by Sleika
35 replies
hey guys,

been reading this forum in and out for about 6 weeks and feel like i get the framework for most of the different models but think im stuck in analysis paralysis

ive have a couple niche sites ive been practicing with the stuff ive learned on here

i want to take a step back and take real action now, but suddenly feel like i know less than where i started 6 weeks ago, im leaning towards an authority site, im my opinion i think its a more sustainable business model and is more customer oriented

question is, if you want to make a serious strong start, would you recommended going straight for the authority site or focusing more on a couple niche sites while still going through the " real " learning curve
#information #overload
  • Profile picture of the author Michael Shook
    You could pick a big enough niche that your site could become an authority site, but if you are going for micro-niche kind of sites, you are going to wait a long time before you get enough feedback to change anything.

    Only because there is usually not so much traffic going to niche sites as to bigger sites.
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    • Profile picture of the author zerofill
      Information overload & Analysis Paralysis go hand in hand...

      Here is the deal... Focus...

      Focus on one niche, one traffic source, one conversion plan.

      When you master that, you move on. As you gain knowledge you find you can handle multiple tasks at once. Multiple methods at once.

      But when you start out, you put blinders on...

      You don't look to the left or to the right. You look straight ahead... again:

      Focusing on one niche, one traffic source, one conversion plan.

      You eventually learn so much over the process...

      You find yourself implementing things, in ways you aren't even sure how you came up with the knowledge to do so lol.

      It just starts happening...

      But only if you batten down the hatches, and start from ground zero, with laser targeted focus on one plan.

      If you don't...

      What you find is that you half ass multiple things. Never getting anywhere.

      No ebook, no video series, no product, is going to help you, if you get caught up in the "different models all at once" deal...

      Although I did a lot of programming in my days, and made most of my money from that in the past... I eventually started focusing on things like, getting pages to organically rank. Then tweaked things to get higher CTRs on the ads, with the traffic I had coming in.

      I moved on to tweaking for Adsense on organically ranking sites.

      I then moved on to pumping out content to syndication sources for a long time, in conjunction with CPA offers, and Clickbank products, etc...

      I dabbled in paid traffic, and then started really focusing on it. In conjunction with landing pages, and pushing people to offers from those landers.

      I built sites I sold off to people for local search engine rankings...

      Either way you look at it, I did it one at a time. Focusing on one thing at a time. Eventually I got to where I could handle multiple processes.

      I do things now instinctively that I don't even recall how I learned them anymore. Now it is just common sense stuff to me. But it wasn't always like that.

      The people that jump from thing to thing, without mastering any of those... Nothing will ever work out for them.

      So like I said, put your head down and focus on one niche, one traffic source, and one conversion method. Get that mastered...Then you are good to go.
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  • Profile picture of the author Victoria Gates
    It is so easy to be overwhelmed with all the various methods and advice, and then sorting what is real from the fake is a whole other topic for another day. I will say this.. if you are playing with mini sites because working on a big project scares you.. you are not alone.. but sometimes it takes going out of your comfort zone and just doing it to see the real results.

    If you want my advice, it has always been when I took the leap that I got the reward.
    Take the leap you know has the higher reward.. if you fall get back up and try again, you can make it
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  • Profile picture of the author Thomas W
    Originally Posted by Sleika View Post

    hey guys,

    been reading this forum in and out for about 6 weeks and feel like i get the framework for most of the different models but think im stuck in analysis paralysis

    ive have a couple niche sites ive been practicing with the stuff ive learned on here

    i want to take a step back and take real action now, but suddenly feel like i know less than where i started 6 weeks ago, im leaning towards an authority site, im my opinion i think its a more sustainable business model and is more customer oriented

    question is, if you want to make a serious strong start, would you recommended going straight for the authority site or focusing more on a couple niche sites while still going through the " real " learning curve

    You will be a perfect person to join the team

    http://www.warriorforum.com/local-me...irections.html

    It is well worth it
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  • Profile picture of the author paul nicholls
    When i first started, niche sites was what i got into too

    To keep things simple your best to just work on 1 site and brand the hell out of it

    These days, social media exposure and links and interaction play a much more important part

    Not only that but you can generate some excellent traffic doing it too

    Focus on one site, keep adding great content and you can even start to build a list. If you go down this route then make sure the niche is profitable and it`s a niche that you have good interest in otherwise you will get bored far sooner than you think

    Paul
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  • Profile picture of the author Ken Strong
    Information overload? Look, it's very simple: as of this writing, there are 170,538 threads and 1,928,832 posts in the Main Forum. Read all of them and then take action.
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    • Profile picture of the author cashp0wer
      Most people starting in Internet marketing deal with some type of information overload. There is so much information to learn it is really hard not to.
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      • Profile picture of the author Sleika
        First off .. like to thank everyone for their advice, havent been the best warrior, gotten myself stuck in a couple threads where i have been more passionate than smart

        JMichaelZ - working on it, finding that niche that you can remain passionate about can be a challenge

        Victoria - like you style, give me hope in this yet

        Thomas - added you to skype

        zerofill - i agree the focus should be on focusing one method and mastering it

        Paul - my goal is going to be to develop a brand

        Ken - i havent read all 2 million post, maybe a million and you right , wanna take action, thats why im asking, just feeling stuck at the moment

        cash - glad im not the only one
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      • Profile picture of the author TonyV
        Don,

        I think everyone goes through it at some point in their career. The smarter marketers figure out quickly that in order to make money you have to take action. They spend the majority of their time on revenue producing activities. They learn to outsource the day to day grind stuff.

        Then like the 80/20 rule states, you have the other 80% that continue to chase the newest shiny object that promises riches overnight. It is very difficult to make any money without focusing on one thing at a time.

        Personally, it took me 2 years of buying everything, becoming proficient in nothing, until I finally got fed up. Today I concentrate on two streams of revenue and two only. I have several eBay power seller accounts which run 80% on their own because I outsource everything possible including the fulfillment. I also do CPA marketing and took one on one training from some of the best in that field which I found right here at the Warrior forum.

        For those still struggling I'll tell you what probably 20 others have already told you. You must take action. The fear of failure will paralyze you until you lose a little money and realize it is not the end of the world. Just learn from your mistakes and if you continue to take action you will make money. It's not overnight like we would all like but it is consistent and can lead to a beautiful lifestyle IMHO.
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    • Profile picture of the author zerofill
      Originally Posted by Ken Strong View Post

      Information overload? Look, it's very simple: as of this writing, there are 170,538 threads and 1,928,832 posts in the Main Forum. Read all of them and then take action.
      LOL... I needed a damn laugh. Thanks Ken...
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    • Profile picture of the author Jeff Burritt
      Banned
      I better get started then


      Originally Posted by Ken Strong View Post

      Information overload? Look, it's very simple: as of this writing, there are 170,538 threads and 1,928,832 posts in the Main Forum. Read all of them and then take action.
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  • Profile picture of the author Ledux
    Focus...

    Pick one teacher and follow him.

    In school you don't have 10 teachers to teach you maths. You get one teacher and learn from start to finish.
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  • Profile picture of the author Jeff Schuman
    When I first went to college in the late 70's I felt information overload. In 4 years I graduated slightly drunk and much smarter then when I started. Same thing with Internet marketing overload. View your new Internet career as a college education. Don't worry about learning everything at once and you will be amazed where you are 4 years from now.
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  • Profile picture of the author JBanis
    Information overload is really something every aspiring and beginning (and even experienced) IMer need to take very seriously, like a disease that is actually contagious.

    Get into contact with others who suffer from this, and are unaware of it, and you might find yourself being overloaded with their tips, advice, techniques, and of course, products, products and products...

    You will lose money, time, energie, motivation, and you give up in the end...

    Sad scenario but true for many, so yeah, it's a very real thing, that I would have taken strong immunisation for if I could when I started with IM. Alas, that medicine has not been discovered yet, but awareness of who you are and what you are really doing in the IM adventure is important to combat this stuff.

    So like Donald already said earlier, one thing, one method, one product (ideally one that has a proven business model behind it) etc...stick to it, then move on and keep learning while you have success already with one thing.
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    • Profile picture of the author Tayman
      There will always been a ton of ways to make money on the internet. Focus on one area and DO IT. No amount of researching and reading will teach you as well as experience. PERIOD!

      What works for one may not work for you for various reasons.
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      • Profile picture of the author Sleika
        i agree with everyone ... but must admit some research and reading is necessary before jumping in

        think jeff schuman made a good point about going to school first before

        not knocking anyone, and do believe in taking action ... just curious on other warriors approaches on their first real venture in, albeit niche sites or authority and whether one approach was better than other from their experience
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  • Profile picture of the author KaplanT4
    One of the ways to counter information overload is to first analyse HOW you take in information so as to not detract from your goal.

    1) Are there any underlying assumptions that I haven't been told about this information?
    2) Is there sufficient evidence for the claim?
    3) Does the claim being made follow logically? Are there any fallacies? (Studying logic helps with this)
    4) What possible motives could they have for telling me this?
    5) Does this help with my goal, does it get me closer or further away from my goal (you are only getting closer or further away from your goal, there is no middle ground)?

    Also, wishful thinking needs to be stopped. Check if there is anything you are overlooking that you normally would not and be honest with yourself when you realize that you want to believe something rather than being logical about it.

    (Above is from one of my earlier posts)

    Also, do well in one niche first, evaluate it for its potential and stick to it. Don't branch out already.
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    • Profile picture of the author Sleika
      Originally Posted by KaplanT4 View Post

      One of the ways to counter information overload is to first analyse HOW you take in information so as to not detract from your goal.

      1) Are there any underlying assumptions that I haven't been told about this information?
      2) Is there sufficient evidence for the claim?
      3) Does the claim being made follow logically? Are there any fallacies? (Studying logic helps with this)
      4) What possible motives could they have for telling me this?
      5) Does this help with my goal, does it get me closer or further away from my goal (you are only getting closer or further away from your goal, there is no middle ground)?

      Also, wishful thinking needs to be stopped. Check if there is anything you are overlooking that you normally would not and be honest with yourself when you realize that you want to believe something rather than being logical about it.

      (Above is from one of my earlier posts)

      Also, do well in one niche first, evaluate it for its potential and stick to it. Don't branch out already.
      Thanks KaplanT4

      Going back through this thread has gotten me thinking on a more focused approach and live and learn, never going to give up on the reading and research though

      the gap im seeing and dont expect anyone to point it out is finding that product or service you could sell succesfully, would be a fools game to show your hand, anyone can show you how to use google keywords, pointless with the wrong info

      going back to my op, is it better to look at an authority site or a niche site to get through the curve - given they both have the same chance at success or failure
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      • Profile picture of the author KaplanT4
        Originally Posted by Sleika View Post

        Thanks KaplanT4

        Going back through this thread has gotten me thinking on a more focused approach and live and learn, never going to give up on the reading and research though

        the gap im seeing and dont expect anyone to point it out is finding that product or service you could sell succesfully, would be a fools game to show your hand, anyone can show you how to use google keywords, pointless with the wrong info

        going back to my op, is it better to look at an authority site or a niche site to get through the curve - given they both have the same chance at success or failure
        It really isn't about authority site vs niche site...

        It's about putting the right offer in front of the right people. The offer should tap into what already motivates them. Find out what they want and show them how to get it. Address an urgent problem, bring a unique promise, offer some sort of proof (the more irrefutable the better), and give them an offer they can't refuse.

        If you do that you win.
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    • Profile picture of the author Tayman
      Sleika,

      You are limiting yourself.

      You don't need niche or authority sites to make money on the net. Hell, you don't even need a website at all.

      Find high converting offer
      Find high volume + cheap traffic
      Create high ctr ad targeting your niche
      direct link to offer
      Collect money

      Not saying this is what you want to do, but don't limit yourself.

      If you create an authority site, you can target longtail keywords to capture more of the niche related terms for your site. Essentially killing two birds with one stone. Figure out how you are going to create content consistently, how you are going to drive traffic to your site, and how you are going to convert that traffic to money in your bank account. Anything else is a waste of time.
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  • Profile picture of the author Troy_Phillips
    When I first started in IM I didn't know about the WF (was it around in 98?) The first person I talked to taught me how to market through email. I didn't know how to do anything but drive traffic to a squeeze page.

    I made money on week one and consistently made more money each week. I arrived on the WF in 09 I believe .. full of myself .. thinking that because I was making $400 a day I would be king of this place in no time.

    Things were a little different here then and it didn't take long for some of the old timers to put me in my place. I soon realized $400 a day wasn't enough for a lot of them on here to even get up in the morning for.

    I decided I would learn all of these amazing new things I was being exposed to. You know what? In just 6 short months I had implemented all the new tactics I had learned and was losing my butt on a daily basis. All of a sudden I was too freakin smart to make money any more.

    It was Don (zerofill) that pointed me in the right direction again. I went back to my old simple ways and have no inkling to ever be that smart again....

    Even though you probably don't know you did it Don .. thanks a million.
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    • Profile picture of the author Tayman
      Originally Posted by Troy_Phillips View Post

      When I first started in IM I didn't know about the WF (was it around in 98?) The first person I talked to taught me how to market through email. I didn't know how to do anything but drive traffic to a squeeze page.

      I made money on week one and consistently made more money each week. I arrived on the WF in 09 I believe .. full of myself .. thinking that because I was making $400 a day I would be king of this place in no time.

      Things were a little different here then and it didn't take long for some of the old timers to put me in my place. I soon realized $400 a day wasn't enough for a lot of them on here to even get up in the morning for.

      I decided I would learn all of these amazing new things I was being exposed to. You know what? In just 6 short months I had implemented all the new tactics I had learned and was losing my butt on a daily basis. All of a sudden I was too freakin smart to make money any more.

      It was Don (zerofill) that pointed me in the right direction again. I went back to my old simple ways and have no inkling to ever be that smart again....

      Even though you probably don't know you did it Don .. thanks a million.
      Perfect example of paving your own way, testing what works FOR YOU and getting rid of what doesn't work FOR YOU.

      Talk to anyone who really gives a damn if you are successful or not, and the main thing you will hear repeated is TEST, TEST, TEST.
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    • Profile picture of the author zerofill
      Originally Posted by Troy_Phillips View Post

      It was Don (zerofill) that pointed me in the right direction again. I went back to my old simple ways and have no inkling to ever be that smart again....

      Even though you probably don't know you did it Don .. thanks a million.
      Wow Troy, thanks... Glad I helped in some way.

      Originally Posted by Tayman View Post

      Talk to anyone who really gives a damn if you are successful or not, and the main thing you will hear repeated is TEST, TEST, TEST.
      That is damn true! Although people don't typically like that answer.
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  • Profile picture of the author Randall Magwood
    Throw yourself to the wolves and get started. Don't let procrastination get the best of you.
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  • Profile picture of the author Devin X
    Banned
    Sell the sites you have. Rinse and repeat for quick dollars here and there. Meanwhile, think about a more long term strategy involving a biz model you like and a niche you have expertise in.

    Take notes from good stuff you find here and be real with yourself about what you know, what you can do, and what resources you have at your disposal. A lot of ideas might sound great, but you might be unable to follow that path because of your own unique situation and circumstances...there's no "one size fits all".
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  • Profile picture of the author JabMonkey
    Authority site or muli-niche sites, doesn't really matter. If all you do is blog, then your blog content is your product, your offer, and it better be good if you want to make any money from it. Whatever you do, THAT is your offer, so make it great.
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  • Profile picture of the author Carlsbadd
    Here we go again,

    Over coming the " Chaos Brain"

    This is from a March, but at about the two minute mark I am talking about Zerofills post on his SMPro blog..

    But yea , I have focused on just two methods right now. I have really started to change my focus... You don't need to watch the whole video but at the end I say

    "if you can't write it down on a legal pad then you are over thinking things"

    Oh , and I still have "Chaos Brain" Just not nearly as bad and I control it now, it don't own me anymore.

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  • Profile picture of the author owenlee
    Originally Posted by Sleika View Post

    hey guys,

    been reading this forum in and out for about 6 weeks and feel like i get the framework for most of the different models but think im stuck in analysis paralysis

    ive have a couple niche sites ive been practicing with the stuff ive learned on here

    i want to take a step back and take real action now, but suddenly feel like i know less than where i started 6 weeks ago, im leaning towards an authority site, im my opinion i think its a more sustainable business model and is more customer oriented

    question is, if you want to make a serious strong start, would you recommended going straight for the authority site or focusing more on a couple niche sites while still going through the " real " learning curve
    There is no right or wrong answer, as you can see there are warriors that does the above and still make money...

    I would suggest that you list out your skills and the time that you are able to spent on working it out...you can always starts small and grow it big...

    You should start taking actions and learn the mistakes made along the way..
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  • Profile picture of the author GaurabBorah
    It is easier to jump off to every shiny object when you are starting out. Just find something that works, stick to it and perfect it. Don't lose your focus. I know its easier said than done but you need to concentrate on 1 method before you see a nice of amount of money pouring into your account.
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  • Profile picture of the author osail
    Start off small.

    For me i have serious ADD when it comes to marketing. I have to take it step by step. plus i think should you go with a small site should you happen to lose money on it you wont lose a lot. Thats kind of the theorem for IM. Find what works, then scale, then automate.
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  • Profile picture of the author Emma Ruiz
    There has to be relevancy in information. As too much information coming across to you from too many directions with too many people telling you too many different and contradictory things is not going to do you any good whatsoever. That is overloaded of information.
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  • Profile picture of the author Maui Joe
    Originally Posted by Sleika View Post

    question is, if you want to make a serious strong start, would you recommended going straight for the authority site or focusing more on a couple niche sites while still going through the " real " learning curve
    You say this is though there is or should be a delineation between "authority" sites and "niche" sites.

    If by "niche" sites you mean thin sites, no, don't bother because that's what every other newbie does online. Just learn by doing. No system, here or otherwise, is going to lay out exactly how you're going to move toward success.
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  • Profile picture of the author Beats4Legends
    Haha I understand how you feel with an overload. The KEY to being successful in business is to take baby steps for sure. Start small, and work your way up. Instead of wasting your time trying SO HARD to make something happen, most people get nothing done.

    Its like "I have so much to do today, I'm stressed so... I'm gonna take a nap instead."

    You got to take baby steps, one at a time.

    Find something that works.
    Apply it to your website.
    SCALE IT.

    This is the key to making money online!

    Start in a niche that is HUGE!! HUGE!! I am so over small niches... I did that for a while, but thats a mistake.

    You want a niche thats HUGE so you can BUY traffic, and theres plenty of traffic to buy.

    That way, even if you don't start with paying for ads, you could get your conversion rate up etc... And lets say you get it so you can spend $100 and make $210... Well, once you are at thatpoint, you can just send MASSIVE traffic to your site by paying for ads, and you WILL make money! Keep scaling and you could make $1,000,000 for sure! Thats the power of scaling in a LARGE niche!
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    • Profile picture of the author andyc123
      If you do have a try with the niche stuff then you can get the free guide from these guys - adsenseflippers.com, read it about an hour and get yourself going - definitely enough info to get started but not too much to slow you down.
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  • Profile picture of the author Alex Harper
    I'll start with your question about whether you should do a micro site or an authority site.

    I feel like this is a pretty common question but is really simple to answer, all sites start off as micro sites and over time they expand into authority sites if you make them. So what I would do if I were you is this:

    With micro sites everyone says register an EMD (Exact Match Domain). Don't bother, while EMDs do help with ranking a bit, google is slowly taking the value out of them and what you lose by registering and EMD is of far more value then the boost you get for having an EMD.

    So your next question would probably be what do I lose by having an EMD?
    The fact is when you register an EMD you are officially declaring the max potential of that domain. What I mean by that is when you get the domain RedKitchenCeilingFans.com it doesn't feel right to post content about white living room ceiling fans because that doesn't fit your domain, whereas if you register TheFanMan.com the potential of your site is as far as you want to take it(as long as it has to do with fans). You can now find low competition keywords on any kind of fan and write an article on it. Not only that but you are now open to looking at who is advertising their fans on google adwords and seeing if they have an affiliate program, granted you could probably just promote fans from amazon but being that I live in one of the states where affiliates are banned I see that home depot is advertising their fans and I do believe they have an affiliate program.

    Essential mindset to have:
    Google Ranks Pages Not Sites
    Sure ranking you're main page in google is good but you can pretty much just as easily rank your subpages in google, when you do that whole EMD micro site stuff, each keyword you want to target is costing you 8-10$ give or take just for the domain, but when you shift your mindset towards ranking your subpages, each page you want to rank is essentially free as long as you make your own content, so once that page is making any money you are officially in the profit margin.

    To sum it up the main idea is leave room for growth in your domain.

    Okay now the last and most important part. Ditch what doesn't work and expand on what does.
    Remember the last step where I talked about getting domains that have room for growth here's why. Even if you are awesome at keyword research you still can't always pick out what niches will be profitable and which ones will flop, so how you deal with this is you target super low competition keywords to get started and see how the traffic converts for you, some sites will do horribly for no apparent reason then you'll get lucky and one will convert good or even great, the ones that suck will suffer a life of being a permanent micro niche site and the ones that do well will have the opportunity to blossom into an extremely profitable authority site with you adding content on a regular basis.
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