[contentbox bgcolor=’f2f2f2′ border=’999999′ borderwidth=3 corners=10]This is a guest post written by Ellen Braun.[/contentbox]
The youngest of our three children was just three years old back in 2005 when I discovered Internet Marketing on the heels of a two-year long stint at one of those sell-soap-and-vitamins-to-all-your-friends businesses. The concept of unlimited income potential, the flexibility of the web, and the idea of working from home without having any meetings or appointments were all too attractive for me to overlook — and I jumped right in with both feet! Hours turned into weeks which turned into months, and all the while I was filling my brain with knowledge from various marketing forums, blogs, and ebooks.
It took some time for Robert Kiyosaki’s quote to truly make its way into my head: “Your future is created by what you do today, not tomorrow“. That was when I realized that it was time to drastically cut down on learning about Internet Marketing and start implementing my knowledge. Quick as a flash, I disappeared from the forums, unsubscribed from the marketing newsletters and got to work.
As a mother of three, I decided to choose the broad niche of raising children, thinking that I would never tire of the subject. Little did I know what the future would hold. I dove into my website, typing out articles until the tips of my fingers were numb. Then I researched keywords and acquired backlinks pointing to my site. My next step was to create audio and video downloadable parenting products, as well as several ebooks. Each product took several weeks and several hundred dollars to create. The products sold well, and I had several 4-figure-profit days, however I found myself getting stuck.
Each time I created a new product, I found myself with a new set of overwhelming challenges: Some customers had trouble downloading the video. Other clients lost their password with which to access my audio. Many people purchased my ebook (despite the clear verbiage explaining that it was an EBOOK) and demanded to know why they had not received the book in their mailbox! As fast as I attempted to create new products, new obstacles and roadblocks occurred.
After years of chasing my tale around in circles in an attempt to build up my online business to a new level, I decided to invest in a team of outsourcing professionals. I chose my virtual assistants and writers with care, and was excited about the exponential growth that outsourcing would bring my way. However, my virtual assistant needed a lot of guidance, and she was often out sick leaving my clients’ emails neglected for weeks on end. My writers wanted feedback on every paragraph, and my link builders had even more questions for me. From morning to night, I found myself managing my staff, rather than growing my business.
It was then that I stumbled upon the Amazonian Profit Plan in the summer of 2010. Although my Internet Marketing income was covering the mortgage and private school tuition; exotic vacations and major household renovations were still out of our budget, and I was continuously looking for that next magic bullet that would grow my business. The Amazonian Profit Plan struck a chord in my heart, and I understood Wanda and Paula’s description of passive income to be the missing key to my business.
That was when I changed my focus from searching for various marketing methods to searching for hours in my week that I could dedicate to implementing Paula and Wanda’s ideas. It was challenging, as my staff and customers from my prior business still needed a lot of my attention, and it was not sensible to ignore a viable business that I had built- albeit a business that took an enormous amount of time and energy to maintain.
I chose a few highly targeted keywords such as: Product ABC, Product ABC reviews, Product XYZ, Product XYZ reviews, Product ABC vs. Product XYZ. I did utilize many methods of backlinking: blog comments, forum profiles, blog networks, article directories, social bookmarking, and guest posting.
I found that my time was best spent doing quality guest posting and improving my reviews while I outsourced the lower quality backlinks to people on sites such as backlinksforum.com. As you can see, I targeted two products: the ABC model and the XYZ model. Incidentally, I found that a lot of people search for “product ABC vs. product XYZ” and “what is the difference between product ABC and XYZ” so I was able to rank well for those keyword phrases.
I am still struggling with my rankings for “Product ABC” and “Product ABC reviews” as the manufacturer of the product has the first FOUR listings in Google, so I am #5-8 most of the time! I’m still working on outranking the manufacturer; however, I still get traffic for those phrases and related keyword phrases. It’s an ongoing process like watching a baby grow: You can’t see much growth day-to-day or even week-to-week, but if you look at the infant’s growth month-to-month you’ll see tremendous growth! I started focusing on this in September 2010, so it has taken me about 6 months of learning, stumbling, and learning to focus to earn $786 from Amazon in March 2011. At this rate of continuous growth, it ought to take me another 10-18 months to hit my goal of five figures in monthly profit from Amazon.
I created several rules for myself to help me grow my passive income, and I hope they will inspire you to create your dream Internet Marketing lifestyle:
1. I must write two articles every morning prior to lunch. They can be articles for my own site or articles to be used as guest posts to obtain backlinks. Oftentimes, I find myself near starvation at 2:00pm, and I hurriedly type up my required articles so that I can eat some pasta! This little rule that I created ascertains that not a day goes by where I have not written two quality articles to benefit my passive income business.
2. I met a friend on a forum who lives 5,000 miles away and shares my goals and methods. Each evening we post the five important things we must do the next day, and the following day we check off the items we have completed. Having a peer look over my shoulder from afar within a shared document is tremendously motivating.
3. I set small goals every week. For example, on a recent Monday I set the goal of having ten new posts about a specific topic on my website and pointing ten contextual backlinks towards each of those articles. If I were to finish this goal by Thursday evenings, then I would be allowed to go to the mall on Friday. (I did, and I bought a beautiful black dress!)
4. I forgive myself when life happens. When a family member was recently ill, I let go of my business for several days while I attended to his needs. I let go of the stressful feelings of ‘needing’ to work on my business and allowed myself to relax knowing that I was making the right decision in these challenging circumstances. Being happy and content with my choices about how to spend my time eliminates anxiety and gives me additional energy to focus on the task at hand without worrying about other things that I might also want to do simultaneously!
5. Facebook, email, and news websites may only be checked at the top of the hour. Some of you may feel that this is a lenient approach; however, it has worked wonders for me. I used to check these sites every seven seconds, so minimizing my distractions to just a few minutes at the top of each hour has made me a far more productive Internet Marketer.
Ellen Braun is a stay at home mother of three who is extremely focused on one particular Amazon niche. However, she is so fascinated by the marriage of Prince William and Princess Kate that she has recently launched a website about Royal Wedding souvenirs and Princess Kate wedding dolls as a side project! When she isn’t busy with her side project, main niche, or family, she can most likely be found catching up on lost sleep in Baltimore, MD.
I agree that focusing on less is often more effective than spreading yourself out. It takes too long to figure out what’s working for you when you’re spread out over a lot of projects.
Definitely agree Stephanie. When we started focusing on only one website things really started to change for us.
I’ve also noticed that I can waste a lot of time just planning or thinking about breaking into new niches, not to mention building sites about them! KNOWING that I’m staying in this niche alone for the next 6 months helps me from veering off in my actions and thoughts:)
Hi Stephanie,Good point:”I agree that focusing on less is often more effective than spreading yourself out. It takes too long to figure out what’s working for you when you’re spread out over a lot of projects.” I totally agree with you! Take it one at a time to know what will work best to you. :)
Hi Ellen
I had a look at your herroyalhighnessprincesskate.com website and I am very impressed. The layout looks fantastic and the articles are very well written, and I am amazed to see that you have over 7,000 facebook ‘likes’.
How long have you had this website live?
Also, it looks like you have links to various affiliate networks, not just Amazon. I know Paula and Wanda focus on Amazon but I would be interested in hearing your view on why you have chosen to use other merchants as well.
Thanks
Richard
Hi Richard,
Thanks for your kind words. I chose cj.com and linkshare.com affiliate programs only because those particular products (like the Kate doll) are not available on amazon. I still generally prefer to go with amazon due to their ‘icing-on-the-cake-benefit’ which is: you get commission for anything a customer buys after clicking on your link, not just that particular product. That’s not nearly as applicable with other merchants.
Being a mother of 3 little ones (the oldest is only 3 years old) I can defintely relate about not spreading yourself too thin. I have been trying to get more focused and concentrate only on 1-2 sites (or I should say pages) at a time. I’m still working on getting off the whole Facebook and forum thing every 10 minutes though!
Tiffany, I remember those days well! I only worked when my babies were sleeping or under someone else’s care- otherwise it was impossible to think!
Yes, getting away from distractions, even for 45 minutes of every hour, can be very liberating!
Very well done. I’m still, slowly but surely, crawling out of my “gotta please them all” mistakes I made some time ago.
Oh, you can never please everyone, so don’t bother trying!
Wow Ellen! You need to write a post on how to do the facebook thing. Over 7,000 likes! What’s your secret?
Oh dear! I ran FB ads and asked all my FB friends to like the page. However, I also bought a service on the WF where they ask thousands of people to like your page!
Oh, one more thing: I created a viral vieo asking the media not to hound Kate as they did to Diana, and asked people to like my FB page if rhey support my message! You can see the youtube video in the sidebar of this site.
Congratulations on all you’re achieving, Ellen. You’ve proven for yourself that the advise Paula and Wanda give about focusing on a small number of sites – or even pages – does pay dividends.
It’s easy to wear yourself to a frazzle trying to do “everything”. But what use is success if we can’t enjoy it when it comes.
You are so right about it being easy to wear yourself to a frazzle- I like that phrase! It’s even easy to wear yourself to a frazzle just by THINKING about doing ‘everything’- even if you’re doing nothing!
Ellen – Nicely written post! This was a great reminder that working online affords us a lot of control over our own schedule but that if we don’t manage ourselves with some amount of rigor we run the risk of working inefficiently. I know there are days where I feel I’ve been super busy but haven’t really achieved anything that moves my site forward. Other days, I may have done nothing more than spend an hour putting up a new post on my site but the response from visitors emphasizes how much more important that kind of work really is for growth.
Thanks for the tips and, as a mother of 3 myself, was inspirational!
You are really hitting the nail on the head- it’s so easy to be sucked into the non-revenue producing activities for hours – even days and weeks – an end! It’s doing those things that make us money – while spending minimal time on everything else that brings success.
Things that make us money:
1. Improving my site. Writing more reviews, improving existing reviews.
2. Driving traffic towards those pages.
3. Rinse and repeat. Occasionally check your email and stats!
Nice article…
You indicated that you outsource the lower quality backlinks to people on sites such as backlinksforum.com.
There are sooooo many offers there. It feels like the wild west. Would you be willing to indicate one or two of those offers that you have found to be worthwhile?
I look in the BFSO section for threads that have good reviews and outsource whatever I feel I can afford at any given time.
Lately I’ve learned that it may be a good idea to point the very low quality backlinks towards a site that is pointing to my money page, and not directly to my site. i.e. towards one of my ezinearticles or squidoo lenses, which improves the standing of those pages, as in: backlinking my backlinks. This is subject to debate though!
Hi Ellen,
Great post. Your words really struck a chord with me. It’s so easy to wander around in the maze of IM searching for your “niche”, only to be continually distracted by the ‘next shiny object’.
Similar to you, it wasn’t until I decided to focus on one or two projects, set goals, and ignore the other noise, that I started to make some progress.
Still, it’s so easy to fall back into bad habits.
By the way, love your “Kate” site. Can only imagine the spike in popularity once they decide it’s time to start a family!
Shiny objects call my name every day! I keep finding new niches to work on, but i have commited to working on my current niche for at least the six months.
By the way, do you think William and Kate have a choice about starting a family, or does the Queen give them orders to produce an heir??
Oh, I think she would have made it a Royal decree, and Charles threw in a “How To” manual for good measure!! ;)
ROTFLOL! Oh my, Jonel, you should write a humorous guest post for me- that is seriously funny!
Ellen,
Life is funny. I found Wanda and Paula over at the WF and it immediately changed my focus. I started my review site in February and things are moving slowly, but surely. I also started following your posts over there because I thought you had great insight and advice. Congratulations on your success, and it’s good to know there’s someone just up the road who has the same goals as I do (I live in Bowie, MD)
Hi Vance, yea the WF is a good place to learn, if you have the patience to sift through lots of trash!
How far are you from Baltimore?
I am about 20-30 minutes south of Baltimore…I used to work for BGE! Hoping that at some point I can stop working for everyone else and work for myself full time! That’s my goal anyway.
Oh, we are neighbors! We send BGE a nice chunk of change every month:)
Hi Ellen,
Having “rules” to work by is a must for us work-at-homers. We forget all work sites (even Google) have some guidelines to follow whilst working. My boss (me) has his own work rules for me as well. Otherwise, I’d loaf.
Also, your article reminds me that in this IM business, it’s not only the niches that need to be limited, but the methodology used to do the internet marketing. It’s been important for me to pick a model and stick with it and that includes what software I use to build web sites, how I get backlinks and where I spend time on forums. At one time I was all over the place. What a waste of me and my time that was.
Thanks for your inspiration.
Buck
I can totally relare to being all over the place!
Sometimes I used to buy one or two WSO’s for a while, always searching for that perfect system!
Many of those WSO systems work, however the Amazonian Profit Plan made the most sense tome because of its sensible and passive structure.
I just thought of a new rule for myself: NO Checking amazon stats in the morning until I have done something on my to do list for the day!!
To use a metaphor, I’ll say that sometimes it just takes the focus of a laser (or a dual laser) to cut through the wall of obstacles…
You are so right- and there are so many obstacles trying to take our attention away from what it is that we want to focus upon!
How on earth do you find time for the children, I am surprised that you did not manage to find some good people to outsource to, my mentor is recommending outsourcing he says it’s the only way to free up your time.
Hi Bill,
I tend to outsource the lower quality backlinks such as blog post, forum profiles, social bookmarking, etc.
I have outsourced guest posting with very few good results.
Time for my kids takes precedence over the business. They come home at 5pm on weekdays, and that is when my workday ends.
What a truly inspirational post. For people who are slowly building their own business around the Amazon model, this gives us hope and proof that it really works. You just need a little persistence. My favourite line in the article? – ” it ought to take me another 10-18 months to hit my goal of five figures in monthly profit” – How’s that for self assurance and confidence! Love it!
All the best
Bill Jenkins
Webmaster, bestlawnmowerreviews.net
Thank you, Bill, for your kind words.
I look forward to posting another guest post here next year with a larger figure from Amazon and other affiliate networks.
PS- I have a landscaper here who mows my lawn, otherwise I’d check out your site! I used to mow my parents’ lawn as a kid!
Your advice is very sound. It is so easy to get caught up on chasing the next promise and find yourself building one site after another.
I love Amazon and what they have to offer to affiliates but I am wondering if there is a reason to worry about their affiliate program with this sales tax fight that is currently taking place. Does anyone think that they might scrap their affiliate program just as they scrapped their PPC referral program?
Hi Pat,
I understand your concerns.
My belief is that we have to work with the current reality. Yes, things can change dramatically. I used to live near the Word Trade Center in NY. Who would have believed they could fall? Many people had a lot of money invested in very ‘safe’ funds that lost tremendous value. Perhaps the US dollar will soon become worthless. Who knows? Yet, we can only work with reality, and take normal precautions without making ourselves crazy!
There is always the possibility of Amazon removing their affiliate program, but those are the chances you have to be prepared to take. You have to be a bit of a risk taker to succeed in this business. We’ve seen lots of changes over the years but those that go with the flow and react to changes as they occur are the long term survivors.
I always remember reading about a guy who promoted Amazon products. When he found out that the Amazon affiliate program was no longer available in his state he simply created a company in another state and changed his links all in the one day. Most other people would have been whingeing about it for days before they even thought about how to make it work for them.
Love this article,thanks Ellen to share… :)
Hey Ellen,
Really useful tips and great article. I was wondering, do you vary your day or is it each day you concentrade on the same things? So for example, for this hour I work on blog comments, this hour reaching out for potential guest blog opportunities and so on?
Hi John,
My days are varied, depending on what am focusing upon. What has been most important was to set goals each evening for the following day.
I just completed registering for your newsletter, so now I’m going to post my comment. I like the idea of being focused on just one niche because that keeps me on track and can prevent the sideways distractions that “get” me everyday. The comments posted here so wonderful, and I’m grateful for the wonderful info being shared. I was tempted not to post my comment/question because I was afraid I would be embarrassed (or worse, look dumb) in front of all the gurus that have posted here, but I decided to go ahead anyway because I really need help/advice from people who know what they are going. I’m tired of stumbling around the local internet clubs looking for someone who is interested in helping people instead of just trying to sell their $997 product.
I’m two years away from retiring and trying hard to create a retirement income through internet marketing. I wrote an eBook a couple years ago that provides step by exact step instructions on how to create a Google Blogger website. It was designed for the “true beginner” so I provide screen shots of every step along the way. However, Blogger changed their format substantially to make it more like Word Press so I have to do a major re-write in order to publish this eBook again. I sold several dozen copies in person to newbies at seminars and classes I’ve attended, however, I never sold any online.
I would like to focus on my eBook for the next 6 months, however, how do I know if there is any interest online? There are so many strong competitors out there; I don’t know how to promote my product effectively against them so that I can be successful in sales. I have no trouble putting in the work necessary. I have a full time job and I still put in at least 25-35 hours a week on my internet business.
I would really appreciate any comments or feedback from anyone who would be willing to share their opinion or advice. My “old” eBook website (created in 2009) that contains my old sales information is http://www.make-your-own-website-now.com and one of my sites that I plan to showcase as an example of the changes you can make if you use my eBook is my newest website http://www.IkebanaFlowerArranging.com. Thank you all for taking the time to read my comment.
There is definitely an interest for this but it really comes down to traffic. If you are going to suceed in this business then you need people coming to your website. So generating traffic needs to be where you spend the majority of your time.
I took a look at your make-your-own site and I can see why you never made any money online with it. The main reason is that you have used the basic blogspot template. You are marketing your ebook by saying ‘make your Google blog look like a website’ and yet that page looks like a Google blog. If it were me I would be making that page look anything but a Google blog and at the top of the page I would have something like this: “Do you want your Google blog to look like this…or this?” and have two images one of the basic blogspot template and one of the way the blog turns out.
Thanks for responding, Paula. I agree with you that the “old” website looked like a blog. I have not changed it since the new Blogger format came into existence. It was created in 2009. I was hoping you would review my “other” site to see if I could use this site http://www.IkebanaFlowerArranging.com as a good example of what my eBook would help people achieve.
Your site looks great Diana and would be a great example to use. But if you want people to think of you as an expert then you have to make that site as perfect as possible.
For instance, your header doesn’t fit quite right. There is a bit of white space at the end of it.
That is just a little thing but it can make the difference between making a sale or not.
I have to step it up, this is insane. I purchased this course months ago, read it, loved it and never did anything yet! Only because I have a full time job and very long days, so I get lazy! Hate it. I do have 19 sites but they are not review sites, just affiliate and most I will let go after they expire, not really interested in them, maybe 2 I will keep. Can they be converted into review sites now is the question? Paula/Wanda?
Yes definitely Lisa. Read the post below first to see if you can find five pages that meet the criteria. You don’t need to do much more than rework a handful of pages using the criteria in the book and focus on those only for the next few months. When you only focus on a few pages at a time the workload is a lot easier and not as frenetic as working on 19 sites.
http://www.affiliateblogonline.com/2010/11/26/what-to-do-if-you-have-multiple-sites-but-are-not-making-much-money/
Paula,
Thanks so much, I have to do this. So true you are right. Can’t wait, I’ll keep you posted.
Ellen,
You have such a wonderful and inspiring internet marketing story. Thanks for sharing it.
What you are doing is called perseverance. With all those challenges, obstacles, problems that you have encountered when you first started out your business, you still managed to continue and reach your goals in your online marketing endeavor. Thanks for being an inspiration!
Hi Ellen
Thanks for your article . I have a question when you said ” 1. I must write two articles every morning prior to lunch” , does it for a single site ?
How frequently should we add content to niche website?