(This post is more information to listeners following my interview with ABC Radio on Wednesday 14 July 2010)
I remember when my mother used to work from home. She was a seamstress, and every week a clothing manufacturer would deliver her the components of dresses which she would then assemble. It was called ‘piecework’, and she was paid a pittance for the long hours she worked.
Her big industrial sewing machine would be whirring when I got up in the morning, and when I went to bed a night. There was great excitement for we kids when she was delivered pieces with sharp pleats – there was always pleated tissue paper involved, which made soft landings for somersaults and crude facsimiles of hula skirts.
My aunt took in ironing, and our neighbour created amazingly complicated hand-knits that carried high price tags in shops, but for which she received little.
It was in these ways that the women of my mother’s generation “worked from home”.
How The Internet Has Changed Things
I have been a full-time worker from home now, for almost 3 years, after a period of juggling it with another job. Deciding to free myself from the shackles of travelling time, set working hours, limited variety of work and creating profits for my bosses instead of myself, was the best decision I’ve ever made.
So what do I do? I work online – doing lots of different things. And the more I learn about the opportunities available, the more options I have. In fact there are so many ‘shiny lights’ of opportunities to distract me, its sometimes hard to stay focused!
Writing For Others
My core business is providing written material for other internet marketers. In order to get their sites ranked well with the search engines like Google and Yahoo!, they need to have a steady stream of quality, original content added to their sites.
I provide this in the form of short articles and blog posts. There are definite techniques used in their creation, which is something that I’ve mastered over time. I also write online media releases, website page content, and the site/business owners’ bios for their sites.
Are You An Expert At ANYTHING?
Write an eBook and sell your knowledge
If you have specialised knowledge or expertise in anything – from knitting to fishing to 4 wheel driving – there are others in the world who need your knowledge. Writing an eBook – which can be anything from 20-500 pages, you can share your knowledge and profit from it as well. The beauty of the eBook is that you write it once, and it can keep selling for years without you lifting a finger. eBooks are delivered to the purchaser digitally, immediately their payment has been processed by an international payment processor like PayPal.
In 2009 I wrote an eBook, which, after the initial launch, continues to sell several copies each week. That may not seem like much, but I do absolutely nothing anymore to generate those sales – this is residual income.
Coaching
I have created a 50 page eBook, Overnight Writing Income, that shows people the opportunities that are available for writing online.
Most importantly though, I have created a three part coaching program, SEO Content Coach, which teaches both internet marketers and writers how to create SEO content in different forms.
Affiliate Marketing
One thing that people should realise is that they don’t have to have a product or service to do business online. Through affiliate marketing you can promote other peoples products and services – like mine – and receive an affiliate commission for doing this.
Affiliate marketing is an ideal way to get started in internet marketing.
>> Here is a free affiliate marketing training multi-media resource.
A Little On The Side
In my internet marketing journey, I have invested in hundreds of domains – www’s. On some I have built websites (yes, I’ve learned how to do this too!), but others were left empty.
I realised that these are wasted resources that should be monetized to reach their full potential, but finding the time to do it was a problem. So I outsourced this. In the process of so doing, I discussed this with colleagues, who were all in the same situation: lots of domains, lying fallow.
So I recently launched DomainNameAction.com – a service that will build affordable sites on my clients’ empty domains, with their affiliate banners added as well. This is a whole new business model, that no-one else is doing (yet!).
What Others Are Doing
I have colleagues who are providing accountancy services, graphic design and consultancy services to people online – all from home. Others have products or services that they are marketing online – to an audience of ‘the world’ rather than their home town.
People with disabilities who have trouble getting to a work environment because of physical or psychological hardship, are doing well with internet marketing.
Here are some free videos that provide more information about internet marketing. >>Access Free Videos<<
I learned about doing business online from my mentor, and client, James Schramko, who is holding is second and final workshop for 2010 in Sydney in September 2010. It is an ideal launchpad for anyone wanting to learn about internet marketing, and the opportunities that are available (with loads of pre-event training material supplied for the complete novices!) It is an intensive 3 day workshop. Learn more >> here <<.
Don’t Do It Alone
If you are keen to become involved in internet marketing, my advice is to find a mentor, as I did. Finding an expert in the field to get you in touch with the basics, and who can take you to the next level as and when you are ready is vital. Please feel free to contact me for suggestions. Good luck!
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