Am I doing the right thing?

34 replies
Hi to all out there,

I am truck driver from the uk and after I was made redundant this year I googled the immortal words "how to make money on the internet". This led me to the inevitable affiliate marketing niche which really got my attention and this is the reason I find myself here today.

I decided to try and promote weight loss products or should I say diet pills (boo I hear you cry!) but not in the traditional sense. I am a keen amateur boxer and use certain diet pills to help me make my fighting weight, not the usual trash that doesn't work but the effective pills that have helped me in the past and because I KNOW they work I can market them with a very clear concience.

I will however, have to get as much content in there as possible and this will mean listing other diet pills that I know to be a load of rubbish. I will not market these and infact warn the visitor of their ineffectiveness, and their chances of being ripped off. I would be looking at listing approx 150 so called diet pills but just have about 5-10 affiliate links to the products that I have taken myself and know to work.

My idea is this: if I spend the next FIVE years chipping away, adding pages week by week, and building a 250+ page site that is honest and informative, create a boat load of backlinks and generally dedicating all my free time to the project, does anyone out their think I might be able to generate a very small income?

I would be more than happy to make a £100 a day I wouldn't expect any more, I'm not getting into this to make a million I'm just trying to make a little extra.

I've made a start on the website Its not too good design wise, I'm just trying to get the content on there for now and worry about design when I start getting found.

I know the diet pill world is full of con artist and rip off merchants because i've been on the wrong end of their dirty schemes myself so please consider this if you think to reply.

Any advice on this would be much appreciated. I'm a complete newbie to both computers and affiliate marketing so please be gentle.

Kind Regards

Tyler UK
#thing
  • Profile picture of the author WarriorMaster
    Theres a good plan in this Tyler, I think that if you are planing on concentrating on only this project then you will be making much more then 100 a day. A quality website with that many pages will be awesome.

    What you can do about the bad products is to write about them and tell people how bad they are but you still leave your affiliate link there many will buy despite what you have told them.

    Take Care
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    • Profile picture of the author Kim Standerline
      Originally Posted by WarriorMaster View Post

      What you can do about the bad products is to write about them and tell people how bad they are but you still leave your affiliate link there many will buy despite what you have told them.

      Take Care
      A tad unethical to say the least, Tyler has already said he's been on the receiving end of this type of scam. Some of these pills are downright dangerous, I'm sure Tyler would like to be able to sleep at night!

      Tyler why don't you look at the whole boxing thing as a niche, you obviously have a lot of experience in this field, you could set up a site (or a membership) about boxing, sounds a super niche to me and a lot bigger than just pills

      Kim
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      • Profile picture of the author Kamran
        having used the products you are promoting, you are in a better position that most of the affiliates out there. consumers can sense whether the product reviews are by someone who has used the product or someone just trying to sell the product. so go ahead with your plan, i believe you can be successful.
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        • Profile picture of the author Tyler UK
          Thanks Kamran, another positive comment! Can I just ask while I am here; as I am new to affiliate marketing and indeed forums themselves, do I reply to each individual comment or reply to them as a whole? I already know I have found a home here and would like to get to grips with the rules and regs of posting.
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      • Profile picture of the author Tyler UK
        Thanks Kim,

        I was a bit worried about the ethical side of things, diet pills are surrounded by a very bad stigma and having looked at alot of the products available it's easy to see why. There are simply too many dubious websites out there making totally invalied and unsubstanciated claims and I hope to sift through these and bring it to the attention of my visitors.

        However, my personal experiences with some of these products have been really positive and it will be ONLY these products I will promote. I could perhaps include a boxers fitness and dieting techniques section into my site to reiterate my reason for running the site.
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        • Profile picture of the author Tyler UK
          Thats EXACTLY the problem I faced when searching for my first idea! They say to write about things you are interested in or have knowledge of and I struggled to see any profit in these topics. "How To Drive a Truck" and "How To Get Punched In The Face And Still Look Cool" didn't seem to inspire. Lol
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  • Profile picture of the author int-mark
    It sounds like a decent enough plan to me. So long as you drive traffic to your page and your siter is informative it will naturally lead to sales. Best things is to just take as much action as you can and learn from your mistakes.
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    • Profile picture of the author Tyler UK
      Thanks for the reply folks, I have to admit I wasn't expecting such positive comments! Obviously a 5 year plan needs to have credentials or I would be wasting the next 5 years of my life, and these good comments are making me feel a whole lot better, thanks loads!

      Threatlevelorange, thats a pretty cool claim to fame my friend, Freddie Roach is a top class trainer the UK's Amir Khan is fighting in his camp these days so you must have been pretty good at your craft. 17-2 myself, lost the first two because of nerves.

      Anyway, going off subject here to i'll just reiterate and say thanks for the positive comments!

      Regards

      Tyler
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  • Profile picture of the author Stuart Turnbull
    The flaw in your plan as far as I can see Tyler is that unless you achieve worthwhile money from your project within a short time span (say a few months max) human nature dictates you will most likely give up and try something else.
    A lot of new IM's then get trapped in this cycle of hopping from one great idea to the next without ever making any money.
    My advice is to forget '5 years', forget '250 pages' this is far too ambitious for your first project. Try this;

    1 Sign up to all of the big online forums in your niche and read posts/contribute.
    2 Identify the problems that the members are looking for solutions to.
    3 Write a short report (10-15 pages is fine) providing this information.
    4 Sign up for a months free trial with Aweber (autoresponder).
    5 Create a squeeze page offering your free report in exchange for name/email address.
    6 Offer the free report on the forums (WSO and a link in your signature)
    7 Put your new subscribers through a sales funnel with links to your affiliate products.
    8 Rinse and repeat using adswaps when your list grows to c.2,000

    I appreciate that you may have a bit of a learning curve here but I'm happy to point you in the right direction if you PM me.

    This simple plan does work and will earn money quickly.
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    http://stuart-turnbull.com - NOT your run of the mill marketer
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    • Profile picture of the author Tyler UK
      Thanks Stuart! I am already looking at ways to promote the site, I have started on and hope to flick between content writing and promotion to give me a break from each. I realise five years is a big commitment but my biggest advantage is that I spend ALL week away from home in my truck which gives me all the time in the world. being away from home is boring to say the least and would give me the oppertunity to get some good content generated as well as provide the time to follow the steps you outlined in your reply.

      Hopefully it will take far less than 5 years to see my efforts rewarded, certainly now you have explained good ways to promote, I use the 5 year plan as a realistic goal when the reality is, I'd love to crack it tomorrow!

      I'm a patient man as well as stubborn (the wife says so) and if things do slack off for me the site will always be there to return too. I do understand your view point Stuart, the very reason I joined this forum is because my enthusiasm was ebbing a little, but I feel a renewed sense of vigor by all the positive replies I have recieved and already feel at home here.

      I will definatly follow the steps you outlined when I reach to 50+ page content; I don't want to promote a site that looks cheap and untrustworthy, although I may need the help of a warrior member to look at the design aspects. All in all this is a massive learning curve for me but I enjoy it tremendously and can really see me still being here in five years time!

      Anyway, nice to have a fellow countryman on the forum Stuart I hope to chat much more in the future, thanks once again for your help.
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  • Profile picture of the author Jimerson Farveez
    As you have a website, if you can get more traffic/visitors to your website, you will be able to do more sales. That is for sure. To get more traffic, you have to follow instructions by
    Stuart Turnbull
    here. Apart from this, if you can setup some adsense account for your site, that also will bring you some extra money than your sales... :p
    Signature
    Search Engine Optimization Services in Delray Beach, FL
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  • Profile picture of the author Kim Standerline
    Tyler if you've been made redundant why don't you go offline and consider setting up your own boxing gym or something.

    Someone I know who is an ex amateur boxer has done this and is now running a quite sucessful boxing school. The police are also involved with it as a measure to keep kids off the streets etc. (Powerful endorsement)

    Just another thought

    Kim
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    • Profile picture of the author Tyler UK
      Originally Posted by Kim Standerline View Post

      Tyler if you've been made redundant why don't you go offline and consider setting up your own boxing gym or something.

      Someone I know who is an ex amateur boxer has done this and is now running a quite sucessful boxing school. The police are also involved with it as a measure to keep kids off the streets etc. (Powerful endorsement)

      Just another thought

      Kim
      I am now working again Kim and spend all week away in the truck so my own gym would not really be possible. I am considering the boxing aspect of things as you mentioned and may well use it within my site.
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  • Profile picture of the author Roy Carter
    Hi Tyler UK and welcome to the forum.

    Just make sure you've got the legal aspect covered if you are promoting any kind of medication. It can be a minefield.
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  • Profile picture of the author Stephen Crooks
    There is one simple reason why most people fail with any online endeavour and that is laziness.. To lazy to write regular content so look endlessly for automated shortcuts, to lazy to get backlinks so look for spammy solutions and so it goes on. It is then very easy to fall into the belief that nothing will ever work online. There is a place for automation but not at the expense of quality and doing what works.

    The truth however is far different IF you are prepared to do exactly what you are outlining in your post. You will certainly succeed if you do what you say you are going to do. You have a clear goal Tyler and that is vital, don't allow yourself to get sidetracked by any get rich quick mumbo jumbo, just stay on your path. If you do I am absolutely sure you will make, not just the money you are looking for, but much, much more..

    However, I do agree with the other comments about diet pills, it might be a bit of a dead end if you stick purely to that niche. I would consider a more fitness oriented website and your unique angle could be the boxers guide to getting in shape. There a gazillion fitness products from treadmills to heart monitors through to weights, punch bags etc.. You could do videos demonstrating your fitness regime. I can see a membership based site with regular monthly income for you. Boxercise guides, ebooks, reviews etc.. Let your imagination fly with this and the world could be your oyster. Don't limit yourself to just diet pills as it isn't the way ahead in my opinion.

    Originally Posted by Tyler UK View Post

    Hi to all out there,

    I am truck driver from the uk and after I was made redundant this year I googled the immortal words "how to make money on the internet". This led me to the inevitable affiliate marketing niche which really got my attention and this is the reason I find myself here today.

    I decided to try and promote weight loss products or should I say diet pills (boo I hear you cry!) but not in the traditional sense. I am a keen amateur boxer and use certain diet pills to help me make my fighting weight, not the usual trash that doesn't work but the effective pills that have helped me in the past and because I KNOW they work I can market them with a very clear concience.

    I will however, have to get as much content in there as possible and this will mean listing other diet pills that I know to be a load of rubbish. I will not market these and infact warn the visitor of their ineffectiveness, and their chances of being ripped off. I would be looking at listing approx 150 so called diet pills but just have about 5-10 affiliate links to the products that I have taken myself and know to work.

    My idea is this: if I spend the next FIVE years chipping away, adding pages week by week, and building a 250+ page site that is honest and informative, create a boat load of backlinks and generally dedicating all my free time to the project, does anyone out their think I might be able to generate a very small income?

    I would be more than happy to make a £100 a day I wouldn't expect any more, I'm not getting into this to make a million I'm just trying to make a little extra.

    I've made a start on the website Its not too good design wise, I'm just trying to get the content on there for now and worry about design when I start getting found.

    I know the diet pill world is full of con artist and rip off merchants because i've been on the wrong end of their dirty schemes myself so please consider this if you think to reply.

    Any advice on this would be much appreciated. I'm a complete newbie to both computers and affiliate marketing so please be gentle.

    Kind Regards

    Tyler UK
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    • Profile picture of the author Tyler UK
      Originally Posted by Steve Crooks View Post

      There is one simple reason why most people fail with any online endeavour and that is laziness.. To lazy to write regular content so look endlessly for automated shortcuts, to lazy to get backlinks so look for spammy solutions and so it goes on. It is then very easy to fall into the belief that nothing will ever work online. There is a place for automation but not at the expense of quality and doing what works.

      The truth however is far different IF you are prepared to do exactly what you are outlining in your post. You will certainly succeed if you do what you say you are going to do. You have a clear goal Tyler and that is vital, don't allow yourself to get sidetracked by any get rich quick mumbo jumbo, just stay on your path. If you do I am absolutely sure you will make, not just the money you are looking for, but much, much more..

      Thanks Steve! Thats my fudamental idea on this whole business. I became well aware of the skills of some money making affiliates as I was nearly drawn once or twice into the get rich quick market. Longevity is what I aim for, not the money and I hope that if I keep to these principles karma will see me right! lol
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  • Profile picture of the author rondo
    I'd follow Stuart's advice above regarding building a newsletter, and also study how www.mattfurey.com is successfully marketing his own fitness/martial arts products.


    Andrew
    Signature
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    • Profile picture of the author Tyler UK
      Originally Posted by rondo View Post

      I'd follow Stuart's advice above regarding building a newsletter, and also study how mattfruey is successfully marketing his own fitness/martial arts products.


      Andrew
      Will definatly be taking stuarts advice and proberbly any more he offers. I am REALLY new to all this and need al the help I can get!
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  • Profile picture of the author Richard Tunnah
    Hi Tyler,
    Welcome! I agree with Kim. Use the fact your a boxer as a great selling point. Maybe people looking to purchase such pills will think you are an authority. If it were me I'd get pictures of yourself posing in the ring etc. It's a great unconsious selling point to many who may think I could look like this guy.

    Rich
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    • Profile picture of the author Tyler UK
      Originally Posted by Richard Tunnah View Post

      Hi Tyler,
      Welcome! I agree with Kim. Use the fact your a boxer as a great selling point. Maybe people looking to purchase such pills will think you are an authority. If it were me I'd get pictures of yourself posing in the ring etc. It's a great unconsious selling point to many who may think I could look like this guy.

      Rich

      Thanks Rich. I hope I am not overselling the boxing issue. I only ever fought as an amateur and never made a massive name for myself only being known in local circles. The biggest battles I ever won were the weigh-ins each week! getting down to welterweight was a big struggle for me and this is where I began to experiment with weight loss supplements and diet pills. I do have a very good knowledge of training and weight loss and hope to be able to pass on my experiences.
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      • Profile picture of the author Richard Tunnah
        Originally Posted by Tyler UK View Post

        Thanks Rich. I hope I am not overselling the boxing issue. I only ever fought as an amateur and never made a massive name for myself only being known in local circles. The biggest battles I ever won were the weigh-ins each week! getting down to welterweight was a big struggle for me and this is where I began to experiment with weight loss supplements and diet pills. I do have a very good knowledge of training and weight loss and hope to be able to pass on my experiences.
        You don't have to have been Muhammad Ali just the fact you were fighting fight (literally) and probably exactly how many people losing weight would like to look.

        Rich
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      • Profile picture of the author Stephen Crooks
        You might not be Ricky Hatton but who cares? It is the angle of having a good knowledge and experience of boxing that you can exploit for your online endeavours. Concentrate on the fitness aspect.

        Originally Posted by Tyler UK View Post

        Thanks Rich. I hope I am not overselling the boxing issue. I only ever fought as an amateur and never made a massive name for myself only being known in local circles. The biggest battles I ever won were the weigh-ins each week! getting down to welterweight was a big struggle for me and this is where I began to experiment with weight loss supplements and diet pills. I do have a very good knowledge of training and weight loss and hope to be able to pass on my experiences.
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        • Profile picture of the author Tyler UK
          Thanks once again folks! I'm sold! I am going to use to boxing angle although a lot of my visitors may be looking for a quick fix diet pill which will shed the weight whilst they sit in the arm chair eating chocolate! Unfortunately there is no such thing and I will be advocating EXERCISE in a big way and that's where the boxing angle comes in.

          Early stages for me yet, but I have gained more advice this morning, from this site, than ever before. I have found my knowledge database in Warrior so I hope to be able to share my whole experiences in the future.

          Thanks again!!!!!!
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  • Profile picture of the author John Romaine
    Whilst all the suggestions here are probably great, you really should seek a mentor. Dont "try and hope" for the next 5 years.

    Get a mentor and have a definitive plan.
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    BS free SEO services, training and advice - SEO Point

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  • Profile picture of the author Roger Mayne
    Good luck with your plan Tyler. Break this down into small, achievable goals, like £1 /day, then £2 /day etc. As you reach each milestone, it'll feel great and motivate you to continue your quest.

    If you set your targets too high too quick, you may get disheartened.

    I wish you the very best of luck mate. I'm sure you'll do well with the attitude you've already shown here.
    Signature

    "If you don't quit, you can't fail"
    Success will follow.

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    • Profile picture of the author Mark McClure
      Tyler,

      Women's boxing will be in the London 2012 Olympics:
      BBC SPORT | Olympics | Women's boxing gains Olympic spot

      Should be lots of opportunities for PR around this...
      Know any female boxers struggling to make the weight class?
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      • Profile picture of the author Tyler UK
        Originally Posted by Mark McClure View Post

        Tyler,

        Women's boxing will be in the London 2012 Olympics:

        Should be lots of opportunities for PR around this...
        Know any female boxers struggling to make the weight class?
        Hi Mark,

        Believe it or not women's boxing is not allowed at my gym. Even in this day of equal rights and opportunities women's boxing is still frowned upon in most amateur and professional boxing, simply for the (misguided?) reason that it's not nice to see two ladies fighting. I personally don't have an opinion other than to say that a woman has as much right to jump in the ring as a man does. So no, I don't know any female boxers personally.

        It's a fantastic idea though, the sport is bigger than its ever been and I can see it's a pretty good nique even as a newbie. Thats one more posibility added to my notebook, off page one at last! lol

        Thanks Mark
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    • Profile picture of the author Tyler UK
      Originally Posted by swiftdeal View Post

      Good luck with your plan Tyler. Break this down into small, achievable goals, like £1 /day, then £2 /day etc. As you reach each milestone, it'll feel great and motivate you to continue your quest.

      If you set your targets too high too quick, you may get disheartened.

      I wish you the very best of luck mate. I'm sure you'll do well with the attitude you've already shown here.

      Thanks swiftdeal

      Rome wasn't built in a day and my website definitely wont be! lol. Will spend some time getting some content on, then take some time to do other things to improve my seo, then add some more content etc.

      It takes as long as it takes, and £1 a day would be a massive achievment for me. My long term targets are set high whilst my short term targets are set low, day by day, step by step as they say.

      Regards
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