Building
an online business is no different than building an offline business,
except, of course, you don’t ever have to leave your home office – what
a great opportunity to become a recluse! So watch out! Make sure you go
outside and make sure you get some exercise in too, otherwise, with all
that sitting you'll get bigger and bigger and not even realize it!!
There
are a lot of things that need to be learned to make this a successful
endeavor. Many of them are basic knowledge and many of them
you’ll have to learn.
A
word of warning
- beware of promises of making money fast. That just isn’t the case. It
takes time to build sites, advertise, and make your name known on the
web. It’s a great place to be and the potential is there!
BUT
….
There’s
always a BUT … you do have to work hard and put in a lot of time and
work to be successful. In other words, this needs a lot of effort.
Finding
Your Product
The
first thing most newbies do is download everything and anything they
think they can use. That’s okay. Download to your
heart’s content. I did when I started out. Have I used all
those products? Heck no! There’s way too much! Have I used some of
them? You betcha! So go ahead and download.
But
now, it's time to sort the useful from the not so useful. Once you have
everything sorted and organized pick a topic that you want to work
on. Pick something that you’re passionate and enthusiastic
about. That will make it a heck of a lot easier for you to
create an ebook, newsletter or ezine on that topic. Then go through
those downloads and choose the ones that are appropriate for your
subject.
You’re
now ready to build your website make your presence known on the
Internet. Although there are many programs out there that
automatically build you webpage for you, it’s always good to know some
basic html. I have found that when I build webpages in
FrontPage, I can’t always make the page look “right” without changing
something in the html that I can’t change in the normal view.
For
a great resource in html and scripts visit http://www.w3schools.com.
As a matter of fact bookmark this page. You’ll find yourself
going there many times!
On
the other hand, if you don’t have the time to create your product,
there are other means.
While
it's always better to have a product you can claim as your own, there
are lots of really good Resale Rights products that you can purchase
and membership sites that give you a couple of products every month
with resale rights. There are also affiliate programs that you can join
and make a commission, usually about 50%.
Most
membership sites today give you everything you need. And I mean everything!
They create the sales page, the pdf, ads, autoresponder messages,
articles, and even audio. All for a monthly fee. This saves you a lot
of time, money and effort since they literally give you an entire
package ready to go! All you really should do is
change a few words to your style of writing. Notice I said should.
You don’t have to change anything, if you choose not to.
Affiliate
programs also do all the work. All you have to do is promote the
product and you get paid automatically.
I
am not going to go into great detail about all the aspects of building
your online business. There will be more information on this
as pages are created here.
Finding
A Mentor
The
one greatest asset I have found on the internet is the huge amount of
people who are really willing
to help you! And from all over the world too! All you have to do is ask.
Once
you’ve found that special person who is willing to help you and
show/explain everything to you from A to Z – you have your mentor.
The
Online Entrepreneur!
So
what exactly do you need to be an internet entrepreneur? What separates
those who succeed and those who give up?
Well,
here are three very important and very basic requirements.
First,set your goals and stick to
them! Concentrate on the products you are creating that your subscribers
need, not what you think they need, or what you need. If you
do this, the money will start coming. But most importantly be
passionate about what you are doing. If you are everything else will be
easy.
Second, focus,
focus, focus! I can't stress that enough. This
is where many online entrepreneur hopefuls fail. There are so
many products and emails coming at you that it's really easy to get
distracted. Before you know it, the day is over, and you haven't
accomplished anything. Be very careful here - FOCUS
in what you are working on till its finished.
Last, but not least, manage
your time. There are certain things you should
be doing on a daily basis, and others, like your projects, that you
need to set aside time for. This is another tricky area. Time really
does fly! Set up a work schedule for yourself and stick to it!
In
addition to your mindset and the above practices, you will also need to:
find your
niche - what turns
you on, what are you passionate about, what are you enthusiastic about;
build a list
of subscribers - this means
you musthave
permission to send emails in order to comply with the SPAM
laws;
create email
campaigns - this means
setting up autoresponder messages;
advertise - this means
joining advertising sites and traffic exchanges;
make your
name known on the internet - this means
you market yourself, your name, not just the product, through
various means such as posting to forums.
Keep
in mind that you need a strong foundation (a
foundation that is built on more than just your list) to build your
online business from the ground up. Take the time to learn and explore
all the avenues that you need to build upwards, each floor at a time.
You
will also need a good hosting company to get your website onto the
internet. Hostgator
will do just that for you. Packages start at only $4.95 a month with
full cpanel. Believe me you can do a lot with cpanel! A great hosting
company!
Be persistent and determined
to build a successful business; persevere when
times get tough - never give up; stay focused
and discipline yourself
to get through daily tasks, and you’ll get to the top before
you know it!
You
definitely want a free 1-year
subscription
to The
Internet Wizards Magazine
- the web's only multimedia magazine that Helps you define your
mission, make your own products and market on the internet.
There is
a lot of work involved and much to be learned. Don't let anyone tell
you otherwise!
But it is definitely an exciting journey and if you work
hard and use your resources properly you can be successful.
Any
questions, comments, or requests? Let me know!
P.S. Create
your goals, focus on one thing at a time, and leverage your
time. These are the top three secrets to success! Right
alongside is persistence, determination, perseverance, and discipline..
P.P.S.
Be
aware that it is time consuming to build your business, but once your
first website is set up, it gets easier (just make sure you create
templates - that way you only do it once then just insert)
