Things have been a bit difficult lately.
I quit drinking at the beginning of the year. Had my last drop of alcohol on New Year’s Eve 2015.
And while I have so many people congratulating me for it as though there are ONLY upsides to my decision… this has been so far from the truth that the congratulations are almost annoying. Appreciated… but annoying. 🙂
In many ways, I feel as though my best friend has died and I’m being congratulated for the fact. Or like getting dumped by the love of your life and having everyone tell you how awesome and strong you are for not reaching out to her, even though every fiber of your being is BEGGING you to.
It’s a consolation prize. Or so it feels.
Just keepin’ it real.
It’s a very difficult adjustment, and my online business has suffered very much as a result. I’ve been all over the road. I feel like a kid with ADD for whom alcohol was the only treatment.
And now I’m off my meds.
Anxiety, depression, lack of focus… they’ve taken their toll on me. I’ve hopped from one idea to the next, never truly buckling down and seeing anything through to fruition.
Am I happy with the business I’ve built? Yeppers… totally!
But I have been extremely dissatisfied with my attempts to expand. I’m no better off now than I was when I quit drinking.
I’ve been uninspired.
Inarticulate.
And just not all that much fun, truth be told.
Why Am I Sharing This?
Well, even though things have been kind of rough for me this year, I still haven’t lost who I am at the core. And that’s a problem solver… and an innovator. Thank freak that part of me is still intact! For it’s the part that has urged me to create this fine blog post you’re reading right meow. A new realization has been born.
And what I’ve come to realize is this…
Just like many newbies to the IM game tend to do, I have fallen victim to shiny object syndrome.
That is, I have had SO MANY IDEAS that it has been damn near impossible to see ANY of them through to any meaningful fruition.
For example, I really want to grow my review site, start my DFY email membership, finish my DFY emails in IM, finish my DFY emails in weight loss, rock out my weight loss site, rock out my relationship site (for which I have purchased the most badass domain/business name EVER), create my new and upcoming product, grow my personal blog (which you’re on now), and so much more…
YouTube channels, Facebook pages and groups, advertising platforms, outsourcing, partnerships, coaching…
It has all become a blur to me.
So I have made the decision to consolidate like never before.
So here’s my plan…
For my review site, outsourcing is my new best friend. I will add a minimum of 5 product reviews to my site each day. This should only take an hour or two per day. My goal is to have 1000 reviews on my site, each bringing in an average of $10 per month in affiliate commissions.
That’s 10k per month, for those of you without physics degrees.
I’m not worried about building a list with that business. Direct affiliate linking is fine for now.
So that’s that.
My relationship and weight loss sites can wait until next year.
Right now, my priorities are as such…
1. My review site
2. Weight loss niche list building
3. This site (LeeMurray.com)
And Here Is Where My Point Emerges…
I have decided to use THIS site as my “public business planner.” Actually, I guess you could call it my professional and even personal online journal. And guess what? At least where the business side of things is concerned, I’m not leaving anything out.
So as far as the IM email marketing portion of my business is concerned, expect to receive far fewer promotional emails from me… and lots more emails taking you right here to LeeMurray.com!
I feel like I’ve strayed way too far off the path of being of genuine service to my peeps.
I’m tired of my IM email lists being my primary source of income. I’d much rather earn the bulk of my income in other niches, and supplement with the IM stuff. 🙂
My main aim for this site is going to be to document the things I’m doing to earn my money in other ways. And as I’ve already mentioned, these ways are going to be my review site… and weight loss niche list building.
Let me now discuss what I’m planning to do with each of these two things…
My Review Site:
This is all about volume, baby! Accidental SEO, as I call it. I will be outsourcing 1000 product reviews, posting them on my site, and linking to the products via my affiliate links.
I will NOT be doing any backlinking, YouTube videos, or external traffic generation of ANY kind this year. Maybe in 2017 I’ll work on that, if I can see the value in doing so. But for now, I’m just gonna operate under a “post it and they will come” mindset.
1000 reviews is a freakton, amigo. Even if each review brings in an average affiliate commission of 5 bucks per month… that’s a full-time, passive income all on its own.
And since I will be promoting not only Amazon products, but also Clickbank products (with recurring commissions), memberships, and all kinds of other madness… yeah. Game on.
I’m VERY excited about this.
Again, no extra traffic generation. Accidental SEO is all I’m focused on in 2016. Makes life easy!
Right here on LeeMurray.com, I will be keeping you in the know when it comes to this particular undertaking.
Goal – 1000 reviews posted by February 1, 2017.
Weight Loss Email List
I’m even more stoked about this sucker!
Why?
Because it is going to be my SOLE list building focus. I will create one single lead magnet, lead capture page, early funnel, and follow-up email funnel. I will load up a YEAR’S worth of promotional and semi-promotional emails in the weight loss and fitness niche.
One single squeeze page.
Then, I will allow myself to get shiny object crazed.
Traffic strategy after traffic strategy after traffic strategy. I’ll be sending ALL of my traffic to that one single squeeze page. ALL OF IT!
How easy is that?
Paid traffic, free traffic, social media traffic, whatever… it ALL goes to a single page.
And because I have a MONSTER email sales funnel already in place… boom goes the dynamite.
This is gonna be fun.
Can’t wait to get started!
That Doesn’t Mean the IM Train Stops Rollin’!
Hey, I’ve got a son to feed… and my IM list has been paying the bills. So I’ll still be doing some affiliate marketing, IM product reviews, etc.
I will also continue to release products. Lots of DFY content mostly.
And the cool thing about having an asset like a buyers list is that I can literally spend less than an hour researching a product, writing up a pre-sell email, and firing that sucker off.
It’s a place that I still encourage YOU to get to.
It’s a dream come true. Really it is.
I’m very grateful to the people on my list… thank you for sharing this tiny little IM world with me.
Please leave your comments below.
– Lee
Creating and keeping up with 1000 reviews sounds like something that would be it’s own punishment for most people. For 10k a month I’ll need to find one really good product to endorse. Maybe two at the most.
“keeping up with?” – I’m actually not planning on doing any SEO initially. And if I do, I’ll outsource it to an SEO firm. SCREW doing all of that nonsense myself!
Anyway, I’ve decided to start with 250 reviews.
And honestly, I don’t care about “most people.” My posts are simply documentation… not prescription. This is what I am personally doing. I’m not teaching people what they should be doing. They should do whatever their shiny objects inspire them to do.
Thanks for the comments, Garry! Keep ’em coming.
And if the 1000 reviews were outsourced at $5 a shot that would cost ….. . well, I’m not sure, but it’s a lot.
That’d be $5000. 🙂