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Launched my site 8 months ago and here are my results

atmosphere13

Contributor
Read Fastlane!
Speedway Pass
User Power
Value/Post Ratio
137%
Jul 23, 2012
59
81
San Diego, CA
Brief bio: I am 24, recent college grad, live at home, work 50hrs/week earning $50k salary. I hate my job..

I launched Knowledge For Men - What Women Want | How To Be A Man | How To Date-Home in January 2012. KFM is a self help website and social community for men. I give straight to the point advice on dating and relationships from a male perspective. My site generates revenue by google adsense advertisements and I sell 2 ebooks from the site, on itunes, amazon, and other popular ebook retailers.

My results YTD:
I have earned $2000 in ebook sales, and $65 in google ads. Below is a glimpse of my Google Analytics.

Visits: 5,680

chart

Unique Visitors: 3,952

chart

Pageviews: 41,453

chart

Pages / Visit: 7.30

chart

Avg. Visit Duration: 00:06:50

chart

Bounce Rate: 48.52%

chart

% New Visits: 69.58%



Keep in mind I just started SEO in May. I just started the blog, yet I do not have a lot of time to blog daily. The community/forum section has been getting spammed like crazy so I have to clear out all members . It's tough to get users to participate in my forum and also to "like" my facebook page.. Although, I do plan to add more content to the general "knowledge" section and improve what I already have and release another ebook.

Any feedback is much appreciated on how I can:
1. Get more traffic to my site
2. increase ad revenue
3. Increase ebook revenue
4. Market and brand my site


Thank you


***update in September alone I made $73 from google adsense. (I made $65 in the past 8 months)

*** update on October 8, I hit 10,000 visits. I also now sell popular affiliate products in my niche. Have a blog up and running and a community/discussion section up.
 
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dknise

Gold Contributor
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Read Unscripted!
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133%
Aug 29, 2012
1,087
1,446
North Bend, WA
As a young entrepreneur as well, I do a lottt of reading. One of the key things I look for when I get a book is who is the author, what have they done, and why should I listen to them. Someday I would love to write a book, but right now, I don't think I'm a "definitive" expert on anything.

That being said, what makes you the "definitive expert" on relationships and dating? Why should I, a potential customer, listen to you? These are not meant to be sassy questions, but real questions that I hope you can answer! Letting your readers know this will help your reputation.

Online dating is big business. Have you thought about partnering with online dating agencies? Also, you say you hate your job... why not become a professional columnist for a site like AskMen.com or something of the works? This goes right along with the first one, you don't have to give up your control and become an employee, you can just talk with them and see if they will pay out for blog posts and articles you've written.

This brings another point to other successful sites, they have some form of interaction. I was brought to this site by SEO for entrepreneurial forums. Didn't realize it was for a book, started interacting, and bought the book. Loved it. A VBulletin forum like this one could boost traffic substantially. This will encourage consistent repeat viewers as well as viewer participation. Relatively easy to setup, the hardest part is getting the consumer base... but you're already looking for one! Give them a place to talk experiences with each other, and more importantly, about the advice you give and the eBook you wrote.

Branding could be expanded to a sister site for women. Can you get definitive expert articles for them? Can a forum be started where people coming there can flirt it up with each other? Can you even build a little back end match maker based on forum quizzes. Basically like a truly interactive, public dating site. Not sure if that type of thing has really been done?

It's not my field, so let's just say I desperately need your help. Why should I listen to you and what do you have to offer?
 

dknise

Gold Contributor
Read Fastlane!
Read Unscripted!
Speedway Pass
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Aug 29, 2012
1,087
1,446
North Bend, WA
ps I'm down to bounce ideas with you and challenge you. Hopefully some of these questions will lead to the insight you're looking for!
 

atmosphere13

Contributor
Read Fastlane!
Speedway Pass
User Power
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137%
Jul 23, 2012
59
81
San Diego, CA
Thanks for the response.

My ebook is based off of 5 years of research, interviews with women, and my own trial and errors. On itunes I have over 25 ratings with 4 1/2 stars and the book only costs $5. Well I have 2 books at $5 each. My ebook is different from others because it is quality content, straight to the point information, it's an easy fun read. Other ebooks seem to have long stories which leave the reader confused and have obvious content or low quality content.

So far my site traffic is growing every week, adsense revenues up and ebook sales are rising. I really want to focus on SEO, a blog, forum and upgrading the quality of content on my site.
Check it: http://www.knowledgeformen.com/
 
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BostonH

Contributor
Read Fastlane!
User Power
Value/Post Ratio
61%
Jul 30, 2012
56
34
Massachusetts
There is tons of literature and theory on pricing. Many times a higher price can convey a better value to the consumer. It might be counter-intuitive, but you may want to raise your e-book price. When I see a PDF download for $5, I might typically think "Oh, this guy wrote a 30 page primer and wants to make a few bucks." However, if I come across someone saying they can answer all my questions about something I'm really interested in, and it is a download for $20-30, I may think, "Hmm, this guy really has something of value to offer me."
 

PatrickP

Gold Contributor
Read Fastlane!
Speedway Pass
User Power
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76%
Mar 16, 2012
1,843
1,405
Brief bio: I am 24, recent college grad, live at home, work 50hrs/week earning $50k salary. I hate my job..

I launched Knowledge For Men - What Women Want | How To Be A Man | How To Date-Home in January 2012. KFM is a self help website and social community for men. I give straight to the point advice on dating and relationships from a male perspective. My site generates revenue by google adsense advertisements and I sell 2 ebooks from the site, on itunes, amazon, and other popular ebook retailers.

My results YTD:
I have earned $2000 in ebook sales, and $65 in google ads. Below is a glimpse of my Google Analytics.

Visits: 5,680

chart

Unique Visitors: 3,952

chart

Pageviews: 41,453

chart

Pages / Visit: 7.30

chart

Avg. Visit Duration: 00:06:50

chart

Bounce Rate: 48.52%

chart

% New Visits: 69.58%



Keep in mind I just started SEO in May. I just started the blog, yet I do not have a lot of time to blog daily. The community/forum section has been getting spammed like crazy so I have to clear out all members . It's tough to get users to participate in my forum and also to "like" my facebook page.. Although, I do plan to add more content to the general "knowledge" section and improve what I already have and release another ebook.

Any feedback is much appreciated on how I can:
1. Get more traffic to my site
2. increase ad revenue
3. Increase ebook revenue
4. Market and brand my site


Thank you



I think to your age group facebook is less and less important as they seem not to be using it nearly as much as they did even last year.

3 years ago you could start a facebook page and get a few thousand likes from people ACTUALLY interested in your company/products. Now you have to fight and post and post and post, contests, give aways etc to get the 18 - 28 year old range to like or even view the page.

What I do think is very important are your blog posts. NO need to have new ones every day or even every other day. Think of it this way say you start your blog Jan 1 and you blog 2 times per week. By March 1 you have approx 16 blogs. The VAST majority of your traffic will go to your site WELL after March 1 so they have no clue if you are blogging every day, every minute etc.

What is important to them and what will get them to your site is IF your blogs have info which THEY find valuable and which also goes along with the ads on your site. Better to have 1/10th the number of blog posts BUT everyone is super informative and of great interest to your target market.
 
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atmosphere13

Contributor
Read Fastlane!
Speedway Pass
User Power
Value/Post Ratio
137%
Jul 23, 2012
59
81
San Diego, CA
I think to your age group facebook is less and less important as they seem not to be using it nearly as much as they did even last year.

3 years ago you could start a facebook page and get a few thousand likes from people ACTUALLY interested in your company/products. Now you have to fight and post and post and post, contests, give aways etc to get the 18 - 28 year old range to like or even view the page.

What I do think is very important are your blog posts. NO need to have new ones every day or even every other day. Think of it this way say you start your blog Jan 1 and you blog 2 times per week. By March 1 you have approx 16 blogs. The VAST majority of your traffic will go to your site WELL after March 1 so they have no clue if you are blogging every day, every minute etc.

What is important to them and what will get them to your site is IF your blogs have info which THEY find valuable and which also goes along with the ads on your site. Better to have 1/10th the number of blog posts BUT everyone is super informative and of great interest to your target market.



Great feedback. And I agree with the facebook. My age group grew up on social media and is very good at avoiding new facebook groups/clicking on ads. The blog I will do. Thank you.
 

atmosphere13

Contributor
Read Fastlane!
Speedway Pass
User Power
Value/Post Ratio
137%
Jul 23, 2012
59
81
San Diego, CA
There is tons of literature and theory on pricing. Many times a higher price can convey a better value to the consumer. It might be counter-intuitive, but you may want to raise your e-book price. When I see a PDF download for $5, I might typically think "Oh, this guy wrote a 30 page primer and wants to make a few bucks." However, if I come across someone saying they can answer all my questions about something I'm really interested in, and it is a download for $20-30, I may think, "Hmm, this guy really has something of value to offer me."

Thanks for the feedback. What's interesting is that I started my ebook out for .99 and I got a few dozen sales in a month, then I raised the price to $4.99 and it got hundreds of sales. I felt comfortable at $5/ebook but I will experiment with different price ranges again.

I changed the price of my ebook from $4.99 to $8.99. I will monitor sales for 1 month and go from there. Thanks again!
 

rico

Contributor
User Power
Value/Post Ratio
27%
Aug 14, 2007
83
22
Buckinghamshire, UK
My results YTD:
I have earned $2000 in ebook sales, and $65 in google ads. Below is a glimpse of my Google Analytics.

Unique Visitors: 3,952

If you look at that, you've made basically $2000 from 4000 visitors. So you made 50c per unique visitor. If you can continue at this ratio and buy in traffic for 10c-25c per visitor, then you can make a good profit.

So research keywords in Google and look at the paid listings. Take a risk with $250 and see if that can make you a profit.

Then do the same and just keep growing. Refine with A/B testing, experiment with special offers etc to get shares/RTs.

Make sure you keep an eye on your cost-per-visitor and profit-per-visitor and as long as you're making money you're laughing.
 
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mottdog

Contributor
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User Power
Value/Post Ratio
22%
Jan 7, 2010
106
23
Redondo Beach, CA
Nice looking site. One quick thing I would update are the page titles, right now they are Home, Store and Knowledge. It should be your site name and then the page name. This way if someone bookmarks your site they know what it is in their list.
 

atmosphere13

Contributor
Read Fastlane!
Speedway Pass
User Power
Value/Post Ratio
137%
Jul 23, 2012
59
81
San Diego, CA
If you look at that, you've made basically $2000 from 4000 visitors. So you made 50c per unique visitor. If you can continue at this ratio and buy in traffic for 10c-25c per visitor, then you can make a good profit.

So research keywords in Google and look at the paid listings. Take a risk with $250 and see if that can make you a profit.

Then do the same and just keep growing. Refine with A/B testing, experiment with special offers etc to get shares/RTs.

Make sure you keep an eye on your cost-per-visitor and profit-per-visitor and as long as you're making money you're laughing.

Actually, most of my ebook sales do not come from my site. They come from itunes, amazon, sony ebook stores. I am working on setting up google analytics to create conversions from my site. But thanks for the advice!
 

AlasdairM

New Contributor
User Power
Value/Post Ratio
37%
Sep 20, 2012
35
13
- As others have suggested, try raising the price of your book. Use A/B split testing to get scientific results. A site like Experimently |Website Testing Made Easy is very easy to use, or you could use Content Experiments in Google Analytics for free (a bit harder to set up).

Initially, try your current price and then one that's considerably higher. If the higher price wins, start experimenting with other prices.

- Is the Tao of Bad a$$ a competing product? If so, why advertise it on your site?

- My overall impression when I landed on your home page is that the site looks feminine, particularly the video with the purple. In fact, my first impression when I landed on your site was "this is for women". Could be just me.

- Why not offer 2 or 3 complimentary chapters to your book. (Doesn't have to be the first three chapters either.) Set up an email capture form to send them the chapters and capture their email info for future follow-up. That may a bit overused these days, but it still works to some degree.

- If you can fetch a higher price for the book and add some more products to your line-up, then there would be no need to write blog articles to get traffic. You could just pay for it and get a lot more of it without the hassle of writing posts.

Anyway, just a few ideas to get you going. There's a lot you could with your site.

HTH,

Alasdair M
 

moonjun

New Contributor
Read Fastlane!
User Power
Value/Post Ratio
40%
Aug 6, 2012
35
14
Thanks for the response.

My ebook is based off of 5 years of research, interviews with women, and my own trial and errors. On itunes I have over 25 ratings with 4 1/2 stars and the book only costs $5. Well I have 2 books at $5 each. My ebook is different from others because it is quality content, straight to the point information, it's an easy fun read. Other ebooks seem to have long stories which leave the reader confused and have obvious content or low quality content.

So far my site traffic is growing every week, adsense revenues up and ebook sales are rising. I really want to focus on SEO, a blog, forum and upgrading the quality of content on my site.
Check it: Home

gather your data base, do a free webinar, answer their questions
ask for feedbacks, and promote your book a little.

Next move is come up with products which they want, judging
by the questions they ask.

Also make a poll or survey to find out more about what your
database wants.
 
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atmosphere13

Contributor
Read Fastlane!
Speedway Pass
User Power
Value/Post Ratio
137%
Jul 23, 2012
59
81
San Diego, CA
- As others have suggested, try raising the price of your book. Use A/B split testing to get scientific results. A site like Experimently |Website Testing Made Easy is very easy to use, or you could use Content Experiments in Google Analytics for free (a bit harder to set up).

Initially, try your current price and then one that's considerably higher. If the higher price wins, start experimenting with other prices.

- Is the Tao of Bad a$$ a competing product? If so, why advertise it on your site?

- My overall impression when I landed on your home page is that the site looks feminine, particularly the video with the purple. In fact, my first impression when I landed on your site was "this is for women". Could be just me.

- Why not offer 2 or 3 complimentary chapters to your book. (Doesn't have to be the first three chapters either.) Set up an email capture form to send them the chapters and capture their email info for future follow-up. That may a bit overused these days, but it still works to some degree.

- If you can fetch a higher price for the book and add some more products to your line-up, then there would be no need to write blog articles to get traffic. You could just pay for it and get a lot more of it without the hassle of writing posts.

Anyway, just a few ideas to get you going. There's a lot you could with your site.

HTH,

Alasdair M

Thanks for the tips.

No one ever told me my site gives off a feminine feel. I'll look into that. What do you guys think?

"The Tao of Badass" would be considered a competitor but, its an affiliate link. If someone clicks on it then buys it I get a commission. And according to clickbank it has a high "gravity" which means a lot of people are buying it. I figure if someone's going to click on something it better make me more money than google adsense.

I capture emails when someone signs up to comment on my blog or in my community section. And with this, I am developing an email marketing campaign to send out to these folks. Here, I will sell a wide variety of reputable affiliate products in my niche.

And yes I am experimenting with the price of my ebooks. I just raised the price from $4.99 to $8.99. I'll post results after 1 month.

Again, thanks for your response. It is much appreciated.

Does anyone else have any feedback for me.
 

Mr.Dietsch

Contributor
Read Fastlane!
User Power
Value/Post Ratio
55%
May 30, 2012
137
76
I honestly did not read this thread, just checked out your site quickly, and it does add VALUE. Anyways here is an idea that you can either throw in your trash can or maybe the idea you need to bring people to your site. Have you ever thought about trying to interview professional pickup artists? I know Neil Strauss is my favorite, but these guys are legit, and no doubt would bring awareness and credibility to your site that you need.
 

AlasdairM

New Contributor
User Power
Value/Post Ratio
37%
Sep 20, 2012
35
13
No one ever told me my site gives off a feminine feel

This was a split second impression. I realized within a few seconds that it wasn't. However, that split second impression can cause high bounce rates.

I'd suggest raising the price a fair bit more than that. Try a wide spread like $4.99 and $29.99 or whatever, and then if the $4.99 price point wins, try a narrower spread.

One thing to watch out for obviously is overall revenue rather than just units sold. Having said that, selling more units would be better if you're going to market more of your own products down the road. I.e. Use your ebook as a loss leader or self-liquidating offer.
 
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