I've got to say, as soon as I mentioned in last month's newsletter that we were off to NZ sometime this year, I was staggered by the number of warm and welcoming messages from subscribers there, and the number of friendships I've since developed.
It may be a little longer than planned though - we discovered that Ben, our four-month-old chirpy chappy, will need is measles jab before he'll be allowed anywhere near the country, and that won't be until December, but it might be (we hope) a Kiwi Christmas.
Because of this delay, we've had an even more mad idea - to get a mobile home and travel around Europe for a few months, in theory, using internet cafes here and there to keep track of the business. This might be easier said than done, but it's a very romantic notion that appeals to us both - in fact, we've already bought a bike-carrier for the back of the mobile home, even though we haven't actually got the great big vehicle to attach it to yet.
Mad I know - there must be some wanderlust in the water around here.
To some extent yes - but you also create your own luck. I've worked hard for this. And you can win this sense of freedom too by doing the same.
Don't know where to begin? Let's face it, many don't, many are coming onto the internet as complete novices, without a clue where to start. And as such, they get sucked into those devious schemes that promise millions overnight, and they end up losing a lot of money, rather than making it.
With this in mind, I'm going to tell you this month how you can quickly set up a web page and start earning money. On the face of it, it seems a simple process - and with some experience it is - but if you're a complete newbie be prepared to learn a lot and to work hard. But keep in mind that if you keep at it...it's well worth it.
[To read this article online, or to find out republishing information, just click here]
I deal with many complete novices and newcomers to the
internet who just need someone to outline in straight-
forward terms how they can start to make money online. This
article will show you five easy steps anyone can take to
set up a web page and start earning money.
Before you start though, just bear the following three
essential points in mind:
- It IS possible to make money online - this is not hype,
I've done it, so have countless others with completely
varying levels of ability and experience. You too can
therefore make money online.
- You won't become rich overnight (and don't believe
anyone who tells you otherwise) - instead give yourself at
least 12 months to start earning money and find your feet
online. It may take a lot shorter, it may take longer -
persistence is the key to business success.
- To make money, you need to spend a little too, albeit
wisely. If you're serious about developing a business
online, then treat it like a proper business - an
offline business would cost you much, much more.
So, with these points in mind, let's get on with setting
up that web page...
1. Get a Product
Find a product that gives you resell rights, but isn't sold
by absolutely everyone.
If possible, find one that gives you the web page and
graphics so you can get up and running as soon as possible.
For starters, try going to Google.com or some other
product-specific search engine such as http://cbgold.com and search for 'resell rights'.
Alternatively, a good site offering a wide selection of
software and ebooks you can resell is at
http://takanomi.com/softwarepartnership/. You just make one
modest initial payment for a lifetime of free access to
dozens of products you can resell.
2. Get a Web Site
Purchase a domain name and some web hosting - don't use a
free host or you'll immediately discourage the potential
purchaser.
One of the simplest places to 'go and get a web site' is
at http://godaddy.com, where you can purchase both a domain name and web site hosting at the same time and for a good
price.
3. Build Your Sales Page
If the product you want to sell did not come with the web
site and graphics to help you sell it, then you're going to
have to build the sales page yourself.
Now I'm not going to be able to teach you HTML in the
space of a paragraph, but there are plenty of great
resources online available so go learn! Either that or make
use of a competent friend or relative, or if you can afford
it, hire the services of a web designer.
The most important part of any sales page is of course the
sales link, without which you won't sell a thing. The sales
link should link to a secure server page where visitors can
key in their credit card information and purchase from you.
The more complicated route is to apply for a merchant
account. The simplest option, and the one I recommend, is
to use ClickBank. You can find out more information and
sign up at http://www.clickbanktoolkit.com/selling - there's
just a small upfront fee and you can be up and running and
accepting payments on your web site within a couple of days
(compared to a few weeks if you go the merchant account
route).
4. Build Your Thank You Page
All you need to include on your thank you page is the
download link to enable customers to download what they
have purchased, and an email address so they can contact
you if they run into trouble.
If you're with ClickBank,
you'll also need to include another piece of information -
the full process is detailed at
http://www.clickbanktoolkit.com/selling.
5. Get Traffic!
Once your web site is up and running, and you've tested it
to your satisfaction, you're ready to roll. Now it's time
to attract targeted traffic to your web site.
But first do a bit of extra testing.
Set up an account with Overture.com or Google Adwords, and
pay for some targeted traffic to your web site using
suitable keywords.
Measure your sales against the number of
visitors you have received, and this will tell you your
sales conversion ratio.
If 1% or more of your visitors are
purchasing, you're doing okay - if it's any less, you need
to re-examine your sales page (or the keywords you are
targeting) and do some tweaking to improve this percentage.
This is however a big topic, so do as much research as you
can online.
Other effective traffic-pulling measures include writing
and submitting articles to ezines and directories, ezine
advertising, running your own ezine or newsletter, and so
on.
However, attracting traffic is a skill and takes some
time to develop, so just learn as much as you can, and be
persistent.
[Note: Stephen Pierce's ebook I told you about last month has some powerful ideas for generating laser-targetted traffic to your web site, and avoiding ineffective traffic pulling techniques that can bring you little benefit for hours of work]
Finally, once you've got traffic coming to your site, ask
them to subscribe to a mailing list, and follow up with
them - otherwise you're throwing good traffic away.
The Click Bank Toolkit comes with at least two products you can immediately
resell, together with the full web site and graphics. |
| 2. Profit-Boosting Tips and Tricks | ^Top |
This section is my scribbling pad where I let
you know about things that have caught my eye over the past
month online, and that can help to boost your profits.
The section can contain anything - for example, articles,
products, services, ideas, just general jottings from my
time online.
Here's a couple of my jottings for this month...
1. Dead HTML Email Links
I come across many HTML-formatted ezines that contain within them effectively dead links - to start with, this is going to result in a really bad impression on the ezine or newsletter, and if the links are anything to do with a promotion of one kind or another, the results are going to be stinkingly bad.
So what do I mean?
These 'dead links' often open in an existing browser window behind the mail client - this means that often the visitor will believe that nothing has happened when they clicked the link, or, if they're more aware of what might have happened, they have to work harder to find the browser window that contains the document they clicked to see - many just won't bother, plain and simple.
So how do you correct this?
All you need to do is add
target=_blank
to the anchor tag, and this ensures a new browser window appears when the visitor clicks the link from within Outlook, or whichever mail client they might use.
For example (just pretend the square brackets are actually angle brackets - this avoids any possible formatting difficulties):
[a href="http://takanomi.com" target=_blank]click here[/a]
Simple, isn't it?
[Note: this is only applicable if you publish an HTML ezine or newsletter.]
2. Filtering Your Mail With A.I.
Yes, you really can harness the artificial intelligence contained in your PC to filter out all that unwanted, unsolicited mail that can make your day a nightmare.
I've found some software (no cost) that uses Baysean algorithms, which are often used for A.I.-type applications, to filter email. You simply have to teach it, to train it to recognize the unsolicited stuff that clogs up the system.
You can use all sorts of filters in fact, to filter out say family mail, business mail, etc., and put it into relevant folders in your existing mail client. This runs in the background and is kind of neat.
I've used it over the past two or three weeks, and am already getting pretty much 99% accuracy levels - I still find the odd email in my trash that shouldn't be there, and the odd bit of trash screaming for my attention in my inbox, but it's saving me heaps of time and making life online more pleasant.
For more information, just go to http://popfile.sourceforge.net/ - there's no charge for the software, and it works with all email clients.
If you have any feedback on this issue, please just let me know.
Now I'm off to make some pancakes...Scotch pancakes I think with a nice drizzle of golden syrup. I used to have them in Greece when I visited Santorini (the most beautiful and unique island I've ever seen), alongside slices of fresh water melon, for breakfast.
Every morning we trudged up the hill from our campsite to Mamma's (a great eaterie) with the warm early sunshine on our backs.
There was always Simon and Garfunkel on in the background - now whenever I hear their music or eat Scotch pancakes, I think of those care-free days at Mamma's. Magic.
Kind regards
Steve Shaw
The Takanomi Newsletter
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