New to Forum, New to IM, Commited to Success!

Greetings --

I must warn you, this will likely turn into a long post. Thank you in advance for reading any portion of it. Bonus points will be awarded to those who make it to the end. Extreme gratitude for anyone who actually writes a meaningful and useful response. I appreciate you all!

My name is Drew. For the past few weeks I have been reading as much as I can about internet marketing. I've already learned a great deal from lurking on the Warrior Forum and other blogs. I'm finally getting to the point where it all makes sense in my head, and now I'm ready to take action and begin learning from experience. I will be starting my first niche site this week!

Google's keyword tool tells me the keyword I'm targeting receives 8100 global monthly searches, 4400 local searches, and has low competition. This is a sub-niche of healthy eating.

My strategy is to build the site, SEO it, post some quality articles related to my niche and the parent niche, and use AdSense to monetize traffic. I may also attempt to work in an affiliate product with this site, once it's been up for awhile. Does that seem like a reasonable approach?

I do understand that money will not start rolling in overnight, that this is not a get rich quick business. It will take strong work ethic, resolve and perseverance. I am in this for the long haul! Initial setbacks and less than ideal results will serve as excellent learning opportunities. Success is inevitable long-term, provided I stay committed to my goals.

Please allow me to review what I think I know about IM, and also ask a few questions along the way. I don't expect anyone to answer every single question posed in this lengthy post. But please feel free to tackle one or two questions that you may be especially qualified to field. Alternatively, if you have a web link to share that may provide some insight, I'd be happy to grab some answers myself.

I will also continue to search the forums and other web resources to expand my knowledge base.

If anything I state below is erroneous, please also feel free to correct me. Without further adieu, and in no particular order:

Article Writing - Writing articles for other IMers and revenue-sharing sites like ehow.com (their former program) to earn an income. Is there anything comparable to ehow that still offers this? Is infobarrel.com any good? Are there any other avenues someone can generate passive income by writing articles? I don't think I have much interest in working as a writer for hire.

I've also read about article syndication. Is there any benefit to this if you are strictly writing articles? I [think I] already understand how this can drive traffic to a site if you are using a syndicated article as a method of backlinking.

Affiliate Marketing - Building a site designed around a specific product you intend to promote as an Amazon or Clickbank affiliate. Those seem to be the most popular two options but, of course, there are other opportunities out there too. SEO and backlinking are required.

Are these just more elaborate squeeze sites? How does one write a review about a product they've never used? Or do you actually try the products you market?

I do also understand that you could create a blog or authority site and use either to offer affiliate products to your readers after you've established a trust relationship with them.

Squeeze Sites - Landing page written in copywrite format, created for the purpose of persuading visitors to take immediate action: sign up for a list, purchase an ebook, etc. SEO is required? What about backlinks? What is the main method of driving traffic to a squeeze site? PPC?

Niche Sites - Creating a site and writing articles geared towards a very targeted topic of interest, such as fly fishing. SEO and backlinks are required.

How many posts does a 'standard' niche site have? Is adsense the primary method of earning income from such a site? Is building an e-mail list for a niche site recommended, or should that be reserved for authority sites and blogs?

Authority Sites - The impression I get is that authority sites are basically upscaled versions of niche sites. Because you are delivering a large volume of high-value content, you become regarded as an authority on a particular subject. Credibility turns into trust, which translates into opportunities for affiliate sales, self-produced product (i.e. ebook) sales, consultation fees, etc. Ads are also an option here. SEO and backlinking are required. Am I on the right track with my thinking?

Blog Sites - Creating a blog about a topic you are particularly passionate about, filling it with an enormous amount of content, and monetizing it with Ads, affiliate marketing, direct product sales, etc. Authority sites and blog sites seem similar but also different in the sense that the former attracts visitors with useful, credible content, while blogs win people over with personality. SEO and backlinking suggested but not required to create a high-ranking, profitable blog?

Backlinking - I have a general concept of how this works, but I'm not sure where to begin with this process, given what I've read about recent Google updates. Any guidance or web links you can provide on this topic would be appreciated.

What type of sites should backlinking be used for - niche, authority, review, ??

Search Engine Optimization (SEO) - Using specific keywords in your domain name, site description, post titles and site content to increase your search engine ranking. Observing good SEO practices will increase a site's chances of landing in one of the coveted top spots on google.

Keyword Searching - I understand that finding keywords with a good amount of exact searches and a low amount of competition is a winning formula. For the time being, I am still using google adwords keyword tool to feel my way around things.

I've seen people on WF cite the local searches number as the figure to base decisions on, not global. Why? Also, when researching keywords for niche sites, what is a reasonable amount of local monthly searches?

Google's tool provides keyword competition stats in 3 flavors: low, medium, high. What exactly do these ratings mean?

I read a comment somewhere that google's competition analysis is basically irrelevant because it doesn't asses SEO competition, just the number of sites on which your keyword appears. Is that an accurate statement? What tools do you use for keyword research? I've read a bit about Market Samurai and Long Tail Pro.

Other Online Resources - Ok, I'm good with hosting (I use bluehost), domain registration and wordpress. I can setup a site -- example: futureceleb [dot] org < non-profit myself and a few others are in the process of starting -- I know about the Google keywords tool. I gather Aweber is used to manage e-mail lists. What else do I need to familiarize myself with before I get rolling? I am unclear on what Google analytics, Alexa and things like that are, but I presume they are important.

Blogs to Follow - Right now I am still sifting through info at smartpassiveincome.com and have recently started visiting nichepursuits.com. Unrelated to IM, I am a fan of stevepavlina.com. His post "10 Reasons You Should Never Get a Job" completely resonated with how I, a 9-5 wage earner, already feel about corporate life. It also was my first introduction to the passive income model and mindset. What a game changer!

Are there any other sites you would recommend for either learning about IM news and strategies or personal development? Have I overlooked any methods to passively make money online in this post?

I look forward to interacting with the WF community and sharing my progress. My first goal is to generate $1/day, passively. My ultimate goal is to completely replace my active income with passive income. I am motivated by the thought of being able to start an "I Quit My Job!" thread in the relatively near future. Then I will have freed up all the mental power reserved for the 9-5, diverting it to explore even larger goals like doubling my old active income with passive streams.

I am very excited for what the future holds for me! This forum is a godsend. Thank you all for maintaining such an excellent resource.

Drew