Forum

[Tom11980]

God it is driving me nuts I have been working on my page non stop for five weeks. I know that some times it takes a little time for that first sale but it sure would be nice just to get one so that I could get that extra boost to make it even better. I am hesitating on starting the second site because I am so burned out and I am affraid the site might reflect that and that I do not want. I wake up at 3 every morning and wrok on it for about 2 1/2 hours till I have to go to work then as soon as I get off I am working on it till midnight and later its really wearing me out. But enough wining any one have any tips I am sure you all have been here before. Thanks again

 

[auscast]

Hey Tom I'm gonna give you a few tips from a visitors perspective.

Right off the bat when I visit your site, the color scheme just kinda throws me off. With the black background, then the yellow side bar, and the really blue header image - idk it just doesn't flow for some reason.

The header...I'd work on changing the text with something a little less, uhm, flashy. Lose the Fiery text. Go with something a bit simpler. And the black text in the blue header, on the left side of the header, puts a little bit of a strain on the eyes and makes it a little difficult to read. Perhaps look at other weight-loss websites and take notes from what they have done with their site design. Honestly I think the site design needs to flow and have relevancy to weight-loss and I'm just not getting that with the design. It might be the solid black background that's part of the problem.

The formatting on the front page and for your articles needs to be adjusted also. There are too big of spaces in between paragraphs. Make sure that the link text in your articles is right above the fold so people will see it right when they get to the page without having to scroll.



Your sidebar articles are scattered. I see like one review on the side bar, is this the only one you have? If not you need to clearly state in the title that it is a review. Also categorize your side bar. Put exercise articles under an exercise category. Tips in a tips category. Reviews in a Review category. Just makes things more user friendly and easier when browsing through your site.

Good-Luck Buddy keep with it


EDIT: Also want to add that I think you should lose the blue header with the fiery text period. Keep the scale that says "help" - that's good. Maybe just keep it a white header and then add the text in on the header. Then just make the background white. You might also want to change the color of the side bar as well.

Here's a sample website that I found that's simple, clean, easy to read, categorized, and pretty much everything that I advised above. http://www.lookcut.com/

 

[slvrsrfr]

i just want to add some encouragement. i think you are burning yourself out and that's not going to help.

look at this like a marathon rather than a sprint. put things in perspective. maybe back off of it in the mornings and do a couple, three hours at night and weekends. it will come. but you need to keep your perspective. don't let it burn you out.

all the best,

jason

 

[Tom11980]

Thank you very much will do

 

[Tom11980]

I as well knew there was something wrong with the color scheme but this is the part I have real problems with the "Design" I am not very artsy and I struggle with that looks good but I am sure that it will get easier the more site that I build

 

[auscast]

Tom, Sites looking better. Although the text is a little edgy - what program you using to create that?

As for the rest of the site, just adjust the paragraphs, and do the recommended side-bar categories

 

[captain]

Stick in there Tom, the person who said earlier this is a marathon, is 100% correct, yes you want to get things going asap, yes you want out of your job asap, yes you want that first sale. It will all come, but in time, as long as you keep focused and don't burn yourself out.

As soon as you start burning yourself out your mind weakens and one can easily start becoming negative, this is where you have to catch yourself and get back on track.

Took me 2 years before i started making anything worth talking about, and now its 5 years and can happily say its all working rather nicely for me, remember Rome was not built in a day. Its the ones who are trying to build Rome in a day that throw in the towel and say this does not work.

Hope what I said hits home, you will definitely get there with the right attitude!

All the best bud

Morgan

 

[richmannow]

Hey Tom,

I can understand the frustration... but, you musn't let it get to you.
As stated earlier, you need to allow yourself sometime to unwind too.

Have days where you dedicate which tasks you want to acomplish, and tick them off once done. Then have some off days where you can let your mind and body relax. Quite possibly, this is when the most inspiration will come to you.

You can then apply it to your site. You don't need to have any artistic talent whatsoever to put up a site that makes you sales on a consistant basis. Simple is far better than being overally artistic. It's what works!

You mind sharing your site url again... let me see if I can give you some pointers.

Just remember... it's those little changes that can make dramatic effects.

All the best to you,

Cheers,
Shaun

P.S. - Keep believing in yourself and what you can acomplish and hang in there... You can do it Tom!

 

[oliver007]

Hi Tom,

Don't give up, continue working on your site but try to pace yourself more. If you push yourself too hard you will lose your motivation and want to give up.

I'm far from an expert at this but while looking at your site I noticed that the text size on some pages was smaller than on other pages. You might want to make the small text larger to match your other pages. I wish I could be of more help but I'm also struggling to make a sale.

All the best,
Olivier

 

[richmannow]

I agree with Tom and Oliver here... pace yourself.
Now... upon checking out your site, what first struck me was your header... it needs some work!

The subheader in the banner needs to be more specific in terms of benefits of what the visitor to your site will gain upon staying here for more than a few seconds.

Why not try out - "Instantly Begin Shredding that Horrible Belly Fat off within _____ Short Weeks" or " Learn the Guarded-Secrets to Having Chizeled Abs, Sexy and Toned Buns and Long Lean Legs in Just 9.5 Short Weeks" (Not sure if it'll all fit...)

They may not be the best headers, but, I just wanted to give you some examples of what you might want to say instead.

It all depends on your target market. You have to know who your ideal customer is, what his/her needs are, and what problem they're currently experiencing which they will gladly fork out their hard earned money for in order to solve.

You may need to adjust your words according to who you are talking to.
Whether it be male or female. Young or old.

At the same time it needs to be believable, aswell as specific.
Promise them something that will solve their problem.

You must key off emotion whenever possible.
I.E - they might feel imbarassed or ashamed because they are now over weight and losing the weight might just give them a boost in self confidence and make they feel a lot more joyful and alive!

You may also want to briefly go over and proof read your articles to ensure that they read well.

Oh, just something I picked up from your first paragraph...
Why not for a subheader include in it "Lose Weight and Keep it Off Forever". So you'd have something like "Discover How to Easily Burn Off the Ugly (Belly, Man Boobs... whatever) Fat with this Simple Technique and Keep it Off"

Hope this helped.

To your success,

Shaun

 

[Tom11980]

Yes thank you every one very much I will work on all of it thank you again very much I never thought I would get so much help. I just hope I will be able to help some one else in the future like you are all helping me!

 

[richmannow]

Also, keep in mind that the intro paragraph is critical!
It needs to hold their interest long enough to convince them that they're in the right spot.

Why not start off by saying something like... Welcome frustrated (whatever you'd call them...) if you've tried to lose weight in the past and failed miserably... then, you'll be glad you stumbled onto this site.

Because what you'll discover here will teach you the precise steps to.... and so on... (the following needs to be benefits for the reader)

Do you follow what I mean here?

It's called the art of seduction. Really try and pull the reader in and hold their interest throughout the page.

Another thing I would sugguest to you would be to make your subheaders and writing on page slightly larger.

For your call to action... try testing out "Click Here to Start Losing Weight Immediately!"

Try starting your first paragraph with "If you want to lose weight quickly, and keep it off well into the future, then, here's some basic steps/tips that you must follow... etc

I noticed that the text on some of your pages are larger than others as well as in different font styles? Why not try and keep them consistent... like the 'Dr Suzanne' page. That looks about right.... only maybe decrease the size slightly.

Did you realize that you had 'New Weight Loss Tips' as your intro page?
when you goto your homepage it takes you directly to ' Lose Weight Fast'... not sure if you've noticed this?

Anyway, keep at it.

Regards,

Shaun

 

[Tom11980]

Thank you I changed a few of them as you suggested and I will work on it more in the morning but again thank you all so very much you have been of great help like I said I just hope I can help some one else like you all are helping me in the future.

 

[robynm]

Tom
one more thing, Mark started making money on his wow blackbook site around the 6th week. and still building after 6 months.

keep at it, at least wait until the end of the 12 week corse before expecting to much of yourself

have a good weekend and try to enjoy the process
p.s - you better let us know when you get your first sale too.......we'll be watching : )

 

[richmannow]

Hey,

Only happy to help. After all... we're all in this together.
I'd also pay attention to what Robyn has mentioned too.

Enjoy your weekend.

- Shaun

 

[Tom11980]

I will for sure keep every one posted

 

[shawna]

Try getting more links back to your site articles. Try writing articles in ezinearticles, squidoo, etc. (they provide quality traffic, especially ezine). Post the articles to blog sites using AMAutomation if you are a member to get even more links back to your site.

I think i read somewhere before that we should spend like 70-80% of our time on traffic, offsite link building rather than onsite work... although articles, reviews are the core components. But, getting traffic via high ranking or SEO is more important as traffic equates to a higher chance of sale.

This is when the art of seduction comes in to play. We want to get more people to go through that funnel and hopefully based on some conversion rate, the fish will bite the link bait.

 

[slvrsrfr]

i think it is worth re-reading mark's mindset post.

this is what it is all about. and if i can offer one of my favorite quotes:

“Nothing in this world can take the place of persistence. Talent will not; nothing is more common than unsuccessful people with talent. Genius will not; unrewarded genius is almost a proverb. Education will not; the world is full of educated derelicts. Persistence and determination alone are omnipotent. The slogan "press on" has solved and always will solve the problems of the human race” - calvin coolidge

a trick i use to stay focused is this: i don't check my clickbank account. after the first week i've stopped checking. i found not seeing any sales just started to demoralize me.

i won't check until i'm done the 12 weeks. in the meantime maybe i'll get a check in the mail or maybe not. doesn't matter, it just allows me to keep focused on the task at hand.

all the best,

jason

 

[Tom11980]

yeah very true

 

[depthdefy]

Yeah, I don't check clickbank for sales but I do use Traffic Travis daily to see my search ranking for my keywords. I don't do it out of any kind of impatience (well maybe just a little bit) but mainly to kind of figure out a baisc timeframe of when you can start seeing a ranking appear.

 

[Tom11980]

This is my new site that I am working on and I think it is much much better. I know that I need to do more work on the other one but I thought about this niche and could not help myself let me know what you think? http://getridofmyzits.com and I think the name is much better all the way around I really like the way it looks. I have also found much better keywords.

 

[Tom11980]

oh yeah I am sure you all know but I found an awsome plugin for wordpress so that people bookmark and share my website much better. It is Add to Any: Share/Bookmark/Email Button hope this helps

 

[Tom11980]

Let me know what you guys think that add to any is awsome I love it. It lets any one share your website.

 

[slvrsrfr]

hey tom,

thanks for that wordpress plug-in, looks good.

i like your site, it is laid out well and is aesthetically pleasing. if i can just offer my 2 pennies.

i would rather find a pic of someone with a great complexion. in my mind, that is the promise you are selling. the guy with the big zit is a little gross. i'd also just leave the header to on pic, and get rid of the image on the right...maybe put a pic of a nice face on the right instead.

just my thoughts. otherwise looks great,

hope this helps,

jason

 

[Tom11980]

I catogerized my site does that look better it took a little while I took some time off to rest but back at it again. I do not really like my catigories but they will work for now.

 

[daria19]

Looks great Tom. Keep it up!

 

[vince974]

Hi Tom,

I'm a newbee to Affilo Blueprint and I'm still struggling with organizing my keywords into topics. I'm very impressed by your website up and running in just 5 weeks instead of 12! Bravo. Technically you still have 7 weeks to optimize it ;-)

What I can think of at the moment is traffic. How many visits do you have daily?

You might want to have a look at the traffic side and see if people come to your site. If you have traffic but no conversion then you would need to see why those visits do not convert. You might want to watch video 4 week 1 again where Mark explains why we need very targeted traffic. My understanding is in this "industry" the conversion rate is around 1%. There are tools out there that would help you know which keywords convert and which ones don't so you can optimize the ones that works and get rid of the ones that bring non-targeted traffic to your site.

As other members have said, this is going to be a marathon. You need to keep up with the distance. I tell myself that every day too ;-) I'm so impatient to see my site online that I'm attempted everyday to skip some steps which will cost me more later I'm pretty sure. So I stick to the plan and do it by the book.

Don't burn yourself out. Let the site mature. Take some distance from it to think what can be done to improve it and get back to it with your new ideas. I believe Mark said in one of the videos we need to work on the first site until it brings in $200 in profit per week before building another one. Starting another site now you might be repeating same mistakes, let's say beginners' mistakes, in the second site.

All the best. Please let us know when the first sale pops up!

Vince

 

[rmacias]

This is my new site that I am working on and I think it is much much better. I know that I need to do more work on the other one but I thought about this niche and could not help myself let me know what you think? http://getridofmyzits.com and I think the name is much better all the way around I really like the way it looks. I have also found much better keywords.

Hey Tom -
Great job on your site! I hope you do well with it!

That pic of zit-man is disgusting...but if I were looking for a cure for this problem, it might help to see that I wasn't alone...lol.

Good luck!

 

[Tom11980]

a little up date I now am getting 12 to 18 clicks on my links now instead of 7 to 8 not sure why it has gone up but good all the same. No sales yet though but I think I am getting closer

 

[slvrsrfr]

you are getting closer...can you smell that huh? that's the smell of crisp, green benjamins!!

please let us know when you get your first sale,

good luck,

jason

 

[Tom11980]

will do

 

[Tom11980]

I have found an awesome tool for key words I might have been the last one in the world to find it but any ways any one use google insight and what do you think of it? If you have not used it yet check it out I think it is awsome

 

[slvrsrfr]

yeah, that's a very neat tool. haven't used it a lot...i keep forgetting. but i should bookmark it somewhere convenient.

thanks for the reminder,

jason

 

[Tom11980]

yep

 

[Tom11980]

I have 120 clicks on my affiliate links in the past seven days and no sales is that nomal?

 

[Tom11980]

No Sales yet :( bummed

 

[kitejunkiee]

Tom, I think you should consider changing your header - that guy squeezing the pimple is terrible! Also need more articles, you only have 5?

 

[Tom11980]

yeah thats my new site so I just started putting content in it. Yeah thats the second time some one has told me that about the header I will change it in the morning. I have a lot more content in weight-magic.com that is the first one I built

 

[Tom11980]

well some more update's on what going on. Still no sales kinda of hit a low spot as far as traffic is going I am guessing I will have to just submit some more articles. I have been busy worked all weekend so did not have much time to work on my site. Hows every one else?

 

[fthomas137]

Tom, use your first couple of sites as sites to 'cut your teeth on'. Rome wasn't built in a day, and you'll not see any clear results for some time. A common was posted some time back about Mark's world of warcraft site getting the first sale after 6 weeks. Remember that Mark has built many of these sites and is the 'master'. And he took 6 weeks.

To date, I've built well over 250 websites and learnt a ton. I've just started working with the methods taught by Mark, but he has a lot of sound advice. Keep making sites. Some will be winners, others will be dogs. Also, I have noticed that you are trying to build sites for some of the most competitive niches out there. The top four are, weight-loss, acne, credit whatever, and internet marketing, lol!

Take a look at what you enjoy and find the niches there! That way too, your sites won't feel so much like a grind. Mark does mention this right at the beginning. If it's the money that motivates you in the beginning, then you will not stick out this ride.

Are you an outside kinda guy? Do you like camping? Do you like fishing? Do you like playing scrabble? These micro-niches can be exceptionally profitable.

Frank

 

[slvrsrfr]

great inspiring words frank. thanks again. if i could pick your brain for a sec, have all of your 250 sites made at least some money?

and as a resource, what are some other courses/options to look at when we get to making affiliate sites that don't have clickbank products associated to them. i'm thinking like the camping site you mentioned above...how do we set those up and find the affiliate products to sell?

thanks for all your help. this is my first site i'm doing so i'm very new to this. but i'm amazed that you have over 250 up...how long has it taken you to get to that place?

jason

 

[fthomas137]

I'm going to answer quick, quick as to not hijack this thread. Have all my 250 sites made money? No. Have some of them done ok? Yes. Can I survive on my marketing efforts yet? No.

Ok, I really like wordpress. I really like Mark's feelings on clickbank. It's easy to make money when one sale makes at least $17. On many affiliate websites, the profits are usually cents to maybe $20 at best. You are working hard sometimes for peanuts.

I would personally recommend nailing down at least 15-20 sites using Mark's method before venturing further. Many things will 'click' if you do that.

And how long for 250? I've been creating sites since last July. I do this full-time, so I'm in it 100%. I do run a small IT company on the slide and it does pay most of the bills at the moment.

I would recommend really studying Mark's material, as Mark doesn't even realize the amount of gems he presents unless you've encountered the situation before. Keep working hard, and I am always available if you want to PM me with questions offline.

Frank

 

[Tom11980]

Thanks for the help fthomas137, I am going for this not just for the money but for a future. I can stand working at this for a while and not make money but, It would be nice to make a couple of sales so that I could subsidize some of the expenses. I am willing to invest it just keeps me and my family strapped is all. A sale here and there would help a lot. They just cut my whole shop I worked at to only 35 hours a week and laid off 30 people I do not know when or if I will be next so you know a little ray of light would help. But thank you very much lots of help. .

I just want to stop and thank every one for the support and help this is the best program around and the people are great thanks every one very very much

 

[fthomas137]

Hey Tom, I do hear you. Reality and future always seem to be in conflict. Don't give up mate! You and I WILL be drinking a cold one on the beaches of the Caribean while the family has a quick swim!

Frank

 

[tnm1234567]

Tom, don't get discouraged please! you can do it! i think above all this one thing will help you: you really do need at least 15 articles. you dont have enough articles to be viewed as a "expert". i'm not trying to be critical. i truly truly wnat to one day meet you at some seminar in vegas, shake your hand and say, remember when we were struggling newbies?

you WILL make it if you follow affilobluprint. if you make 2 sites each without the number of articles mark recommends which is 30, then you are going to burn yourself out. just focus on getting 1 for now i suggest. im only in one niche and it is taking a LOT of effort. if you read one of my other postings, im soooo burned out and tired that i snapped at some poor bloke who was just trying to help me!!! omg.... im so embarrassed and boy do i regret that very weak human moment... and i cant even delete it.

dont get to that point. just follow affiloblueprint. you are breaking away from the plan. take 1 site all the way through the 12 weeks and your site will make money. but dont do so much that you burn out and give up.

i would be sad. because when i picture meeting you at the convention in vegas, i picture you buying me the beer! ;-P

focus on 1 site and take it all the way through the blueprint. i am a living testimonial. i do EXACTLY as Mark lays out. i dont create new sites without mastering the blueprint./

you can do it!!!!

go get im!!! i know you can!!!!

 

[tnm1234567]

and if you struggle with content, getting the 111,107 articles for $1 is a no brainer.

 

[fthomas137]

Just a heads up, your suggestion tnm is ok, but you have to remember to completely rewrite the content of the plr articles. I've tried extensively to use plr to light up sites (about 127 of them - about 2,700 pages posted in all), and I can tell you that it really doesn't work at all.

But PLR is great information when formulaing your own original content.

Frank

 

[tnm1234567]

ah yes... thank you for point that out Frank. sometimes i forget to mention that. you have to reword or get a duplicate content penalty

 

[Tom11980]

Thanks guys will do. The only reason I started the second one is because I had better keywords and less compitition. I thought weight loss would be to hard for the first time.

 

[Tom11980]

Thank you all I mean it! You all are a lot of help and I will relax a little and just do as much as I can and leave the rest for the next day. There will always be a tomarrow. Thanks

 

[fthomas137]

Ha, if it's any anything Tom, I think your thread topic has struck a chord. We all feel that one time or another! Just one sale, please!

Frank

 

[Tom11980]

lol I am sure every one hit this fork in the road and I bet this is usually the deciding point at which most people either quit or make it work for them. I do not know about other people but I have not quit in any other part of my life and I do not intend to quit here.

 

[JasonDodd]

absolutely ... it can feel like you're climbing a mountain sometimes, but its often been said that we learn more from our failures (or lack of success) because it teaches us what to tweak.

youll find as you sharpen your aff marketing skills little by little youll be conquering those mountain peaks one after another :)

 

[Tom11980]

awsome advice, I hope so, No I know so! I will make this work just some good old fashion hard work. I grew up on a ranch and I am now a pipe welder so I have had my share of hard work just most people do not realise that if you want to succeed in ANYTHING it takes hard work and a lot of it. Just wining, I learn fairly quickly in fact it makes my wife mad that I am always picking up things before her I just thought I would catch on to this a little faster but no biggy just back to the grind stone.

 

[Tom11980]

I really like the way they updated the new clickbank the reporting is much smoother I think anyways

 

[Tom11980]

A little update the traffic is back up and my click to the affiliate sites are back up, and I am inching my way a little bit higher on my rankings. On any good keywords I am sitting at about 73 to 85 not high enough but not bad I do not think for what five weeks now. I have a lot of #1 rankings but the keywords see very little to no traffic

 

[fthomas137]

Tom, can you taste that ice cold beer and smell the sea salt? ;)

Frank

 

[Tom11980]

Yep sure can

Cheers.

 

[sean06]

Tom, just keep it up. There have been loads of times I felt like giving up, but it's worth it if you keep moving forward and learning. This process will never end, only the ups and downs will increase in amplitude :)

Sean

 

[JasonDodd]

just one thing i would probably add is that i think its really important during this phase (esp while youre still doing your day job) to get enough sleep. its really tempting to burn the candle (trust me ive done my fair share of long nights - and pay for it for the next few days!) when you feel like youve got lots to do, but it can be short sighted ... and you end up getting grumpy, your brain stops working etc, and thats not a great frame of mind to build a killer affiliate site!

 

[Chris4IM]

Just like what the others have said Tom just don't give up and don't work too hard because you will be left feeling shattered and lose concentration. For instance i have just realized that i have made a mistake in my affiliate website and i have to do some major tweaking to my ads and site. I would have just stayed up all night to solve the problem but it's always better to get some rest and sort it out the next feeling focused and refreshed. Probably it was me working late at night that caused the mistake in the first place ;)

Chris

 

[dewey]

I hate to make this thread stretch to eternity, but I have to say I agree. I totally got burnt on my first site, working hours and hours and hours...into the night I toiled, and nerry a dollar I had to show for it. I must have worked 6 or 7 hours a day after my "real" job, and on weekends, just on that site, for months. I still don't have any cash for it, but I've got a little bit of a better idea of what to do with the next one. I'm hoping that eventually, I'll make enough distinctions to actually make some $$$, but it can be a long road.

I'm not sure how these ultra-marketer guys who report they make $25,000 in a week do it. It seems most of the money in IM comes from doing product launches. The super-marketers get all their friends together to help them announce a new product in a massive coordinated strike. I was looking at Alexa rankings the other day, and noticed an internet marketer was at #2 for the whole web...yes...the whole web. It was some kind of a "make easy money with Google" product. I wondered what kind of coordination and timing it must have taken to hit that high of a level of traffic in such a short time, how much it cost, and what the profit was.

I'm getting the feeling what we're doing is kind of small potatoes as far as profits go. (Hence why Mark suggests making a bunch of sites that all make relatively little). Still, I'm glad to have done it and at least gotten my feet wet so at least whatever happens, I will know I gave it my all before I said it works or it doesn't. If it does work, at least it's something you can keep doing to add to your profits, and those profits are mostly residual, which is cool. The only question is how long does it take to get to those profits? I'll tell you...I don't know.

Still, let everyone know how things are going! And don't burnt out. It's a lot to learn at first. You'll eventually make your first sale, and it will be awesome.

-Josh

 

[Tom11980]

very true, I am already getting better Ideas for sites down the road but for rightbnow I want to make one sale so that I can move on to much better niches. Even if it was just a couple bucks its more than I have right now so every penny counts. I know I will get it it's just a matter of time. Never give up NEVER

 

[Avidpoet]

I hate to make this thread stretch to eternity, but I have to say I agree. I totally got burnt on my first site, working hours and hours and hours...into the night I toiled, and nerry a dollar I had to show for it. I must have worked 6 or 7 hours a day after my "real" job, and on weekends, just on that site, for months. I still don't have any cash for it, but I've got a little bit of a better idea of what to do with the next one. I'm hoping that eventually, I'll make enough distinctions to actually make some $$$, but it can be a long road.

I'm not sure how these ultra-marketer guys who report they make $25,000 in a week do it. It seems most of the money in IM comes from doing product launches. The super-marketers get all their friends together to help them announce a new product in a massive coordinated strike. I was looking at Alexa rankings the other day, and noticed an internet marketer was at #2 for the whole web...yes...the whole web. It was some kind of a "make easy money with Google" product. I wondered what kind of coordination and timing it must have taken to hit that high of a level of traffic in such a short time, how much it cost, and what the profit was.

I'm getting the feeling what we're doing is kind of small potatoes as far as profits go. (Hence why Mark suggests making a bunch of sites that all make relatively little). Still, I'm glad to have done it and at least gotten my feet wet so at least whatever happens, I will know I gave it my all before I said it works or it doesn't. If it does work, at least it's something you can keep doing to add to your profits, and those profits are mostly residual, which is cool. The only question is how long does it take to get to those profits? I'll tell you...I don't know.

Still, let everyone know how things are going! And don't burnt out. It's a lot to learn at first. You'll eventually make your first sale, and it will be awesome.

-Josh

Well I can tell you one major secret that they have been talking about the last year is Outsourcing. Some of them guys have the team that will do the dirty work for them like link building, building mini-nets, content creation etc etc but it takes money to make money it takes money to hire outsourcers.

Getting a site up and running to the point its making a profit is the key and its dam hard Im struggling with it myself but no pain no gain.

 

[Joyce583]

I'm outsourcing the article writing, but I always do a big edit job of what I receive. I'm getting into a good routine though and using ppc, while I had some stressful times at first, has been very helpful for me. I'm making a good few sales a day now and am making about 60% profit consistently. I'm so glad I found this.

 

[Tom11980]

Very true, outsourcing will save tons and tons of time and I will be doing it. But first I want to make it work myself, I want to know every nut and bolt inside and out, down to every last period and comma. When I can make it work and make money all myself then I will then be outsourcing. I think it is very important to know all the basics and componants that make a profitable site first.

 

[wosull]

Me as well, I have worked every night for weeks on end after my day job trying for just that one sale. It is not easy to continue doing something and not gain anything. I am even doubting the niche I have chosen. However as they say "it will come". Hopefully sooner than later though before we all go nuts :) Good luck to us all.

 

[Avidpoet]

I'm outsourcing the article writing, but I always do a big edit job of what I receive. I'm getting into a good routine though and using ppc, while I had some stressful times at first, has been very helpful for me. I'm making a good few sales a day now and am making about 60% profit consistently. I'm so glad I found this.

With PPC did you create a landing page or did you send the traffic straight to your money pages

 

[Tom11980]

I made a landing page I get a good click through rate to my affiliate site but I just can't afford the amount of people that I really need to reach to make a sale. I will in time though.

 

[Tom11980]

I added more content to http://getridofmyzits.com and changed the header I had a lot of complaints about the old header does it look better?

 

[Francesc]

If you need help with the header just tell me, this is mine:
http://www.skinproblemscentral.com/wp-c ... header.jpg

 

[Tom11980]

wow that is very nice. That looks great! I really am not that good a graphic design I am getting a little better I just need help to being more creative. I am sure I will get better in time. Every thing takes time time and more time lol.

 

[Tom11980]

I would like to have a header that is active but I think that it might take away from my body of the site

 

[Francesc]

I was working on something for your site, what do you think?:

http://img189.imageshack.us/img189/9738/ocologo.jpg

It would look like this:

http://img198.imageshack.us/img198/7136/screenjaa.jpg

 

[Tom11980]

Yes!! That looks great thank you so much. I really hope I can get this down like you. How did you get so good?

 

[Tom11980]

I guess everyone can do it but not me I am sure I will in time but thank you very much

 

[Tom11980]

I just can not see it in my head I need to get the creative juices flowing but how? It really does look awesome thank you!!

 

[Francesc]

Yes!! That looks great thank you so much. I really hope I can get this down like you. How did you get so good?

Well, I'm not that good :p but I been using Photoshop since I was like 13 (6 years ago).

BTW, why don't you change the sidebar color? it's looks too white you can try a skin color.
Glad to help.

 

[Tom11980]

yeah thats a good Idea. I can do that. I can see that if you have been using it that long. Just like I have been welding pipe for 13 years now and I think it is plum simple but most people do not think it is.

 

[traeth]

Just my female, personal opinion, I don't like the green or the pink used on Francec's site, but if you are going to go with the green I would use a lighter sidebar color in the green shade family, I think in Paint.net and I am sure everywhere else there is a something like D8FCFF (I just played around in paint.net) so not sure exactly how it would work. But just my opinon. You guys are doing well with your sites and it does my heart good to see all the sharing going on in this forum.

 

[Francesc]

I don't use green on my site :p
If your site it's about skin it must have some light colors that reminds skin. It's all about color psychology I learned that in graphic design (like the only thing I learned before I dropped out of college (I'm going to advertisement next year)

 

[Tom11980]

yes this is by far the best forum that I have ever belonged to. I would love to go back to college hopefully this program will give me more time and money to do just that.

 

[traeth]

I know Francesc you use the pink. Just going by the Tracy thought of if I get a mix of complementary colors I tend to stay, if the colors distract I go.

 

[Tom11980]

huh I did not even know people noticed that I just usualy leave if I can not navigate the website very well it makes me mad when they say they have something then I have to spend like 10 mins trying to find it grrr

 

[Tom11980]

Just a quick update I am still getting about 80 visitors a day and getting about 12-18 of those going to my affiliate site but still no sales. Getting more content into the other site and starting to rank for the keywords that I want not good ranks but around 17 to 23 but thats not a bad start for just getting that site up. I hope all is going good for everyone else

Cheers!!

 

[jacksonlin]

Got any sales yet?

 

[kurt.tully]

Have you got your first sale yet? How are things going with your site?

 

[elogic0007]

Hey Tom11980, how are the sites going, hopefully you have had some success in terms of sales, i did check out the weight loss site and all the sidebar links dont work, they throw out 404 errors like page not found, let me know if i can help you with some ideas on traffic etc, but by now i am prying that you will make your first sale within the next 7 days..
all the best look forward to your next post ..

 

[essexboyracer]

I dont want to hijack this thread, but I made my first sale this week after about 2 months, only £3.50 commission, you gotta start somewhere...!

I think the sale came from a visitor who found my site through a specific long tail search, landed on a product page, but then clicked through a banner for a different merchant advertised on the site and made a transaction that way.