First steps of a newbie in IM

by keiyam
25 replies
Hello,

I have posted my first webpage here before some weeks and didn't get much feedback. So, I decided to ask again for a review and ask If anyone can suggest what should I do next.. So far, I have found my niche, it is about music production and stuff, I created a blog and I bought a domain. I started to make new posts, bought 200 impressions from Stumble Upon and made a form for email marketing. However, there is not much difference in traffic from one day to another.. I set up Adsense and Analytics but no money come, apart from my first 1-2 euros that my friends and 1-2 StumbleUpon users did. In Analytics I can see that the average amount of the people visiting is 3-4 in a day. What is your opinion as more experienced marketeers ?

I apologize for repeating some things all over, I just wish to hear an opinion. If you want to take a look on my website, check my signature.

Thanks and Regards
Chris
#newbie #steps
  • Profile picture of the author spearce000
    Consider turning some of your blog posts into articles and posting them in directories like ezinearticles.com, then use the bio box to build links and get traffic. "If you build it they will come" doesn't hold true in IM.

    As you're a complete newbie, your best bet would be to join the War Room on this forum. It doesn't cost much, but you'll find a TON of useful information there. It's well worth the investment IMHO.
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  • Profile picture of the author Chris Ramsey
    If it's the site in your signature - I don't see how you're making money.

    There are no ads, no affiliate links, and no products of your own.

    You're going to need at least one of those to start making anything.

    If you're getting a decent amount of traffic, start out with AdSense or a comparable PPC ad program and throw some affiliate links somewhere into your content.
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  • Profile picture of the author Diana Lane
    Not got time to investigate your link for long, but you definitely could be making better use of your title tag. I wouldn't have thought many would be Googling 'Ableton Live Tutorials'. Decent title and description tags with keywords people would actually use would be a start.
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    • Profile picture of the author keiyam
      Originally Posted by Diana Lane View Post

      Not got time to investigate your link for long, but you definitely could be making better use of your title tag. I wouldn't have thought many would be Googling 'Ableton Live Tutorials'. Decent title and description tags with keywords people would actually use would be a start.
      Well, I made a research and saw that it hits ~60-70k a month so, it's ok.

      Now for the "making money" part, I made some links to clickbank, some amazon affiliate ones and an adsense banner on the right. So far I have 400 hits and 20 of them are from Search Engines. The site is 1.5 month old so I suppose it is a good start. Do you suggest that I should post more ads ?
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      • Profile picture of the author scrofford
        Originally Posted by keiyam View Post

        Well, I made a research and saw that it hits ~60-70k a month so, it's ok.
        Uh so how did you do your keyword research? Did you use the Google Adwords tool, or Traffic Travis, or even SpyFu? Tell us how you came up with that number...Just curious.
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      • Profile picture of the author travlinguy
        Originally Posted by keiyam View Post

        Well, I made a research and saw that it hits ~60-70k a month so, it's ok.
        No, it's not okay. Not even close. You ask for advice, Diana gives you excellent advice and you think you know better.

        Your page is a disaster. What is 'killer music production?' How many people do you think are entering that into a Google search field? Not many.

        Your page is way too dark and it's hard to read. It's also poorly written and doesn't flow at all. You're not going to get anyone to stay on that page for more than a few seconds.

        Get rid of all the black and gray and brighten it up. As it stands now this freakin' site looks like something for Devil worshiping. Then get someone who understands sound mixing to write for you... Someone who understands what your visitors are looking for and who is able to deliver it.



        Good luck.
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  • Profile picture of the author Mukul Verma
    First, move your money making in the top fold, you are making the viewer work hard to make you money.

    Second, just keep building content and bookmarking it.

    Third, 80% or more is traffic traffic traffic. Everyday work on different ways, like suggested in the war room or my signature or on this forum. Just keep on working at it each day and track it and do more of what works.

    It took me 4 years to make a full time income, 5 years to learn what SEO stood for, so I did it the hard way, you are here soo you are steps ahead.

    Best of luck

    Cheers,
    Mukul
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    • Profile picture of the author keiyam
      Originally Posted by Mukul Verma View Post

      First, move your money making in the top fold, you are making the viewer work hard to make you money.

      Second, just keep building content and bookmarking it.

      Third, 80% or more is traffic traffic traffic. Everyday work on different ways, like suggested in the war room or my signature or on this forum. Just keep on working at it each day and track it and do more of what works.

      It took me 4 years to make a full time income, 5 years to learn what SEO stood for, so I did it the hard way, you are here soo you are steps ahead.

      Best of luck

      Cheers,
      Mukul
      Mukul,

      thank you very much for your comment.
      If I put a lot of ads, wouldn't I disturb the viewer from the main subject? Isn't it like "Hello, I sell a product. Please buy it because you want it, but also read my posts"

      I thought that I would make some posts first, some valuable content so the users would trust me, apart from spamming them with ads.

      I don't want to make a pool of money at first; I want to build a good website, get 10-20 good customers that I would help them and they will trust me, then buy from me. Am I getting totally wrong?

      Thanks a lot
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      • Profile picture of the author Mukul Verma
        Originally Posted by keiyam View Post

        Mukul,

        thank you very much for your comment.
        If I put a lot of ads, wouldn't I disturb the viewer from the main subject? Isn't it like "Hello, I sell a product. Please buy it because you want it, but also read my posts"

        I thought that I would make some posts first, some valuable content so the users would trust me, apart from spamming them with ads.

        I don't want to make a pool of money at first; I want to build a good website, get 10-20 good customers that I would help them and they will trust me, then buy from me. Am I getting totally wrong?

        Thanks a lot
        Thats a better strategy, I am using it for my IM Crunch website (check sig) when I started I did not how or if I would make money, first build up and have fun.

        From the OP, it sounded like you wanted some money from the get go. I think yoor building content, the monetizing would work better.

        Build content, I mean like tonnes and tonnes of posts
        Dont lost site of your goal to make money from this website.

        Cheers,
        Mukul
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  • Profile picture of the author bocephus
    In the opinion of another newbie, you haven't even given yourself a fighting chance.

    Your keyword(s) appear to be Ableton Tutorials and/or Ableton Live Tutorials.

    Looking at exact searches using Google's keyword tool, you can count on less than 2000 monthly searches on either of those terms. In addition, they have a very low estimated average cost per click for AdSense.

    Looking at Spyfu, there is one advertiser bidding on those keywords. One. Not exactly brisk competition.

    Finally... looking at the top ten results on Google's search page using the term Ableton live tutorials... you have about 1.3 million pages competing and the top ten have a Page Rank of at least 1... most higher.

    So forget about page design and ad placement. Even if all of that was good you would be in trouble.

    I've made the same mistake. I found something that interested me and jumped right in. After some analysis I realized that even if I did everything correct, the fact that I had picked a lousy keyword to focus on meant I would see little return for all of the work I had put into it.

    Personally, I would quit working on this site, spend a whole lot more time looking for a better keyword and start again.
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  • Profile picture of the author rawservices
    Dont forget to invest in a LP design, as well as having a prominent opt-in box and a follow-up marketing strategy
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    • Profile picture of the author keiyam
      Originally Posted by Mukul Verma View Post

      From the OP, it sounded like you wanted some money from the get go. I think yoor building content, the monetizing would work better.
      Of course making money online is what I expect sooner or later...

      Originally Posted by scrofford View Post

      Uh so how did you do your keyword research? Did you use the Google Adwords tool, or Traffic Travis, or even SpyFu? Tell us how you came up with that number...Just curious.
      Google Adwords tool
      ableton live tutorial gives me 74,000 hits/monthly
      ableton live tutorial 40,500
      ableton tutorials 8,100

      What is the "optimal" range from your experience? I've read that it's around ~60k hits monthly...

      Originally Posted by travlinguy View Post

      No, it's not okay. Not even close. You ask for advice, Diana gives you excellent advice and you think you know better.

      Your page is a disaster. What is 'killer music production?' How many people do you think are entering that into a Google search field? Not many.

      Your page is way too dark and it's hard to read. It's also poorly written and doesn't flow at all. You're not going to get anyone to stay on that page for more than a few seconds.

      Get rid of all the black and gray and brighten it up. As it stands now this freakin' site looks like something for Devil worshiping. Then get someone who understands sound mixing to write for you... Someone who understands what your visitors are looking for and who is able to deliver it.

      Good luck.
      Calm down friend.. There is no reason to completely "drain" the hopes of a newbie.. The site is about heavy metal and rock music production and it wasn't intended to be flourish, yellowish or a happy looking one. It is going to be dark, not so much though that it can't be read.

      I didn't expect from all to know about "killer productions" as I don't know anything about sailing, growing up dogs and Spice Girls (words that have many hits in Google...). So, everything is ok.

      Originally Posted by bocephus View Post

      In the opinion of another newbie, you haven't even given yourself a fighting chance.

      Your keyword(s) appear to be Ableton Tutorials and/or Ableton Live Tutorials.

      Looking at exact searches using Google's keyword tool, you can count on less than 2000 monthly searches on either of those terms. In addition, they have a very low estimated average cost per click for AdSense.

      Looking at Spyfu, there is one advertiser bidding on those keywords. One. Not exactly brisk competition.

      Finally... looking at the top ten results on Google's search page using the term Ableton live tutorials... you have about 1.3 million pages competing and the top ten have a Page Rank of at least 1... most higher.

      So forget about page design and ad placement. Even if all of that was good you would be in trouble.

      I've made the same mistake. I found something that interested me and jumped right in. After some analysis I realized that even if I did everything correct, the fact that I had picked a lousy keyword to focus on meant I would see little return for all of the work I had put into it.

      Personally, I would quit working on this site, spend a whole lot more time looking for a better keyword and start again.
      Thanks for the advice. It's the first time I am hearing about "Spyfu". I'm on my first step and I really appreciate the good advice. I'm not gonna let things down, even If I have to make 1000 attempts. So, it's no need to erase my website, even If it's not getting money. I could make many others and focus on the best ones.


      I have been reading about make money online for a year or so. I made several attempts to make money from ptc in an era where ptc was dying... and of course I lost my money. I still can't get it, why someone that's selling "make $1,234 in 14 hours" makes money. Does it really work ?

      Or the other guy with the barbecue machines.. He made some good sales in a very critical area of products (who could buy one of those from the internet!)
      Clickbank itself advertises dog and pet stuff as best selling products..

      Thank you all for your advice
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      • Profile picture of the author travlinguy
        Originally Posted by keiyam View Post

        Calm down friend.. There is no reason to completely "drain" the hopes of a newbie.. The site is about heavy metal and rock music production and it wasn't intended to be flourish, yellowish or a happy looking one. It is going to be dark, not so much though that it can't be read.

        I didn't expect from all to know about "killer productions" as I don't know anything about sailing, growing up dogs and Spice Girls (words that have many hits in Google...). So, everything is ok.
        I'm very calm. I didn't comment to drain your hopes. You asked why your site isn't converting and I, as several others have done, have identified real problems and offered legitimate solutions. I've been selling online since 1997 and have learned a few things. It appears that you'd rather "be right" than make money. That's fine. Good luck...
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  • Profile picture of the author Deek3870
    I offer a free guide on my blogat darrenmcduffie.com which should help called IM a newbie. Go pick it up.. it is stuff I learned from starting out.
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    • Profile picture of the author scrofford
      Originally Posted by Deek3870 View Post

      I offer a free guide on my blogat darrenmcduffie.com which should help called IM a newbie. Go pick it up.. it is stuff I learned from starting out.
      It might be me but your darrenmcduff.com site seems to be down
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  • Profile picture of the author Jamian
    1. Build a squeeze page to follow up your visitors.( also converts better)
    2. Write few ebooks(small ones are fine)
    3. Give away your 1st ebook in exchange for their name and email
    address.
    4. Once you have their email addresses, send them more information
    with back link to your site and keep doing it you'll get your sales.
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    Affiliate Marketing explained for beginners >>
    www.SuperAffiliateMarketingTrick.com <<
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    • Profile picture of the author Steve L
      if you're looking to monetize using adsense. look into getting a different wordpress theme. i hear BlueSense works great for adsense.

      if you're looking to sell products or services, i would turn the homepage into more of a squeeze page, offering something for free to the visitor in exchange for name and email. also, have the same offer with web-form at the bottom of each blog post page.

      then work on your follow-up messages. you'll want roughly 50/50 ratio of content to promotional emails.

      as for traffic. one effective technique is to gather a list of related blogs, plug their RSS feed into google reader, and start making comments on these blogs that help add to the conversation. also, link back to your site or a particular article on your site that adds to the conversation.
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  • Profile picture of the author Oconnor1
    Get some affiliate links up on that bad boy! Also, to drive traffic keyword famous musicians names in the articles. Jimmy Page uses these only this guitar to record, Jimmy Page this amp, etc.
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    • Profile picture of the author Wayfatwhitey
      You have too much actual valuable content to ever make money with Adsense. Profitable MFA pages drive the user to click away from the page. You have a highly specific niche, so throw products on the left, above the fold. Convert a few electric guitars for big $.

      Try a few different themes and pick one that is a bit more pleasing to the eye.
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      • Profile picture of the author keiyam
        Originally Posted by Wayfatwhitey View Post

        You have too much actual valuable content to ever make money with Adsense. Profitable MFA pages drive the user to click away from the page. You have a highly specific niche, so throw products on the left, above the fold. Convert a few electric guitars for big $.

        Try a few different themes and pick one that is a bit more pleasing to the eye.
        thanks for the great advice

        Originally Posted by Oconnor1 View Post

        Get some affiliate links up on that bad boy! Also, to drive traffic keyword famous musicians names in the articles. Jimmy Page uses these only this guitar to record, Jimmy Page this amp, etc.
        great tip... never thought of it.. many thanks

        Originally Posted by Steve Longoria View Post

        if you're looking to monetize using adsense. look into getting a different wordpress theme. i hear BlueSense works great for adsense.

        if you're looking to sell products or services, i would turn the homepage into more of a squeeze page, offering something for free to the visitor in exchange for name and email. also, have the same offer with web-form at the bottom of each blog post page.

        then work on your follow-up messages. you'll want roughly 50/50 ratio of content to promotional emails.

        as for traffic. one effective technique is to gather a list of related blogs, plug their RSS feed into google reader, and start making comments on these blogs that help add to the conversation. also, link back to your site or a particular article on your site that adds to the conversation.
        thanks for the reply

        Originally Posted by Jamian View Post

        1. Build a squeeze page to follow up your visitors.( also converts better)
        2. Write few ebooks(small ones are fine)
        3. Give away your 1st ebook in exchange for their name and email
        address.
        4. Once you have their email addresses, send them more information
        with back link to your site and keep doing it you'll get your sales.
        hey Jamian, this is what I was looking for ! Your advice is very valuable!
        thanks a lot
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  • Profile picture of the author Letter$
    looks like youve got enough advice to spare.. i might as well add something. i havent read everyones comments so i may repeat something.

    i think your website looks really nice. i think you should add some more widgets to fill up the sidebars a little more. the google adsense on the left sidebar in my opinion, will not work. instead if your trying to get adsense clicks, find a plugin that will automatically place adsense in the actual posts and blend it in well. personally i would only use text adsense and no images (text pays way more than images). maybe add some cpa banners on the side?

    As far as traffic goes, (my seoquake isnt working on your website so i cant tell that much) if you have a good keyword domain name get some backlinks to raise for position in google. try joining some music related forums, make a signature that links to your site and make some comments. also try submitting to reddit, or youtube. there are tons of ways to get traffic, be creative.

    hope this helped. i like your website
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    • Profile picture of the author keiyam
      Originally Posted by Letter$ View Post

      looks like youve got enough advice to spare.. i might as well add something. i havent read everyones comments so i may repeat something.

      i think your website looks really nice. i think you should add some more widgets to fill up the sidebars a little more. the google adsense on the left sidebar in my opinion, will not work. instead if your trying to get adsense clicks, find a plugin that will automatically place adsense in the actual posts and blend it in well. personally i would only use text adsense and no images (text pays way more than images). maybe add some cpa banners on the side?

      As far as traffic goes, (my seoquake isnt working on your website so i cant tell that much) if you have a good keyword domain name get some backlinks to raise for position in google. try joining some music related forums, make a signature that links to your site and make some comments. also try submitting to reddit, or youtube. there are tons of ways to get traffic, be creative.

      hope this helped. i like your website
      First of all, thanks for your helpful post, your words are like spikes of hope!

      I have some questions:

      1. What is seoquake?

      2. Which are the best sites for making some (nice and stable) backlinks?

      3. Is there any alternatives to AdSense?

      4. What would you do to generate some basic money to get started up?

      5. How many pages do you suggest that my first ebook should be?

      I really liked the advice about writing the first ebook and send it for free to customers that subscribe to my list. I can't really believe that some people gain big amounts of money from adsense yet but I really believe that email marketing works. Will something like "Get your hands on recording like a pro in
      30 minutes" work ? I suppose that this will do, as "Lose belly fat in 2 months" (!!!)

      Also, I made a post at digg, but there was no response...
      Posting at forums is a nice way to bring some people in the site (only them related to your stuff).
      StumbleUpon brought me some good hits, but you always have to pay and you don't know nothing about the quality of viewers..

      Thanks all for your comments.. I began to make a list of recommendations I've been sent in this post (and forum) and I will soon be a member of the War Room.
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  • Profile picture of the author keiyam
    Is the war room really worth the money ?
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    • Profile picture of the author Kay King
      I like the design of the blog - seems well suited to the topic. The posts are well written - but there are only 6 posts there.

      Perhaps instead of the long posts you could divide them into shorter ones and post several times a week to get more content on the blog. I think your keyword estimate is way off as I find searches for that topic in the hundreds, not thousands.

      The problem you have in asking questions here is that whenever anyone gives you an opinion you immediately have more questions. If someone makes a suggestion such as backlinks or SEOQuake, etc - you can search for info already posted here about it by using the "advanced search" . For specific products, you can google for more info. Don't go off into too many different areas at one time but focus on content on the blog first.

      Yes, the war room is worth the money - and you can join it whenever you are ready to do it. There are many threads about it here - but the basics you are asking about are covered in this main forum section, too.

      Instead of an ebook I'd suggest a shorter report of 6-12 pages that you offer free. Will take less time and you could create a series of them for beginning and advanced users.

      I don't agree with the comment about adsense - it's different for this specialized type of blog and as long as ads are targeted it can work once you get traffic. However I would make one of the adsense blocks "text only" to avoid having the same image ad show twice on the site which is happening now at times.

      Any monetization depends on the traffic to the blog so your first steps should be to get as much content on the blog as possible and to learn how to promote it with social sites, bookmarking, etc.

      kay
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  • Profile picture of the author keiyam
    Hello again people, I made some additions as you told me to my blog and I wanted kindly to ask for your opinion again !

    Thanks a lot
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