Learn my secret formula for earning as much as $3/month NOW!!!

by Sine9Orcim

Posted: 12 years ago 17 replies

INTERNET MARKETING

Ok, so I'm a complete amateur when it comes to IM. I've managed, rather haphazardly, to throw together the following microniche site and am now making an average of $3/month from it:
Fish Tank Filter | Find out what the best factors are when selecting a fish tank filter.

Beyond developing and making more posts around long tail keywords and monetizing more through affiliate programs, I was hoping I could get advice from you Warriors on how to go about pursuing further profits from this site or, if that looks like a lost cause, what you'd suggest that I do differently for future sites.

Currently, I'm only using affiliate links on one of the articles and am using Google Adsense. So far, I have zero affiliate sales (though, this is a recent addition) and the Adsense represents the only real source of successful monetization so far.

I've been lurking on WF for a couple of months now and I find it almost overwhelming how much information there is for me to glean from you brilliant *******s. Hopefully I can use this thread as a means to gain something more specific to my pathetic first attempt at creating an online income.

#$3 or month #adsense #earning #formula #internet marketing #learn #microniche #review #secret

Dayne Dylan Banned 12 years ago

Get a better design, and give something away to get subscribers. I'd also ditch Adsense and use affiliate links to related products via Clickbank or Amazon in your sidebar...and links in articles, etc.
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- Sine9Orcim 12 years ago
  
  Originally Posted by Dayne Dylan
  
  Get a better design, and give something away to get subscribers.
  
  I've actually been contemplating a move like that, but can't settle on what sort of things constitute 'a better design.' I settled on the bland WP theme that I'm using because (a) it's free and (b) I heard word that the more boring, the better.
  
  Originally Posted by Dayne Dylan
  
  I'd also ditch Adsense and use affiliate links to related products via Clickbank or Amazon in your sidebar...and links in articles, etc.
  
  This is something I hadn't yet considered. Would you suggest I look for WP add-ons for something like that - maybe a way to have the Amazon/CB sidebar displays update with each page? Or should I just insert a static sidebar piece with links/photos of the products I'd be linking to?
  
  Thanks
  
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gabibeowulf

12 years ago

You have 4 articles on your site. That means (almost) $1 per article per month. I don't think that's too bad for someone who's just starting up. But really, the site is in its infancy right now. You can't really complain at the income it produces as you haven't invested enough sweat into it.

My advice:

1. Get a better design

2. Stop making everything about "Fish Tank Filter" (your domain name, your articles, your URLs.. everything points to it). I get it, you want to rank for this keyphrase. It stands out, which really means Google will notice it too and your site will be a prime candidate for deranking in the next Penguin iteration

3. Don't rely on just Google. Forums, Pinterest, Facebook will work well with pet related sites.

4. Build a community of your own. Try to find ways to make people contribute to your site and make it bigger. That's the best long term strategy.

-Gabriel

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Sine9Orcim

12 years ago

Originally Posted by gabibeowulf

1. Get a better design

It seems to me that this response is key, for the time being. I've already got one suggestion below AND I'm going to start digging something up, myself. I assume this means that there is no credence to the idea that the simpler the theme, the better the click through on ads?

Originally Posted by gabibeowulf

2. Stop making everything about "Fish Tank Filter" (your domain name, your articles, your URLs.. everything points to it). I get it, you want to rank for this keyphrase. It stands out, which really means Google will notice it too and your site will be a prime candidate for deranking in the next Penguin iteration

This is actually one of my biggest fears on the site - I just don't know how much is too much. Based on what I'm seeing around WF, this balance isn't an exact science. I'll try to tone it down, though!

Originally Posted by gabibeowulf

3. Don't rely on just Google. Forums, Pinterest, Facebook will work well with pet related sites.

Another thing I'm seeing suggested a lot below - I'm definitely going to start down this path!

Originally Posted by gabibeowulf

4. Build a community of your own. Try to find ways to make people contribute to your site and make it bigger. That's the best long term strategy.

This one's still a bit of a mystery to me - I just need to get more creative, I suppose. I threw a newsletter signup on the site the other day, but (a) don't have enough traffic to believe this to be very effective yet and (b) I'm not yet even sure what I'd be emailing folks. I think my problem is that I'm being too timid with my ideas on this stuff, based on what I'm seeing in the great responses I've got so far.

Thanks

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AlexCN

12 years ago

Hey!

Congrats on the great start. Don't get discouraged. I really like your
site. Even though it's just on a basic Wordpress theme, you are
getting content up and you have something online, and that
is what counts.

You care about your site and niche, and that is a great start.

Additionally, I actually like the look of your simple site. I think it gives
it a sense of honesty, as if the information is coming from a home
hobbyist or something...

So then...

The problem you are likely having is traffic, right?

If you are getting a small amount of traffic, Adsense is going to
be a crummy way to monitize your site.

Additionally, you aren't going to be making much from 5% Amazon
affiliate commissions on the sale of suction cups...

How about this:

Instead of settling for peanuts through the Amazon affiliates
program when someone decides to purchase those DIY filter
parts when they click your links, what about ordering the parts
yourself in BULK and then building the Filters yourself
and offering THOSE to the public?

A lot of people don't want to mess with a bunch of mechanical
parts and glues, or aren't mechanically inclined...

But a LOT of people DO want complete 'done-for-you' solutions...

What if you sourced all those parts in bulk, and were able to make
those filters at home yourself for $10-$15?

You could then charge $30-$50 for a completed filter system (or whatever the market would bear) and instead of 5% with Amazon, suddenly you
are making 100%-300% profits by taking the time to do everything yourself!

You could talk about all the benefits of these DIY filters compared to
those of the competition. You could then outline exactly how to build
them if people wanted to do it themselves...

Then, in your copy, you could say something to the effect of...

Don't Want To Build A Fish Tank Filter For Yourself? Click Here To Have A Completed Filter Delivered Right To Your Door...

That link you could then take people to a sales page on your site where you outline everything they would be getting, the savings, the benefits and whatever else you wanted to tell them.

That would be part 1 of the action plan.

Part 2 would be starting to build a mailing list.

Think of a cool Freebie to give away that this market would really like.

Once they signed up, start telling them all about the benefits of your
the Done For You filter that you are offering and start driving them
back to your sales page a few times a week...

Go for it!

Alex

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Sine9Orcim

12 years ago

Originally Posted by AlexCN

...You could talk about all the benefits of these DIY filters compared to
those of the competition. You could then outline exactly how to build
them if people wanted to do it themselves...

Then, in your copy, you could say something to the effect of...

Don't Want To Build A Fish Tank Filter For Yourself? Click Here To Have A Completed Filter Delivered Right To Your Door...

That link you could then take people to a sales page on your site where you outline everything they would be getting, the savings, the benefits and whatever else you wanted to tell them.

That would be part 1 of the action plan.

This is probably the most intimidating of the responses that I've gotten. Initially, I set this site up because I wanted it to be something of a testing ground for what I could see becoming a full IM business in the future.

Originally Posted by AlexCN

Part 2 would be starting to build a mailing list.

Think of a cool Freebie to give away that this market would really like.

This, right here, is next on my to-do list!

Thanks

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Jeff Lenney

12 years ago

Hey - CONGRATS on taking action and getting started.

The FIRST thing I'd do is give the site a more professional looking theme. There are plenty of free ones out there, as well as plenty of paid ones.

First impressions are EVERYTHING with websites, and you have 2-3 seconds to convince people to STAY on your site, and read what you're talking about.

After THAT - I'd work on getting more content written, try to write (or have written for you) 10-15 MORE articles (this month) and throw em up.

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Sine9Orcim

12 years ago

Originally Posted by eljeffe77

The FIRST thing I'd do is give the site a more professional looking theme. There are plenty of free ones out there, as well as plenty of paid ones.

First impressions are EVERYTHING with websites, and you have 2-3 seconds to convince people to STAY on your site, and read what you're talking about.

Just based on the feedback I've seen in this thread so far, this is going to be my very first move, I think. Have you got any suggestions for reputable paid/free theme sites for monetized blogs?

Originally Posted by eljeffe77

After THAT - I'd work on getting more content written, try to write (or have written for you) 10-15 MORE articles (this month) and throw em up.

I originally stuck with so few articles because I wanted to learn the initial process of setting up the site. Now that I'm at this stage, I believe I may take your advice. I'll start looking into more paid content, to boot, just to save time. I'm familiar with iWriter, but have been researching other, similar services on WF. Have you got a personal preference on one?

Thanks

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Traffic Strategiest 12 years ago

Have you joined any fish forms /blogs
Placed ads on Fish Aquarium sites

How to keep your Aquarium clean with little effort squeeze page

You are making some money that is something
keep getting your message out in front of people that need your product
and try to figure out what you are doing now to make $3 dollars a month
and then scale it up.
Good luck and hang in there
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- Sine9Orcim 12 years ago
  
  Originally Posted by Traffic Strategiest
  
  Have you joined any fish forms /blogs
  Placed ads on Fish Aquarium sites
  
  Indeed, I have not. This thing was kind of rushed into existence, but with all this feedback, I'm getting pumped on the prospect of further marketing for the site.
  
  Originally Posted by Traffic Strategiest
  
  How to keep your Aquarium clean with little effort squeeze page
  
  THIS. IS. BRILLIANT.
  
  I've been kind of timid about any ideas that I've had for potential squeezes, but I'm going to have the bite the bullet sometime - why not now?
  
  Thanks!
  
  Originally Posted by Traffic Strategiest
  
  ...and try to figure out what you are doing now to make $3 dollars a month
  and then scale it up.
  
  One of my biggest failings, I believe, in my entire introduction to IM is that I've had trouble researching the best ways to determine exactly this point: what is it that is bringing traffic to my site? It's all search engine right now (obviously), but Google Analytics keeps saying 'media search' as the source for a lot of them. Likewise, I'm not entirely clear on how much of this traffic is related to the work I did doing backlinking.
  
  Have you got any suggestions for good ways of determining the specifics of why traffic is coming in? Or, perhaps, good guides on how to better read and understand Google Analytics?
  
  Thanks
  
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dean20653 12 years ago

What do you think about This theme? Its free
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- Sine9Orcim 12 years ago
  
  Originally Posted by dean20653
  
  What do you think about This theme? Its free
  
  This looks great! However, when I tried to load it into WP, I got an error - something about the styles.css file not having the right header information?
  
  I'll keep digging for more similar themes, though. Thanks!
  
  Thanks
  
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drem

12 years ago

I know some people do not agree, but like most, I have to agree with a theme change. When I see a standard theme that is just plain on a site, I know the owner isn't too serious. I don't mean this in a harsh way, but there are so many free themes that leaving the default theme seems like a rushed job.

The great part is that you can really expand in the fish niche. I know you are targeting filters at the moment, but there is definitely room to expand.

I think you are off to an amazing start. I would also try to go social. I didn't notice a link to your twitter page, if you have one, but it can drive some targeted traffic your way.

I hope that your site continues to grow and look forward to your next post on how you made $20+ in a month.

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Sine9Orcim

12 years ago

Originally Posted by drem

I'll be working on this first and foremost, just based on the feedback here.

Originally Posted by drem

The great part is that you can really expand in the fish niche. I know you are targeting filters at the moment, but there is definitely room to expand.

That's not really something that I'd initially considered when creating the site, but you are absolutely correct on this point. I'll be spending some time researching how other WF members do their brainstorming for expanding within a specific niche. If you have any suggestions on how you, personally, go about brainstorming on niche expansion, I'd love to check it out.

Thanks

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Oliver13 12 years ago

It's not secret anymore.
- Thanks
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Rappostion 12 years ago

Good start but there are still a huge room for improvements! With regard to contents, you can hire cheap but good writers at odesk.com. Good luck on your journey!
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ryanbiddulph 12 years ago

Good start! Great niche too. Not much action there in terms of comp. I like the longtail approach. I like your clean design too. I would not change much, maybe a bit more branding with some fish tank imagery, or something which shares what your site is about.

All the best!

Ryan
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Learn my secret formula for earning as much as $3/month NOW!!!

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