Web Business Basics 101
Introduction
If you are marketing ANYTHING as an affiliate, whether it's a network marketing program, a service of some kind or ebooks, You Need Tools!
Believe me when I tell you that I've tried marketing a lot of stuff in a lot of different ways. I've used Pay Per Click (PPC) ads, traffic exchanges, list building sites, you name it.
And right here I'm going to share with you what has REALLY WORKED for me. So let's get to it . . .
YOU, INC. (or, I've Gotta Be Me)
You, dear fellow marketer, have GOT to have YOUR OWN business. Not some replicated affiliate site that looks like ten thousand other web sites out there -- YOUR OWN business on YOUR OWN web site. YOU, INC.
And the reason why you need this is . . .
When you use the replicated site provided by your MLM or the affilate links and banners provided by someone else, you are building THEIR business -- not YOURS.
Let me illustrate:
Let's suppose that you belong to XTra Special Company (a nutritional supplement company, let's say) and they give you "your own" web site to promote - a replicated copy of the main site. Does it have a place for prospects to register for more information, a free sample or trial or a free membership? Probably it does. If not, run away VERY FAST!
If it does:
- Can you access the information of the people who signed up? Almost certainly.
- Is there a follow-up email series that goes out to these prospects? There should absolutely be.
- And now for the trick question: Can you download those leads and take them with you? Probably NOT.
And why not? YOU brought in those leads didn't you? You spent time clicking in traffic exchanges or money buying ads or posting in forums and blogs to generate those leads. Why are they not yours?
And why does it matter? After all, you're happy with XTra Special. Maybe you've actually earned back your initial investment and a few dollars on top of that . . .
But what happens when XTra Special goes out of business in a few months (as many companies do) or when you decide for whatever reason that XTra Special is no longer for you? Now you have to start all over from Square One.
Or suppose . . .
you've decided to promote the latest offerings from your favorite guru as an affiliate. Maybe they even have a service or membership site where you can earn residual commissions for every customer or member you bring in . . .
So you advertise, and you surf and you sell some ebooks or services or memberships.
But whose customers are those, really? Whose "list" did they go onto? Do you know who they are? Can you market to them again in the future?
But what if . . .
You had Your Own Business, YOU, INC.?
What if you had your own domain name and a web site or blog devoted to "health and wellness" instead of XTra Special Company? What if YOU collected those leads into YOUR OWN autoresponder and sent them information about health and wellness and included a link to your XTra Special Company in the emails?
Now whose leads are they?
Now can you offer them special bonuses, like personal training and support if they join your team? Can you form a cooperative with them to purchase ads, leads or other advertising? Won't you all be more successful this way?
Now what happens when XTra Special goes out of business and you have to find a new health and wellness company?
Do you have to start again from scratch? NO!
Remember, you've got your own targeted list of people who you already KNOW are interested in health and wellness. You can continue to send them targeted articles, affiliate offers and other health related information.
Don't you think some of those people will be looking for a new company too? So take them with you!
The same holds true for affiliate products and memberships . . .
If you build a lead capture page by offering a special report, video or ecourse, before you know it you will have your own list of targeted subscribers for a particular niche market. Then you can offer them whatever niche products come your way and you can market to the same group of targeted subscribers over and over again!
It is a true saying that "the cheapest customer to get is the customer you already have." In other words, it's a lot more cost effective to market additional products and services to the customers who've already bought from you than it is to always be trying to get a new customer in the door. Those repeat customers are an absolute gold mine for your business. Ask any successful business person and they'll tell you it's true.
Becoming YOU, INC.
I can just hear the voice in your head right now saying, "Yeah, right. I've never created a web page. I have no idea how to do that. What would I say and how would I get content for an ecourse or a newsletter?"
I know. I said the same thing myself for a long time.
Just like those gurus who tell you that if you want to make $1,000 in 48 hours (and you have no list and no money) all you have to do is write an ebook and promote it to your list (opps! you don't have a list -- well, somebody else's list, then, as a joint venture).
And I always thought, "What would I ever have to write a book about? I could never write a book!"
After a while I realized that over the years of being a webmaster I've gained some knowledge that other people don't have, but they need. In fact I spent a year and a half teaching people how to do some of the things I'd learned.
Then I started building some lists outside of any programs. And I asked my subscribers what they wanted to know -- how I could help them.
And guess what . . .
They were having the same struggles. They needed the very same information.
And that's when I decided to write a book. It's called Web Business Basics 101 and it's not just any book.
It's a video ebook.
And in it I'll SHOW YOU step-by-step:
- how to create your own lead capture pages
- how to set up an autoresponder
- how to install a WordPress blog so you don't have to learn HTML to maintain your web site - you just focus on Content
- and how to do most of it with free tools
- we tell you which paid resources are MUST HAVE's and which are the most effective
- we've even thrown in some basic templates to get you started quickly
PLUS . . .
We've included some great bonuses . . .
And a 4-part list building webinar (by yours truly) that tells you:
- how to build your very own lists of targeted subscribers
- how to build an ongoing relationship with your list
- how to market to them EXACTLY what they want to buy
- . . . and lots more
Really, you should just go check it out to see everything that's included.
You'll be amazed.
You can even get a free version of the ebook (only a few videos included, of course) and you can listen to the first session of the webinar for free. So, go already . . .
Or maybe you already know all that . . .
and maybe you just haven't done it yet because . . .
because . . .
Well, OK. What IS holding you back?
Let me take a couple of guesses here, based on my personal experience and that of others I've talked to:
- You're afraid to start off and fail, so you just don't start.
- I GUARANTEE you two things:
- If you start, you WILL fail at some point. Just count on it. It will happen. More than once. BUT, you can always learn from your mistake and start again in a new direction. That's called Life. It happens. Don't let that stop you. Just be prepared for it and forge ahead.
- If you DON'T start, you've ALREADY FAILED! But think of the dreams you're giving up . . . the freedom you'll never have . . . the nagging thought that you'll Never Know whether you could have made it . . . . Is that REALLY the way you want to live your future???
- You're not sure HOW to start or what tools and resources are the best to use.
- I'm going to help you with this by giving you an honest to goodness, no-hype review of the tools and services I've used, which ones I like best and why I like them.
- You're afraid to commit to purchases of software and services. You don't want to spend any money until you're making money.
- There is another truism in business that says, "you've got to spend money to make money." If you're not willing to spend the money on professional tools for your business, if you think you're going to use all free services and make a pile of money, none of your prospective customers is going to take you seriously. And if YOU don't take your business seriously, why should they?
- There is no business less expensive to start than an Internet based business. But it's NOT free. You must invest in some professional tools and resources to put a professional face on your business so that your prospects will feel good about doing business with you.
So let's see what we can do about helping you feel more comfortable about the resources that you really need and which ones are the best value for your money.
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