Shoemoney - Skills To Pay The Bills

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What niche is most profitable to make money line?

Posted: 30 Oct 2012 05:28 AM PDT

I get a lot of questions from people through our contact form, Facebook, Twitter, or whatever with the same thing. ”I just stumbled across X product. What do you think? Do you think its a scam?”.

These can be somewhat loaded questions cause I never know if its the person who owns the product and is just looking for me to review it or if its a spam bot or if its someone who legitimately is asking.

So just to cover all bases I have a canned response that I reply with… and its really for ANY product INCLUDING my own stuff.

I thought this would be a short post… but then I started expanding.

Here is the short version:

My hobbies have turned out to be my most profitable (and only successful websites). Every time I have chased the new most profitable nitch I have lost money on it. That is all I can pass on from my experience. Good luck.

Here is the longer version:

Hi,

Let me first preface this with the fact that I do not consider myself a guru and do not like to tell people what to do. I will however share my experience and if you find that of value then great. I also follow this philosify with all of my own products. I have put a lot of time into producing videos where I will share with you exactly what I do/did to make a living on the internet. These are much more in depth video’s then what I could publish in a blog post.

But to answer your question more directly – this really depends on your current financial position. I allocate about 15% of my monthly online revenue to purchase products. I don’t think that I have ever NOT learned something from an info product. It is really hit and miss. I will tell you that I have gotten more value out of some $9 to $99 e-books then $2,000 products. For me in the current position that I am in, its more about time then anything. I honestly would buy every product on the internet that deals with making money online if I had the time to actually consume it.

A very very very small tip that I can pick up directly or indirectly from these products, even if most of it is complete crap, can pay for these “How to make money online” products for a lifetime.

But again I look at it as a educational expense and I allocate no more than 15% of my net monthly revenue for this.

When I got started I could not afford any products. I spent a ton of time online researching on forums. I recommend the Warrior Forum and Terry Kyle’s Traffic Planet. Those sites are consistently well moderated and have good people that really are trying to help others. It was at a forum just like that where I first discovered eBay arbitrage. A person had written a guide about how he went from living in a car to $500,000 within 2 years doing eBay arbitrage.

This is probably a good time to state one of the biggest lessons I have learned. Every time I have tried to do exactly what someone else tells you they are doing to make money its been some of my biggest failures. Mostly because it was something that I was not interested in. But remember how I said that I learn a lot of things directly and in-directly? This is one of those times.

I looked at what I was doing and interested in. I loved building my own computers. I loved taking apart computers and figuring out what did what. This is something I did as a hobby. It was not work to me at all.

Long story short I discovered this company called Redemtech. They are a computer recycling company. Basically when a company like Wells Fargo buys a nationwide chain of banks they send in Redemtech to strip out all of the infrastructure. Phones, wires, printers, and best of all computers. Then they sell these computers… usually by the pound. Trying to keep this story short I purchased computers from this company that were in “unknown” condition. But they were so cheap…. it was lI think I got 10 computers for $100 or so. They arrived on a semi in a wooden crate. The box was ripped and inside most of the computers were smashed in. I thought I just totally wasted a hundred bucks.

But Then I took them inside and pulled them apart. I looked up all the part numbers and tested each piece and put a detailed listing on eBay for each. Started the bidding at $1 for each auction. By the time it was over I had made over $300 on my $100 investment. Buying in bulk and parting out has been profitable in about anything since the beginning of time.

There is a reason I did not link to Redemtech above. Mostly cause I am worried you are going to read this and decide this is for you. This was TEN years ago.

Here is my experience with guru’s. When they openly talk about how they made their fortunes its because it does not work anymore…. or it never worked in the first place. My thoughts about guru’s is listen to everyone but don’t follow anyone. Take items from their experiences and apply them to what you are doing.

I know SO MANY people who want to buy the latest product cause its promising them the magic bullet to make a living online. OR they heard there is some new hot niche like ringtones, FOREX, weight loss, or whatever that people are making SO MUCH money on… so they chase it. They lose there asses. They end up like Salty Droid, or Pace Latin who are bitter because they have failed miserably at internet marketing and now they are going to “expose” all these guru’s. Saltydroid has done really well with it. Pace Latin has so many skeletons in his closet that he has been dismissed. (see all the recent published reports of his criminal record and him owing 6 figures in back child support.

Well again I know I sound like a broken record but you don’t have to buy anything. The keyword being have. Like I said above I buy a lot of products but I don’t need them or have to have them and I certainly know they are FAR FROM a magic bullet that is magically going to make me money.

Whenever I speak… and I mean EVERYTIME someone always asks me what niche should they get started in if they want to start making money. I always tell them the same thing. I have no clue. Again I like to speak from my experience and not from some theory so with that the answer is pretty cut and dry… All of my success comes from building websites and services that I want to use and then opening them up to the general public.

Here is my HUGE secret on why all of my companies have been so successful. Ready for this? You sitting down? Here it comes – I am about to pull back the curtains and REALLY tell you the truth!

The secret is I do what I love. I don’t do it for the money. I do it cause its fun and its like a hobby to me.

I wrote a computer program that converted wallpapers to the right format for phones. Then I made it so others can use it. That little thing made me a fortune.

One day I wanted to display my own ads that looked like AdSense but that I had full control over and could put my own affiliate codes in. Then I made it so others can use and put in eBay. This became AuctionAds and within 4 months of its operation was grossing over 2 million a month in revenue.

This blog, ShoeMoney.com is a another great example. I do everything that “experts” say not to do. I can’t spell worth a shit, cuss, and don’t do any SEO that does not come installed with wordpress. I have fun with this site. I enjoy writing it. I wrote it when nobody read it and someday when nobody reads it again I will still be here with my 1.2 posts a day.

So anyway I hope that this post makes you look at what you are doing, or what you are thinking about doing and gives you some value. Again for the last time I will stress that you do not need to buy anything.

Looking for an SEO service that won’t get you banned?

ProBlogger: SEO for Bloggers With Soul

SEO for Bloggers With Soul

Posted: 29 Oct 2012 07:00 AM PDT

This guest post is by Sarah L. Webb of S. L. Writes.

Maybe you consider yourself a serious writer who doesn't have time for the details of how to boost SEO.

Why should you bother with that when you've launched a blog to help people and make the world a better place? Every post you write is packed with valuable information and compelling content. For you, that's most important, and it should be.

However, it's hard to change the world if you can't reach the world, and SEO increases the chances that readers will discover this life changing blog of yours.

You still might think SEO is mostly fake and contrived and not worthy of a serious writer's attention and time. You might view SEO as a spammer's bag of tricks, even with Google's efforts to make it harder to manipulate the system.

I understand that you're a truly passionate blogger who wants to distance yourself from the kind of malignant marketing that clogs your spam folder. But there’s more to it.

Basic SEO practices are also good blogging and writing practices. More than just helping your site show up in a search engine, SEO can help improve a blog's focus, readability, and value.

Here's how it happens naturally.

Focus keywords: passion and niche

Keyword usage is possibly the number one strategy for bloggers, likely because it's one of the simplest. But keywords have gotten a reputation for destroying perfectly good writing by making it annoyingly repetitive. That's because spam writers pack keywords into every sentence, thinking it makes a difference.

Instead, the only keywords you need to focus on are passion and niche. Your blogging niche is probably your passion.

Of course those two terms won't be your actual keywords. Instead, your keywords are the names of the category/sub-category that your niche falls under. For example, your niche and therefore your keywords might be rooftop gardening, comic book collections, or backswing.

This is far from contrived, and you're probably already using these words because they're the subject of your blog. It's actually what your site is about and what your posts are about from any number of angles. The majority of your posts, therefore, and your titles, should naturally include these words on a fairly consistent basis.

If readers can't tell what your blog is about, they probably won't come back. If it's clear that your blog is all about rooftop gardening, then rooftop gardeners will keep returning for more information. Otherwise, they'll think you're some sort of generalist blogger who once wrote about rooftop gardening on a whim.

So it's bigger than keywords. It's about the focus of your blog.

Still concerned about the quality of the writing? SEO can help improve the reading experience of your posts.

Titles and language: be direct

Honest, soulful, non-spam blogging is all about the readers, isn't it?

Beginning with the title, SEO reminds you to tell readers exactly what to expect from an article. They shouldn't have to read hundreds of words only to realize your post won't give them what they're looking for. Readers are busier than ever and they literally have a million other things they could be giving attention to. If you don't respect your readers' attention, they may never bother to read your work again.

It's only fair that you don't waste their time with misleading, ambiguous titles or introductory paragraphs that dance around the subject. More than likely, they won't even click the link if the title is bad and isn't somehow informative. You can still keep intrigue and shock, but the topic should always be clear and specific.

Another value of being SEO minded is that it reminds you to write in a clear, conversational tone. As the saying goes, "Never use a big word when a diminutive one would suffice."

This is more than search engine friendliness. Conversational language helps you connect with your audience and convey those brilliant ideas to the broadest, possible range of people.

Before you could ever think about the “how” of language, I'm sure you determine the “what.” What's the value in everything you're doing, and how does SEO help you improve that value?

Length and links: offer valuable content

When I'm grading student papers, I can estimate how well-developed or under developed the papers are by looking at the word count. Word count factors into the quality of writing because many students make strong claims, but they fail to support illustrate, or expound on those ideas.

For instance, students would probably say they can sum up this entire post in one sentence.

I can too: SEO can help improve a blog's focus, readability, and value.

But if I had just stopped there, would you be convinced? Would you really walk away with a renewed perspective on SEO if I had left it at that?

That's where elaboration comes in. Make a wonderful claim, and then tell readers how to apply it or how it relates to them.

Readers like posts that are packed with insight and helpful information. Being vague and general won't give them that. Write it plainly, but also write it completely.

Include links wherever they're truly relevant. Give readers the opportunity to continue learning beyond the single post they're reading.

All of this is in line with your noble mission, not contrary to it.

SEO with soul

Unfortunately, a system put in place to measure the value of sites so that Google could deliver the best value to its users has been hacked by people trying to make a quick buck. But like any form of technology, a few people who abuse the system don't make the system inherently worthless. Like Facebook, Twitter, and television, it's about how you chose to use the tool, and the kind of value you bring to it.

If you're a regular at ProBlogger, you're probably someone who uses technology for legitimate, even charitable purposes. Your good intentions should lead you to an honest use of SEO. I call it SEO with soul.

So I urge you not to let the spammers keep you away from a great thing. Take back SEO, and show the world how to do it right.

Sarah L. Webb teaches writing at the University of Phoenix in Louisiana, is working on a collection of architecture poems, and blogs about books on writing and other off topic issues at S. L. Writes.

Originally at: Blog Tips at ProBlogger