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John Shea’s Products' Reviews Blog is generating more than $240K annually.

John Shea, a 38-year-old from Massachusetts, focuses on creating product reviews for physical products through his platform, No Shame Income. Shea’s work primarily involves taking a product and sharing insights on installing, using, and providing overall thoughts on it. In some cases, Shea also creates unboxing videos.

How was the business started?

Years ago, John Shea watched a friend achieve significant success on YouTube, which inspired him to follow a similar path with his friend's guidance. At the time, Shea was creating marketing videos, but none of them gained traction or went viral.

One day, Shea reviewed a couple of office chairs he had at home, comparing a gaming chair with an ergonomic office chair. This video unexpectedly went viral, amassing over 500,000 views. The video generated over $14,000 in affiliate commissions from referring people to purchase the chair, confirming that Shea was on the right track.

Building on this success, Shea continued to create videos on YouTube. He later discovered that Amazon offered a similar opportunity to place videos directly onto their product pages, allowing him to earn commissions similarly to how he did on YouTube.

As of today, Shea has generated over $400,000 from physical product reviews and has produced over 1,700 videos covering a wide range of products.

Initial Client Acquisition

During the first year, Shea did not focus much on the blog itself. He felt his skills in generating traffic were lacking and still holds that belief. Most visitors to Shea’s site came through his email list, which he built through product and course sales. Additionally, Shea wrote numerous product reviews for his site, helping to rank some articles on Google and attract monthly traffic.

Since the blog was not the main driver of audience growth, Shea relied on other strategies:

Shea found that collaborating with the right people was crucial for building an email list, launching products, and generating income online. One notable partnership was with Mike Thomas, whom Shea met years earlier while hosting a podcast. Thomas runs an interview show called Mike From Maine, where he interviews product creators and promotes their products as an affiliate.

Shea approached Thomas with the idea of creating a course based on his success. They decided to package this as a product, with Thomas reaching out to well-known affiliate marketers for promotion. Brett, Thomas’s partner, helped create the sales page, sales copy, and promotional video.

The launch of the Video Course Cash Kit, with the help of Shea’s girlfriend providing a testimonial, generated $58,000, split among Shea, Thomas, and Brett. This launch resulted in over 1,000 buyers, who were added to Shea’s email list for further promotions.

Shea recommends seeking partners through internet marketing forums and suggests that introducing oneself through a personal video can make a significant impact.

Marketing Strategies

Currently, Shea teaches a program that shows others how to start their own product review business. For this program, he reached out to prominent affiliate marketers to run webinars for their audiences as joint venture (JV) partners. Shea offered them 50% of any sales while handling the majority of the promotional work.

This approach brought in many new course students and proved beneficial for everyone involved. Shea met most of these affiliate marketers through networking events or direct outreach.

In addition to JV partnerships, Shea has utilized Facebook and YouTube ads to generate new leads, though he finds JV partnerships to be more cost-effective.

Approach to Revenue Generation

Shea’s business generates income in two primary ways:

1. Product Reviews: 50% of Shea’s time is dedicated to creating product reviews, earning standard affiliate commissions through Amazon and from vendors who provide products. Vendors may offer flat-rate payments or additional commissions based on sales generated.
2. Course Sales: The other 50% of Shea’s income comes from his course business, which teaches others how to do what he does. The course is priced at $997.

In 2022, Shea earned just over $187,000 from Amazon, an additional $30,000 from vendor commissions, and approximately $80,000 from course sales. On average, he generates around $15,000 to $20,000 per month from his review business and course sales.

John Shea advises potential entrepreneurs to focus on consistency and taking action. He emphasizes that success often requires time, sometimes months, to manifest. Shea’s business has thrived due to consistent effort and regular product reviews, allowing him to maintain a substantial income without engaging in client work.

Learn More

• To learn more about John Shea and his business, visit his website: NoShameIncome.

• For those interested in starting their own product review business, Shea’s course can be found here: Faceless Product Review Profits.