Newbie here, I keep losing money, help

32 replies
Hey there, I'm a newbie affiliate marketer, I've been running some websites for 3 months now, seen 0 conversions, (I am betting on SEO not paid traffic) and want to know what are the best practical tips I can implement to turn profitable (I'm down about 300$ now).



Some websites: hgh-growthhormone.com ; greencoffees.org ; testosteroner.com



Facts about me that may help:

- Starting from next month I'll have about 6 hours a day to put into this.

- My budget is 2k $, although I'd rather not spend it before I start seeing money coming in.

- I need 10k $ by 15 of April (8 if I don't spend my 2000$ budget) -

- I have the basic knowledge on Affiliate Marketing (web design, SEO, keyword research...)
#losing #money #newbie
  • Profile picture of the author superowid
    Sorry, but your niche right now is high in competition. I believe your competitors are spending more in paid traffic. Won't you think to move to other profitable niche with less competition?
    Signature

    Hard time to keep promoting business? Don't worry!
    JUST USE MY GRAPHIC & VIDEO SERVICES
    . . . . . Let me help cutting your ad production cost! . . . . .
    {{ DiscussionBoard.errors[11092439].message }}
    • Profile picture of the author Diogo Maria
      Thanks for your answer

      Although I sell competitive products, I target small keywords in my articles (I use long tail pro, you're probably familiar with it), so I think the competition is fine, the problem, I believe, is that, because I want organic traffic, it takes some time to rank, even for the small keywords.

      Do you think doing an ad campaign would help ranking faster, or I would just be wasting more money?

      Thanks in advance
      {{ DiscussionBoard.errors[11092583].message }}
      • Profile picture of the author Mr Squeeze
        Originally Posted by Diogo Maria View Post

        Thanks for your answer

        Although I sell competitive products, I target small keywords in my articles (I use long tail pro, you're probably familiar with it), so I think the competition is fine, the problem, I believe, is that, because I want organic traffic, it takes some time to rank, even for the small keywords.

        Do you think doing an ad campaign would help ranking faster, or I would just be wasting more money?

        Thanks in advance
        An ad campaign isn't going to help you rank your Web pages, but if your site converts it might make you some sales, however...

        You'll probably just end up wasting your money on said ad campaigns since (no offence intended) you sound like you've never run ads before.

        A point on the ranking, how long are you talking about here? You can have long tail keywords ranking within a month easily with the right optimisation.

        Have you checked the competition for these long tail's, even though there mightnt be many results there might be some fairly stiff competition

        Hope this helps
        {{ DiscussionBoard.errors[11092607].message }}
  • Profile picture of the author ryanbiddulph
    "- I need 10k $ by 15 of April (8 if I don't spend my 2000$ budget) -"

    Red flag Diogo

    Because internet marketing is not an ATM. Nor is it a job. No way to squeeze money through it. Because if you do, most of what you do online is coming from a place of fear, and if this is the case you will keep losing money and struggling because you'll do fear-filled things that guarantee money loss. Self-fulfilling prophesy.

    I'd scrap those domains. Only because the competition is high and the URLs are amateurish; .org, and the -, and the extra "r" on testosterone. No good.

    Focus on IMing for the love and fun of doing IM. Then you can market from your heart. Versus just trying to market to earn a profit.
    Signature
    Ryan Biddulph helps you to be a successful blogger with his courses, manuals and blog at Blogging From Paradise
    {{ DiscussionBoard.errors[11092445].message }}
    • Profile picture of the author SalesGod
      Market from your heart? lol the ability to sell is literally the only difference from going broke and making a ton of money.
      {{ DiscussionBoard.errors[11092675].message }}
  • Profile picture of the author fratt55
    hey there

    If you have some time and willing to some work on a daily basis then you are wise to do seo...
    payed traffic are cash cow and it would be wise to save your nest egg for now.
    1..I recommend you do seo with authority websites like fb forums reddit just to name a few
    2...Use google keyword planner to choose your anchor text wisely
    3.. Make sure your keyword that you are trying to rank for is in anchor text and in the body of text
    4. the search engines likes backlinks from authority sites and in no time at all your key word will be ranked high enough so you will start making lots of money...but make sure your backlinks are from authority websites..
    ok
    talk soon

    sam f
    {{ DiscussionBoard.errors[11092614].message }}
    • Profile picture of the author Diogo Maria
      Thank you so much, there were some great tips in there that I didn't
      know about, I'll be sure to start doing this already!
      {{ DiscussionBoard.errors[11092657].message }}
  • Profile picture of the author SalesGod
    Why on earth would you not be running paid ads? you should be running ads, you should be cold calling, you should be handing out flyers where your target audience hangs out, ect. if your only doing SEO your going to go broke pretty fast. You need to SELL and CLOSE deals. I can take whatever your sellling and probably make more money by the end of the day today by picking up the telephone then you've made since you started this thing.
    {{ DiscussionBoard.errors[11092674].message }}
    • Profile picture of the author imstarter2016
      I agree with you,SalesMyGod!SEO is heavily manipulated by google,bing...and his niche is very competitive,paid ads seem faster,but I have to say his niche is competitive,he can't afford high price to bid his keywords with his competitors...
      {{ DiscussionBoard.errors[11092777].message }}
    • Profile picture of the author Regional Warrior
      Originally Posted by SalesGod View Post

      Why on earth would you not be running paid ads? you should be running ads, you should be cold calling, you should be handing out flyers where your target audience hangs out, ect. if your only doing SEO your going to go broke pretty fast. You need to SELL and CLOSE deals. I can take whatever your sellling and probably make more money by the end of the day today by picking up the telephone then you've made since you started this thing.
      Please do not take this advice at ALL , take the advice of the senior warriors that have posted
      He is only trying to drum up work
      {{ DiscussionBoard.errors[11092919].message }}
      • Profile picture of the author SalesGod
        drum up work for what exactly? The point is someone who willing to actually take action and push there product into the market place would be making money by now.

        Your telling him not to take the advice of getting out there and selling his product by different means and control his income instead of waiting around? What would you suggest smart guy?
        {{ DiscussionBoard.errors[11093659].message }}
  • Profile picture of the author Mark Riddle
    Outside the box thinking is needed here.

    FIRST create about 10 sites related to your niche, (affiliate programs)


    SECOND make sure those sites show YOU as the go to expert on your subject.

    Include YOUR endorsement of the niche products on the newly created sites with links back to your own sites.


    THIRD sell the created affiliate sites for more revenue. $100-$300 range.

    Include site marketing information about buying traffic and article marketing.

    Repeat this process.

    Keep your cash.
    Spend the money from flips to promote your business.

    Continue for about a year, then pick another niche and do it again.
    Signature
    Today isn't Yesterday, - Products are everywhere if your eyes are Tuned!
    {{ DiscussionBoard.errors[11092685].message }}
  • Profile picture of the author hardworker2013
    Maybe you need a seo expert to rank your websites in the search engines like Google. you can get some reasonable gigs on Fiverr.
    {{ DiscussionBoard.errors[11092692].message }}
  • Profile picture of the author JohnNunez2905
    After reading your thread, I've got to say you got the concept of SEO wrong. Let me explain, most SEO campaigns take a long time to show results (Average 1 to 1.5 years in competitive niches).

    That means you have 11 months to learn what you need and to start making a profit. It's doable but really hard. Are you willing to suffer a little bit to get what you want?

    Here's what I would recommend if you want to continue this route.

    Learn how to create awesome content that gets people engaged. I recommend Jon Morrow's blog Smart Blogger.

    Resources:
    How to create content people will still remember in 5 years' time

    Learn how to create a great email outreach.

    Resources:
    Blogger Outreach: How to reach out to bloggers to drive traffic to your site | SmartBlogger
    Outreach: The complete guide to building your blog audience | Quicksprout
    Humanitas Technique â"€ How to craft the perfect email outreach | John's IMSecrets

    That's just the beginning but it's a good start. Remember to always test and be patient. It takes a while to show results.

    And here's the last resource. It was written by a friend of mine called Jared Kimball. It's called "Drip campaign the ultimate guide", it has many awesome resources.

    Hope that helps you improve and grow.

    Blessings,
    Jonathan Nuñez
    {{ DiscussionBoard.errors[11092709].message }}
  • Profile picture of the author Oziboomer
    Without the following you might struggle to advertise in the major channels.

    1. No Terms and Conditions

    2. No Privacy Policy

    3. No Contact Information

    If you advertise without those it will only accelerate your demise.

    Best regards,

    Ozi
    {{ DiscussionBoard.errors[11092711].message }}
    • Profile picture of the author agmccall
      Originally Posted by Oziboomer View Post

      Without the following you might struggle to advertise in the major channels.

      1. No Terms and Conditions

      2. No Privacy Policy

      3. No Contact Information

      If you advertise without those it will only accelerate your demise.

      Best regards,

      Ozi
      And to add to this. There is no opt-in form to get people on your email list.

      You would probably be better served having only one site, provide valuable information about your niche, collect emails, then promote all three products to this niche through your autorespondder series

      al
      Signature

      "Opportunity is missed by most people because it is dressed in overalls and looks like work." Thomas Edison

      {{ DiscussionBoard.errors[11093114].message }}
  • Profile picture of the author Gambino
    Why do you have 3 separate domains, all with two pages, all recommending a supplement and all with the same "about me" page?

    You're main attempt at getting traffic is SEO? You're going to SEO all three of these? They're all basically copies of the exact same thing. Why not combine everything into one large blog, do what your about me page says (provide info) mixed in with any more reviews?
    {{ DiscussionBoard.errors[11092723].message }}
  • Profile picture of the author Rahul Chaurasia
    Thank you so much, there were some great tips in there that I didn't
    know about, I'll be sure to start doing this already!
    * As you replied to fratt55. You was not know those things. So i think you could also miss many important changes for on-page seo.
    There are many online tools are coming for check on-page issues of a website. Just google check on page optimization and open few top result and check all pages of your website.
    On-page optimization is most important thing. After that you can focus on off-page optimization.

    * Ad-Campign will never help in increase you organinc traffic. It will send you traffic till you pay for it.

    * And please don't try to hire a seo-expert if your budget are limited. Because every seo-expert will tell you that - you will see result after 3-4 month that is true. But many person just take money to those period and after those period start excusing. I had bad experience with 3 seo expert.

    * They only way to genrate organic traffic is upload quality & informative content at you blog section and share on social media and everywhere, wherever you can. Upload 2-3 contents every week. Create on your website if not created yet.

    *** Most important thing - Create a impressive video and upload on youtube & vimeo etc. Contact with other youtubers (related kitchen food, food recipe etc) and try to collaborate with them first with small youtubers - ask them to place your youtube video (label)link in starting & video (thumbnail) link in last.
    Instead of exchange youtube user ask them to place you youtube link in starting & last. Directly offer them small amount $1-$5 per thousand view. Basically you tube pay same amount to new youtubers. so they have a chance to double their money.
    Signature
    Free Website Design ! Let Us Develop & Design Ur Blog/ Business Website Free of Cost.
    Dropship / eCommerce Store start from $500 (incl : Dropship Plugin+Hosting+Domain+SSL)
    {{ DiscussionBoard.errors[11092765].message }}
  • Profile picture of the author DWolfe
    Originally Posted by Diogo Maria View Post

    Hey there, I'm a newbie affiliate marketer, I've been running some websites for 3 months now, seen 0 conversions, (
    ; testosteroner.com
    I went and just visited the testosteroner site.
    First problem- Read your page and you need to change the wording from Women and man. to Women and Men it will sound better. I will let you find it in there.
    Second problem- For the hell of it I clicked on they buy it now and it took me to a blank page!!! Read that again the page is blank. How can you buy something if the link is broken ?!
    Third problem - I would bounce before staying on the site more then 5 seconds. It had no appeal in my opinion and lacked credibility.
    The 2nd and 3rd problems in that order are why you have no sales!
    {{ DiscussionBoard.errors[11092779].message }}
  • Profile picture of the author clairelynn23
    Yes, it's a tough niche and evergreen SEO is a tough nut to crack. It can be done, but will take time.
    {{ DiscussionBoard.errors[11092793].message }}
  • Profile picture of the author bigboss2211
    nowadays google have some new algorithm that makes some SEO hardly display at the top. That means you pay much money for Google.
    I think you should choose some advertising campaign on gooogle, facebook such as Google Adwords, GDN,...
    {{ DiscussionBoard.errors[11092809].message }}
  • Profile picture of the author WillGraham
    you said you are newbie, well, just like me.
    i think 6 hours/day only enough for 1 site. i think you are overwhelming
    how about focus on 1 site now.
    {{ DiscussionBoard.errors[11092812].message }}
  • Profile picture of the author amuro
    If you are not making money, perhaps you might want to change strategy or add another.

    Since you told me you are setting up blogs, have you considered blog commenting or setting up a Facebook fanpage considering snipples of your blog posts?

    Probably the first 2-3 sentences of the first paragraph before leaving a link for people to click on if they want to read more.

    As to how to get fans, you can either run FB ads for as little as $5USD per day or leveraged on other Fanpages' fans and FB groups you can do a search in your niche.
    {{ DiscussionBoard.errors[11092847].message }}
  • Profile picture of the author alishair477
    use Reddit
    {{ DiscussionBoard.errors[11092858].message }}
  • Profile picture of the author close2study
    you can promote yours website by social media
    {{ DiscussionBoard.errors[11093005].message }}
  • Profile picture of the author Doan Chi Tin
    You can keep to build your niche. But you dont just rely on SEO because the market is high competitor. Driving free traffic from Social media to your blog and generate leads
    {{ DiscussionBoard.errors[11093152].message }}
  • Profile picture of the author WebsTraffic
    You can start tu use arond $5/day on Facebook and BingAds.I see greencoffees.org have only 6 pages.You must create a blog and write 1 article/day about your niche.
    {{ DiscussionBoard.errors[11093456].message }}
  • Profile picture of the author cjsparacino123
    fundamental market research and technical action is the cure all

    just keep doing stuff, youre at the point where logically you cant breakthrough, but emotionally youre committed, so i would suggest just trying shit and having fun, you will learn much faster.

    Throw some money at ads, hire someone, just keep inspiring yourself to move forward
    Signature

    Grab a Free copy of my investing/marketing eBook!
    http://bit.ly/2h8XV41

    {{ DiscussionBoard.errors[11093467].message }}
  • Profile picture of the author Herrolov
    You have chosen some really high competition niches. Also I believe that you should focus on only one site. Just like you I have been doing this for a short period of time and I bought a couple of domains and started working. Now I realize that it takes some serious time to write content and hunt for the best backlinks. So I put all other projects to the side and now only focus on one.

    For at least Testosteroner, you need longer articles. Google likes that. Get more and bigger content on that site.

    I must ask: what is the theme that you are using for testosteroner? It's very clean.

    Thanks and I hope it gets better!
    {{ DiscussionBoard.errors[11093647].message }}
    • Profile picture of the author Diogo Maria
      Hey Herrolov, thanks for the advice! The theme is a custom one made by a friend (he's been in the game for quite a while).
      I wish luck to both of us, may we be as successful as some of the people on this forum!
      {{ DiscussionBoard.errors[11093706].message }}
  • Profile picture of the author harsher harsh
    Obviously, earning money thru website is a tedious job, People need to trust you before buying anything from your website. So, you need to have tons social media likes and followers, before getting people to buy ur stuff.
    Anyways, it's a long and tedious process, rather get started with PPC marketing.
    Email marketing+ Landing page=$$$.
    {{ DiscussionBoard.errors[11094020].message }}

Trending Topics