Tuesday, September 09, 2008

Notes on the 16 Steps to Success - Tues 1pm

Some notes from this "16 Steps to Success" by Sam Clark and Jack Humphreys.

They are running this free program all online and live. PDF handouts. (Don't know what they'll sell here to pay for this bandwidth...)

My comments are in parenthesis...

Notes:

Google is trusting you.

Others are trusting you with your content.

No quick way to riches. Have to "work your tail off" in order to make your success. And this work has to be continual. Most of the fast success scenes are bunk (like we don't already know.)

Best links wins. Link building most important, right after building your site. When people trust your information, they'll link to it.

Successful websites have a human element (meaning you are going to have a job of communicating and building trust from here on out... - better than a 9-5 wage-slave scene)

First to get news up on site - authority site centers. Authority sites are king. Have to be current.

Google Adwords have become saturated by the big companies, who can throw money at advertising - pushes the small guys out.

Long term plan is building one main site - (and keep building this)

Faster isn't better (plays into "instant gratification" wants)

(Key thing is to find out what works and do that.)


Must understand patterns which are not working and make appropriate change.

Sam does weekly analysis of his site.

24% over 4 years at this stuff. - 60% are beyond newbie.

74% spending more than they're making (not me, though - but my monthly costs from old debts are more than I'm bringing in right now, so that shoe might fit in a wider view.

63% are buying more than 4 new products each month - still looking for new stuff...
30.5% is 4-7. 12.5% is 7-10.

88% purchasing products that they aren't using (like free PLR downloads??)

Answer you're looking for isn't in that book.

Building authority site means you are going to keep adding content. You have to love it. What can you talk about every (single) day?

You have to think long-term. (goals)

Have to treat your site as a business - otherwise it remains a hobby.

Hit a roadblock, ask for help and meanwhile keep going with something else you can do. Google it - long phrase with "How to I --------" and you'll find a forum where others have already solved this.

Websites are always works-in-progress.

Organize by three-ring binder. They give data on how to go about this.

Free course on planning at http://simpleology.com - KISS 3-ring binder by project. Keep all the data available and to hand. (And a shelf above your desk).

Get away from computer to do your planning. Plan your work, work your plan (always carry a spare.)

http://ithemes.com/tutorials - wordpress tutorials

Authority Site Center System

1. Research
2. Publishing
3. Marketing
4. Monetization

Build relationships and then monetize. People come online to get information first - they trust your information and ...

Only 8% happy with their online business. (established common need)

Lots of stuff doing instead of being a success: following the money, misinformation, information overload, opportunity junkie, distractions, follow the guru by the tail, get rich quick, lack of sound business principles.

KEY point is --- NO DAILY PLAN.

16 steps - Step One Plan:
Commit next few weeks to this process
Set up 3-Ring Binder system
Organized - Simpleology
Find accountability partner
Know the basics, master the basics
Mentally prepare - work level is going to be very heavy
Manage time - eliminate distractions
Think long and hard about 3 things you'd love to write and talk about daily

Gives lots of links, tools to help with these steps.

Marketing Research isn't just Keyword Research.
Market Analysis eliminates large portion of the risk.
His business changed when he started quit worrying about making money and started figuring out how to help people. (Delivered Value is first, then the money flows in - Nightingale)

(These guys are promoting their Authority Site Center.)

Market Research is Grunt Work.

List out all your topics of interest (yellow pad)
Keep all your notes.

Keyword research is only part of discovering a niche. What are people looking for?
Market research - uncovers trends, finds needs/desires, defines competition, builds confidence, prevents mistakes.

Start with broad niche topics.
Note trends and appealing ideas. (Lots of people have the same itch to scratch as you.)
Look for sales/circulation/viewing figures. Magazine directories are a good start - if there's a magazine, there's a built-in buying group.
Drill down in categories to find key areas. Gives lists of sites to check for best sellers and movers. What people are watching, what people are downloading, what people are searching for.
Be in a niche where people are hungry for solutions. Gives more news magazines to look through (most are also online or primarily so).

Trend - a manifestingation of something that has unlocked or newly serviced and existing consumer need - desire/want/value.
One core need is to be in control - why Internet is so addictive.
Use google trends.
NEW - Google Insights

Market research never ends.

Keep track of news - list PR sites (means your own PR's have a lot more value than throwaways)
Dominate the conversation. Daily comments with one killer entry each week. (Become THE AUTHORITY in this field.) (Blogs and social marketing - twittering..., stumbleuponing)

Brainstorming has applications in market research.

XLS spreadsheet tool is provided to help with this research.
Keyword research tells you if you're into the right niche - but just a start.
Are there enough searches?
Allow for growth. Don't go too far down in the niche. You can have one site as a niche. You want to know there is enough traffic happening around your keywords.
Lots of free keyword search tools. http://spyfu.com - tells you if you can monetize that niche.
Spyfu can tell you whether you can sell advertising, by how much and who is spending on online ads.

Search results
using quotes
allintitle:keyword
allinanchor:keyword
and check competitors' sites links - link:http://competitorsite.com
SEO for Firefox

Follow top ten competitors for the niche - find out what they are offering.
Content
Site Design
Affiliate products
Original products and services

Opt-in forms
Special Offers
Marketing tactics
Articles
Syndication - RSS feeds
Interaction - Forum?
Publicity - Press releases
Link/linking tactics
Adsense/block advertising

Set up Google alerts on top keywords - use separate email for this, get lots of traffic
News trail and bloggers in this area.

Find forums - main keyword + forum
Use these to find needs in this market/niche - see how active and what's hot
People who are moaning and groaning are looking for solutions - which you can provide
Can make a giveaway just off cut/paste forum answers - and add a couple of paragraphs.

Find the information gaps - what people are looking for and not being provided.
Does the niche need portal or a vertical data site (deep and narrow)

Do research first and find if there isn't any way to get into this particular niche.

(Actually, get something going first - and set some time aside weekly for research. Plan from that research and execute those plans the rest of the week WHILE maintaining the existing work you are already doing. Baby with bathwater approach.)

(There is also the reverse of finding what you are doing, what your passion is, and then working out how to monetize this - how to work at what you love and make a good living at it.)

Identify Potential Income Sources
  • sell ad space
  • sell links
  • creating and selling your own products
  • service - consulting
  • selling products directly with ecommerce
  • drop shipping
  • membership
Don't log on without a game plan. (KEY, KEY, KEY)

Change is coming - will be based on visitor trust. User control - visitors will vote a site up or down.

What they are telling here is different than what is being told (sold) out there. You have to decide if it works for you.

(Here's the rub - $97 per month for Authority Site Center membership...)

(More on next Thursday. Have to figure how to record this better - just the sound. Then I can go back to this later.)

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