Be aware of what you share

So I’ve been like a deer in headlights for the past couple of months.  Regular readers might be wondering where all the posts have gone, and new people, well, who knows what they’re thinking.

I wanted to give a little explanation about why I haven’t been posting, but not in the usual “I’ve been busy” or “Sorry I haven’t posted…” type of spot.  No, there’s a reason why I haven’t been posting, and it’s mostly due to being completely frozen in fear.

Well, frozen in fear is an extreme euphemism for being completely aware of what I put out there, what I share, and the potential consequences of doing so.

You might have read my latest make money status report and have seen where my numbers are going.  So far this month, I’m not on track to meet last months numbers, and that’s ok.  I believe last month saw a definite spike in traffic, resulting in higher numbers.  That also coincided with the right people performing those searches and buying “close to the click” on eBay, which helps to increase your daily click rate.

You really can’t control how and when people buy from you, so there will always be a question around what each months numbers might turn out to be like.  Sometimes the numbers will be good, other times they’ll be low.  Sometimes they’ll spike and there will be a really, really good month, like my last month.

The way eBay pays affiliates is certainly different now, and I’m still trying to find a formula that will ensure higher and higher payouts.

That’s also part of the reason I’m finding myself like a deer in the headlights.  I want nothing more than to share with everyone what I’m doing, how I’m doing it and where it’s all going, but I feel that I can’t!

Sharing isn’t always caring

Think about it. Anything I write might be scrutinized by a Google employee or eBay, and that might mean that everything I write will be for naught or not 100% accurate after writing about it.  I doubt I’m doing anything unique, but if I am and I share this with you, what I’d ultimately be doing is shooting myself in the foot.

So I have a little dilemma.  Share what I know with you and risk exposing some unique trade secret (that I might not even be aware of) that will ultimately cause all my efforts to slowly drown alongside everyone else doing the same thing, and/or exposing to Google and eBay a potentially great way to increase earnings, only to have them close a hole and reduce things back to a lower pay level. (I’m not saying I know any secret tricks here, just stating what the risk is with sharing)

Call me paranoid, I’ll take it.  I really believe this is what will ultimately happen over the long-haul, and if you think about it, it’s very possible and in the interest of all parties to tighten things up, even if that means paying out less money to affiliates, or more money. It’s got to be tight and working well.

One can’t expect to be able to put something out there and remain number one forever.  Someone will always be behind you, developing and waiting to put something better out there.

So why have the posts dropped off?

So to explain why the posts have dropped off, everything I’m focused on right now involves making more and more money.  Over the past 9 months, I’ve managed to create a number of web sites.  Quantity is certainly the way to go for quicker returns, but that also introduces a level of management that needs to be considered.  While most of my sites don’t require very much from me on a day to day basis, they still need to have an innovative aspect to them and provide a good service to the customers that happen upon my sites.  Without which, they’d eventually die off and become worthless, and I certainly don’t want that.

Before, I was perfectly content sharing anything and everything, and I still will, eventually.  Sometimes you need to read between the lines with my posts.  Other times I’ll just come right out and say “stuff”.  It all comes down to what I think might happen if one of the big boys comes and reads one of my articles.

I don’t want my blog to be the source of reduced revenue for anyone, especially myself!  Perhaps that’s a bit presumptuous, but paranoia can do that.

This year has been the year of the websites for myself.  Instead of trying to find that one, big site, why not several, smaller sites?  Think about that a bit.  I’d rather have 100 web sites making $10 a day, than a single site that makes $10 a day.  Who wouldn’t!?!?!

You should follow

I also want to give a shout out to a very smart individual by the name of David.  David, AKA Cybercoder, has been a delight to work with over the year, and really knows his stuff.

We couldn’t be more different either.  We come from two different environments (corporate vs non) and seem to compliment each others skills very well.  He’s very conservative while I tend to have liberal/anarchistic tendencies, but we understand each other (damn, now we might sound like lovers).

David and I might be working on some stuff together next year that will help others achieve what I have over the course of the year.  I’ll keep you posted on that, but in the meantime, why not follow David on Twitter and on his blog at www.cybercoded.net.

This isn’t over yet.  Expect some really, really good things next year.

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