Photo Credit: DarkStaff on Flickr [Photo Link]®
I was on Twitter this past Saturday Morning, messaging a fellow trucker (@darkstaff) back and forth about online business's. He says that IF I find one that's legit, he's "in". :) With this post, I'm going to try and go over what little I know about online business. This is mainly what I've learned over the past year since I got re-serious about how to create one, and try to get out of the truck.
Is it alright if I re-wind my thoughts a little to when I first bought a computer? - I thought, WOW, if I only had a computer, I could work at home. That was back in the 80's.
Guess what? From what I've seen, it's going to take some work and initiative to make something worthwhile happen online.
I'm not sure if I'm the best person to talk to about an online business. Well, at least I'm not one to tout that I'm making loads of money. I'm not. Not yet. But I'd like to. I think that I'm starting to find my grove a little, and not let the false starts get me down as much. I'm Picking through some of what's here online that I think is worthy for me to work on, vs what is not.
A person is going to have to figure some of that out for themselves. You're going to HAVE to provide some kind of service, or product that people want. And you're going to have to find where these people are, and what it is that you can offer them, if you're going to provide it. IF you're providing it, they're your customer or client. Depending on how you see yourself or business.
Now, let's assume that you're an Over The Road Trucker. You've got a good internet connection that covers 90% of the U.S. due to the fact that you've spent some money on a Sprint Mobile Broadband Network, and own one of their devices. Forget AT&T and Verizion they pale in comparison on a national level, but that's another story. And you've also ponied up for a Smart Phone.
But that's all that you've got. You've got an Internet connection and you've got time to fiddle around online from time to time. Some weeks are going to be better then others, it's Trucking. And if freight is slow, you're not making any dough. Ok, so let's see what you do have.
A Computer with an Internet connection
A Desire to do something legal online to make a buck.
You're have a basic understanding on how to "copy and paste" code on a web site or a blog.
And lastly, You're going to need a desire to help those that come to you, and be available.
What don't you have?
A product or a service.
How about a Product? I guess you could try to make jewelry or something else in your down time and sell it on eBay. But then you're going to have to be able to take each item that you make and post it there, then you're going to have to be able to send them off.
Hmm... So, Maybe that's not such a good one.
How about a service? There's plenty of options there. Plenty of them. I'm sorting through some of them myself. But the terms that you'll run across that will prove valuable to you is Internet Marketing, and Affiliate Marketing.
Affiliate Marketing Or Internet Marketing is typically a revenue sharing venture between a website owner and an online merchant. The website owner (an over the road trucker, in this case) will place advertisements on his website or blog to either help sell the merchant's products or to send potential customers to the merchant's website, all in exchange for a share of the profits.
In short, you're promoting someone else's product or service. That's the Service that you provide. A Good practice is to have some knowledge about what it is that you're promoting. First hand experience about something you've used, or done.
Part of the problem that I've seen, and other decent Internet Marketers have seen and have to contend with, is that some individuals have abused Affiliate marketing. They've taken a lazy approach by promoting sites and products via Spam, or other unsavory methods (Twitter, Facebook, etc). There IS no Automatic Button to push to create a "long term, proud to tell your momma about it" method. It's going to take some effort. And some cash.
Now what do you do?
One of the more popular Affiliate sites is Clickbank.com - You can join their site for free, and pick a product for free that you want to promote. As far as I know, all of their products are digital products, such as a PDF files, or even a Subliminal MP3 site.
You can create your own blog in a niche helping those in that niche, and have something there to promote that makes you some money. Let's say Legos are something that you like. - Find some way to promote the use of them, that makes a profit for you. Create some models, and make some PDF's of the unigue models or creations that you've made.
Promote services such as:
AWebber.com (Yes, I AM an Affiliate)
socialoomph.com. (Not an affiliate Yet)
Hostgator.com
The above are easy to join and put a link on your site. You can chat them up, or possibly put one link a day in a tweet. But I wouldn't promote anything via twitter with more then one or two tweets a day. Remember, if you've got a small audience on twitter, they're going to see it over and over. And it's going to get old if you're saying the same thing over and over.
And of course, I've got to talk about Chris Farrell, and his site, as it is something that I like to promote. His 1 page Web Business will take some time to view and understand. Like AWebber, it's a subscription, so if other's join via your link, you'll see a re-occurring monthly income. Maybe you want to check it out and see his videos with this link, he explains how he created a one page web business. And yes, it takes a little time, effort, and a couple of bucks. But you'll be duplicating what you've seen and joined. Chris offers unlimited web hosting with his site and services, so you can create and host a multitude of sites if you so desire.
I'd also like to mention Jason Fladlien and his 32 Free Reports. You can join his site, and offer others' the same reports that they might find useful or interesting. If others do purchase a product from Jason, you'll receive a small commission.
You can also build a mailing list with AWebber advertising Clickbank products on Facebook. - You'll hear "The Money Is in the List". - This mailing list, is your customer list. This is where you build your trust, and provide offers.
And lastly, maybe you might just want to build a blog that is interesting. Check out ProBlogger, and BlogTyrant for blogging tips, that are well worth your time.
Let me leave you with a link to a blog post and video that Darren Rowse made concerning "Secrets to Making Money Online".
Promote services such as:
AWebber.com (Yes, I AM an Affiliate)
socialoomph.com. (Not an affiliate Yet)
Hostgator.com
The above are easy to join and put a link on your site. You can chat them up, or possibly put one link a day in a tweet. But I wouldn't promote anything via twitter with more then one or two tweets a day. Remember, if you've got a small audience on twitter, they're going to see it over and over. And it's going to get old if you're saying the same thing over and over.
And of course, I've got to talk about Chris Farrell, and his site, as it is something that I like to promote. His 1 page Web Business will take some time to view and understand. Like AWebber, it's a subscription, so if other's join via your link, you'll see a re-occurring monthly income. Maybe you want to check it out and see his videos with this link, he explains how he created a one page web business. And yes, it takes a little time, effort, and a couple of bucks. But you'll be duplicating what you've seen and joined. Chris offers unlimited web hosting with his site and services, so you can create and host a multitude of sites if you so desire.
I'd also like to mention Jason Fladlien and his 32 Free Reports. You can join his site, and offer others' the same reports that they might find useful or interesting. If others do purchase a product from Jason, you'll receive a small commission.
You can also build a mailing list with AWebber advertising Clickbank products on Facebook. - You'll hear "The Money Is in the List". - This mailing list, is your customer list. This is where you build your trust, and provide offers.
And lastly, maybe you might just want to build a blog that is interesting. Check out ProBlogger, and BlogTyrant for blogging tips, that are well worth your time.
Let me leave you with a link to a blog post and video that Darren Rowse made concerning "Secrets to Making Money Online".
