The make money online niche is a terrible niche for newcomers looking to build revenue streams online. The niche is not only overcrowded, but there are some players with deep pockets who spend to maintain their position. The fact is, to earn from this niche, you need to have already made significant cash (we're talking 6 figures annually at least), or be a really good liar. And I mean really good. Internet marketers with any experience have some of the best bullshit detectors out there.
The reason I have so many make money online sites in my blogroll, is not so much because I want to try and emulate them, but because internet marketers are networked like no one else on Earth. Any new idea or product will turn up on at least one of those sites within 24 hours of it being made public. And the sheer variety of promotional techniques is astounding. You can learn a lot by "reading twice". First as an ordinary reader, and second as an analyst. How did I react as an ordinary reader? How would have my niche audiences have reacted? What context is the piece set in? What about position on the page? Are there new ideas here? Do they work? Any flaws? How would you do it differently? Honestly, this kind of analysis is key.
That said, let's try to see what bizphere.com is doing. I like Bizphere. Right away I like the name. The overlap of the morphemes "biz" and "sphere" is a clever way for newcomers to find an available .com brand. And make no mistake, these brands are valuable, and will only become more so. I also like its visual aesthetics, and I like the tone of its articles. The affiliate links are very professionally done (the WordPress GoCodes plug-in makes this easy).
The look is very clean and well organized, and some of this has to do with the chosen WordPress template (lesson number one), but Mr. Bizphere has really taken some time to make it his own. You can see the original theme here: http://www.darrenhoyt.com/demo/wordpress/ . Today's date for the "this blog is alive" signal - regardless of when you last posted. Smart use of the Featured Categories sidebar. Images with every post. Comment luv enabled.
I'm actually rather wary of post images and other distracting graphics ( can you tell :D ), but bizphere just might have changed my mind about that. Bizphere shows that it is possible to use images to enhance the presentation of content, without becoming the main feature. Of course, I'm still clinging to the old fashioned notion that content must be text, that well written text is the best form of communication. If you've read this far, then perhaps you're one who agrees. The skills for joining the video revolution aren't that hard to master, and certainly I can envision excellent niche applications for them, but as an everyday form of communication, I don't think videos cut it. May be it's because I'm a fast reader, so that videos only slow me down.
What's your opinion on this? Will all blogs become vlogs? In 20 years, will people still read articles over 100 words?
So Bizphere has done me the most valuable service of all, and caused me to re-examine my prejudices. There's actually a lot more good stuff at Bizphere. The Featured Category freebies that are used to attract traffic (I really must start doing that here). The Free Magazines promotion (last link in the bar at the very top of the site) - what a great promotion. Bizphere probably only receives a couple of dollars for each subscription sign-up, but it is basically zero maintenance, and who isn't tempted by free magazines? Very well targeted to the Entrecard crowd as well. However, this post is already too long, so I'll stop there. You'll have to find out the rest by checking out Bizphere yourself.
1 year ago
I certainly hope that all blogs will not become vlogs. I prefer a mixture - the written word + a video or two once in a while.
ReplyDeleteUnless there is a way to scramble facial features (easily and cheaply) I doubt that most bloggers who prefer to keep their true identity shielded would go for much in the way of vlogging.
I hadn't even thought about the anonymity aspect. I mean, look at all the youtubers practically begging for a few minutes of face time. However, I'm sure that 3D avatars will be all the rage ...
ReplyDeletehttp://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eBeH4JNtJWg
Hi Zack. I'm greatly humbled by your kind review of my make money online site. Honestly, I was just doing a fast reciprocal dropping with Entrecard but you're really good at creating catchy and interesting post title. And that made me read through all your contents.
ReplyDeleteDarren Hoyt's Mimbo theme is really great and can be made into a more professional looking theme if someone really takes the time to modify it further. It was actually intended for Magazine-type blogs but I tried using it on the MMO blog since I figured that I can feature any category that I want the readers to see. Also, you can make your older posts readily accessible especially for first time visitors. Page views increased dramatically the first day that I used Darren's theme.
The only problem I find in using it is that I am forced to include an image every time I publish a post. Without an image, the home page will look ugly because a blank area is left at its "lead story" part. But again that's easily remedied by just placing a script that rotates images so you don't need to place an image at every post. Ooops, I'm running out of words here, don't know how to explain this further. :-)
Anyway, thanks for the mention and I really enjoyed your style of writing. Happy blogging.
I like bizsphere too, it's like a professional web guide to online money maker.
ReplyDeleteCompare with the site that 'like-a-blog' (I don't mean to offense anybody ><)
blogspot or wordpress and etc.
Because in my opinion,money-making-OL site is a lot of than other site, yes, like you mention before
Usually I consider the blog one doesn't have a good tip. And yes, because it's appearance
The MMO niche is definitely overpopulated already. It is so saturated that anyone starting would not make it in a short time even if it did all the SEO (all MMO blogs are surely doing that!). A suggestion I would advice is to have a mix of niche. It's okay to make do with MMO but it wouldn't hurt to try other niches as well.
ReplyDelete@Bizphere - You're very welcome. I really do think Entrecard is a lot more valuable than people realize. Those few seconds of attention are precious. It is up to us to take advantage of them. What we really should be doing is building a list. Converting those few seconds of attention into perhaps several minutes.
ReplyDeleteI've started adding images on some of my other blogs. It's actually a lot of fun. There's definitely scope for automation though.
Love your new post, by the way :) Good to see others walking in the Tao of uncoordinated collaborative action.
@Sommerset - It's true that we should never underestimate the power of appearances.
@Jared - I think even if you were to become a PPC hotshot or something like that, it would be hard to build an MMO reputation quickly. People just wouldn't believe you until you were around for a few years. On the other hand, if you do stick around for a couple of years and do some quality work, then I think you can stand out fairly easily. So much of the MMO world is shoddy and flash-in-the-pan.
I really hope that not all blogs will become vlogs! While I like the IDEA of video blogging, writing just feels so...homey and...right. I have fun typing away at my keyboard, no trend will take that away!
ReplyDeleteI prefer a mixture of vblogs and standard blogs.
ReplyDelete@Liza - I'm so sorry I didn't respond to your comment sooner. I was sick as a dog (where does that expression come from?) that week, and I've really only just caught up on everything as a result.
ReplyDeleteRegarding the vlogging of the blogosphere, I guess I don't really think it'll happen. But look at what has happened to the traditional book publishing industry. At one time they were the center of culture, now award winning novelists don't earn enough to give up their day job. When was the last time you handwrote a letter? I actually had to schedule out time in my electronic planner to make the time to handwrite a letter to my sister :D
One thing that I do hope gets better is voice recognition. It's finally become usable, but many times it is still just faster to type something. But really, isn't typing the most unnatural of acts?
@Mr. Insurance (if that really is your name) - that is the closest thing to a noncomment I believe I have ever seen on a blog. Quite a work of nihilist art.