Alast

Hey guys,

After being inspired by a similar thread to this one, I have decided to set myself some goals and stick with them, whilst posting about my accomplishments on this thread.

Before I dive into what I plan to achieve, I will tell you a little about me.

I am a student, and therefore there may be days that I will be unable to achieve much at all. This will be in particular relevance when I have exams/assignments that I need to complete, so I will let you know when this might happen. That being said - I plan to work on this challenge as much as I can, and am willing to dedicate all of my free time to achieve success.

The reason I'm doing this is because I feel as though I need constant motivation, and believe that if I make a thread (even if nobody pays attention to it) I will feel constantly obligated to working harder and harder to reach my goals.

I have been inspired by several members here with article syndication. Alexa Smith has taught me not only article syndication, but also the importance of choosing the right niche, as well as many other very important aspects to achieving success online.

As a result, I have already chosen my 'perfect' niche, created my website, purchased email marketing software, as well as written four articles as of now. Here is how I plan to execute this method:

1. Choose a niche. (check)

2. Create a freebie for subscribers. (check)

2. Create a nice-looking website to entice viewers to continue looking through my website. (check)

3. Create four quality articles for my website which will be used for syndication purposes. (check)

4. Create a series of messages for my email autoresponder for subscribers. (check)

5. Begin contacting relevant website owners requesting them to syndicate my articles.

-------------------------

I would also like to say that this essentially isn't starting from scratch. I have currently emailed 50-60 websites, and have my article(s) published on roughly three of those websites. In addition: I currently have two subscribers, and have had roughly 100 unique visitors come to my website (most isn't exactly targeted - I sent my website to several friends for their opinions, as well as testing on another traffic source which was proven to be useless).

I am currently at $0 on Clickbank, and will be promoting a product with the commission of $22.74 and the other $70.64.

Throughout this challenge, I plan to not only send out masses of emails hoping for syndication partners, but to also constantly write more quality articles for more of a variety, as well as constantly updating my email responses as more and more subscribers at on my list.

The Goals

1. Make my first sale by the end of this month (April).
2. Make $1000 by the end of June.
3. Have consistent $50-$100/days by the start of July.

I may add more if I believe they are suitable.

Wish me luck!!

Also - I would be more than happy if you joined me on this goal. Feel free to keep the thread moving with your achievements (only if the method is similar, though).

Alast

Just an update -

I have currently sent out 10 emails hoping for them to me syndicated. This has taken me roughly 1-2 hours, and it is currently 11:50am where I live. My aim for today is to send out at least 20~ more emails, and maybe start on a new article.

Unfortunately HostGator was down for many hours overnight, so I was unable to receive any new visitors. It's unfortunate given one of my articles was published just as it went down, so I don't know what the result was.

At the end of the day, I will write everything I accomplished, and any results that may have occurred.

Alast

DAY 1

Okay, so I know the day isn't up time-wise, but I have come to an end of working.

I sent a total of 31 emails out to websites. Of those 31, three have responded all having an interest in publishing my article!

I have also managed to come up with a few article ideas that I will begin writing shortly.

Other than that, time will tell whether or not it has been 'worth it'.

P.S. It should be acknowledged that I didn't get as much done as I planned. This isn't because I was lazy, but because Hostgator was down and I didn't want anyone publishing my articles if my website wasn't going to be working for visitors!

Herberto

Hey Alast,

I'll be following your thread and I wish you the best of luck. I followed a similar thread to this a while ago and article syndication is something i'm interested in "giving a go" but just haven't had the time this year. I think the key is organisation. Set a goal for each day the night before and be strict about that, whether it be a certain number of emails or articles. Make sure you take short, regular breaks and keep hydrated too, as I find my performance at a computer takes a nosedive when I don't keep a check on those things.

All the best, Chris

Joe Stewart

Hi Alast,


I thought about posting a thread on this the other day but it's been hard for me to commit to working it every day. Still, I've gotten quite a lot ready to go and plan to "cheat" a bit when it comes to contacting other sites by allowing my part-time assistant to send a "template" email that's similar to what other Warriors have used, but it will have my own twist added to it, of course. I'll contact all newsletter owners, members of the Directory of Ezines, etc, but I simply don't have the time to research and email 150+ people every week.

You said:

Me too. :-)


I completely understand. I have an offline business that I'm trying to rebuild and it takes up a lot of my time and energy. My day begins at 3:45 and ends at 2:30. Of course, my son gets home from school at 2:45, my wife by 4:00 and we take turns with household duties. I've been making room here and there for this and am even considering cutting back my offline hours after I get some obligations taken care of. Gotta make it happen!

I have too. Alexa, myob, tpw, John McCabe and more recently, brittlesnc.



I'm doing two closely related niches at the same time. My thought is that if I send two examples of my articles that are closely related I would have a better chance at getting at least one, possibly both syndicated.

I'm also doing as Warrior myob suggested and setting up portfolios at EzineArticles.com with links to them in my emails.

M

1. Choose a niche. (check)

2. Create a freebie for subscribers. (check)

2. Create a nice-looking website to entice viewers to continue looking through my website. (check)

3. Create four quality articles for my website which will be used for syndication purposes. (check)

4. Create a series of messages for my email autoresponder for subscribers. (check)

5. Begin contacting relevant website owners requesting them to syndicate my articles.[/quote]

-------------------------

I would also like to say that this essentially isn't starting from scratch. I have currently emailed 50-60 websites, and have my article(s) published on roughly three of those websites. In addition: I currently have two subscribers, and have had roughly 100 unique visitors come to my website (most isn't exactly targeted - I sent my website to several friends for their opinions, as well as testing on another traffic source which was proven to be useless).

I am currently at $0 on Clickbank, and will be promoting a product with the commission of $22.74 and the other $70.64.

Throughout this challenge, I plan to not only send out masses of emails hoping for syndication partners, but to also constantly write more quality articles for more of a variety, as well as constantly updating my email responses as more and more subscribers at on my list.

The Goals

1. Make my first sale by the end of this month (April).
2. Make $1000 by the end of June.
3. Have consistent $50-$100/days by the start of July.

I may add more if I believe they are suitable.

Wish me luck!!

Also - I would be more than happy if you joined me on this goal. Feel free to keep the thread moving with your achievements (only if the method is similar, though). [/QUOTE]

My New "Share All" Blog Is Coming Soon! Online & Offline Marketing, More!

http://www.UnCENTSored.com

Joe Stewart

Hi Alast,


I thought about posting a thread on this the other day but it's been hard for me to commit to working it every day. Still, I've gotten quite a lot ready to go and plan to "cheat" a bit when it comes to contacting other sites by allowing my part-time assistant to send a "template" email that's similar to what other Warriors have used, but it will have my own twist added to it, of course. I'll contact all newsletter owners, members of the Directory of Ezines, etc, but I simply don't have the time to research and email 150+ people every week.

You said:

Me too. :-)


I completely understand. I have an offline business that I'm trying to rebuild and it takes up a lot of my time and energy. My day begins at 3:45 and ends at 2:30. Of course, my son gets home from school at 2:45, my wife by 4:00 and we take turns with household duties. I've been making room here and there for this and am even considering cutting back my offline hours after I get some obligations taken care of. Gotta make it happen!

I have too. Alexa, myob, tpw, John McCabe and more recently, brittlesnc.



I'm doing two closely related niches at the same time. My thought is that if I send two examples of my articles that are closely related I would have a better chance at getting at least one, possibly both syndicated.

I'm also doing as Warrior myob suggested and setting up portfolios at EzineArticles.com with links to them in my emails.

My progress so far is as follows:

1. Choose a niche.

(done - actually, two niches)

2. Create a freebie for subscribers.

(I just completed one yesterday, got it uploaded and got the welcome/download message set-up in Aweber)

2. Create a nice-looking website to entice viewers to continue looking through my website.

(Done)

3. Create four quality articles for my website which will be used for syndication purposes.

(done & done+)

4. Create a series of messages for my email autoresponder for subscribers.

(I still need to do this for both niches)

5. Begin contacting relevant website owners requesting them to syndicate my articles.

(I've been having my assistant collect website addresses using a certain critera. I have around 180 so far. She doesn't know it yet but she's going to be emailing them next week once I've set-up a new mail account.

-------------------------

I'm starting from scratch from a traffic standpoint. I used to do a lot of article directory marketing, but that's not nearly as effective anymore.

I do have several dozen articles written in one niche and around 10 in the other. One niche has a nice payout, but not a very deep backend. The only reason I chose it was because it's very easy for me to write about. I've already built and sold at least three profitable sites in this niche. I may end up selling this one eventually too, but I could use a jump start, so it made sense.

The other niche has a massive backend and will be around forever. :-)

I haven't researched any Clickbank products yet. That's something I should do this weekend, but I'm really quite sick with strep throat (lab results just came back today) and all I want to do is sleep. Probably Saturday.


My goals are to simply keep syndicating and let the cards fall where they may. Don't get me wrong, I'm definitely a goal oriented individual, but it's difficult to set realistic goals with syndication. The reason I say that is because it will be difficult to get traffic that's extremely targeted, as competitors usually won't want to use articles with links that go to sites that have similar offers as their own. Well, unless they strip out the links or resource box. It happens.

That makes it hard to know how well things will convert initially, especially products with low gravity, though it's pretty simple to pick a product that has a decent sales letter. Once you get more targeted subscribers you'll be able to test offers and improve your email follow-up sequence, but in the beginning we're kind of throwing a whole lot out there and hoping that a lot will stick. Make sense?

Warrior "LegionNate" posted about his experience (the link is in Brittany's thread) and he said that he initially emailed 100 sites, got 20 replies, 10 posted his article and two replied and said they wouldn't use his content anymore unless it was unique. That's only 8% "net", BUT that's 8% that will probably want to receive more content in the future!

Paul Myers posted that Nate could greatly increase his conversion rate (for signups) by testing different elements of his landing page. Nate was using a squeeze page, not a blog as Alexa recommends. I'm definitely using a blog for one niche, but may use a squeeze page for the other and send them to the blog afterward.

Anyway, I wish you the very best with your challenge. I'll post as I make progress as well. I don't EVER want to go through another winter like this past one, business wise.

Here's a personal goal for me. I want to be earning at least $1,500.00 per month by December 1st. That's over 7 months from now. I have no doubt in my mind that it's doable.

Let's rock!


Joe

My New "Share All" Blog Is Coming Soon! Online & Offline Marketing, More!

http://www.UnCENTSored.com

Alast

Hi Chris,

Thank you for your kind words. I think that if you even send out 5-10 emails a day (30-60 minutes of your time) then success is more than achievable. As you said, it comes down to organisation and goal setting, not necessarily spending your whole day sending out emails and writing articles. I have planned to spend 2-4 hours a day solidly working on this challenge. I'll probably spend more time, but I don't think it's a necessity. And absolutely; taking breaks when necessary is a extremely important for me as it gives me time to refocus.

I hope you manage to find a small amount of time and try it out yourself!

Take care,
Alast

Alast

Hi Joe,

I can understand where you're coming from. I'm currently on break which has given me a lot of time to focus on this challenge. Granted, as my break ends I'll find myself struggling to spend a decent amount of time to continue with this challenge, but I will try my absolute best to ensure I achieve success. I think starting was proven to be the most challenging aspect of my online venture so far. Honestly - if it wasn't for Alexa assisting me and pointing me in the right direction, there would be no way I'd be doing this challenge right now. Now that I have a niche, a website, articles and an autoresponder, I know that not only if I don't make money, I'll still have to pay for the tools, but also just knowing all the boring 'tedious' tasks are behind me has definitely increased my motivation drastically.

I couldn't afford an assistant, and honestly, sending out emails personally is, in my opinion, a much better way of syndicating articles than getting someone else to do it. In no way am I saying you're wrong (you're most definitely going to save a lot of time), but article syndicating is building a genuine relationship with other website owners, so I'd want to contact them personally, not having someone else to do it for me. I hope it all works out for you though!

Wow, I'm going to presume you start at 3:45am and finish at 2:30pm. That's an incredibly long day, and I can completely understand why you might be finding it difficult to find time after a long day at work, along with family commitments and other commitments you may have. The fact you're considering taking more time of your day to pursue your online venture is in itself, inspiring! I would love to hear how you go as you continue to grow your online business; whether it be slowly, or quickly. This challenge is open to anyone, and I'd feel incredibly grateful if I knew that this challenge motivated others to generate success online.

Absolutely. I was inspired with this thread as a result of the success of brittlesnc, and have been studying posts from other names you have also mentioned. Let's hope it works out for the both of us!

This is excellent! You have executed a feasible plan, and it definitely seems like it's heading in the right direction. It took me around one-two months to just find a niche (yes, I was slow ) as well as setting up everything else up (website, autoresponder) and now that that's all done - I feel as though I can finally work my way through email syndication which I genuinely find enjoyable. I'm not sure why, but I get extremely satisfied when I receive responses, especially those willing to publish my article(s). I guess that is a large motivational factor for taking several hours out of my day to send out emails.

In a sense I wish I had started this thread from scratch in terms of traffic, but knowing that I have a little experience (miniscule, in fact) of article syndication has allowed me to achieve a 'taste' of what it's like, and put the quantity of emails I'll need to send into perspective. Also - the fact that most won't actually respond is definitely an eye-opener. For my business, I couldn't handle simply not responding to anyone interested in my business, no matter the reason for their email. Although I'm sure it's definitely plausible for those who are bombarded with emails on a daily basis.

The niche I have decided to work with wasn't chosen necessarily strategically in terms of having the ability to write about, but the topic has attached to me, and I don't really feel like it's a burden to write about. I still have only written four articles, so time will tell whether or not I truly enjoy writing about the niche. That being said: I can't say I like writing at all. I write several thousand words for school each week alone, and often the thought of writing another 1000~ word article that doesn't NEED to be submitted often leaves me to procrastinate. I do consider myself to be a competent writer, but I don't think I could ever become a full-time writer/author. I do, however, enjoy responding to emails and threads such as this one.

Yes, I definitely recommend you do so ASAP. For my future websites, the first thing I will do is research products within the niche to ensure it's worth even writing about. There's no point setting up a website and writing content if you have nothing to promote in that niche, right?

Nonetheless, I hope you feel better soon! I am lucky in the sense that very rarely do I ever get sick. I'm not a 'health' fanatic by all means, but if I'm sick, it'll just be for a day or two, and the last time I was sick was over a year ago, I believe.
Get well soon!

You're absolutely right. I don't necessarily think I have set those goals to strictly be achieved and to feel like a failure if they aren't achieved, however they do definitely motivate me and help me stay from procrastinating. I don't know if they are 'realistic' or not for a new marketer, so only time will tell.

Yes, that does make sense. I genuinely have faith in my products, especially as they are some of the most renowned products in my niche. They have an incredible amount of positive feedback, and what's more reassuring is both vendors have given me a free copy of their product as an affiliate. Just the fact they are responsive allows me to believe that they are worthy to promote. In addition, both products allow a 30-60 day full money back guaranteed if unsuccessful, so essentially I have chosen products based on quality, responsiveness, and very low risk for any customers. Alexa has personally approved of the product in terms of the sale pages, so to me, I have chosen the 'perfect' products. That being said, only time will tell if they really live up to the expectations, which I believe they will.

I have had similar experiences with my email syndication so far. I have had one website publish two of my articles, and I have acquired two subscribers in total. I presume the subscribers were as a result of their website as it's the one with the most unique visitors that have come to my website (a whole 7 unique visitors! ). I will continue providing that website more and more relevant content, as well as expanding to other websites which is my main objective right now. I am using a 'blog' for my niche, as I feel as though it's the best way to enhance the relationship with customers. If they have a genuine interest in my content, then there is more of a chance that they will be willing to make a purchase from me. I would be very interested to see how you go with both ideas. I will only be working with one niche, but will definitely create more websites once I have more free time and my current niche website is gaining business.

Thank you for the kind words! I would love to hear about how you go with your article syndication endeavors! I'm sorry to hear about your winter - that itself should be an immense motivator for you.

I strongly feel that $1,500/month within 7 months is more than achievable, and a very realistic goal.

All the best,

Alast

Alast

Just an update on today's progress:

I have sent out 6 emails so far; one already being denied. Also - I woke up to another email which also was denied.

Not to worry -- still plenty more to send!

Also, I have just discovered something which will now save me LOTS of time: Google filtering. I now only see websites that I haven't viewed before. This is literally saving myself a lot of time and effort. Can't believe I didn't think of it before.

Joe Stewart

This is huge. I totally understand. Just getting started and seeing your work begin to bear fruit is very inspiring, though it can be a bit stressful until you start making a few sales to cover expenses.

She's only a part-time assistant, though she's worked for me for the better part of 3 years now. I don't pay her a whole lot of wages, but I give her nice bonuses based on results. In other words, when I make money, she makes MORE money. I also give her paid time off whenever she needs a break, give her a paid week at Christmas, etc. We've become close and I have a lot of trust in her.

I understand what you're saying about contacting people personally. Alexa said the same thing, and I do agree, but there's simply not enough time in the day for me to be doing it consistently. As I mentioned, the template email will be very relevant to the niche(s), I'll be very considerate, very professional, etc. My goal is to encourage them to contact me. Once they reply I'll definitely be taking over from there. :-)



Actually, I get up at 3:45 and start work at 4:30. We're in Pacific time now, but when the time changes in a few months my hours will move forward one hour. Still, it does make for long days sometimes. I have to find a balance between work and family and it's become difficult. Anyway...



I have no doubt that it will. What Brittany did was amazing. She took their advice, put together a plan of action and went to work. She shared her failures, successes and daily challenges, both personal and business. That's what made it so "real". It's one of my favorite threads on the entire forum.


Thanks. I was shocked when they called today. I went to the doctor on Monday and they said they'd call back on Tuesday if the results were positive, but they didn't call until today. Dumb!

You're in good hands with Alexa. I'm pretty much just doing what she said as well, though I am going to modify a couple things that others are having success with.

I haven't decided whether to use a squeeze page for the second site or not yet. There are a couple things about the blog that I don't like and I've allowed that to hold me up too long. Even my helper has said so. I'm going to look at it one more time this weekend and make a decision one way or another. If I do send it to a squeeze page I can always redirect that domain to the blog later, or just set up a landing page on the blog.

The "polar vortex" storms had a nasty effect on my offline business. That and a few personal things that I've already whined about enough here were a real drag. Enough said.

Even having $1500.00 per month coming in won't make everything perfect, but it will be a good start and offer a little breathing room. Once that's in place I'll be able to put a lot more time on the online business through the winter. That should make 2015 a NICE year! I might even consider selling my offline business once I hit a certain plateau and am 99.9% positive that my income streams aren't going anywhere.


I have no doubt. :-)

All the best to you, too.

Joe

My New "Share All" Blog Is Coming Soon! Online & Offline Marketing, More!

http://www.UnCENTSored.com

Alast

Yes - I am lucky I started selling services beforehand. I now have more than enough to cover the costs for many years (although I certainly hope I make sales before then!)

It's great to see you providing someone with an income! Nevertheless the amount, as long as you are both content and happy with the way things are going, then you don't need to justify anything to anyone. Glad to see you can confidently put trust in an employee.

That sounds like a good plan. I think as long as you are in touch with the owner willing to comply with your article syndication, then you'll be able to steadily build the relationship.

I would have to say it IS my favorite thread on the whole forum. Nothing has been more motivational, and it definitely made me want to try even harder to succeed. I am extremely grateful for Alexa recommending me to read the thread. It has added perspective to article syndication from personal experiences. I would love to echo similar success over time.
Anyone is in good hands with Alexa's assistance. I may change my structure as I gain more experience, but as of now I don't think I have enough personal experience to go on a tangent from the current method. I believe modifications will become natural to help my business grow; it's starting out that was a struggle.

You're right - do what you think is right for your business. Everyone has different preferences and structures they prefer. I think you're showing initiative which is obviously a good trait for this type of business!

I see what you mean. I'm from Australia, so I have never experienced any sort of storm which is similar, which I am very fortunate of.

I also think 2015 will be a really good year for me. I'll be taking a year off study to focus online full-time; so I am determined to have some sort on income by at the very minimum the end of the year. Obviously I would like to start seeing consistent sales before then, but I'm not exactly sure what will happen. It's too unpredictable at this stage.

I hope it all works out for you! Keep me updated.

Alast

Alast

DAY 2

I didn't get a significant amount completed today. I emailed 13 websites, only one response so far which rejected my article unfortunately. That being said, one of my articles will be published on quite a popular website which receives significant, quite targeted traffic.

In addition, I have started working on my next article. Given the next few nights are Easter, I doubt much progress will be made. I'll try and at least finish my article tomorrow, and maybe send out more emails; depending on how busy I am.

Alast

Unfortunately I will most likely not have time to achieve much today. I'm genuinely disappointed, but I'm not at home and won't be until tomorrow - not much I can do if I want a productive work environment.

I promise either tomorrow or Monday will be far more productive!

Alast

DAY 3
I essentially 'took the day off' today, which was difficult because I was looking forward to sending out more emails. That being said - my article was published but has so far shown no results.

Joe Stewart

It's a numbers game. Keep your chin up. This is a journey, not an overnight event. Something that Warrior John McCabe said was something like "just because a site isn't getting much traffic now doesn't mean that it won't in the future." So don't despair. It's a numbers game.

I'm frustrated because my wife and son were scheduled to be gone from Friday morning until Saturday night and I'm sick! It would be a perfect time to get some stuff done, but all I want to is sleep. Oh well, things happen.

One thing I did get accomplished is I sorted through around 17 articles that my helper wrote, ran them through Copyscape and found out that 13 of them haven't been uploaded to my blog yet. I'm going through those one at a time and editing, adding and taking away content, injecting some personality, etc to make them my own. She speaks "good" English, not great, but good, but she does excellent research. It's a huge time saver on topics I don't know a lot about.

One thing I did a couple months ago was go through Brittany's threads and made a little report for my own personal use. I deleted most negative, distracting or non-relevant posts and made it into more of a day by day actionable process. I recommend you do something similar.

Basically, we know it works. It's her process that's motivating because you can see how it takes time to get the ball rolling. Something that really stood out to me was that she was working 3-6 hours many days contacting people. She also sent postal mail to some blog/newsletter owners that she wanted to use her content.

One thing I'm not going to do is try to be perfect. It'll never happen. I'm just going to follow the advice of others, take consistent action, "fail forward" and improve things as I go.

I'll update as I make more progress.

Joe

My New "Share All" Blog Is Coming Soon! Online & Offline Marketing, More!

http://www.UnCENTSored.com

Alast

Thank you for the advice!

I'm home now, so distraction free for the next few days (I hope).

I managed to get two more articles syndicated, and 1-2 who are going to publish over the next few days. Still not seeing much traffic or any opt-ins, though.

Alast

Good news! I just had my first subscriber since posting this thread!

Let's hope for more.

Alast

DAY 4

I have had my first subscriber since making this thread, which is always exciting.

In addition, I sent out 9 more emails. In total I have sent over 100 emails to different websites. 20 have sent me a response, of which 10 have agreed to publish my article, or already have. I'm still not receiving much traffic (2-6 unique visitors a day), but hopefully it will change soon. I am expecting some improvements over the next few days as some of the published articles will be exposed to quite a large (and hopefully targeted) audience which will be shared to their Facebook page.

I should also add that I now have 30 days of my Autoresponder finished. I found out today that I had some relatively large flaws (emails missing), which have all been fixed up now.

Herberto

Hey,

Well done on your 1st subscriber! Out of interest, how long are the messages that you are writing for your autoresponder series?

Chris

Alast

They range, depending on what the message is about. Some are 100~ words, some are 300+. I just reuse articles most of the time unless I have something new I want to say.

Update: woke up with 2 more subscribers.

Edit: just got another one!

Herberto

Ah I see. So you essentially just write the articles for your site, create a message based on that article and then link back to it from the snippet? Makes sense I guess

Alast

Essentially, yes. I might break the article down into several emails, depending on the length and importance. Also - continuity and transparency are crucial for the emails. Make sure you are completely open with what you say, and at the end, introduce the subscribers with what you'll talk about in your next email, so they can look forward to reading it.

Alast

DAY 5

I've had a good day today. Not only did I get quite a bit of work done, but I'm also seeing results.

I have emailed 18 more websites requesting to publish my article. I'm finding it difficult to discover new websites after over 100 different websites already sent, so emailing masses of websites is taking longer than I would like. Nevertheless, it's getting done.

One of my articles was published to quite a large audience, and has given me 30 unique visitors and 4 subscribers (which is more than I've ever had). I hope I can maintain similar results from now-on; only to increase traffic!

No sales - as expected.

Joe Stewart

Well, I've gotten quite a bit done since Saturday, but it doesn't really seem like it. I was going through some older lists I had on Aweber and found one 5 part series of follow-up messages that, with a bit of editing, should work just fine for one of my two niches. I just have to find a similar product on Clickbank and that should be pretty simple to do.

One thing I was surprised by was how much work still remains to be done on the sites I thought were almost ready to go. I've worked on one (not the one mentioned above) and had to do quite a bit of editing, expand the navigation menu so the site is much more user friendly, add affiliate links and "soft, benefit laden calls to action" on the product pages.

I also got a short report put together, turned it into a PDF, got it uploaded, got the opt-in form in the upper sidebar, etc. Honestly, this only needs a few simple messages added to the follow-up series in Aweber and it will be ready to go now

I also set up a new email address that I'll be using exclusively for syndication purposes.

Honestly, I really regret having so many articles uploaded now to these sites. It's VERY good that I have them, but they're not all edited and many pages need affiliate links, images, etc. It would have been MUCH easier to start off with just a few articles in place.

I took a bit of a shortcut on the site I've been working on and used the "Max Banner Ads" Wordpress plugin to provide a monetization option across the site and give it some "signs of life" instead of just being long pages of text. It's also a nice option for being able to test different offers across every page and in different locations on the page, though it's definitely not my first choice. Over time I want to get offers that are extremely targeted for each page, but in the meantime it will have to do.

I hate the "Powered by Max Banner Ads" link beneath the banners, but I don't want to spend the $47.00 to upgrade to the premium version though, so it will have to do in the meantime.

Anyway, I have a bit further to go than I originally thought, but I'm getting much closer. I intend to have everything in place and ready to go by the end of this week. That's a manageable goal.

My New "Share All" Blog Is Coming Soon! Online & Offline Marketing, More!

http://www.UnCENTSored.com

Alast

Nice to hear the progress, Joe!

DAY 6

I managed to send out 41 more emails. 2 have responded and denied my offer.

I received 4 more responses on previous emails, 2 who are willing to publish my article (one has already been published), and 2 who are thinking.

Unfortunately I did not receive anymore subscribers. I did however, get my first official affiliate product click (hop) on the $20 commission product. Let's hope I get a sale when it gets sent to my new subscribers!

In terms of traffic, the past two nights I have gotten 20-30 unique visits to my website. Some being those I sent the emails to.

Another email (day 35) has been added!

Alast

DAY 7

23 more emails sent. I only received 5 responses from those I sent yesterday, all rejecting my offer. That being said, I will have another one of my articles syndicated with a website who published my first article which was the best result of all the syndicated articles.

I have been getting a consistent amount of traffic (20~ visits a day), so I have not given up hope whatsoever. In total, I have sent over 180 emails with roughly 10~ agreeing to publish the article.

In addition, I have slowly progressed with my next article; roughly 550 words right now. I plan to finish it tomorrow when I stop procrastinating, and then offer it to all my syndicated partners if relevant.

No subscribers, no sales.

Alast

DAY 8

I managed to gain another subscriber, although it's still not consistent nor anything to be excited over.

I have sent out 25 more email today, which brings me to a total of over 200 sent. In addition, I have received several responses all either denying the article, or wanting it to be unique only. That being said, I have a good feeling about the emails I sent today. Also - another one of my articles will be posted at midnight which should (hopefully) bring positive results!

I think I'll aim to send at least 20 emails per day. I will also begin to send emails to websites which have already received an email from me, just no response.

On another note, I managed to mostly finish my 5th article, although it's only 650 words and needs to be increased. Let's just say I found it a difficult article to write, unfortunately.

Joe Stewart

Good job! Just keep plugging away. Regarding your unfinished article, jump on Google or Bing and find websites in that niche that you can quickly research. Go through a few pages and do nothing at first but scan the sub-heads for more things that you can add to your own article. Grab 2-3 related sub-heads for subject matter, write 150-200 words on each one and you'll have a nice article in no time. HTH

My New "Share All" Blog Is Coming Soon! Online & Offline Marketing, More!

http://www.UnCENTSored.com

Alast

DAY 9

I didn't achieve a whole lot today; mainly focused on school-related work. I did send 6 more emails, but am now struggling to find new websites to ask for syndication. I received several responses to previously sent emails: 2 willing to source/publish my article, and a few unwilling to syndicate my articles. I now have 10-20 syndication partners, and am expecting more responses over the next few days.

Procrastination has kept me from continuing the 5th article, unfortunately. I am going to dedicate tomorrow to finishing it, before I do anything else.

I gained 1 more subscriber, but no sales (yet).

Joe Stewart

Actually, I did get a few things accomplished yesterday, but I also got blindsided by an unexpected turn of events. It seems that the primary affiliate program I was going to promote in one of my niches has ended our agreement. I guess it was for lack of activity. I applied again, but it came back declined.

I can always find another affiliate program, but I also compiled a new giveaway report for this niche yesterday and made that discovery when I went to get an affiliate link after it was written. Can you say "Argghhhh!" :-(

Oh well, I was looking for an offer when I found that one, right? I'll just have to find something else.

The good news is that I should have 5-6 well written follow-up messages for both niches completed today, as well as the second giveaway report.

I've had my helper collecting URLs for both niches over the past three weeks or so and going through and weeding out undesirable sites, sites that are no longer published, etc so we have clean lists now.

I just gave her the task of going to each one and collecting contact information that includes email, phone number, physical address or P.O. Box, etc so I have multiple ways of contacting these people.

Some of the more popular sites may get bombarded with emails from people constantly wanting them to publish articles on their site. Another Warrior gave Brittany advice to contact some of these people offline. I can't remember if it was Annie Potts or Mike Tucker?

Anyway, I bought a roll of 100 stamps specifically for that once before, but now I've nearly used them all for my offline business. Time to buy some more stamps. :-)

Just a thought, have you been searching sites that are similar but not directly related to your niche as well? Another Warrior recommended that you search for sites "laterally" because they'll still be niche related, but they won't necessarily be a competitor. Make sense?

Also, have you done a search for ezines and newsletters in your niche? You might get a steady boost of traffic from those as well. Some newsletter and ezine owners might really like your content and publish it once per month. Those individuals run out of ideas too and can use a steady source of articles, provided that they're well written.

Anyway, back to work I go.

Joe

My New "Share All" Blog Is Coming Soon! Online & Offline Marketing, More!

http://www.UnCENTSored.com

Alast

Yes - that is what I often search for. I think I've contacted most of the websites directly related to my niche, so I have no other choice, essentially. I just need to find more keywords so the search results aren't so broad and irrelevant.

Alast

DAY 10

13 more emails sent, as well as emailing all my current syndicated partners the new article for them to publish (or another one if I found it more suitable).

Not much else happened, but I have been getting quite consistent traffic lately (a few views from older published articles each day ) but no subscribers. I believe my current subscribers will be receiving their first product offer tomorrow, so I hope it turns into a sale!

brittlesnc

Hey Alast,

Congrats on getting started with article syndication...I wish you luck with it.

Joe Stewart

Finally! With the exception of adding more text affiliate links to my sites, I'm ready to start syndicating articles on Monday!

Woot!

I'm not 100% happy with the product options I had to replace what I was originally going to promote in one of the niches, but these will have to be "good enough" for now. They're fairly popular, pay decent commissions and I can always swap them out later if they're not converting well.

I'm so glad that those milestones are finished. It's all about traffic now.

My New "Share All" Blog Is Coming Soon! Online & Offline Marketing, More!

http://www.UnCENTSored.com

Alast

Thank you! I hope to achieve similar success as you.

Alast

Good job! Look forward to seeing your success!

Alast

Unfortunately, GetResponse is down so my emails didn't actually send as planned.. which obviously could cost me a sale, which truly sucks.

As a result, I don't plan on sending any emails out today as I believe there's no point if nobody can even opt-in regardless.

Shame.

brittlesnc

Hi Alast,

Just wanted to make some suggestions on other ways you could find outlets to publish your content:

1. If you notice the website has a newsletter or opt-in you could offer your content for their subscribers; especially for the websites that have said 'no' to syndicating your content on their website but who have a subscriber list---they might say 'yes' since it's not "on" their site...

2. If you haven't already use search operators:

- (niche keyword phrase) + "write for us"
- (niche keyword phrase) + "submit"
- (niche keyword phrase) + "author guidelines"
- (niche keyword phrase) + "writer guidelines"
- (niche keyword phrase) + "article submission"
- (niche keyword phrase) + "submit content"
- (niche keyword phrase) + "submit an article"
- (niche keyword phrase) + "author submission"
- (niche keyword phrase) + "article submission guidelines"

3. Find out what sites are linking to the sites that you've contacted thus far...stands to reason that if the sites you've contacted are being linked to from other sites that they might link out to your site via a syndicated article...the way to find out what sites are linking to a particular site is to use the following search operator in Google:

link:targetwebsite.com (in place of targetwebsite.com use whatever website you're trying to find links to)...

4. This method will be very tedious and you may or may not find very many websites but find good articles in your niche/market at ezinearticles.com and copy and paste the resource box of that article into Google using parenthesis (meaning exact match) to find out what other websites have published that article with the resource box in tact...

5. Another tedious EZA method would be to go to ezinearticles.com and check out the resource boxes of other article writers to see what their website is and contact them about syndicating your articles...the reasoning behind this is that some of them maybe receptive to syndicated content themselves...

Don't contact direct competitors because it's a waste of time...contact writers in niches that compliment/are "related" to your niche...and don't contact writers whose sites mainly focus on promoting affiliate products...ideally you should contact writers with content-rich sites...

6. Find out who the popular authors, writers, experts, and influential people are in your niche and do a search of their name to see if they have syndicated content across the internet...this might be very time consuming but it may help...

7. Set up Google alerts for keyword phrases and the names of influential people in your niche/market so that you get email(s) anytime there's news on those subjects...might be able to find a few syndication partners/outlets this way...

8. Do Google searches:

- (niche keyword phrase) online magazine
- (niche keyword phrase) online newsletter
- (niche keyword phrase) online journal

9. Look at the blogrolls and resource pages of websites to see what websites they're linking out to...might find a few websites in your market/niche to contact...

10. This may not get your content syndicated but it might get your site some exposure...find out if the websites you have already contacted (and websites you contact in future) are active on Facebook, Twitter, PInterest, etc. and ask if they'd be willing to share a link to an informative article on your website to their audience...

And as Joe has stated...you should maybe contact the websites you REALLY want to get your content onto via snail mail if they haven't responded to your request via email.

Likewise, start looking into contacting offline publications about syndicating your content (I haven't really done this yet either)...

More tips will be forthcoming...

brittlesnc

Other suggestions:

1. Make sure your articles are top quality...even if you have to spend a couple of days to make certain of that...your articles need to not only be informative but entertaining, weird and/or provocative/controversial...at the very least they have to be interesting as well as informative...

Basically the articles need to "wow" not just your 'potential' syndication partners but their audience as well...so if at all possible make your content amaze, standout and be as memorable as possible...make them anything but BORING...

And like Alexa Smith has always said...the ideal length would be 1,000 to 1,200 words...but if you can say what you need to say in 800 words that's fine too just as long as it's informative and interesting...

I also think she's of the opinion that anything less than 800 words would be too short...

2. Make sure your "resource box" that directs people to your site doesn't sound to "salesy"...ideally you want it to read almost as if it's the end of the article and 'just so happens' to direct readers to your site...this might help with getting readers to click thru to your website and it may help in getting more websites to say 'yes' to syndicating your content...

The resource box is important so test a few things out to see if it improves the number of people clicking thru to your site...

3. Have a relevant and enticing opt-in offer...and the offer needs to live up to whatever you promised the subscriber to get them to subscribe to get the offer in the first place...

Likewise, make the opt-in box as prominent as you possibly can...also the opt-in box should be a little "salesy" in wording to entice people to opt-in...

4. Include a link at the end of your free ebook/download that leads back to a review page on your website of the product you're promoting...the "review page" should be just that...a review of the product...the good and the bad of the product, the type of person(s) the product is best for, why you recommend it, etc...

This might get you a couple of initial sales right away...it did for me...

Moreover, what I did with my freebie was give the readers enough info to generally solve the problem on their own through trial-and-error but at the end encourage them to check out information on a product that "might" be able to get them "better" and "faster" results with less headache...

Also, there should be some sort of cliffhanger in the freebie (or the email message that includes the freebie if you prefer) to get subscribers to open the next email message in your autoresponder series...

5. Don't wait too long in the autoresponder series to start "recommending"/promoting a product...I would start by the 3rd email message which would be day 5 or 6 of them being on my list...

That's not to say that from then on you should "push" the product in every email...but you should recommend/promote the product fairly regular...but remember you're "pre-selling" or I should say "endorsing" the product...not selling it...so again...give the pros/cons of the product, who specifically it's best suited for, why you're recommending it, etc...

Let the vendor's sales letter do the selling...

So in a nutshell in order for article syndication to work you need to have all your elements in order:

1. The right niche/market...shouldn't do article syndication for niches/markets with demographics that prefer video or that don't like to do a whole lot of reading...for example, article syndication may not be ideal for promoting the service in your signature about creating 'whiteboard animation' since your target audience might prefer to be informed via video...

That's probably not the market/niche you're using article syndication for but picking the right niche for article marketing is important...and it does maybe require a bit of luck...

2. Your articles for syndication not only have to be informative and long enough to COMPLETELY get your point across but they also have to be INTERESTING...

3. Your resource box has to be worded in such a way that it gets people interested enough in clicking thru to your website but at the same time NOT selling people on the idea of clicking thru to your website...if that makes any sense lol :p

4. Prominent opt-in box on the landing page...prominent enough to where it's the first thing people notice when they land on your landing page...and you have to do a bit of a sales job to get people to opt-in so the wording of your opt-in is very important...

5. If you're offering a freebie not only does it have to be enticing to site visitors and brand/separate you from other marketers who are promoting the same products but it's also got to be relevant...

So although a chance to win something free or get something cool is enticing if it's not relevant to your niche or lacks continuity from what they read from your syndicated articles you're not going to do very well in terms of open rate and sales...

6. Your email messages have to be informative and interesting as well...not only that they need to be relevant to the niche and the 2 goals your email messages should have are...

To get subscribers used to clicking links that often point to your website and on occasion either to your review page of the product your promoting or directly to the sales page of that product...

And the other goal is to have some sort of cliffhanger in the email message that gets them to look forward to opening the next email message in your autoresponder series...

All the above has to be in order and that doesn't even take into consideration your 'potential' syndication partners...some of who may not get very much traffic to their own site to begin with; who might place your article on a part of their site that doesn't get a whole lot of traffic; etc.

Moreover, you may have been unlucky enough to pick a niche that article syndication just isn't a good way of getting traffic to your site...whether it's because there's not a whole lot of outlets to get your content published on; webmasters in that niche don't like to use syndicated content; the target audience doesn't respond well to lengthy articles; etc.

I know the above is probably a lot to take in...and it's just my own experience of article syndication mixed in with my opinion...so feel free to follow info that you feel is right for your own particular situation...

Hope my rambling was clear to you...

Wishing you much success with article syndication.

Alast

I haven't actually tried that; I might look through the websites and see if they're willing.
I was shown that method by both Alexa and Paul Myers (eBook). I couldn't find anything new and relevant after 200~ websites, unfortunately.
Thanks! I'll give that a shot.
I'll also give that a shot.
Yes, I agree. I have moved from contacting websites within strictly my niche to a more.. broad range of topics which could reflect my niche.
I haven't actually done this, surprisingly. I know who exactly to research; thanks!
I actually frequently look at their following on social media if they have a link somewhere. It's the first thing I look for as it reassures me that people are active on their website, as well as any shares they may have on their content.
I may consider that at a later stage, not right now though.

Thanks for the tips; much appreciated.

Alast

Yes - whiteboard animations is not my niche. I believe the niche I have chosen is very accepting of articles. I have had roughly 50 responses out of 200+, so it's not all that bad, right? It's just the once that DO publish my article(s) generally don't bring much traffic at all. Only two have brought a decent amount of traffic, and neither one has given over 50 unique visitors, unfortunately.
This is one thing I fear. My articles range from 650-1000~ words roughly, as it executes the point. Anymore and essentially I would just be writing for the sake of writing. One thing I have noticed is I have had feedback that there are spelling errors in one of my articles, but I simply cannot see any errors. I typically try to ensure my articles are error free, and have ran the article through spell-check and anything else I can do to ensure it's free from errors. I still don't understand where the errors are. :/
I don't have a review page. My product recommendations and reviews are strictly through my emails, and my audience doesn't see a product at all until roughly 6 days within the email sequence.
Thank you! I was wondering if you were open to a PM regarding my niche and a more.. confidential discussion regarding the article syndication. i.e. looking at my website, etc.

All the best,

Alast

anwar001

Interesting thread. I have a few questions:
1. Are you posting same article on different websites or just 1 article per site?
2. If posting same article on multiple sites, do the website owners know about this?
3. What kind of sites do you ideally submit articles to? Do you look for certain criteria like PageRank, Alexa rank etc?

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Alast

1. The same article on different websites; not necessarily the same article - depending on what suits what.
2. I don't tell them, no. But I also don't keep it a secret if they were to ask.
3. No rank or anything - that's too limiting. I submit to any site that looks appealing (not necessarily design-wise) and a targeted audience.

Alast

DAY 11

I didn't get anything done today. GetResponse has been down and severely limiting my work. In addition to system failures, my computer has decided to crash so I am now limited to my laptop which I am finding to be restricting (I have a 24" monitor which is extremely helpful; degrading to a laptop is reducing work ethic).

Maybe tomorrow things will look upwards?

Joe Stewart

Hi Alast,

I'd like to touch on a few things that have been said, but I don't have time to pick them all out for quotes.

First of all, Brittany said the following:

"7. Set up Google alerts for keyword phrases and the names of influential people in your niche/market so that you get email(s) anytime there's news on those subjects...might be able to find a few syndication partners/outlets this way..."

This method is not only excellent for finding new syndication partners, but it's also an excellent method for getting traffic from quality forum posts. If you keep an eye out for your Google alerts and jump on a topic as soon as possible, you can get your comment listed very high on their page.

That means that people won't have to scroll down through a lot of other comments to see it. You know how a lot of great articles will have 100+ comments? There's no way I'd read through those. If your comment isn't close to the top it'll never get read, so you have to act fast.

The post should be valuable (at least 2-3 paragraphs), provide insight or even be "politely" controversial. If you can get it at or near the top of an interactive blog you may get a nice traffic boost for a long time. You may also make an impression on the blog owner by positioning yourself as an expert. This could make them even more receptive to accepting your articles for syndication later as well. That's echoing some of what John McCabe mentioned regarding finding syndication partners.


Regarding niche selection, don't be afraid to jump in with the "big dogs". Think about niches that were popular 10 years ago and will still be popular 10-20 years from now. Small niches are okay, but there's a limit to what you can do. I intend to focus my efforts on the BIG niches, health, wealth, vanity, extreme hobbies, etc. Most of these provide excellent material for articles as well because there are so many "pain points" to write about.

People will always be looking for ways to solve nagging health problems, they'll always be looking for ways to make money or make MORE money, the "baby boomers" and "Generation X" are looking into ways to stay younger, as well as nagging health issues, dogs will always have to be trained, the guy or gal on the golf course will always want to lower his or her score and on and on...

Are you following? Back when we were playing the SEO and Adwords "game" most of these niches were very difficult to break into because they were mostly dominated by bigger players, but since we're no longer concerned with SEO, it's a wide open field. Dive in head first. :-)

Regarding the articles and the resource box, long time IM expert Jimmy D. Brown, who's been doing this for decades himself, says to write "great, but incomplete" articles. Give them great information, but let them know that "the rest of the story" (love listening to Paul Harvey) is located on the other side of your link.

My thought on this is that blog owners aren't dumb. They know that your objective is to drive traffic to your site. Let them know that you'd like to keep your resource box "as-is", but tell them that they should have the link open in a new window. That way readers can visit your site without leaving theirs. If they don't know how to do that then make a simple video or find one on YouTube. If they still aren't comfortable then I'd go ahead and modify it somewhat.

I'm sorry to hear about GetResponse being down and your computer problems. I use Aweber and they went through problems recently as well. I hope that it's nothing that will plague us long term.

Regarding your grammar concerns, there's a site called Grammarly.com that was recommended to me by a fellow Warrior a couple months ago. That might help you.

Finally, regarding your autoresponder series, you're waiting way too long to ask them to take action. Some people are ready to buy right away, so you should at least have a link to your site with a review or directly to a product in every email. I wouldn't wait past the third email at most.

Many people will unsubscribe LONG before the sixth email. Some will unsubscribe right after they download your report! That's why it's so important to get a review or offer in front of them asap.

I just put a new series together yesterday and have "recommended resource" blocks in the middle and at the bottom of my first three emails and a "pitch only" email on my fourth.

After that I moved back to giving more free information, but I also left a "visit our blog today at" mylink.com at the end of every email.

I also used something similar to Jimmy D. Brown's "You MAY give This Report Away Freely, But You May NOT Alter it in Any Way" in my PDF's.

Give away information, but don't forget that you're in this to make money. Don't try to slam things down people's throats, but provide at least a "soft" call to action in every email. It's about taking care of people, but it's also about business. Never forget that.

Another long time IM legend, Allan Gardyne, said something along the lines of "every page on your website should have a purpose". This can be to review a product, get an email opt-in or something else that helps your visitors, but also helps you move forward in your business.

Anyway, I've gotta go for now. Please keep us updated and I'll do the same. You too, Brittany! :-)

My New "Share All" Blog Is Coming Soon! Online & Offline Marketing, More!

http://www.UnCENTSored.com

Alast

Good news today.

Firstly, I managed to 'fix' my PC.. for now. I have decided to invest in roughly $400 worth of new parts to stop it from happening again (hopefully). This means I can continue emailing websites today, and proceed with what I was doing. Unfortunately, I'm going to have to spend around an hour re-installing software as I was forced to re-install windows. Luckily my hardrive was partitioned so I essentially lost nothing important (learnt from the first time).

In other news, another article has been published on a website, and another website will be thinking about my article being published. That being said - GetResponse is STILL down. Ugh.

I'm not sure if it's even worth sending out emails in case one gets published and nobody can opt-in. Maybe I'll just fix up my website today so it looks more appealing.

Alast

DAY 12&13

Unfortunately I am still unable to do anything as GR is still not working. My emails have sent, but the affiliate link won't work, so it's essentially pointless and an inconvenience. I have probably had multiple more subscribers if it was all functioning properly. Fairly annoyed right now.

Oh well, it happens.

brittlesnc

If the problem with GR persists too long you may need to consider going with another service and loading up your autoresponder series with the new service...

Might even want to do that anyway even if GR does get their problem situated...

I would recommend having a self-hosted solution as a backup...it can be done for FREE if that's an issue for you (since you're not sending out thousands of emails to thousands of subscribers)...

Having a backup is a good idea for situations like the 1 you're currently in...

I'm working on a 2nd site and this 2nd site will be using self-hosted email marketing as opposed to Aweber (what my successful site uses)...but if I feel that there's issues with emails getting delivered and/or other technical issues I'll just make the switch to Aweber...

However, if I don't have any issues with self-hosted email marketing I'll also use it for my successful site as a backup...

My point is that if this problem persists for too long you need to be proactive in solving the problem for yourself/your own situation...

And luckily for you you're at the beginning of your email marketing journey with this niche so if you essentially have to start over it's not as bad as it would be if you already had hundreds or thousands of subscribers that you'd have to worry about disrupting the emails they're receiving from you...

Just my 2 cents...apologies for rambling...

Alast

I think I will stick with GR as they have upgraded their software to hopefully not become affected by any DDoS attacks in the near future. I just don't know enough about self-hosts to consider it right now, and was also recommended by Alexa to not use a self-host.

I completely understand what you mean though!

Day 14
I'm still getting traffic to my website (5-20 visits) although I haven't done anything yet to increase that amount. GR should be working properly shortly so I can go back to syndicating articles and increasing my traffic. Also - I did change the design of my website so it looked more appealing for my audience!

Alast

DAY 15

Now that GetResponse is beginning to recover, I have started sending out more emails. I have only sent out 6, but once everything is 100% fine that number should dramatically increase.

I have had two more subscribers since the outage, but not sure if there's more or not as the subscription form isn't working properly.

It's the first of May now, so I didn't achieve my goal (as expected due to circumstances). That being said, I have no doubts that this month will be better!