If you’re looking at traditional “leads” they can be very expensive and of very low quality… what you want and need are high quality, super targeted leads… you need people who are looking for exactly what you’ve got.

Here’s how you do it.

Identify a subject/topic/niche that is totally relevant to the business you’re running.

Create a blog on that topic.

Create content related to the blog subject matter.

Create a way for them to opt in (get them on your list).

Stay connected with your new lead via email.

It sounds pretty simple… and it can be.

If you make sure you’ve created a topic that is exactly relevant to what your perfect customer needs.

Here’s an example:

I am involved in a company where I earn free groceries. I also recently started added freshly squeezed juice to my diet. The thing about juicing is this: it requires a LOT of groceries. I started a new blog about my veggie juice reboot, and life after it. I joined a community of people who were also involved in the reboot. Traffic came to my site (fast and furious I might add) and right there in the sidebar I have a banner that says… stop paying for your groceries.

Do you think people who are spending a ton of money on groceries for juicing might be interested in getting free groceries?

You betcha! They are. I’m getting new leads every day into that business.

Here’s another example:

One of the KISS Club members has this fantastic site where she sells party supply kits. She has great packages for just about every kind of party you can imagine. We were talking about how I love to throw Hanna parties, but I HATE trying to figure out what to do with the people while they’re there.

She decided to set up a blog where she’d give party ideas that people could use so they didn’t even have to come up with the ideas themselves. She loves to plan parties, and gets really into it. Over time her party blog turned into this fancy party blog… the images were gorgeous, and looked wonderful ~ but it was nothing I would ever find myself doing. She realized she’d strayed from the purpose of her blog. To get more leads for her business! Now she’s back on track and helping busy parents plan memorable parties quickly and easily. She’ll be writing about party themed activities that will lead people right back to her party supply kit store… which is exactly what she wants.

If you create a blog that is perfectly aligned with what you’re selling you’ll have no problem pulling people in, from the search engines, or relevant communities, even twitter and facebook. Once they get to your site, it’s key to provide them with content they’re looking for, but offer them something extra… get them on a list.

When you get someone to give you their name and email address you’ve just gotten a lead for your business. Not a one off lead where they hit your site and bounce away, but a lead you can talk to, and create a relationship with. A lead who can get to know you, and like you and trust you… and buy from you.

If someone asked me how to generate leads for their business… my first answer is always going to be set up a blog! If you’d like some help figuring out what kind of blog can support your business and generate leads I’d be glad to help you figure it out!

What about you? Are you using a blog to create leads for your business? I’d love to hear how you’re making it work!

Related posts:

1. 5 Steps to Blog Commenting In 30 Minutes or Less
2. Cookie Cutters are for Cookies. Your Blog is Not a Cookie.
3. 5 Questions and an Opportunity

There are members of the KISS Club I’ve known for a while. Some of them I have done private coaching with, and others I’ve just known from the blog. I am amazed DAILY at how far people have come in the time I’ve known them. I think back to where they were when we first met and look at where they are today and it’s like night and day. It’s amazing to me how fast people can move forward and put together things that totally work, and it’s interesting to me to see just how much faster that happens when there is accountability and community around them to help them stay on track.

This is sounding like a pitch for KISS Club, but it’s not really… (although people are making HUGE strides by being members lol). What I really wanted to talk about today is the mindset, and evolution of an internet business.

I can sometimes hear this tone in people’s words when they write about me, and what I do, and what I know. It’s a tone that makes me a little uneasy, because quite frankly, the only reason I know what I know, and do what I do now is because I’ve messed up a LOT of times. However, for each mistake I’ve made I’ve come back to the computer, back to my chair, back to my business. I haven’t allowed those mistakes to define my business or defeat me. Really, really, really, that is the only difference between us.

It’s interesting as I look back over the years I’ve been doing this and see where I’ve been, how I’ve grown, and how my business has changed along the way. It’s interesting because if you know me at all you know I love to get in a groove, make a plan, get comfortable, and just know what I have to do, and do it.

Problem with that is internet business moves fast… you have to keep up or get left behind. You have to be flexible, keep your finger on the pulse of what’s going on. You have to be willing to say “that’s just not going to work” and move on sometimes… no matter HOW much time/effort/money you may have thrown at something.

While you must be flexible it doesn’t necessarily mean you have to do a million different things, it does mean you can start to shift and incorporate new things into what you’re already working on.

I feel like my business really got off the ground when I did some coaching with a fairly well known internet marketer. The coaching taught me how to build small websites targeting one keyword to make money with adsense. During our coaching time I made 10 of those sites. After our 6 weeks of coaching I didn’t see any money coming in, got pissed off and went and did something else.

I created my own products.

I started some membership sites.

I created a bunch of squidoo lenses.

oh yeah, I started way too many blogs.

and all along those 10 sites were sitting there.

Times changed, and I’d see new things come to market. I’d pull out those old sites, and try it out. Sometimes it worked, sometimes it didn’t. Sometimes I left the changes, and sometimes I went in and deleted everything back to the original 5 posts that were on the site. (yeah, I actually did that a lot lol).

So now I have these 10 sites (and a few more I made way back then) that are 3 or 4 years old, and the keywords I chose happen to be things I can find physical products for. I’ve read a lot about making money with Amazon in the last couple years. It started with IPK (info product killer), and then came Commission Ritual ~ both of which really got me started on the trajectory I’m on now. As selling physical products became more and more a part of my business, my blogs changed, I added new products to help people do it, and added new blogs to the mix ~ both for teaching, and selling.

As time went on more and more people jumped on the Amazon band wagon, and more products came out. They started getting better, more concise, more in depth ~ the Amazonion Profit Plan probably being the one I like the best, and wish I’d had years ago.

However, as I read all the products and implement their teachings I find bits and pieces that don’t fit for me. There’s things in all those books that I know I just won’t do. So I tweak it a little. I turn the process around in my head, and think how can I do that, without having to do that, and I begin to create my own way of doing things.

THIS is the core of internet marketing… finding good information, implementing the information in your own business, and then figuring out how you can tweak it to make it your own. No information is good information if it’s not something you’re willing to actually DO in your business. BUT… just because you’re not willing to do exactly what’s done in a book or course you bought, doesn’t mean the information can’t still work. You just have to figure it out for your business.

What works? What’s the best way to get started?

Everything works! There are literally a MILLION different ways you can create a business online and make money. HOWEVER, the only thing that will work for YOU is something you will really do.

I’m going to tell you a little piece of truth here, and some of you won’t like it (and that’s ok)

Building a successful internet business takes work.

It takes a lot of work. It takes being open and experimental. It takes being able to take what you learn and apply it. It takes the ability to stop buying and reading and start DOING. It takes the ability to evolve, and this is a hard one for a lot of people (including myself). It takes making a TON of mistakes and picking yourself up and getting back to it. But you can’t make mistakes if you’re not willing to get in and take action… a LOT of action.

It may seem as soon as you’ve got something down pat, then it doesn’t work anymore. It’s the nature of the beast, now as a business owner you have to figure out just how you can tweak what you’re doing to make it work again. It’s your ability to do that, that will allow you to create a booming business.

Soo… what about those 10 sites that were supposed to make me a KILLING in adsense? After about 6 months they did start making some money with adsense. Not a killing but they made some money. As my business has evolved I’ve found some of them make better money selling physical products. Some of them are still sitting there doing nothing, waiting to be given some attention. Some of them are doing really well. But every day they sit on the internet they age… and an aged domain is a really GOOD thing. The ones that are waiting for attention will be so much easier to rank and work with when I get there because I kept them around all these years. It’s just a matter of me staying focused, and working consistently and slapping my hand when I try to start something new…

well… this has turned into a rambly post that isn’t even about what I thought I was going to talk about today… so I hope at least one of you get something out of it.

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When it comes down to what there is to sell it comes down to one of two things: You or Stuff.

If you want to be profitable, it will come down to choosing a business model where you either sell yourself or you sell stuff. So let’s take a deeper look at both, because, while I go on and on about picking one thing and sticking with it, I am almost ALWAYS in a push pull with which direction I should take. As much as I am an all or nothing thinker, I’m beginning to think there may be room for both.

Selling yourself:

Whether you’re selling ad space, or running giveaways, or running blogher ads on your site, or even selling affiliate products to the readers of your blog ~ what you’re really doing is selling yourself.  You’re blogging… you’re attracting readers ~ you’re keeping readers ~ you’re creating an audience. You may find most (if any) of your traffic doesn’t come from Google but from relationships you’ve created ~ on other blogs, on twitter, facebook, forums ~ other social networking sites. YOU are the product. People like you. They want to get to know you. They eventually begin to really like you, and then when you offer a giveaway, or place an ad on your site they trust you enough to enter, or click. But please, realize ~ it’s you you’re selling.

Ask yourself this question: If I could no longer run my blog would it still make money?

For most mom bloggers the answer would be no. Because they are the heart and soul of the project ~ they are the product.

There’s nothing wrong with this ~ in fact, I love it! It’s my favorite business model online. I love the writing, the connecting, the interaction. I don’t mind being the center of this blog, and It’s a Wahm Life. But I am realistic that if something happened to me, these blogs would go down in flames. I would stop making money.

If you love getting to know people, and building relationships blogging is probably a great way to make money online.

However, there is a downside to blogging.

• It takes time… to build up a community, to build a readership.

• It takes a long term commitment. You have to be there. You have to post regularly. You can’t just walk away for a month or two and expect to come back in the same spot you were before.

• You are the product… so if you’re not there, your blog may cease to exist.

• There’s no clear cut path to success. There are many many ways you can write a blog. Many ways you can build an audience. It can become confusing and frustrating, simply because there are so many ways to do it that it can be overwhelming and difficult to create a plan.

Selling stuff.

Whether you’re selling physical products or digital products ~ when you’re selling stuff you’re counting on the search engines to provide you traffic. People don’t really care about you, they don’t even have to know anything about you. All you are is the mediary between what they are looking for and where they can get it.

This is niche marketing.

Niche marketing is simple. It’s straight forward.

Find products, write content, and then spend 80% of your time building backlinks to rank your site in the search engines for your targeted keyword.

It’s not touchy feely ~ but when  you get your site ranking… it’s totally passive.

You make money whether you’re there or not. You can build sites, and get them ranking and not touch them for a year, and still see sales rolling in daily.

Here’s the rub of niche marketing though…

It’s BORING AS HELL. Building links does not take brain power, or creativity, or ingenuity. It takes stamina, and mental fortitude. It is boring, and repetitive, and mind numbing. AND if you want to do niche marketing it’s what you’ll be doing for at least 80% of your time.

And 10 or 12 links is not going to do the trick. You’re going to need hundreds, probably thousands of links built over time to create a seriously profitable site that will stand the test of time.

This too will be a long term endeavor ~ but it will be long term nose to the grindstone building links. But at least there are plans for that ~ clear and easy to follow plans for link building. There’s not a ton of guess work involved. It’s totally doable if YOU can stick with it.

So here’s my quandry.

• Do what I love?

• Do what I know is going to create passive income (which I love)?

In the past I’ve done both ~ never at the same time. It’s like the pendulum shifts and I swing one direction or the other. Funds get tight… jump into niche marketing. Hate backlinking, can’t sustain it at such an intensity. Google changes an algorythm and freaks me out ~ swing back to blogging.

That is NOT what’s going to create success in either strategy.

So here’s where I’m at now… and maybe my confessions here today will allow you a little more freedom for yourself to experiment, and see what might work best for you.

I’m going to keep blogging on my two blogs. (Because I love them, and they bring me joy, and I love to connect with you, and teach you all.)

I will also be working on ONE niche site. I am going to work it into a very large site that will encompass many many products, and many many posts. It will be a long term endeavor. In fact, it will probably never be done.

To keep this manageable here’s what I’m going to do, and hopefully this will be helpful to some of you.

1. I will write a new post for the site. Either based on an incoming keyword (from my site stats) or a buying keyword.

2. I will write an article and run it through content professor (a pretty easy to use free spinner)

3. Submit an article to Free Traffic System.

4. Run through the entire Backlinking 101 process.

5. Then if necessary add a couple other services to create more backlinks (I’m still working this part out)

But here’s the thing, that makes this process a little different than how I’ve ever done it before…

I’m not going to pressure myself to do this EVERY DAY. Yes, when I created this plan I thought, oh, I can just do all of this every day. Bang. Money.

Yeah, no. That just never happens. It maybe happens for one day… or maybe even two or three, but it never goes past that.

So now, I’m going to focus on one post… and do the backlinking (shooting for an hour a day or 10 links) whichever comes first. Realizing this is a LONG TERM endeavor, and it doesn’t all have to be done today, nor does it have to be done ALL day today…

And we’ll see how this works.

I think it may be possible to marry the best of both worlds ~ build my blogs ~ create connections, enjoy the writing, as well as building my niche site and create that passive income that I love so much.

Well…now that I’ve blathered on for over 1200 words… what do you think? Is this helpful for you? Where are you getting stuck in your business? Is it in deciding what to do? How to do it? When to do it? Let me know, and let’s get a plan together for you too… something that YOU can sustain, that’s going to work to YOUR strengths. Something that’s going to make YOU money, and allow you to do the things you love online, as well as live your life outside of the computer as well.

I look forward to hearing from you.

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1. Cookie Cutters are for Cookies. Your Blog is Not a Cookie.

When someone comes in with something that Rick (the owner) doesn’t know much about, or doesn’t know what it’s worth he’ll call in a “friend” who’s an expert.

The thing about his expert friends that struck me and made me think of bloggers is they are all very specialized in what they are experts on. For example if someone brings in some money ~ Rick doesn’t call in a money expert ~ he calls in Dana Linnet, the President of Early American History Auctions. This guy knows everything there is to know about early American History. Does he know about French history, or Russian History? Nope. BUT, he is THE expert in all things early American History.

If someone brings in an old sword, or knife Rick doesn’t call in a “weapon” guy, no he calls Sean Rich who is an expert in Antique Arms and Armour.

If someone brings in a Mickey Mantle baseball card he doesn’t bring in just a baseball person, no he brings in Drew Max a forensic document examiner and handwriting expert, specializing in celebrities, sports, and antiquities.

Why is it important for Rick to bring in all these experts? Because when someone is an expert in something people trust that. When the expert comes in and says oh that’s a fake it’s not worth a dime… people believe him.  On the other hand when he comes in and says, oh man… this thing is worth 10 grand, they believe that as well.

If Rick had a jack of all trades come in to evaluate these objects his opinion would not be nearly as trusted, and Rick wouldn’t be able to make the kind of deals he does to buy the items.

So, what does this have to do with blogging?

Everything. When you start your blog, it’s so easy to be a jack of all trades. Oh I like all this stuff, I’m just gonna write about it all.  The problem with that mentality is you’re not going to really speak to anyone. You’ve got to make some decisions about who you’re going to talk to, what you’re going to be the expert on.

You have to decide (as close to the beginning as possible, but any time will work) what it is people will know you for. When they have “this” problem they will be like Rick and say “Oh I’ve got a friend who knows all about that, let’s talk to them”.

Here’s some examples:

Let’s take this blog,

Years ago I bought the domain internetmarketingformommies.com, and all these years I’ve shied away from really making this site about moms who blog. However, as I take on the role as THE person to help moms who blog make their blogs rockin’ spaces on the internet… that makes it easier for me to know who I’m writing for and  for those people to find me, and refer me to their friends.

What about a homeschooling blog?

You could do general homeschooling, but what about homeschooling for preschool? or High School.  You create a much more specific group of people who you truly help, and they will refer you to their friends who need you as well.

What about a recipe site?

Well, heck, recipes cover the world. If I’m looking for a chicken recipe and I come to a site that has a million recipes and they’re all different it’s going to take time for me to find just what I’m looking for. There are tons of different kinds of recipes people are looking for, creating a small space for you to dig deep into is a great idea for recipe sites. I mean there’s chicken recipes, and gluten free recipes, and paleo recipes, and weight watchers recipes, and south beach recipes, and low carb recipes, and low fat recipes,and low calorie recipes, and lunch recipes… oh my, you could definitely find a small little corner of the recipe industry and carve yourself out a slice.

So what do you think?

Is there a way you could shift your blog to become the expert for a small portion of your topic? Could you become the “go to” person in that topic? I’d love to hear, and if you want to brainstorm about your blog specifically, let me know.

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I loved it. It was simple. Specific. Tangible.

1. Do your keyword research.

2. Identify keywords with high search volume and low competition.

3. Create content around those keywords.

4. Build links until you hit #1 on Google.

5. Get tons of sales and Passive income.

I mean, really, what could be better than that. As long as you knew the parameters you were working within for your keyword research, and you could stick it out long enough to build enough links… that was all there was.

I thought SEO was perfect for everything, the best way to drive traffic to any site. I mean, you can find keywords for EVERYTHING!

Someone would ask me how to get traffic to their site ~ the list above was my answer. How could it fail?!

That was back then… back when I thought being able to have someone tell me exactly what I needed to do was awesome. Back when I thought if I just followed someone else’s blueprint, and followed their steps I’d be sitting pretty with internet riches.

That was back then… when I thought I could squelch my inner artist, my inner talent and just be a worker bee ~ but instead of driving to my hive, I’d just do it from home.

Only problem with this scenario is I’m a shitty worker bee.

I have ideas, lots of them, some are pretty lofty. I love to make connections with people. I love to be creative, and think of new ways to do things. I love to be out there on the leading edge of stuff.

So sitting at home being a worker bee worked for a while, but not for long.

I started to see there were other ways to drive traffic. I started to see that SEO was good for some things… but not so great for other things. I started to see that there was more than one way to build a business, more than one way to get traffic and SEO wasn’t always the answer.

Once that realization hit, there was just no turning back. I had seen the light. Of course, SEO will always be great for keyword targeted niche sites ~ don’t get me wrong. However, if you’re trying to build a site that’s anything MORE than just keyword targeted you’re going to have to be open to the fact that SEO may NOT be the right path.

I see it still, people trying to build a blog where they provide fantastic information and could be the authority in their field. Here’s the rub though… they don’t believe in themselves enough to be the authority on the topic. They keep themselves small ~ for whatever reason runs through their head ~ and they keep targeting product keywords, or niche specific keywords ~ and they keep building links… but the problem is it’s not enough for them.

The second problem is… they don’t realize it’s not enough for them.

They think this is what they should be doing, the best they can be doing and are beating themselves up because they’re bored and frustrated and can’t seem to ever build enough links to get their site where they want it. Can’t seem to make sales from the search traffic that’s coming in.

HERE’S WHY:

It’s not a search market.

The people coming to these sites are looking for help, or guidance, or connection. They aren’t looking for a keyword targeted article to get them to buy something… they are looking to connect with someone else just like them.

Hey guess what… that’s YOU.

They want to know they’re not alone. They want to know someone else understands where they are and what they’re going through.

Hey guess what… that’s YOU.

They want to connect with someone, they want to get recommendations, advice, counsel on what’s going on in their lives.

Hey guess what… that could be YOU.

I’m sad to say, this is partly my fault. Back in my SEO addict days I probably told you to go and find targeted keywords and start building links until your site ranked where you wanted it. For that I’m sorry. I was an addict. I had tunnel vision. I just didn’t know.

However, with that being said, this is YOUR business. If something isn’t working, you need to evaluate what’s going on. What’s up with the situation. Why isn’t it working.

In cases like this, I can bet you 10 to 1 that it’s because your readers need more of YOU. They need to connect with you, even if they come from Google, when they get to your site, they need to be able to feel you there. They need to be able to get to know you.

But you know what’s even better than getting them from Google all cold, distant and leery of what they’ll find? Getting to know them before they even hit your site. Having them go to your site because they’ve gotten to know you, and they love you and they want more of what you’ve got.

What would it be like if a warm, friendly person who already knows and likes you landed on your site? Would they be worried that you’re just trying to sell them another bottle of snake oil like the last guy? Not so much. They already trust you. They’re more likely to read what you’ve got ~ and take action… especially if what you’ve got is good. (and this is key ~ you can’t throw crap up on your site and expect it to do well… quality counts here!) Now that action may be that they buy something, or it may not. They may share your message with someone else. They may bookmark your post to come back to later. They may reach out to you in an email… all of these things are actions though. They are actions that further your connection with your reader and possible customer. They are connections that create a bond between the two of you that makes it much easier to cross the chasm and hand over money.

In addition to making a connection though… these actions all create links for your site. Your new friends are doing all the boring stuff you hated to do, and guess what… Google loves it. Now not only do you have a warm, happy friend stopping by your site, you have Google noticing you have a bunch of friends, and noticing they are sharing your work with others. This means something to the big G and they start looking at your site a little differently. They start thinking, well hey, if all these people are saving, and sharing this stuff, maybe we ought to be sharing it as well. And your search ranking start to go up.

There are tons of ways to connect with your market online. There are tons of ways to create that connection. Which is part of the problem. There’s no quick, cut and dry here’s 5 steps ~ do them and you’ll succeed. This type of business is much more subtle. You have to keep your eyes open, keep your wits about you. You have to be able to evaluate regularly and adjust accordingly.

Yeah… SEO rocked my world when I wanted to be a worker bee. There’s nothing wrong with being a worker bee either… if you can handle it. Just realize that SEO is not going to be the best option for some sites. If you’re stepping out of worker bee zone, you’re creating a site that’s more than just targeted keywords, you need to make sure you’ve created a business plan that includes connection.  Plain and simple.

Google may be able to send you traffic, but connection and trust are what make sales, and Google can’t give you that. Only you can do that… by getting out there, and connecting with people.

Are you frustrated with your business right now? Are you ready to give up because you can’t build enough links to get to where you want to go? If that rings true, please take some time TODAY… and look at your site, your business model and see if there’s a way you can start connecting, start making friends, start building trust with people before they hit your site.

I have found it makes all the difference in the world. I’d be glad to help if you need it.

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Well anyway… it finally got a little overwhelming and I convinced my husband to get around to taking them to the recycling place. He asked me to call up there and find out how much they were paying for aluminum so we could get an idea of how much money we’d make off all these cans.

I did and it was 25 cents a pound. So I thought, “cool, there’s 20 bucks”.

My husband came in and called a recycling center in Wichita (which is an hour away) and the price for aluminum was 50 cents a pound. Dang ~ he just doubled our money. He happened to be going to Wichita anyway so the drive was really no big deal.

So who really cares about my cans and how much money we got for them ($47.63)? Nobody, but the point was to illustrate that by looking around, doing a little research you can easily double your money for the same effort.

This is true in internet marketing as well.  Later that very same day a friend sent me a link to a video that shows one easy way to do just that. I thought I’d share it with you today.

It’s very easy to use Amazon as your affiliate program. It’s probably relatively familiar to you. It’s a trusted site. There are definitely reasons to use Amazon. But… if you’re looking at promoting specific products it’s worth it to look around and see if there are other affiliate programs that could possibly earn you more ~ even double what you’d make at Amazon.

Here’s the video:

I’d love to hear what you think about what Andrew has to say. Is it worth it to search around for other affiliate programs? Are you going to stick with Amazon? Let’s talk about it. Tell me in the comments.

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1. The more specific you can be the better.

2. Physical products sell.

All of my work in Squidoo really helped me learned these lessons ~ on a free platform where I didn’t have anything to lose.   I’ve taken the information I learned there and applied it to virtual real estate I own. (wordpress blogs that I host on my own hosting account) I thought I’d share with you how I design a niche “shopping” site. I call this designing, because it is all done before anything is ever set up, written down, themes chosen ~ it’s creating the foundation for a quality, profitable site.

1.  Identify a site theme.

This is a single topic that the entire site will be based on. The theme is actually a keyword as well. It’s a keyword I want to be sure I can rank for. I’m looking here for general but specific keywords (in the green SOC area on Micro Niche Finder)

Here’s an example: (and I haven’t checked the numbers ~ this really is an example so you can get an idea of the thought process)

Playhouses for Kids

See how that’s a general keyword ~ but specific to playhouses for kids.

2. Identify some topics within that theme

The next piece of the design is to find different types of playhouses ~ that are also good keywords that I can rank for.  These are the “category” keywords. They fit within the theme, but are more specific.

• wooden playhouses
• plastic playhouses
• custom playhouses
• lifelike playhouses
• Instep playhouses
• Playhouse kits

Now I’m going to go one level further. This next step in the design process may not have as much search volume, but they are very targeted and the conversion will probably be higher because you are right at the end of the buying cycle where people are online with cards in hand.  (these keywords are also likely to have very little competition)

3. Identify specific products within those topics

This is also the level that your content will consist of. This is what you will be writing posts about.

In the wooden playhouses category I might find:

• Pennfield Cottage Playhouse 11 x 12 With Floor And Porch
• KidKraft Outdoor Cottage Clubhouse

In the plastic playhouse category I might find:

• Little Tikes Picnic on the Patio Playhouse
• Little Tikes Endless Adventures Tikes Town
• Sweetheart Playhouse by Step 2

In Playhouse kits I might find:

• Heritage Playhouse Kit
• Queen Anne Playhouse Kit
• Country Gal Playhouse Kit

and so on and so on… until I find specific products to fill in for each category keyword.

Once I’ve designed this site and started creating content for it I start promoting it. I will start promoting not only the theme keyword by building links directly to the home page using the theme keyword in the anchor text, but also building links to the category keywords ~ pointing to the category pages using the category keywords as the anchor text, and links to the specific posts using the specific post keyword as the anchor text.

This strategy works well because you may find a bunch of your keywords don’t have a ton of search volume, however, when you add them all up your site will end up getting quite a bit of traffic. This is especially true if you do a good job of researching your theme and category keywords. You want to choose keywords that are specific enough to the niche that they will still convert and make sure your category keywords are completely relevant and related to your  site theme. That way people can easily find more of what they are looking for you on your site.

Setting your site up this way makes it very easy to create a virtual map of what you need to do, and keep track of where you’re at. Here’s a simple mind map I put together for this example.  When you create your mind map you want to take the time to research every possible option to include on your site and fill it in on your mindmap. I would even print it out and hang it on the wall next to my computer. Then as I complete posts/categories I can make a notation. This allows me to stay focused and keep taking actions that are moving me forward.

That’s how I design a shopping niche site. Let’s review the important points.

• One Specific niche.

• Theme keyword ~ encompasses total idea and leaves room for more specific categories

• Category keywords ~ more specific and leave room for specific products.

• Post keywords ~ specific products.

I hope this helps you create a clear plan for your niche sites ~ if you have questions feel free to ask in the comments. If you would like some support from me while you’re building your site join the KISS Club.

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I don’t use a lot of images on this blog, but images can really add to a site. They look great and can serve to keep people on your site a little longer. They can also really bring home a point you’re making in your blog post.

Here’s the rub…

Where do you find great images you can legally use without paying for them? Sure you can scour through flickr and find images you can use, but I’ve got another idea.

Allposters.com

Yep, a poster store. They have thousands of posters on thousands of subjects and I’m sure you can find one that will fit the topic of your blog post.

The even better thing is that you can use your affiliate link to create the images and if someone clicks through and buys it you make a commission.

Now I’m not saying you’re going to make a million bucks from your images ~ but, an additional little income stream is never a bad thing and you get fantastic images and don’t have to worry about using them illegally. Win -win from where I’m sitting.

Their affiliate program appears to be in house ~ although I thought at one time it was through another network, but now it seems all you have to do is fill out the application.

You will need a website for your application. If you don’t currently have a blog or a website you can create one for free on blogger to get you started. You can use the images with your affiliate  links on any site after you’ve been accepted.

This is also a great way to create images on Squidoo lenses ~ and hubpages… I’m just sayin’.

I hope this gives you an idea on how to get free blog images  ~ and maybe helps you make a little cash on the side. I’d love to hear how you’re finding free blog images ~ or are you paying for them? Tell me in the comments!

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He said to me…

Internet marketing is 90% art and 10% science

I thought he was crazy and I was pissed, but I slowly realized just how right he was. There is no list. Every action you take creates a result. From that result you have to look at what’s happened and go from there. Make a decision based on the results and what you have to do to get where you want to go. No two campaigns/websites/lenses will ever go exactly the same. That’s why there can never be a list… there may be an outline… but no list. Not only is there no list of “do this do that”, but there’s also no list about how to proceed when you get an idea. There are a ton of different things you could do, at least 4 or 5 directions you can go with any idea. So how do you know where to start?

That’s the art part and it really is 90% of the whole thing.  It’s something you gain from experience, from failure, from success, from time.  I thought it would be fun once in a while to take a question I get and play it out on paper, the thoughts that go through my head as I decide what I would do… so here goes.

Recently I had someone ask:

You’ve got this Ironman lens, it’s made some sales… now what would you do?

This question came from my LearnItStepbyStep.com membership site, that breaks One Week Marketing down into little pieces with easy step by step instructions. When I get questions there it’s tough for me because the site is based on OWM, I feel compelled to stick to answering questions as would work with that program… but those possibilities aren’t necessarily what I would do.  AND… as time goes on and I find things that work/don’t work, my answers change.

Here’s what my thoughts were, as I pondered the question. Remember, that my talents, likes, dislikes, passions are all taken into consideration when making these decisions. As well as what’s worked for me in the past, what I feel like I can follow through on etc. No two people will come up with the same answer, because no two people are the same. These are my answers… they may or may not be yours.

Here’s how my brain spun through the brainstorming process

Hmm… I could create a micro niche site for it. I know the keyword phrase works. I would have to get a trademarked domain name. Hmmm… don’t really want to do that. Ok… I could do a little more keyword research and find some more inversion tables that fit my research criteria, and build a site with more pages, targeting one inversion table on each page. That would mean I have to do linking to each page, to get each keyword to  rank in the search engines to drive traffic.

ponder ponder ponder. (a day or so went by ~ at least one sleep)

I have 22 other sites on a list that need to be worked on. I am not really very passionate about inversion tables. It’s working on Squidoo. It’s in profit. All these other sites really need work. I don’t need another project to work on right now. I don’t think it would get finished if I started it. Then I would feel guilty for starting yet another project that didn’t get finished. That’s no good.

I’m just going to leave it alone. It’s making money. I’m not going to mess with it, and let it keep making money while I continue to work on these other sites which is what’s on my list.

I know other people use Squidoo as a “market research” area. I find that difficult. Once something is done for me, it’s done for me. I have a hard time going back and building something else out of it. I am never short on ideas for sites, so I usually leave lenses as lenses. That works for me.

Lenses can provide great research ~ and can easily be built into something more… that just isn’t the way I usually go.

Do you have a what would you do… question? Feel free to ask it in the comments, and I’ll save it for another Wednesday. If you want an immediate answer join the KISS Club and start a “what would you do thread”. I’ll be happy to answer today.

No related posts.

What happens when you realize the topic you’ve decided on for your site just doesn’t really respond to that type of monetization?

Maybe you chose a topic that is early in the buying cycle, and people aren’t looking to buy something, or they’re just looking for information.

What do you do?

Do you just quit the site and let it lay around doing nothing?

Well that’s one option for sure ~ but it’s not the most profitable option I’m certain.

Let’s look at an example from my website portfolio.

A couple years ago when I went through Amy’s Niche Blogger program I built a blog featuring Easy Chicken Recipes. It met all the guidelines she talked about. I built it as she suggested and it gets traffic. I haven’t really touched the site (until just recently) in a year or so ~ and it still gets a couple thousand page views a month. The keywords aren’t the problem ~ they are getting me traffic, problem is no one’s buying.

When I stop to think about it, it makes perfect sense. I go online all the time looking for recipes. I’m looking for recipes, not to buy something. Because I realized the error I made I just left this site laying around ~ I added a cool plugin that makes it look like the site is updating regularly ~ but it’s really just rotating older posts through to the front page ~ so I just left it.

I recently read a free report from a big guru launch about email marketing. As I read it some big time lights went off in my head. The first light was about my internet marketing blog ~ but then other lights began going off ~ I realized I could look at the recipes site in a totally different way and make it work.

Here’s the new plan.

1. Add clickable advertising (adsense/chitika) Which I hadn’t been using because the amount I make per click is so minimal it didn’t seem worth it ~ but it is getting good traffic and will be getting even more traffic now.

2. Create an out of this world freebie (It’s going to be a cookbook of my favorite chicken recipes ~ I’ll also be getting a quality ebook cover done for this)

3. Add  the PopUp Domination plugin to start collecting names.

4. Create an autoresponder series that once finished will create a hands off passive income stream.

How’s that going to work?

These people are looking for information ~ we know that. I’m going to offer them a free cookbook of recipes they were searching for to get them on my list.

Once on my list I’m going to keep sending them even more fantastic chicken recipes. (Is this going to be hard ~ NO because I love cooking, and I love to cook chicken, and I make chicken a LOT, and have a lot of chicken recipes)

Here’s where the money comes in:

While they are looking for recipes ~ people looking for easy chicken recipes are probably also in need of other things that make life a little easier. I bet they are probably moms ~ busy moms!

In each email I will let them know about something that can make life a little easier ~ whether it’s a way to organize their recipes, a great cookbook or whatever. This is known as soft sell ~ just adding a little note at the top and/or bottom of the email.

Then every 2 or 3 emails I’ll send them an entire email focused on something. Something they can buy. It may be a cookbook (via Amazon or Clickbank), it may be a way to get their printed recipes organized, or a great workout program (you think busy moms are looking for a quick way to work out?), or a service that will create an entire week’s menu for them and send them the grocery list along with the recipes.

The key to this working though, is I’m not going to just shoot them recipes every week. I’m going to let them get to know me. I’ll tell some stories ~ add our family’s thoughts on the recipes. I’ll let them know I am like them ~ a busy mom who wants life to be easier. By allowing them to get to know, like and trust me it will be much easier for them to accept my recommendation when it comes to something to buy.

This plan will work in just about any relatively specific niche (I’m not talking about micro niches here though). It will work especially well if you find you’ve gotten yourself in a niche where people are looking for information instead of to buy. By getting people on your list you’re giving yourself the opportunity to be in front of them more than once.  I’d say 99% of my traffic is new people on that site. Yeah, they come by looking for a recipe, and even if they might have needed something I was advertising on the site, they aren’t in the mindset to buy right now. I can keep talking over time until I hit the moment they ARE ready ~ then they buy.

What do you think? Are there niches you’ve chosen where this strategy might work for you? I’d love to hear your thoughts in the comments section!

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