In Praise of Thinking Small
All your life you've probably been beseeched to "Think Big!",
the idea being that if you think big you achieve big, while
thinking small gets you nowhere fast.
That's probably good advice as a general rule but it shouldn't
be taken literally when it comes to creating an Internet-based
business. The Internet is one environment where thinking small
generally leads to greater success than thinking big. In fact,
thinking big in the wrong way can definitely get you nowhere
fast!
The temptation when first starting out is to sign up for as many
affiliate programs as you can. Somehow, you figure, the more
programs I have to earn a commission from, the more money I will
make. All you end up doing in the process, however, is diluting
your focus with the end result being a web site that attempts to
be too many things to too many people.
As urgent as it seems to get your web site up and out there and
attracting as many people as you possibly can as quickly as you
possibly can, the smarter approach is to spend considerable
time, before you even start, seriously thinking about what it is
you want to contribute to the Internet and the market you want
to attract.
Many people, for example, think there's money in "Internet
Marketing". There is. But Internet marketing is not an end unto
itself. It's a set of skills you need to master once you
actually HAVE something to market.
Sure, there's a large army of so-called "gurus" out there who
profess to be experts in Internet marketing and have made a tidy
sum from people who believe them. But you're not one of them and
neither am I. (Neither are they, actually, but that's another
story altogether.)
So, when you think about "making money with my computer" or
"making money on the Internet", understand that there's not some
parallel universe out there that will allow you to generate an
income simply by connecting to the Internet. You have to create
something of real value to a very specific audience to get them
to visit your site in the first place. You have to continually
add value to your site to keep them coming back. Only then can
you even begin to think about maybe making money.
So, let's start with the basics. What is your web site going to
be ABOUT? Hopefully you realize now that it's NOT going to be
about Internet Marketing. It's going to be about something that
you know something about, something you have a special interest
in or passion for, an interest or passion that others share and
in sufficient numbers that they constitute a good- size target
market.
That's where the beauty of thinking small comes in. If you set
out to create a site all about Internet Marketing, the subject
is simply too vast to do justice to. And unless you're an expert
(and 99% of you reading this are not), you're not going to be
able to create anything of true value to attract repeat
visitors. The competition's just too great.
So, think small. The smaller the better. The smaller the less
competition you have. What is it that you're interested in, good
at, expert of, that others may also be interested in? Maybe
you're mad for old lamps. Create an auction site just for old
lamps. Maybe you were a grief counselor in a previous life.
Create a web site devoted to helping people cope with and
transcend grief. Perhaps you're a stay-at-home parent. Create a
community-style web site for other stay-at-home parents who are
looking to connect with other people in the same situation. It
doesn't matter. Just think small. Think about what pushes your
buttons. Then take that and create something fabulous that's all
yours. Something unique.
When it comes to generating an income from your web site you
have a few options. Affiliate programs are a good choice for a
site that generates decent traffic but make sure you select
programs that are relevant to the subject matter of your site
and your site visitors. Sure, you may have fewer of them to
choose from, but because of the specialized nature of your site
and, hence, your site visitors, your market is much more highly
targeted than a more general audience. Therefore, the conversion
rate (the ratio of site visitors to purchasers) will be
commensurately higher. (It's also, I might add, a LOT easier to
achieve a high search engine ranking for keywords that aren't
being competed for by 99% of the webmaster population!)
In addition to promoting relevant affiliate programs, it's a
natural extension to your site to start publishing an ezine on a
regular basis. Because the subject matter of your ezine is NOT
Internet Marketing (which nine out of ten of everybody else's
are), you are more likely to produce a worthwhile read for your
targeted audience (include a sign up form on your web site so
your site visitors can subscribe in addition to marketing your
ezine as a separate "product"). You can advertise your affiliate
programs in your ezine, accept paid advertising, and promote
your own products. Just three ways to generate an income.
Another is to charge a subscription fee.
Finally, once you've been going awhile, it's time to start
thinking about creating your own products. E-books and other
products that can be delivered electronically are always a good
choice but your product line will depend on the subject matter
of your site. You may sell beaded jewelry, for example.
The point is, whatever you choose as the subject matter of your
site, the narrower you keep your focus the better. Trying to be
too much to too many only guarantees you'll be too little to too
few. Including yourself.