IM as a hobby - What about that?

26 replies
Hey guys,

I have been following this forum for some time and finally decided to make the plunge by signing up and taking action

This basically what I've been thinking about.

I love playing with wordpress, doing cool & fun things..

I don't want to do IM full time.

What I do like is have IM as a hobby and spend 2 hours at most daily on doing something, taking action!

I don't want to get to involved in it either, it should stay a hobby that is fun and that eventually brings in a little extra cash

My goal? Maybe $500 a month? Less is fine too. No rush..

You see now the question arises that I like to ask all you guys: What would be the right direction for me? How would I go from here?

Can I please get some constructive advice that would push me in the right direction?

Thanks everyone

Enjoy your day, be happy, it's all gonna be just fine, keep smiling

-Zen
#hobby
  • Profile picture of the author Irwin Dominguez
    My advice to you is to explore in this forum - read as much as you can so you can learn about the many different routes you can take in IM. However, when doing this you're going to have to be disciplined because you're going to be tempted to spend money on products and WSO (Warrior Special Offers); don't do this yet. Read, learn, meet the helpful people in this forum, find an area of IM that interest you whether it be adsense niche sites, authority sites, CPA, build a list, etc. - pick one and work on it until you have it down and you're making money. Don't keep jumping from one method to the other; you will get frustrated and you will quit. Good luck to you - IM rules!
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  • Profile picture of the author Kelvin Nikkel
    Hi Zen.

    If you are just planning on doing this as a hobby, I recommend that you create a blog in the niche that really interests you, monetize it and then post every day.

    You might find that you like posting, then because your content is unique (as long as you personally write it), you will get ranked on the search engines, thus gaining readers.

    Place some adsense on the site as well as some affiliate products such as from ClickBank, Amazon and such and you might realize some income fairly quickly.

    Also place an opt in form on your site if you want to create a list of subscribers who you can build a relationship with and sell to. This wouldn't take long and once set up, you wouldn't have to worry about it again.

    In my view, list building via adswaps and solos requires a bit more than 2 hours per day.

    Anyway, that is what I think you should do with your two hours of hobby IM.

    To your online success.

    Kelvin
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    • Profile picture of the author JeremiahSay
      Originally Posted by Kelvin Nikkel View Post

      Hi Zen.

      If you are just planning on doing this as a hobby, I recommend that you create a blog in the niche that really interests you, monetize it and then post every day.

      You might find that you like posting, then because your content is unique (as long as you personally write it), you will get ranked on the search engines, thus gaining readers.

      Place some adsense on the site as well as some affiliate products such as from ClickBank, Amazon and such and you might realize some income fairly quickly.

      Also place an opt in form on your site if you want to create a list of subscribers who you can build a relationship with and sell to. This wouldn't take long and once set up, you wouldn't have to worry about it again.

      In my view, list building via adswaps and solos requires a bit more than 2 hours per day.

      Anyway, that is what I think you should do with your two hours of hobby IM.

      To your online success.

      Kelvin
      Exactly what I thought so.. Start a blog in a topic you're interested in and post something in it on a consistent basis <-- it's exactly how most "pro" blogger started off in their IM journey.

      They merely started off as just a blogger, and now they're making passive income and having FUN at the same time.

      Of course, it takes time for your blog to make money, but once it's making money, you'll never want to STOP because it's way to pleasurable.

      Making money can be a hobby..

      1 thing i would like to add is to invest some time in your keyword research properly

      Hope this help,
      Jeremiah
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  • Profile picture of the author JerrickYeoh
    Google Adsense and Affiliate banners would be the best choice to earn money .
    2 hours per day for IM, if you do it correctly then 2 hours is more than enough to manage your site and earning money with adsense.
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  • Profile picture of the author YasirYar
    If you want it to be fun, you should try blogging about a niche that you are truly passionate about. If you do anything else at all, you might struggle to do it as a fun hobby, will soon either abandon it or stop having fun while doing it.

    The monetizing technique you use really depends on what your passion is... it could be anywhere from ads to affiliate marketing. $500 a month might be aiming too high but if you're lucky and work consistently, it just might be possible
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  • Profile picture of the author zenman108
    Thanks guy for all the input!

    I'm seriously thinking of starting a blog about a health related topic what interests me..

    I went to the google keyword tool and here are some of the search results

    Match Type: Exact - Global stats

    Main keyword: 450.000
    Most common variation are between 1500 - 15000 on average with competition some low but most medium and high...

    What would you guys say based on those simple stats? I know it's now a lot of info..
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  • Profile picture of the author msu
    That's great advice from irdominguez.

    Plus, you sound like person who's not expecting to make 9 gazillion dollars in two hours a day - that kind of realistic approach is half the battle won.
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    • Profile picture of the author zenman108
      After second thought maybe it's better to go a different way. Something like building affiliate sites based on a certain product. Smaller sites with less maintenance and work VS one major authority site..

      But that might take more than 2 hours a day initially with learning SEO and all the other stuff...

      Any thoughts on this?
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      • Profile picture of the author NicoleBeckett
        Originally Posted by zenman108 View Post

        After second thought maybe it's better to go a different way. Something like building affiliate sites based on a certain product. Smaller sites with less maintenance and work VS one major authority site..
        Why not combine both ideas and come up with a plan that's more fun?? If you want to create a blog, do it. You can always sign up to be an affiliate for products that are related to it. Then, you can use your blog to sell them, rather than the traditional landing page route that so many affiliates take. That way, you're getting to write about something that interests you, building up your personality through your blog (which can really set you apart), and potentially making some money in the process.

        You could also create an email list for people to sign up for, so that you have an opportunity to get repeat business. Again, if the writing is fun for you, it won't feel like work to come up with a couple of newsletters each month.

        I would definitely do some basic keyword research, though. And, yes, in something as huge as health and fitness, you're going to have to narrow it down, or else you're just going to get buried. Most people who work on general health sites full-time don't make a dent with them, so the odds of you doing it in a few hours a day are very slim. Luckily, it shouldn't take you long to find some long tail keywords that interest you.
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  • Profile picture of the author JustinDupre
    Since you said that you love Wordpress why not start a blog using that platform. Probably write about Wordpress tips catered to beginners and professionals alike. You could put in some adsense in there as well to generate income.
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  • Profile picture of the author zenman108
    Hi Justin,

    yeah I was thinking of starting a blog about wordpress but so many are already doing that and I'm unsure if i would even make a small dent in that
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    • Profile picture of the author Takk
      Originally Posted by zenman108 View Post

      Hi Justin,

      yeah I was thinking of starting a blog about wordpress but so many are already doing that and I'm unsure if i would even make a small dent in that
      You would make a dent with unique content. I agree with the others.

      As for your previous questions:
      Those stats aren't something you want to be looking at right now. That competition, by the way, is advertisers competition and has nothing to do with ranking difficulty.

      My vote would be to totally ignore keyword research for now and just write about what you like. If its health, write about health topics you find interesting. If you really want to do keyword research on that, shoot for something somewhat long trail ("How do I talk to my doctor about the red spots on my leg?") or similar that has maybe 50-500 local monthly searches in that tool. Without going backlink crazy, those are likely to have a lot less competition.

      I'd personally just write what you like, though. If you really want to get into the keyword thing, that's sort of a different endeavor than just blogging for fun.
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      • Profile picture of the author zenman108
        Originally Posted by Takk View Post

        You would make a dent with unique content. I agree with the others.

        As for your previous questions:
        Those stats aren't something you want to be looking at right now. That competition, by the way, is advertisers competition and has nothing to do with ranking difficulty.

        My vote would be to totally ignore keyword research for now and just write about what you like. If its health, write about health topics you find interesting. If you really want to do keyword research on that, shoot for something somewhat long trail ("How do I talk to my doctor about the red spots on my leg?") or similar that has maybe 50-500 local monthly searches in that tool. Without going backlink crazy, those are likely to have a lot less competition.

        I'd personally just write what you like, though. If you really want to get into the keyword thing, that's sort of a different endeavor than just blogging for fun.
        Takk, thanks, so what you're trying to say is that by writing great unique content without doing or worrying about keyword research you can pull in search engine traffic?
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  • Profile picture of the author Takk
    Originally Posted by zenman108 View Post

    Takk, thanks, so what you're trying to say is that by writing great unique content without doing or worrying about keyword research you can pull in search engine traffic?
    Yes, basically. If you write good content, it will spread. That's the gist of it.

    You aren't (most likely) going to nail any 30,000 searches a day top of google articles doing that, but you could work towards the 10-500 hits per articles this way.

    If you target the keywords, you are really going towards a different business model. That business model is writing just a few really targeted posts and promoting those like crazy (still writing more content for the site perhaps, but not the focus). It becomes more of a backlinking endeavor than a writing one. And the topics for keywords that are easily rankable might not be ones you are interested in writing about.

    Long story short, I'd stick with the other advice. If this is just something you want to do for fun, keep it fun. Write a blog on a topic you like, with good articles. If you want to play around a bit, throw some links at one article and see if you can rank it better. Or mix in an affiliate offer and see if it converts better.

    Whatever works, just keep it a hobby, as you originally said.
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  • Profile picture of the author Takk
    As an aside: Remember, the point of the internet always has been to share quality information, in Google's eyes. And it will reward you for it, as will the community (in the form of shares, links, etc).
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  • Profile picture of the author Theeban
    Zen,

    1. I would suggest to sign up with an affiliate site like Amazon, clickbank or etc.

    2. Identify long tail keywords that has more than 1000+ searches per month on Google. (Use Google External Tool)

    3. Develop a niche related website. (With few pages)

    4. SEO for your website (If you have no time, spend some bucks with professional SEO guys than with Fiverr types)

    5. Get top ranks, that will drive you more traffic and sales

    6. Get more than $500 per month,

    But, this will take at least 3 months as far as SEO takes time.

    Hope it helps.
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  • Profile picture of the author GreatWhite
    IMHO, if you wanna do this IM thing as a hobby and get that $500 a month goal, I would look into building websites on upcoming product launches and do review or bonus sites. This is perfect for what you want to do because it only requires an hour or two of work a day and the profits are pretty decent. HTH
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  • Profile picture of the author Rory Singh
    Good idea as a hobby to start. Forget about the money for now. If you like to write, pick an area that you are knowledgeable and passionate about. I figure that everyone is an expert at something.

    Good content is not enough today.

    You will have to learn SEO if you want traffic from Google.

    The most successful bloggers made a lot of money because they wrote for fun at first.
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  • Profile picture of the author MaggieDavid
    Some excellent advice given above.

    Before you decide on anything, write down everything you are really interested in like and you feel you can write about from the heart.

    It might be something abstract like "Fluffy Clouds" (yeah go on laugh, haha but do your research)

    I would really try to think outside the square, Add adsense plus see if you can get an affiliate product that blends in with what you are writing about and promote that. Take "Fluffy Clouds" for instance, extend your thinking to Cameras, to take piccies of the fluffy white clouds" - books on weather, - clouds change with the weather,

    Can you see where I am going here?

    I hope it helps.

    If you need any more help, let me know
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  • Profile picture of the author Kal Sallam
    Just make sure even when you pick whatever you are passionate about, to treat your business like a real business, set plans in place, deadlines etc..
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  • Profile picture of the author MaxBounty
    I think that doing IM as a hobby is great - as long as your expectations for results match the amount of effort/time/money etc. you invest.

    I agree with the PPs who advised you to start with a topic that interests you and move forward from there.
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  • Profile picture of the author Javier Lin
    If you are able to make some money out of your hobby its a double win situation. For google keywords, search keywords that are more specific and with more words. To select a keyword that is high or low competition would depend on your marketing methods. If you're using SEO, you'll need to know how many competitors you need to beat to get to google page one. If you're building a list for sales conversion, high competition might be a good indication that there is a demand of it.
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  • Profile picture of the author Gerald Arno
    Banned
    You have several options available:

    1) Participate in forum discussions, and you do that by posting insightful comments. You can also open up threads, covering topics you are passionate about.

    You can build up your reputation and brand on this forum rather quickly if you know what you are doing.

    Set aside at least 30 minutes a day to create some momentum.

    2) Start your own website around a chosen niche that can bring you in some money through selling products, Adsense, Affiliate marketing, etc.

    You stated that you want to create a few hundred first.. and you can easily do that with a blog.

    However, you need to drive traffic to your blog - you can do that through forum marketing, social media, Google, etc.

    3) Build your brand on social media sites / platforms with the intention to sell products (once you have established a brand and trusting relationships).

    Also, you will need a plan and take action to make any of those variants profitable!
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  • Profile picture of the author Monthy
    Hey Zen,

    it's ok if you aren't aiming too high. Whatever works for you

    I suggest you find a profitable niche you are knowledgeable about and start selling something unique on Fiverr. This can be an ebook, a service or even a tangible product.

    On Fiverr it's pretty easy to make $500 (you only need around 4 orders per day to achieve that).
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  • Profile picture of the author Tadresources
    Doing IM as a hobby can give you an advantage that full time IMers don't have, and that's time. Time to figure out what works and what doesn't without the pressure of maintaining a certain level of income. You can also work on projects that you actually enjoy. Choose a niche that you are interested in so the work doesn't become boring and repetitive.
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  • Profile picture of the author nikks
    Originally Posted by zenman108 View Post

    Hey guys,

    I have been following this forum for some time and finally decided to make the plunge by signing up and taking action

    This basically what I've been thinking about.

    I love playing with wordpress, doing cool & fun things..

    I don't want to do IM full time.

    What I do like is have IM as a hobby and spend 2 hours at most daily on doing something, taking action!

    I don't want to get to involved in it either, it should stay a hobby that is fun and that eventually brings in a little extra cash

    My goal? Maybe $500 a month? Less is fine too. No rush..

    You see now the question arises that I like to ask all you guys: What would be the right direction for me? How would I go from here?

    Can I please get some constructive advice that would push me in the right direction?

    Thanks everyone

    Enjoy your day, be happy, it's all gonna be just fine, keep smiling

    -Zen
    Hi Zen. I am the same as you, been following here for some time. Only to joined today!

    The most important thing is Consistency. Even if IM is a hobby, at the end of the day you need consistency. No point doing it now and giving up halfway. It only waste your time and effort.

    I would suggest that ask yourself what you want to get out of it. And perhaps find a goal/aim to motivate yourself further.

    My two cents worth. Hope it helps
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