Still don't know where to start ....

[mcegoon]

I'm sure this question gets asked a lot, but I'll try again since this is my first post on this forum

Like most here, I'm trying to find a way to make money off Internet marketing. I currently run a small computer networking/consulting biz which has been in tough shape lately due to the economy. Prior to that I have experience in many forms of server side software development and computer science.

So, I'm not sure where my background might put me in this business but I do have a good amount of idle time in front of the computer where I'd rather be putting it to making money instead of just waiting for calls to come in from my other business.

The only site other than this one that I've checked out or spent any time on was something called "moreniche". However, I couldn't make heads or tails of it. It seemed like most of this stuff to be VERY confusing for the new user. Looked like even if you did everything "right" it could be a long time if ever before you made the "sale" by someone buying the products ref'd by you.

I realize most people don't want to give out their secrets and such. That makes sense. However, could anyone please give me some more detailed directions as to how I can get going in this business? From all the research, I *guess* these are some good questions I need answers to:

- Is a big part of this about the "blogging"? Like I have to make up articles and such which might appear when people do a search for something. Then, if they like my blog they might click on a pay site and if they sign up I get money? Is that how it works?

- What about adult websites? I've always been a big believer in porn and the Internet. Also, I think I'd find that a little more "amusing" than blogging about some mundane product.

- Is there any REAL and DEFINED way to get into some Internet marketing with spending little or no money and make a little right quick? I think if I could see even $50 from a few hours of work it might spur me on to do better things.

Well I guess that's it for now. Thanks so much in advance for any help on this.

[Matt Maiden]

Originally Posted by mcegoon

I have experience in many forms of server side software development and computer science.

I would go check out Elance and other places like that where you can freelance your software work.

Look through the offers and see what people are paying for and only you know what you can do and can't do. If you find that there are a lot of people willing to pay for something that comes easy to you or you are good at then you're in business.

Matt

[Phil Jacobson]

Dear Mcegood,

Welcome to the forum. There is no one particular way to making money online and each person may tell you something a little different.

There will be those who tell you to do affiliate marketing.
Others will say to start off blogging.
Someone might say build your own product.

I would spend a few days looking at the advice that people are giving to newbies and determine what area you will aim for.

Then it's a case of sticking to it.

There's a lot of info out there. You will need to block it out after a while and take action on what you learn, otherwise you might get stuck with "information overload"

Good luck.

Phil

Originally Posted by mcegoon

- Is there any REAL and DEFINED way to get into some Internet marketing with spending little or no money and make a little right quick? I think if I could see even $50 from a few hours of work it might spur me on to do better things.

Well I guess that's it for now. Thanks so much in advance for any help on this.

With internet marketing there are so many ways to make money online, let me name a few..

ebay,
blogging (adsense),
information products,
affiliate marketing ie landing pages pre sell,
online gambling

Your main aim of internet marketing is to build that list. Your list is your business lifeline.
You use the above as a means to build a list and you gotta be good at it. Idealy you should concentrate on one method eg ebay and pour your heart into it, otherwise you'll spread yourself too thin.

Do you have a passion ? If so, set up a website and write about it and apply to adsense.
Thats probably the easiest way to start with little cost (domain and hosting fees).

[Ross Dalangin]

I think you already started and what you don't know yet is to finish or get what you want.
You know your problem and what you don't have is the solution o you already solved 50%.

Anyway, you just need to observe and look around for niches who is already selling and then act.

Blogging is also good if you love writing or you know someone who will write for you but of course you need to pay in order to get a quality results. Go to the WSO section and observe what is popular and then decide if you can do it or not and if not then outsource it.

Taken from a drunk man's message during his consultation with his friend:

There's always a solution to every problem. If your problem don't have a solution then it is not a problem.

I know you are not drunked yet because there's no beer flowing on your account but you need to think, plan, observe and take a risk because business is risky.

Go to yahoo answers and find similar questions and check for the best answer. Go and find a person that you think is successful and you want to be like him and subscribe to his mailing list and observe how he manage things.

Lastly, list down all the things you can do and determine if people will need your services or not. That way you can position your self on what aspect/niches/industry you need to target.

Regards,

Ross

[Amy Bass]

Niche blogging is a great business model. I was able to build up my income to over $5k a month of the course of a year doing this.

[mcegoon]

Thanks for all the quick replies!

I'm interested in these ezines, but not sure I understand it. Can I publish my own ezines? Is there a fee? If not or if so, how do I go about publishing ezines? Can you market adult sites with them?

Thanks also for the links to more training, etc. However, I find that the most redundant and annoying on these sites. Other "online marketers" looking to make money by charging to tell other "online marketers" the "secrets". To me, that's just silly. Reminds me of training scams. You begin to think the only way to make money is to try to charge other people to tell them how to make money. Meanwhile, who makes money? I don't know.

Thanks also for the elance idea. However, I'm aware of those sites and checked them out years ago. Actually, despite a college education and lifetime investment I'm trying to get OUT of software development. As an American in this economy it's nearly impossible to make it doing software.

[Kym Robinson]

Anyone can publish an ezine!
You just need something good to write about!
As far as blogging goes - I wish I had of started blogging ages ago!
My blog posts are indexed usually within a day and if you make sure your posts are rich in keywords - you get really good traffic from lots of different places.

As far as the adult goes - I know that adult shop makes a killing!
and they send out a newsletter filled with offers that are often to good to refuse!
Im not sure how you would get into that though!

I have PM'd you some other ideas - good luck in whatever you do!
Kym

[BIG Mike]

Really, IM boils down to this:

1. You need something to sell and;
2. A medium to sell it through and;
3. Traffic.

Blogging, List Building, and so forth are all mechanisms to drive traffic to your sales page (the medium to sell it through).

There is a lot to learn and in time, you will learn it. Meanwhile, for someone just starting out, I usually recommend they first take a good hard look at their existing skillset and identify ways to profit from that initially. That will not only provide some short-term income, but also fund the educational process (ebooks, coaching, etc.) that you might need.

Keep a journal of what you're learning and a plan mapping out what you need to learn. Don't waste your time and effort trying to learn things that are not a priority and stick to your plan.

Whatever you do, don't fall into the trap of hopping from one program to another trying to make a quick buck. You'll end up spinning your wheels and a year from now, going, "I'm not making it - what am I doing wrong?" LOL.

Starting out in IM and succeeding at it is not necessarily difficult, but it does take time. Approach it logically, build on what you're learning and be persistent. There are ways to "Earn while your Learn" so look for them as you study.

This forum is the best place to start. Take advantage of the search feature to research terms you don't understand, find related information on virtually all IM topics and gain perspective from the different viewpoints offered.

Lastly, at least for now, put your wallet and credit cards away until you have completed your own basic training and can decide whether an IM product or service is going to benefit you or not.

[Dan Briffa]

Hi there, not sure how knowledged you are in IM so far, but if you find it a bit to hardcore or geeky then a good route would be Ebay. Im sure you have used Ebay before and you will probably be familiar with it.

Simpleyfind some some hot markets, find some good reliable sources to obtain stock to supply the market and then open a shop and ur making money. There are also a bit more advanced methods you could use to eliminate most of your competitors like good copy in your listings which alot of ebay sellers dont have a clue about.

This is one way to go of many..

[KonaGirl]

Originally Posted by Matthew Maiden

I would go check out Elance and other places like that where you can freelance your software work.

Look through the offers and see what people are paying for and only you know what you can do and can't do. If you find that there are a lot of people willing to pay for something that comes easy to you or you are good at then you're in business.

Matt

Guru.com is another place to market you software experience. You could also place ads on CraigsList.com and at usfreeAds.com

As for starting a niche business from scratch, it won't come immediately, but with research, putting up a website, a blog and using some social networks like Squidoo, HubPages, and Weebly, you could start seeing an income within 60 days.

There are many ways, as already mention, but I would definitely research to find out if there are people look for your type of services and build from there since it is already something that you know and love doing. If through your research you find that there ARE people in need of your talents, you could have a gold mine.

Hope that helps.

Aloha,

June

[AndrewCavanagh]

I think the most sensible thing you could consider is leveraging your existing skill to create information products, online services etc etc.

Are there things people need to know about computer networking that you could create a guide, video product, audio product etc for.

Then target the people who need that help with your information product.

The by product of selling an information product to this market is it should get you clients as a back end (you're the expert because you created the book or the course) so you won't be sitting around twiddling your thumbs for long.

Kindest regards,
Andrew Cavanagh

[Brad Spencer]

Hey, I'm jealous of you!

Why? I'm jealous b/c you have computer skills that would take me 5 years to develop.

When people feel this way, you have a market. When people feel this way about YOU and your skills, you have a business.

I love the suggestion to you to freelance your experience. I would say that is best now b/c it leverages what you have NOW and gives you time to educate yourself on what is out there.

Before I really turned this "IM thing" into a business (smirk), I hopped around doing things I had no skills in. No wonder I sucked at it and never made anything. It's discouraging but it's a good lesson. Use what you have now to get where you want to go. That's the way we all do it everywhere else in life, why not online?

I really think the suggestion that creating info products based on your skills or shooting videos on your skills would be a great business model as well. It really depends on what you want.

Personally, I'd create a free video on "blah blah" and embed it into a page. Then I'd attach an autoresponder subscribe box on the page too...give away something for free (10 tips on integrating software...just an example but it could work). You'll build a list of people who need your services/products and then you can write them an email anytime you need some money.

Now, there are a lot of steps/skills/tasks involved in that over-simplified example. But the example still holds.

I hope this gives you something to think about...feel free to PM me if you need clarification!

Cheers,



Brad Spencer

[TheVCF]

Dear mcegoon,

From your skills and experience you listed above, you sound like you may be a Good Candidate / match for the Managing Partner Position for The Virtual Consulting Firm, for which we are currently Actively Seeking!

So ...

Please find more information regarding this via TheVCF Jobs / Help Wanted link in our Sig below, ok? and then ...

Please contact / PM us (and/or contact us as directed through that Job Ad) and let us know 1) If you might be interested in, willing and able to fill this Managing Partner Position for The Virtual Consulting Firm 2) your name / contact information and 3) where you are (physically) located so we may send you further information regarding this Immediately Available Position as Managing Partner for The Virtual Consulting Firm and then further discuss the possibilities that this may be a Mutually Beneficial and Profitable opportunity for us both! ok?

Thank you for your participation and Have a Great Day!

- Michael