Brick wall

[Richard Hutchcox]

Hey JVnotify

I've been lurking these boards for quite a while now but am always unsure about asking for advice/commenting. Anyhow I've decided just to go for it. I figured the more I ask the more I can learn the more I can contribute! -- I hope

I've been playing around with affiliate marketing for about a year (nothing too serious) I've create a couple of web sites and a hand full of Squidoo blogs. After making a few sale earlier in the year I was pumped and all ready to invest more of my time. As time went on I didn't make any more and the ones I had made had reclaimed there money. This made me give up....

Untill the other day when I was at the gym running on the tred mill and I thought I should give it another shot, as it was interesting and I could do with the money!
This time I thought I'd try an alternative route. I got a few friend adding apps for social networking sites and built up a 'list' in total I've got around 3k of people, but I figured none of these wont give a dam about what some guy says that randomly added them.

I figured a good way to use this was to create a squidoo blog post about my 'new blog' in my comments and hope that drives some traffic though.

So I made the squidoo review page on a product thats launched in a few weeks and I thought to my self.
'if I saw that (and didn't know about the affiliate market) and did click it, after reading it I'd just google it find the real site and buy it to risk getting scammed' Now I know this is why you offer free things but what really is the best way to do that. Get them to wack there e-mail/name in and have an auto responder send them the free stuff. But hows this convert to sales?

So basically I am at a brick wall again, not really sure what to do and starting to lose faith once again. ???

Any advice would be appreciated

Thanks in advance

Rich


apologise about the wall of text

[Linda Brown]

Hi Rich
I feel your pain, and first of all, don't give up! Really!
Secondly, I would like to know - are you getting traffic? And at what market are you working?
Also, think about creating your OWN product with FREE Trial!
Cause as you don't have authority, it will be very difficult to sell something.
And lastly, try to use other methods as well for promotion.

[Richard Hutchcox]

Hey,
Thanks Linda for hte reply. All the products that I've tried to sell have been in the money making market bar 2-3. I do get some traffic but its pretty small. My intention was to not spend any money on advertising as I've been told it can all be done for free. Then once I've earnt money to pay for google adds I would. The problem is I am a student, therefore, very poor :P

not really too sure where I'm going to go from here. Making my own product sounds like an incredible amount of work/time and studying Architecture means I have very little free time. I think I might have to leave this till over xmas when I have a lil more time on my hands

Thanks

Richard

[Wayne O Sullivan]

Hi Richard

I am kinda in the same boat as you. Been playing around with Affiliate marketing from the start of the year. Have also made a couple of websites, actually 2. Both have around 16 original articles on various different 3 phrase keywords in the niche. I have made a couple of sales from the one and the other is still climbing in rankings in google. This takes time and I am a bit slack at the link building side of things.

My point? Yes. Stick to it! It is a lot of work yes if you are on a tight budget like I am as well but build those websites and aim to get onto the first page of Google if you select the correct keywords and market your website (build backlinks - web 2.0, articles, directories, bookmarks etc..) correctly then you will get the traffic and make the sales.

Thats what I am aiming for. Hope this helps a little.

I am here though to try and learn the correct way to do JV Product launches, besides my usual marketing attempts.

[thinkbig]

The real issue here is purpose, not tactics.

I see so many marketers and would-be marketers that struggle because they chase the money--they see an idea or a tactic that's hyped to work so they try to do it themselves, yet for some unknown reason never seem to make any money.

Then they jump to another idea or tactic, and another, each time getting more frustrated and believing Internet marketing is just a big scam where only the top guys make any money.

The reality is...

This approach is 180 degrees off. START by finding what you are passionate about and love to do--stuff you would do without needing to make a dime and still be happy. Then you've found your niche. THEN find tactics to support and drive results in your niche.

The easiest way to think of it is this--someone LOVES doing what you're doing right now and would do it for free. They go to bed late, get up early, and have limitless energy in doing it. If you don't--if you're just kicking the tires or "doing the work" just to make a buck--how can you compete with THEM?

You can't, or at least not for long.

When YOU find that thing for you, you'll be unstoppable and will find all the answers you need...

-Brett

[Megan McCormick]

Hi Richard and everyone,

I'm going to suggest that you shift your mindset a little (a lot). I noticed in your post (and Wayne's) the phrase "playing around" with affiliate marketing. Also, you mentioned not putting in the time, and described your efforts as "nothing too serious".

Success can't come from approaching internet marketing and sales as a hobby (although it depends on how one defines success) or something to dabble in once in awhile. If you approach affiliate marketing by first identifying your audience/market and then focusing on a product to market that you are passionate about selling to them, then you're at least on the right road to having better success.

You say you are in architect school. What in your studies could be made into an info product? Lot's I bet. Like landscape design or earth/green building designs or how to make a home really energy efficient or ....??
That way you could consolidate your efforts and stay in the field you're already studying and passionate (I hope) about.

But bottom line, I think all the really successful online marketers really approach their efforts as a real business and their part time job (putting in the hours and investing the time and $) until they can go full time with it. Once you shift from sporadic activities to a focused committed effort I think you'll do better.

Dr. Meg

[saintemp]

Hi Richard

I agree with Meg 100%. I have been marketing online for about 3 years and I have discovered that you get what you put in to it. This does not mean that you have to do it full time, 8 hours a day. There are many part timers who still hold their day jobs while striving to get a consistent income.

Since you are a student, you fall into this part time category. But the key to making headway in IM for you now is to devote 2-3 hours everyday to this. You probably won't achieve astronomical results but 'slow and steady' is the way to go. Have you heard of Russell Brunson? He's one of the very successful online marketers in our industry. He started his online career in his final year of college, spending 2-3 hours every night to his business and he still made a lot of money online in his first year (I forget the actual amount).

So, do not give up. Find a good niche and market in it. Yes, the 'go green' niche is HUGE and with your technical knowledge you could do well in it, if you have the passion. If not, find another niche that has a market and go for it!


Blessings

Clarence

[Jeffrey Dean]

the answers that have come before are pertinent to "giving you advice."

the impression i get is that you want to make money online and don't have much time or money.

is it that you want to make money and online seems easier?

there are ways to make money online/market your products that are free but that usually translates to sweat labor ie time which you don't seem to have alot of right now.

are you asking for advice to make what you are involved with work or to make money?

I might suggest thinking outside the box before starting any internet or business venture.

I am guessing you are going to school to be an Architect? Is this something you love to do or is it expected of you that you do this (maybe runs in the family)?

If you are studying architecture because you love and are passionate about the field, trying figuring out areas that could use improvement or areas the field is going in or answers to frequently asked problems. Whatever you focus on let there be a demand. You might be able to work with many of your professors to brainstorm this - get their insights and experience.

Benefits of working with your professors is that you'll be seen by them as passionate, makes it easier to get referral letters and job leads. You can turn this into a class project, getting credit for it ie killing two birds with one stone. You can enlist the help of your classmates to get this done so they get credit for it as well which helps you with the lack of time and money you face.

But the best part is this project can easily be turned into a video product, software product or ebook which you can sell. It will bring value. Your clients will sense your passion for the topic which translates to more money in your pocket.

It's not that developing other products for you are a bad idea, its that it divides you in two completely different ways.

[Bradm]

I too agree with Megan.

Part time does not really cut it!

I too have a job as an accountant but I make sure that my IMing does not stop while I am doing that.

Maybe there are things that you can do to put some of this stuff on auto-pilot.

Every day I spend up to about an hour pre-loading what I want to go out to potential prospects that day. Some of them probably don't even think I sleep!