I can’t tell you how many times a week I get a Tweet, email or question from my subscribers and members of InfoMarketer’sZone complaining that they have TRIED different techniques to start a business and make money online but still haven’t made a cent.
Recently I talked with one of our members and they claimed to have tried everything from CPA to affiliate marketing, blogging to niche websites, video marketing to social marketing – but still hadn’t earned their first $10 in over 5-years of trying!
Wow – I could pull something out of my closet, sell it on eBay and make $10 profit in the next 15-minutes, obviously there is a disconnect here.
If you are reading this and find yourself in the position of not seeing the fruits of your efforts pay off in profit then read closely.
How NOT To Build A Business
Let’s start by what you have tried.
When you say you have “tried” blogging, niche sites, etc…what does that mean?
Just because you did SOMETHING doesn’t mean you did the RIGHT things
When you try a particular technique or monetization method and it flat-out doesn’t produce you are doing something wrong.
It’s most likely one or more of the following:
- You are not properly targeting your market (too broad, too narrow, no commercial intent, they have no money)
- You are not connecting with the right audience (reach is too narrow, too uncontrolled, missing the mark)
- You are not doing enough (too little action, very little cross marketing, lacking massive action, haven’t stayed with it long enough)
- Wrong value proposition (you are offering nothing of value, you are offering value but it doesn’t align with what you are selling, you are not going after engagement)
- Your product(s) suck (you could be reaching the right audience, getting their interest, but then your product(s) or product pitches suck)
For example, let’s take blogging because it is a popular avenue many of you choose as an initial method of publishing content and hosting your first web contact with your market.
With blogging – your objective is to select a market where there are commercial opportunities and ideally an intersection with something you either know about today or at least like enough to learn as you go.
Then, you blog with the intention of building a following…loyal readers and followers.
This means you have to go out and find them – bring them into your content from social, forums, co-posting, endorsements, etc…and then combine your interesting postings with some promotions for either your own products or the products of others that you have reviewed/used and endorsed.
This also means posting content daily, reaching out to audiences/your market daily, engaging with your market daily consistently for weeks on end until you begin to build that following.
But that’s not what most people do.
Most people blog daily for a week, then they blog a couple times the next week. Â After that, they miss a week, then blog a bunch for a couple more weeks and then miss another week.
All the while, they are mixing content as to either what they want to write or change gears so often your readers can’t tell what your blog is really all about.
A much better strategy is to commit to blogging daily for 6-weeks. Â Carefully plan your blog content around key topics of most interest to your target market AND that align with the challenges the products you are selling address.
As well, commit to spreading and multi-purposing your content into articles, social posts, videos so you get cross platform coverage and LOTS of content.
Remember, a business is placing yourself between a desire for something and fulfillment – and doing so in a way that adds value.
While we can’t guarantee your results – chances are high that you will make your first $20 and that you will either ramp up quickly or at least obtain feedback that will let you pivot giving you the real market intelligence that will help you rapidly grow your online profits.
