7 Steps to Your First Website, Subscriber, and Sale

One of the major benefits of Internet and information marketing is that you can get started without quitting your day job.

You can create a home-based Internet business that will provide you with a steady side income. Here are the seven simple steps:


Step 1. Identify Your Market

The biggest mistake I see budding Internet entrepreneurs make is to start by trying to figure out what they're going to sell. And that can be tough. There are hundreds of thousands, even millions, of possible products and services.

It's more important to decide what market or niche you are going to target. When you identify your market, you will know who your prospects are, what problems they have, and what solutions they are looking for. And once you have that information, it's not hard to find a product to sell to them.


So how do you decide which market to go after? My recommendation is to make a list of all the things you are interested in and choose from that. Why make a list and not just zero in on your number one passion? Because you want to give yourself some options. Just because you have a strong interest in something doesn't mean there are enough people out there who share your interest and (very important) have money to spend on it.

Golfers, for example, are passionate about their game. They also have a lot of money to spend on golf-related "stuff." On the other hand, though teenage boys may be into sports and cars, you won't have much luck selling them anything anytime soon.


Step 2. Choose -- and Purchase -- a Domain Name


Another mistake that online entrepreneurs make is to try to come up with a domain name that is cute or creative.

Your domain name should be descriptive of your website topic and benefit-driven. Ideally, it should also include your main keyword. And, of course, it should be easy to spell and easy to remember.

A good example of a domain name that is easy to remember, easy to spell, descriptive, benefit-driven, and includes the main keyword of the website's topic: FreeCreditReport.com.

Step 3. Put Up a Website

If you can use a word processor, you can create a website. The software is similar.

Many marketers use and recommend WordPress. This is one of the best website content management systems out there. It is free... and fully customizable.

Step 4. Add an Opt-In Form to Your Site

When you visit any of the top marketer's websites, you'll notice that there is an opt-in box near the top right-hand corner.

Having an opt-in form is one of the things that separate successful online businesses from those that fail. It allows your site visitors to give you their names, e-mail addresses, and any other information you may want to collect.

By capturing their contact information, you can follow up with them on a regular basis via e-mail. You can send them valuable content, build a relationship with them, and bring them back to your website to sell them products they are interested in.

Step 5. Offer a Freebie

The best way to get people to give you their contact information is to offer them something of value in exchange. On my website, I offer free network marketing video training..
You could also offer a free special report or some type of tip sheet. Putting one together can be as simple as coming up with 10 questions that people in your niche are likely to ask and answering those questions. It can be just five or 10 pages long. Better yet, unlike a daily newsletter, you only have to write it once. Then you upload it to your autoresponder (the same software you use for the opt-in form) and have it automatically sent to everyone who gives you their name and e-mail address.

I recommend using a third party autoresponder service such as Aweber.

Step 6. Drive Traffic to Your Website

There are many ways to drive traffic to your website. But when you're starting out, you'll want to focus mostly on free traffic.

One of my favorite ways to get free traffic is by writing and submitting articles to article directories. I submit most of my articles to EzineArticles.com. (Make sure you include your website's URL in the blurb or bio that runs with the article.)

Another good way to get free traffic is through social media marketing. Search for blogs and forums that are related to your niche and answer questions and post comments. Most forums and blogs will allow you to link back to your website. Just be sure that you are providing good information and that what you have to say is relevant to the forum's or blog's subject matter.

Keep in mind that most of the people you attract to your website by submitting articles and through social media will not purchase anything from you. At least, they won't purchase anything on their first visit. But that's why you have the opt-in form -- to capture their contact information so you can keep bringing them back.

Step 7. Follow Up... and Start Making Sales

The final step is to follow up with the people on your opt-in list and start selling them products. These can be your own products or products you are promoting as an affiliate.

This, too, can be done with your autoresponder. For example, you could write a series of five to seven e-mails, each one promoting a different product. And as soon as people opt in to get your freebie, you have those e-mails automatically sent to them, one at a time, every couple of days.

Those are the seven steps you can take to quickly and easily launch a new online business. Once you have this basic system in place, you continue to build on it by learning more ways to bring traffic to your site, building a bigger opt-in list, and starting to promote what we call "back-end" products.$

[Ed. Note: Ray Buckner is offering a complete blueprint to helping you take control of your financial future with a web-based business that you can operate from anywhere in the world – including a coffee shop, your kitchen table, or anywhere around the world where there is Internet access. Discover how you can achieve the American Dream and your financial independence here. You’ve never seen anything like this before.]

Building Your List

Build Your List Three Ways


"How do I get more traffic to my website?" "How do I build a list?" "How can I make more money online?" These are three of the most common questions I get from aspiring Internet entrepreneurs, as well as seasoned online professionals.

Marketing guru Jay Abraham teaches that there are really only three ways to grow any business: Increase the number of customers, increase the number of purchases they make, or increase the average amount they spend on each purchase. Of course, in network marketing, I include building your baseshop.

In the world of online business, this translates into getting more traffic to your website and collecting their contact information. By building -- and marketing to -- your own in-house e-mail list, you'll find that you'll make more sales and gain more prospects. You'll also find that you can sell increasingly expensive products to those repeat customers.

There are hundreds (possibly thousands) of ways to get traffic to your website. The way I see it, all of them can be broken down into free traffic, paid traffic, and what I call leveraged traffic. Let's take a closer look at each one...

1. Free Traffic

As its name implies, free traffic is traffic that you don't have to pay for. The main benefit of this type of traffic is pretty obvious: It's free. And because of that, your potential return on investment (ROI) is almost unlimited.

The downside (relative to the other two types of traffic) is that it usually takes time to get a consistent, steady flow of visitors to your website, and it does take some work. The good news is that once you get it going, it builds on itself and the effect is long-term.

Here are my two favorite methods of generating free traffic...

• Search Engine Optimization (SEO) is the practice of optimizing the amount of traffic you get to your website from the search engines' natural or "organic" search results. In human language, that means getting your site listed by Google, Yahoo, and other search engines when people search for information related to what you're selling.

To get the most bang for your buck, you should identify the specific keywords that your potential customers are typing into the search engines, and create useful content for your website based on those keywords. Tools like SEO Book and Word Tracker will help you do this.

The idea, here, is that by adding valuable content to your website, the rankings will follow.

• Article Marketing -- submitting articles to other websites and article directories (like EzineArticles.com) -- is another good way to get free traffic to your website.

As with the content you create for your website, you write useful articles based on the keywords that your potential customers are searching for.

When submitting articles, I like to find websites related to my niche that already have high rankings in the search engines and already get a lot of traffic. Let's say you run a distributor for an energy drink company. To find likely websites to submit articles to, you might go to Google, type in "energy drinks," and make a list of the search results for that keyword. Then you'd do another search, this time for "sugar-free energy drinks." You'd repeat the process for 10 or 20 related keywords. Once you have a list of top-ranked websites, you'd contact them and offer to submit articles in exchange for a link back to your site.

2. Paid Traffic

The advantage of paid traffic is that it is immediate. Also, as compared to most free traffic, it is quantifiable -- and, thus, it is easy to tell whether a paid traffic campaign is profitable or will be profitable in the future. The disadvantage is that it costs money, and you'll probably experience some losses up front when you begin testing.

Here are two of my favorite methods of generating paid website traffic...

• Pay-Per-Click (PPC) advertising works in a way that is similar to SEO. When a user types a phrase into the search engine, they get a list of organic results. On the same page, they see a list of paid results -- ads placed by advertisers based on the keywords that had been typed in.

Getting started with PPC is fairly simple. You set up an account with one of the major PPC networks (like Google). You select the keywords you want to bid on and get listed for, and you write a short ad that will entice qualified prospects to click on your ad and visit your site. You can begin driving traffic to your website within minutes.

There are many factors that will determine your success with PPC, including how much you bid for the keywords and your ad copy. To make PPC work, you have to constantly test, test, and then test some more. It may take some trial and error, but once you find a winning combination, you can roll it out and be more aggressive.

• E-zine Advertising can help you reach a large group of highly targeted prospects. You can find e-zines and online newsletters that are related to your niche simply by doing a search on Google. Let's say you are in the credit repair niche. You might search Google for:"credit repair newsletter," "credit repair e-zine," and "credit repair e-newsletter." Then check with the e-zines/websites that come up to see if they run paid advertising. Those that do will probably offer several options, including short, inexpensive classified ads and more-expensive dedicated e-mail blasts.

Before testing an ad with an e-zine, I would first subscribe to it to see what it's like to be one of their subscribers. Do they send out good, useful content? Do they publish regularly? And do they have ads for products/services that are similar to those you plan to advertise? If the answer to those questions is yes, that publication is a good candidate for you.

Another tip is to look at the top ranked websites for your niche and see if they are acquiring names with any type of lead-capture or subscription box. If they are, contact them to see if they would be open to running your ad to their list.


3. Leveraged Traffic

What is unique about leveraged traffic is that it has all the positives of free and paid traffic without the negatives. It is both free and immediate -- and highly responsive, to boot. There are several ways to get leveraged traffic, including viral marketing and affiliate marketing. But I want to talk about my favorite: joint ventures (JVs).

JVs give you a quick and powerful way to get traffic to your website, build your list, make sales, and build your downline. It's one of the methods I used to start and grow my online business.
While there is no one way to do joint ventures, the most common JVs in the online world involve cross promotions, also known as e-mail swaps. Your JV partner sends an e-mail to their list promoting your product or service. In exchange, you send an e-mail to your list promoting their product or service.

With the kind of traffic generated this way, not only will you get a lot of it fast, but it will be much more responsive to your offer because it comes as the result of an endorsement from your partner (assuming you selected a good JV partner). And as you do more joint ventures, you'll build your in-house e-mail list and will be able to leverage off of that to do more joint ventures with the owners of larger lists.

So how do you find a joint venture partner? It's as simple as sending an e-mail, picking up the phone, or meeting someone at a conference or event. Introduce yourself, develop a relationship, and see if it makes sense for you to do business together. Once you experience the power of a joint venture, you'll never look back.

There you have it -- five specific ways to start driving traffic to your website and build your in-house e-list… five of the methods I use. As you can see, I use a multi-channel approach to online marketing, and so should you.

Improve on what you are already doing, and continue to learn new ways to generate more traffic and, ultimately, more sales and business partners.$

Pleast tweet or facebook this post if you found it useful. Thanks!

Will Your Retirement Mean Working Life Phase Two?

Will Your Retirement Mean Working Life Phase Two?

Copywriting - They Long To Be Close To You!

Marketing Wisdom in a 1970s Hit Song

"Just like me... they long to be... close to you..."

Okay, okay. Some of you may be too young to remember this 70's hit, but hear me out...

Because there's a whole lot of wisdom in that one line from the Carpenters' 1970 smash hit. And it has absolutely nothing to do with birds suddenly appearing every time you are near.

Let me explain...

I'm a pretty private person. I like to get started, focus on my work, and keep my personal business... well, personal.

But over the last year or so, I've been slowly cracking the door open and letting everyone have a peek at my life outside the office. And there's a reason for that.

Back when I was first dipping my toes into the Internet marketing waters, I read an article on copywriting by Rich Schefren. Rich is one of the world's best small-business strategists, and knows a thing or two about what it takes to be successful.

I knew nothing about Rich prior to reading his article. I learned that he drives a Maserati. And that his daughter is the "cover girl" for a popular supermarket item? And that he absolutely STINKS at tennis? He went on to explain why these "trivial facts" are important... and how they can help YOUR business grow.

And I was enraptured by Rich's teachings. His breakthrough ideas on writing sales copy were instrumental in my initial success online, and from time to time I still I refer to the notes I took from that article whenever I need a copywriting boost.

For instance, a couple of months ago...

I was at home working on some copy, and I quickly glanced at those article notes to get a kick-start.

What I got was a kick all right - a kick in the HEAD!

These are the exact words that popped out at me in all caps and yellow highlighting:

YOU ARE MAKING A HUGE MISTAKE IF YOU ARE NOT PERSONALIZING AS MUCH AS POSSIBLE.

Ever had an epiphany?

I did. I suddenly realized how closed and impersonal I had become in my sales copy, and how I had alienated many of my readers because of it.

I realized that, no matter how I may feel or think, in order to become a trusted advisor to my prospects and customers I needed to open up about myself, about my family, and about my life outside of business activities. And if I opened the curtain a little, they would most likely respond very positively.

In other words, Rich Schefren reached out from that sheet of paper, slapped me upside the head, and said: "Yo, Buckner... take a lesson from Karen Carpenter. They long to be 'close to you.' So LET 'EM!"

I made a vow right then and there that I was going to create a stronger bond with my audience.

So I started focusing more on empathizing with them, understanding their situations, feelings, and motives. I dug deep to find out what kept them up at night... what gnawed at their very core... and how my products could help solve that problem.

Then I immersed myself into their conversations. I studied the forums and social networking sites they frequented. I made note of the buzzwords they tossed out. I wanted to learn the language they spoke so I could talk to them more effectively on their level.

Finally, I just tried to be myself. I know that sounds overly simplistic, but it's so crucial. Because we all know people who tried to be someone else. And they failed miserably because there was no truth or integrity in anything they said. So I let my personality shine through a lot more, making a point of telling my readers about the little things - not just the big things - that affect how I live, work, and play.

And guess what? The response was AMAZING! My subscriber rates went through the roof, I saw significant increases in sales, and my "likeability" factor was suddenly off the charts. All because of this shift in my copy.

What about you? Is your copy stiff, stale, and lacking in personality? Are you pulling your prospects and customers "close to you" with your e-mails, sales letters, and blog posts? Or are you pushing them further away?

Because in the words of John Carlton, one of the top copywrighters around, "Good copywriting is like sitting down, cracking a beer, and shooting the sh**." I don't know how to put it any better.

If you can integrate this mindset into your copy, you'll create a stronger bond with your prospects, customers, and subscribers. As a result, you'll make LOTS more money (and get a lot more enjoyment out of being a copywriter).$

[Ed. Note. Ray Buckner is dedicated to helping you take control of your financial future with a web-based business that you can operate from anywhere in the world – including a coffee shop, your kitchen table, or anywhere around the world where there is Internet access. Discover how you can achieve the American Dream and your financial independence here. You’ve never seen anything like this before.]

Get Famous On Facebook In 60 Days

Date: Wednesday, December 1, 2010


Time: 6:00 PM PST / 7:00 PM MST / 8:00 PM CST / 9:00 PM EST



For more time zones, please see the Time Zone Converter.



This is such an incredible story!



16 months ago 2 of my friends were broke,

struggling, living in the basement of a bar,

and had $40.00 between them.



Fast forward to today, and these 2 musicians

have a blog ranked in the top 30,000 websites

in the WORLD, they get over 1,000 unique

visitors to their websites PER DAY, and they've

made over 5-Figures in 7 Days!



And they did the majority of this damage with

the help of a little website called FaceBook!

(AND IT WASN'T PPC)



They actually didn't even touch the "techie"

side of the internet. They used real PEOPLE

TO PEOPLE strategies that are simple, F*R*E*E,

and they work!



Want to see what they've been up to over

the past 16 months that has skyrocketed

their business to ultra-heights?



This Wednesday December 1st at 9 PM EST

they've agreed to share some of their insider

secrets with you completely F*R*E*E!



Crazy, eh?! But because of their big hearts

and commitment to helping networkers

get to the promised land, YOU get to benefit

in a VERY big way this week.



Register now and show up early.

This will undoubtedly sell out:



== > https://www1.gotomeeting.com/register/380254465



This Wednesday, December 1st

9PM Eastern (5 GMT)

8PM Central

7PM Mountain

6PM Pacific

http://www.timeanddate.com/worldclock



This training is going to be pure gold, and

can be directly responsible for you having

an amazing financial year in 2011. I hope you

get your seat before this thing sells out!



Successfully,

Ray Buckner

http://rbuckner.mlsp.com



630-890-1458 begin_of_the_skype_highlighting 630-890-1458 end_of_the_skype_highlighting

SKYPE: ray.buckner

ray@raybuckner.biz



****************** END COPY *****************

Click Here To Register For Your Webinar Seat Now!

Attracting A Starving Crowd

"In the end, you make your reputation and you have your success based upon credibility and being able to provide people who are really hungry for information what they want." Brit Hume

You've grasped the concept of Attraction Marketing. You've set up your Twitter, Facebook and Youtube accounts. Wow, you've even started blogging! Now, how do you create headlines and content that drive prospects to your site or capture page?


Well, the best way is to market exclusively to a "starving crowd."

A starving crowd not only wants the information you are offering -- it has an insatiable appetite for it. Therefore, even with a lot of players in the same market, we can all do well, because the market's demand is a bottomless pit.

In particular, there are three "starving crowd" markets that have an especially consistent demand for information: Hobbyists, Business Opportunity Seekers, and Moneymaking/Investing. We, as Better Networkers, are interested in Business Opportunity Seekers.

Business Opportunity Seekers

There is a voracious appetite for information on how to make money in your spare time, start a home-based business, change careers, or earn a living without having a job.

I believe business opportunity seekers can be divided into two groups.

The first group is doers. Doers are serious about changing their lives, and they actually pursue the course of action you recommend.

The second group is dreamers. Dreamers enjoy learning how to do what they want to do, yet take no action beyond reading about it.

You can't usually distinguish between these segments of your market, but you really don't have to -- because both consume an unending stream of information products.

Of course, there are other starving crowd niches for information marketers, including: self-help... relationships... sex... health and fitness... beauty... fashion... and weight loss. But hobbies, business opportunities, and moneymaking are by far the largest and most active.

One of the biggest mistakes beginning information marketers make is choosing, as their primary niche, a market that is not a starving crowd.

Without a starving crowd of buyers, you will always be fighting an uphill battle to peddle your info products. And you will be forever frustrated that your prospects aren't buying your valuable information when you know it's stuff they absolutely should have.

But people don't readily do what they should do -- or what you think is good for them. They are much more easily convinced to buy what they already want... rather than what you think they need.

So when you select a starving crowd -- like business opportunity seekers-- as your primary niche, you can sell your prospects the stuff they want... over and over again.$

[Ed. Note. Ray Buckner is dedicated to helping you take control of your financial future with a web-based business that you can operate from anywhere in the world – including a coffee shop, your kitchen table, or anywhere around the world where there is Internet access. Discover how you can achieve the American Dream and your financial independence here. You’ve never seen anything like this before.]

Word Of Mouth Marketing

Use Your Mouth




We have all heard of B-to-C (business-to-consumer) marketing. And we have all heard of B-to-B (business-to-business) marketing. We have even (more recently) heard of C-to-C (consumer-to-consumer) marketing. But what Word of Mouth Marketing explores is the new world of B-to-C-to-C marketing - business-to-consumer-to-consumer!

You may be thinking, "Word of mouth isn't a new concept. It's been going on forever. So what's the big deal?"

What's new is that word of mouth has evolved from anecdotal to actionable, from something that "just happens" to something you can influence. In fact, because we now have the tools and knowledge to work with it, word of mouth marketing has become the fastest-growing form of marketing.

Word of mouth is about authentic consumer conversation. That means marketers join in a conversation with their customers, participating in it but never manipulating, faking, or degrading its fundamental honesty in any way.

There are five T's to word of mouth marketing:

1. Talkers: Finding people who will talk about you

Talkers are any group of people who have enthusiasm and the connections to relay your message. Talkers are regular people, your best prospects/customers.

You just don't find talkers... you cultivate them. People talk about you for two reasons: They either had a very good experience with you or they had a very bad experience. Either way, by responding to their comments you can turn them into big marketers for your brand. Here's how to do it:


     •Acknowledge your mistakes. People appreciate honesty. If you make a mistake, do not try to sweep it under the rug. Instead, apologize to those affected, correct the problem and thank them for staying with you. You will be surpised by the number of people that you hear back from. They will not only thank you for correcting your mistake, but often they will tell you that they have since recommended your service to several people they know.

    •Acknowledge compliments. Many people think that if someone pays you a compliment, a response is not necessary. This could not be further from the truth. That person took the first step by making a comment. Now you need to seize the opportunity to turn her into a talker. You do this by replying to your customers' letters, e-mails, and forum postings.

     •Acknowledge your fans. Sometimes you can turn a person into a talker just by talking to them first. Look for signs of extreme enthusiasm. Look for prospects who frequently attend the events you sponsor, or who comment on your blog posts or tweets.

2. Topics: Giving people a reason to talk

All word of mouth starts with creating a message that spreads. In other words, with a good, clear idea that's easy to repeat.

Good topics are organic. They are based on the exceptional qualities that make your products stand out. They flow naturally from the products' attributes, without needing to be pushed by marketing.

3. Tools: Helping the message spread faster and further

Non info-publishing, info-marketing companies have been doing this for years. Dining establishments spread the word by handing out 2 for 1 coupons. Cosmetics companies give away free samples. Apartment complexes offer one month's free rent. Phone companies give you a $50 credit for referring a friend. And so on.

But with the Internet, it has never been faster, easier, or cheaper. Just think about it. How many times have you read something online and forwarded it to not just one or two friends, colleagues, or relatives but five or 10? And that's without any marketing push. If you have a "Forward to a Friend" or "Tell a Friend" button at the bottom of your e-mailed publication, you're adding exponential marketing power to it.

I love to find out what my prospects are saying, because it helps me better understand their needs. If you ask me, any company that believes in their products and employees will have forums. Forums not only facilitate communication, they increase accountability.

4. Taking Part: Joining the conversation

Once you have reached out to real people and encouraged them to talk, there is no turning back. You must join the conversation. You must reply to e-mails, accept comments on your blog, participate in the discussion board, answer the phone.

Joining the conversation is even more powerful when it is public. Publish readers' comments and questions. Understand that if one of your readers is struggling and takes the time to ask for help, you need to (1) acknowledge that and (2) share our advice with others who may be in the same situation.

Again, if your prospects are complimenting you, thank them. If prospects are saying negative things, find out why and fix the problem.

There is no better focus group than your prospects. Yes, you will get crazies every once in a while - and you may need to hire outside resources to communicate with them on your behalf. But, at the same time, you are earning the respect and recommendations of your prospects and building long-term lasting relationships with them... as long as you are helpful, truthful, thankful, and nice.

5. Tracking: Measuring and understanding what people are saying

Because of the popularity of blogs and online communities, people are writing down nearly every thought they have about your company. And because these B-to-C-to-C conversations are written down, they are easy to find and easy to track. You can find every comment about you and your company moments after it is written. And monitoring that online communication allows you to understand what your customers really think about you, your marketing, and your products.

There are wonderful online tools - such as Google Alert and Technorati - that can help you monitor your word of mouth. They are at your fingertips, and they are instant and free.

Start right now. Don't make any marketing decisions without considering the potential for word of mouth. Ad agencies, media executives, and reporters no longer control the message. Real consumers with real communication power have added their voices to the mix. And their voices are drowning out traditional media. A single consumer voice, in the end, has a huge impact on your future.

Word of mouth will become more and more important to my business as the Internet continues to expand. But I am still a firm believer in the importance of direct-response marketing. The best thing you can do for your brand is to successfully incorporate multiple methods into your overall marketing strategy. You'll maximize your efforts, build your customer base, and reap the profits.$

[Ed. Note. Ray Buckner is dedicated to helping you take control of your financial future with a web-based business that you can operate from anywhere in the world – including a coffee shop, your kitchen table, or anywhere around the world where there is Internet access. Discover how you can achieve the American Dream and your financial independence here. You’ve never seen anything like this before.]