Desty Online -- Online and Offline Businesses, Online Marketing » Online Business

Thriving Online Business or Beginnings of Overload?

Desty — Wed, 23 Apr 2008 15:57:21 +0000

I’ve been extremely business as of late creating new eBay affiliate sites. I’m using wordpress as a platform to create a BANS type site. Since I’m using wordpress, I get to use all the nice toys (plugins) that come with it, along with formatting my permalinks for maximum SEO advantage. While I’m not making 1 per day, I bought three great domains yesterday and was able to make two sites last night.

I had planned to get the third site up and running tonight, but then for some reason I started keyword researching. I don’t know why I started it, but I found myself in Google’s Adword keyword tools looking up CPC for a possible Adsense site. My first keyword had a CPC of only $0.05, so it was a non-started. My second keyword, however, brought back a $2.06 CPC! Mind you that’s not like a $5 or $10 click, but I’ll take it! On impulse, I jumped over to Godaddy to see if I could get a decent domain; talk about luck! I was able to get the plain keyword domain dot com! But, before I bought, I looked to see if I could find some content for it. Yes, it’s another video site. Looking off Youtube, I found roughly 2600 related videos, so that should be enough!

Now I just have to find the time to make this Adsense site. I hate to take away from my ebay affiliate sites, but when everything just seems to be lined up for this site to be made, I gota follow. The only problem I see right now is that I have NO clue as to what the traffic numbers for this thing is. Oh well, if I can pull off $1 per day, I’ll be happy.

One more notch, er, site under my belt

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What Is the Rat Race Rebellion?

Desty — Mon, 25 Feb 2008 18:23:52 +0000

The Rat Race Rebellion. Those three words have been running around the web for the last few hours. Google shows the Rat Race Rebellion at the top of their current trends; Rat Race Rebellion is currently number 1 on Google’s Trends.

What exactly is the Rat Race Rebellion? When I read those words, I instantly thought of Rich Dad, Poor Dad, and Robert Kiyosaki. I own the board game Cashflow. If you’ve never played Cashflow, think of it as an adult version of Monopoly!

Danielle Babb is the woman behind all the talk of the Rat Race Rebellion. Dr Babb talks about stay at home moms can work online and actually make money online.

Dr Danielle Babb is also the author of the book Make Money Teaching Online: How to Land Your First Academic Job, Build Credibility, and Earn a Six Figure Salary.

Rat Race Rebellion Videos from The Today Show - Work at home scams, rat race rebellion, rat race, today show, ratrace, adjunct nation, ratracerebellion.com, stay at home jobs, business opportunity, data entry work from home, jobs for stay at home moms, jobs at home , online teaching jobs, rat race rebellion

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Build the Online Business

Desty — Tue, 22 Jan 2008 17:34:50 +0000

For those who wondered where I was, I’ve been busy with both online business and offline matters.

I was involved in an accident that involved me, my car, black ice, and the ditch. I’m fine but the car is fairly banged up.

Online, I’ve been incredibly busy!

Right now I’m working hard to expand several made for adsense sites. I know, conventional wisdom says not to worry too much about content, just to throw those keywords up to get the big G’s notice. I have this PR2 blogger site that I started last year and I’ve finally gotten it to page two for it’s keyword. I haven’t had much traffic on it yet, but that’s because it’s a holiday related site, so as we get closer to that holiday (see sidebar) traffic should start to pickup. I just need to keep working it.

I also registered a new domain last week for my local niche. I found the perfect wordpress theme, and am trying to post atleast twice per day. Things are going well; I’m fleshing out my long term planning for the site and its upkeep. Everything looks very interesting.

My funny video site’s traffic has slowed, and so has my adsense income. I’ve not been able to put as much effort into the site as before with the new projects, but it’s still doing ok.

My biggest enemy right now is lack of sleep and burn-out. I recently started weight training again, which I love; only problem is that takes more time away that I could be working on my online businesses. But, I’ve said it before, and I’ll say it again, “I have promises to keep, and miles to go before I sleep, and miles to go before I sleep.”

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Writing about Your Online Business is a Mistake

Desty — Sun, 06 Jan 2008 04:49:12 +0000

If you read this blog, I’m willing to bet money that you have either read or subscribe to ‘how to make money online’ blogs. While my focus is more along the lines of online business I do go into how to make money online, since online business is all about making money online; they go hand in hand with each other.

As I’ve discovered over the last two weeks, however, if you’re serious about your online business, and I really mean seriously working it, then when do you actually have time to write about it??

My personal experience over these last two weeks has been to work my j.o.b., spend quality time with my family (wife is now going to school at night), and everything else is focused on my online business.

Masked Dispatcher, my funny video progresses on a daily basis, and is bringing in a semi steady income on a daily basis as well. You know that you’re enjoying yourself when you are limited on how many posts you make by trading sleep time for computer time. I’m still wondering about the adsense format, but everything else is great, so I can focus on content and backlinks.

On every meta-blogging blog they mention the importance of getting backlinks, and how you need to get them, etc, but they really don’t say how you do that. I’ve actually invested some business income into a software tool that should help get those backlinks; we’ll see how that goes.

I’ve put my BANS plans on hold for the time being. I’m more interested in focusing on creating niche blogs for adsense income. I’ve seen the power of keywords on Internet traffic, and I’m addicted! I’m wracking my brain to find another niche that I know something about, and that will make a decent click income from adsense.

An Online Business Niche Secret

I’ve discovered a contradiction over the last two weeks. Again, looking at those meta-blogging blogs, they say don’t write for search engines, write for people. I have to say no to that. Here’s the secret:

Writing for search engines is writing for people!!!

How is that? What do people search for? What words do they enter into google, yahoo, or MSN’s search bar to find what they want? THAT is what you want to focus your keywords on. Not only putting those keywords into the blog title and all over the article itself, but if you’re starting a new niche, get that keyword into the domain name itself.

Now, if you constantly working on existing online businesses and trying to expand into new niches, when do you actually have time to write about what you’re doing? You’re taking time away from actually doing it! Yes, I’m taking time away right now just writing this, but it just struck me tonight. Time to go back to backlinks!

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Keep Moving Forward With Your Business

Desty — Sun, 23 Dec 2007 20:22:59 +0000

I had planned on my article about holiday articles be my last article before Christmas. I thought it was a good way to start the holidays. Our plans are to head to my parent’s for Christmas Eve lunch, have the boys open their gifts there, then head to my inlaws for dinner, then open gifts. We’d then make the treck back home for the night, get up the next morning, and head for my grandmother’s.

BANS Project

I’ve narrowed down the research on my BANS project to my niche. Using Court’s keyword marketing process, it looks to be an excellent keyword. Court’s article talks mainly about selecting a keyword for blogging, and opimizing your site for the keyword, but it should work just as well for a BANS.

I hope to actually get started on the sites the weekend after Christmas; yes you read correctly, sites. I’ve found a way to use a Wordpress powered blog to create a BANS instead of buying the clickbank formatted site. So, the plan is to create two sites, both for the same keyword, one using the clickbank site and the other using the Wordpress powered system. As long as I keep everything faily similar, it should be a good test to see which is the best way to create a BANS.

Keep Moving Forward

What got me to write today was watching a video my oldest son got for Christmas. If you haven’t seen the Disney movie “Meet the Robinsons” I suggest that you rent or buy it. Through out the movie, they keep mentioning the phrase “Keep moving forward.” It’s actually a quote from Walt Disney himself.

“Around here, however, we don’t look backwards for very long. We keep moving forward, opening up new doors and doing new things… and curiosity keeps leading us down new paths.”

Running a business, online or not, requires you to keep moving forward. Something doesn’t work? Don’t fixate on that problem, fix it, and move on. Don’t allow anything to keep you stuck in one spot. Keep looking to the future, keep moving forward.

Merry Christmas all!

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Developing a New Online Business

Desty — Tue, 18 Dec 2007 18:09:43 +0000

Now that I have, for the most part, my funny video website up and running, I feel the need to move forward and start my next online business.

I’ve been hearing alot about creating a BANS (Build A Niche Store) and have decided to start one as well. It would be so easy to just buy the software, install, pick a niche, develop the site, and repeat. In all fairness, it is just as simple as that, as far as it goes. I’m looking to create an actual online media network of sites. Everything on the Internet, at some level, is inter-related. I would like to build a series of businesses online, simple as that.

Developing an Online Business

The closest I can get to describing that thought process I’m currently going through to plan this business is to say imagine you have a huge ten thousand piece puzzle. You don’t know what it looks like, but others have told you what it SHOULD look like. Someone gives you a hint here, someone else gives a nudge there, but no one really takes you by the hand to show you how to do it or do it for you.

I’ll share a secret with you:

I’m glad

I want to do this myself. Building a new business forces you to learn a new set of skills. Anyone can be handed a business, fully created and functional. The problem that comes with being given a business is that when problems happen, and they will happen, since you didn’t build the business or didn’t have a hand in it, how are you going to know how to fix the problem. Heck, what if you can’t even recognize that there is a problem to fix?

Develop a Unique Business

There are thousands of BANS out on the Internet. Maybe millions at this point. How are you going to make your site different from the other niche stores? That is where your planning comes into play.

I’m at the research phase of my BANS. I haven’t even gotten close to selecting a niche. I’m looking past to see how I can create an inter-related network of sites, where a customer can go from site to site, one stop shopping as it were.

A New Type of Online Business to Develop

I’m excited to be working on this project. I couldn’t go to sleep last night because I kept thinking about the what’s, the how’s, and the why’s. I currently have two online businesses that are generating revenue:

Desty Online – An information creating and exchange website based upon business topics.
The Masked Dispatcher’s Video Collection – A collection of funny videos from around the Internet.

While I have sold products on eBay, this is the first automated site I have created. As I go through this process, I’ll document and share my results from this new online business.

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Start Your Own Online Business

Desty — Tue, 11 Dec 2007 03:12:22 +0000

In generations past, Americans ran their own businesses. The majority of the population had “something on the side.” As time progressed, small individual businesses either turned into or were driven out of business by large multi-national corporations.

The Best Hope to Start a New Business

Business owners will tell you how to get customers:

Offer something better or cheaper, but go where the customers are.

Where is the greatest collection of potential customers? What is the greatest form of leverage to get your product or service out to customers far and wide?

The Internet

Start Your Own Blog Business

Everyone wants to start or has a blog. Their topics range from personal online journals, World of Warcraft guides, all the way to blogging about their business. No one worries about starting a blog. It’s become so easy; everyone can just head over to Blogger or Wordpress.com and after a few minutes, another blog joins the millions.

Why Starting Your Own Online Business is Different

When asked why bloggers don’t start their own online business, defenses automatically go up! All they hear is “start their own ~~online~~ business.”

Whereas in generations past most families ran their own business, mainly a side venture to help “hustle” more money to pay off the house or buy John’s braces, or whatever event came up, currently instead of starting business, online or offline, most people would rather take a 2nd job.

Starting Your New Online Business Has Never Been Easier

I’m not looking to sell you anything, I just want to share this simple piece of advice:

Start an online business but don’t quit your day job.

Be it a blog you start and attempt to make money through adsense or writing articles for income, affiliate marketing with Pay Per Click, or actually buying and selling on eBay, just start something! Anything! You don’t have to be a starving college student to start your own online business or go to the trouble figuring out how to give away free stuff to start a business. It can be something as simple as starting a blogspot blog for free and writing about your favorite hobby, throw in some Adsense, and just browse around the Internet and learn about how to make money online.

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A Choice of Two Different Business Models

Desty — Fri, 23 Nov 2007 01:49:47 +0000

I’ve gotten alot of great comments from my review of my new commercial site The Masked Dispatcher but I’ve run into a snag when it comes to the actual business model for the site. As I invisioned, the site would be a search resource for iTunes; I had problems using iTunes myself and thought that a simple search site would be a good idea.

Too Many Things to Do

When creating an online business, no matter what it’s about, you’ve got to keep it simple. If it’s not simple, then visitors will leave. I thought that posting videos to songs, a paragraph about the artist, and links to either songs or artist’s catalogs would be enough. I wasn’t looking at the big picture. People who use iTunes are used to it and, more then likely, would search iTunes first before going online to search for music.

The second problem regards non-iTunes users. To buy the music, they would have to download iTunes. It’s too much to ask. Seriously, if you want to buy music online, would you want to wait and download a program, set it up, then go back to the site and buy your music? Online business is supposed to be faster than that.

Two New Competing Business Models

Before I had written my article about the previous business model and asking for a review, I had emailed several affiliate marketers about the site. In all honesty, when you go past my thoughts and plans for the site, at the basic level the site is a sales / landing page for an affiliate network. I was disappointed in the lack of responses I got from the emails, but I did get one reply.

I hate to burst your bubble man, but you’re trying to do too much. Think about it, all the songs that Itunes has and you’re wanting to put them into a blogger format? Do yourself a favor and forget about it unless you’re into torturing yourself. Instead, you can do one of two things: setup a music news site where you take other’s articles and put your own spin on it, or just make a funny or sexy video site. You’d use adsense or whatever to make your bucks, maybe throw in a CPA ad as well when you start getting traffic. Either should be pretty easy to pull off.

Two Different Business Models

I think the advice is sound, the question becomes which business model to follow? My problem has always been, even when I was growing up, I didn’t like choices. Did I want chocolate ice cream or strawberry ice cream; that I was easy, I wanted BOTH!

So, I refuse to make a choice, and I’m taking both choices for business models. First, I’ll start publishing music news and entertainment articles on the current site, and even throw in some iTunes affiliate links should someone already using iTunes wants to save time and buy a song or album. Second, using revenue from this news blog, I’ll create a video blog.

Online business is always an exciting experience. When working on a failing business model, someone comes along and shows you a better way.

Online Business, Business Model, Online Business Model, Music News Blog, Video Blog

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The Masked Dispatcher Alpha Goes Live!

Desty — Wed, 14 Nov 2007 14:41:31 +0000

I’ve been working on my new project in my spare time, weekends, late at night, etc. It’s no where near what I want it to be, but I have enough up to try and get some feedback.

The Masked Dispatcher, your gateway to digital music downloads is live!

The site is purely a service oriented venture; I know that when I’m looking for stuff on iTunes, the program is slow and not very user friendly, so I asked the question that all great businesses start with:

Is there a better way?

My goal is to be continually adding songs to the site. Right now all additions are being done manually because I want to have the following in each post:

a sample of the song (or a video sample)
background on the artist

I would like to eventually automate the entire process, but that would require someone with mad skills in coding, not me.

Please check out the Masked Dispatcher and let me know what you think. Seriously, let me have it. I need to know what’s wrong so I can fix it. I’m using the same wordpress theme as Desty Online because of the featured articles but I would like to eventually get a customized theme.

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Do You Want to Make Money? Give Away Free Stuff!

Desty — Fri, 09 Nov 2007 15:28:05 +0000

Do you want something for free? I know I do. For the most part, so does everyone else in the world.

What a minute! It can’t be for free! There’s got to be a catch. I’m sure there’s something, somewhere were you get hit with a backend sell. Sometimes the backend is hidden or not mentioned up front, but for most of us, we see the words free and think, “what’s the catch?”
Creating a digital product and giving it away for free is actually a very profitable business model on the Internet. The idea is to get the product created, create a site to distribute the product, add user actionable advertising (adsense for the most part, but there are others), and you’ve got yourself a business.

I’ve already written about two examples of this business model with free MySpace layouts (my article on Whateverlife.com) and free cell phone ringtones (my article on Nextpimp.com). Whateverlife.com creates MySpace layouts for teenage girls and gives them away for free. Nextpimp.com distributes cell phone ringtones for free, mostly ringtones that have been created and submitted by other users.

Adsense is a big part of this income from giving away free products. The “conventional wisdom” with adsense ads is to make them blend with your site as much as possible. One thing that I noticed right away from both Whateverlife and Nextpimp, they used a similar ad style; the colors of backgrounds and text matched their sites, but the header of the adsense were a different color from the other ad text. This change in color made the ads pop out and catch the eye.

While Desty Online has, one way or another, always used Adsense we always tried to make the ads blend in as much as possible with the blog’s theme. Based off of Whateverlife and NextPimp’s examples, we’ve changed the headers of our adsense blocks to be more user friendly. The results speak for themselves. Over the past 3 days our adsense clicks have increased over 300%!

Whateverlife.com, MySpace Layouts, ringtones, free ringtones, free mayspace layouts, adsense

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