Is it possible to succeed?

[Branlan17]

Yikes! I always find myself so motivated, moving forward. But IM has gotten me really depressed over the last few days...

First of all, after a complete revamp of my site that I thought was resulting in better CT rates... no sales.

My articles are falling off google and I have no way if they'll be coming back or not. My opt in is centered at the top of my page with a terrible opt-in rate. (only five people on my list in the last 24 hours).

And Google is changing their rules yadda yadda...

To top it all off, I am constantly screamed at that Clickbank, the sit I've used to make my first $700 online, is a place that no one can succeed.



It's all gotten me down the "How the hell am I going to do it?" question... Is article marketing still even viable?

I'm just looking for some input... and yeah, maybe fishing for a little bit of inspiration/encouragement too.

Best regards,

- Brandon

[TLTheLiberator]

Don't give up!!

Stick to the basics of your proven online business model.

Yes article/content marketing is still viable and very powerful for those that know what they're doing.

Step back and examine your whole operation and perhaps purchase a course on article/content marketing etc.

All The Best!!

Hope This Helps!!

TL

[Jill Carpenter]

Well, it sounds like you are doing some things right.

What are you offering for the optin? Is it information I can't live without?

Can you stick the site in your signature so I can look at what you have exactly?

Cheer up. Some people have no one on their list.

[newBum76]

Dude, if you want some inspiration, just look at what you've done already!

You're still in high school am I right? And you're a beginner and already made $700? That is awesome! I'm barely at around $300 right now total so I'm actually jealous of you lol.

You're going to see ups and downs doing IM, that's just the way it goes. Just remember how well you've done already and keep at it. You KNOW this works, so just keep doing what you're doing, and keep learning!

And remember, you're WAY ahead of a lot of newbies who go months or even years without seeing a dime!

You're just in a bit of a funk today, I have those days too so I know how it is. But watch, you'll get your next few sales and you'll perk right up. Don't worry man, you're doing great!

-Jon

[Jill Carpenter]

Here's a question: How long have you been at it?

Great Success does NOT happen over night - unless you rescue someone from a burning building.

How much time do you put in on this every week?

These questions are important to ask yourself too.

Here's a story for you. I have a friend who made an incredible scientific discovery and he isn't even a scientist.

He has now invested tons of money to get a patent, tons of time in research and building prototypes (about 3 years now?), and finally got interest from a university who wants to take the project on - but he has not seen a penny for his efforts.

It is going to be far from an overnight success story. His overnight success will happen if/when they can find a way to best monetize on what he has discovered.

Will it happen for him? I don't really know.

Do I see him now as successful?

You betchya.


You have already succeeded in getting a site up, getting a list started, seeing your first profits, and doing a lot here most only ponder on.

[Branlan17]

Thank you so much for your help everyone, this is helping my mind get in the right place again.

My main problems come from the expected progression of "get A's in high school, go to college, get 9-5 job and pay off student loans..." I see potential in IM and would much rather do this than follow the typical progression.

My problem is that most people around me don't view it as a real job/career option and so I feel like if I don't prove something quickly I'll be ushered down a road by my parents I don't want to go down.

I think I need to remember that I'm still in school and I have many months to test and find out what works before I have to treat it like a full time job.

[Branlan17]

You're right, of course. My biggest fear is getting to where its time to live on my own and still be having scattered zeros all over the place.

[Branlan17]

I've had like 60 uniques : /

[ppcpimp]

you have done the hardest part of internet marketing. Getting started. It is not easy. If it was everyone would be doing it. Keep plugging away.

[Jill Carpenter]

Ok, I got a peek at the site and I will share some ideas here on how it could be improved.

Right now, you have a link going directly to the product at the top of the page and your AR directly under it. I would get rid of it there.

Consider a more typical sales letter format, and lead into the AR.

Your AR looks like something that will draw readers in. It is not a problem I suffer from myself, but If I did have that issue I would sign up for what you have.

Consider bringing your story to the top.

Drop the AR below, and put the AR on more than one of your pages. Right now, if I get to page 5 I don't see another opportunity to sign up.

The product you are promoting is a great starter for many other products this niche may be interested in.

I hate to say it, but you may want to tone down on pushing the product so hard right away and give that opportunity in the AR series again somewhere. I mean, have readers sign up for your freebie, and sprinkle in "oh, by the way here is what really helped me improve on what I just taught you"

I see you have a couple of article directories giving you links. Try submitting some of those articles into a few more directories.

The place where your site is now hosted gives you a way to add a blog onto your site. You can add the blog, add another optin on the right of the blog (this will appear on all pages) put your articles there and perhaps some others, and then you can submit rss feeds, ping, bookmark some more pages, etc - other ways to bring some more traffic.

I've seen the format you are using before - but I don't believe the AR was up top and overly in your face.

The layout currently IMO is a little distracting. I don't know if I'm supposed to go and buy product, sign up to your AR or read the page. It is too much all at once above the fold.

Your articles look great by the way. They have a very personal feel to them and I can hear you talking to me.

The content you have is good, perhaps needs a little tweeking in where things are located.

[nobodyreal]

bro, also know that the skills you gain doing IM will transfer to other entrepeunerial projects. It's not get rich in IM or bust, it's get rich or bust. I started with IM four years ago, made some decent money but picked up a lot of valuable skills. Now I have an SEO company and make over 100k a year and work less than 20 hrs a week.

Realistically, if competition ever makes IM a bad time investment(personally, I saw it was getting like that about a year ago when I noticed the big earners on Internet Marketing were those who got on the "how to get rich" band wagon), you can go to other things.

Good luck bro!

[Branlan17]

Hmmm. Interesting.

[Peter Johnston]

Wait until you have a few hundred opt ins and then offer them a product related to the niche that they have subscribed into by way of an email campaign. Done properly the conversion rates can be inspiring, if it's inspiraton you need.

The money is in the list and all that.

Once they are in your list you have done the hard part and it's free, targeted traffic from then on.

Keep your head up, you are doing fine.

[DotComBum]

Don't be discourage about short term defeats, it would take a longer time to see article marketing results, I would suggest you to try other methods to bring traffic too, so you won't depend on article marketing alone.

DCB

[Slin]

Lots of good advise here, if you need more help just keep asking.

Put backlinks to your site, try putting backlinks to your articles to keep them up too if you want.

Make some videos on youtube and point them to your site.

[rodl13]

Hey Brandon, here is the inspiration encouragement part you were looking for.

It sounds like you are doing lots, keep doing lots, keep learning lots, and do even more. And then next time you are still sitting in front of your computer at 1 in the morning, wondering WHY AM I DOING THIS? remember this quote.

"If I Do Today What Others Don't. I Will Have Tomorrow What Others Won't"

[MarshallWayne]

Brian, just keep putting out more and more content. It's impossible to guess what Google is going to do but if you put out more and more content your site will take up more of the internet and you'll get more traffic.

Start submitting some of your articles to sites like Digg.com also in order to get some traffic and more high quality incoming links.

[ddistco]

Branlan, I would agree that you need to keep creating more content out there. One thing that I do is give away a complimentary product in exchange for the users email address on some of my sites. Another approach is to create a downloadable FREE giveaway and have this product compliment your monetizing product.

All in all stay after it, because the money is out there for you to have. Article marketing does work from my experience and your backlinks will pull traffic in as well.

I'll stay posted here to see how things go for you.

Talk soon,

[Branlan17]

Excellent... the PE niches is competitive so I guess I should expect it to take time. I do have opt-in set up on my website with a free course so got that down. Right now the plan is to continue to build links to my articles with angela and paul's packets but to upscale a bit by

A) using onlywire to social bookmark every article to 30 directories or so.

and

B) Submitting each article to ten more directories.

Sound like a decent direction to take?