There are countless ways to earn a living online. The following is a list of steps that I refer to as the “Shampoo of Online Success”. What do you hopefully do in the shower regularly? Wash, rinse, repeat, wash rinse, repeat, etc. Repeating digital products or duplicating success on the Internet can be surprisingly easy. Here’s a great list of steps that I found scouring the forums.
1 - Find a niche
Check out some forums, usergroups, and places like yahoo answers. See what kind of questions people are asking. Look for popular topics.
2 - Keyword research
You can use the free tool over at digitalpoint.
Suppose you type in ‘any keyword’;
It will return to you a list of related key words and how often they are searched a day. Then go to Google and search the keyword (with ” ” around it) and see how many sites it will return. The fewer the better for now. Once you get the hang of online marketing I wouldn’t really worry about competition. Just build the better mouse trap.
3 – Get a web hosting account
They are pretty cheap. Around 10 bucks a month for a good shared host. Stay away for free web hosts. They are not worth it. I strongly recommend hostgator.com. You can host unlimited domains there, and there price is under $10 a month. If money is an issue, do a search for “hostgator coupons” enter the code when you signup and the first month is only 1 penny.
4 – Find or create your product
You can write your own info product or you can go to clickbank.com and chose a product for there. You will get a commission for each sale. (There are novels I could write about in this step, but to keep this post readable I’m assuming you have a product in mind.)
5 - Create your site
Now you will want to create a content site. This only needs to be a few pages. You will want to put 10 articles on the site. Make good use of the keywords you researched. Also put out product on the site.
6 – Set up an auto responder
This is optional if you REALLY don’t have the money, but it’s something you will need to do eventually. This will collect peoples emails on your website. You write a small report (you can base it off of your articles to save time) Have your visitors sign up to get the free report. Make sure you include a link to you product in the report.
7 – Marketing
Remember those forums you looked up to find a good niche? You should start posting (not spamming) on them. Help people out, become an “expert” in your niche. You don’t really have to be an expert…but you should look like one. Share and help as many people as you can. Include a link you your site in you signature. Also places like yahoo answers. You can answer peoples questions and include a link in your resource box.
You will also want to submit articles to article directories such as EzineArticles.com.
Another good marketing tip is to exchange links with site in the same niche as you.
There are a lot of different marketing techniques you can use (too many to go into here, but this should get you started) Just search around the forums here.
8 – Wash, Rinse, Repeat
Do this with several different niches. The more sites you have going, the more money you have coming in.
Give it a try! ![]()
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mandyj responded on 10 Sep 2007 at 7:47 am #
I remember this post. Marc is always full of great info!
abbas responded on 10 Sep 2007 at 9:32 am #
iam abbas
Ezekiel Haynes responded on 10 Sep 2007 at 8:21 pm #
Great information! Thanks for revealing digital point!
WhyDoWork responded on 10 Sep 2007 at 8:59 pm #
glad it was helpful
sherly responded on 24 Sep 2007 at 10:59 pm #
Hi
The Monetizer responded on 25 Sep 2007 at 7:08 am #
Very good points here. Often overlooked is the idea of webhosting. Many don’t realize that if they develop a successful blog, being stuck on Blogspot could hurt in terms of making a website that works..However, The Monetizer is trying to make it from Blogspot to being able to get paid hosting and using Wordpress
Wish me luck..
waigs responded on 07 Oct 2007 at 11:23 am #
that’s a great tip
cage responded on 09 Oct 2007 at 10:39 am #
Hello I have found several niches and followed this process 3 times with different niches. All three resulted in spam sites that now may be considered link farms or virus farms. How do you get real people to come to your site if there is no one on it in the beginning.
WhyDoWork responded on 09 Oct 2007 at 10:46 am #
Hello cage,
Not sure if I know what a “virus farm” is
but I understand where you’re coming from.
It is likely Step 7 that you are faltering with. High quality marketing generally leads to high quality traffic. What sort of things have you been doing?
If it is spamming your links in discussion boards and forums, you’re likely going to get the same back as many robotic spiders will find your links and auto-subscribe to your site.
Try writing articles, maintaining a daily blog, or purchasing paid reviews from sites in your niche. You will start to see improvements.
cage responded on 09 Oct 2007 at 6:23 pm #
Thanks a lot whydowork. I will try and that and tell you if there are less photos of britney spears on my blogs and forums. This site is the greatest site in the world huuuuraaayyyy!!
Megan Vaillancourt responded on 13 Oct 2007 at 12:57 pm #
Hi Fantastic Blog. Very good points with online marketing. Great Job!!!!!!!!
http://www.PassportMentors.com
Keith Johnson responded on 14 Oct 2007 at 5:11 am #
Hello: Some of the points you have outlined are good “in principle”, but don’t forget that people buy things (products/services) based upon real need, and not just web presence. So, the sites MUST cater to real needs that people have that they are willing to spend money on (health products, or whatever). Someone can have ten great websites, but if what they are promoting have no real retail power, then it is all for nothing. I think you should place at the top of your article, that people MUST research what people are buying over the web, and then follow through on your steps.
Regards, Keith
WhyDoWork responded on 14 Oct 2007 at 7:30 am #
Hey Keith,
You make a good point. Step #4 in the list above probably could be a little more detailed. Choosing a product that is current and in demand is one of the most essential pieces of the puzzle in order to maximize sales.
Moruf Surakat responded on 16 Oct 2007 at 12:04 pm #
Excellent resources!
Mike C responded on 25 Oct 2007 at 6:10 pm #
It can be difficult to manage multiple sites at one time. Eventually it would be great to hire people to complete some of the work load for you.
samuro responded on 29 Oct 2007 at 6:58 am #
great tips!. I thought 8 Steps above are not easy to do. I need more discipline and consistent …
Joey responded on 05 Nov 2007 at 1:24 am #
I’ve been dying to figure out a way to inform people about my site. i think this is wonderful news. i’m glad i stumbled this. I’ll comment again after using your information with the outcome.
Joey
wristwatchhaven.com
mobilephonehaven.com
gameroomhaven.com
ayahshiva responded on 05 Nov 2007 at 3:50 am #
nice tips
well i should start make a niche blog then
amna responded on 06 Nov 2007 at 1:47 am #
Yeah, cool tips you’ve got there pal, I run a similar site on blogspot and i hope to make something out of it.
Binh Nguyen responded on 14 Nov 2007 at 3:50 am #
Thanks for these tips. This article simplify the whole steps of a money making life cycle. So yeah, thumb up for it.
bloggernoob responded on 16 Nov 2007 at 8:55 am #
this is a good article. first time on your site. will return for sure
Vik Dulat responded on 16 Nov 2007 at 6:34 pm #
Great tips. I am using all of these. I guess over time, I will start to see results.
Big Pumpkin responded on 17 Dec 2007 at 9:14 am #
Wow! I’m gonna try this! Thank you, I hope it works! I’ll check back in a couple of months with updates. *smile*
Tyler Ford responded on 30 Dec 2007 at 10:27 pm #
Thanks for the tips.
Its all about duplication.
cheapdanny responded on 10 Feb 2008 at 4:52 am #
great article! hope to see great results soon.
Colleen responded on 16 Feb 2008 at 3:35 am #
I definitely agree with the concept of getting one’s own hosting plan for their blog. I recently read a WordPress-related post where it appeared that WordPress was starting to crack down on blogs, they were hosting, which were coming across as affiliate-farms and going to 3rd-party sites. At least that is how I interpreted the information.
Likewise, Blogger, owned by Google, can delete your blog at anytime for reasons they determine.
If you purchase hosting for your blog, then you maintain control and are less likely, if at all, to run into issues with deletion and other such matters.
Franck Silvestre responded on 21 Feb 2008 at 12:11 pm #
This is a simple plan that works. I follow it myself with success.
The problem is that most people (I was in this situation) overcomplicate the process to death.
Bussinessmn27 responded on 26 Feb 2008 at 4:52 am #
Your strategy works and can be repeated over and over to develop new niche websites.
Jagdu responded on 03 Apr 2008 at 12:40 pm #
Hey, I know this is an old post, but I’ve been doing exactly this for the last few years. I now have over 100 content sites earning a little money each.
WhyDoWork responded on 03 Apr 2008 at 3:09 pm #
@ Jagdu:
Congrats! The point of the post was to teach others that method. It’s definitely proven to have great results
paolo responded on 04 Apr 2008 at 12:41 pm #
the precise way to go. my biggest problem is maintaining multiple sites though…
Histereo responded on 30 Apr 2008 at 9:48 pm #
Hello Marc,thanks for the excellent information.You have discussed
the vital strategy in less than a page,what other marketers will take
a whole book to reveal.
Ngarag Rumors responded on 07 May 2008 at 8:48 am #
Definitely worth the try. Has this worked for you as well? You must be earning more than $50 a day now.
Ngarag Rumorss last blog post..Is Sony Really Ordered to Stop Selling Playstation Gaming Consoles in the US?
TheMilliondollarplan responded on 08 May 2008 at 7:03 am #
It seems that there are many people using this strategy to generate income online. Defenetly gonna try by myself too.
TheMilliondollarplans last blog post..Why getting a job is a bad idea?
onlinetips responded on 09 May 2008 at 9:29 am #
Thanks for a nice post!
onlinetipss last blog post..All in One Affiliate Management Solution