HOW TO MAKE $300,000 A YEAR ON THE WORLD WIDE WEB
Can You Really Make That Much Money on the Internet? Of Course--And People Continue to do so Every Day. Here's How.
By Scott Covert
What can you do each and every month that will generate $25,000 almost all of which will be pure profit?
Here's what you do--create MASSIVE value on the World Wide Web. You make a website that becomes popular because it's well-designed, targeted at a specific reachable market, has great content and does not contain huge graphics that take forever to download. Then you generate money in any combination of these four ways:
• Selling products or services directly on the site• Obtaining "sponsorship" or "patronage" funds
• Selling advertising space
• Eventually selling the entire site for twice its optimal annual revenue
STEP ONE: THE CONCEPT
Despite the media hype "surfing," few people go on the Web just to goof around. They go there looking for something--games, iguana information, racing schedules, gambling methods, punk literature, dog pictures, etc. People surf the web for a reason. They want help with something, information on new products or entertainment.
Many websites START OFF by loading a huge graphic file. The screen is blank for a solid minute or more. Studies show the average person will get ticked off and cancel their visit in 40 seconds and go somewhere else--hopefully some site designed for normal, impatient human beings.
Start off your web page with a small banner ad or none at all. Right below it there should be text. This way, your visitors will immediately have something to read when their browser connects to your URL. By the time they finish reading it, a few small graphics and more text will have loaded. Give people the option right at the start to go to the slower-loading, high-graphics version of your site, or the fast-loading text-only version. Their visit will start off in an inviting manner, and they'll never have to wait for anything.
What should your opening screen text be? No matter what your site is about (no exceptions), it should follow the rules of good salesmanship:
• Review the pain they wish to avoid, what pleasure they desire, what information they want• Assure them you have it "right here on this website"
• List the benefits of spending time at your site
• Thank them for visiting, make them feel welcome, encourage them to relax and stay and send you their address and other personal information by email
Somewhere at or near the top of your home page, there should be something dynamic or interactive. Something that changes every week or month. Or maybe a small animated image or an irresistible free offer to people who will give you their mailing address.
Why do you want people's regular mailing addresses if you want them to buy something? Because direct mail is still the hands-down best way to make sales in direct marketing.
STEP TWO: CREATE WEBSITE AND DOMAIN
Your website will either be created for a fee by a someone else or for a fee by you. I assure you that you can learn web page design in about a month. I did and have never been sorry. If you do it yourself, you'll get the design you have envisioned, it will only cost you your time, and you'll learn a lot more.
You'll also need to get a domain. For example, if you owned a website called Champion Show Dogs and wanted to get the maximum possible number of visitors and have the easiest time selling ads, which URL would you rather have people visit?...
http://www.university of massachusettes.edu/students/joesmith/myhobbies/championdogs.html
or...(drumroll, please)
http://www.showdogs.com
Clearly, the second option gives you credibility and shows how committed you are to creating an Internet presence, not something that will be dead in the water next week. Local Internet providers will have information on securing a domain name.
STEP THREE: SOLICIT AND GATHER CONTENT
There are five basic ways to fill your web site with great content:
1) Find it on other sites and ask for it politely2) Find it on newsgroups (not as good as the first method)
3) Announce on your site and relevant newsgroups that you want content
4) Make deals with magazines (and other publishers relevant to your site) to exchange advertising for content
5) Create content yourself if you have the knowledge
Go to www.search.com to find other related websites all over the world. Visit them and you'll get great ideas about what to include on your own website. Here are a few suggestions for possible content:
• Classified ads• Paid ads--these can be plain text or graphic banner ads
• Amusing or informative stories collected from visitors (I list my email address in at least five places in all of my websites to urge feedback and to collect content, ideas and mailing addresses)
• Photos contributed by visitors and other sources (plus clipart)
• Articles gathered by permission (possibly in exchange for advertising) from other sites
• Links to related sites (keep all your links to other sites in ONE place, where you will remind people to add your site to their bookmark list (or "favorite places," etc) before they leave
STEP FOUR: GET FREE PUBLICITY
There are several ways to get free publicity for your website:
Trade Links--Put links on your site to other related sites. In return, get other sites to link to yours. This can be accomplished with a simple friendly email message
Newsgroups--You can do a search for newsgroups at www.search.com. This is a straightforward process. For example, if you wanted to create the champion show dog site, type in "dogs" as a search word to start with, copy down all the different newsgroup names, then narrow in by doing a search for "show + dogs" which may give you some more newsgroups. Send an announcement about your new website to these groups.
Web Page Publicity--Visit http://web.indirect.com/~bsa/pr.htm and you'll find enough links for you to spend hours getting your website listed for FREE in dozens and dozens of Internet directories. And if doing work isn't appealing to you, you can simply pay someone else to do it for you.
Always keep a list on paper of all the search engines you have registered your site with (including passwords for some of them). Some of the better engines will take a month or more to register your site. While you're waiting for this, keep improving your website and come up with ideas for new ones.
STEP FIVE: GENERATE PATRONAGE AND ADVERTISING REVENUES
Remember the rule: "Tell them why and then they'll buy." For patrons, you have to tell them what the benefits of their patronage will be. In my case, I tell them they'll be on the website for its entire lifetime and that their donation will be used responsibly to buy this, that and the other thing that will benefit the website. Once you receive patronage funds, it is your moral duty to reinvest it in the business in the exact way you have promised.
To sell advertising space, people with money must visit your site, like what they see and be convinced that advertising on your site is worth the money. A simple web search can turn up hundreds or even thousands of email address of potential advertisers. Don't be shy.
STEP SIX: TREAT THIS LIKE THE REAL BUSINESS IT IS
Take it seriously, be patient, work on it one to two hours per day and let it grow. The Internet is infested with nonsense about making money quickly with almost no effort. Listen: you will be rewarded in life for the value that you contribute to others. No more and no less. High quality, well-publicized sites will sell advertising and generate repeat visitors with ease and be easier to sell (and for more money). If you treat this as a quick-buck scam, you'll deservedly fall on your face. So roll up your sleeves and get to work.
STEP SEVEN: YOUR SELLING PRICE
Calculate your website's annual revenue x 2 and make that your selling price. For example, if you've got four people each spending $500 per month for advertising, the selling price for the website is 2 years X 12 months X $2,000 = $48,000.
STEP EIGHT: SELL IT
Your goal is to sell your website as soon as possible (unless you decide you want to keep it). You won't be able to sell it until you've taken the time to make it good. Potential buyers will need you to paint a convincing and honest picture of the site's revenue and further growth potential, etc. You should agree to assist the buyer in any way for 30 days after purchase. He or she may need to learn how to maintain a website from the bottom up. You don't want someone screaming for a refund on a $25,000 plus sale, so make sure your buyer has the right mental equipment for the job (or the wherewithal to hire somebody who does). Your contract must specify no refunds. There are no 12-month warranties when you buy a business.
To your potential buyers, you should present a complete list of search engines your site is registered with, a complete list of the file names your site consists of, and other specifics.
Now you need to find the People With Money. You can't do anything without this ingredient. Get on the Web and do a search for Venture Capital and other keywords that might lead to potential buyers. Also, network with other direct marketers and offer them a percentage of the sale if they can sell your website to one of their customers.
STEP NINE: START MORE PROJECTS
You may have several websites in operation at once, which is fine--be sure to start a new one every month. Your first one will of course be the hardest. After you've done two or three, it will become a simple formula in your mind, something you can replicate with ease, because you'll know what your site needs, how to find and create content fast, and how to publicize it quickly to millions of people.
For the report, "How a 10-Word Internet Ad Generated $55,000 in Two Weeks," send $2 USA or Canadian (cash or stamps) to Business Success Associates, #3 Cheeseman Drive, Markham, Ontario, Canada L3R #G#. You may also call 1-800-685-3702.
