Coaching or Course

[mksmith]

I've been studying internet marketing for a while now, but for some reason I can never get anything to work out just right. I've tried PPC and articles mostly, but i just ended up wasting time and lots of money. If anyone is available to mentor me or show me to a course that'd be great. I work better with a step by step guide rather than putting puzzle pieces together. I'm not looking to make millions - just some extra money to put aside for emergencies or my sons college fund. I live paycheck to paycheck so my start up money isn't very high.

[kellymccausey]

What is it that you're working on? Have you chosen a target market?

I'd like to recommend something to you, but I think it'd be helpful to know what it is that you're trying to do first.

[mksmith]

Hello Kelly! Thanks for the reply.

I think the first time I tried IM I got a little carried away without knowing what I was doing fully. I lost a lot of money that way. This time I'm going to try a more slow approach. I'll throw a blog on wordpress.com and try some articles to EZA linking back to it. I have an overall idea of what I'm going to do it on. It's not in the diet, money or love niches, so I don't know how popular overall it will be. It's something that I enjoy learning about and doing myself so that should help.

I'm a little worried about setting up a website without having my ducks in a row first.

[wtaylorhi]

You can definitely spend a lot of money trying to figure things out. I learned all about affiliate marketing with Maverick Money Makers Coaching by Mack Michaels. His course is in the top 10 on Clickbank. The training was excellent! Send me a private message and I will give you the website link.

[AllanJames]

Originally Posted by mksmith

Hello Kelly! Thanks for the reply.

I think the first time I tried IM I got a little carried away without knowing what I was doing fully. I lost a lot of money that way. This time I'm going to try a more slow approach. I'll throw a blog on wordpress.com and try some articles to EZA linking back to it. I have an overall idea of what I'm going to do it on. It's not in the diet, money or love niches, so I don't know how popular overall it will be. It's something that I enjoy learning about and doing myself so that should help.

I'm a little worried about setting up a website without having my ducks in a row first.

Sorry to hear you lost a lot of money - but you're not alone <grin>. Put it down mentally as useful education.

You obviously have a niche in mind, and don't want to expose it :-), which make sense of course.

My question is - do you know know to do keyword research, and to gauge competition properly? Else you may end up like I did a couple of years ago. With a great idea, but in the end low traffic, hence low sales.

I assume you are in it to make money? :-)

[mksmith]

I'm not a keyword pro. There's too many ideas being thrown around to know which one is right, but I think I have an idea what to do. I think that part is going to have to be trial and error.

So far I've mapped out my site, gathered some keywords for each page, started gathering information for content, and I'm studying some photoshop. That last one is probably just me procrastinating, and I probably am, but I figured it's better to be able to make your own way then to have to pay people for it.

As for the money part.. Money makes the world turn. That part can't be helped. Personally I could care less as long as I enjoy what I'm doing, but seeing as I have a child to take care of, that might be frowned upon. So I might as well sell, sell, sell. Just nothing unethical.

[AllanJames]

Hey, it sounds to me like you're on the right path - you know why you're starting your blog, got a bit of a feel of keyword research and, in my mind, a bloody good attitude. I think you'll do well.

I would suggest that if / as soon as you can afford it, you go to using a self hosted wordpress blog - rather than using wordpress.com -, and if you find yourself stalled or not progressing as you would wish, there are a couple of great, and inexpensive, courses out there that are a great investment.

Also - stop playing around with Photoshop, you don't need it and your time would be better spent learning how to rank high in the search engines so as to get a lot of free traffic, - how to do quality back linking.

[Laura B]

Yes, you will probably need to go to wordpress.org instead - wordpress.com does not allow affiliate links, so if that's your goal, it won't be of much use to you.

You're right about keywords - a lot of it is trial and error. Over time you'll get better at recognizing what makes a keyword valuable or not.

[kyle742]

I think for the first timers in this business, I think we have to slow down a bit and not easily risk money because there are lots of scams out there. Be wise in our investments and this really takes hard work and patience before we see the output of what we have worked hard for.

[LilBlackDress]

It is best to use your own website if possible. You are building a business and you want to be in control
It runs under $10 to get a domain name with privacy. Web hosting prices vary but most places will allow you to pay by the month.

To start, evaluate your niche choice. If there is competition and others going for it....you may have a winner. If no one is going for it, then most likely it is not a profitable area. If it is ultra competitive like weight loss etc. be prepared to really put in time and to find your own "segment" of the market.

Decide the type of format you want. Do you want to profit from adsense? affiliate marketing? What is your business model?

Then purchase or get for free a step by step one time payment blueprint. There are a few I would recommend depending on your goals. A good blue print will teach you how to select the right keywords, effectively drive traffic, select products and more. This will save you hours of time trying to figure it out yourself.

Understanding keywords and keyword selection is essential. If you are unclear you must study the process or you will most likely be wasting your time. Having the right keywords can make or break your online business.

The basics are....(not in this order)

1. Select your niche
2. Find keywords that you can compete with
3. Select products that offer consumer value that you feel good representing
4. Set up your website
5. Write posts using your keyword phrases for your website
6. Drive traffic to your site using some or all of the methods mentioned below and more.
~ a. article marketing
~ b. blog posting
~ c. forum posting
~ d. setting up web2.0 properties that link to your site
~ e. submit your site to quality directories
~ f. submit your sites RSS feeds
~ g. bookmark your posts/articles etc.
~ h. use social media like facebook, twitter etc.
~ i. consider making podcasts, videos, ebooks etc.
7. Look at your competitions backlinks and evaluate how you can improve yours
8. Continue to drive traffic to your site
9. Rinse and repeat with more sites as desired


If you would like more ideas, check the affiliate marketing section in my Work at Home Money site (link in signature).

Hope this helps!