Over the last two months, I’ve come across two beverages that blow my mind.
No, it’s not the Moscow Mule or Old Fashion.
It’s tea and kombucha.
Specifically DAVIDs Tea and any kombucha.
For years I’ve drunk some generic tea. The kind that comes 40 or 80 tea bags in a box.
I liked it fine.
Until my wife bought some DAVIDs Tea, specifically peaches n’ cream and cream of earl grey.
WOW.
I’ve seen the name DAVIDs Tea here and there. I thought nothing of the brand other than “how on earth does a store selling just tea survive?”
Now I know.
I’m not a big tea drinker, but I love this stuff.
It’s looseleaf so you need some kind of tea strainer.
It’s not the cheapest tea but it’s less expensive than booze.
And then there’s kombucha which is some form of tea as well.
It’s more satisfying than soda. It’s incredibly satisfying and apparently offers some health benefits.
I’m hooked.
Before I tried it I thought it was some health nut beverage. I wasn’t interested.
Then someone gave me a bottle as a gift.
I was polite. I cracked it open.
I now have at least one a day.
It’s amazing what’s out there.
I far too often have preconceived ideas about stuff such as:
- Kombucha is for health nuts.
- All tea is the same.
Now I know better.
This DAVIDs Tea and kombucha experience reminds me of how I started using AdSense to make money.
For years I considered AdSense (display ads in general) bottom of the barrel monetization… a waste of time.
Was I ever wrong.
I’ve told many of you the following before. My affiliate site earned nothing despite having 500 visitors per day. I was frustrated. Just to get a few bucks rolling in I slapped AdSense on them. The next day I had earned over $100 with AdSense (thanks in part to a FB post going a bit viral).
The point is that AdSense was the ticket to making money.
And I know some of you have heard this story before but I repeat for the benefit of new readers.
Just the other day a new reader emailed me and told me how she had no idea that display ads could make so much money.
There you go. It’s not common knowledge yet.
What else did I assume that was a big mistake on my part?
Infinite scroll is bad: For years I was told it was bad for SEO and ad revenue. WRONG. It’s fine for SEO, fine for ad revenue and amazing for on site metrics such as time on site.
The money is in the list: WRONG. The money is in the list for SOME niches, but not all. In fact, there’s little money in many niches.
High KW search volume: there’s no point in publishing content targeting KWs with less than 1,000 monthly searches (or more). WRONG. I’ve gone after KWs with ridiculously low reported search volume and it scoops up traffic.
You need to invest in a custom website design: WRONG. Waste of money unless you’re rolling in dough. Every site I own uses themes as-is. I highly doubt spending $10K on a custom design would result in me doing any better. Yes, once upon a time I spent thousands on a custom logo, business card and website. That site never made a nickel.
You have to build links: WRONG. You can build links and it can help. However, with the right keywords and patience plus peppering in some linkable assets, you don’t need to build links.
If you give a source link, you can use any image on the Web that you want. WRONG. That’s image copyright infringement. You can get sued. Get permission in writing and/or license images.
Keywords don’t matter – Google will figure it out. WRONG. While I go for low search volume keywords, they do get searched. There’s a big difference between that and not searched at all. If you title your post “I never knew” (the subject for this email), you’ll get no search traffic. Google is good but you gotta give it a little nudge.
There are probably more assumptions I fell for over the years, but you get the point.
Don’t assume.
Test.
But when something starts working, keep at it.
Jon Dykstra is a six figure niche site creator with 10+ years of experience. His willingness to openly share his wins and losses in the email newsletter he publishes has made him a go-to source of guidance and motivation for many. His popular “Niche site profits” course has helped thousands follow his footsteps in creating simple niche sites that earn big.
