Case Study👉 How YOU Can Earn $20K Per Month Testing and Reviewing Products

The Scott Max Newsletter

In Partnership with 1440

Hi 👋, this is the Scott Max newsletter. The daily newsletter that brings you one step closer to your own thriving online business.

We analyze a wonderful, small, online business each week with a full breakdown of how it makes money, why it makes money, and its opportunities to grow. Below that, we give you the action steps to build a business like this to create freedom for yourself.

This is the best way to learn the tactics, skillset, and nuance of making money online.

Let’s get to the good stuff you'll see in this email:

• A successful review blog for products and services.

• How this blog stands out in a competitive niche and earns $20K per month.

• A blueprint for starting a similar business.

But first, let me introduce our partner for this email,

1440

News Without Motives.

Experience unbiased news with 1440, the daily newsletter read by millions worldwide. Curated from over 100+ sources, it covers everything from culture and science to sports, politics, and business—in just a five-minute read each morning, and it's completely free.

The What 🚀

In today’s newsletter, we’ll be analysing a blog that earns $20K monthly and is a one-stop destination for product reviews, money tips, and family fun ideas.

This blog is the perfect go-to for honest and informative reviews of products and services, ranging from beauty and travel to cars and parenting products.

It is an important resource with a focus on helping readers make informed purchasing decisions and live their best lives.

How does this blog in a seemingly overcrowded niche manage to pull off 6 figures per year and 15k monthly organic traffic?

Read on to find out.

The How 💻

We’ll examine the various ways this business generates revenue, identifying the three key methods it uses to do so.

The first and highest revenue generator for this blog is affiliate commissions.

By registering with various affiliate programs and including affiliate links within blog posts, this business is able to earn considerably whenever readers make a purchase.

The business maximizes its earnings by promoting products through affiliate links in product reviews and participating in affiliate programs offered by companies with products related to its niche —lifestyle and product review blogging.

Another income source for this business is display ads.

It partners with advertising networks like Google Adsense to manage the display of non-intrusive ads on its website.

When a visitor clicks on an ad, the website earns a portion of the revenue generated by the click.

The third income source for this business is sponsored posts.

By partnering with brands that align with its niche and audience, this business earns from creating sponsored content on its website or on social media.

This could involve writing a review of a product or service, creating a how-to guide, or featuring a brand in a gift guide.

In exchange for the sponsored post, the business receives compensation in the form of a fee.

The Why 🔥

Next, we’ll take a detailed look at the factors that enable this review blog to earn $20K monthly and attract 15K in monthly traffic. They include;

Search Engine Optimization

This blog has a strong focus on SEO which is reflected in this website overview analysis from Ahrefs.

The website attracts monthly organic traffic of 16k readers, showing that its content is optimized with relevant keywords.

This is a key factor that helps it to appear on the first page of Google’s SERP (search engine results page).

The website also has a good collection of backlinks from prominent sites which indicates a combination of high-quality content and active link-building efforts.

The site’s thriving metrics show that its on-page elements such as title tags, meta descriptions, and header tags are optimized with relevant keywords.

Together with a clear structure, this on-page optimization makes it easy for search engines to crawl and index the website.

This aids in raising the site's ranking on SERPs and driving more organic traffic to the site, resulting in improved visibility and increased earnings.

Website Optimization

This business’ website is designed to be user-friendly and easy to navigate as it features a clean and uncluttered layout.

There are clear sections and headings that guide visitors through the site, as well as a search tool for precise navigation.

The site is also optimized for mobile devices, ensuring that visitors can access it from any device.

In addition, affiliate links stand out in a different colour, making them more visible and leading to increased click-through rates.

Content Quality

This blog consistently publishes high-quality, informative, and well-written content covering a range of topics, from beauty and travel to cars and money.

Content is optimised with long tail keywords that have low to medium keyword difficulty, helping it to rank easily in its competitive niche.

The content is tailored to the interests of the site's target audience which are predominantly women.

Blog posts are also updated regularly, with new blog posts being published frequently.

Credibility

This business has built a strong reputation for credibility and trustworthiness by providing honest reviews to its audience.

Its website's content is backed by tested facts, and the site's author creates a personal connection with readers by making her profile and pictures very visible on the site.

It also displays famous publications where it has been featured which helps to establish the blog as a trustworthy source of information and increase its perceived authority.

Also, by including a disclosure statement, this blog is being transparent about any potential biases or incentives that may have influenced its review.

This transparency helps to build trust with the audience, as they know which review is influenced by external factors.

An Effective Marketing Strategy

By implementing a strong marketing strategy, this business is able to consistently create visibility and drive traffic to its website.

This marketing strategy includes social media marketing and email marketing.

The site's social media accounts are active and engaging, and the business regularly partners with brands and companies to create sponsored content.

Community Creation Effort

This business has built a strong community of followers and readers, who engage with the site's content through social media and comments on blog posts.

The site's author is also active in responding to comments and engaging with readers, which helps to build a sense of community and loyalty.

The Opportunities 🔥🔥🔥

This business has succeeded by providing valuable review content to its audience, but there's always room for improvement.

Implementing the following strategic actions can help the business take its success to the next level;

Diversify Content Marketing

While this blog already covers a wide range of topics through blog posts and social media content, it can benefit from diversifying its content further.

This can include creating more video content, incorporating infographics and other visual elements, and collaborating with others to provide a wider range of perspectives.

The business can create high-quality video content that complements its written reviews, and optimize its YouTube channel and videos with relevant keywords and tags to improve visibility and engagement.

Utilize Stronger Leads & Calls-to-action (CTAs)

This review website can improve its user engagement by utilizing stronger calls-to-action (CTAs) throughout its content.

It can offer freebies or exclusive content in exchange for email addresses, which are used to build its mailing list.

As shown, this blog’s CTAs and leads are currently bland and do not entice readers enough.

Adding exciting offers makes these prompts more compelling and difficult to resist.

Increase Social Media Engagement

This review blog can increase its social media engagement by creating more shareable content, running social media contests and promotions, and collaborating with industry fellows to reach a wider audience.

Take a look at this giveaway organised by StripBoutique for reference:

It can also reach for brand partnerships that offer discounts, exclusive deals or promo codes to its audience which can increase engagement and reach.

Building a strong social media presence can help the website reach new audiences and increase its brand awareness.

The Big Reveal 👀

Congratulations on making it this far in today's newsletter!

As a reward, we're excited to reveal the fantastic business we analyzed today: Product Review Mom.

Louida Martin launched Product Review Mom blog in 2012 as a hobby to chronicle her experiences with various products, relating to beauty, fashion and travel.

Today, her blog has evolved into a fully-fledged business endeavour where she shares her thoughts on a variety of topics like entertainment, food, cars, money-making opportunities, and more!

Product Review Mom blog has been featured in many top publications like Dr. Oz, and The Good Life, and Lou has worked with leading name brands like Disney, Nickelodeon, Nintendo and Nickelodeon.

She credits her blog and business success to a passion for what she does, consistency and implementing best practices.

The Takeaway, What We Learned 🎓

• Passion may be the driving force behind launching a business, such as a review blog, but to truly achieve success, it is essential to uphold consistency and implement best practices.

• Maximise your business’ earning potential by exploring diverse and relevant income sources.

• Search engine optimization is crucial to the success of any online business. It is important for visibility, higher rankings, and targeted traffic, plus it provides a competitive advantage.

• Prioritize User Experience: A business website should have a clean and easy-to-navigate design that makes it easy for visitors to find what they are looking for. It should load quickly and should be optimised for various devices.

• Double Down on Quality Content: Quality content optimized with relevant keywords has many benefits for an online business including higher engagement, better conversions and long-term relevance to readers.

• Establish credibility with your audience by providing honest reviews as well as disclosures for sponsored opinions and affiliate links.

• An effective marketing strategy that includes social media marketing and email marketing is important to attract a wider audience, drive organic traffic and ensure adequate engagement with an audience.

• Incorporate Community Building: A dedicated community is a powerful way for an online business to develop a strong relationship with its audience, build a loyal following and create advocates for the brand.

• Diversify content marketing by creating more forms of shareable content like videos, including visual components like infographics, comparison tables and charts.

Action Steps, From Day 0 To ∞ 👩‍💻

So, you will have your own website, hosting account, and a good grasp of digital marketing fundamentals if you are a student/graduate of Max Business School.

If not, get started here, it’s totally free and will teach you all the skills you need to build yourself a business (and the freedom it provides you) similar to the one we’ve analyzed today.

Day 0

You’ve read this email and love this particular business model and/or niche.

If not, we'll be sending more ideas in our next email or check our archive here.

If yes;

Consider if this is a business you can happily commit to for 3-5 years?

If yes;

Is it a customer/topic/day-to-day activity you can't get passionate about?

If yes;

Would starting this business cause you to lose focus on the business that you are currently building?

If yes, don’t do it.

Focus on building what you have and take lessons from my analysis above to implement them into your current business.

But if not, then move to day 1.

Day 1

• Determine Your Niche: The first step in launching your product review blog is to identify your target niche. This can be a specific product category or a broader industry that you're interested in.

• Study Consumer Behaviour and Preferences: Once you've identified your target niche, conduct market research to understand the competition, consumer behaviour, and popular products in the market. Use Ahrefs to check out your competition.

• Establish Clear Objectives and Goals: Develop a comprehensive business plan that outlines your goals, target audience, marketing strategy, revenue streams, and budget.

• Select an Appropriate Brand Name & Domain Name: Choose a business name that is memorable, unique, and relevant to your niche. Make sure to check if the domain name is available.

• Choose a Hosting Provider: Sign up for a hosting account with a reliable provider, such as DreamHost which we recommend for its value and affordability.

• Begin Building Your Website: Choose a website-building platform, such as WordPress, and start building your website. Make sure to choose a theme that suits your niche and brand, and customize it to fit your needs. Our course teaches you everything you need to create a professional-looking website even without prior experience.

• Establish a Social Media Presence for Your Brand: Create social media accounts on platforms that your target audience uses and set up placeholders for your brand. This will help establish your brand and increase visibility.

Day 2

• Create a Content Plan Based on Keyword Research: Conduct keyword research using Ahrefs to identify the keywords and topics that your audience is interested in. Use this information to develop a content strategy that focuses on creating high-quality content that addresses your audience's needs and interests.

• Begin Creating Valuable Content: Start creating content based on your content strategy. Make sure to use a variety of formats, such as blog posts, videos, infographics, and images, to make your content more engaging and informative. ProWritingAid is a great tool for creating error-free content

• Optimize the Website for Better Search Engine Rankings: Improve your website's technical SEO by optimizing its structure, speed, and security. Also optimize your content for search engines by using relevant keywords, creating high-quality content, and optimizing your metadata.

• Promote Your Content: Market your blog on social media and through email marketing. Consider using enticing offers to get people to take a desired action. This will help increase your content's reach and attract more readers to your blog.

• Track Website Performance: Use analytics tools like Oncrawl and Google Analytics to monitor your website's performance, track your website's traffic, and analyze your readers' behaviour. Use this data to refine your content strategy and optimize your website for better performance.

• Build Relationships with Your Audience: Engage with your audience by responding to comments, answering questions, and providing helpful information. This will help build trust and loyalty with your readers and establish your blog as a reputable source of information in your niche.

Day 3 to ∞

• Establish a Content Calendar: Create a schedule for content creation and develop an organized content creation plan. Use a content calendar to plan content in advance and ensure that you are consistently publishing high-quality content.

• Develop Monetization Strategies: Create revenue streams for your website by registering with advertising companies for display ads and affiliate networks. Attract brand sponsorships by showcasing your expertise and building trust with your audience.

• Actively Engage with Relevant Communities: Connect with niche communities and foster engagement with relevant groups. Build relationships with like-minded communities by participating in discussions, sharing your content, and providing valuable insights. Consider guest blogging on relevant sites in your niche to help you acquire backlinks and reach a new audience.

• Stay Updated with Industry Trends: Keep up with market trends and stay informed about industry news. Follow relevant sources to stay updated and identify emerging trends that could affect your blog.

• Build and Nurture a Community: Establish a community around your brand and foster engagement and trust with your audience. Use social media and email marketing to connect with your readers and provide valuable insights.

• Adjust your business strategies based on feedback from your audience and changes in the market. This ensures that your product review blog remains relevant and valuable to your readers.

• Plan for Future Growth: Strategize for future expansion and develop a roadmap for future success. Identify opportunities for growth and plan for long-term success.

• Monitor Performance: Once again, adopt constant content performance evaluation using measurable metrics and continuously track website performance ensure success.

Before You Go 👋

Thank you for reading.

In my next email, I’ll have another business breakdown for you.

Remember, if you know someone who might like this newsletter, sharing is caring.

If you are ready to get started with your own business, one of the first steps is always a website. Click here for our exclusive hosting deal and click here for an invite to our Max Business School community where you’ll hang out with thousands of fellow ambitious business builders.

Remember to check out the classroom tab (top left corner) for all of our free courses teaching you all you need to succeed online.

Bye for now,

Scott Max