Jim Edwards Vs. Alice Seba

Jim Edwards Vs. Alice Seba

If you had a chance to listen to the Internet Marketing Sweetie call I did earlier in the month, you'll know that I recommend getting lots of free content out there for a number of reasons:

Free traffic from search engines
Free traffic from referrals & viral marketing
Relationship-building
Helping those in need (just cuz it's nice to help people!)

Then, Mr. Jim Edwards comes along, with his How to Mini-Site ideas and says not to give people content for free. It doesn't make you any money. You even heard the story of how he took a 30-page website, turned it into a 1-page mini-site and had his sales goes up 250%.

Who's right?

Well, I touched on this earlier this month with my "To Mini-Site or Not to Mini-Site" article, but now that you've had a chance to get more insight into both methods, I think it's a topic worth revisiting. Especially, after all the questions I received after Jim & I did the mini-site call...it seems it's not quite clear yet.

1. If you want to "sell" something, whether it's a product or a mailing list opt-in, a mini-site is your best bet. If you can create a 1-page site that does nothing besides "sell" what you want your visitors to do...you will have a better conversion rate. Like Jim said, people hate making decisions, so don't give them so many.

Although, I have a lot of free content out there, you will notice that when I want to "sell" something, I generally use the mini-site. And hey, the Internet Marketing Sweetie & the How to Mini Sites are mini-sites. Did you notice?

2. If you want to generate tons of free traffic from search engines, you get your content out there. If you want to create a buzz about your expertise, without spending a ton of cash on promotion, you get your content out there. People come to the Internet for information, so give it to them.

The thing is, if you go with strictly a mini-site plan, you will need to be more vigorous in your marketing and you'll probably spend more money. However, if you're smart with your money, you will likely turn this into a very nice profit.

My problem is that I'm cheap and I like getting all the free traffic that I can. That's why my content websites are my "feeder" sites for my sales sites. Again, they draw in the traffic and they create the relationship with my visitors. I also make passive AdSense income and affiliate commissions from many of these sites...plus, I create a funnel to my mailing list.

Here's the thing. I've said it before and I'll say it again. Maximize your marketing by doing both. Create mini-sites and create content sites. Now, that's the next question people are always asking.

Where do you start?

Well, certainly don't overload yourself and think you have to have a huge network of mini-sites and content sites that feed into your mini-sites. I'm afraid you'll give yourself some serious stress if you do that. :-(

So, take it one step-at-a-time. If you're just getting started, start building that mailing list. Create a mini-site around collecting email addresses from your target market and start delivering them great content via email. Like Jim said, there is a lot of money to be made in the large and responsive list.

Once you have one site going well, build another. If you're building content, there are tons of resources out there to help you. Use free content, RSS feeds, hire someone (it really is cheap these days!)...but just start building.

If you can do one site, you can do two. If you can do two...well, you get the picture.

For More Information:

=> Internet Marketing Sweetie: Where nice guys and gals finish first in the world of Internet business.
=> How to Mini-Site: Tips for building a focused network of mini-sites to build your mailing lists and increase your conversions.