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Chuck Frey has an interesting niche, one you might consider very old-school and probably because of this, not something you have thought about adding to your own business.
Chuck makes money from directories.
Do you remember directories? Those old style sites that list links to websites which you can search or manually dig through?
Chuck suggests that you consider adding a directory – like a resources page with links to relevant websites, tools and products – to your website or blog. This adds value to your site, but can also become an income stream.
As you will learn about in this interview, by charging a price for a premium directory listing, you can add a new and very passive income stream to your blog.
All you need is the traffic to justify charging for an entry in your directory and perhaps a little groundwork to find paying advertisers.
Hands Off Income
What I really like about this method is that it allows you to monetize an area of your site in a way that most people do not.
I bet if you are a blogger right now you probably have a resources page, which you link through to products and services via your affiliate link.
That’s standard advice for bloggers – sell affiliate products via a resources page.
How about charging $1,000 a year for a premium advertisement on your directory resources page, then locking in five to ten sponsors?
You just need them to sign up at the start of the year, pay the annual fee, and that’s it. You know how much you are going to earn and receive it up front.
Assuming, of course, you have traffic and deliver clicks to your advertisers, this could become a very stable, low-labour income stream to add to your business. It could be a full-time income source if your site has enough traffic.
If you are confused by any of this, have a listen to the interview with Chuck. We cover all the basics, including how Chuck has made money with his own directory, how he sets things up and how he recommends you get started.
Make sure you check out Business Directory Profits, which is the guide Chuck mentions several times during the interview.
What We Covered During The Interview
Here’s what we talked about during the interview –
- Chuck tells the story of how he first came up with the idea of paid directory listings
- We talk about Chuck’s first website directory, what subject it was about and how he set up a system to make money charging for premium listings
- I ask Chuck to explain some of the technical options available to us to manage directories and was surprised to hear him suggest just starting with a standard WordPress page you manually update (how easy!)
- Chuck talks about pricing, how he recommends you find advertisers and how to keep the process as hands off as possible
This is a short interview but I think you will find the idea worth thinking about.
I’ll talk to you again soon,
Yaro Starak
EJ Podcast
Where to Find Chuck Online
Relevant Links Mentioned in this Interview
- mindmappingsoftwareblog.com
- BudURL.pro
- Pretty Links
- Office Autopilot (now Ontraport)
- Aweber
- MailChimp
- GetResponse
[ Download MP3 | Transcript | iTunes | Soundcloud | Raw RSS ]
I think pulling-off a successful directory business nowadays is tough, I’ve tried multiple times and failed but if you can make it a go – one of the easiest ways to generate revenues for sure! Will listen to the interview in my podcast now – thanks Yaro!
Jon
My concern over Chuck’s idea of incorporating paid directories onto your blog is that many SEO and Internet Marketing professionals are now suggesting that such sites are of little value any more to site’s that are advertising here. They say links on someone’s site there purely for traffic and ranking purposes, rather than adding useful and informative content is far less valuable than investing that money in a copywriting and producing good content in the form of an article – maybe the opinion that directories are old fashioned is valid. Is there really an avenue in this if the idea is being advised against by so many people?
XLD – Many blogs have resources pages full of links to products and services they recommend. These are basically what Chuck is suggesting you start with.
I think the old style directories that were literally tens of thousands of just plain old links is not such a good idea, and what SEOs will be advising against. Chuck is talking about making a directory that is basically a resources page with a few more dedicated features, advertising areas, etc.
If you’ve enough traffic to accomplish such sponsorship and can validate that such reccomendations don’t entangle the overall nature or message of your blog then I’d agree this seems a great way to increase your income.
That said – if you’ve got said traffic then charging a $1000 a spot might be too little by way of comparison to what is achievable through standard affiliate links. Look at Pat on SPI!
Agreed Chris – imagine though if Pat combined advertising in a directory along with affiliate links. He could probably add another $10-$20K a month. Pat’s not a big fan of advertising though, so I doubt he would do it.
Probably the most under-rated way to make affiliate sales.
I’ve got a resource list in the making, although I won’t be using sponsored listings – only tried-and-true stuff that I personally use. Pat Flynn at SPI seems to have incredible success with his. 🙂
Regards,
JR John
Definitely going to add this to my blog when I move it to a self-hosted blog! Also, @Yaro, thanks so much for writing your Blog Profits Blueprint ebook! It’s inspired me to start a new blog and hopefully replace my current job! Thanks!
-Ted
Great stuff Ted – and look out for a revised Blueprint next year!
Yaro
Will do! Will you notify your followers when the revised one comes out?
Oh yes, it will be part of the reopening of Blog Mastermind so I will be sending out a lot of notices about it.
Yaro i’m hooked on your ebook and podcasts and want to turn my blog/mag around
I’ve always believed in directories and it was the reason i started my blog/ online surf/wakeboarding magazine. It is now the most popular board riding blog in SA (niche)
Unfortunately i suck at sales, and although we have between 4-10k unique (depending on how much time i spend on content) a full directory of all the shops, (i added for free) i have not managed to sell 1 directory listing or add. although Red Bull and Monster contact me to advertise their events a few time a year, i’m hopeless at actively selling.
Do you have any article on sales, once you have a successful blog.. or do i just need to hire a sales person?
Thanks for all the help so far!
Graham
Hi Graham,
Have you considered trying other offers? I believe focusing on “sales” is a much harder path than producing better marketing, which almost always related to producing better offers.
Come up with an offer that your existing audience wants and you will have no problem selling it, regardless of how good you are at sales.
Yaro
Thanks Yaro, makes sense.
I Commented on this while i was still listening to your blog profit blueprint. Turns out, you covered the topic pretty spot on toward the end on monetizing, with some other options that i have now already implemented as a start. adsense, textlinkadds for a start. thanks again.
G
I think if you have something interesting and unique to offer, people will pay for the advertising.
I am sorry to say this. But I don’t think that having a directory in your blog makes any difference in blogging revenue these days. Directory links don’t hold much value nowadays and most of the times people who would like to list their sites are more interested in getting SEO juice than traffic. I don’t think people spending this much money are stupid enough not to know the fact that these links don’t hold value that much nowadays. However for a niche blog with high traffic, the situation may be different. However, in most cases this idea will fail; according to me.
I’m a little concerned that good marketing practises suggest a website with a funnel for visitors to follow, does linking people away from your own site dilute that funnel? How do you ensure that you keep your web visitors and help them to convert if you provide links away – or are they internal links rather than external links?
It really depends on the context Caroline. A funnel is great when you have one focused peice of content leading to one focused email optin offer, and then a related product offer.
A directory might just be one additional asset you add to your overall website, but it won’t be designed to feed people into funnels.