Today really is all about taking that first step, and no matter how small that step is, it will bring you a little closer to the e-commerce dream. You can't start creating your income until you start a business and this article is going to teach you step-by-step exactly how to do that in just 15minutes - COMPLETELY FREE!
All I need today, is your promise to take action and create your first income stream right now.
As you've gathered by now, this blog is all about handing my experiences over to you in order for you to successfully start creating a Layered Income.
The premise behind a Layered Income, is that you are able to create lots of small-medium businesses (SME's) that generate individual revenue each day/week/month. These revenue streams will slowly add and and as they do, your monthly income will multiply.
So.. Today, I'm going to take you through JUST 4 steps for you to follow and start your first online business!
Step 1: Pick an area of interest
This first step in creating your business is simple; Choose a business. Well, maybe it's not as easy as it sounds but here is how you are going to choose the basis of your website:
Either download free MindMap software (I'm using SimpleMind FREE, from the Mac App store), or grab a spare piece of paper and a pen. This quick and crude method will allow you to quickly source the idea for your first online business.
Your now going to map out (Like my example below), all of these key areas:
- Interest - What are you truly interested in? Hobbies, Passions or something you find yourself doing on a daily basis
- Knowledge - What are you particularly knowledgable in? Can you cook, Can you fix bikes, Are you particularly good at making people feel happy - These are all questions you need to ask yourself
- Current situation - What is the current situation you find yourself in? What is it like outside? Are you about to get married?
- Job or Skill - What are you particularly knowledgable in or where do you work? Can you cook, Can you fix bikes, Are you particularly good at making people feel happy - These are all questions you need to ask yourself
- Consumer - Simple; what products do you consume? Do you have an iPod? Are you particularly good at getting stains out of carpets?
Notice in my example, that most/if not all, of my suggestions are for informational style sites. The reason for this is that you need to create value to your readers/customers. Why would somebody come to you rather than Amazon (for example) for a list of products?
The reason why people are coming to you is because they trust your opinion, your a person and people buy people. (We will look at how we create great value for your customer in a later post)
So here is my example of how your MindMap should look:
Notice how the ideas just flow so much easier this way?
Now your going to pick the most suitable from the list -
- Choose a topic area that you could write at least 50 articles about (Over the lifetime of the site)
- Choose a topic that you already have knowledge about (We will talk about creating sites as you learn about the topic in a later post)
- Choose a topic that doesn't include Violence, Illegal substances or any other type of illegal activity
- This may seem painfully obvious to you, but it's also obvious that a lot of people search and read about this kind of stuff. However... The problem is: any decent Sponsors, Ads and Affiliates will not do business with a site that contains promotion of illegal activities.
- Choose a topic that links to products
- For your first website your going to create content that eases the customer toward your recommended products - Products you've used and genuinely recommend!
Competitor research: NO!
Now, at this point, you may ask: "Why aren't we doing research into the competition". The main reason for this is the psychological response to most people looking at their competition, when they first start out in business. The thought process normally goes something like this:
My illustration of the route of development for a new website idea shows crudely how competition research can deter people starting out their first business. Simply, the hypothesis behind this, is that you are almost certain to find a similar idea or website to yours on the internet, and for now, we want to keep the enthusiasm behind your site... WHY?.. Because with my help, yours is going to be the best site in it's niche.
Perfect... Now you have a specified area, lets move to step 2
Step 2: Create your website
Completely optional (But it WILL give you better results):
I have always used 123-reg for my domain names, they are really easy to use. Simply search for what you want to call your website in the search box and it will return a very clear list of possible top-level domains (.co.uk , .com , .org etc) available for your chosen name.Please note: This (and the above) 123-reg link's are my affiliate links, if you do decide to upgrade your site and have a more professional "www.yourname.com" domain name, using my link, I will receive a small proportion (you won't pay anymore than you would if you type 123-reg into Google). If you have registered a domain through my link - THANKYOU for your support! Rory
Set up your site
For ease of use today were going to talk about setting up our first business through Blogger. This is the way I created my first site; the site that gained me acceptance to Google Adsense.
It's also important to note, that using Blogger for your first business will allow you to concentrate more on the content and the value your going to offer to your visitors/customers. This is exactly how your going to start making money!
Visit www.blogger.com and sign up using either your existing Google account or by making a new one.
Click to create a new blog and choose a title that will help captivate your audience. For example: If you decided that the theme is going to 'helping people cope with the stresses of nursing situations', then we may title our blog:
"How to cope as a nurse; your ultimate friend"
Now choosing a web-address.. We need to choose something that is easy to remember and sums up your brand in 3 words or less. For the above we may choose:
nursing-stress-releif.blogspot.com
Again, if you visit my affiliate link above you could purchase (of-course; subject to availability):
www.nursing-stress-releif.com
Not only does it look more professional but its unique and a lot easier to remember.
Now choose a basic template (this can be changed and adapted later). The scope of this post isn't conducive to a large explanation on template design, so for now, and in order to start your first online business in less than 15mins, we are going to stick with a basic theme.
Now youve chosen a topic for your first post; it's time to start writing. Again, for the purpose and scope of this post, we won't go into detail on how to write a great blog post... This is to come in a later post. For now, take tips from the way Ive written this (and other) post(s).
Firstly, i'd just like to say CONGRATULATIONS!!! ; on getting this far! The reason why this makes me so happy, is that you've done what the vast majority of people don't... You've ACTED. Which means you are one step closer to making money through your first online business.
...And this FINAL step is going to show you exactly how you're going to monetise your site!
Create an account on amazon affiliates https://affiliate-program.amazon.co.uk/
Once you've created a free account, you will now have a little bar at the top of the page when you visit the amazon store.
Search for products that you feel relate to your post. Of course... You've already chosen a topic for your first site, that you are comfortable and knowledgable with. So the products should be second nature to you.
Having excellent product knowledge is extremely important to giving your customer the best and most accurate recommendations...
Now, let's say that you've chosen to create a blog about stain removal and cleaning. Your first post is going to be a great piece, talking, with images, about how to clean a certain stain from a certain material. Your going to talk about how you did it and the product you recommend.
The product(s) you recommend are going to be linked to your amazon affiliate account and this is how you've monetised your first online website!
You can find your Amazon affiliate link by searching for the product you want to recommend. Once your found it, use the tool bar at the top and click 'link this page' (The one you've now got because you've signed up (for free) to Amazon affiliates). Doing this will bring up a pop up window with a piece of code to simply copy and paste into your post.
So you've done it! To summarise, you have now identified a sector you want to reach. You've created a blog and given it a great title and web-address. You've written your first piece of content and monetised it with Amazon Affiliates.
Now it's time to keep updating your site. Add more content. Market your blog through social networking and monetise it in different ways.
Please don't forget: that your promise for today is to go out their and ACT! Create your first blog!
If you haven't already: please remember to sign up to get updates and exclusive content. Coming up next, will be new and exciting ways to add more revenue to your new LAYERED INCOME!
Thank you for your support,
Rory
"How to cope as a nurse; your ultimate friend"
Now choosing a web-address.. We need to choose something that is easy to remember and sums up your brand in 3 words or less. For the above we may choose:
nursing-stress-releif.blogspot.com
Again, if you visit my affiliate link above you could purchase (of-course; subject to availability):
www.nursing-stress-releif.com
Not only does it look more professional but its unique and a lot easier to remember.
Now choose a basic template (this can be changed and adapted later). The scope of this post isn't conducive to a large explanation on template design, so for now, and in order to start your first online business in less than 15mins, we are going to stick with a basic theme.
Part 3: Creating your first piece of content
Here is a great tip for researching topics for your content:
Go to www.amazon.com and search for books that relate to your particular area. Once you have found some books, sort them by most popular. Now use the great 'What's inside feature', and take a look at the contents. This will reveal some great ideas for topics for your blog!
Now youve chosen a topic for your first post; it's time to start writing. Again, for the purpose and scope of this post, we won't go into detail on how to write a great blog post... This is to come in a later post. For now, take tips from the way Ive written this (and other) post(s).
Step 4: Creating your affiliate links
Firstly, i'd just like to say CONGRATULATIONS!!! ; on getting this far! The reason why this makes me so happy, is that you've done what the vast majority of people don't... You've ACTED. Which means you are one step closer to making money through your first online business.
...And this FINAL step is going to show you exactly how you're going to monetise your site!
Create an account on amazon affiliates https://affiliate-program.amazon.co.uk/
Once you've created a free account, you will now have a little bar at the top of the page when you visit the amazon store.
Search for products that you feel relate to your post. Of course... You've already chosen a topic for your first site, that you are comfortable and knowledgable with. So the products should be second nature to you.
Having excellent product knowledge is extremely important to giving your customer the best and most accurate recommendations...
Now, let's say that you've chosen to create a blog about stain removal and cleaning. Your first post is going to be a great piece, talking, with images, about how to clean a certain stain from a certain material. Your going to talk about how you did it and the product you recommend.
The product(s) you recommend are going to be linked to your amazon affiliate account and this is how you've monetised your first online website!
You can find your Amazon affiliate link by searching for the product you want to recommend. Once your found it, use the tool bar at the top and click 'link this page' (The one you've now got because you've signed up (for free) to Amazon affiliates). Doing this will bring up a pop up window with a piece of code to simply copy and paste into your post.
So you've done it! To summarise, you have now identified a sector you want to reach. You've created a blog and given it a great title and web-address. You've written your first piece of content and monetised it with Amazon Affiliates.
Now it's time to keep updating your site. Add more content. Market your blog through social networking and monetise it in different ways.
Please don't forget: that your promise for today is to go out their and ACT! Create your first blog!
If you haven't already: please remember to sign up to get updates and exclusive content. Coming up next, will be new and exciting ways to add more revenue to your new LAYERED INCOME!
Thank you for your support,
Rory
Great Post and some really useful tips and techniques.
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