Best Niche Store Strategies posts from Mar

Posted by Rochelle in How To... on 04 1st, 2009 | no responses

• Technical Glitch (Site was Stuck on a Page) and A Medical Freakout
  Posted on Saturday, March 14th, 2009 in Misc. – Comments: (6)
  Thanks to the kindness of Otis, I was alerted to the fact that my site was stuck on my most recent post.  When the Home page was clicked, visitors were sent to a post page instead of the Home page.This is the second time this happened to me today, as this also occurred on one of my other sites, so I knew what to do.  But I figured I’d share here, as this might happen to any of you, too.Among my many plugins is WP-Cache.  I had to go into the settings for this plugin and delete the cache.  This corrected the problem.  I admit upfront that I am clueless about the cache and what it does, I just know that when it is too full, funny things can happen to a site.I suspect that one of my plugins may be overloading the cache.  Unfortunately, I don’t know which one might be causing me grief.
• Script Critics – My Latest Project
  Posted on Saturday, March 28th, 2009 in Misc. – Comments: (4)
  Recently, I joined up with Mark, at The Niche Store Builder, and Jeff, at Senjo Marketing.  The three of us are currently working together on a site that is the brain child of Mark, called Script Critics.Some of you probably already know about Script Critics.  For those who don’t, it is a site where Mark, Jeff, and myself give honest reviews of various scripts, tools, and software.  It is a great resource to go and find out if the program you are considering buying is really worth getting.We are writing reviews on tools we have actually used.  I know that I have spent countless dollars on tools that were worthless, or just sit on my cyber desk, gathering cyber dust.  I wish I had known before I purchased them that I wouldn’t want them.So, if you are curious about a tool or program, go check Script Critics and see if we have already reviewed it.
• My First Hits with the Search2Post Plugin
  Posted on Monday, March 16th, 2009 in Niche Store Tools – Comments: (10)
  Previously I wrote about the Search2Post plugin.  This plugin works with phpBay Pro, phpOStock, and phpZon.  What it does is, when activated, allows users to search for items and creates new pages based on what was searched for.I installed Search2Post on a few of my new sites.  I would have installed it on my older, well trafficked sites, but those are all BANS sites and this plugin won’t work with BANS.  Well, last night, someone used it for the first time.  I knew this happened because I had it set up to send me emails whenever a page was created.  Someone went to town searching on my site and created 28 new pages for me!  Of course, some of them were misspellings, so I will need to delete those, but the majority of them were for actual products.  Better yet, there were eBay auction results for most of the searches.
• Should You Join Crowd Mountain?
  Posted on Tuesday, March 3rd, 2009 in Site Building Strategies – Comments: (4)
  If you have followed my blog for a while now, then you already know that I am a big fan of Michelle MacPhearson.  She was my mentor under her mentor training program, and I learned a lot from her.This week, Michelle opened a new membership site she created called Crowd Mountain.  I am a member, and couldn’t wait for the site to become available on 03/01/2009.  Knowing what Michelle is capable of, my expectations were pretty high.  I can say, in all honesty, that my expectations were not only met, but exceeded. What is Crowd Mountain?Crowd Mountain is all about achievable online business building. The first thing you will do when you join Crowd Mountain is go through Internet bootcamp.  Literally.  Michelle has created 6 different bootcamp training modules: Niche the Niche, which is all about researching for a new niche site.  Included is a 17 page workbook (you can download and print it), and six training videos.
• I Hate Working Out!
  Posted on Tuesday, March 31st, 2009 in Misc. – Comments: (0)
  Really. I do. Just ask my husband. He’s been trying to get me to workout with him for over a decade (he actually loves working out…).I am happy spending hours at my computer.  But, that sedentary life is starting to catch up with me.This past weekend we were at Best Buy (an electronics store) and I impulsively bought a fitness program for my Wii.  Well, one thing led to another, and I created a website to document my progress.  It is as much about sharing this experience as it is about making sure I keep working out (cyber-peer pressure can be a great thing!)Come check out my new site – Wii Workout.  Feel free to yell at me if I start to slack with my exercising!Who will be first to spot the two different keyword phrases that I am targeting with the site’s URL?Any ideas on how I can monetize the site?
• Crowd Mountain Module 1 Q&A Session
  Posted on Friday, March 6th, 2009 in Niche Store Tools – Comments: (1)
  Wow!  I just got off an hour long phone call with Michelle MacPhearson.  She did her first live Q&A session for her new site, Crowd Mountain, and it was amazing!  It was all about keyword research, and she answered all our questions about keyword research.  It was highly detailed, very in-depth, and absolutely great stuff.Here’s the thing.  There is only one opportunity to participate in any of module Q&A sessions.  That time happens at the end of the week that each module is launched.  As Michelle states on the Crowd Mountain website, “As a pioneer Crowd Mountain member, you’ll actually be able to attend the live session and ask your own, personal questions about the material and get answers directly from me.  Late comers will only get the recorded Q&A and will not be able to ask their personal questions.”While Module One’s Q&A is over, you still have a chance to participate in the remaining five sessions if you join now.
• I’m Being Ruthless
  Posted on Saturday, March 28th, 2009 in Misc. – Comments: (2)
  I don’t know if it was the recent post by Mark at The Niche Store Builder (sorry, Mark, I’d put a link to the actual post but I can’t find it on your blog!) about cleaning house on your websites, if I’m just sick of having too much stuff as a result of dealing with the flood last year, or simply that I’m learning what makes a good site based on what I am learning at Crowd Mountain.  Whatever the reason, today I am getting rid of sites that I no longer want.Many of these URLs are not yet up for renewal, but I’m getting rid of them anyways because I know that I will not renew them, so why keep them?Also, in every single case, the sites I built are, I hate to admit, thin affiliate sites.  Although I may have spent countless hours on creating the sites, I was more focused on selling items than I was on providing information.
• Get Market Samurai While it is on Sale!
  Posted on Tuesday, March 24th, 2009 in Niche Store Tools – Comments: (5)
  After joining Crowd Mountain I became acquainted with Market Samuarai, which is the gold standard of keyword research tools, as this is the keyword research tool used there.  Let me just say, it is THE best keyword research tool.   Period.  Hands down, the winner.There is much I could say about it, but the Market Samurai people already do an excellent job of this, so I’ll leave it to them to give you the details.  This tool does a TON of stuff!Today I got an email from the Market Samurai people saying they have it on sale for less than 48 hours.  In truth, by the time you read this, there will probably be less than 24 hours left on the sale.  GET IN ON IT!Even if you think you cannot afford it, find a way to make it happen.The only way you can get the sale price is to use this link.
• BANS Still Working for You?
  Posted on Wednesday, March 11th, 2009 in Misc. – Comments: (12)
  I’m finally getting to a point where I can work on my sites again (hooray!).  I haven’t made a BANS site in months.  Probably close to a year, if I really think about it.  That got me to wondering if I am alone in this.  So, I’d love to hear from you.  Are you still making BANS sites?  Are you still making money from them?  I know Google has slapped them around, but how are yours?
• Update on Daughter and Car
  Posted on Monday, March 23rd, 2009 in Misc. – Comments: (3)
  Wow!  What a difference a week makes.When last I wrote, my daughter was horribly sick with Influenza A, and my car was broken.  I am happy to report that my daughter is doing much better.  We still need to be careful with her, as pneumonia is a possibility, but she is doing great.As to my car, well, that’s another story.  Turns out that the transmission fluid was not dry, but the transmission was dead.  It was going to cost us several thousand dollars to repair it.  My husband walked around sniping at each other for an entire day simply because we were stressed at the thought of this.We looked at our options: Sell my car and be a one-car family (which I really didn’t like the thought of!) Fix my car, but worry about what other repairs may be needed in the near future (my car is out of warranty) Buy a new carAfter much consideration and research, we decided to buy a new car.