Will my website ever be seen?

[grumpyoldman]

orion 2000

Thanks for the reply. Nothing offensive in there.

I think that the fact that I'm selling on eBay is the reason for really low turnover.

Even if I buy an eBook for $47. with re-sell rights I still have to list it at below $2 to have any chance of a single sale. By the time fees come out, I'll probably be left with about $1.20 per sale. That is if it sells. IM eBooks are the slowest moving eBooks of all. I've had books like 10k Auction, Forum Marketing Techniques, eBook Process etc listed at around $1 - $2 for 5 months without a single sale. Not even a click. I call IM books "shelf fillers" - no one will ever buy them but they make your store look full.

As for affiliate sales - well I made my first and only one two weeks ago. $15.58. To be honest, I was very surprised as I didn't expect to ever make any.
I only have about 50 ads running on USfreeads and, although they're getting about 300 views a day, in total, there are no sales. Correction - one. I'm not holding my breath for number two. Until this one came in I actually believed that affiliate sales were an urban myth.
The trouble is, I have to wait for my sales to reach $50 before I get a cheque. That could be years - or never!

I wrote an eBook that a couple of marketers are giving away as a list builder, but apart from my eBay store link in one of them I have no links. They put their own links in.
I've given away about 200 copies to my buyers with 20 of my links in each but, not surprisingly, no result.

I think that you just have to wait and hope that someone does buy from an affiliate link, however unlikely that may be. There's nothing much else that you can do. there's no way that you can force them to click on a link. I think that ordinary people {non-marketers} are very wary of them. I know that none of the people I know would ever dream of buying anything through a link in a web page.
To be honest, they all say I'm a sleaze for even trying to sell online. I expect my Christmas Cards to be drastically reduced this year - and there were only two last year!!!

Thanks for all your help - I'll keep watching and trying to pick up ideas. That is if you don't mind.

NIL CARBORUMDUM ILLIGITIMI

[catherinel]

Grumpy - are you really sure this is true? One of my newest ventures is a plumbing business. We managed to rank top of Google for many of our keywords in our local area within a few weeks, and i can promise you, we didn't pay anyone a penny. Also, there are many national companies who compete against us for the same keywords and have had sites for years.

Are you sure you're not missing out on something important that is preventing the site from ranking highly? Maybe someone on here can take a look. Sometimes, it is easy to miss out on something obvious when it is your own that a stranger would pick up on immediately.

[grumpyoldman]

Hello Catherinel

I'm absolutely sure that every word is true. However, you must remember that I'm selling eBooks and software through an eBay store so a profit is almost unheard of. In April, my ninth month with the store, my daily turnover was US$1.65. I'm not doing anything wrong, it's just the name of the game and I should learn to accept it.

I've accepted that to get an actual web site would be financial suicide so I've given up on that idea completely. Selling digital products I don't see that anyone could ever cover, with sales, the $20 per month required to run a site.

There really is no such thing as an affiliate sale - exactly $22 in 9 months. In the last 5 months 10,000+ hits on the links - 2 sales, one for $15.68 and one for $6.32. I actually consider myself as doing rather well to have had them. Clickbank must be able to wrie out their fortnightly cheques by hand with one part-time staff member.

As for Google ranking, well I must admit I have no idea what you're talking about there. I sell eBooks and software, I don't have a Google ranking. I wouldn't know where to look for one. I'm sure that my one man business is of no interest whatsoever to Google. I didn't realise that you could find out what your Google ranking was but I doubt very much that I'll ever be a large enough corporation to come to Google's notice.

No, I'll just plod on with eBay. As long as I have enough to cover the losses each month I'm doing OK. In fact, if the truth be known, I'm doing as well as anyone else selling online.

I knew when I started that making a profit online was nigh on impossible as selling on the net is nothing like a real business.

Everyone I know told me that I was an idiot for even trying - that nobody had ever made a cent selling on the net - unless they were scammers. I don't scam, so I don't make a profit.

Anyway, a high ranking page is still not going to guarantee any sales, is it?

Thanks for the reply and your concern, but really, I'm doing as well as anyone.

Grumpy.

[catherinel]

I see. So you're running a business that makes you no profits, and you think that you should just accept this as the norm? You don't know what a google ranking is, but you think you won't sell more if you're not ranked highly on google? You think the only people who do better than you are scammers.

Is this a wind up, or are you just a generally negative person?

[grumpyoldman]

Hi again Catherinel,
I,m sorry, I must claify my previous post.

I do not personally think that all those making a profit on line are scammers - all the people that I know tell me that. I don't agree with them.

I do have some idea what a Goolgle ranking is - a sort of rating system, I believe - it is just that I have no idea if I have one or how to find out. I just naturally assumed that, as I am not a large corporation and only sell through an eBay store, Google would not consider such a trifling effort worth bothering with.

I realise, full well, that a high Google ranking could increase sales, but again, I am just an inconsequential digital products vendor with an eBay store. I doubt, very much that Googe even realises that eBay stores exist.

This is, most certainly NOT a wind up, I have been spending 12 - 15 hours a day, 7 days a week, for 9 months, in front of my computer to turn over my $40 -$50 per week. I don't give up easily.

This is why I don't start a web site. If it is taking me this amount of time and money to run at a loss now, can I afford even more time and money to get a site and run at an even greater loss?

As to being a negative person, well, I leave that up to you to decide but, If I were ever stupid enough to place a bet on a horse, I wouldn't bother to enquire as to whether it had won or not.

[catherinel]

Ok, now I can see you're being serious and I'm sorry if I offended you. Have you put a lot of money into purchasing the products you sell, or are they something you would be able to ditch, if there were not a market for them.

I only ask this, because there has to be a market for what your selling. If that market is saturated, you have to be offering something different - not just be one of many offering the same thing. Otherwise, you need to change to a different product or service.

If you would like me to look at your ebay site, let me know, and i will be happy to advise you free of charge. I am a successful business woman but, I have not always been successful - in fact, I have been close to bankruptcy a couple of times, over the past decade, due to stupid mistakes. Now, I hope to help others avoid making the same mistakes that I have made. You sound like you could use some help.

[grumpyoldman]

Hi again,
I really am not easily offended so I can assure you that none was taken.

Yes, I suppose that the eBook market is pretty well saturated but, with eBay getting hundreds of thousands of new members each day, there will never be a lack of buyers for information products.

I freely admit that most of my problems do stem from what a lot of people would consider a negative outlook. I consider it a realistic outlook.

In any situation I weigh up the pros and cons. If there is any possibility that I could fail, I don't try. Hence no website.

I wrote a very good eBook on Pasta making and recipes.(not my evaluation, but the evaluation of people on this forum and another starting with W that I gave copies of it to).
There is no doubt that marketed properly, on a website and through Clickbank with affiliates etc it would have done quite well. However, there was a chance that it wouldn't so I chose the option of not trying - to be on the safe side - and instead just listed it in my eBay store for $3.80. Consequently, it sold 3 copies in 6 months and cost me a fortune in listing fees, about $100 actually.

Not one of my better decisions but one that I will probably repeat with the next literary offering.

I'm not too adventurous, you know.

I'd be more than happy for you to look at my eBay store and would be glad of your opinion.Unfortunately, I don't have enough posts to put a link her, but an advanced search on eBay for
kernow20_0 will find me.

Thank you for your reply and offer of help. I really must bite the bullet and get my own site. I can write an eBook in about a week and I really should be using this capability.

[Dan Reinhold]

Being adventurous and taking risks is a requirement of any business of any kind.

The web site you've been avoiding and the well-received ebook that you're not selling there at a more reasonable price would have made a nice profit if you'd just push away the dark cloud over your head and go for it!

[jkeifer]

Dan - Very well put! As I was reading through the posts, I was just dying to get out the very words that you just expressed!
Grumpy, when something doesn't work, it's time for a new plan. Ebay (in my opinion) is the worst possible place to sell your own info products. Sure, it's great for other things, but not ebooks.
Ros' Super Affiliate Handbook is pure gold and worth every penny, but if she listed it on eBay, I would be willing to bet that even she would have a tough sell. It's just the wrong approach.

I admire your persistence which is THE key ingredient to success. The key is right in front of you, but I believe that you are letting Mr. Negativity (alias "realism") kick it away from you everytime you care to reach for it.

My course is almost completed and I will be sending you the copy soon. It will also show you how you can get your premium website hosting plus domain started for only $9.95 USD. Even at 10 bucks a month, this should amount to spending less than what you are currently flushing down the ebay drain. Using the proper strategies, you will find yourself coming out ahead. So now is it time to push away that cloud (as Dan puts it) and step into the light.

[catherinel]

Grumpy, I agree with the others. What you're doing now is not working so it is definitely worth trying something new. It doesn't cost that much to build a website, and it doesn't have to be the most visually appealing website in the world.

Years ago, in the late 90's I used to sell an information product on ebay and I also sold it on a site. Mine was probably the most poorly designed site you ever saw, but more people bought my ebook (i will call it an ebook, but it was probably more like a mini book) from the site than they ever did on ebay, and I had thousands of newsletter subscribers.

Unfortunately, I eventually removed the site (I didn't realise sites were saleable then - well not mine anyway!) But, it really is worth doing.

I bet your ebook took a lot of effort to write, so it is definitely worth doing something with it.

I will take a look at what you have on ebay but it sounds like you really need to do something different.

[walker22]

Hi Grumpy~

If you do a google search with this keyword phrase:
"Thorne Smith radio shows" you will find that I own the top two spots there as well as on Yahoo searches.
I didn't spend a dime on getting them either. I also currently hold the 7 & 8 positions for "Thorne Smith TV shows -Courtney". Strictly smart keyword usage and providing relevant content.

So, while I respect your experience, I beg to differ about having to pay through the nose for high search engine rankings. My experience is the exact opposite of yours. As always, your mileage may vary...

Michael

[Rosalind Gardner]

Hey all,

Grumpy... It's 6:25 AM and I just finished reading this whole thread. It's a good thing that I woke up on the right side, otherwise I'd probably go back to bed, curl up and be totally bummed out for the rest of the day.

Instead, I just want to say that you've missed your calling and it's too bad that grumpyoldman.com is already taken... although I'm sure a good alternative to that domain name awaits.

You are a brilliant writer.

I'm not trying to chase you away from the NPT Forum by any stretch, but if you spent the time writing your own blog that you spend writing here, you WOULD get traffic and attention.

You could/would be the Tony Robbins of Grumpy.

You are also missing the opportunity to drive traffic to your eBay site by not listing your website address in your signature line here. If you can't figure out how to do it, I'll set that up for you.

You could use your eBay sales to drive traffic to your own site which then upsells those customers on more expensive software and digital products. Just one $50 sale per month will put you in the black if I read that correctly.

As for the Christmas cards...

I just bet that if you posted a P.O. box address on this forum along with a call for cards, everyone who has shown that they care enough about you to share their advice and concern would send heartfelt greetings your way.

Maybe sendmeachristmascard.com is available?

Have a BEAUTIFUL day!

[grumpyoldman]

Dear Rosalind,

What lovely things you say. Actually, that goes for all on this forum.

Yes, I do spend quite a fair amount of time on my posts. Also on my emails. I read and re-read a large number of times to ensure that there are no spelling or grammatical errors.

I like to think that I am one of the dying breed of "wordsmiths" who still find pleasure in the correct usage of the wonderfully diverse English language.

Attn. all list owners - there are still are still a large number of us, out here, who refuse to buy a product if there are multiple spelling errors in the email or the sales page. It appears to indicate an "I don't really care" attitude towards the product.

I have, however reluctantly, come to accept your national pastime of the mis-spelling of words like 'colour', 'favour' and also the strange habit of replacing the correct suffix of 'ise' with the incorrect suffix of 'ize', as in 'realise' and 'brutalise'.

Maybe there's an opening for a proof-reader for emails and sales pages!

I was a chef for many, many years and always impressed upon my apprentices to check all menus for spelling and grammar. I used to tell them that if the chef can't spell the dish there is little chance that he can cook the dish.

Yes, Rosalind, grumpyoldman.com is taken and so is grumpyoldchef.com - by me. I have an e-Book website in the process of being set up. I bought a site with a store installed and just add my own e-Books. I simply have to do what the web host calls "minor personalisation changes". So far they have taken me two months and there is no light at the end of the virtual tunnel.

I'm expecting to submit it to search engines by Christmas. Exactly which year has not been decided upon yet.

I spent three days trying to set up a page on Squidoo. I even spent a fortune on three e-Books about it, and gave it up as a bad job that could never make anyone a cent, even if they could work out how to get started.

I am always amazed at people thinking that I am capable of writing blogs. I really don't have anything of interest to say. I have been contemplating it, for months, and can't come up with a single subject that I could write on which would hold anyone's attention. Especially in this day and age when Attention Deficit Disorder is almost compulsory for anyone under the age of 35.

I will not take offence at the Tony Robbins reference. It's unfortunate that I find him, possibly, the most irritating man on the planet, and for the proverbial wild horses to drag me to one of his "I am Tony, aren't I wonderful" events, I would not only have to be in a straightjacket, but also heavily sedated! As would, I imagine, the wild horses. Sorry, Tony, but you do not inspire. Your brand of 'snake oil' would swiftly motivate me - towards the nearest exit.

As for the signature, well, I never use them for some reason. Maybe I'll re-consider when I have my site up and running. I do know how to do it, I just don't.

As far as selling products for $50 goes, it's a mouth-watering thought. Sadly, e-Books sell for about $2 at most and although I have some as expensive as $7 on my site, I really don't expect any sales.
Just for a laugh, I have put a couple at $9.99. No chance for them.

Only internet marketers buy expensive books that will make them 18 million dollars in 39 seconds. Real people expect a 150 page recipe book for 99 cents. C'est la vie!

I don't expect to see a $50 sale in my lifetime. No more do I expect to see an affiliate sale.

I have made $22 worth of affiliate sales in 4 months with my 50 affiliate items on USfreeads, and they have had 13,000 views.

Pity I have no list or links there, either.

Every time I think of acquiring 'aweber' I take a valium. Far, far out of my technical reach. I will have the only e-Book website with no sign-up form. Could be a selling point.

In the past 8 months I have given away 400 copies of my own cookbook with 20 links in each. Not one sale. Needless to say, all the links in my re-branded e-Books have returned a zero as well.

Regarding the Christmas cards, well, they're only dust gatherers anyway. Living alone all ones life has advantages. One of the major ones is that Christmas does not exist. I felt very pleased with myself, last year as I spent not one single cent on a single item that had anything to do with Christmas.

Well, Rosalind, and various assorted lurkers, it is now 3am and I have things to do.

Thank you for your lovely post. "Made me feel all fuzzy, it did".

Sorry about the articles and blogs, I just don't have it in me.

I'll look in again, hopefully with a better complexion, at a later date. This month has been a horror, what with Google and eBay having their lovers' tiff. Sales are down to a total of $32.78 for the first 24 days of the month. I notice eBay's fees are still over the $100 mark though. You have to laugh, don't you.

Bye all, keep raking it in!
grumpy
"This world is a comedy to those that think; and a tragedy to those that feel".
Horace Walpole

[Rosalind Gardner]

Aaaah Grumpy,

Gotta love ya. Your posts are a delight to read and quite humurous as well - after one quells the compulsion to cry.

You're right. Well-crafted prose is truly an art - and sadly, not many people make time to create masterpieces... especially not for consumption on the 'net.

I'm also with you on the spelling issue and do apologize (to those who care) for having dropped proper English spellings of favour, flavour and colour etc., to use the U.S. English versions instead. Gotta cater to the bulk of your audience.

For your info, I revert back when writing to friends in Canada, the U.K., Australia, N.Z. etc.

On the subject of selling success, I DO wish that you would share one of your sites or your eBay username with us.

Let us take a look and no doubt someone will have one suggestion that might easily double or triple your income.

Lastly, on the subject of blogging... it is NO more complex than posting to this forum. As for having nothing to write about - ya right. Ever watch Seinfeld? Unprecedented success for a show about absolutely nothing!

Use your wit, darlin'. You have plenty of it.

Cheers,
Ros

[Rosalind Gardner]

Follow-up to my last post. I just visited grumpyoldchef.com and you NEED a blog.

Really, why would you list Baby Nursery Decorating Tips, Learn How To Add HTML To Your eBay Auctions or Be A Scrapbooking Pro on a site called GrumpyOldChef.com?

Write cookbook reviews and post recipes while doing the curmudgeonly thing on that site.

Do that and the next thing you know, you'd have your own network TV spot! Just remember us little guys when that happens, OK?

Cheers,
Ros