Where to start with No product/services & No website?

[Mario]

Hi,

I 'm obviously very new to this type of industry and would like to know the quickest (6 -12 months) proven way to $2000-3000/month.

I skipped through the web and have found some very massively publicized promoters like Corey Rudl, Mark Joyner, Ken Evoy etc...
They do make great sales letters but how does a new person actually filter out this incredibly huge amount of advertising without loosing their house to find the right one?

Please take into consideration the fact that I don't have a product/service or a website

Thanks for your help

Marouka

[Linda Buquet]

Marouka,

Wow that's asking alot. If anyone had all the answers in one spot I guess everyone would be doing the same thing. Not trying to be a wise cracker but there is no ONE answer or solution and if you don't even have a site yet you have a looooonnnnnng road ahead of you. I have heard "sitesell" is a great place to get started learning, but I don't know for sure and have not read it. I have only heard it's good.

[john678]

Hi,

The best thing for you to do first is to think on what you would like to sell online or how you would like to earn your money. Secondly you it would be best if you either made a website or brought one. You will find that learning how to write and design websites is a lot better than paying a web designer to do it for you as it will save you alot of bother and money in the long run.

Once you have done you site, you may want to either sell products on it or add alot of good content which is mixed in with a few affiliate links.

From doing it this way, I can't say that you will earn much, but you will find that you will learn from your mistakes and your earnings should grow steadily depending on how you go about it and the industry that you choose to market.

You will also find that you can get alot of free advertising on the web by exchange links with other sites, getting into Google for FREE, adding your site to the bottom of your signatures, etc.

[John Glube]

Hi Marouka,

You write:

"I 'm obviously very new to this type of industry and would like to know the quickest (6 -12 months) proven way to $2000-3000/month."

Life does not offer a guarantee, particularly in business. But, let's see if we can give you some ideas.

* You need to put together a business plan.

* In putting together a plan, you need to make a couple of decisions. These decisions will reflect your strenghts and weaknesses.

Do you want to market other people's products or services, your own product or service, or some combination of both.

* There are certain mental factors which are important.

Success does not happen over night. It takes what some call the three p's. Persistence, practice and patience.

A goal of a year is realistic, providing you stay away from the highly competitive areas, although you may wish to create some cushion.

There is no manna from heaven. Only each of us can create our own success.

In wanting success ask yourself, am I willing to change? Move beyond my own comfort zone? Stay focused? Do what it takes? Learn new skills?

* You need to create a budget. True, you can minimize costs and many resources you can access are free or low cost. But, still running a business takes some money.

* Business involves sales. This is a fundamental reality.

A couple of suggestions:

One possibility is to establish and develop a direct marketing business in which you market either your own product, the products of others, or some combination.

The products can be soft products - software, information products and the like; or

The products can be hard products - durable goods.

* Marketing other people's products. Typically this means you are looking at some form of business opportunity.

(In looking at a business opportunity, you may find this article of value - How To Choose A Biz Opp Without Losing Your Shirt (http://www.learnsteps4profit.com/art10.html))

* As part of the process, you want to have an understanding of how the online world works from the marketer's perspective.

There are some excellent resources available to assist people in this process. Some are free (just because the resource is free should not demean the value) others, you have to pay for them.

Here is a short list - I am sure others will have their own favorites:

Basic Materials on Marketing:

Scientific Advertising by Claude Hopkins

(You can get a copy of this e-book through the Newbie Club (http://www.newbieclub.com/?adcopy) - free to join.)

7 Secrets To Unlimited Traffic by Allen Says. Many people give this away as a bonus for subscribing to their newsletter. This book was written a number of years ago, but remains a classic.

Or you can purchase a product, such as How To Become A Global Internet Tycoon (http://www.listfire.com/hop.php?link=tycoon&rid=394") written by Allen Says (which is worth the read) and as an added bonus gain access to the Internet Warriors Secret Site (a wealth of material including the e-book I referenced above.)

The Affiliate Masters Course (http://aff-masters.sitesell.com/dsales.html) by Ken Evoy

On the question of what all in one course to consider buying, I happen to be a fan of the Evoy product line. Others favor Corey Rudhl's product line. Yanik Silver has also put together an excellent set of "How To" products.

Whichever you choose, the investment is worth the money providing you apply what you learn.

Specific areas of focus:

* Understanding Search Engines:

A good place to start is a site called Search Engine Watch (http://www.searchenginewatch.com)

There are some excellent services which can aid you in this process.

Building A Customer Base:

You want to have a presence. The First Website Builder Course (http://www.newbieclub.com/?adcopy) is helpful.

Evoy markets a product which can allow you to get up and running within a short period of time.

Many people swear by it.

Here is a sample of the type of business you can create Using Site Build It (http://affiliatemarketing.sitesell.com/dsales.html").

Despite all the talk about the demise of e-mail, e-mail continues to be an excellent method for distributing your message, if done properly.

Email for Newbies (http://www.newbieclub.com/?adcopy) is a good guide to start with.

The Amazing List Machine (http://tinyurl.com/2yvd9) by Paul Myers is an excellent primer on the process of building a customer list.

- and -

Co-Reg-List-Building-Secrets System (http://tinyurl.com/2s7xj) by Ed Thorpe is a first class resource.

(Ok, I admit a bias since one of my products is a bonus for Ed's product - but even without this - excellent guidance for those who decide to use e-mail marketing.)

Other methods:

I have not referenced all the specialized methods.

Writing articles and using the press can be a powerful method of promotion.

Working and creating joint ventures can be an extremely lucrative way of generating sales.

There is also pay per click and google adwords just to name a few.

* However you decide to proceed the best guidance - we all make mistakes. The art is in learning from them (a cliche perhaps, but there is much wisdom in this statement)- apply what you learn and do it.

In building a business, you want to consider having a "brain trust." People you can trust and you can bounce ideas around in confidence.

You can develop these relationships through Private Member Sites:

(These can be useful - some people have built their business on the guidance received.)

One which I can suggest:

International Coalition of Online Professionals (http://www.i-cop.org/ref.cgi?id=adcopy)

(You can join this organization and access an excellent set of resources and get some great guidance.)

You may also want to use the Public Forums. Some of these are quite good:

Anthony Blake Online - Entrepreneurial Success Forum

http://www.ablake.net/forum/

Seeds of Wisdom Forum - Dien Rice

http://www.sowpub.com/cgi-bin/forum/webbbs_config.pl

Cyber Marketing Info Board - Jim Daniels

http://www.network54.com/Hide/Forum/184615

How To - Internet Marketing - Michael Green

http://www.howtocorp.com/cgi-bin/webbbs_config.pl/index

Phil Wiley’s - Affiliate Discussion

http://www.ozemedia.com/cgi-bin/webbbs/webbbs_config.pl

(Phil markets a product titled Mini-Site Profits (http://www.minisiteprofits.com/affpage/jbglube.htm) - very good guide for those interested in seizing the moment.)

Info Profits Talks - Louis Allport

http://tinyurl.com/rf8u

(For those of you who are not familiar with this forum, Louis has set up a neat feature for his forum. You can post a feed on your site which links to the new posts on the site, creating ever-green content.)

and of course WebPro World - which you already know about.

There are many others. This is a very short list.

Obviousily this is not complete guidance, but rather an overview.

I do trust these comments are of some value and help to move you in the right direction. Wishing you every success.

Underlying all of this? Overcome your fears and start the doing.

Kind regards,

John Glube
Toronto, Canada