Currently, I have 4 niche sites – my security guard training site from the niche site duel and 3 others that I have started since. All are on the first page of Google, however the security guard training site is definitely the most successful (see Friday’s post) – at least for now.
I want to do a lot more, but I know from my experience with these 4 niche sites that I just don’t have the time to write the content for anything new. And now, more than ever, the content reallymatters.
(Actually, content has always been important – we were just recently reminded of how important it is by Google’s latest Algorithm change)
So, I have a few options:
Stop building niche sites, even though I have a list of 7 valuable keywords that all beautifully meet my keyword research criteria.
A lot of you have been requesting an update on my security guard training niche site, so here it is!
If you aren’t familiar with this particular site of mine, I recommend you read up on the niche site duel – where I and several other bloggers and internet marketers share and reveal everything from idea generation to monetization (and we reveal our niches and domain names too!).
Earnings Update
Currently, the site is still ranking #1 for my target keyword and primarily making money from Google Adsense, and thanks to some great advice from Spencer over at NicheAdsenseChallenge.com (who has his last day of work at his 9 to 5 job today…congrats Spencer!), I made a couple of little tweaks that dramatically increased my income from an average of $8.00 per day, to a whopping $19.09 per day since the changes I made on March 2nd.
That’s a 139% increase in earnings, and over the course of an entire year that’s an extra $4,047.85! This just shows you that even little changes can make a huge difference over the long haul.
Here’s a graph showing you my earnings since the change: Click to continue…
There is yet another Facebook change around the corner, which is forcing me to create yet another Facebook landing page tutorial.
On March 11th (that’s tomorrow!) Facebook will no longer allow users to add new FBML applications to their Facebook page, which means the old way of creating a landing page (using the Static FBML application) will be extinct.
If you have an existing landing page using any FBML type application, don’t worry. Your existing page will not be affected. This change only affects those who do not have a landing page yet and want to create one after March 11th, 2011.
That said, even if you have a landing page setup for Facebook already, I recommend you check out how it’s done in the video below just in case Facebook changes their mind and decides to get rid of FBML all together, and because this new way of creating a landing page allows you to easily add HTML, so you can get pretty slick as far as what you can do and the things you can add onto your landing page.
I’m thinkin’ videos, opt-in forms, maps, and other dynamic things that were much harder to code in FBML before.
This is a good change, and even though this means a little extra work for me, I don’t mind as long as my work helps a few of you.
As a reminder, a landing page is a page that people who visit your Facebook Page will see first, which is important because you can then direct them to click on the ‘like button’ at the top, which isn’t so obvious if you just send people to your wall. Using a landing page can drastically increase your conversions and explode your Facebook fan count.
Below you’ll see a video explaining how to create an HTML / iFrame type landing page. The new application that I recommend, Static HTML iFrame Tab (by Jason Padvorac), allows you to add 2 landing pages: 1 for non-fans, and 1 for fans. Check out the video below to learn more about how you can utilize this application to increase “like” conversion and get the most bang for your buck.
There are other HTML / iFrame type applications available now too, but I like this one in particular because it’s free, easy to use and doesn’t ask for your email or any permissions like some of the other ones do.
Note: Facebook may be slow to load these new applications as they make the change from FBML to HTML. Please be patient when installing this application. Thanks!
As mentioned in the video, I’ll also be including some resources and HTML code that you can use on your own landing pages. I will continually be adding to the list of stuff below as I learn more and as my VA codes things that I can share with you.
Showing an Image
If you don’t know HTML and/or don’t have the resources to hire or find someone to code HTML or you, you can do what I did in the video and just simply create an image file that is the size of the Page (520 px wide and however tall you want it to be) and add your own copy, calls to action or pictures, etc. to that image.
Below is the sample HTML code I used to embed the image into the application:
Of course, replace the url in the example with the url of where your image is stored.
A Basic Link with Anchor Text
Here a basic code that you can copy that will create a link within your page:
<a href="http://www.smartpassiveincome.com">The Smart Passive Income Blog</a>
Be sure to replace the url between the quotations with your destination, and replace “The Smart Passive Income Blog” with whatever anchor text you want.
The ‘Like’ Button
You may want to add an image of the Like Button that Facebook uses within the graphics of your page. Simply right click on the like button below and “save as” to copy it onto your computer for your use.
Your Facebook Fan & Twitter Follower Counts
Here is a link (thanks to @adalpo_project for the find) to some html that you can use or tweak to show how many Facebook Fans and Twitter followers you have, which updates automatically for you.
If you’re using a service like Aweber to collect email addresses, you can simply add in the script that it gives you for your web form into the fields of the Static HTML application.
As I recommend in the video, I would reserve any sort of actions you want your user to take other than clicking the LIKE button for your “Fan” landing page – the page people see after they click the ‘Like’ button. Again, the reasoning is that the primary purpose of the “Non-Fan” landing page is to get people to click on that ‘Like’ button. The more options you have the less likely that will happen. Again, it’s sort of like a squeeze page for Facebook.
More to come…
My own Facebook Page isn’t setup yet with the new HTML application, but I’m working with my VA now to code something cool and I’ll be sure to share that and anything else with you as I figure things out.
If you have something else to add, share or request please let me know and I’ll do my best to add it to the above resources.
And lastly, I’d really love it if you share this with your fans or followers today. All it takes is a simple click on the ‘like’ button below. Thanks!
Update: You can install up to 12 instances of this application so you can have more tabs than just the one for your landing page. Here is the link for that information.
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In this session of the Smart Passive Income Podcast, I continue to investigate the different types of passive income streams that can be generated online and what you can expect from each. I discuss the potential costs that are involved, how one might get started, what kind of results are typical and how long it might take to see those results.
During part 2 of this series, I talk about:
Two reasons why I believe blogging is a form of passive income.
The common formula that is used by bloggers to generate an income online.
The one thing we should do differently than Seth Godin.
A trick when naming your blog that could make things a lot easier for you.
How you can create a new blog, pick a theme and write your first post in less than 4 minutes, even if you’ve never done it before.
Two things that I wish I had done immediately when I started blogging that I didn’t do (and it’s not about building a email list).
The typical progression of bloggers, from excitement to failure and how to overcome it.
How to make an eBook that writes itself.
The differences between E-Junkie and Clickbank to sell and deliver an eBook to your customers.
How throwing away 25 pages worth of audio that I recorded turned into $1400 in two days.
As always, thank you for your support, and I wish you all the best. We’ll finish up this series in the next session and after that we’ll get back to some interviews with some new guests on the show.
Every couple of months I like to hold a reader challenge, where I ask you to do perform a particular task that will help your business or blog grow, and in return I link to your achievement and together we inspire and educate.
The pillar article challenge was a major success, and as a result many of you emailed me saying thanks and that you really benefited from participating. A few of you told me you received record traffic for the articles you published, and one of you even told me you got a book deal because of it! Now that’s what I’m talkin’ about!
My next challenge to you was to write a list post, and I’m excited to share with you the results of hours of work put in by a number of SPI readers today.
To all the participants, I’d just like to say…
You rock!
Way to see an opportunity, take the challenge and execute. I love it.
Below you’ll see 1003 things listed in 63posts about all kinds of topics. I don’t expect you to read them all, but scan through and see which ones stand out to you. If you have time, read through some of them and leave a comment on their post too if you’d like. Click to continue…
Yes – it’s that time of the month again! My monthly report for February 2011 is due!
I love writing these reports because not only is it a great way for me to look back and see what I’ve accomplished over the past month, but it’s also a way for me to see exactly what I could have done better.
Beyond the actual numbers, this report is actually meant to give you an over-the-shoulder look into my online businesses and the lessons I’ve learned within each. Hopefully you can avoid my mistakes and use my success to inspire you to crush it online too.
Most of you are probably familiar with the food pyramid, right?
If not, it’s a graphical representation (in the shape of a pyramid) of the suggested serving sizes of different food groups, which together illustrate a healthy and balanced diet. It was adopted by the USDA (United State Department of Agriculture) in 1992 to give Americans an easy and memorable way to understand nutrition.
Here, I want to show you something called a content pyramid.
The content pyramid below is a graphical representation of the “serving sizes” of different types of blog posts thatI’ve written on this blog, which together illustrate what I believe to be my own healthy blogging diet – a diet that has proved to quickly build some authority in the blogosphere.
(click to enlarge – opens a new window)
In an older post, I had outlined a strategy I use to diversify the content that I publish on this blog. I went into detail about several different types of posts and how they each catered to a specific type of person and how they like to digest information, however I failed to illustrate exactly how often each of those posts were published.
Hence, this pyramid.
Now, in pure SPI fashion, let’s break it down from the bottom, up. Click to continue…
Its been a while since I last posted a “what’s going on with me lately” type of post, but I think now is the perfect time to bring it back because there’s a lot going on and I’m always happy to keep you in the loop.
Here’s what’s up:
I Just Hired A Full Time VA
I finally did it!
On Monday, I hired my first full-time VA to do web programming and development to help me get all of my completed (and future) projects online, up and running. Also, because I’ll have to keep feeding him work to do, I know that my business will always be growing, even when I’m not doing anything myself.
In the past, I would try to figure out everything on my own – that’s just the type of person I am.
A control freak.
Now I know that doing everything on my own is definitely not the smart thing to do, at least not when you’re trying to expand your business and trying to keep hours of work to a minimum.
Minimum effort, maximum efficiency.
How I Found My VA
I found my VA through Chris Ducker’s Virtual Staff Finder, which made the whole process very simple and stress free. I’ve worked with VSF before but only on a one-off project, so I was curious to see how this was going to turn out.
The person they found for me is highly qualified, and at least from what I’ve seen from him so far, he’s excellent. Already (in just one day) he’s setup a new domain, installed wordpress and setup a theme on it with hardly any instruction from me.
Sure, that’s not too difficult of a task, but it was just nice to see that after a short message to him on BaseCamp (the project management software I’m using), he was able to take care of everything for me while I was asleep.
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In this session of the Smart Passive Income Podcast, I investigate the different types of passive income streams that can be generated online, and what you can expect from each.
When I say “what you can expect”, I mean:
the costs that are involved
how one might get started
what kind of results are typical; and
how long it might take to see those results
A lot of people have been emailing me and sending me message that this blog doesn’t have a good starting point for newcomers.
Well – they’re right.
I don’t.
This podcast session, along with the other parts that go with it, will become that starting point – a place to give you an idea about what you can do and how you can begin to work towards earning a passive income online.
During this particular segment of this series, I talk about:
What I believe is the fastest and easiest way to make money online. You might be surprised!
An example of a totally passive, 100% hands-off income stream that continues to grow.
How I totally failed in my first experience with affiliate marketing.
Why affiliates are important and why 99% of the work is already done for you.
What you can do to get started, even if you don’t have any money at all.
As I mention at the end of this session, Cliff Ravenscraft from PodcastAnswerMan.com, a dear friend and frequent guest on my podcast, will be dedicating the entire month of March to helping a group of students create a successful podcast too. He’s helped me so much, I feel that he and his Podcasting from A to Z course definitely deserves a mention. It’s the least I can do for all of his help.
This is a guest post by Onibalusi, a 17 year old (yes, I said 17) blogger who you can find at YoungPrePro.com. What impresses me most about Oni is not his age, but really how smart and hard working this young man is. He’s one of the hardest working bloggers that I know (of all ages) and English isn’t even his primary language.
Enjoy, and be ready for the next session of the Smart Passive Income Podcast coming this Monday. Cheers!
It’s not natural for blog posts to go viral and there are a lot of factors that can determine how successful your blog posts will be. Even though the size of your blog and the type of your audience matter, there are other factors that are even more important that will determine how viral your blog posts will be.
How Do You Know If Your Blog Posts Will Go Viral?
First, I must tell you that there is no guarantee that your posts will go viral, but there are some things that you can do to increase your chances. After analyzing a lot of big blogs I was able to come up with a list of some of the most important factors: Click to continue…
No, I'm not a millionaire, but I am living off of passive income made online. I'm here to show you what I've learned...
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Currently, I have 4 niche sites – my security guard training site from the niche site duel and 3 others that I have started since. All are on the first page of Google, however the security guard training site is definitely the most successful (see Friday’s post) – at least for now.
Challenges bring out the best in all of us.
No, I'm not a millionaire, but I am living off of passive income made online. I'm here to show 
Enter your name and email below to get Free Instant Access to the most comprehensive guide available on how to Publish, Market, and automate your own killer eBook.
