[TheMaleBrain]

(03-11-2019 11:54 AM)Off The Reservation Wrote:  

(03-11-2019 09:55 AM)Isaac Jordan Wrote:  

Anyone have advice on landing (non-paid) speaking gigs or getting in front of large audiences?

I'm something of an expert on a rather niche subject (directly related to my work), and aside from word-of-mouth recommendations my best way to acquire new clients has been presentations/speaking gigs. I spend half an hour or so teaching about my field and almost always have a few people approach me afterward, many of whom soon become clients.

I've done local rotary clubs, alumni groups, informal university lectures, etc., again mostly via word-of-mouth (as in a current client recommends me to their group). I seem to have maxed out my personal network though, and I'm trying to figure out how to go about advertising myself as a speaker. I don't charge anything to speak, it's all simply an opportunity to educate attendees about my field and allow them to approach me if interested in my services.

Any recommendations? My first thought was to create a list of local organizations likely to want speakers (such as rotary clubs) and basically cold call to offer my services, but I'm interested if anyone here has dealt with something similar.

Whenever you get a conference invitation in your industry reply to them and ask do you need a speaker on xyz subject.

PM me!

Also, there are companies who solicit lecturers. you bring the material, they do the BizDev. Their cut is usually a big one (percentage wise). Look those up as well by searching for lecturers.

[KnjazMihailo]

Hello guys.

I have my own niche site and there are a few things i'm not entirely sure how to do. All i really know how to do is pump out lots of content when i commit myself to it (with a little help from a friend who volunteers for free).

Is there anyone here who is an expert on niche sites and affiliate marketing?

I need help with things like SEO optimization and landing page design at the least.

The only expert i know of in these areas is Kyle Trouble and he's gone offline from the internet for 2 weeks in Thailand.

Any response or advice or etc is greatly appreciated.

[jcrew247]

I've just read that there are now millionaires
doing podcasting after Spotify aquired a
podcasting company.

I suppose its more convenient for commuters to
listen to music and podcasts than just watching
youtube videos or reading blogs.

Anyone making any money from podcasting or youtube
videos? I hear that toy reviews is one popular youtube
video if you have kids playing with toys.

[Ski pro]

I just started a podcast. Amazed by the reach of it with even a bit of basic marketing.

I’m not looking to monétise it as it’s purely for my own amusement but there are people that do. I imagine you have to be going a long time and have a substantial following to do it.

[Irenicus]

(03-16-2019 08:15 AM)KnjazMihailo Wrote:  

Hello guys.

I have my own niche site and there are a few things i'm not entirely sure how to do. All i really know how to do is pump out lots of content when i commit myself to it (with a little help from a friend who volunteers for free).

Is there anyone here who is an expert on niche sites and affiliate marketing?

I need help with things like SEO optimization and landing page design at the least.

The only expert i know of in these areas is Kyle Trouble and he's gone offline from the internet for 2 weeks in Thailand.

Any response or advice or etc is greatly appreciated.

If the budget is good, I can deal with that, and more, as far design is concerned.

PM me with details if interested.



I.

[KnjazMihailo]

(03-18-2019 09:42 AM)Irenicus Wrote:  

(03-16-2019 08:15 AM)KnjazMihailo Wrote:  

Hello guys.

I have my own niche site and there are a few things i'm not entirely sure how to do. All i really know how to do is pump out lots of content when i commit myself to it (with a little help from a friend who volunteers for free).

Is there anyone here who is an expert on niche sites and affiliate marketing?

I need help with things like SEO optimization and landing page design at the least.

The only expert i know of in these areas is Kyle Trouble and he's gone offline from the internet for 2 weeks in Thailand.

Any response or advice or etc is greatly appreciated.

If the budget is good, I can deal with that, and more, as far design is concerned.

PM me with details if interested.



I.

Thanks for offering the help Icarus.

Unfortunately my budget is not very big, I don't have more than a few hundred USD to invest in this. This is literally my first effort at bootstrapping an online business into success.

When you mention my budget size, do you mean I'll need a lot in order to buy a quality landing page, pay you for your advice or landing pages, or for both of these things?

I'm basically just going with a wordpress theme for the site and I'm not able to buy a theme that may cost more than $300USD per year.

[gework]

--------------

Looking for some ideas on pricing.

I have been approached by a company who want to make a bigger arrangement down the road regarding something I'm developing.

I have some content, divided into about 80,000 subjects and 3.2 million words. This content is growing every year by about 10,000 entries.

It probably cost me around $8,000 to obtain this content. It's hard to say what the content is worth to me, but $30,000 / year would be in the ball park, I think. It's produced on a site.

They want to use this content in a way that has zero effect on what I am doing with the content. They are a big company, have their own Wiki, seem professional & I have no reason to be suspicious of them.

The content will be offered to them as a yearly renewable licence.

I'm just not sure what to price it at. $1,000 / year is the first thing that comes to mind. If they wanted it for less than that I don't think I'd be interested. The content is not that valuable to them, they just want it as some fluff. This is also not something that is a money spinner. There aren't many people who'd be interested in buying this data that I'd be willing to licence it to. And at the money, it doesn't mean much to me. I've become wary of brokering such bespoke deals for small amounts as I've done it before and in one case it was a real waste of time and more on my plate. Though with this one, there is the prospect of a much larger deal on something else I will be launching in a few months. So I' like to kick things off. And if there is an issue, I will just cancel the contract.

I know this is a little vague. I am just looking for first thoughts on price, from what I've written.

--------------

(03-17-2019 04:06 PM)Ski pro Wrote:  

I just started a podcast. Amazed by the reach of it with even a bit of basic marketing.

Any more details?

(03-16-2019 08:15 AM)KnjazMihailo Wrote:  

Is there anyone here who is an expert on niche sites and affiliate marketing?

Do you have any more details? Roughly what you are doing and your skills? Programming? SEO? HTML?

Getting things ranking is quite a task. I used to be very good at junk SEO, but then Google changed all that. Everyone I know who used junk SEO is gone. Everything they did got washed away. Even a guy who was making 7 figures per year. If you can find a way to game things now, you won't be doing that in a few years or even months. If you have to focus on SEO you're on a losing battle. The way to longevity and growth is focusing on content and letting the SEO do itself over years.

[the-dream]

Your post is way too vague and missing too many important details to give you an accurate answer but I will try my best.

I may have misunderstood you but you're saying this content is worth $30,000/year to you and it's important that you have control of it and it's not leaked to the public domain otherwise it becomes worthless? If so, giving it away to someone who could leak it and ruin it all for you for just $1000 is way too little. Name a much higher price and you might be surprised that they say yes. If they say no, they might negotiate you down to something still acceptable to you.

$1000 extra per year isn't really going to change your life in any way but potentially losing out on $30,000 per year is.

As I said, I may have totally misunderstood your post so if I have, disregard this advice.

[gework]

(03-21-2019 03:26 PM)the-dream Wrote:  

important that you have control of it and it's not leaked to the public domain otherwise it becomes worthless?

As I said, I may have totally misunderstood your post so if I have, disregard this advice.

The only point you misunderstood on is regarding the leaking. This content is publicly available on a website. Anyone could take it all if they wanted it, which has happened on two or three occasions. As things are currently with Google, it's not really an issue. They are fairly good at demoting content thieves.

But this company wants the content for something that has zero effect on my monetising of the content.

[the-dream]

So there is no downside to you giving it to them? What will they do with it? Publish it on their website also? Is it all already published on your website?

[gework]

(03-21-2019 04:03 PM)the-dream Wrote:  

So there is no downside to you giving it to them?

Only that it creates an element of administration.

(03-21-2019 04:03 PM)the-dream Wrote:  

What will they do with it? Publish it on their website also?

Yes, but it would be behind a pay wall.

(03-21-2019 04:03 PM)the-dream Wrote:  

Is it all already published on your website?

Yes.

[Ski pro]

(03-21-2019 02:22 PM)gework Wrote:  

--------------

Looking for some ideas on pricing.

I have been approached by a company who want to make a bigger arrangement down the road regarding something I'm developing.

I have some content, divided into about 80,000 subjects and 3.2 million words. This content is growing every year by about 10,000 entries.

It probably cost me around $8,000 to obtain this content. It's hard to say what the content is worth to me, but $30,000 / year would be in the ball park, I think. It's produced on a site.

They want to use this content in a way that has zero effect on what I am doing with the content. They are a big company, have their own Wiki, seem professional & I have no reason to be suspicious of them.

The content will be offered to them as a yearly renewable licence.

I'm just not sure what to price it at. $1,000 / year is the first thing that comes to mind. If they wanted it for less than that I don't think I'd be interested. The content is not that valuable to them, they just want it as some fluff. This is also not something that is a money spinner. There aren't many people who'd be interested in buying this data that I'd be willing to licence it to. And at the money, it doesn't mean much to me. I've become wary of brokering such bespoke deals for small amounts as I've done it before and in one case it was a real waste of time and more on my plate. Though with this one, there is the prospect of a much larger deal on something else I will be launching in a few months. So I' like to kick things off. And if there is an issue, I will just cancel the contract.

I know this is a little vague. I am just looking for first thoughts on price, from what I've written.

--------------

(03-17-2019 04:06 PM)Ski pro Wrote:  

I just started a podcast. Amazed by the reach of it with even a bit of basic marketing.

Any more details?

(03-16-2019 08:15 AM)KnjazMihailo Wrote:  

Is there anyone here who is an expert on niche sites and affiliate marketing?

Do you have any more details? Roughly what you are doing and your skills? Programming? SEO? HTML?

Getting things ranking is quite a task. I used to be very good at junk SEO, but then Google changed all that. Everyone I know who used junk SEO is gone. Everything they did got washed away. Even a guy who was making 7 figures per year. If you can find a way to game things now, you won't be doing that in a few years or even months. If you have to focus on SEO you're on a losing battle. The way to longevity and growth is focusing on content and letting the SEO do itself over years.

Pm

[ColSpanker]

So, does anyone have any ideas for what field to get into to start a business? I've run several companies on my own, none make a lot of $$$. I've come to believe there are ways to bring the dollars home if you're smart and get into the right field. Bet wrong and you end up with frozen yogurt parlors that need to be dumped. Just looking for ideas, as none of mine have worked. I'm not interested in pie-in-the-sky ideas or one that require me to go back to school for the next ten years. The last isn't a bad one if you're a young dude, but I'm not.

[TheMaleBrain]

(03-25-2019 09:41 AM)ColSpanker Wrote:  

So, does anyone have any ideas for what field to get into to start a business? I've run several companies on my own, none make a lot of $$$. I've come to believe there are ways to bring the dollars home if you're smart and get into the right field. Bet wrong and you end up with frozen yogurt parlors that need to be dumped. Just looking for ideas, as none of mine have worked. I'm not interested in pie-in-the-sky ideas or one that require me to go back to school for the next ten years. The last isn't a bad one if you're a young dude, but I'm not.

I would advise the following:
1. Look in your areas of expertise and near them (= Not going back to school).
2. Look at where you have more contacts (industry wise). This means you'll be able to easily network and probably increase sales easily.
3. Don't be afraid to "bet wrong" - you have no way of knowing if you are betting on the right field. Do research.
4. Build a business plan.

This is generic, as I have no idea about what you've done in the past.
Good luck

[sterlingarcher]

I'm stealing all this from Tai Lopez;

1. What have you been doing for the last 5 years?
2. What did you grow up around?
(3. What do you talk about on a Saturday night)
(4. What did you want to do when you were 14?)

(both more about happiness than success pe se)

Plus;

Where do you have an unfair advantage?
Stay within your circle of competence
Look for a problem to solve (not necessarily what you want to provide)

[sterlingarcher]

I'm stealing all this from Tai Lopez;

1. What have you been doing for the last 5 years?
2. What did you grow up around?
(3. What do you talk about on a Saturday night)
(4. What did you want to do when you were 14?)

(both more about happiness than success pe se)

Plus;

Where do you have an unfair advantage?
Stay within your circle of competence
Look for a problem to solve (not necessarily what you want to provide)

[I've learnt this is true by NOT following it))]

[nomadbrah]

I'm interested in the medical market, particularly medical tourism.

What worries me about this market is that eventually it's going to come down to TTT - tits, teeth and trannies, as I figure those are by far the most lucrative overseas medical procedures, and except for the titties (usually done in Turkey), is not something that piques my interest.

I guess there are hair transplants as well.

[Thomas the Rhymer]

(03-25-2019 09:41 AM)ColSpanker Wrote:  

So, does anyone have any ideas for what field to get into to start a business? I've run several companies on my own, none make a lot of $$$. I've come to believe there are ways to bring the dollars home if you're smart and get into the right field. Bet wrong and you end up with frozen yogurt parlors that need to be dumped. Just looking for ideas, as none of mine have worked. I'm not interested in pie-in-the-sky ideas or one that require me to go back to school for the next ten years. The last isn't a bad one if you're a young dude, but I'm not.

Where any of your businesses high margin?

I learned the hard way, that it's relatively cheaper and easier to sell luxury items;it's relatively more expensive and demanding to sell affordable items.

My own business tanked because I thought it was important to be affordable; didn't realise what a mistake that was until I didn't have enough money to carry on.

[ColSpanker]

Nope. All lower end-products. You might have something there. Well, I did have one high-end, but no one bought it because it was easier to substitute it with a lower-end product. That, and the customer base wanted to spend their money on the prime product. None of mine were prime.

[TopPanda]

If anyone's looking for business ideas... well I started my software business after seeing a colleague build something similar at a company I worked for. He was a genius (earning twice as much as we were). He jumped ship out of tech before the bubble burst in 2001, then he made another fortune from the commodities boom. Some folk make a habit of being in the right place at the right time.

But not me I suppose. Anyway, I did make a lot of money from my software. I also made a lot of money from the Made for AdSense sites boom of 2010 - 2012.

A few years later I worked at a London insurance co. They were making a fortune selling niche insurance. That stuff was so profitable, but when I did some SEO work the keywords had such small volume that I couldn't find much about the niche.

I had a few software developer interviews around the same time. There's a whole tonne of startups that make $$$$$ from automating something boring and obscure. Just target a niche that has lots of money (insurance = great, law = pretty good, medical = bad).

[roberto]

(03-05-2019 03:07 AM)roberto Wrote:  

On the flip side, I have a female friend who's boyfriend is a great worker and good guy all round. They've just bought a house together. I'm making moves to poach him from his current employer. It's a big responsibility, but I know he'd make me money and ease my stress levels, and there's no way I'd lay him off for odd days.

Had a meeting with this guy and his fianace this evening. Made him what I hope is a decent offer- company car, more money etc. Fingers crossed- it's looking hopeful.

I'm also going to look for a local lad leaving school to take on as an apprentice. I had one last year who was brilliant- very switched on and he earnt me a lot of profit. He approached me for a job- always a good first sign. He learnt fast and I gave him pay rises as he did so. I was billing that kid out at £25 per hour and paying him £6, driving machinery etc. He was so good that nobody even questioned his age, and had he stuck around he'd have gone on to earn some serious money with me.

He was living down in my area with a local girl and her mother. Bloody hell kids start young these days! He'd been living there since he was 15- he didn't come from a great family background. This girl was a heifer- I've never seen such a SMV discrepancy. He was pretty tall, had a six pack, but lacked confidence. I went gentle on him at first, as I could see she was his first love, but he could do SO much better. Over the year he worked for me, I was so proud to see his confidence grow. He went from being a shy kid to quite assertive and confident, and developed a wide range of skills- far more than any college could have taught him.

Eventually they split up- at first he was very down about it but with encouragement managed to go and get laid with two girls in a week. Result. Sadly the problems of finding single accomodation when you're 17 proved too much, and when his father offered him a chance at reconcilliation he took it and moved back to his home county. Before he left he came, shook my hand and thanked me sincerly for all I'd done for him. I was so fucking proud. It was for the best, and I was sure he would patch things up with his dad and go one to have a successful life, armed with the knowledge I taught him. That kid could walk straight in to an entry level welding job at £20/hour aged 17 after working for me for a year.

So yeah it would be nice to repeat that with another lad, but hopefully by finding one with family closer to home I will have longer to make money out of them. Or even better, they stick around and become a long term employee, providing for their family and earning me money. I've got a 16 year old coming for a try out on Saturday.

[TheFinalEpic]

One thing that I've recently been doing is themeing the days of my week for certain things withing my businesses.

Monday is generally a day for learning new technologies and working on creative projects while learning, I usually schedule meetings for this day

Tuesday is generally a day for sales and I hammer the phone

Wednesday is Creative, meeting backup day, and a day to work on new projects that are coming down the pipeline

Thursday is Marketing, additional sales calls, online sale channel development, and email marketing

Friday is Looking to automate processes, studying the markets we're in, and catch up

Saturday is Creative, and I generally have my phone off until the evening. Writing and copy is generally hammered on this day.

Sunday is Planning for the week ahead and scheduling posts, blogs, videos, podcasts, and a slower day in general.

Anyone else doing something similar?

[sonoran_]

Would appreciate some different perspectives for the following. How would you go about capturing/ advertising/ increasing awareness to people in a different country who will take the IELTS exam ( its an English test like the TOEFL).


On a basic level, what I have done through facebook ads is target the following demographic:

25-32 years old (any younger and they wouldnt have enough work experience, any older and they lose points)
graduated from the top 5 colleges in South Africa. (These conditions mean that they will have atleast a bachelors, and high English abilities.)

The country is arbitrary, but I also chose SA for a reason.

Goal is to capture ( high quality) clients for migration into Canada.

[Irenicus]

I have a moral dilemma here.



Back in November last year, I have ordered a leather jacket. A month later, I have opened an Item not Received case, because it did not arrive yet. That case was closed (he made a call to Ebay CS, without consulting with me) in his favor - I lacked Buyer's Protection for some reason for that particular transaction.


Since I am a type of person which does not give up that easily, I have escalated to PayPal. Over there, he asked for some more time (we are both Europe based), and tried to put the blame on my country's Customs. Although I started to believe that he is full of crap (I guess he assumed that I am not familiar with PayPal's rules...), I went to Customs. They told me that they haven't seen anything - each package is scanned, and mine was not.


When I returned, I told him that, and he, yet again, tried to buy some more time. However, I had enough, and escalated the case. I won easily, because the tracking proved that I haven't received anything.


Now, a few days ago (five months after purchase!)...that jacket arrived. Unfortunately, it has some damage (slight color difference - easily fixed because the color is black) which was not mentioned in the description.


At first, I decided that I'll play stupid, and be quiet. After all, I got a horrible customer service, he tried to make a fool out of me (that I take very personally), and I got a defective product (the damage is obvious, and he did not mention it).
However...I concluded (after some pressure, to be honest), that it still would not be 100% morally right to do that.


At the end, I have decided to return it ONLY IF the seller contacts me. If he didn't make me play all those games, and had a 100% accurate description, I would return it straight away. As we can see, that was not the case. I don't want to award bad CS and misleading descriptions. If he wasn't honest to me, why I should be?


By the way, that seller is a Top Rated Seller with hundred of transactions in past few months, not some kid.


What would you do, if you were in my position?

[Malone]

Sure he's a scumbag, but I might return it myself.