Posts
7
Questions
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For any of you that are not beginners, the ones making real money, tell us what kind of income you make on the average weekly, monthly or annually. Send inspiration by sharing
I just did a blog post on your questions as it was to long to put here I hope it helps. Anything i can do to help PM me. I always welcome questions. Good Questions That Were Asked
Rodney, first of all, it is not all about the money.
I personally concentrate on helping others
achieve their goals and dreams, the money
just happens. Been doing it this way for over
20 years.
You can not mess around with A.M. and succeed.
You need to commit and stay focused.
I have been a marketing professional for many
years, and I went through the messing around
trying to find the right one to fit me.
Then I learned a valuable lesson, passion
plays a big part in choosing a niche. I love
what I do so I enjoy my efforts everyday.
Yes I make a full time income from my efforts.
As far a how long it took to see real income,
that is different for everyone. Typically 1 year.
I currently make a good yearly wage every month.
Remember there are no get rich quick gimmicks
that really work.
Success is the Journey Not the Destination!
Hi Ken,
Is your niche a "making money/promoting WA" one out of interest? I'm interested in hearing from people who make money from other niches too :)
Caroline
Well I have one niche that started by an old trade. I have a lot of "How To" information that I place out there all the time to help others. I have helped people my whole life and took to the internet to help even more people. But I am not seeing enough money from anything to keep me afloat. I am not about the money or looking to get rich quick, in fact I have never been a big fan of marketing.
I am a single full time dad with no help and I am getting down to the wire where I am going to have to go back to work somewhere which doesn't really work as I need to be home for my kid. I am just getting backed into a corner and I need to know before I go any further that people really do make a living in this.
There is so much hype along with scams out there and it isn't always easy to believe others when they are going on about the 6 and 7 figures they are making from this venture.
If I could get to making a 50K to 60K annual income I would be ecstatic.
I do know that I need to be more focused but my kids life and me trying to do part time jobs on the side are distracting. I just really wanted to know if anyone has really replaced their day job with affiliate marketing.
I also need to know if I should stay with blogging or should I be doing something different? I think I just need a good mentor, I have no one for support as being a full time dad, no one wants anything to do with you and what acquaintances I do have can't understand or care about affiliate marketing. So I am on this venture completely alone.
I am just now getting into the niche of making money and promoting WA. My first niche was automotive. I have been doing mechanics and auto body work for more years than I care to admit so I started a website 3 years ago, http://rodsshop.org and a YouTube channel which can be accessed through my site that is all about how to do and fix automotive issues.
I have sold a few affiliate products through both my YouTube channel and from my site but it really needs to be ramped up to a higher level.
Lately I have put some effort into my Pinterest account and I have been promoting WA there but I am not seeing any interest or not yet.
I think I have got unfocused and unorganized and sometimes it is hard to get back on track...
Caroline, I am involved in several niches
including make money, and promoting WA.
That being said, I do not recommend being
involved in more than one at a time.
It is best to master one before starting another.
If you try doing to many things at once they all
suffer and you will have very little success.
Generally it is best to stay with one then
add on to that within the same niche.
I hope this answers your question.
Ken
Stay focused, you are not alone here at WA.
Read the review James gave you at the top.
I agree with every word he said.
This is very good criticism. He means well.
You can do it, no one said it is easy. But it is simple.
Follow the proven steps, do not try to reinvent things.
Hi Ken, thanks for the tip. I am currently having a bit of a crisis as I think my site is trying to be an authority site rather than a niche site, and I don't really know what to do now! It's just too broad.
I am wondering whether to start a new site, but again struggling to really fine tune into a small niche. I am very passionate about trying to quit my job, obsessed with trying to make money and also save money for my household and also my friends.... but it's all over the place, so nothing that I feel I can really focus into.
Could you share one of your websites with us which is not in the "make money" niche? I am really interested to take a look at some well performing sites that are outside of the "make money" area.
Caroline
I agree with that 100% because I am there myself. Too many sites and too many niches. I think staying focused is the key.
Caroline, I would lend my voice to Ken's. Too many irons in the fire will tire you out and you'll throw up your hands.
It's important to note that authority does not mean broad (in our context). A niche site can be an authority site. In our context, authority means authoritative. Meaning that Google (and people) believe that you are a professional authority on your topic.
Being to broad is something we all fight against, and it can take a lot of courage to pull back. But you can do that by leaving the pages you have, restructuring your menu/categories/tags and focusing solely on one branch of topics without losing what you already have.
This way when you have focused on one topic to the point where you are happy with how it's filled out, you have a head start on broadening your horizons.
Too many sites are a hassle and you should likely focus your efforts on one (you don't have to delete the sites, just stop working on them ..for now).
Too many topics can be constricted. If that makes sense.
Thanks, this is confirming what I was thinking myself. Leave the things that are already written and posted on my site, but now try to focus in on specific niches. I'm going to PM you if you don't mind giving me 5 mins of your time to provide a little guidance? I feel like I'm hijacking Rodney's thread here!
See more comments
What is your income from affiliate maketing?
For any of you that are not beginners, the ones making real money, tell us what kind of income you make on the average weekly, monthly or annually. Send inspiration by sharing
Rodeny, methinks you may be asking the wrong question. How long it took us to make money won't help you, because we aren't you. What we did for ourselves is also subjective.
I think what you are actually asking is: How can I make enough money through affiliate marketing (and maybe other strategies) to keep from going back to work at a "traditional job" resulting in me paying for someone else to raise my kid?
As someone that has worked from home for more than 15 years, I can honestly say, regardless of your reasoning, it's worth it.
If you don't mind, I'm going to throw out my opinion here and I hope you don't take it personal because it could be taken as highly critical and that is NOT my intent.
My intent is to give you some specific advice for your specific situation. Maybe others will add to this, or disagree with me. That's OK too, because diverse opinions on this could help YOU.
So if any of my WA friends out there want to weigh in and tell me I'm full of vinegar, please do so ...the goal is to help Rodney, not worry about my feelings.
1) White text on black (dark) backgrounds is a put off. Some people are likely to get frustrated and pull out after only a few lines because it's uncomfortable on the eyes.
2) Red links on the dark background are very unreadable and red is not a comfortable color. Red works great, when used in the right place at the right time.
3) You seem to be all about you. What I mean by that is that people read from left to right. Making your "about me" and "contact" page the left most items in the menu seems like lost opportunity to me.
In fact, I'd remove contact me completely from the top menu since you have it in the bottom menu. I'd move "about me" all the way to the right or just leave it in the bottom menu as well.
4) On your services page you've got a little image in the top right. It says get help here. Now I know you probably meant that the page I'm on will help me, but when I mouse over it (almost by instinct since it says "get help here") and the cursor turns into a pointer (meaning it's clickable) I click it and ...I get a bigger image...that just kinda irritated me.
5) All those images on the services page are links that take me to bigger aspects of those images. Seems like since you are talking about different topics you could pry link those up to something that will make you money, or at least other pages dealing SOLELY with those topics (for richer keyword results).
6) The sales page looks like an Amazon store. There are so many things wrong with this...
6a) You shocked me and instantly made me suspicious. Upon clicking on the sales page it looks like I'm on a completely different site. Now, if it was labeled "store" or something that MIGHT help, but really let's move to 6b...
6b) You are trying to sell me. It says so right there in the menu "sales". Then you list a bunch of stuff and while Amazon probably likes the fact that you're essentially linking to them improving their authoritativeness, you aren't helping yourself at all.
Instead of listing a bunch of products that I MIGHT buy because I stumbled onto your site and clicked into sales, how about if you write an article about each one of those items explaining to me WHY you have them listed. How do they help me? Why that "thing" instead of some other "thing"? Bring value to me, THEN link to the item in your "store" page if you want to , or take them directly to Amazon, whichever you prefer and whichever seems to work best (maybe some A/B testing is in order once you have traffic flowing).
7) Those "how to" pages are moving toward the right type of approach. Are those video's yours? If they are, take the time to transcribe them and publish the transcription on the page.
This will give those readers that like to read an option of skimming instead of having to watch the whole video. It'll also help to get Google some much needed content to spider getting you better results in the search engines.
You'll notice that even Kyle does something very similar in the training courses. He presents a video but then "paraphrases" the video in text. Many SEO guru's transcribe the whole video complete with headings and what not s that it's visually appealing.
---
This is my 30 minute synopsis. As I said, this is my opinion, you do what you want, it's your site.
In summary. You need to think like someone coming into your site. Some are going to be like you, some are going to be totally different.
Ask yourself, would you trust you? Are your articles clear? Is your site easy to navigate? Will your trust be called into question if your site suddenly changes look, menu structure, etc?
Ask yourself: Am I using links to get my readers to what they are looking for within my affiliate systems well? Am I using links on my images effectively? Basically: Have I truly monetized this page well while still providing VALUE to the reader/consumer?
I recently started a new site that I'm building out to go through topics just like this one, it's sparse at the moment and still needs some structural work.
But if you're serious, I'd urge you to check it out from time to time. Another site that has a video (that also uses the transcription technique that I outlined) right in line about providing value (in fact, unique value) I've included in this comment as well because I think it's directly relevant to this discussion.
Here is my site about search engine marketing:
https://buzzymarketing.com/search-engine-optimizations-social-market-tool
Here's the page regarding creating unique value:
https://moz.com/blog/how-to-provide-unique-value-in-your-content-whiteboard-friday
Good luck, I hope you become more successful than you ever dreamed!
James
Well I don't think you're full of vinegar but that site you looked over was my first site I created 3 years ago for my automotive shop. It was intended for my customers and potential customers to have a place to go see the type of work I do. It was also a place for those that brought me long term project cars to come and check on the status so they didn't have to stop by the shop or call, it was working really well.
The site wasn't intended to be a blog at all and the reason it is black is I wanted a theme that was based on cars or the automotive realm. I had to have the Contact me page where it is so new customers could easily find it and get a hold of me. I am still putting together various kits and selling them and the initial contact is through that page.
The sales page was requested by customers, I would get messages all the time from people wanting me to provide a page for equipment I recommended and I had customers wanting me to sell items for them, that is how that got created.
There is a blog page that I created maybe 2 years ago, and it is black text on white.
I have 4 other sites all of different niches and all of them including the one you looked at just don't get visitors like I need. But here is the kicker, the site you criticized is the one that actually brings me money. Not a lot of money but the little traffic I do get there converts better than the other sites that are built under WA guidance.
This is the aggravating part, I see sites that just suck, has ads popping up all over the place and they seem to get tons of traffic and make money. I hate pop ups and will not use them, I don't want to promise things I can't deliver but yet all the scam sites and the ones that are overly complex seem to be the successful ones.
I no longer run my shop like I did and recently changed it to read that I will consult, so the whole site needs to be revamped. I will take you criticisms and tweak the site. I may even go with a different theme but that isn't the site or niche I am really trying to win at.
My real question and or real concern is needing to know that there are people out there that are really making an real income from affiliate marketing and doing it ethically and naturally.
I have always wrote my blogs with helping others in mind and many of them do not even have affiliate links in them. I just wanted to build a following. Even in my automotive shop, I always under-promise and over-deliver.
I think my real issue is that I am no longer focused and have gotten unorganized and this has happened because I am burned out. Everyday is a battle with chores, the bills, the cooking and cleaning and managing my kids life. I never have time for fun or for myself and that goes back to that old saying, "all work and no play makes Jack a dull boy". Kind of there right now.
James,
What a load of great advice! It was so very detailed. The key points you covered are not only valid...but, they are also valuable lessons that need to sink in to each and every one of us!
Look forward to following you...
Jim
Rodney, I understand. I've been there. It does sound like you've got a great many things going on and maybe you need to simplify things a bit.
I think your site that you are talking about re-purposing is a great candidate. It's got domain age, and there's likely some trust (Google-wise) since it's been established a while.
I think you could turn it more into a consulting type site especially with a question/answer type system or forum while adding links (with your affiliate links in them) strategically through the various conversations.
Monetization can be tough, especially when we are close to the site.
First I can tell you that it is very possible to make money online. More than ever people are doing it exclusively. Some through affiliate sales (and they don't all use spammy popups), some through drop-shipping, others with services (both on and offline).
Getting back to your final paragraph; as I've said, I've been there. As much as it may seem counter-intuitive, you may want to consider getting a 9-5 job to pay the bills (even if it's outside of working at home) just so you can breathe a little sigh of relief.
I can't relate to you 100% because I've been lucky enough to have a wife to lean on, though I've always been the one to make the income.
Because of that I have had to sacrifice my own desires at times, though it's not exactly the same as your position.
I hate to advise you to do that (getting something that might take you away from your kid at times ), but sometimes you have to take what might seem like a step backward so that you can regroup, and start moving forward again.
Regardless, I hope you keep moving toward the goal of a portable income. Once you achieve it, you won't look back.
I don't know what your other sites are about, but if your affinity is in automotive, that's a huge market and it seems like you should be able to get some consulting gigs (even if they are online), advice gigs, and even affiliate sales enough to support you.
Like Kyle says, if you can get engagement from your visitors, then half the fight is done. Engagement causes discussion, discussion causes buzz and opportunity to shine your shine. Once that happens, you just have to think monetization constantly.
There's a guy named Colton James ( you've probably seen him around: https://my.wealthyaffiliate.com/coltonjames ) that has been doing very well in a market that is quite cut-throat; PC hardware.
I know nothing about the auto industry (especially online) but my point is that if he can make it in such a low margin segment, then you can too because there are few markets more commoditized and tough.
First you've got to get past the burn-out, and that's the rough part.
Thanks, I already feel inspired. I did try going back to the 9 to 5 and they were terrible. I still do some automotive work at my garage but I am so burned out on it.
My biggest problem is that I am too nice of a person and that lets people in to walk all over me. I mean that more in the sense that everyone thinks I can solve the worlds problems and everyone wants to dump their problems on me and bring me all their cars to work for peanuts.
I hate to be a jerk to people but they are killing me and burning me out. These people in my life do not have a passion for owning their own business and have no clue about affiliate marketing or any of this type venture.
One thing I do know about getting in your own business regardless if it is online or if it is brick and mortar. To be a success, you need to hang around and associate with the positive successful minded people.
It is when you let close minded and selfish people become obstacles and that is when you start failing. I may not have a good woman by my side but supportive friends can be almost as good. Unfortunately I don't really have any, that is why I came here.
So far everyone on WA have been great and very supportive and like talking with you, helps get my mind in the right positive state. I know I can be a success, I just need to do some spring cleaning and some weeding around my life and get all the negative soul suckers away from me.
I have very much been wanting to take my automotive site and turn it into a consulting gig and a blog and make money while I also help others. I have got a lot in place I just need to get off my butt and make it happen.
Thanks for reminding me of that.
I just did a blog post on your questions as it was to long to put here I hope it helps. Anything i can do to help PM me. I always welcome questions. Good Questions That Were Asked
Rodney, first of all, it is not all about the money.
I personally concentrate on helping others
achieve their goals and dreams, the money
just happens. Been doing it this way for over
20 years.
You can not mess around with A.M. and succeed.
You need to commit and stay focused.
I have been a marketing professional for many
years, and I went through the messing around
trying to find the right one to fit me.
Then I learned a valuable lesson, passion
plays a big part in choosing a niche. I love
what I do so I enjoy my efforts everyday.
Yes I make a full time income from my efforts.
As far a how long it took to see real income,
that is different for everyone. Typically 1 year.
I currently make a good yearly wage every month.
Remember there are no get rich quick gimmicks
that really work.
Success is the Journey Not the Destination!
Hi Ken,
Is your niche a "making money/promoting WA" one out of interest? I'm interested in hearing from people who make money from other niches too :)
Caroline
Well I have one niche that started by an old trade. I have a lot of "How To" information that I place out there all the time to help others. I have helped people my whole life and took to the internet to help even more people. But I am not seeing enough money from anything to keep me afloat. I am not about the money or looking to get rich quick, in fact I have never been a big fan of marketing.
I am a single full time dad with no help and I am getting down to the wire where I am going to have to go back to work somewhere which doesn't really work as I need to be home for my kid. I am just getting backed into a corner and I need to know before I go any further that people really do make a living in this.
There is so much hype along with scams out there and it isn't always easy to believe others when they are going on about the 6 and 7 figures they are making from this venture.
If I could get to making a 50K to 60K annual income I would be ecstatic.
I do know that I need to be more focused but my kids life and me trying to do part time jobs on the side are distracting. I just really wanted to know if anyone has really replaced their day job with affiliate marketing.
I also need to know if I should stay with blogging or should I be doing something different? I think I just need a good mentor, I have no one for support as being a full time dad, no one wants anything to do with you and what acquaintances I do have can't understand or care about affiliate marketing. So I am on this venture completely alone.
I am just now getting into the niche of making money and promoting WA. My first niche was automotive. I have been doing mechanics and auto body work for more years than I care to admit so I started a website 3 years ago, http://rodsshop.org and a YouTube channel which can be accessed through my site that is all about how to do and fix automotive issues.
I have sold a few affiliate products through both my YouTube channel and from my site but it really needs to be ramped up to a higher level.
Lately I have put some effort into my Pinterest account and I have been promoting WA there but I am not seeing any interest or not yet.
I think I have got unfocused and unorganized and sometimes it is hard to get back on track...
Caroline, I am involved in several niches
including make money, and promoting WA.
That being said, I do not recommend being
involved in more than one at a time.
It is best to master one before starting another.
If you try doing to many things at once they all
suffer and you will have very little success.
Generally it is best to stay with one then
add on to that within the same niche.
I hope this answers your question.
Ken
Stay focused, you are not alone here at WA.
Read the review James gave you at the top.
I agree with every word he said.
This is very good criticism. He means well.
You can do it, no one said it is easy. But it is simple.
Follow the proven steps, do not try to reinvent things.
Hi Ken, thanks for the tip. I am currently having a bit of a crisis as I think my site is trying to be an authority site rather than a niche site, and I don't really know what to do now! It's just too broad.
I am wondering whether to start a new site, but again struggling to really fine tune into a small niche. I am very passionate about trying to quit my job, obsessed with trying to make money and also save money for my household and also my friends.... but it's all over the place, so nothing that I feel I can really focus into.
Could you share one of your websites with us which is not in the "make money" niche? I am really interested to take a look at some well performing sites that are outside of the "make money" area.
Caroline
I agree with that 100% because I am there myself. Too many sites and too many niches. I think staying focused is the key.
Caroline, I would lend my voice to Ken's. Too many irons in the fire will tire you out and you'll throw up your hands.
It's important to note that authority does not mean broad (in our context). A niche site can be an authority site. In our context, authority means authoritative. Meaning that Google (and people) believe that you are a professional authority on your topic.
Being to broad is something we all fight against, and it can take a lot of courage to pull back. But you can do that by leaving the pages you have, restructuring your menu/categories/tags and focusing solely on one branch of topics without losing what you already have.
This way when you have focused on one topic to the point where you are happy with how it's filled out, you have a head start on broadening your horizons.
Too many sites are a hassle and you should likely focus your efforts on one (you don't have to delete the sites, just stop working on them ..for now).
Too many topics can be constricted. If that makes sense.
Thanks, this is confirming what I was thinking myself. Leave the things that are already written and posted on my site, but now try to focus in on specific niches. I'm going to PM you if you don't mind giving me 5 mins of your time to provide a little guidance? I feel like I'm hijacking Rodney's thread here!
See more comments
I have tried a few different plugins that are for placing Adsense ads on your website. The last one was Quick Adsense which is one the highest recommended. I have even just use
Are you posting the actual ad code and not the verification code? Did you create the ad and use the code adsense generated?
If you post your ad code, it may take a bit before the ads actually show on your site.
From a google search...
"Usually Ads starts showing up within 48 hours."
I have used Adsense plugins and tried my ads all over my site, been 3 days and still hasn't shown up. I also tried using the code straight from my ad unit from google and placing that code in a text widget with the same "No Results". The code is what Adsense created, not a verification code. I have researched this all over the web and watched too many videos. So either there is a step that needs to take place way before getting the code I haven't done or I am jinxed and it just doesn't work for me. I have been setup with Google Adsense for at least two years as I have YouTube videos I run it on. So I am not new to it, just now decided to try it on my sites, not impressed so far. Maybe both site themes just don't work with it, I do not have another site I want to try it on right now. I wasn't for sure if I have to place a code in my header code to make this work. I also run an optimizer that manages JV scripting that might be blocking it. I think I am just going to forget it.
"I wasn't for sure if I have to place a code in my header code to make this work"
You do have to place the verification code in the header. There are 2 ways to do this. Either manually or by using a plugin like Insert Headers and Footers.
Until you place the verification code in the header and THEN get approved, your site will not show ads.
The verification code looks like this and goes in the header section...
[removed][removed]
[removed]
(adsbygoogle = window.adsbygoogle || []).push({
google_ad_client: "ca-pub-XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX",
enable_page_level_ads: true
});
[removed]
The actual ad looks like this and will go in a widget...
[removed][removed]
<!-- BelieveYouCandle03 -->
style="display:block"
data-ad-client="ca-pub-XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX"
data-ad-slot="6698915432"
data-ad-format="auto">
[removed]
(adsbygoogle = window.adsbygoogle || []).push({});
[removed]
I was a little confused if I needed the header code because in Adsense, it shows my sites verified. I will have to look more into this part then.
Thanks
See more comments
Why doesn't my google adsense display on my sites?
I have tried a few different plugins that are for placing Adsense ads on your website. The last one was Quick Adsense which is one the highest recommended. I have even just use
Are you posting the actual ad code and not the verification code? Did you create the ad and use the code adsense generated?
If you post your ad code, it may take a bit before the ads actually show on your site.
From a google search...
"Usually Ads starts showing up within 48 hours."
I have used Adsense plugins and tried my ads all over my site, been 3 days and still hasn't shown up. I also tried using the code straight from my ad unit from google and placing that code in a text widget with the same "No Results". The code is what Adsense created, not a verification code. I have researched this all over the web and watched too many videos. So either there is a step that needs to take place way before getting the code I haven't done or I am jinxed and it just doesn't work for me. I have been setup with Google Adsense for at least two years as I have YouTube videos I run it on. So I am not new to it, just now decided to try it on my sites, not impressed so far. Maybe both site themes just don't work with it, I do not have another site I want to try it on right now. I wasn't for sure if I have to place a code in my header code to make this work. I also run an optimizer that manages JV scripting that might be blocking it. I think I am just going to forget it.
"I wasn't for sure if I have to place a code in my header code to make this work"
You do have to place the verification code in the header. There are 2 ways to do this. Either manually or by using a plugin like Insert Headers and Footers.
Until you place the verification code in the header and THEN get approved, your site will not show ads.
The verification code looks like this and goes in the header section...
[removed][removed]
[removed]
(adsbygoogle = window.adsbygoogle || []).push({
google_ad_client: "ca-pub-XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX",
enable_page_level_ads: true
});
[removed]
The actual ad looks like this and will go in a widget...
[removed][removed]
<!-- BelieveYouCandle03 -->
style="display:block"
data-ad-client="ca-pub-XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX"
data-ad-slot="6698915432"
data-ad-format="auto">
[removed]
(adsbygoogle = window.adsbygoogle || []).push({});
[removed]
I was a little confused if I needed the header code because in Adsense, it shows my sites verified. I will have to look more into this part then.
Thanks
See more comments
Rodeny, methinks you may be asking the wrong question. How long it took us to make money won't help you, because we aren't you. What we did for ourselves is also subjective.
I think what you are actually asking is: How can I make enough money through affiliate marketing (and maybe other strategies) to keep from going back to work at a "traditional job" resulting in me paying for someone else to raise my kid?
As someone that has worked from home for more than 15 years, I can honestly say, regardless of your reasoning, it's worth it.
If you don't mind, I'm going to throw out my opinion here and I hope you don't take it personal because it could be taken as highly critical and that is NOT my intent.
My intent is to give you some specific advice for your specific situation. Maybe others will add to this, or disagree with me. That's OK too, because diverse opinions on this could help YOU.
So if any of my WA friends out there want to weigh in and tell me I'm full of vinegar, please do so ...the goal is to help Rodney, not worry about my feelings.
1) White text on black (dark) backgrounds is a put off. Some people are likely to get frustrated and pull out after only a few lines because it's uncomfortable on the eyes.
2) Red links on the dark background are very unreadable and red is not a comfortable color. Red works great, when used in the right place at the right time.
3) You seem to be all about you. What I mean by that is that people read from left to right. Making your "about me" and "contact" page the left most items in the menu seems like lost opportunity to me.
In fact, I'd remove contact me completely from the top menu since you have it in the bottom menu. I'd move "about me" all the way to the right or just leave it in the bottom menu as well.
4) On your services page you've got a little image in the top right. It says get help here. Now I know you probably meant that the page I'm on will help me, but when I mouse over it (almost by instinct since it says "get help here") and the cursor turns into a pointer (meaning it's clickable) I click it and ...I get a bigger image...that just kinda irritated me.
5) All those images on the services page are links that take me to bigger aspects of those images. Seems like since you are talking about different topics you could pry link those up to something that will make you money, or at least other pages dealing SOLELY with those topics (for richer keyword results).
6) The sales page looks like an Amazon store. There are so many things wrong with this...
6a) You shocked me and instantly made me suspicious. Upon clicking on the sales page it looks like I'm on a completely different site. Now, if it was labeled "store" or something that MIGHT help, but really let's move to 6b...
6b) You are trying to sell me. It says so right there in the menu "sales". Then you list a bunch of stuff and while Amazon probably likes the fact that you're essentially linking to them improving their authoritativeness, you aren't helping yourself at all.
Instead of listing a bunch of products that I MIGHT buy because I stumbled onto your site and clicked into sales, how about if you write an article about each one of those items explaining to me WHY you have them listed. How do they help me? Why that "thing" instead of some other "thing"? Bring value to me, THEN link to the item in your "store" page if you want to , or take them directly to Amazon, whichever you prefer and whichever seems to work best (maybe some A/B testing is in order once you have traffic flowing).
7) Those "how to" pages are moving toward the right type of approach. Are those video's yours? If they are, take the time to transcribe them and publish the transcription on the page.
This will give those readers that like to read an option of skimming instead of having to watch the whole video. It'll also help to get Google some much needed content to spider getting you better results in the search engines.
You'll notice that even Kyle does something very similar in the training courses. He presents a video but then "paraphrases" the video in text. Many SEO guru's transcribe the whole video complete with headings and what not s that it's visually appealing.
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This is my 30 minute synopsis. As I said, this is my opinion, you do what you want, it's your site.
In summary. You need to think like someone coming into your site. Some are going to be like you, some are going to be totally different.
Ask yourself, would you trust you? Are your articles clear? Is your site easy to navigate? Will your trust be called into question if your site suddenly changes look, menu structure, etc?
Ask yourself: Am I using links to get my readers to what they are looking for within my affiliate systems well? Am I using links on my images effectively? Basically: Have I truly monetized this page well while still providing VALUE to the reader/consumer?
I recently started a new site that I'm building out to go through topics just like this one, it's sparse at the moment and still needs some structural work.
But if you're serious, I'd urge you to check it out from time to time. Another site that has a video (that also uses the transcription technique that I outlined) right in line about providing value (in fact, unique value) I've included in this comment as well because I think it's directly relevant to this discussion.
Here is my site about search engine marketing:
https://buzzymarketing.com/search-engine-optimizations-social-market-tool
Here's the page regarding creating unique value:
https://moz.com/blog/how-to-provide-unique-value-in-your-content-whiteboard-friday
Good luck, I hope you become more successful than you ever dreamed!
James
Well I don't think you're full of vinegar but that site you looked over was my first site I created 3 years ago for my automotive shop. It was intended for my customers and potential customers to have a place to go see the type of work I do. It was also a place for those that brought me long term project cars to come and check on the status so they didn't have to stop by the shop or call, it was working really well.
The site wasn't intended to be a blog at all and the reason it is black is I wanted a theme that was based on cars or the automotive realm. I had to have the Contact me page where it is so new customers could easily find it and get a hold of me. I am still putting together various kits and selling them and the initial contact is through that page.
The sales page was requested by customers, I would get messages all the time from people wanting me to provide a page for equipment I recommended and I had customers wanting me to sell items for them, that is how that got created.
There is a blog page that I created maybe 2 years ago, and it is black text on white.
I have 4 other sites all of different niches and all of them including the one you looked at just don't get visitors like I need. But here is the kicker, the site you criticized is the one that actually brings me money. Not a lot of money but the little traffic I do get there converts better than the other sites that are built under WA guidance.
This is the aggravating part, I see sites that just suck, has ads popping up all over the place and they seem to get tons of traffic and make money. I hate pop ups and will not use them, I don't want to promise things I can't deliver but yet all the scam sites and the ones that are overly complex seem to be the successful ones.
I no longer run my shop like I did and recently changed it to read that I will consult, so the whole site needs to be revamped. I will take you criticisms and tweak the site. I may even go with a different theme but that isn't the site or niche I am really trying to win at.
My real question and or real concern is needing to know that there are people out there that are really making an real income from affiliate marketing and doing it ethically and naturally.
I have always wrote my blogs with helping others in mind and many of them do not even have affiliate links in them. I just wanted to build a following. Even in my automotive shop, I always under-promise and over-deliver.
I think my real issue is that I am no longer focused and have gotten unorganized and this has happened because I am burned out. Everyday is a battle with chores, the bills, the cooking and cleaning and managing my kids life. I never have time for fun or for myself and that goes back to that old saying, "all work and no play makes Jack a dull boy". Kind of there right now.
James,
What a load of great advice! It was so very detailed. The key points you covered are not only valid...but, they are also valuable lessons that need to sink in to each and every one of us!
Look forward to following you...
Jim
Rodney, I understand. I've been there. It does sound like you've got a great many things going on and maybe you need to simplify things a bit.
I think your site that you are talking about re-purposing is a great candidate. It's got domain age, and there's likely some trust (Google-wise) since it's been established a while.
I think you could turn it more into a consulting type site especially with a question/answer type system or forum while adding links (with your affiliate links in them) strategically through the various conversations.
Monetization can be tough, especially when we are close to the site.
First I can tell you that it is very possible to make money online. More than ever people are doing it exclusively. Some through affiliate sales (and they don't all use spammy popups), some through drop-shipping, others with services (both on and offline).
Getting back to your final paragraph; as I've said, I've been there. As much as it may seem counter-intuitive, you may want to consider getting a 9-5 job to pay the bills (even if it's outside of working at home) just so you can breathe a little sigh of relief.
I can't relate to you 100% because I've been lucky enough to have a wife to lean on, though I've always been the one to make the income.
Because of that I have had to sacrifice my own desires at times, though it's not exactly the same as your position.
I hate to advise you to do that (getting something that might take you away from your kid at times ), but sometimes you have to take what might seem like a step backward so that you can regroup, and start moving forward again.
Regardless, I hope you keep moving toward the goal of a portable income. Once you achieve it, you won't look back.
I don't know what your other sites are about, but if your affinity is in automotive, that's a huge market and it seems like you should be able to get some consulting gigs (even if they are online), advice gigs, and even affiliate sales enough to support you.
Like Kyle says, if you can get engagement from your visitors, then half the fight is done. Engagement causes discussion, discussion causes buzz and opportunity to shine your shine. Once that happens, you just have to think monetization constantly.
There's a guy named Colton James ( you've probably seen him around: https://my.wealthyaffiliate.com/coltonjames ) that has been doing very well in a market that is quite cut-throat; PC hardware.
I know nothing about the auto industry (especially online) but my point is that if he can make it in such a low margin segment, then you can too because there are few markets more commoditized and tough.
First you've got to get past the burn-out, and that's the rough part.
Thanks, I already feel inspired. I did try going back to the 9 to 5 and they were terrible. I still do some automotive work at my garage but I am so burned out on it.
My biggest problem is that I am too nice of a person and that lets people in to walk all over me. I mean that more in the sense that everyone thinks I can solve the worlds problems and everyone wants to dump their problems on me and bring me all their cars to work for peanuts.
I hate to be a jerk to people but they are killing me and burning me out. These people in my life do not have a passion for owning their own business and have no clue about affiliate marketing or any of this type venture.
One thing I do know about getting in your own business regardless if it is online or if it is brick and mortar. To be a success, you need to hang around and associate with the positive successful minded people.
It is when you let close minded and selfish people become obstacles and that is when you start failing. I may not have a good woman by my side but supportive friends can be almost as good. Unfortunately I don't really have any, that is why I came here.
So far everyone on WA have been great and very supportive and like talking with you, helps get my mind in the right positive state. I know I can be a success, I just need to do some spring cleaning and some weeding around my life and get all the negative soul suckers away from me.
I have very much been wanting to take my automotive site and turn it into a consulting gig and a blog and make money while I also help others. I have got a lot in place I just need to get off my butt and make it happen.
Thanks for reminding me of that.