I am now going to speak frankly and directly about what it takes to
make money in an Internet business. Traditionally, that is not done,
but I've pretty much had it with some of the 'traditions' of online
business.
Many times during my first months on the Internet, I started to
doubt whether I would ever make any money at it.
Every time I felt I was doing something that should get results, I'd
learn another hard lesson about why what I was doing was NOT
working.
It took about 4 months before I saw my first dollars, and even then
they came few and far between. It took until my 7th month online
before I actually turned a profit for the month. Since, I've
maintained a profitable business.
Still, I have further goals to achieve before reaching the kind of
money we all dream of making.
However, looking back now I can see just how much I have
grown and learned. I was so stupid in my early days. It's no
wonder I got little sales. Looking back at what I was offering, I
wouldn't buy from me either!
I don't claim to be a 'guru' yet by any means, but I do now know a
definite truth about the way the Internet works.
To make money, especially consistent money with repeat buyers,
you must have a UNIQUE WORTH.
You have to offer what no one else offers or offer a similar but
BETTER product or service than what others offer.
That sounds oversimplified perhaps, but think about it. When you
make a purchase, you want to KNOW you are getting the best
available, or at least the best available for the price.
That's how you treat other businesses because that's how you have
always treated other businesses. You DEMAND a good product
or service for a good price, AND you like to get it from where you
know you can REGULARLY find the best product or service for a
good price.
That's the way you are as a consumer. That's the way ALL
consumers are. So, just because you got on the Internet and heard
promises of huge, instant riches, do you really think your business
is going to be treated any differently?
No! You are just another business in an over crowded setting
where regular consumers will blow right by you in search of
something familiar with a good product at a good price.
UNLESS, you take hold of your business, PERSONALIZE it to
stand out among the crowd, add extra features, group other
opportunities to make your business unique, offer a better price on
a known product, or create a better product.
Hey, this is what we all expect. That is the way businesses in
competitive markets run. The Internet is an EXTREMELY
Competitive Market.
You've seen all the claims about how many people are marketing
online. You've seen them used as an example of how big your
market can be. Well, guess what? That's also how big your
COMPETITION will be!
What makes you think you can simply click your way into an
affiliate program, slap out one ad, and wind up with a six figure
residual income you can go play on for the rest of your life?
Oh yeah, all the ads that said you could, huh? Well, guess what?
People LIE on the Internet. Yes, I'd dare say 95% of the ads you
see claiming you can make a six figure income are posted by
people NOT making a six figure income.
Does this mean it's impossible? No! The Internet is a place of
great opportunity. There are huge numbers willing to buy from you
WHEN you offer whatever it is those huge numbers believe will be
beneficial to them.
That is THE KEY to sales. You MUST offer something of unique
worth that will benefit your buyers. From there you can learn how
to get traffic to your site. From there you can learn how to write
effective sales copy. From there you can learn how to retain
customers and get repeat sales.
Until you have that desirable, beneficial, UNIQUE product,
service, group of products, or presentation of products,
however, sales will not happen.
That's not to say you can't make any money with affiliate programs,
but what is it about using the basic affiliate classifieds leading to the
basic affiliate web site that is going to make you unique among
everyone else?
Nothing.
However, there are ways. Mostly in my articles I talk about
running your own business. Next week, though, I'll go into
specifics about working affiliate programs and different streams of
income to gain profit.
The overall lesson here is a simple one, however. Seek to provide
the same kind of quality, unique, worthwhile products or service
that YOU demand.
Take a lesson from your own buying habits and apply it to what
you are offering.
More related to affiliate program promotion next in this series.
About the Author
Joe Bingham, Editor of the NetPlay Newsletters.
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