The TRUTH theory behind Internet Marketing.

13 years ago

Originally Posted by Calvin Tan

Below is the method or what I had been doing.

1) wp blog to promote products from clicbank as an affiliate.

2) Been posting quite a numbers of articles to articles directories like ezine, goarticles but eventually I focus on ezinearticles.

3) using those wp plug-ins which are SEO or google friendly.

4) keywords rich domains for my blog

5) niche marketing targeting.

6) been improving my wp blog.

Do you realize you're simply doing what everyone and their second cousin is doing?

Your problem is not whether this or that technique works or not. Your problem is that you're not leaving your own print on the net. You're not creating any unique value. You're just following the herd, and you CANNOT compete against the herd.

How do you expect to compete with 10,000 other affiliates who are all doing the same thing but who're probably more experienced than you? You're fighting a lost battle!

Listen: do you want to make money online? you must think out of the box and follow your own unique path. As long as you FOLLOW the herd, you will continue being BEHIND the herd.

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1 reply

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Calvin Tan

13 years ago

Originally Posted by Anonymous Affiliate

Do you realize you're simply doing what everyone and their second cousin is doing?

Your problem is not whether this or that technique works or not. Your problem is that you're not leaving your own print on the net. You're not creating any unique value. You're just following the herd, and you CANNOT compete against the herd.

Do you want to make money online? you must think out of the box and follow your own unique path. As long as you FOLLOW the herd, you will continue being BEHIND the herd.

Hi. What do you mean? So what do you suggest I should do?

Thanks
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Anonymous Affiliate

13 years ago

Originally Posted by Calvin Tan

Hi. What do you mean? So what do you suggest I should do?

I already told you: you have to think out of the box, come up with your own ideas and stop doing what every other second IM ebook tells you to do. Because there are other 10,000 other affiliates (who are more experienced than you) reading the same ebook!

Thanks
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CalvinWarr

13 years ago

Originally Posted by Anonymous Affiliate

I already told you: you have to think out of the box, come up with your own ideas and stop doing what every other second IM ebook tells you to do. Because there are other 10,000 other affiliates (who are more experienced than you) reading the same ebook!

That is an interesting take on this... For newbies like us, aren't we supposed to follow the formula until we have learned the ropes? From what you are saying, does it mean that as long as we are late-comers, we cannot succeed in IM unless we have something unique? So, if I have a guitar eBook/video, I cannot promote it anymore because there are like thousands of people already doing it... and unless I can get Michael Jackson (bless his soul) to promote it, I have no hope of making it? Sounds harsh, or am I missing something??

Your statement strikes a chord for me because that is precisely what has been happening for me the past 3 years. Now, everyone is saying "focus". But what is said above implies that all the focus in the world aint gonna do nothing... feeling a little lost here!

Thanks
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Anonymous Affiliate

13 years ago

Originally Posted by CalvinWarr

For newbies like us, aren't we supposed to follow the formula until we have learned the ropes?

That is the problem newbies face: they think that IM is all about following "the magic formula". There is NO formula. This is a business, not a cooking recipe. In order to make money here, you need to stop searching for a holy grail and start building a business the way a business is meant to be built: create assets, add unique value to them, engage your users, etc.

Again: forget about "The" formula and think in terms of "your" business.

Thanks
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SaleemY

13 years ago

Originally Posted by Anonymous Affiliate

That is the problem newbies face: they think that IM is all about following "the magic formula". There is NO formula.

The herds of people selling "magic formulas" and money making models would have you think otherwise! You know, the ones with the screenshots of their earnings, some of which are fake Photoshop jobs.

You need to develop something of much greater value than your current blogs. What you have does not stand out enough. And if you are going down the route of establishing yourself as an expert in how to get your ex back or anything else, you need to work hard on this for a long period of time by publishing high quality content, resources and getting your name out there. Establish your personal brand, but you can only do this if you know your s**t! Of course, it helps if you have a passion for whatever you talk about.

Setup a mailing list and give people incentives for signing up. Freebies, an eBook, whatever you can come up with. You need to think about how can squeeze as much value as possible from every visitor to your site. Right now, one they leave its unlikely you'll ever hear from then again. How can you retain and build value?

In terms of getting traffic, work hard on SEO and link building, target lots of long tail keywords as well as some high volume ones on your home page. Get links from article marketing, press releases, directories, by asking other site owners in related but not directly competing niches. SEO is not easy, it requires commitment and patience. Also think about social media, what can you do to get your content spreading in a viral way? You don't want to put all of your eggs in one basket.

When I started in IM about a decade ago, I was selling a product that made enough to pay a few bills but nothing more. But more importantly, I learnt a lot about SEO. Then I realised that I get a great buzz from helping others to increase their traffic and profitability. So I started networking and offering SEO services. Everyone is on a journey and one thing will lead to another. You just need to be able to adapt quickly and realise what you are doing wrong without sitting on it for years. My nephew recently made a great website that has a lot of traffic and a buzzing community, but its a very difficult niche to monetise and he did not realise this at the start. But he has learnt alot about SEO, and has just secured a great job at a company that turns over millions. In his own time, he is going to develop more sites but this time will be sure to check the monetisation potential carefully!

I wish you all the best.

Thanks
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GuerrillaIM

13 years ago

Originally Posted by Saleem Yaqub

The herds of people selling "magic formulas" and money making models would have you think otherwise! You know, the ones with the screenshots of their earnings, some of which are fake Photoshop jobs.

These guys are giving people what they want.

What people want (even if its just at a subconcious level):

Easy money, not much work involved
Easy money, not much thinking involved
Someone else to be to blame for their actions

Enter metaphorical shovel salesman:

"Follow my simple and easy to follow step by step system for just 1 hour a day and make $4,000/mo... GUARANTEED!"

Problem with this approach is that in most cases its not true, and infact the product backing up the claim often even suggests a lot more work than is promised in the salespage.

What does this lead to? BUYERS REMORSE!!

When someone makes a whiney post here they usually get trounced on. After all, people have a vested interest in keeping the fish in the barrel. But this is just a side effect of the ridiculous claims made to create impulse purchases out of people who do not yet know better.

Anyway... before I digress... the short of it is this: IM is hard work. You may be able to make some short term profits following a system, but you could just as easily make nothing. Concentrate on providing real value and learn the concepts of sales and marketing (read brian tracy, dan kennedy and jay abraham books; a million times better than any WSO).

Once you have these two points mastered all you have to do is learn about the latest technology and media and you have it all.

PS. Also read about the success stories of online businesses. I have made it my point to follow websites and to see how they develop and become successful or dissapear out of site. After a while you will see your own patterns and gain some great understanding of the overall cycle of things.

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3 replies

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SaleemY

13 years ago

Originally Posted by GuerrillaIM

"Follow my simple and easy to follow step by step system for just 1 hour a day and make $4,000/mo... GUARANTEED!"

Problem with this approach is that in most cases its not true, and infact the product backing up the claim often even suggests a lot more work than is promised in the salespage.

This type of selling reminds of the £1 pyramid scheme from years ago. Can't remember the exact detail, but it was something like:

- advertise an easy way to make thousands for a tiny investment of £1
- give the buyers a leaflet telling them to do exactly the same thing as above!

Of course in reality it did not work for most people, but a few made millions from it.

Thanks

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ajrocks

13 years ago

Originally Posted by GuerrillaIM

These guys are giving people what they want.

What people want (even if its just at a subconcious level):

Easy money, not much work involved
Easy money, not much thinking involved
Someone else to be to blame for their actions

Enter metaphorical shovel salesman:

"Follow my simple and easy to follow step by step system for just 1 hour a day and make $4,000/mo... GUARANTEED!"

Problem with this approach is that in most cases its not true, and infact the product backing up the claim often even suggests a lot more work than is promised in the salespage.

What does this lead to? BUYERS REMORSE!!

When someone makes a whiney post here they usually get trounced on. After all, people have a vested interest in keeping the fish in the barrel. But this is just a side effect of the ridiculous claims made to create impulse purchases out of people who do not yet know better.

Anyway... before I digress... the short of it is this: IM is hard work. You may be able to make some short term profits following a system, but you could just as easily make nothing. Concentrate on providing real value and learn the concepts of sales and marketing (read brian tracy, dan kennedy and jay abraham books; a million times better than any WSO).

Once you have these two points mastered all you have to do is learn about the latest technology and media and you have it all.

PS. Also read about the success stories of online businesses. I have made it my point to follow websites and to see how they develop and become successful or dissapear out of site. After a while you will see your own patterns and gain some great understanding of the overall cycle of things.

Great great post!

Thanks

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AJ - Dating traffic and SEO expert

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Black Hat Cat

Banned 13 years ago

Originally Posted by GuerrillaIM

These guys are giving people what they want.

What people want (even if its just at a subconcious level):

Easy money, not much work involved
Easy money, not much thinking involved
Someone else to be to blame for their actions

Enter metaphorical shovel salesman:

"Follow my simple and easy to follow step by step system for just 1 hour a day and make $4,000/mo... GUARANTEED!"

Problem with this approach is that in most cases its not true, and infact the product backing up the claim often even suggests a lot more work than is promised in the salespage.

Which means they really aren't "giving the people what they want", are they?

Thanks

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Calvin Tan

13 years ago

I see. So you suggest I should think of a new method to promote my blog?

Thanks
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Anonymous Affiliate

13 years ago

Originally Posted by Calvin Tan

I see. So you suggest I should think of a new method to promote my blog?

Oh crap... sorry mate, I give up. Good luck in your endeavors.

PS: for your own good man... please... forget about the "get your ex back" blog, forget about the "shape up your six-pack abs" blog, forget about all that. I will just say it once again and I'm done here: You are following the herd, and you CANNOT compete with the herd at its own game...

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scrofford

13 years ago

Originally Posted by Anonymous Affiliate

Oh crap... sorry mate, I give up. Good luck in your endeavors.

PS: for your own good man... please... forget about the "get your ex back" blog, forget about the "shape up your six-pack abs" blog, forget about all that. I will just say it once again and I'm done here: You are following the herd, and you CANNOT compete with the herd at its own game...

You know, you make it sound like such a mystery...so yeah I also want to hear what you mean by following the herd. Why don't you give some examples of not doing that.

The process of IM has been the same for years. Yes it's good to think out of the box, but to tell someone this and then say you give up because they don't get what you are saying after you have really said nothing is silly.

Thanks
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inter123

13 years ago

Aside from the initial few 'fluff' responses, this thread has all the answers, you just need to refine and tweak current methods to make a success of it.

As for picking a niche with an interest in, I am not so sure about that. All you need is an interest and a liking towards 'Marketing'. At the end of the day, you are a Marketer and and the job is to sell / market the product even if you have no interest in it. As long as you are able to research a subject and put it in words, that is more then sufficient.

Thanks
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Anonymous Affiliate

13 years ago

Originally Posted by inter123

Aside from the initial few 'fluff' responses, this thread has all the answers, you just need to refine and tweak current methods to make a success of it.

As for picking a niche with an interest in, I am not so sure about that. All you need is an interest and a liking towards 'Marketing'. At the end of the day, you are a Marketer and and the job is to sell / market the product even if you have no interest in it. As long as you are able to research a subject and put it in words, that is more then sufficient.

Obviously, you refer to me as far as the "fluff" responses goes. And moreover you reckon that the OP "just need to refine and tweak current methods to make a success of it"...

So here's my question to you: how much money do you make using what the OP is doing plus whatever tweaks you refer to? see, there are too many people giving advices but not enough people proving the validity of those advises. So, again, how much do you make doing what the OP is doing?

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GuerrillaIM

13 years ago

Originally Posted by Anonymous Affiliate

There are too many people giving advices but not enough people proving the validity of those advises. So, again, how much do you make doing what the OP is doing?

You are very vocal about the fact the OP is doing things wrong. I think the OP realises that also, hence the post asking for advice.

I think your earlier posts come across as general criticism without any real information the OP could understand and act upon, hence the reason why he asked you to clarify.

Personally I disagree that a newbie should try to be completely unique. I think this is something that even experienced marketers struggle with.

One of my favourite Brian Tracy quotes is "An idea only has to be 10% new to make money" which I think is very true. However, doing something unoriginal but doing it extremely well will also produce results.

I see online marketers who are making money but have very little understanding of the decision making process or the sales cycle. Because of this they are limiting themselves and will have more hit and miss results.

My advice for any newbie, don't try to re-invent the wheel. Learn the basics of sales, the decision making process and the art of pursuasion; then you will know how to give your wheel pirelli tyres and a chome finish. **crap metaphor alert lol **

Thanks
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Anonymous Affiliate

13 years ago

Originally Posted by GuerrillaIM

Personally I disagree that a newbie should try to be completely unique. I think this is something that even experienced marketers struggle with.

No GuerrillaIM, you dont have to be completely unique to make money, but you do have to add something to the equation, to leave your own print so to speak. Otherwise, what EDGE will you possibly hold against the other 10,000 guys out there doing EXACTLY what you do in exactly the same way? because, you know, they probably bought the same ebook too...

Statistics claim that 95% of newbies fail, right? well, if the OP does what everyone else does, he will soon become a statistic.

I will not spoon feed him what to do. He, first, needs to realize that the whole drop-a-few-outsourced-articles-in-a-soulless-blog thing doesnt work. He needs to get A) more creative and B) more personal about how he conducts his business.

Thanks
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Joe Benjamin

13 years ago

Originally Posted by Anonymous Affiliate

No GuerrillaIM, you dont have to be completely unique to make money, but you do have to add something to the equation, to leave your own print so to speak. Otherwise, what EDGE will you possibly hold against the other 10,000 guys out there doing EXACTLY what you do in exactly the same way? because, you know, they probably bought the same ebook too...

Statistics claim that 95% of newbies fail, right? well, if the OP does what everyone else does, he will soon become a statistic.

I will not spoon feed him what to do. He, first, needs to realize that the whole drop-a-few-outsourced-articles-in-a-soulless-blog thing doesnt work. He needs to get A) more creative and B) more personal about how he conducts his business.

What is YOUR obsession with having an "edge"?

I understand your reasoning behind it, but being original isn't really
such a good idea especially if you're starting out. Originality comes
when you are familiar with the basics and selling and marketing.

Is it BETTER to be original from the very beginning - yes and no. It
is NOT a cut and dry answer because I know people who are making
bank selling Real Estate using a FORMULA or SYSTEM that has been
proven to work by "other people".

Hell, I use a formula similar to the OP that has been proven to work
by "someone elses idea", and it makes me MONEY. And I'm not talkin'
nickels and dimes.

There are hundreds of McDonalds restaurants that WORK, not b/c
of ORIGINALITY, but because it's a SYSTEM.

Now, do YOU understand Mr. Anonymous?

Or are you going to dispute the fact that there are businesses that
run they way they do BECAUSE of systematization and duplication?

And guess what? I began to ADD my OWN flavoring to what "ALREADY
WORKS" when I got it to work FIRST. When I KNEW the model I am
using was profitable, I added my own twists and spins to a proven
system to make it unique to me which in turn, DOES make me more
money -- but it's unreasonable to tell someone to be ORIGINAL when
they don't know or have not made the basics work for them first.

THAT is where the originality comes from.

Rarely will you have an "original idea" for a Mozart piece of music if
you never played a piano before. 10 times out of 10, you are going
to learn the basics, understand where to place your hands, learn
how to move your hands, and become competent before you can
move forward with original works of art.

So I get what your saying, but your condescending view point on
being this original Van Gogh painting of a marketer goes against
what DOES work.

So, OP...take no offense to him. I know he means well, but it was
a rant that was uncalled for.

You have to refine your approach. Personally, I'm not a blog person
so I don't know how to market a blog -- I like direct response market-
ing (listbuilding, send to sales page, get sale). A blog gets in the way
of "making the sale".

I would focus on taking the content you have, making a review style
page, directing traffic to a squeeze page and after opt-ing in send
them to a review page. That way if they don't buy the first time, you
have their information to stay in contact with them.

The key here is FOCUS. A blog is NOT a focused effort. It gives people
too many opportunities to get lost. You DO have to guide them and
the best way to do that is keep them in a focused direction...sales
will get easier from there.

Keep DOING what you're doing because you are taking action and making
mistakes most people don't want to make (thats why they don't bother to
start). It takes a man to ask how to fix their mistakes and problems, so
I gave you a formula that works for me.

Thanks

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inter123

13 years ago

None starting off with what the OP has been doing. I have been starting with "low" keywords that receive hundreds to a few thousand searches a month and work upwards in time to "higher" searched keywords.

I suppose there is no harm in starting with competetive keywords that are saturated and working towards keywords that has less searches and are less competetive. That is what I mean by "refine" and "tweak".

Originally Posted by Anonymous Affiliate

Obviously, you refer to me as far as the "fluff" responses goes. And moreover you reckon that the OP "just need to refine and tweak current methods to make a success of it"...

So here's my question to you: how much money do you make using what the OP is doing plus whatever tweaks you refer to? see, there are too many people giving advices but not enough people proving the validity of those advises. So, again, how much do you make doing what the OP is doing?

Thanks

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Andy Fletcher

13 years ago

Originally Posted by inter123

Aside from the initial few 'fluff' responses, this thread has all the answers, you just need to refine and tweak current methods to make a success of it.

As for picking a niche with an interest in, I am not so sure about that. All you need is an interest and a liking towards 'Marketing'. At the end of the day, you are a Marketer and and the job is to sell / market the product even if you have no interest in it. As long as you are able to research a subject and put it in words, that is more then sufficient.

Why on earth are you referring to AA's responses as "fluff"?

Just because he doesn't tell people what they want to hear or follow the party line?

And as for picking a niche you're not so interested in. It's not essential but I believe it's essential for your first project. Learning marketing is hard enough. Why make it harder by having to learn about the stuff you're marketing as well?

Thanks

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Anonymous Affiliate

13 years ago

Originally Posted by scrofford

You know, you make it sound like such a mystery...so yeah I also want to hear what you mean by following the herd. Why don't you give some examples of not doing that.

I ALREADY said what I meant by not following the heard: do not do what 10,000 other affiliates are doing at this precise minute. Like, for example, pick the six-pack niche or the get-your-ex-back niche, toss a fistful of soul-less and blatantly outsourced articles into a WP blog, get a few backlinks, and expect to make any reasonable money out of that. Why? because there are other 10,000 people doing exactly what you do in the exact same way, so you do not hold any type of edge whatsoever against that herd!

Does it still sound like a mystery?

Thanks

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Calvin Tan

13 years ago

Hi mate. I really do not understand what you are telling to tell me from the beginning

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thebitbotdotcom 13 years ago

Originally Posted by Calvin Tan

Hi mate. I really do not understand what you are telling to tell me from the beginning

Calvin,

I think one of the points they are trying to make is that these niches are over-run with competition...i.e...the herd. You need to find a niche that isn't over-run with competition. Think outside the box means being clever and finding an untapped niche and then applying what you have learned to it.

Regards,

Mark
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KatyaSenina 13 years ago

Originally Posted by Calvin Tan

Hi mate. I really do not understand what you are telling to tell me from the beginning

I think Anonymous Affiliate means you should build a following (become a leader in your field of interest)... you should become an authority in your niche (market). Brand yourself so people will trust you and see you as an authority.

For example start a blog like michelfortin.com, copyblogger.com. These are huge blogs and the guys behind it really have build a name for themselves overtime. They are trusted and people really love to hear their opinion and therefore trust them and are ready to buy from them. They both give tons of value in their content and update their blogs regularly.

In the end it's all about branding yourself and treating internet marketing like a real business. You don't want to be the little guy nobody knows in whatever market you're in. Why do you think Eben Pagan, Frank Kern and many others bring in those big bucks? You really have to become a 'celebrity' in your field of interest. For example why is Paris Hilton paid millions for her appearance? If it was some blonde girl next door nobody would care, let alone pay her millions to appear somewhere for a few seconds. Think about it.

Focussing on free platforms like squidoo, ezinearticles and blogger is great for a starter (when you don't have a start up capital yet) but at some point you have to get your name out there and focus on branding yourself and building a customer list.

Think of the big picture. I hope this clarifies it a bit. Good luck!
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Daryl Lim

13 years ago

It really does not matter about how much you do SEO on your site. You might do a hundred backlinks to your site, but there are chances that you still might not get good ranking, because your competitors have a thousand backlinks. Ultimately it depends on your competition. Are you working in a competitive niche? Well I bet you are...

As for traffic, I will recommend article marketing for newbies. It might not give you a truckload of traffic but it will give you targeted traffic.

Also, build a list.

Thanks

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Andy Fletcher

13 years ago

What he's saying is this ...

Do you know anything about -

- Getting an ex back?
- Getting 6 pack abs?
- Playing the guitar?

To be a successful marketer you absolutely have to understand the market you are working in. That doesn't mean you have to be an expert but until you really know what you're doing you'll have a hard time succeeding if you don't work on what you're good at.

Promote stuff that you actually know something about. Promote stuff that you have tried and it worked for you. Promote stuff where you could write the content yourself (note I didn't say you have to write it yourself just that you should be able to).

For me, I'm a software guy. I've loved computers since I first laid eyes on one. I have a masters degree in Computer Science. I live, eat and breathe computer stuff. So I make software.

What do you love?

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Anonymous Affiliate

13 years ago

Originally Posted by Andy Fletcher

Do you know anything about -

- Getting an ex back?
- Getting 6 pack abs?
- Playing the guitar?

To be a successful marketer you absolutely have to understand the market you are working in.

This is 100% correct.

In order to make money online, you need leave your own print so you can engage and bond with your readers. But how are you to engage and bond with anyone if you don't know crap about what you're promoting? dont you realize that your articles, blogs, sites and marketing messages will all sound just like what they are: a careless sales pitch.

Why dont you start writing and promoting a blog you actually feel passionate about? a blog you can actual care and engage with your readership?

Thanks
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paolo83 13 years ago

Dude i love your style!

you Rock...
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DireStraits

13 years ago

A few issues, that I can see.

1) You're not building any mailing lists (you have no opt-in on your sites!).

You should really be providing an incentivised opt-in, so that you can repeatedly contact those who don't buy straight away after visiting your site, and hopefully turn more of them into customers over time (if you provide some value and manage to retain them, instead of spamming them to hell with promotional crap non-stop).

2) Your sites themselves are basically "full-on promotional", to my eyes. Sure you can (and probably should) put affiliate links on your site, but all you've essentially created is a site full of content for which the sole purpose is to sell the product you're an affiliate of. And most every article (on your "truth about abs" site, for instance) is created around the product, as a sort of pre-sell.

Thats all well and good, but without any truly useful information (articles in which you're not trying to sell, but inform), you have provided little incentive for people to come to / stay on your site (or click on the link in your articles, if they're reading them on someone elses site - which they probably aren't because none of the articles are truly syndicable).

How about creating better, more useful content, and toning things down a little in relation to your promoting?

Instead, just create keyword-targeted articles (publish them on your own site first, as well as in article directories later, and build links to the copies on your site) that are useful and informative, and don't keep on pushing the product in the readers' faces.

Then just perhaps have a single-page pre-sell or something, where you can do all the "real" promotion you need to do (again, in addition to building a list, through which you'd also promote).

I guess what I'm saying is that your sites just don't really offer much of value, by way of content and user experience. There's nothing to draw people in.

Also, why are you focusing so narrowly on product-related (as in product name) keyword phrases, when there are potentially hundreds or thousands of other keyword phrases out there for which those searching would likely be interested in buying the products you're promoting?

The "review site" model of affiliate marketing which you seem to be practising is quite short-sighted, in my opinion.

S'all I got for now: I'm too hungover to be out of bed, let alone at my desk writing forum posts, LOL.

Thanks

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aizaku

13 years ago

don't start your endeavor with clickBank as your guide

go to your Google search keyword tool and start pumping in random adjectives and verbs into the tool. Look for a healthy exact search volume, over 1000.

Then go on over to Google with your prospect keyword and find out if your competition is fierce or not. Put your prospect keyword in quotes and make sure your competition level is under 10,000. Then try it without quotes but with allintitle: in front of your prospect keyword and hit search. You want your competition level to be below 1000. If your prospect keyword hits all of the criteria I've just mentioned then you just might have a winner. oh yeah, make sure you have other key words that fit in your niche so you can keep on creating unique and fresh content. Make sure those words also adhere to the criteria above. Once you do that I recommend you slowly build back links. Then monetize it. With affiliate links or whatever finally repeat the process with another niche

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Calvin Tan

13 years ago

Hi guys, Thanks for the tips. the 3 blog are the examples I had use over the few months. Anyway I wish to focus on the guitar blog. I am jus using templates to install on my domains. I think the guitar blog sounds better that the rest and I wish to focus on that. I had need some edited post to make it keywords related to my domain.

Anyway I had went through several ebook and they recommend to do promotion on those high gravity type. So I am quite confuse now.

Thanks
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DireStraits 13 years ago

Originally Posted by Calvin Tan

Anyway I had went through several ebook and they recommend to do promotion on those high gravity type. So I am quite confuse now.

Most Clickbank affiliate marketing ebooks suggest promoting high gravity products, but it's a huge mistake!

Check out one of Alexa Smith's posts here, for more information about this very important issue.
- [ 1 ] Thanks
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dadamson

13 years ago

Originally Posted by Calvin Tan

Hi guys, Thanks for the tips. the 3 blog are the examples I had use over the few months. Anyway I wish to focus on the guitar blog. I am jus using templates to install on my domains. I think the guitar blog sounds better that the rest and I wish to focus on that. I had need some edited post to make it keywords related to my domain.

Anyway I had went through several ebook and they recommend to do promotion on those high gravity type. So I am quite confuse now.

Hey Calvin,

As a lot of people are saying here, you can't just follow the herd and expect to be successful in such a general topic as "guitar".

I have a website about playing guitar, but I am going for the subniche "rock guitar techniques". I'm not going for "learning guitar online", or even "learning rock guitar online", I'm specifically targeting "rock guitar TECHNIQUES" and I am doing quite well.

I suggest you choose a topic like "learning left handed jazz guitar" or something similar where the competiton (although still high) is reachable.

That said, if you don't know much about guitars, don't go for it. Because you are competing against older websites with more backlinks run by guitar players.

Good luck with your endevours. Use some initiative to work out how YOU can make it online.

Thanks
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Daniel Brock 13 years ago

Your sites lack any real value.

It seems you just slapped some articles on there to get it done.

You need to provide real content...none of this lazy copy and paste crap.

That will get you no where.

Make your own product about guitar, that would work. But do you know anytihng about it? Do you have 6 pack abs? Do you have an ex girlfriend that you got back?

If you don't know anything about these topics, you are useless to those markets. Go out, go to the gym and figure out how to get 6 pack abs. Go take some guitar lessons, go and try to pick up girls.

Get some REAL EXPERIENCE in these topics!

Thats why people are advising you to do something based on passion. That way you can actually provide something useful.
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Calvin Tan

13 years ago

I see. I had read through the URL. Anyway if I were to target low gravity, how will I do that? I guess I had to explore cb market place again.

Anyway the same method apply? Like using a domian rich keywords, article marketing, else

Thanks

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GuerrillaIM

13 years ago

Some good advice in this thread and also some wishy washy babble (naming no names).

I got my start in IM by copying people. I learnt as much as I could then did a lot of research. When I found a site that looked like I could re-create it I spent time analysing all aspects of it, comparing it to other similar sites and working out exactly what I would have to do to reproduce the results.

At first I failed at certain things, but those failures led to understanding what works and what doesn't, and also helped me spot things I had missed in my initial research.

For a newbie its difficult picking a niche. Go with a competitive one that makes money but has tough competition, or go with a low competition niche that might not have active buyers in it?

I started out with a competitive niche and it paid off for me.

The thing about competitive niches is that the SEO is usually a lot harder, but, because they are very competitive you can take part in list swaps and do JVs a lot easier. There is always an angle into market, you just have to find it.

If you want to go down the path you have already started out on I suggest a little change around. Pick just one of your niches, be it dating, health & fitness or guitar. Create a site on the actual topic not just a small part of the topic.

For instance your ex back blog looks like a seo blog looking to get rankings for "get your ex back" which isn't going to be an easy keyword to get, especially if all you are doing is submitting articles. I would suggest you create a blog on a broader subject. For instance, start a PUA blog.

Your next task would be to immerse yourself in the world of PUA. Sign-up for every PUA forum/newsletter out there and participate. Try things out yourself and write about them.

The goal here is that you are setting yourself up as an authority and not limiting the scope of development for your site.

On your site you can have product reviews of all the different dating products out there. You can have lots of free guides and you can optimize yourself for multiple keywords in the search engines.

Of course you dont have to do this for PUA, it can be any highly competitive niche. I think going for competitive niches is the right thing to do but you have to be prepared to take the plunge and go for it properly or you will just get lost amongst all the other people half heartedly trying to make a few bucks promoting clickbank product. In other words you have to find a way to provide real value to your readers so they respect you and accept your recommendations.

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Calvin Tan

13 years ago

Hi GuerrillaIM

What is the meaning of PUA? How about my guitar site? that is what I am focusing now

Thanks
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GuerrillaIM

13 years ago

Originally Posted by Calvin Tan

Hi GuerrillaIM

What is the meaning of PUA? How about my guitar site? that is what I am focusing now

Google it, don't expect to be spoon fed at every step.

I know nothing about music niches as I have always given them a wide birth.

I don't know how desperately motivated people are to learn the guitar or what angle you could come up with. I could think of a few but nothing that would be an easy first task.

Niches that involve people getting richer, more attractive to the opposite sex or fixing a problem tend to generate the most sales as the buyers tend to be desperate for a solution to their woes.

Not had a girlfriend in a year? You will be happy to part with some cash if you are promised to learn how to get laid?

Got an embarrasing rash? You will be happy to spend some cash online to avoid embarrasing conversation at the pharmacy.

Got a ****ty job you don't like? You will be happy to part with some cash if it promises you can quit your job and work only a few hours a week.

Just look at the WSO section, this forum is like shooting fish in a barrel because it has so many desperate people who want to make money online, eager to believe anything as long as someone gets a few testimonials and photoshops an image of their clickbank account page. And please do not choose IM as your niche. Once you have made a success for yourself in a niche you can come to IM with credibility and sell products on how you did it, but doing it too early will destroy your credibility.

Thanks
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Kay King

13 years ago

I took a look at your guitar blog - you don't know anything about guitars, do you?
Have you ever learned guitar chords or how to read music?

A random sample of first lines from some posts on your blog:

When many beginners start out learning how to play the guitar they are very involved and excited about it. Unfortunately, that interest often starts to wane and the practice sessions dwindle. That's …

One of the most important decisions you'll make as a beginner is which guitar you should go with. There are an incredible number of options out there, in a variety of different price ranges. No matter …

Firstly, know that practicing is one of the most important things when it comes to your guitar playing.

What do they tell the reader that he doesn't know? Nothing! This type of useless post will not get results. The comments are so general they could apply to almost anything you want to learn - and provide no help or real advice at all. People don't buy from those who obviously know nothing about the subject.

I don't agree that you have to find a totally new way of doing things - many IMers succeed simply by follow advice of those who went before them online.

But - you have to connect with your audience. Your business can't be "all about me and what I want to sell you" or you will fail. To get sales, you need to interest real people in what you have to say - and that means you have to learn about about your subject to SAY something.

A real blog on learning a musical instrument will have information on fingering techniques or basic chords or discuss benefits of various teaching methods.

What so many are doing - including the OP - is looking for "high paying" or "high density" or "high traffic" and focusing on backlinks and affiliate links, etc - and totally forgetting they are "talking" to real people who read the blog. When everything you do is only about "getting me money" - you have missed the big picture of how people are able to sell products either online or offline.

No one can give you a little 1,2,3 answer - and perhaps that's why so many fail. You have to think for yourself and think about your potential site visitors. You have to provide information people are looking for - not just words on a general topic.

kay

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celente

13 years ago

Originally Posted by GuerrillaIM

Just look at the WSO section, this forum is like shooting fish in a barrel because it has so many desperate people who want to make money online, eager to believe anything .

The truth is out there Scully!

*insert x-files theme music*

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celente

13 years ago

Originally Posted by Calvin Tan

4) keywords rich domains for my blog
.

yes tis about the keywords. many people come in here and whine when they get no results form the articles. It is not an easy feat anymore, there is more competition, and you need to be using keywords that is buying keywords....not just random run of the mill keywords that freebie information seekers are after.

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JohnMcCabe

13 years ago

Originally Posted by Calvin Tan

I see. I had read through the URL. Anyway if I were to target low gravity, how will I do that? I guess I had to explore cb market place again.

Anyway the same method apply? Like using a domian rich keywords, article marketing, else

Calvin, if you go back to Clickbank, forget that the gravity score is even there. It's so easy to manipulate that it's pretty much useless. Many so-called gurus tell people to promote high-gravity products because

a) it's simple, just look at the number and don't think,
b) they don't understand what the gravity number really means or
c) they're manipulating their own products to have the "desirable" high gravity score.

Look at the product itself, and then the sales page.

If you need a quick-fix tip, mine would be this...

Unless you are a bona fide expert in the subject yourself, stay away from markets/niches used as examples in Internet marketing books and manuals. Most of the new folks reading them will do the same thing you did, and decide those must be good niches.

So how does someone new pick a niche?

There are two paths to profits, as I see it.

Desperation and Obsession.

Desperation - these are the niches like the 'get your ex back' niche, the 'how to cure your embarrassing condition' niches, etc.

Obsession - these are the hobby and lifestyle niches. 'Golf' is the example most manuals seem to pull out because golfers are known to spend hours and dollars on their pastime.

Some niches, like the 'make money' niches, can fall into either or both.

The common denominator, though, is you have to do something which sets you apart from the crowd.

So what sets you apart from the crowd?

Often, especially for beginners, it's knowledge and passion.

You want to concentrate on the 'learn to play guitar' niche? Get a guitar and start learning to play it. Document your process as you go. Tell an authentic story, and weave your affiliate links in naturally.

It's a lot more work than slapping up a blog with some generic content and a slew of affiliate promos, but it will last.

[ 4 ] Thanks
1 reply

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Lee Wilson

13 years ago

Originally Posted by JohnMcCabe

You want to concentrate on the 'learn to play guitar' niche? Get a guitar and start learning to play it. Document your process as you go. Tell an authentic story, and weave your affiliate links in naturally.

It's a lot more work than slapping up a blog with some generic content and a slew of affiliate promos, but it will last.

I'll add something to this...

If you have no idea about the hobby you are selling then you will have a much harder time convincing your visitors that you know what you are talking about. You'll still make some sales but nowhere near your potential. This doesn't make the niche or your website a failure, it makes your content a failure, a lack of ability to figure out what the customer really wants and how to guide them there. If you blame the niche then you are going to go on repeating the same mistakes.

If you are convinced that a niche has potential and you know nothing about the subject then you should do as John says, learn it. Failing that, pay for a writer that does understand it.

This will get you closer to your goal but here's the rub, and this is what I think separates the inexperienced from the experienced. You have to learn the art of testing and refining, alongside all the other stuff.

Here's the important part. I am in the learn guitar niche. Why, because guitar and all things music is my real passion. I have been in business since I was 18, I'm now 46. I come from retail in small shops, also spent many years in the building / service industry and have been selling physical products online since 1998 quite succesfully. I have dealt with many thousands of customers over the years. Read countless books on everything business and marketing, devoured every piece of information I can find and observed like a madman!... I could go on. I'm no business guru but I am fairly confident that I have a reasonable grasp on selling. Why am I telling you this?

Because all of that experience combined gave me nothing more than a leg up when I entered the learn guitar niche. I have taught guitar and have probably written over a thousand pages of guitar lessons. Now after three years (on and off) of being in the learn guitar niche, I've only recently started to figure out what the customer is REALLY looking for and that has only come from persistence and belief that I know there is money in this business. Everything I thought I (arrogantly) knew about the average wannabe guitarist was completely wrong and I'm still learning. This experience alone has been the best education in selling that I have ever had, not just for the guitar niche but everything from online to offline.

You can't be taught this stuff outright, you have to learn by experience but here's the thing. When you read a lot about other marketers experiences and methods you start to realise that all what you learned the hard way was already being discussed and taught in places like this, it just didn't click.

Some will get it quicker than others, some will never get it. All I can say is never stop listening, never stop asking questions and don't disregard anything you are told until you know without any doubt that's it's worth disregarding. Most of the best information in this forum is either "in between the lines" or widely ignored.

[ 2 ] Thanks

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Gerald Arno

Banned 13 years ago

Hey Calvin,

it´s really not about how many strategies you
are capable to implement, or how intensive you´re
implying them.

You´ve to become a unique leader, and offer values
that 99%+ don´t have and can´t offer, because of
many different reasons..

It´s all about how much UNIQUE value you can offer,
and how other perceive you.

The ultimate goal is most definitely to build a strong following,
and how are you going to do that?

By becoming a professional leader, offering help to others,
showing them how to market successfully, sharing tips
and ideas.

By doing this consistently, you´ll attract people
automatically and they´ll be chasing you.

For instance: I generated in the last 3 weeks more leads
than I did in the last 5-6 months together, because
I made the decision to become valuable to others.

You can do that as well, make sure to increase your
knowledge and skills so that others can perceive you
as a true professional in whatever you decide to touch.

Keep going,

Gerald

Thanks

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Tom B

Banned 13 years ago

AA is trying to tell you that if you think you can just post generic articles on a blog and the cash will flood in then you will be seriously disappointed.

I don't see anyone who is making money in those niches posting the same type of articles. Concentrate on one niche until you maximize your profits instead of working multiple niches.

Read this forum.

Thanks

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Calvin Tan

13 years ago

I guess I had to stick to the traditonal way of earning money?

If that case I will begin to build my empire using FREE traffic like articles, videos. social network, web 2.0, blog, niche, else.

But will it be effective to use auto-pilot submission software like bookmarking demon, market samurai, article spinner software, else?

Thanks
1 reply

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Gerald Arno

Banned 13 years ago

Originally Posted by Calvin Tan

I guess I had to stick to the traditonal way of earning money?

If that case I will begin to build my empire using FREE traffic like articles, videos. social network, web 2.0, blog, niche, else.

But will it be effective to use auto-pilot submission software like bookmarking demon, market samurai, article spinner software, else?

You can surely go with these free traffic
sources, but make sure to focus on just
1-3 at a time and become extremely good
at them.

I´ve been doing this now for article marketing,
and SEO and landed on the top of Google with
several high targeted keywords within days and
weeks.

Honesty saying, there´s so much to learn my man,
that you´ll never get bored in this industry.

These automatic one can be very profitable, but only
if you use them consistently, implementing everything
on a daily basis, and master it..

I´ve been using some huge free tools that helped me
to take some distance to most of the competition out
there..

Be aware of what works and what doesn´t and than
go and stick with what does work.

Keep going,

Gerald

Thanks
1 reply

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Calvin Tan

13 years ago

Originally Posted by GeraldGigerl

You can surely go with these free traffic
sources, but make sure to focus on just
1-3 at a time and become extremely good
at them.

I´ve been doing this now for article marketing,
and SEO and landed on the top of Google with
several high targeted keywords within days and
weeks.

Honesty saying, there´s so much to learn my man,
that you´ll never get bored in this industry.

These automatic one can be very profitable, but only
if you use them consistently, implementing everything
on a daily basis, and master it..

I´ve been using some huge free tools that helped me
to take some distance to most of the competition out
there..

Be aware of what works and what doesn´t and than
go and stick with what does work.

Keep going,

Gerald

Hi, so how do I rank my articles in google? I will be happy if my articles could rank in the top 3 pages of google.

So what are the FREE tools you have been using? I would like to try FREE tools as well. Do you have a system for doing it?

So what kind of auto-pilot submission softwares do you think its potential to use? I am alright to invest if the software really able to get traffic for my blog/site. I believe when there is traffic, things will be better at getting sales after that.

Thanks

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ncmedia

13 years ago

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JamieSEO

13 years ago

In my view you have already taken two steps toward succeeding with internet marketing.

1 - You tried something
2 - You asked for advice

I think what some of the posters here are trying to get across to you is that there is a great deal of information, but you need to take all of that information in and see what spin you can take that would be unique to you

Rather than trying to follow one method, read up on a few different ones, and for each make a list of what you could do to make it your own.

For example - clickbank is certainly not the only affiliate you can use
Are you good at writing content? If not could you do video blogging instead?

The only absolute in my view is to start building your email list as quickly as possible, how you go about doing that and what business model you choose needs to be about you - not just what worked (or they claimed worked) for someone else.

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goobboy

13 years ago

Originally Posted by JamieSEO

In my view you have already taken two steps toward succeeding with internet marketing.

1 - You tried something
2 - You asked for advice

I think what some of the posters here are trying to get across to you is that there is a great deal of information, but you need to take all of that information in and see what spin you can take that would be unique to you

Rather than trying to follow one method, read up on a few different ones, and for each make a list of what you could do to make it your own.

For example - clickbank is certainly not the only affiliate you can use
Are you good at writing content? If not could you do video blogging instead?

The only absolute in my view is to start building your email list as quickly as possible, how you go about doing that and what business model you choose needs to be about you - not just what worked (or they claimed worked) for someone else.

Great answer ++

Thanks

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Zeiffel 13 years ago

Originally Posted by ncmedia

EDIT: I posted this at 11:11, anyone else have an odd relationship w/this time? Always seein' it...

Always... 11:11 has added up to some big moments bro... always weirds me out a little.
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pethanks

13 years ago

The truth will set us free. Thank you for sharing this theory. It add up to my knowledge on internet marketing.

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JonAlfredsson

13 years ago

I think I have to agree that it's time to do away with the concept of magic formula in business. Try out other venture that you actually like and not just what the market "dictates."

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James Hessler

13 years ago

On my journey within IM I learned not to look for the next big thing For sure I've a hard drive full of IM bonuses from opt ins but only when I started investing in my success ( or at least starting to)did I see any ( even small) return. During the launch of Sean McAllisters Premier WP ( JV press) I didn't just get google ranked on the first page I managed to almost dominate it, even with different configurations of the keywords. Only made 1 sale but that being my first$ online it was such a great feeling. Investing in stuff instead of tons of freebies, following a model paid. Anyway, now using and still learning techniques to further solidify my path

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Richard Van 13 years ago

I can never quite understand why people go into the most competitive niches, MMO, get ex back, play guitar, 6 pack etc...when they first start out.

Is this why we get so many threads along the lines of "I've tried everything but I can't make any money online?" :confused:

I had a conversation yesterday with a guy who was brand new to this telling me that the MMO niche was the most profitable because it had high gravity products on CB. I tried to explain why, for someone that hasn't made money online, promoting MMO products may not be viable.

He ignored me and now I'll wait for his thread, where he just can't figure out why he's not rich yet.
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