Business Models

11 Different Business Models, which one will you use first?

In this section of the forum, we talk about different ways to earn money. They're in no particular order, which one you start with is up to you. There are IM'ers, and members, doing very well in each of these, as well as sub-niches of one or more.

And there's no reason why you can't choose more than one business model. I do recommend you focus on one at a time, using the 5 Bucks a Day strategy. In other words, do a project this week that will hopefully add to your income, finish that project, and then choose another one next week, which could be from a different business model.

Mini Money Sites

Mini Money Sites (you'll see it abbreviated all over the forum as MMS} was what I named my technique of quickly setting up small niche sites, which promoted the eBay affiliate program. Inside this section you'll see videos explaining the technique I used. Some of the videos are out of date at this point, but the core philosophy hasn't changed. What has changed as I write this is that eBay is no longer a Commission Junction merchant, they have their own affiliate tracking through the eBay Partner Network (ePN).

Other differences between the video series and the way I would typically recommend doing MMS's is that in the video I showed how I used the AS:e software package. After many members used that, one of our members, (ellipticalman) put together a great product called RSS:os which makes it all even easier. You'll find that software inside the MMS framework, which is one of the downloads in the members area.

And one last change from my original methods, it's no longer recommended that you put AdSense blocks on your landing pages if you're going to use AdWords to send traffic to them. Google is now frowning on that technique. If your pages will be set up for organic traffic, then that should not be a problem.

Membership Sites

The next business model is Membership Sites. We have a software product, called IMSC (Instant Membership Site Creator) for you, if you want to set up a site similar in structure to Earn1KaDay. It's simple to use, but powerful enough to satisfy me and to protect the valuable rexources we have here.

There are other methods of structuring membership sites, including something as simple as setting up an autoresponder series which will drip feed content to your members on a daily, weekly, monthly, or any basis you choose.

Like all the business model sub-forums, discussions between members occurs inside, where you can find advice, see case studies, and learn by asking questions or following the lead of others.

Selling/Flipping Websites and Businesses

Site flipping can be very lucrative, and an entire business in its own right. Some people set up what are called turnkey sites, in other words something they put together quickly (maybe even an MMS type of site), and then sell it for a quick $40 to $100 or more. These are sites that are just built, and have no current traffic or earnings. Seeing as how we have tools inside the forum for you to do these sites in minutes, your only time investment will be in finding niches.

Personally I always recommend keeping a site you build long enough to get established traffic and income. Once you do that, forget the $40 to $100 figure, you can easily sell a site that's earning income that you can prove, for 6 to 10 times monthly earnings. So if you can just get a site to earn $5 a day, and can prove it, then you're looking at around a $1000 sale or better.

Even better is setting up a membership site, and flipping that after it's up and running. If you put enough content into the site so that a buyer with marketing talent can see the benefits, these sites can command much higher prices on the open market, even without current earnings. And, if you do have earnings, so much the better. If you can get 30 members to a site that pay $19.95 each a month, that's around $600 a month, so easily a $5,000 to $10,000 sales price is warranted. And it isn't difficult to get 30 members to a site if you've done proper niche research and put decent content into your members area.

Article Marketing

This is often the business model I recommend when someone asks, "where do I start". You can write articles promoting your own site, affiliate products on your review page, your blog posts, etc.

I've always been of the belief that being able to write well is the cornerstone of a successful Internet marketer (please read my report about "How to Win Forum Friends and Influence People" which is in the top downloads section for more information about that.

Once you've mastered the art of writing 500 word articles, you then have the ability, if you choose, to earn income in many different ways. You can build content sites to flip, you can set up membership sites, you can set up niche blogs, you can submit the articles to article directories and earn income from affiliate referrals, you can write for others (ghostwriting), and much more.

Afticle marketing can be a career in itself. Our own staff member, Tim Gorman, is making a 6 figure annual IM income mainly from his article marketing efforts.

eBay

My Internet marketing career actually started with eBay. I registered as an eBay user in 1998, and still sell on there every day.

It also was my first successful merchant that I was an affiliate for. There are auctions for every conceivable, legal, type of merchandise on eBay, therefore 10's of thousands of niches you can exploit.

Additionally, you could even, if you wanted to take the time, run eBay auctions for others that aren't as savvy as you are, all you'd need is a digital camera and some comfort with the rules and regulations of eBay.

I would add, though, that personally, I like to recommend to people that they look for business models where they can develop income streams that run on autopilot, so eBay generally doesn't conform to that ideal, since you have to spend time with each new auction, generally. Still, if you find good dropshippers,your personal time can be minimized if you work at it.

Writing For Dollars

Many Internet marketers get started writing short (300 to 500 word) articles for others. The pay tends to be low (a couple cents per word), but for those that are proficient with the English language, like to do research, and are quick, it can be a good way to start.

Beyond that, ghostwriters can increase their pay by doing things such as writing article packs and selling PLR (private label rights) to multiple buyers, so instead of writing an article and selling it to one customer for $10, you could write a pack of 10 articles and sell them for $10 a bunch to 50 people.

Ambitious writers can also earn extra income many ways, for example they can take on more jobs than they can handle, outsource the writing to those willing to do it cheaply, and pocket the difference. They can write longer works, such as reports and eBooks, for premium prices. They can break into copywriting, and write sales letters for marketers, at much higher rates. There's no limit as far as your income, assuming you're willing to learn the ropes in the beginning.

Again, that's why I like to recommend writing articles as a place to start for a beginner, because it's a necessary skill, and can lead to so much more.

Product Creation

If you create your own product, your income can be unlimited. A product can be a report, an eBook, an audio, a video, or software, among others.

The beautiful thing about Internet marketing is that downloadable products have no inventory problems. Once created, and once you have your payment and delivery system set up, you can sell 1000's as easily as 1. A popular product will also be popular with affiliate marketers, so you might get people wanting to help you sell it. Therefore you'd want to list your product on Clickbank, for example, and sit back and collect the checks.

The more products you create, the more your income will grow. This is probably the ultimate business model, in my opinion.

Blogging

By just writing short snippets of information occasionally, many bloggers have developed 6-figure annual income streams. It sounds hard to believe, but believe it! It won't happen overnight, but if you blog frequently on a popular topic, you could find that one day you've developed a loyal following. At that point, you can be sure that what you recommend will potentially earn you referral income. Or, if your blog gets enough traffic, there will always be those that want to advertise on your pages.

Email Marketing

They say "the money is in the list". Not just any list ... a list of email addresses belonging to people that have given you their permission to contact them by email occasionally.

Treat your list wrong and they'll just unsubscribe, but develop a relationship where they trust you and look forward to your emails, and you'll find that on the occasion where you recommend something to them, a good percentage will listen to you and purchase through your link.

Building that list, and treating it right, is what we discuss in this sub-forum.

Pay Per Click Marketing

Free traffic is wonderful, and something we all try to obtain. But there are occasions where we just want to promote something quickly, and we can't wait for free traffic to kick in.

On those occasions, using Google AdWords, and/or the Yahoo or MSN equivalent, is a good way to start. As well as a good way to test a market we're unsure about.

If you read "5 Bucks a Day" you read about my first big success, which was a campaign that I set up in less than a couple hours. I started sending AdWords traffic to my pages, and I had overnight success, which translated to a $38,000 profit in about 6 weeks in 2005.

Some IM'ers do nothing but set up PPC campaigns, and forget the rest. There's nothing wrong with that model, in fact, I tell people all the time that I'm always happy to pay $5 for a $10 bill,and will buy as many as they will sell. What I mean is I'm happy to pay Google $5 for traffic that will earn me $10 in commissions. Sure, it would be nice to get the traffic for free, but that's a lot more work and more time consuming, isn't it?

You could also, once you're proficient at PPC, sell your services at very high rates to businesses looking to advertise online.

Offline Marketing

Marketing to offline businesses could be one of the most lucrative business models for you, if you have the willingness to talk to people in your home town about what the Internet could do for them.

Brick and mortar businesses, service businesses, professional businesses, and more, are desperate for more customers. You have the skills to deliver them to them. And you have the skills to coax more spending dollars out of their existing customer base, for example by setting up an email list for them to notify customers when they have a sale or promotion of some type.

There are many things that you could do for offline businesses. You could set up their email campaigns. You could build web pages for them. You could set up local portals (directoreis of the businesses in your town, categorized many ways). You could run seminars teaching people how to set up their own web sites or email campaigns. You could show people how to sell on eBay. You could show local writers how to sell their physical products as downloadable products online, even on sites such as amazon.com. The possibilites are endless, aren't they?

Summary

These are the business models that we're currently concentrating on. There are many sub-categories that can be noticed, but these 11 should give you many opportunities to earn good income, in many cases will be your key to your first 1K day.