Sci-fi Gal – Almost 500K with Ebay Partner Network
I’m a huge Sci-fi fan.
Last week I watched the series finale of my favorite show on TV, Battlestar Galactica. I liked it but wanted to get an idea on what other people thought about it since none of my family watches it with me… Yes I’m a geek.
I pulled out my favorite search engine, Google and and found an interesting blog post written by a gal named Lanie.
Lanie is also a sci-fi fan and has a little “Hobie” blog where she talks about everything from TV shows she likes and some of the Internet Marketing she is involved in.
I could tell that her blog post was getting a TON of traffic from that one post.
Three things that caught my eye:
1. She had a banner ad above her blog post for a USB memory device. As I’m writing this she has since changed it. Now she has a banner linking on the Ebay Partner Network.
2. After going through her blog I find out that she made a killing last year with EPN – Ebay partner network… Almost 500K last year.
3. She is originally from the Philippines and travels back and forth a lot……hmm I bet she is into outsourcing.
As I’m looking at here site and reading some of her blog posts, I’m realizing that she is doing many of the things I teach in The Mini Site Formula program I launched a month ago.
I contacted her and had a few email exchanges that I think you will find very interesting.
Her hobby blog? The one she posted her opinion on the Battlestar Galactica Series finally got about 40K unique hits in two days. She made made some good money just from people clicking on her banner ad at the top of her blog… several thousand dollars in a few days.
Here is what Lanie told me:
“…that particular blog is a hobby blog I just play it with but I made an incredible accidental discovery! SciFi sells!”
Now some of you think that’s pretty neat. It is for sure, but what I find more interesting than Lanie finding a a hot new niche where people gobble up USB sticks like french fries is her OTHER business. Building niche sites.
She shared with me how many she has built and and how she built them.
Her methodology is right in line with what I’ve done and what I’m currently teaching. We didn’t get a chance to go into detail but from reading on her blog he appears she is outsourcing a lot of her work.
Smart idea. Smart lady.
The idea of making $3 to $5 a day from Mini sites is very obtainable.
Here is my recommendation on finding a “Hot” niche:
1. Find something that people are passionate about. Some kind of hobby, sport, or activity where people are willing to spend money no matter what it takes. Lanie’s sci-fi niche is a perfect example. Battle Start Galactica fans are nuts. You know they are going to buy all of the DVDs when they come out and others will but the complete box set when it comes out. Build a niche site selling BSG stuff.
This is just one example. There are thousands and thousands more.
2. Research your profit potential and what types of “Things” people in your niche will buy. Ebay is a great place to start. Look at completed auctions and see what people are buying.
3. Don’t get caught in the trap of, “I wouldn’t buy that so others wont.” Not everyone is like you. You will be amazed the kinds of things people buy, watch, and do on the Internet.
If you are interested in implementing a mini site system like Lanie or I have, you may want to check out my system.
Take Care,
Joel Peterson
Why I just paid $600 for Cold Air…
Many of you know I do a lot of outsourcing in India.
In fact a business partner and I have two physical buildings over there full of some really great employees. We have several different projects going on at any given time. I usually travel out there once a year for a month. I love it.
Just in the last 7 months I’ve started hiring people out in the Philippines. It’s a little different story out there. These guys work out of their homes instead of an office. DSL is available all over the place and there are a lot of talented individuals wiling to work from home for a fair price.
When ever you have workers in this situation you will face a few un-expected challenges.
One of the big issues over there right now… it’s HOT!
This is the time of the year when the temperature rises to pretty uncomfortable levels.
How do I know this?
Well at first I didn’t know anything about the issue. What I did notice is that two of my employees who work at the same house started working at very late hours… like 2am. They also were going to Internet Cafes to complete the days work.
After a few weeks of this I could see my productivity going down. Way down.
When I confronted them with the issue I learned about the heat issue.
Now I know some people who outsource who wouldn’t give a hoot. They would tell their team members to just deal with it.
From my experience I handled this a different way. These where two team members who have worked their GUTS out for me the last 6 months. They are dedicated and have done excellent work.
So…
I just plunked down $600 to get them an air conditioner for their house!
Was this a wise choice on my part? I guess we will know in the future. From my past experience, investing in my employees has ALWAYS been a good thing. I feel it builds loyalty and shows that “The Boss” really cares about me. I’ve found that I get much better work out of my team.
I wouldn’t recommend doing this with brand new employees. Wait till you have some that you know are going to stick around for a bit.
Also when looking for future employees over in the Philippines… make sure you ask if they have AC… I know I will be asking this in the future!
Joel Peterson
P.S. I am on the look for another really good PHP programmer over there. If you are in the Philippines and want to apply let me know!
HopAd Builder Results – Google Cash Detective
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been waiting for a solid product like this to come out.
