Lost My Job - Need Input!

24 replies
So, last Friday I was "let go." I've been a legal assistant for 25 years. For some time now I have completely loathed my job and have been so stressed that it was a crying session every morning and evening. That's no way to live. Right now, I'm more relieved than anything. I will receive 4 weeks severance and I will be able to collect at least 26 weeks (perhaps 59 weeks) of unemployment compensation (one-half of my pay but better than nothing).

I MUST kick things into high gear and start making some serious money with my online business. Here's what I have been able to accomplish in my two years in the IM business.

I have a total of 5 (self help) books on the market. Little sales and I think it has to do with how I (do not?) promote. I am working on book number 6.

EZA has nearly 100 of my original articles. I have squidoo lenses, twitter, facebook, etc.

I have almost 1000 people on my subscriber list (including some of you nice folk). Those giveaways are marvelous for gaining more subscribers.

I continue to work my main blog and I have an additional 17 niches blogs scattered about. Adsense income sucks even with that many. Again I think it's promotion that is lacking.

I will shortly begin work on a site that will have PLR, Resell and Master Resell Rights to articles, books, etc., as well as software. That is in the development stage. There is also a new forum, but that's free.

Okay, I think we're caught up. I feel like I've made great progress in the past couple of years. However, progress is one thing, making an income is another and I'll be dipped if I can figure out what else I'm NOT doing.

I need a helping hand so I don't have to go back to work for someone and have a heart attack because of stress. I'm going to look at this like it's the best thing that ever happened to me.

Everything should be in place for making an income. What am I missing? Please feel free to ask questions and make any and all suggestions.
#input #job #lost
  • Profile picture of the author dvduval
    Have you considered making up some simple brochures and distributing them in your local area? I'm sure you spend plenty of time online, but wouldn't it make sense to make it so you are marketing both online and when you are out and about?

    (sorry about your job loss, but hopefully looking back it will be the best thing that happened to you in a long time)
    Signature
    It is okay to contact me! I have been developing software since 1999, creating many popular products like phpLD.
    {{ DiscussionBoard.errors[795053].message }}
    • Profile picture of the author MarkR
      Robin,

      Sorry to here about your situation. I can identify, I've been there!

      Can you share a little more about how you're driving traffic, how much you get, conversion rates, etc. If we can pinpoint the problem, the money will flow if the products are good.

      I see that you're not using some of the most basic on-page SEO techniques...are you doing PPC, or social marketing, or what to drive traffic? If you can share a little more detail about your marketing strategies and statistics, maybe we can help more.

      Mark
      {{ DiscussionBoard.errors[795077].message }}
  • Profile picture of the author hunterron
    First, it sounds like losing your job was a positive step. Loathing your work is no way to live. Second, you have already done alot of on line work, it appears. You need to get the word out about your products. You might be to spread out, though. I would suggest narrowing the 17 niche blogs you have down to the few that can actually make you some money.
    {{ DiscussionBoard.errors[795075].message }}
  • Profile picture of the author Michael Ellis
    Sorry about your job loss... I live in Michigan and see this happening pretty much daily... it's a lousy scenario.

    You obviously have writing skills. Put the websites on the back burner for now and just target the stuff that provides immediate income. Maybe just focus on WSOs and provide unique or PLR content, or even offer your current 5 eBooks as PLR. This should keep you busy for a while and bring in some cash flow.

    Good luck!
    {{ DiscussionBoard.errors[795089].message }}
  • Profile picture of the author Fernando Veloso
    Robin,

    Now that you have time i bet you will find the proper answers to your doubts. Focus on what needs to be done and do it.

    True warriors reveal themselves when bad things happen.

    Fernando
    Signature
    People make good money selling to the rich. But the rich got rich selling to the masses.
    {{ DiscussionBoard.errors[795095].message }}
    • Profile picture of the author RobinSkeen
      Thank you very much for your responses.

      @dvdual: Excellent suggestion for the local brochures. There is a local store that should be interested in my books as it is one of those "new agey" type places.

      @hunterron: I think you are correct in suggesting I narrow those blogs. They're pretty much taking up space and I have not had time to promote them all.

      @MarkR: To drive traffic I write articles, post relevant information on forums, social bookmark, stay active on twitter, facebook, advertise on a local site that has a ton of resources in my self help niche so I get traffic from that ($20 a year - couldn't pass that up!). Right now traffic to my main site is down to about 500 to 600 visitors per month. Conversions are pretty much zero now. I do not do PPC because I don't know what I'm doing and don't want to risk my money right now.

      Weakness (as you noticed): SEO. I only recently started really understanding keyword research and now have a pretty good handle on it. But I don't get SEO. I don't know what I'm supposed to be doing.

      @Michael Ellis: Thank you, I do like to write. I have had one WSO in the past with PLR articles on IM. Didn't sell great. Might have been the wrong time. It certainly was not the writing.

      I did sell one license to one of my books. Mainly because the person approached me and I believed he would treat it well.

      @Fernando Veloso: I definitely do have time on my hands now. I'm trying to really narrow my focus on exactly what needs to be done. Need a little guidance with it as I kind of ran out of ideas!
      Signature
      Thesis Theme Customizing | Budget PLR | Free Motivation Guide
      A man is not old until regrets
      take the place of dreams." -John Barrymore
      {{ DiscussionBoard.errors[795190].message }}
  • Profile picture of the author FOREXSIGNAL
    Banned
    [DELETED]
    {{ DiscussionBoard.errors[795195].message }}
    • Profile picture of the author MarkR
      Robin,

      500-600 visitors - are those uniques or page views/visitors? How targeted are they? Do you have Analytics installed on every page?

      Either way, 100's of uniques should be enough to get at least a few sales a month. Not knowing what your income goals are, I can't estimate the amount of traffic you'll need to achieve those goals. But, it sounds like you need to 1) ramp up the traffic and more importantly, 2) ramp up conversion rate.

      Let's have the willing Warriors look at your sites in your sig. (and others you can offer up) and give some helpful advice on conversion related issues.

      So, let's jump on it Warriors! Give her five minutes of your time to help solve her conversion issues.

      Mark
      {{ DiscussionBoard.errors[795227].message }}
      • Profile picture of the author MarkR
        The first things I see on bybelief.com are:
        1. You let people navigate away from your sales page by going to separate pages for (multiple links to) testimonials, and the table of contents. It's usually not a good idea to let people navigate away from your sales page. I'd put them on your main sales page.
        2. Your "click here to order" button is tiny by today's standards. Search for the buy button thread about Perry Belcher's ultimate buy now button post and you'll see what I mean. It needs to be way bigger and more colorful, preferably with rollover effects.
        3. You should reinforce that fact that anyone with a credit/debit card or PayPal can buy your eBook - 24 hours day.
        4. You might want to state the real world dollar value of each of your bonuses. We as IMrs get sick of seeing this, but the normal, non-IM public gets enthralled with "freebies" thrown in.
        5. Remove the link to WinZip. Give them that link in the download. (Another leak of your sales page - they might not come back).
        This is just a start by someone who is no conversion expert by any means.

        Warriors, pitch in!


        Mark
        {{ DiscussionBoard.errors[795260].message }}
        • Profile picture of the author Nick Brighton
          Originally Posted by RobinSkeen View Post


          I have a total of 5 (self help) books on the market. Little sales and I think it has to do with how I (do not?) promote. I am working on book number 6.
          First question:

          If 5 books aren't producing significant income, what makes you think a 6th will help?

          First mistake = repetition of the same thing expecting different results!


          EZA has nearly 100 of my original articles. I have squidoo lenses, twitter, facebook, etc.

          I have almost 1000 people on my subscriber list (including some of you nice folk). Those giveaways are marvelous for gaining more subscribers.

          I continue to work my main blog and I have an additional 17 niches blogs scattered about. Adsense income sucks even with that many. Again I think it's promotion that is lacking.
          My advice to you is this - it's not so much WHAT you do, but HOW you do it.

          I can tell you, you don't need lots of traffic to become rich online...you just need a handful of buyers each day.

          Anyone can publish thousands of articles, get hundreds of visitors per day, and write an entire library of books. But if you're not selling, there's a multitude of potential reasons why.

          First of all, you say you have Google Analytics. That's great...so what are people coming to your site for, where are they leaving and where are they spending most of their time?

          Have you reorganized your site to meet these answers and maximize your Advertising revenue?

          Are you testing your sales page copy? Is the copy any good to start with?

          Are you selling something people REALLY need? My guess is not, as even crappy copy can sell in demand products.

          There's more self help material out there than blades of grass...what makes you different? Hook, USP, angle...BRANDING. Back to marketing 101!

          In summary:

          1. Reevaluate your offers
          2. Test and amend your content/copy
          3. Only repeat what works, not what is already clearly not working for you
          {{ DiscussionBoard.errors[795290].message }}
  • Profile picture of the author RobinSkeen
    Those are uniques Mark. Seriously. That's why I don't get what I'm missing. I know others get way more traffic, but mine isn't shabby either. I do have analytics and I know where they're coming from - today it's from here, thanks kind folks. LOL

    I did my budget and here are the numbers: If I take the unemployment compensation (pretty sure I will), I need to generate at least $1,700 per month in additional income to meet my essentials. No extras. I just want to keep my excellent credit score. Worked hard for that.
    Signature
    Thesis Theme Customizing | Budget PLR | Free Motivation Guide
    A man is not old until regrets
    take the place of dreams." -John Barrymore
    {{ DiscussionBoard.errors[795235].message }}
  • Profile picture of the author wfyesorno
    Very sorry to hear that , take it easy ... I am sure that you will become better than before.... I never got a work from graduation and online work for myself online. Now I live better than most of my classmates who got work.
    {{ DiscussionBoard.errors[795300].message }}
  • Profile picture of the author greenovni
    Consider having affiliates makes sales on your behalf
    {{ DiscussionBoard.errors[795309].message }}
  • Profile picture of the author Jaysmyne
    Sorry to hear about the job loss but it sounds like it was probably for the better. Have you considered taking your blogs and giving them some SEO power so that they can generate adsense income or have you considered selling them and re-investing the money into one site that will have the potential to make money, kind of like a fresh start?

    Also have you distributed your products with clickbank? The might be an option too
    Signature
    Xoxo, Danielle Faith
    Xo, Faith and DanielleFaith.me
    {{ DiscussionBoard.errors[795337].message }}
    • Profile picture of the author RobinSkeen
      @ MarkR: Thanks so much for very good points. I will fix these issues. I was trying to not make the page a chore for people to read. I keep forgetting that I AM NOT MY CUSTOMER. I will remove the external links. You are absolutely correct. The page was created several months ago and I have not tweaked it at all. Mistake!

      I've got some better order buttons, will see what I can about making that a little more eye-catching!

      @Nick Brighton: Thanks for the smack upside the head, I do appreciate it. I mean that! WHY am I working on book 6 when I haven't done well with the first 5? Now that's a good question. I don't have an answer!

      With analytics, I think the main problem I have is that it's too much information and I don't really understand the implications of all it's telling me.

      I do understand about USP. I think I started with the USP being ME. There is no one else like me and people seem to like what I have to say based on my blog, subscribers, etc. Then there's the rub. Am I just a nice diversion and then on to something shinier? It would seem so.

      Testing is about to commence. Thank you for the reminder about rinse and repeat - but only if it works.

      @Jaysmyne: I do have one clickbank product. SEO is a weak point with me. Can you recommend some reliable resources I can study?
      Signature
      Thesis Theme Customizing | Budget PLR | Free Motivation Guide
      A man is not old until regrets
      take the place of dreams." -John Barrymore
      {{ DiscussionBoard.errors[795377].message }}
  • Profile picture of the author InfoAcademy
    This may help with SEO: SEO Basics - a knol by aaron wall

    The 7 day course is good, too.

    Good luck! I'm glad that daily stress is gone for you.
    {{ DiscussionBoard.errors[795380].message }}
  • Profile picture of the author Jaysmyne
    Hey I highly recommend Angela & Paul's backlink packets for SEO link building but if SEO is a weak point you might want to do some research on what SEO is and how it works, ect. that post by Aaron Wall is very informative! So thats a good place to start.
    Signature
    Xoxo, Danielle Faith
    Xo, Faith and DanielleFaith.me
    {{ DiscussionBoard.errors[795415].message }}
    • Profile picture of the author Les Blackwell
      Lost my job 3 weeks ago, done more in IM than I have done in the last 18 months
      Signature
      {{ DiscussionBoard.errors[795421].message }}
      • Profile picture of the author RobinSkeen
        Originally Posted by Les Blackwell View Post

        Lost my job 3 weeks ago, done more in IM than I have done in the last 18 months
        It helps to have more time! It really was one of the first things to cross my mind that I could now devote enough time to IM to really learn the ropes and what it takes. I know some things but I'm smart enough to realize that I don't know what I don't know.
        Signature
        Thesis Theme Customizing | Budget PLR | Free Motivation Guide
        A man is not old until regrets
        take the place of dreams." -John Barrymore
        {{ DiscussionBoard.errors[795467].message }}
  • Sorry to hear about your job loss. It's nice that you have a little cushion. Don't waste a second!
    Signature
    {{ DiscussionBoard.errors[795567].message }}
  • Profile picture of the author CurtisN
    Hey Robin,

    Check out Angela's free WSO:
    http://www.warriorforum.com/warrior-...-per-year.html

    It is a pretty short report, but is more valuable than most products I've ever bought simply because it is short, to the point, and contains a full easy to follow money-making strategy. Plus, you'll learn what to do with your articles

    Good luck,
    Curtis
    Signature
    Curtis Ng (blog) - Product Launch Manager
    {{ DiscussionBoard.errors[795596].message }}
    • Profile picture of the author RobinSkeen
      Originally Posted by CurtisN View Post

      It is a pretty short report, but is more valuable than most products I've ever bought simply because it is short, to the point, and contains a full easy to follow money-making strategy. Plus, you'll learn what to do with your articles
      Thanks for that Curtis. I don't go in the WSO forum much anymore. Not in the mood to spend money, so FREE is GOOD!
      Signature
      Thesis Theme Customizing | Budget PLR | Free Motivation Guide
      A man is not old until regrets
      take the place of dreams." -John Barrymore
      {{ DiscussionBoard.errors[795611].message }}
  • Profile picture of the author petevamp
    Originally Posted by RobinSkeen View Post

    So, last Friday I was "let go." I've been a legal assistant for 25 years. For some time now I have completely loathed my job and have been so stressed that it was a crying session every morning and evening. That's no way to live. Right now, I'm more relieved than anything. I will receive 4 weeks severance and I will be able to collect at least 26 weeks (perhaps 59 weeks) of unemployment compensation (one-half of my pay but better than nothing).

    I MUST kick things into high gear and start making some serious money with my online business. Here's what I have been able to accomplish in my two years in the IM business.

    I have a total of 5 (self help) books on the market. Little sales and I think it has to do with how I (do not?) promote. I am working on book number 6.

    EZA has nearly 100 of my original articles. I have squidoo lenses, twitter, facebook, etc.

    I have almost 1000 people on my subscriber list (including some of you nice folk). Those giveaways are marvelous for gaining more subscribers.

    I continue to work my main blog and I have an additional 17 niches blogs scattered about. Adsense income sucks even with that many. Again I think it's promotion that is lacking.

    I will shortly begin work on a site that will have PLR, Resell and Master Resell Rights to articles, books, etc., as well as software. That is in the development stage. There is also a new forum, but that's free.

    Okay, I think we're caught up. I feel like I've made great progress in the past couple of years. However, progress is one thing, making an income is another and I'll be dipped if I can figure out what else I'm NOT doing.

    I need a helping hand so I don't have to go back to work for someone and have a heart attack because of stress. I'm going to look at this like it's the best thing that ever happened to me.

    Everything should be in place for making an income. What am I missing? Please feel free to ask questions and make any and all suggestions.
    Sorry to hear about your bad fortune. I too know just how you feel I was part of the first set of lay offs back in 07 and did not start my internet business till late last year. If I could go back and get that 59 weeks of unemployment I would but I was stuck since it was before the law had passed to only receive the 30 something weeks. Which suck for me I could use that capital to build my business faster. Now knowing what I know.

    If I where you I would start some pay per click campaiigns with good keyword research done so that you can capitalize on the weaker markets first. All of that while submitting articles like crazy. I just found an amazing tool that will rewrite the 40k articles I have at my disposal. I have tested it with 3 articles so far on hub pages. No problems what so ever the articles got published with a decently high initial score. Well where it always starts you for unique content. I had also checked to make sure that these articles where found somewhere on the net.

    So to test it I posted one to my blog since it already gets pretty good traffic. It would not hurt me to have one article that was not original. Failed copyscape with the original content of course. Then placed in this rewriter and re published with a different title. Passed with flying colors I was amazed. Here is the link to this rewriter if any one cares to try to prove it wrong like me. Free content rewrite tool
    {{ DiscussionBoard.errors[795687].message }}
    • Profile picture of the author RobinSkeen
      Originally Posted by petevamp View Post

      If I where you I would start some pay per click campaiigns with good keyword research done so that you can capitalize on the weaker markets first.
      I don't feel like I should put out any money at the moment. Not unless I was absolutely sure I knew what I was doing with PPC - which I don't. Another thing I now have time to study up on! Thanks Pete.
      Signature
      Thesis Theme Customizing | Budget PLR | Free Motivation Guide
      A man is not old until regrets
      take the place of dreams." -John Barrymore
      {{ DiscussionBoard.errors[795858].message }}

Trending Topics