In your opinion, what is the first thing you must do to start an online business?

This forum has been online since the 90's - everything you need to know to get started online is somewhere on this forum.


Make a list of specific things you need to know or don't understand - then use the forum search to do keyword searches and start reading.


If you post "tell me everything" and wait for answers....you won't learn much. Answers will be from those equally new as experieced members aren't going to repost info over and over.



To find the gold - you have to do a little digging.

The first steps - I believe there is no gold rule aplicable for everybody. It depends on what you already know (e. g. do you know HTML, PHP, have some experience with CMS like WordPress?) and what is your goal.

My method to learn new things is starting to read about all aspects of the thing I need to learn. First, I get confused, however, I note questions which comes to my mind (yes, when you start learning internet marketing I am almost sure you will find more new questions than answers during some time) and use Google to find answers to my questions. This results in even more new questions, but also in more questions answered. At some point I have a good idea what exactly I need to learn perfectly to succeed and I concentrate on that.

I usually educate myself first on the topic I am interested in, Such as Affiliate Marketing, Dropshipping, Amazon FBA Or Starting Digital agency. I usually go to YouTube and watch videos about that topic. I don't go out and spend money on anything until I know if I can do it long term or not. If I think my choice is feasible and I will be able to put in the work to do it long term then I go out and buy courses. Hope that help.

Invest in a:

Mentor or
Spend $1000 on 6 Figure Success Academy
Or find a course/skillset you believe in & be prepared to roll up your sleeves & work!
You have to have skin in the game and take it serious and implement your learning to make this work. Take imperfect action!

Pick a path/way to make money online. Start learning how to make money using that method, and start taking action while you are learning. You will never learn everything about online marketing because it is constantly changing. However, the basics are enough to get started. Don't give up if you don't find success right away. Making money online is just like any other business, you get out what you put in.

So maybe I should go to a more specific question. What is the best place to start when trying to gain traffic in affiliate marketing? It seems like everything is saying to start google ad words or facebook advertise but that all seems expensive. I want to do inexpensively. Thoughts

Research on all the best digital marketers/affiliate marketers in your niche, follow them every where, watch what they promote, see what they do, model this exactly because its obviously working, don't follow what people tell you, watch what the best are doing and model it, they have taken years to learn this and have perfected it, this will cut your learning curve by years

1. Give yourself a budget and research what kind of digital businesses you can get into for that price (i.e. affiliate vs own product vs own service). If you're good at something, sell your service. No budget, No business.

2. Understand the different online models and invest in training that gives you step-by-step info. As mentioned that could be a mentor or a website.

3. Don't throw money into advertising if the ROI isn't there. Paid traffic is the quickest route, but if you are an affiliate that gets $3 per sale from Amazon as opposed to $500 for your own service there's no way it will cover the cost. You'll need to learn free traffic.

4. Stick to one business when you start, and acquire skills related to it. Marketing is related to every business, so focus on it and build a sales funnel.

5. Out-source what you can't do. (i.e. graphics, videos, websites) The time you spend trying will cost you even more money.

As pointed out "Ask specific questions, to get specific answers" ;0)

Start working - too many people waste too much time on reading and thinking. (They are important, but doing the work is important as well)

The first thing you have to do is to create an online store, and you must know what kind of products you want to sell. Which country has the right customers to target it, and what ways to sell your products.

The first thing you can do is to find a hot product in the marketplace to promote and learn how to drive traffic to it.

Setup a blog, start a YouTube Channel, subscribe to Clickfunnel and GetResponse. These are basic necessities. Then make a strategy and start your campaigns the way you want. Nothing complicated.

In my opinion, the first thing to be done to start an online business is deciding on a niche product or service that you want to sell.

i think branding your buissness is the main thing that you should do

Have you decided the product to market? This is the main thing.
The next thing is to analyze the market where you want to promote the product.

Same as in any business.

"Online" is just a platform--actually many platforms (websites, ClickFunnels-hosted pages, Facebook, this very forum), all viewable through an electronic screen.

The same principles as with any other kind of business apply.

First, find a target market that has said in their own words they have a serious problem that you can fix.

Serious in their world. "They're hungry and need lunch" can be very serious. "They need entertainment" can be deadly serious. "Their business servers are down 5% of the time" can be pretty darn serious. But they have to say it, or it's not true.

They have to be willing to pay money to fix it. If it's a serious problem to them, they probably will.

If you have that, you have the first thing you need in business.

Hi Hit Click Media,

The first thing you need to do is surround yourself with like-minded people. And for that, here you are in the right place.

Afterwards, try to learn as much as you can from the most successful people you know. And by successful people, I mean people who truly a making great profits with online business.

Hope that helps! Wish you all the best!

Be completely sure you are ready. Prepare yourself, mentally and physical, before committing to something that is likely to drain you in both areas.

Be realistic, both with your goals and your projected time schedule.

Don't be afraid to ask for help. That means, don't assume you know everything.

Temper your enthusiasm and remember that bad days can crush it. Tomorrow will be better.

Realize your personal limitations (yes, you have them). Seek help in areas where you are weak.

Have some working capital. This is oftentimes the biggest shortcoming in launching a new project.

Write your plan down on paper. Don't be afraid to alter it as obstacles and opportunities present themselves. You need to be flexible.

Don't try to do everything on the cheap. Approach your business with a pauper's mindset and you'll wind-up a pauper. It takes money to make money. Just spend it, wisely.

Ignore the naysayers - except for when they're right. If you're honest with yourself, you'll know when that is. Don't let your ego be your worst enemy. That's just sad. :-)

Work hard, when you work - but take time off for family, friends and pursuing your passion, which should NOT be your job. NEVER mix the two. You can't make a bigger mistake in life.

Stop occasionally to pull back for a 30,000 foot view. Be honest with yourself by what you see.

Don't be afraid to quit, when you see that your dream is simply not plausible, for whatever reason. The sooner you walk away from something that is destined for failure and you are honest enough with yourself to recognize it, the sooner you can take what you've learned, move on to a new project and use the experience to create success for yourself.

Don't let anyone tell you that you should NEVER quit. They don't care if something is destroying your life. They'd rather feed you tired platitudes than acknowledge your courage and common-sense in cutting your losses. This does NOT mean that you quit when the going gets tough. That's for losers. It's for when you know, in your mind and in your heart, that there is no doubt that failure is the only outcome as the destination on the road you are on. There is no shame in that. There is shame in wasting more time, more money and draining your zest for life, by continuously beating a dead horse.

Some people are fortunate to find success on their first attempt. Very, very few. Most people are prone to experiencing the normal, human condition of more than one failure, before finding their path to success and financial freedom.

Remember, too - there are no guarantees in life. You could work your ass off for many years and never make a dime. It happens. Don't fall the the BS you'll find scattered around this forum and others, that if you simply believe in yourself, and never, ever quit, you cannot and will not fail. Riches will be your reward for as long as you live.

If you believe that, I have nothing to say that can save you from yourself.

Now - GO TAKE ACTION!!!

To get started in digital marketing I would highly recommend to go for google digital garage course which would give you the complete overview of digital marketing and once you have learned every sight of it then you can decide which side suits you best.

The first thing to everything is to plan it out and invest into learning more on the things that you are interested in doing. It's better to have come prepared that to start with knowing nothing at all.

The first thing you should do is to discover your niche, what are you passionate about? Then proceed to solve a problem, solution, simplify an issue. Or you can find a premium quality product or service to market and sell. Create a brand name and a unique. Com. The rest is just driving traffic to your website.