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New Member Intro, and a Basic Business Model.

by 8BuckBiz
8 replies
Hello Warriors! My name is Matt, and I have never, ever, made a single cent on the internet!

I've browsed this forum periodically over the last few months, as I decided I wanted to start a home business. Search engines are chock full of "Make $XXX per day without lifting a finger" offers. To my luck, I haven't bought in to anything yet. But, my research tells me that most make money schemes on the web today are selling people information on how to make money.

Of course, there's the whole CPM advertising thing, which I just don't seem to have a knack for. I haven't tried anything concrete yet, but at the same time, I really don't feel passionate about any subject, that I feel I could gather a respectable audience to make money selling ad space.

E-commerce seemed to be the way to go for me, but that is a cutthroat world I'm not ready to get into.

I've planned out a very basic idea for a business I wish to start. Here are the key points:
  • Monthly subscription, purchasing 1000 ad impressions.
  • Subscription cost <$8.
  • Unlimited $1 commission each month, for each subscribing member signed up under affiliate link.

Here's where I need some help. I know a bit of HTML, enough to build a website and get it hosted. I know how to setup merchant accounts (I run a retail store during the day as my job, I want to quit so badly!) to take payments and subscriptions. The questions I have are these:
  • Am I out of my mind for thinking people will pay $8 for 1000 impressions?
I know that cost is absurd for only 1000 impressions monthly, but the point is to build a business, a stream of income. I think I would be willing to try anything for only $8/month, considering the 12.5% commission paid each month...
  • Do I need a reward structure that pays high performers better than average ones?
I'm not sure about this one. Most MLM's, Network Marketing things, etc. pay more and more (usually in the form of bonuses) to people who recruit like crazy.
  • Would a 2, 3, or 4 (or more?) level deep organization attract more members than it would scare away?
I could work out a new price point utilizing multiple levels of incomes for my customers, but I think the general reaction to "5 levels deep, unlimited width" is "pyramid" and people still seem scared of that word.
  • How do I go about finding software, or a script, that will handle the referral system for me?
I need something that will give people a referral ID when they sign up, and track it on new sign ups. I'd like my customers to be able to log into my website and view their organization, and I'd like a back office that will tell me exactly how many active subscriptions each member has sponsored, so I know how much to pay them. I've searched for "referral management software" and every derivative I can think of, but I can't find something that will do this for me. I don't even know what to call it.

Any suggestions, insights, or questions, I would love to hear! I appreciate all your time, and I'm sorry if I missed something.

Edit: I just saw this thread (http://www.warriorforum.com/main-int...ml#post8476430) bumped to the top of this forum, that has some answers in it to my affiliate tracking question. Thanks!
#basic #business #intro #member #model
  • Profile picture of the author Kurt@viewswin
    You might find it hard to get affiliates if you are only offering $1. Especially if it is a crap deal for your members, which means there will not be reoccurring payments as they will quit. Everyone quitting means that no significant multilevel would build up anyway. So affiliates will be trying to sell a crap deal which equals low conversions for a measly dollar. Affiliates would probs want at least a few months membership as fee, so 8x3 or $24 per sign up. Then you bear the risk that members will drop out, which they will I imagine. Good luck though
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  • Profile picture of the author InternetMarketingSmarts
    Hey Matt,

    This is very ambitious for your experience level and it has a lot of moving parts.
    How would you plan to get traffic to this website and recruit affiliates?
    Where would these impressions come from? Are they real people or bots?

    I don't know it seems very complicated to do all this for a newbie. Everyone has a passion or experience within some type of industry that may be used for the basis of a niche website.

    - What do you do on your free time?
    - What type of websites do you surf for fun?
    - What's your work experience?
    - What are you good at?
    - What do you enjoy?
    - Do people come to you for advice about certain subjects?

    As you can see when you start asking yourself these type of questions, you may realize you do have some niche ideas to try.

    If you just want to make your first buck on the internet there are some easier ways like amazon mechanical turk, fiverr and other non-im related opportunities that will pay you for simple activities. With amazon mechanical turk you could literally earn a few hundred dollars per month and it's a lot more straightforward than what you're proposing.

    Then you can take that money in invest in some structured internet marketing training or mentoring that will help you succeed this time around. So that's my two cents. I don't want to sound like doubtful Thomas. But I'm just trying to give you some other options and perspective to consider. Feel free to PM if you want more ideas and options. Hope this helps.
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    • Profile picture of the author 8BuckBiz
      Originally Posted by Kurt@viewswin View Post

      You might find it hard to get affiliates if you are only offering $1.(...)Affiliates would probs want at least a few months membership as fee, so 8x3 or $24 per sign up.(...)
      Kurt,

      So you don't think that $1 is enough? I'm not talking about a $1 CPA when someone starts a new subscription, I'm talking about pay the sponsor $1 each and every month, for each and every active referral they have. Does that make a difference? $24 per sign up might work (it shifts a TON of risk into my pocket, which isn't a bad thing, but doesn't excite me either!) instead of offering recurring commissions? Maybe a combination of each? I'm thinking maybe enough of a CPA for 2 or 3 referrals a month to pay for your subscription, and then a recurring commission on top of that?

      Thanks for the input!

      Originally Posted by InternetMarketingSmarts View Post

      (...)How would you plan to get traffic to this website and recruit affiliates?
      Where would these impressions come from? Are they real people or bots?(...)

      As you can see when you start asking yourself these type of questions, you may realize you do have some niche ideas to try.(...)

      Feel free to PM if you want more ideas and options. Hope this helps.
      I initially had planned on paying for advertising with various networks on the web to drive at least the initial traffic. If I can expect a .1% conversion rate (is this high, or low?) then for every 1000 ads I put out, I should expect 1 signup. Also, I had largely planned on building up a network of "Pre-Launch" or "Beta Test" emails, so that I can potentially hit the ground running. I won't lie, this is a big part of how I planned this out; do pre-launch drives for a certain period of time, offering beta members special privileges (such as higher commissions for life?) and depending on those beta members to do the advertising for me.

      The impressions come from real people, and are limited to paying any given IP address only 1 time in a 24 hour period. For example, if you were to purchase 300 impressions from me, you would get at least 300 unique, human hits to that ad/page. Ad viewers can always view ads multiple times, but you only pay for the first impression from each IP address per 24 hour period.

      As for hobbies, I play old computer games, Diablo 2 far and wide my main "free time" sink. Browsing sites, are mostly forums about Diablo 2, and occasionally a visit to a car enthusiast forum.

      I have experience in the real world as a mechanic, and for a long time I thought this would be a shoe-in for my first enterprise. Offer up how-to repair guides for things like basic maintenance, and step by step guides to replacing parts, like starters, or alternators. I figured I could even promote affiliate sales of parts and tools on a site like that! I may still pursue it someday, but not today. Thanks for the advice, certainly got my mind working!

      Edit: Another thing I thought of on the way to work: I could offer a free "Promoter's Account" to people, which would still pay commissions on subscribing referral sponsorships. I think this option would be best for pre-launch, as once the business is running, people will sign up for free before they sign up for a subscription. I could think of ways to sweeten subscription benefits (private forum, more impressions? CPA offer in tandem with recurring commissions?)

      I appreciate your time, folks!
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      • Profile picture of the author AlexGeorge
        My advise to you would be start small. Get a good course from the WSO section that uses a tested model to get you to 50-100 dollars a day. There are lots of different methods to acheive this. Just stick to one thing and give it everything. Once you have a small income coming in, even if its $10-20 a day, that will open doors for you as you can then start outsourcing bits and scaling up.
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        • Profile picture of the author sonjay
          Originally Posted by AlexGeorge View Post

          My advise to you would be start small. Get a good course from the WSO section that uses a tested model to get you to 50-100 dollars a day. There are lots of different methods to acheive this. Just stick to one thing and give it everything. Once you have a small income coming in, even if its $10-20 a day, that will open doors for you as you can then start outsourcing bits and scaling up.
          Well, my take would be something similar to this.. but my specific and quite personal recommendation is that you do something as a freelancer.. if you have some insider-knowledge in that industry you want to quit from (like you mentioned) maybe you can create a package which brands you as an expert and at the same time helps you land some of your first clients.
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          500+ Leads | Quality Traffic
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          choose target location
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          • Profile picture of the author Mehak
            hey I have a programme which may be ideal for you Google Mehaks Marketers (as i dont think im allowed to post links here).

            I offer 1-2-1 coaching for people starting in IM and help you learn from the basics as well as offering a live coaching to help you grow your business or brand. It's not a business opporutnity
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  • Profile picture of the author Kurt@viewswin
    Don't think anyone wants to pay for untargeted traffic. Which means i don't think any affilliates will want to try sell untargeted traffick, even if you gave them the full $8 per month. I may be wrong!!! Anyone else know???? Look at what other affilliate programs are offering out there.
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  • Profile picture of the author Katemiller
    Hi i am a newbie here and feeling glad to join this amazing community.
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