When it comes to building a real online business, and making money from that business, there are often more questions than answers.
- What should I do first?
- What niche should I enter?
- What product should I promote?
These are good questions, and each needs an answer.
But there is a vital factor that many people miss. By overlooking this one fact, and it is a fact, people struggle to make any real progress online.
Here is the vital fact; one you won’t hear many people talking about.
To succeed online you must develop certain skills
Yep, I said it. Succeeding online takes work. We all know that. It takes hard work, no matter what the hype boys tell you about their 1 click wonders.
But it takes more than effort. It takes skills.
Succeeding online takes knowing the right things to do, and doing them well.
The good news is this …
You can learn the skills you need to know quickly!
To be clear, it takes focused effort. Following a proven plan, a Roadmap that will guide you to the success you need.
All of this leads to a question. An important question …
What are the skills you need to develop?
I believe there are four basic skills that must be learned in order to build a real online business.
- A business that can support you, not just make a few commissions here and there.
- A business that can grow into one that supports you, your family and even your friends.
- A business that is a real platform for your passions and interests.
Here are the four areas in which I would encourage you to work.
Publishing
It has long been said that professors must “publish or perish”. Today the same phrase holds true for those wanting a small (or large) business of their own online.
It’s really not an option now – you simply must have a blog of your own.
- Not a free blog from a business opportunity.
- Not a hosted blog you get for free just for signing up.
- Not a blog you get with some resale rights package.
You need a blog of your own, on your own hosting account, running WordPress.
If you have that, you have a platform from which you can broadcast your message to the masses.
Because the masses are listening. They have needs and they don’t care who meets them, just that they get met.
Meet their needs and you will become their “go to guy or gal”. The voice they trust. The blog they read. The blog they share.
Sound like a pipe dream? It’s not. I’m living proof.
Promotion
I’ve been a salesman all my life and can count on one hand the people I know who “love” to sell.
They love the process of selling and want to be on the front lines answering objections, winning the sale and learning from every “no”.
- Loving the process of selling (and promotion) is pretty rare.
- Loving the results of learning to promote well are almost universal.
Learning to promote well (and ethically) is a skill that pays you back a thousand ways.
When you know how to promote online …
- You don’t need to beg or plead, just make your case.
- You work with people who like you, trust you and appreciate the value you provide.
- You literally make friends and customers become repeat customers, promotional partners and more.
But all this starts with learning to promote.
The good news is this – you know how to promote right now because you are being promoted to.
On a lot of lists?
Most of us are. But that can be good because you can learn from that promotion!
- Study the emails you receive and observe how they are written. Pay careful attention to the subject lines.
- Watch how webinars are structured and when the pitch comes in.
- Watch how top marketers do product launches. How long are their videos? How much do they reveal?
You can learn so much by simply observing these things and looking for the common denominators.
When you are able, take a marketing course from someone you really respect and admire. Do what they teach and you will learn, and earn!
Participation
We live in a social world. No question there. And while social media can often seem overwhelming the fact is that social media can be a huge blessing.
There is no time in the past when it was more possible to grow an audience of prospective buyers for free than now.
And nothing makes that more possible than social media.
When you can afford the time and money, take a course on social media from someone you admire.
If you can’t afford a course, go to your library and get “Facebook Marketing All in One for Dummies” by Amy Porterfield. I’m reading it now and learning a lot.
Prosperity
It is entirely possible to have a business that makes a high number of sales and yet does not make money.
So you need to focus on prosperity from day one.
Remember this – it’s not how much money you make that matters, it’s how much you keep!
The way to do this is actually simple, especially when starting out. I believe there are five keys.
- Focus on building your list. Your list is your profit center. Period.
- Never promote something you don’t believe in.
- Focus on recurring income when you can.
- Make sure your profits (or commissions) are high enough to cover expenses.
- Control expenses at all costs. Use what you buy (I mean really use it) or don’t buy it.
I know there is much more to each one of my four suggested steps. But seeing the big picture matters more than most realize.
One way to make sure you focus on the big four is to create a template for your daily use.
Just list each item on a piece of paper (or Evernote), and at the end of the day write down what you did about each one.
On Saturday review the week’s list and see how you did.
It won’t take long before you find your balance, are focusing on the most important things, and watching your business grow at the same time.
And those are beautiful things indeed!
