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?

Create A Facebook Fan Page

For those wondering, this is a short blast to all who may need one.

I am right now making Facebook Fan Pages for FREE for anyone who may need one. Its for a limited time though, so if you are reading this you need to jump aboard NOW.

Update: Yes, I am true to my word. The free opportunity is no longer. I can still design your fan pages for you, but it will cost a small amount for me to put them together. It is well worth the cost though. Actually, I should really increase the price soon as I am giving them away at a deep discount…

Where should you go? http://createafanpage.com

I’d love to see you on the other side.

-Taylor Marek

What If

What if I had…

• …posted everyday?
• …a new podcast episode every week?
• Would I be more popular?
• Would I be the same?

I deal with these questions all the time. What if I had, what if I hadn’t, would things be different? Honestly, I can say I have no idea. Listening to big name bloggers who say you need to post on a regular basis, I think this blog would be alot bigger then it already is.

But then again, I look at it from this angle. This is a website/blog/podcast on/about/regarding me. TaylorMarek.com is the domain name, not xyzbusiness.com. This is where I make my home online, this is where the hub of all the information is located. If you want to know what is happening in my life, this is where you will find it. Obviously the private things are kept to myself and only shared if you know me as a relative or close friend. If you also want to tap into the wealth of knowledge I have, this is where you can get it.

I love consuming and sharing information. Its just part of who I am. This website is a offshoot, and a big one at that. Now with Twitter and Facebook I can spread the information that much further and that much faster that I could have three years ago. I love the space I am in right now. Let me repeat; I LOVE this space! Where else can you say something and have it fly across the world in a heartbeat with untold millions of people?!?! Old media is crumbling, and new media is on the verge of taking over. Social Media as well has been a powerful influence, scooping news reporters time and again on breaking news before it even becomes “breaking” news! Are you starting to see the bigger picture? This is something that can absolutely flip the world upside down. And this is just the start…

Ok, enough with that little bunny trail. If I get on the topic of old media versus new media, it energizes me like no other and I’ll hop as far down the bunny trail as I can because its just so darn cool!…

Anyways to make a long story short, here is the gist of it. This is a personal blog, and as such comes and goes with the ebbs and flows of my life. Quite honestly I’m humbled you even want to continue following after I haven’t created a new post in a while. I’m grateful you are still here and reading this. This blog/podcast is an amazing part of my life, but even more so that I have someone interested on the other side. I’m completely blown away by that, and it excites me to continue pushing out quality content for you to consume and share with your own friends.

My blog is a reflection of me. If I have alot of things I want to share with you, you will get more information. If there are days I have nothing to say, or am on vacation “rebooting” myself, there won’t be much of anything on this blog. But such is with life. There are times when lots of things are going on, and times where nothing is. I’m sure the same is with your own life. And lets admit it, if someone pushed out something on their personal blog every single day of their life, we’d assume they are a robot. Either that or “need to get a life” (interact offline that is). Not only that, but us the audience would be completely bogged down with the amount of information we’d have to keep up with.

Back when I first created this blog, then started my podcast, I always was mad and frustrated when I couldn’t post on a regular schedule. It would drive me up the wall during the first two years of this website. Eventually I calmed down and looked at it from a level head, now I’m sharing it with you a year later. During the times I didn’t post were some of the busiest days of my life, as well as many serious issues came and went. I would have turned into an angry robot if I had kept the schedule, but since I didn’t, I feel a freedom about it. Its ok if I don’t get around to posting on a daily/weekly schedule, maybe I’ll have something of even better quality that I want to share with you later on. Its all about what is going on with my life. Obviously a Grandfathers death and working out a career path will affect you enough so that you don’t post for a while, but that is life. Life is what you make it out to be, and everything will work out perfectly fine in the end. Are you going to let it paralyze you, or energize you for greater trials ahead?

#99: What is your Question, Derek Media, and Facebook buys Friendfeed

Big BIG Announcements!!

Sponsored by GoToMeeting, try it FREE for 30 days: http://www.gotomeeting.com/techpodcasts

Big moves and changes being made in the Business and Technology sector, you will want to sit down and listen to this one.

Finances: What is your Question?

Now its your turn. Phone line and e-mail are open! 1-866-867-2860

Business: Derek Media

Today I interview Derek Johnson of Tatango on a HUGE ANNOUNCEMENT! http://derekmedia.net/!!

Technology: Facebook buys Friendfeed

Yeah, this changes the game once again. Here is the article: http://www.businessweek.com/technology/content/aug2009/tc20090810_284380.htm?chan=technology_technology+index+page_top+stories

Sponsored by GoToMeeting, try it FREE for 30 days: http://www.gotomeeting.com/techpodcasts

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 (Duration: 29:48 — 27.3MB)

#95: Now is the Hour, 5 Branding Mistakes, and Facebook breaks 250 million

We have an audio comment!

Sponsored by GoToMeeting, try it FREE for 30 days: http://www.gotomeeting.com/techpodcasts

Can’t wait to release this episode, though its in the midst of a festival right across my street. You’ll have to ignore the background noise, but awesome content regardless!

Sammie called in and left an audio comment. His question was regarding this post: America’s Got Talent Tips

Take a listen to find out!

Finances: Now is the Hour

You have all the training you need, but are you going to take action?

Business: 5 Branding Mistakes

Don’t make the same mistakes when building your brand.

http://www.entrepreneur.com/marketing/branding/article200980.html

Technology: Facebook breaks 250 million

Facebook has broken 250 million users and is crushing MySpace in terms of page views, you’ll want to listen to this one!

http://www.computerworld.com/s/article/9135566/Facebook_crashes_through_another_milestone_250M_users?taxonomyId=1

Sponsored by GoToMeeting, try it FREE for 30 days: http://www.gotomeeting.com/techpodcasts

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 (Duration: 26:58 — 24.7MB)

Next Page »