Pheebs' Quest for Passive Income

[Pheebs]

I started a thread in the blogger's section the other day, but I've decided to leave that as a place to ask for help/opinions. So here I am....my diary.

A little intro is probably in order. I am currently in the process of creating a comprehensive guide of the city of Manchester. My blog - http://www.allthingsmanchester.com - will feature events, music, food and drink, places to go, student information, stuff about transport, and basically anything you can think of within Manchester.

The idea behind this is to create something worthwhile - something I can be proud of - and at the same time, treat it as a serious business. Passive income is my dream, and I plan to team up with local businesses to advertise/feature/review their companies/products/venue at a monthly/one off/recurring monetary cost. I have the framework in place, I've designed my site, and I've started to make some posts.

So far I have around 9/10 posts, and I intend to create at least 30 before I start to push this site out into the public eye properly. So, what am I here for? Well, I thought it would be interesting to create a diary of my progress - for myself to look back on, and so others can hopefully enjoy this adventure with me. I'm the most confident I've ever been about a business idea, and it'd be great if someone else could perhaps be inspired to find a niche of their own and join me in the quest for passive income.

Anyway - I'll leave that as an introduction, and I'll start my diary in the next post. Thanks - if you're still reading!

 

[Pheebs]

Update 1

It's been a tricky few days on the site. I've been trying to iron out the creases of the blog to make it as attractive and functional as I can. I'm pretty happy with the results so far. I had a logo created that I absolutely love, and I've just had a video intro created for my YouTube entries.

In terms of content, I've made a few additions over the last week that I'm really pleased with. I'm looking to add another 20 or so before I start promoting the site, so there's lots of work left to be done. I'm also going to head out into the city to grab some images that I can use over time.

 

[The Funky Blue Dog]

It looks fab Pheebs - visually very appealing and stuffed full of useful info 8)

I've only been to Manchester once (years ago for a dog show at what was called the G-Mex then - probably showing my age!) but your passion is infectious and makes me want to go again! I can remember receiving a warm welcome.

Good luck - I'll look forward to your updates

 

[Pheebs]

It looks fab Pheebs - visually very appealing and stuffed full of useful info 8)

I've only been to Manchester once (years ago for a dog show at what was called the G-Mex then - probably showing my age!) but your passion is infectious and makes me want to go again! I can remember receiving a warm welcome.

Good luck - I'll look forward to your updates

Thanks so much for those kind words - it really does mean a lot.

I'm really excited by the fact that it's made you want to visit Manchester again - that's one of my key aims. By the way - you should definitely head back over; it's a wonderful place!

I hope you'll continue to enjoy the blog, and find something that will entice you to pay the city a visit.

 

[Pheebs]

Update 2

I added another post last night, and went about making some important SEO changes and optimisation. Today I'll be spending some more time on SEO, and adding another post or two.

I plan to go out with the camera on Sunday to a lovely little market that I'm going to write about - and hopefully I'll capture some images and perhaps some video footage for a montage!

I can't express how motivated and excited I am about this project.

 

[Jon]

Update 2

I added another post last night, and went about making some important SEO changes and optimisation. Today I'll be spending some more time on SEO, and adding another post or two.

I plan to go out with the camera on Sunday to a lovely little market that I'm going to write about - and hopefully I'll capture some images and perhaps some video footage for a montage!

I can't express how motivated and excited I am about this project.

Once you have done that tweet/email/facebook the people who run the market and show them your photos and review. Get some business cards make and hand them out to the stall holders and ask if they want a review of their bakery / cupcake / whatever store...

 

[Pheebs]

Update 2

I added another post last night, and went about making some important SEO changes and optimisation. Today I'll be spending some more time on SEO, and adding another post or two.

I plan to go out with the camera on Sunday to a lovely little market that I'm going to write about - and hopefully I'll capture some images and perhaps some video footage for a montage!

I can't express how motivated and excited I am about this project.

Once you have done that tweet/email/facebook the people who run the market and show them your photos and review. Get some business cards make and hand them out to the stall holders and ask if they want a review of their bakery / cupcake / whatever store...

Brilliant idea, Jon.

 

[Pheebs]

Update 3

Just had some business cards made.

 

[Pheebs]

So today was another productive day with the site.

I managed to create two new posts, which is a great step towards my target of 30 posts before promotion. I also managed to improve the SEO further, and compressed the images to help the site load more quickly.

I'd love to do some more, but alas, the PS4 calls..

 

[Jon]

LOVE what you are doing with the blog, your hard work will definitely pay off (though you will need to accept it may take say 6 months before you start getting any real traction)

The Printworks looks a hell of a place..

Still think you should do something on the Corrir tour before it closes (I've actually been on it, thought it was great btw)

Try and get some kind of 'scoop' while you are there. An interview with one of the tour guides, one or two AMAZING FACTS they don't tell on the tour

I've always liked Manchester. I actually worked there for a bit for a lawfirm on Deansgate called DWF before moving to their Leeds office.

Got taken to some right random (but nice) food / pubs that as an 'out of towner' I would have never know about except through local knowledge

 

[Pheebs]

LOVE what you are doing with the blog, your hard work will definitely pay off (though you will need to accept it may take say 6 months before you start getting any real traction)

The Printworks looks a hell of a place..

Still think you should do something on the Corrir tour before it closes (I've actually been on it, thought it was great btw)

Try and get some kind of 'scoop' while you are there. An interview with one of the tour guides, one or two AMAZING FACTS they don't tell on the tour

I've always liked Manchester. I actually worked there for a bit for a lawfirm on Deansgate called DWF before moving to their Leeds office.

Got taken to some right random (but nice) food / pubs that as an 'out of towner' I would have never know about except through local knowledge

Good idea Jon! My other half went recently so I have a fair few images I could use already.

 

[Pheebs]

Today has been a great day for the blog. I got some more content up and posted about it on reddit. That alone brought in over 350 page views, with 211 new users browsing the site over 7 hours and the most significant factor in all of this is TARGETED TRAFFIC. The majority of those users were from Manchester, Greater Manchester, Bolton, Sale, Salford. Top notch.

If anyone has a spare second, I'd really appreciate it if you could "UP" my reddit, and maybe even comment on it if you feel like it. THANKS!

http://redd.it/2gydl9

 

[Pheebs]

A bit of a quiet day on the blog today. I did manage to add another post, but have spent the rest of my time looking for potential places to advertise/promote.

 

[mbmetro100]

A bit of a quiet day on the blog today. I did manage to add another post, but have spent the rest of my time looking for potential places to advertise/promote.

Your blog is very appealing and especially for people wanting to know more about Manchester. I would wait a while and build up more traffic before placing adverts on the site.

 

[Pheebs]

A bit of a quiet day on the blog today. I did manage to add another post, but have spent the rest of my time looking for potential places to advertise/promote.

Your blog is very appealing and especially for people wanting to know more about Manchester. I would wait a while and build up more traffic before placing adverts on the site.

Thank you very much! I agree - I won't be putting any adverts on for a while yet. I've also decided that I won't use a single AdSense advert on the site. They'll all be local businesses.

 

[Jon]

I admire that stance

If you can get enough brands signing up and tie them into short contracts that will work good for them (as you are new) and good for you (as it lets you get in and out as you see fit) that will work for the better

Adblock will block google adsense ads naturally

they won't block images (like the whatusersdo one on the bottom of here) unless someone manually goes in and blocks that image

 

[Pheebs]

A good couple of days for the site. More and more content is being added, and I've also managed to secure some advertising on a wonderful site that will hopefully bring in some lovely traffic. I'm not far off completing the first 30 posts now, and have started to focus on social media more prominently.

At Jon's suggestion, I'll also be running a rafflecopter campaign in the near future.

 

[Pheebs]

I've been pretty busy over the last few days. I now have a banner which you should be able to see at the top of The Money Shed, and have started a Rafflecopter competition to win a £20 Amazon voucher. I intend to add some more content to the site today so I better get to it.

If you fancy entering the competition, and haven't seen the other thread in the contest section, simply go to http://www.allthingsmanchester.com to enter.

 

[mbmetro100]

A bit of a quiet day on the blog today. I did manage to add another post, but have spent the rest of my time looking for potential places to advertise/promote.

Your blog is very appealing and especially for people wanting to know more about Manchester. I would wait a while and build up more traffic before placing adverts on the site.

Thank you very much! I agree - I won't be putting any adverts on for a while yet. I've also decided that I won't use a single AdSense advert on the site. They'll all be local businesses.

Some folk try to rush in and monetise their site early doors, but that is a BIG mistake. Build up your audience via your Facebook, Twitter feed and eventually people will probably come to you wanting to place a contextual link or add in return for money

 

[Skinnylatte]

Great start Pheebs, my friend has a local tourism website that does well http://www.yorkshire-east-coast-unofficial-guide.com/

You should consider an affiliate income too from related travel and tourism partners, like Hotels.com for example, https://darwin.affiliatewindow.com/merchant-profile/3617, I think they are pretty good earners as of course the average spend per purchase is pretty high.

Good luck, I will keep following you ;D