8+ Years No Sales, What Am I Doing Wrong?

27 replies
Hey,

My name is Jesse Creel and I started internet marketing in 2012. I got my own self hosted domain [Link removed by moderator] in 2016.

Things are so bad right now that my business is slowly shutting down. My maxed out credit card won't accept any more auto payments and my email marketing subscription has been disabled.

I drive DoorDash for a living and make ok money but I'm looking for more.

As far as the work I've put in so far I blog maybe once month and send the post to my list. I would like to pick one product and focus on selling that rather than trying to sell a bunch of different things at the same time. So far my efforts have been geared towards Clickbank university.

I did have an email list of about 500 people but once I reached that mark I decided to turn the ads off and focus on making a sale. Looking back on it I think I should have kept collecting emails.

I never made a sale. One guy even told me to go **** myself.

I ended up deleting all but 4 subscribers. Looking back on that, huge mistake. Even if they were dead I might have been able to bring them back to life.

But they did have some crazy weird foreign names some of which looked like the person who wrote it wasn't with it the time they signed up.

Anyways, I'm back to building a list again ( if I can ever pay my credit card bill down again).

I have about 75 subscribers.

I have experience building capture pages, and presell pages along with dabbling in autoresponders, which I admittantly still have to work on.

Maybe I've already answered my own question to make sales, just work harder. But I'm wondering, is there anything else I need to know to make a decent living off internet marketing?

You tell me, because obviously I don't know how to make sales.
#sales #wrong #years
  • Profile picture of the author Kay King
    You can put your site link in a $5 sig - but not in your posts here. But - you have a site with a popup that can't be deleted - why would anyone spend more than 30 second on the site? I didn't.


    You need a QUALITY site or blog - that gets attention more than once a month.


    You need a QUALITY product (CB University won't cut it IMO)


    You need a planned, logical approach for everything you do online - building a list means sending email people will READ and perhaps engage with. If you have a clear 'unsubscribe' link (and why wouldn't you?) no one should be complaining about your email strategy.


    IF you have been 'doing' internet marketing for 8 years with 0 sales - you need to seriously rethink your strategy. Working online should not be something putting you in debt or that you need a job to pay for....


    Start with the link below - and read a few other 'path' threads while you are at it. Get an idea of what people DO to succeed online. Then ask detailed questions and start from where you are now with a PLAN for where you want to go.


    https://www.warriorforum.com/warrior...m-nothing.html
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  • Profile picture of the author Skip Rozier
    Hey, new poster but a loooong time reader.

    Here's a simple tip to get you on the right track...

    First thing to remember is that you're marketing/selling to another person.
    It's not about what you want to sell... it's about what they want to buy.

    Find out who your market is, find out what they want (move away from pain or move toward pleasure), show them that you can help them get it.

    This will get you on the path.

    Good Luck,
    Skip
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  • Profile picture of the author kevinthomppsonn
    I won't say much because already two users before replied to you with what you need to do. I'd say just don't lose hope. Be strong & keep pushing. I believe one day you might get what you were looking for.

    Thanks.
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  • Profile picture of the author Ben Scott Jr
    What traffic sources are you using to build your list? Also what type of content are you providing in these emails?

    Your website seems a little all over the place right now. It doesn't look professional and it shows that you are desperate without a plan.

    I can see it not only from what you revealed to us but by looking at your website.

    People can see that. Maybe you should stop spending money until you setup a real plan.

    Treat your online business as if it was an offline business and not a hobby. Study successful websites. How they look. Optin to a few lists and analyze the Copy writing.

    You need a good product, a well designed site, and quality content to engage with your subscribers.
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    "I Want To Give You My List Building Website...Absolutely FREE!" (Yes, the Same Website that Spits Out Dozens Of Leads Daily!) Click Here To Get Started

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    • Profile picture of the author Monica8297
      You are sharing a good thing.
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    • Profile picture of the author Jesse Creel
      I have built my lists with Google Ads. And you're right, I need a plan. I'm probably going to be taking a break until I can get my finances under control. At this point it's all about survival because the internet marketing game is simply long term.
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  • Profile picture of the author judybonacci
    I would strongly advise you get a mentor. If you find a successful mentor, follow exactly what he is doing. Take action, and you can't fail.

    I might add to that....make sure he has the credentials proving he is successful. Remember, "Documentation Beats Conversation"

    You may be asking "How much?" I have three Millionaire Mentors. It's true, they do charge for a lot of their training, however, they also offer tons of FREE training.

    I was somewhat in the same place as you last year until I found a program that has taken me from the "Poorhouse" to on my way to the "Penthouse"

    To Your Success
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  • Profile picture of the author superowid
    And everything is getting harder right now with the world situation today!
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  • Profile picture of the author Ettienne
    Making sales is the easy part, getting the RIGHT traffic is the hard part.
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  • Profile picture of the author pitou3217
    Try to visit your site again and imagine you are the client. Would you buy your product with that content? If not, what would it take for you to buy it.
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  • Profile picture of the author Ben Scott Jr
    A few more things I did not mention above. This isn't meant to be harsh but it's to try to help you.

    I noticed that you mentioned on your site you have spent about $7,000 in courses etc.

    That's a lot of money. Probably too much. However, you have not invested in the most important things. I would suggest you don't spend another penny on courses . You just have to apply what you have learned now.

    Invest in a web designer instead. Do it yourself is not for everyone. It's not working for you after 8 years. There are great designers in Upwork, Fiverr, Freelancer.

    Invest in copywriting, and invest in quality traffic. Targeted PPC traffic from maybe Bing.

    But before you do any of that.

    Focus on finding a niche which is not oversaturated with extremely high ppc prices. The last thing you should be doing is advising others how to make money online if you haven't made money in 8 years marketing online.

    You mentioned all the last names of your subscribers are weird. That usually happens when you buy cheap low tier traffic. It ends up being the most expensive traffic because it doesn't convert into sales.

    At this point it's not a lack of knowledge. APPLY what you have learned in these courses.

    You mentioned you invested in Lurn in your about me page.

    I'm pretty sure Lurn in is not advising you to buy low tier traffic. So spend your money wisely and setup a business plan.

    Measure each step you take to execute your plan.
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  • Profile picture of the author xtrapunch
    Consider this: A person who hasn't made a dime online is teaching digital marketing.
    Does this sound right to you?
    Stop trying to be someone you are not.
    Start sharing YOUR knowledge. Teach what you really know.
    If you make money doing "DoorDash" thing, you might want to explore things in that area.
    Let online be an extension of your real self.
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  • Profile picture of the author agmccall
    biggest mistake is waiting 8 years to ask

    al
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  • Profile picture of the author TobiMDD
    You obviously have a product problem.


    I also promoted clickbank university 2 years ago..
    I don't want to sound mean but this was when I had no idea what I was doing..
    I failed completely trying to sell such a course..


    As some people above mentioned already you need a mentor to follow.. Someone who is very successful and teaching you what to promote and how to do it..


    For me personally everything changed since I followed someone who already was where I wanted to be..



    In order to get access to such people you need to invest some money.



    Try to find a real valuable product with a nice sales funnel leading to higher commissions. Once you have this you need to focus on it completely, never again get distracted by anything else and most importantly work on your mindset.



    Be completely aware of what your personal goals are and remind yourself every single day what they are and you will find all the motivation and power to work towards them and then you will succeed.


    Good luck
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  • Profile picture of the author milliejack
    Banned
    Hy Jesse Creel, I just saw your marketing website. Friendly speaking, you need to work on your website content as it is the very first thing people see when they visit your page. Use good website designing and SEO content techniques to reach your business to a large group of audience. Secondly, you need to know what are the needs of your customers/buyers. For that, you can consult internet surveys and websites like Statista which can give you the exact statistics of business sales and revenue. Once, you get to your target audience and their desired product, start promoting your products/services with the collaboration of other related businesses and websites. I hope this will help you make your business bloom!
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  • Profile picture of the author hardworker2013
    It is rough in Internet Marketing right now, it is harder to get free traffic on the major social media platforms. Those making the big bucks are who invest into paid ads or have a large subscriber base. Do you have any special skills? Maybe you can do some freelancing on sites like Upwork etc. Just do a google search and you will find a couple of those sites.
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  • Profile picture of the author DIABL0
    So basically you are promoting affiliate offers.

    I've been promoting affiliate / CPA offers for 20 years. However, I do things differently than most and not a fan of IM / MMO.

    I heavily promote PPL (pay per lead...lead generation) offers. This is because there is no credit card / purchase required to complete an offer. All a user has to do is fill out a form, so conversion rates are typically much higher compared to offers that require a sale to be made.

    I favor offers that have a make, get or save money benefit to them, as they have overall worked the best. They also tend to have the greatest mass appeal (will be of interest to a large general audience), so the potential exists to produce high volume and they are fairly easy to cross-promote on the back-end.

    Some of the verticals (niches) I have done extremely well with are: education, insurance, loans, debt, credit, mortgage, assistance, discount offers, homeowner offers, etc...

    The bulk of the PPL offers that I promote pay $15-$40 per lead, but I also promote offers that pay more and less. You don't want to get too caught up on what an offer pays because how well it converts is just as important. For example, if you have an offer that pays $9, but if it converts at 2X or more of a $20 offer, then it will perform about the same or possibly better. At the same time, if you have an offer that pays $90 and it converts poorly, it may not even be worth promoting.

    I have also done just as good with dating website sign-ups and pretty good with free trial + S/H offers. I also promote a very limited number of offers that are straight sales. For them, mass appeal is still the number one thing I look for and I also look for one of the following...

    1) The product is new and/or novel-unique and you can't purchase it locally or even something similar. I don't waste my time with it once something similar shows up in Walmart.

    2) The buyer can truly get what is being offered at a decent discount.

    3) Solves a house is on fire type problem.

    However, I mainly promote non-PPL offers on the backend.

    Bottom line, it's far easier to get someone fill out a short form than to get them to pull out their credit card and make a purchase. So why struggle with trying to sell this or that, when you can provide free information that users want/need and get paid well doing it.

    Something to think about.
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    Use Google suggest search to see if people are searching for a solution.

    Make your research on a solution.

    Sell and make money.
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  • Profile picture of the author George Flm
    Did you become a student of the game?

    Perhaps deep inside you, you despised this process and it was all mechanical.

    And you stopped learning. There's a priceless asset and that is called DATA.
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  • Profile picture of the author spartan14
    My friend i open your site and then i see your capture page its not that its horible but also have a line where it insults people .In one of the line it says "affiliate marketing for idiots" so practicaly the people you want to get them on your list you call them idiots .What you do in these 8 years without a sale ? Its hard for me to imagine not making a sale .Even if i was working only 1 minute per day i think i would make at least 20 sales in 8 years .I dont want to say that i am an expert .In this field you need to be smart ,dont go with only 1 method ,always have a reserve method .Yry youtube ,try facebook etc
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  • Profile picture of the author Medon
    Indee internet marketing has become stiffer than it was last year, a decade ago and so on. But running 8 years without a sale is unthinkable. Either yo have not invested adequately in it or somethiing. To me, you need to talk to an expert.
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  • Profile picture of the author freedompath23
    The issue is your mindset. You are mentioning I am not able to achieve any sales which attracts more of a lack of sales. 500 people on a list is NOTHING. Your level of copywriting skills is probably mediocre at best which means barely any of those people open, let alone click. You are focusing on the negative. The one guy that told you to F&#! yourself is irrelevant yet you focus on that. You actually expect something to happen with cold traffic that I am assuming you are adding no value or no persuasiveness to your content. My suggestion is to work on your mindset first. The next issue is when you do paid traffic you want to have a funnel that can convert low ticket, mid ticket and high ticket urge purchases. You are promoting products that most likely have just a low ticket and at most mid ticket ability. Most top earning affiliates earn high ticket commissions which afford them the ability to scale paid traffic. I would focus on mindstate and look into high ticket affiliate marketing.
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  • Profile picture of the author DURABLEOILCOM
    What type of products have you been selling? What are your hobbies, what are you most passionate and knowledgeable about? You have to find products that are in high demand and enrich/enhance the customers life. You then can sell on various marketplaces like Etsy, Ebay, Amazon, OfferUp, Mercari, Craigslist, Facebook Marketplace.
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  • Profile picture of the author talfighel
    Here is a BIG advice for you and you might think it is NOT any close to what you are asking.

    You will get your answers by reading the book:

    Secrets of the millionaire mind by T Harv Eker.
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  • Profile picture of the author Jason Kanigan
    Originally Posted by Jesse Creel View Post

    Hey,

    My name is Jesse Creel and I started internet marketing in 2012. I got my own self hosted domain https://jessecreel.com in 2016.

    Things are so bad right now that my business is slowly shutting down. My maxed out credit card won't accept any more auto payments and my email marketing subscription has been disabled.

    I drive DoorDash for a living and make ok money but I'm looking for more.

    As far as the work I've put in so far I blog maybe once month and send the post to my list. I would like to pick one product and focus on selling that rather than trying to sell a bunch of different things at the same time. So far my efforts have been geared towards Clickbank university.

    I did have an email list of about 500 people but once I reached that mark I decided to turn the ads off and focus on making a sale. Looking back on it I think I should have kept collecting emails.

    I never made a sale. One guy even told me to go **** myself.

    I ended up deleting all but 4 subscribers. Looking back on that, huge mistake. Even if they were dead I might have been able to bring them back to life.

    But they did have some crazy weird foreign names some of which looked like the person who wrote it wasn't with it the time they signed up.

    Anyways, I'm back to building a list again ( if I can ever pay my credit card bill down again).

    I have about 75 subscribers.

    I have experience building capture pages, and presell pages along with dabbling in autoresponders, which I admittantly still have to work on.

    Maybe I've already answered my own question to make sales, just work harder. But I'm wondering, is there anything else I need to know to make a decent living off internet marketing?

    You tell me, because obviously I don't know how to make sales.
    MailerLite is free for the first 1000 subscribers / 12000 emails sent per month and has all kinds of features.

    Once a month is far too long between communications with your list. They'll have forgotten who you are. (Been guilty of this myself). They're likely to hit 'spam' and 'unsubscribe' the moment they don't recognize you.

    What are you doing beyond the single post a month emailed to your list?

    Do you have any warm-up sequences to get people interested in buying whatever it is you're offering, or do you send them directly to the sales page and hope for the best?
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  • Profile picture of the author sinintia
    It is very important that early in the sales process you differentiate the prospect that is on the market to buy and the one who don't know what they wants
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