I'm seeing RED and am ready to attack!
See that nice big red bulls eye in the middle of this picture?
Well back in August of 2012 I joined WA and had my sights set on building a successful online business. I went through the training here, I listened in on Live Chat and even participated in conversations, watched Jay's WAbinars and have learned more than I ever thought I could. But something happened...
I got sidetracked by all the "possible" niches I could make money at.
I mean I got seriously sidetracked ya'll. We are talking 12 different sites...12 different niches...Countless number of keyword phrases to write about. You see all the white and black areas around that bullseye? Yep, everyday I'd wake up and shoot myself towards the red bulls eye but always land on the black or white areas with no focus, no direction and millions of questions that I couldn't even formulate because I was so confused.
I know I can't be the only one that has found themselves pursuing more than one niche and ending up shooting in the dark.
It got so bad that back in July I actually shut down my computer and for the first time since 1999 had NO desire to be online. I deactivated my Facebook, didn't post to much on Twitter, deleted all Social Media apps off my phone and only kept my Google+ account going, somewhat.
This is coming from someone that has done SEO since 1999 (which is always changing), had a business that helped other businesses with their Social Media Marketing, knows the ins and outs of Internet Marketing but just couldn't do it anymore because I was so discouraged. :(
During those 4 months I realized there are only 2 times in my life (that I can remember distinctly) when I had that red bulls eye in my sights and never saw the black and white parts around it. I not only hit my mark those two times but excelled and enjoyed the journey I was on.
I've been reading a book, The Prosperity Bible, the greatest writings of all time on the secrets to wealth and prosperity. It has 1268 pages and I'm only on page 35 but already I see the trend...these people were laser focused and NOTHING was going to stand in their way. The black and white didn't exist, only that red bulls eye and no matter what came their way, no matter what others said, no matter the circumstances, they knew in their hearts and saw in their minds the end result.
I had a friend ask me yesterday, "If you were to commit to one site and just work that site how much money do you think you could make?" Such a simple question yet was so profound. I do have one site that I really enjoyed writing for and have made a little bit of money from but back in May it took a nose dive in traffic and was one of the reasons I had to walk away. This site, I truly believe has great potential and will now be my red bulls eye. I'm going to attack this site like there is no tomorrow!!!
If you have ever found yourself or are in that place right now of having to many "niches" with no clear direction I strongly encourage you to take the time and find your red bulls eye. If you don't, you might end up like I did and always ending up in the white and black areas, never hitting your target.
I am looking so forward to getting back into the swing of things and helping others wherever I can. I have missed this community a lot and am so thankful for all of you.
Be Blessed
~ Audrey
Recent Comments
31
Audrey, great post. I am inspired by your determination. And I understand where you're coming from. I was that way too when I first started with affiliate marketing. Completely, completely unfocused and trying too many things at once! I did the same as you. Walked away. And now I'm back - with focus! I'm glad to see that you are too. I see Kyle saying to people that you only need one good site to make money. It sounds like you're back to being on the right track. Hit your bullseye!
Thank you Christina. I'm so glad you are back with focus also. There are so many factors to being successful in Affiliate/Internet marketing but I'm learning that without a target and focus on that target it's hard to hit the mark. I'm looking forward to hitting that bulls eye along side of you. :)
~ Audrey
Hi Audrey, So glad to see you back in WA and blogging your fantastic blogs. I always enjoy what you have to say.
I'm sorry you had such a frustrating time for the past few months. I struggled a bit this past year with some personal issues too but lets not dwell on the past.
Here's a little something I keep by my computer to keep me moving forward:
http://d.pr/i/EB97
I can't wait to see where you go from here....
Patty :)
p.s. In Korea the color red is associated with passion, so it's very fitting for your renewed outlook and online venture....good luck! :)
Thanks Patty, it's so great to be back!!! You're right, the past is in the past and we take what we learned from it to have a better present and future.
I LOVE that image!!! Although I think I'm standing for the 1,000,001 time. LOL Okay not that many but sometimes it feels like that many. lol
Passion, I like that...Passion and Focus, I can't fail with these two.
~ Audrey
Audrey its so great to see that you are back!! We missed you!!
I think this is a very common problem, I have been guilty of this myself.
Starting out you struggle finding that first niche but then you find niches and opportunities everywhere!! You see the massive potential and you want it all :)
I am glad you are back and more focused than ever, can`t wait to see what this site will do in a year!!
Vicky
Thank you so much Vicky!! The site I am referring to is the very site you helped me with before I shut down. That site was bringing in some money, little as it was but it has a lot of potential and one I know I could write for days about. ;)
Don't be surprised if you receive a PM from me asking for more guidance. BTW I found our old messages are gone??? Does WA purge out old messages? :(
~ Audrey
Great! Feel free to PM me at any time Audrey.
Hm that surprise me if they deleted the old messages, sorry wouldn`t know.
Vicky
Good luck to you Audrey. I think it's so easy to get caught up in multiple niches and no clear direction. In fact in this business like many others it's easy to get caught up in a single thing and have no direction. It's odd that you should write this because I was talking to a friend today saying exactly the same thing - that the people who are the most focused are the most successful.. It should be simple to follow but oddly it isn't!
Welcome back
Beverley
Thank you so much Beverley! There is such a clarity that comes when you have focus. I feel like a weight has been lifted off of me and I can finally hit my mark and excel at one more thing in my life.
I'm so glad that my thoughts are lining up with what you were thinking/discussing. That means I'm among the ranks of those that are successful. ;)
~ Audrey
Hi Audrey. thank you for sharing your story. WOW! this was so timely! I've just begun to refocus my efforts and amazed at what I've accomplished. I will share more later, but its I'm in the testing phase for now. Wish you much more success! Great turn around! Tina
Hi Tina, I'm excited to hear of all your accomplishments and am really looking forward to watching you succeed at everything you do. :)
~ Audrey
Some members seem to have an easier time choosing one niche and staying with it. But I keep wandering all over. :(
Thank you for posting this, it's important to choose one direction.
Hey Jen, it probably does come easy for some but I'd say majority of people that first get into Internet Marketing tend to get sidetracked easy because there is just SOOOO much out there. I have a degree in Internet Marketing and I still got sidetracked. :(
Don't get me wrong, I learned a lot but for me right now I know I must focus on one thing at a time and then move up to more than one website.
Just know you are not alone and many of us have experienced this. If you need any help just let me know. :)
~ Audrey
Wow! You hit me right between the eyes with that one, Audrey! Great blog! I keep thinking about how many niches I might be interested in pursuing. I'm currently going through Affiliate Bootcamp. But I really want to pick one niche and attack it. Thanks for the encouragement!... Doug
I went through that Bootcamp training as well Doug. ;) That was yet another site I couldn't devote much time to because I was scattered so thin. That was my LivinLyfe Marketing one and eventually I will get back to that one but I have another site that I've got the bulls eye on for now. :)
If you ever need help narrowing it down, when you're finished with bootcamp, let me know. I'll be more than happy to help and share a little bit more of my journey and why I choose the site I'll be working on.
~ Audrey
I think I can relate, though my situation was lightly different. I had a lot of shiny object syndrome. I'm sure you know it's easy to be attracted to something and to try out different things just for the chance that one might reap better results for less efforts. And it's very easy to fall prey in the "make money online" world. I'm glad I've finally settled in WA, though still out of focus from my purpose in some ways! :P
Oh my gosh, yes Jeremy, I had fallen for those shiny object syndrome's also. Not that I'm proud to admit it but even after being in WA for over 9 months I still fell prey to one of those. SMH
It's all a learning process and like you, I'm just going to be part of WA, that's really all we need and the support can't be beat anywhere else. :)
Good luck on finding that focus because I know once you do there is nothing that can stop you. :)
~ Audrey
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Thanks for your timely post. I am in the midst of my first niche site. I want to make a strong go of that one. I too want to ... diversify? My initial thoughts were for a total of four sites. Each one focusing on something entirely different and on products with different target audiences and different price ranges of the products. I will focus first on my main site and follow your advice to shoot for the bulls-eye. But even in the professional gun, archery, dart etc. ranges, there are multiple targets to shoot at. But I can't shoot at different targets until I am successful on the first and making money enough that I have the time to put into those other sites. Again, thanks for the encouraging post.
You know what's so funny? When I was writing this post I kept thinking about darts and how even hitting the other marks have to be good, of course this is thinking from someone who has never played darts before. :) But I kept thinking that hitting that bulls eye is your main focus and goal and that's what I'm after.
What you said sums up where I'm at right now, I can't continue to shoot at the different targets until that ONE that I have a gut feeling about is successful. :)
I'm excited to see you hit your bulls eye and then go after some more.
~ Audrey