Well, it’s not quite the end of the month but I took a look at my January goals to see how I’d done.

Ummm… right.

Well, I did manage to make a sale on a product I’m selling exclusively.  Woot me!  I’d love to be able to sell more, but I’ve also managed to do next to no marketing for January for it either.  That’s a my bad, not the product bad.  So February is looking like the month I do a bit more marketing and see if I can start bringing in some $$.   I think the biggest obstacle I’ll have to overcome is that this is a very niche oriented product - not everyone has one, not everyone wants it either.  So I’ll have to be a bit more creative trying to market it.  I’ve tried Google’s PPC for the product - but again a lot of numbers roll by and not a single click.  Could have been the ad, could be the landing page… I’m not sure.  I think I’d like to test out the landing page idea though for the product and see where it takes me.

As far as other monetary goals I’ve had for January… well, I’ve not really come anywhere close.  My side projects have taken up a lot of my time, more than expected so what I was planning on focusing on after those projects were done, I’ve not had a chance.

I also cancelled my ZiggyHost account.  For the past while it’s been a bit of a nightmare for me.  On and off they’ve had major downtime.  Not impressed.  Then they changed their servers and I lost all my sites.  I couldn’t get a hold of anyone to tell them this… so they’re bye-bye.  Then I tried getting to them through their support pages, email - anything that they had on their site that I could try to get a hold of someone - I tried.  I never heard from them.  So I canceled my subscription.  I’m ticked.  But maybe that’s what I get for going the cheap route.   So for now I’m sticking to HostGator and maybe sometime in the future I’ll try a different hosting company.   So maddening!  But I’m glad that I’m rid of them too.

There were other goals I’d wanted to reach through my affiliate marketing, ad networks - that I didn’t reach, but it’s definitely set things in motion for February.  Maybe not so lofty in the goals - but still a lot to do.  Fingers crossed!

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Well it’s now the second day of the new year and I’m really stoked about what I’m working on for January.  Oddly enough it’s not really got a lot to do with affiliate marketing.  It’s got a lot to do with creating products that I can sell myself and keep 100% of the profit.

The affiliate marketing side of things is pretty low on the priority scale - because as of right now I don’t have a lot of control over how I’m getting people to the site and purchasing.  It’s got to do with a budget - or lack of a marketing budget.  I just don’t have enough capital to put into a marketing campaign - which would be so awesome and I’ve got ideas on how to kick start it, after 2 failed attempts.  “Failed” probably isn’t the right word to use here.   On one hand I didn’t make any money from my PPC campaigns BUT I did learn what I should try next time that I think will make me a few dollars and even the score.  It’s all about that learning curve and sometimes those failures are just what you need to do better next time.

The $1000 goal for January is a pretty lofty one, but I think setting such a big goal makes me more determined.   Honestly after breaking it all down - I can do it.  It’s just going to take a bit of work.  I also think a dash or two of luck wouldn’t go a miss either.  But after breaking the $1000 goal down into manageable chunks makes it realistic.  Why I didn’t do this before I’ll never know.  Now it seems so easy… you know.  If I don’t make my goal - I’m not going to be heartbroken.  I might be a little sad, but in a way that too is very motivating.  Crazy?  I think I might be, but how am I going to be more successful - I really need a plan.  I have a plan and a big goal.  It’s kind of exciting and a bit of a game to see how far I get.  If I don’t reach it - I’ll be able to fine-tune February’s goals to see where I can make more money.

So I’m off to work on the first thing on my to-do list for January and see what comes of it!

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Happy New Year everyone!

I am guessing that most of you have cranked out a “My 2008 to-do list” and you know I’m right there with you on that one.  You’d think it would be an easy thing to do - creating a to-do list.  But honestly I’ve had one hell of a time.  It’s not that I don’t have enough to put on the list, it’s a matter of getting everything done on the list that seems to trip me up every time.

Often I find myself stuck on tasks that wouldn’t normally be all that hard - like updating websites.  You know, those ones that are actually interesting and I like to update, but don’t because I’m caught up in RSS feeds or hooked on a coding dilemma.  It’s crazy those things that trip me up.

So this year I’m trying my to-do list a little differently.

I’ve actually set myself goals for January.  Then I wrote up a to-do list of things to accomplish to reach those goals I’ve created for January.

I was almost relieved when I finished that list.

… it’s not all that long.  It’s not even all that time consuming.  I’m hoping that it works - that I reach my goals or at least get pretty close to it.  I guess I’ve set my goals a little higher than usual.  I’m thinking this will push me to take a few extra steps to accomplish the task and move forward and see where it takes me.  If I didn’t set them a little more lofty… I might be a bit more inclined to be a bit more lazy and just not do it.

It’s the psychology of it all I guess - and I’m trying to work myself into a place where I can see things happening.  Goals being reached.  Money being earned and learn from each month and set new goals and try new ideas.  Write it down and see where I was and where I’ve gotten by the end of the month… end of the year.  Always keeping track.

This is where I’ve faltered on before and I’m hoping the way I’ve set it up this year I’m on the right track

What are my goals exactly?  I’m working on different avenues of income.  I don’t want to be relying heavily on one thing over others - I would like to spread that out a little bit more this month.  So I’m setting up the different areas to make a bit of income in and see what works - what bombs - so I can change it for next month if needed.

My monetary goal for January is $1000.

This is a bit lofty considering I make less than $500 a month right now.  But I’m aiming high.  I want to do it.  I want this year to be the most successful year yet for me.

Have you made a list?  Have you set any goals for 2008?  If you have, leave a comment on where we can find them.  I’d love to hear what you have in mind!

Good luck everyone, I know 2008 is going to be a really great year for everyone!

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Well, this month I knew would be a bit of a tough one for my sites.  Running any kind of affiliate program during the summer I think is a hard one - starting a new blog is tough too.  But here I am right in there with a new blog and sitting here having a hell of a time trying to pick up the clicks.

My adsense so far is about 2 days behind meeting the same goals as last month.  I’m looking at trying to make at least $1.00 a day.  More would be spectacular.  But I’m sitting here at the beginning of July realizing that holidays make people want to go outside and enjoy their days off.  So I have survived Canada Day and now the 4th of July.  I’m hoping the week picks up a bit, because I’m finding the weekends really drop off for visits and clicks.

I’m thinking this sort of thing is totally unavoidable.  I mean, I would be outside enjoying myself too on a day off.  As often as I can - I try to get away from the work and go out and enjoy life a bit.  Then I can come back and feel a bit more refreshed and tackle some of the things I’ve been putting off because I’m a super procrastinator.

I’m going to have to pick up the pace a bit this month - I’ve got a newsletter going out on Fansite #1 sometime this month.  I’m looking at trying to get something out at least once a month.  See - I’m starting to learn.  Get a list together.  Now I don’t want it to be mondo crappy and full of ads - I actually want to put a little more effort into it and give some interesting stories, etc - and add it in.  I had those types of fluff newsletters that often come out and I get nothing out of them.  So I don’t really want to do it with my Fansite #1 newsletter…

… which reminds me.  I should check and see how many I have on the list.

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It’s been over 2 years now since I started my affiliate marketing journey and let me tell you, it’s been a bit of a rollercoaster ride and I’m still not sure I’m on the right ride yet. I think I’m getting better at it - realizing that there is no “quick” buck to be made. Realizing that some of those sites that I set up 2 years ago - are FINALLY starting to see more traffic, more clicks, a few more sales. It’s been a weird month for that.

Seems Google must have changed an algorithm. Or maybe those sites are old enough now that they’re not seen as a “fly by night” sort of operation. I’m not sure, but there has been a bit of an increase in these sites. I’m not complaining. I’m actually thinking of re-vamping… adding more content… new ads and offers. See where it takes me.

Now only if there were two of me.

Since working on my fan sites - it’s almost like seeing a light at the end of the tunnel. For all the work I’ve done. Hit or miss… highs and lows… it seems to me that I’m finally hitting my stride.

I’m starting to feel happy about what I’m doing. Could it be because I’m picking things that I actually like. That I actually have interest in? I think that has a lot to do with it. I’m finding out though - that these things I’m interested in… don’t pay a whole hell of a lot a la Google Adsense. But that’s apart of the learning curve… right? I’m figuring it out. Two years later. That I have to have the passion for the subject to really make it work.

That’s what drives me to continue on with my affiliate marketing.

What drives you?

If you’d like to post your story at Building My Empire. Stop by and contact me with your thoughts and be sure to add your email (I won’t post that) and a link to your website (if you have one) and I’ll post it. A nice way to get some traffic to your site, and I get the bonus of finding out what drives you (crazy) to do this affiliate marketing thing we do.

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