep going :smile:
 
Been a lurker a long while thought it time I say hello!

Some massive value in these threads, a lot of people contributing sheer awesomeness, love that.

Focusing on ONE niche and aiming to turn it into an authority site, on that note will be getting in touch with @Steve Brownlie as his outreach service looks freakishly cool.

Background is in SEO and domaining.. Probably similar to @Golan I acquire rare and brandable domains, as well as domains with SEO value.

Oh, I'm based in Southampton, UK.
 
@LiamGallagher, I'm glad you joined up and introduced yourself. $400/month before graduating college is impressive, considering your school workload and the seduction of partying or doing nothing instead of grinding. Congrats on that achievement.

Do you have a plan in place? Adsense is great, and probably my favorite of the easy methods. I find that any of the high value niches where you can really clean up with Adsense tend to do better with CPA or Pay Per Call, etc. But I did focus on info sites back in the day with Adsense. It's fun because it's really just design + content + links, and repeat. But that's also why it's a lower revenue producing method. I'm enjoying Amazon a lot these days but it's kind of the same in terms of not exploiting each piece of content and just scaling it out. You gain a lot but leave a lot on the table too.

I'm interested in hearing more from you and seeing how your next movements in the industry go. Good luck!

-----

Hi, @MTUK, Welcome to the team.

How is this authority site of yours doing? Is it new or aged and established?

Steve's work and the links he procures for you are the best investment in links I've ever made. Hand's down, no questions asked. You won't be disappointed.

How is the domaining going? It seems to be becoming a stiffer market. Seems to still be a volume game where you take 99 losses for each win (in the branding side). The SEO side is prob not too bad since its metric-based. Are you seeing success in buying for brandability and flipping? I've seen several friends try it and end up not having an easy time offloading the domains.
 
Hey @Ryuzaki Thanks!

It's ranking on page 1/2/3 for most terms, the biggest term is ranking on page 8 or so, but rising, it's about 6 months old. (had another site about a year old, which didn't sound right so moved it all over to 'new' better sounding/fitting domain ~6 months ago)

Great to hear that!

Well domaining is super competitive, always has been, always newcomers on the scene due to low barrier to entry (anyone can hand reg a £5 domain lol). For me it's not a volume game on the brandable/premium domain side as I dont reg made up domains. Yep seo is way more 'straightforward' as sales go something like this, niche: health, business, etc.. Metrics: min XXTF XXDA, then checking its got quality links etc, so easier to find buyers/easier for buyers to say yes or no really.
Success with premium/brandable domains is a funny one, I think if you're trying to offload them kind of speaks to the quality you have in the first place (no offence meant by that). If you have a killer domain, most domainers just hold onto it until a silly offer comes in. Did you see Furniture.co.uk sold for £700k :surprised:
 
Wow, I had mostly the same questions so thanks for asking them!

For Search Console I set up Property Owner + User

Property Owner: email address on the same domain (my sites and/or clients)
User: My "agency" email address that I log in with to see all my properties

Maybe I'm paranoid, but by not being the "owner" on all properties they may think twice about penalizing all of them without looking into each one since they're all owned by different email addresses. (Sure they can check IPs but some obfuscation is better than none in my eyes)

Mind you, I only do grey hat (PBNs) so I'm only lightly paranoid, but some are clients so I gotta be careful.

re: backlinks
Search Console is pretty good at finding them, but you can't get them all in one download so you have to manually download 1/mo.

---

Hey guys!

I started aff marketing back in the early 00s but didn't take it seriously so never made bank. But one of my sites that's 15+ years old is still sending me $500/year in Adsense, so that's something :smile:

I'm a developer by trade and recently got back into the marketing aspect. SEO, funnels, FB ads, CRO, copywriting, webinars, all that fun stuff!


I'm here to keep up to date with the "zero day" greyhat techniques (not blackhat -- I hate churn and burn).

Just hoping this place doesn't devolve into another WF or BHW. :wink:
 
Welcome, Jooky.

Jooky said:
But one of my sites that's 15+ years old is still sending me $500/year in Adsense, so that's something
Click to expand...

Has that site been live for that entire stretch of time? If so, depending on the niche and whatnot, you might have something real nice on your hands in terms of getting some SEO traffic fast.
 
Ryuzaki said:
Has that site been live for that entire stretch of time? If so, depending on the niche and whatnot, you might have something real nice on your hands in terms of getting some SEO traffic fast.
Click to expand...

Yup, live since day 1. But it's a forum that a subset of users still use daily, hence the Adsense pageviews. No decent backlinks and no pillar content to monetize, just daily traffic from the same bunch of people. It was a fluke from the pre-social days where I did zero SEO -- it was all word-of-mouth.
 
Ryuzaki said:
Do you have a plan in place? Adsense is great, and probably my favorite of the easy methods. I find that any of the high value niches where you can really clean up with Adsense tend to do better with CPA or Pay Per Call, etc. But I did focus on info sites back in the day with Adsense. It's fun because it's really just design + content + links, and repeat. But that's also why it's a lower revenue producing method. I'm enjoying Amazon a lot these days but it's kind of the same in terms of not exploiting each piece of content and just scaling it out. You gain a lot but leave a lot on the table too.

I'm interested in hearing more from you and seeing how your next movements in the industry go. Good luck!
Click to expand...

Wow, such a warm message @Ryuzaki, thanks for your kind words.

Right now I don't have any plan at all. I want to try a lot of things but I've got analysis paralysis. I've been building WordPress based sites for ages, I'm good at web dev, but I've been out of the game for so long that I've lost track of this money making world. It looks like AdSense is still an easy approach. Guess I'll fire up my SEM Rush account and start with keyword research and throw a couple of sites to see how it goes.

Oh man, so much right now: authority sites, eCommerce, SEO, Facebook. So much things to explore that makes it hard to focus.

BTW: Looks like Facebook is not a hot topic here but there's a lot of money to be made there too!

I think I will go the baby steps route. Going to build a foundation of sites that start generating some bucks and I'll go from there :smile:

Happy 4th of July man, read you later
 
Just a quick intro:

I used to be very much a "blackhat" and really just looking to catch up. Currently got quite a few projects on the go so may be able to share some good results/ideas in the coming weeks/months/hairtearinglongtime(s).

Gotta say it's really refreshing to find an active forum thats not completely flooded. I've been scratching around for a few hours and found some decent info on here already so looking to get involved.

Anyway, enough of me...
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back