Do you have to be unique to make it online?
Here’s a concept I’ve been thinking a lot about lately and that’s how unique or new does your business have to be to make it online? On the one hand you have the really big successes like Million dollar homepage which was a unique idea marketed perfectly, it was even on the news where I live! The problem with many great web ideas is that they don’t have the marketing strategy behind them to turn them into money spinners. I remember the guy on million dollar homepage generated lots of publicity at the start by contacting radio stations and newspapers about his site, he then sold some of the space at the beginning to family and friends. People often underestimate the value of hype because that site would never have gotten off the ground with it.
In some ways it does depend exactly what idea you’re trying to get off the ground because not every site is competing in the same type of market. However the principle of getting what you’re doing out to influential people holds firm no matter what your site is about. To me the basics are:
- Contact other bloggers, don’t just ask for a link but explain what you’re doing and why you’re doing it.
- Forums are a great way to get in touch with real people. But not just any forum, try to find one which is related to your industry, you need people who are engaged.
- Twitter/Facebook/Youtube have changed the game in terms of how fast you can become popular. It’s now possible to reach millions of people in a matter of hours, but only if you have viral content (that’s a big if).
You see whether you’re the exec at coca-cola or your some local mechanic trying to rank your site in your home city, the principles are the same, it’s just the scale that changes. At the heart of this game web promotion is a popularity contest and there’s a million ways to become popular (just like the real world).
The reason I’m pointing all this out is that so many people do have great and unique ideas for websites and ways to earn from them. But unless you have your marketing/seo/ppc strategy 100% then you’re going to fail. The problem still remains that even in 2011 internet marketing is the afterthought post web-design. Honestly id rather spend ¼ of the budget creating the website and the rest promotion, at least that way I have a real chance of making money.
So that’s it for this post, what crazy methods do you have for promoting your idea?
How to earn money from your website
Ok so with this post maybe I’m skipping the complex stuff like how to pick the right market and getting traffic in the first place, but I wanted to show a few different monetisation methods that can be used for almost any type of site. It’s also important to show the end result of all the research and promotion and that there is a path to cash down the line, after all the goal as my site implies is to create an income online that’s both legitimate and passive. So before I list the different “schemes” I have to point out that how much you can earn will greatly depend on the topic of your website and the amount of traffic you’re getting. Often people will understand amount of traffic concept but completely forget the topic part and wonder why their 1000 visitors aren’t generating any profits. With that being said here they are:
Google adsense
Probably the biggest advertising platform online and the one most people have heard of. Adsense is mostly suited to sites with big traffic and also a wide range of topics as it seems to adapt really well to different visitors and content. Essentially Google tries to show the most relevant advertisement to that visitor so in theory they are more likely to click on it if it’s what they are looking for.
Advantages: No problems with getting paid (its Google after all) and easy setup, it’s just one piece of code. As mentioned it can be really good for large sites with lots of different types of content.
Disadvantages: Google take a pretty big percentage cut of your earnings, around 40%. Prices per click can vary wildly, everywhere between 5p and £5 that I have seen, so it can be hard to judge how much you’re going to make.
Company affiliate programs
Essentially these are just affiliate programs setup by online retailers and businesses to provide you with a commission on whatever sales you generate. For example if you had a weightlifting site you might sign up to a fitness stores affiliate program and integrate their banners and links onto your site. Nearly all will be on a pay per sale basis, i.e. you won’t get paid per clicks but it will always be free to sign up and try them out. You can either find them in a network link commission junction, tradedoubler or just go to their site and see if they have a program.
Advantages: Commissions can be pretty high depending on the store and if you do generate good sales most likely they will give you a bump in your commission. If you can find a company that provides exactly the product/service your visitors are looking for then conversion rates and sales can be really high.
Disadvantages: Payments can on occasion be a problem since you may be dealing with a small company. The most important thing is to build up a relationship with them over time so you know what to expect from them and vice versa. Also it can be pretty time consuming finding the ideal company to work with, a lot depends on their site and how well it converts customers into sales, if there’s a flaw here then it won’t matter what traffic you send them.
Sell advertising on your site
This method of making money from your blog can take many forms but mostly it’s about advertisers coming to you because you have a popular site and they know you have the traffic, I’ve never seen it work when you go out hunting for advertisers. It can range from selling banners on your site to ordinary links but the main principle is that they pay for the advert on a fix cost basis, i.e. you don’t get less or more money depending on how much business you deliver for them.
Advantages: You’re not required to deliver a certain amount of clicks or sales to the advertisers so it’s pretty worry free. Also as mentioned in most cases the advertisers are going to come to you (if you have a big site) so there’s not much work in that respect either, it’s as close to easy money as it gets with internet marketing.
Disadvantages: Who wants to wait around for people to make offers on your site? I’d rather be out there making my own deals. Prices for adverts vary greatly and you’re going to have to negotiate for the best deal. Also bear in mind Google has a policy against selling links for seo purposes on your site so you have to take that into consideration.
Sell your site
This is the only one I haven’t done I have to admit because I see it as a bit of a catch 22. IE if a sites making money every month why would you want to sell it? Similarly if your site doesn’t earn money why would anyone want to buy it? I do know people who have sold their sites for good money though, and often it’s to a company who can monetise the traffic much better, i.e. they can now sell their products directly on the site instead of just banner ads/links. You will need to use some kind of broker to negotiate the transfer of both the money and the domain name and they are going to take a cut. Sites like Flippa will allow you to list your site for sale and they also help negotiate the transfer (I think)
Advantages: Can be big money if you get the right company who really wants the site. Leaves you free to work on new sites after you sell.
Disadvantages: Working out a price can be difficult, some people use 15 – 18 months of revenue as a marker for final value but there’s no definite rule. You lose your monthly pay check. Broker is going to take a cut. Also by listing your site on places like flippa or eBay you’re going to get a lot of fake bidders, much easier if the seller comes to you first and you work from there.
So those are the main ways to make money from your site that I know of. Again as I said at the start so much depends on the site you have and the market you’re in. However I have to say that if you have a site that ranks and gets targeted traffic then you’re going to earn money with it some way or another, i.e. even if you do nothing people are going to mail you offering deals. I suppose this is why I spend most of my time building up my sites in the first place and worrying about the money aspect of it later.
Are you gambling or making money?
You might not be aware but as I write this the US government is seizing some of the top online poker domains because they were illegally trading in the US. I think you’re not allowed to gamble in America unless it’s in Vegas (probably because they can’t tax it online). The reason I’m mentioning this is that for a long time many people saw playing poker on the internet as a realistic way to earn money online. I never did I have to mention, and not just because I’m terrible at poker but because 99% of people will never be good enough to make a living from it. The problem was that many people were selling poker playing as a legit way to make money from home, almost like it was a job lol. Again I’m not saying it doesn’t work for some people but if it does its because:
- Often these players have to play 100s of games to carve out a profit, even if you’re a great poker player you still only have a slight advantage. You have to maximise that advantage over 1000s of hands.
- They practice for years to actually get good at the game. All those eBooks that say you can beat the pros with 2 weeks training are lying.
You see to me given the above a much better investment of my time would be to create something worthwhile that attracts visitors and customers. Also I don’t want a living that can be wiped out by some government at the drop of a hat, what would you do if your main income source disappeared overnight?
But how do you create something that has value, especially on the internet where everything seems to have been done before? As I’ve mentioned a few times the online world has never been about being completely original as some of the best businesses just made better versions of existing ideas. What I’m talking about most though in terms of value is content, because ultimately content is what decides how successful a website is (and how rich you get). I forget how many times I’ve arrived at some ecommerce site that has technical stats on their products but no opinions/reviews/insights on why I should buy their product, its lazy marketing and it makes my head hurt.
So what content does actually “sell” online? Well for a start people really love product videos because they illustrate what you’re selling in a dynamic way. If a picture tells a thousand words then a video is probably a million. But what if your selling a service instead, I.e. yourself? Ok so if you’re trying to explain some business process then put it into an info-graphic with lots of nice colours/arrows/cartoon characters to explain what it is you do. The attention span of people online is about half of other types of media, get to the point of what you do and give them a chance to buy it. Webmasters seem to get stuck in this rut of overselling things, people just want the basics of what it does and trust that you’re going to get it to them.
As you can tell I’m still on the creating websites bandwagon because I think it’s one of the easiest ways for someone new to create an income online. But not only that, to me owning a website is like owning a property, it’s an actual assent and not some scheme like filling out surveys or trying to learn poker. The problem occurs when you ask people to make an investment of time and money into something like building a site, trying to win against a casino is more appealing! Still I know a lot of people who are getting into internet marketing these days with various rates of success, I’ve never said that it was easy.
So back to my original point about creating content that sells, there are 4 points that you want to stick too:
- All content on your site must be original and created by yourself, don’t outsource unless you really know what you’re doing.
- Different markets need different types of information, for instance my blog is mostly about information so it makes sense I have a lot of text. But if you’re selling RC helicopters then you need some videos up there.
- Find the right tone for your content, yes if you’re a solicitor then you can’t be too jokey but for most other general sites a casual tone is better.
- Give people some way to talk about your content and even make content for you. Allowing comments and reviews is great for involving people or take it a step further and create a forum. It does need managing as you have to delete any spam that gets though (which is inevitable) but the value you get in interaction with your customers is invaluable.
Ok so this post is getting a little long, I know some of you are just thinking when is this guy going to shut up and tell me an easy way to create and income fast! I suppose I could make something up and sell you some concept that’s never going to work, but what’s the point in that? There’s enough junk online already without me adding to it, then again did I mention I’ve just worked out a way to beat the roulette wheel?
Earning money with eBay, where’s the margin?
So a friend of mine recently mentioned that he wanted to get into eBay as he heard it’s a really good way to earn money online (him along with rest of world). So at a basic level what most people on eBay are doing is buying stuff locally and then selling it nationwide with the hope of making a profit. This in itself isn’t a revolutionary concept but there are a few key things eBay does really well:
- They have the site/system already built. All you have to do is upload the details of your products and they handle the rest (all technical stuff). You don’t have to worry about building your own site and taking credit cards and all that involves.
- They provide the customers. Ok so you can advertise your eBay listing on your own site or in other places but most of the sales are going to come from people browsing eBay and finding what you have to offer. Don’t underestimate this bit because attracting customers is one of the hardest things to do online, there’s a lot of competition out there.
- Trust rating/system. If you have a new site it’s really hard to get people to trust you and even harder to get them to hand over credit card details, after all you could be anyone! EBay provides a great system for customers to view the history of a seller and what other customers thought of them. It’s a great system that allows small sellers to compete with the big retailers. I will trust a small seller with over 1000 positive reviews over a big retailer any day, they have much more to loose by providing bad service.
So on the face of it earning money with eBay should be easy right? Well not really actually, even with all these benefits the margin on selling stuff on eBay is terrible. For a start you have all these little costs that eat into your profit:
- Listing fees
- Final value fees
- Payment processing fees (PayPal/visa etc)
Don’t forget you still have to post whatever it is to the person, the whole thing seems like a massive headache to me so far. Here’s the biggest problem though, the margin you can make on most items is really low, around 5% – 10%. I know there’s lots of stories about people becoming millionaires via eBay but it seems to me the only way to do it would be sourcing a product that’s not readily available in a local market and adding a big margin. If you’re trying to compete with 100 other people selling the exact same thing you’re going to be haggling with other sellers to see who can do it £1 cheaper.
To me the eBay idea is great if you really don’t have a clue at all about the online world and you just want them to handle everything from the website to the marketing. But realise they are going to take a big chunk of whatever you earn for doing this. Also realise that they directly list all of your competitors right beside you every time someone searches for what you’re selling, eBay doesn’t care about your business on an individual basis, only the collective success of their site.
The problem for someone like me when I look at eBay is that I just see how much easier it would be to do all of that stuff myself:
- Out of the box ecommerce solution like oscommerce
- Take payment with PayPal (no need for merchant account I think?)
- Some proper marketing of your site with SEO and PPC
The last point is probably a little over simplified but it is possible to do with time and effort. Once your there though and your generating your own sales on your own products you will realise how much bigger your margins are going to be.
So that’s all I have on the eBay thing, I have a feeling my friend is probably going to just plough ahead anyway, he’s stubborn when it comes to money like other people I know 
Why do some websites fail while others are winning!
Please excuse the Charlie Sheen reference, I know were all “winning” in our own way but how do you win when it comes to creating a successful website? If two people are sites in the exact same market what determines which makes money and which doesn’t? It can’t be luck all the time.
1. Picking the right market. This is essential, if you’re in a super competitive industry then you better be there for the long haul because in the online world nothing happens that quick, especially if you’re trying to build a brand. Remember it’s better to be number no1 in a niche than No 83 in a multinational dog-fight. Maybe it’s an ego thing but I keep seeing people trying to compete with million pound companies with 1% of the resources and quality, it’s not smart thinking.
2. Dedication. It’s easy to give up on anything when results are distant but you have to accept that any legitimate business opportunity weather its earning money online or opening a shop on a high street it takes time. I suppose people think that because it’s the internet there should be a way to make money online instantly. The truth is reputation and trust are built online the same way as offline, it takes time.
3. Spending time/money on the wrong things. This usually happening when people start their first website and many hours are accrued just by tweaking that top banner image 10 pixels to the left. No site is perfect and the thing is if you have no traffic at the start it really doesn’t matter if the new shade of lilac goes with the grey menu or not. It’s important to have a professional looking design but don’t go nuts with it, in the scheme of things its way down the to-do list.
4. Finding a path to cash. It is essential you have at least some idea how the site is going to earn money before you start. Yes I know Google,Twitter,Facebook didn’t know either (twitter still doesn’t make money) it’s not the same thing. If you’re building the site to earn a living and not just as a hobby then it’s an investment and it needs to make a return at some point. There are lots of revenue streams from advertising to ecommerce that can generate big revenues but only if implemented correctly, monetisation isn’t one of those things that works out itself.
5. Marketing strategy. The reason most people leave this out is because internet marketing is much more of a technical exercise than in the offline world. You really need a plan out where your visitors are going to be coming from and how you’re going to work with that medium. If its facebook then you better understand viral media and social marking. If it’s Google then you better have a strong grip on SEO and PPC. And the thing is if you don’t understand them then you better have the money to pay someone who does otherwise your going no-where my friend.
So I didn’t include luck on the list even though as we know it’s always a factor in everything we do. However I believe very much in volume and quantity when it comes to success online, do enough for long enough and something’s gonna work (not very technical I know). There’s more to a successful web business than this and certainly true if you want to earn real money on a consistent basis but if I were starting out I would concentrate on those 5 points and as Mike Tyson said, “Refuse to lose”!
