My Progress So Far + Solicitation for Advice from Experienced IM-ers

Personally If your system is working I'd stick with it. What I would do though is think about would be to keep on adding content to existing sites and flipping some of them. That way you could manage your dozen or so sites but also benefit from the cash flow from your flipped sites, where you could outsource article writing etc.

Here are some thoughts:

1. Flip the sites that are not making money for you.
2. Post 1 (come on you can do it) article to each of the old sites that make money
3. Monitor the effect of #2 (above) and work out your ROI against creating new sites

Essentially, I think you are doing just fine, but the above might help you tweak your approach a little.

Good luck.

Will

I think you're doing very well - to crank it up a bit I'd also suggest Flipping some sites, as well as doing some video promotion and also with the Niches which are working well why not create some Ebooks and start selling them through the Niche Sites you have as well as >>> On Amazon and Kindle??? Are you gathering emails through your autoreponder?

Did I say a very Happy birthday to you. I probably have seen more and never mention mine now cause of that so it is good for someone to enjoy there birthday.

First and foremost, great job for taking action and doing it consistently! You're seeing wonderful results because of it! But it sounds like you have IM A.D.D. LOL

I think the advice of selling off the website you're done with makes total sense. Maybe that's just your business model since you don't want to stick with one website. There are always warriors here buying and selling ready to made sites so it's a profitable business.

Hopefully you're building a list on these sites. Because that could be another source of recurring income by selling solo ads to other marketers that want to target your niche.
You can make a lot of consistent money that way considering the number of sites you have. So that may be an option outside of flipping the sites.

But I can't help but feel if you actually picked one or two that you're really passionate about and build it into an authority website you could make a lot of money!

Anyway you're making some money and that's a great thing. It may be a matter of adding some additional elements like the list building and solo ads to make even more.

Cupcakemonster,

You're internet marketing beginnings mimic mine almost exactly.

I was making about $2K from just two sites when I first got started - and I was relying on Gargoyle for all of my traffic. In fact, one of those sites still exists today and I just received a commission check for $70 from the affiliate program assigned to it and it hasn't been touched in years.

The best advice I can give to you regarding your (lack of) a business model, is to have an exit plan for each and every one of the websites you own. Unless you are running a blog in the manner Pat Flynn runs Smart Passive Income, the day will inevitably come when your websites take a dive.

It would looks something like this:

1) What maximum earnings per month, per site, would I be satisfied with before selling this site?
2) Have I left any room for the new buyer to grow the site higher?
3) Where does the typical buyer of a site like mine 'hang out'?
4) What could I reasonably expect to earn from a sale based on all the information I have provided?
5) Is this process of mine scalable and cost effective?

You are correct.

You do not have a business plan at all.

You own 'temporary assets' that really shouldn't be considered assets in the first place, especially if the traffic comes from search engines almost exclusively.

Now if you were to tell me that these sites you own were forums with established communities, we'd be going down another route, so I have to assume.

The next piece of advice I would give you is to get rid of 8 of those 12 sites instantly, no matter how in love you are with them.

You can't possibly run 12 websites, and run them all efficiently, without sacrificing something (usually quality in lieu of financing).

I would venture to say that running 4 sites is much too much - and if you are 'SEO'ing these sites, you are in for a rude awakening anyway, so dump 8 of them immediately.

After you wash your hands with those sites - start thinking about the foundation under which your business model was built.

I interview 6 and 7 figure earners in internet marketing every week, and the thing they all have in common is they spend the vast majority of their time networking and collaborating with other smart, driven, and successful marketers while they focus on creating their own teaching and coaching programs.

I suggest you take the skills you are learning and start creating course material that would be valuable to someone once in your shoes.

Its those courses that become your 'permanent assets'.

As you prepare this coursework, get networking with the people you aspire to be.

I spent the first four years of my business burying my head in the sand and not focusing on the bigger picture and I lost all of that time in the process.

Build that foundation first, start networking, and unload most of those sites.

The advice I am giving you isn't something I read in Success magazine by the way.

This is my own real life experience that has and continues to help me prepare for a secure future for myself and my loved ones.

Good luck my friend.

Hit me up if you need anything else.

Brendon