RVF, Here is Part 2. Sorry, it took a few days as I was busy as hell. I am going to do a few short profiles to stir more ideas, then write about starting/find your path, and share more and more profiles over the course of the next few days.
Now, I have received a few messages as well as questions on how to begin. So I am going to handle the basics for a few different systems of making money, what is needed, and a few guidelines as well as an example of what the process looks like and some common pitfalls.
Methods vs. Systems and A Few Examples:
Within the digital marketing industry, there are product creators, search engine optimization specialists, general traffic specialists, optimization experts (site, campaign, or monetization), affiliate marketers, “laborers”, shit peddlers aka gurus, jv brokers, content marketers, CPA network owners, lead generators, site flippers, site generators, project managers. There are more variations and ambiguous mixes of each, this is only a few of the “routes” taken. I will tell a bit about each, what those without capital start with and what those with do, difficulty, and returns.
Product Creators
What They Do
Most successful product creators are people that usually possess both strong organizational and research skills as well as capital. As mentioned before, they either with or without a partner research market opportunities within communities (usually problems or needs) that can be solved by either creating a product such as an e-course, book, or physical product. The goal of most is to automate as much of the process as possible as the better the system they have for developing a product more efficiently/quickly the more they are able to refine the product and spend more time on ensuring it both gets the attention of those that should know about it but connects with their needs.
A Few Things
If you can afford to get it outsourced, do. A professional oft times can do a better job than you can. Don’t waste your time stumbling through something, stick to what you are good at. This doesn’t mean don’t enrich your skills as over time it will make you a more competent manager but your 3rd grader drawing photoshop ebook cover may be enough but could cost you longer term.
Network: Network with relevant site owners, writers, affiliate marketers, users in your niche. These connections can do everything from expand your potential lead base to offer cross promotion opportunities to even just ensure a review. Relevant site owners want to make money also, if you can connect with them and show them your product is quality it can be easier to gain their traffic. Giving copies and tools to affiliate marketers can aid in their campaign creation and if you can get them behind your product, well it’s obvious.
Most fail their first time. Don’t get discouraged. Treat every failure as a learning opportunity. Which reminds me KEEP A JOURNAL. This will ensure you can go back and re-evaluate where you succeeded and failed. This isn’t just when you are learning but is a tool for ensuring you are constantly getting better as well as if you wish you can share with others who can offer feedback.
Almost all fail due to lack of a real plan/conducting research. Don’t get lazy. Do your research, and that doesn’t just mean on your targets, understand what niches are related to your niche, know where your target spends their time, quanacast it, google it, do whatever is necessary. Also, know your competition, there are tools and services available for spying on their marketing efforts as well as revenue, watch what content they share, study their ads. If their ads are up after awhile chances are it’s successful. Good artists copy, great artists blah blah.
Testing Is Everything. This is self explanatory.
Look up “Product Launch Case Studies”, they are everywhere, see what others did right and did wrong.
What is Needed To Start:
-Keyword Research Tool
-Domain
-If you can afford it: a VA
-VPS
-a website creator if you can’t do it on your own. If you need recommendations, pm me.
-A quality ghost writer for if your product is informational, as well as content writers for your site content/marketing efforts (good writers for a moderate price are hard to find)
-WhatRunsWhere (recommended)
GO READ IMGRIND.
Difficulty: 4 out of five. It’s tedious.
Laborers:
These are the VAs, the content creators, the site designers etc. etc. basically the people that are responsible for carrying out someone else’s plan. The advantages are that the work can be consistent if you are good at what you do, the disadvantages are that your income most of the time has a ceiling that is tied to your time unless you are able to outsource but that risks your reputation. I’ve seen $10-$45 an hour for work. It all depends on how good you are, if you have a portfolio, how quickly you are able to work, and your customer service.
A Few Things:
Get Reviews, Keep Reviews. It’s been said on here before initially reviews are everything whether on forums, local businesses, or on freelance sites. Maintain a good relationship through customer service and being as straightforward as possible. Let them know you want to provide the best service possible and that upon providing it, you would like a kind word.
Have a website, it’ll be your portfolio, whether just articles, designs, etc. etc. It will also basically act as your sales page, so taking time to ensure why visitors know why they should use you/that you are good at what you do is essential if you want it to be an effective tool.
Provide something your competition does not. There is always something the competition lacks, turn their weakness into your unique selling point. They need a week to get something completed, try and find a way to get it done just as good or better in shorter time. They only provide limited contact options? Offer more. Take more methods of payment. The weakest unique selling point is price. If someone is cheap, usually they don’t understand the worth of what they are looking for, as such if someone is looking for a free website, they don’t understand how powerful of a tool it is. This client usually from what I have seen is going to be hard on paying and long term just a pain in the ass. Just a heads up. Deliver quality for the price you know it is worth, not think or feel, but have researched and know what it’s worth.
Your basis as a laborer will help you when you want to become the manager, that’s always the goal transition.
Your time is tied to your money.
Next Time I’ll Go Into:
General Traffic Specialists
Optimization Specialists
Lead Generators
But before I finish for today, I am going to do a simple “what questions to ask yourself” explanation:
Everyone asks the easiest way to make money. So, before you ask me from now on what you should do/your options via PM. Make sure these questions are answered:
What is your background? What skills/network have you accrued?
Have you ever done anything related to digital marketing, site development, content creation, sales, etc. etc?
How much time do you have a week/day?
What resources do you have at your disposal?
What state/country are you located in?
What are you interested in learning about and why?
It makes it easier for me to recommend courses, sites, things for you to look at if you help me out by giving me information. I can’t contribute much besides, go do read this and this and see if those are things you are interested in unless I know more about you. I’m going to try and follow up TODAY with the few PMs/questions I got.
Now, I have received a few messages as well as questions on how to begin. So I am going to handle the basics for a few different systems of making money, what is needed, and a few guidelines as well as an example of what the process looks like and some common pitfalls.
Methods vs. Systems and A Few Examples:
Within the digital marketing industry, there are product creators, search engine optimization specialists, general traffic specialists, optimization experts (site, campaign, or monetization), affiliate marketers, “laborers”, shit peddlers aka gurus, jv brokers, content marketers, CPA network owners, lead generators, site flippers, site generators, project managers. There are more variations and ambiguous mixes of each, this is only a few of the “routes” taken. I will tell a bit about each, what those without capital start with and what those with do, difficulty, and returns.
Product Creators
What They Do
Most successful product creators are people that usually possess both strong organizational and research skills as well as capital. As mentioned before, they either with or without a partner research market opportunities within communities (usually problems or needs) that can be solved by either creating a product such as an e-course, book, or physical product. The goal of most is to automate as much of the process as possible as the better the system they have for developing a product more efficiently/quickly the more they are able to refine the product and spend more time on ensuring it both gets the attention of those that should know about it but connects with their needs.
A Few Things
If you can afford to get it outsourced, do. A professional oft times can do a better job than you can. Don’t waste your time stumbling through something, stick to what you are good at. This doesn’t mean don’t enrich your skills as over time it will make you a more competent manager but your 3rd grader drawing photoshop ebook cover may be enough but could cost you longer term.
Network: Network with relevant site owners, writers, affiliate marketers, users in your niche. These connections can do everything from expand your potential lead base to offer cross promotion opportunities to even just ensure a review. Relevant site owners want to make money also, if you can connect with them and show them your product is quality it can be easier to gain their traffic. Giving copies and tools to affiliate marketers can aid in their campaign creation and if you can get them behind your product, well it’s obvious.
Most fail their first time. Don’t get discouraged. Treat every failure as a learning opportunity. Which reminds me KEEP A JOURNAL. This will ensure you can go back and re-evaluate where you succeeded and failed. This isn’t just when you are learning but is a tool for ensuring you are constantly getting better as well as if you wish you can share with others who can offer feedback.
Almost all fail due to lack of a real plan/conducting research. Don’t get lazy. Do your research, and that doesn’t just mean on your targets, understand what niches are related to your niche, know where your target spends their time, quanacast it, google it, do whatever is necessary. Also, know your competition, there are tools and services available for spying on their marketing efforts as well as revenue, watch what content they share, study their ads. If their ads are up after awhile chances are it’s successful. Good artists copy, great artists blah blah.
Testing Is Everything. This is self explanatory.
Look up “Product Launch Case Studies”, they are everywhere, see what others did right and did wrong.
What is Needed To Start:
-Keyword Research Tool
-Domain
-If you can afford it: a VA
-VPS
-a website creator if you can’t do it on your own. If you need recommendations, pm me.
-A quality ghost writer for if your product is informational, as well as content writers for your site content/marketing efforts (good writers for a moderate price are hard to find)
-WhatRunsWhere (recommended)
GO READ IMGRIND.
Difficulty: 4 out of five. It’s tedious.
Laborers:
These are the VAs, the content creators, the site designers etc. etc. basically the people that are responsible for carrying out someone else’s plan. The advantages are that the work can be consistent if you are good at what you do, the disadvantages are that your income most of the time has a ceiling that is tied to your time unless you are able to outsource but that risks your reputation. I’ve seen $10-$45 an hour for work. It all depends on how good you are, if you have a portfolio, how quickly you are able to work, and your customer service.
A Few Things:
Get Reviews, Keep Reviews. It’s been said on here before initially reviews are everything whether on forums, local businesses, or on freelance sites. Maintain a good relationship through customer service and being as straightforward as possible. Let them know you want to provide the best service possible and that upon providing it, you would like a kind word.
Have a website, it’ll be your portfolio, whether just articles, designs, etc. etc. It will also basically act as your sales page, so taking time to ensure why visitors know why they should use you/that you are good at what you do is essential if you want it to be an effective tool.
Provide something your competition does not. There is always something the competition lacks, turn their weakness into your unique selling point. They need a week to get something completed, try and find a way to get it done just as good or better in shorter time. They only provide limited contact options? Offer more. Take more methods of payment. The weakest unique selling point is price. If someone is cheap, usually they don’t understand the worth of what they are looking for, as such if someone is looking for a free website, they don’t understand how powerful of a tool it is. This client usually from what I have seen is going to be hard on paying and long term just a pain in the ass. Just a heads up. Deliver quality for the price you know it is worth, not think or feel, but have researched and know what it’s worth.
Your basis as a laborer will help you when you want to become the manager, that’s always the goal transition.
Your time is tied to your money.
Next Time I’ll Go Into:
General Traffic Specialists
Optimization Specialists
Lead Generators
But before I finish for today, I am going to do a simple “what questions to ask yourself” explanation:
Everyone asks the easiest way to make money. So, before you ask me from now on what you should do/your options via PM. Make sure these questions are answered:
What is your background? What skills/network have you accrued?
Have you ever done anything related to digital marketing, site development, content creation, sales, etc. etc?
How much time do you have a week/day?
What resources do you have at your disposal?
What state/country are you located in?
What are you interested in learning about and why?
It makes it easier for me to recommend courses, sites, things for you to look at if you help me out by giving me information. I can’t contribute much besides, go do read this and this and see if those are things you are interested in unless I know more about you. I’m going to try and follow up TODAY with the few PMs/questions I got.