At a crossroads...
First of all, let me say I think this place is great. I have been here about 6 weeks and I have been very active and learned a ton. I find myself at a crossroads, though. Unsure where to go next.
My I initially found this place because I am a musician who had no online presence and I needed to figure out how to give my teaching business a bump. Realizing that having a web page so I would come up in local search results for guitar lessons would certainly help, I started searching around for ways to learn how to get one without paying for one and having no prior experience building sites.
Times have been tough financially and my work experience does not fit at all with what companies are hiring for out there. That being said, I'm bright and motivated, and I'm very good at playing and teaching guitar. I saw the opportunity here to make some money getting into internet marketing and got excited about that. So I built a few websites. My first one was the start of a Wealthy Affiliate referral site, "ARealWay.com." I worked on that for a few weeks, and then put up a site with a lot of music theory on it, figuring I could make something that would be a resource for musicians. That one is called "FretFinger.com."
After working on those for a bit, I figured I had wet my feet enough to build my site to promote my teaching business locally. I did. "PeteWalrath.com" is up, and I am now ranking well when people search guitar lessons in my area. I know that site is going to serve it's intended purpose and get me to my goal of having my teaching schedule full again.
So now, I have these first two starts just kind of sitting there, and I'm at an impasse. Do I scrap both of the first two sites and start over, now armed with greater knowledge and more skills, and try and think of a better domain name for the Wealthy Affiliate site? Do I get back to working on the Wealthy Affiliate site I currently have sitting there? Do I focus on the niche of music instead, and start fresh with that site? Do I go in a totally new direction?
I haven't made any real money yet. I have total faith, however, that I can if I can decide what to do next and put time into it - I do have time. I'm a night owl and my daughter goes to bed around 9 p.m., I could easily put 30-40 hours per week in. EASILY. I'm just feeling a little lost about what to do next.
Also, I have a problem with social sharing. I have been out of touch with a lot of my facebook friends for the last few years, they number around 500. Most of them I really know, from life, from high school long ago, etc. The problem is I am really trying to brand myself anew with folks as a THE area guitar teacher, which I am and have been for 20 years. There is good money in that and it's something I like to do. My concern is if I start sharing posts about Wealthy Affiliate I might get some sideways thoughts from some of them like, "what up with that guy, thought he was all about his music, now he's sharing about money-making ideas and stuff. . ." I don't want to do anything that prevents me from being the first call when their kids need guitar instruction.
Am I being crazy? Does this make any sense? Lol. Anyone's thoughts on this stuff are welcome. I need a new kick in the right direction.
One last thing. Is there any resource I could check out that lists affiliate programs? It might be nice to know what other kinds of things I could promote.
Hope everyone is having a great holiday.
Pete
Recent Comments
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Hi Pete!
I'm new to WA, so probably not the best to give you advice. But, I've been online building websites and selling various things since 1997, so I do have a little something to offer. :)
Anyway, after reading your post, your profile, and looking at all three of your sites, I have a definite gut feel about what I think you should do. First, let me say I think your three sites look outstanding! You did a great job on all three!
Now, my feedback:
1. Seems clear to me you should focus on being the local guitar instructor and build that teaching business up. You could develop PeteWalrath.com a little more. Possibly include some pricing info, maybe a calendar showing your current availability, etc. Looks like you have a great thing going with that, and it sounds like you have time to take on more students if possible.
2. Continue developing fretfinger.com since it is clearly in your guitar niche. In addition to its intended purpose, develop it further and use it as a teaching reinforcement for your students. You could teach them something during their live lesson(s), and then refer them to fretfinger.com for reference and study/practice material. I dunno, just a thought. I guess you do the same thing on PeteWalrath.com too if you'd rather not muddy the waters at FretFinger.
3. Personally, I think you should remove the WA and/or SiteRubix promotions from FretFinger.com. Those kinda stick out like sore thumbs and don't fit with your niche (IMHO... Sorry!).
4. At the very most, give credit to WA on each of your About Me pages on the two guitar sites. Maybe mention something about owing the success of your websites to what you've learned at WA, blah, blah, blah. You know what I mean.
And THEN.....
5. Include a "If you're interested..." link over to arealway.com where folks can read your personal review of WA and get more information if they are so inclined. BTW, that site is really really nice. It's not "scammy" sounding or anything. Just honest information about something you found that helped change your life. Your sincerity really comes across crystal clear in your writing. I wanted to join WA after reading your site, and I'm already Premium! LOL But seriously, really great job on the affiliate site.
6. If you still have time on your hands, figure out how to really monetize that FretFingers.com site. Seems like a TON of opportunity for affiliate products you could promote (guitars, amps, accessories, music downloads (drum tracks, etc). Or maybe work on developing your own home study guitar course and promote it on both sites!
That's all I got... 3am here and my brain is fried! :)
Best of luck man, but keep doing what you're doing. Seems like you have it figured out, even though it might not feel that way yet. I'm jealous cuz I haven't figured out my dang niche yet!
-Dave
Dave - thanks so much for such a well thought out comment. Just putting out there in the community what I was feeling helped me a lot and I actually got a lot done tonight. Have been honored by everyone taking their time to help me think about this. And I agree with a lot of what you said. I'll stay in touch and keep you posted.
I think it's best to concentrate on one thing at a time when starting out. Get one developed enough for it to run smoothly, then add more. You can still leave other sites as they are. Work on them slowly. Things just may happen anyways.
Hi Pete
Here are my thoughts for what they're worth.
1. Never be afraid to scrap something that isn't working for you.
2. You don't have to scrap - you may want to put something in cold storage.
3. Don't underestimate the power of gut instinct. Remember how many times in your life you ignored it - and then realised your thoughts were right? Go with what feels right.
4.You don't have to have multiple sites. A lot of people are successful with one.
5. If you would enjoy working on a second one - do so - but don't let it distract from the one you most want. Be tough about the amount of time you would spend on it.
6.Social media - there is no obligation for you to do any social sharing - so don't feel obliged. I occasionally used to promote what I wrote on Facebook but haven't done it for a couple of years. I didn't see any impact on the amount of readers I get (and I get a lot)
7. Accept that not every decision you make will be right. In the great scheme of things - it doesn't matter.
Deliberately haven't said what I think you should do - because you have to make those decisions for yourself - just tried to answers some of the issues you raised.
Good luck
Beverley
Thanks Beverly, am very happy to hear from you. All good stuff. I'm definitely gonna be staying around for a while and I feel like I have some new energy and focus after tonight. Cheers!
I don't think you should trash anything. I also don't think you need to share your WA sites on your Facebook account if you're not comfortable with that. You seem to be comfortable with sharing as *the* guitar guy.
You could set up a separate page on Facebook for WA, but it's not necessary.
Also, it sounds like you are doing too many things at once. I've been down that road before. It's not the best road to be on.
If you are *the* guitar guy, why not just go with that? It sounds like you enjoy it, you're good at it, and you can make money from it.
Down the road, if you feel the need, you can get the other sites going too. Focus on one thing at a time.
Yeah, I am... but I have done the heavy lifting as far as that site goes and still have a lot of time on my hands when I'm not teaching or playing. That's why I want to try the give the internet marketing an honest effort as well. There is kind of only so much teaching you can do because it's mostly kids and teenagers, who are in school all day. So just trying to figure out my plan of attack for the IM thing. Thanks for your comment, I really appreciate the feedback.
Enjoyed your post and completely understand where you are at. I trashed 3 sites that I now know was a huge mistake. I have a new site already researched but can't seem to get into it because of personal issues. We just have to make a decision and go with it instead of thinking it to death. If it turns out to be a mistake, then learn and go forward. I cannot give you the answers to your questions. Sorry. I think you need to go with what you are comfortable with.
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I think MaudMan has given a detailed advice after frying his brain. you may thank him for the right advice.
Yessir, I believe he went above and beyond the 3 a.m. call of duty.