You ever wonder what it was like marketing on the internet 15 years ago? And how that was as opposed to how it is now? Maybe not - as it changes a lot - every 2 WEEKS or so. But I have seen them Come and I have seen the Go (give up) - and I'm still standing - I'm still here and making $$ . I do have a lot of knowledge I have gleaned over the years and some of it from way back is still pretty dern handy stuff!
Welcome to my blog - and remember - I have a sarcastic sense of humor at times.
Welcome to my blog - and remember - I have a sarcastic sense of humor at times.How to be taken Seriously as an Online Business
Posted 08-08-2008 at 04:14 PM by privateye2500
You NEED to BRAND Yourself!
Have to need to must do.
This is going to be short and also tell you why I have the Answer.
I have been making a very good full-time living ONLINE ONLY for the past 8-15 years; before that it I was working both online and off but doing mainly the same thing. Bringing my *brick and mortar* business online was a truly amazing feeling and I hope to never forget it.
I was also an ENORMOUS learning curve, self-taught all the way from html to ftp to you name it, I believe I thought I had blown up 3 computers! (I couldn't stop myself from *fiddling* with them, adding parts, removing parts, etc...)
How to be taken seriously is a very major point.
After having read what amounts to 1000's of forums, pages, articles, books, blogs, hubs, ebooks and hardcovers....the most valuable piece of information I ever learned was this:
You have to *Brand* yourself.
You simply have to - you have to be the first website/person/*Thing* that enters a persons mind when they are looking for such and such. What/who was the greatest *brand* of all time (aside from coke-tm)?
Jesus Christ. J.C.
Think about it. Who or what else had/has a branding that has lasted for 2000+ years??
THE ANSWER IS - NO ONE.
Important Note: You Must figure out what you do BEST - then you study your competition. Yes, you must.
This can and often is disheartening; but if you give up there - then you know you are not cut out for this. You have to study your competition and then you figure out how to ratchet it up a knotch or three.
YOU HAVE to figure out how you are going to do it BETTER, WISER, with more finesse...etc..
There is a GREAT book written by a guy named something like *Finkel* I believe; that explains all about branding and makes more sense than anything I've ever read about marketing and it WORKS.
My clients/customers get treated like little gods. They get TOP-Knotch client support - they KNOW ME and they know they can trust me. I have people write to me 2 years later and say, "Hay! Melanie - are you still doing ______? I need something and I was hoping....." I, find that to be, Truly amazing as well as I feel honored.
In a nutshell that is the KEY to success. My clients love me and I *love* them back and I never take them for granted. I actually Care. (What a concept, right?)
When you start - if you are too *lazy* to invest 14 -16 hour days into building your empire. Forget it. There is no easy road as so MANY want you to believe. Because if you believed them, you will buy their lil 10 page book for $29.95 or whatever...they have your money and you have (usually) squat.
Coke will always have Pepsi to contend with but so what!? They are both billion dollar companies!
Does that not make a very important valid point!?
================ QUOTE=========
Lissie wrote:
Help - some gratuitous advice is needed!
Background: I'm 44, I have worked, at least part-time since I was 15, I went to uni, graduated and then either worked or travelled full-time for the next 20+ years. Last year we travelled from Mar-Sept Sept we got as far as Perth and decided to stay a while.
Since Sept I have been trying to make a living full-time on the internet. My partner, is10 years older than me and has basically worked since he graduated -mainly as a developer (IT) and has now got a contract until the end of this year in our new town. We have no children, we have investments to cover our retirement and my partners current salary comfortably covers our expenses here.
To date my earnings are hardly spectacular (under $100/month) and basically my partner is pretty convinced that this is a nice hobbie but I should go and get a real job! I am beginning to agree with him too.
The issues I have are
* I don't want to go back to IT: I doubt that I could anyway - the place I worked for last imploded after I left (unrelated I think!) and I haven't bothered to keep in contact to get a reference
* I actually can't think of anything else I want to do except maybe writing - but I can't see that my income is going to get up to any sort of serious level doing that on or off line (I'd count $1000/ month as a good start and $2000/month sustainable)
* I think we have enough $ to retire now - my partner agrees intellectually but basically he doesn't know what to do with himself if he's not working or travelling pretty hard (and you can't do that for more than 6 months at a go both of us find).
* Given he's working he thinks I should be bringing in income too, and so do I - I've always felt sorry for guys stuck in horrible jobs just to support their wives/kids, I imagine raising kids is difficult and challenging but at least there is a point to it - there are precious few jobs in IT that have much of a point to them!
* I think I am too lazy to commit to 40 hours a week work - I find I am really happy getting enough sleep, pottering around home, and actually being able to organise stuff like re-registering the truck without rushing form work and back in-between times.
Ways forward - well this is where I am a bit stuck:
* initially I expected to have a reasonable income on the internet or given up by Xmas - that didn't happen -my income increases every month but I can see my time frame as more a year now!
* I have a some of money in investments (mine not ours) which I could deposit in our current account and which would buy me about 6-12 months of time on the internet to develop this business - if that's what it is
* I get a low skilled part-time job like cleaning which at least looks like a job, bring in some income, hay, at least it also keeps me fit!
Ideas, suggestions - I'm open to them - even if I was home with friends none of them would understand most of this!
===END QUOTE===
Pros to Online Work:
Once you get going with whatever it is - you tend to GET to be lazy (well some what-so watch out for that). You wake up one lazy-a**ed afternoon, turn on your computer to find that your #5 spot on google doesn't Exists anymore, never mind that - you can't even find your site in the index..scratch scratch... But, no more 60 hours a week for me, that's for sure.
*You can set your own hours, if you are a night hawk (like me) you can do this; however I have found it has reaked so havoc in my family life.
*You WILL have a reasonable (or more) income; you simply need to put in the same effort into your online business as you did into *keeping fit*!
*Want to work from home? Do it all online.
*Want to work only a day or two a week? It can be done if you have everything automated which you can do easily - but I can't as I am a Service; not some download I don't have to be involved with --I am and need to be *involved* with my clients.
*You mention writing. THAT is without a doubt (if you CAN write) the easiest way to make money online that there is! Write a how to manual or what ever you decide and know several 1000's of other people are interested in - make it into a PDF format and sell it via Clickbank (easiest) or paypal (probably easier) - you even get free affiliates selling it for you with Clickbank.
*I think? I have at least touched on most of your issues.
GO GET UM!!
It CAN be done - I do it everyday.
Do you have My color? My style? My size?
Melanie AKA Marketing Madness
Have to need to must do.
This is going to be short and also tell you why I have the Answer.
I have been making a very good full-time living ONLINE ONLY for the past 8-15 years; before that it I was working both online and off but doing mainly the same thing. Bringing my *brick and mortar* business online was a truly amazing feeling and I hope to never forget it.
I was also an ENORMOUS learning curve, self-taught all the way from html to ftp to you name it, I believe I thought I had blown up 3 computers! (I couldn't stop myself from *fiddling* with them, adding parts, removing parts, etc...)
How to be taken seriously is a very major point.
After having read what amounts to 1000's of forums, pages, articles, books, blogs, hubs, ebooks and hardcovers....the most valuable piece of information I ever learned was this:
You have to *Brand* yourself.
You simply have to - you have to be the first website/person/*Thing* that enters a persons mind when they are looking for such and such. What/who was the greatest *brand* of all time (aside from coke-tm)?
Jesus Christ. J.C.
Think about it. Who or what else had/has a branding that has lasted for 2000+ years??
THE ANSWER IS - NO ONE.
Important Note: You Must figure out what you do BEST - then you study your competition.
Yes, you must.This can and often is disheartening; but if you give up there - then you know you are not cut out for this. You have to study your competition and then you figure out how to ratchet it up a knotch or three.
YOU HAVE to figure out how you are going to do it BETTER, WISER, with more finesse...etc..
There is a GREAT book written by a guy named something like *Finkel* I believe; that explains all about branding and makes more sense than anything I've ever read about marketing and it WORKS.
My clients/customers get treated like little gods. They get TOP-Knotch client support - they KNOW ME and they know they can trust me. I have people write to me 2 years later and say, "Hay! Melanie - are you still doing ______? I need something and I was hoping....." I, find that to be, Truly amazing as well as I feel honored.
In a nutshell that is the KEY to success. My clients love me and I *love* them back and I never take them for granted. I actually Care. (What a concept, right?)
When you start - if you are too *lazy* to invest 14 -16 hour days into building your empire. Forget it. There is no easy road as so MANY want you to believe. Because if you believed them, you will buy their lil 10 page book for $29.95 or whatever...they have your money and you have (usually) squat.
Coke will always have Pepsi to contend with but so what!? They are both billion dollar companies!
Does that not make a very important valid point!?
================ QUOTE=========
Lissie wrote:
Help - some gratuitous advice is needed!
Background: I'm 44, I have worked, at least part-time since I was 15, I went to uni, graduated and then either worked or travelled full-time for the next 20+ years. Last year we travelled from Mar-Sept Sept we got as far as Perth and decided to stay a while.
Since Sept I have been trying to make a living full-time on the internet. My partner, is10 years older than me and has basically worked since he graduated -mainly as a developer (IT) and has now got a contract until the end of this year in our new town. We have no children, we have investments to cover our retirement and my partners current salary comfortably covers our expenses here.
To date my earnings are hardly spectacular (under $100/month) and basically my partner is pretty convinced that this is a nice hobbie but I should go and get a real job! I am beginning to agree with him too.
The issues I have are
* I don't want to go back to IT: I doubt that I could anyway - the place I worked for last imploded after I left (unrelated I think!) and I haven't bothered to keep in contact to get a reference
* I actually can't think of anything else I want to do except maybe writing - but I can't see that my income is going to get up to any sort of serious level doing that on or off line (I'd count $1000/ month as a good start and $2000/month sustainable)
* I think we have enough $ to retire now - my partner agrees intellectually but basically he doesn't know what to do with himself if he's not working or travelling pretty hard (and you can't do that for more than 6 months at a go both of us find).
* Given he's working he thinks I should be bringing in income too, and so do I - I've always felt sorry for guys stuck in horrible jobs just to support their wives/kids, I imagine raising kids is difficult and challenging but at least there is a point to it - there are precious few jobs in IT that have much of a point to them!
* I think I am too lazy to commit to 40 hours a week work - I find I am really happy getting enough sleep, pottering around home, and actually being able to organise stuff like re-registering the truck without rushing form work and back in-between times.
Ways forward - well this is where I am a bit stuck:
* initially I expected to have a reasonable income on the internet or given up by Xmas - that didn't happen -my income increases every month but I can see my time frame as more a year now!
* I have a some of money in investments (mine not ours) which I could deposit in our current account and which would buy me about 6-12 months of time on the internet to develop this business - if that's what it is
* I get a low skilled part-time job like cleaning which at least looks like a job, bring in some income, hay, at least it also keeps me fit!
Ideas, suggestions - I'm open to them - even if I was home with friends none of them would understand most of this!
===END QUOTE===
Pros to Online Work:
Once you get going with whatever it is - you tend to GET to be lazy (well some what-so watch out for that). You wake up one lazy-a**ed afternoon, turn on your computer to find that your #5 spot on google doesn't Exists anymore, never mind that - you can't even find your site in the index..scratch scratch... But, no more 60 hours a week for me, that's for sure.
*You can set your own hours, if you are a night hawk (like me) you can do this; however I have found it has reaked so havoc in my family life.
*You WILL have a reasonable (or more) income; you simply need to put in the same effort into your online business as you did into *keeping fit*!
*Want to work from home? Do it all online.
*Want to work only a day or two a week? It can be done if you have everything automated which you can do easily - but I can't as I am a Service; not some download I don't have to be involved with --I am and need to be *involved* with my clients.
*You mention writing. THAT is without a doubt (if you CAN write) the easiest way to make money online that there is! Write a how to manual or what ever you decide and know several 1000's of other people are interested in - make it into a PDF format and sell it via Clickbank (easiest) or paypal (probably easier) - you even get free affiliates selling it for you with Clickbank.
*I think? I have at least touched on most of your issues.
GO GET UM!!
It CAN be done - I do it everyday.
Do you have My color? My style? My size?
Melanie AKA Marketing Madness
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