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Where do I start? Blogging or Product Creation?

by aleksbogata
16 replies
Hi everyone,

I am feeling a little overwhelmed and was hoping you could help me with where to start on my project.

Just graduated in the health sciences, nutritional medicine and lifestyle being my main focus. Ultimately I want to write and sell Ebooks on various common western diseases, i.e. diabetes, heart disease, IBS, arthritis, the list goes on and on. My Ebooks will aim to educate people about how they can take control of their own health using nutrition and lifestyle. We are what we eat after all.

I would like to create a website, a one stop go to nutrition site where I will post easy nutritious recipes, explain what all foods/nutrients are good for, why our bodies need them, how much we need, how to get these into our diets easily. I basically would like to educate people on the associations between the food we eat and health and disease.

I know there is a market for it, it is all evidence based material using the latest research. And I love writing and I love the idea of helping people who are suffering with conditions that can be easily remedied naturally.

Where do I start and how long will this take? Do I first get the website going and blog for months to try and get the traffic or do I get straight in there and start writing the Ebooks and try sell them?

Is this an idea that could make me an income relatively easily or should this be a side project that I will have to nurture for a long time before I can monetise it?

Thanks for your help in advance.

Aleks
#blog #ebooks #product creation #start #writing
  • Profile picture of the author dlundy1
    Originally Posted by aleksbogata View Post

    Hi everyone,

    I am feeling a little overwhelmed and was hoping you could help me with where to start on my project.

    Just graduated in the health sciences, nutritional medicine and lifestyle being my main focus. Ultimately I want to write and sell Ebooks on various common western diseases, i.e. diabetes, heart disease, IBS, arthritis, the list goes on and on. My Ebooks will aim to educate people about how they can take control of their own health using nutrition and lifestyle. We are what we eat after all.

    I would like to create a website, a one stop go to nutrition site where I will post easy nutritious recipes, explain what all foods/nutrients are good for, why our bodies need them, how much we need, how to get these into our diets easily. I basically would like to educate people on the associations between the food we eat and health and disease.

    I know there is a market for it, it is all evidence based material using the latest research. And I love writing and I love the idea of helping people who are suffering with conditions that can be easily remedied naturally.

    Where do I start and how long will this take? Do I first get the website going and blog for months to try and get the traffic or do I get straight in there and start writing the Ebooks and try sell them?

    Is this an idea that could make me an income relatively easily or should this be a side project that I will have to nurture for a long time before I can monetise it?

    Thanks for your help in advance.

    Aleks
    Hey aleks,

    It depends on your goals... If you simply want to make money QUICKLY selling ANYTHING..... I recommend affiliate marketing.

    But if you want to make money using your OWN products, you will have to pay a little overhead first.

    You will need...
    • Domain
    • Hosting
    • Website
    • Products
    • Traffic
    Each of these things can be acquired but you will usually need to purchase them BEFORE you start making money.


    ( some of these you can do yourself, but it may take some time depending on your knowledge. )


    If you have the funds, Product Creation would be the fastest way to make money in your niche.


    Blogging is a long-term process, The blog would usually have to be SUPER successful to make a substantial income.


    But Blogging traffic takes much time to develop and usually starts out RIDICULOUSLY slow.


    ( Not to mention you would need at LEAST a basic understanding of SEO, If you don't know what SEO stands for... you can be 99% sure you don't have it yet. )



    I recently created my first blog about 2months ago but I am JUST now getting to 500 Unique Visitors per month.


    But, to answer your question....


    In order to BLOG about something, you must have PASSION & PATIENCE.


    If you lack in either of the two areas you will fall short in the Blogosphere.


    So I would suggest product creation.
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    • Profile picture of the author aleksbogata
      Originally Posted by dlundy1 View Post

      In order to BLOG about something, you must have PASSION & PATIENCE.

      If you lack in either of the two areas you will fall short in the Blogosphere
      Thank you for your response. I have PASSION...and I 'practice' patience but it's easier said than done. I don't want to sell other people's nutrition products because it is hard for me to find ones that I believe in. I practice holistic nutrition and most nutrition products are based on unrealistic weight loss claims etc etc which is not what I am about. My aim is to tackle health issues not weight issues.

      I do know my way around a little but all my training has been in the IM niche and not the Nutrition niche which is where I now fall short.

      I have a domain, hosting and can get a WP blog up and running. I know what SEO is however I would have no clue how to apply it.

      The problem with my product creation idea is where am I going to sell it? It's easy with IM products, create a WSO there is a one stop forum where there are an average of 6000 people viewing the WSO section most times of the day.

      Any ideas of where I would sell my nutrition products?
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      • Profile picture of the author dlundy1
        Originally Posted by aleksbogata View Post

        Thank you for your response. I have PASSION...and I 'practice' patience but it's easier said than done. I don't want to sell other people's nutrition products because it is hard for me to find ones that I believe in. I practice holistic nutrition and most nutrition products are based on unrealistic weight loss claims etc etc which is not what I am about. My aim is to tackle health issues not weight issues.

        I do know my way around a little but all my training has been in the IM niche and not the Nutrition niche which is where I now fall short.

        I have a domain, hosting and can get a WP blog up and running. I know what SEO is however I would have no clue how to apply it.

        The problem with my product creation idea is where am I going to sell it? It's easy with IM products, create a WSO there is a one stop forum where there are an average of 6000 people viewing the WSO section most times of the day.

        Any ideas of where I would sell my nutrition products?
        "My aim is to tackle health issues not weight issues."
        - Even so, You would want to tackle weight loss as well, this is considered a "peripheral niche". If a person wants to be healthy, "Deit" is an element in the equation.

        "The problem with my product creation idea is where am I going to sell it?"
        - you can create a Sales-Page for your product. Sell the product on your own site. You can use a Payment processor such as paypal to process payments.

        "I know what SEO is however I would have no clue how to apply it."
        This will take some research & studying.

        "create a WSO there is a one stop forum"

        You don't HAVE to create a WSO to sell online... that is just one of the MANY facets. I created my own product and made my very first without even using the Warrior forum.

        You need a Sales Page, a Product, & a Payment Processor.
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        • Profile picture of the author Adam Short
          Both the blog and the eBooks go hand in hand, so my recommendation is that you do both.

          Here is the strategy I would employ:

          1. Start a blog - builds your reputation and trust in your industry
          2. Include an optin form on your blog - give away a free report and build a list - offer your ebooks to your list
          3. Sell your eBooks directly from your website and via your email list (will need a sales letter to send people to)
          4. Sell your eBooks on Amazon Kindle, iBooks, Nookpress for additional profits.

          Yes, this will take some time but if you want to become somewhat of an authority, this is the way to do it. And having a Facebook Page will help as well.

          If you want to make money faster, consider selling your eBooks on Kindle. Just make sure to do some keyword research and build your book title and descriptions around these. Once you get your eBook on the platform, consider getting Amazon verified reviews which will raise your book in the Amazon ranks as well.
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          • Profile picture of the author aleksbogata
            Originally Posted by Adam Short View Post

            Yes, this will take some time but if you want to become somewhat of an authority, this is the way to do it. And having a Facebook Page will help as well.
            Thank you! This is going to form the basis of what I do for the rest of my career so I do want to do it right. Obviously I need to make money but this doesn't have to happen overnight.
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        • Profile picture of the author aleksbogata
          Originally Posted by dlundy1 View Post

          "My aim is to tackle health issues not weight issues."
          - Even so, You would want to tackle weight loss as well, this is considered a "peripheral niche". If a person wants to be healthy, "Deit" is an element in the equation.
          Many thanks for your tips :-) As for the above, I find that one focuses on creating better health the weight naturally balances itself. The problem with society is that everyone wants to lose weight, 20 pounds in one week and then guess what the next week or two it all comes back. If you provide your body with the nutrients it needs to function effectively you will be healthy and by default you will not be overweight. And if you are providing your body with said nutritious foods, you actually will have no room and/or time to consume all the processed unnecessary foods that cause said weight and/or health problems.
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  • Profile picture of the author aleksbogata
    Originally Posted by Ken_Caudill View Post

    You can use the material on your blog as a basis for your books.
    That is the plan but do I put my energy into doing the one or the other first or do I balance my time doing both? Unfortunately I am still a slave to THE MAN at the moment and have limited time so am trying to make sure I am efficient with it.
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  • Profile picture of the author abs007
    Originally Posted by aleksbogata View Post

    Hi everyone,

    I am feeling a little overwhelmed and was hoping you could help me with where to start on my project.

    Just graduated in the health sciences, nutritional medicine and lifestyle being my main focus. Ultimately I want to write and sell Ebooks on various common western diseases, i.e. diabetes, heart disease, IBS, arthritis, the list goes on and on. My Ebooks will aim to educate people about how they can take control of their own health using nutrition and lifestyle. We are what we eat after all.

    I would like to create a website, a one stop go to nutrition site where I will post easy nutritious recipes, explain what all foods/nutrients are good for, why our bodies need them, how much we need, how to get these into our diets easily. I basically would like to educate people on the associations between the food we eat and health and disease.

    I know there is a market for it, it is all evidence based material using the latest research. And I love writing and I love the idea of helping people who are suffering with conditions that can be easily remedied naturally.

    Where do I start and how long will this take? Do I first get the website going and blog for months to try and get the traffic or do I get straight in there and start writing the Ebooks and try sell them?

    Is this an idea that could make me an income relatively easily or should this be a side project that I will have to nurture for a long time before I can monetise it?

    Thanks for your help in advance.

    Aleks
    Hi Aleks

    you sound very passionate which is a huge advantage and you are certainly correct in noting that the industry is huge.

    have you looked into Amazon Kindle ? If you haven't then take out a little time and see how you could benefit from being a publisher on there.

    When you do start your blog then do a little research on how to set your blog up. Look for themes that provide SEO value and strong interlinking.

    Even though you are a professional in your niche I would highly advise you perform some keyword research and find out what the most popular and most searched for subjects /keywords are and then target them first.

    Use social media services and participate in niche specific groups and gain a solid following.

    Start to build a list from the get go.

    Hope this helps
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    • Profile picture of the author aleksbogata
      Originally Posted by abs007 View Post

      have you looked into Amazon Kindle ? If you haven't then take out a little time and see how you could benefit from being a publisher on there.
      I have not yet come across Amazon Kindle. Will look into it and all your other suggestions have been duly noted. To the drawing board I go - thank you
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  • Profile picture of the author jessegilbert
    Banned
    I have seen people with 300 pages of blog content that they aren't using and I'm like you should put that in an SEO optimized blog. I think that is a great asset to have and can get the traffic and then you can start adding on other products and promotions. It takes focus though to get all that blog content up there and optimized but I think it would be worth it.
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  • Profile picture of the author adwike
    Start Blogging First and build your own audience then you can create your own products
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  • Profile picture of the author DavidAllenNeron
    IMO

    If you don't start with your market research you'll end up guessing what to do and how to do it the entire time.

    If you know what YOU want to do already, research the people interested in similar products, find out what they're missing or needing from the niche that they aren't already getting and give it to them ...

    Doing a bit of market research will give you a lot more direction. Creating eBooks and blogging without understanding your market will leave you guessing the entire time.

    Always, Always, Always start with your market research.

    A customer avatar will be of great value to you as well ... it will make your marketing much easier and natural.
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  • Profile picture of the author Stefan Shields
    Yes I think the best thing you can do is start a blog and build up a following for a while.

    You should also spend plenty of time learning about methods of marketing so when the time comes for releasing your books, you can achieve thousands of sales.

    Once you have a dedicated following earned through your site, you will have them hooked forever as long as you don't drop the ball with quality.
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  • Profile picture of the author mgsmith
    I agree with the other comments above. You can start with blogging and affiliate marketing so you could build your own audience and connections. You can connect with the other internet marketers that are in the same niche as you are so you can get tips and ideas that you could use. When you already have a lot of connections that's a great time to create your own product and by that time your knowledge will be somehow broader than before.
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    Mike

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