How I Made My First $100 Online

“It was a dark and stormy night. The wind was whipping the trees into a frenzy of leaves and branches which crashed into the side of the building I was staying in. My mind was screaming for it to be over, but I knew it hadn’t even started. I braced my inner self for the impending doom approaching the building, knowing I would also have to fight myself if my mind broke. I would either come out victorious or die fighting to my last breath. Walking to the door, I opened it. The wind blew through my hair, powerful and threatening enough to knock me over. Rain splashed against my face as I resolutely crossed the threshold and walked out into the storm, seeking the silence beyond.”

Not exactly the introduction you expected to read about right? You probably were expecting me to say something along the lines of “I hacked Facebook and got some massive dough, let me show you my insider secrets!”

No, I am not that kind of person. Nor do I expect to be. I am the kind of guy who provides you with some solid information you can use. I am the kind of guy who wants to document my journey online. I am the kind of guy who wants to give you something of value.

To that end, and in response to the unexpected introduction you just read, here is what I have up to this point.

That introduction is basically what my mind was going through at the time before I started making solid money online. Using allegory is as close as I can come to explaining my predicament at the time without giving away private information.

How did I do it? How did I make my first $100 online?

1. I searched for an Urgent Need

I thought to myself, “What do people need help with? How can I help them?” My thoughts stumbled across Facebook Fan Pages. The more I thought about it, the more I uncovered that I knew alot about Fan Pages that I could teach people and that this was something big enough for companies to have. 400 million targeted potential customers in one place with dirt cheap access to all of them and companies just flirting around the issue? I knew I had to do something.

2. I provided customers with the exact solution

I figured many businesses knew about Fan Pages, but had no idea how to create/maintain/promote one. I also knew of other companies who just jumped in without looking and stepped in a couple problem areas that could have been avoided if they had guidance.

3. I Planned In Advance

Not everything was planned out, but most of it was. I cannot stress this enough when starting out online. You need to have some key aspects planned out, such as name, upsell flow, content, offer, and price, before you start “officially working on it”.

4. I Started Free

When I started putting the wheels into action, people already started coming in, but I wasn’t even finished! I was still in the midst of making my skeleton, which was barely operating at this point, yet people were coming in. I knew at that moment that my idea had paid off and continued with renewed vigor.

5. I Strategically Positioned myself to take advantage of all the Free Traffic/Exposure

In the name, where it was located, and how I started, I strategically positioned everything to take advantage of all the free traffic out there on Facebook. I never spent a penny advertising, they all came to me. This particular step required some thinking on my end to make sure this idea worked, the rest came in all by itself naturally.

6. I converted from Free To Paid

I left the free option open for about two weeks, then shutdown the free offer I had going. I stuck a price tag on it and stuck it back on the shelf. I expected traffic to drop, which it did, but people still came and purchased based on the pricing structure I had planned out beforehand. I even made a cold sale over the phone, which left me energized for at least a week! (Gotta thank Wells Fargo for all that sales training when I was a teller)

7. I Upsold to a Premium Option

Yup, contained within my plan to get their foot in the door was the first small purchase and the subsequent value I added in the content I provided. I wanted to provide them with enough value that they would be happy and clamor for more. Some did, and I gave it to them. They are extremely happy, know exactly what to do, and are all fired up to handle what they have.

What do I do?

I Create Fan Pages.

What do you do?

Can you Run your Business with only an IPad?

That is the question my mentor, Paul Colligan, posed to us recently over Twitter:

Can I run my business for 30 days with nothing but an IPad?

What do you think? Can Paul do it?

I am personally interested in this challenge. Owing to the fact that the IPad is more of a content consumption device than anything else, this will be an interesting twist. I am curious Paul if you, being a content creator extraordinaire, will be able to pull it off with the apps available for the device. I know all the apps are there for you to use, but this will get interesting when you want to do video, take pictures, record your voice, and such. How will that work into your New Media Content Creation Model?

The interesting feature about the IPad, which I foreshadowed in my first post (The Apple iPad. Greatest thing since iSlicedBread?), is that Apple is purposely marketing this as a “content consumption device”. This device, as confused as you may be at this point, is for the content consumer not the content creator. Does anyone besides me and Paul notice this subtle shift?

If you want to keep tabs on what Paul is up to with this challenge and if it actually works, visit:

http://www.paulsipad.com/

#106: Jordan Cooper of Not A Pro Blog Rants on Blogging, Social Media, and Marketing

Today I interviewed Jordan Cooper of NotAProBlog.com

If you are wondering, we will be moving back to our regular schedule soon and I may be mixing the podcast episodes up! (Thinking of having a monthly episode dedicated to interviewing one person similar to this episode)

If you want one-liners, Jordan is stuffed full of them. “Be Real”, “You Blog To Make Money”, and “Start a Blog” are just a few. I also ask him a question regarding marketing and what every single business is doing wrong. You will want to hear his answer if you are a business owner.

Need some inspiration? Read a couple posts from his blog:

What it takes to be an Overnight Failure

How to Win Friends & Influence No One

Putting Your Personality Into Your Passions

To learn more about Jordan or to chat with him via twitter, click on one of the links below:

Blog – NotAProBlog.com
Twitter – @NotAProBlog

Want to Retweet this episode to your Twitter Audience? Click Here.

Lets continue the conversation. Comment below or use these options:

• Toll Free Comment Line: 1-866-867(TMP)-2860
• Send me an e-mail.
• @taylormarek me on Twitter
• Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/taylormarek

Podcast: Play in new window | Download (39.2MB)

Building a Personal Brand vs. an Iconic Brand

You are in the midst of setting up your brand, do you setup an iconic brand or a personal brand? Do you want people to remember you for something you stand for, or remember your brand for something bigger?

All of these decisions are eventually faced in the lifetime of an entrepreneur, often many times during their life. The same idea holds true for bloggers, podcasters, and every other new media vocation.

Why don’t we take a look at two popular brands and break them down. Perhaps it will help you in the decision making process…

McDonald’s

McDonald’s is known for its many fast food hamburger chains scattered across the globe. The initial idea was developed by Dick and Mac McDonald. They wanted to provide a way to give meals to people as quickly as possible. Their equity was purchased by Ray Kroc who then set out to expand it to the four corners of the earth. The result is that McDonald’s is now a worldwide brand worth many billions of dollars. Every kid from Generation Y to the present has McDonald’s branded permanently in their mind because of the mass marketing effort of McDonald’s. Can’t tell me it didn’t pay off well…

What is McDonald’s known for?

• Big Mac – This one product continues to pull in massive sales in part because of a well executed marketing plan.
• Marketing to the younger generation- You get new plastic toys! (Who doesn’t want one when you are little?) Consequently, when you are older you just walk in there out of habit.
• Food tastes good. Yup, nothing like sprinkling sugar on the fries to make them taste better and a soda, juicy burger, and the occasional salad or other goody. Hence why America is now plump as well.
• Affordability. How many times do you walk into McDonalds to find you are dead broke and can’t buy anything? Unless you are dumb enough to forget your wallet when you go in…
• Speedy Service. That was coined by the original owners and still holds true to this day. I’d like to see a system like that somewhere else on the world that is as efficient about what they do than McDonald’s. Personal Opinion Note: If I am short on time, I will go into McDonald’s to buy something fast.

Gary Vaynerchuk

Gary is one of a kind. He is a fireball of energy and strives to answer every question that is thrown at him. He grew up in New Jersey and was always fascinated with business. He started cutting grass, selling flowers, and then selling baseball cards. He was good at it too. Baseball card sales in his high school years amounted to “three thousand bones a weekend“! He then became interested in wine and read every magazine on the subject. He worked as a clerk in a wine shop, then created his own brand, opening a wine shop and then expanding it to unheard of heights. His tactics, as crazy as they were, are what pushed him into the position he holds now. When he stumbled upon new media/social media, he bit into it like a bull dog and refused to let go. Wine Library TV came out of that. Out of all the people I know in this space, Gary defines how New Media and Social Media should looks like.

He is now an accomplished author, video blogger, brand consultant, and speaker. That and he still holds his position at Wine Library. Contrary to what you may think, Gary actually does alot more for his wine company marketing-wise whenever he is interviewed. He has become associated with the wine world.

What is Gary known for?

• One line sayings. Gotta admit I love hearing the “legacy is greater than currency” and “CRUSH IT” quotes he throws out from time to time.
• Explosive Introductions. Yup, Gary is never without one. It turns alot of people off when he hollers his introduction to the video camera, but the rest become excited and engaged in a snap.
• Wine. Gary bleeds wine. It is all he ever talks about, and he knows what he is talking about. His opinion on wine undercuts the rest and brings a new light to it.
• New York Jets. You can’t go long without him speak on the Jets. If is blood is wine, his heart is the New York Jets. He knows everything about them too. He has to if he is to fulfill his dream of buying them.
• Passion. Not a day goes buy that he doesn’t portray it. He loves what he does and wouldn’t trade anything in the world for it.
• Authenticity. Gary is 100% real. Unedited and uncut, every vlog post and winelibrarytv show he has done in one take.
• Personal Branding. Gary epitomizes how personal branding should be done.

What can McDonald’s or Gary teach you about branding?

1. The brand is your defining point. Everything is built off of it.
2. Have a unique story. No one likes the same old bland status quo.
3. Personal brands depend on the person, iconic brands depend on the decisions of the company.
4. If the person dies, their brand will continue on in a solidified state. If the icon dies, so does the company.
5. Icons are remembered for all time, so is a person.
6. Iconic brands become an authority symbol, personal brands become a person.
7. People tend to trust iconic brands as they mature, same with a personal brand. With the personal brand however, a trust level is built with that person.

Hope that helps you out. I for one am enjoying building a personal brand.

Am I missing anything? Am I totally wrong? Is there something you’d like to share? I’ve pulled the soapbox over, would love to hear your two cents.

Multi-Level Marketing Not Multi-Level Advertising

Anyone noticing the shift here?…

It used to be completely different. Business in the 1900’s was all about how many levels we could advertise our product/service on. The internet has completely changed the game, as well as the rapid change in technology. Now we find ourselves with an unlimited amount of levels we can promote our company in. That game has changed and we need to quickly find where we can make the most impact and leverage it.

“But wait” you may be saying right now. “Isn’t marketing and advertising the same thing?” Well…yes, and no.

Advertising is a communication strategy used to persuade the person engaging in the “ad” to take action and to buy from that brand.

Marketing is the process by which companies create value for and build strong customer relationships to ensure brand loyalty and word of mouth distribution with their market base.

Notice the slight but important difference here. (Muaha! And you didn’t think I would flex my communication degree muscles while here in college eh?…)

What did the Industrial Revolution give us? A simpler way to mass produce goods and services at a lower cost. What did the Information Age give us? Well, it kicked down the doors of the Industrial Revolution and said, “Hey, I can do all of that and more for the cost of NOTHING!” What is the Social Media Revolution giving us? It stole the idea presented in the Information Age and scattered it to the far reaches of the globe while giving us the means to connect and share with anyone and everyone across the planet at virtually the speed of light.

What multi-level advertising was to the Industrial Revolution, multi-level marketing is to the Information Age and the Social Media Revolution. You need to stop persuading and start providing value for and building strong relationships with your customers. The persuading will work itself out in the customers’ mind once you have built that relationship.

I worked for the big boys. I know those who have taken this new approach and are now soaring on untold heights. I’ve also watched others flap their “multi-level advertising” wings in vain and plummet straight to the earth below. I know the reason why too, but that is for another post. You’ll have to wait for that to come out…

In the meantime, what are you doing to ensure your multi-level marketing strategy succeeds? Do you even have one?

I’m not giving you the rest of the pie until you’ve consumed your chunk of it and let me know what you thought of it below. You know I love hearing feedback from you guys…

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