Small Successes Close to 6 Months In
Hey everyone,
It's been a while since I've posted anything in WA and I figured now was probably a good time. I've been a member of Wealthy Affiliate for just about 6 months now and am starting to see some increases that look pretty promising.
Quora
A while back Michelle (mybiz4u) wrote a post about how using Quora can be a huge help in generating traffic and improving your writing skills. (https://my.wealthyaffiliate.co...) I made a profile and started answering questions about my niche.
Other users of Quora seem to be responding pretty well to my answers so far. Last month, I was notified (by email) that I was a "Top 10" writer on two different topics (both within my niche).
It has been another great way to start building real authority. It's an almost-perfect social platform to spread the word about your chosen niche (especially since you can type in a question and see what people need answers to.)
Once you know what's being asked, you can research the answer and respond. Or, you can do some research, write an entire post about the topic, publish it, then go back to Quora and answer the question while dropping a link to your post!
Amazon Earnings
I've also started to see some success being an Amazon Affiliate now. I'm not making nearly as much as my original goal, but (as we're taught here) as long as we keep making quality content - there should be a snowball effect.
Here's a screenshot of my earnings from January.
This (and other Amazon Affiliate's posts here) gave me a more-realistic idea of how much traffic we'll need to generate a full time income.
It's definitely a good start but I still have a long way to go. (As far as I know, a 5% conversion rate isn't that impressive and if you're closer to 10% that's a lot better.)
50 Published Posts
I've also reached 50 posts on my website. Even after 50 posts, I feel like I'm just now starting to get the hang of what it takes to write a quality post. (Maybe I wasn't paying attention in the training as much as I thought I was.) Plus, practice makes better. ;)
Dylanrieger made a great training on writing "Best Of" posts and I started taking that approach to see what might happen. (https://my.wealthyaffiliate.co...) I'm starting to see some good results from that as well. We're also taught that this is a good approach in the Certification Courses. (Sometimes it's easier to write a few hundred words about 10 different products than 1500-2000 about 1 product.)
Overall - Excited To Keep Going
It's been a slow process that sometimes feels like watching paint dry (especially only seeing tiny trickles of traffic) but I'm excited to keep writing and learning more.
Just like a lot of other members here at WA have said, if you go through all the training, apply it, don't skip steps, and write quality content, you'll start to see real results.
I feel like I'm just getting started so there's a long road ahead of more writing, more patience, more SEO, and more social media interaction.
I would recommend taking a look at the posts I mentioned above to soak up the information for yourself.
Thanks for taking the time to read through this post, I know it's a little bit drawn out. :) I hope you can apply what you've learned so far, learn some more, give it some time, and start seeing results within your niche too!
Glad to be here at WA,
Dom
Recent Comments
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Thanks for sharing this info, and kudos on all your success. May I make one recommendation? Since Amazon has fallen short of your expectations, perhaps consider testing a different merchant. Odds are the other merchants will have a cookie much longer than Amazon's one-day cookie, and a much higher commission rate, and even different/better products. You've probably got enough traffic now to do a valid test. At least give it a try!
Thanks Jeannine,
The goal I was referencing in the post was my yearly income mark that I'd like to hit eventually. Amazon hasn't fallen short of my expectations yet (since I don't expect to be hitting that mark by now).
Currently I'm also signed up with a few other merchants, so I'm working on getting that going too.
I appreciate your suggestions!
So glad to hear that. So many focus only on Amazon, but unless they have products which are impulse products that someone doesn't hesitate to just buy now, that 24-hour cookie will expire and no commission will be earned. Even Kyle agrees on that one!
We seem to have started around the same time (January was month 6 for me too). I just published my 45th post, and following Dylan's advice really led to my Amazon sales. Your Amazon income is very similar to mine. Congrats man!
Ya I think you're right, congratulations to you too!
It's nice too see things start to happen after working and waiting without seeing what some might call "tangible success".
Glad to hear you're making progress as well. :)
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Congrats on your 1st 6 months, it sounds like you are achieving success and I wish it ongoing,
It is kind of you to share this as it will serve to inspire others here at WA. It is great that you adopted the paying it forward philosophy that is what WA is all about.
All the best in going forward.
Gary
Thanks Gary,
I still have a long way to go but I'm a believer in celebrating the steps along the way. :)
That's exactly why I decided to share it, other posts like this helped me stay motivated in the first 6 months.
I appreciate the words of encouragement! Thanks again,
Dom