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Just a newbie needing some clarification....

by DW94
10 replies
So I am trying to get my feet wet in affiliate marketing, the only problem is I do not have the experience to know what this path would become.

The path I am speaking of is about starting a blog in a niche where the competition is sites like Amazon, Ebay, Walmart, etc. I read a post recently which advised against competing with e-commerce but in my shallow pool of experience most "great" niches typed in compete with these kind of sites.

Another thing I am a tech junkie but also an avid outdoorsman, I've always heard people say follow passion and profit may follow. The only problem is every niche I want to jump into I am competing with Amazon or I am in the ring with huge blog sites by big corporations for example field and stream.com.

These sites have articles posted every day by different authors. The last thing I have considered jumping into is doing product review for different hunting gear. The only problem is competition with Amazon and also not having the capital to buy the product and write a review about it.

Any clarification on these questions(rants) would be greatly appreciated I am new to the game, but have tried and failed in this game of IM a few times.

Thanks for your time!
-DW
#clarification #needing #newbie
  • Profile picture of the author Joseph Villanueva
    First training in blogging is learn how to space your paragraphs

    Creating an authority blog is simple but requires hard work.

    Start learning on page and off page seo, utilize social syndication, provide awesome content, have a free lead magnet bribe to build your list and keep repeating the process.

    Joe
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    • Profile picture of the author DW94
      Thanks for the reply Joe! I was in a hurry to get that post out and didn't pay much attention to the clutter.

      On another note I've read up on SEO. Unfortunately though I am still learning as much as I can about it, due to no real success experience.

      Thank's for the reply Mighty Joe!
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  • Profile picture of the author JakeStatler
    One thing that I can see is that you're not scared to learn. You've come to the right place to get some answers..

    Personally, I would start off by deciding exactly which niche you want to focus on and go for it. There's a million IM "experts" online and somehow I've still been able to make over $4700 in the past few months teaching others about online marketing with my own product and programs, and I'm only 21..

    Now don't get it twisted. I'm not on here tooting my own horn or bragging, because there are marketers out there doing WAY more sales than that, but I say all this to show you that competition is really a figment of our imagination.

    There's always ways to compete with our "competitors" and it can be done.

    Start looking for the things these big authority sites aren't keying in on..

    Can you do product reviews on youtube and link them back to your blog to build a mailing list with a free offer so you can later upsell your list on products you recommend?

    Could you offer a free training series on the 5 major steps to rock climbing/hiking etc and then upsell your audience on the back end?

    Could you find outdoor related "viral images" online and make blog posts discussing the content of these images and encourage your audience to share the pics on facebook and twitter?

    You could build a very niche specific blog and run bing ads to your posts..

    There's a million and one different ways to start building your online business, my advice to you again is to pick one niche, do your research, create a following with killer content and use your connections and relationships with your audience to sell them on "outdoor products" you enjoy.

    This is just one option and you may decide to disregard it, but whatever you do, pick one thing and stick with it until you have traction

    I hope this helps you brainstorm a little! haha
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    • Profile picture of the author JeffreyBenson
      Change your mindset. Focus on the opportunities in what you want to promote rather than the obstacles.
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  • Profile picture of the author DW94
    So all of you are saying "quit worrying about competitors just pick something you like and go for it"? If that's the case it sounds like a solid game plan to me.

    And yes I'm here to learn and so far this is the friendliest I'M community I've came across. On another note I hear a lot of hype on making 6 figures a year. I am not really interested in that I'm more concerned I'd it is possible to quit my day job with Internet marketing.

    To achieve this all it would take is 1500 to 2000 a month. Does this sound possible without a mentor, without a mailing list already built up, and a low level of experience?

    Thanks again for all the feedback and posts, every word helps me gain knowledge towards bettering my life and my families life!
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  • Profile picture of the author Brent Stangel
    Start with the basics. In Internet marketing the basics is called a sales funnel. Check out http://www.warriorforum.com/main-int...step-step.html

    Don't send traffic to an affiliate offer until you have them on your list.

    You might check out the "survivalist" market. They are a strange lot but I know for a fact they have money to spend and are not afraid to spend it.

    There are some products on Clickbank that sell pretty well.
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    Get Off The Warrior Forum Now & Don't Come Back If You Want To Succeed!
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    • Profile picture of the author DW94
      Originally Posted by Brent Stangel View Post

      Start with the basics. In Internet marketing the basics is called a sales funnel. Check out http://www.warriorforum.com/main-int...step-step.html

      Don't send traffic to an affiliate offer until you have them on your list.

      You might check out the "survivalist" market. They are a strange lot but I know for a fact they have money to spend and are not afraid to spend it.

      There are some products on Clickbank that sell pretty well.
      Look into the survival market even though it's flooded with competitors? Is competition really nothing to be worried about when choosing a niche or not?

      Thanks!
      -DW
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      • Profile picture of the author professorrosado
        Originally Posted by DW94 View Post

        Look into the survival market even though it's flooded with competitors? Is competition really nothing to be worried about when choosing a niche or not?

        Thanks!
        -DW
        If you are doing the same thing as 1,000's of others, then yes you have to be worried.

        If you are doing something different, unique and appealing to groups of buyers in that niche, you have a winner!

        Competition assumes that you are offering the "same" benefits. Make them different and you really don't have any competitors. Just your own laziness and/or ignorance.

        Most of the "advice" you hear commonly is exactly common advice and is mostly reflective of the commonplace laziness and lack of knowledge most people suffer from in all walks of life - including IM! The bottom line is that Ford did not invent the car - he simply made it more affordable and faster than everybody else. He did not need to worry about competition.
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  • Profile picture of the author James Spencer
    What ever you decide you will need a lot of reading (time) and enough money to start.
    I am doing IM for a while and look like it has good perspectives.
    My suggestion is to find someone you trust to support you.
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  • Profile picture of the author Tom Addams
    Hey DW,

    Great post. It's a hard one to answer, since the topic is so vast, but I'll at least try to give you some direction.

    Let's think of an example niche.

    I know: Retro Console Games.

    You can buy retro console games on Amazon, on Ebay, on Play; you can buy them all over the place.

    Lots of competition, right? Well . . . yes and know.

    2 Main Questions:

    1. Are there good, low-competition phrases?
    2. Can I build a presence on social media platforms?

    I haven't looked at this niche - retro console games - but I bet the answer to both is yes and yes.

    I could probably do this in a week:

    1. Pay a designer to make my site.
    2. Pay a writer or writers to give me content.
    3. Pay for videos.
    4. Begin seeking low-comp phrases in search,
    5. Rank videos for these phrases.
    6. Start to build a following on social networks.
    7. Incorporate a list
    8. Make a free product for my list
    9. Grow my list.
    10. Hurl some PPC traffic at a lander from Bing Ads.

    I'd be earning money in the first 7 days, more than likely. Give me a few months, and assuming I got the right domain for my money site, I'd be doing the above and quite a lot more (not to mention in public, I'm afraid), and I'd be well on my way to owning that niche.

    Do I have more money than Amazon? Heh - I wish. But can they compete with me? Good luck with that.

    Ideas to get you going, buddy.

    GRM
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    I Coach: Learn More | My Latest WF Thread: Dead Domains/ Passive Traffic

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