Entries from October 2007 ↓

If you are like me you have received tons of e-mails about Jermaine Griggs’ Nitty Gritty Marketing Private Access Club. His club seems to be aimed at people who already have an Internet business but want to expand it. However, I can tell you I will definitely not be joining. Let me explain why.

It has noting to do with Jermaine Griggs himself, I have never met the guy but he seems nice from his videos. Moreover, it has nothing to do with his financial claims I have no reason to doubt them either. But don’t take my word you can watch the following videos and decide for yourself.

Video #1: The Jermaine Griggs Story

Video #2: His Sales Proof from 2002 to now

Video #3: Behind the scenes selling Jazz DVDs

In fact his private access club is probably perfect for certain businesses, just not mine. First off, I think the price for Nitty Gritty Marketing is a little high. The introductory price is only $2.97 for the first month, but then goes up to $197 a month (Or only $97 if you register early). To be honest this is cheaper than many competing Internet marketing access clubs but I can still find many better uses for my $97 each month.

The second reason I won’t be buying is because the focus of the Nitty Gritty Marketing seems to be on building and creating your own information products. I am sure this is a great way to earn money but I know it is not my strong suit. However, if you want to try your hand at it you can always join for the special trial price and see if it is for you.

Finally, there was far too much hype surrounding the launch of the product. This may seem like a strange reason to avoid something, but I have my reasons. My past experience has shown when a launch of a product is hyped like Nitty Gritty Marketing that it fails to live up to expectations. It looks as though Jermaine Griggs has been very successful but that is no guarantee he can make me successful too.

My motto is to wait and see. If I hear that people have been successful with it then I may consider joining. I have no problem spending my money to grow my various online businesses but I want to make sure I spend it in the right places. And I think this is the real lesson to take away from the launch of Jermaine Griggs’ Nitty Gritty Marketing Private Access Club. Always ask yourself “how is this going to concretely help my business?’ If you can’t answer that question then you should hold off buying.

If you would like more information on his program visit Jermaine Griggs’ Nitty Gritty Marketing Private Access Club sales page. By the way this is a great example of sales page that you could learn from even without buying his course.

If you haven’t already visited the DealDotCom website then I recommend you visit it first and sign-up for your 100% free account. It isn’t often that I see a website I would call amazing but DealDotCom comes about as close as possible. This is one of those sites you will use again and again if you looking to start or expand your Internet business.

What is It?

DealDotCom is one of those sites that is such a simple concept that you smack yourself in the head and say ‘Why didn’t I think of that?’ Basically, it offers a brand new deal of the day, everyday for products related to Internet business and Internet marketing. These deals can range from 25%-75% off the normal price of the product. So, already you can see that it is pretty good right?

Why is it amazing?

However, it gets even better than just saving money on Internet business products. First it is free to join and there are no membership fees or any kind. This is fantastic because you don’t have to feel pressured to buy anything to make your membership worthwhile. Second, just for joining for free you could win the deal of the day, everyday. That means you can potentially get free Internet business products. Finally, you can make money from the people you refer to DealDotCom (but you have to join first).

So there you have it! DealDotCom is an amazing website overall for many reasons. It saves you money on Internet business products, it is free to join, you can win free Internet products and you can even make money if you know other people who would be interested. But don’t take my word on it, see for yourself here.

If you want to start an Internet business, you almost certainly need a website. The problem is most people new to the Internet have no idea how to go about building one. If terms like HTML, PHP and CGI look like strange acronyms to you, then you are going to need some help building your first website. The good news is that Site Build It (SBI) can give you that help.

First, let me explain what SBI is NOT. It is not any sort of get rich quick scheme and it does not guarantee that you will X amount of dollars in Y amount of days. If this is what you are looking for I would recommend you waste your money on something like Get Google Pay Per Click Ads Free. Furthermore, it is only one among at least a few tools you will probably need to get a fully functional online business started. That being said it is probably one of the most powerful ones you can use to get an online business started.

So what is Site Build It then if it is not a get rich quick scheme? To put simply, it is a tried and true way of building quality websites that search engines love. However, it is even more than that because the SBI guide explains to you in easy step-by-step instructions how to choose a niche for your website, how to build the content for it, and then how to monetize it.

I have built two websites with Site Build It in the past two years. Between the two of them they generate between $200-$300 month without me actively promoting them. This may not sound like a lot but to be honest I have been extremely lazy building them. Once I finished the sites I just left them running and they keep generating money for me month after month. Now I am not going to reveal them to you because I don’t want a bunch of people copying them. However, I can show you some other sample SBI sites.

Site Build It can be used for all sorts of Internet businesses. At the most basic level you could build a website designed to earn money from Google’s AdSense program as outlined here. It could also help to expand your online auction business as demonstrated here. Finally, you can even use Site Build It to target a local market as seen here. Virtually, any online business could use Site Build It to increase profits the only limit really is your imagination.

Still not sure about SBI? Then I recommend you look at these two webpages. The first one shows proof that Site Build It works. The second is a list of video clips from people who love SBI. If these two pages don’t convince you about the value of Site Build It then nothing will. Finally, even if you decide not to buy SBI I still recommend you read Ken’s free ebook Make Your Site Sell for free information on how to build a profitable Internet business.

Setting financial goals or more simply answering the question ‘how much money do I want to make from my Internet business?’ is the most important thing for most new business owners. These goals can be from the very humble (a couple hundred extra dollars a month), to the extremely ambitious (a billion dollars or more).

However, the process to reaching any goal is essentially the same. Basically, all you have to do is follow these four steps and you can grow your business to whatever size you want or need.

1. Set your initial financial targets

Your initial financial target should be some amount less than what you would ultimately like to earn but think you can reasonably reach in a couple of months. For example if my ultimate goal was to earn $500 a month I would set an initial target of making $50 a month. Obviously, the larger your final goal the larger your initial goal should be.

2. Identify what you need to do to reach that target

Once you have an initial goal you need to figure what you need to do to reach it. This can vary from selling a certain number of products a month to writing a certain number of webpages for a content based website. Again, this should be something you can reasonably expect to do in a month or two. See How do I start an Internet Business for more business ideas you could start from home.

3. Do what needs to be done

This may seem like a no-brainer but it is why 99% of people fail to reach their online business goals. If you are like me you love to plan for things but don’t like doing the actual hard work. However, you have to do the work yourself (or pay someone else to do it) otherwise it won’t get done at all.

4. Repeat

Once you have reached your initial financial goal repeat steps 1-3 above, setting a higher goal each time, until you reach your ultimate financial goal.

Thus, the answer to How much money do you want to make is really up to you. It is actually very simple to do if you plan out how you are going to do it and set aside time to get the work done. Then it is simply a matter of repeating what worked and applying it over and over again. This is the process by which almost all companies and businesses grow. So, make it work for you!

How do I start an Internet business? This is a very common, yet difficult question to answer, since there are so many different kinds of Internet businesses out there. These range from huge Internet companies like Google, eBay and Amazon to small hobby sites and blogs. For the sake of this article I will focus on the smaller types of online businesses that you can easily start from your own home.

A Warning About Scams Targeting People Starting New Internet Businesses

Now I assume you are reading this because you want to start your own Internet business, but don’t know where to start. No problem with that; everyone has to start somewhere. The problem is that many unscrupulous Internet marketers prey on potential new Internet business owners with promises of quick riches. For some of the worst examples see: Get Google Pay-Per-Click Ads Free, The 12 Month Internet Millionaire, or Project Black Mask.

Now, I have to admit when I first started thinking about starting an Internet business, that I fell for more than my fair share of these products. I bought eBooks, software programs and pretty much anything that I thought would make me a million bucks in a month. Pretty stupid, eh?

The fact is that most of these guides are total BS and include information that can be found for free all over the Internet. I personally guarantee that if you read this free blog regularly you will get more out of it than 98% of eBooks sold on the subject of starting an Internet business. This not to say that starting a business online is free, just that you should only pay for things that will really grow your business.

Now that you have been suitably warned on what not to waste your money on, lets look at a few simple Internet business ideas.

The Easiest and Cheapest Internet Businesses You Can Start From Home

There a probably hundreds, if not thousands of different Internet businesses you could potentially start from home. However, I have chosen to examine 4 different types of businesses that are relatively cheap, easy to start and have a proven track record. Obviously, this is by no means exhaustive list, instead it is designed to get your creative online business juices flowing.

1. Sell Your Own Products and/or Services Online

Summary: This is probably the most straightforward online business. You make money by selling your own products and/or services online, usually through a website.

Pros:The most tried and true method of making money online. A great way to expand your offline business, if you have one. Allows you to have more control over your sales process than some other types of Internet businesses listed below.

Cons: You have to already have or need to create a product or service people want. Depending on the product and/or service lots of competition may already exist. Generally speaking, higher start-up costs than the other types of Internet businesses listed below.

What You’ll Need: At a bare minimum a website and a way of processing online transactions. If you are new to building websites I recommend looking at Site Build It. I have used it for creating websites in the past and I can honestly say that it is one of the easiest ways to build a website.

If you already have a website or are going to have someone design one for you I also recommend looking at using bluehost.com for your web hosting needs. This is not nearly as simple to use as Site Build It but it allows far more control and customization. Again I have been a happy customer of theirs for over 2 years now.

Finally, the cheapest and easiest ways to process online transactions is either through Paypal or Google Checkout. I have personally used Paypal successfully for many years but I have yet to try Google checkout.

2. Start An eBay/Auction Business

Summary: This another very common way of making money online. You make money by selling products through an auction website, most commonly eBay. These products can either be your own or someone else’s. Also, you could do a something similar through selling things on craigslist.

Pros: Very easy to set-up. You don’t need to own or make your own products, or even own your own website to get started. If you do own your own products, eBay can be another potential sales channel.

Cons: Depending on the type of products you wish to sell, eBay can be very competitive. Also, if you are reselling products through eBay you may have to pay for storage costs. Risk of eBay scams so you have to be a bit careful.

What You’ll Need: Obviously the first things you will need, if you don’t already have them, is an eBay and Paypal account. Almost everyone pays for their eBay purchases through Paypal so it is a must.

Second, if you don’t already have your own products or place to buy things to resell, you should consider a drop shipping company. These companies will ship products on your behalf and you get to keep the profit. My personal favorite is Doba, which you can visit for more information on these types of products.

3. Create Your Own Content Website

Summary: This is becoming one of if not the most popular type of online business. Basically, you create a website on any subject and you can make money by putting paid links on it. The most popular way of doing is through Google AdSense but you can try other things such as affiliate programs.

Pros: Relatively easy to create and set-up. You can create a website on just about anything and make some money from it. You don’t need to “sell” to still make money.

Cons: Certain website topic niches are so competitive that it almost impossible for a new site to break in. Earnings may not be as high selling your own product. Depending on your topic area you may find it difficult to diversify your income.

What You’ll Need: The first thing you will need, obviously enough, is a website. If you have no idea how to create and monetize a website then I highly recommend Site Build It. It will take you step by step through the process of building a profitable website.

If you are a bit more knowledgeable about building websites and want a good web host I recommend bluehost.com. They are cheaper than Site Build It and offer more flexibility but you need to know what you are doing to make money using this method. If you do opt to host your website instead of using Site Built It I recommend you look at Niche Inspector to figure out what kind of website to build.

Finally, you should get a Google AdSense account so you make money of your website content. Also, if you want to find a good list of affiliate programs I recommend Allan Gardyne’s site associateprograms.com.

4. Create Your Own Blog

Summary: This is very similar online business idea to the one mentioned above. Instead of creating a website you can create a blog and still make money from it. Again the most common ways are through AdSense, affiliate programs and Payperpost.

Pros: Very cheap and easy to set-up. Like a website you can create it on almost any topic and still make some money. Also, does not need to sales oriented to still be profitable.

Cons: Needs to be updated regularly to ensure steady income stream. An increasingly competitive field, making it difficult to stand out. Less tolerance of marketing or attempting to sell things than websites.

What You’ll Need: You will need to create a blog. Free options include blogger (owned by Google) and Wordpress. However, if you want to start a serious blogging business I suggest getting your own hosted blog account on your own domain. Instead of having myblog.blogspot.com you will have myblog.com. This looks much more professional and in the long term will result in higher profits. My favorite solution for hosting blogs is through bluehost.com. You can create as many blogs as you would like and only pay $10 per domain name.

Finally, if you want to start making money from your blog you differently need to sign up for AdSense (see link above) since this is the easiest way to earn money from it. Other good options are Adbrite (An AdSense clone, with looser quality controls), pay-per-post and affiliate programs.

So there you have it 4 different Internet business ideas that you could start from home today. But don’t limit yourself just to the ideas I have listed. Think of creative ways of combining two or three of these ideas together and add your own touches. Remember the sooner you start the sooner you can succeed.

Is there anything you would like more information on? If so please ask for it in the comments section below. I will use your ideas to create new content here in the future.