How To Start An Internet Business
Posted by James in Affiliate, Conversions, How To, List Building, Traffic
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It seems whenever I go to a BBQ or a friends place I get into a conversation about Internet Marketing. It makes sense since friends know I quit working for a boss a few years ago and I now live at the beach. They want to know how.
my backyard
This is what I usually tell them to get started…
In my conversations I usually end up giving them the short version of Fast Web Formula (my own formula for building a 7 figure business from scratch). This is the back of the beer coaster outline:
Step 1 – Mindshift
Prepare to bend your mind and move beyond the standard thinking that so many people suffer. Amazing things can be done online only if you accept that there are different rules (especially when it comes to leverage). Many office workers are conditioned into 9-5 thinking. You HAVE to break out of that mindset to make it online.
Step 2 – Plan
Have a strategy. Most people approach internet marketing with a product in mind and then try and figure out how to sell it. Wait, there is a better way! Often nobody is interested. I prefer to start with the audience in mind. The starving crowd we often hear about in marketing speak. Usually I suggest the basic strategy of being an affiliate (I liken this to being a commission only sales person). As an affiliate we still build a list and create an authority blog where we will eventually sell our own products as well.
Step 3 – Research
Time to do some keyword research. The easiest way to do this is use Market Samurai. If not, the Google keyword tool will suffice. We look for search terms that have some traffic, advertiser competition and less than say 60,000 results in ‘quotes’ in the search listing. In this example I ended up finding the key phrase: ‘How to start an internet business‘ from my seed search.
This should be a buying phrase with commercial intent. Words like ‘how to’ or ‘buy’ are always useful! Next we type that into Google and pull the keyword lists from the top few ranked sites using the alexa ’search analytics’ data. We will use these phrases in our content and as tags for blog posts and videos to help Google understand what our site is all about.
Step 4 – Money Link
Now we join a program where we can sell an offer relating to the keyword. We search for our keyword + affiliate. Often we will find a clickbank product or a CPA (cost per action) offer from somewhere like Neverblue. There are also some cool offers at CJ.com. Once we have signed up for an offer we now read the sales page and get into the mind of the buyer. Note if you already have a site that makes money you can use this technique to get yourself more traffic and links by pointing the campaign to your own site.
Step 5 – Content
Now we create or buy some content to use as a lead magnet. Ideally this can be a video (you can transcribe it later into a PDF report, MP3 podcast and blog post). This means we can use a youtube strategy of posting video content with a view to attracting clicks to a URL (web site address) displayed as a watermark in the video and in the description link next to the video. If we have no content we can rent or buy a youtube video by contacting the owner of an already existing video. If you are creating a video it can be a slideshow made with powerpoint. You can film yourself with a digital camera set to movie mode. Alternatively use screenflow or camtasia software just to make a screen video of you talking on the sales offer page whilst scrolling. See an example here.
Step 6 – Traffic
Time to get some traffic. We post our video and place links in the description to either the offer directly or your own blog. For affiliate links I suggest you use a re-directed domain. Buy a domain from namecheap and then re-direct it to the affiliate link using the built in free feature.
Later when you scale up you should host the re-directed domain on your own server so you can track traffic.
Here is the 301 re-direct index.php code I use:
(Click to enlarge picture)
If you are building a blog then get a nice keyword domain or brandable domain and build a wordpress blog on it using the C Panel wizard called Fantastico. There are a number of free tutorials on youtube for building a wordpress blog. Make sure you use the right SEO permalink structure of /%category%/%postname%/ and use six tags per post with keywords (that you got from Alexa).
Step 7 – Conversions
Now we need to get that click to the offer and also build our list. It will increase conversions if we offer a bonus with purchase. If we do that we can also collect an email address for each buyer. The blog should have a name capture with a useful free report or similar. Use aweber or similar to get the names and send out bonuses. Once you have some clients (even ten) send them to a survey from Survey Monkey and ask them what else they buy / would like to buy and make it for them! The goal of course is to build a huge qualified list so that you can make money any time you need it just by sending out targeted valuable offers.
More tips
Once you have this process in play you will be ready to get “its not about the website“. Be sure to get some links to your content using bookmarking, linkvana and other methods such as podcast directories and article distribution. If you need any help with any aspect of this process or you just want to learn a bunch more profit models then you may want to access SuperFastResults.com where I answer your questions personally.
Note: I have used affiliate links in this posts.
This is an example of how you can create useful content that also pays. You can do the same thing on your site.
Please post your comments below:
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In 17 minutes, I'll show you exactly how to get your Web marketing completely fired up and bringing in awesome results. Works best for new marketers (and veteran marketers who've hit sticking points) with building traffic and converting leads into real sales. Best part: It's a FREE report. Proven, tested... the exact "profit creation system" secrets I used to rocket from zero, to quitting my day job and earning a fortune online, from home, with zero employees and a cheap computer with wi-fi as my biggest overhead.
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41 Comments
08. Apr, 2010
James,
Your website is a daily ritual for me to visit, alwayz providing value.
Love it.
Cheers.
Aman
08. Apr, 2010
I love your informations, it’s always teach me something new. thanks James,
08. Apr, 2010
Wow James, always outdoing yourself.
Great post brother. Please keep making these free! Very valuable!
08. Apr, 2010
Fantastic stuff James. You have crystallized the whole process into a short easy to understand process.
Now we have no more excuses.
Q
08. Apr, 2010
Are you sure that fits on the back of the beer coaster?!
You always come up with’ the goods’- which is why you are so well respected James. Thanks.. again!
Maggie
08. Apr, 2010
Thanks James, I have heard you in action now found this website and will definitely be a regular visitor. This is a really good candid summary. I will be checking out all of your earlier posts to find more gems. T
08. Apr, 2010
@Maggie – you have to write very small! This post was made from the notes off my whiteboard from my last lab visitor (Dave) who is a dad from one of my kids school mates…
@Tessie – the search feature will yield hundreds of such posts!
08. Apr, 2010
Thanks James as i am a new bee this is great, i am also still powering my way through the forum which is also great
thanks heaps mate hope to have a web site up and running soon
08. Apr, 2010
hai James
Nice info,,, Thank You for sharing….
08. Apr, 2010
James, Everything you write and video is interesting and incisive stuff, but here you are dealing with seminal material which can start the wealth process for many who would otherwise get lost in the complexities of the subject.
Thanks a lot!
08. Apr, 2010
James,
I always appreciate your candor and your straight forward approach. This post in particular is a wonderful concise summary of the process and a great way to get folks excited about how easily they can learn and takes steps toward achieving the dream.
LOVE your office by the way – its really beautiful!
08. Apr, 2010
James,
How easy it is to forget that this can really be quite a simple business.
Thanks for reminding me to stay focused on the basics – and to take action.
08. Apr, 2010
Great summary, James. Very concise and to the point … but I’m not sure a newbie would completely understand what you are saying. For me much of this only makes sense because I’ve been there and know e.g what the google keyword tool is,why or what ‘in quotes’ might mean, what a ’seed search’ is, commercial intent , a redirected domain, permalink structure etc
This post seems to be more directed to intermediate IM’ers rather than a neighbor wanting to know how to start an internet business.
08. Apr, 2010
@Joy, I am laying out the road map for them. They will need to learn what each thing is and implement.
If I wanted to learn how to build a house I would be told to use an architect, submit plans, hire a builder etc… I may not know how to complete each step in full but I k ow what it looks like so that I can learn more.
09. Apr, 2010
Thanks for posting! just makes the pathway a little clearer.
09. Apr, 2010
Hey James, this is the plan I recommend to my offline mentees as well. What is funny is that most of them can’t go to through these basics. They want to make money immediately.
Franck
09. Apr, 2010
Hi Franck, there is certainly a HUGE HUGE opportunity in ‘done for you’
09. Apr, 2010
Thanks again James! It’s always a pleasure reading your posts.
10. Apr, 2010
@James
My point is , if they don’t know what an architect is or a builer or what ‘plans’ are then the advice would just go over the top of their heads …..
10. Apr, 2010
@Joy, The whole point is I am telling them!! They did not know before and now they do. The thing that I have noticed is that the friends I am helping are making it work and are coming back for more information to take it to the next level.
The post came from my whiteboard after talking to a newbie and he seemed to accept what I was telling him enough to want to know a LOT more.
12. Apr, 2010
What a great outline!
Great article above and really identifies the basics required to start any new internet business. A friend of my attended your previous conference in Sydney and highly recommended that i attend the next.
12. Apr, 2010
@James
All credit to you, James …
for me what attracted me most to your program is your genuine, warm and friendly approach so I felt able to trust that you are there to guide me to the next level … understanding the tekki vocab was secondary!
13. Apr, 2010
James, great post and content. The thing that stands you out in your field is your willingness to share what is current as it happens!
That AND that you make it sooo easy for a brand new people to understand while you show them how to make money to quit the rate race!
Well done!
26. Apr, 2010
Hi James,
A friend and I just checked your results with the Google tool and Market Samurai (looking at keywords generated from how to get started online) and the results are so different. Our Google results matches what you found, whereas Market Samurai did not come up with most of the phrases you found. Do you have an explanation? Is there something we might be doing incorrectly with Market Samurai? How do you decide which tool to use for your campaigns if this kind of thing happens (not matching), if that’s sometimes indeed the case?
26. Apr, 2010
@Lillea, I just ran a Market Samurai search and got similar word to the Google results:
Here is the screen shot of my settings:
https://imspeed.s3.amazonaws.com/Screen%20shot%202010-04-26%20at%2010.20.53%20AM.png
26. Apr, 2010
Thanks! Definitely helps to see the screen shots of your settings.
I’m still trying to figure out why the keywords are only similar (all of the ‘how to’ beginnings to the results in Google results compared to not that many generated by Market Samurai).
Given the differences, what would your top 2 phrases be from the MS results you shared just now?
26. Apr, 2010
I would be making the targets “starting a home based business” and also “starting a home business” if had used Market Samurai
26. Apr, 2010
“Create video content by simply reading your post.” Simply brilliant! This is another one of those ‘why didn’t I think of that?’ moments for me.
Actually when I first read that, I laughed thinking, who’s going to fall for this? But then I caught myself watching your video and paying more attention to the content than I was reading it.
Thanks for providing this info!
27. Apr, 2010
@Brandon. It is not designed to trick anyone, it is taking advantage of the fact that people (in the USA) now spend in excess of eight hours a day watching video! We are getting our content in front of them in a format they like.
27. Apr, 2010
You’re right. I didn’t mean to imply that it was a form of tricking anyone. I was just pointing out the amazing fact that you can dish up the same content in different ways and one way will get much better response.
27. Apr, 2010
Yes and the cool thing is you can leverage single medium distribution points like podcasting directories when you strip the audio off as MP3!
27. Apr, 2010
Great stuff – going straight to itsnotaboutthewebsite.
Could you explain why you chose the key phrase “how to start an internet business” over “how to start an online business” or “starting an online business” in your video?
28. Apr, 2010
Hi James,
Its great to see us little Aussies doing so well in the Internet Domain. Great stuff, great info.
But I don’t get why you used the search analytics data from alexa. Because you ended up registering “howtostartaninternetbusiness”.
Are you fishing out keywords they are not using for SEO?
Again great blog.
28. Apr, 2010
@Daniel,
It has to do with competition. In my post I mentioned to target a phrase that has search volume yet competition you can rank for.
Whilst I am sure I could rank for any of these the point was to demonstrate a fast result so I chose the one with less competition.
Here are the results Google shows for the options:
“how to start an online business” Results 1 – 10 of about 1,610,000
“starting an online business” Results1 – 10 of about 252,000
“how to start an internet business” Results 1 – 10 of about 54,800
So we chose one that is easier to rank for. The next plan would be to work on starting an online business since it has a lot of exact match searches and less competition than one of the other terms.
@Jamil – we were getting related terms from Alexa for out market using the data they collected from the top ranked sites to use as tags in our blog post, videos and content.
28. Apr, 2010
Ahhaahh that makes alot of sense.
This stuff is great,
Thanks James your a champ!
28. Apr, 2010
Just had another look over the article, I must have missed “We will use these phrases in our content and as tags for blog posts and videos to help Google understand what our site is all about. ”
With a new baby in the house its pretty obvious I need sleep
Thanks for sharing.
29. Apr, 2010
Jamil, I added it after your question. It needed to be clearer!
29. Apr, 2010
Your a good man, I’ll be book marking your site.
29. Apr, 2010
Awesome – I get it now. Watched the video again and you mentioned trying to get something with less than 60,000 results.
You de man!
29. Apr, 2010
Wow James you really went into a lot of detail here and I love that Alexa tip.
Thanks VVV Much!
AirHammer
13. May, 2010
Great post. You explained your reason for choosing “how to start an internet business” so clearly. Keep up the good work!
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