In which I learn eBay is not for me August 29, 2007
Posted by Niels in : Personal, Work , 3 commentsEver since I cleaned out my apartment in Berkeley, I’ve had a pile of junk I’d been meaning to sell on eBay. I finally got around to it and have decided next time, I’m just throwing it out. By the time I take photos of my stuff, upload them to my computer, upload them to eBay, write the description, and post it, I’m half an hour in. And I’m still going to have to take a trip to the post office. Unless I’m selling something for $50+, it’s just not worth it.
The other possibility is having multiple items that I sell for weeks on end so I can keep using the same description each time. Barring that, though, I’m eliminating eBay from my list of potential careers.
Your thoughts?WiFi SSID advertising August 25, 2007
Posted by Niels in : Passive income, Personal , 1 comment so farCheck out the screenshot below. Someone came up with the idea of putting ads in unsecured 802.11 network names. From a marketing standpoint, I doubt this will actually result in any sales, but it’s a cute example of a low-cost way to push your content onto someone else’s screen.
Back to “work” August 22, 2007
Posted by Niels in : Passive income, Personal , add a commentWith my mostly Pickup 101-sponsored European tour over, this week has been about making sure that my own business progresses before I leave for San Francisco. I finished my first attempt at copywriting, a sales letter for Dress for Success (with Women) that I’ll post here after it’s undergone a few more revisions. Lance will be helping me refine it and hone my copywriting skills. I still feel underpaid, but copywriting is a skill that will pay off big time as I start producing my own products.
I’m learning AdWords, too. I’m already an affiliate for Pickup 101, so I’m using AdWords to point people to our product sales pages. No sales yet, but the 30 Day Challenge claims you can expect one sale for every 200 visitors assuming reasonably targeted traffic, average copy, and a $50-$100 product. I’ve sent about 300 people so far with no sales, but I’m mostly referring people to a $600 product (Physical Confidence), so I expect a lower conversion rate. We’ll see.
And of course, top priority - the Thirty Day Challenge. Caught up on eight podcasts and about thirty blog posts. We’ve got our magic phrase picked out, have picked out an affiliate product for testing, and very soon will be driving traffic. John Reese, a well-known internet marketer says that once you make your first dollar, you’re 90% of the way to making $500 a day. Honestly, I’d be quite happy with $400 a day. No reason to get greedy…
Your thoughts?Niche market research August 6, 2007
Posted by Niels in : Magazine, Personal , 1 comment so farCraig and I followed up on our list of niche markets from this weekend. We picked seven that we really liked and ran them through Wordtracker’s Free Keyword Suggestion Tool. Following that up with Google’s Search Sponsored Links gives us an idea of how many people are searching in our markets and whether anyone is already making a product for them. Ed Dale pointed out something that surprised us in his podcast - that competition is not a bad thing. Seeing other products in a niche we were considering is a good sign - it means that the niche is profitable. All we have to do is outmarket our competition and we’ll learn to do that this month…
Your thoughts?Finding a niche market August 4, 2007
Posted by Niels in : Passive income , add a commentThe Thirty Day Challenge has begun with a focus on finding a market first. Find a niche market, be the only product in there, make money. Most budding entrepreneurs do it the other way around - come up with a product and then look for a market to sell it.
Craig and I spent yesterday brainstorming ideas, but the concept of a niche market didn’t really hit home until we read two articles by Mike Mindel:
So What is a Niche Market Anyway?
That Magic Feeling when you find a Niche Market
We read the articles, started over, and now have ten solid niche markets that we’re excited about. Next step: market testing?
Your thoughts?