Online Business Goal Number One Is Achieved
“Earn enough money through online marketing to pay for the month’s hosting fees.”
That was my goal back in January of 2006 as I decided to try and find a way to earn a living through my own websites.
I had been working online for over 10 years at that point, but never ran my own online business. My income came from working on websites for other people and a full-time corporate gig.
I knew how to manage vendors and build websites and media components, but I had never built my own website with the intention of turning a profit or tried to create and sell a product – I thought about it a lot, but never did anything about it!
Setting a Small Goal
My hosting fees are pretty low (I use 1&1 Internet and my fees are roughly $25/month.) I decided my first threshold would be to make sure that my online activities didn’t cost me money – $25/month!
I set out creating a niche website and writing about it (and other things) on this blog. I read every book and website I could find about building traffic. I learned about Adsense, Adwords, and Search Engine Optimization (SEO). I ran tests and wrote up my results. I got indexed in the Google search engine and did some article marketing. I made a little money and spent a little money. But mostly, I learned a lot.
The big thing I learned was that the real steady traffic was coming to the articles on this blog – and not just the ones focused on marketing. My niche site gets a little traffic here and there, but currently ads very little revenue.
I also learned the value of focus. At first I tried a little of every legitimate technique I found. But, if you’ve ever tried to make a sandwich with a little bit of everything in the kitchen, you know that the results are usually disappointing.
In the last few months I have started to list all of the different things I want to try and then evaluate which ones will most effectively build on the work I’ve already done. The goal is to continually improve and support things that show promise and not chase around looking for a big overnight score. Sometimes the real value of a work takes time to develop.
A Tiny Seed Grows And Blooms
As the title of this article suggests, I achieved my earnings goal in November – actually I earned 3.5 times that amount! I earned over $20 from Adsense alone, and nearly every penny of that ad money came from visitors to one page on this site.
I wrote a small tutorial last spring that I posted on the site. It was based on a fun little side project I started and I didn’t think much would come from it. After a few months this article was getting low, but steady, traffic from natural search results. While I was busy working on other projects this traffic steadily grew. Other people started linking to the page and more traffic came. Then, one night, someone using the social promotion website www.stumbleupon.com recommended my site. The next day my traffic spiked. It wasn’t thousands of visitors, but much more than usual.
As the traffic to that page kept growing I focused my energy on trying to find ways to revise the page to encourage affiliate sales and ad clicks. I played with the layout and added some resource links and product recommendations. I wrote a few related articles and added links to them too. No major breakthroughs, but traffic keeps coming and I keep getting a few ad clicks here and there.
In the middle of November the page was recommended again at www.StumbleUpon.com and even more traffic has been coming. Those referrals are now the biggest source of traffic to my site, and the other sources are still sending traffic too. The ad money started building and then, in one day, I sold 2 e-books through an affiliate link. This pushed me way past my goal.
Quit Driving Traffic And Start Building Relationships
At the same time that my site traffic was growing, I stopped chasing after visitors and started building relationships with them.
My primary strategy so far has been building a newsletter subscriber list. I’ve got several hundred people on my first list and I email them about once every week or two.
I let my subscribers know about relevant new articles I have placed on this blog and I can see an increase in traffic every time I send out a newsletter. I also recommend new products that I have tried and that accounts for two more of my affiliate sales this month.
It is amazing to be able to send out a email and see people respond directly to what you have to say.
What Is Next?
Will I make my earnings goal again this month? That remains to be seen, but I am building on the foundation I created. I’m learning more about the people on my mailing list and exploring ways to provide them with the information and resources they need.
I’m planning a project to get to know the people coming to that one super popular page on my site and considering whether to spin that off into a new niche site.
I’m also still exploring new things and writing about them – you never know where that next popular article will come from or where it will lead you.
Oh! I almost forgot – I’m also raising my monthly income target a little higher. I want this business to grow.
The Go-To Guy!
P.S. Don’t let me get the last word. Leave a comment and let us know what you think!
Hi, I have been following your progress and also Yaro Starak from Entrepreneurs Jouney, and decided to start my own niche site in something i know nothing about, woodcarving. My purpose being to learn about the web
Good Luck
Tom,
Thanks for leaving a comment. It is nice to know that people are finding value in my work.
It’s a tough choice to make a site in a niche you don’t know (I hope you at least are interested in it – if not, the work will be torture!!!)
I took a look at what you have so far and have the following suggestions:
1. Images, Images, Images! The subject matter is crying out for images to show people what you are talking about. Start searching ASAP for relevant images that you can use to illustrate your site.
2. Images Part 2. Change your site template to match your topic. You are using the default WordPress template, so you would only need to change the header graphic to make a huge difference. (That is the primary change I made to this site’s template and on this client site: http://www.joelguerrero.com)
3. Clarify your editorial focus. Right now you have several pages devoted to people that want to make carvings and then a large article devoted to the value of original carvings that is clearly targeted at collectors. Pick one, drop the other.
4. Add content explaining tools and techniques, defining special terms, and suggestions for what to buy when starting out.
5. Rethink your ad strategy. Right now you have one Amazon ad block that breaks your layout and is at the bottom of the page (a very bad spot for ads!) I would take down the ads and then develop a plan for where and how you will display ads on the site. Then, when you know what you want to do, re-introduce the ads.
Check out Joel Comm’s Adsense book for great insights into ad placement and integration. I’ve picked up a lot of tips from this book and Joel’s other writings. I wrote a review of the book here:
http://www.andrewseltz.com/2006/10/10/review-the-adsense-code-by-joel-comm/
Finally, start a newsletter immediately and build a list of woodcarving enthusiasts. Consider a 5-7 part email course on ‘Getting Started with Woodcarving’ that people can sign-up for. Work the sign-up form prominently into your site. Do this before worrying about placing ads. Capturing contact information for every visitor will be far more profitable in the long term than slapping up ads. Once you have contact info you can start directing traffic to your content rather than trying to drive it to your site. And, when people begin to know and trust your advice, you can recommend products to them.
If you’ve got questions, send me an email.
The Go-To Guy!
Hi Andrew
Thanks for this article. I figure that the email-newsletter is my next step as well. I already have the newsletter concept formulated.
My question is this: How much should I budget to get started on this strategy? I imagine the sign-ups will start small and grow from there. Also, I want to have the sign-up and unsubscribe be “automated”.
Thanx!
Sheree
Sheree,
You’ve go a very nice site. I love the concept of your product (my day job is with a non-profit and I will be sending the development folks the link to your site.)
You might be surprised at how quickly your subscriber list grows. You should work the sign-up form into your site very prominently and include a subscribe link or form inside each newsletter so when people forward it to a friend there is a built-in way for the friend to join.
I had huge success at one site when I added a pop-up window with the sign-up form in it. I used code that made the pop-up occur only once per day per visitor and restricted it to the home page. That list grew from a few hundred to nearly 2000 in less than 10 months.
It is always helpful to have some kind of bonus gift for subscribers. A report on how donor gifts increase giving and donor retention or tips for thanking donors would be good for your subscribers.
You need not spend a lot of money to run your list. I manage my own email list software on my own server, but I would recommend using a 3rd party service for your list. They cost between $20-$30 a month. The subscription process is automated and you will have a host of special features to help you track and manage your newsletters.
These two services are both excellent and offer special trial periods if you want to test out the service:
http://www.andrewseltz.com/recommends/aweber/
http://www.andrewseltz.com/recommends/getresponse/
The hosting company I use also includes a basic newsletter program. I can setup a variety of lists for people to subscribe to (all automated) and they offer basic templates for the newsletters. The first 1000 emails each month are included in my regular fees and additional costs are a reasonable $.01/1000 after that. I use this for some of my mailings.
My hosting company is 1and1 Internet, Inc.:
http://www.andrewseltz.com/recommends/1and1hosting/
If you are technically minded (or just like a challenge) you can run your own software. I use one program called Infinite Responder that is an auto-responder (when people sign-up is sends them a preset sequence of emails at a precise time. For example, email one goes out immediately, email two a week later, email three a week after that and so on.)
I’m also experimenting with a program called PHPlist. This looks like a pretty good package for running newsletters, but it doesn’t do auto-responders. I’m trying to figure out how to integrate that.
Be aware, running your own mailing list software can be a lot of work, and the delivery rates of your messages won’t be as high as with a service. Services spend a great deal of time and energy ensuring that their email gets delivered.
My last comment is strictly legal. Make sure you read the CAN-SPAM laws and produce legal emails. The main things you need to do to be compliant are to include a physical mailing address for your company at the end of each each email along with a way for people to unsubscribe, and never send an email to anyone who hasn’t explicitly asked to be on your list.
Many people use what is called a double opt-in: After a subscriber gives their name and email address, they are sent a confirmation email. Inside that email is a link that will confirm that they wish to be added to your mailing list. Only after they click on that confirmation do they actually get added to the next mailing.
I hope that helps. Probably should have turned this into another article. Email me if you have any questions.
The Go-To Guy!
Hi Andrew
Thank you for these comments – very helpful. Thank you also for your kind comments regarding http://www.DesignsforGiving.com. There is an amazing (miraculous?) story behind the makings of this site that I will have to tell you sometime.
This truly is a passion for me – publlishing these inspirational quotations celebrating philanthropy, giving and volunteerism. I have published four books so far. “Living a Life of Significance” was the first. I’m working on my fifth gift book as we speak. I’m making it my mission to inspire people who make a difference.
My day job? I’m a development officer myself! So I know what a challenge it is for nonprofits to find something to give as a token thank-you gift to donors and volunteers that is classy-yet-affordable.
I will use your advice about managing newsletters. I really like your suggestion about offering a free article about how to thank donors or another relevant topic and I look forward to reading more of your posts!
Best!
Sheree