Getting Started Online - Simple Steps For the Newbie, Part One

Yep, I've Been there, done that, and I want to make it easy for you to see your way clearly to making some money online. I know, I know, we all hear stories of those "internet millionaires," and there are many, but most of us realize that it would make such a difference to make a couple thousand online each month! I mean, that would free up a car payment, apartment rent, or a house payment, along with dinner out and dessert to boot. So, let's bring our expectations down to the possible for the time being. Later, you can link your starter project into bigger arenas for bigger profits. Agreed? Here's your plan.

Step One: You need to sell something of value. Specialized information is what sells well on the internet, so for the purposes of this tutorial, that is your product. What kind of specialized information? Well, what pushes your buttons? Do you like snowboarding, breeding dogs, collecting vintage jewelry, visiting state parks, mountain biking, or another interesting uncommon hobby? Are you a parent, a nurse, a mechanic, teacher, nutritionist, realtor, or coach? What is it you do or are that you can see building an information business around? That's the ticket to selecting where to look for your product.

Step Two: You now must create or find a product that you can sell. To create a product, you would assemble the knowledge you have in a particular field, organize it logically, and write an ebook, make a video, or make an audio presentation of that knowledge. To find a product, you would look for an ebook or other downloadable info product in the area that interests you, and re-sell it, or become an affiliate for it. You can find several sites online that allow you to purchase an ebook to sell. Be sure you buy one with private license rights (PLR) so you can put your own name as the author on your website. Don't worry that this is plagiarism; the authors have signed away their rights for compensation, and have probably gone on to create other products! If you wish to go the affiliate route, go to ClickBank or Commission Junction, and sign up to promote other people's products. When the product sells because of your recommendation, you get a small percentage. ClickBank has an informative overview of how the site operates and pays you that would be helpful to review. Next, you'll need to promote your product, and for that, you'll need a website.

Step Three: Make your own website! Start at a site that offers a free template to put your text into; google "free website templates" to locate several. Play around with what you want to say about your product until you are satisfied with the look and the message. You can also practice inside Microsoft Word, then just copy and paste your work into a free template at the site of your choice.

Step Four: Create a domain name related to your product so people know what you are selling. For example, if you are giving advice in an ebook to pet owners who want better-behaved dogs, you might create the domain name gooddoggie.com. You will have to purchase the name of your site, and therefore you will have to see if it is available. Someone may already have named his site gooddoggie, and paid for the privilege of keeping that name exclusively for his site. Purchasing a name (a very small yearly cost and sometimes free with hosting) is like purchasing a copyright; it insures only you can use it. There are websites that help you configure a domain name by using your choice of words in several combinations, and it may be useful--and amusing--to test your keywords here. Now it's time to choose a hosting service, and that is discussed in part two of this article in the following four of our eight newbie steps to online business launching.