If You HAD to Start Over - What would you do Different???

[stephen henbie]

Hi Everyone,

This is my first post after the newbie thingy.
So lets go,

This is a very interesting question.

Would the other system you are looking at, be any better than the one you spent months getting right. Then finally suceed..

I had to start again about 5 months ago

I have been internet marketing for a long long time and 5 months go i got up to a blank screen on my computer. 7 Years of work gone-- Just when I was about to launch a new campaign with a number of sites using outdated methods.

I Freaked as most of you would have.

Even my password were on the computer.

Even now I miss certain programs I had paid for with an old gone email address.

Anyway I sat down and then for 2 months studied and studied.

I thing I know every system on the market at the time.

I have done what lisa76 has mentioned: I have my own hosting company.

I have also attached a blog to my main site.

I use the lastest seo programs to get my blog pages listed.

Plus, I never even looked at blog before..

Wordpress Love it.

I have very high conversions on my squeeze pages.

Now I am here, my first forum to see how this goes.

In conclusion:

Yes I did start again and this time i went a completley different way.
I'm a lot more happier, its just generating traffic again.



But I had no choice.

I'd like to mention all the stuff lost on the computer when it died is not being used.


So thats all for today
Look forward to talking to you all

Stephen

 

[ComputerGirl]

Once I did start over, but that was before I even knew what is SEO! So I did rewrite all my sites, entered keywords in all places where they are important and later it was a real joy to look how my site is ranking in the first places after that! But that was not a commercial project, so competition was quite small!

At the moment, in my next project I cannot say that I did start completely over, but there were a lot of things that I had to improve and would do differently if I would start from the begging this one.

My suggestion is to spend a lot of time on keyword research because in other case there will not work anything! Also important thing is to understand as much as possible about your competitors.

 

[anniest]

Read, Read, Read!

Hi! I'm new to this forum, but this thread really caught my eye. In fact, I have started over. It was a while ago, but that is the only way I thought I could get organized. I started out going in every direction, taking something from this ebook and something from that course. I got so confused and frustrated. So I sat back and evaluated my progress. I decided that I needed to read as much as I could before choosing what I want to do. That way I could learn about the different businesses the internet had to offer & I would have an idea of what I would like to do. I spent days reading the material I already had & researching those topics that interested me. I picked a business to start and then made a list of goals. For me, this helped to get me to the place I am today. I am still new and still feel frustrated at times, but I have a lot more confidence this time around!

 

[Saabs]

Just like Lisa, I would have picked a niche which I have a great understanding of...like "swimming lessons" or "how to play a flute"
even on Squidoo, I could have earned more....instead of joining the overcrowded niches of internet marketing and credit cards

 

[EmpyreMaggie]

What a fantastic blog question...It's hard to say what you would do different. I know everyone has their faults when they are first starting to get into this business- however I think people need to focus on their triumphs as well...if you made a lot of money off the Acai Berry Craze then try to focus your niche into something more along the lines of that vertical...If I had to do something different I'd probably focus more on bringing on quality offers instead of quantity...It's more important to find offers/verticals directed towards your publishers needs and wants rather than to bring on a whole bunch of garbage.

 

[MyMedia]

Not sure if I agree with the hyphenated domain names. I had bought a few but I find that they don't do well for some reason, especially in competitive niches. I bought new domains and did a 301 redirect and moved all the content to the new, similar, non-hyphenated domains. They performed better.

 

[afmarket]

In my case I have been online for years, but focused on just 'save money', and losing opportunities for making money, due to inexperience, what I will do different is start a profitable company using all my current experience, but instead of save money, invest in what I consider are good opportunities that can have a great ROI. In the past I invested thousands, just to get customers trust, but in the b2B market this doesn't always work, you learn by your mistakes, so today I will not invest money unless I have more information about the company I invest, and therefore don't live up to someone else's promises.

 

[Phill_cH]

Hello,
I'm very new and just getting started but I am like starting over now. Rebooting. Or I just have to learn what it takes. But for me it's just one thing: Too much information. Everyone's trying to sell their stuff and I just don't get it anymore. I completely lost myself in that 'war'. Now I really need to focus more on my own inner peace, my own e-mail list, my own customers, my own readers, my own success...I almost got lost in the internet while trying to learn affiliate marketing...and I've been using the internet for along time already.
But yea, I always have the ability to start over, because I am reborn every moment

 

[stephen620924]

Hi Linda,
I totally "get" you. Fear (especially fear of failure) is the one thing that stops most people from ever really getting anywhere in business/life. In my case however, I was simply reluctant (or afraid?) to stop reading & buying stuff before I finally took the plunge and got my online business started. In the end I wasted about 8 months and a lot of money. In the end, I found that the answers to most of my questions were actually freely available on the net. I feel really sorry for the thousands of "newbies" who keep getting sucked in by the "get-rich-quick" merchants who seem to be taking over the online world especially in the affiliate marketing field!)

 

[autoreg]

i thought that i wouldn't do anything diferent but reading your posts i changed my mind

 

[CPV Specialist]

I would have focused on 1 site, possibly an Amazon product site and promoted through articles, blogs etc to build the backlinks. Its so easy to get side tracked by all the product releases. Which leads me to another point, I would of unsubscribed from all the meail lists to lower the chances of getting side tracked. Thats just a couple of things but there are many more that a newbie should know.

 

[anniest]

Excellent points, CPV Specialist! I had paid for so many different programs and started promoting a ton of products at the beginning of my online career that all I did was sit at my computer & spin my wheels! It wasn't until I dropped everything I had been doing and started over again with 1 product that I started getting traffic. I was able to keep track of my campaign and do the followup, which I feel is very important. Then I began adding another product, and another, etc. without confusion. But I took it slowly the 2nd time around.

 

[akhali]

great topic. I would have asked a specialist for advice and not waste endless hours and burnt a huge hole in pocket making mistakes many others had allready made lol

 

[Seleyna]

I would invest on culture, just like what Tony Shieh did at Zappos.

 

[Jeorl]

I would have started slow with the programs I joined. I quickly got into the habit of thinking more affiliate products was better rather than focusing on a few targeted merchants/products.

Jeff

 

[acebirdie]

I spent too much time trying to learn the ropes and too little time executing. I should have focused on getting the first dollar and then the second.

Constant learning is a great way to spend money, but does not produce the early wins.

Bill

 

[jointaldc]

I would have stopped doubting myself, and taking in so much contradictory advice and just go through with it. Lost a year and a half battling my conscious

 

[arenee]

i would not have spent so much money on designing the web site. a good basic site works well. designers will take advantage of newbies. could have used that money to promote the site. also would have worked more with my affiliates to give my users the best buys. would have gotten a staff director sooner so i could concentrate on promotion.

 

[ppc coach]

I would have formed more partnerships earlier. I think that's the one thing I regret. I never wanted to work with anyone else. I always wanted to just do whatever I wanted on my own without having to worry about getting the ok from a partner.

I've since learned that I've missed several very lucrative partnership chances that I should have jumped on. I know some would fail, but knowing what I know now, I would totally be seeking partners in products or services from the get go.

In fact I now have 5 different partners in 4 different sites, (soon to be 5 different sites). That is the one area I regret not tackling earlier in my online career. If you can find someone who has strengths in areas where you are weaker, then you've found a great partner. Even for affiliate marketers, partners are awesome because they can hold you accountable and actually speed up your success. We're always to easy on ourselves as humans. When we know there is someone depending on us getting a job done, we tend to get it done no matter what.

 

[T.J.12]

Thanks for the advice PPC coach. I just got started on my first affiliate program as a vendor (still in the testing phase) but I'm definately going to look out for potential JV's and partners that I can network with.

I'm going to hit up JV notify pro soon after I finish testing.

Any recommendations on building relationships/partnerships with MAJOR industry leaders?