June 17, 2008
Feeling Overwhelmed - Too Much Work to Do?
Believe me… I know the feeling all too well and in the coming days, we are going to Make Building a Niche Store FUN Again!
Several weeks ago, I posted about just how many of my niche stores had been lost in the shuffle and abandoned, due to having too many to keep up with. In recent light of having several removed from the search index at Google, I decided the Best Long Term Strategy for me, is to hand pick a few of the stores based on my own interests, and convert them into something more than just niche stores!
If you have ever stumbled onto one of your sites and uttered the words… “I forgot about this one”… you know what I mean!
After spending days reading email, other websites and just thinking about what would be best for the longrun, I decided to look at what already works, and build upon that, sharing my knowledge and resources with others who may be in need or benefit from that information. This blog is a great example of the type of site I am going to build from here forward. So what are my own requirements on this new site or sites?
Anatomy of a Niche Store 2.0
There you have it… the new site I am developing will become a public work in progress over the next few days and I will share all the information for you here! In the meantime, you should think back over all of your own niche websites and look to find the one that interests YOU the most! Maybe you like digital cameras and know alot about them… heck, maybe you like working in your yard and like to talk about lawnmowers and other things you have done to make your own yard a place you relax! The thing is… make sure you enjoy your new niche market, you are going to be helping others like it too!
The most important aspect of all of this is that you will get self satisfaction from what you are doing. Instead of spreading yourself thinly across many sites you know nothing about, you will start building a resource for all to find useful! In the end, you will still spend just as much time on one site as you have all your others combined, but that one single site will reward you back much more in the longrun!
Mark
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19 Responses to “Are We Having Fun Yet… I’m Not!”
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I agree, getting overwhelmed can be easier to accomplish than actually meeting the success of your efforts. I am such an information whore, being out of school for so many years I constantly find myself wanted to develop new skills, and become more knowledgeable on topics that I enjoy. I have found though, that building websites on topics I enjoy help to conquer two birds with one stone. The research and learning process feeds my desire for knowledge, while the content and management caters to my passions and willingness to communicate with like minded individuals.
I think that it would be safe to say that for a complete newbie like myself, following the “passion” road will require much more patience, but the end result, if given the right amount of time and TLC, will result in an authority site that provides great information to the community, gets steady traffic, and brings in a steady stream of passive income.
It’s a beautiful thing!
I agree with almost everything you’re saying Mark, with the exception of BANS. In my opinion BANS is passed its sell by date and not capable of producing unique content driven websites that the SEs like. It is too pre-formatted and therefore leaves a “footprint” that may or may not be detected by the likes of Google and maybe penalised.
Unleashing the power of WordPress is certainly the key to the successful development of new content driven affiliate websites and the phpbay PRO plugin is, again in my opinion, 500% better than BANS and only half the price.
I intend converting all my BANS sites across to WP/phpBay PRO over the coming months, whilst at the same time, developing new, “self-interest” sites that I can enjoy adding content too.
I look forward to seeing your developments
Kev
@ All -
I have actually been in a discussion regarding the sites being removed.
1 - The issue of duplicate content is valid… and unless we provide “signifigant” content of our own, we are essentially just regurgitating ebay listings, which is not looked upon too well.
2 - 404 errors are not being generated through BANS. Regardless of the URI typed in, a status code of 200 success is returned to the browser, which is bad as well. Essentially we are saying that there are no bad pages on the sites, versus delivering the actual status codes.
Overall, BANS does have a place… just not as a standalone product anymore. With more than 1 million bans pages indexed, it needs to be more than just a 10 pages of content, 100 pages of ebay listings formula.
phpBay Pro is also on my list of plugins I am using on the new site. Along with about 5-6 others designed to provide the best possible user experience and ease of maintenance of the site.
Mark
I dont think switching from BANS to a WP/phpBay solution is going to make much of a difference. Both are basically pulling the RSS feeds from eBay and redisplaying them on the sites. I think the key as Mark is referring to is to create content. Create additional content to enhance the feed from eBay. Add articles, a blog, and other worthwhile content. As the saying goes “Content is King”. just by having a site and out of the box BANS site is not going to cut it anymore, we need to have information that the person going to the site wants to see or read and hopefully they will click on an eBay item to buy. It can certainly be done easily enough in BANS just as it can in WP.
Thinking in terms of websites that are content rich, authority sites, even authority sites that have hundreds of pages of content - are there any wordpress templates (preferably free) that are well adapted to such a site?
Or, if not wordpress, then what? It has to be easy for clueless types like me.
Thanks in advance,
Virginia
(have been wanting for a while to do a website about my passion)
I don’t suppose there is no easy way to manually fix the 404 error status ourselves?
Sounds like “regurgitating ebay listings” with unique meta tags isn’t gonna hack it. Too bad I choose all my BANS niches based on demand and profitability, not by interest. Back to the drawing board. I guess content is king.
Allow me to sound a different note. For me this is a business and not about topics for which I may have some passion. My passion is to develop websites, BANS or whatever, that generate revenue for my bottom line. I strive to go where the money is. In order to do that, I soak sites with content that will pass for unique. If that’s what it takes to run my business profitably, that’s what I’ll do. If I have to sound passionate, that’s what I’ll do.
My philosophy is that if I take care of my business, then my business will take care of me. One hand washes the other.
Anyone who knows,
If we use phpBay Pro on our site, does it mean we are saying ‘Good Bye’ to BANS?
Can we use phpBay Pro on a BANS template?
Again,
Kev, why is phpBay Pro 500% better than BANS?
phpBay is better (IMHO) because WordPress is a significantly better content platform for both SEO, visitors, and the content creation itself. BANS is a very simple “display eBay listings and some basic content” type script that’s just less flexible. There’s also a lot less places to get support and help.
phpBay also comes in an API version as opposed to only a WordPress plugin so it can be used in any type of site. Combining it with BANS wouldn’t make any sense; it would be redundant.
Love the photo - looks like a picture of the inside of my head!
I tend to side with Robert. The advice that’s much bandied about is ‘do what you love’ but - are you in business or running a hobby? Love can mask objectivity and lead to bad decisions.
How tecky do you have to be to use phpBay? I don’t know how to code, and frankly putting in the time to learn more than a few basics is a waste of time for me. I like BANS because you don’t have to be a genius to get it to work and for you sites to look nice.
I have WP set up on one of my BANS sites, and have to say so far I’m not impressed with WP. It takes more technical skill than I have to do all of the modifications it needs. And support really sucks!
I’m always trying to look ahead and spread my businesses. One thing to look at is not only alternatives/complements to BANS, but alternatives/complements to eBay in the niche department. I haven’t spent a lot of time on that, but this is a key area for me.
I’ve been a BANS member for less than a year, and have to say that some of my BANS sites are really starting to produce. One thing that struck me early on is how much people were relying on this technique or that tool or the other widget to ensure success and how little time was spent on analyzing your product and the people who buy it.
I come from a traditional business background where the window-dressing wasn’t as important as the quality of the product and its delivery. Maybe SEO and Google and all that changes things somewhat, but I don’t think the basic business concepts have become outdated. I have to smile at Mark’s new list of requirements for his “new” direction, because these are all basic things that entrepreneurs value. Like the “have to like it” requirement - if you think about it, how many great startups were the result of someone deciding they didn’t like the 9-5 routine anymore and left to something they ‘liked’ better. I guess the old truisms are sticking with your passions still work. You will excel doing what you love, and hopefully you can figure out how to make it profitable!
I’m looking forward to Marks new ventures!!
Alice
@ G B Singh
Let me give you my comparison between BANS and phpBay PRO. I consider BANS to be akin to a Toyota saloon car - it does exactly what it says on the box and you can get it resprayed, add a few body parts to make it look nice. And all drivers can drive it.
On the other hand, phpBay PRO is akin to a universal V12 engine. It goes nowhere on its own but it will fit very nicely into any other car shell ( for car shell read WordPress template).
And this is the mainstay of my argument of why phpBay PRO is 500% better than BANS. The second key reason is that, with geo-targeting, I can target all EPN supported eBay countries without the need to duplicate my sites. If you go to one of my WP sites you will see that the results returned are specific to the country in which you are and visitors are free to check out listings in other countries. This gives me far greater reach than with BANS.
Going back to my analogy. OK, you’ll need a little bit of training about how to put the engine in, but that’s literally pasting a piece of code into a WordPress post (the basic code is: [phpbay] keywords,number of results to return,category number, negative keywords[/phpbay])
Lets say that, generously, there are maybe 100 to 200 BANS templates out there, well there are thousands of WP templates, both free and to buy. This gives you that opportunity to be unique because you can still customise these templates via css to suit your requirements.
Do you need to be a techy to run WP/phpPRO? Definitely not. There are new skills to learn but surely you learned new skills to start your BANS sites? And there are always places to get WP support (the phpBay forum is a prime example). If you use the KISS principle then it is quite simple once you grasp the basics of WP (lots of informative videos out there to learn those from).
BANS sites are online stores that can be modified. WordPress is a content delivery tool that when combined with phpBay PRO, delivers eBay auctions as a small part of the overall site.
That was a bit more than I intended to write, lol. I must have my content head on.
Kev
Thanks Kev, that was helpful.
Bug again, and I’m not trying t pick on you, but you use a technical argument when stating that phpBay is “500 times” better, but little insight on why that characteristic (ability to fit into lots of engines) makes it better. Better how?
Is it easier to set up for a low-average techy user? Do visitors come more often than to BANS sites? Do they buy more on phpBay sites than BANS sites? Do phpBay sites rank higher than BANS sites? ‘Do the bots like them better so you get faster, broader, deeper indexing?
The bottom line for me is whether a phpBay site makes more money than a BANS site all other things being equal. And most important of all, can any of its alleged benefits be quantified and supported by an independent third party?
Eveyone has favorite tool, and we all have reasons why this or that one is best. But at the end of the day we all have to feed the content machine, and I think its here where the differences lie, and not in the tool. JMO!
Alice
This approach sounds great. I am a newbie to all of this and I can honestly tell you that I have been very frustrated with the entire process.
I started the process when we were working to build as many sites as possible but that has been a slow go. I get a couple of sites built and there is a serious problem with the site design or google doesn’t like something we have done or there is a bug that requires updating. We have a new procedure for building back links so we need to get involved in that and it requires a week for a newbie like me to understand what needs to be done. There is always something that gets in the way of solid progress.
I know that there are many people who post on this blog that have the knowledge in hand to build and operate there sites without much learning curve but for someone like me it is very frustrating.
I hope we can get this idea up and running and maintain the direction for a while so I can get up to speed.
Like Jerry, for us “non-too teccie” amongst us, some of the jargon and possible shift in emphasis is somewhat mind boggling at times. Content or no content; Adsense with other affiliate products or not; Wordpress or BANS etc; etc.
In basic terms I think most people got interested in BANS because of the relatively simple way of developing a web based business and hopefully profiting from it. The idea seemed quite simple even for a non-teccy in its most fundamental format-ie research a niche, find a domain, upload the sites, arrange keyword rich categories for the first stage. Monitor progress, tweak the sites for intended improvement. Repeat for other subsequent sites. Maybe I’ve missed some bits there but I think we all get the gist.
With the expert help of Mark and others on here and the lady who runs Niche Store Strategies we could even take our most basic of sites to a more sophisticated, higher level of expertise and at the same time make our sites more appealing to the end user.
Like a lot of people trying to make a go of running a successful internet based business I spent a lot of time jumping around from one “next best idea” to another. That was until I came across BANS. OK I still keep an eye out for other opportunities but I don’t pursue them as much as I used to. So in a way, in a humble non-teccy way I would like to ask whether some of the posters on here are actually advocating a complete change away from BANS? Is this going to mean jumping to the next “great idea”.
From my own point of view I think my lack of financial success so far on the internet is because I haven’t stuck to one idea or plan long enough to see it through. You name it, Ebooks, PPC, Ebay - yep they’re all great depending on whose mailing lists you are on. It is so tempting to try them out but ultimately if we lose sight of what we are really trying to achieve-ie a successful online business that will not only make us enough money but also give us all great satisfaction-then I think we will be more than likely to drift from one great idea to the next.
Along comes BANS and as I said it seems quite simple in its basic format to follow as long you also ensure you keep abreast with things on here and Niche Store Strategies. I think the tendency with people’s perception of internet businesses is that we think we can all become wealthy and successful in a relatively short time. However businesses in general need to be developed and nurtured in a structured way.
With this in mind I think (or thought) that I found the ideal business template in BANS. The fact I’m not earning mega bucks was down to the “newness” of the business - or is it, now that I consider some of the posts and the general theme of semi-gloom on here.
Generally speaking the normal things that happen in business, such as it taking time for your business to become recognised and then established should still apply with an internet business.
On the subject of promoting sites of interest or not, to spend more time nurturing and adding relevant content or not then I am finding quite a mixed bag from my own sites. As it so happens my favourite site (my site of personal interest) is also my most successful. I am just starting to get some money coming in off it.
The statistics show my visitor and hits counts are inceasing. I have attached a blog to the site and I am in the process of building a forum for it. Now believe me it has taken me quite some time to get to this stage in terms of man hours in the short term but in terms of the bigger picture of setting up and developing a business then it hasn’t taken that long really if I look at the bigger picture and I intend to stay in it for the long haul.
As well as building the basic BANS site I have added backlinks manually over a period of time and I post in forums that are connected to my BANS site thus creating more backlinks but mainly because they are of interest to me. With this particular site I submitted the sitemap to Google on 10th April and so far I have had 2289 clicks on my Ebay ads according to my EPN back office. Actual hits on the site itself are considerably more. I tell friends and work colleagues word of mouth about the site.
Now thay are not particularly bothered whether the sites are BANS, Wordpress or whatever. In fact to the normal internet user they don’t even know the difference. Stating the obvious the main thing to the end user is that the site is of interest to them. Whatever keeps them on the site or drives them away is their own personal choice obviously.
In contrast to the site I mentioned above I have other sites that have earned me money (not much admittedly) and I have hardly done a thing to them. Again the end user must have found something of interest on them to make them want to spend money.
Overall I think the BANS sites are of greater value too the end user than them merely logging into Ebay and searching away as the work we do points them to their focus of interest quite simply. Again stating the obvious, what we do to those sites after their initial submission will either take away the time we could spend churning out more and more basic sites (of personal interest or otherwise) on the hoof or it will further establish the site in the community of our interest if we spend more and more time developing, improving, tweaking etc.
All in all I think that BANS works. It is the only internet business concept that has made me money so far and I do find the whole process interesting. I fully take on board other people’s concerns and I will take a look at php Ebay pro (or whatever it is called) and I will consider it as a possible supplement to my internet business while still continuing with my BANS building process.
I’ve noticed I’ve rambled for ages now so if anyone has got this far and stayed awake, best of luck with your BANS business and any other internet business you may operate. Thanks again for the expert guidance on here. I for one have found the advice invaluable, interesting and rewarding.
@ All -
Just to be clear on my post, I personally DO NOT think BANS is dead by any means.
I do however think we need to take it upon ourselves to recognize the trend from places like Google, and adjust our strategies to meet the needs of our visitors, while we still have them.
BANS is very much a major part of my overall strategy! At the same time, I will also make use of other tools that will only enhance the BANS sites, thus making them a worthy cause for the search engines to index and promote on my behalf.
Mark
While I am fairly new to the BANS game, I am very interested to read all the opinions on phpBay. I might have to give it a whirl like you are doing on your new project Mark.