One bite at a time - just like eating an elephant…
Information Overload…
Every one here has come up against the “info-overload barrier” - and there’s only one way to handle it… the same way you would eat an elephant: One bite at a time!
Actually, the trick is to take a good look at what you want to accomplish - for example, maybe you want a passive income that keeps going no matter what you do. Maybe you want money to come in “bursts”. Maybe you want a complete “no-hands” approach. Maybe you just want to experiment - and play - with marketing. Maybe you want it to be a full-time job.
First, get pencil and paper - don’t even try to keep this in your head. (The best way is to create a mind map and, yes, there are free mind-mapping programs available…plug this phrase into Google “free mind mapping software” - this one is pretty good… http://www.thebrain.com/#-47)
Number 1 is to determine what you want from Internet Marketing.
Let’s say you are the mother of 3 toddlers under 4. You must stay home with them. You cannot take your eyes off them. You want an income from the internet that isn’t going to require that you spend a lot of time working on the project. OK - we’ll look at “passive income.”
Number 2 is to “quantify” those wants… how much do you want or need to have as that income? Our Mom above decides she needs $2000 a month. Now, you can break that down to weekly, daily or hourly income if you like - or if it will give you a clearer idea of how that will translate in terms of work.
Number 2 is “quantify” - put a number to it.
Our Mom now knows she’ll need to make $2000 a month from passive sources.
Number 3 is to determine “what methods” will get you there.
And this is where most people get bogged down. There are so many possible ways to do it! There are membership sites, niche sites, auction sites, individual product sites, service sites, affiliate sites, and on and on and on.
But there’s a little trick here, too! You are not restricted to using only one method - as a matter of fact, the more you use the better! Multiple streams of income. Little trickles from many sources flow together to make streams, streams flow together to make rivers, rivers flow into oceans. Start anywhere!
Any product (or groups of products) can be sold using any or all of the methods listed above Maybe our Mom really likes crafts. She can create a membership site for crafts, or for a specific craft. She can create a CD or DVD and sell it on eBay or other auction site, she can create a niche sales site and sell individual products. She can create a site that teaches. She can create an affiliate site using products from Commission Junction, etc. There are all kinds of things she can do.
You can also get very technical and check what search terms and keywords people are searching for and set up sites for those items, but I like the personal - “this is something I’m interested in” approach. People seem to realize when personal energy is invested into a site or product.
Number 4 is “sell it.”
Like the above, there are a myriad number of ways to sell and market - both free and paid. And, like above, you should employ as many of them as possible. There are articles, viral ebooks, audio files, video files, cross-linking, back-linking, recruiting affiliates, forums, and many, many more. You can create a “package” of sales techniques that you use on every site, with every “method’ above. Yes, like a cookie cutter.
Probably the most overlooked, or possibly ignored, aspect of this is persistence. Back in the old days of advertising, the phrase was “If you throw enough sh*t on the wall, some of it’s bound to stick.” Keep track of what sticks and do it again.
Within a short period of time, your many little trickles will become a stream. And then a river…
Of course, this is all very simplified, and there is so much more to know… (for example: how do I pay for hosting 10, or 20 or 100 sites??) but that’s all part of refining your techniques…
