My Roadmap to Success

I've been an Internet Marketer since 2005. I've worked full-time 100% for myself since 2008. It's been over nine years since I started working for myself.

During this time, I've developed my own strategies to building a full-time Internet Marketing business from scratch. I've always had these ideas in my head, but only recently have I put them "on paper" here at Wealthy Affiliate.

I've decided to create guides that share my experiences and walk you through the steps I take when deciding to launch a new website. This Roadmap is designed to help lead you through my guides and get you well on your way to building a successful online business.

The guides here cover everything from how I pick a niche to how I come up with content for the site, to how I monetize the site and make money from it. Like I said, these are the EXACT strategies I use every day. I know first hand that they work. :)

*A fair warning first.*

These steps will take at least a few weeks to complete. I know it sounds like a lot right now, but you're building an Internet Marketing business from the ground up. You have to invest some time up-front. Your work and efforts will be seriously rewarded in the long-haul.

I highly recommend first reading every single link and training in here. Don't do any work or start anything just yet.

Just read.

Try and understand the processes behind making money as an Internet Marketer. Take notes if you want, but just don't do anything.

After you've read everything first, circle back around to Step 1. and start doing the actual work. Some parts may be over your head right now, but that's OK. It'll come together after you've started building. And if you're stuck, you can leave a comment at the bottom of this guide. I'll be more than happy to help!

Reminder: Read everything first!

Everything!

(Guides marked with a ★ are Premium level guides!)

Finding a niche is the very first step in creating your website. You very well can't create a website without an idea first.

If you're not in the right niche or it's a niche you have little to no experience or interest in, all of you hard work will be for nothing. We need to first find the right niche for you.

I'll start with the four criteria I follow when picking a new niche...

1. The niche has to be a topic that I can update often
2. The niche has to be something that personally interests me
3. The niche can be expanded to an authority style website
4. There has to be a way to tie products into my posts

Keep those criteria in mind and read through my first training below.

My Top 5 Niche Picks

With this guide, I'll walk you through the thought processes I use when picking out a niche. I'll also give you 5 examples of niches that I would personally pursue, complete with explanations of why these would make good niches, trend graphs (and how to create your own!), and example posts I would create for these niches.

One thing about niches, your first niche will most likely not be your last niche.

It's very easy to get hung up on this stage and struggle to make progress with your business. Read through the training and write down 5 ideas of your own. From there you can narrow down to which one really stands out to you.

There's also room to pursue more than one niche. As a Starter you get 2 free SiteRubix websites and as a Premium member, you get unlimited.hosting of your own domain names. While it will double your work load, you can pursue 2 (or more!) niches at once. Be prepared to write if you go down this path!

Start with My Top 5 Niche Picks training and write down the ideas you come up with!

10 Hot Niche Picks for 2016 & 2017

If you need a few more ideas, I have recently researched and looked into 10 additional niches that I like for the upcoming months.

These are more current niches but they will show you how I'm using trends to find topics that other people are searching for online.

Here's where things start to get fun.

We're now going to take your niche idea and turn it into an income producing website. That's why you're here right?!

However, before your site starts to make money, we need to lay down the foundations. There are two things you have to work on here.

1. Your website
2. Yourself

Your website is obvious. Yourself, less so. You do need a bit of discipline here. Websites aren't static environments. You're going to need to develop habits that get you writing, creating content, and meeting new people.

Your website will never truly be "finished" meaning there will never come a time where you have nothing more to write about for your niche. This holds especially true these days as Google LOVES recent, noteworthy content. It's best to prepare yourself mentally to get ready to work!

This brings me to the first Premium guide I've created here...

Starting from Scratch: The Strategies I Use to Build & Maintain Successful Websites ★

This training is going to help you lay the foundations for your site.

I cover niche picking again in more detail, how to decide on a domain name (including my secret tip for finding high quality domain names!), how to write pillar articles, how to create content that people want to read, how to create content that converts, and so much more.

I run through the entire training with TWO of my own niches to help you visualize what makes a website. You'll definitely want to take notes through this one! As you read through each page, try and apply my strategies to the niche you've picked in Step 1.

Here's the link again: https://my.wealthyaffiliate.com/training/if-i-were-to-start-a-new-site

After you read through that training, it's time to start working on your website with Kyle's level 2 certification course...

Building Your Own Traffic Producing Website ★

Take my strategies and your niche, and start physically building your website. Kyle has 4 certification courses here that will walk you through the process of getting your website up and online.

I have two final guides for you.

15 Reasons Why Your Site Isn’t Listed In Google, Generating Traffic, or Making Money ★

Up first is my newest *Premium-only* training.

I've been spending the past few weeks in chat taking notes.

I wanted to narrow down the biggest issues people were having with getting their websites listed in Google, generating traffic from higher rankings or making money.

Over those weeks, I’ve come to find there are 15 mistakes that pop up more often than others.

This training is designed to point out each mistake, let you know why it’s a mistake, and how to correct it so you can see those rankings, visitors, and sales.

Here are the 15 problems I cover. Don't forget, each problem is discussed in-depth and a solution is offered!

1. You haven't setup Google Webmaster Tools, Analytics, or Authorship
2. You haven't built and submitted a sitemap
3. You're accidentally stuffing keywords
4. You only have a few base pages created
5. You have fewer than 10-12 articles
6. You don't have a posting schedule
7. You haven't reached out to other sites, blogs, or communities
8. You're rewriting sales copy
9. You're rehashing old information
10. You're focusing on money rather than quality
11. Your posts read like sales pitches
12. You're waiting for Google to do something
13. You're stat checking every 5 minutes
14. You've "finished" your website
15. You haven't given it enough time

You're lucky to be receiving this now because you'll be able to identify any problems you might have BEFORE you run into them. After your site is up and running, take a read through this guide and make any necessary changes.

Give yourself a headstart and read this one immediately: https://my.wealthyaffiliate.com/training/15-reasons-why-your-site-isnt-listed-in-google-generating-traffic-or-making-money

The Diamond Traffic Program ★

Finally, we have Kyle's Diamond traffic program. This will be your last stop. Kyle has composed 4 separate guides in his program that will really have you start generating some serious traffic with your site. You can find that here:

https://my.wealthyaffiliate.com/training/the-diamond-traffic-program

The End?

No!

I said it early on in this message, but it definitely needs to be repeated. Expect to spend the next couple of weeks working on your website. You're building a business from the ground up. It'll take a fair bit of time and effort. You're a paying member here at Wealthy Affiliate. There are thousands of trainings, a number of tools, and plenty of support at hand. Make use of them!

One last thing: always remember that every single member here (myself included!) started in the EXACT same position you're in now. Perseverance breeds success.

1. Complete access to every resource listed in my Roadmap
2. Complete access to EVERYTHING offered at Wealthy Affiliate
3. Complete access to ME! Ask me questions and get my professional advice!
4. Complete access to everything you would need to create and grow a full-time business online

Click here and kickstart your online business as a Premium member!

The beauty of Wealthy Affiliate is the ability to connect with professional marketers at any time. If you have any questions at all, or need anything answered, cleared up, or you just want to chat, leave me a comment below!

I'm here to help and will be happy to assist in any way possible.

Welcome again to Wealthy Affiliate and see you around the site!

-Steve