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

[FreeLinkJuice]

RE: If You Had to Start Over...

I think that the 3 things I would do first would be:


1) Give away GREAT stuff (this lets folks know you have a LOT to offer).

2) Outsource to sites like Fiverr.com MUCH sooner

3) Spend more time in forums helping others with problems.


That's my 2 cents!

Thanks

George Owens

 

[Sharessat]

Hi FreeLinkJuice,

Your 2 cents is worth more than you may know. Giving away great stuff to people sends the message that you are able to provide something of value to people. And they will come back for more whenever they can. This keeps a steady flow of loyal visitors to your site, blog or offer. I am not familiar with Fiverr.com, what do they do? As for spending time in forums to help other people with their problem. I think that is a great way to brand yourself and also get link juice back to your offer or site.

Again the more perceived value people thing you have to offer the more people will continue to visit your site. When you spend time if forums these are probably your most targeted market as long as you are helping people in your niche with their problems and in the same process you are unknowingly or knowingly doing research to find out what issues people are having. If you know the major problem(s) people are having in your niche you can cater your ads and offers to solve them thus increasing your conversion rate.

 

[Kelsie82]

If i had to start over I would find a program that was free instead of spending thousands on the program I had. Now that i'm done making this internet guru a bunch of extra money and setting up affiliate pages for him I need to lay down the ground work for all my blogs and I have just found a program extremely similiar- like it make be the same one and it's free called Ultra Cash Course. Has anyone used this?

 

[melovemoney]

I would definitely get into more long term projects. When I first started I was really into stuff like myspace marketing and all of that. I made a lot of money - yea - but it was a short term method for making money online. In a way it for me lazy because it was so easy to generate money and it got me used to using programs to automate my cash flow and I didn't really get into any real websites that were really long term for a lasting online business.

If I ha done that - which was 4-5 years ago - I would be much better off today. I'm not complaining because the whole myspace marketing age allowed me to build and sell a survey site for $180,000 because I had tons of myspace marketeer as affiliates - but I still wish I had side projects that were more long term.

 

[sociable1231]

I rushed through my sites initially and hence, didnt see much results. I decided to go back to basics and analyze things through. Afterall, I believe foundations are the key to success. Indeed.

What I have learned:
1. You have to be unique/have an unique angle to stand out.
2. Provide value to people.
3. Affiliate marketing is all about preselling, not selling. Learn how to convince people.
4. Keep testing and tweaking.
5. Don't waste time on small things which add up that will give you low ROI.
6. Put out really quality info.
7. Research thoroughly. Really know and understand who your audience is, how he thinks, why, what, where etc and then provide a solution.

These are simple stuff but in my rush to make money quickly, I ignored these basic principles sadly.

 

[AgesMGMT]

thanks for this.. I'm a newb here so this is great to start. I have the majority of my skills in SEO, I'm trying to start some niche websites and am thinking about getting into affiliate marketing.

 

[I319870]

When I started out, my biggest mistake was getting TOO MUCH information and never taking action. I was new to the whole "making money online" crowd and there were so many ways to do it. I kept buying books and reading articles over and over but the best way to learn is to just get out there and do it. That's what the pros did and that's how they're able to write books sharing their secret. They got out there and did it. That's what I would recommend to anyone starting out....Don't get stuck. Take action!

 

[edosauyi]

if i should start over again, the main thing i would completely stay away from is 'free stuffs'

 

[chris.martin]

this is a exelent thread for me since I'm having thoughts myself to start over.
If I have to choose one thing that I would definitely do differently it would have to be, less pedant about my traffic and trust more my instinct.

 

[vaslimdt]

Stephen...B. is tremendous. I think that can be applied to more than just marketing. Love the internet. How did we survive without it??

 

[pbenfield]

Affilate Marketing

I would definately stay away from markets that are to competitve - I use market Samuri to tell me where to go.

Cheers

Mason

 

[mrdnf5m]

I would start by finding a successful mentor that I could learn from ; - )

 

[Seleyna]

I would definately stay away from markets that are to competitve - I use market Samuri to tell me where to go.

Cheers

Mason

same here, I would start with "safe niches" first before touching the gorillas

 

[janellelk]

Great golden eggs of wisdom. I'm still pretty new to all of this but I think the things I would've done differently are pretty broad.

I wouldn't have been so afraid to try new things out after I learned the basics. As long as it wasn't black hat, why not try a few new things as long as you're maintaining the tried and true methods as well? You'll never get ahead if you don't face things with a certain amount of "thinking outside the box."

I would have really really tried to shake out all preconceived notions of check lists and progress as far as the SERPs go. Wouldn't have banged my head against the wall as much, especially around the Panda Update time. Oh boy!

Alright, so not super helpful but once again thanks to everyone before me!

 

[seanpar203]

Like Lisa said, I myself chose a niche I knew nothing about but thought I was going prevail but didn't have enough motivation and drive to keep the wheel turning. I eventually after 2 months of trying I gave up on affiliate cpa marketing and now i'm doing something i'm passionate about and its so much more worth while. Even if i don't make money from what i'm doing now at least i enjoy it this time.

 

[jcorkern]

Even if i don't make money from what i'm doing now at least i enjoy it this time.

I hate to be the one to tell you this, but I think you missed the point. From this statement it looks like this is a hobby for you. If you are passionate about it and want to make the business a success, deciding to settle (To establish on a permanent basis; stabilize) is giving up the fight before you start.

You have to make a decision...either it is a hobby or it is a business. There is no middle ground here, and that is why Linda said what she said. You have to have a passion for it to turn it into a business that will prevail in the good times and the bad. If you love it, you will fight harder to make it work, but never settle for a hobby.

Henry Ford once said: "Whether you think you can, or you think you can't--you're right."

There are a lot of people who think the mindset has nothing to do with success, but the reality is that it has everything to do with success.

Get a checkup from the neck up if you start using terms, phrases and thoughts that are contrary to success.

Hope this helps.

 

[FreeLinkJuice]

Lisa, as always, you have made some great comments.

I agree, but think that more online marketers should look OFF line for building a following.

A batch of flyers at your local community center, library, or church can produce amazing results.

Offer something of value for FREE, of course, and lure them offline to your blog or website.

If this is done several times in a month it can really boost your list.

That's my 2 cents!

Thanks

George Owens

---------- Post added at 06:02 PM ---------- Previous post was at 05:59 PM ----------

BTW Lisa -- if you make the ebook on your blog "clickable" I think that it will really help with conversions!

Just a tip (hope you don't mind).


George

 

[Sweet Tooth No. 3]

The biggest mistake I made when starting out was thinking too much and doing too little. I thought about it and thought about it because I was afraid of making a mistake. But guess what...I made mistakes anyway. That's ok though, I've learned a lot, and even a couple of my mistakes have turned into decent websites.

Now I'm not saying you shouldn't do your research and try to know what you're doing. But there comes a point where it's time to take action. The time to take action comes far before the point where you know exactly what you're doing.

Nobodies going to do everything perfect all the time. So you have 3 choices. You can be the one that makes some mistakes, but perseveres and succeeds. You can be the one that makes some mistakes and then gives up. Or you can be the one that never does it at all.

These are the only 3 choices.

 

[mrb205]

I would Not Procrastinate..lol..

Great Post Linda and thanks for the welcome..
I stand to learn a lot here..

 

[alberto10]

i don't have anything to add, as I have not been doing this for very long. Thanks for some great information though.