That money can be made online is a fact that is quite apparent to all, even the grandmas in the villages. That good money can be made online is quite indubitable to the discerning mind.
However, that money can be lost online is a fact not known to many and that fortunes can be lost online is a lesson often learnt by experience.
The Internet is like the proverbial elephant & the seven blind men of Hindustan where your prior experience colours your perception of the present.
Many investors have ventured into online marketing, investment & e- commerce with great ideas and expectations of making mega millions from what they wrongly perceive as a one-in-a-million idea and sales strategy only to be disappointed after pumping in thousands and often millions of dollars over a number of years into the venture. The people did not buy, the product did not sell, the company did not grow and consequently, the entrepreneur becomes seriously discouraged. Discouragement can lead to bitterness and bitterness can lead to anger and deep-seated skepticism in the mind of the entrepreneur as to the veracity of the claims by other more successful entrepreneurs.
I have had several experiences of individuals coming to me asking how they can make money online without resorting to what is popularly called “Yahoo boys” method, which in fairness to yahoo and the good service they provide is quite a label in bad taste. This term is used to describe the boys who spend days in cybercafés across the world sending spam and scam mails using bulk e-mail software and subsequently deceiving the gullible and greedy ones out there into parting with either cash or valuable items.
To these ones I usually reply that there are lots of ways to make money online which include but not limited to the following few methods or ways:
[b](i) Write an e-book
(ii) Market a product online
(iii) Join an affiliate program
(iv) Join a MLM program
(v) Buy into a paid surveys, paid to read & other paid to- programs
(vi) Trade e-gold, e-bullion etc
(vii) Invest in some good HYIPS
(viii) Trade forex and stocks
(ix) Set-up a blog & teach people ‘How Tos…’
(x) Set-up free blog & run google adverts & others
(xi) Set-up a site to advertise other peoples products
(xii) Enter into reseller programs and many more.[/b]
The response I usually get is [b]“I don’t know which ones to join or do….”[/b]
To this I then see the opportunity to offer my services, I charge them a little token to offer expert and time proven advise for online investment to which much to their own surprise they may have known all along but lacked the appropriate understanding of the mechanics to activate the money yielding process.
It is important here to state that whatever solution you give to someone seeking knowledge or information must be commensurate with his level of experience and understanding.
Talking Forex trading to a fish farmer who wants only to sell his fish online is like speaking latin to him. But If He is educated and probably a former or retired teacher, then you can ask him to package his techniques as an information product and market it online
Many lives & business have been ruined due to inordinate ambitions and greed online.
Many investors have lost a lot of money due to greed while trading forex by running high leverages and spends which greatly magnify their profits as well as loses. So many individuals opt for the jack-of-all-trades type of business whereby they run a website, run a shop or business offline, advertise their business / product and other things single handedly without bringing in someone else to help out with some expert advise.
These people really and truly want to make big money online but fail to understand that to do that you need the services of other experts (some of which you can get free sometimes with a little shopping around).But, their dreams often come crashing down on them when they discover their best efforts are not up to scratch.
To run a successful online business, an entrepreneur needs to have as a matter of necessity one or more of the following:
1) A website: This helps you to portray and exhibit your business to the world. Some websites are actually free, but if you choose to use a free website, be prepared for the tons of adverts that will be heaped on you whereas your own site is unique, portrays you as a real company, promotes your image and enhances the perception of your products and/or service in the eyes of the buying public.
2) A domain name: This is the first step towards owing a website, a forum, a blog or whatever it is you want to run online. A domain name once registered becomes your unique identity. If you want to successfully run a business online, you need your own domain name and website to which you have absolute control over and can modify or alter at will. However, for those who opt for free domains, sub-domains and free websites, they should be aware of the drawbacks and benefits before embarking on the project.
3) Mailing list: Every successful business online requires one form of maintaining a client or prospects list or another. One of the best ways to do this is to have a mailing list. Having people sign up for your mailing list is a veritable step into prosecuting a successful marketing campaign online. All future products reviews, announcements, launches etc. will make more sense if you have a ready client or prospect list.
4) Auto responders: this is quite handy if you must also seriously make money online. Manually responding to every prospect that signs up for you newsletter or product etc will not only wear you out physically and mentally but actually give you stubs for fingers. For instance, imagine the team at yahoo! Manually sending messages to all their sign ups daily!
5) A good product: this is the key to your success. “Content is king”. This axiom is very apt because, having a great website, a domain name that sounds made-in-heaven, a mailing list and a faster than lightning auto responder without a good product to showcase completely defeats the whole aim of the project.
In fact, it is better to have a good product and all the other ones in poor shape at the beginning than vice-versa. This is because a good product sells itself to a degree. As your product begins to pick up sales, more money begins to come in and you can upgrade the other components of your business, namely website, mailing program, auto responder etc.
But, it is best if you can have all in good shape before launching out into the online industry. If you do you are likely to take the industry by storm.
6) Payment method:
selling a product online differs from selling offline because your customers may be half a world away from you. If you do not provide a means of collecting payment on your website or business, then you’d better head to the nearest bank now to set one up.
There are several payment methods available online. These include
(i) Credit card
(ii) Paypal
(iii) E-gold
(iv) E-bullion, liberty reserve etc
(v) Money order
(vi) Wire transfer
(vii) Checks and alot of others.
Whichever option you choose will be dictated by the prevailing circumstances in your area or region. For instance paypal & clickbank do not allow transaction originating from certain countries.
While others like Alertpay, TrialPay, Graphcard, 2CO etc are not discriminatory.
However, to succeed online you must be as wise as a serpent, making the most of every opportunity.
