I still remember when I first started reading about making money on the internet .
I remember the great promises.
Build a website.
Write an ebook.
Watch the cash flow in while you relax on a snow-white beach on a tropical island.
I even spent a ton of money on an internet marketing coach who would teach me all the secrets about making money on the internet .
It turned out a little differently than I originally thought.
I spent several years trying to crack the code to make money on the internet. I’ve tried all sorts of things, and bought a lot of courses.
But what I eventually discovered was not what I expected.
In this blog article, I will share with you what I have found that really works for making money on the internet.
But before we do that, let’s start at the beginning.
WHAT DO I MEAN BY SELLING DIGITAL PRODUCTS?
By selling digital products I mean selling information.
You can earn money on the internet in all kinds of different ways by packaging information in different digital products.
Here are some examples of digital products you could sell:
– Ebooks
– Audio programs
– Video courses
– webinars
– Live workshops
– Coaching packages
– …
So there are many different options. Most importantly, the information you sell through your digital product helps your customer with something.
HOW TO BUILD A PROFITABLE ONLINE BUSINESS WITH DIGITAL PRODUCTS?
Now let’s see what I discovered.
Below are the elements that are essential to make money on the internet selling digital products.
It is not a “push the button” solution with which you will earn tons of money tomorrow without having to do anything.
But if you are willing to put in the effort, and you know which steps to follow, you can build up a nice extra income within a few months.
Let’s start with the first step.
1. GET A FOLLOWING
The first step is to gain a following of people who are interested in hearing from you.
Many people immediately get stuck here because they think it is necessary to come up with a perfect idea or a perfect niche .
The truth is, you don’t need to have everything thought out to get started.
You just have to start.
People will want to listen to you because of your unique personality, your story, your worldview, …
You should start publishing your ideas and then tell people.
When I started this blog, I hadn’t fully thought out everything yet. I just knew I wanted to share with budding bloggers how to make money on the internet with a blog and mailing list.
My plan was not more concrete in the beginning.
As more readers started reading my blog and signed up to my mailing list, I got more feedback about what they found interesting and what didn’t.
I listened to my readers and tried to provide the information they were looking for to help them move forward.
2. BUILD A MAILING LIST
Once you get visitors to your blog, your priority should be to get their email address and build a mailing list.
Forget about RSS subscribers, Facebook fans, Twitter followers or building a Google+ group.
All these things are nice, but they very rarely make up the 20% that will produce 80% of the results (I’m referring to the 80/20 Pareto principle here).
It is important to start building a mailing list from day one.
You need to make sure that people who end up on your blog can subscribe to your mailing list so that you can stay in touch with them.
If you continue to provide interesting information to the people on your mailing list, they will trust you and will also be inclined to buy one of your products or a product that you recommend.
The Building a mailing list is not difficult. It goes like this:
- Sign up for an email marketing service (I recommend Aweber).
- Create a gift that people can instantly download when they join your mailing list. I’m giving away a free ebook in which I show the 5 steps to earn at least 2000 euros per month.
- Place your optin form on your blog and ask visitors of your blog to register.
- Promote your blog to get a lot of visitors to your blog.
3. SOLVE PROBLEMS
In the beginning you don’t need a product, but you should focus all your time on building your mailing list.
If you have a few hundred people subscribed to your mailing list, you should have a good idea of what issues your readers are facing.
If you have no idea, you can take a survey to find out what their biggest frustration is (with regard to your niche).
Remember, you want to build a real business, and a real business solves problems.
I love making money on the internet, but I attach the most importance to you, my reader.
Without you as a reader, I wouldn’t be able to make money on the internet.
It is sometimes tempting to try to make as much money as possible as quickly as possible, but this is not always to the advantage of your customers.
I have a full time job and also earn money on the internet as extra income. So I can focus on really helping people.
I am convinced that in the longer term this will also lead to making more money on the internet .
4. CONDUCT SMALL EXPERIMENTS
Recently I got talking at an internet marketing seminar with someone who has a blog in the fitness niche.
On his blog he gives tips to get a more muscular body and stay fit.
He told me that he recently had some free coaching calls to find out what people were looking for.
The result?
A very large part of them wanted to have six pack abs.
This was very valuable information for him as he is the fitness expert and he knows how to help people get well trained abs.
The next step is not to immediately create a super extensive course with dozens of modules.
Instead, he should focus on something smaller to test out his idea, a minimal product that people will want to buy. Some examples are:
– A report that he sells for 17 euros.
– A webinar that lasts 90 minutes.
– An audio course of 60 minutes.
– A coaching package.
The goal is not to make a lot of money on the internet right away. The goal is to test the idea.
Is this really something his audience really wants?
When people buy his minimal product, he knows he is on the right track.
5. KEEP LISTENING
Let’s suppose he does the above and some people buy his product.
What then? What’s the next step to make more money on the internet?
He stays in touch with his customers. He remains curious about how his product or service can be improved.
Personally, I would email my customers to thank them for their purchase and to let them know that they can always email me if they have any questions about anything.
A few weeks later I would ask them how things are going and if I can help with anything further.
This ensures that you can further develop your product based on the feedback you receive from your customers.
You can also send out a survey that your customers can complete (anonymously).
6. INVEST IN YOUR ONLINE BUSINESS
After performing the previous steps you will have earned your first hundreds of dollars, maybe even more.
So what can you do with this money?
Invest it back into your online business.
Buy a course from someone you trust and who has already realized what you want to set up. Find a mentor who can guide you to earn more money on the internet.
The more time and money you can invest, the faster you will progress.
For example, I really started to make progress after going through Jacko Meijaard’s Affiliate Marketing Revolution program .
It’s a video course that explains step-by-step how to make money on the internet with a blog and a mailing list, exactly what I wanted to do.
