Most of the people who are interested in starting their own business and opt for online business, do not know where to start. There are many questions related to the starting point in online business. Such questions would be:
-Where do I start looking for an online business idea?
-Where do I start learning about marketing online business?
-Where do I start looking for online advertising media?
Then most people will go for the search engines and start typing in what they are looking for, hoping that they will find something that will suit them. There is nothing wrong with this methodology. The problem here is that in most cases people do not really know what they are looking for.
In this article we will try to give recommendations and guidelines on the things that a person should be looking for when searching for the online business opportunity he/she would be most relaxed with.
In a previous article titled “Choosing An Online Business Is A Tricky Business” we categorized the different types of online businesses a person could be involved in. We will not repeat them but our advice is to begin with one particular type and then move to the other types when the person feels relaxed with the idea on online marketing.
If a person is totally new to the idea of online business he/she should start with an affiliate program. An affiliate program is one that allows you to sell other people’s products and services in return for a commission. Yet a person should not be involved in just any affiliate program. There are special requirements that a person should be looking for in an affiliate program if he/she is still new to the idea of online marketing.
We will look list and explain each one of these suggested requirements:
1-Design and setup your own website: There are a lot of affiliate programs out there that give you an assigned web page that you can promote. Although it is a very good feature that saves you the hassle of building your own web pages, yet it is limited in the ways you will be able to market it as most online marketing media do not accept affiliate pages. Therefore, you will need an affiliate program that incorporates setting up and designing your own website; in addition to advising you on the hosting service provider you should get. “Your own website” means that you should own the domain name. I have written a complete article about the benefits of owning a website with comparative analysis with the option of not having your own website.
2- Provide a systematic training: Most affiliate programs provide you with what they call marketing tools. But if someone is new to the internet and to online marketing, then there is no way that he/she would be able to use those tools effectively. Therefore, the affiliate program that you should be looking for is one that has a systematic and detailed training that can take you by the hand to show you how to promote your business.
3-Systematic and not individualistic support: Most affiliate programs depend on the sponsor support for their team. This system is very weak. This means if the sponsor is away, ill, vacationing or for any reason cannot and would not answer the support questions, the sponsored team is lost and cannot proceed with their business. The affiliate program that you should be looking for must have the following support levels:
a.Sponsor Support
b.High traffic and high quality forum especially dedicated for the particular affiliate program you are thinking of promoting.
c.Help Desk
With this system a person might not even need a sponsor support.
I have heard many recommend having a mentor that will be able to teach all the ins and outs of online marketing. I completely agree with them, but would not include it in the above criteria. The above criteria are recommended so that a person can examine any affiliate program against. Thus, they will facilitate for anyone the decision making process for choosing an affiliate program to work with. Therefore, a mentor is not a must have in affiliate program for the newbie. Still, I would highly recommend searching for and getting a mentor, as a mentor can act in many dimensions especially on the motivational and technical aspects.
If you have spent any time searching at all you know that there are hundreds of opportunities to start an online business. But how can you decide which one to choose and which one you would succeed in? What is the difference between network marketing and an affiliate program? How do you weed out the scams? How can you know whether you will succeed in the business?
If you have absolutely no experience with any online business all this can be quite confusing.
First, how do you find a legitimate online business? In order to be an online business some product or service must be provided. There are continually online moneymaking schemes where you simply send a given amount of money to someone somewhere above you in the scheme. Even if these are called gifting schemes to keep them from being illegal, they are not online businesses. They will not legitimately support you for any length of time.
Look for a product or service you genuinely believe in, because you will be using it yourself as well as promoting it online. One way is to select a product category, such as online marketing information or health products and look at all the online businesses you can find that provide that product or service.
There are essentially three different types of online businesses; network marketing, affiliate programs and sales. In a sales business you promote something online that you buy wholesale or make. You then ship it to customers when they buy it. In an affiliate program you market a product or service for the company that produces it and get a commission for each sale. They ship the product. In a network marketing program you promote the product or service and also recruit others to do the same. You then receive a commission on the sales of those you recruited and those they recruited.
Network marketing programs are often the most popular with newcomers because there the upline, or sponsors have a vested interest in your success and are there to help. These systems are set up in a variety of ways so that you may have two or three people in the level below you and may be paid on the sales of differing numbers of levels below that. They also have different ways of handling your recruits once the given number of levels below you fill up. Be sure you understand the system and compensation plan of any online business you are considering.
Another very important aspect of the business is how you will recruit people. In some online businesses recruiting involves several telephone calls to interested prospects. Do not choose a business like this if you have telephone phobia. In other online businesses most people sign up or buy directly from the web site. In still others paid marketers do the sales and signups for you. These are more expensive to get into, for obvious reasons. Select a recruiting and sales style you are comfortable with.
If you are new to online business a very important factor in the selection of a business is the level of support you will receive. Ask about their education program before you put any money down. Many online businesses today offer free education before you even have to put any money down. You can sign up for a free trial period, check out their educational material and then decide if you think you could make money following it. Basically they should teach you how to use advertising, forums, articles, traffic generators, links and Adwords. Some will teach you more than this and some will teach most but not all of these.
When you have found the product, type of business and education you want, sign up for the online business. Then stick with it. Despite many of the advertising claims you have seen, you are highly unlikely to make a fortune overnight. You are even highly unlikely to make a fortune in a month or two. You need to build the business. You can probably get someone to buy from you or sign up from you in two to three weeks, but you will not reach the full potential of the business in that time. Stick with it for at least six months, doing everything you are told by your sponsor or the educational program.
If you have absolutely no results in the first month, talk with your sponsor and find out what you did wrong. If you keep promoting the online business for a few more months and do not see continuing results, seek out one of the many educational programs online that will teach you, independently, to market your home business. Learn all you can from the free sites, then perhaps sign up for paid assistance if you feel you need it.
One estimate is the 1.25 million people are seeking an online business. With a little effective promotion some of these people can be drawn to your site. Persistence pays off. You will make money if you keep promoting and keep learning.
Lynn Doxon is the mother of three adopted daughters and two stepsons. She works from home writing books and managing an online business at and helping her husband manage an architectural and real estate investment business.
As a successful entrepreneur your income is derived from doing one thing and one thing only – selling your products and/or business opportunity to others. How you do this successfully is by communicating with your customer and finding out what it is they want – not you – THEM.
Spending time with them and understanding how you can help them achieve achieve what they want. Shift the focus to them and present your business opportunity honestly and effectively if you want to build a successful career in internet marketing.
Get this ingrained in your brain and never forget it.
Communication is a two lane highway – it’s about articulating your message clearly and giving your full attention and focus to your prospect. By doing this you will hear what they want you to hear, instead of what you want to hear. If you accomplish this you are well on your way to becoming a leader and others will want to work with you.
During the process of communication it is easy to send mixed messages. When this happens and conversation is misinterpreted, a breakdown occurs and the result will be a missed opportunity to connect with your prospect. Both parties will be left feeling confused and disappointed and the opportunity will be gone for you both.
Think back to the time when the business opportunity was presented to you.
What made you decide to go with your sponsor?
Did he/she keep clear lines of communication open at all times and was he/she able to answer your questions in a friendly, competent and professional manner?
Did you feel confident that this person could guide and train you to achieve the same success as they had?
Did the conversation flow and could you ask everything about the business without feeling like you were taking up too much of their valuable time.
Did they direct you to more information?
Did they inspire you?
Did you feel excited when you finished the call?
If you can answer yes to all of the above, you are definitely in the right place at the right time and that moment can indeed be quite magical. This is the real art of communicating.
When you express yourself effectively you will attract the attention and respect of others. If you are able to speak your mind and listen openly to the views of others, you will notice a difference in the way others perceive you. If you are confident and project a friendly well informed image you will command respect and attention.
Midge Hand is a partner with her husband Mike Morgan in an award winning business in the internet marketing industry. Midge and Mike use a cutting edge business model and marketing system which is generating incredible success for thousands of people around the world.
To find out more about the system they use and to meet the founders of the company visit