Want To Learn About Internet Marketing? Maybe Make Your First Few Bucks Online? Try This (Untested)

It seems that very few people know how to get started with this whole Internet Marketing thing. The "how do I start" threads are everywhere, all the time. The actionable advice in those threads (if you can really call it actionable) fall along the same lines as well:

"Believe in yourself, you can do it."

"Find an expert, follow them around, and do what they do."

"The money is in the list!"

"Blah blah blah, God I hope you see my coaching sig."

It's vague. Pretty "meh" if you ask me.

An idea struck me today while I was thinking on how newbies handle things here. It's something a little different, think of it almost like a training class. Now, before we get started with this you need to be aware:

1. I haven't tested this. There's no guarantee that this will do anything for you. It seems like a good idea on paper though, something worth testing.

2. You're probably not going to make any money out of this exercise. I've got an idea of how it can be monetized; but the chances of it working? I can't say with any kind of authority.

3. It's going to take a lot of legwork; but that may be the best part. If you're unwilling to grind through this, to do the work required, then you can probably step back and think on whether or not you have enough entrepreneurial talent to "make it work".

Anyways, here we go.


Purpose: To provide a complete IM novice a methodology to learn the basics of the business without (i) spending money on a WSO that they may not (yet) have the talent to properly judge and (ii) providing a chance to earn their first few bucks in a real world environment.

Tools Needed: A reliable computer and Internet connection will be required for the bulk of idea acquisition and research. A preferred methodology of note taking will be needed as well. I would recommend Google Docs personally. An account in good standing with the Warrior Forum or another Internet Marketing gathering place would be ideal for the attempt at monetization.

Time Required: Nothing can be guaranteed. Pre-existing education levels will vary, implementation levels will vary. You are promised nothing, nothing is expected of you. If you do everything, to the letter, I'd guess a few hours a day for a couple of months. But be reminded that I haven't tested this, so who really knows.

The Method: Rather than searching endlessly through WSOs, wasting away in coaching programs, or browsing half-finished blogs with no direction, we're going to attempt to create our own IM education. Here's how:

1. Gather Your Ideas

If you have any questions, general or specific, about Internet Marketing then write them down. Once you're done with that (or you don't have any more questions), move on. What I want you to do is go through each of the following sections one at a time:

Main Internet Marketing Discussion Forum
Search Engine Optimization
Ad Networks (CPM/CPL, Display, SEM)
Pay Per Click/Search Engine Marketing (PPC/SEM)
Email Marketing
Growth Hacking
Social Media
Conversion Rate Optimization
Offline Marketing
Mobile Marketing
Copywriting
eCommerce Sites, Wholesaling & Drop Shipping
Programming
Website Design

You're going to go through each section, one page at a time, until you can find 5 questions that you would either want to ask yourself or want to be able to answer in an educated fashion. If I were to go through the main section right now here is what a few of those threads would look like in my mind:

http://www.warriorforum.com/main-int...-copy-web.html
http://www.warriorforum.com/main-int...-automate.html
http://www.warriorforum.com/main-int...ing-price.html
http://www.warriorforum.com/main-int...ffiliates.html
http://www.warriorforum.com/main-int...ptin-form.html

These threads aren't exactly clear cut representations of the "right question" or a "big idea", but this is where your entrepreneurial ability will begin to be tested. Can you figure out what the big idea or question is within a thread like the ones mentioned above? Hopefully the answer is yes.

2. Research The Hell Out Of The Idea/Question That You Come Up With

This is where you start to learn. You find a question or idea that interests you? You need to be motivated to learn everything there is to reasonably learn (short of actually getting "out there" and testing things). A good place to start is within the thread itself. See if there are any ideas or thoughts that strike you. Don't take them at face value (on the Internet no one knows you're a dog), but jot them down as something to try and verify.

From there Google and the library become your best friends. Find as much as you can on the given topic and take good notes. You're probably not a Mike Ross (look him up, he's from Suits. It's a great TV show), you're not going to memorize all this.

3. Create A Piece Of Content Around Each Subject/Question/Idea

This is put up or shut up time. There's an old saying that states that you don't understand anything unless you can explain it to a 5 year old, and this methodology revolves around that. You're going to take all of your research, compile it, and try to relay what you've learned in an understandable fashion. You can write an article, you can sit in front of a camera and make a YouTube video, you can record yourself and create an MP3/Podcast. Go with what you know or what is most comfortable to you.

(If you don't know how to do any of these things, then you just found a theme to look out for when collecting your questions/ideas.)

A Major Disclaimer: It's important that I stop here for a moment. Very few are going to listen (just look at this forum); but I'm going to make the attempt anyways. When you're creating content in this niche (and I'm explicitly suggesting that you do that) you need to be very careful about how you position yourself. You are not an authority on the Internet Marketing field. Don't pretend to be one. A great piece can be created around the idea of "I wanted to learn this thing, I tried to learn this thing, here's what I learned about this thing."

4. ???

Because the Internet has conditioned me that every outline must have this right before the end. If you want some filler then this would be the montage part of a movie where you work really hard on the tasks outlined, learn a lot about Internet Marketing, learn a bit about yourself, and start convincing the girl that you're better than that Dbag Chad.

5. (Try to) Profit

Once you've finished learning and creating something for all of the questions/ideas you've come across, then it is time to see if that education stuck. Now I heavily implore you not to stick with the Internet Marketing niche. There are a ton of ways to make money out there and I'm certain that there is something better out there for you.

If you want a test run though, you should now be sitting on a ton of (hopefully) great content. There's a few things you can do with it:

1. Start a website, post all of this as a "portfolio", and start advertising an article writing, video making, podcast recording service. Something along those lines. (Do this if you were passionate about creating the content).

2. Package everything up, sell it as a product. Good PLR still sells from what I see.

3. Sell each piece off as "spare parts". If you wrote an article, Constant-Content may be a good place. I'm sure there are outlets for other kinds of content as well, but I am not in a position to name any (I've never made that content and never used or looked for those kinds of places).

Again: should you try to sell this content in any kind of way the manner in which you position yourself is very important. They say there are no ethics in business. How about you prove them wrong .


I hope this methodology works for someone. It seemed like a good idea in my head, and GTA V got boring so I decided that I would type for a while. Should you take this idea up, know that you're going to have to do it on your own and that you take responsibility for any success or failure that you see. Sorry, I'm busy, I'm not looking to gain from this and this is the way that entrepreneurial pursuits work. You'll have to take a few risks, put in a lot of time. But hey, that's half the fun.