Well, this post is going to be way, way off of my normal topic. Actually it is not that far from my normal topic at hand. Today I wanted to thank each and every visitor I have had over the past year. I started this website with one thing on my mind. That was to help others and commit myself to one year of working on the website itself. As of about two weeks ago the website has officially turned one year old. I had a lot of trials and tribulations during that time. Some major changes in my life. I have so much to do but I stuck with it to see where it would go and what could happen.
Don’t worry, just because I reached my one year does not mean I am going to stop the blog. I love it. As many of you know I am extremely busy. I manage a language school, teach at least 40 hours a week at the school, run a pizza restaurant, and run more than just this blog.
Did it Work?
The question everyone wants to know is how much money if any I have made. I wont directly answer that but I will say I did make money. I have managed to grow the site from zero visitors a month to over 11000 targeted organic visitors a month. My sales in all areas have grown as well. So yes it was a success. I reached my monetary goals for my first year. I even had some months that seemed to slow down but the overall picture is things continued to grow as my monthly visitors did.
I did not reach my goal of the amount of posts I wanted to do within a year. I just ran out of time. That being said I still have lots of information to share and that I will be sharing to continue to grow the monthly visitors. So I will continue to do so.
I find the website as a place to escape from my crazy day. For example part of this post was written 10 minutes before I taught a class. No I am not saying a wrote the entire thing during that period. Actually probably only a paragraph or two. Of course I had to edit it at a later time. But it let me clear my mind and made me feel better to get something else accomplished during the day.
Things I Learned
The most important thing is family and life. Don’t forget to live. That does not mean you cant have a successful blog. Take some scheduled time to write each day. It doesn’t need to be stellar. Just as long as it is from the heart. Talk with your readers like you would a friend. They can then relate to you better.
My point in saying that is it is better to publish something that is comfortable to read and shows you as a human than it is to wait until it is perfect. Don’t stress about the little things. Google will change, Facebook will change, even Paypal will change. So what? You cant change it so don’t fight it. No point in worrying about those things that are out of your control. Instead focus on the things you can change.
Focus on sticking to your schedule. While you are doing that celebrate your little victories. The little victories get you very far to reaching your goals. Think of it as a cumulative effect. Every single thing you do on your website builds on the foundation you laid out. These, over time, compound and eventually grow.
Nothing good every happens quickly in business. That goes for any kind of business. I have run several businesses in my lifetime including publicly traded ones; and one thing holds true. If something happens fast it is generally not a good thing. It takes time to develop a business and to let it mature.
The greatest thing about an online business is it doesn’t cost that much to get started. A brick and mortar company can take hundreds of thousands of dollars to get started let alone run. An online business doesn’t take much money to get started. You can really do it for under $200 a year. No brick and mortar business can say that.
Keyword Research and Competition Analysis
Some other important aspects to look at when building an online business is Keyword Research and Competition Analysis. Without doing them properly you could have a hard time getting any targeted traffic to your site. If the traffic is targeted then you have a better chance of making money. I personally use Moz and Jaaxy to do my keyword research and competition analysis. I find the combination of the two works great together.
Which Niche?
First lets say a niche is a market segment. You really need to narrow it down when you talk about a niche. The more specific the niche the more targeted your blog can be. Don’t make the mistake by using the shotgun approach. You will become frustrated by ending up with little or no sales. I would rather have 1000 targeted visitors then 10, 000 visitors that are not targeted. You will have a much higher conversion rate for your sales and people will come back for more.
It takes a little while before you really grasp this concept when you are first starting. That being said I hope you can understand this. I actually fell into this trap on some of my previous websites. I would get traffic but almost no sales. Instead focus on your audience and what they want, what they need, and help them get those things.
“You can have everything in life you want, if you will just help enough other people get what they want”
Zig Zigler
As silly as this sounds, “Dont worry about the money.” The more you worry about the money the less connected with your intended audience you will be. The less connected you are with them the less money will come in. Instead focus on your audience and give them what they want. As their trust grows with you so too will your sales. No one likes the sleazy car sales man (nothing against car sales men, but you know the ones I mean). Why? He is after the money and only the money. You can’t fake sincerity. If you truly want to help people and help them, the money will come.
Okay now back to the point. Pick a niche that excites you. Something you are passionate about. You don’t have to be an expert now. Maybe you just want to learn more about the topic. Remember though you should be able to write about it for at least 10 months. The more passionate you are about the niche the better the chances you have of succeeding in it. You don’t want to be tied to something that does not excite you. It will show in your writing and it will affect your audience.
Please remember not to overthink it. Do some brainstorming. Write ideas down throughout the day. Then do some quick research on them. After that then you can actually jump right in.
Do it
Just do it as the old Nike saying goes. You are the only one that can and will. Excuses like “I don’t have time”, and “I wanted to but”, are inexcusable. I mentioned above how busy I am, yet I still find the time. Why, because I believe in myself and what I am doing. Also as I mentioned I find is as a break from my busy schedule.
Questions
If you have questions ask them. Few people have the wear with all to do something all on their own without asking questions. As the old saying goes, “the only stupid question is the one not asked”. Where can you find your answer. UMMMM ME! I will be happy to help you out.
I personally love the community at Wealthy Affiliate, which is my number one recommendation. I am an active member. Just about every member on the program is happy to help. After all we all want the same thing and that is to succeed. So we help each other do it.
You can read my full review of Wealthy Affiliate (WA) here. You can see all of my recommendations here. Just remember that it takes time to build a successful online business. The good news is I am willing to help you any way I can.
As always if you have any questions, comments, or your own personal experiences please leave them below.
Disclaimer:
When you buy something from this website, I may receive an affiliate commission. These are my opinions and are not representative of the companies that create these products. My reviews are based on my personal own experience and research. I never recommend poor quality products, or create false reviews to make sales. It is my intention to explain products so you can make an informed decision on which ones suit your needs best.