When marketer’s start out looking to build a business on the internet many often gravitate toward the "make money online" niche or "internet marketing" niche. They ask around forums what the hottest product or the highest paying niches are and search around affiliate sites to see what the highest paying products are.
After that they go off and start marketing products as an affiliate or worse they make their own product.
If you’re just starting out as a new marketer and you haven’t even made a single cent online you are not only going to ruin your reputation and creditability but you don’t have any business telling people how to make money online if you haven’t even done so yourself.
Instead do what you love and the money will come. You do what you love not for the money, but you earn money so you can do what you love. When you start doing this you produce some of the best content on the internet, it is valuable to the people who also love what you do after they find your site after you marketed so hard to get noticed. Some of these people who found your site spread the word about how great your site is. You're more likely to get repeat visitors and have people sign up for your newsletter.
When you do what you love you write content for human beings instead of search engine bots. Search engines reward natural content that offers value to the readers. You write that content in a conversational tone instead of writing it as though you are some sort of android robot or hyping up something in a breathless tone. The site eventually becomes an authority in its niche and it sometimes it goes viral. You'll become more productive and gets things done instead of slugging through something you don't enjoy doing.
Your visitors provide you leverage and begin marketing your site for you through word of mouth, email, posting content on forums, linking back from their website etc..It seems to take on a life of its own once you give it a little marketing push.
Though, it you don’t do what you love and you do something only for the money it becomes burdensome, it becomes boring, the pressure to make money can even become too much and that doesn’t do anyone any good because when you're under pressure to do anything, especially make money, you become desperate trying to create the latest and greatest thing in that niche. Desperate marketing is aggressive, obnoxious and most of all transparent. Not appealing to customers.
Now, there’s the issue of outsourcing the niches that you don’t love and handing over the work to someone who actually does but if you don’t have the money to pay copywriters, freelance writers, ebook cover designers and a host of other people (and make sure they each do the job you paid them to do) than stick with a niche you have a natural strength in, a high level of interest in because you'll be able to provide a great level of value to your customers.
Some readers will think why not just chase after the niches that make the most money? Because starting a business in a niche you have a strength in, a passion for, some level of expertise in could become a major money maker for you. You might make more than if you went after one of the "hot" niches. You still have to research the niche to see if you'll make a profit but that comes with the territory of marketing.
Here's a couple of examples of people doing what they love and making money while doing it:
1. askthebuilder.com
Tim Carter is a carpenter and master plumber and created his website in 1995. He is a leading authority in the home improvement niche. An Adsense case study revealed his site was making around $30,000 per moth.
2. dailycandy.com
Dany Levy started the site in 1999 to inform people what's hot from fashion to food, to travel. Levy started mailing a list of 700 subscribers with daily in-demand information. The personal, friendly site has become a mega money maker for Levy and is was sold for $100 million last year.
3. fark.com
Drew Curtis's site launched in 1999 as a way to share interesting news stories with his friends. It took on a viral effect over the years and attracted visitors. Now it is an authority in bookmarking interesting news and pictures. The site receives around 1.5 million viewers each day and estimates of the revenue are in the range of six to seven figures per year.
There's thousands of examples of these sites in almost every niche you can imagine. If you need more examples check out the list of top 100 squidoo lenses. Think about your favorite blogs.
Start a real business in a niche you have a natural strength in, don't get distracted by make money opportunities. Do what you love and love what you do.
Monday
IM PSA: Is Internet Marketing Hurting Your Health?
Another Internet marketing public service announcement today this time about a topic I don’t hear much discussion of in the IM community. How healthy is Internet marketing for you?
I’m not asking if it’s healthy to make money online, that’s very healthy for you and your bank account. I’m talking about if it’s healthy to sit in front of the computer for a good chunk of the day everyday? Many internet marketers spend hours working in front of their computer working daily.
There are many health related issues with working in front of the computer for long periods of time everyday: muscle pain, eyestrain, and fatigue among others. I’m not a doctor (as a general cavet) but I know it isn’t good to sit in one place for extended periods of time everyday.
Sitting for long periods of time can cause back pain and all sorts of muscle strain in your neck, legs and arms. In fact long periods of sedentary activity could put you at risk of a blood clot if you don’t take any breaks to get up and move around.
Using a mouse can wear out your wrist and banging away on the keyboard writing your articles or ebook can cause carpal tunnel syndrome.
Looking at a computer screen for long periods of time can strain your eyes and even increase your risk of sight problems (specifically macular degeneration) down the road when you’re a senior citizen.
Than there’s the issue of radiation from your computer screen. Studies show computer screens (especially CRT screens) emit a low level of radiation. Constant, daily exposure to computer screens increases the amount of radiation you are exposed to. (As a general rule of thumb sit at least 2 feet away from the screen)
Stress is another unhealthy side effect of IM. Product launches, expanding products, project management, time management can all cause stress, big time.
Here’s what to do to improve your IM health: outsource your tasks so you don’t have to be a slave to the computer all day everyday. You got into internet marketing because you wanted to be free from a job; even if you supplemented your income you may have made your business into an online job for yourself. That’s not only hurting your income that’s hurting your health too.
Divide your tasks up to freelancers on Craigslist or elance. Get someone to help you even if you don’t have the money and you have to get your spouse to help get the tasks done. You can even read the 4 Hour Work Week with the free time you have.
When your body starts to ache and your eyes get strained than its time to get away from the computer for an hour or two and take a break. No, not browsing websites or plopped in front of the TV. Get out and enjoy the day. Spend time with family and friends. It’s Summer time. Get outside and away from your computer and enjoy life. Than tomorrow make outsourcing a top priority so you can get more done and you don't have to be a slave to the computer.
You’ll thank yourself later.
I’m not asking if it’s healthy to make money online, that’s very healthy for you and your bank account. I’m talking about if it’s healthy to sit in front of the computer for a good chunk of the day everyday? Many internet marketers spend hours working in front of their computer working daily.
There are many health related issues with working in front of the computer for long periods of time everyday: muscle pain, eyestrain, and fatigue among others. I’m not a doctor (as a general cavet) but I know it isn’t good to sit in one place for extended periods of time everyday.
Sitting for long periods of time can cause back pain and all sorts of muscle strain in your neck, legs and arms. In fact long periods of sedentary activity could put you at risk of a blood clot if you don’t take any breaks to get up and move around.
Using a mouse can wear out your wrist and banging away on the keyboard writing your articles or ebook can cause carpal tunnel syndrome.
Looking at a computer screen for long periods of time can strain your eyes and even increase your risk of sight problems (specifically macular degeneration) down the road when you’re a senior citizen.
Than there’s the issue of radiation from your computer screen. Studies show computer screens (especially CRT screens) emit a low level of radiation. Constant, daily exposure to computer screens increases the amount of radiation you are exposed to. (As a general rule of thumb sit at least 2 feet away from the screen)
Stress is another unhealthy side effect of IM. Product launches, expanding products, project management, time management can all cause stress, big time.
Here’s what to do to improve your IM health: outsource your tasks so you don’t have to be a slave to the computer all day everyday. You got into internet marketing because you wanted to be free from a job; even if you supplemented your income you may have made your business into an online job for yourself. That’s not only hurting your income that’s hurting your health too.
Divide your tasks up to freelancers on Craigslist or elance. Get someone to help you even if you don’t have the money and you have to get your spouse to help get the tasks done. You can even read the 4 Hour Work Week with the free time you have.
When your body starts to ache and your eyes get strained than its time to get away from the computer for an hour or two and take a break. No, not browsing websites or plopped in front of the TV. Get out and enjoy the day. Spend time with family and friends. It’s Summer time. Get outside and away from your computer and enjoy life. Than tomorrow make outsourcing a top priority so you can get more done and you don't have to be a slave to the computer.
You’ll thank yourself later.
Saturday
Learn From the Best and Grow Your Online Income
The fastest ways to reach to your goals are by learning from the ones who have achieved your desired goal and have the expeirence to guide you.
In the online business world there are a couple of names recently that have really shined, have a plethora of expeirence under their belt and have the income to show for years worth of hard work.
Markus Frind, of plentyoffish.com, runs the biggest free internet dating site- all by himself. He makes around $300,000 per month from this site.
I remember the day Markus posted his success story on a popular marketing forum, many members were skeptical and couldn't believe anyone could make anywhere near that running a website that big and successful all by themselves. These naysayers were quickly silenced when Markus posted a picture of one of his monthly checks.
Kevin Rose of digg.com
I only need to write digg.com and almost all of my readers know why Kevin makes over six figures a month. Digg has become wildly successful since it was started in Dec 2004 as a news sharing site. It has over 200 million pageviews a month.
Jason Calacanis of Weblogs Inc. Some of the blogs which make up the network of Weblogs are heavy hitters in the blogosphere: Engadget, BoingBoing, and autoblog. Weblogs was so successful Google did an adsense case study on the blog network.
Tim Carter of askthebuilder.com. Tim's is one of the authority sites on home repair and improvement and Tim makes a comfortable living online earning five figures per month.
Many lessons can be learned from these successful business owners when you study them a bit more closely. But most importantly follow an expert who has expeirence, insight and the income to show for it all.
In the online business world there are a couple of names recently that have really shined, have a plethora of expeirence under their belt and have the income to show for years worth of hard work.
Markus Frind, of plentyoffish.com, runs the biggest free internet dating site- all by himself. He makes around $300,000 per month from this site.
I remember the day Markus posted his success story on a popular marketing forum, many members were skeptical and couldn't believe anyone could make anywhere near that running a website that big and successful all by themselves. These naysayers were quickly silenced when Markus posted a picture of one of his monthly checks.
Kevin Rose of digg.com
I only need to write digg.com and almost all of my readers know why Kevin makes over six figures a month. Digg has become wildly successful since it was started in Dec 2004 as a news sharing site. It has over 200 million pageviews a month.
Jason Calacanis of Weblogs Inc. Some of the blogs which make up the network of Weblogs are heavy hitters in the blogosphere: Engadget, BoingBoing, and autoblog. Weblogs was so successful Google did an adsense case study on the blog network.
Tim Carter of askthebuilder.com. Tim's is one of the authority sites on home repair and improvement and Tim makes a comfortable living online earning five figures per month.
Many lessons can be learned from these successful business owners when you study them a bit more closely. But most importantly follow an expert who has expeirence, insight and the income to show for it all.
Sunday
The Importance of Making Freinds
Whether you do business online or offline it's always important to continually network and gain friends.
I'm not talking about emailing total strangers for JV proposals, I'm talking about getting to know a like minded person online gradually, speaking on the phone, not just about business but about many other topics and eventually even meeting in person at an event.
Going at it alone in business is tough and the loneliness of doing business alone can be even more lonely when you're an online business. It's good to have contact with like minded people in the offline world who can relate to your specific experiences.
You may have heard of the term "old boys network" or more recently "the circle of friends" in IM. Despite some of the ways these terms are used individuals in the circle or even with one or two other people can get more done than someone can all by themselves. This is the power of leveraging your friends.
A group of friends has their network and those people within that network have a network of their own and on it goes. When you need some extra promotional help if you're launching a product your friend can promote an offer to their list which can bring in twice the business.
If you were to try to do a JV with another list owner online it's very likely they will turn you down, but friends trust each other more than strangers trust each other. Business is about trust and leverage.
Now I'm not saying take advantage of your friends with big lists, and lots of resources in high up places. Never do that. That's a surefire way to loose all your friends very quickly. Build a genuine relationship with people online over time (not just for business reasons) and if you ever need you're friends will always be there for you because that's what friends are for.
I'm not talking about emailing total strangers for JV proposals, I'm talking about getting to know a like minded person online gradually, speaking on the phone, not just about business but about many other topics and eventually even meeting in person at an event.
Going at it alone in business is tough and the loneliness of doing business alone can be even more lonely when you're an online business. It's good to have contact with like minded people in the offline world who can relate to your specific experiences.
You may have heard of the term "old boys network" or more recently "the circle of friends" in IM. Despite some of the ways these terms are used individuals in the circle or even with one or two other people can get more done than someone can all by themselves. This is the power of leveraging your friends.
A group of friends has their network and those people within that network have a network of their own and on it goes. When you need some extra promotional help if you're launching a product your friend can promote an offer to their list which can bring in twice the business.
If you were to try to do a JV with another list owner online it's very likely they will turn you down, but friends trust each other more than strangers trust each other. Business is about trust and leverage.
Now I'm not saying take advantage of your friends with big lists, and lots of resources in high up places. Never do that. That's a surefire way to loose all your friends very quickly. Build a genuine relationship with people online over time (not just for business reasons) and if you ever need you're friends will always be there for you because that's what friends are for.
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