Stay Grounded In Reality As You Build Out Your Sites
Covid has changed our lives. This we all know. There is a lesson in this. At least for me there is. Guess how much the website I speak about here on WA made at the end of December??
Now a couple months back it made about $95. Any takers?? Well let me tell you - it made a grand total of $0.12. Yup. Now, how was traffic? Did it reduce..yes just s bit..but did my positions on page 1 for several articles change much..nope!
So if my positions didn't get any worse and traffic didn't drop off that much, it means that people are searching, some are still looking, but they are not buying, even though they may want to.
The website had only 13 purchases in December and 4 returns. Some of those returns I believe, may be due to lack of money and having to use it to buy more important things, like food.
Why am I telling you this?? I am telling you this because, we have to be real when we are building a niche site. We have to stay aware of not just niche factors, but also factors outside the niche, that may influence our audience's ability to spend.
Now, I had no idea that a pandemic was coming of course - I had decent and increasing sales in Feb 2020 then covid hit, then they went up again when people got out of lockdown in early fall, and now, for this second wave, it is at an absolute halt.
My niche is an outdoors niche, so go figure - I am not expecting that site to earn much over the next 12 to 18 months.
My point is this - keep the pandemic in mind if you are about to build a new site, or as you continue to build out your existing site. As much as the internet is a virtual world, it is very much the real world, more real than we sometimes like to accept.
We have to stay rooted in reality, and understand what people are going through, so that we can manage our expectations, and so that we can let reality guide us.
So as you go forward building out your sites and starting new affiliate sites, I wish you all the best!! Get deep in the niche and investigate, take some time to understand what non-niche factors may influence your audience's ability to purchase that product you are recommending.
Recent Comments
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Thank you very much for this learning, Randy.
May you have much success in this New Year.
Cassi
Thanks for your reminder that our websites are surrounded by a real world of website visitorsa.
I am sure you have learned too that the secret to bridling an audience for a website is to answer questions and provides advice. When we do that well our website will become the "Go To:" website for that niche.
We wish you much success in 2021.
That is very true JGH, and thanks. Yup, it is all about trust. A pandemic is outside of the norm, but can last long enough to become the new norm for a year or two. We must realize too that at this strange time, although we answer questions and gain trust, that person may not have the money to spend on something you recommend because they have to keep it for something they need like food, clothing and shelter. So we shouldn't get too discouraged at this time. These are definitely times of survival. Hopefully people are in a better place financially and healthwise in another 18 months. All the best to you too
Yes, you are right./ For many people, it is a matter of survival now. It takes a lot of energy and resources to survive.
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Thanks for sharing this, Randy!
Jeff
No prob at all Jeff!
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