Build a blog around a product or a theme ...

by dipipi

Posted: 14 years ago 9 replies

INTERNET MARKETING

Hello!

I am brand spanking new to this forum and to internet marketing in general. Over the past few months I have been learning and absorbing and I'm ready to start taking some action.

One thing that I'm debating is whether to build around a single product, or to build a blog around a theme and promote various products within that blog. I also want to start a list, so I want to have an opt-in form or a squeeze page as part of each blog.

Questions around this have probably been addressed previously within this forum, but I couldn't find a direct answer. So, the two scenarios I'm weighing out here are as follows ...

Scenario A:

Research products through Clickbank or other networks.
Find a product that fits my criteria
Build a blog with a domain and main keyword that includes the product name. For example, if the product was "ABCBuilder" the domain would be something like "ABCBuilderInfo.com" and the main keyword and supporting keywords would be words such as "ABCBuilder Review", "Find ABCBuilder", "Does ABCBuilder work", etc.
Create a number of posts around the main keyword and supporting keywords and promote the product on every post.
Repeat this process by finding products, doing some keyword research, but always keeping the focus on the product name

-or-

Scenario B:

Identify a niche ... "save money on groceries" for example
Identify good keywords by doing keyword research around that niche
Build a blog with domain name, main keyword, and supporting keywords based around the keywords identified in step 2
Create posts to focus on keywords identified in step 2
Identify various products to promote on the blog related to the niche
Giveaway a free product to help build a list and continue to promote through emails

I guess the main difference is this ... build many blogs based around individual products with domain and keywords focused on the product name. Or, build fewer blogs based around niches and promote multiple products within each blog.

Any thoughts or advice? Thank You!

dipipi

#blog #build #product #theme

Alexa Smith Banned 14 years ago

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- jhornung 14 years ago
  
  I've tried both methods that you've outlined and to be honest, I haven't found either of them to be as successful as using this method:
  
  1) Pick your market that you want to break into first - don't start off with a product. IE - weight loss, make money online, etc.
  
  2) Slice up the market into several segments and identify your best possible point of entry. IE - weight loss for mothers who just gave birth, make money online with SEO, etc.
  
  3) Research your competition - find out what the big dogs are doing in that market in general and in your market segment. Take note of their entire process - what does their site look like? how are they building a list? what power words/selling phrases are they using to get conversions? How are they getting traffic to their site?
  
  4) Develop a free offer for list building. It should be a unique free report or video - something of high value that people will give you their email in exchange for. Make it specific to your point of entry into the market.
  
  5) Now pick your product. And as a matter of fact, you should develop a suite of products that you can offer to your new list in a rotation to find out what one converts best. Then optimize.
  
  6) Build a squeeze page for your offer. Redirect your opt in form to a blog you also built that has a review of the primary product you want to promote containing your affiliate links.
  
  7) Construct a 90 day auto responder sequence. Make your first 7-15 emails content only to build relationships and develop rapport. Then hit em with offers until you find the one that works best. Mix in CPA offers and continuity as well.
  
  8) Turn on the traffic. Start by testing PPC - you can run Adwords to a squeeze page for up to 2 months before you get slapped. A couple weeks is good enough to find out if your squeeze page and review blog convert.
  
  Then you move onto other traffic sources and turn off Google. I would suggest that you come up with 2-3 different versions of each landing page to rotate around and test as well.
  
  What I really want you to get out of this post is that internet marketing (and marketing in general) is about building a PROCESS. The product for the most part is inconsequential. You can plug just about any product into a good sales process and profit.
  
  Also by setting things up this way, you will have a system that is evergreen. Products go away, they stop converting, etc. If you build a process in a market, then you can always quickly and easily swap out a product.
  
  This is the kind of stuff the "gurus" WILL NEVER TELL YOU and many IM'ers never figure out.
  
  Good luck,
  
  Jason
  
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wilsonusman 14 years ago

Dude I recommend you go with the first one, I did it that way using one of my favorite products and it's worked awesome! If you have more question let me know. I used niche profit classroom which was only a buck and it really helped me out in my beginnings.
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Gary King 14 years ago

Welcome Dipipi,

Agreed with the others to not use a product-based domain. Locks you in if that product no longer is available, or doesn't convert well.

This can happen with things totally out of your control - if the product owner has their 2 year old son redesign their web site, and it now looks like garbage, it may not convert as well, so you don't make as many sales.

You can start with the product, but the market works better for most (IMHO). Like Jason says, once you find a market, you can always find products to promote.

If it's all too much to take in, (and this is often-shared advice around here) consider a market involving something you personally like.

I'm not trying to regurgitate the same old info others have shared here, it's just that sometimes that old method is tried and true. If you're into skydiving, focus on that. Cat grooming, there you go. It will at least give you a starting point.

All success,

Gary
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good2go4 14 years ago

I agree with others here that the niche or topic is best to build your blog on - if you get some good content on there over time and start building a list on that topic then selling more than one product to your readers will be easier. Using the topic approach also means that you can use the "soft sell" method to encourage readers to buy from you and you are more likely to be seen as an expert in your niche over time.

Best of luck
Lisa
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dipipi

14 years ago

Thanks for the advice and feedback everyone! This forum is awesome.

Jason - just to make sure I understand ... you recommend sending traffic to a niche focused blog that includes an opt-in form. Then, after the prospect completes the opt-in form they are directed to a different blog that is product focused. Is this correct? Would the product blog have reviews on all the products I am promoting within that niche or just the single product?

I think the main takeaway here is this ... build a list. My gut tells me that it will be much easier to build a list by creating blogs around a niche as opposed to creating around a product.

Here's a follow-up question related to the contents of my blog. Add Adsense or not? Logically, I would think that adding some Adsense would be a distraction for my visitors since my main goal is to get them to opt-in or purchase a product. But, I also have thoughts that Adsense could capture a little revenue from customers that might not go for either of my primary goals.

Thanks again everyone!

dipipi

Thanks
2 replies

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Alexa Smith

Banned 14 years ago

Originally Posted by dipipi

you recommend sending traffic to a niche focused blog that includes an opt-in form. Then, after the prospect completes the opt-in form they are directed to a different blog that is product focused. Is this correct? Would the product blog have reviews on all the products I am promoting within that niche or just the single product?

I think the main takeaway here is this ... build a list.

Certainly. I agree with the underlying principle of everything Jason's said, but I do the specific details a bit differently (there's no compelling "right or wrong" about this: it's about how you want to do it and what works for you).

Originally Posted by dipipi

My gut tells me that it will be much easier to build a list by creating blogs around a niche as opposed to creating around a product.

That's been my experience, too, for the most part.

Originally Posted by dipipi

Here's a follow-up question related to the contents of my blog. Add Adsense or not? Logically, I would think that adding some Adsense would be a distraction for my visitors since my main goal is to get them to opt-in or purchase a product. But, I also have thoughts that Adsense could capture a little revenue from customers that might not go for either of my primary goals.

Here's where I think I can add something: personally, I wouldn't dream, under any circumstances, of having AdSense or anything similar on a blog/site which is promoting/reviewing Clickbank (or any similar) products. It's a distraction which can earn you pennies while giving people a way to leave your site rather than staying there. I also think it looks unprofessional, "cheap-commercial" and detracts enormously from the status and presentation of your blog/site, making you look like a "hobby-blogger" rather than an "authority site". Absolutely not for me: I see it as a "clear-cut mistake", to be honest. Others may disagree, of course, as ever.

Thanks

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jhornung

14 years ago

Originally Posted by dipipi

Just to clarify, I'm saying you need to send your traffic to a squeeze page and THEN redirect them to your blog. Here's an example of a squeeze page: http://agentsleadmachine.com This is for a product that I own so if you opt in you'll be taken to a sales video. You would redirect to your blog.

You'll technically be building your list with your squeeze pages and using your blogs to educate prospects & convert them into buyers. I would recommend that you set up your email auto responder to redirect people back to you blog.

But test out sending them to different landing pages. What works best for me is this: develop a list of all the reasons that people WON'T buy a particular product. Then craft a blog post that addresses each one of these topics. Create an email that links to each of these pages in your auto responder.

Just make sure to have a nice call to action at the end of your post (with your affiliate link

You can put adsense on your site, you might want to bury it on your posts and keep it off your home page...

Thanks

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dipipi 14 years ago

Alexa - your Adsense comment confirms what I was thinking ... thank you!
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