Newbies - Get A Plan of Action for Success!

New to the Net? Then be sure to avoid the one great trap that has caught us all out time and again. Remember, being on the Internet is like being a small child in a brightly-lit candy arcade with hundreds of shop windows crammed with tempting, sugary goodies. (Check True or False? if you need a reality check.) Here is how to deal with being tugged from all directions:

• Don't believe everything you read.
  "Of course not," you say. Easily enough said. But the place IS chock full of temptation and every sales-page has been carefully crafted to suck you in. Some of the greatest minds in advertising are working on here, so beware.
• Find the business model that suits you.
  See the list below.
  This MAY take a little experimentation. Some people may be ideally suited to Direct Marketing, some may find Affiliate selling is the model they prefer. Some would much rather have their own products to sell. You may have an instinctive feel for what suits you or you may have to experiment a little. Do that initially, if necessary - but don't get into the trap of hopping from one thing to another looking for greener grass.
  There IS NO greener grass, just as there is no one "secret answer" no "quick fix". The problem with the net is that we are all bombarded with advertising hype telling us there is - and it's all just lies.
• Remember also, it doesn't hurt to fail
  In fact, you will be the wiser for failing, and a step closer to success.
• Once you have found the business model you are happy with, STICK TO IT!
  Evaluate anything else that comes your way very stringently. Ask yourself:
  • Is this gizmo going to help me with my present endeavour?
  • Have I got immediate plans for the use of this thing?
  If what's beckoning you won't help you with your current focus LEAVE IT ALONE! It will only end up scattering your attention and weakening your efforts. If it's some great tool that looks like it could be useful, don't be sucked in by the advertising hype unless you can objectively see an immediate use for it that will benefit your present business right away.
• Be very clear and precise about who your market is.
  Just because you are on the Internet and have the whole world at your fingertips doesn't mean selling to the world is a good thing - in fact, it's the worst thing you could try to do. The more narrowly you define the people you are selling to, the better you will sell.
  This "niche" thing isn't just the latest fad - there's a very good reason for it. Every buyer needs to feel trust in a seller before they will buy - they need a feeling of rapport. If you have decided very precisely who your target market is, it's easier to write your copy as if you were talking to these people and that's the kind of ad copy that's likely to convert into sales.
  Chances are, too, that you will sleect a niche that you are familiar with and so you will have something worthwhile to say, and that will build rapport and trust in your visitors.
• Learn to Write.
  There are several articles on this site about writing. The best place to start is HERE. Writing well takes discipline, but it's worth mastering at least the basics if you are serious about succeeding on the net.
• Don't get bogged down in theory.
  We all have hard-drives chock full of "how-to" e-books, many of which we have never read. Sometimes the more you read, the harder it is to start. You can go on reading forever, so make the decision NOW to get started.
• Begin by Focussing.
  Focus first on whatever good advertising method is the least threatening to you, whether it be Classifieds, Blogging, RSS, or adding Adsense to your site. Determine to make a go of that and get it set in place before you go on to anything else. Once you have that in place move on to the next method. Again, remember there is no "one secret" and most successful marketers have a number of methods working for them. Each time you get a stream of advertising working for you you will feel a sense of achievement that will spur you on to the next one. Don't get scattered with this - stick to one thing at a time and don't expect miracles overnight. Remember, the guys who boast of making thousands of dollars from one mailing have huge, established mailing lists.
• Build your Marketing Arsenal.
  I emphasize this because marketing is the most important part of business on the net. You must learn to do it, whatever business you are going to pursue. In fact, your main goal needs to be to learn to market, because once you have mastered that, you can apply your marketing system to any enterprise you may take on.
• Build More Income Streams.
  Once your first business is running nicely, you can start to look at building additional streams of income. This is an important strategy - but don't use this principle as an excuse to get yourself scattered when you are just starting out. Keep your focus in the early stages. What you learn in establishing yourself the first time will guide you to your next venture.

  INTERNET BUSINESS MODELS Selling Your Own Physical Product or Products You will need your own domain, website, production line, payment processing and shipping facility, and you will operate like a Mail Order business, using the Internet to advertise to your customers. Selling Your Own Digital Product or Products You will need your own domain, website, and payment processing. No shipping is required, and the joy of this is that you create each product only once, and load it onto your server, for download by customers after they are processed through your shopping cart. Selling Physical Products for Dropshippers You will need your own domain and website. Everything else is handled by the Dropshippers when you refer customers to them, and you get a set percantage of the buying price. Affiliate Selling of Others' Digital Products No domain or website required. No startup costs. Sign up as an affiliate at Clickbank, where there are hundreds of products to choose from. Look around there for products to suit your niche that pay a good rate of commission. Go to their selling pages, click on "Affiliates" or "Make Money", and you will get a referral link that you can put your Clickbank ID into for sending buyers to the Sales page. You get a set percentage of the buying price. Selling by Auction on Ebay You may buy items locally to sell on eBay, buy and sell on eBay, or sell dropshipped goods on eBay. Direct Marketing or MLM The best kinds of MLM are those with real, consumable products that people are likely to continue buying - or membership sites offering marketing tools and know-how: but beware, there are many of these. People are becoming very picky about what they will join, because there are so many choices, and the attrition rate is high.

  
  Patricia Howitt
  Webmistress