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How long did it take YOU to build Rome?

by matt5409
15 replies
we're all familiar with the phrase "rome wasn't built in a day" when referring to something that is hard work and takes time.

this is prominent in internet marketing, not least because we are at the liberties of the search engines which can be a tough beast to master.

my question to you SUCCESSFUL marketers - i.e. the ones who have made at least some money online - how long did it take you from setting up your site/blog to see a return on your time and money investment? What were your immediate and ongoing processess?

I have only recently launched 2 affiliate based blogs that have so far made nothing, so this doesn't qualify me as success - yet - but I'm going to share what I am doing anyway.

  • I have chosen a niche I know a lot about - music
  • I have set up one blog to review music CD's and DVD's
  • I set up another blog to review electric guitar packages
  • I am adding unique content daily, trying my best to put personality and passion into my writing to aid conversions
  • I am syndicating this content with EZA
  • I am writing articles based around the niche and submitting it to many different directories (including EZA)
  • I have set up a Twitter account for one of the sites which I am using to find small artists who may want to be interviewed - this way I'm providing genuine quality content as well as my CD reviews.
It's too early to say how well (or not) this is doing, but I'm seeing changes in the rankings already and a SLOW trickle of traffic - in less than a week.

I've done the maths and within 6 months hope to be pulling in around 4,500 visits per month across both of these websites. Working out potential conversion rates this provides a small income. If it works, I'll be doubling my efforts in an attempt to make it a full-time endeavour.

This post turned out to be longer than expected. sorry. going back to the initial questions: how long did it take you from setting up your site/blog to see a return on your time and money investment? What were your immediate and ongoing processess?
#build #long #rome
  • Profile picture of the author Suzy 29
    Hi Matt

    It is great that you have got a plan in place. This will really help you keep focused on your goal. Like you said "Rome wasn't built in a day" and i'm sure the majority of internet marketers will say they didn't make money over night. If you keep up with your efforts and you said you can see a difference in your rankings already things will happen for you. Start building your list and giving value to your customers. Good Luck for 2011 i'm sure if you keep at it your predictions will happen. The key to success is not to give up
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    • Profile picture of the author matt5409
      Originally Posted by Suzy 29 View Post

      Hi Matt

      It is great that you have got a plan in place. This will really help you keep focused on your goal. Like you said "Rome wasn't built in a day" and i'm sure the majority of internet marketers will say they didn't make money over night. If you keep up with your efforts and you said you can see a difference in your rankings already things will happen for you. Start building your list and giving value to your customers. Good Luck for 2011 i'm sure if you keep at it your predictions will happen. The key to success is not to give up
      thanks suzy, this forum has inspired me to keep focus i'm too spontaneous for my own good but i'm trying to reel it in!
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  • Profile picture of the author Lazy
    I got lucky. I didn't lose too much to start with, and my knees were only moderately scraped up from getting my training wheels off. I started seeing consistant daily profits after about a month.
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  • Profile picture of the author bay37
    Exactly nine months once I stopped jumping from one thing to the next.

    Most of the stuff that I learned from others was false/misleading. I then did some experimenting myself, found out who wasn't full of **** and who was... Go some results, but still failed, then adjusted my methods and tried again - failed, but not as bad. Same thing one more time and I started making good money about two months in. Still learning new things each and every day.
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  • Profile picture of the author 82ana
    //under construction

    Morning Matt,
    Wanted to leave a comment to subscribe to the thread. Much like you i'm just starting out so would like to know if there are any pieces of the puzzle i'm missing.

    btw your plan has inspired me to re-tweak my twitter strategy. Thanks.
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    • Profile picture of the author matt5409
      Originally Posted by 82ana View Post

      //under construction

      Morning Matt,
      Wanted to leave a comment to subscribe to the thread. Much like you i'm just starting out so would like to know if there are any pieces of the puzzle i'm missing.

      btw your plan has inspired me to re-tweak my twitter strategy. Thanks.
      as i wrote in another thread yesterday - twitter isn't a marketing tool per se; it's a communication tool. if you can contribute value and build rapport, you stand yourself in good stead for turning passive followers into visitors.
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      • Profile picture of the author 82ana
        Originally Posted by matt5409 View Post

        as i wrote in another thread yesterday - twitter isn't a marketing tool per se; it's a communication tool. if you can contribute value and build rapport, you stand yourself in good stead for turning passive followers into visitors.
        I agree. Twitter is the top referrer to my site and there's a lot of give and take between me and my following. Just posting links, that doesn't work for anything. Interaction is key!

        (p.s. I might incorporate the interview idea to make my following more part of the discussion and leave them feeling important.)
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  • Profile picture of the author Lazy
    Matt,

    Your idea is totally solid, by the way.

    Have you thought about tweeting CPA offers to your followers? Obviously they would have to be related to your niche, but i've found twitter to be very useful for this.
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    • Profile picture of the author matt5409
      Originally Posted by Lazy View Post

      Matt,

      Your idea is totally solid, by the way.

      Have you thought about tweeting CPA offers to your followers? Obviously they would have to be related to your niche, but i've found twitter to be very useful for this.
      it's definitely an idea - so far i only tweet about new reviews, upcoming releases or new in an attempt to get retweets and get people on the site. mainly to build the brand. might strategically put some offers in when i get more than 40 followers though
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  • Profile picture of the author paulie888
    I got lucky as well, but I started off with paid advertising and spent a little money testing it initially. It only took me about a week to turn a profit, but paid advertising is a completely different animal from SEO and blogging. (I know this for a fact because I have since branched off into SEO, and it can be unpredictable, especially when it comes to the timeframe and results.)

    Paul
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    • Profile picture of the author matt5409
      Originally Posted by paulie888 View Post

      I got lucky as well, but I started off with paid advertising and spent a little money testing it initially. It only took me about a week to turn a profit, but paid advertising is a completely different animal from SEO and blogging. (I know this for a fact because I have since branched off into SEO, and it can be unpredictable, especially when it comes to the timeframe and results.)

      Paul
      yea, i'm sticking with SEO. my cd review site means i'll only earn a commission of about 40p per sale on average (assuming the only buy the CD) which just doesnt justify an ad spend.

      this site will be a slow burner - lucky i love writing.
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      • Profile picture of the author paulie888
        Originally Posted by matt5409 View Post

        yea, i'm sticking with SEO. my cd review site means i'll only earn a commission of about 40p per sale on average (assuming the only buy the CD) which just doesnt justify an ad spend.

        this site will be a slow burner - lucky i love writing.
        I totally agree, Matt. Paid advertising is only profitable in most cases if you're promoting something that gives you a high EPC (Earnings Per Click), but when you're making 40p per sale on average then your site is probably not a very good candidate for paid advertising.

        Paul
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  • Profile picture of the author SuperStu
    A plan / strategy is key to long term success, most people like (myself included when I started) jump from one model to the next because the information and options are so overwhelming, stick with it and build up.
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  • Profile picture of the author valdanylchuk
    It took me about a year to get to reasonable profits with my first successful online business that I started in 2002. I was selling keyword research software. The main driving force for the business was my 2-tier affiliate program, and it helped a lot.

    With my latest project, Web Tracking Guide, I hope to make it faster, having all the experience and a bit more resources. Yet I am still very conservative in my expectations, and prepared to wait a full year before drawing serious profits.

    I suggest you to take the same approach. By all means, set goals and make plans, but "don't quit your day job," as they say.
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    • Profile picture of the author matt5409
      Originally Posted by valdanylchuk View Post

      It took me about a year to get to reasonable profits with my first successful online business that I started in 2002. I was selling keyword research software. The main driving force for the business was my 2-tier affiliate program, and it helped a lot.

      With my latest project, Web Tracking Guide, I hope to make it faster, having all the experience and a bit more resources. Yet I am still very conservative in my expectations, and prepared to wait a full year before drawing serious profits.

      I suggest you to take the same approach. By all means, set goals and make plans, but "don't quit your day job," as they say.
      i'm in a priveleged position to be working from home on client websites which gets me by. the sooner i can create some extra cash through affiliate sites though, the better. aiming to be making around £200/month within 6 months (mostly from the guitar package site), i think this is realistic if i continue at this rate.

      must be great knowing you started in 2002 - such history.
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