Building a Niche Store and setting my goals.

I told you I was going to need to write out some goals to get this niche store / niche blog going. Here is a quick list of my goals and steps to take to get the site up and running. I’m not going to break them down or explain them much - but here they are.

1. Figure out what software options are available and decide which to use

   - WordPress? - BANS? - StoreStacker? - phpBay?

2. Start writing articles, or posts, to have content ready to publish.

   - have 10 posts ready to go by launch

3. Work on quick theme for the site

   - I want it to be unique but I don’t plan on spending too much time on it

   - I have experience in web design and creating WordPress themes so I can do this myself

4. Setup affiliate network accounts

   - I have an eBay affiliate account

   - Might just start with ebay don’t want to create too much competition on the site by using multiple affiliate programs

5. Setup niche store software

   - Whether its BANS, StoreStacker, or phpBay there will be some intial setup involved

6. Publish site

   - Might do this earlier with a few articles posted to get it indexed in the search engines quicker

7. Advertise the site - gotta have traffic

   - I don’t plan on spending too much money starting out.

   - Post in forums (free)

   - Post comments (free)

   - Directory submissions (free/cost)

   I could do it myself or pay someone to submit the site

   - Submitting articles to article sites (maybe - that’s more writing) (free)

   - CPC (cost per click) campaign - adwords, msn adcenter, yahoo ad network (cost)

   I have some free adwords and msn adcenter coupons

8. Hopefully repeat with another domain and niche site / niche store

Just a quick look into what I have in mind for the setup of my niche site or store - I keep going back and forth with that. I’m sure other things will creep up that I’ve forgotten. If anyone has any suggestions please leave a comment.

Popularity: 84% [?]

For all you beginner bloggers (including myself for this blog)
It’s tough when you’re just starting a blog - when your blog is in its infancy - to stay motivated to keep writing posts. It might feel pretty lonely when you first start your blog - it’s like you are blogging without an audience. Once again it comes back to setting your goals and keeping your incentives in mind.

Write and they will come
Don’t stop writing - keep posting. Try to make it fresh and interesting content - content is king. If you stopped now all that time you have put in was wasted. Keep chugging away. Continue to read and follow the blogging tips of those that are already successful - they too had to start at the beginning. Some blogs grow faster than others - it depends a lot on the amount of time you put into it.

Keep promoting
Even if it doesn’t seem to be working - keep leaving quality comments on related blogs and get the word out about your content. Make this part of your routine - it can be hard to get motivated to do the promoting - add it your daily list of blogging tasks and just do it.

It takes time
Rome wasn’t built in a day - or some other catchy cliché. It takes time and effort to grow a blog - especially if you don’t have a high traffic site to promote through. It may seem like you are getting nowhere - stay with it. The first few months can be difficult - stay motivated and remember your end goals and incentives. If you want it you’ve got to put the work in.

So, don’t give up even if you feel like you are blogging without an audience - I’m there with this new blog, but I’m going to keep writing and keep promoting.

Michael Hargis

Popularity: 97% [?]

If you have ever taken an Economics class you probably know that incentives are the cornerstone of modern life. These days ‘modern life’ includes blogging and making money online. So, to keep up your blogging motivation you are going to need incentives. This is not exactly the same as setting goals (sometimes goals and incentives can intertwine). We all understand setting goals - you have something you want to accomplish and you work towards reaching it. Incentives are more like prizes. You’ve worked hard and met your goals - now what do you get out of it? Basically, incentives are the things that motivate you to reach your blogging goals. So, when you are working towards your goals, or especially if you are procrastinating, keep your incentives in mind - it will help motivate you.

Having incentives makes completing those little daunting tasks a little easier. Growing a blog, or making money online, is time consuming and even with all the organization and goal setting techniques out there the best motivation is realizing what you will be getting out of all your hard work. Whether it be making enough money to quit your day job, or making a little extra cash to add to your income - maybe you just want the recognition that the big bloggers get or a chance to network with a great group of people and grow a community around your blog. These are all incentives - they are things that make you work hard to met your goals and become successful.

So, if you are feeling sluggish, or lazy, remember what you want to get out of blogging and use that as motivation to work towards your goals. Use it to get you excited again - pumped up - it helps, I do it.

Michael Hargis

Popularity: 69% [?]

Well, I feel that I have a descent amount of content so far on this blog. So, the next step for me is to start looking for ways to promote the site and drive traffic.

The goal I set for myself last week was to post at least once-a-day Monday through Friday. I accomplished that and now have set new weekly goals. Here they are:

• Keep posting once a day Monday through Friday for this week
• Start promoting the blog to drive traffic here

Just basic goals to keep me motivated and blogging.

I shouldn’t have any problem posting each day - the thing I’m not real confident in is driving traffic. I’ve been doing some research and have found that most people list these few ways to drive traffic to your blog:

• Comment on other blogs with similar topics
• Post in forums with similar topics to your blog
• Write and post articles to article websites
• Social Media
• Create a Squidoo Lens

Traffic Driving Techniques

So, I can find blogs with similar topics as mine and post comments - the idea here is posting helpful comments or thank yous - No Spamming. Pretty much every blog that allows comments has a place where you can put in your website address. Then when your comment displays the name you posted the comment under will be link to your site. The idea is that people might read your comment and click the link to visit your site. You can use a keyword or two as your name if you want - I haven’t decided if I will yet because most comment links are ‘nofollow’ - to please Google. nofollow basically means that when Google crawls a site and sees a link with nofollow it will not count it towards that site’s (the site the link is pointing to) ranking. That’s how I see it anyway.

Forums can help drive traffic by adding your blog’s url to your profile and in your signature. In most forums they will allow you to have a link or two in your signature - which shows up at the bottom of every post you make in the forum. Once again, these links are probably nofollow - but the idea is the same as above exposure. You should try and post helpful information or intelligent questions. Don’t just go in and start posting junk to get your signature on a bunch of pages. People will notice that and will react negatively. If you post useful questions or responses you will get noticed in a positive way. Also, if you have a helpful post on your blog that might answer a question you might be able to point people in the forum to your site - it just depends on the forum rules.

Writing articles is another suggestion a lot of people make when it comes to promoting your blog, or site. The important thing to remember here is that you are not writing articles about your blog. You want to base your articles on a topic from your blog. The promotion technique here is that article submission sites let you post a link or two in a designated area at the end of the article. So, someone reads your article and they see your link at the bottom. Also, people are allowed to publish these articles on their websites but they have to keep the author information and the links intact - another chance for exposure.

Social media - digg, stumbleupon, del.iciou.us, and the all those other ones can help you attract attention to your blog. Getting your content on these sites can be difficult - you can submitted yourself if you want but I don’t know if I will do that. Still, if it has a place in your profile to put a link to your blog you might as well. Then, if you start making friends - or getting followers - they may visit your site. Plus, you are networking with other people which is always important.

Creating a Squidoo lens (page) is somewhat similar to the article method. If don’t know what Squidoo is check it out here: Squidoo. Apparently it has become a popular way to promote and the pages rank well in the search engines.

I’m going to start out with the first 3 for this week. My goal is to comment on at least 3 blogs a day and make 3 forum post a day. I’ll need to do some research and find a few blogs and forums to comment on - I’m sure that won’t be too hard. Then I’ll get started. I know this might be hard for me - I’m pretty conscious on what I post on other sites and forums. I don’t want to post worthless crap or sound stupid - which is why I am starting with only 3 a day for each. As far as articles go, I will write and submit 2 this week. I haven’t decided which sites and I’ll have to do some research to find out if I can submit to multiple article sites.

This next phase of my blog should be interesting. It’s something I’m not all that comfortable with but I need to do it in order to grow my blog - got to stay motivated.

Michael Hargis

Popularity: 100% [?]

First off, I really enjoy following Zac Johnson on his blog Inside the Secret Life of a Super Affiliate. It’s definitely worth the read if you are looking for information about affiliate marketing - from where to start to what techniques and affiliate programs you should use. Zac has done a great job sharing his knowledge with his readers.

So, yesterday Zac Johnson wrote a post called Your Job Sucks? Six Reasons to Be Your Own Boss Now! Wouldn’t that be great - I know there a lot of people who are doing it. But is it the right time for you to make the jump? Here are a few reasons why you should hold off on being your own boss.

1. Current Economy - Jobs are being cut right and left - businesses are going under and the economy is hurting. If you quit your job now and your work at home ventures fail - you may never get your old job back. This, of course, depends on your profession. It’s just something to think about - you need a back up plan in case being your own boss doesn’t work out.
2. Your Current Income - I’m not talking about what you are currently making at your job - I’m talking about your current money stream outside of your job. The income you are making now from your online ventures, or whatever you plan on doing once you quit your job. If you are thinking you can just quit your job and start making enough money to support yourself, and maybe a family, right away - you are probably wrong. You should have at least a couple months of income saved up to support you while you get your own business ventures running. Or better yet, they should be running while you are working and making enough money to allow you to quit.
3. It’s all on YOU - So, maybe you don’t have to mess with a jerk boss or annoying coworkers, but if you screw things up when working for yourself it’s all your fault. You can’t say, ‘I was just doing what my boss told me.’ There is no one to blame but yourself. Are you ready for everything to fall on your shoulders? Maybe that’s exactly what you want or need to get you motivated.
4. Benefits - one of the nicer parts of having a full-time job. At most companies, health care, dental, vision, 401K, stock options are taken care of for you. Things like these are great benefits of having a job in a company. This might be one of the hardest things to let go when quitting your job. It can be worked out though - your spouse might be able to put you on their insurance, you can get your own health insurance (can get pretty expensive), you will need to take the time to manage your own money and get in touch with accountants and setup your own retirement fund. It can be done - it’s just another thing to think hard about before you go on your own.
5. Taxes - Don’t forget about taxes. When you’re on your own it’s up to you, or your accountant that you hire, to take care of these things - they can get confusing.

This isn’t a give up and stay in the workforce post - it’s a be realistic about your future post. If your goal is to work from home and be your own boss then staying focused, motivated, and working hard can get you there. Just be realistic about it - or it could turn out to be a very negative turn of events in your life.

I know my goal is to work for myself and a lot of the reasons I want to work for myself are mentioned in Zac’s post - he makes some great points. I also know that I will need to be absolutely sure I can financially support myself when I make the jump from the 9 to 5 to working my own hours for myself. If you read Zac’s post Your Job Sucks? Six Reasons to Be Your Own Boss Now!, which I suggest you do, make sure to read the last paragraph of text. And don’t give up if being your own boss is your goal - stay motivated and work hard and it will happen.

Michael Hargis

Popularity: 71% [?]

I hate traffic. It usually takes me about 50 minutes to get to work every morning but not today. Today was the first regular workday (Monday - Friday) with snow on the ground, and I guess everyone was scared. The thing is it was just flurries. There was barely any snow actually on the ground and roads were fine. I’m on Interstate highways pretty much the whole way to work. People just suck at driving - haha. But seriously there are way to many bad drivers out there.

Traffic was slow the whole way to work. I guess I can’t be mad a people for being ’safe’, but like I said the roads were not bad at all. So, I wouldn’t have cared if it was just a 5 to 10 mph decrease in speed the whole way - but someone caused a wreak. I was nowhere near it, but it brought traffic down to a crawl - I’m talking 6 minutes to go 1 mile crawl (I timed it). So, creeping along it got me thinking, and I’m sure you are wondering what does your 1 hour 50 minute drive to work have to do with the price of tea in China.

Motivation
A goal of mine is to at some point to quit my ‘day job.’ I would like to earn enough income from Internet ventures and freelancing to work at home. A lot of people are making good money online - through blogging, affiliate marketing, freelancing, etc. I’m not looking to become rich - I just want the added freedom that comes from working from home. I don’t want to have to spend my days in an office, or cubicle. I don’t want to be required to be at a job from 9 to 5. I don’t want to have to deal with traffic. Freedom from the 9 to 5 - the normal workday schedule - that’s what I want.

So, all this time I spend in traffic jams is motivation to me. If I can motivate myself and set goals, I can cut-out all the wasted and stressful time I spend in traffic. It’s a negative thing in my life that I need to spin to work in a positive way. It’s something I extremely dislike. So, I need a way to avoid it. With going to work I am pretty much guaranteed to be in traffic either on the way there or the way back home. Working from home, making money online, can help me avoid this nuisance - it’s motivation to work harder on producing an online income.

Motivation Challenge
So, here is a challenge for you. Take something that is a negative in your life and flip to be motivation towards a positive outcome or goal. A lot of times motivation is fueled by something we dislike. We want to find a way to make this dislike better. Overweight? Don’t like the way you look? Use that as motivation to change your self-image - exercise and eat healthy. Don’t like your career choice? Use that as motivation to save up money and go back to school to study something that you will enjoy and bring you a better job. Be motivated.

Michael Hargis

Popularity: 34% [?]

Do you set goals for yourself? How often? And how do you record them, or do you?

There are short-term goals, which are usually set either day to day, or weekly, mid-term goals, which are more like monthly sets of tasks, and finally there are long term goals, which can be something like six months ahead or a year or more away.

It’s important to set goals for yourself. For me personally they give a little more motivation to get things done. I think setting goals is one thing, but if you don’t actually write them down then you are less likely to act on them. So, get out a piece of paper, or notepad since you are at your computer, and jot down a few short-term goals. It’s very important to start small and not try to overdo it. If you start out setting lofty goals you may get discouraged quickly. Honestly, I was having a hard time getting motivated to do anything extra - like start a blog or work on other personal projects - then I decided I needed to start setting some goals - nothing big - and my first one had nothing to do with blogging or the internet at all. My first goal was to do 100 sit-ups everyday day for a week. At the end of the week I had my 7 days of 100 sit-ups and I felt great about accomplishing that goal. It was a pretty small goal for me, but it made me realize that setting goals really helped to motivate me. So, I grabbed a piece of paper and a pen and wrote down a few more goals. I broke them down into short-term, mid-term, and long-term goals. At that time, getting this blog up and going was one of my mid-term goals.

So, start setting goals for yourself. Write them down and put the paper somewhere you will see it every day. I know some people say set your goals high, but I say you need to start out small to gain some confidence in the fact that you can complete these tasks if you set your mind to it. Get a taste for the great feeling you get when you accomplished a goal or two and you will realize just how much such a simple task can help you.

- Michael Hargis

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