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Absolute Marketing Newbie - I am a Sponge Waiting to Absorb

Discussion in 'General Marketing' started by solid7, Sep 10, 2013.

  1. #1
    Ok, so I've been a member here for a good bit of time. Used to have a few sites, had some moderate traffic. Some of them were absolute BS sites, but they drove some traffic, earned about $100/month on average. It was OK for not doing any work.

    However, now, I am unemployed, discontent with my career choice, and ready for something new. Making money by internet marketing fascinates me. I just don't know how to do it. I desperately want to learn.

    I don't have much money. What I have, is time. So I'd like to throw a challenge out. Is there anyone out there (or multiple someones) who can set me on a path to marketing guru-dom, on a budget of $50, and 8 hours a day? Mind you, I don't expect instant results. But I have nothing but time over here, and I am a very willing learner. I will not argue, I will not attempt to tell you what you don't know. Nope. I'm eager to learn something new.

    I have no real slick webmaster skills. I code at a very basic level, and I don't know much about server side stuff. But... What appeals to me about marketing, is the "automated" approach to making money. By nature I'm quite lazy. But not to a fault! I will invest incredible amounts of time upfront, if it means that I can reap windfall rewards later, without a proportionate amount of extra effort. Plus, I have a great partner (my wife) who is great with mundane tasks, and will probably be better on the human side of the equation. (relating to the interests of people, hence, subject matter) She's got lots of time, too.

    Anyway, this is my sincere plea... Help teach a man to fish.

    Thank you for taking the time!
     
    solid7, Sep 10, 2013 IP
  2. solid7

    solid7 Well-Known Member

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    #2
    I see already that I vastly need to work on my marketing skills... I can't even get anyone to reply to thread. LOL
     
    solid7, Sep 12, 2013 IP
  3. qwikad.com

    qwikad.com Illustrious Member Affiliate Manager

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    #3
    Did you just quit your job? Or did you just quit looking for a job because you're not interested in your career any longer?

    I always recommend people (and not just I) to keep their current jobs for as long as they can while they're developing their online business. You've got some experience in IM, so you know it will be a long and tedious road while you're trying to reach your desired financial goals. If you possibly can, get at least a part-time job and devote all your free time to IM. The reason I am bringing this up is if 6 months from now you're still not making anything as a marketer, at least you're not going to go all crazy with discouragement, since you have a part-time job to lean on. And if your wife is able to get a part-time job, it will make everything even easier. I don't think I am inventing a wheel here when I say that money can run out really fast. Unexpected bills on top of all your regular bills can deplete your wallet faster than you think.

    I am probably not the best person to give an advice on how to make money by selling stuff, but there was a time, 7-8 years back, when I made a living just on AdSense. I had a decent looking job search engine (I was an affiliate with careerjet.com) that I monetized with AdSense. I promoted it any way I could: backpage, craigslist, forums, blogs - and it was doing great. Today, I'd probably have a bigger advantage since it was before FB or Twitter were popular and there was no G+. The thing is people will always be looking for jobs, and that's why having a job search engine can be a real deal. I would still be running that site, but I started a classifieds two+ years ago, that has been growing rapidly, and it's taking all my spare time.

    That's my 2 cents.
     
    qwikad.com, Sep 12, 2013 IP
  4. solid7

    solid7 Well-Known Member

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    #4
    Hi, qwikad, thank you for your repsonse.

    No, I am unemployed because I've worked too long in a very specialized field. And I just ran out of options. (for the time being) Technically, I still work. But I do freelance work. And that's my big motivation. It's too much work for too little return, and it will ALWAYS be that way. Marketing, however, I see as a chance to establish something through a lot of hard work, trial and error, and in a ideal situation, begin to do less and less work for more and more money. I believe it's possible. I just don't personally know how to do it - yet! LOL
     
    solid7, Sep 12, 2013 IP
  5. .Mosey

    .Mosey Greenhorn

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    #5
    solid7, I think the biggest problem newbies run into is that "internet marketing" is, in reality, sort of a piss-poor blanket term.

    Saying "I want to learn internet marketing" is kind of like saying "I want to be a musician." Well, all right, what kind of music do you want to play? Rock? RNB? Techno? Pop? Classical? How about instruments? Guitar? Bass? Piano? Xylophone?

    It's too broad.

    To take that example and apply it to internet marketing, consider that the term could mean...
    • Paid advertising such as PPC, media buys, PPV, and so on -- each of which has its own set of nuances and requisite skillsets.
    • Developing sites and hoping to get "free" organic traffic to them, which requires education in the constantly evolving field of SEO
    • Building email marketing lists
    • Developing/buying sites for the express purpose of "flipping" them for profit
    • Ecommerce sites, dropshipping
    • ebay, ebay affiliate sites
    • amazon, amazon affiliate sites
    • "mini niche" sites for adsense (or adcents as I prefer)
    • Video marketing on youtube and other platforms
    • Pay per download, pay per install
    • Podcasting, getting a following, getting sponsors
    And so on. That's just off the top of my head.

    The point is, you need to pick something and run with it. In most cases, certainly everything listed above, all the information you need to get started is freely available. The big problem is information overload -- "What do I want to do? Where do I start?". That and shiny syndrome, as in "ooh, shiny!", going from one idea to the next and never really accomplishing anything. You've got to pick one thing and stick with it. Even if you fail miserably, and you probably will at first, you'll get some actual experience worth way, way more than if you had spent the time reading blogs and garbage ebooks all day instead.

    The nice thing is that you could pick just about any facet of internet marketing and the skills you acquire while/after you master it will likely apply to other fields within the industry as well.

    So here are my questions for you:

    1.) What kind of freelance work are you doing currently?

    2.) What kind of internet marketing interests you? (note: "the one that makes money" isn't a good answer, but it's a great mindset).

    3.) What do you currently find the most confusing or frustrating?

    That last one is particularly important, I think. It should help narrow down what's keeping you in place.

    Feel free to PM me if you want to chat more, but let's get an actual discussion going in this thread!
     
    .Mosey, Sep 13, 2013 IP
    solid7 likes this.
  6. ayeronnie

    ayeronnie Active Member

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    #6
    I think both qwikad and Mosey gave some great information. As Mosey said, you need to figure out what you want to do, or you'll be jumping from one thing to the next, like most folks do, and end up not making any money from anything.

    And ya, Internet Marketing covers SO many things.
     
    ayeronnie, Sep 13, 2013 IP
  7. DEBooks

    DEBooks Guest

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    #7
    Why not take your Job skills of many years zero in on that niche and write articles in that field - You could sell the short ones < 20 pages for $5.00

    Or you could take your Freelance work and expand on it throught "Internet marketing
     
    DEBooks, Sep 14, 2013 IP
  8. solid7

    solid7 Well-Known Member

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    #8
    CAD Design, and Product development. It is a field, however, that is being overtaken by cheap, often shady, providers. Too much work for too little $. I want to try to establish a new direction.

    Something that has the potential to develop into completely passive income. So I guess that might lead me, with my particular interests, to go towards a site with Adsense ads. I'm a natural BS'er, so putting out lots of content is easy. Given enough time, and with the right type of promotion, I can see a site growing organically to the point where I could make $1k a month or more on ads alone. So that's my starting point. If something else is waiting for me, I'll go with it. But for now, that's where I'm at. (recent decision)

    You mean like when I wake up in the morning with an erection, after my wife has already gone to work?


    Thank you, I will definitely do that! Appreciate your thoughtful reply.
     
    solid7, Sep 14, 2013 IP
  9. solid7

    solid7 Well-Known Member

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    #9
    Because, simply - and I hope this doesn't sound conceited - there are already too many "experts" in my field. Writing articles is already done for chump change. If I'm going to be peddling my word skills, it will be to break into something new. Something with MASS appeal.

    My current field has zero mass appeal. Maybe someday, I'll take my existing URL - which still ranks pretty high in Google - and try to turn it from a business site, to a monetized site. But I need to start somewhere else, for the time being.
     
    solid7, Sep 14, 2013 IP
  10. Robinox

    Robinox Active Member

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    #10
    If you have a site ranking in google, you can place a google adsense on it, or you can try some affiliate, depending on niche of your site
     
    Robinox, Sep 15, 2013 IP
  11. dmin7b5

    dmin7b5 Member

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    #11
    I think you guys made some good points. It seems factual that people come onto the Internet
    having all types of backgrounds,
    and work experience.

    It just so happens that I have worked in two of the industries mentioned. I worked in the music
    industry, and worked as a CAD operator for a period of time too.

    It's funny that he mentioned the CAD industry. Actually that's how I wound up making the move
    to the Internet.

    A fellow workers wife had a website selling clothing and other items linked to some department
    stores. I was fascinated that she could actually sell products that way online.

    It hasn't been a dull moment yet since I've been on the Internet.

    When I first came to the Internet there were so many different things to choose from. In fact
    the opportunities are just limitless. Actually it takes time to figure out what you want to pursue.

    You have to come as you are and find your groove, and that takes time. I think that eventually
    you find your way, of course after a period of trial and error, and stumbling around.

    But it seems like it's different for everyone. I have seen a lot of changes, and have bumped my head
    against the wall so many times. It's a matter of setting goals, trying different things, learning,
    adjusting, doing, and experimenting.
    .
    All the time moving forward if you can.

    My 2 cents
     
    dmin7b5, Sep 18, 2013 IP