Tuesday, May 11, 2010

Start Your Own Internet Business In Just Seven Steps

This article is another perspective for folks who are interested in starting an online business venture. There are actually many ways to go about this and it’s a good idea to spend a month reading and researching before taking the leap.

Having said this, if at any time you feel a surge of genuine inspiration you should take action on those feelings!

The decision to start your own Internet business requires motivation, an open mind, and a desire to better yourself. So if you’ve already arrived at the decision to move forward with the idea, congratulations!

This brief article will give you an overview of how to start your own Internet business. It is then recommended that you check out the resource box for more specific information pertaining to your exact business blueprint.

Start Your Own Internet Business: Step 1

The first thing you’ll need to do is define your core objectives. Do you want to generate x amount of extra cash flow per month, offset your vehicle payments, or quit your day job?

Decide exactly why you want to start your own Internet business in the first place and write this down. You may even want to display your core objective in a prominent place in your home office so you can refer back to it if the going gets tough.

Start Your Own Internet Business: Step 2

The second step is to determine realistically how much time and money you can allot to launching and maintaining your business. Can you devote two hours per day, 40 hours each week, or weekends only? And are you prepared to invest $50 per month, $200 one-time, or $500 now and $100 per month thereafter? Whatever you can/will afford in terms of time and money should be noted in the beginning.

The figures above are totally hypothetical. There are no clear right and wrong time and money requirements, although the more you are willing and able to invest the more likely you will be to succeed.

Start Your Own Internet Business: Step 3

Your third step is to decide whether you’ll get help or go it alone. Is there another person you’d like to partner with? Are you willing to invest in a home study course or hire a mentor? Or are you willing to research your own study material and run the whole show yourself? This is totally your decision to make, and should be based on your personal preference and objectives.

Start Your Own Internet Business: Step 4

Your fourth step is to decide what kind of business you’ll launch. This might take some time to figure out.

You can start by making a list of your skills and interests. Then come up with a few possible business ideas for each listed item.

At this time all you need is a general idea or two. You’ll prove or disprove the worth of each idea in the next step.

Start Your Own Internet Business: Step 5

Your fifth step is to research the validity of your idea(s). You’ll want to find out if there is a real market for your new business idea, i.e. whether or not there are people willing and able to spend money for products and services related to your idea.

You can use a keyword research tool to find out if people are online seeking products and services like yours. These utilities are not perfect, but they give you a great starting point.

And of course you can have a look at what existing businesses are doing, relative to your ideas. If you can spot a few good-looking sites already selling products and services along the lines of what you’d like to do, this means a paying market already exists; congratulations.

Start Your Own Internet Business: Step 6

Your sixth step is to decide how much of the work you’ll tackle yourself, and what you will outsource to professionals. Will you build your own Website, or hire a pro to do this for you? Will you write your own ads and sales letters or commission a copywriter for these tasks. Will you handle customer support or get a help team to take care of this for you? You may want to do everything yourself at first, but you should look into getting some help as soon as possible.

Start Your Own Internet Business: Step 7

Your seventh and final step is to roll up your sleeves and get to work! This is where most people fail. Planning and talking about your venture is one thing, but whether or not you’re ready for real action will determine your ultimate success or failure.

Just remember being an entrepreneur is about always learning and growing. So get out there and start moving the ball forward, but know you can always ask for help or invest in new education along the way.

Be sure to also check out my related review on the best Internet marketing course for new and intermediate entrepreneurs.

Start Your Own Internet Business

I’ve recently had a ton of requests for good, step-by-step information on how to “get started”. I actually thought I was targeting this blog and ezine toward people with at least modest experience but clearly I need to backtrack and be more aware of my readers who are very new to the realm of online business.

With that in mind I’ve put together this solid snapshot overview of what you need to do to get started with the Internet marketing business model. Please note two critical factors before reading this post:

  1. There are few absolutes in business and there’s no way to capture everything in one article.
  2. I define the “Internet marketing” model as follows: Using direct response Websites and content-rich Web logs (like this one) to sell products and build targeted opt-in databases for follow-up promotions.

Other entrepreneurs may define the model differently but this is my angle and it’s what the following material is written toward. I’ll keep this article as short and to the point as I can and I urge you to bookmark the page if needed.

Getting Started

Your Idea

The first thing you’ll need is an idea. Notice I won’t be saying a thing about “niches” in this post because that’s a specific point of conversation that you may or may not ever choose to have. Your idea will be basic and will flow to the tune of who you’d like your business to relate to.

Make a list of the topics you enjoy. What are the things you could spend hours each day talking to people about?

Be honest and don’t hold back. Avoid thinking in terms of viability at this time just knock up your list of enjoyable topics.

Here’s an example list of stuff I like off the top of my head :

  • philosophy
  • health & fitness
  • money (crisp green paper and shiny silver bullion)
  • animals of any shape, size, or species
  • writing
  • humor
  • convincing people that I’m a smart dude
  • helping people overcome their addictions

I could go on but you get the gist. I’ve owned profitable sites built around every one of these topics at one point in my career; some I still have and others I’ve sold to other entrepreneurs.

Look at your list and ask for each item:”Are people buying products and services related to this topic right now?”

For example my first item is philosophy and yes people are definitely buying information on hundreds of different belief systems and points of view at this time. My last item is helping people overcome their addictions and again, people are buying all manner of products relative to this, from nicotine gum to tips on how to quit chugging coffee.

Spend a few minutes listing some possible retail scenarios around each list item. Could you sell e-books, software, physical items, or services related to your areas of interest?

Finding A Model

After you have a general idea spend a couple of hours using your favorite search engine to find out what people are already buying and selling within the range of your desired topics. For each item you listed just hammer out half a dozen or so keyword searches and take the time to browse the first few pages of results.

What kind of commercial Websites can you find in your categories?

If you can’t find any evidence of buying and selling related to an item it’s probably no good. Frankly it’s hard to imagine this scenario but if you can’t find evidence in the search results that products - even information - are being sold related to a point of interest it likely means there just isn’t a valid market.

Focus on the areas where you find commercial activity. If you like frogs and people are currently buying and selling stuffed frogs, books on different varieties, info on how you can get active to support research into why these amazing little critters are vanishing from our earth, and even Kermit t-shirts, it means there is a viable marketplace.

Spend some time jotting down your ideas for a general business model based on what you see others doing and based on anything you have learned from me or other marketing writers.

Do you like the idea of running an informative blog and recommending some great products to your readers?

Would you like to add a powerful sales page to the mix and offer your own product or maybe an item you acquire the resell rights for?

Of course you’ll need to plan for an ezine or newsletter and some kind of free gift to entice people to join your mailing list.

Maybe you could set up an affiliate program for your main product that allows you to seek out joint venture partners and pay them a nice commission for helping you promote.

IMPORTANT NOTE: It is not important that you have an expertly designed plan at this time. You just need some kind of idea to run with.

You’ll recall at the start of this section I told you to think of who your business will relate to. It’s key that you remain aware of the people who will make up your target market because everything you present will need to have a real impact on these folks and compel them to enter your world.

Laying The Foundation

In-Depth Research

Here is where you’ll need to follow through with some in-depth keyword research. There are a number of good tools you can use to find out exactly what people are searching for online related to your areas of interest.

For instance both Keyword Discovery and the Google Keyword Tool are superb. You just start entering the phrases dealing with products, services, and ideas in your chosen area and the keyword tools will give you info on how many people are searching these terms plus even suggest other terms for you to try!

You’ll use this data to get very specific about the products you’ll sell and how you’ll set up your business. Depending on the competition you discover this phase will also help you identify the methods you can use to promote.

The Basic Tools You’ll Need

Once you have some idea to work with, you’ll need to jump into the basics. You’ll need a domain name, a good hosting account, reliable email autoresponder for building your list, and you’ll need to get your template and site content built.

You can choose to tackle all this yourself or you can find professional help. I recommend hiring others to help with the groundwork but that’s a call you’ll need to make for yourself.

At this point you’ll have a slew of questions. And if you look you’ll find a dozen answers for every single question you ask.

It’s important not to get overwhelmed at this point and just trust your gut, commit to a course of action, and take it!

Here’s the simple truth that no Internet marketers seem willing to accept: You’re probably not going to hit a home run with your first venture.

You might make some money, but a year after setting up your first business you’ll be a completely different person that you were the day you took your first steps. This is the unavoidable nature of any business so just get over it and get to work.

It’s All About The Process

Of course you will also need to enhance your knowledge on traffic generation, good sales copy, and general marketing and selling practices. As an entrepreneur you need to commit to a journey of constant education, always refining your approach and striving to better yourself.

To this day I still invest money in books, audio courses, and even seminars and coaching when I’m in the mood. And the people I consider my mentors also invest in coaching and continual education!

Consider this: I now earn a great living from home, but this did NOT happen suddenly overnight as the result of some boxed business system I bought and studied!

Please stop looking for some kind of magic system and just concentrate on the sometimes challenging process of becoming the entrepreneur you want to be.

Feel Free To Cheat!

In marketing it is a FABULOUS idea to copy what someone else is doing if this other person is having a good run of it. If you see something you like feel free to try and imitate it!

In Summary

So to recap what you need to do is find some things you enjoy and connect these general ideas with existing markets where people are already spending money.

Next, you’ll look for specific ideas on what to sell (i.e. what people are looking for and buying right now) and how to set up your Website network.

Third, you’ll find yourself a good domain and start building your site (or have someone build it for you).

And you’ll commit to learning the finer points of marketing on the fly.

You see it is MUCH easier for someone like me to help someone like you if you at least have a basic site and idea to show me. And considering your total investment for a site can be pretty minimal there’s no big loss for getting started and then adjusting your course as you go.

I’ll be covering some more detailed points on business building over time. In fact this year will be heavily focused on the powerful basics and delivering a good deal of excellent info through this blog.

For folks who want a really robust course on EVERYTHING you need to plan, build, launch, and run a profitable Internet marketing business I highly recommend the Insider Secrets” course.

This is a full home study course that’s delivered right to your door. You’ll get two ring binders and a suite of CD/DVD lessons, plus whatever great bonus lessons they are currently featuring. The thing about this course is that it really goes from the very beginning all the way to the final processes and leaves nothing unturned.

It lacks the hype and nonsense you’ll find in many guru courses. And for this reason I’ve heard many people say it’s “too basic” but here’s a CRITICAL point you need to get:

You aren’t going to see a burning bush, an angel of god, or any other kind of profound message telling you “this is the way”… it’s going to be up to you to get started already and put an end to all the piddling and waiting. Internet marketing is “pretty basic” and that’s exactly why people looking for a get-rich-quick joy ride don’t make it in this business.

Again here is the best home study course for people wanting to start an Internet marketing business. If you can’t swing this right now just keep coming back to this blog and be sure you are subscribed to my list so you can get future lessons/articles.

The fact is if you’re willing to spend a lot of time reading and studying you can learn all the basics without paying a dime. The internet marketing home study course is great for people who can afford it but understand I’m not telling you that you’ll fail without it. ;o)

Tuesday, August 4, 2009

Starting An Online Business From Scratch Part Three: Scope Out The Competition

Once you have a winning idea for starting an online business, it’s important to know what your future competitors are up to. You will greatly increase your profits by spending a little time checking out your competition before launching your venture.

Your core objectives are to swipe a few good ideas to help you get started, and to identify one or more areas where you can improve what is currently being done. This article will clarify the finer points of both goals.

Note: there is a difference between swiping and stealing; the term “swipe” is business slang for taking an inspiration and putting your own spin on it. There is nothing wrong, and everything right, with your borrowing ideas from existing businesses and taking a cue from operations that seem to be succeeding within your target market.

In fact this is a basic procedure all businesses leverage. Don’t waste time trying to totally reinvent a business model when you can use an existing foundation to build from. You’ll save time & money, plus insure a smooth launch, by following along in the footsteps of your competitors.

If nearly all of the competing sites you find have a social networking portal or member forum for their customers, this probably means it’s expected in the industry. And if you see a relative price point again and again, this too is likely a good benchmark as it represents what the market is accustomed to.

Having said this, you don’t want to outright clone another operation. And this is where your second objective comes in.

Because you have a fresh, somewhat objective point of view, you will be able to spot a number of things your competitors are doing that could be improved on. And your job, of course, is to make these (often minor) improvements and enter the marketplace with a whole new spin on the current model!

Take the software industry for example. Many incredibly successful developers will study a successful product and determine what one or two additions might make it even better.

They proceed to release their new software, which does everything competing products do PLUS one or two improvements. These minor advancements often mean millions of dollars in new profit for the innovative developer.

By taking a serious look at what is currently available in the marketplace, and deciding where to follow along and where to innovate, you can start an online business that surpasses your wildest dreams in terms of success and profitability.

Be sure to also check out these recommended resources:

Home Based Internet Marketing Business

Internet Marketing Home Study Course

Starting An Online Business From Scratch: Part Two – How To Research Your Idea

In part one of this article series you created a simple list around your interest and skills, and brainstormed a few basic ideas for starting your home based Internet marketing business. The next action step toward a successful online business venture is the research phase.

You may be tempted to skip this step, or to move quickly through it in an effort to launch your business as soon as possible. Please understand the most critical part of starting an online business is doing the proper research.

In fact poor or ineffective research is the main reason most online ventures go under. People are often so eager to start making money they rush forward without a good understanding of the marketplace and with little or no business plan.

Sadly, many individuals buy into the get-rich-quick mentality perpetuated by late night infomercials and other farcical advertisements. But the truth is an online business must adhere to the same basics of planning and execution that a successful brick and mortar operation relies on.

So don’t skip the research phase! Put your heart into this process and you’ll greatly improve your odds of success.

Your first step will be to find out if a market already exists around one or more of your general business ideas. Select what you believe is your best general idea. You should complete the assessment of this idea before moving onto another item from your list of possibilities.

Let’s return to the previous example of an interest in martial arts, with the possibility of creating and selling video tutorials that help beginners choose the martial system that’s right for them. In this scenario you need to find out if there is a substantial number of people online, actively seeking information like that which you intend to sell.

Basic Keyword Research

The easiest way to do this is through some basic keyword research. There are a wide range of free keyword tools online, and you can locate a good one by entering the term “keyword research tool” at your favorite search engine.

All keyword tools work in the same basic manner:

  1. You enter one or more search terms based on what you think people seeking your product (or product idea) would query.
  2. The keyword tool tells you how many times (if any) this keyword phrase was searched within a specific time frame, and from what search engines.
  3. The keyword tool may also suggest related search terms and provide data about how often these terms have been entered.

This data will give you a very good idea of whether or not an interest exists around your product or potential product. Ideally, you’d like to discover that your best keyword phrases are being keyed in at least a few hundred times per month.

In our example of potentially selling videos to help new practitioners select their ideal martial art, you would want to find good activity around search terms such as:

  • Martial arts videos
  • Karate videos
  • Learn karate online
  • Beginning martial arts lessons

This activity indicates there is a potential market for your idea. It’s also possible that you’ll be really fortunate and find good data on your exact idea, i.e. “how to choose the right martial art”, etc.

If, after trying a number of keyword approaches, you can’t find data to support an interest in your idea, you may want to move on to a new idea. Or you can proceed with further research.

Browsing The Marketplace

In addition to keyword research, you should browse sites like Google, Ebay, Amazon, Squidoo.com, and EzineArticles.com in an effort to locate content and Websites related to your business idea. Each of these sites of course has a keyword search bar and will return highly relevant results.

This step is all about verifying the existence of business models like or related to the one you have in mind. Ideally you will find one or more sites already selling products very similar to your, as this is positive proof that a paying market exists.

If it seems nobody is doing anything even remotely similar to your idea, beware! Zero competition often means there simply is not a valid market for a concept.

Eavesdropping On The Conversations Of Your Target Prospects

Thanks to the increasingly social nature of the Web, it is now easier than ever before to learn what people in your target market are talking about. There are numerous Web 2.0 directories and forum search tools online that let you find chat sites, social portals, and online groups built around every topic you can imagine.

Use these social networking sites to find out if the very people who would be your customers have an interest in your product idea. See what people are talking about, particularly pay attention to questions being asked; in fact you could ask your own questions and find out point blank if people would be interested in the service you want to offer.

The goal of these steps is simple: You want to find out if a significant number of people online are likely to want your product/service. Going one step further, you want to know if these people are willing to pay for your idea!

Be prepared to spend several days browsing and digging if needed. Your efforts will absolutely pay off in the long-term.

You may find out your idea is without any real public interest. This information will save you potentially thousands of dollars and months of your time in wasted effort.

Or you could find out there is a hot, vibrant market ready and waiting for your fresh new idea. And this could be the start of a wildly successful new career for you!

In our next article, entitled Starting An Online Business From Scratch Part Three: Scoping Out The Competition, we’ll look at how to maximize your success by understanding what your competitors are doing.

Be sure to also check out these recommended resources:

Home Based Internet Marketing Business

Internet Marketing Home Study Course

Starting An Online Business From Scratch: Part One – Where To Begin?

Starting an online business can be simple, inexpensive, and lucrative. Or it can be confusing, costly, and disappointing; it all depends on how you approach the process.

It’s no secret that people from around the world are making money with their own online business venture. And it’s difficult to turn on the television or access the Web without seeing multiple advertisements offering to help you make money from with an online business opportunity.

But how does a person with no existing business idea get started? If you’re totally new to the idea of making money online, but you really want to move forward, how can get started?

The good news is there are many different types of online business model. In fact there’s probably an option for every personality type and skill set!

So the first thing to do when starting an online business is to decide what kind of business you’d like to have. Spend some time thinking about what kind of work/management tasks appeal to you.

Do you like the idea of selling physical products and shipping them around the world? If so you might start with online auctions and then graduate to your own e-commerce site.

Are you attracted to a network marketing approach, whereby you retail products by recruiting other opportunity seekers and teaching them how to do the same? In this case, you’ll find a wide range of opportunities to choose from; just be sure you do your homework to avoid being scammed!

Or perhaps you would enjoy packaging and selling information on topics you enjoy or have some expertise in. There are numerous ways to approach this model, and each method can be extremely lucrative.

It’s absolutely critical that you spend some time thinking seriously about the kind of business you could really enjoy. If you aren’t able to have fun while building and running your business venture, the project will most likely flop.

Many people find it helpful to sit down and create a list of topics they have an interest in. Don’t worry about being especially organized, just jot down or type up a few headings that represent subjects you like, know a lot about, or would like to learn more about.

Once you have a list of 10 to 20 items, begin associating these items with possible business models. And don’t worry about knowing for sure if your business model even exists yet; it’s entirely possible that you’ll create a brand new idea and form a business around it! Your goal with this exercise is to get a general idea, based on your list of interests/sills, what kind of online business you may be able to start.

For example if martial arts is on your list, you might be able to:

  • Sell physical training equipment from an online storefront.
  • Create video tutorials to help beginner’s choose the right martial arts program.
  • Review martial arts movies and recommend your favorite flicks through an online affiliate program that pays you a commission on each DVD sold.
  • Fill in your own original idea here!

Remember this is just a brainstorming exercise to help you get the ball rolling. So don’t hold back or worry about an idea being “realistic”. Just get as many fun things listed as possible.

And it’s worth stressing again: Starting an online business should be FUN, so make it this way from the very start by enjoying the process of creating your lists.

Once you have a good list of your areas of interest and knowledge, plus a general idea about the kind of business you might be able to start, you are ready to begin some serious research. We’ll talk about this process in Starting An Online Business From Scratch: Part Two – How To Research Your Idea.

Be sure to also check out these recommended resources:

Home Based Internet Marketing Business

Internet Marketing Home Study Course