First Sale! A Mini Success Story and How it Happened in 2 Weeks
So I checked my email this morning to find...
...and thought, "don't you have to make a sale before they'll even review your application now?".
My New Site, Less Than 2 Weeks Old
Also, I had just started my new Pokemon TCG Online website just over a week ago! I wrote my very first posts on October 4, but eventually moved the site over from a free domain to a paid domain on October 9. So, my main site has really only been up for 9 days.
(Check it out at http://PTCGOhub.com)
Amazon Associates Program
I also just applied for the Amazon Associates Program a few days after I got the new domain.
I checked my sales, and it looks like 2 different customers each made a single purchase. One of the items was the only item I have a detailed review post for, and the other was a recommended item I had a link in another post for.
Total Amazon commissions: $3.27 (at 4% referral rate, if I ship 5 more items, increase to 6%)
eBay Partner Network
I also remembered that I joined the eBay Partner Network, as Pokemon TCG Online codes are very popular on eBay, so I checked there...more sales!
Most of the eBay items I recommend sell for very little, usually $0.99, so I'm not expecting much in the way of commission through eBay, but I did manage to get sales for 7 items, totaling $2.53 in commission!
Totals Across 3 Days
All these sales took place over the past 3 days. That's 2 sales at Amazon for $3.27 and 7 sales at eBay for $2.53.
Yes, it's a small start at only $5.80, but I honestly wasn't expecting any sales for at least the first few months!
To be honest, besides time and my membership here at WA, they only thing I spent on this site was the $0.99 + fee ($1.17 total) for the domain name (promo at GoDaddy). As far as I'm concerned I already more than made my money back and had a lot of fun doing it.
How? Content.
If you check out my site, it's still very new, but I already have a fair amount of content. I've got my basic "about" page, privacy policy, 4 main guide pages, 2 supplemental info pages, and about 17 posts.
Besides the pages (which did take quite a lot of time to write), I aimed for about a post a day, or 5 a week for the first couple weeks, which I (mostly) managed to reach. Using a simple plugin, I found that my site has about 29,000 words across the pages and posts (excluding comments).
I took a hard-earned two-day break on 10/13 and made a post yesterday and today.
Promoting via Social Media
I've also been "liking" and sharing my posts on Facebook, Twitter, and Google Plus (haven't on Pinterest as most of my images are Copyright-protected by the Pokemon Company, and even with my disclaimer, I'd rather not use those images as the focus of a Pinterest account).
Social Media MVP: Reddit
I'm also an active member of the Pokemon TCG Online subreddit, so I've been sharing links to my site when they help. If a member asks a question that I wrote about, I answer them in a reply on reddit, and usually include a relevant link to my site. Nothing spammy, and my Reddit posts are always meant to help and never to sell.
The pages I link to on Reddit also don't normally include affiliate links, but are to informational posts (which then funnel to other pages and then to the affiliate links).
Social Traffic Breakdown (Google Analytics)
Looking at my traffic, just over half is from Google search results and a quarter is from Social Media. However, almost all of the Social Media traffic comes from Reddit. Only a few hits from Facebook and Google Plus, and so far nothing from Twitter (I guess my followers aren't very interested).
This shows that Reddit can be a very valuable promotional tool for Social Media. However, be warned that Reddit is not a place to promote your content, but a place to add valuable conversation and help out communities by answering questions.
If your site adds value and helps the community, then it may be appropriate to include a link in a reply. Still, I urge others to not submit links from their site (as a post), only include them in messages and replies when appropriate. Many subreddits take self-promotion very seriously.
How? Passion.
All in all, I'm pleasantly surprised! I can't believe in how little time I've been getting traffic and actual sales! This is definitely motivation to keep on going.
Also, I'd like to say that this is not my first niche site with Wealthy Affiliate. However, my previous sites failed. Why? Mainly because I lost interest and couldn't keep up creating new, quality content. I got bored. I was never really passionate about my niche.
Luckily for me, I'm such a nerd and I love Pokemon (and the Pokemon Trading Card Game), so creating quality content doesn't feel like a chore! I have about a dozen ideas for more posts, some with drafts already saved on Wordpress.
Now it's simply a matter of balancing time--how much writing content, promoting content, and "researching" (read: playing the game!). :D
Recent Comments
8
these are awesome news! totally agree with you that having passion in doing something is the most important part of it all. keep on rocking!
I sure hope so! The Pokemon hype is real.
Even though my niche is on the Pokemon TCG Online, I'm also starting to add some content about the video games about to launch to reach out for more keyword hits.
...especially because what comes out with the video games affects the trading card game, too. With Pokemon Sun & Moon games coming out next month, the Sun & Moon cards will follow in February (December in Japan).
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Wow, amazing Lincoln, sales in a short span of time! People are really going crazy with their Pokemon stuffs and people as passionate like you are prime to take the opportunity, well done!