Complete newbie to Internet Marketing looking for ideas to invest in.

by science451

Posted: 6 years ago 26 replies

INTERNET MARKETING

Hey guys,

Nice to meet you all, I am Luca from Italy - pretty new here although I've been reading these forums as a guest for quite some time in an attempt to broaden my knowledge with internet marketing / e-commerce as well as find good ideas to invest. Honestly though, I am somewhat disoriented and puzzled, to say the least, by the amount of people who claim their success stories and those that instead claim the opposite, by achieving complete failures in their online experiences.

Let alone those veterans who claim they're making plenty of money online YET offer their precious life time to "help" their fellow newbies obtaining the same success by "trusting them". Very noble, sure, but why would someone invest so much time and resources to develop and implement a winning online business strategy (which I believe people do in an attempt to gain more time independence and financial success), to then again use your precious time to teach others how to do it for a charge, if you already have a great business running? It kind of contradicts itself in my opinion, but again, I may simply not understand the mechanisms behind it properly, to assess and judge correctly. Anyways, heads up and I respect all you people working in this field, I am just thinking out loud here.

Let me start off by saying that I am somewhat familiar with web-design and LAMP based projects design and implementation, so I do understand the basic technical stuff, and am familiar with HTML/CSS and all these CMSes out there, but since I have never been into internet marketing before and have no idea where to start, I don't want to do mistakes.

About me:

a) I already have a full time job (9-5);
b) I'd rather invest my money on either an e-commerce solution with physical goods or any other ideas to start providing me with a second income to my actual job;
c) My requirements have a basic constraint which I need to put up with, which is time. I don't exactly have much time at the moment since I already have a job, but I am fully committed over investing spare hours and week-end time to do something new. Obviously, if things would go well, I would consider quitting my main job, but I would only consider doing that in the event things would go really well.

I see people talking about niches and I have some ruff ideas, but need guidance.

My idea at the moment would be to start with a budget of around $ XXXX, with an eventual monthly support of $ XXXX for ads or whatever else may be needed to keep the business progressing.

What do you think I should do? What would you suggest? I am willing to evaluate your suggestions, and obviously if something good comes up from this discussion, I'm willing to consider eventual partnerships or other type of deals.

Thanks!

EDIT: As suggested by a forum member, i removed the actual budget figures.

#complete #ideas #internet #invest #marketing #newbie

GrowthforLife 6 years ago

You can approach this by first considering your personal areas of interest. I could suggest to you some niches that I personally thought would be highly profitable, but those are niches that appeal to me. Its not just about chasing where the money is at, you're more likely to be successful if you developed something directly from your areas of interest. For example, I'm a big Game of Thrones fan and I had a site that focused entirely on episode reviews. That was my niche, I really enjoyed writing on it and the site was doing pretty good on traffic (Unfortunately I had to sell out).
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- science451 6 years ago
  
  Hey mate,
  
  thanks for the answer. I am evaluating what niche to go for, and unfortunately what I really like as hobby is already well "served" / taken on the Internet Plus as I have 0 experience with making money from ads, I see that people get their accounts (such as adsense) banned when they start making some money from their blogs (for the most desperate reasons), and I'd rather not risk to go through the whole process of building a good website and drive traffic to it, to then see my money making accounts get banned for whatever reason. I would prefer to "invest" into something more reliable. Risk is okay. Venturing and investing time and resources with 0 experience into a field like that sounds suicidal imho
  
  Again, thanks for your feed-back.
  
  Thanks
  
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ryanbiddulph 6 years ago

Welcome Luca

Some Warriors do run thriving businesses while traveling all over the globe and actually, weirdly, learned that while they receive money for helping some folks, that helping folks for free is a fantastic way to build even more business through the concept of generosity.

I know of 1 such guy. Just received an email from a fellow Warrior who happily subscribed to his list. This guy is often spotted in places like Bali and Fiji. But is writing these words from Central Park West. Which is not a half bad neighborhood, from what I have heard

Just a though to help you cut through your skepticism
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- science451 6 years ago
  
  Thank you Ryanbiddulph,
  
  helping folks for free I would fully understand, it's generous and more importantly a noble action - perhaps there are some nice people out there who have a strong business and relevant strong income, who yet are willing to use some of their free time to do good for others in the community. What I don't understand the part where some veterans actually charge people who want to learn their insights, when they have an already strong ongoing business. Ie. If I already earn $20k+ net per month, why would I waste many hours of my precious time to charge people $300 or whatever amount and teach them my insights? In my example, It's like adding 1% additional monthly income but comes at the cost of using your hardly earned free time Rather than skeptical, I see no logic in that, although as I already said, I do realize that there may be other mechanisms behind that drive these people to do that (learn more and improve the business by teaching others as you said).
  
  Thanks
  
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Enfusia

6 years ago

Hi Luca,

Here is what I would suggest.

1. Hire a mentor. Yes, it will cost a little. But, if you've never done IM before the learning curve can be rather costly. Mostly because 95% really doesn't make much money.

2. Build a list. Make sure your mentor understands and even teaches list building. It will be the fundamental element to your success.

3. Consider creating your own information products over ecomerce. Yes, you can do really well in ecom. However, generally speaking, because of the really low commissions you'll need a fair amount of traffic.

Why build someone else's business for them. Create your own products and have affiliates build yours.

4. Be sure your mentor is a great copywriter. You literally can't sell anything without great copy.

5. Think about what you'd do for 10 years for free. What do you love to do so much, you'd do it for free?

That should be your niche. Because, you'll love going to work each day.

That's my 2 cents and I'm sticking to it.

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science451

6 years ago

Hi Enfusia,

Thank you very much for your reply. That is a very good plan of action which sounds interesting.

1. In your humble opinion, where can I hire a mentor that I can trust?

2. I apologize in advance for my ignorance, but what exactly do you mean by "Build a List"?

3. I was rather thinking to target masses (quantity) rather than making a lot of profit on single sales. But I fully understand your point, though it's quite hectic to make an information product that is not already around on the Internet these days

4. Thank you. Will explore this further.

5. Well... the answer to such question would be a nobrainer for me *grins* - but as I already mentioned to another warrior above, unfortunately my hobbies are already well and fully covered on the Internet.

Thank you again for your heads up

Thanks
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Enfusia

6 years ago

Originally Posted by science451

Don't worry about not knowing things. This is where you come to learn.

Never ever worry about competition. I'm in 2 niches and they both have hardcore competition. But, there is a lot of money in them, so I take my slice, and it's a nice slice.

Build a list means an email list. It's your best asset online bar none.

You can target the masses, that's fine. However, you'll make 80% plus or minus of your profit from your higher ticket items in your funnel.

It doesn't matter if your niche is fully covered on the internet or not. Show me one that isn't.
Let go of those limiting beliefs. Why do you buy any book, course or info? It's all available online isn't it? Yes, so why?

If that were a problem, this forum wouldn't even exist.

Save

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anayb 6 years ago

eCommerce sounds cool, no doubt, but you'll inevitably learn that it's a lot harder up close than it looks from a distance. WHY? the big shots have all the clout and individuals, like you, get the short end of the stick. But, if you're serious, that shouldn't dissuade you from going for it.

Should you take it? Before you take the long route, why don't you take a short one and show the world that you can make money online by creating an info product and sell them via your blog, newsletter marketing, fb and Youtube--which is more secured.

Running anything - an eCommerce site is a great job. Keep in mind, that's just the beginning. That's the easy part. The hard part is being successful at it, right up to the very end.

In business as in life, there are no absolutes. There are no givens. Nothing is static. Everything is up for grabs. Best of luck, and welcome to the forum!!
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- science451 6 years ago
  
  Thank you Anayb,
  
  I know that as in life, there are no absolutes in business either. That is the exact reason why I'm here asking other experts for tips, else I would not bother wasting other people's time to help me trying and avoiding common mistakes
  
  But thanks for your suggestion, I'll definitely look into all possibilities, including the short route of having an info product. I just need to learn a bit more about this whole world first I guess
  
  Thanks
  
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spartan14 6 years ago

I dont recomend to people first to invest in affiliate marketing as its very risky .In my opinion its better to but some good courses and learn how this process work and how to work for yourself.
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- science451 6 years ago
  
  Hey there,
  
  Thank you for your answer. Are there any particular reasons why you think affiliate marketing is very risky? What is wrong with it?
  
  Thanks!
  
  Thanks
  
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davntt 6 years ago

You can learn to build a site and sell affiliate products from some market place like Clickbank, Maxbounty. Have a goal to make it works and you can earn monthly passively.
Hope it help.
Thanh
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- science451 6 years ago
  
  Thank you for the hints!!
  
  Thanks
  
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Joseph Daini 6 years ago

Hi Luca,

My advice will be to go for a niche you are passionate about to start with regardless of how competitive it is. In Internet Marketing, you will most likely face resistance and obstacles and that is where your passion will get you through.

I'd suggest you learn and educate yourself on some video training on the basic fundamentals of what you need to do to start/prepare yourself before jumping into the whole Internet Marketing wagon.

For example, you seem not to understand what building a list is, this is vital in this business so it is important you understand and learn all this before you start. Some of these training courses, you can get for free, some you might have to pay a small fee, it's all part of your investment.

Learn and understand the basics and the fundamentals so you can have a detailed plan on your goals and objective with a good understanding of all the tools you need.
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- science451 6 years ago
  
  Hello Joseph,
  
  Thank you. Yes you guys are absolutely right - it seems I need to learn a bit more basics before attempting this, which is what I will do. Due to my limited time, I want to try and avoid wasting it, hence asking for suggestions on where to start.
  
  Thanks again!
  
  Thanks
  
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hardworker2013 6 years ago

This is the advice that i will give all newbies, find a guru, invest in his or her course and get 1 on 1 training. That is the best way rather than buying 100 junk products which tell you you can make millions in just 1 month.
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- science451 6 years ago
  
  Hehe true story.
  
  I am not desperate, so I will take my time to evaluate and choose my path in what I would consider the most suitable way. I agree finding a "guru" seems the best way to go, but I first want to understand more fundamentals, else I won't be able to tell the difference between a guru and a shark
  
  I did not spend a cent so far, but I plan to do so, to enrich my knowledge.
  
  Thanks mate.
  
  Thanks
  
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esmarshall 6 years ago

Ok...the short answer is people charge for their times and i don't know who you've been talking too whos charging $300 but sounds like hes doing himself a disservice

doesn't have to solely be in the "make money" niche...in fact it's probably easier if its not

with regards to picking a market...they say pick something your good at or interested in cause its a better starting point..then learning something from scratch

wouldn't say its essential though

Dating, make money, gambling, health, adult are generally good markets cause they're evergreen (people are always gonna want these things) and its hard for anyone person to have a monopoly over them...so even the little guy can get a slice, but expect a lot of competition

The easiest approach is to find out

Who your competition is....

what they are saying to their audience (ultimately the same people you're trying to reach)

The selling points....objection handling....even the layout as much info as you can find cause its going to serve as the basis for your campaign

WHY WOULD YOU DO THIS?....Cause the big companies thats doing the numbers....they have the resource and money to find out what your market is responding too..what works and what doesnt..they do testing and compile data

saving you alot of time, money and headache

Don't let anyone here tell you there is something honourable or smart about spending your own time (and money) to end up with the same results.....BUT LETS BE CLEAR...I'M NOT SUGGESTING YOU OUTRIGHT COPY EVERYTHING WORD FOR WORD...OK.....GOOD!..This is a process called modeling

then you put your own unique "Spin" on it e.g Weight loss for italian newborn mothers (unless its already been done haha)

and this is probably the most crucial bit..... you get on with it....

Because this ain't for everyone....too many people get sucked in by the idea of having time, wealth freedom and its nice

but its hard work and dedication....so unless your committed to making this work....then i'd say save yourself some heartache and get your alarm ready for work

cause there is no "safe" way to do this, so if your worried about getting "hurt" then your in the wrong place, you probably wont find anyone in online community (who's actually making money)

who hasn't experienced this kind of disappointment...i know i have

now i ain't trying to put you off, just wanted to give you some honest perspective and letting you know...this aint for everyone

but if your really serious and dedicated about getting your time back and making some nice money in the process, then i wish you all the best
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- science451 6 years ago
  
  Thank you very much man, I appreciate your post and I fully concur with most if not all the points you brought up.
  
  You are basically suggesting a "learn by doing" approach, which is exactly what I am starting to realize as well. Perhaps, as I have also written in reply to other people in this thread, a little bit of "guidance" in terms of where to start and prioritization is what I am looking for. Infact, I believe that will require either wasting a lot of time and studies, or hiring a mentor to guide through the process for a fee.
  
  I believe both approaches are good.
  
  Thanks again!
  
  Thanks
  
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  esmarshall 6 years ago
  
  no worries
  
  where to start is...picking a market you want to work in, thats completely your choice
  
  understand the common problems people have in "x" niche
  
  highlight how your product (your own product or affiliate will help)
  
  and study the competition, see what terms they use, handle the objections they have and what selling points they use, chances are they have already figured out what works
  
  then you just build a funnel around that data
  
  Its actually a "must" that you start here (after you've picked a market and product of course)....cause you need to be able to communicate a message that resonates with your audience
  
  for example in weight loss...it might be "sick of looking in the mirror and hating what you see...or being unhappy with the way your clothes fit these days and wish you could look sexy for your partner" (and so on)
  
  and you just tie in the weight loss product as a solution to those problems
  
  cause every product is ultimately a solution to a problem
  
  so what problem does your product/service solve?
  
  when you can list a solid answer to that question, your most of the way there
  
  Esmarshall
  
  Thanks
  
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Enfusia 6 years ago

I Just read Emarshal's post and here's what I can tell you.

Anyone who would mentor you for $300 won't be worth it if they were free.

People that make really good money don't even get out of bed for $300.

The only thing they can possibly pass on is what they know. I.E. how to stay broke.
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- science451 6 years ago
  
  Haha,
  
  I fully agree. Which is why I was wondering why would someone already having a good income even do that in the first place, above in my thread. But put yourself in my shoes: I am able to tell now because some of you guys have opened my eyes. I was not able to even tell that a couple days ago when I started the thread, Patrick.
  I am not sure whether I read that figure ($300) here or on some other forums, but I have read something like that, and I was shocked!
  
  Thanks
  
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hoangcf Banned 6 years ago

Welcome Luca
Make sure your mentor understands and even teaches list building. It will be the fundamental element to your success
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- science451 6 years ago
  
  Hi Hoangcf,
  
  indeed, those of you who look professional and serious about this already told me that list building is the paramount key to success. Infact, I did not even know what a list was a few days ago. Thanks man
  
  Thanks
  
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DIABL0 6 years ago

Keep in mind that there is a big world outside of MMO and selling products / services.

I heavily promote PPL (pay per lead...lead generation) offers. his is because there is no credit card / purchase required to complete an offer. All a user has to do is fill out a form, so conversion rates are typically much higher compared to offers that require a sale to be made.

I favor offers that have a make, get or save money benefit to them, as they have overall worked the best. They also tend to have the greatest mass appeal (will be of interest to a large general audience), so the potential exists to produce high volume.

Some of the verticals (niches) I have done extremely well with are: education, insurance, loans, debt, credit, mortgage, assistance, discount offers, homeowner offers, etc...

The bulk of the offers that I promote pay $20-$40 per lead, but I also promote offers that pay more and less. You don't want to get too caught up on what an offer pays because how well it converts is just as important. For example, if you have an offer that pays $9, but if it converts at 2X or more of a $20 offer, then it will perform about the same or possibly better. At the same time, if you have an offer that pays $90 and it converts poorly, it may not even be worth promoting.

Often you could make just as much money generating leads over selling a product / service depending on what the commission is, without all the headaches of trying to make sales.

Bottom line is that it's far easier to get someone fill out a short form than to get them to pull out their credit card and make a purchase. So why struggle with trying to sell this or that, when you can provide free information that users want/need and get paid well doing it.

I don't think that most marketers realize that the online lead generation industry is huge...billions of dollars. Everyone that I know that is in the business and knows what they are doing, for the most part, does 6-7 figures. While that's a huge range, much comes down to one's ability to scale and effectively build / manage the infrastructure needed to scale.

Something to consider.

As to you skepticism about coaching / training. Most that offer it and are actually making substantial money doing what they teach are charging $1000 or more. The bulk of the training is done through pre-made videos, that way they don't have to teach everything one-on-one and they are in markets that the info they provide isn't going to affect their existing business. So in the end, it's a win-win for everyone.

At the same time, there are obviously going to be programs that are poor. So you need to do your homework.
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Rory Singh 6 years ago

It seems like you want to get everything perfect...find the perfect mentor...perfect niche...perfect product ect.

Most people pursuing this industry make this common mistake.

We have people right on this very forum who have been doing this for years...trying to piece together all this 'make money' stuff WITHOUT making any mistakes.

The thing is...we as humans learn by making mistakes!

But most importantly...learning from them!

I wrote an article last year on this exact issue and even made a video on it.

"All of God's children have a success mechanism built in to them".

If you Google that phrase you will find this post on one of my blogs.

So there is a process for successful marketing online but no matter what you do (or who you follow), you will still make mistakes.

You will lose money, time (and maybe even some of your hair).

But this is the real process.

No one will learn in theory alone.

Most of the decisions we make in life and in business will be wrong.

But the only thing that keeps separating the winners from everyone else...

Is in the ability to keep moving forward BY lessons learned.

Are you willing to make some mistakes?
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Complete newbie to Internet Marketing looking for ideas to invest in.

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