Online Success Story:
Missy Diaz
http://www.ebookreadergeek.com
Hi, my name is Missy Diaz and I've been a blogger since April 2007. My latest project is a fun blog dedicated to digital reading and the latest ebook readers on the market called eBook Reader Geek.
1. When did you set up your website?
I created the blog back in December 2010, which was a tad too late to capitalize on the holiday shopping frenzy. Boo to me! I procrastinated big time on that, but finally did get around to setting it up.
2. What gave you the idea for this particular niche & website?
This is not my first site in this niche, I had created a previous blog on the same topic called eBookReaderGuide.com - which turned out to be quite successful a project. I sold it back in December 2009 on Flippa for close to $2,000 and moved on from there to other projects...
I also created another blog in this niche but devoted entirely to the Kindle, called KindleOwners.com then sold that one too. But I was always interested in the niche and so I pursued it again. This time with more knowledge and more tricks up my sleeve than my previous attempt.
3. Did you have any experience with online business prior to creating this website?
I've had plenty of experience with online business, but have made my share of BIG mistakes as well. In the past, I created sites with the intention of selling them and or flipping them for quick profit. This turned out to be not quite so smart a move, since Google loves and prefers aged and established sites.
4. What did you do for work prior to setting up an online business?
Before writing and creating sites online, I worked in the mortgage industry with the family business. But it was not for me, the mortgage industry can be way too stressful a profession. I also moved from Chicago to Mississippi and after a fall out with a project, and went online to pass time.
After spending so much time online, I ran into various forums and sites that discussed working from home. An idea very appealing to me. I was then hired by eco-friendly blog site Keetsa to write for them and then moved on from there to create my first blog on Blogger, then WordPress. And so on.
In other words, just stumbled onto all this online marketing stuff. But I do love it and am super glad, I found it!
5. How did you initially promote your website, and if different – how do you promote it now?
Initially for promotion of my blogs, I would strictly use SEO. But with the recent changes from Google, social media has become a part of the puzzle and so now am a social media convert and enthusiast. I'm also now dabbling with email marketing, but have a lot to learn with this medium.
6. Is your website profitable? Can you share some basic traffic & profit stats with us?
My eBook Reader Geek blog has been profitable from the get go, but it's been a slow steady climb. All the income is from Amazon and has been as follows:
Jan - $10.10
February - $39.63
March - $159.63
April - $283.63
May - $160.22
As for traffic, it is mostly organic search engine traffic from Google, Yahoo and Bing. My traffic is actually not very high, but it converts well. The income comes from just a few strategic "money pages' placed on the blog.
7. What are your plans for the site going forward?
My plan going forward is to avail of guest post opportunities (which I have already been doing) and get my blog ranked higher and for more keywords. I look forward to when it becomes aged and dances less in the SERPS.
This will come with time and age.
8. What ONE piece of advice would you give someone interested in starting their own niche site or blog?
My advice for anyone starting a niche blog is to pick a topic they genuinely enjoy talking about endlessly, which is what he or she will be doing via the niche blog site.
Network with other blog owners in the same or vertical niche and just have fun with it. Keep in mind that it takes time and lots of work, but in 6 months to a year - a niche blog ranked well is a delight like no other.
And whoa nelly - start now to reap the treats come the busy holiday shopping season.
That's it. That's my story on eBook Reader Geek and I hope you learned something interesting from it. Thanks!
Missy
Chief eBook Reading Officer
http://www.ebookreadergeek.com
-Thank you, Missy. Congratulations on your success!
About Lynn Terry
Missy:
You again...lol. I'm always running into you:) Congrats on yet another site! I was shocked to read that you are in the same niche I'm in. I like your blog. If you're interested in guest posting on my blog, contact me via my site. I'd love to have your write something for the site. And if you're looking for someone to guest post on your site, I'd love the opportunity as well.
Either way, good to read your success story and to hear you're doing well. By the way, your change in strategy (i.e. going more social) is interesting. I may need to chat with you about that. Like you, I'm a SEO guy but I need to start jumping on this social media bandwagon before I get left behind.
Take care,
Travis Van Slooten
Hey, Travis:
Yes, it's me again. lol. Hope you're not getting sick of me just yet. They keep pulling me back in, the ebook readers that is. Ha! It's just a niche I know well, so I stick to it.
I've seen your site before and it's lovely. I absolutely would love to submit something to it, and vice versa. We'll have to keep in touch to get it set up. I'm doing lots of guest posting now, along with some social media and some email marketing.
Thanks for the comment.
that is really an impressive success story
i am also following the footsteps of this successful blogger
and hope i ll get success soon
thanks for the tips
Hi, Jibran:
Thanks for the kind words.
Cheers!
I like point number 8: pick a topic they genuinely enjoy talking about endlessly, which is what he or she will be doing via the niche blog site.
I have found that picking a niche that changes quickly literally hands you tons of topics to write about, some even news-worthy, which, of-course, have the potential to either be link-bait or go viral on any given social platform.
Very inspiring interview as always, Lynn.
Additionally, thanks for the insight, Missy.
Mark
Hey, Mark:
Yes, unless a blog owner plans to outsource content (which some do), then it's smart to pick a niche they enjoy talking and writing about.
Appreciate your visit and comment. Thx!
Building an online busines around your passion is the surest way to make money on the longrun and fill comfortable doing it. I like your ebook reader geek blog, it's cute
A lot of people went to online reading from paper lately, it's great to see Missy managed to take advantage of this trend.
The website also looks great, i expect great things from it.
Hey Linn!
Really an informative post on how a website can get going and will, after a while, start to make money.
Not just that, I like the way you keep all of us posted with new similar stories, every once in a while.
this is a great story to read, I started my business just over a year ago. Its a really rubbish time to run a business but I feel slowly its pulling up and hopefully going make more of an impact.
Can tell me what is standard to sell the site at Flippa?
Jamal - Unfortunately, it's impossible to answer that question as it's a bit like asking what is the standard to sell my car? There are so many variables to consider.
Having said that, there are general guidelines you can use but even they are never accurate. The general guidelines are you can get at least 12-18 months revenue for a site if it's at least a year old, has good content, and has had consistent income.
Again, even those guidelines are meaningless because I've had sites sell for 50 months revenue!! And if you browse through the completed auctions on Flippa, you'll see some sites that meet that criteria only sell for a few months revenue.
TravisVS
Hi Missy, just went to your site and discoverd that there is a kind of grey overlay covering your site that I couldn't get rid of without refreshing the page (annoying). I assume it belongs to an ad or email subscription form, but I don't see a possibility to close this. The X or "close window" message is missing.
I am using Internet Explorer 8.
"My eBook Reader Geek blog has been profitable from the get go, but it’s been a slow steady climb"
Hey again,
it is a good start, considering that you only started before christmas. The trend is upward and every bit of promotion will help to secure you a good ranking for the next shopping season.
Good luck with this site.
Btw, didn't know about the kindle games. What about a monthly bestseller list instead of just linking to the amazon bestsellers?
Top 10 lists are the thinig people are looking for ...