How long should it take to build your online business?

As long as it takes!

You need to find the right combination of business activities that work for you. Every person is different so no one can tell you exactly what needs to get done.

The method I like to teach people to build their online business is a slower method BUT when someone joins your business they will be targeted and organic.

Targeted means they are interested in what you are selling.

Organic means they found your page with a simple search for your topic.

This method also works for ANY online business!

My method:

1) Don't try to sell your business directly.

2) Choose your favorite topic that you like to talk about, learn about and write about.

3) Build a website or Blog about your topic.

4) Add as much original content that you can to that site. Write articles, add some original photos if you can, and link to a few other sites related to your topic. Keep adding content on a daily basis for 6 months to a year.

5) Add some links/ads to any of your online business items/product/services that are related to your topic. DON'T over do the links/ads keep them simple.

6) After you have a lot of content added to your site or Blog now you need to get the word out. Don't pay for any advertising! Use social networking like Facebook & Twitter to attract interested people. Join Forums related to your topic and participate in the discussions with your website in your signature file of each post. Visit other peoples Blogs that are related to your topic and leave comment and add your website or Blog link.

Here are a few of my blogs that I’m currently building:

http://tattootroll.blogspot.com/ - This is a tattoo Blog I built to sell ClickBank and PayDotCom items on but now that TripleClicks has a few tattoo related items I changed the ads.

http://tailgatemarketer.blogspot.com/ - This is my “Guru” Blog where I try to help online marketers and give reviews of business/finance/self-help books I read.

http://chroniclesofadungeonmaster.blogspot.com/ - This is a new Blog I have started and haven’t had as much time to keep updated but I played a lot of Dungeons and Dragons in high school so I thought it was a fun topic to talk about.

http://icreviews.blogspot.com/ - This is a movie review site that my wife and I work on but haven’t had time to update lately.

These are just ideas and as you can see they are not covered in annoying ads. Just find something you love and the sales & sign-ups will come!

Have a great day!

-Ian

Components of a good splash page or sales site

What are some of the components of a good splash page or sales site?

1. Sales Copy – The point is to convince someone they need your product or service. I'm not the best sales copy writer in the world BUT if you're on this list my must be ok at least. Things to think about when you write your sales copy: limited time, markdown in price, testimonials, good pictures/graphics, long guarantee window as 90 day as apposed to a 30 day, and sell the dream not the product or service!

2. Structure – Splash page has to fit your message in one page above the fold & only have a few pictures/graphics so it will be fast loading. If you add an Auto Responder e-mail sign up to the page your splash page now becomes a Capture Page! Sales sites should not be used in traffic exchanges because they see your page for 5-30 seconds and that’s not enough time for people to read a large page. The idea of a Splash or capture page is to get people from the traffic exchange to visit your site and read your sales copy when they have time. It's actually MORE important to get people to join your e-mail list then to buy the product or service you are marketing right now. My favorite auto responder and e-mail list product is Aweber they have a great tool for building e-mail sign up boxes to your pages. Checkout there services out a http://memberservices.aweber.com

3. Pictures or Graphics – Any good splash page, capture page, or sales page has some of these. You don't want to steal graphics or photos from other sites because you can get into some big trouble. I have heard of online marketers using a celebrity's picture to market something and they got sued! Keep it on the up and up! Make your own graphics or take a few of your photos and use them. Not all of us can make graphics or maybe your don't have a camera! You can buy some Royalty Free pictures and graphics to use on your site. I do this all the time and I even try to reuse them if I can. Royalty Free means you pay for them one time and you get the rights to use them with only a few conditions that really only affect someone printing the pictures more then 10,000 times or something like that. I like the website DreamsTime for my royalty free graphics and photos. If you're on a budget they do also have a collection of free pictures and graphics you can get! Check out DreamsTime free photos here: http://www.dreamstime.com/free-photos-resi1563715

I hope these simple ideas help you out a bit as you're building your splash, capture, and sales pages! If you have any questions about any details in this e-mail or just need some online marketing help please e-mail me!

Have a great day,

-Ian

Book Review: Cash in a Flash

Cash in a Flash: Real Money in No Time
By Robert G. Allen and Mark Victor Hansen

This is a book about how easy it is to make money if you can get into the right mind set.

Like many “How to make money” books there is always a large mindset and attitude element. The basics behind this book is that you need to be in the right mental space before you can excel in business. You could have all the ideas in the world but if you don't have the mental ability to work your ideas you will struggle.

Although not as good as their first book “The One Minute Millionaire” they do show several ways to make money both online and offline. In “Cash in a Flash” the main character Michelle Erickson from the “The One Minute Millionaire” returns but now she is the mentor helping her group of unlikely friends to make money and overcome life's troubles.

I love following the story line of this book but it is written in a two books in one format. So, if you want to read a story about how to make money you can but if you just want the “How to” version of the book you can also. Depending on the type of learner you are you can take something away from this book.

I give this book 3 out of 5.

Learn out more about this book on Amazon!

Have a great day,
Ian