Bum marketing in a more competitive niche - can it still work?

by Anne99
21 replies
I've just been wondering if this strategy could work- I've noticed that there are some articles on Ezine for a competitive niche that are getting a lot of traffic and are on page 1 or 2 for high volume keywords. However I think I've found an offer to promote that's better that I could sell well. If I consistantly/daily write attention grabbing articles that appear on the same page as the high traffic articles under 'more recent articles in same category' could this get me decent traffic? I've tried writing lenses/hubs for low competition phrases/more obscure products then doing backlinking but my they never seem to get anywhere in G and then I always end up getting frustrated and give up .

I need to find some bum marketing method that has a real chance of working (if I put the hard work in) because I really don't have any money to put into my business at the moment however I do have some time to spare - I could put out maybe 5-8 articles daily.
#bum #competitive #marketing #niche #work
  • Profile picture of the author kingprosperity
    When I started, I not have a single penny, except pocket money. (Which I couldn't waste)

    Now, you know... not 8 or 10... even 20 articles can't work for you if you not produce quality content. Your one quality article can be equal to 50 crap articles.

    I am monitoring article directories since few months and the thing I got is that, now readers want something new and unique before buying anything from you. If we are sharp then it doesn't mean that readers are fool.

    Now net is mother of information. Few years back, it's difficult to know about something, so reader had to buy. But now, a lot of free stuff is there... So first you should be unique and helpful(free) and then offer your product (extra unique and helpful)

    And you know one thing....

    "ARTICLE MARKETING IS NOT ONLY ABOUT SUBMITTING ARTICLES ON YOUR SITE OR DIRECTORIES... ITS A CAVE, FILLED WITH SUCCESSFUL SECRETS AND BY TIME YOU HAVE TO FIND OUT."

    I have spent few months in article marketing but seriously I still find out something new interesting helpful thing. Till now, it's not end yet. I am still finding tips and tricks in article marketing and I know it'll keep going.

    So, keep it out of your mind that it's only about submitting article... there's much more hidden behind this sexy face.

    BUT YA... YOU CAN MAKE MONEY WITHOUT SPENDING A SINGLE DOLLAR, that's the beauty.

    and the first thing is to get start... I made it and you can make it also...

    Good Day!!!!!
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  • Profile picture of the author Samuel Baker
    I think a lot of Warriors here have had their successes with the usage of "Bum Marketing" We all started some where & for me I was in the same boat, Starting off without a single dime, the only thing of an asset was a domain name and the ability to write freely on any chosen topic of my interest. Provide the value in the article, give the reader a solid reason why the product of your recommendation is going to aid them further along with achieving something for example.

    As for your questions, if you can post the articles in the respective categories and using the same keywords I think with a few additional backlinks to the article you can possibly achieve such results & increase your sales etc.

    Goodluck.
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  • Profile picture of the author Alexa Smith
    Banned
    Originally Posted by Anne99 View Post

    I've just been wondering if this strategy could work
    It can still work in a highly competitive niche, Anne.

    How competitive the niche is doesn't really determine the outcome: it's more about how competitive are the keywords which you choose as your targets. Whether or not it works for you really depends on your own skill-set (keyword research, keyword selection, writing skills, article placement skills, product selection skills, and so on) rather than on the method itself, which is a well proven, established one that can certainly "work".

    Like just about everything in internet marketing, different people get widely differing results from it.

    It's good to be aware that sometimes, particularly in forums, when people feel frustrated by a method and claim that it "doesn't work any more", all their posts are really telling us is that they were unsuccessful with it. We usually can't tell the reasons. But people tend to say "It doesn't work" rather than "I couldn't make it work for me". The reality is that for some people it works very well indeed.
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    • Profile picture of the author Anne99
      [QUOTE=Alexa Smith;2754305]It can still work in a highly competitive niche, Anne.

      How competitive the niche is doesn't really determine the outcome: it's more about how competitive are the keywords which you choose as your targets. QUOTE]

      That's my problem though. I spend hours doing keyword research to find what look like great low competition/ high search phrases, and I STILL get hardly any traffic. Some of this admittedly might be my psychology though, because as soon as I don't see good rankings after I've spent hours doing keyword research I feel so dissappointed I give up and move on to a new key phrase.:rolleyes:
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      • Profile picture of the author Alexa Smith
        Banned
        Originally Posted by Anne99 View Post

        I spend hours doing keyword research to find what look like great low competition/ high search phrases, and I STILL get hardly any traffic.
        Are you assessing the quality of the competition, or its quantity?

        However few competitors there are, it's not worth struggling to rank for keywords for which the first-page SERP's comprise age-old, high-PR authority sites ...

        Is your site ranking well for any of the keywords you're targeting? (You can't get any traffic to speak of without being on the first page of the SERP's).

        Originally Posted by Anne99 View Post

        Some of this admittedly might be my psychology though, because as soon as I don't see good rankings after I've spent hours doing keyword research I feel so dissappointed I give up and move on to a new key phrase.
        Yes - that might account for it. It's surprising what some concerted and consistent effort can achieve, providing it's well targeted in the first place ...
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      • Profile picture of the author DavidMaddux
        Originally Posted by Anne99 View Post

        Some of this admittedly might be my psychology though, because as soon as I don't see good rankings after I've spent hours doing keyword research I feel so dissappointed I give up and move on to a new key phrase.:rolleyes:
        I know EXACTLY what you mean

        Alexa's advice is right on the money (as always). Knowing the keyword competition in detail will help give you the confidence to either pursue it or pass on it.

        That will feel way different than just giving up and moving on to the next. Which I have done.

        You know what else helps... do daily blog and forum commenting with keyword (niche) related content. You will get immediate traffic through your signature link, which is great, but every post is a new signature anchor text link pointing to your content (that you're trying to rank) for additional SEO benefits.

        That's a whole different story, and kind of oversimplified, but you're looking for bum (free) methods, right? I hope that helps, it works.

        Best wishes.
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  • Profile picture of the author Chris Munch
    In any competitive niche there are overlooked and less competitive sub-niches that you can access much more easily and start to build momentum with.
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  • Profile picture of the author King Shiloh
    Banned
    The fact is that it can still work.

    The truth is that it requires hard or extra work.
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  • Profile picture of the author bravo75
    "BUT YA... YOU CAN MAKE MONEY WITHOUT SPENDING A SINGLE DOLLAR, that's the beauty."

    Not true. You will need a domain and hosting, as most article directories do not allow direct links. Also, any serious article marketer should purchase some sort of bookmarking software.

    So, free? No. Cheap? Yes.
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    • Profile picture of the author kingprosperity
      Originally Posted by bravo75 View Post

      "BUT YA... YOU CAN MAKE MONEY WITHOUT SPENDING A SINGLE DOLLAR, that's the beauty."

      Not true. You will need a domain and hosting, as most article directories do not allow direct links. Also, any serious article marketer should purchase some sort of bookmarking software.

      So, free? No. Cheap? Yes.
      Sorry for my rudeness, but Disagree.

      It is entirely possible to build a empire without spending a single dime. The only thing is we have to figure out. I not done it once, I achieved this twice. and ya, only with Article Marketing (promotion).

      And soon, I am going to hit this thing again for the third time.

      I agree, my domains playing major 95 percent role but why shouldn't I capture the empty free territory, with assets?
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  • Profile picture of the author DogScout
    If you believe it will work, you will be motivated enough to take the action needed for it to work which will make it work and re-enforce your belief that it can work.

    Huh?:rolleyes:

    (On the flip side, if you doubt it will work, you will not take the action necessary for it to work and you will become a self fore-filling prophesy, which will re-enforce your doubt and increase your in-action.)

    Whew!
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  • Profile picture of the author Slin
    Yes it can, heck, you can get away with only targeting competitive keywords and not worrying about ranking.

    When I very first started that's exactly what I did, I just used that ezine first burst of traffic and wrote tons and tons of articles and started making money.

    Smartest way?

    Probably not..

    But I did learn one important lesson from that venture.

    TAKE ACTION

    (Note: That campaign still makes me sales, I did all of this 3 years ago )
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    • Profile picture of the author Anne99
      Thanks, Slin, that's exactly what I was wondering. I've been stuck in this rut of spending hours finding what I think is a killer keyword phrase for a niche and then hours building a good quality landing page for it, only to have it do not so well in the SERP's, then quickly giving up, and moving on the a new offer and new keyword phrase, then wash, rinse, repeat and getting nowhere. The main issue is that since I'm new, I've got no intuitive feel of when to keep plodding on building backlinks and when something just ain't going to happen and I need to accept it and abandon ship.

      It just occured to me today that maybe I should not concentrate on SEO for now (not permanantly of couse, but just anything to get me out of this cycle and just feel as if I'm at least getting a bit of traffic, even if it's not many sales at this point).
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  • Profile picture of the author Margo Tuul
    If you know keyword research and how to master it, bit of backlinking and you can market anywhere....anywhere you want. Weight loss, make money online, golf, dog training, acne...where ever you want.

    I would understand if someone from PPC says that some niches are really hard and close to impossible (like credit cards, insurance)...but bum marketing...nah. You can do it in any niche. Just find right keywords. If you don't know how to do keyword research in article marketing...then sorry, but its just not going to work.


    And like Chris said...in every niche, there is sub niche. So you can still market anywhere you want...
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  • Profile picture of the author Anne99
    I used to be optimistic about keyword research, but how come I find some keywords with 12,000 searches per month, with the front page full of (aged) badly SEO'd articles with zero backlinks so I build a squid lens make 10 backlinks and it's on page 100 somewhere? This has happened not just once but several times.
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    • Profile picture of the author Margo Tuul
      You think that it will be a good keyword, or you know it?
      Also how do you know your Squidoo lens on-page SEO is great?

      Its not always building a Squidoo lens, 10-20 backlinks and hoping for 1st page results. You need more than that, depending on your keyword.



      Originally Posted by Anne99 View Post

      I used to be optimistic about keyword research, but how come I find some keywords with 12,000 searches per month, with the front page full of (aged) badly SEO'd articles with zero backlinks so I build a squid lens make 10 backlinks and it's on page 100 somewhere? This has happened not just once but several times.
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  • Profile picture of the author Anne99
    Admittedly, I just THINK things are good keywords. I thought it wasn't possible to know such things. I tried to think from my customer's point of view to find good buying keywords.

    As for the onpage SEO? It most likely wasn't particularly great, but it still seemed like people who had put in no effort would not budge from pg 1. Only difference I could tell was that the articles were older.
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  • Profile picture of the author Slin
    My suggestion? Write ezine articles for traffic, after about 20 of them I start making sales usually.

    Targeting them towards keywords helps a bit too.

    Then use the money you make from that for SEO down the road, that's my path at least.
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  • Profile picture of the author Margo Tuul
    That might be your problem. I can't remember when i found a keyword with 10,000+ searches per month, with low competition.

    Keyword research is actually something you have to do, to see what you come up with. Just thinking about keywords what to use...that's no good really. If you write articles then you want to get low competition with quotes and also allintitle: this will give you a basic idea, is it ok to go with or no. If both are ok, then you look for backlinks. Top10 sites. How many backlinks they have and can you actually outrank them..

    Hope this helps.

    Margo
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  • Profile picture of the author MrDay
    Bum marketing still works. I am only using FREE methods currently and I am on the front page for numerous "competitive keywords".

    Add some different tactics to your bum marketing. Don't just use little article directories for traffic and backlinks. Use everything you can, like social media sites, guest posting, free blogging and website platforms like blogger, wordpress.com, squidoo, hubpages, tumblr and etc.
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    • Profile picture of the author Anne99
      That's encouraging Mr Day. Usually people say it's crazy to try to earn money online without your own paid domain.
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