I've been making a full time, VERY good living online since 2001.
And I can say for sure, there are MANY different ways to make money.
Amazon, Facebook, Affiliate sales, Services, Kindle books, the list goes on and on.
The 6 steps below are the ones I've used, again and again, to do VERY well. I used these same 6 steps to release my first ever fitness eBook back in 2002, and they are the same steps I used to release an eBook I wrote last week.
This is NOT meant to be a complete guide, but rather it just gives you a brief outline of what I did, and what I still do today.
You can use these steps to launch just about any business online... it is not just for eBooks.
I'm not suggesting you'll make any money, but I CAN say that if you follow these 6 steps, the likelihood you will increases GREATLY.
Again, this is not the ONLY way as I'm sure folks here have done better, made more, and did it faster and easier.
All I know is, if you're stuck... these 6 steps can help you get unstuck.
Step 1: Find LOTS of People & Help them Solve a BIG Problem
I've learned that the true secret to making money online is helping a LOT of people solve a painful problem that's really affecting their lives and their happiness.
Make sure there's a lot of people LOOKING for a solution. Then set out to PROVE you can help them. I'll show you how to do that in the steps below.
Problems, wants, desires are ALL potential markets that are profitable.
So if you want to make money online, start trying to HELP as many people get what they want.
This is why the "make money" niche, sex, relationships, weight loss, health, and dating markets will always sell well and make business owners money.
These are markets where people continue to have problems they want to solve or at least get help with.
And many of these niches?
The need keeps popping up, over and over.
In other words, "sex" is a very profitable niche.
Why? Because the demand never goes away... so neither does the chance to make money selling to that niche, and others like it.
I'll take it a step further: Target problems in which people spend a lot of money to solve and are already doing it. Don’t start selling a product if there’s no other successful people doing it.
It could mean there's market for it or that it's not profitable.
Piggy back on successful markets or niches and just try to make a better product. Make it faster/cheaper/stronger/more durable.
The questions I ask myself when creating a new product are...
- Is there a large enough group of people looking for a solution?
- Are these people easily reached?
- Are there already products selling well?
- Can I find a new and better hook?
- Is there repeat business potential (memberships, supplements)
- Can you offer complimentary products (paid newsletter that sells vitamins)
If I can answer “Yes” to all of these, it’s a good market.
Step 2: Give Away Something that PROVES You Can Help
The secret sauce that has worked really well for me is to be helpful enough in my marketing and content... it ATTRACTS people who want to buy.
I do that by first giving away valuable information that prospects can use right away to get a quick win or rapid result they can see or FEEL.
When it works and they get the desired results they want… there's a very good chance that prospects will come to their own conclusion that YOU and your product are the solution to the problem they want to get rid of.
When you help someone first, without even asking for money, you've gone from "pain in the ass marketer" to a trusted resource.
I’ve been doing this for over 19 years now. I give away something so valuable, the prospect sees a quick win or a result and then wants to come and buy or hire me.
Of course, you can't give away everything you have… but you CAN give away some advice that helps prospects see SOMETHING that moves them closer to a desired result.
I can assure you, if you do, you'll be seen as someone who cares for them and has their best interests at heart. You'll be unlike other marketers who just try to sell all the time.
And by offering up something of value, you can get their email address and build a quality relationship that can last years.
Think of your free report as the key that unlocks the purchase of the full priced product.
Also, with the free report, you trigger the law of Reciprocity in which your prospects will feel almost compelled to do something nice in return for you.
Step 3: Promote Your Free Report/Get Traffic
Let me tell you from personal experience… the only way to make a lot of money online is by getting a lot of traffic.
You’ll never make a decent income if people aren't seeing what you're selling.
Google ads, Facebook, forums, email marketing, solos ads, press releases, interviews, media buys, offline marketing, JV's, etc... you need to work hard at promoting your free offer.
Twitter, Linked In, Affiliates, Media Buys, Solo ads, Bing, Email list buys, article marketing, and more.
These days, to get traffic, you’ll get the most from Google Adwords, organic SEO on Google, Facebook ads, and media buys.
Step 4: Lead them to the Solution to their Problem
Once you've given them valuable insight with your free report , you want to either create a product that solves their biggest problem or point them towards one, as an affiliate.
You do NOT have to own the product to do very well online, you can do just fine as an affiliate.
Think of the biggest, most painful problem in your target market and make sure you have a product to solve that.
When creating your product… think of your target market’s BIG problem and write a solution to solve it. If it comes out to 30 pages, so what?
Each chapter can offer an exact step that helps solve the one big problem or each chapter can be written to solve individual problems the prospect has.
Either way, just create your program so it offers a solution and gives the steps to solve the problem.
Or, become an affiliate and promote products you know will help your prospects.
“Product creation” is nothing more than offering a solution to their BIG problem. You can do it in video, audio, written, or a combo.
Don’t spend years creating your product because the money is NOT in the product.
The money is in the marketing. So focus on marketing it anywhere you can.
You can mention your full length product at the end of your free report, on a Thank you page after someone opts in to get the report, and you can mention it in the emails you use to deliver the free report.
Step 5: Send Prospects to a Persuasive Sales Letter that Promotes the Full Product
You can create a million dollar business with just a few pages on your website.
I know, because I've done it and dozens of colleagues have as well.
Using sales copy that persuades visitors to invest in your product... you can use the free report, download page, and emails to do the pre-selling.
If you have a lot of products that complement each other, you can set up what's called a Sales Funnel to offer your different products to the leads who come through.
But for the most part, the action takes place with your opt in page/squeeze page and sales page, which you can send people to once they opt in to get that report.
After they fill in their name/email to get your freebie... you send them to a thank you page that persuades people, right then and there, to solve that painful problem they have.
Again, whether it's a sales page, video sales letter, or download page... come up with a good hook which captures attention and have your sales page offer benefits and a solution.
People don't buy products... they buy results and solutions. So focus on the problem and use sales copy to PROVE you have the unique solution that's better and different than anything else.
Step 6: Rinse and Repeat to Build a List of Customers
When someone buys one of my books, courses, or programs... they're sent to a download page that has another opt in box.
I ask them to enter their name and email address to get their bonuses immediately emailed to them.
This way, I can put them onto a customer list. I treat this list like gold because that’s what it’s worth. Over time, this list can become your biggest asset that brings you in a recurring, predictable income.
There were times when I’d send out an email to my customer list, recommending a certain product and I’d earn a LOT in affiliate commissions. Like, what I used to make in a month at a job.
That’s why you want to build an email list of customers… because if you treat them right and help them get what they want... they'll help YOU reach your goals.
Do not email a bunch of sales pitches to your list.... send them incredible, life-changing information often.
Occasionally you can recommend a product... either yours or an affiliate product.
For me, it all started by selling a fitness eBook… then I'd sell supplements, workout reviews, webinars, seminars, other fitness programs to my initial eBook buyers.
But again, only sell occasionally and make sure it’s something of the highest quality that will help them reach their goals.
Over time, if you did nothing else but create products to continually sell to your ever- growing customer list… you have the makings of a 7-figure business.
There you have the 6 steps I've used to sell hundreds of thousands of my eBooks online.
I hope these steps help make it a little bit clearer as to what's needed in order to sell online.
If you have any questions at all about these steps, shoot me a PM and I'll do my best to answer and clarify things.
Thanks for reading!
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