Don't look now, but I'm already moving up in the world. As you can see, I've just added some Google AdSense ads to this very blogsite. (On second thought, please do look at them - and click on them too, for that matter!) This is yet another cool way to generate some income that doesn't even cost a penny to try. No wonder you see those little "Goooooogle" ads literally all over the internet!
The ads are very easily added to any website. It took mine less than 24 hours to appear after registering and getting approved. The ads themselves are automatically selected to be good matches for whatever your site's content may be. And the best part is...whenever anyone clicks on the ads on your website, you get paid! (That's just for the clicks alone - nothing even has to be sold!)
Exactly how much you get paid for them is sort of a mystery. A lot goes into the calculation, including what the advertisers paid, etc., so I'll just have to wait and see what kind of results mine get. (I'm actually not allowed to click on them myself - you have to promise not to as part of the registration process.) Anyway, I'll let you know what kind of results they bring right here in a future post.
But in the meantime...do me a small favor, would you please? Click on one of those little Google ads up there before you leave. Thanks! :)
Thursday, September 28, 2006
Wednesday, September 27, 2006
Keeping Costs Way Down
One of the greatest things about the internet is how easy it allows you to shop around and find ways to save money. To find the best deal on whatever you're looking for. (Or find out if you're already overpaying for something.) So the costs of starting your own internet marketing business are no exception.
Especially in the early going, I plan to keep my operating costs as low as possible. The way I look at it, you don't have to sell much to be into profit if your operating costs are next to nothing. (And I know this can be done.) If nothing else, this can allow plenty of time to do some good "on-the-job training" while I figure out the ins and outs of this business.
I'll admit I got impatient a few weeks ago and fell for one of those "It's all done for you" deals, where you get a beautiful website all set up for you within 24 hours. I got tired of thinking about all the decisions I have to make just to get this business started at all. (And I'm not the type that makes decisions very quickly!) So I figured that would be a good way to get started, if nothing else.
It wasn't what I thought it would be...
Turns out that this deal required you to host the "free" website with a company that charges $24.95 per month. (Nowadays, anything over $10/month is way out of line!) Plus you had to join what amounted to two different multi-level marketing type programs, one of which cost $24.95 to join and $19.95 per month thereafter. That already brings the monthly cost up to $45 before you've even made a sale. Then the first day of instructions given with the program strongly recommended upgrading the email autoresponder service (which was supposed to be included) so that outside party ads won't be included in all your automated emails. That's good for another $17.95 per month. Now we're up to $63/month. Then there's the ad tracking service that's free for the first 90 days, only to go up to $19.95 monthly once you're locked into using it. ($83 per month?!) Then the participants are wondering in the program's own forum why they're having such trouble making any money with it. It's obvious that the famous internet guru who started it has all the odds stacked in his favor. Everyone that joins that program puts additional monthly paying members in his downline and creates residual income for him - at absolutely NO COST to him. He can't lose. It wouldn't matter if no one stayed in the program very long - there's probably a constant supply of new participants that keep it all going. It's actually a work of genius (for HIM!)...but I'd rather be on the guru's end of the deal!
There are no secrets on the internet...
With just a little bit of surfing the net, it's clear that NONE of those costs are absolutely necessary. I found cheaper or even FREE substitutes for all of those expensive services that could be used at least in the early going. That's money that stays in your pocket that could be used for advertising, etc. In fact, I've already spotted at least a couple of people who copied that marketing idea and attempted to become the guru themselves with their own "plug-in-profit" type offer, featuring less expensive services required to join. I think they've got the right idea.
I started this blog just for something to build from for my own business ideas, and the cost for this has been zero. Now THAT'S a price I can live with!
Especially in the early going, I plan to keep my operating costs as low as possible. The way I look at it, you don't have to sell much to be into profit if your operating costs are next to nothing. (And I know this can be done.) If nothing else, this can allow plenty of time to do some good "on-the-job training" while I figure out the ins and outs of this business.
I'll admit I got impatient a few weeks ago and fell for one of those "It's all done for you" deals, where you get a beautiful website all set up for you within 24 hours. I got tired of thinking about all the decisions I have to make just to get this business started at all. (And I'm not the type that makes decisions very quickly!) So I figured that would be a good way to get started, if nothing else.
It wasn't what I thought it would be...
Turns out that this deal required you to host the "free" website with a company that charges $24.95 per month. (Nowadays, anything over $10/month is way out of line!) Plus you had to join what amounted to two different multi-level marketing type programs, one of which cost $24.95 to join and $19.95 per month thereafter. That already brings the monthly cost up to $45 before you've even made a sale. Then the first day of instructions given with the program strongly recommended upgrading the email autoresponder service (which was supposed to be included) so that outside party ads won't be included in all your automated emails. That's good for another $17.95 per month. Now we're up to $63/month. Then there's the ad tracking service that's free for the first 90 days, only to go up to $19.95 monthly once you're locked into using it. ($83 per month?!) Then the participants are wondering in the program's own forum why they're having such trouble making any money with it. It's obvious that the famous internet guru who started it has all the odds stacked in his favor. Everyone that joins that program puts additional monthly paying members in his downline and creates residual income for him - at absolutely NO COST to him. He can't lose. It wouldn't matter if no one stayed in the program very long - there's probably a constant supply of new participants that keep it all going. It's actually a work of genius (for HIM!)...but I'd rather be on the guru's end of the deal!
There are no secrets on the internet...
With just a little bit of surfing the net, it's clear that NONE of those costs are absolutely necessary. I found cheaper or even FREE substitutes for all of those expensive services that could be used at least in the early going. That's money that stays in your pocket that could be used for advertising, etc. In fact, I've already spotted at least a couple of people who copied that marketing idea and attempted to become the guru themselves with their own "plug-in-profit" type offer, featuring less expensive services required to join. I think they've got the right idea.
I started this blog just for something to build from for my own business ideas, and the cost for this has been zero. Now THAT'S a price I can live with!
Monday, September 25, 2006
Defining The Goal
It's important to first define exactly what your goal to be achieved is before going any further and starting anything.
For my purposes here, I'd like to establish a home based business that generates income just by the use of my computer and the internet. Maybe some people would be okay with something that includes some face to face interaction with customers, or maybe by phone. But that means scheduling plenty of time to devote. I, myself, would like a business that doesn't demand much time to operate it, and doesn't dictate my own schedule for me. Naturally, I'm willing to spend SOME time operating the business, but I want to be free to work when and how much I want to at any given time. So to accomplish this, it's going to need to be automated as much as possible.
You see, I've sold items on eBay here and there for the last few years. In fact, I still sell things on eBay. I enjoy it. But with just a little success on there you begin to realize how time consuming it can be when you start listing more and more items. The description writing, picture taking, packaging and shipping, emailing customers...it all takes lots of time. So I want to improve on that and set up something that's much more automatic.
Think about it...once you set up a website, it doesn't go anywhere...it stays there 24/7. (Even while you sleep!) And there's no 7 or 10 day limit like on eBay. So once you set it up and get traffic flowing to it, your website continues to do it's selling job automatically.
But the next detail is, WHAT to sell.
To set up an automatic money making system like I have in mind, you need to either sell products that are downloadable files (like ebooks or software) or you need to promote other companies' products or services on a commission basis. Otherwise, packaging and shipping products takes time and effort. And if you reach your goal of being successful and making lots of sales - it can really tie you down. It's like the old "Be careful what you wish for" saying...you just might get it! Not necessarily that bad of a thing, but if I'm talking about the IDEAL business, I don't want to be tied down to either packaging and shipping products, or having to pay and train someone else to do it.
So to sum it all up...
I want to start an internet marketing business that sells downloadable products and/or affiliate offers so there's no shipping involved. Just income with (dare I say) very little "work". And the only work I have to do will be when and how much I choose from day to day.
That being said, seems like the best way to end today's post is by saying: Wish me luck!
For my purposes here, I'd like to establish a home based business that generates income just by the use of my computer and the internet. Maybe some people would be okay with something that includes some face to face interaction with customers, or maybe by phone. But that means scheduling plenty of time to devote. I, myself, would like a business that doesn't demand much time to operate it, and doesn't dictate my own schedule for me. Naturally, I'm willing to spend SOME time operating the business, but I want to be free to work when and how much I want to at any given time. So to accomplish this, it's going to need to be automated as much as possible.
You see, I've sold items on eBay here and there for the last few years. In fact, I still sell things on eBay. I enjoy it. But with just a little success on there you begin to realize how time consuming it can be when you start listing more and more items. The description writing, picture taking, packaging and shipping, emailing customers...it all takes lots of time. So I want to improve on that and set up something that's much more automatic.
Think about it...once you set up a website, it doesn't go anywhere...it stays there 24/7. (Even while you sleep!) And there's no 7 or 10 day limit like on eBay. So once you set it up and get traffic flowing to it, your website continues to do it's selling job automatically.
But the next detail is, WHAT to sell.
To set up an automatic money making system like I have in mind, you need to either sell products that are downloadable files (like ebooks or software) or you need to promote other companies' products or services on a commission basis. Otherwise, packaging and shipping products takes time and effort. And if you reach your goal of being successful and making lots of sales - it can really tie you down. It's like the old "Be careful what you wish for" saying...you just might get it! Not necessarily that bad of a thing, but if I'm talking about the IDEAL business, I don't want to be tied down to either packaging and shipping products, or having to pay and train someone else to do it.
So to sum it all up...
I want to start an internet marketing business that sells downloadable products and/or affiliate offers so there's no shipping involved. Just income with (dare I say) very little "work". And the only work I have to do will be when and how much I choose from day to day.
That being said, seems like the best way to end today's post is by saying: Wish me luck!
My Decision To Begin
Okay, this is it. This is my first ever blog post of any kind, so bear with me...
My name is John, and I've decided to start a home business of some kind to supplement my income. I've tried some things in the past that didn't work out, so I've decided to make a fresh start and figure out what really works - and what doesn't. This blog is going to be my way of charting my progress and documenting what I learn as I go along.
I think it's obvious that starting a business of your own is a better way of going about creating additional income than just taking on a 2nd job somewhere. And a home based business seems to be the only way to go if you don't have a lot of money to invest. But of all the various types of home businesses you could get involved in, the idea of using just your computer and the internet to make money is what appeals to me the most.
We've all seen the get-rich-quick ads..."Be your own boss!", "Make money while you sleep!", "Stay home and make money in your pajamas!", etc. I know most of it's all just sales hype, but the benefits of doing business on the internet really are impressive compared to other "regular" businesses. So I'm determined to try to blast through all the sales hype and figure out what really works - and what doesn't - and start making some money on the internet doing what works. Hopefully, somebody out there will appreciate my efforts here to give you an over-my-shoulder view of what I attempt to do.
So you can relax here, knowing that this is one of the rare places on the internet that you can read information on how to make money without simply being fed a sales pitch for whatever the author is trying to sell. (So far anyway, since I don't even have anything to sell you yet! Watch out for me later though, if I go on to become the next big internet guru!)
Thanks for reading so far!
My name is John, and I've decided to start a home business of some kind to supplement my income. I've tried some things in the past that didn't work out, so I've decided to make a fresh start and figure out what really works - and what doesn't. This blog is going to be my way of charting my progress and documenting what I learn as I go along.
I think it's obvious that starting a business of your own is a better way of going about creating additional income than just taking on a 2nd job somewhere. And a home based business seems to be the only way to go if you don't have a lot of money to invest. But of all the various types of home businesses you could get involved in, the idea of using just your computer and the internet to make money is what appeals to me the most.
We've all seen the get-rich-quick ads..."Be your own boss!", "Make money while you sleep!", "Stay home and make money in your pajamas!", etc. I know most of it's all just sales hype, but the benefits of doing business on the internet really are impressive compared to other "regular" businesses. So I'm determined to try to blast through all the sales hype and figure out what really works - and what doesn't - and start making some money on the internet doing what works. Hopefully, somebody out there will appreciate my efforts here to give you an over-my-shoulder view of what I attempt to do.
So you can relax here, knowing that this is one of the rare places on the internet that you can read information on how to make money without simply being fed a sales pitch for whatever the author is trying to sell. (So far anyway, since I don't even have anything to sell you yet! Watch out for me later though, if I go on to become the next big internet guru!)
Thanks for reading so far!
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