Matthew Needham has been telling me this for weeks and it’s taken me till this morning for the penny to drop; This site doesn’t actually need that many customers a day to actually make some money. Maren over at EscapingThe9to5.com is mid-way through a really interesting experiment in which she is going to get an Escalade paid for by being very clever.
Traffic does not equal cash, traffic is vanity, profit is sanity. It’s an important lesson I have learnt, but now I think I really understand it and hope this post will break it down for you.
Maren has also said to me about my plan to raise $240k (to pay my mortgage off and buy my wife a new car) She broke it down really easy by saying instead of looking at making $240k in one go, look at it like $10k a month and in two years you will have the full amount.
Now my initial goal to enable me to leave work is to make $4k a month minimum, once I am at that stage then I can focus on making the $240k;
- 5 People
5 People a day buying one of the tutorials I am planning on selling at $20 a go will provide a minimum of $100 a day, $3,000 a month. I plan on having 4-5 tutorials for sale at $20 each or all 4 or 5 for a reduced price. Now 5 people a day isn’t that many really about 1% of the total visitors to this site on a daily basis which I think is quite a realistic target.
- 3 People
3 people a day to sign up for my members only page which is only $10 a month, but after a few months this will start to add up, now 3 people a day for 30 days is 90 people paying $10 a month, now there will be variables for people canceling and new members signing up etc, but let’s for arguments sake say 90 people pay $10 a month, this will bring in another $900 a month.
- Services
Now I’m also going to offer my services for promotion of clients sites and advice etc and I am aiming to sell one of the three packages every 5 days or so, so lets for arguments sake say this brings in another $500 a month this will easily bring the site in on target.
Now I know some people reading this will see it as dreaming and what am I actually doing about all this, well I’ve almost finished the first tutorial and the members page is well on it’s way and I’m on target to finish the rest soon.
Hopefully this post will break down that daunting feeling that some (including myself) have that you need huge numbers and a fantastic following in order to make money. I was watching a programme on a female body builder who has a members only website to view her more adult poses, now the content isn’t important, what’s important is that her site doesn’t do amazing traffic, in fact I know for a fact it only gets on average 6-700 unique visitors a day, after a year that site now has 400 people subscribing and paying $25 a month making her $10k a month before deductions.
So you don’t need to sell thousands of a product, it will only take 8 people a day for this site.
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Hi James,
Wow! Only 8 people a day. I think you will do that easily. It’s really interesting to see how you break the figures down. Thanks for sharing that. I’m sure it will help a lot of us.
.-= Jazz Salinger´s last blog ..Change Your Thinking Change Your Life =-.
hey Jazz,
Yeah I think it’s an important message to get out there and show it won’t take huge amounts of numbers to make a difference
he’s a genius isn’t he?
Genius?
That words gets bandied about to easy these days, he works flat out, that doesn’t make a genius.
You work flat out and you get results like that.
.-= Rob Sellen´s last blog ..Dump the IM bullshitters and hype if you want to make money online =-.
Sounds awesome James! I am currently going through the same process of how I am going to turn my site profitable and I love your ideas.
.-= Tom | Build That List´s last blog ..The 4 Reasons People Unsubscribe Mailing Lists =-.
Wow only 8 people. Here I was setting goals for having thousands of visitors to my site and feeling a bit overwhelmed by this but having read this, it’s given me a new perspective.
Thanks
P.S could you please change your rss settings to full feed rather than partial – more user friendly not having to
navigate away from my rss reader and more likely to read the whole post. Cheers
.-= Helena´s last blog ..Is Having a Massage Weekly Too Much? =-.
I second this on ANY feed, they should be full for better results.
.-= Rob Sellen´s last blog ..Dump the IM bullshitters and hype if you want to make money online =-.
that sure does make it seem doable doesn’t it. 8 customers seems like an easy goal to acheive. Good luck Man.
Justin
.-= Justin Matthews´s last blog ..If Only My Blog Was A Fish. =-.
Hey James, you can move a mountain one shovel full at a time, but if you ask someone to move the mountain they’all almost die at the prospect.
This post re-inforces the need to keep an eye on both the big picture and the little steps you can take to get there….. go get it… one person at a time
.-= Mick Morris´s last blog ..Are you hurting yourself more than your enemy? =-.
Hey Mick,
Yeah exactly one person at a time, good stuff man, great post too
You would need a really big shovel to move the mountain but I believe we can all accomplish what we set out to do. The big picture, I like that keeps the dreaming factor alive.
Hm… 8 people sounds great, but what happens after your regulars have already bought/signed up/etc? Just raising it as a concern, obviously with your traffic it isn’t much of one but for the rest of us what could that entail?
Also looking forward to seeing how you promote your ebooks etc.
Good post, great idea and one I’ve heard mentioned once or twice before (different numbers, same principle, it’s still a solid idea), but more information may be needed lol.
.-= Heather´s last blog ..Webcomic Day 3 – Final Introduction =-.
The biggest thing is conversion, asking yourself “how can I get a better one from the same amount of traffic” is the best thing, then if you find you have increased conversion 1%… that’s the time to be wondering how you can increase traffic overall.
It’s all self feeding once you have started and got some results.
Now to take my own advice lol…
.-= Rob Sellen´s last blog ..Dump the IM bullshitters and hype if you want to make money online =-.
Hey Rob,
Yeah good advice matey, let me know how you get with it too lol
I need to up my game considerable… for my experience I am not doing good enough, you get nothing but honesty from me, I am never one to give all this bullshit some do, fake incomes, hyped up bull and whatnot…
My biggest pain the ass is getting the right keywords to work with.
.-= Rob Sellen´s last blog ..Dump the IM bullshitters and hype if you want to make money online =-.
Hey Heather,
Yeah as always this is a big game it’s all about experimenting and finding what works for you
I think the experimenting is probably the most fun part to be honest (aside from community stuff, I don’t consider that work really). Tweaking and testing, it’s just a real eye opener.
.-= Heather´s last blog ..I’m jumping on the Bandwagon… =-.
it is like the old Fabrege commercial: I told two friends and they told two friends, and so on and so on….you get the picture.
.-= winnie´s last blog ..Life & Relationship Alterations =-.
I came here through Mike Cj’s post about this. You should check it out at Mike’sLife.org too James. I have to agree that the 1% is a very realistic target. But perhaps there could be more. Targeted placement of links could do a lot to drive more people at the salespage.
.-= Liane´s last blog ..Let’s Be Brutally Honest =-.
Hey Liane,
Yeah you are totally right it’s going to take some clever marketing but ultimately will be worth it
I don’t have any doubt you’ll achieve your objectives in the long run James, but there is a flaw in assuming 1% of your overall site traffic will buy a tutorial. The reality is it will be 1% of the people who visit the sales page for the tutorial.
I did start to write a detailed explanation here, but decided it was a good learning point for my own readers, so I’ve posted about it. Should show up in the Comment Luv link below.
.-= Mike CJ´s last blog ..Site traffic doesn’t matter =-.
Hey Mike,
Thanks for the advice I have read your post it’s great advice…. I’m about to write a post on taking advice properly with a video to that will mention you
Cool. Looking forward to seeing it. I’m enjoying the videos.
.-= Mike CJ´s last blog ..Site traffic doesn’t matter =-.
This is a great game plan James. I especially love your statement “Traffic does not equal cash, traffic is vanity, profit is sanity.”
Classic, and well said.
.-= Michael Pollock´s last blog ..12 Tips to Beat Writer’s Block and Become a Faster, More Prolific Content Creator =-.
I can say traffic sure builds confidence!
I just wrote a post on my blog about finding your “number”. The number that it will take to make you move. The monthly income number that will cause you to quit your 9-5, the number it will take to feel that you are successful, the number it will take to reach whatever goals you have in life. I neglected to address the fact that when you break down these goals into bite sized pieces, suddenly they become attainable. It’s all a mental game anyway, so having the proper mindset going forward will help your goals seem achievable.
Kudos!
.-= DJ Wetzel´s last blog ..True Happiness =-.
Hey man that sounds like an interesting post brother
Good stuff, it’s amazing when people ask me “why ain’t I making money online yet” and I then ask them, how many “money buttons you got out there mate?”
They say, well, none yet, working on it…
That happens more than people think, common sense should tell them you know… if you ain’t got a way of getting money, you ain’t likely to get any!
Funny stuff this biz!
Nice post, nice aims to go for James and you are spot on with traffic, not all traffic is equal, the numbers also make the difference, making one sale of £20 should be easier than make 10 sales of £2… well at least it means you can do it with less traffic…
Rob
.-= Rob Sellen´s last blog ..Dump the IM bullshitters and hype if you want to make money online =-.
Hey Rob,
Yeah it’s a really funny lesson that most don’t know they have to learn. I am working on producing a lot of content that is valuable and something I would pay for.
Mate, that’s ALL you need to work on
.-= Rob Sellen´s last blog ..Dump the IM bullshitters and hype if you want to make money online =-.
It seems to easy when you say that you only need 8 buyers. I agree that it’s not the quantity but the quality of the people coming to your site and whether they will open their wallets or not. It takes far fewer people than we realize, and the good part of that is, that once someone has bought from you, they are more likely to buy from you again.
Great to hear that you have a solid plan with viable products to sell that you are working on. I’m sure that we will see some massive changes for you and the site in April when your products go live. Will be interesting to see, that’s for sure
There’s no doubt that you will earn some money here.
Karen
Hey Karen thanks for the support, hopefully the changes will be OK and not too drastic but yeah here some exciting times ahead
I truly believe it is a give and take, however everyone has their own niche therefore not everyone is interested in all the same things and ideas. Take me for example, I know all the people I have encountered online are not interested in reading my book because it is very personal or not as interesting as internet success stories, but it is very real to me, it wasn’t about making money but a dream. It is something I truly believe in and someday I hope that people will buy my books to make money, but now, I am happy with my success.
.-= winnie´s last blog ..Life & Relationship Alterations =-.
James,
You’re certainly not dreaming; it’s a distinct possibility. If you can vision it, it’s yours for the taking and fully desrved. Great stuff!
Regards
Paul
.-= Paul´s last blog ..Rocky Road =-.
Hey Paul, Thanks brother
Yes, for sanity purposes, I must break things down into smaller bite-size chunks. Otherwise, I’d get overwhelmed and discouraged. Thanks for the reminder that goals are possible when broken into pieces. Good luck on your tutorials, I’m sure they’re going to do wonderfully.
.-= Kiesha @ WeBlogBetter´s last blog ..Blogger must reads – Weekly Link List (20 links) =-.
hey yeah they are coming along nicely really looking forward to getting them finished
I agree smaller pieces. The big picture can be very discouraging. Expectations, setting them to high can make you crash.
.-= winnie´s last blog ..Life & Relationship Alterations =-.
I actually couldn’t agree more. Recognising the value in lots of little bits all added together is the idea which gave birth to Give A Brick. I am therefore very biased but I think it is an excellent principle
Thinking about a regular, dependable income, sonething like the monthly recurring fee is more reliable. In an ideal world, this regular steady monthly income could pay your bills leaving you to have fun with the more erratic income from sales.
P.S. I have an important petition for all your UK readers to learn about and sign. We need at least 1000 signatures. Every single name counts so it fits nicely with the theme of this post
Details in blog post.
.-= Eleanor Edwards´s last blog ..Legislation for a weapon? You can help! =-.
Hi Eleanor I’ll check it out
I think this is great! Many people fail because they site high targets too soon. They forget it is a step by step procedue. Hope you achieve your goal, and anxiously waiting for your next posts.
Hey Martin,
Good to hear man, new post will be up in less than 12 hours brother
It sounds like you’ve got a good plan here and are really getting things coming together nicely. I can’t wait to see what happens with this site as money becomes a part of it.
You’re on to great things James.
.-= Eric´s last blog ..Build Your Blog With Fire In Mind =-.
Hey Eric,
Yeah it’s a new challenge and a new era but one I’m working really hard on and determined to make it work even though I know my plans will change in order to get the right mix
Well this site is all about changing and improving as every site should be. You’ve shown you’re gonna make things work and if not you’re at least gonna keep going to find something new so I doubt you’re going to have too much trouble with things at the rate you’re going.
You kick ass brother. You can make it work!
.-= Eric´s last blog ..Build Your Blog With Fire In Mind =-.
Hey man thanks brother, another video on the site tomorrow
Hi again James,
Very good post! I did this very recently after reading one of Anthony Feint’s posts. I’m still in the process of breaking things down, but I did break down how much I needed to make on a daily basis and it doesn’t seem bad at all.
I split it into various income sources: eHow, ebook(s), a separate membership site. It came down to, “Okay, how can I make $300 from eHow in a few months? To make half of the income, I’ll need to sell X number of ebooks. Maybe I can focus on a niche site, which will bring in $300/month”. Then it all starts to add up!
Very similar to what you’ve done. It gave me a jolt of energy
Keep it up James!
.-= Moon Hussain´s last blog ..My Massive Passive Income Brain Dump: What Do You Think? =-.
Hey Moon,
yeah I think it’s extremely helpful to break things down into more managable figures
It’ll only take 8, It’ll only take 8…. I’ve been saying that since the 25/8 post…..he heh … now I’m gonna be saying all day, it’ll only take 8, it’ll only take 8.
Pretty soon you’ll have me doing 26/9. what the hey?
I like your attitude James it’s catching. I gotta go gather the eggs now.
.-= Lees Shizzle´s last blog ..The Google of Oz – Topeka, Kansas Hopes to Bring in Googles Ultra Fast Internet Connection =-.
It sounds so easy when put like that. I understand that. But realistically, and statistically you would need at least 3-4 thousand visitors a day.
Not one site in the world has a 100% conversion rate, That is if 10 people visit your site, that those 10 will actual convert to buy.
It’s like say that it only takes on ticket to win the lottery. Yes it does, but your ticket is a one in how many millions, so statistically your chances are very small.
I am actually working on an easier way to make money. The idea is good, but practically I have my doubts.
Here it is. Do not steal it, it’s mine, I have intellectual rights on it.
I am amassing twitter followers. I am going to get 1 million. But I will settle for 500 thousand. Then all I ask is a miserly 1$ for my birthday. Who is going to miss 1$.
The idea might sound good but practically I have my doubts.
Having said all that, I completely agree with your point. the Actual sales that count are those 8 a day.
.-= Robert Bravery´s last blog ..Is blogging a calling or a career? =-.
Haha! The birthday buck idea is a great one. And guess what? It’s mine on the 24th, so get your money ready!
.-= Mike CJ´s last blog ..Site traffic doesn’t matter =-.
How many do you think will go for that? Serious question brother
Sure Robert was joking there, not something I’d try though!
.-= Mike CJ´s last blog ..Site traffic doesn’t matter =-.
I love how you’ve broken this down so that it can become do-able.
Like Eric, I’m going to be interested to see how this all unfolds for you. Something tells me that you’ve got the determination and the smarts to make it happen!
.-= Christine Livingston´s last blog ..The Virtual Office of Self-Selected Colleagues =-.
I agree that most of us focus on the total amount we wish to make. But this post made me realize that it is more important to focus on how much you would make per month as this would determine whether or not you would indeed reach that final goal. I also like the way you showed in detail the real number of customers needed to earn income.
.-= Julius´s last blog ..A Day Through The Eyes of a Blind Woman: Part 3 =-.
8 people a day…hmm sounds like an easy task for you James. I like how you explained each figure in that sense. I think its great how you have set what I think of as a minimum for yourself (minimum goal). Keep your eyes on the prize my friend. I’m looking forward to all your new stuff.
.-= Alex Monroe´s last blog ..Have No Fear, Underdog Is Here! =-.
Hey Alex,
Yeah me too it’s going to be a really good step for the site to take
So what would be interesting James is you posting your progress regularly and periodically and the lessons learned as you do those posts. That would attract an audience, almost an experiment about your experience. Love the photo by the way.
Yeah I think so too it’s something I am goind to do for sure, as this will lead me into a new set of tutorials talking about money hopefully
Yes it would be great to let us know how he is doing, but I am sure he will. he is good like that.
.-= winnie´s last blog ..Life & Relationship Alterations =-.
I think it’s great that you are trying to make money. After all the effort and time you have put into developing this blog I think it’s only fair.
And I do agree. You don’t need a lot of people coming to your blog in order to make money or make sales. I think with your traffic you will be making money in time James.
.-= Julius Kuhn-Regnier´s last blog ..How to Make a Great First Impression Through Guest Posts =-.
Hey brother thanks for the support, here’s hoping!
No, not “hoping”… knowing
.-= Rob Sellen´s last blog ..Dump the IM bullshitters and hype if you want to make money online =-.
Good plan beaking it all down like that, never thought of it. It would be nice to make money but finding the right solution is an individual thing isn’t it? Soon, my turn will come. You will see.
Hi James,
Glad to see the message has sunk in! I think you’re doing a great job and wish you all the very best in your quest.
.-= Matthew Needham: The Big Red Tomato Company´s last blog ..How to get rich – What does it all mean? =-.
Hey brother you seen my latest video I mentioned you briefly
It’s good to see you have ambitious plans and are really working hard to achieve them. I have no doubt you’ll be making a decent amount of money by the end of the year with this blog. I would just like to add that it will probably take more traffic than you predict in this post, like Mike already said. Nevertheless, I think you’re doing a great job and I wish you good luck.
.-= Marko´s last blog ..How Do You Start Your Day? =-.
Hey brother thanks for the support man, yeah I suppose every site is different so I think the only way to see the results is to actually guage them when it’s monetized
Hey James!
I came across this article from Marketing Sherpa about moving from a Social site to a monetized site. http://www.bit.ly/Monetizing_social_site
The parallels are not exact but there may be some ideas there that you can use or think about.
Marketing Sherpa is an extremely reliable and legitimate marketing site that backs up ALL of its articles with real world examples and stats so whatever you read on Sherpa you can take to the bank! I’d highly recommend that you and your readers sign up for their newsletter.
Content is always free for the first 10 days – then you have to pay to get it (a neat monetization strategy in itself!).
I like your videosby the way – and I just saw one where you “came into the light” (hahah!). This is interesting on many levels…for some reason I can see a metaphorical shift in your blog – represented by you “coming out of the shadows”.
Very cool indeed!
- Don
.-= Don Power – Nanaimo Business Marketing Strategist´s last blog ..Vancouver Island Real Estate Board Promotes Social Media for Realtors =-.
Hey brother yeah I kinda feel like that at the moment, cheers for the link gonna check it out
I agree with you. All you need at first is the critical few/
How have you been able to set up your passworded area on your blog James?