Online Success Story: Missy Diaz
http://www.ebookreadergeek.com

Hi, my name is Missy Diaz and I’ve been a blogger since April 2007. My latest project is a fun blog dedicated to digital reading and the latest ebook readers on the market called eBook Reader Geek.

1. When did you set up your website?

I created the blog back in December 2010, which was a tad too late to capitalize on the holiday shopping frenzy. Boo to me! I procrastinated big time on that, but finally did get around to setting it up.

2. What gave you the idea for this particular niche & website?

This is not my first site in this niche, I had created a previous blog on the same topic called eBookReaderGuide.com – which turned out to be quite successful a project. I sold it back in December 2009 on Flippa for close to $2,000 and moved on from there to other projects…

I also created another blog in this niche but devoted entirely to the Kindle, called KindleOwners.com then sold that one too. But I was always interested in the niche and so I pursued it again. This time with more knowledge and more tricks up my sleeve than my previous attempt.

3. Did you have any experience with online business prior to creating this website?

I’ve had plenty of experience with online business, but have made my share of BIG mistakes as well. In the past, I created sites with the intention of selling them and or flipping them for quick profit. This turned out to be not quite so smart a move, since Google loves and prefers aged and established sites.

4. What did you do for work prior to setting up an online business?

Before writing and creating sites online, I worked in the mortgage industry with the family business. But it was not for me, the mortgage industry can be way too stressful a profession. I also moved from Chicago to Mississippi and after a fall out with a project, and went online to pass time.

After spending so much time online, I ran into various forums and sites that discussed working from home. An idea very appealing to me. I was then hired by eco-friendly blog site Keetsa to write for them and then moved on from there to create my first blog on Blogger, then WordPress. And so on.

In other words, just stumbled onto all this online marketing stuff. But I do love it and am super glad, I found it!

5. How did you initially promote your website, and if different – how do you promote it now?

Initially for promotion of my blogs, I would strictly use SEO. But with the recent changes from Google, social media has become a part of the puzzle and so now am a social media convert and enthusiast. I’m also now dabbling with email marketing, but have a lot to learn with this medium.

6. Is your website profitable? Can you share some basic traffic & profit stats with us?

My eBook Reader Geek blog has been profitable from the get go, but it’s been a slow steady climb. All the income is from Amazon and has been as follows:

Jan – $10.10
February – $39.63
March – $159.63
April – $283.63
May – $160.22

As for traffic, it is mostly organic search engine traffic from Google, Yahoo and Bing. My traffic is actually not very high, but it converts well. The income comes from just a few strategic “money pages’ placed on the blog.

7. What are your plans for the site going forward?

My plan going forward is to avail of guest post opportunities (which I have already been doing) and get my blog ranked higher and for more keywords. I look forward to when it becomes aged and dances less in the SERPS.

This will come with time and age.

8. What ONE piece of advice would you give someone interested in starting their own niche site or blog?

My advice for anyone starting a niche blog is to pick a topic they genuinely enjoy talking about endlessly, which is what he or she will be doing via the niche blog site.

Network with other blog owners in the same or vertical niche and just have fun with it. Keep in mind that it takes time and lots of work, but in 6 months to a year – a niche blog ranked well is a delight like no other.

And whoa nelly – start now to reap the treats come the busy holiday shopping season.

That’s it. That’s my story on eBook Reader Geek and I hope you learned something interesting from it. Thanks!

Missy
Chief eBook Reading Officer
http://www.ebookreadergeek.com

-Thank you, Missy.  Congratulations on your success!