I sort of made it, but I feel stuck ...

14 replies
So a good while ago I decided to give it a go with internet marketing.

I chose a niche, I created a website, I created a ton of quality content, I work very hard to get it marketed and get the word out.

I now have a website that is (and has been for a while) on the first page of google for a number of keywords. It generates over 40000 unique visits a month, and soon will hit 3,000,000 page views.

I gross anywhere from $1500 - $2000 a month of passive income. And most importantly, I know I've helped thousands of people better their lives.


All of that being said, I feel stuck. While I make good money with this site, it is definitely not enough to focus on it full time. (In the area where I live. I'll need probably at least x4 to do that).

In regards to this site, I have literally said everything I had to say.

I have considered starting new sites, but when I think about the amount of work I had to put in to get where I am (years of work really) I get dizzy. And while I am getting a good return of my investment, it is far too little to motivate me to go through all of it one more time.

I also struggle with a feeling that I have this asset, that I feel should be making more. But I've experimented with a wide range of offerings, and can't really come up with anything else that my readers might be willing to purchase. A lot of my traffic is looking for free help.

I could write simple books, and try to sell them fro $4.99 or so, but I doubt I'll be able to sell large volumes. And while I'll probably be able to make a healthy profit in a long run ($2-5K a few years from now), I feel resistance towards spending all this time up front for such a little return on investment...

I have a full time job that pays me well, and I love the opportunity, but at the same time I hate the fact that I don't return any of the IP on all my hard work and there is NO exit strategy. But I got bills to pay and family to take care of. After 40-60 hours of work, I have very little energy left to focus on any other side projects...

Anyway, I am just venting... But Warrior Forum got me started on this journey, and I wanted to share how I feel here and see if people might have some advice.

Thank you!

Edit. The site is http://www.feedtherightwolf.org and the image of traffic is bellow:
#feel #made #sort #stuck
  • Profile picture of the author wholesale blogger
    Hi, If you don't mind some input from someone who is only just finishing up his first site. I have pondered what you have said myself when looking/planning ahead for my own site. A few things spring to mind that may help.

    First, could your site be translated into Spanish for the Latin American market. This is something I will look at myself as I can translate. Of course there may well be some cultural differences to think of but people are people and all have the same basic needs. Maybe your offering could be changed slightly to fit.

    Second. You spent a huge amount of time and effort to get the first site up and running. I think this would be expected as you are not only learning the ropes but building the site also. I myself am stuck writing my email sequence. But know you know what you are doing, will you not be more efficient?

    Your site seems to be doing well and producing an income. Without seeing the site, could you know not start to really get to the nuts and bolts of it. Improve what you have and perhaps use the list you have for other similar products, think of cross and up sell.

    I am sure there will be a shed full of answers to follow from the experts here but good luck
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  • Profile picture of the author Danny Cutts
    Hiya

    I would look at spending some money on outsourcing and that way you can then grow the site with its own money :-)

    Every business needs an exit strategy and I have one in place for a monster of a site I own :-) But I like the freedom it gives me :-)

    Good luck :-)

    Danny
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  • Profile picture of the author petkanov
    May I ask how much content and how long it took to see those visitor numbers?
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  • Profile picture of the author JPaston
    If you have considered new sites then why not write down the exact system you used to get your site to where it is now as a set of instructions for a team of outsourcers.

    Then you won't have to face doing the work yourself but can just manage your online workers.
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  • Profile picture of the author Venturetothetop
    Congratulations on reaching the stage where you move from being in a business to running a business.

    It's fantastic that you did all the hard work building this site, but now it's time to use some of that money you earn each month to invest in replicating it in other niches to multiply your income.

    You built the site, so you know exactly what need to be done to replicate it. However, this time you outsource the entire deal... and simply manage it.

    Instead of writing and doing the research, pay someone else too. If you want top quality, viral type content your can probably get this for $50/article (Do some research but I'm guessing that is about right) - if you put aside $500 each month you can have 10 super kick ass articles each month added to your new site.

    I know people on this very forum who outsource their entire seo to people for $300/month - meaning you no longer have to worry about that too.

    Breakdown all your tasks that you did to achieve your current success - then start working smarter on your second site and attempt to do it all with the money you make from site one.... before you know it, it will be paying for itself and you income will have multiplied.

    That is what people mean by rinse and repeat.

    Oh and I forgot - hiring an outsider to consult with you and analyse what you are currently doing, can be invaluable in helping you increase profits on your current site. Bottom line, invest some of the money you earn in improving your methods and repeating your good work. Let the money you earn work to make you more money....
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    • Profile picture of the author feedtherightwolf
      Originally Posted by Venturetothetop View Post

      Congratulations on reaching the stage where you move from being in a business to running a business.

      It's fantastic that you did all the hard work building this site, but now it's time to use some of that money you earn each month to invest in replicating it in other niches to multiply your income.

      You built the site, so you know exactly what need to be done to replicate it. However, this time you outsource the entire deal... and simply manage it.

      Instead of writing and doing the research, pay someone else too. If you want top quality, viral type content your can probably get this for $50/article (Do some research but I'm guessing that is about right) - if you put aside $500 each month you can have 10 super kick ass articles each month added to your new site. ....
      Thank you!!!! This is exactly the kind of advice and encouragement I was hoping to get out of warrior forum. Very much appreciated!
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      I am not a guru, nor do I pretend to be one. I am here to learn and to share my experience. Everything that I say, I say from my heart.
      Porn Addiction Stop Porn with Candeo ; Overcoming Pornography Addiction. Sex Addiction Rehabs Porn Addicted Husband

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  • Profile picture of the author brittlesnc
    Without knowing a whole lot about this market and based on what you stated in your OP there are a few things that maybe you could do to improve your current online business:

    1. Try test different elements on your site, sales copy, and/or phone conversations with people to increase/improve your sales conversion rate.

    With the amount of traffic you're getting I'm surprised that you're not making more so without knowing what your current sales conversion rate is I'd say maybe you need to try/test different ways to convert your existing traffic into sales.

    I know from personal experience that SEO traffic sometimes doesn't convert as well as other traffic sources...which leads me to my next point...

    2. Maybe you need to incorporate different traffic sources (this may be time consuming or expensive to outsource depending on what you do).

    Like I said before sometimes other traffic sources just for whatever reason convert better than SEO traffic...

    What you could do is maybe pay for advertising on related sites to bring in more traffic and/or JV with someone who has the traffic that you want but isn't monetizing it very well...

    A different traffic source outside of SEO that brings in a decent amount of targeted traffic is going to be difficult in your market I think but not impossible...

    3. Raise your price.

    I know you said that most want the information and help for free but for the people who are willing to pay for help you might be able to get away with charging a bit more...this would require testing and I don't know if you'd be willing to test pricing but most IMers would tell you not to be afraid to test pricing...

    Likewise, this might lower your sales conversion but could still increase your profit...

    For example, if you're currently charging $50 for your product/service and you're getting 40 sales for a total of $2K you could maybe bump that price to $100 and get 25 sales for $2500...

    4. Make your opt-in more prominent and more of the focus than the phone number.

    You could maybe put more emphasis on building your list as opposed to getting people to call you...I don't know if there are a large number of people who see the number on your site, call you just once and never buy or sign up for your course...

    So the chance to "sell" or "promote" to those people again may be lost unless they return to your sign on their own...

    Likewise, rather than having the sign up now button there which requires them to click and THEN sign up...why not just have the opt-in form right there...this may or may not make a big difference with increasing your opt-ins...you won't know until you test it...but it's a minor change I think that could make a BIG impact...

    5. Maybe make some improvements to your autoresponder series?

    Not exactly certain how your doing your email marketing...but you need to have an autoresponder series where you're in regular contact with subscribers even if it's to point them to the different articles on your site...and of course promote your product/service...

    My suggestion for your site would be to get rid of the donation for the free PDF and just focus on getting them onto your list...UNLESS you're making good money with your donations which then you may want to weigh whether it's worth it to get the donations or get more people on your list to promote your product/service to...

    So the question is are you emailing your list on a regular basis (doesn't have to be daily...it can be every few days if you prefer) with helpful information and plugging your product/service every so often...and not just for a few days but over the course of several months?

    Sometimes it takes a lot of useful content AND constant contact with your sales message to get the sale... it sometimes takes a few months or more from the time someone subscribes to a list before they'll trust you enough buy...

    But again you have to stay in regular contact with the subscriber and have balance between providing help/helpful content and promoting your offering(s)...

    6. I know you dismissed the idea of selling simple low priced ebooks but maybe you should test it before you dismiss it and see if you could sell it as an "alternative"...

    What you could do without majorly disrupting what you're already doing is promote your low priced ebooks via your email marketing without even directly presenting it on your website if you choose not to (just point people to a tucked away page on your website where you sell the ebook)...

    The ebook could be an alternative to people who can't afford your "main" product/service and it doesn't have to be prominently promoted on your website...it could be gently "pushed" as a "more" affordable alternative later in your autoresponder series after the person has been on your list for 6 months or more without purchasing your "main" offer...

    Anyway, the above are just some off the top of my head suggestions without knowing much about your market, the site (glanced at it), what exactly you're offering, or being an "expert" marketer...

    Apologies for the length and rambling quality of this post...bad habit of mine on the WF...I hope my post makes sense to you...

    But congratulations on the success you are having and I hope you can make it an even bigger success.
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  • Profile picture of the author bluefirepro
    Probably what you can do to save your energy is to use your existing platform to advertise bout your new project. Loyal readers always want to find out what's new on the shelf.

    People are hungry and they don't wanna eat Oats everyday. Do a little experiment to see if that works and probably that will boost ur morale too.

    Regards
    Bf
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  • Profile picture of the author cyberzolo
    I like the graph cuz it shows a steady increase in traffic growth.
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  • Profile picture of the author xpesos
    Well i have seen that you are also making use of email marketing, well i think it is the right way to go if you want to put less effort and want to multiply your results..
    I will recommend to write an ebook to be used for opt in's. just outsource that to some freelancer and make sure that it has catchy title and cover which you can get for 5 bucks from fiverr.
    Also if you want to use some plugin like "optin skin" then it can also do some wonders..
    This is all i can think if you want to save your time and increase your results
    Originally Posted by feedtherightwolf View Post

    So a good while ago I decided to give it a go with internet marketing.

    I chose a niche, I created a website, I created a ton of quality content, I work very hard to get it marketed and get the word out.

    I now have a website that is (and has been for a while) on the first page of google for a number of keywords. It generates over 40000 unique visits a month, and soon will hit 3,000,000 page views.

    I gross anywhere from $1500 - $2000 a month of passive income. And most importantly, I know I've helped thousands of people better their lives.


    All of that being said, I feel stuck. While I make good money with this site, it is definitely not enough to focus on it full time. (In the area where I live. I'll need probably at least x4 to do that).

    In regards to this site, I have literally said everything I had to say.

    I have considered starting new sites, but when I think about the amount of work I had to put in to get where I am (years of work really) I get dizzy. And while I am getting a good return of my investment, it is far too little to motivate me to go through all of it one more time.

    I also struggle with a feeling that I have this asset, that I feel should be making more. But I've experimented with a wide range of offerings, and can't really come up with anything else that my readers might be willing to purchase. A lot of my traffic is looking for free help.

    I could write simple books, and try to sell them fro $4.99 or so, but I doubt I'll be able to sell large volumes. And while I'll probably be able to make a healthy profit in a long run ($2-5K a few years from now), I feel resistance towards spending all this time up front for such a little return on investment...

    I have a full time job that pays me well, and I love the opportunity, but at the same time I hate the fact that I don't return any of the IP on all my hard work and there is NO exit strategy. But I got bills to pay and family to take care of. After 40-60 hours of work, I have very little energy left to focus on any other side projects...

    Anyway, I am just venting... But Warrior Forum got me started on this journey, and I wanted to share how I feel here and see if people might have some advice.

    Thank you!

    Edit. The site is How to Stop Porn Addiction - Help Overcoming Pornography and the image of traffic is bellow:
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  • Profile picture of the author aceshigh888
    that's quite the site. ha ha
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    EXERCISE: Take a deep breath, hold for 10 seconds, release. ..... There see you feel better now???
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  • Profile picture of the author technician27
    If I were you I would change design of site. Give it more pro look like which.co.uk and give little bit information about product or service what ever you are providing and if people wants to read full version of it they have to be member of your site like for $.4.99 for a year that way you will make some money say over 10k people registered you will make $50K and with that money create some products that people will buy and create another e-commerce site and sell it. At the end of the day you will have list of your member emails and you can use it for email marketing too.
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  • Profile picture of the author jgant
    Congrats on your success.

    If you're game for starting a new project, you could create a broader "addiction" blog that could be in-part self-help. This is a very big market with huge traffic potential.

    Depending how your framed the site, it could work on social media which can drive a ton of traffic quickly. However, a pure addiction site wouldn't do all that well on social media (people don't share this stuff); however, positive self-help stuff can be good on social media.

    Your experience can easily be expanded into a related niche in a bigger market which opens up opportunities.
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    How I hit $10,000+ per month very fast w/ 1 niche blog - Click Here to learn more (no opt-in).
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