Niche Twins - One Bad Decision
I thought I was going to throw up.
I'd spent over 3 years building my first niche site from scratch.
I was getting up early, and staying up late.
I was publishing non-stop.
I was GRINDING - doing things the "right" way.
And it was working.
I had a cash-flow machine, and a 7+ figure asset on my hands.
Then I very nearly threw it all away.
Life can be brutal.
Make 1000 good decisions in a row, followed by a single bad decision, and it can set you back for years.
Forever, in some cases.
About 3 years into working on my blog I was getting 780,000 pageviews, and earning over $40,000 a month.
Everything was going great.
Better than great - even in my wildest dreams I never envisioned earning that kind of money from a blog.
A blog about tech troubleshooting, no less.
But fear and doubt had started to creep in.
What if this all goes away?
New sites were popping up in my niche every week.
What if they start to outrank me?
Some already had.
At the time, my site didn't have a lot of authority - I had a handful of strong backlinks from some relevant, top publications that my site attracted organically, but besides that my backlink profile was pretty weak.
Then it dawned on me - I should be reinvesting some of my earnings into building better links.
Up until that point I had never "built" a single link - I just did great keyword research, and wrote helpful content.
But now I felt like I had to build links if I wanted to keep pace.
I was in a dog fight.
So I did a bit of research and found what seemed like a credible link building service.
After just 25 days I got an email from them saying they landed me my first 10 links.
10 links?!
In less than a month?!
Suspicious, I start looking into things.
Oh no.
OH NO.
The links were all garbage.
Toxic.
I demanded they remove the links immediately and issue me a full refund.
They did, but the damage was done.
A short while later I was hit with a penalty from Google for "Unnatural links to my site".
And this all happened while I was in the MIDDLE of try to sell my site for 7 figures.
Over the coming months my traffic declined, and unsurprisingly the sale fell through.
It was an incredibly painful, and expensive lesson.
I told myself never again.
Flash forward nearly a year later and I met Chris and Nick at Linkifi.
Chris DM'd me and asked if I'd be willing to chat about him building HARO links for me.
That was Nov 6, 2022.
I ignored him 😂.
Then he DM'd me again 5 months later.
I like a persistent long follow-up play so I said sure, I'd talk. No harm in talking.
We chat on Twitter. Then we jump on a Zoom call.
I like Chris.
He says, "If you decide to go with us, don't expect anything for the first month or more."
INSTANT trust earned on my end.
Good links are hard to get! They should take time.
They were using HARO (Help A Reporter Out) and pitching stories on behalf of bloggers to journalists. If a journalist liked their contribution, they would include it in their piece (hopefully with a link back to your site!)
This sounded much more legit.
Ok i'm in.
Since that initial conversation Chris, Nick and team have consistently delivered high quality links for Niche Twins and Stay New England from the likes of Yahoo, The Sun, Nasdaq, USA Today, ZDNet, etc.
Getting real, quality, authoritative backlinks isn't cheap.
And I am proof that you don't need to buy links, or pay for a linking building service (I didn't, and ended up selling my site for high six figures earlier this year).
BUT, if you have the capital, paying for highly relevant, high quality links is a cheat code.
And speaking from experience, if you're going to spend that kind of money, you want to have confidence it's being put to good use.
Linkifi is now the only link building service we recommend, and they are taking on new, monthly clients right now (minimum of 4 month sign-on).
Our Niche Twins audience gets an exclusive 20% discount, applied every month and the first five people who sign up get a FREE Link.
--> See Offer <--
Doors CLOSE on this offer Sunday 10th, September.
Have a great weekend!
Cheers,
Mike
Niche Twins newsletter sent weekly on Fridays at 8:30 AM ET
PS: Want to get your company/brand/service in front of 6,000+ bloggers and internet entrepreneurs?
Sponsor our newsletter!
--> Check availability here <--
Older messages
The "One No vs One Yes" Framework 💡
Friday, August 25, 2023
Just say "yes".
Knock on more doors ✊🏼🚪. Here's why...
Friday, August 18, 2023
There are two types of opportunities in life, windows and doors...
Display Ad Revenue Tell All 💰
Monday, August 14, 2023
Unblinded look at the data.
Keith's New Site! 👀
Friday, August 4, 2023
Building in Public
AI Chatbots: A Cautionary Tale 🤦♂️
Friday, July 28, 2023
Fugayzi, fugazi.
You Might Also Like
How to Show a Seductress
Friday, November 22, 2024
Why does this pattern show up in Greek Mythology, the Bible, and all kinds of literature?
Off the Grid gives away $600k in one-day tournament; AI agents on the loose
Friday, November 22, 2024
PlayToEarn Newsletter #254 - Your weekly web3 gaming news
Google Gives Back to Small Publishers? + A HUGE Discount is Here...
Friday, November 22, 2024
This week, there has been a major shakeup in Google rankings and the early signs are good for small publishers. This is the main headline story of today's episode of This Week in Niche Pursuits
🔥 Utopia thought to bring you - Your Game-Changer this December
Friday, November 22, 2024
Yo Reader, You made it this far—and trust me, what is coming in Utopia this December 4 at 12NN EST is going to be BIG. 🚀 The Utopia x LinkedIn League Collaboration event, where we've teamed up to
Gary Gensler Resigns as SEC Chair Effective January 20th
Friday, November 22, 2024
Plus Microstrategy Stock Crashes 25% After Closing $3B Debt Funding
Find your strategic partners
Friday, November 22, 2024
Today's Guide to the Marketing Jungle from Social Media Examiner... Presented by social-media-marketing-world-logo It's National Global Entrepreneurship Week, Reader... We see you out there,
Good News for Amazon Sellers: No Fee Hikes in 2025 [Crew Review]
Friday, November 22, 2024
Make 2025 the year of upping your email and SMS game for your brand. With Omnisend, growing your sales is as simple as a click, drag and drop. Make email marketing easy. Hey Reader, Amazon has
Crypto-Related Public Companies Are Still Undervalued
Friday, November 22, 2024
To investors, ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏
In the waiting room
Friday, November 22, 2024
Relevant to your interests #13 ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏
Influence Weekly #364 - Meta Plans To Introduce Advertising On Threads In Early 2025 As X Battles Advertiser Exodus
Friday, November 22, 2024
The Rise Of News Influencers: 1 In 5 Americans Get Their News From Social Media Creators