The other day, I consulted with a doctor who, with sparkles in his eye, wanted to have a website empire so he could conduct business on his laptop while basking on a beach. He had no experience with website building, no marketing or sales experience,no internet marketing, no research skills for any type of product. He had a dream (of wealth!) but no plan. In fact, he had no job, no home, no income. But he had a dozen nondescript domain names for totally unrelated products he had no knowledge of and a drop shipper or two.
Now here is where you expect the giant leap to success that so many "make money online" sales pitches seem to always lead to. Down and out but now on top of the world? Not this time--or in fact, so many times. Are we being sold a false hope by so many "gurus"? Or are we just hearing from their minions who sell their product. 95% of those who try to start a business online fail, quit or never get off the ground. That's a higher rate than any other small business startup---creepy! So wouldn't it be a blessing to have your dream crushed right from the "get go" (sorry, my grandmother's voice rules my thoughts), than to waste so much time and income you would have had from a day job, screwing around where you don't have the guts to implement a plan towards a goal.
Harsh words--and the unemployed doctor was crushed. But he left my office with the revelation that he was not ready for the beach just yet. He left knowing he was a very long way from building a website. This business of making money on the internet is not for the feight of heart. It can be grueling to one who has no skills and no passion for it. At one time, his passion for medicine took him through the learning process to become a professional. I could see he was looking for a replacement passion but it was obvious he was looking for a shortcut. I recommended he keep his day job (looking for doctor work) and truly consider, on his own personal time, whether he was up to the task of learning a whole new profession.
Ecommerce and internet marketing is every bit as professional as any other business. Unfortunately, it is not in the mainstream educational institutions as a respectful degree. You can learn to build websites, you can learn to program, but I have yet to see a degree in ecommerce offered at the universities. Which means, yes, we have to learn everything we can from the "gurus"--even if it means we learn we just don't have what it takes to persevere. Only the survivors of the risks taken in the learning process will be sitting on that beach with their laptop.
Showing posts with label ecommerce. Show all posts
Showing posts with label ecommerce. Show all posts
Tuesday, October 27, 2009
Tuesday, August 11, 2009
Search the Internet? Piece of cake.....(the internet explained--part one)
Have you been seeing the funky commercials on TV where everyone's innocent comments bring a flurry of babbling on about subjects that have almost nothing in common? Well, that's a take off on "search engine results"--those places you are given when you type into Google or MSN or Yahoo to find out where you can get tickets to a concert or find a gift for the boss or your favorite music or running shoes or...ad infinitum.
The phone book has gone the way of the dinosaur. Trivia can settle a bet in an instant. The title of that movie you can never remember can be found. So much of our days are filled with having so much information at our fingertips (literally) that we can feel just as lost when the "internet is down" as we do when we lose our electricity or our water in our home.
Where does all this information come from? Better question yet, how does it get on my screen? Without going into the tech aspects of this event, let's try to better understand, if I search for "pet supplies", there is a list of websites that offer pet supplies. Why is it that PetCo.com is listed first and ABCPetSupplies.com is listed on the third page? You see, it takes a lot of factors for a company like PetCo to get that first page listing so that you find what you are looking for.
That coveted "first page" listing means revenue for the website owner, right? So how does it get there? Well, these are a few of many reasons:
It has the keyword phrase I typed ("pet supplies") on the web page that comes up in this search.
It has a lot of other sites that link back to them with that phrase in the link.
There are news stories or articles about "pet supplies" that reference this site.
The site has many pages of its own linking to this phrase and
the site has been around for a long time.
These practices take time and are always ongoing but they ultimately make the difference.
Okay, so you may ask, if I want to have my website in the first pages of the search engines but the site is brand new, how do I compete for that first page listing? A shortcut for immediate attention is paid ads.
Next time you make a search, look over to your right at the "sponsored" listings. These are ads that are paid listings. The main body of the page, on the left, is what is called "organic" listings. These have battled their way to the top using the factors described above. But the "sponsored" listings also have a hierarchy. With bidding for positions, you can "buy" this space with an ad. More about that another time.
Most people find that by searching for a very specific "keyword", such as "8' chain link choke chain", they will more quickly find what they are looking for than searching "pet supplies". The search engine can narrow your request right down to the brand name, if you ask.
In part two of the search engines explained, we will examine this narrowing of focus and how anyone can compete with the "big dogs" if they know a few easy tips.
Like to learn more? Email me for a friend request and let me know to notify you when a new post has been made.
Also make your requests for specific topics you would like to see covered.
There is a small business in all of us, just waiting to be put online.
This week's featured website:
http://www.GeorgiaDawgHouse.com
The phone book has gone the way of the dinosaur. Trivia can settle a bet in an instant. The title of that movie you can never remember can be found. So much of our days are filled with having so much information at our fingertips (literally) that we can feel just as lost when the "internet is down" as we do when we lose our electricity or our water in our home.
Where does all this information come from? Better question yet, how does it get on my screen? Without going into the tech aspects of this event, let's try to better understand, if I search for "pet supplies", there is a list of websites that offer pet supplies. Why is it that PetCo.com is listed first and ABCPetSupplies.com is listed on the third page? You see, it takes a lot of factors for a company like PetCo to get that first page listing so that you find what you are looking for.
That coveted "first page" listing means revenue for the website owner, right? So how does it get there? Well, these are a few of many reasons:
It has the keyword phrase I typed ("pet supplies") on the web page that comes up in this search.
It has a lot of other sites that link back to them with that phrase in the link.
There are news stories or articles about "pet supplies" that reference this site.
The site has many pages of its own linking to this phrase and
the site has been around for a long time.
These practices take time and are always ongoing but they ultimately make the difference.
Okay, so you may ask, if I want to have my website in the first pages of the search engines but the site is brand new, how do I compete for that first page listing? A shortcut for immediate attention is paid ads.
Next time you make a search, look over to your right at the "sponsored" listings. These are ads that are paid listings. The main body of the page, on the left, is what is called "organic" listings. These have battled their way to the top using the factors described above. But the "sponsored" listings also have a hierarchy. With bidding for positions, you can "buy" this space with an ad. More about that another time.
Most people find that by searching for a very specific "keyword", such as "8' chain link choke chain", they will more quickly find what they are looking for than searching "pet supplies". The search engine can narrow your request right down to the brand name, if you ask.
In part two of the search engines explained, we will examine this narrowing of focus and how anyone can compete with the "big dogs" if they know a few easy tips.
Like to learn more? Email me for a friend request and let me know to notify you when a new post has been made.
Also make your requests for specific topics you would like to see covered.
There is a small business in all of us, just waiting to be put online.
This week's featured website:
http://www.GeorgiaDawgHouse.com
The economy has everyone thinking beyond "yard sale" to bring in extra income.
eBay may have started it all but interest in making money online is growing...
As it becomes easier and easier to set up a website, more "everyday" people as making money online. In fact, you don't even have to have a website to make money from the internet! For the past few years, I have become engrossed in the options available and have used many of them to earn an income. For me, it's fun and challenging-two requirements that motivated me.
I became interested in the internet in 1998, when things were still shiny and new online. In tech years, that's an eon ago! A young man named Corey Rhudl was selling something called an "ebook" on the internet. At that time, a hard copy was sent out by mail to the customers who bought it. Corey's book was on his interest in cars--a book of car buying tips. He made quite a fortune on it and realized that the selling of information was the key to his success. He applied that format to other information and soon began to teach others how to do what he did.
Thus began something quite inspiring. Not only was information in demand, but products that were not available in brick and mortar stores were being sold. And before you knew it, mainstream products were being seen there, too (oh my Amazon...). The rest is history, as they say.
No longer was the internet a place for techno geeks only or an exclusive club of retailers--the average person could sell their books on fly fishing, building a solar panel, dog training or have a yard sale online (eBay) or buy items wholesale and sell from their own website or sell other people's stuff for a commission. Today there are even more ways to make money online. And you don't even have to print those ebooks anymore--digital downloads take all the overhead out of selling your product.
There is nothing more fascinating to me than to learn more about the whole process and see how it changes everyday; see the effects and new opportunities those effects bring.
For anyone here who has an interest in this marvelous internet experience, I will be posting each week with a, let's call it, beginner's guide to making money online. If you have been mystified by how that works, curious about what is going on behind the scenes, you will not want to miss this ongoing commentary. To subscribe, just send me a friend request and ask to be notified when my next post is online.
Whoever invented the phrase "cool", you made it possible to describe things of which people will understand, without a doubt, what you mean. The internet is most definitely "cool", first and foremost.
Julia is an online retailer and internet marketer--titles that will be explained in upcoming posts on this blog. Her motto is "The more you know--the more you DON'T know..."
As it becomes easier and easier to set up a website, more "everyday" people as making money online. In fact, you don't even have to have a website to make money from the internet! For the past few years, I have become engrossed in the options available and have used many of them to earn an income. For me, it's fun and challenging-two requirements that motivated me.
I became interested in the internet in 1998, when things were still shiny and new online. In tech years, that's an eon ago! A young man named Corey Rhudl was selling something called an "ebook" on the internet. At that time, a hard copy was sent out by mail to the customers who bought it. Corey's book was on his interest in cars--a book of car buying tips. He made quite a fortune on it and realized that the selling of information was the key to his success. He applied that format to other information and soon began to teach others how to do what he did.
Thus began something quite inspiring. Not only was information in demand, but products that were not available in brick and mortar stores were being sold. And before you knew it, mainstream products were being seen there, too (oh my Amazon...). The rest is history, as they say.
No longer was the internet a place for techno geeks only or an exclusive club of retailers--the average person could sell their books on fly fishing, building a solar panel, dog training or have a yard sale online (eBay) or buy items wholesale and sell from their own website or sell other people's stuff for a commission. Today there are even more ways to make money online. And you don't even have to print those ebooks anymore--digital downloads take all the overhead out of selling your product.
There is nothing more fascinating to me than to learn more about the whole process and see how it changes everyday; see the effects and new opportunities those effects bring.
For anyone here who has an interest in this marvelous internet experience, I will be posting each week with a, let's call it, beginner's guide to making money online. If you have been mystified by how that works, curious about what is going on behind the scenes, you will not want to miss this ongoing commentary. To subscribe, just send me a friend request and ask to be notified when my next post is online.
Whoever invented the phrase "cool", you made it possible to describe things of which people will understand, without a doubt, what you mean. The internet is most definitely "cool", first and foremost.
Julia is an online retailer and internet marketer--titles that will be explained in upcoming posts on this blog. Her motto is "The more you know--the more you DON'T know..."
Thursday, December 18, 2008
This stuff really works! Affirmation is grand..
For the past two years, I have studied many ways of making money online. I have learned to create sites that sell physical products, learned how to sell other people's products, made money online with Adsense, and become ever more knowledgeable and experienced with Google Adwords advertising.
If any of this sounds a bit foreign to you, don't feel alone. Two years ago I had no idea what these things were, where to find them, how to use them. Not that I am a total expert, no one can really know all the changes the internet goes through every day but I am making profitable use of this new found knowledge every day.
I have been greatly intimidated yet curious about all the hoopla that internet marketers throw out--grandiose claims of huge returns made me skeptical and more intimidated. How could I possibly learn what they know and use it so well? And were their claims real?
My decision was to pick something and just dive in. Sure there were a few times when I bought something I didn't understand. Very quickly I learned to either ask questions or ask for a refund, only to come back and buy the product later on when I knew how to use it. Some struggling "newbies"( as the unenlightened and non-savvy are called), like me at the time, need a friend or mentor to learn the ropes. I found a couple, asked questions and was pointed to ebooks, videos and newsletters that explained the processes I was currently stumped on.
Now I find in conversations with non-internet friends, how very little "the public" actually understands the workings of their internet searches and purchases. Many are so intrigued, they want to learn, too. Having already done the struggling and searching and making the mistakes, I can offer some real advice and shortcuts to getting a business online and making money on the internet. Ecommerce (selling products) or using search engine advertising to get commissions on referrals, are just a couple of the many, many ways to make money online.
To relate to my title above, and the reason I have been prompted to chat here, in the last week I referred a great product just by buying ads on Google and made commissions totaling $1800. Now it's not the $10,000 in "X" amount of time that so many internet marketers wow you with but by golly, it's pretty big to me! I did it without a website and without a mailing list. It means it works, it means it's a start, it means it CAN be done. If one method can do this with just 2 sales, as this one did, just think what 5--10--20 opportunities might make me? It has been worth the effort and money spent by me but I am determined to make the trip a lot shorter and less tedious for others.
That's why I am starting a "School for Newbies" with advice, questions and recommended reading and products. And you can enroll for free just by emailing me at Your first lesson will arrive in a few days. Please do fill out the survey as it will help to identify what areas the courses must address. Don't be shy! Tell us your "blank spaces" and your questions and let's get started making money online!
If any of this sounds a bit foreign to you, don't feel alone. Two years ago I had no idea what these things were, where to find them, how to use them. Not that I am a total expert, no one can really know all the changes the internet goes through every day but I am making profitable use of this new found knowledge every day.
I have been greatly intimidated yet curious about all the hoopla that internet marketers throw out--grandiose claims of huge returns made me skeptical and more intimidated. How could I possibly learn what they know and use it so well? And were their claims real?
My decision was to pick something and just dive in. Sure there were a few times when I bought something I didn't understand. Very quickly I learned to either ask questions or ask for a refund, only to come back and buy the product later on when I knew how to use it. Some struggling "newbies"( as the unenlightened and non-savvy are called), like me at the time, need a friend or mentor to learn the ropes. I found a couple, asked questions and was pointed to ebooks, videos and newsletters that explained the processes I was currently stumped on.
Now I find in conversations with non-internet friends, how very little "the public" actually understands the workings of their internet searches and purchases. Many are so intrigued, they want to learn, too. Having already done the struggling and searching and making the mistakes, I can offer some real advice and shortcuts to getting a business online and making money on the internet. Ecommerce (selling products) or using search engine advertising to get commissions on referrals, are just a couple of the many, many ways to make money online.
To relate to my title above, and the reason I have been prompted to chat here, in the last week I referred a great product just by buying ads on Google and made commissions totaling $1800. Now it's not the $10,000 in "X" amount of time that so many internet marketers wow you with but by golly, it's pretty big to me! I did it without a website and without a mailing list. It means it works, it means it's a start, it means it CAN be done. If one method can do this with just 2 sales, as this one did, just think what 5--10--20 opportunities might make me? It has been worth the effort and money spent by me but I am determined to make the trip a lot shorter and less tedious for others.
That's why I am starting a "School for Newbies" with advice, questions and recommended reading and products. And you can enroll for free just by emailing me at Your first lesson will arrive in a few days. Please do fill out the survey as it will help to identify what areas the courses must address. Don't be shy! Tell us your "blank spaces" and your questions and let's get started making money online!
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
