Does this sound achievable for a newb?

Hi guys,

I've been reading this forum for around a year now however I've only just got round to making an account recently. I've been picking up bits here and there however the only money I've made online is around $25 when Anderson Silva fought Chris Weidman in December last year. I content locked a link to a livestream and shared the link around on facebook and created youtube videos. Apart from this, I have found it impossible to make another dollar online.

i've decided I want to do something I'm passionate about, however still pays good money. I've come to the conclusion that I would like to follow this plan:

- create a website/blog in my niche
- put out quality content and actually create a community
- slowly build an email list in which I will push out good content, but commission based offers too
- have adsense advertisements and premium advertisements on the website
- create digital products and a clothing line (already found the manufacturers)
- grow the social media pages (especially facebook) and charge for shoutouts

i know this isn't very blackhat however it's something that naturally feels right and consistent. I understand this is going to be a hell of a lot harder than I'm making it seem to myself however I believe I have got the willpower to see it through. However, my questions for you guys are:

is this possible for a newb? Am I jumping the gun way too much
is this now a thing of the past? Am I jumping into a saturated idea
is the money really worth the labour? Is it average financial reward for a lot of effort
is this a long process? How long does it really take to get something like this off the ground

i appreciate any responses and I would just like to say a huge thank you to everybody here on BHW. I really do enjoy being part of a community of like minded people.

There's nothing wrong with your method itself. The hard part will be slaving away at making nice content while not making any money initially and resisting the urge to give up.

One piece of advice I would give regarding your idea though, is that it sounds like you're trying to squeeze in too much. Adsense + advertising + clothing etc... just pick one to focus on, don't try and cover everything. Are you trying to build an email list/community or an ecommerce site? In theory it's possible to have both but best to pick one.

Yes, in a realistic light it would be better to go in one direction and put work towards it before working into other projects. Get one thing solid then later you should venture into the other sides of things. I'm not saying it isn't doable but as stated above laying down all of the hard work while not making money that you probably could be making had you have focused on one area before the rest.

What you just stated is the formula to make a nice income, but the only thing is that this takes years. You won't make very much (or any possibly) money in the beginning. You also might be disappointed by how much money you actually make even after you've put in the ground work. Then again, you might get lucky/work really hard and end up with PewDiePie/Mashable/Wired. If you think you can stay motivated (much harder than it sounds) then you can achieve your goals for sure.

When asking myself honestly, the REAL thing I want out of this venture is my email list and the growth of my clothing brand. My problem is, how do I go about building a list and an audience without a website? Would squeeze pages and free digital products do the trick?

You could start out in the social media area.

Definitely you are doing too much at once. You always play to your strengths and let other do your weaknesses which is their strength. If you can target the right people through the appropriate traffic method you are specializing in then you have the ability to monetize it with help from others or even partner with them. You seem motivated and keep that keep learning and stay focused. Don't chase the shiny new objects in IM. Stick to fundamentals as you mentioned email follow up and traffic generation.

I've already tried with the social media side of things, Facebook pages have become extremely saturated in my opinion. I follow a page in my niche with around 800k likes, and he constantly makes new pages and promotes them on his main page, he then sells them on and repeats the process.

Swampy123 said:

I've already tried with the social media side of things, Facebook pages have become extremely saturated in my opinion. I follow a page in my niche with around 800k likes, and he constantly makes new pages and promotes them on his main page, he then sells them on and repeats the process.

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While that is true it still all depends on the approach you make with it. However i would suggest you take out some time and make a list of the things you have tried, the things you haven't tried, and the things you want to try, and choose out what would most likely be the thing you could do. Other than that read around BHW there are plenty of threads with similar questions and guides that could give you an idea that you could work with.

Thanks everybody! I'll start to have a look around BHW now for different tips/approaches on achieving my goals. One problem I do have is getting an idea together, hitting one bump in the road and then bailing and looking for a completely new method. This time I'm staying dedicated and riding through the difficulties, because ultimately on the other side the rewards are much much sweeter. I WILL build that list and I WILL run a successful online clothing brand for my niche!

You can do it, its going to take a lot of time and effort but the only thing that can stop you right now is you. Take it easy and learn as much as you can I would focus your efforts into one thing first, probably social media so that you can build up a user base