Welcome to Internet Marketing
Originally posted on July 22, 2007
Hello again! Let me begin by first apologizing for the long delay between posts. My job has been a bit intense lately, which is a problem and I’ve been in the process of laying plans for the website I mentioned in the last post on July 4th. With that said, I’ve been staying in the loop and continuing to educate myself when possible to identify the specific directions I want to go with my entrepreneurial goals.
As mentioned in my last post, I’m focusing my entrepreneurial efforts on the internet marketing realm. Out of all the avenues that are out there in the business world, I’ve decided to go with Internet Marketing for several reasons. The reasons are as follows: cost, time involvement, and freedom of location. In looking at cost, the cost of doing business using an internet business model vs. a “brick & mortar” business model is almost always staggeringly in favor of the internet business model due to the lack of overhead, human involvement, time involvement, and outside interruption. Now, depending on what one decides to sell on the internet and the “backend” needs (think www.amazon.com) of that business, the costs associated will vary, but will typically not reach that of a brick & mortar organization. Since I like to keep things simple and affordable, I’ve decided to focus on the sale of information & digital products since the backend infrastructure requirements are minimal, and the human involvement of others is minimal to non-existent.
In looking at the time element, an internet business allows an individual (especially working stiffs) to work on their business WHEN they have the time and minimizes the need of aspiring entrepreneurs to quit their job in order to attempt to build a successful business. In addition to cost, I was drawn to the idea of creating an online income instead of taking on a second job to make ends meet or have some extra cash.
Thirdly, an internet business allows an aspiring entrepreneur the freedom to work on their business from a location of your choice. I personally like this option because it allows me to work from my favorite location….HOME! Sure you see the infomercials with people on an island or on a ship or by an ocean on the laptop, but home is an excellent place for one to work, especially when you still have a job. Just like I mentioned in the initial posts about mindset, I could type all day about these internet business “pluses”, but I’ll stop here and begin to get into some “meat”.
In looking at some places to start to make some money online, I’ve discovered three internet marketing focuses to start with based on cost and time. They are called, Affiliate Marketing, Private Label Rights sales, and Public Domain Sales. Out of the three, I strongly suggest any new internet entrepreneur to “cut their teeth” learning the affiliate marketing trade. WHY? Because without question affiliate marketing allows any newbie to make money with no customers in find, no product of their own, and the lowest possible cost to get started.
What is Affiliate Marketing? Affiliate Marketing is a method of revenue sharing method between an existing, profitable business and individuals or third parties also known as…YOU! (for a deeper definition with pictures click HERE) Short version, here’s how you make money with as an affiliate marketer. First you find a company with products you have an interest in, use, or just see an opportunity (this includes adult oriented companies!) with an if they offer an affiliate program (find out on their site) sign up and follow their directions. Companies that offer affiliate programs all have different terms, products, ways affiliates are to operate, & commission/payment plans. Selling as an affiliate you get two huge advantages over jumping into business on your own immediately, you get to learn how to sell products (that aren’t your own) with little to no risk, and the products already have a good reputation in most cases.
From a total cost perspective, you’ll typically have to spend an absolute minimum of $10-20 for a website domain name (e.g. www.newinthebusiness.com) and $5-50 per month for website hosting (the “place” where your website data is stored). Total minimum cost to get started is roughly about $15-70. Not bad huh? If you look around the web hard enough you still may be able to find free website hosts, but I’ve learned this is STRONGLY recommended against. The catch with most free hosts is that you typically have to agree to allow the free host putting up advertisements of their choice on your site. With paid hosting, YOU control everything that is on the website. Now, there are several ways to go about actually marketing the products or services of your chosen affiliate, but be sure to check the affiliate’s site for getting started and marketing tips they may have available to you. Here is an example from Robert Kiyosaki’s affiliate program and getting started section.
When selecting an affiliate, I suggest looking around a bit for an ideal company and associated products you would be interested in. Also, check each affiliates terms/rules, commissions, and payout terms. I’ve found affiliate commissions to be payouts between 10% and 70% of the product sale price (this is the amount you make off of each sale). For beginners, including me, I suggest going with the large well known companies to start and learn. The commissions usually aren’t all that great (between 10%-15%) but they typically offer more training tips and resources to get started toward success, plus their products are already well-known & trusted by prospective consumers.
Here are a few well known companies that offer affiliate programs worth getting some initial training on:
Popularity: 21% [?]
