If ever you have wanted to learn how to make money on the internet by selling e-books, then this could be the most important article you will ever read.
Here’s why:
You are about to learn how I went from not knowing a thing about making money on the internet to selling over 856 copies of an e-book for $39.95 that has so far made $34,197.20 in sales… and growing.
Before I get into it, I would like to tell you a little bit about myself.
I first logged onto the internet way back in 1995. To make it clear, this was before Google was even born. Back then I was just a consumer of the internet. That means I wasted my time surfing from site to site and didn’t make any money.
Then in 2002 I created my first website. This website was selling a downloadable e-book for $27.77. Since that time I have read countless e-books and reports about how to make money on the internet. I have gone to many expensive internet marketing seminars. I have met countless online “guru’s”. But most importantly I have been in the trenches applying all of this knowledge to find out what works online and what doesn’t.
The model that has made me the most money online has been selling information products. An information product is just a product that gives people information about what they want to know. This can be a an e-book, an MP3 audio file, a C.D. recording or even a video. The products I like to create are ‘How To’ information products that can be instantly downloaded. The reason I like downloadable products is that I don’t have to worry about shipping.
Having said that, there are places online that can ship physical products on your behalf if you want, such as http://www.IFulFill.com. However I don’t like the hassle of shipping physical items for now.
So what downloadable information products could you sell?
That depends. You see, there are courses out there which teach you to scour the internet to find ‘hungry’ markets with few competitors and then create an information product the market wants.
There is nothing wrong with this strategy and it does work.
The only problem is that if you are a beginner at creating information products on the internet then I would suggest you start with a market that you either know a lot about or that you are interested in. That is how I first started out and now I make hundreds of dollars online every week.
For example, what if a beginner found that ‘Crochet’ was a hot market but had no interest what-so-ever in crochet? And what if they weren’t successful at the start? I think they would not only quickly lose interest in this market but perhaps internet marketing all together. However, if they stuck with a niche they were interested in and stayed with it, I think they would be more likely to make internet marketing work for them.
What I teach beginners on the internet is to brainstorm at least 101 ideas for their first information product and then narrow it down to say the top 5 ideas before choosing one to run with.
To do this, firstly list down as many ideas of things that you are interested in.
This could be sports you play, hobbies you have, stuff you know a lot about or perhaps things you spend a lot of time doing. You may get say 20 ideas doing this initial brainstorming session. Just keep writing down ideas of things you are interested in, even if you don’t think you could create an information product out of it.
After you have brainstormed as many ideas as you can, you can then use a free tool on the internet to ‘reverse brainstorm’ even more ideas. The key here is to find at least 101 potential ideas for your own information product to sell on the internet.
The place I go to ‘reverse brainstorm’ ideas is at KeywordDiscovery. You can get to KeywordDiscovery by cutting and pasting the following link into your browser:
http://www.KeywordDiscovery.com/search.html
For example, if you type in the word ‘Crochet’, you can see how many times people searched online for crochet in a given month. Pretty cool, huh?
Now, the way I ‘reverse brainstorm’ potential ideas for niche markets to enter is to type a generic word into the search bar.
For example, you will see that the second most searched term (at the time of writing) is ‘Free Crochet Patterns’.
What I do to ‘reverse brainstorm’ is type the generic terms such as ‘Free’ or ‘Pattern’ into the keyword search bar and see what niche’s appear that also contain that term.
For example, if you type ‘Patterns’ into the search bar you will find the following niche’s appear within the search results:
Pumpkin carving
Knitting
Sewing
Cross stitch
Quilting
Stained glass
Scroll saw
Jack o lanterns
Weddings
Embroidery
Costume patterns
Wood patterns
Purse patterns
Woodworking
Bead patterns
Afghan patterns
Tole painting
Fishing
Celtic patterns
Prom dress
Teddy bears
Celtic patterns
Mosaic patterns
Wood craft
Hemp
Necklaces
Tattoos
Curtains
Puppets
Bridesmaid
Yarn
Dolls
Ceramic tiles
Beading
Doll clothes
Halloween
Handbags
Henna
Camouflage
Pillow patterns
Drapes
That’s is 41 potential ideas just by typing one generic word into the Keyword Research Tool. Sure, you’re probably not into ‘Celtic Patterns’ or ‘Ceramic Tiles’, but it shouldn’t take you too long before you have brainstormed at least 101 potential ideas.
This ‘reverse brainstorming’ technique saves you the hassle of having to think about markets to enter. The keyword research tool does all the thinking for you and each of these ideas is a potential niche to enter. This is not to say that they are all profitable and likely to produce sales online, but it lets you create a list of ideas you probably wouldn’t have otherwise thought of.
As you scroll through the list and find topics that you are interested in then jot them down in your folder until you have brainstormed at least 101 ideas for your information product.
Once you have a list of 101 potential product ideas, the next step is to find out whether these niche ideas could be profitable. The reason for this is that not all markets are the same. Some markets such as making money, saving money or personal development to name a few are lucrative, whereas others such as ‘How to wear a hat’, ‘How to tie shoelaces’ and ‘How to brush your teeth’ for example are not.
The reason for this is that to do well online you have to add value to your potential customer. Some markets add massive value to your customer and they will be more likely to buy your product. However, other markets add less value to your customer and you may struggle making a sale of your product.
You can find out more to see if a market is potentially profitable by picking up your free 35 page e-book ‘How To Do The Work Once And Make Money In Your Sleep – LT Edition’ by clicking on the link below. It pays to find out in advance if a market is profitable before launching a product and a website. The reason for this is that you will save yourself a lot of time and frustration down the track when you wonder why the market isn’t buying your product.
Talk soon,
David Styles.

Social networking sites can provide many advantages to building an online network marketing business (or any online business) if used properly; and if you have a website and you’re not getting involved in these networks, you’re leaving a lot of money and potential leads on the table.  Here are 4 advantages of tapping into this internet phenomena:FREE ADVERTISINGThe internet is huge, with hundreds of millions of people online at any one time.  Social networking sites like MySpace and FaceBook alone have over twenty million users each; so you are doing some major leverage of your time and reaching millions of people all over the globe.Unlike television commercials, which can cost thousands of dollars for thirty seconds, there is no cost to use MySpace or FaceBook.  Furthermore, the benefits of online social networking can usually be seen quickly, making it a good investment of time and effort.BUILDING A CUSTOMER BASEA drawback to the vast number of people online is that it’s easy to drown in anonymity.  How do you get those millions to notice you?  How do you know which people to target?  Social networking can help on both counts.  Build your friends list, join personal development and business building groups and make friends within those circles.  You can then network to their online friends to reach larger numbers of people with similar interests.  Suddenly, you have a targeted set of potential customers.BRANDINGMost people would rather do business with someone they know and trust than a complete stranger.  Interacting with potential customers online gives you the chance to establish a personal relationship.  From these relationships, you can get feedback from your prospects about their likes and dislikes, the challenges they face and their suggestions to improve your business.  By being responsive to this feedback, you can establish an online reputation as a dynamic name that values it’s customers and provides great service.  Keep in mind that participating in social networking is for providing valuable information and service to your potential customers, not completing a sale—leave that to your company website and other forms of marketing.  In this circle, it’s all about establishing yourself as an expert in your industry and providing valuable information to others that will help them be successful.INDUSTRY CONTACTSFinally, social networking sites can be used to reach more than just potential customers.  You can befriend and build relationships with other people in your line of business.  You can use them as a resource to learn more about your industry and customer base, to make contacts with reliable suppliers and distributors, and keep current on the latest trends in the industry.There are several different social networking sites besides the two mentioned here that can offer even more!  Take ZENZUU for example: they’re changing the way of wealth distribution throughout the world and even offering what they call “green pages” for online advertising in addition to many extra advantages for their active members who join for free.Spread your networking out between a variety of social sites, get out there and make friends, and raise the level of discussions by actively participating in groups and forums, and you’ll begin to establish yourself as a leader in your industry.

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Legitimately making money online is possible.  Researching potential online business opportunities will ensure that you find the online business opportunity that’s a perfect fit for your personal lifestyle.

Online business opportunities that are fully legitimate do exist, but they won’t just fall into your lap.  If you want to learn how to make money online, you will first have to do some research to evaluate all of the potential online business opportunities, then determine which online business opportunities you are best qualified for.  Business opportunities are only limited to the imagination, resources, and talent available.

If you are researching how to legitimately make money online to increase your home income, start by identifying business opportunities.  You can then follow up your research and evaluate the knowledge, money, and time it will take for each business opportunity.  Tailor your list to the opportunities that are most likely to fit your schedule and provide you with a profitable home income.  If you jump right into the first opportunity you see without exploring other business opportunities, the only business “opportunity” you discover might be a non-profitable or unethical one, or an “opportunity” for disaster.

The Internet is ripe with online business opportunities.  Over one trillion people around the world are on the Internet as of March 2008, according to Internet World Stats, the US Census Bureau and Nielsen/Net Ratings.  Since 2000, the Internet has gone up 200%.  The sheer mass of potential customers is enough to inspire anyone to learn how to make money online.  Opportunities for online businesses can come from not only selling products to people, but also from helping businesses that are already online, and even selling other business opportunities.  Working online from home has cost benefits that make it beneficial to the business owner, the staff, and the customers.  The most obvious reason is that if you work from home your expenses are lower, and therefore your net profit is higher.

If you have what it takes to start your own online business, you can easily set up a website to sell your products, another company’s products, your services, or the services of another person or company –

and be able to run a viable and legitimate online business from home.  Products, and even services, can be sold from a virtual store, a spare room, a warehouse, from auctions, or from advertising on other websites.  How well you do will depend on not only how you manage your online business, but also how well you plan your business, how well you market your business, and how much time you spend on your business.

Business opportunities also exist to make money online from home by providing a business with a service.  Advanced computer or secretarial skills are not needed for all work at home opportunities.  For those who do have skills, there are jobs as virtual assistants available on freelance websites, email representatives, help desk representatives, and numerous computer, IT, graphics, and web development opportunities.  Businesses constantly need consumer information to market their goods, and many people learn how to make money from gathering or completing marketing surveys.  There are billions of web pages (around 29.7 billion web pages) and millions of websites (over 108 million) online making money.  Statistics estimate that each website has an average of 273 pages.  It is not uncommon for medium and larger business websites have thousands of webpages.  These business owners hire people to work from home to assist them with their daily business activities and their website development.  Website owners are the first ones to understand the benefits of working from home and making money from online business opportunities.

How to legitimately make money online to increase your home income is possible if you do your research.  By gathering a list of business opportunities and comparing it to your scheduling requirements, income goals, and your resources, talents and dreams – you’ll be able to find the perfect online business opportunity that fits your personal lifestyle.  Making money online starts with research.  If you start now, you won’t want to stop.  So start reading, and find the legitimate online business opportunity that’s just right for you.

What is holding YOU back from online success?

Have you started with one plan, method, ebook, guru, or website online and jumped to another before you finished the first? Always looking for that special trick or information that will jumpstart your success online?

Stop! You are not going anywhere that way but in circles! You will spend time and money and end up in information overload and frustration. You need to focus. Plan your work and work your plan until you have that plan completely finished. This is, however, much easier said than done. I have found a secret weapon to maintaining my focus long enough to see a project through without getting sidetracked by discouragement or the next new thing.

My secret weapon to online success is simple. Find a partner. A buddy. Someone who is as committed as you are to making money from home. You don’t have to BE a partner in the sense of going into business together. What you need is someone to help you stay focused. To lift you up when you get discouraged. To cheer each small success and accomplishment and to help bring perspective to the failures and setbacks.

The right kind of partner can do this for you and you can return the favor and help them as well. The best place to find this person is online. Few people already have a friend that will be able to help them in this way because it takes someone who is also working on a business online to understand. If your partner is also working online, they will be more likely to be there when you need them whether you communicate by email or instant messaging. They will also understand the environment that you are working in.

Join some lists and forums that address the type of online business that you are interested in. Begin reading the posts and participating in discussions. Eventually, you will connect with someone. This may take a while. Obviously, you have to be cautious when developing relationships online. You want someone who is a positive, helpful and giving person. You can usually tell that by the way that someone posts to a list or forum. Be the kind of person you want to attract and sooner or later, it will happen.

Once you connect with someone who may be a good partner, let the relationship develop over time. It isn’t something you can make happen. If you are out there participating and helping other people, it will come back to you, but you have to be patient. In the meantime, you will find a list or a forum that is helpful and this is almost as good as a partner.

You may have to connect with a number of people before the right partner emerges. Timing is everything. A person that seems too busy one day may come back weeks later and want to work with you. You may develop several partners who each help with different areas of your online business. Remember that while the purpose is to help you stay focused and on track, you will gain valuable input, feedback, suggestions and information in the process.

The secret to success online is staying focused and nothing will help you stay focused like the right online business success partner!

Recession! It’s this year’s buzz word, but do any of us really know what it means? Better still, when do we know that the recession has affected us?  Simple logic tells us that in times of boom and in times of recession, the same amount of money is still present in the economy; it’s just in other people’s bank accounts!  So to beat the recession, you just need to know whose bank account the money is going to land in.

Smart marketing in an online business is a fast and inexpensive way to maximise your cash flow and ensure your market is truly worldwide, therefore ensuring that your website can conveniently land on the computer screens of the many people that have money in the bank.  EBay is a great example of a successful online marketing system. EBay & Microsoft were the pioneers of this and have set a benchmark for all online businesses. So what does the average person like you or I do if we don’t have the skills or resources of Bill Gates, nor the ideas of EBay, nor the capital of Warren Buffet?  

Here are four key points towards helping guide you amidst the online marketing jungle and help you choose an online business that will beat your recession blues.

1. What you need is a turnkey online business with a product that is actually a “must have” in times of recession;  a product that is high tech; a product that will still be relevant and “hot” in years to come;  better still, a product that all generations can relate to and use.

2. A product that has a high profit margin!  Therefore a lot of customers arenâ??t necessary to make a substantial income. When the internet started, every product and business was an incredible opportunity but many markets and products have now over saturated the internet (think weight loss, nutrition, eBooks’ etc).  In today’s market the concept of a small percentage of a lot of sales is a hard market to crack considering the saturation of some products and markets.  It’s far better to have a high margin product that requires far less sales to earn a substantial income.

3. You need an online business that is truly “work from home” and that is truly “mobile”.  As airline travel becomes cheaper so will our ability to holiday and to live summer in one region and winter in another.  You need a portable business that can travel with you!  The new generation have become very good at travelling before they turn 21, how will they fund this?  

4. You need a product that doesnâ??t require a degree, a product that can be taught quickly and learnt quickly, a product that has results and testimonials that will blow your socks off.  No longer does an extra $2000 a month really stir the emotion:  ”We’ve heard it all before!”  Today we want that million dollar a year income FAST!  Look for a company that is producing $250,000 plus first year.

So if you’re sitting at home surfing the internet searching for your next opportunity, you need to develop yourself a checklist so that you can successfully identify a company’s strengths and weaknesses. Don’t get caught in the hype of pills, potions and products that could outdate or need updating quickly (fads). Don’t rest on the assurance that just because a company could survive the 70’s 80’s 90’s  that they are necessarily going to be able to ride the wave of the entrepreneurial online business culture of this millennium. Look for a product that is easily transportable to every country; donâ??t forget to find a product with a high profit margin and an exceptional compensation plan. 

Allow me to paint you a picture, of successful products that have already reached their peak. In the 1970’s it was all about cleaning products, Tupperware & Makeup being sold from the comfort of your own home, this was an exciting era and the start of the home based millionaire. The 80s & 90’s were the growth phase of the nutrition, weight loss, eBay, Google and Microsoft millionaires.

Then the technology bubble burst and many of these businesses, whilst they had maintained their market sector, had not grown at the same rates that their original eras provided them, therefore the previous growth that home based millionaires had achieved may not be achievable in today’s market. So you find yourself asking, what’s hot property in 2009?

1. Personal development

2. Affiliate marketing

3. Social networking

 

My bet is that personal development could just tick all the boxes that we have discussed.  Imagine growing your mind and your bank account at the same time.  Good luck in your search for a recession proof online business.