Replace Your Lost Income with a Successful Online Business
If you're just starting out in your career, the thought of losing income is not a welcome one. And that’s understandable — who wants to have to find other means of supporting themselves when working full time? Fortunately, what you can do about this situation is put some effort into finding a new way to supplement your income. If you really want to make this change for the better and achieve success from it, here are some ideas on how to maximize your potential:
1) Invest in products or services that align with personal interests (ex. speaker biz, upcycling).
2) Hire someone else with skills that complement yours and offer them an alternative type of work arrangement (ex. independent contractor arrangement).
3) Choose to blog and use the traffic you get to sell a service. (ex. affiliate product placement)
4) Use your passion or online talents to attract income via advertising or affiliate product placement.
5) Before fully committing to one of the above options, determine if you'll be able to handle it responsibly — if not, save your money for something less stressful.
For anyone who has already taken an interest in blogging as a way to make money, there are probably 1,000 articles out there that can tell you how best to get started — I won't attempt another one in this article. I will, however, list the tasks I complete on a consistent basis that help secure my income from this venture.
Things I do every week to keep my blog moving forward:
1) Write at least 1 post every day. This is critical for two reasons: 1) it keeps people coming back for more and 2) it gives you more opportunities to promote your products and services.
2) Expand your blog by writing guest posts, getting involved in social media, or investing in other blogs. The more exposure you get, the more likely you are to reach a larger audience. In turn, that can lead to higher profits!
3) Attend networking events or build an online community around your niche (ex. Facebook group). Both of these things can help you expand your name recognition. If people have heard of you, they're more likely to trust what you say and may feel inclined to buy your products or services.
Things I do every day to keep my blog moving forward:
1) Respond to comments from my previous posts. If a comment is particularly interesting, I'll add it as an update to the original post so that it always has a place on the blog entry. This helps people know that a real person runs the blog and keeps them coming back for more in the future!
2) Browse through other blogs in search of topics for potential guest posts (ex. other bloggers asking for suggestions!). If you're able to submit a guest post, it can lead to more exposure — which, in turn, leads to more opportunities to promote your products and services.
3) Visit some of my favorite blogs and comment on their previous posts. When someone notices that you took the time to comment on their recent work, they may want to return the favor by commenting on one of your entries.
4) Promote your blog through social media and email (ex. Twitter, Facebook, LinkedIn, etc.). Both of these can form relationships with your potential audience. They'll also help spread the word about what you have to offer.
5) Build up an online reputation in your chosen niche (ex. by using Twitter to follow people who are active in the industry), as this can help lead potential customers to you. If people feel they can trust what you say and that you're a reliable customer, they're more likely to purchase from you.
6) Keep a list of products or services that interest you and create content based on that premise (ex. home decor). For example, if you have a knack for home decorating ideas, you could create content that talks about homes that are done up in a certain way. This will give others a reason to come back to your blog and read about your work.
Chapter 17 – Advice for Common Internet Marketing Mistakes
Your business is worth more than just the money you make from it! It's worth the opportunity to help someone else live their dream! I hope you've been inspired by some of the lessons and ideas shared in this book, but there are numerous other ways to use what has been covered so far. The good news is that most of these are pretty well within reach (and totally avoidable).
Just because you have been successful in the past, doesn't mean you can't make mistakes. Successful people are human too and sometimes things happen. That's why I wrote this article — to help you avoid as many unnecessary headaches as possible.
Plan for the Future — The best time to prepare for the future is at this moment, but many don't do it, thinking it will be easier or more fun later on. Don't fall into that trap! You have a lot of opportunities to make money online, but they won’t last forever. If you don’t have the time now to build a plan, start getting organized, or make investments that will pay off in the future, don’t delay it. If you think your business will be more fun later on, you’re wrong – it will never be as good as it could be right now.
Don't Depend on Just One Source of Income — Have at least 3 streams of income coming in every month with at least one that can replace your current job. If you find yourself relying on just one source of income, you'll put your freedom at risk and take away your ability to spend time with those who matter most to you.
Invest in Yourself — I'm not talking about spending a lot of money on new equipment or software for your blog - I mean investing in yourself. You aren't going to be able to reach your full potential if you don't invest time and energy into yourself. Learn something new every day, practice your skills, and do whatever it takes to improve (even if it's only a little bit).
Take Advantage of the Tools Available Online — There are many tools you can use to organize and keep track of information online for free. In addition, you'll have access to a variety of other people who can help you with marketing and social media strategy.
Conclusion
I hope this book has opened your eyes to all the opportunities out there for you! If you are looking for a new opportunity and feel overwhelmed, do what I did. Eliminate everything that isn’t inline with your goals or interests — then focus on the remaining few.
As you become better at implementing what you read in this book and start earning money from it, don’t stop – keep going! Success breeds more success. It doesn’t happen overnight, but if you work hard enough and stay determined, nothing can stop you.