Forum Moderators: skibum
Aint gonna happen. You got to do the legwork.
If you really don't want to spend, focus on Google for your traffic, which probably means including a reciprocal link programme in your site to get listed and pick up your PR. There’s a wealth of info on how to crack Google in the Google News forum here.
You can get a domain name for under $10. You can get hosting for the same per month, or even free if you look around for the less banner-ridden sites.
But when it comes down to what you build, and how you build it… that’s got to be up to you.
Or maybe I’ve missed something with your question?
Recently I realized the only way to make it happen is to make something. So I'm just building a couple of websites with a few small ideas that I have as a means to begin creating the causes for a more successful business in the future. Many people have advised me to just start, and I realized it was time to start thinking about it and waiting for the perfect time and the perfect idea and to just do something, anything, to get the ball rolling.
Good luck.
Get yourself lots of links- lots and lots
choose a popular keyword and optimise your site
Job done
Okay, for starters build a website and put lots of content in it for the subject of your choice. do the SEO work yourself....there are too many helpful boards, this and others, that almost teachs you how, no excuses.
Then plan on losing a lot of sleep while you dream up a good product to sell that involves your interest.
For instance: If you are mad about fishing then put all the good stuff you know on your website and then sell the worlds greatest fishing supplies. Key here is to stick to something you know about or wind up becoming an affiliate making other people rich.
If not an affilite site submit your url to DMOZ directory, then spend a few all nighters finding every free search engine and directory out there to submit to, stay away from the pay to submit to a gadzillion SE's for $xx.xx, there arn't that many!
Do a search and find all the higher up sites in your category and hit them up for link exchange....stay away from any automated link pages...just pass on them. Vist Forums and put your link in your profile as that helps the SE's pick you up and counts as a link to you.
Worked for me and it has worked for many others...BUT it is WORK, that old four letter word that seems to bugger all of us throughout life!
Maybe others can enlarge on this?
Good Luck,
Ann
When you make an affiliate site, use affiliate links like you would salt: don't use too much or that's all you taste.
Who cares if the site is "crappy"? SOMEBODY wants to read "crappy" content. It's going to be 6 months to a year before you start seeing gains anyways. I started 7 months ago, and I now make 1-2 sales a day, resulting in $30/month, though I'm half-assing it so-to-speak. :) (Between two sites, I have only 80 pages of unique content. I have a third site I just put up, though it's not bringing in much money.)
Also, DMOZ will take an affiliate site if there's a bunch of unique content. My fourth site won't get in.
Get in Dmoz, for sure.
But the best advice is to start hanging around here and doing a lot of reading!
first make a site with some 30 pages of good content in it
submit to DMOZ and wait until it is accepted
now add affiliate stuff and grow your site
My experience is that once you're in DMOZ they won't punish you for being an affiliate, as long as you have good content and the content/sales stuff ratio is decent (meaning you have more content than pure sales stuff).
What puzzles me, though, is how are you going to set up a domain without ANY money? Your budget is zero, and a domain costs at least some money, or have I been ripped off :)?
I have a site that is "succeeding" in my terms. When i began the site i felt if it attracted 50 or 60 visitors a month i would be happy. Currently i am getting about 2400 visitors a month providing about 5500 page hits. 35% of my users are return visitors (via bookmarks), 35% are coming from Google and the rest are coming from links and other search engines. i feel REAL good about this spread. (don't know if it is good or not, but makes me feel good.)
i have obviously attracted a niche group of users and am ranking will in search results with Google.
At what point does a web operator who has nothing to "sell" (ie. no mechandise, per se) have a sufficient base to make his site generate some income? How does one do this?
The concept of selling sweaters or footballs over the Internet is obvious. But what if you don't have any specific merchandise for sale? Can this site generate money in some way? i have searched high and low in computer book stores for books about this subject and there are none. Any of the books i've found for sale on the internet about this sort of marketing sound too "greasy" for my taste.
I welcome any advice about:
•how much traffic needs to be generated before thinking commercially
•how one "turns the corner" towards SOME income production without merchanidise
•recommendations of books or resources you have personally found valuable
Thanks for highlighting Bretts article, that's a keeper. I just printed it off so there is no way I will lose it.
As to the last post, look at what Brett has done here. It is so valuable that people will donate money to have full access. Be creative. What would you pay for if you were in your users shoes? Pay for instant access to information versus everyone else gets delayed access, ....., subscibe to notification e-mail that there is new content?
Without knowing what your topic is it is hard to devise ideas.
Thanks again weisinator.
Cheers,
Shane
Snowfox121:
I wouldn't worry about traffic before commerce. If you want to add affiliate content and such to a site, it can't hurt. Like I said, just treat it like you would salt on your baked potato.
I produce income without merchandise, I just advertise for others through affiliate marketing. I don't make much, but I'm testing the waters right now, so to speak. (I have a potential money-maker right now, since nobody else is doing it. I have to get it done!)
WebmasterWorld is probably the best resource for site building that I have found. There's several other forums for affiliate marketing, but URL dropping is against the TOS.
Lets see now, oh yeah, someone here also said I should put myself in my costumers shoes, and ask myself what I would pay for to get access to. Well, I can't really do that, because I don't pay for information online, I don't care how much I need it. I never have and never will, and I really feel very strong about that, so I can't really put myself in there shoes :( . I can really only guess at what people would pay for. Ok, well thanks for the help everyone, I really appreciate it, I'm gonna start working on my website in a day or two! Also if anyone here knows of a good free Webserver that I can use untill I can afford to pay for one, then please let me know! Thanks again!
That is what i used to do when i started.
someone here also said I should put myself in my costumers shoes, and ask myself what I would pay for to get access to. Well, I can't really do that, because I don't pay for information online, I don't care how much I need it.
...and most of the online world is exactly like you. Fewer than 10% of those currently on-line - buy on-line.
In saying that... this is the same 10% you need to target.
...and most of the online world is exactly like you. Fewer than 10% of those currently on-line - buy on-line.
In saying that... this is the same 10% you need to target.
There are areas where people will pay. I have built some product knowledge and currently leverage it by selling my valuable viewpoint on a group of products and my evaluation of them.
I haven't bought much over the web but the places I am tempted or have bought is usually around the financial marketplace.
Do what you love and then look at what your competitors are selling.
Good Luck,
Shane
10% is still alot.
Projection for 2004: 170.4 million online buyers
