Re: saying hello, throwing my hat in

[onemoretry]

Hello,


I'm a late bloomer in the 4HWW garden, but I'm excited to give it a shot and test a product. I'll use this thread to keep you posted, good or bad. My current day job is the mindless software developer variety, and while I command a decent enough living, it's not what I want it to be.

About a year ago, before this book existed, I learned the idea of the remote work phenomenon and employed that successfully, though I am closely guarded enough, and the schedules are tight enough, that I still end up working full days. I actually went back to the office when I realized that only total annihilation of my office life was going to appease me.

Three years ago I wrote a 200+ page info product, grinded it out against all odds, obsessed over the accuracy and value in every page, and sold two copies. I'm hoping to *not* repeat that experience this second time around, and will choose not to create my own product as well. Incidentally I made some really bad decisions with the first eBook, partnering with someone who did no work whatsoever, but whose legal presence makes it impossible for me to resell the asset I already created (but then again, at two sales, I'm guessing that even excellent PPC wouldn't cut it).


On the one hand I'm kind of appalled at how cheaply everyone is buying their web design :), on the other hand, it's great incentive to get out of the field completely.

I have an idea for a niche to fill that I myself am a customer of, but the problem is, it's consumable, and @$1.39 a unit retail, it's probably impossible to get the 8x-10x markup to make it worthwhile.

So here I go...

[jetpacklife]

That's exactly why I recommend giving away your info product. If you had a 200 page site on almost any topic, you'd be making at least something w/ ads.

A friend of mine was skeptical about this, and I told him, produce one webpage on with a bunch of useful tips on a hot topic and we'll can make a little money. So, he spend an 1/2 hour listing some tips on saving gas. I put up the page and linked to it. The page got VERY LITTLE TRAFFIC, but still made about $30 (w/ google ads) over a few months. Really not a bad job for 1/2 hour work. Multiply this by 200 pages and a couple of years and you'll do a lot better...

I'm lazy and don't write much, so, I tend to do better with web based apps. Since you're a developer too, have you tried to make any apps on your own?

[onemoretry]

I never considered giving away the information for free, and that's a very interesting angle, in some ways a glorified blog (in other ways, just a blog with AdSense). I might approach my past partner to see if he'd be amenable to something like that, or more likely start another info product I'd feel better about creating. Kudos for that tip.

As for creating my own sites, I do have a site I'm building slowly as my next-level muse, which has a lot of potential for slower but meatier organic income, but I need the first, candy-coated sugar bomb muse to fuel its creation, as the latter will take more time and involves what Seth Godin would call a "Dip" to get through in order to make it successful.

I feel that my dreamlines are achievable in three stages, the first muse, the second, and finally a third which would be a company for the "world-changing" I'd like to do, but couldn't with the other incarnations. I might reach the second muse before the first, but it will take much longer (and the web bubble might have popped by then...)