Introductions Thread

What an adventure 8 months of working on a SaaS must be as you near launch. Must be a rush. Best of luck with it, and welcome to BuSo.
 
Ryuzaki said:
What an adventure 8 months of working on a SaaS must be as you near launch. Must be a rush. Best of luck with it, and welcome to BuSo.
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Thanks! Yeah, it's been a slog but we're about a week or two to hitting alpha, so it feels great.
 
Hey, my name is Orri. I'm the founder of a CPG startup called VAE Energy. My team and I have a neuro/chem/business background which we leveraged to create the world's most convenient energy drink alternative. I'm hoping to connect with other CPG entrepreneurs. Also looking for potential value-add investors.

Right now our main goal is to finish our seed round, we've been getting lots of people reaching out after appearing on the Canadian Shark Tank (Dragons Den for fellow Canadians - DM for link), but are always looking to connect with others in our space. Once we finish the round, we're hoping to invest largely in inventory and start getting test orders in different retailers. Would love to connect with other brands in retail stores or trying to enter, also open to talking marketing, branding, or whatever with other startup owners.
 
Hey, Orri (@VAELabs), welcome aboard. Glad to have you. This isn't something I have experience in but we have guys slinging boatloads of stuff like protein powder, etc. I think it's all online and not retail distribution. Hopefully they'll come out of the woodworks and talk with you. I shouldn't say too much in case they seek to remain private. Sounds like you've got some awesome things going on though.
 
Ryuzaki said:
Hey, Orri (@VAELabs), welcome aboard. Glad to have you. This isn't something I have experience in but we have guys slinging boatloads of stuff like protein powder, etc. I think it's all online and not retail distribution. Hopefully they'll come out of the woodworks and talk with you. I shouldn't say too much in case they seek to remain private. Sounds like you've got some awesome things going on though.
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We also have an e-commerce store, so online is relevant too. Would be happy to speak with them for sure. And thank you - I hope so, but we're still in early stages so hard to quantify just how awesome yet!
 
julesrules said:
I discovered the 30 day crash course 3 years ago, and got about 15 days into it when my mom had a stroke, the day after I graduated college. With the pressure to start working, I felt complete and utter dread of heading to a cubicle (I went to business school) so I ended up moving in China and teach English.

I went to Taiwan right before COVID to study Mandarin, and then when the world shut down I found myself in, like, the safest place in the world. What proceeded was a very emotionally scarring, alcoholic year of international alienation and corona fear. I had my first experience with capital A Alcoholism, after years of drug addictions and mental health crises.

Anyways, I recently came back to the states, and fortunately I've been able to work on my health (and get vaxxed). I always had a nagging feeling to come back to BS and here I am. Older, humbled, but stronger and hungrier. And, importantly, I feel I've a much clearer picture of what I really want from life. This place is still very new to me, and this is my first post, so I'll just say that I'm grateful to you all and this amazing community asset.
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Glad to hear that you have been working on your health after what you have previously gone through. Welcome to the forum =]

Seadogsausage said:
Yo..

Been playing the affiliate game since 2007, but only in my local language (Denmark). Also been doing seo works for some big international companies in Denmark.

Lots of ups and downs.. Panda, Penguin, ect..

The last few years My local market has become crazy competetive and im finding it more and more attractive to switch to a display ads business model.

But the amount of traffic in Denmark is not enough for me and also the cpm is often quite low.

So.. I made the decession to try out the english speaking market. Which of course does not make a lot of sense, since My english is quite bad.

But I am hoping My technical skills and seo knowledge will save me.

I started My first site in english and I am slowly building up content (outsourced)..

Planning to invest 2000$ in content each month and try this for a year or two, to see if i can Get international success.

Joined this forum to learn about the us market and display ads and maybe share some of my seo knowledge.
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Sounds like a solid plan, have you made a start on your website and gotten any traffic so far? Looking forward to hearing some of your words of wisdom.
 
I've been here a while but it's time to introduce myself and start adding some value if I can.

I'm Damo. I retired from my office job of 34 years towards the end of 2019 and have now got the time to work on a more full-time basis on my site.

Since retiring I've taken it from around $200 to $4000 per month.

I've been around the niche site game for a while, going way back to the days of the unholy triumvirate of Grizz, Court and Vic with my first venture into the biz playing around with the BANS (Build A Niche Site) software.

After going through the same merry-go-round that most of us have "enjoyed" of being smacked around the head by Google's various updates, I've settled into the startlingly effective strategy of identifying solid keywords, writing useful content and publish, publish, publish.

In the early days of building out the site I based the majority of my keyword research and content creation targeting the low competition stuff. Now, with more authority and greater topical relevance I'm starting to hit the higher competition keywords with increasing success.

My method has been to identify the keywords that the forums in my niche rank 1-3. Basically, if a forum is ranking #1 for a keyword it is solidly in my crosshairs. If multiple forums rank on page #1, I'm locked in.

Nowadays I take more notice of the competition sites I once referred to as the "Big Boys of the niche" and use their keywords to outrank their arses.

I'm in the comfortable position of not relying on the revenue from my site to make ends meet. However, the plan it to continue to build it up to the point where I can sell it and give the proceeds to my (adult) kids. Housing prices are crippling here in Australia.

Outside of all that, I'm a runner. I run between 15-20 km every day.

I find it's the most relaxing, therapeutic part of my day. It clears the mind and I find myself problem-solving as I make my way around the streets and bush tracks in my local area.

So, as you can see...not completely sane, but happy and harmless enough.
 
@Damo, I used to love Grizzly’s blogs. Glad to have you posting. It sounds like you have a very tight handle on things. Nothing left but to keep putting in the work.
 
Welcome mate, looking forward to seeing your journey. Where in Aus are you based?
 
Yeah its live, and are getting a few clicks a week. I Will update My projekt here..once a month. Might end up a total failure, but Fortune favours the bold.. Or something..
 
Some 5 years ago I took the plunge into entrepreneurship and started a consulting business. After 13 years in industry as an engineering leader for industrial equipment I had grown weary of working for bankrupt fabricators.

I have grown so much the last 5 years, both professionally and personally. We added our 2nd kid in 2017, then flooded in 2018, then another kid in 2018 and moved in 2019. All along I was the sole breadwinner. Produce or die.

I'm finally through the fire now and I rely on a bevy of great contractors to produce a pretty strong income. I no longer take on new consulting clients and our focus has shifted to web apps, websites, and content production. I have a few contractors locked up for 15-20 hours a month and I'm looking to make my first full time hire mid year.

I learned content production via a niche website in the industrial space I built in 2019. Having no clue on SEO, it languished around 700 visitors per month until the end of 2020. Around this time last year, I rely hit my stride regarding content production as it pertains to targeting underserved keywords. I rarely write and only edit. My outsourced writers produce around 15 articles a month. Traffic is now around 6,500 visitors a month and growing about 20% month on month.

The website itself is monetized via Ezoic but it's real benefit has been as a loss leader to big web app projects. I've booked around 100k from 2 clients that saw the site as affirmation that I understood their business. I also landed a speaking gig at a big university because of it.

For 2022, I will focus on turning this site into a real brand. It lies a firm fourth priority behind my company's web app, websites, and external client content production/promotion. But I freaking love it and I'm excited to see it grow.

Completely on board with a few comments I've seen here about focusing on 1 site. The ROI can be crazy for a segment that you have unique insight into.

Looking forward to learning from all you folks here.
 
Welcome, @gazibo97, I'm glad to have you here posting with us. That's wild how much you've leveraged a "smaller" project into bigger revenues and speaking gigs, etc.

I'm kind of confused. Are you saying that you're now building out web app projects for clients? Or at least consulting on them?

Either way, sounds like you've got a handle on things and you're climbing higher and higher. I'm happy for your success.
 
Thanks for the encouragement @Ryuzaki ! I used to consult on web app projects and eventually realized I could just outsource and project manage them myself (or use another dependable Project Manager).

We have 3 web app projects in house at the time.
-Migrating a homegrown ERP system from an Access front-end and backend to Angular front-end and SQL backend in an Azure environment ($125k)
-Product sizing tool for a rental company - Angular front-end, SQL backend in Azure environment ($100k)
-Field service application for inspection company - Angular front-end, SQL backend in Azure environment ($75k)

Standardizing on Angular, SQL, .net framework, Azure, and Auth0 has really made our lives easier. Just have to know 1 set of technologies.

Currently trying to come up with a plan to monetize the niche website better in 2022 that allows my core business to grow and doesn't kill me.... :smile: It definitely involves more content-I hope to average 20-25 posts a month in 2022. I'm on the fence about cultivating and delivering training. Feels like a clear win given the niche is underserved. But it is a heavy lift that might not be possible with the custom development side of the business growing.
 
gazibo97 said:
I'm on the fence about cultivating and delivering training. Feels like a clear win given the niche is underserved. But it is a heavy lift that might not be possible with the custom development side of the business growing.
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This is my life right now. Too much going on. To tackle extra I'd have to stop what I'm already drowning in, which compounds the issue, to train more people to take the burden off my back. It's the only way forward, but it's so hard to make the time to do it. Keeping the conveyer belt balanced without bottle necks is difficult when expansion and growth are the priority. We can do it, though.
 
orb04 said:
Glad to hear that you have been working on your health after what you have previously gone through. Welcome to the forum =]
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Thanks yo, I'm really blown away by the support and encouragement here at the Society.

I thought I would give a little update. My health has been a priority, so my crash course has been delayed quite a bit beyond the 30 days. But the upshot is I've been learning so much--mainly because I simply just have to.

I used to build these dinky sites as a kid back in the 90's using html for like skapunk fan pages (!) but damn learning wordpress is obviously light years ahead of whatever AOL site builder I was using in 98.

Basically I've stalled at day 7 (Content planning) for a week now, since I'm a fetus level noob wrt wordpress. This is clearly foundational knowledge for this world.

The good news is I have a shit load of writing experience, including content as well as copywriting, plus a (recent) marketing and advertising education. So once I'm more comfortable with wordpress I feel like I'll be ready to crush.

I went through Ryuzaki's Exp 1 - Getting You Up to Speed with HTML / CSS / PHP which was certainly helpful and got me up to speed with the conceptual understanding of css/php, I'm still so new I gotta wade in the kiddy pool for a minute.

More later I hope.
 
What's up? I'm from North Carolina, USA, and I'm 37 years old. I'm basically a redneck with aspergers or some shit, so I figure I'll fit in with the rest of you autistic types.

I don't know much on the SEO/Internet marketing side of things, but I've been working as a writer online for about 12 years or so. I make upper five figures doing that, and since I grew up poor as fuck, I was pretty content with that for a while.

I've since realized I was being retarded the whole time and that I need to quit making content for other people to make money off of. Instead, I need to learn how to do this website shit, build traffic, monetize, etc., so that's what I'm here to do.

I found this forum by searching online. I came across WickedFire a while back when soliciting clients, so I went back there, and that led me to this place.

I've done a bit of reading here, and I've fleshed out a basic plan for how I want to get my first site going, and I want to post and ask questions and that kind of thing about some of the stuff I don't know about. I'll probably do one of those threads where I post about what I'm doing and what results I get too because reading some of those has been really helpful.
 
Welcome, @Petrosian. I'm from a similar area, of a similar age, and of a similar upbringing. It's easy to rest on our laurels once we've outdone our parents and everyone around us, but the sky is the limit.

Yeah, it's simultaneously easy and hard to justify writing for someone else. $10 now or $0.10 per month from here out... it's easy to make sense of either argument. Until all those dimes start compounding...

Looking forward to your laboratory thread and pitching in any help or opinions I can offer, and receiving the same back from you.
 
Hello!

I found this place about a month ago and have been enjoying the crash course. I was looking for a beginners guide to make a website but instead I found pure gold.

I am completely new to the world of internet monies and website making. I didn't even know what seo or serps were until I got to that chapter in the crash course. My life has been spent working at a call center for minimum wage for several years and I was looking for a way to change that. I realized the only way to get out of that situation was to get good at some skill. I thought making websites would be that, but now I see there is a lot more opportunity.

I want to make this my full time work so I can quit my job, and I want to master internet marketing.

Would making an informational website with ads and affiliate products be the best way to start as a beginner?
 
Napkin on Floor said:
Would making an informational website with ads and affiliate products be the best way to start as a beginner?
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Welcome @Napkin on Floor,

That's what this forum is about, so it would be natural to do that :smile:

Many people on here have posted their stories about internet monies and successes. It can definitely be done. You can get rich or just make a decent yearly income. We have the people to prove it.

You can also fail, give up, not go anywhere. Find a normal job, be happy or be miserable.

You want to quit your call center job, but what else are you about? What are your skills? How can you leverage your skills to make the most money?

If you're working a call center, you must be quite extroverted. Maybe you should also consider Youtube as well as a website. Income School, the older vids, have a lot of info on doing that.

There's a lot of possibilities. A website with affiliate and display ads is the most popular model, but not the only model.

Spend some time thinking about what your skills are and what your passion and interest is about, then start a blog/niche site about that and learn the skills of online marketing.
 
I have generally heard good review of the community and the interaction I Saw in few of the threads surely shows its true . As I am almost a newbie to the field of digital marketing and so I am pretty happy that I can find a community of helpful people where I can improve my skills and have a good time interacting with others. SO I Hope you guys help a newbie like me so i can grow myself in this field.

THANKUUUUUUUUUUU
 
Welcome to the forum! I must say, if I ever have a question that requires a extended thoughtful answer, I'm never disappointed by the responses provided by this community. Use this forum to help support your goals and internet market strategies. Don't let it go to waste.
 
Thanks to the creators and moderators for founding and maintaining such a valuable marketing forum.

I've been digesting information from relevant posts for sometime now, and decided this is the right time to drop in and say hello to everyone here.

Where I am right now:
  • Decided on the niche and bought a domain
  • Site Focus: Tech., populated with mostly informational content
  • Determined the monetization strategy: Display ads
  • Created a 'tree structure' mind map with categories and sub-categories
  • Made social media accounts
Doing keyword research now for search phrases associated with the above categories and sub-categories. Also need to understand site structure from SEO's perspective.

The plan is to move quickly with starting alone and outsourcing/hiring experts as soon as I've some funds.

Hope to learn and share as I go along.

Thanks for having me.
 
@Writer_Guy, welcome aboard. Sounds like you have a plan. I don't see any issues with it.

Just make sure you're doing your keyword research right at the start. You can collect all the keywords in the world and store them for later, but I'd tackle the least competitive ones at first while you don't have much page rank flowing from links. This will be your fastest path to revenue.

Of course, beyond that, make sure your on-page SEO is rock solid. Did you catch the Digital Strategy Crash Course we have here? It'll catch you up to speed on all the topics you need if you haven't.

Best of luck. We're always here and happy to help if you have any questions or want to share successes, etc.
 
Hey hey!

I recently found BuSo and been lurking for the past 2 months, reading everything I can come over. The crash course has been very helpful to get a base of knowledge of what's required to succeed with an internet business.

I've been hesitant to post. I've been thinking about what I can bring to the forum that doesn't already exist here. I see a lot of experienced profiles who are generous enough to share their knowledge and experiences.

Anyway, I'm 1 year into a role where I handle relationships with affiliate partners on the largest affiliate networks. If anyone ever has any questions about the affiliate programs or the networks, let me know and I will do my best to help out.

My company does $100m+ a year with a 40-50% profit and I have been thinking "why am I not doing something similar myself...?". It sparked action and I'm a few months into my own journey. As mentioned in another thread, I just made my first sale from an affiliate link. Time to scale this 100x within one year.

EDIT: Wops, I forgot to finish the title
 
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