To whoever is earling less than $ 5k/month NET with "muses"

[italian_job]

Brothers and Sisters,

I live Europe. Officially, I work for a blue chip company that has also sponsored my MBA at a top UK b-school and...I am currently in Barcelona..."working from home".

I remember my first ideas where to develop "passive income" sources...you know...that stuff that in theory puts money in your pocket without working at all. Those things don't exist. But it IS possible to work (HARD) from wherever you want...at the time of the day you like (it is 2.38AM here and i am just back from clubbing).

I started with real estate, and while I do own a few properties, I don't see much net cash flow.

I am now at the point where I am balancing very well my "job" (which nets me a good 5k euro/month) and my own online business (which nets me much much more...)

Online advertising and building the online lifestyle is not a myth. It IS possible, but you must learn the necessary SKILLS.

To me, the "must-have" skills are (and Tim...I do pull your ears for not saying explicitly HOW TO make the internet lifestyle happen):

1) rudiments of HTML, which is necessary for building simple webpages
1.5) get a license of Dreamweaver (html editor)
2) decent written english (yes...I just realized I made a typo in the subject...but I have no way to edit the subject...)
3) a laptop, a high speed internet connection, a credit card (or two...)
3.5) join a "web development" basic course: you must learn how to create simple web pages, how to upload them into a web server, how to update them.
3.8) get a web hosting account with godaddy. Also, buy your domain names with Godaddy. I like it because you can keep your info private
4) learn how to use google adwords, yahoo search marketing and msn. Forget Search Engine Optimization first. Do PPC. This course is excellent to learn PPC:

(affiliate link removed)

Remember: you MUST be able to track from which keywords your sales (or newsletter subscriptions) came from. Implement the google html code to track your sales/leads into your thank-you page. Failure to do so will result in ...you shooting in the dark!

PCC Tips: bid on domain names first...then test generic keywords!

Find the keywords that convert your traffic into sales. THEN optimize your site for those keywords with the right. The best Search Engine Optimization course and tool is:

(affiliate link removed)

4.5) get the best keyword search tool available on the net. It will be extremely useful to find keywords for your PPC campaigns:

(affiliate link removed)


5) develop a balanced business, combining both infoproducts, based on quick one-time sales (acquisition only mode) and also try to develop your own website using the drop shipping method. The best directory to find drop shippers is:

(affiliate link removed)

6) once you have found your products to sell via dropshipping, build a yahoo store.

Yahoo Store advantages:
a) you can use the yahoo logo on your site...and guess what happens when you drive PPC traffic from Yahoo into a site that has the Yahoo logo....).

b) get a nice 20% discount on traffic generated to your site from shopping.yahoo.com
c) for just $99 a month, you get incredible features such as cross-selling and coupons
d) fantastic tech support from the yahoo crew

To learn more about yahoo stores, go to:

(affiliate link removed)

7) autoresponder (=stay in touch with your prospects): use aweber as Tim recommends. Go here:

(affiliate link removed)


8) focus your online business and your PPC campaign on US, CA, UK, AU.
Once you have mastered (and are profitable) into those markets, go and discover some gems into the other ones.

9) economic principles apply to any business: before embarking on a project, evaluate demand (=number of searches for a specific keyword), with supply (number of competitor ADS in google/yahoo/msn). ACCEPT that if TODAY there is money in your little niche-market, perhaps tomorrow morning few new competitors will get into your market and slowly but surely erode your profit margin. Read Porter's 5 forces and you will understand what I mean...

What I am trying to tell you is: do your market research, if there is an entry signal...dont wait, jump in, make mistakes, learn, make some profit, dont fall in love with the product because when ur profit start falling it might hurt your feelings...The internet is a fast world!

10) get your DBA, LLC and whatever other legal stuff you need from legalzoom.com

11) get a good accountant.

12) WHILE you are working towards your "live from wherever I want" life, INVOLVE your partner or you will find yourself working from the beach...surrounded by elderly people enjoying their retirement. Dont wait to involve your loved ones AFTER you have reached your goals..because they might be gone.

Life is a gift that is worth sharing.


.

Dream it, Do it

[final_id]

Thanks for the specifics! I'm way behind you, but this isn't a competition. Yet. :P

[edmo]

oh and don't forget to post on other people's forums crap links with your referrer code.

[prospertityconsciousness]

what do you mean by post on others forums crap links, referrer codes etc.....

[James Grey]

what do you mean by post on others forums crap links, referrer codes etc.....

Because italian_job is using his affiliate links for the products that he is suggesting, not really a big deal…

[digllyd]

So are the products that he is suggesting like the SOE and Keyword software worth getting!??!?. I am a little weary but am looking for tools to help me promote my online business.

[ChiTowner]

So are the products that he is suggesting like the SOE and Keyword software worth getting!??!?. I am a little weary but am looking for tools to help me promote my online business.

Hi digllyd

as prospertityconsciousness indicates above, the original poster gets a commission if you purchase any of the products through his/her link - so you're not looking at unbiased recommendations. Not to say that the products aren't useful, but it's better to stay wary and keep your money in your wallet for a little longer. That's an essential attitude while working your way through the internet

Do you know what your online business is going to look like? Selling digital products? Physical products? Some of the tools above are really only applicable to specific business models, e.g. Google Cash only makes sense with affiliate marketing (i.e. marketing other people's products for commission).

hope that helps

[James Grey]

Everyone into internet marketing is obviously doing it to make a buck – that’s why we are all here

Italian_Job took the time to write his recommendations for several different products – so if you decide that you like them then why not use his links?

In fact – whenever I buy anything online I make sure and use someone’s affiliate link – why shouldn’t a fellow NR or internet marketer make a few bucks on something that I was going to buy anyway?

I just bought a 2000 dollar laptop from amazon yesterday – and I used the amazon.com affiliate link from a friends website. She made a commission from it and I got the laptop that I was going to buy anyway.

Don’t be a hater - Help out your fellow NR!

[ChiTowner]

Don’t be a hater - Help out your fellow NR!


No hating at all - far from it. I already own at least one of the tools above. However, I'd much rather save a fellow NR a few bucks by pointing out that the internet is not a place to take everything (anything) at face value. If after doing some other research, the 'recommendations' work out as valid, then all's good.

But surely a recommendation where commission is involved is not the same as one without?

[cornflower]

Well you could just sign up for clickbank yourself (it's free), user your own affiliate link and effectively get yourself a discount. :p

[italian_job]

Hi All,

my posting has great value. The tools I recommend are the ones I personally use. I have purchased many many books, software and other tools. In the end I have sticked with the ones I truly recommend.

Read my post a few times, and follow the plan.

If you have questions, you can always send me a private message and perhaps I can give you a hand.

thanks

[outofbandii]

The real problem here with the affiliate links is that now there's a shadow of doubt over the original post:

"Are these tools really as good as the original poster says, or did he talk them up to make commission from people like me?"

The only way to answer that is consider whether you trust the poster.

italian_job: one recommendation I'd make to you (if you're genuine) is that you offer both affiliate and non-affiliate links, and draw attention to the fact. Request that people use the aff-links but state explicitly that you genuinely believe the products are good and they're welcome to use non-aff-links if they prefer. I think this is the equivalent of "innoculating against objections" in the Guerilla Marketing arena.

[italian_job]

Hey outofbandii

I see you are in Dublin, Ireland

wanna meet up to exchange ideas?

086 8763 571