Thinking of setting up a bunch of “mini sites”? Hear this…

Posted by in Creative Ideas, inspiration | 21 comments

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Here are some simple WARNINGS and GUIDLINES for anyone considering setting up “mini” websites to generate affiliate income…This is a SIMPLE business…once you know the ground rules. Here are the ground rules:

  • Learn more about having OTHERS DO THE WORK
  • Learn more about driving TRAFFIC WITH VIDEO
  • Learn more from my GURU OF BUILDING MINI WEBSITES to generate affiliate income
    • http://moscertificationtraining.com/businessplan/ David

      Good Morning!

      With great trepidation, I am going into this Internet Marketing thing with a ferver. I have too long been shackled by the bonds of mediocrity.

      I have had a site up for months, with NOTHING. I like your ideas and style. So now which way do I go?

      1. The mini site way as you just described or

      2. The off site web building business that you promote, or

      3. The Silent Sales machine route, or

      4. Something else.

      I wish to try one, and IF I can get it going then also branch off to the others as a multiple stream strategy.

      David

      [[reply from Jim]]: Saying "I have a site up" is sort of like saying "I having a fishing line in the water". If the fishing line has an unbaited hook on it and the water happens to be your bathtub then you probably won't catch much. Don't operate under the assumption that I think YOU personally should be tackling all of the GREAT ideas I teach. They all do work, but there isn't enough time in the day. Here's the plan…

      Take on the idea that best suits you personally

      Learn to outsource and automate

      Create multiple income streams using other great ideas

    • http://www.small-business-phone.com Jordan

      Jim – Very interesting, very acute (read: helpful) comment on fingerprinting. I know Mike Enos is a partner of yours (and he is a very smart, valued e-marketer), but wouldn't his mini-site solution (http://www.instantnichemaker.com/) run counter to your 'fingerprint' theory? (In other words, his solution lts you build multiple sites but they would all reside on the same server).

      [[reply from Jim]]: I'll let you draw your own conclusions based on the advice I'm giving you. There are a couple of guidlines you can always be aware of though when I'm giving public advice…I reccomend PRODUCTS not people. Just because someone has 100 ideas in a row that I endorse doesn't mean I'll always endorse every idea they have. That's not a comment about Mike, but it's insite into my philosophy and obligation as a responsible educator. It's rare that you'll hear me tell you NOT buy a particular product. I don't have time for that. I will tell you WHAT IDEAS I LIKE and WHAT PRODUCTS MEET MY STANDARDS. YOu'll have to draw your own conclusions from there.

    • http://www.jrmpublishing.com/electronics Jim Maginity

      Hi Jim,

      Thanks for sharing your thoughts on the "mini sites course. I just purchased it a day or two ago and i think it is fantastic. I came across the idea a year or so ago but was stopped because I had great difficulty working with Ebays tools and they were no help. So I had to give up on it till recently. Through watching the videos I have a renewed sense of being able to do what is needed as Joel has filled in the missing pieces for me. In checking if I should buy the course I revisited your blog and sure enough you had endorsed it and that totally convinced me to go for it. Today I purchased my first domain for my first mini-site I am going to build! I am excited as I feel with my new knowledge I should be unstoppable.

      Thanks a bunch!

      Jim

    • Paul

      Many thanks for your comments!

      Makes it possible to proceed from here with a coherent, workable mini-site program.

    • Steve

      Jim, I have a question.

      Does someone with thousands (or even just hundreds) of mini-sites really buy domain names and hosting individually from separate registrars and web hosts? Keeping track of every mini-site's details and having hundreds or thousands of hosting charges to a credit card every month must be a total nightmare.

      Since most of us host our sites on shared servers anyway, it seems to me that if what you are saying about Google shutting down all the traffic to a server is true, then we are all susceptible to the antics of every other site operator we are sharing the server with.

      Steve

      [[reply from Jim]]: No – it's not necessary to use a different registrar for each domain purchase, but it is necessary to "spread out your exposure". Joel teaches specific ways to do this in his course. He has hundreds of sites and a great system in place to spread the exposure.

    • http://www.oldbooksmakemoney.com Dave Robus

      Hi Jim,

      Every time I listen to or watch one of your Audio's or Video's I learn just a little bit more, (no: make that a whole lot more) As a relative newcomer with a long way to go I am amazed at the amount of easy to follow material you always come up with.

      Not only that, but I have constantly found your advice to be well thought out, accurate and indeed much more than this: EXTREMELY HELPFUL.

      Dave Robus.
      http://www.daverobus.com

    • http://stores.ebay.com/cocos-corner Barbara Davis

      I have tried and tried, but I cannot understandwhat you (or anyone else) says on videos. I wish I knew what to do about it?

      Any suggestions?

    • http://ebay,bonanzle Judy

      Jim,

      I've been a follower of you for many years. I want to let you know that I appreciate your honest and informational advice – YOU are the one I always come back to ground myself.

      Thanks so much,

      Judy Irmiter
      http://www.bonanzle.com/SonomaVintage

    • http://shopgbg.com/gailgoodman Gail S. Goodman

      Dear Jim, You blew my mind away with the info. No one and I mean no one has said this. I would have thought it best to connect the sites.There are several people selling mini sites with templates and some are similiar. So what do you think google would do about that. If you have good content can you still get listed or is it seen as duplicate content. How about back links to all the sites is that bad too? I think you should put this in the news letter and make a list of all the things one should note do with mini sites. One of the selling points of these courses is the use of their templates so you don't have to build a website. What do you think about that?

    • http://hillbillydirect.com Jeromy

      Hey Jim,

      Great Talk! This is all interesting stuff. For someone like myself, I have spent countless hours struggling online to learn how to build my site, learn how to market, research, sell, build a list and operate and profit from my own home run, Internet based business. I have a number of sites and actually just added a link from one to the other. After listening to you discuss the 'fingerprint' and what could happen if Google decides it doesn't like just one of your sites! It is really a scary thought. I have a bunch of sights, most are not that great, as I have been learning. A few have consumed considerable time, but my main blog has consumed countless hours trying to learn php and html, the fine are of theme customization, blogging optimization, ect. I have also spent a lot of money on different services related to the site. I wonder if I should clean out my websites that are not that great to protect my sites that are particularly important to me? I would hate to lose my efforts on placing on the search engines. Thank you for mentioning this Jim, I think I ought to give a bit more thought to the overall security of my business efforts.

      In regards the the concept of Outsourcing, I am in agreement with you Jim. While I understand where the idea comes from that some feel there is something immoral about hiring overseas, it is important to realize the differences in value. And of course the reality of economics. One actually helps a family more in a country such as the Philippines with as little as 3-400US/month than they would a family here paid minimum wage and you wouldn't even be able to get someone with the skills that a marketer may need at minimum wage. If one can separate from the value of the US dollar here and translate the actual value in the employees country it becomes a clear win win situation. You can get a trained, competent and devoted employee, and someone in another country can get much needed work and really support his family, well, because of the higher US$ value there. I think the important thing to remember though is that if you wish to hire someone from overseas, your should budget to be able to pay them for a good duration of time. Personally I would prefer not to be in a position to have to lay someone off that likely has a family that quickly comes to rely on that income. I know a person that goes into it with a good base knowledge can very likely be turning a profit fairly quickly, but still. I am very interested in Johns services and am currently budgeting to take the next step in my internet business.

      Thank Jim,

      Jeromy

    • Jason Schwab

      I missed the John Jonas conference call the other night. Will the recording be posted?

      This may have been addressed on the call. If a PI worker is smart enough to set up minisites, whoud he or she not be smart enough to do it on tehir own and keep the money for themselves, instead of making it for you? I've heard some mumbo jumbo about they can't get credit cards in the PI. What would stop them from going someplace where they can set up accounts?? I do have a friend who recently retired and moved to the PI because his dollar goes like ten times further, so at least that part of the story is confirmed.

      BTW – I had a problem logging in to the minisites that I purchased. I entered a ticket. It was fixed within 9 minutes. 26 minutes later Joel Peterson himself called me to make sure I could get in OK. Pretty impressive tech support in my book.

      I also was sorta surprised at how differently Joel and myself view the meaning of the word "give". Video 3 fas Joel saying multiple times he wanted to "give" a minisite without mentioning he wanted you to "give" him $1997 in return. In my humble but accurate opinion, the word "sell" would provide a better description of what Joel had in mind.

      Of the handful of products I bought and made unsuccessful attempts at getting something like this going, I would say Joel's is the best. He tends to motivate me.

    • Jason Schwab

      I personally don't see an ethical issue with paying someone on the PI 2 or 3 bucks an hour that would cost like 50 bucks an hour to the same thing get done here. Are you forcing the PI guy to do your work? NO Are you treicking the PI guy to do your work? NO Is the PI guy now working in a nice climate controlled setting instead of digging a ditch in the sweltering heat for half the money? YES What's the problem?

    • Joan

      I have no issue with your take on "exploitation", but there is one thing I don't understand about the people doing the outsourced work: If they have such great skills and knowledge, why in the world are they selling them for a pittance instead of going into business for Themselves? Why build sites for other people when you can do the same thing for yourself? They may want to start out that way, to get to know the ropes, but the smart ones will surely "jump ship" as soon as they can and get their own thing up and running. So we should "take advantage" of this opportunity while it lasts… Is that the subliminal message?

      [[reply from Jim]]: Great question with a great answer. Actually that is one of the four VERY common questions that all smart people have when they starting hearing about outsourcing. Here's the good answer: Filipinos can't get credit cards. You need a credit card to register for just about anything these days and they just can't. Also – culturally they are looking for a "job" and are not entreprenurial in nature. Finally – the worst case scenario is that they would quit working for you and start working on their own. At that point you hire someone else. You REALLY need to listen to John's audio on this subject – he addresses this issue in far more detail than I just did. Get it on this site

    • http://NONE BILL TEAGUE

      I have been using affiliate marketing thru Clikbank and using Free Classified Ads. This has not been successful at all. My question to you on the Mini Websites is, what or where would the products to be marketed come from?

      Bill

    • http://www.OceansideEbayBusiness.com Bob Johnson

      Hi Jim,

      I listened to your audio on mini websites and it was really informative. Good stuff. Well I'm about 1/3 of the way there. I already have a Traffic Geyser account and have been starting to do affiliate marketing. The ebook I'm promoting is your Silent Sales Machine Hiding on eBay and My Silent Team. I get your newsletter all the time. I read the ones with Joel Peterson and John Jonas. I even listened in for your call last Tuesday with John. I'm just now getting ready to buy both programs. I'll have take a some time watching all their videos and putting them into practice. I'm not full time in my business yet and I REALLY need some help. I can't find the time to do everything I want to do. Besides there are many things I'm like to turn over to my paid assistants. Thanks again for the audio.

    • Doug

      Jim,

      Thanks for the advise. I still have one BIG issue with mini-sites. Steve addresed it in comment #5. If I have to buy a domain for each website this can be a very expensive proposition very fast. Excuse me if this is an ignorant question, but this seem to be one of those "secrets" I can't find an answer to. This is the only question I have holding me back from purchasing The Mini Site Formula. Can you enlighten me on this matter. Thanks for all your time and effort over the years.

      [[reply from Jim]]: a few dollars per year for each domain name is nothing when you consider that you'll be earning $3-$5 per day for each site using Joel's system. http://www.mini-site-formula.com – the income claims are 100% accurate.

    • Marcus

      Jim,

      Great stuff. I think the Google statements are a little over-done, but if you have ever had Google de-index a site I can imagine how scary it would be. However, I would caution against the idea that Google will find one of your sites and de-index all of the ones they think it is connected to. This is EXTREMELY rare. They look for a trend of bad sites with similar footprints before they shut them all down.

      With that said, Joel's advice in his course as to how to deal with hosting is a great solution. I advise folks reading this to follow it.

      Lastly, buying domains is the cost-of-doing business. If I buy a domain the site turns out to be a dog (doesn't generate revenue or do well with list-building) then I auction the domain. People jump at it because it has links built to it and traffic stats to back it up. I have even sold a few domains with the sites included as a package and easily made my money back. Some people have other ideas for those sites and can hit the ground running so it is worth it for them.

    • Chuck Wagner

      I hope to get the opportunity to learn directly from Jim. In fact, how could I NOT want to do just that? The bottom line for me is this: A chance to learn from Jim about Internet marketing would be akin to learning about real estate from The Donald!

    • http://antiquefloorlampblog.com Gole

      Jim,

      I may have missed it, but please talk about traffic conversion some time. I've got four sites up and running and even though I get a few hundred visitors a month hitting those sites I've have a very small conversion rate. Something like under 0.5%. I'm not even covering my costs.

    • Jim

      Jim,

      Off topic a bit. I'm a subscriber to your free mailing list. I'd love to be on your paid list, but honestly can't afford it right now. I'm a senior citizen on social security, and I guess unlike many of your younger readers, am not looking to be a master of the universe. There are only three people on line that I follow, have faith in, and believe. That's you, Dave Guindon, and Steve Weber. You all, in my opinion are straightforward and honest.

      Anyway back to my point. What I'm looking for is a way to build an internet business that would reliably and predictably earn me $60 per day (or more). That would change my life style and allow me to afford medical insurance and even allow me to get your and Dave's paid newsletters.

      What would you suggest is the best and quickest way to do this?

      Thanks…

      Jim P

    • http://www.kwikcashprograms.com Ken Mason

      Jim:

      Great audio presentation! You always get me fired up with your straight forward approach. You set it out there and tell it like it is. Now all I have to do is followup instead of sitting and doing nothing. Thanks again for always coming up with great advice and money making ideas.