An obligatory blog post, a bit of a grumble, and hope for a strategy.
It's been about a month since I got started, and the going has been slow.
I am enjoying the training and learning a lot, but I think that some of the items in the course are not amazingly well lined up.
For instance I am busy finishing section 2 and I have been asked to answer questions in the forums. I don't really feel that I know enough to answer most the questions out there.
I was asked to comment on people's monetary goals, yet I havent made a cent myself so I don't really feel I have much to offer at this point. And just scrolling through the monetary goals I see so many copy pasted replies from people who have clearly not even read the posts. "Congratulations on your achievable goal!" to someone who wrote that they wanted to earn a million dollars per month. I guess it's people farming Rank with token participation.
Earlier I was asked to elicit feedback on my site way before it was ready for public consumption. Even this post is one that I am typing so that I may check a box with integrity, rather than because I have anything of value to say.
Perhaps some of the parts of the training should happen at a later point? Or perhaps I am just too fussy. I can't rule that out.
I would love to know, realistically, how long it takes people to make money using this technique? At what point do things start to snowball into success? At what point could it become a full time job? Should I be embedding Google Analytics into my site to track whether I am getting any traffic?
I don't want to sound too negative. Perhaps it's just been a trying year. I remain cautiously optimistic, but hope alone is not a strategy.
Best of luck to you guys and gals out there. I hope that you are well on your way to success!
Recent Comments
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I enjoyed reading your post because it brought back many memories from when I started. However, I can honestly say, it gets better as you practice, with patience, what you are learning.
I completely understand where you are coming from Will :-)
However, maybe look at the training, as training, as it is teaching you that these things exist, where to find them, and what to do with them.
I agree that you might not be ready at this stage for all of the steps, but at least you will know where to find them when the time comes.
As for time scales, if you are publishing at least 2-3 posts per week, then realistically, it will take about 6 months to start ranking in Google to receive those organic clicks. It will then start to snowball from this point onwards.
You will be looking at about 12 months before you will start considering giving up your day job, but these are only estimates, as every niche, website and person will achieve success at different times. Also, success is measured differently based on the individual.
Google Analytics will be covered, but you can jump ahead and use the search bar at the top if you would like to add this earlier.
Hopefully I've answered everything :-)
Thanks Chrystopher. That’s a great response. I’m glad that analytics will be covered in the near future. I do feel a bit blind at this point. It looks like I have a lot more content to create before things start to get moving. That’s good to know.
You're welcome Will :-) As Diane mentions, joining affiliate programs/networks should come later, as they usually require at least 20 posts, hence why it might be worth waiting for 3 months before applying, by which time, you will have between 26 and 39 posts, if you are publishing 2-3 per week. Feel free to add Google Analytics sooner rather than later, just ensure that you select Website and not App to obtain your UA- number. This can then be added to your All in One SEO plugin.
Hi - some of the training is focused on community interaction, hence the suggestion to comment on goals. Its not obligatory, I never do this, as you say, some of them are completely unrealistic.
You will find that some of the training is suggested earlier than may be appropriate. For example, level 3 of the training is about adding affiliate links. However, affiliate programs expect to see at least 15 posts before they approve you, and people rarely have not that much content by the time as they reach level 3.
You are unlikely to make any money at all for at least 3 months, and more realistically it will be 6 months. This is simply because Google views all new sites with suspicion for the first few months and doesn't promote your posts high enough to attract visitors.
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Will,
I would have to agree with Chrystopher's response. In time it will all fall in line and you will know what to do. Take the training step by step and don't hesitate to ask questions or for help.
You just took the first step to blogging and you did a great job!
Blogging on the platform is a way to express our experiences, goals and achievements with the community. It will get easier from here. Believe me, I felt the same way when I first started out.
All the best to you,
Barbara