We all need money to pay our bills. And now the time has come to talk about how you can earn that money online.<\/p>\n
Give, and you will receive - Luke 6:38.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n
No, I\u2019m not a fan of the bible. Nevertheless, in Internet business this principle is as true as it can be.<\/p>\n
You have to use your platform to give information to your audience. Information that will help your readers to answer questions, solve problems or relieve pains.<\/p>\n
Then you\u2019ll receive their money as a \u201eThank You\u201c.<\/p>\n
You need to focus on the term \u201evalue\u201c. It\u2019s overused nowadays, so let me explain.<\/p>\n
You\u2019ll only receive money when your information is valuable to your audience. Solve problems, answer questions and deliver what your audience is searching for. Be actionable in your advice and use terms your audience relates to.<\/p>\n
Then you\u2019ll automatically position yourself as the go-to person in your field. You\u2019ll become known and trusted for being an expert.<\/p>\n
Don\u2019t forget that others don\u2019t have your knowledge. What comes natural to you is hard for others. And that\u2019s the reason why you can charge for your skills and expertise.<\/p>\n
You need to showcase your knowledge and experience by using your platform. Prove your skills by solving real world problems, answering real world questions and by delivering solutions, that enrich the lives of your target audience.<\/p>\n
The trick is, not to give all your knowledge away for free. When you\u2019re creating content and delivering valuable information, you\u2019re doing your audience a favor.<\/p>\n
Once the audience understands that you know your stuff, they\u2019ll be willing to pay you for your service, product or whatever.<\/strong><\/p>\n
They'll pay you for information that goes even more into depth and is more valuable than the free information you\u2019re sharing.<\/p>\n
Keep some important information secret that you can sell.<\/p>\n
But before we start talking about selling, let\u2019s have a look at how you can give information to your audience.<\/p>\n
Ways to Give<\/h2>\n
Blogging<\/h3>\n
Blogging is probably the most common way to publish information. You should have set up your platform by now or at least be working on it. Once your WordPress is installed, you can start to blog.<\/p>\n
The written word is easy to consume, if you structure your text and don\u2019t just write one huge paragraph. Your readers can skim through the text and search for the information that\u2019s most valuable to them.<\/p>\n
Blogs are the standard tool for online businesses and entrepreneurs and I consider a blog as mandatory to build your personal brand.<\/p>\n
Your blog will be the foundation in your business where you publish information and sell your products or services. This is where you build your brand.<\/p>\n
Videos<\/h3>\n
Recording videos and sharing them on your blog, Youtube, Vimeo or Vine is more personal than blogging.<\/p>\n
By hearing and seeing you, people can connect to you as a person easier and you start building a deeper relationship with your target audience.<\/p>\n
Video is great if you are sharing very emotional information, talk about complex things that can be better explained visually or just feel more comfortable on video than blogging.<\/p>\n
Podcasts<\/h3>\n
No, it\u2019s not too late to start a podcast. Even though there are countless podcasts, you can add your own voice to it (literally).<\/p>\n
Podcasts allow your audience to listen to your content whenever they want, e.g. while driving in the car or doing sports.<\/p>\n
Your audience can consume your content when reading or watching video isn\u2019t an option, which gives you more reach to new situations.<\/p>\n
Also podcasts build a very intimate connection to your audience, because you can talk to them directly (just like video).<\/p>\n
We\u2019re seeing lots of podcasts that are build upon interviewing other well-known persons. You can do that too! Connect to the influencers in your field and record a short Skype chat with them, that\u2019s it!<\/p>\n
What to Give<\/h2>\n
You need to provide highly valuable information in order to gain the trust of your audience. Choose the form that feels most natural to you and start with it. You can always expand later on.<\/p>\n
Let me show you some examples that work for me and my business:<\/p>\n
\n
- Answer questions you know your audience has.<\/li>\n
- Share your opinion on current trends.<\/li>\n
- Give actionable advice that enrich the everyday routines of your audience.<\/li>\n
- Review products and services than your audience can benefit from.<\/li>\n
- Create tutorials and how-to\u2019s on topics of interest for your audience.<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n
Other methods you can use to give information and to build your brand:<\/p>\n
\n
- Create a portfolio of projects you were involved in.<\/li>\n
- Publish lists to aggregate information your audience is searching for.<\/li>\n
- Make yourself accessible as a person and show your little weaknesses and flaws. This makes yourself more likable.<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n
Ways to Receive<\/h2>\n
Now that we\u2019ve spoken a lot on why you need to give information, how to give and what, it\u2019s time to talk about how to receive value.<\/p>\n
The online business I believe in is built upon a simple yet powerful principle:<\/p>\n
Share free information to allow your audience to trust you. Then sell relevant and useful products or service to those who will benefit from the offer.<\/strong><\/p>\n
Unfortunately there are many scams online that trick people. I want you to build an honest business!<\/p>\n
Let me briefly explain ways that you can earn money online with.<\/p>\n
Affiliate Marketing<\/h3>\n
This is probably the classic way in online business. You promote existing products to your audience and get a commission on purchases made.<\/p>\n
It\u2019s easy to begin with, because you don\u2019t need to create a product yourself.<\/p>\n
Theoretically you can earn money right away with affiliate marketing, but let me tell you that it normally takes some time to generate income.<\/p>\n
First you need to build up trust to your audience, otherwise they won\u2019t buy the products you promote. That\u2019s where giving value comes into play.<\/p>\n
I\u2019m doing affiliate marketing whenever it\u2019s appropriate. I always make sure that people will benefit from the product or service I\u2019m sharing and that I offer free alternatives when I believe in those alternatives.<\/p>\n
Information Products<\/h3>\n
Information products are products that you create and sell yourself, e.g. video courses, eBooks or any other paid content.<\/p>\n
You package your knowledge into a format that\u2019s a good fit and then sell it to your audience.<\/p>\n
This can be writing an eBook (because you\u2019re a good writer), recording a video training (because you\u2019re comfortable on camera) or doing webinars (because you love to interact with people).<\/p>\n
This business model brings you the most independence and I think it has the biggest potential to grow your business.<\/p>\n
But it\u2019s also very complex and involves a lot of learning. My friend Henri Juntilla has written a 12-step blueprint for creating information products which you can open here<\/a>.<\/p>\n
It would be too much to explain the process here in detail, but if you\u2019re interested in building your own information product, you hire me as a coach<\/a>.<\/p>\n
Coaching<\/h3>\n
Coaching is a very efficient business model, since you can sell your skills directly to clients.<\/p>\n
You\u2019re positioning yourself as expert in your field and then you\u2019re launching a coaching program that people can buy.<\/p>\n
With the type of content you are publishing you can easily control whether you\u2019re seen as a good coach or not. Again, here\u2019s the giving important to receive.<\/p>\n
When you go through my content, you can see that I\u2019m always trying to educate you with the things I\u2019m talking about. I\u2019m not doing this because I think that I\u2019m better than you. I\u2019m sharing my experiences and expertise and I hope that you can benefit from my content.<\/p>\n
Coaching isn\u2019t very scalable, especially one-on-one coaching can be time consuming. However, if you\u2019re starting out, coaching is a good way to make a decent amount of money pretty quickly.<\/p>\n
Freelancing<\/h3>\n
Freelancing is the last big player in online business models. You\u2019re doing project based work with clients that trust your skills.<\/p>\n
This is definitely interesting for any kind of developers, writers, designers and mostly all tech-related jobs. But you can also freelance being an interior decorator, personal assistant or translator.<\/p>\n
If you have a skill that can be used in project based work, you\u2019re predestined to be a freelancer.<\/p>\n
And your online business is a great way to get projects and paying customers!<\/p>\n
Of course those were only brief explanations. Here\u2019s a post you can read to learn more about profitable online business systems<\/a>.<\/p>\n
This Was Just the Beginning<\/h2>\n
This is the end of my Restart 101 training program and I hope that you\u2019ve gotten an idea on how to build your online business.<\/p>\n
Building an online business is pretty complex and I talked about the most basic aspects, the foundation you need to have.<\/p>\n
Now it\u2019s time to take action on the things you\u2019ve learned!<\/strong><\/p>\n
The best way to gather new skills is to try new things, so don\u2019t be afraid to fail at the first try. Being an entrepreneur leads to failing over and over again, because learning from mistakes differentiates the successful businesses from the failing business.<\/p>\n
I\u2019d love to hear in what stage your business currently is! Are you aware of your skills? Is your platform already up and running? Please share it in the comments below.<\/p>\n