Critical Steps to Online Success--Compile your articles into a "Free Book" to give away

If you haven't read it yet I suggest you go to "Ezine
Articles" or "Go Articles" and read my article: "20
Critical Steps To Online Success - Get Off To A Fast
Start!" It will help us to stay on the same page. But if
you can't be bothered right now…no problem.

As we go along here I am feeding you these steps in the
best order for you to get them done (in my opinion) but if
you're like me at all you'll probably going ahead with each
step a bit at a time.

I've had you set up your website already because we need
that in place so your visitors can download your products
and join your Newsletter list and it takes some fiddling
around to get all of the links working etc. You can work
away at getting that running smoothly as a break from your
writing. We're a little bit ahead of schedule doing that
but it's quite exciting to get your first website up, so I
slipped it in a bit early.

Now you have your 5 articles written we want to compile
them into a "Free Book" that you will offer on your squeeze
page as a gift for people who register for your Newsletter.

To do this I find it best to initially work in MS Word and
then convert the Word document to PDF format to give it
that professional feel. If you also have MS Publisher in
your MS Office Suite you can create a very professional
looking template for your book.

A good cover image on your title page and your squeeze
page can also help to give your book that professional feel
but it's not essential. Just Google "Free eBook Covers" to
get some templates or free software from the web.

So just copy and paste your articles into a Word Doc in
sequence and clean up the transitions between articles so
your book flows nicely.

Make sure you have some active links in there to give your
readers the opportunity to visit your other websites or
Affiliate Links if you have them.

You'll need a Cover page, a Copyright Page and a Table of
Contents. If you download my free book from the link in my
"About Me" Box you can copy and edit these from my book to
suit your own requirements.

Now you just need to convert to PDF and you're ready to go.

CRITICAL STEPS TO ONLINE SUCCESS - Write 5 articles of 300 words each on your subject.

So far, if you've been keeping up with me, here's what
you've done:

1.Decide what sort of business you want to be in on the
web.
2.Decide what you want to sell.
3.Find some affiliate products in that niche and register
to market them.
4.Get a website of your own.

If you intend to do your marketing via Article Writing and
Publishing then here's what you need to do now:

Create 5 article titles--a series is good. Write down 3
points for each title and begin to write your articles. If
you get stuck or bored with one just move to another, but
keep on writing.

Let's say your niche is dogs and you're writing about dogs.

Your five titles might be:

1. How to pick a good dog.
2. Big or small dogs…which is best?
3. What dogs shed the least?
4. How much does it cost to feed a dog?
5. What's the best way to train a dog?

And some points to write about in Article 1 as an example
could be:

" What are the characteristics of a good dog?
" Should I buy a puppy or go to the SPCA?
" How can I tell if the dog I pick will be a "good" dog?

Just write 100 words on each of these points and you've
got an article ready to publish.

A great way to get some ideas of what to write and how to
write it is to go to http://ezinearticles.com and browse
through the articles.

Just go to the "Ezine Articles" home page and explore the
categories.

A good place to start is with the "Writing and Speaking"
Categories and then take a look at articles in the "Writing
and Speaking" and "Article Marketing" sections.
The value of this for you is that you can take an
educational course in how to write and market with articles
at the same time as you are doing your writing.

You'll now need to publish your articles to the Article
Directories.

Keep on Winning

Regards

Jim

Critical Steps to Online Success--Step by Step Plan--How to Find and Register for Affiliate Programs

As I said in an earlier article, starting with an
"Affiliate Network" is an easy way to get started as an
affiliate. You first need to register with each of the
networks you choose.

The largest are:

Commission Junction: http://cj.com/

Linkshare: http://linkshare.com/

Performics: http://performics.com/

Click Bank: http://clickbank.com/index.html


What are the actual Steps to get started as an affiliate?

Let's look at one program that's really easy and is also a
superb "How To" manual on Affiliate Marketing: Rosalind
Gardner's "Super Affiliate Handbook"

Go to this site to work through this example with me.

http://www.homebasedbusinessontheweb.com/RosGarAffil/

Just click the link at the bottom of the page and it will
take you to the Super Affiliate Sales Page.

Once there you will see a navigation bar across the top
which says:

Home | Order Now! | Make Money

If you click on "Make Money" you will be taken to the
Affiliates Page where you have the opportunity to join this
program as an affiliate.

But before you do that you need to sign up and get your
"Click Bank" account opened and you will find a link to do
this as you scroll down the page.

Once you have a "Clickbank Nickname" you enter your
nickname and generate your affiliate promotions link.

You then create a sales page for this program, put the
included "HTML Code" on your page, insert your "affiliate
promotions link" and you're set to go as an affiliate

Now, if you just want to register with "Clickbank"
straight away, here's how you register:

You open their site at http://www.clickbank.com/index.html
and click on the "Become an Affiliate" link, which you will
find in the left hand column. You then click on "Sign up"
and fill in the simple form and "voila" you're a registered
member.

At the top of the page you'll see the Navigation Bar.

Home | Sign Up | Marketplace | My Account

Click on My Account and enter the Member's zone.

Once again go to the Nav Bar and click "Marketplace" and
your ready to start looking around and choosing some
programs to work with.

Keep on winning

Regards

Jim

Critical Steps to Online Success - Find some "Affiliate Products" to market

When choosing Affiliate Products it's a good thing to keep in mind that "physical products" have a large manufacturing cost component in their pricing, so your profit margins are skinnier. So my first advice is to choose digital products such as books or online services such as dating (dating services can offer affiliate commissions up to 75% or more so if you like this field it can be very lucrative).

For more information on affiliate programs you can download my free book at: http://homebasedbusinessontheweb.com/cap/

Let's look at some places to find affiliate products. You can of course go to Google and enter the search term "affiliate products" but an easier place to start is with affiliate networks. Affiliate networks act as middlemen between merchants and affiliate marketers. Joining an affiliate network is free for affiliates and offers a large range of high quality programs to choose from. You can feel much safer about your commissions actually being paid out to you by these legitimate marketers. They are a great place to start your search because the information is tabulated for you.

Here are a few:

The three largest are: Commission Junction: http://cj.com/

Linkshare: http://linkshare.com/

Performics: http://performics.com/

"Click Bank" is a network that specializes in Digital Products. http://clickbank.com/index.html

Residual Commission Finder: http://residualincomefinder.com.

provides a comprehensive listing of merchants offering long-term commissions for customers that you bring them. They offer listings of Affiliate Programs that payout commissions for at least a year.

Let's look at Clickbank as an example since I have recommended you start with digital products. You open their site at http://clickbank.com/index.html and click on the "Become an Affiliate" link, which you will find in the left hand column. You then click on "Sign up" and fill in the simple form and "voila" you're a registered member. Once you are a member you fill in your email and password in the box at the top right of the page and login to the members area.

Then you go inside and search around the affiliate listings for programs that interest you. Just do the same with the other networks I've listed and you're on your way. There are many more affiliate networks you can check out but this will get you started. The process is quite straight forward…you'll be an old hand in no time at all.

Critical Steps to Online Success - Decide What Business you want to be in.

Some people find this to be the step that stops them cold
before they even get started. But it doesn't need to be
like that. It's amazing how quickly ideas begin to flow
once we begin brain storming.

Information products-ie "how-to" books and manuals on
subjects that interest people are the easiest to work with.
If you don't think you can write then hire a ghost writer,
find "free" products on the net in expired copyright
directories or sell affiliate products.

Just get out a sheet of paper and start to make some lists
and the ideas will come in a torrent.

What do you like to do?

Do you like your job? Would you like to work for yourself
in the same field? What is your dream job? What is your
secret dream for your life? Could you write about that?

What inspires you?

Are you into health or exercise? Do you believe in food
supplements? Are you a romantic? Would you like to write
advice columns and reviews on dating? Is religion a focal
point of your life? What about sports? Do you love to ski
etc?

What are you good at?

Are you a great surfer, cyclist, runner, swimmer, skier?
Are you a great cook? Do you really understand computer
hardware or software? Can you design websites?

What do you know about?

Do you read about history? Have you traveled a lot? Do you
speak and write Spanish?

Once you have some ideas for an area that you would like
to work in, you need to find out if anyone else has any
interest in this field. You can do that by checking how
many people per month have searched for this term by using
the Overture keyword Selector Tool:
http://inventory.overture.com/d/searchinventory/suggestion/

As you run your ideas through Overture you will be
triggered into other searches and your list of ideas will
grow.

Finally you will have narrowed your list down to one or
two areas of interest and you are ready to proceed to the
next step: What products will you promote? And how to find
them.

20 Critical Steps To Online Success--Step by Step Campaign to Get You Off To A Fast Start!

I so often get asked: "What exactly do I need to do to get started and be successful Online?"

My answer is always: First build your list!

Article Writing is the cheapest and fastest way to start to build your email list. Here are the Steps I recommend you take. Copy this article and begin to follow these steps.

1. Decide what sort of business you want to be in on the web. What do you have a strong interest in?

2. Decide what you want to sell.

3. Find some "affiliate products" in that niche and register to market them. Digital "how-to" Books and Reports are the easiest to handle.

4. Get a website of your own. "GoDaddy" costs a few dollars per month for basic site hosting.

5. Write 5 articles of 300 words each on your subject. Create 5 article titles-a series is good. Write down 3 points for each title and begin to write your articles. If you get stuck on one just move to another.

6. Compile your 5 articles into a "Free Book" to give away to your visitors.

7. Write a "Thank you" email for your Auto-responder to send to new subscribers to your list. This email should tell them about the "Verification Email" they will receive and the importance of clicking the verification link.

8. Write a 5 email auto-responder email series to be sent one per day to new subscribers to your list--a thank you email, a teaching email, another free gift email to build trust, another teaching email and finally an email that offers your "for sale" product.

9. Your first "For Sale" product will most likely be an affiliate product.

10. Subscribe to an Auto-responder service: aWeber is excellent.

11. Design your Sales Page and attach your Web Form to allow visitors to register for your FREE Book and Newsletter. Your Auto-responder provider will have instructions on their site to help design your webform.

12. Design your "Download your Book" web page which will be sent by your auto-responder to your visitors who have "opted-in". You can see a sample download page if you choose to Download my Free book at: http://homebasedbusinessontheweb.com/cap/ but you don't need the book cover when you first start out.

13. Launch your website. At this point you will only need to have 2 pages: a Sales or Offering page for you free giveaway plus your Download Page. Keep it simple.

14. Submit your 5 articles to 6 or 7 Article Directories.

http://ezinearticles.com is the best place to start.

15. Start a Blog. It's free and easy.

http://blogger.com/home

16. Publish your 5 articles on your blog and "ping" your
blog. http://pingomatic.com

17. Continue to write and publish articles every day.

18. You will quite quickly start getting visitors to your site who accept your free offer and are added to your list. They will begin to receive the series of 5 auto-responder emails and some will purchase your product.

19. Send emails to your list on a regular basis and continue to offer affiliate products…but don't overburden them with offers. Give value via information and giveaways. A link to your latest article can be a good giveaway.

20. Compile your first 20 articles into a "for sale" book and offer it for sale in your emails. You can continue the offer indefinitely but should slow down the frequency after the first couple of weeks.

Then just do it all again!

Critical Steps to Online Success - You must have a Website

If you are to succeed online in any significant way then you
must have a website of your own.

Yes…I know you can make some money as an affiliate without
a website but you really limit your options.

Why have a website? You need a website as an interface
for information exchange between you and the clients on
your list. That is a place online where you can give
information about yourself and your clients can communicate
with you.

Until we come up with a better solution, marketing success
online depends on having a list of clients who have
indicated an interest in your niche and are responsive to
your emails. You supply them with valuable information via
your newsletter and from time to time you show them one of
your offerings. Some of them will buy from you if they have
had a good experience with you in the past. You need a
website to make this transaction flow smoothly.

If you are using Article Marketing or Pay-per-Click as
your process to attract clients then you need a website for
them to visit so they can read about you and your offer and
decide if they want to join your Newsletter List or
investigate you Free Offer or whatever else you are
promoting. If they decide they want to proceed further then
they need to be able to communicate with you. You could do
this by email but as the volume of responses begins to pick
up you just won't have the time to handle every individual
response and you'll want to have a Web Form on your webpage
that connects to your auto-responder so they can give you
their contact information.

Once you have their contact information you will want to
respond with a "verification notice" (hosted on your site)
that tells them where to go and how to respond to the email
they will receive from your auto-responder. In these days
of spam email it is critical that the visitor verifies
their willingness to receive your information.

And finally you will want to send them your "download"
page so they can download your free product or make payment
for a paid product.

I think you can see how critical it is to have a website
of your own to make all of this possible. You can have your
own website hosted online for as little as $4 per month so
it really makes sense to take this professional step
forward.