{"id":26,"date":"2020-07-15T14:14:30","date_gmt":"2020-07-15T14:14:30","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/salarydistribution.com\/2020\/07\/15\/my-income-evolution-online-personal-growth-more\/"},"modified":"2020-07-15T14:14:30","modified_gmt":"2020-07-15T14:14:30","slug":"my-income-evolution-online-personal-growth-more","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/salarydistribution.com\/affiliate-marketing\/2020\/07\/15\/my-income-evolution-online-personal-growth-more\/","title":{"rendered":"My Income Evolution Online, Personal Growth & More!"},"content":{"rendered":"
\n


\n\t\t\t\t\t\"My<\/a><\/span>
\n\t\t\t\t\t\t <\/a><\/span><\/span>
\n\t\t\t\t\t <\/span>
\n\t\t\t\t\t <\/span>
\n\t\t\t\t<\/span><\/p>\n

Ya know\u2026 it\u2019s been so long since I blogged here, I almost forgot my WordPress password. ?<\/p>\n

How\u2019s your 2018 been going for you? Mine has been super busy but extremely productive and more profitable than I expected.<\/p>\n

So I thought I\u2019d catch you up on lessons I\u2019ve learned with my new site, struggles, personal growth and other insights.<\/p>\n

The Golden Ticket<\/h2>\n

The year started off on a fun note. I received a Golden Ticket and was invited, along with a few other high-volume sellers, to meet with Amazon about the Merch By Amazon (MBA) program!<\/p>\n

We had to sign NDAs (Non Disclosure Agreements), but I CAN<\/strong> say that it made me even more proud and excited to be a part of this amazing passive income opportunity.<\/p>\n

They even created a shirt design for us that we got to print ourselves!<\/p>\n

\"Golden<\/a><\/p>\n

The team was super cool and treated us to a nice dinner with some delicious desserts! We were all pretty vocal about the things we like\/didn\u2019t like, suggestions, etc.<\/p>\n

I can\u2019t lie\u2026<\/p>\n

Before the meetup, certain things about Merch would really frustrate me. But after talking to the team it made realize how hard they\u2019re working to improve on many different fronts.<\/p>\n

One thing\u2019s for sure\u2026<\/p>\n

These people LOVE THEIR COMPANY<\/strong>. You can see Amazon has a certain standard for the kind of people they hire.<\/p>\n

The Merch team is extremely passionate and dedicated to the program, and it was really cool to see their energy and positive outlook on the future of (MBA).<\/p>\n

Detour Ahead<\/h2>\n

Merch By Amazon caused a COMPLETE<\/strong> detour with my business in late 2016. I saw the potential and knew I had to focus on it as soon as I got in.<\/p>\n

To date, I\u2019ve sold nearly 10,000 shirts on Amazon alone<\/strong>, and never dreamed T-shirts would be a big part of my income stream.<\/p>\n

But I\u2019m actually glad Merch distracted me because I was about to make a BIG<\/strong> mistake by creating the site about selling online courses from your WordPress site.<\/p>\n

I was trying to force myself into a niche<\/strong> that I wasn\u2019t really passionate about JUST<\/strong> to have a more focused\/niche site.<\/p>\n

Bad idea.<\/p>\n

I also felt some pressure to start a new site because I really wanted to see what it was like to begin\u00a0TODAY <\/strong>so I could share more relevant lessons. I was definitely forcing ideas for that reason as well.<\/p>\n

Thank you, Amazon, for rescuing me from THAT<\/strong> inevitable failure! ?<\/p>\n

The PSP Journey Begins<\/h2>\n

When I launched Passive Shirt Profits<\/a> in June of last year, I knew that social media wasn\u2019t<\/strong> going to be a big part of my marketing strategy.<\/p>\n

That may sound crazy to you in 2018, but if you know me, you already know that social media marketing has NEVER<\/strong> been a strength OR<\/strong> favorite of mine.<\/p>\n

As a matter of fact, MARKETING IN GENERAL<\/strong>\u00a0has never been a strength.<\/p>\n

\n

What you need to understand is that being proficient at teaching, making videos, and being admired online doesn\u2019t automatically qualify you as a great Internet marketer who knows how to sell their own products.<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n

All I knew was that I wasn\u2019t going to stress myself out trying to grow another social media account I would probably abandon.<\/p>\n

So I decided to start with podcasting. I really wanted to see how much traction I could gain with doing nothing but focusing on that.<\/strong><\/p>\n

I also wanted to challenge the \u201cBe Everywhere\u201d strategy that a lot of newcomers feel they need to adhere to when starting a website.<\/p>\n

My goal was to commit to podcasting weekly to see if it would drive people into my courses. I launched my first show<\/a> in May, 2017.<\/p>\n

Sales Were Off To a Great Start!<\/h2>\n

You may remember that the initial launch for PSP was great.<\/p>\n

It was a good decision to offer a bundle package that was priced lower than the total price of all courses individually because most people bought the bundle.<\/p>\n

I made more in the first 3 days of launch than I typically made on Udemy in a month (WITHOUT<\/strong> Udemy discounts.)<\/p>\n

But let\u2019s be real.<\/p>\n

The sales were mostly from people who found out about PSP from THIS<\/strong> site.<\/p>\n

The REAL<\/strong> tell would be the results AFTER<\/strong> the initial launch.<\/p>\n

Well let me just say that after launch, things were slow.<\/p>\n

Veeeeeery slow!<\/p>\n

So slow that I wondered if I should keep podcasting.<\/p>\n

But the more I did it, the more I enjoyed it so I decided to keep going in spite of doubts creeping up.<\/p>\n

It\u2019s funny how I\u2019m always giving you all pep talks about never giving up, and I had to remember and start using my own<\/strong> advice! ?<\/p>\n

Then in December, things started to slowly turn around.<\/p>\n

Suddenly sales went from very sporadic to several per week.<\/p>\n

Then in January it was like someone flipped a switch. (I think it had a lot to do with Merch accepting people into the program again.)<\/p>\n

So my listeners and email list subscribers who had been waiting to get approved, decided to enroll.<\/p>\n

My podcast downloads started increasing and so did my course sales!<\/p>\n

\"podcast<\/a><\/p>\n

I launch a show every Monday so those are the peaks you see. I think it\u2019s very important to maintain a rhythm with podcasting.<\/p>\n

I took a 6 week break between Thanksgiving and the New Year, so that\u2019s why you see the spike on January 8th.<\/p>\n

But here\u2019s the cool part\u2026.<\/p>\n

\"Thinkific\"<\/a><\/p>\n

I recently had my BEST.<\/strong> WEEK.<\/strong> EVER.<\/strong>\u00a0for the PSP courses, and it was really encouraging to finally have a bit more momentum.<\/p>\n

Don\u2019t get me wrong. I\u2019m not getting numbers like this all the time, but compared to how things started, I\u2019ll take it!<\/p>\n

Also notice\u2026<\/p>\n

PSP doesn\u2019t get many comments or social shares<\/strong>.<\/p>\n

And if that\u2019s what you view to judge the success of a website, well then you\u2019d see it as a complete failure.<\/p>\n

But ironically, it\u2019s converting better with courses than this site did with a larger traffic base!<\/p>\n

So yeah, no complaints here!<\/p>\n

The lesson?<\/p>\n

Don\u2019t get caught up in social shares, traffic and comments. They don\u2019t always equate to more income.<\/p>\n

Keep Pushing No Matter What!<\/h2>\n

Let me tell you. It gets quite discouraging in the early days of building a new site as many of you know!<\/p>\n

It was a VERY<\/strong> humbling experience after having\u00a0instant success<\/strong> with 2 Create a Website.<\/p>\n

This site just TOOK OFF<\/strong> like a rocket thanks to Google back in the day, and PSP has been NOTHING<\/strong> like that.<\/p>\n

I knew I wasn\u2019t going to have the luxury of building up my search engine traffic to 2,000 visits per day in the first two months like I did with 2Create years ago.<\/p>\n

Even though I was prepared for a slow start, it doesn\u2019t mean it was easy to swallow.<\/p>\n

It took 8 months for me to really feel like momentum was picking up, and I know many people would have given up LONG<\/strong> before then.<\/p>\n

That\u2019s why you have to keep pushing and give it time.<\/p>\n

And that\u2019s EXACTLY<\/strong> why I wanted to share this.<\/p>\n

I think it\u2019s equally important you hear when things are challenging, and not just when they\u2019re great.<\/p>\n

You Don\u2019t Have to Be Everywhere<\/h2>\n

I know how overwhelming some of you feel when you\u2019re just starting online today.<\/p>\n

With Instagram, SnapChat, Twitter, YouTube, Facebook and so many options to choose from, it can feel like you have a gigantic hill to climb.<\/p>\n

But I\u2019m here to tell you to START SMALL<\/strong>.<\/p>\n

Most people are never GREAT<\/strong> with every social media site. They typically focus on one or two.<\/p>\n

You have to remember, when you see big influencers with 5 and 6-digit followers on multiple sites, usually it\u2019s because they focused on one or two and the other accounts grew because of the success of the initial accounts.<\/p>\n

So it\u2019s not like they are spending that much time and energy on every site.<\/p>\n

And who cares about the number of followers if you aren\u2019t turning those followers into customers!<\/p>\n

Be careful of getting distracted by looking or being popular on social media.<\/p>\n

[clickToTweet tweet=\u201dJust because people are clicking LIKE doesn\u2019t mean they will click \u2018BUY.’\u201d quote=\u201dJust because people are clicking LIKE doesn\u2019t mean they will also click \u2018BUY.’\u201d]<\/p>\n

Now THAT\u2019s<\/strong> what I need on a T-shirt! ?<\/p>\n

So focus on ONE<\/strong> platform that fits your style and audience, and commit yourself to growing that for the next 6 months.<\/p>\n

The beauty of concentrating on one strategy is it will very clear if it\u2019s working or not.<\/p>\n

\n

Kim George wrote a really good article<\/a> on follower obsessions, and how to choose your best social platform. I envy her commitment and dedication to social media. I just don\u2019t have it. ?<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n

Set Realistic Goals<\/h2>\n

I was so proud of myself for setting a podcast goal that I stuck to EVERY SINGLE MONDAY<\/strong>\u00a0until the Holidays. (I did miss one other week due to a death in the family.)<\/p>\n

Staying focused is often a challenge for me, but I stuck with podcasting, even when I wasn\u2019t sure it was the best thing to do.<\/p>\n

And the great thing about my show is every episode is only 5-10 minutes long. So it only takes me an hour or so to record, edit and publish each episode.<\/p>\n

I set a realistic goal for myself that I knew I could meet, and that is so important.<\/p>\n

Plus, it feels sooooooo good to know I don\u2019t HAVE<\/strong> to be on every platform. I no longer get social media marketing FOMO (fear of missing out).<\/p>\n

\n

For the record, I\u2019m not suggesting that you ignore social media. I believe most people SHOULD<\/strong> consider using it today. This was just a personal decision for ME<\/strong>. I have a unique situation with multiple income sources (some are recurring), so I didn\u2019t feel like social media was something I HAD<\/strong> to do. Having said that, I\u00a0TOTALLY APPROVE<\/strong> the podcast-only strategy for starting out \u2014 especially if you\u2019re in a niche where podcasting is hot.<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n

Just remember, you don\u2019t have to be everywhere<\/strong>. It\u2019s a myth.<\/p>\n

What I Need to Work On & My Personal Growth<\/h2>\n

Even though I feel PSP has earned what I put into it now (effort wise), there\u2019s so much more I COULD<\/strong> be doing to earn even more.<\/p>\n

I\u2019m very happy with what I\u2019ve accomplished, but I still have a ways to go.<\/p>\n

I haven\u2019t setup many marketing funnels, don\u2019t do much with landing pages, my email list, etc.<\/p>\n

I am now getting help with those aspects of marketing.<\/p>\n

Entrepreneurs who are incredibly successful focus on what they do best and outsource the rest<\/strong>. And I\u2019m JUST<\/strong> now getting comfortable with doing more of that.<\/p>\n

I\u2019ve also grown a lot personally and professionally in the last year.<\/p>\n

I\u2019ve learned to be comfortable saying \u201cNO\u201d to unreasonable requests and being OK with not pleasing everyone (limiting certain levels of help to students only<\/strong>, no coupon expectations, pricing etc.)<\/p>\n

I\u2019ve set boundaries for what I will and won\u2019t do in my business both online AND<\/strong> offline.<\/p>\n

Boundaries are something a lot of women entrepreneurs struggle with. <\/strong>Google it. It\u2019s like an epidemic!<\/p>\n

Maintaining that boundary without feeling selfish or mean has often been a challenge for me. But I had to do something because things were getting out of balance in my business.<\/p>\n

Don\u2019t feel sorry for me. I created that monster by operating in \u201cpeople pleasing\u201d mode.<\/p>\n

I just recorded a podcast on this very subject. Stay tuned.<\/p>\n

Diversification Continues<\/h2>\n

It\u2019s also been incredibly rewarding to create additional income streams. That\u2019s something you HAVE<\/strong> to do as an entrepreneur.<\/p>\n

My income sources look a LOT<\/strong> different from when I started online, and thanks to Etsy, PSP and Amazon, I\u2019ve developed some new ones in the last 14 months.<\/p>\n

And I have to mention AdSense because I\u2019m always asked about it.<\/p>\n

My response to that is\u2026<\/p>\n

What\u2019s AdSense? ?<\/p>\n

Seriously, if I make a $1,000 month, I\u2019m having a good month. Fortunately, I\u2019ve more than replaced those earnings with other income streams.<\/p>\n

One thing\u2019s for sure\u2026<\/p>\n

If you expect everything to remain the same out here, you\u2019re in the wrong place. The only constant is change!<\/p>\n

Three years from now, I might be talking about Merch in past tense and on to something else. That\u2019s just how it goes.<\/p>\n

But I\u2019m going to ride this Merch train \u2019til the wheels fall off! ? And it\u2019s been a fun ride!<\/strong><\/p>\n

Anywho, I just wanted to update you all because it\u2019s been a minute since I blogged.<\/p>\n

Let me know what you are up to these days, and I hope your 2018 is going grrrrrreat!! ?<\/p>\n<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

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