Back with a post to prepare you for the new year.
As we head into 2008 think about where you want not only yourself to be but also your business. What do you want your business to look like in the new year? At the end of the year? How much revenue do you want to generate? How are you going to make it happen?
You need to get organized to figure out the how. Sit down with a pen and paper and make a business plan if you haven't already, that's important resolution for those who don't have one.
They're not that hard to make and even though most people don't enjoy making them you'll find it helps to get your thoughts down on paper rather than trying to remember them in your head.
Physiologically, it also helps you remember things better if you write them down.
Your business plan doesn't have to be chiseled in stone. It can change over time and in fact should change and grow with your business.
Maybe you want to make the jump from affiliate marketer to selling your own products. You'll need a plan for that also to guide you.
Whatever you business resolutions are taking action should be at the top of the list.
Happy New Year. More next time.
Showing posts with label Business Building. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Business Building. Show all posts
Sunday
Pay What You Want Business Model?
A quick update about an intriguing business model.
I came across an article about a pay what you want cafe which opened in Seattle earlier this year. Read article. A pay what you want model could have some interesting implications for online business and profits.
I came across an article about a pay what you want cafe which opened in Seattle earlier this year. Read article. A pay what you want model could have some interesting implications for online business and profits.
Saturday
17 Year Girl Builds Million Dollar Website
After a long break I'm back with an interesting story I ran across awhile ago. (The article is from September so it's old news but not those who haven't read it yet.)
The CEO Who's, Like 17 and Teen Millionaire from Yahoo News.
What started out as a hobby for Ashley Qualls turned into a profitable business through viral marketing and social networks. I won't analyze her success because it has been analyzed to death on forums, blogs and the news ever since the success story was made public. Just do what you love, and than market it.
For those who aren't making what they want don't spend too much time analyzing her success, just act.
More next time.
The CEO Who's, Like 17 and Teen Millionaire from Yahoo News.
What started out as a hobby for Ashley Qualls turned into a profitable business through viral marketing and social networks. I won't analyze her success because it has been analyzed to death on forums, blogs and the news ever since the success story was made public. Just do what you love, and than market it.
For those who aren't making what they want don't spend too much time analyzing her success, just act.
More next time.
Monday
Do What You Love and Love What You Do
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.
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.
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.
Staying Focused
Many new and even seasoned internet marketers find it hard to stay focused on their tasks. When you work online it can be nearly impossible to get anything accomplished when you run across new opportunities, are tempted to visit websites, watch videos, check email, browse forums, listen to tele-seminars, browse Google and do other distracting online activities. Not to mention other offline distractions.
Here are a couple things you can do to diminish distractions.
1. Work Alone in a Quiet Space
If you have young children you'll understand how crucial it is to work in a quiet space where other people can't distract you. It seems just about when you're ready to start working you're barraged by request to do something or help with something.
Now, there's nothing more important to me than my family but when I need to work I must get down to work. Go to a quiet space and carve out a solid amount of time where you can be productive. If someone else is in the room with you while you're working you run the possibility of getting distracted.
[Sidebar- For those starting out you'll want to spend this time setting up automated systems so you won't be a slave to your computer. Automated income is the best way to keep you and your family are happy. The point of staring a business is so you can live a better life, not become a workaholic.]
2. Throw Your TV Out the Window
That's right. Turn it off and get rid of it. When I was starting out I would find myself wondering what was on TV. I would go over to TV.com and check my local listing. If anything interested me I would say to myself "well, I'll only watch a little."
Before you knew it I was watching an hour of more of TV. I now know that I was psychologically avoiding something I knew I had to do and procrastinating by watching TV. Procrastination is a surefire way to make sure nothing gets done.
If you find yourself doing this remember you can always record what you miss on Tivo or better yet, you can probably find what you miss on YouTube. YouTube is the media source with anything and everything, which brings me to my third point.
3. Get Rid of Internet Distractions
While it may be fun to look for online videos check you stats, check email, browse forums, you can literally waste hours doing these activities. Force yourself not to do any of your favorite internet time wasters until you've gotten some real work done and can see actual results from your efforts.
If you don't see results don't give up and give into temptation, try again and again. When you see results than reward yourself with your favorite activity.
If you don't actually have the will power to prevent yourself from engaging in your favorite online activities there is actually software which will block these activities for you.
By implementing at least one of these strategies you'll find your productivity going up and your goals much closer than you thought.
Here are a couple things you can do to diminish distractions.
1. Work Alone in a Quiet Space
If you have young children you'll understand how crucial it is to work in a quiet space where other people can't distract you. It seems just about when you're ready to start working you're barraged by request to do something or help with something.
Now, there's nothing more important to me than my family but when I need to work I must get down to work. Go to a quiet space and carve out a solid amount of time where you can be productive. If someone else is in the room with you while you're working you run the possibility of getting distracted.
[Sidebar- For those starting out you'll want to spend this time setting up automated systems so you won't be a slave to your computer. Automated income is the best way to keep you and your family are happy. The point of staring a business is so you can live a better life, not become a workaholic.]
2. Throw Your TV Out the Window
That's right. Turn it off and get rid of it. When I was starting out I would find myself wondering what was on TV. I would go over to TV.com and check my local listing. If anything interested me I would say to myself "well, I'll only watch a little."
Before you knew it I was watching an hour of more of TV. I now know that I was psychologically avoiding something I knew I had to do and procrastinating by watching TV. Procrastination is a surefire way to make sure nothing gets done.
If you find yourself doing this remember you can always record what you miss on Tivo or better yet, you can probably find what you miss on YouTube. YouTube is the media source with anything and everything, which brings me to my third point.
3. Get Rid of Internet Distractions
While it may be fun to look for online videos check you stats, check email, browse forums, you can literally waste hours doing these activities. Force yourself not to do any of your favorite internet time wasters until you've gotten some real work done and can see actual results from your efforts.
If you don't see results don't give up and give into temptation, try again and again. When you see results than reward yourself with your favorite activity.
If you don't actually have the will power to prevent yourself from engaging in your favorite online activities there is actually software which will block these activities for you.
By implementing at least one of these strategies you'll find your productivity going up and your goals much closer than you thought.
Tuesday
Grow Your Business with Your Natural Talents
As more and more people connect to the Internet everyday around the world, more and more of them realize money can be made from the Internet. It’s quite an amazing revelation when you first discover this little known secret that is being gradually uncovered.
It’s nothing new to make money online; many small businesses have been doing it for quite some time. Though, recently the dynamics of making money online are changing to allow almost anyone to make money. Grandmother’s, high school students, college students, part time workers, stay at home mothers, many people are discovering the joy of being able to make an internet income. But unfortunately the majority of people will not make enough online to fully supplement their income, only a few savvy online “gurus” make enough to become financially free. This reveals something when people venture into the world of making money online, most people are not using the right money making model.
The reason many people are not using the right business model is because they get sucked into the get rich quick scams which promise enormous wealth for little or no effort at all which only make the creator rich, (like everyone else I got sucked into these my first few months online).
When you finally realize after many months that the scheme will not give you a decent income you go off looking for some other method to make money online. A little research and investigation turns up the best way to make a sustainable income online is with your own website. After some more research you find many people are making money as affiliates selling products. Most people at this point play what I consider a cyber version of follow the leader and sign up as an affiliate for the hottest affiliate program. This reaction is only natural.
People want to make the most money possible and besides if your websites is all about dog’s your banners for ringtones and digital camera’s should bring the big bucks in no time because that’s what everyone’s buying on the internet, right? Wrong.
That’s about as silly as making a site about making money online just because all the guru’s probably make their income from their “how to make money online" sites. All the big time gurus will tell you the key to making money online is a key within you. A talent you have that no one else has, something that can leverage your bottom line and possibly put you in the coveted guru category also.
Instead of looking at what everyone else is doing to make money online use your natural strengths, a subject you’re inherently love. Looking back through time you’ll find most successful people followed their natural abilities which leveraged their success, Einstein and science, Picasso and art, Bill Gates and computers.
The other great way to use your strengths to make the most money online is by creating digital products such as an ebook on the subject(s) of your natural ability. The Internet is littered with how to make money online ebooks and, but there are actually people online searching (this very moment) for subjects you know all about and share your burning passion for that subject also.
Sometimes your natural ability and sought after knowledge isn’t readily available as an ebook which makes you the first and most profitable author to write an ebook about that subject. You can write an ebook on any subject: cat’s, music, flower’s, travel, government, cooking etc…don’t keep your knowledge to yourself, share it for the benefit of you and your customers.
You’d be pleasantly surprised as to how much money you can make once you leverage your efforts with your knowledge and strengths. All you need to do now is take action and put your ideas into motion. Discover how to write and publish your ebook... in 7 days or less.
It’s nothing new to make money online; many small businesses have been doing it for quite some time. Though, recently the dynamics of making money online are changing to allow almost anyone to make money. Grandmother’s, high school students, college students, part time workers, stay at home mothers, many people are discovering the joy of being able to make an internet income. But unfortunately the majority of people will not make enough online to fully supplement their income, only a few savvy online “gurus” make enough to become financially free. This reveals something when people venture into the world of making money online, most people are not using the right money making model.
The reason many people are not using the right business model is because they get sucked into the get rich quick scams which promise enormous wealth for little or no effort at all which only make the creator rich, (like everyone else I got sucked into these my first few months online).
When you finally realize after many months that the scheme will not give you a decent income you go off looking for some other method to make money online. A little research and investigation turns up the best way to make a sustainable income online is with your own website. After some more research you find many people are making money as affiliates selling products. Most people at this point play what I consider a cyber version of follow the leader and sign up as an affiliate for the hottest affiliate program. This reaction is only natural.
People want to make the most money possible and besides if your websites is all about dog’s your banners for ringtones and digital camera’s should bring the big bucks in no time because that’s what everyone’s buying on the internet, right? Wrong.
That’s about as silly as making a site about making money online just because all the guru’s probably make their income from their “how to make money online" sites. All the big time gurus will tell you the key to making money online is a key within you. A talent you have that no one else has, something that can leverage your bottom line and possibly put you in the coveted guru category also.
Instead of looking at what everyone else is doing to make money online use your natural strengths, a subject you’re inherently love. Looking back through time you’ll find most successful people followed their natural abilities which leveraged their success, Einstein and science, Picasso and art, Bill Gates and computers.
The other great way to use your strengths to make the most money online is by creating digital products such as an ebook on the subject(s) of your natural ability. The Internet is littered with how to make money online ebooks and, but there are actually people online searching (this very moment) for subjects you know all about and share your burning passion for that subject also.
Sometimes your natural ability and sought after knowledge isn’t readily available as an ebook which makes you the first and most profitable author to write an ebook about that subject. You can write an ebook on any subject: cat’s, music, flower’s, travel, government, cooking etc…don’t keep your knowledge to yourself, share it for the benefit of you and your customers.
You’d be pleasantly surprised as to how much money you can make once you leverage your efforts with your knowledge and strengths. All you need to do now is take action and put your ideas into motion. Discover how to write and publish your ebook... in 7 days or less.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)