Newbie Checklist

There are probably more than a hundred threads that have been posted in the last few months from people asking where to begin. I thought that it would be nice to put out a checklist that would help a newbie get started and hopefully reduce the number of threads all asking the same question.

NEWBIE CHECKLIST

1. Decide how you want to make money - There are many ways to make money on the Internet. You could market affiliate deals, create your own products, dropship products, AdSense, etc. The list goes on and on. The first step is to decide on a method that interests you. Once you decide on how you want to make money, learn as much as you can about that method here and on other sites. Here's a start.

2. Buy a domain name and get hosting - There are a lot of free places to claim your stake online, like blogger.com and wordpress.com, but why would you want to do that? Those sites are not in your control and you could lose everything at any given time. A domain name will cost you under ten bucks and you can get a baby hosting package for five or six bucks a month. You can start at Hostgator.

3. Learn about list building - One of the biggest mistakes that newbies make is that they do not start building mailing lists the day they start IMing. I don't care if you are selling pooper scoopers to dog owners or information only ebooks, a mailing list is a must. A good way to build a list is to create a product or use a PLR product that you give away as a trade for somebody subscribing to your list. Read up on it and get yourself an autoresponder. I suggest AWeber, which is $1 for the first month and then $19 a month. Here's a start for the lazy.

4. Learn about PLR - PLR stands for Private Label Rights. In a nutshell, it is content written by others that you have the ability to modify for your own benefit. You can use this content in so many ways to build your business. The key is to modify it and make it your own. Learn something about it here.

5. Set goals - If you don't know what it is that you want to accomplish, then how the heck could somebody else know? Set some goals for what you want to achieve before coming to the forum and asking, "What should I do?" Once you have goals set, you can ask specific questions on how to get from point A to point B. People are more than willing to help, especially if you have shown that you have done a little research yourself first.

6. Set your expectations when seeking help - It is important to have realistic expectations when asking for help or buying a course/blueprint/game plan. There are a lot of expert marketers that will give you advice or sell you a system. This does not mean that they will do the work for you. Set realistic expectations and don't think for one second that just by buying a course that you will be successful. You need to act on the information that you learn.

7. Look for other newbies to collaborate with - Instead of trying to get all of the experts to do your research by posting a million questions, why not partner up with another newbie so you can split the research tasks. you can also split the actual tasks of creating websites, blogs, articles, etc. This can be your first "Joint Venture".

8. Know when it is time to expand your horizons - I suggest working on one particular method of making money and not sway from it until you are actually making money. Then, and only then, should you look into adding another revenue stream. Multiple revenue streams are very important in online marketing, but if you half ass them all, none of them will pay off. Learn the ropes and succeed with one before moving on to another.

9. Schedule your time - Time is money and if you are wasting it, then you might as well be burning dollar bills. Make a work schedule. I don't care if it's just one hour a day. Just be sure that when it is time to work, you are working. I recommend scheduling separate times for learning and implementing what you learn.

10. Don't be afraid to fail - Fear of failure can lead to anxiety and eventually make you want to quit. Chances are that you will not be a success your first time around. If you know this ahead of time, then each failed attempt at something can be chalked up as a learning experience. We have all failed. Those of us that are successful still fail at new projects. We learn from them and relaunch using the lessons that we learned. You should do the same.

This is certainly not meant to be a game plan or blue print for your business. The purpose of it was to alleviate some of the beginner jitters and stress that most newbies suffer from. Being a newbie is not a bad thing. We were all newbies at one time. With the right amount of discipline, patience, and practice, you can graduate from the newbie category in no time.

I welcome your comments and additions to this list.

Now, get to work!

E Brian Rose