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Analysis Paralysis - Advice on getting focused and getting started

by jgriffing
5 replies
Hey everyone,

Brand new member to the boards here. I covered a little bit of my background in an intro post earlier tonight. But for clarity's sake, I'll quickly reiterate. I am brand new to the world if IM. I've spent a good deal of time researching. Have also acquainted myself with some of the technical side (hosting, wordpress, etc.) I've got a number of ideas, but can already feel analysis paralysis taking hold. It seems the biggest challenge I'm facing is simply picking ONE, and getting FOCUSED!

So I was hoping I could run a couple of my ideas by you guys. I've had about 2 dozen of them over the last six months but I'll keep it my front runners here. I'm going to keep the descriptions a little vague for brevity's sake. Just wondering if some of you would be kind enough to describe how you might decide between two broad targets if you were in my position. What are some of the main factors you would consider?

- Consumer Electronics - Design and Installation -

Consumer electronics is a broad and very competitive niche. But I could drill down to a more focused niche by targeting Installation professionals and DIYers. I figure I could sell information products (ebooks, video courses, etc.) Could also work in affiliate sales via product reviews etc. I design, program, and install large-scale AV systems for a living. It's a topic I know a great deal about, have passion for, and can effectively communicate to others.

- Public Speaking -

Public speaking is something is a passion I have only recently discovered. I spent a good deal of my life being petrified about it. Not just a little scared, like full-blown-panic-attack-scared. Last year I joined a local chapter of Toastmasters and it has been a tremendous experience for me. This is another topic I'm passionate about. However, I'm far less of an expert (read: not even close to an expert) about it. It is another highly competitive niche, and I'm having a little trouble figuring out how I could "niche it down". My thought was that I could somehow stand out in the noise by pitching myself as the "everyday man's guide to public speaking", as opposed to a huckster selling the prospect that you can conquer your fear with one e-book. But then again, it's hard to sell e-books if your busy bashing the guys who sell ebooks. Fine line to walk here...

I've tried all along to think about things I have a passion for and that I could write about extensively. Those are the main two that keep coming back in my head. Craft Beer and Fly Fishing are also up there, but seem like they'd be a lot harder to monetize.

I thought it would be insightful to see how some of might weed it down if you were me. Even general and "high-level" advice about you overcome "analysis paralysis" at the outset would be great. What are some of the overall considerations you make when your stuck at a fork such as this one?

Thanks so much for reading, and thanks in advance for any replies or advice,
JG
#advice #analysis #focused #paralysis #started
  • Profile picture of the author dvduval
    I use Google Docs and create a folder for my projects to keep them "compartmentalized". I open folders, edit docs and just make sure I keep coming back and making it better. The docs get shared with programmers, designers and marketers and stuff gets done. Almost everything I write gets done eventually, though some items require more revision than others.
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    It is okay to contact me! I have been developing software since 1999, creating many popular products like phpLD.
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  • Profile picture of the author jgant
    You're already half-way there. Both projects are viable and you know a ton about both.

    The AV thing could be huge. You know the equipment 10X more than any micro site publisher out there. Seriously, take your knowledge and write a killer site. Cream rises to the top. Yes, it's competitive, but it's also lucrative.

    Seriously, you're in the AV biz so you can make honest and educated recommendations. That's pure gold. I publish 2 review sites on products I use. I use every product I review. I write scathing and praising reviews. It's a straight-up site and readers love it. I write 1,200 to 3,000 word reviews - cover everything and include video tutorials, a free course (for email), etc. These sites alone generate decent income and I started them in mid 2012.

    Your public speaking site could be awesome. Your backstory already has me wanting to read your experience. Just write your experience with public speaking and your ongoing progress. You've no doubt learned a ton ... write about it. There are tons of products. BUY THEM AND GO THROUGH THEM. Then review them and be honest and helpful. You'll make sales. OR ... once you graduate toastmasters or become the grand master or whatever title you get, create your own course ... you'll have the credibility as "Toastmaster GrandMaster ..."

    In the meantime, your public speaking blog is ripe for building an engaged list. If you have subscribers, you can easily launch a killer product ... but create your product when you can create value. If that's in 1 year so be it, but start building your list and blog now.

    Public speaking niche strikes me as one where people will buy new courses all the time to improve. It's not a one-solution niche, so you can earn repeat sales. It's a fantastic niche if it's your thing.

    How do you focus?

    I went from less than $300 per month to $15K per month in 1 year by doing the following:

    I Chose 3 niches I loved and knew about. Until that point I jumped around like an idiot.

    I didn't do anything on any day until I had published 2 awesome articles that day. Content earns the bucks when starting. Some days I published 10 articles ... most days 2 to 3 (I was working a job in the beginning). On weekends, I published like crazy. In 18 months I published 1,300 blog posts and generated 2,500 daily unique views. Nothing mind-blowing, but it generates a great income.

    Start monetizing right away ... but have faith that as your websites generates more traffic, many more monetization options will present themselves. Traffic equals opportunity. Subscribers equals opportunity. Stay focused in your chosen niche(s) and don't get diverted. Your two proposed projects are viable if you create killer content and don't stop for 3 to 6 months.

    Each day, once I published my content I'd do marketing ... SEO, forum posting, commenting on other sites, guest posting, etc. I'm not a big social media guy, but I suspect social media would be great with public speaking. I bet LinkedIn has some great public speaking groups. Same with facebook.

    Start each day completing 2 important tasks (for me it was publishing 2 articles). This way at least every day you're building something. If you're researching an amazing, epic article, do only 1. I've spent a week on some articles ... but it's pretty rare.

    Good luck.
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    • Profile picture of the author Paul Hooper-Kelly
      Hi JG,

      One of your existing skills jumped right out at me ...

      I saw some statistics that said that what folks feared most - even above dying - was making a speech!

      As a copywriter, my creative juices are already flowing because of your personal story. Because you can truly say that you have been where your prospect is now and you've not only overcome your fear - you actually ended up enjoying it.

      And there's a vast and constant river of opportunity flowing by out there, because most folks are faced with that daunting prospect at some point in their lives. Why there's a whole niche on 'Father of The Bride' and 'Best Man Speeches' on ClickBank. But they largely deal with what to say - not how to overcome the fear.

      So forget the electronics and focus on creating a short report setting out something like "10 top tips to overcome fear of public speaking".

      Create a squeeze page and start attracting traffic from your existing social media sites, where you have an account.

      Meantime, start to write a book or create videos - or both which you can sell to your list as a product in exchange for cash. One of the beauties of this market is there is a clock ticking in your prospect's lives with that awful moment when they have to make that speech moving ever closer!

      A perfect example of a desperate market.

      Then approach the folks selling the 'Father of The Bride' and 'Best Man Speeches' on ClickBank and offer to do joint ventures.

      In time you can produce a deluxe version of your program - perhaps including coaching via email. Or you could hire outsourcers to create customized scripts for the speeches.

      The key is to create an oil well of a business and not a prairie business. By that I mean drilling down deep in a single niche and exploiting every aspect of it - rather than doing a bit of this and a bit of that.

      And don't worry about:

      1. You're not an expert. Because an expert is only someone who knows a little more than the average Joe - and you clearly do, because you've been there and got the tee shirt..

      2. The competition. What you need to fear is NO competition, because that means there is NO money to be made. Treat your competitors as a challenge: find who is the best and set out to be better. That way it gets to be fun - and very lucrative!

      Warmest regards,

      Paul
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      If you want to stack the copywriting deck in your favor with tricks and hacks producing winners like: "$20K in three days" "650 sold" "30% conversion", then you might like to know I'm retiring and will spill the beans to two people. More info here.
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  • Profile picture of the author drbrucehoag
    I can tell you from personal experience that the hardest part about getting started is . . . getting started.

    Learning is challenging and great fun, and not only feels like work: it is work. But, you're not selling anything.

    So, it seems to me that, before you do anything else, you take as long as is necessary to determine that.

    I see that you've been considering some options. My question is this: Where are people spending their money?

    One way to discover this (and there are many others) is to do a search for one of your niches, and then notice who is advertising down the right side of the results.

    Click on those ads and see what they're selling.

    You can be sure that if they're paying to advertise over there, then they're making money.

    Hope that helps.
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    Cheers, Bruce

    Hire a Published Author With PhD to Write Your Articles >> Click Here

    Bruce Hoag, PhD

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  • Profile picture of the author RedShifted
    You have to turn your ideas into science otherwise they will always just be ideas.

    And if you have too many ideas, then set higher standards for them. =]

    The key is to find your best 2-3 ideas. Then kill much of the emotion associated with those ideas (ideas usually come about emotionally I find). Afterwards, transform these ideas in to a science.

    Science involves research, testing and application. They key is to shrink this process down into microcommitments so you can test ideas fast. Without getting too invested in them.

    Once data shows you that you have potential to make money off the idea, then take it further.

    For instance, I had an idea of getting into a certain offline niche. So I researched the hell out of my competition. I saw that the niche had a good demand, but wasn't too saturated. To me, that means its a great niche to persue.

    So I made a website one day. The next day I started promoting it. Then I didn't get any calls. So I did more research on my competitors, changed my website around, did more promoting, and eventually calls began to roll in.

    Now I own my own small business. I also went through phases of analysis paralysis, but I always set small goals for myself. Microcommitments like this are very helpful for analysis paralysis. Schedule out a simple plan, that takes small steps to achieve a specific goal. Then follow the steps no matter what.

    The most important thing, is to remember that you WILL invest some time, without getting any immediate payback. And you MUST choose your battles wisely. Never embark on something you do not have the resources to execute.

    If you do your research and testing, eventually you'll find 1 idea to stick to.

    So seriously. Stop f$&kn around and do something! Sometimes you just need someone to give you a good smack in the face. And I can't do that over WF, but that doesn't mean you can't pretend that I did. =]

    -Red
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