How to Use Google Display Ads to Take a Marketing Campaign to the Next Level

In order to get more sales, it is absolutely critical to drive traffic. Without traffic, there are no customers, and without customers there are NO SALES.

Traditionally, a brick and mortar company could rely (to an extent) on foot traffic and word of mouth. These days, though, word of mouth isn’t enough and—for online businesses—foot traffic does not exist.

This is why ads are so important. In order to compete in today’s online marketplace and in order to truly stand out, marketers need to produce stellar ads that excite and entice their audiences.

Running ads may seem like a challenge, and there can be a bit of a learning curve. Still, they are actually easier to run than most people would think—especially when running ads through platforms like Google.

Google gives marketers a comprehensive platform, from which they can tailor the perfect ads for their needs.

One of the most powerful types of ads that Google offers is their display ads. Google Display Ads allows you to seamlessly run an online marketing campaign leveraging the power of banner ads.

Banner ads have been utilized since the early days of the internet, and they are still an extremely popular and powerful tool that can produce real results.

In order to take full advantage of Google Display Ads, it’s important to understand more about:

• What the platform is.
• How it works.
• What types of businesses will benefit from it.
• What types of ads are available.
• How to target.
• How to leverage metrics to increase efficiency.

Google Display Ads has helped me to dramatically increase the traffic to my sites, which has in turn led to thousands of dollars in sales that I never would have seen without these ads.

Any marketer that is not using this extremely useful tool is truly doing themselves a disservice…

Let’s take a quick moment to better understand what Google Display Ads are, to create a better understanding of what exactly it is that I am talking about…

What Are Google Display Ads? 

Google Display Ads, put simply, are a sub-section of Google Adwords. This means marketers can actually create Google Display ads using the same platform as the rest of their Google Ads campaigns.

Through Google Display Ads, advertisers can create flawless banner ads that are either focused on an image, or an image mixed with text that can be added in Google Display Ads when the ad is created. We’ll get into that in more depth in a moment.

Essentially, for visual ads that draw the attention of potential customers, Google Display Ads are an invaluable tool.

Why Google Display Ads? 

What is it that makes Google Display Ads such an invaluable tool? And why use banner ads at all?

To answer the first question, Google Display Ads allows marketers to reach a large audience, with a low barrier of entry. With as little as $10-20 per day, marketers have access to a market of nearly 90% of internet users from all around the world.

This means the potential reach of literally millions of people!

On top of that, Google Display Ads allows you to run ad campaigns that are based around clicks, instead of just impressions. This means that not only will you reach millions of people, but you will also have a much higher chance of actually converting these potential customers.

While this all sounds amazing, there is also the issue of banner blindness. This refers to the tendency for users to ignore banners—which leads a lot of marketers to avoid banner ads altogether.

This is a mistake, because while banner blindness does exist, there is an easy way around it…

Have a great banner ad!

As long as ads are able to really reach the right audience and catch their attention, a marketer can still get lots of clicks. The key is to create ads that reach the preferred audience, and to target those ads properly. We’ll get into targeting in a little bit.

To defeat banner blindness, ads need to stand out. They don’t need to be over-the-top, but they do need to get the customer to stop for a moment and look at what is being offered.

There are a variety of ways to do this, including:

• Sales
• Specials
• Time-Sensitive Materials
• Appealing Images
• GREAT AD COPY

It’s also extremely important to consider the sheer magnitude of a Google Display Ads campaign, and where customers can be reached. Using banner ads and Google Display Ads, potential customers are shown ads through:

• Blogs
• Articles
• Video Services
• Apps
• Even Emails!

Essentially, any website owners that have opted into Google AdSense may end up showing your ad (as long as the targeting fits).

While all of this sounds great, the question remains…

“Will this work for my business?”

What Types of Businesses Benefit from Google Display Ads 

There are a variety of different types of businesses that can find success advertising using Google Display Ads. Here are a few of them:

eCommerce

Because of the physical nature of the product, banner ads can work amazingly well for eCommerce businesses.

If a business owner is selling a particular product and they know how to target properly, they can put their product on display in front of people that are interested in that exact thing.

Consider someone that is selling shoes online.

A banner ad featuring stylish shoes that are on sale can drive an incredible amount of traffic, made up of customers that love shoes or are at least in the market for a stylish pair of shoes.

eCommerce and banner ads are a perfect fit.

Affiliate Products and Digital Products

Ads for affiliate products can be more tricky, but they can still work. Just keep in mind that the page that the customer lands on has to be part of a full website, and not just a static sales page. Google frowns upon static sales pages.

With that in mind, affiliate product and digital product ads can be displayed with visuals that help the customer to see the results the product will provide for them. 

Service Related Businesses

While services may not seem like they would translate to a visual ad, they actually can quite easily.

By showing the services in action or the results, the marketer can catch the potential customer’s attention, and can remind them of a service that they need provided. This, in turn, can lead to a click.

Most businesses can benefit from banner ads, if the ads are effective and well-targeted.

How Google Display Ads Works 

So, Google Display Ads banners work…now what? How do they work? And what does a marketer need to understand about running these ads?

Here are some things to consider when getting a Google Display Ads campaign off the ground… 

Where Ads Will Show

The first thing to keep in mind when running ads on Google Display Ads is where the ads will show. Before even getting into the details of how to run an ad, it’s important to understand more about how the audience will view the ad.

Ads can be shown in a variety of places, as we discussed before. In order to tailor ads for the audience, these different ad placements need to be kept in mind.

It’s also necessary to understand how the process works for the companies that are running the ads on their websites.

First, website owners will open up advertising space for Google to sell using AdSense – a platform website owners use to monetize their traffic.

From there, Google sells the ad spot to advertisers. They then split the profits with the website owner.

In order to get ad space, a marketer needs to create an ad, and then bid on the placement of the ad. Think about it like buying real estate. Whoever pays the most generally wins the bid.

Keep in mind that Google doesn’t just look at the bid price, though…they also look at the quality of the bid and use that information to find what they consider to be the best ads for their users.

If Google sees two bids and one is lower—but Google believes the ad and the website the ad is driving consumers to is higher quality—Google may actually opt for that ad instead of the higher bidder.

Bidding Options

There are a few different bidding options that are available to marketers when they are running ads.

Some of these options include:

1. Viewable CPM (Costs per Thousand Impressions). This is where a marketer pays X amount of dollars for every 1,000 times an ad is seen.

2. CPC (Costs per Click). This involves bidding and paying a certain amount per user click.

3. CPA (Costs per Acquisition). This involves the marketer paying a certain amount per user action. This is only used after generating over 50 actions.

Marketing Objectives

The bidding option that the marketer should choose should depend on their end goals.

For instance, if an ad campaign is based around exposure and getting a brand out there, impressions may be the most effective bidding option. If the goal is for the consumer to take action, though, CPC may be the way to go.

This doesn’t mean a marketer is forced to only run one form of campaign. Multiple campaigns can be created with different ad sets and ads. Still, it is important to have a better understand, for each ad, of what needs to be accomplished.

Take a look at the end goal of the marketing campaign, then bid based on what option will best help to reach that goal.

Targeting

Targeting is extremely important for reaching the exact audience a marketer wants to reach.

Back when marketers relied on old media, the way to target was to run ads on radio stations or TV networks that may have a similar audience to the product that was being sold.

Things have changed. Now audiences can be directly targeted based on a variety of factors.

Even banners have changed.

Where before people would erect billboards that were displayed to a very large general audience, now online billboards (banner ads) can be displayed to EXACTLY the right people.

There are a variety of different types of targeting that all marketers should be aware of, as well as different audiences that should be considered. Let’s start with choosing the right audience.

The Perfect Audience  

The audience a marketer chooses for their ad campaign will fundamentally change the effectiveness of their ad or ads.

Keep in mind that the broader the audience is, the more likely it is to waste money. Even if the goal of the ad is impressions, getting a bunch of impressions from the wrong people is essentially useless.

Instead, ads should be highly focused, reaching the audience that will be most likely to interact, view the ad and take action when the time comes.

It’s important to note that the more targeted the ad is, the less people it is likely to reach. At the same time, though, the more targeted the ad is, the better chances of that ad reaching the right people.

Here are some aspects of targeting that are important to consider when building the perfect audience:

1. Age. Not all products or services are appropriate for all ages. If a business owner is selling a product designed specifically for elderly people, having a younger audience view the ads would be a waste of money.

Instead, an ad should be targeted to reach the right age demographic of potential buyers.

2. Gender. There are some products that both genders will benefit from. That said, many offers are gender specific.

For instance, you are more than likely wasting your time trying to sell men’s boxer-briefs to women!

Consider which gender (if not both) would benefit most from a product or service before running an ad.

3. Location. Some products appeal to customers in certain locations. For instance, snow boots are effectively useless in Miami, Florida.

If a company is international, it’s also important to consider which countries would be more likely to purchase a product. If the product is an eBook that is written in English, Mexico may not be where you want to focus the majority of your ads.

4. Interests. One of the most overlooked demographics that people should consider more are their audience’s interests.

Interests are an amazing way to ensure that the right people that are actually interested in a product or service see the ads.

If an entrepreneur is selling headphones, for instance, then music is an extremely important interest to consider.

Interests allow marketers to get highly specific with their ads—allowing them to reach the perfect audience.

Different Types of Targeting

Not only are there different audiences that can be selected when running Google ads, but there are also different types of targeting. These different targeting types allow marketers to reach the right audience based on a variety of specific factors.

The different types of targeting include:

Topics. Google has used their network to determine the topics of different apps, videos and websites that have opted in to AdSense.

Marketers can actually run ads on websites, apps and more based off of the specific topics that Google has created categories for. This means the ability to reach sites that are in the same sphere that a marketer is looking to advertise in.

Affinity. This type of targeting is based around users that Google considers to be long-term potential customers.

In-Market. In-market audiences are audiences that Google considers ready-to-buy. These are people that are already interested in what a marketer is selling, and simply need a nudge in the right direction.

Remarketing. This type of targeting involves retargeting people that have already visited a website before. These people have shown interest, and may simply need a reminder of what they are missing out on, or a special deal to get them in the figurative “door.”

Placement. When a marketer is looking to run ads on a specific website, placement ad targeting is the way to go. With placement ad targeting, a marketer can actually choose the URL that they want their ad to appear on.

With a mixture of the right types of targeting and the right audience, an ad campaign can go from getting mediocre results to creating amazing results that lead to massive sales.

Keep in mind, though, that this requires a marketer to know what their ideal audience should look like.

Part of this will come from making certain assumptions based on the brand that has been built. The other part will involve taking a deep look at the metrics from different campaigns, split-testing and seeing which audiences and targeted ads come out on top.

Understanding Metrics

In order to grow a marketing campaign while also saving money, it’s important to understand how to read the ongoing metrics from the every ad campaign.

By running ads and then taking a look at the metrics, I have been able to make the changes needed to reach the perfect audience—which is the audience that is much more willing to click, consider and eventually buy.

The best marketers in the world understand the importance of looking over the metrics that they receive throughout each ad campaign, so they are able to use that data to tweak and grow.

It is extraordinarily rare that people run the best ad possible on their first go around. Even I continue to view the metrics from my ads and split-test for better results…

There could be a variety of different issues with an ad, and it’s only by looking over where the ad failed and where it succeeded that changes can be made.

Here are some things to consider when looking over the metrics of an ad campaign…

The Metrics to Look For 

There are a few key metrics that should be considered with an ad campaign. These include:

Impressions. It’s important to see how many people have seen an ad, to get a better idea of the reach at a certain price point.

Clicks. If the ad isn’t getting any clicks, it’s not worth throwing money at. The amount of clicks should be considered alongside the…

CPC (Cost per Click). The average CPC should be low. If it creeps up too high, some changes need to be made to bring it down.

Conversion. It’s not enough to see the ad. People need to click through, and eventually become customers. Consider what conversion the ad is getting, to see how the advertising costs stack up with the actual conversions.

Audience/Demographics Reception. This is extremely important when it comes to making changes to who exactly is seeing the ad, and what changes can be made to boost the effectiveness of the ad.

Actually, I want to take a moment to discuss audience and demographics reception a little more in-depth…

While it’s extremely important to make sure not too much is being spent on each click, it’s also useful to take a look at who exactly is interacting with each ad.

A lot of advertisers will start an add thinking that a large variety of people will view and interact with that ad, but then find that only a certain group of people do. When this is the case, adjustments can be made.

A marketer may advertise to 18-50 year old customers, only to find that the customers 25-35 are the ones clicking the most. They may find that the 18-24 crowd isn’t clicking at all. If this is the case, there is no use wasting money trying to reach an audience that doesn’t care.

On the other hand, if the marketer believes that a certain demographic still would benefit, then changes to an ad may need to be made.

For instance, to reach the 18-24 crowd, an ad may need to be changed so it is more youthful and appeals to a younger audience.

All of this leads to another aspect of advertising that will take a Google Display Ads campaign from good to great…

Split-Testing

Any good internet ad campaign should include some form of A/B testing.

Without getting too far into the weeds, split-testing involves running two or more similar ads, and seeing what the results are for each ad. Then, whatever ad performs the way that the marketer intends better can be tested again against another ad with small changes.

The goal is to find the ads that convert the highest.

This can only be accomplished by looking at the metrics of an ad and seeing where it succeeded or failed.

Scaling Up

The last thing I wanted to discuss with metrics is scaling up.

Once a successful ad is found, it can be scaled in a variety of ways to make sure that it reaches a bigger audience.

Some ways to scale up are:

1. Trying new topics, keywords and interests.

2. Reformatting successful ads.

(For instance, an ad may work well as a square ad, and a marketer can then try reformatting it to be a banner ad.)

3. Remarketing and selling new products to the same audience.

4. Increasing budget steadily over time.

5. Changing the bidding type to reach new objectives.

Through proper scaling, an entrepreneur will find that their business continues to grow, and that their ads make them more and more money!

The Future of Banner Ads

Google Display Ads are the present and future of banner ads. They allow for a heightened level of campaign customization, and they help to ensure that marketers get the most impressions, clicks and conversions for their dollars.

When it comes time to run ads, consider what we’ve discussed in this blog. Then, create an ad.

Once the ad goes live, start paying attention to the metrics, and see how the targeting, placement and overall campaign parameters are working for the ad. If the ad isn’t successful, don’t give up on it completely! Try making some changes to the audience, copy and more.

A few small tweaks may be all that is necessary to take an ad from good to great.

Start considering how display ads can be implemented to build your business to new levels, then put together the best display ad campaign possible through Google Display Ads.

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19 Ways To Consistently Create Awesome Content That’ll Get People Coming Back To Open Your Emails, Visit Your Blog, And Watch Your Videos

No matter what corner of the internet we visit, we see content.

Content is everywhere.

And there is no way to truly engage an audience and embark on an internet marketing campaign without it. Why? Because…

Content Is King

Let’s face it. We live in the information age.

This means information is currency. And content IS information!

The need to provide information via good content has completely changed the face of marketing and the way we think about our online presence.

Nothing else matters (marketing, social media…etc.) without great content. While this applies to any industry, it is especially true when it comes to Affiliate Marketing, Email Marketing, and Digital Publishing.

Just think about why people go online. Most of the time they are looking for information. They are actively searching for quality content.

And there is SO MUCH content out there! So much information!

Anyone who wants to stand out and get noticed has to break through the noise and give people exactly what they’re looking for. The information has to be delivered in an appealing package.

But it can be difficult to know where to start. There are so many media and methods through which to deliver content. Knowing which to use and how to ensure people receive and read it can seem overwhelming.

However, creating great content is NOT as difficult as it might appear.

At Lurn, we have been delivering quality content for many years. Through this, we’ve learned the best ways to do it. And now we are going to share those methods…

15 Ways To Consistently Create Awesome Content

When creating content, it has to be done well.

Garbage content can do more harm than good.

Content has to capture attention, engage the audience, and provide value.

Fortunately, there are lots of ways to accomplish this. Here are 15 ways to consistently create and deliver awesome content to prospects, subscribers, and anyone else looking for it.

Let’s dive right in…

1. Answer the Big 3 Questions

People are bombarded with information all day every day. They don’t get a break from it unless they completely unplug. And unplugging isn’t an option for most people.

In order to stand out and get noticed in the midst of this information overload, it is critical to make the content relevant to the audience. To do this, three critical questions must be answered:

• Why should I care? People won’t bother with information unless they see a good reason to—unless they are shown why it is important.
• What do I need to know? People don’t want fluff. They want detailed information that tells them exactly what they need to know. Nothing more, nothing less.
• How do I put this into action? People want to know how to put this information into action. How can they use it to make a difference in their life?

Start answering these three questions right at the beginning of the content—right in the heading and introduction. This will hook people and pull them in because they will see the value in it.

2. Be Consistent

Consistency is a great credibility builder!

In this chaotic world, people like consistency whenever they can get it. They want to be able to depend on things to go in a predictable way.

This is why any content that is published must be done so consistently. This means a consistent niche, consistent voice, consistent method of delivery, and consistent timing.

This last one is very important. It’s important to release new content on a regular basis. This helps build a following. When people know to expect a blog post to come out every Sunday, they will count on that. And they will be looking for it.

This consistency also helps with SEO. The more regularly content is published, the more readily it will be picked up by search engines.

But ultimately, the best reason to be consistent is that consistency builds trust. People know they can trust the person behind the content and this builds a brand. It builds a community around the content. It builds a relationship.

And nothing is more important than building a relationship with the consumer.

3. Stop Being a Perfectionist

Perfection isn’t necessary for creating great content. The important thing is to get the content out there. Make it available to the masses—NOW!

Yes, content has to be of high quality. But it doesn’t have to be perfect. It doesn’t need to look like Shakespeare wrote it. The key is to find a balance —high enough quality that people feel it is valuable, but not so time-consuming that it takes a month to write one piece of content.

Build the habit of taking action. Get writing. Get creating. Get that content out there!

After all, it doesn’t matter how perfect it is if no one ever sees it.

4. Be Conversational

Content should be written in a conversational manner.

If the content is stiff and formal, it won’t draw people in. Content written that way is hard to follow. It makes it difficult to hold people’s attention.

No one wants to read a boring essay.

Instead, deliver content in a casual way. Like talking to a friend. People are far more likely to respond well to information delivered by a friend than information delivered by a stuffy authority figure.

And it is absolutely critical that the content catches people’s attention!

This starts with the very first words that are written. It starts with the title or headline. Say something that will make people stop and think. Make it controversial or ask them a question. Go against the grain.

People will turn a blind eye to the same old, same old. They don’t have time for that. They’ve seen it before. But if people are curious enough, shocked enough, intrigued enough, they will stay with the content until the end. They will engage with it. They will see the value in it.

5. Be Unique

Cookie cutter personas, opinions, and content will fail—miserably.

It is so important to STAND OUT, to be different from the rest of the content out there.

On a beach, all the sand looks the same. It’s the grain of sand that is a unique color, size, and shape that stands out and gets noticed.

Be unique. Have a unique angle on a topic, a unique tone of voice, a unique style.

This uniqueness will develop over time, but start developing it right from day one. Create an identity people will know and admire. This will result in a unique brand that people will love and be loyal to.

6. Be Authentic

This goes hand in hand with being unique.

Be authentic. Be real. Be transparent.

You don’t have to pretend to be the world’s biggest expert if you’re not. As long as you can provide value and help people, that’s what counts.

You don’t have to try to be a serious academic type if you’re not. If you think about it, most successful people aren’t serious academic types at all! They’re just genuinely themselves!

Being authentic will get more people to relate to you. When more people relate to you, you start connecting and building relationships. And this leads to avid followers and loyal customers.

7. See What’s Viral

Create content people are actually looking for.

How do you know what people are looking for? Just look at the content that has gone viral.

This is what people really want. Check out sites like BuzzSumo to get ideas. Look at what’s trending on social media platforms like Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram.

Content that is viral is what people are really interested in. Take advantage of that! Ride the wave of viral content.

But don’t COPY the content. The key is to find the content, then make it unique. Own it. Leverage relevant viral content and put an original spin on it. This will make it stand out and get noticed.

8. Use Copywriting Strategies

Being a good copywriter is critical to creating exceptional content.

Copywriting is actually the basis of both creating great content and selling anything online.

Great content must be engaging and enticing. And this is achieved through using the principles of copywriting.

But remember, this isn’t about perfection.

It’s about hooking people’s attention with a great headline. It’s about telling them a story that will allow them to relate and feel a connection. It’s about having a flow to the content that carries them through it in a logical, yet engaging way.

And here’s some good news!

We’ve systematized the process of becoming a good copywriter. We’re offering a free copywriting workshop to help anyone become a great copywriter: Free Copywriting Bootcamp

This copywriting bootcamp is designed to teach the principles of copywriting in the form of a simple system that anyone can implement in any copywriting situation. Make sure to sign up for it to be able to really create great content.

And once copywriting is learned, it is valuable for life. It can be honed and used again and again and again.

9. Have Calls to Action

Even though content is designed to deliver information, it should still get people to take action.

Calls-to-action are important in any piece of content. Does this mean asking people to purchase a course for $500? No.

Start small. Get people to make micro-commitments.

This could be as simple as putting a newsletter sign-up form at the end of an article.

When people make micro-commitments, each of these actions builds momentum. One commitment leads to the next, which leads to the next and so on. Each commitment can be slightly greater than the one before it. As they make these micro-commitments, they begin to build trust.

And this makes them ready for larger purchases down the road.

10. Give Away the Best Stuff

People love getting things for FREE.

The key is to give things away that are so valuable that people say to themselves, “If this is what I’m getting for free, what kind of amazingness do I get if I pay?”

Of course, all of the content is free. Just be sure to put out free content that is better than most people’s paid content. This will really impress the audience and keep them coming back. It will earn their loyalty and trust.

Just don’t get greedy.

Ultimately, we all want to earn money. But trying to soak it out of people for every little thing you produce will only backfire. Get people to trust and gain their loyalty with the free content and they will become paying customers later on.

11. Mix Up Different Kinds Of Content

Switch things up!

The same kind of content all the time will get boring. And when people get bored, they leave.

There are so many different kinds of content that can be created and shared.

Written content can come in many forms, such as:

• Blog posts
• Reports and white papers
• Emails
• Newsletters
• Mini-eBooks

Audio content is a great way to get people onboard and interested. This could come in the form of audiobooks, guided meditations or podcasts.

Podcasts are particularly hot right now. Examples of content that can be delivered via podcast include:

• Stories
• Interviews
• Commentary
• Newscast

Video content is used a lot here at Lurn. It can be highly effective and can include content such as:

• Webinars
• Product demonstrations
• Interviews with employees and customers
• Presentations, workshops, and seminars
• Face-to-camera videos discussing various topics

The key is to experiment and find out what works best, what the audience responds to.

Just keep things varied. This way, the audience will enjoy different ways of learning the information that is shared. It will keep them engaged and coming back for more.

12. Make the Content Easy and Desirable to Share on Social Media

Keep the content simple and make it shareable!

Content should be easy to share on social media because that’s where people spend a huge chunk of their time. It is critical to ask this key question, “Would someone want to share this content with all of their friends?”

Sharable social media content can come in the form of:

• Tweetable quotes
• Video introductions or product reviews
• Podcasts
• Interviews
• Tutorials
• Case studies
• Top 10 lists
• Statistics
• Screenshots
• Slideshow presentations

To help make this content shareable, it has to be appealing and easy to share. This can be accomplished by doing the following:

• Have easy sharing buttons
• Make it visually appealing so it catches the eye
• Ensure it is valuable and practical
• Affirm people’s beliefs
• Offer rewards for sharing
• Allows people to gain social credibility by sharing
• Make it intriguing or shocking
• Gets people involved in some way (make them feel like they’re a part of something)

The more the content goes viral, the more people will know the brand and the person behind it. And this will generate a loyal following that will be more likely to spend money down the road.

13. Presentation Matters

Content has to look good or people won’t even notice it.

Remember, people are bombarded with content 24/7. There is all sorts of content out there. To stand out from the background noise, it is critical that the content be presented in a professional manner. Why?

Because it’s important to appear credible and trustworthy. People will engage if they feel they can trust the source of the content.

To give content a professional look, present information in appealing, easy-to-read ways. Use images, infographics, and charts. The visual appeal of these tools cannot be overstated. They engage the audience and guide them through the content in a linear manner—which is how the human mind works.

These tools also help enhance the next point…

14. Visual Flow

Written content has to be easy to skim.

Let’s face it. People are busy, and whenever they see written content, they will skim, rather than read the entire thing.

Making the content easy to skim means using a lot of sub-headlines and bullet points. Make sure the gist of the entire story can be understood simply from the sub-headlines.

Then, if the reader is intrigued enough and sees the value, they will go back and actually read.

The diagrams and charts mentioned above will help in the overall visual flow and appeal of the content. The content truly has to look good. It has to catch and hold the eye. Use bold, italics, and underline. Use color and CAPITALIZATION. Make certain words and sentences stand out.

All of this increases the visual appeal of the page and keeps people reading.

15. Use Resources for Writing and Design

No one has to do it all alone when creating content!

There are professionals out there who can do a lot of the work.

Freelance writers and designers can be hired for fair prices from sites like Upwork, Guru, iWriter, and Fiverr. These people can do all the leg work of creating the content.

When studying other people’s content, it is easy to get audio and video transcribed. Go to Rev.com for transcription at a fair price. This tool can also be used to get thoughts out of the head and onto the screen.

When making screen-captured video content, Camtasia and Screen-Cast-O-Matic are incredible. And for making free, high-quality audio recordings, Audacity is awesome.

These are tools we use all the time here at Lurn. The key here is to leverage the talents and skills of experts. These people are professionals who can lighten the load and ensure the content is high-quality and ready to go.

16. Tap Into New Ways Of Reaching People

Keep your eyes out for new opportunities.

They’re everywhere!

And this is exactly what successful entrepreneurs do. They’re always on the lookout.

There are so many ways of connecting with people. And new ways are popping up on a daily basis.

These can be social media platforms, new strategies for existing platforms, new marketing methods or even using new technologies.

Here are some ideas:

• Answering questions on Quora
• Posting on Steemit (a new, innovative social media platform)
• Crowdfunding a project
• Creating a branded podcast
• Advertising on podcasts
• Facebook messenger marketing
• Doing Facebook Live videos
• Using influencer marketing

By tapping into new ways of reaching people, you’re obviously going to reach more people.

It’s also going to result in being viewed as an innovator, building a larger audience and providing more opportunities to connect with potential customers.

17. Go Live

Live videos are a new way to reach A LOT of people on social media.

Facebook and Instagram added a live video feature in 2016. And it’s emerging as the best way to engage with people on social media.

Here’s why…

It’s LIVE – It’s a raw, uncut glimpse into a brand.

Live videos get a wider reach – Facebook Live videos, for example, appear as notifications for everyone who follows your page. This is not the case with regular posts, which are typically seen by a small percentage of a page’s following.

Live videos are engaging – People can comment and ask questions while the live video is going on. This makes it far more interactive than traditional posts.

Live videos are great for building relationships. And because they have a wide reach too, they’re a great tool for building a big, engaged audience that eventually become paying customers.

18. Build A Network

You don’t have to do it all alone.

Leveraging the help of others will greatly accelerate success. It creates a synergistic effect.

Having a network of likeminded people will give you more ideas, more accountability, more exposure and more reach with everything you do.

Here are some ways to tap into the network effect:

• Guest blogging
• Swapping social media shares
• Partnerships
• Mastermind groups

19. Model Other People’s Success

Learn from other people!

There is no need to reinvent the wheel. Read and watch other people’s videos to get inspiration and ideas. Piggyback off other people’s content.

For example, write a blog post about a great article. But add some original thoughts to the post to make it unique.

But NEVER copy another person’s work!

This cannot be stressed enough. Copying someone else’s work is unethical and illegal. It also keeps you from learning and growing as a business person.

Just allow the work of another person to inspire ideas and offer guidance and direction.

Then be original!

Content is CRUCIAL to the success of any online marketing campaign.

Without great content, there is no engagement with the consumer.

And writing content that delivers valuable information is a simple process.

The key is to make use of these 15 ways to consistently create awesome content. To recap, the 15 ways are:

1. Answer the Big Questions
2. Be Consistent
3. Stop Being a Perfectionist
4. Be Conversational
5. Be Unique
6. See What’s Viral
7. Use Copywriting Strategies
8. Have Calls-To-Action
9. Give Away the Best Stuff
10. Mix Up Different Kinds Of Content
11. Make the Content Easy and Desirable to Share on Social Media
12. Presentation Matters
13. Visual Flow
14. Use Resources for Writing and Design
15. Model Other People’s Success

Following these content strategies will produce a loyal following. It will ensure that people trust the brand. And it will help develop amazing relationships with those people.

This all paves the way for monetizing that content.

Ultimately, that is what internet marketers are aiming to do—make money.

And we can help!

To learn how to make money from these content strategies, join our FREE Digital Bootcamp.

Learn from the experts, people who have spent years developing and sharpening their content skills. People who have made millions delivering content using these very strategies.

What are you waiting for? Sign up for our free Digital Bootcamp today.

See you there!

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How to Get Free Search Engine Traffic & Build a Lucrative SEO Consultant Agency!

ATTN: Lurn Nation! Join Me and Neil Patel LIVE In Orlando, FL March 16-18th for our 3xC Event. Clicks, Conversions, and Clients! Limited Seats Available! https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3YezhpJY1Ig

9 Profitable Online Businesses That Can Be Started For Less Than $500 (Updated For 2018)

Here’s a BIG myth that needs to be busted…

Starting a business costs a lot of money.

That just isn’t true anymore.

Starting a business does NOT have to cost a lot of money. Not these days.

Yet people still have the misconception that it does.

Massive opportunity exists on the internet right now and it’s like nothing we have ever seen. In fact, the internet has completely leveled the playing field.

An individual working out of their living room can now compete with the big players—and they can start their business for less than $500.

Not only is the start-up cost low, but the potential to earn is incredible.

And that’s not all. Because the internet has opened up the entire world, there are so many other advantages to operating an online business:

• The ability to run a business from ANYWHERE.
• Access to consumers from across the globe.
• The ability to sell 24/7, which means making money while sleeping!
• Potential to run multiple businesses at the same time.
• Automation, freeing up the business owner’s time.

There is no other form of business that offers the benefits of an online business.

And all that is needed to start many profitable online businesses is a computer and an internet connection.

With a few basic tools, like web hosting and an email autoresponder, there is no limit to what can be achieved. And these tools are available for less than $30/month.

What can be done with these tools?

There are seven profitable online businesses that are simple to start up for less than $500. And each of these has huge earning potential.

Spoiler alert: I’ve personally used several of these models, and I grew one of them to over $10 million!

The key is to find the right model.

After all, I believe it’s important to start a real business that can last for the long haul.

A business like that has 3 important traits…

1. It Offers Value – If a business doesn’t add value to customer’s lives, then it’s not going to last – and it’ll be a miserable experience trying to keep it going.
2. It’s Scalable – The best online business models (including these 7) can be started on a small scale, even as a part time “side hustle” and eventually grow into a large business.
3. It’s Possible To Systematize – We’re looking for freedom here, not a new job with more responsibility. The best online business models can break the link between time and income, which means more free time for the owner.

The 7 business models below have all 3 characteristics, as long as the right system is implemented.

7 Profitable Online Businesses You Can Start For Less Than $500

Twenty years ago, no one would have guessed that starting a business would be so simple and so inexpensive. Yet today, there are seven online business models that make that possible.

These businesses include:

1. Affiliate Marketing
2. Digital Publishing
3. eCommerce
4. Coaching and Consulting
5. Blogging
6. Amazon Kindle
7. Freelancing and Creating an Agency

There is such variety here. Chances are, anyone can find at least one of these businesses that suits their talents and their interests. There is at least one they will enjoy.

So, let’s go through each one in detail and see what these online business opportunities are all about…

1. Affiliate Marketing

Affiliate marketing is perhaps the easiest, quickest, and best way to start an online business.

Affiliate marketing is basically selling other people’s products and getting a commission for every sale.

I personally recommend getting into affiliate marketing by building an email list. In fact, that’s exactly how I made my first money online.

The first $100 I made online was promoting an affiliate offer. I’ve never been more excited than I was after making that first sale.

Today, I make over five million dollars a year just through affiliate marketing—and affiliate marketing is only a secondary part of my business.

One of the courses I help sell costs $999 and I get a 50% commission on each sale I make. That means that for every course I sell, I take home $499 of pure profit!

It’s also possible to sell affiliate products with a blog, Youtube videos, niche websites, and more.

The best part about affiliate marketing is that there’s no need to create an original product

That means the creator of the product does most of the heavy lifting on the front end. They create the product, the sales pages, delivery for the product, and more.

The role of the affiliate is to simply get new leads to the product’s sales page.

It’s easy to scale— Instead of having to spend a bunch of time creating new products, all affiliate marketers have to do to scale is find new products to promote.

The possibilities for growth are tremendous—There is no limit to the number of affiliate offers that can be promoted. The number of people that can be targeted is staggering.

It doesn’t get any better than that. And I have developed a system anyone can use to get started with affiliate marketing…

3 Simple Steps to Get Started With Affiliate Marketing

Step 1 – Build an Audience

Email marketing is the best way to build an audience. Create a free gift, set up an opt-in page, and drive traffic to that page. These subscribers can then be marketed to for this affiliate offer and any future offers.

Other ways to build an audience include creating a blog or building a following on social media. Building a relationship with followers will make it possible to attract them to the affiliate offer.

Step 2 – Find a Product and Sign Up

To promote a product honestly and genuinely, it is best for an affiliate to actually like and/or use that product.

All the best affiliates search out these types of products and promote them. Because when they like it, they can truly talk about how great the product is. They can sell it with 100% confidence.

Once the ideal product is found, simply sign up for the merchant’s affiliate program. There are marketplaces like Clickbank and JVZoo that make it easy to find and promote affiliate programs.

Check out this post for a giant list of affiliate marketplaces.

Step 3 – Sell and Earn

Once an affiliate is signed up with the merchant’s program, it’s time to sell that product to the audience. A commission will be earned on each sale. And depending on the affiliate program, that commission could be as high as 50%, 60%, or even 70%.

 

But there are some additional things to know that will help bring success to any affiliate marketing efforts…

Keys To Affiliate Marketing Success

These are just a few last tips that will help ensure an affiliate marketing campaign is successful:

Pick the right niche—Pick the most popular niches. These are areas where a lot of people are actively looking for information to solve their problems.

The best niches also have a lot of products to promote. For example, personal development is a niche rich in affiliate products, while politics is not, even though politics excites people’s emotions.

Here are some niche ideas:

• Health
• Dieting
• Fitness
• Personal Development
• Dating
• Pet Training
• Cooking
• And pretty much anything else you can think of!

That’s just the tip of the iceberg, we have a post featuring 77 niche ideas for digital marketing!

Find great offers to promote—The best place to start looking for offers is on websites like ClickBank and JvZoo. These are affiliate sites that are filled with offers to promote.

Build an audience—The best way to build an audience is through email marketing. Create a free gift, create an opt-in page, and bring traffic to the site.

Promote the chosen offers—Develop strong sales copy skills. These skills will allow anyone to write in a way that gets readers to take action.

Affiliate marketing is one of the best (if not the best) ways for somebody who is brand new to online business to get started.

It’s where I started, and it works just as well today as it did back then.

To achieve awesome success in affiliate marketing, start with our FREE Digital Bootcamp.

2. Digital Publishing

Digital publishing is another very powerful online business.

In fact, this is the largest part of what Lurn does!

Digital publishing is about developing and selling information products. These products include things like eBooks, videos, audio recordings, membership programs, and live events. Digital publishing is incredibly flexible. And like affiliate marketing, it is open to any niche.

And it is so much more accessible today than it used to be.

In the past, it was difficult to get into the publishing business. To create information products and ship them was a vast undertaking. It cost a lot of money and took a lot of time to:

• Write
• Produce the product (i.e. type setting and printing)
• Market the product
• Mail it out
• Make corrections if needed (which meant reprinting the product)

These days, the whole process is digital and automated. Selling 1,000 products requires no more effort or resources than selling one product. And that means an increase in profits without an increase in effort.

Plus, once the product is created, that’s it. It will always be there. Product creation is a one-time effort. Even if revisions or updates need to be made, it is a simple matter of making changes to the file.

However, when getting into digital publishing, it is important to go about it the right way…

3 Basic Steps of Digital Publishing

There are three steps anyone starting out in digital publishing should take:

1. Choose a niche—As with affiliate marketing, it is best for the digital publisher to choose something they are passionate about.
2. Create a product—This can be created by the digital publisher or outsourced.
3. Sell the product—Sell to an email list, through a social media following, and through advertising.

Here is an example of the kind of niche and product someone could create. Say they are interested in the dog training niche. This person could:

• Record a few videos that show them training a dog
• Edit these videos using free software
• Package it all into a $37 course

Yes, it really is that simple!

Plus, there are plenty of services these days that will handle payment processing, tracking sales, processing refunds, and anything else associated with selling a digital product. Again, this is so simple.

In fact, the hardest part of digital publishing is the marketing. And for this reason, it is crucial that any digital publisher—and any online business owner—learn copywriting.

Now, before we move onto the next business, I want to stress the massive profit potential of digital publishing. I have created more than 20 seven-figure products using digital publishing.

How awesome is that? And the only expenses associated with digital publishing are:

• Web hosting, such as HostGator or Bluehost
• A website on which to sell the digital product
• A website that delivers the digital product
• An email autoresponder like Sendlane, Aweber, MailChimp or GetResponse

The earning potential with digital publishing is phenomenal. And there is absolutely no reason NOT to do it.

Winning Combination

Digital Publishing is a great complement to Affiliate Marketing. They can actually make each other more effective!

Here’s why. Both Digital Publishing and Affiliate Marketing involve selling information products and building an email list.

With an online brand and an audience, anyone can sell their own digital products, have affiliates promote their products and even promote other people’s products!

For example, someone in the fitness niche might have an online course (their digital publishing product). They can also have other fitness professionals promote that course as affiliates. And since it’s not optimal to promote one product 24/7, they can promote relevant affiliate products to their list as well.

Another super effective blend of Digital Publishing and Affiliate Marketing involves tripwire offers. Tripwire offers are low-ticket offers that get customers in the door. And from there, more expensive offers can be sold.

It’s really hard to get new customers. But it’s easy to turn customers into repeat buyers. Tripwire offers let prospects buy something really inexpensive, to get in the door, and turns them into customers. After taking action with a tripwire offer, people are much more likely to buy something else! That’s the key.

Here’s how it all fits together. An original information product can be a tripwire offer. Then higher ticket affiliate products (and more original products) can be sold to these customers as well.

See the incredible amount of opportunity here?

3. eCommerce

It is also incredibly easy to sell physical products online.

And this is precisely what an eCommerce business does. Just think of Amazon and Ebay. They are the largest examples of eCommerce out there.

In fact, during the last quarter of 2016, Amazon generated over $47 billion in revenue! Just think about that. It just goes to show how big eCommerce is. People ARE shopping online.

But the giants aren’t the only ones making big money from selling products online.

There are many entrepreneurs that make millions of dollars every single year through eCommerce. There are different levels of eCommerce businesses. Some of these people have quite extensive websites, but many of them have simple websites and still make a lot of money.

And some even don’t have their own website! They simply use an eCommerce platform, such as Shopify. Through this platform, they can sell anything and have it shipped right to their customers.

And it has never been easier to start an eCommerce business.

With the right system, an eCommerce business can be started for less than $500.

Compare that with the thousands (or more) it would cost to start a brick and mortar retail store.

That said, I don’t talk as much about eCommerce because launching an eCommerce business will be more expensive than the other business models because we’re dealing with physical products.

Why? Because physical products need to be produced, warehoused, and shipped. Yes, there are companies that handle all of this, but the profit margins aren’t that big.

For example, after deductions are made at different points in the supply chain, a business owner might only make $3 off of a $20 product.

Other models like digital publishing and affiliate marketing have much larger margins.

That means to be profitable, eCommerce is a straight up numbers game. The good news is that people LOVE buying physical products.

Having said that, this is a business that can be extremely profitable for someone who knows what they’re doing. Honestly, eCommerce can be one of the highest earning online business models when done correctly. My wife actually runs a profitable eCommerce store.

Of course, there are some general principles to keep in mind. Like with every other online business model, it’s so important to pick a profitable niche. A niche will make or break a business. Also, it’s crucial to sell the right products.

Do some research on Amazon and Ebay to see what products are selling well in a niche. With the foundation of a good niche and good products, chances of success are much higher.

For an even more detailed guide about some common mistakes to avoid, read our article 7 Big Mistakes People Make With eCommerce.

With that in mind, here is the easiest way to get started in eCommerce:

• Use a built-for-you website platform like Shopify—This way, all the heavy lifting is done by them and all that is left is to choose the products and sell.
• Choose a niche—This is just like choosing a niche in affiliate marketing and digital publishing.
• Find products—The best place to do this is through AliExpress. This is an online shopping site that takes care of the shipping. All products are sent directly from the manufacturer or distributor, which means no inventory and no warehousing needed.

To get started with an eCommerce business, I highly recommend this free webinar.

Up to this point, we have talked a lot about different types of products—other people’s products, digital products, and physical products.

However, it is also easy to set up an online business that sells services. Let’s take a look…

4. Coaching and Consulting

Services are in high demand!

Anyone who has knowledge or skills that can help others can easily launch a successful coaching and consulting business.

And this is an ideal business for anyone who likes working with people.

Coaching and consulting are not new concepts. They were around long before the internet showed up on the scene.

But as with any other type of business, the internet has made it much easier to connect with potential clients in ways that were not available in the past.

First and foremost, coaches and consultants now have access to a global pool of consumers. And this means there is massive potential for success.

Again, the right niche must be chosen, one the business owner is passionate about. And some niches are immensely profitable. This is particularly the case with any type of business consulting.

Regardless of the niche chosen, working as a coach or consultant will build expertise like no other online business. When we work with others, we are always learning.

Plus, this is a business that can benefit from one-on-one work or can be scaled. Rather than working one-on-one, a coach or consultant can easily work with groups of people. This can create a massive increase in profits.

But remember, a coach and a consultant are not the same thing…

The Difference Between A Coach And A Consultant

It is easy to mistake the coach and the consultant as the same thing. But this really isn’t the case. The difference between them is subtle, but there is a difference.

A consultant works with someone to find solutions in some area of life, like their career or business. An example of a consultant is a marketing consultant. This is a person who will go into a business and give their clients specific strategies on how to improve marketing.

A coach is a little different. Rather than telling people what to do, a coach helps create a framework that allows their client to figure out for themselves what they should be doing. Then the client can execute their plan.

In other words:

• The consultant tells the client what to do.
• The coach gives the client guidance so the client can figure out what to do.

Coaches and consultants are absolutely incredible people.

I honestly don’t know where I would be without them.

I have personally paid thousands of dollars a month to be able to work with amazing marketing consultants, business coaches, and more. That is all money well spent, because by getting that individual attention, I was able to make real breakthroughs in my life.

Over the past year, I have been working with an entrepreneur coach, and it has been one of the most profound experiences of my life. This coaching has been incredibly valuable to me as a business leader, it has been great for my company, and it has even been great for my soul!

Perhaps the most beautiful thing about coaching and consulting is the opportunity to work with people in just about any area of life. No matter the niche, there are opportunities to coach and consult with people.

I have personally met people that do coaching in:

• Health and nutrition
• Fitness/bodybuilding
• Dating
• Relationships
• Marriage
• Business
• And more…

It’s Easier Than You Think

Coaching and consulting might be the easiest online business to start.

Everyone has some type of skill that other people would pay to learn. Yes, everyone. Even if someone’s only skill in the world is Excel spreadsheets, there are A LOT of people who are willing to pay to learn those skills.

Coaching and consulting requires less technical knowledge than the other business models. It can be started with just a phone and an internet connection. That’s it!

There’s one more thing that keeps people from taking advantage of this awesome business model: Selling!

Selling can be scary to some people. But it doesn’t have to be.

A lot of people don’t feel comfortable promoting themselves. With coaching and consulting, there’s no need to be pushy or “salesy.”

All it takes is for someone to be themselves and have a skill that helps people. Then, the coach or consultant can just start conversations with potential clients and show how they can help them. That’s how almost everyone gets started.

If coaching or consulting sounds like a fit, the good news is it is easy to launch a coaching or consulting business…

Simple Steps To Starting a Coaching or Consulting Business

• Choose a niche—There’s that niche again. Except this time, the key is to choose a niche in which the coach or consultant already has experience and skill. After all, it isn’t possible to direct and guide people without having the proper knowledge and experience.
• Start reaching out to ideal prospects or run ads—Advertising is one way to attract clients. It is also possible to attract clients through other channels, such as LinkedIn, social media, or even contacts through business colleagues.
• Have a way to speak with clients—When working with clients, whether one-on-one or as a group, there needs to be a way to speak with them directly. Be sure to set up a method of communication, such as phone, conference call, or Skype.

Here’s an inside tip: One of the most IN-Demand coaching/consulting services right now is Facebook Advertising.

Many of our students at Lurn are booking clients at an exceptional rate. And they all started with our Free Facebook Ads Bootcamp. Sign up today to really leverage the coaching & consulting business model: Free Facebook Ads Bootcamp

5. Blogging

Blogging can become a lucrative business.

For those who have been living under a rock, blog is short for web-log. It’s basically a type of website that has articles posted instead of only static pages.

Honestly, every website should have a blog. They’re that important. And they can really accelerate online business success. There’s a reason why every major company in the world now has a blog. They know the potential.

Blogging is a great online business to start all by itself. But it’s even better when used in combination with some of these other businesses.

There are so many benefits to blogging:

It leverages SEO—This is a HUGE advantage. All the written content makes the blogs rank high in search engines. This has the potential to attract a lot of organic traffic, for FREE. In fact, this is more possible with blogging than with any other business models we have discussed.

Works well with other businesses—Blogging can easily be combined with any other of the businesses we are discussing here. It is so easy to implement affiliate marketing on a blog simply by adding banners with affiliate links. It is just as easy to link a blog with digital and physical products or with services offered.

Blogging is a great option for writers—Writers can take special advantage of blogging, expressing their knowledge in a way that works best for them. But those that don’t feel confident writing can still use blogging as a tool by outsourcing it to a freelancer.

Blog content is sharable—Blog content can easily go viral because it is highly sharable. It can be shared on any social media account, by the blogger and by the readers.

It is suitable for any niche— It is incredibly easy to blog about any niche under the sun. Sharing information about a specific niche is a great way to generate a following and show the skills and knowledge of an expert.

Finally, blogging is just plain fun!

The key is to post content regularly. It is important that the followers of a blog know what to expect. They must be able to rely on the fact that they will learn something new at predictable intervals.

And above all, make sure the content is valuable! People won’t come back if they don’t think the content is useful.

Content Is King

Blogging is all about content.

A blog with high-quality content is one of the best assets in the online business world.

We’re in the Information Age. People are actively seeking out information. And a blog will make any online business A LOT more visible.

And if the blog has amazing free content, people are going to be hungry to pay for whatever else is offered.

For example, someone with an excellent blog about natural health will find it very easy to sell any products related to natural health (ebooks, online courses, consulting services, health products and more).

Plus, starting a blog is pretty simple.

The Simplest Way to Start a Blog

• Choose a niche—Like always, start with selecting the niche that will work best in terms of passion and monetization.
• Install WordPress— Buy hosting and install WordPress, which is 100% free. Most web hosting providers now have 1 click WordPress installation, which makes this step a breeze!
• Start writing posts!—Just get going. And remember, planning blog content in advance will help ensure the content is always good and consistent.

Ways To Monetize a Blog

Of course, a blog will only be a business if it is monetized. Otherwise, it is just—well—a blog. Here are some ways to monetize a blog to start earning an income:

• Affiliate marketing
• Digital publishing
• Selling eCommerce products
• Selling coaching/consulting services
• Ads on the site

Next, let’s talk about publishing books…

6. Amazon Kindle

It is SO easy to self-publish a book thanks to Amazon!

Amazon Kindle is the largest eBook marketplace in the world. In fact, it’s so big that today Amazon sells more eBooks than physical books.

This is a great option for writers. Writing eBooks and selling them can generate a lucrative income. And if someone isn’t a writer?

They can still take advantage of Amazon Kindle!

Anyone who doesn’t feel comfortable writing a book themselves has another option.

They can outsource the creation of their eBooks. Again, there are freelancers out there who are experts when it comes to writing. Simply find a writer, provide them with an outline for the book, and watch the magic happen.

One of the major advantages of publishing via Amazon Kindle is that the customers are already there! It is easy to have direct access to an audience that comes to the “store” looking for eBooks.

When I published my first edition of The Circle of Profit on Amazon, I was able to get 64,000 customers in under a week!

I did this by simply tapping into the amazing resources that Amazon provides. It’s all right there!

And publishing on Amazon is incredibly simple. Here’s how to do it:

• Write a book on a desired topic—Again, it is easy to outsource the writing. Freelance platforms such as Upwork or iWriter are great places to find talented freelance writers.
• Create a nice cover—Amazon has a cover builder. Another option for making a cover is to use Canva. Or it is possible to outsource the creation of the cover to Fiverr.
• Create a free account on Kindle Direct Publishing—This is easy and only takes about 5 minutes.
• Write good copy on the eBook’s sales page—This copy will help entice people to buy the book.

But remember, publishing an eBook via Amazon does have its drawbacks…

While it does have incredible potential, it isn’t nearly as profitable as digital publishing or affiliate marketing. This is because eBooks are so cheap on Kindle and the author only gets a percentage of the sale.

The only way to make a lot of money through Kindle is to publish A LOT of books. That, of course, is not going to be appealing to everyone to say the least.

Another disadvantage is being at the whim of Amazon. Amazon can make changes overnight that can be devastating to sellers. They can also shut anyone down whenever they want to.

The best plan is to combine publishing through Amazon Kindle with other forms of online business. This way, Amazon Kindle can be used as a lead magnet for those businesses. For example, an eBook could lead people to a coaching program or an online course.

This will provide a well-rounded approach that promises the highest profits.

And now on to the final online business model…

7. Freelancing and Creating an Agency

In many of the businesses listed above, I have talked about outsourcing.

Hiring someone to write or do graphic design or some other aspect of your business is a great way to create products.

But what about the people who have those skills themselves?

Anyone who has services to sell can have a great online business as a freelancer.

But the goal isn’t just to offer freelance services. The ultimate goal should be to create an agency that offers high-quality services.

I have used agencies for a lot of different services, such as graphic design, writing, and programming.

These agencies are all real businesses that someone built. The owner isn’t doing all the work. They’ve built a team and the right systems for getting new clients.

There’s high demand right now for all of these services.

After all, for most companies, it makes more sense to contract out to these agencies as opposed to hiring somebody to do the work in-house. This way, they can avoid hiring permanent staff and paying a full-time salary with benefits.

Plus, it is incredibly inexpensive to get started as a freelancer.

It costs almost nothing. In fact, some websites, such as Upwork and Guru, have a basic membership that is free. Anyone who wants to can sign up and start bidding for jobs immediately. They can literally find work overnight.

The trick is not to simply create a job as a freelancer. Rather, the goal should be to build a business—an agency.

Ideally, a freelancer takes on enough clients and does great work so they can make a good income for themselves. But if they take on more clients than they need or can handle on their own, they can then hire other freelancers to serve those clients.

The business then becomes an agency.

With the internet, it is easier than ever to go out and get clients. As with other forms of online business, freelancers can market their services through advertising, social media, and blogging. But they also have freelance platforms through which to find clients.

Plus, there is a lot of demand for freelancers right now in many fields, such as:

• Writing
• Translation
• Editing
• Programming
• Graphic design
• Web design
• Video editing
• Photography
• Virtual assistant
• And more…

These are all services that can be immediately monetized for a whopping $0! And they can all start earning profit literally overnight.

Plus, anyone who works as a freelancer can also enjoy any of these other businesses. For example, a freelance writer can do the following:

• Build an agency as described above
• Coach others in how to launch and maintain a freelance career
• Write books—in the freelancing niche or another familiar niche— that they can sell on Amazon Kindle
• Write books and create other information products they can sell through digital publishing
• Blog about their freelancing career
• Add affiliate marketing to their business portfolio by integrating it with any of the above business models
• Sell products on the side

Yes, as a freelancer, it is easy to engage in ALL SEVEN of the business models we have discussed here!

And when it comes to freelancing, there is one service that is in EXTREMELY HIGH DEMAND right now: Copywriting. With so much business being done online, copywriting is possibly the most valuable skill someone can have.

That’s why we’re offering a free copywriting workshop to help anyone become a great copywriter: Free Copywriting Bootcamp

8. Ebay/Craigslist

Ever hear of flipping?

Selling physical goods on Ebay or Craiglist is another great online business model.

It’s technically under the umbrella of eCommerce, but it has some key differences from the eCommerce model discussed above.

Websites like Ebay, for example, have massive amounts of people searching for physical products. There is already a giant pool of potential customers.

And there are a lot of products that can be sold for a nice profit online.

Some people go to garage sales, hunting for undervalued items. Other people buy products from discount stores and sell them for a profit online. There are many ways to go about this business model.

Flipping on Ebay, Craigslist and other similar websites has been a profitable business model for a long time now, and will continue to be in the future.

9. Live Events

Here’s an awesome online business model that you might not have expected…

Live events!

Yes, live events can be an awesome online business model.

While the events themselves are live, the lead generation can all be done online.

Our Lurn Masters Workshop is a great example of this. The workshop is a 5 day live event where we help people build an online business and transform their lives. But everything leading up to it is done online. All of our advertising and communication with students is done online prior to the workshop.

With almost any live event, the best way to promote it is online.

Here’s another example. Maybe you want to organize an annual conference for hiking enthusiasts. A good way to reach potential attendees might be Facebook Ads targeting people who like hiking-related pages. This is a way to target the exact people you want to attend the conference. Then all follow-ups can be done online as well leading up to the actual event.

And even after the event, an online group can be created to keep everyone connected. This opens the door for even more online business opportunities.

Also, don’t forget that live events can be virtual too! You can create a virtual live event for people to attend. This is much cheaper and easier to create than an in-person event, and could be a great place to start.

We have a virtual event as well, called Lurn Platinum. During this live virtual workshop, we help students build their own online business in just 3 days!

Live events surprisingly make for a great online business model.

Just because the actual event is live, doesn’t mean it can’t be monetized online. Because it can! There really is no limit with online businesses.

At this point, we have talked about each of these online businesses—how each of them can become a massive success. Yet, in order to accomplish that success, an online business owner must build a solid foundation…

The Foundation Of Success With ANY Of These Businesses

None of these online businesses will earn a dime if people don’t know about them. Marketing is critical.

And the CORE to the success of any online business is email marketing.

I mentioned above that I have actually created most of these types of businesses. And the unifying force behind each of these businesses is my email list.

By building up an email list, I’m able to:

• Sell affiliate products
• Sell digital information products of my own
• Drive traffic to my blog
• Sell coaching and consulting services
• Generate sales on Amazon Kindle
• And even sell physical products

This has ALL been possible because of my email list. It truly is the greatest business asset I have!

And this is why I always emphasize (in most of the articles you read on this website) the power of email marketing. There is nothing more powerful. With email marketing, it is possible to:

• Have complete ownership of the list, making it an incredible and valuable business asset
• Have full control over all marketing campaigns—no one can shut you down
• Market to the same people over and over again without paying any additional money
• Send out valuable content to subscribers on a regular basis
• Automate the entire process
• Build a relationship with the people on the list—this is so important because with a relationship comes trust and that’s what makes people buy

If you are serious about starting an online business, you need to become a master of email marketing!

There is no denying that building an online business is profitable. It is also one of the smartest things anyone can do.

It is simple and quick to build any of the following online businesses for less than $500:

1. Affiliate Marketing
2. Digital Publishing
3. eCommerce
4. Coaching and Consulting
5. Blogging
6. Amazon Kindle
7. Freelancing and Creating an Agency

Each one of these businesses offers massive potential for success on its own. But when combined, these online businesses have the power to be truly unstoppable.

There is no limit to the earning power of these businesses!

And for such a small start-up cost that anyone can get started today. There is absolutely NO reason not to do it right now!

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