Internet Marketing For Beginners

[tgima]

Hi everyone,

I've read through some of the postings on previous visits but posting to the Forum is new for me. I'm also new to internet marketing and would appreciate your feedback/suggestions regarding what you think internet marketers who are - beginners may want. What do you think they need to know? Or, if they are in the market what do they need to do better?

Appreciate the feedback/suggestions.

Take care from within.

Aloha
Thelma Gima

[Mike Shain]

Hi Thelma,

Welcome to the Warrior Forum.

If you are a complete newbie then you need to go here. Its free to join and you will get day by day & step by step info presented in video, audio and pdf.

I promise you will learn tons and never look at internet marketing the same way again.

Good Luck!

[mikemcmillan]

If your use of the word "Aloha" means you are in Hawaii I am jealous! I'm in Michigan and it's cold, dark, dank, misty, and dreary right now. I need sunshine! Welcome and great first post.

I'm sure others will give you lots of suggestions, but here are a few that come to mind...

(1) Learn as much about search engine optimization as you can.

(2) Join the War Room here because you can get the equivalent of a college education in affiliate marketing there.

(3) Think about getting a hosting account at somewhere like hostgator. If you don't design web pages yourself you can host a WordPress blog on your own hosting account to sell things from (go to wordpress.org). Or--you can use WordPress right out of the can and keep it hosted at wordpress.com. You have more control over your blog if you host it on your own account.

(4) Find a niche you're interested in and Google around to see how people are selling things there. Get ideas for pre-sell pages for affiliate products.

That's a start, but you'll get more good advice from others.

[Dan C. Rinnert]

Originally Posted by mikemcmillan

(3) Think about getting a hosting account at somewhere like hostgator. If you don't design web pages yourself you can host a WordPress blog on your own hosting account to sell things from (go to wordpress.org). Or--you can use WordPress right out of the can and keep it hosted at wordpress.com. You have more control over your blog if you host it on your own account.

I would suggest Blogger over WordPress.com as they don't seem to be as restrictive on commercial use as is WordPress.com.

Self-hosted WordPress (from WordPress.org) is, of course, preferable to either Blogger or WordPress.com.

[Si_P]

I started off recently using Wordpress for my site and i think it is fantastic! So easy to use and install, plus it has so many different free plugins to make things so much easier.

[Laura B]

My suggestions as to what a newbie should know are more regarding attitude than the technical aspects of it. They need patience and perseverance, because success doesn't happen overnight. Being doggedly determined to keep going, even through the months when it seems nothing's really happening, will eventually result in success, as long as you're following sound marketing principles, that is.

I also think beginners need to have a decent understanding of the way the web and marketing works before diving into the deep end. I've found that with my students, some are more concerned about the teeny details than understanding the big picture. There's a place and time for details, but when you're starting out, you have to have a grasp on the overall basic idea so you know what you're working toward.

As for the technical side, I agree a self-hosted Wordpress.org site is a great place to start. It's not everyone's cup of tea but it's a successful platform for many.

[Coach Ramy]

1. Definitely go for the war-room, there's really a lot of information in there
2. Don't try to buy every system you see that promises making you money because you'll end up spending a lot of money and not doing anything.
3. I would personally recommend word-press over blogger because of the endless plug-ins that you can get.
4. spend a couple of weeks reading about how affiliate marketing works, how you can make money, how to generate traffic etc....and you feel like you have an over-view of how the system works, then you can pick a direction and a way to go...of course you can come back to the forums to consult your fellow warrior if you have any issues.

[Nathan Rufus]

Hi Thelma.

My advice to any beginner would be to start building a list of subscribers straight away.

Choose one source of list building knowledge and follow it. As the others have suggested get web hosting and buy a domain name. On that domain name set up a squeeze page (a page that allows people to enter their name and email address onto it in return for some content that they will find useful and could preferably get good results from).

I would reccommend Aweber as the service to host your lists (they will "look after" all the email addresses that you collect) and you can use them to send out automatic emails.

List building and building a relationship with your subscribers is the basis of all IM businesses. In fact I think it is the basis of all business. Period.

Choose one person to follow. Find someone who feels right for you. A good choice would be someone who you have bought a product from and have been happy with, especially with the information that they have given you.

What did they do well?

What were their emails like?

How were their products and what was good about them?

Don't try to reinvent the wheel, just add your own twist to it.

Good luck and I'll always be around to help.

Reach new heights!

Nathan

[Zeus66]

I think Nathan has the right instinct, but building a list can be pointless for a total newb. What are you going to send your list members that will add anything to their knowledge base or fulfill their needs? You have to learn before you can teach (advise, recommend, etc.). I do agree with Nathan that too many marketers wait way too long to start building a list (guilty as charged here), but right out of the gate, I think it's a bad idea.

I would say check out the War Room here, but don't get lost in there! It's easy to do. Find something that looks appealing to you and that has a track record of success. Embrace it with all you've got in terms of your energy and time. Focus on that one thing to the exclusion of all else until you see it through. Probably the single biggest contributor to newbie failure is bouncing around too much and chasing the quick buck. Discipline yourself and follow through on one thing.

John

[Dan C. Rinnert]

Originally Posted by Zeus66

I think Nathan has the right instinct, but building a list can be pointless for a total newb. What are you going to send your list members that will add anything to their knowledge base or fulfill their needs? You have to learn before you can teach (advise, recommend, etc.).

That's only if the OP is entering the IM niche. The OP may be new to Internet marketing but not whatever non-IM niche.

[johnnnson]

Originally Posted by Nathan Rufus

Hi Thelma.

My advice to any beginner would be to start building a list of subscribers straight away.

Choose one source of list building knowledge and follow it. As the others have suggested get web hosting and buy a domain name. On that domain name set up a squeeze page (a page that allows people to enter their name and email address onto it in return for some content that they will find useful and could preferably get good results from).

I would reccommend Aweber as the service to host your lists (they will "look after" all the email addresses that you collect) and you can use them to send out automatic emails.

List building and building a relationship with your subscribers is the basis of all IM businesses. In fact I think it is the basis of all business. Period.

Choose one person to follow. Find someone who feels right for you. A good choice would be someone who you have bought a product from and have been happy with, especially with the information that they have given you.

What did they do well?

What were their emails like?

How were their products and what was good about them?

Don't try to reinvent the wheel, just add your own twist to it.

Good luck and I'll always be around to help.

Reach new heights!

Nathan

Wowow.. Thank you so much... I was looking for something like that. Probably there are like millions of threads about his but i didn't have the "time" for search. Im finishing one e-book i was thinking to do something like that, give away the ebook to create a email list. Its worthing, its a good way? But i dont know how im gonna get traffic. I already start writing some hubs about the topic for when im launch i can get some links. Its a good way to go? Its bad? I will appreceate any kind of comment.. Thanks

btw, sorry for highjack you thread.

[Chris Nesmith]

Find a niche, there is a lot of info on this.

Write a squidoo lense for a long tail keyword (1 lens per keyword)

Write Ezine articles and backlink to your lenses

Keep buidling the web

[TLTheLiberator]

If you want to cut down on wasting a lot of time and trouble and get started in the right direction, ...

...you should study up on, and then select a proven online business model to conduct.

Doing a lot of reading and not actually knowing what you should be looking for will only lead you to lots of confusion and info-overload.

Here's a thread that has helped a lot of beginners get their head on straight - quick.

Newbies Are Darn Lucky These Days!!

All The Best!!

TL

Ps. You may want to look into the domain name model also.

[Nathan Rufus]

TLTheLiberator, thanks for putting that link in. It's an excellent post. Johnnnson, thanks too.

If you look in all these posts there is an overriding theme. We all know that the main problem for people starting to learn internet marketing is being pulled in many different directions and not starting to learn one subject and sticking to it.

This is mainly because there are so many good marketers out there that use the weapons of influence... scarcity, recipriocity, social proof and so on, and for want of a better phrase, we become suckers!

Just remember, and this is not to scare you but inspire you. YOU ARE IN A REAL BUSINESS. Cut out all the noise of "instant millions" and "push button profits" and instead try for incremental success. Try to improve your business every day.

I believe in being honest. Zeuss doesn't agree that you should start building a list straight away as you may not have anything of value to give to the people who are subscribing to you. I see his point.

But I think, no matter what type of business you have, whether it be offline or online, or whether you choose one of the business models given in the link by TLTheLiberator, they all have one thing in common that would make your success with them a whole lot easier.

That would be having a list of potential customers (or prospects if thats what you want to call them).

Choose a subject you know about, or want to learn about.

Make something, of value that people can use to get a result.

A PDF report on the 10 best tips...on weeding your garden.

Record an audio (using free software called audacity (pc)) about how to get your kids out of bed.

Make a video (free screen recording software called camstudio and powerpoint) showing the best business models for an internet business, see above :-)

This forum is an excellent example of the fact that there is always something that you know that someone else doesn't, and vice versa, and anything that you learn you can share that with your subscribers, when they're on your list.

The beauty of it is. When you start to build a community, you can then ask them specifically what it is they are after.

What help do they need? What problems do they face?

When you get your replies, you can then use one of the business models in the link to provide your subscribers with the answers they are looking for.

Whether that be through affiliate marketing and finding somebody else who has created an "answer", or whether it be product creation and you creating the answer yourself.

You can be the goto guy/girl or you can be the middle man/woman. Your choice. But the point is you are being told what to do by the very people you are going to be serving, YOUR CUSTOMERS.

There is always something that you know, that someone else doesn't and wants to know.

Sorry for rambling guys.

I should have been in bed at least three hours ago.

Reach new heights people!

Nathan

[tgima]

Mike
Thank you for link. I'll check this one out.
Aloha
Thelma G

[Shannon Herod]

Originally Posted by Zeus66

I think Nathan has the right instinct, but building a list can be pointless for a total newb. What are you going to send your list members that will add anything to their knowledge base or fulfill their needs? You have to learn before you can teach (advise, recommend, etc.). I do agree with Nathan that too many marketers wait way too long to start building a list (guilty as charged here), but right out of the gate, I think it's a bad idea.

I would say check out the War Room here, but don't get lost in there! It's easy to do. Find something that looks appealing to you and that has a track record of success. Embrace it with all you've got in terms of your energy and time. Focus on that one thing to the exclusion of all else until you see it through. Probably the single biggest contributor to newbie failure is bouncing around too much and chasing the quick buck. Discipline yourself and follow through on one thing.

John

Actually, I would disagree. I think building a list as a new person would be best.

Reason being is the person has not fell into a trap of trying to promote, promote, promote.

Now, as a new marketer you can focus on building a relationship. You can send conversational e-mails telling them what you're up to what you're learning.

You can send e-mails telling about what you're doing. Talking about the mistakes you're making and things of that nature.

If the person is upfront with the list I think it will go a long way to build a fantastic relationship.

Plus, I wish I would've started building a list as soon as I started. I missed actually years of building a list. My list would be much bigger now if I would have just dove in and started building.

The reason I did not start building is because of what you said. I thought who was I to send people e-mails about marketing. Well, if I would have just started... :-)

Talk soon,

Shannon Herod

[JAIDEEP2959]

You can read reports and posts which are specifically for newbies.

You can join War room for quality information.

[tgima]

Aloha Kakou
To all of you who provided valuable information, reaction, interaction, a bottom from my heart thank you.

I agree lots of information to sort through but definitely relevant to what a newbie need to know.

Mahalo nui loa (Thank you very much).
Aloha
Thelma Gima

[Michael Worthington]

I totally agree with Shannon. It's never too early
to start building a list.

Brian Edmondsen is the perfect example that you
don't have to be a "guru" to build a relationship with
that list, and it doesn't have to be a giant either.

Just pick a niche and get started.

You can study ahead of your people and send them
articles and info as you come across it.

Sure, a few people who join your list will know more
than you, but most won't so don't let it worry you.

I also agree with the Wordpress blog as a website.

If you host with a compnay like Hostgator, you not only
get low cost professional hosting, but you also get
added "plug in" software and scripts (like Wordpress)
that you can install with the click of a button.

In the beginning, you'll probably have to do everything
yourself, so a good bit of computer savvy is absolutely
necessary in my opinion.

You'd be surprised how many people come online to make
money or build a business and can't use a computer.

Now, if you got money, you can hire everything done.

Yanik Silver did/does.

But if you're like most of us, there's no money to hire
people to upload your files and set up your autoresponders;
build your websites, compile your ebooks, etc..

These are things you need to know if you can't afford to
hire it out.

Fortunately, there are hundreds of resources available for the
newbie in the form of videos and ebooks that show you
everything you need to know about these.

And yes, definitely join the War Room ASAP. It's worth every
penny, and then some!

Finally, welcome to the forum, and good luck. We're all here to
help in any way we can.

Michael

[FaJeeb]

ThirtydayChallenge is great for beginners. I used it to study to promote my Own eBook that I've written, and I researched things brought up in it, like choosing a domain name, and now I'm making some nice additional income for a micro niche eBook that I wrote. All of the information is pretty basic, but good solid information.

...and no, I'm not affiliated with TDC.

[paolo4]

Here is a repeat of what you have heard so many times.

The money is in the list. No list - no money.

To build and keep a list is not difficult, and not all that expensive to mantain ( I use Aweber), and if you send your subscribers just one newsletter a month, that will keep them happy so long as the info is of quality. On the other hand you can forward products to them, that you sign up as an affiliate and earn commission until you are in a position to teach others. When you feel ready you will create your own product from your own knowledge and experiences, whether it be information products or physical products. Your list of subscribers should be bringing you some sort of revenue every month.

[jamawebinc]

I've always thought the biggest obstacle for beginners to overcome was a step by step "How To" system to follow.

An example would be something like:

Step 1: Choose a niche an do market research on it.

Step 1 "How-To" Action Steps:

1) Ok, to start doing your market research let's first decide who your market is.

Fill in the blanks:

I want to help people learn to_________
I want to help people overcome ________
I want to help people who like to ________ to do _________ better

2) Once you have decided on a market, type that into google and see how many adwords advertisers there are (the right hand column ads on the google search page result)

-----

Another section could be on the reason for doing all the steps so you could learn as you go and you would be able to adjust the steps for yourself, and create new steps.

In this way you have definite steps to follow. And these are "How To" steps and you also learn while you are actually creating a business/website.

In my opinion this helps the beginner much more so than giving advice such as:

Get an autoresponder
build a list
make a blog

It's hard to get into the mindset of a beginner if you have been at this a long time.

I'll bet some terms that more experienced marketers take for granted that beginners do not know what they mean are.

CPA
CPC
JV's
autoresponders (I've have personal proof of this one)
OTO

Frankly, I have never liked a ton of information. I never get to it all.

I bought Corey Rudl's course way back around 1999, I still haven't read it all

Short, concise, step by step "How-To" action steps that you can use like a checklist while learning the reasoning behind them is the way to go in my opinion.

Hmmm, me thinks I have come up with a new product idea.

[Steve Powers]

Hey,guy.I think you'd better first focus on one thing and then work hard for it.Internet market is so wide,accordingly,there are so many chances for you.But at the same time you have to face various obstacles.Therefore,it's necessary for you to learn some basic skill first to get a good beginning.Thing related to websites,promotion on the Internet or market research are all very important to you.What's more,it also needs your devotion and focus.

[Laura B]

Originally Posted by jamawebinc

I've always thought the biggest obstacle for beginners to overcome was a step by step "How To" system to follow.

An example would be something like:

Step 1: Choose a niche an do market research on it.

Step 1 "How-To" Action Steps:

1) Ok, to start doing your market research let's first decide who your market is.

Fill in the blanks:

I want to help people learn to_________
I want to help people overcome ________
I want to help people who like to ________ to do _________ better

2) Once you have decided on a market, type that into google and see how many adwords advertisers there are (the right hand column ads on the google search page result)

-----

Another section could be on the reason for doing all the steps so you could learn as you go and you would be able to adjust the steps for yourself, and create new steps.

In this way you have definite steps to follow. And these are "How To" steps and you also learn while you are actually creating a business/website.

In my opinion this helps the beginner much more so than giving advice such as:

Get an autoresponder
build a list
make a blog

It's hard to get into the mindset of a beginner if you have been at this a long time.

I'll bet some terms that more experienced marketers take for granted that beginners do not know what they mean are.

CPA
CPC
JV's
autoresponders (I've have personal proof of this one)
OTO

Frankly, I have never liked a ton of information. I never get to it all.

I bought Corey Rudl's course way back around 1999, I still haven't read it all

Short, concise, step by step "How-To" action steps that you can use like a checklist while learning the reasoning behind them is the way to go in my opinion.

Hmmm, me thinks I have come up with a new product idea.

That's exactly what my course does. Most of the stuff out there written for beginners is not really for beginners but more for those who are already familiar with the basic principles and just need a little help with the details. But there are so many people out there who want to make money on the Internet but aren't even aware, for example, that affiliate marketing exists! I know I didn't, and I had been using the Internet for years!

The "extreme newbie" needs to start at the real square one. I don't think most programs or courses or memberships out there know where that is.

[gautam42]

Hi i am a newbie,
This is excellent help & contribution. Thank you everyone. I am gratefull on behalf of all newbie going through the same issues. Cheers to all.
Gautam

[tgima]

For all of you who continue to share/add to this post, thank you very much.

I appreciate the wide range of information presented. I do know that some of the info I will use NOW and some I will use later.

Take care of yourselves from within.

Thelma Gima