Always from start to profit?

[KathleenMN]

I realize that this is a matter of opinion, and I would like to hear yours on this famous Lynn quote:

"If you truly want to make money online, and have a successful internet-based business, you absolutely must continue the process. All the way from start, to profit."

My question is, is there a point at which this is not the tried and true rule? If you have a website, and have followed a bunch of steps, created pages on a bunch of Web 2.0 sites, gotten a bunch of back links etc. and are still not making much if any profit.

Is there a time when it is better to write off a niche or idea as not being worth the time and effort? To cut your losses so to speak. If so, at what point do you think that is?

Any input would be appreciated.

Thanks,
Kathleen

[Desdichata]

Absolutely. If you are getting the hits but not the conversions then you need to look at the product. There is no golden rule as to how long you want to give. Some say 2 months and others say six. You have not mention how many hits you are getting but three per cent conversion would appear to be in the area of what is normal. Of course you have to factor in things like the cost of the product. Maybe its not the niche but the price. There are almost too many variables here to measure. Trust your gut. If you have the traffic but not the sales then maybe you should look at something else. I stuck with a niche for 8 months just because I was too stubborn to give up on it. Did it turn around? No. I wasted 8 months. Do what you think is best. Good luck.

[russell]

I think its the same as almost any business. You should have an exit plan when starting the business. And 1 out of 10 businesses fail.

I think if you do your planning and research correctly, you should have a pretty good chance of succeding though.

As for figuring out when to give up, there are a couple factors as Desdichata mentioned.

Sometimes you may just loose interest. But if you have followed your plan, and think you have put in the work tht should be put into the business, and still dont get results, either take a step back and see what might be wrong, and make corrections, or decide to just learn from the experience, and let it go.

[wade_watson]

For many beginners at this stuff it's easy to get distracted by new ideas and find yourself starting project after project without seeing any through (I speak from experience). That's why Lynn's advice is probably the best that she gives. That assumes, though, that you've done adequate research to know you've got a market-worthy product. Unfortunately many beginners haven't developed the expertise to know it's market worthy. Some people go through stages of testing to learn how salable a product is and eliminate one at some stage if it doesn't meet a predetermined criteria.

I think it's important to establish solid business procedures for yourself and adhere to them consistently. So my interpretation of Lynn's mantra is to stay with your business model until profit, not a particular product.

Wade

[drmani]

My question is, is there a point at which this is not the tried and true rule?

Is there a time when it is better to write off a niche or idea as not being worth the time and effort? To cut your losses so to speak. If so, at what point do you think that is?

Kathleen

Kathleen, GREAT question. I'll share my opinion, for what it's worth.

So much of this has to do with personality. Some folks are always in a rush to succeed - at anything. They'll try something, flit to the next, then another - until one of them works. Then, they'll stick with it, or maybe get restless and move on.

Others are steady, willing to plod and test and tweak until they succeed at what they start. It may take years, but they'll get there - unless something is really wrong with what they're doing.

Then, at what point should you give up on a niche or product?

Let's assume you started out right - by tapping into YOUR passion, researching the PROFIT potential of that passion, surveying the market to see what it WANTS, and then CREATING VALUE that meets that demand.

If you've done all this, and the niche itself is a proven one where others are winning big, then all it takes is to plod along and stick with it until you reach that level. No, not by doing the same things over and over, but by constantly learning, testing, adapting, modifying, improving.

On the other hand, if you've NOT done those critical 4 things before you plunged into a niche based on 'gut feeling' or 'coz they did it', and you don't have any 'proof of concept' to convince you that this is going to be great, why then drop it at any point where you feel it isn't going anywhere fast.

Seth Godin distinguishes between "Dips" and "cul de sacs". The first is a temporary slow-down before the big win. The other is a dead-end you can't make work for you - but must only settle for.

Hope this helps in some little way

All success
Dr.Mani

[Andreaa]

Kathleen, GREAT question. I'll share my opinion, for what it's worth.

So much of this has to do with personality. Some folks are always in a rush to succeed - at anything. They'll try something, flit to the next, then another - until one of them works. Then, they'll stick with it, or maybe get restless and move on.

Others are steady, willing to plod and test and tweak until they succeed at what they start. It may take years, but they'll get there - unless something is really wrong with what they're doing.

Then, at what point should you give up on a niche or product?

Let's assume you started out right - by tapping into YOUR passion, researching the PROFIT potential of that passion, surveying the market to see what it WANTS, and then CREATING VALUE that meets that demand.

If you've done all this, and the niche itself is a proven one where others are winning big, then all it takes is to plod along and stick with it until you reach that level. No, not by doing the same things over and over, but by constantly learning, testing, adapting, modifying, improving.

On the other hand, if you've NOT done those critical 4 things before you plunged into a niche based on 'gut feeling' or 'coz they did it', and you don't have any 'proof of concept' to convince you that this is going to be great, why then drop it at any point where you feel it isn't going anywhere fast.

Seth Godin distinguishes between "Dips" and "cul de sacs". The first is a temporary slow-down before the big win. The other is a dead-end you can't make work for you - but must only settle for.

Hope this helps in some little way

All success
Dr.Mani

What a Fantastic Answer .. Thank you

[AlexNewell]

Start to Profit? Yes but

There has to be a limit and a plan. The limit may be different for different peeps but if you keep on digging away where there is no gold then you just won't find any gold!

So ask a trusted friend for advice, get a site review.have a good look at your stats and again show them to someone you trust.

Not every site is a winner, after a good honest go at things it can be right in my view to move on with no regrets.

Review your methods of niche selection and keyword research and check the methods used are good and then plan your next adventure.

All The Best

Alex

[Engage]

Here's another way to look at it, that may work for some.

Pick a topic that we love so much, we'd make a site about it for free.

Think of our love of this topic as a business asset, and consciously and deliberately build this asset.

You know how we're always working on building the content and links for our site? Aim this same kind of determined and sustained effort at building our relationship with our topic.

Start with loving the topic, and grow that energy, until we become a fanatic, an addict, a crazed unreasonable typoholic manic on our topic.

And then the question of when to quit our site may never come up.

If we can find a topic we love so much that we're willing to accept the profits available in that niche, we're already retired.

[Lynn Terry]

Great topic!

Let's make the assumption that you did market research upfront, and you know you're working with a buying market. Not just an info-seeking market (keyword volume), but a buying market (keyword phrases with commercial intent).

If you're website is not making a profit, I would go through these steps:

Is it a traffic problem?

Look at your site stats and specifically how many unique visitors you are getting consistently each month. Look at the source of that traffic as well. If you don't have enough traffic, or enough targeted traffic, start there.

If you do have a traffic problem, make sure your site is properly optimized for search engine traffic. Work on getting high quality inbound links. Invest time into your social media profiles and community networking.

Are you targeting the right keywords?

If you're getting a fair amount of traffic (at least 1000 unique visitors a month) and still not making any sales, look at the keyword phrases you are targeting.

Are you targeting info-seekers or buyers? Look in your stats at the top 10 or 20 keyword phrases that people are using to find and visit your website. What is their intent with the search? Does your page deliver what they are searching for - do you have a strong message to market match?

You can always re-optimize the pages of your site or blog. You can also get a single page or post ranking well for more than one keyword phrase. Test different keyword phrases to see if there is a difference in the response.

Is it a conversion problem?

If you are getting a fair amount of traffic, and you are targeting buyers in your niche, then you have a conversion problem. It may very well be the keyword phrases you are targeting, so that's the best place to start.

Make sure all of the elements of your page are placed correctly. Is the eye drawn in the right direction? Do you have ONE strong call-to-action? Does that call-to-action match the context and content of the page (and their search that brought them to your page)?

Get your site reviewed, or do a usability test. Sometimes you have a very obvious "conversion leak" that is super simple to fix. It's easy to overlook them too, after looking at your own site for too long. Get some fresh eyes on it!

Is it a YOU problem?

Have you really done everything that you can to market and present your website to your target market? Often people will create a great site, and then fall short on the marketing. Or go into a strong marketing campaign with a weak site. Treat it like a business, and invest the time into all of the elements it takes to start and run a successful online business.

[KathleenMN]

thanks Lynn! I had come to many of the same conclusions. I just haven't given it enough time, and enough work. I need to do more on pretty much everything you listed, and I am committed to doing so in the coming days and weeks, and months if necessary.

Kathleen