Archive for the ‘Online Start-Ups’ Category

An eBook is a big deal and can mean big profits for you.  One of the ways to get your eBook off to an outstanding start is to get some good testimonials for it before you launch it.  You’re probably wondering how to get testimonials for your eBook before a launch, and you might be a little bit panicked, thinking it’s an impossible task, but it’s really rather easy.

Some people make up testimonials or buy them. That may be OK for them but not for me – and really, wouldn’t you rather have true, authentic testimonials that you can feel good about?  If that’s the case, you can get testimonials for your eBook in a couple of different ways.

First, once your eBook is finished, edited and ready to go, send complimentary copies of it to friends, people you know in the business, big names, and gurus.  You could even send a free copy to a couple of your best customers.  Be up front with them and ask them to read the eBook and offer a testimonial.

Another way is to visit online forums and offer to give a free copy of your ebook to anyone willing to give a testimonial.  The Warrior Forum is always a good place to start – but remember to check out forums in your niche area too!

People in the business, including the gurus and big names will write testimonials because it’s good publicity for them.  Collect several good testimonials and post them on your eBook sales page and your website.

Make sure that your eBook testimonials are as authentic as possible and include the first and last name of the person submitting the testimonial, unless they’ve asked you not to use both.  This makes the person more real to the reader and the eBook testimonial more authentic.  Try including a photo of them as well.

Before you launch your eBook, be sure to collect at least a handful of solid testimonials so you can get your eBook off to a great start!  Expect to see the difference in your ebook sales!

Private Label Rights (PLR) products are popular among Internet marketers and it’s no wonder.  Having access to all those blog posts, blurbs, articles and reports can be a great way of branding your name on the ‘net using PLR.

Why?  Because you can literally get volumes upon volumes of information out there with your name as the expert author on it!  The more top quality information that’s available on the Internet with your name on it, the bigger and stronger your brand is going to be.

What you want is a quality PLR provider who provides fresh PLR content every month.

Some people hesitate to use PLR products.  They’re worried that there will be many others that are publishing the exact same thing in their own name. Obviously, this wouldn’t look good for anyone.  After all, we all assume that an expert is someone who knows his or her stuff and publishes completely original and unique work.

PLR products can be sold to anyone and used as their own.  The trick is to take the high quality PLR articles, eBooks and other products that you purchase and morph them into your own.  Remember, within the limits of the license, you can do anything you want with the Private Label Rights products you buy.

That means you can change the wording to make it more your style.  You can take of piece of this and a piece of that and combine it to make something new.  You can tweak something to better fit your specific niche.

That’s the secret of branding your name on the internet using PLR.  It gives you a head start, and then you adjust it to make it “yours.”  This is the way to use PLR for branding yourself.  Get the information together, make it yours, publish it as yours and watch your brand grow in strength and reputation!

It’s hard to do a job or run a business well without the proper training.  Certainly, some people have a knack for specific things, but training is almost always a must.  It’s not common for anyone to be able to just start doing something and become a success without some education and knowledge.

This applies especially to Internet marketing, which is a relatively new and ever changing field.  Every time technology changes, the playing field changes, too. Many are of the opinion that Internet marketing training is well worth the investment of time and money it takes.

What types of things does someone learn when they go through Internet marketing training?  Depending on the program, they would learn the basics, which would include search engine optimization, article marketing, creating an effective website or page, social networking and marketing, and how to successfully choose a niche.

Above and beyond that, Internet marketing training may include learning about things like Google AdWords campaigns, and how to use AdSense to create a stream of income, creating your own info products such as eBooks, using podcasts and video to create more website traffic and more business and more.

Internet marketing training can cover a lot of ground and can be very helpful to both someone who is completely new to Internet marketing and to someone who has been in the business for awhile.  As with everything though, just make sure you know what you’re getting before you pay your money!

Most people venture online with the dream of building an online income which will free them from their real life jobs.  And for many people, it stays as just that… a dream.  Why?  After all, sitting at a computer just across the hall, in pyjamas, no commuting, loads of money, more leisure time to spend how and with whom you like, is truly the easy life.  So why doesn’t it happen like that?

Well because for a keen, fresh faced newbie, the lure of “easy money” is just too strong.  Many online newbies fall for the well-peddled myths that surround internet working and building a business online.  And who can blame them?  These myths are peddled by just about everyone out there it seems.  And the sheer amount of money that many people spend buying into these myths, and becoming disillusioned by them, is what makes many people give up – sometimes even when they are on the verge of making a break through.

The truth is making money online is NOT easy.

Running a business online is the same as for any business.  You need to do research, build foundations, advertise, draw traffic, make sales, etc.  However, because many of the gurus use very strong and emotive language in their sales letters, it is too easy for newbies to think that it is actually possible to earn thousands of dollars within a week of getting online, with no prior experience or the necessary skills.

What is true is that there is a lot of money to be made online, and you can become very rich doing it, but it will take effort, dedication and the right mix of learning and taking action to get there.  

There is NO Magic Key

How many times have you read that this particular guru delivers the “real deal”, “no holds barred”, “reveals all”?  This sort of hype suggests that somehow all the others reveal everything EXCEPT the secret step which you must have to be able to make money online.  This is not true.  There is no Magic Key.

But before you buy into your next coaching program, ebook, course or membership site (and I admit it’s tough advice I struggle with too!), PLEASE bear in mind, that there are countless ways to make money online.  However, to build a successful business online you must choose what direction you’re going to go in, follow it with dogged persistence, and be patient. 

This last point is worth stressing.

It takes between 6-8 years to bring a plan from initial conception to full fruition in the real world.  And that is a useful rule of thumb.  Use it for your internet business.  Do NOT expect to become rich overnight.  Oh SURE some people probably do do it, but most don’t and the vast majority NEVER do.  Would you rather “make it” in 6-8 years or never?  Me too.

The internet has changed.  What worked in 1996 does not work today.  If you set up a website or blog, chances are no-one will ever see it unless you promote it and that takes money and effort.  You can do it without money, but then it takes lots of effort and lots of patience.  

If you are going to build an online business, you need to set yourself clear targets and plan to reach them or you will waste a lot of time and effort.  

And you need to take the time to learn the right skillset.

Building an online business is the same as building an offline business.  You wouldn’t rush to open a bar/restaurant AND a used car dealership AND a kindergarten all at the same time without ANY knowledge of any of them AND without taking time to learn about them AND expect to MAKE MONEY QUICKLY would you?  Well it is the same online. 

Decide whether you’re going to go into MLM, affiliate marketing, selling your own products etc; Decide what your niche and target audience will be; Decide how you will reach them, PPC, articles, forum, email etc; Find out where your target group hangs out (it’s no good spending a lot of time on MySpace if your target group is active on a specialised social network). Focus. Building a business is about satisfying a need with a good product or service. 

You can NOT start with one hour a week

Be realistic about just how much hard work you will need to put in at the beginning!  Building a business takes time and effort.  In the early stages it will seem as if you’ve never worked as hard in all your life!  But once it is fully automated, maintaining it may take only a few hours a week.   

Most people reading this will probably already have all the skills necessary to make a succesful business online.  You just need to take consistent action in one direction at a time and be patient enough to see it through.  Can you do that?