You’ve always had a dream. A burning desire. The passion to do something more. To be more. To build a business from the ground up. It’s etched into your brain. Ever since you were a child you could see it clearly in your mind’s eye. You could picture it vividly. Like a lucid memory come to life, you could see yourself as the boss — El Jefe. The head honcho in charge. The mere thought gives you goosebumps. It sends chills running up and down your spine just thinking about life as a successful business owner.
But time plays tricks on us. And that dream of owning a business that you’ve had for ages is fading fast. Today, it feels like a fantasy. Like a distant picture in black and white, it withers away with time. You’ve always wanted to fulfill your dreams to start that business. But something has been holding you back. Something’s standing in your way.
The fear of failure will do that to you. It’ll stamp out your dreams and rob you like a thief in the night. And with each passing day, it feels like a little part of you is chipping away.
The truth? Many people want to start an online business. But it isn’t that easy. It’s not as straightforward as snapping your fingers and deciding one day that enough is enough. You can’t just get fed up and walk away from a job that’s helping you survive, right? Or can you? But what if you fail? What if you can’t make it? What’ll happen to your house or your car? How will you feed your kids?
That thought keeps you up at night. And it holds you back from starting that online business you’ve always wanted to start. But there’s no time like the present moment for a change.
If you want to start an online business you must plan. You must plot. Scheme. Envision. And come up with a strategy to grow that business. Is it easy? Nope. Most people fail. But some make it through to the other side. They succeed. They make that dream of owning an online business a reality. And you can too. You can start an online business in any industry or niche and succeed as long you adhere to a few fundamental principles that govern online marketing success. It’s straightforward. Simple, even. There’s a process you must go through. It takes work and effort. But with the right offer to the right market, you could just smash it out of the proverbial ballpark.
What type of business will you start? Where do you even begin? How do you build this so-called business and set yourself up for success? The truth? Most people fail in business because they’re slow out of the gate. Like a tortoise, they tiptoe forward with unease. But money loves speed. And if you want to succeed, you must focus on the right things. It’s not about perfecting your product or service. Yes, it must be good enough to solve the problem your customers are experiencing. But starting an online business and actually succeeding involves much more than that.
To succeed in business, it’s not just about your product or your service. You could have the best product under the sun. You could have the most unbelievable service known to man. But what happens if no one knows about it? What happens when you don’t spend your time marketing that business? If you fail to gain the right amount of attention from the right people, your business will flop. And attention is the name of the game. You must get attention from the right people. And you must understand how to capture and harness that attention by taking the customer on a journey.
So where do you start? Let’s say for a moment that you’re ready to launch that online business. It could be a small business, a boring business, a big business, or anything in between. What’s the right move? How do you begin? Do you need capital to launch your business? And how do you actually get people to give you money? You see, most people who start a business go about it the wrong way. They think of an idea then they start obsessing over that idea. They tinker and toil day and night creating a product or a service that represents that idea. But that’s not the right way to approach it.
Instead, think about it this way. What problem can you solve? And who can you solve it for? That’s the real way to start a business. People will pay for results. So if you can solve a real problem that people are experiencing, they will gladly pay you day and night. Now ask yourself this question. What is a problem you can solve? And who’s experiencing that problem? That’s the basis for everything. As long as you can solve that problem and solve it the right way for that person, you’re in business. You don’t need a fancy website or logo to begin. You just need to start solving problems.
I know. I know. It sounds basic, right? Just go out there and solve problems. It can’t be that easy, can it? Well, that’s the basis of it. And if you take that approach, everything else will be easier. Much easier. Start with the problem and the person experiencing that problem. And ensure that the person experiencing that problem has the money to pay you to solve it. Meaning that you shouldn’t start solving problems for broke college students. Solve problems for people who can afford to pay you to solve those problems.
Companies and people face problems every single day. They face them in every area of business and life. Your job? Find the right problem you can solve for the right person. And get the attention of the people experiencing that problem. When you’re just starting it means that you have to actually prove that you can solve their problem. To do that you need something called a lead magnet. A lead magnet helps a prospect solve the very problem you claim to solve. And you give it away for free as part of a lead generation funnel.
When you give something of value that can solve a person’s problem it creates authority. In their mind, you become an authority. After all, you are. You know how to solve their problem. But you’re probably thinking this is odd, right? If you solve their problem through a lead magnet, they won’t need your help. But that’s not the case. At least not for all of the people. Sure, some of them will disappear. And that’s okay. You still gave them value. But a small percentage of them won’t disappear. Nope. On the contrary. They’ll pay you for implementation. They’ll buy the product or service you’re selling.
You could be an expert in an industry or niche. But that doesn’t mean you understand all the problems people are struggling with. It might be something you haven’t thought about. I’m not talking about general problems. I’m talking about specific problems your customer is facing. You might not know all of them. And by knowing the problems you can devise products and services designed to tackle those problems. It could be something so obvious that you simply miss it. That’s why you need to create an Ask Campaign.
The Ask Campaign allows you to ask your audience directly what they’re struggling with. The concepts are simple. And it often involves a bribe (an “ask”). You can create an Ask Campaign and send it out via email if you have an email list. You can also run ads to a landing page with your Ask Campaign. And you can create polls or posts on social media and take many other approaches. The point is that you must ask the audience what problems they’re struggling with. This allows you to find out what specific things your audience is struggling with.
Beyond the problem is the individual experiencing the problem. Who is the individual experiencing that problem? What do they look like? Sound like? Dress like? Where do they live? How many kids do they have? Where do they hang out during the day? What worries keep them up at night? What are some of their biggest pain points? In other words, who is your “dream customer” exactly? It’s an important distinction. You don’t want to chase the wrong person?
But not every individual is your ideal or “dream” customer. Some aren’t willing to pay to solve problems. Others try to do it themselves first. When you identify your dream customer, you have a clear picture in your mind of who you’re speaking to. And that’s important because it sets the stage for everything else. You’ll want to talk to this person like you speak to an old friend. That’s why you must know who they are inside and out. It’s an important
When you know the problem and you know the customer, you’re almost there. Those two elements are necessary for creating an online business and actually making money. They’re necessary for creating the offer. But don’t get this twisted because the offer is a crucial component. It must be valuable. Very valuable. The offer must be so valuable that it’s irresistible. If you can create an offer like that, then you have a business.
Keep in mind that your offer isn’t the product or service. The offer comes first because it is the solution to your customer’s problem. How can you create an offer that solves that problem? And how can you do it in a way that delivers tremendous value? That’s the real question. Too many people rush into business without strategizing. This isn’t about taking months or years to create some software platform. It’s not about drafting lengthy business plans. Nope. Not at all.
The foundational success of a business has everything to do with the offer. If your offer cannot solve the problem your customer is facing, then you don’t have a business. You have a job. And you don’t want a job, do you? After all, you’ve worked a job your whole life. Now it’s time to run a real business that solves real problems for real people. That’s how you’re going to make so much money that it makes your head spin. That’s your ticket to success.
To succeed in business you need leads. You need people to sell to. Knowing your customers and their problems is one thing. Creating the offer is another. But you must now get in front of those customers. To do that you need leads. They’re vital. And to generate leads you need to create something of value. We call this a lead magnet. A lead magnet is a free offer of some kind. It could be as simple as a free consultation or as intricate as a free trial to a software platform.
The lead magnet must help your customer solve their problem (or part of it). And don’t worry about giving away the so-called farm. When you can prove that you can solve a problem for your customers and deliver real value through a free offer, it creates instant trust and authority. They now view you as a person capable of solving their problem. And people gladly pay for implementation. Sure, some will take the information and run with it. That’s expected to happen. But a small portion will pay you for the implementation of the solution.
Remember that information is free. And it’s everywhere. But organized information is different. People don’t want to be bothered hunting for or scouring for information. They’re busy living their lives. And that’s where you come in. That’s how you make money by solving their problems. Your offer is the solution to the problem they’re struggling with. And as long as you pick the right people with the right problems, you can make a lot of money fast.
No online business is complete without a sales funnel. If you don’t know what a sales funnel is then read this. You can think of sales funnels almost like websites. Except they’re much different than websites. Websites are old and stodgy. Dead and decomposing. They were useful in the early days of the Internet. But not anymore. Not since things have become hotly competitive. It’s no longer enough to just have a website. You need an actual sales funnel.
Websites lack focus. There’s just too much going on there. Sales funnels are different because they’re laser-focused. They’re designed to take customers down a pre-defined journey. They help solicit the sale because they go far beyond a single interaction. That’s because sales funnels are designed to capture a prospect’s contact details first and foremost. Then, they’re designed to create rapport and build a bond with that prospect. It’s not a single interaction. They’re not just random people lost on a website.
Building a sales funnel isn’t complicated. You can easily build one here without any web development skills or coding knowledge. They’re designed to grow your online business fast. To increase sales and boost revenue. Most importantly, they’re designed to maximize the average amount of money customers spend with you. Sales funnels have things like order bumps, one-time offers, upsells, down-sells, subscriptions, and more. If you don’t have a sales funnel in business, you can’t expect to succeed. Not in today’s market that is.
Once everything is set up you need to get traffic. You can drive traffic in many ways. But the point is to pick one traffic strategy and run with it. You could drive traffic from social media. Paid ads. SEO. Email list swaps. YouTube videos. And more. Most people struggle with traffic for a reason. That’s because it’s hard to get attention today. Attention is awareness and to get people aware of you either takes a lot of hard work or money. Sometimes both.
However, no business is complete without a solid traffic strategy. You must drive traffic to your offers. And you must be able to capture that traffic and convert it into leads. How will you do that? What methods will you use? Will you collaborate with others or do it yourself? Should you hire an agency or try to do it all in-house? Once you find a traffic strategy that works, double down and go all in. Traffic will create leads, which will eventually help you make money.
You can’t expect to start an online business without building relationships with prospects and customers. We do this through email marketing. Use email to share stories, build rapport, and create a bond between you and the prospect. You help them break limiting beliefs holding them back from buying the thing you’re selling. And that’s important. Because the prospect is oftentimes where you were right before you went on the journey of solving the problem that you solved. By sharing those stories, you create a bond.
This isn’t complicated. Stories are at the heart of humans. They’re woven into the fabric of time. And when used the right way those stories can help to scale your online business to the moon. Remember that email is one of the most intimate forms of communication. When we send an email we’re reaching a person directly. It’s not the same as an ad or a social media post. That’s why you must use emails wisely. And don’t be afraid to communicate. After all, the more you get in front of a prospect, the more likely they are to buy what you’re selling.
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