Busy minds but lazy hands doesnt get sites built!

Right, time for an AIS update....

Slow progress to be honest. Just over one week into my NPM subscription and the number of sites I have up and running is None.

So, not the best of starts and consequently no returns as yet. Still, the outgoings so far have only been the NPM subs (which have provided plenty of raw material and food for thought) and one domain name registered. So I am not under too much financial pressure with regards to having to push for results.

Have I been idle this last week? Far from it, I am completely shafted from the late nights toying with ideas and trying to set up the master plan. I have had a nice break tonight looking after my lad while the wife was at work - cooked (I made the chicken and mash - we made the "Tweeny" cakes!) and then watched Spiderman. Know though, the grey matter is churning into gear once again.

What I have in mind is to set up a network of sites. Basically, with the ready made sites from NPM I would like to create possibly 3 sites on each topic. One would be out of the box, as it comes. The second would be a modified version (slightly re-worded and possibly just juggle the template). And the third I am hoping to use a simple cms program with the articles copied into it, to get away from any likely problems with the adsense generating software and the search engines. I guess once the three sites are in place, I could then link between them. Also, I would like a central site that links to all the sites. I guess a blog is the easiest but I have another little idea that might do the job slightly better - more on that later ;)

Does it soud like a reasonable setup? I would be aiming at adsense income initially, maybe moving into e-book/affiliate sales also.

It is going to be alot of work - For anyone thinking about starting out in the AIS world, just remember AIS stands for Automated Income Stream - It is not an Automatically Created Income Stream - (If only there were such a thing!!) Its also going to cost a few quid to set in place. Working on the above theory, and with three niche topics supplied per month with NPM, I would be looking at creating a minimum of 9 sites/month, meaning 9 domain names registered (around £50/month outlay) plus the subs for NPM plus web hosting - When I decide upon a host. - I can see the financial risk kicking in way before the sites start to cover the cost.

Is it going to be worth it? Well, I could quote Burt about procrastination - but I am not entirely sure how to spell the word never mind what it means. As far as I am concerned, its a hobby - I cant go down the pub every night due to the little one upstairs and I need a break from working on the shop website - so why not have AIS as a hobby? If I dont make anything by this time next year - I will certainly have learnt a whole load more about the net which has gotta be a good thing for someone with an online shop.

One last thing for tonight - is anyone prepared to tell me what is a good price to be paying for domain registration and reseller hosting? I reckon I have found a pretty decent domain registration service but am definately looking for good quality but dirt cheap US reseller hosting. Again, I have foud some remarkably cheap providers but am a little wary - the prices vary so much - any "non-affiliate" recommendations would be welcome.

Cheers,
Rich

Never Short of Ideas

I have so much buzzing around in my head at present its difficult to know where to start!

Basically, as the online (and real world business) has slowed now, I really want to try to and spend more time on attempting to create an online AIS income. Dont get me wrong, like many others, I know where my bread and butter is coming from - so, the daytime is spent flat out on improving the shops/online store. (and the evenings are spent looking after the wife/son!) - but, the twilight zone - 10pm till...... will now be spent on MY STUFF.

So, as you know, I got started a couple of nights ago enrolling with Niche Products Monthly - How long I remain a member depends entirely on what the creator comes up with in the coming months. I certainly cant fault his initial package.

As a first timer signing up to this kind of thing, there has been one big aspect that has really surprised me. The number of complete beginners - I dont mean just to AIS but to the internet in general. There is no doubt in my mind that the guy behind NPM is a marketing genius and has a lot to offer. I am just slightly concerned at the number of posts on the forum of the type - "How do I upload my site?". Honestly, the instructions laid out are very, very detailed. I would suggest that if you have never uploaded any kind of site to a standard webhosting package, maybe trying to make a living out of affiliate marketing/adsense on the internet is something that should some later in your career! I sincerely hope that the guys who do know what they are doing (including the creator) are not too put off answering the standard "what is ftp" type questions.

Ok, ok, so I am getting distracted. The frightening thing is, while I am planning total world domination, most of these beginners will probably have uploaded their stock sites and started to reap the benefits. :(

So, what are my big plans? Well they are pretty up in the air at present. But, they evolve around a network of sites. I am thinking along the line of a new/seperate blog, essentially to detail and promote the AIS sites. Not just setting up one AIS per niche but setting up a .co.uk on a UK server, a .com on a US server and several other .info style site on any free webspace I can get my hands on. Interlinking between the sites/blog, etc. Does this sound feasible? - One step further would be the micro-niche site Gary speculated about on his blog a while ago - Take, for example an adsenser about gardening - I could setup my site(s) about gardening, then break it down into spring, summer, autumn, winter, vegetable, flower, organic, low maintenance, patio, water,etc, etc, etc... Multipy this number of sites by the various .coms, .infos, .co.uks, .biz, etc, and you are talking alot of sites built around the same material and all potentially interlinked (from different servers/locations in some cases).

So, I gotta ask, any potential readers, 2 questions. Do you reckon it will work? And, do you know of any (preferably free) tools I can use to make the situation a reality? My first intial concern is creating the content. Obviously, this is where the subscription to NPM comes in but I am still very concerned about duplicate content. Any experiences? I have heard its not a big issue within a certain time frame but would prefer seperate content on each site - just not sure how to go about changing it in a the timeframe I have ( ie, about 2 hours a day working on the whole project! :) )

Ok, enough food for thought for one night.

Any comments very much appreciated at this stage and hopefully in the future I will be able to pay you back with some info on how the project is panning out.

Cheers,
Rich

Time for a little AIS....

Ok, very brief post as its kinda late.

After what seems like many months of just packing and order processing, the Christmas flood is now finally over. Sure, the bank manager (and the wife!) aint going to be too happy but, to be perfectly honest, I am in need of the slow down.

Christmas was good on the internet and the shop didnt turn out too bad in the end.

Now though its time to take stock and start some work on the site. I am not short of ideas for the shop site but I also want to put a little time and effort into the AIS, at least for the first half of the year - A mans gotta have a hobby.

After some serious soul searching (should I or shouldnt I?) I finally took the plunge, just in the nick of time, to sign up for Burts latest recommendation - the NPM site.

Was it worth it? Far too early to say. It has to be said that on my current AIS income, its going to take me about another 3 years just to cover the costs of the Adsense site I purchased from Gary a few months ago!! Why havent I taken Gary up on his offer of a refund? Well, I have learnt a lot from that one little site (even if I didnt make alot as yet). Also, I failed miserably in the one part of the task that was my responsiblilty - the promotion of the site.

What do I think of the NPM? Again, the amount I stand to gain is primarily down to myself. After a brief scan of the products supplied for the price. Yes, there is a lot given, but they are given to all 750 subscribers - thats a lot of competition - Is this a problem? Well, after a quick scan of the forum, there are a suprising number of people who dont seem to understand the very basics of how to upload a ready made site to there webspace - thats not to say that they wont learn quickly but it gives some of the others a good head start.

I think the main gain to be made from joining a scheme like this is the ideas it generates. I will use the ready made websites provided but will also use the methods behind them to create my own (hopefully more unique) sites.

Anyhow, I gotta give it a try...... The couple of bucks I have made through adsense may not be enough to retire on but the feeling of "money for nothing" is Oh so sweet!

My plan is to get my own little network of sites in place over the course of the next month or so and then see how it goes - I'll keep you posted.

Cheers,
Rich

Well, no posts for god knows how long......

The reason - The seasonal business - quite simply, I have been packing and processing for the last two months - flat out - along with the staff and the rest of the family.

So, has it been a good xmas - well, yes. But, and there is allways a but, its not all roses yet.

With regards to business, we pretty much doubled last years internet business and the shop was down a little. Maybe sounds good and, yes, I am very pleased with how its gone however, with the increased operating costs (new warehouse, more staff, etc, etc) we are still pretty much breaking even on the internet side of things.

What this means is that the aim for 2006 is that we have to once again try and double the orders/turnover, after which we (meaning me and the quieter Zhao Yan and business partner) should be heading into good profit territory. I have mixed fealings about this. On the one hand, I have a few more technical/internet/marketing ideas to put into practice, I know we can introduce a few more good suppliers and I am reasonably confident that the business will grow naturally with the satisfied customers coming back and recommending us to others. On the other hand, I still fear that the big boys will some time find a way of really cornering the internet market (they cannot ignore the online purchasing stats) plus, the market will no doubt become more and more saturated with smaller minnows - I will try and elaborate a little more on this in future posts.

So, other than this brief business update, whats been happening.... Well, xmas... After being on 7 days a week for as long as I can remember, I have had a couple of days off, aside from checking a couple of blogs and forums, have done no work on the computer for a the festive period. I have had a thoroughly good xmas and now have to get back to work with a bang - As of tomorrow (later today now), I have a fair number of new orders to start on, and a lot of ordering in to do - now the suppliers are finally back to work :)

A couple of final things to mention..... Firstly, the best blog that is regularly updated and a genuine wealth of information, Burts Blog has a competition running. Started in December and I am overdue on posting a link about his AIS Competition. Check it out - I am following it with great expectations.

Secondly, I just sincerely wish any readers of this blog a very, very happy and prosperous 2006 with any ventures undertaken. If you have anything up your sleeve that you think may work, or have been pondering for a while, make 2006 the year you try it - it may just work out well - and nothing ventured, nothing gained.... Go on, give it a go.

Cheers all + Happy New Year,
Rich