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The one tiny tip I wish I knew when I started out...

by DanteRomero
17 replies
Had I known this, I would've saved months of my life... There is no such thing as free traffic!
  • There is paid with money traffic.
  • There is paid with time traffic.


If you want a business within the next 6 months, do paid with money traffic (unless you're a masochist).

Anyone else had an “Ohhh man, I wish I realized this sooner” moment in the past?
#knew #out… #started #tiny #tip
  • Profile picture of the author Steve B
    Dante,

    It is possible to start out with "paid with time" traffic if you have very little money. But I agree to some extent that, for the average IMer, it will take you longer to gain traction in your business.

    Steve
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  • Profile picture of the author AndrewCavanagh
    I wish I had've known starting out that creating a product
    (or promoting someone else's product) and then trying to
    create traffic is not a great idea.

    Had I known there are great marketers with huge lists of
    people who trust them who have trouble getting good products
    to promote I would have started right there...really getting to
    know some of these people and creating something that would
    be really valuable to their subscribers that they couldn't or
    didn't have the time to create for themselves.

    Do that and you can be getting huge sales in a very short time
    with little or no outlay.

    Kindest regards,
    Andrew Cavanagh
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    • Profile picture of the author prince55l
      Originally Posted by AndrewCavanagh View Post

      I wish I had've known starting out that creating a product
      (or promoting someone else's product) and then trying to
      create traffic is not a great idea.

      Had I known there are great marketers with huge lists of
      people who trust them who have trouble getting good products
      to promote I would have started right there...really getting to
      know some of these people and creating something that would
      be really valuable to their subscribers that they couldn't or
      didn't have the time to create for themselves.

      Do that and you can be getting huge sales in a very short time
      with little or no outlay.

      Kindest regards,
      Andrew Cavanagh
      This is the smartest thing to do, but the only challenge is getting this marketers
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      • Profile picture of the author Krazygraphic
        A lot of people are confused of the term TRAFFIC .

        If I was to direct 10,000 people to my website does that mean I will get sales .. ?

        NO.

        I would need to direct people to my website who are interested in Motorcycle Decals.

        so don't get fooled thinking that if you get traffic you make money because that's clearly not the case.
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        • Profile picture of the author Meta Morph
          Originally Posted by Krazygraphic View Post

          A lot of people are confused of the term TRAFFIC .

          If I was to direct 10,000 people to my website does that mean I will get sales .. ?

          NO.

          I would need to direct people to my website who are interested in Motorcycle Decals.

          so don't get fooled thinking that if you get traffic you make money because that's clearly not the case.
          yea I'm just starting out and I can verify that traffic doesn't equal sales. I have loads and loads of traffic but not a single sale. I'm thinking about targeting buyer's through a promotional youtube video as a guide on how to use the product and maybe another promotional only video.
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          • Profile picture of the author Krazygraphic
            Originally Posted by Meta Morph View Post

            yea I'm just starting out and I can verify that traffic doesn't equal sales. I have loads and loads of traffic but not a single sale. I'm thinking about targeting buyer's through a promotional youtube video as a guide on how to use the product and maybe another promotional only video.
            What do you sell ? Not sure about the YouTube deal ... I have never clicked an ad on YouTube a day in my life to be honest with you. You can only target the people that are interested in products like yours.

            Like in my case since I sell motorcycle Decals my target is Motorcycle Forums , does it help ? Yes ... Does it help a lot ? No ... but it's all I can really do as of now.
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            • Profile picture of the author cfarmer
              I wish I would have known that just sticking with a plan long enough to see it work, would produce more results than jumping form one shiny object to the next.

              Of course I was told this, but it never sunk in until waaaay later down the road.

              Find your system or plan and stick with it, work on your business every day, not just when you feel like it.
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            • Profile picture of the author Meta Morph
              Originally Posted by Krazygraphic View Post

              What do you sell ? Not sure about the YouTube deal ... I have never clicked an ad on YouTube a day in my life to be honest with you. You can only target the people that are interested in products like yours.

              Like in my case since I sell motorcycle Decals my target is Motorcycle Forums , does it help ? Yes ... Does it help a lot ? No ... but it's all I can really do as of now.
              I sell crossbows and tactical gadgets
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              • Profile picture of the author Krazygraphic
                That is sweet , PM me your link and I would also be willing to put a banner on my site for ya.
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  • Profile picture of the author Gary Ning Lo
    Yes this is one of the big pitfalls of new internet marketers.

    Always going after new techniques to drive free traffic and wasting time.

    I prefer outsourcing the free methods and using the paid ones.

    Cheers,

    Gary
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  • Profile picture of the author KateHunter
    Oh so that is what Motorcycle Decals are! They are pretty. Shame I have no motocycle. I guess some traffic is just random (like my comment).
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  • Profile picture of the author thedanbrown
    hmmmm is that why there's a new "traffic tactic" wso out each day.... HMMM... haha

    But ya it's true to build an online business you either need to invest time or money or a combination of the two.
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  • Profile picture of the author Krazygraphic
    Exactly ! I would say both really
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  • Profile picture of the author twinkenterprises
    I think the free traffic is just people who are trying to earn free traffic for their own sites. I don't think any of my free traffic ever bought or signed up for my list or anything.
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  • Profile picture of the author Michael Ten
    Great point, Dante. We can always improve our tactics for success. Your logic is hard to refute.
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  • Profile picture of the author FraggleJ78
    Paid traffic is great, because it's instant. It allows you to test conversions and scale up. Great for people with money to expedite the process of growing a business. Generally you are going to have lower conversions than the free traffic methods, but at a much larger scale to make up for it.

    Free traffic is great because it allows you to build relationships with people. In order to get any substantial amounts of free traffic you need to focus on building an audience that likes and trusts you. To build this you aren't investing money, but you are investing time. Focusing on this method allows you to "presell" someone before they ever land on your website. Conversions can be much higher if you do it right.

    Both of them work for different reasons. You can make an absolute killing online if you use both. It should be about building trust, rather than trying to sell the next shiny object.
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  • Profile picture of the author Willie Crawford
    I would have focused more on things that offer residual
    income... consumables and services, rather than focusing
    so much on one-off sales.

    For example, if I were starting as a newbie today, I'd
    probably focus on apps since they offer that monthly
    hosting fee. There are lots of similar products though.
    Build a customer base in one of those niches and all you
    have to do to maintain a nice steady income is replace
    customers who drop out through attrition.

    Willie
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