If it Sounds too good to be true, It might NOT be a scam!

Is this a SCAM or what? – FREE iPod… FREE Plasma TV… FREE Laptop Computer… FREE Digital Camera?

I get junk email offering me this crap all the time. I immediately delete them because if it sounds too good to be true, it probably is. Right? That’s what I use to believe. Then one day my friend Gus, showed me his new computer system. A brand new Compaq computer, color monitor and color printer.

“Guess how much it cost?” he asks me. Since I use to sell computers for a living, I had a pretty good guesstimate of what it should cost. “It’s about $1,000 bucks for everything” I said.

“Nope, I got it FREE”. “Cut the bull. Do I look stupid?”. “Did you steal it or was it a gift?He said that he completed the requirements from an ad that advertised that they would send you a FREE Computer.

I said. “Those things are all scams. Nobody gives away FREE computers”. He tells me that some of those offers probably are scams but there are also some legitimate offers.

“No company can make money giving away FREE electronic equipment. Wouldn’t they would go broke giving away FREE stuff?” He says “Do you remember when Google first started?” “Sure” I said. “How much did they charge to use their service, when they started?” “They didn’t charge anything”. “How much do they charge now?” he asks. “They still don’t charge”.

“So it’s FREE” he says. Yet they have grown to be one of the most profitable companies in the entire world. “Yea, but they are not giving away FREE expensive electronic equipment” I countered.

Gus looks me straight in the eye and asks “How do they make their money?” “They sell advertising. Google Adsense and Adwords”.

“Ah, ADVERTISING” he says. “Advertising has made them one of the most profitable companies In history. While it may be contrary to what you’ve always been told – if it sounds too good to be true it probably is – there really are legitimate promotions that do offer consumers the opportunity to “earn” all types of expensive gifts for FREE”.

To get this FREE Stuff, you have to do something so that you are actually working and “earning” your Freebie – but you do get the item.

“There are things a person needs to do to get them, but when you do, you get the item. This type of advertising is known as incentive marketing and has spawned an entire cottage industry of people earning free products.

The way it works is that (unknown to you) the sites offering FREE Stuff make their money from Advertising.

As part of their promotions they introduce consumers to various advertisers’ products and services, and in return they are paid a commission for each new “lead” they generate.

For example, they might earn $50 each time they refer a new user to AOL even though the user only signed up for a free trial and didn’t pay anything at all.

You may have to sign up for a bunch of “Free Trial” memberships or refer a certain number of people who sign up for the “Free Trial” memberships. Oftentimes the user who is trying to earn a FREE gift gives up for one reason or another before getting the required number of referrals. In this case the company collects some commissions and doesn’t have to send the user anything, so it’s pure profit.

The company gets PAID by other compaines for generating leads. This is how they make their money. They can afford to give away Free products and still make a handsome profit for themselves. Some of them actually make quite a bit of profit. Just ask the guys from Google.

About the Author

Carl Willoughby has worked as a Computer Programmer for the New England Telephone Company, and a Computer Sales Consultant for SEARS. To learn “How to get Free Stuff” go to his blog: http://www.StudentLoanDebtConsolidationSite.com

Are you making money online

Article from Michael Cheney’s “Adsense Video’s”

When I first started using AdSense (remember I was pulling in a poxy $2 per day) I shunned the high paying keyword lists you see everywhere. I thought they were a scam. The thing is – although there are some low-quality ones out there, if you do the research (and BELIEVE me, I’ve done that alright) then you can find lists that are worth TEN TIMES more than people charge for them. So how does it all work? Download My free e-book to find out. http://adsense-video-download.thegadgitech.com/

About the Author

Adsense video shows how…

Your Free Website In 5 Minutes!

Gone are the days of paid hostings, domain registrations, buying e-books, paying to learn internet marketing ‘secrets’. For that matter, even there is no need at all to know the basics of HTML, CSS or JavaScript.

Now everybody can have a website or blog – free, of course! All this has been possible due to innovative minds. Hats off to them. All you have to do is to have a content – a unique one – and take up the only task of attracting traffic because your website is one of the millions floating around. You need not be an expert but it would be a pity if your command over the language is poor or you are not communicative. You can write your own story or autobiography. You can describe the struggles you went through all your life. In a nutshell, you can pour out.

Some of the hosting sites started attracting people with free websites like Yahoo’s GeoCities, Tripod, BraveNet etc. But the problem with some of them is that not all allow you to monetize your site with Google AdSense or allow you to link to other domains. One of the best resources where you overcome all such problems and also do affiliate marketing is Squidoo.

In Squidoo, your page is called a ‘lens’. You can make a lens on any subject under any category. Go to Squidoo and register. Be ready with a title for your lens and a brief introduction and you are ready. Save and publish. You can edit and save various add-ons as per your choice. You have RSS feeds from your blogs, Amazon buys, eBay items, Music, You Tube, Google Feeds, Flickr and what not. You can develop your content on a regular basis by going to the edit mode and choosing text module. There is a lensrank on a daily basis. Your lens’ stats are shown in various graphs. You can go to any forum and seek help.

Of course, depending on your lens’ traffic, click outs, buying etc. you could be eligible for an earning! So what are you waiting for……………….

Earn Money From Internet

About the Author

The author has researched a lot in Making Money Online businesses and gives free advice and suggestions for work at home solutions at: http://www.squidoo.com/makingmoneymadeeasy.

How to Make Money from Blogging

Making money from blogging is one easy method to earn a steady income online. As blogs are simple to create and maintain, and best of all, you do not need to know html language to create blogs, they are prefect for beginners who want to start their online business. Moreover, search engines, such as Google, love blogs as they are usually updated with fresh contents. Hence, Google and other search engines will tend to send their spiders to your blogs, rather than static webpages. In this way, your blogs will be indexed in the search engines faster than other websites. That is great as you will get more organic search traffic from the search engines and that is the first step to making money from blogging.

After you have created your own blogs and a steady stream of visitors coming to your blogs regularly, then it is time for you to monetize your blog. One way to do that is to use AdSense. AdSense allows you to put advertisements on your blogs. Whenever your visitors come to your blogs and clicks on the ads, then you will be paid. It is as simple as this. Hence, when your blogs are able to generate many clicks every day, then you can easily earn a steady stream of income.

Another method to make money from blogging is to promote your own products. Some of us may have some knowledge which is highly demand by others. Then you might want to create your own info product and sell it. For instance, you may really good at cooking some healthy, yet tasty, dishes. Then you can start writing your own ebook about healthy dishes and promote it on your blogs. When people start buying your products, then you will start earning money too.

For some of us who are really clueless on what to create, then promoting other’s products may be another method for you to make money online. On the internet, there are a variety of products and services which you can promote others to buy from. When these people whom you have recommended have bought some products, then you will be paid. Hence, you can simply write a simple blog post saying why you think the product which you recommend is good and worth buying. When you consistently able to make your visitors trust you and buy what you have recommended, then earning money from your blogging is not difficult at all.

Indeed, there are many ways to make money from blogging. I have just given you the some of easiest methods to do so. If you are interested in having the exact blueprint to make money from blogging, then you must take a look at Blogging to the Bank 2.0 website. It will show you the most recent and advance techniques on how you can make money from your blogs.

About the Author

If you are interested to earn real income with blogging, you may like to visit my Blogging to the Bank 2.0 website for more information. Plus, I’m giving away a mystery free report at my website!

How to Make More Money Blogging in Six Steps and Seven Days

Blogging is probably one of the fastest growing areas online with more and more bloggers wanting to make money blogging. Here’s 6 ideas you may not have even thought of.

Here’s 6 easy methods to start generating an income from a blog.

1. Sell advertising to different companies and brands who want to reach that blog’sreaders.

2. Sell advertising directly to companies who want to put banner ads or sponsored links on your blog. This can take a bit of time, but it is often fairly lucrative. If you have a lot of contacts in industries that are related to your blog, you may want to try to go this route.

3. Creating positive associations between the blog and an affiliate product in the mind of consumers. This kind of blogs can make a lot of money, especially if the creator has a keen mind for marketing.

4. Selling space through Google’s AdSense program. One big advantages of this idea is that it requires very little effort on the part of the blogger or webmaster to begin making profits. However, most people discover that they make less money through this method than they had hoped that their blog would earn.

5. Rent blog space to interested companies. The most serious problem with this model is that you often have to build quite a sizable readership before you can attract advertisers, which can mean that you have to do several months of work before you start to make money blogging.

6. Approach traditional business to build a blog for them to create positive associations with the brand intheir consumers’ minds. As blogging becomes a more popular a lot of established companies are consideringhow they can get into the action. One way is by having a blog that provides a kind of friendly face fortheir corporation.

To learn more about making money from your blog, visit…

http://7dollarbooks.com/7dayblogcourse/

and get my Free 7 Days to Blogging Success E-Course.

About the Author

Joseph Murray is a professional online retailer working full time since April 2006 and the founder of several successful websites including the ‘Newbie Warrior Forum’ and ‘$7 Dollar Books’ as well as numerous niche sites.

http://newbiewarriorforum.com
http://www.7dollarbooks.com

Info On Ad Blocks

Are you tired of the continuous stream of ads coming your way every time you search the internet for something? If so, then you may be interested in learning more about the various Ad Blocks that will prevent this from happening. Your computer will also run faster without all of those ads and you will have more privacy regarding where you go on the internet. Most Ad Blocks work by blocking out the host files. Others work by using a list of host names. You can choose to ad new names to the list and take others off. You would continue to get ads from hosts that are not on your blocked list.

There are many types of Ad Blocks to choose from. The one that is right for you depends on why you want to block them and if you want the option of letting some through from a particular host or not. The market is saturated with various spyware and pop up ad software that block these ads out. Make sure the product you use has automatic updates as things change and is compatible with the other software you operate on your computer.

SuperAdBlocker is considered to be the most reliable product out there. It is able to remove more than 100,000 adware and spyware components. This means regardless of the method the advertiser is using your software will likely prevent it from getting through to your computer. You will also be able to block banners in the area of instant messaging. This software comes with free updates as well as excellent customer support that is available 24/7 at no charge. SuperAdBlocker is available for only $29.95.

Mozilla is a type of Ad Blocker that allows you to make the choice of the advertisements you are exposed to as you go. It has a built in command called “block images from this server”. It is very simple to use. When you run across an ad you want blocked from your computer simply right click. Double click the “block images from this server” option ad the ad will disappear.

Those who advertise with AdSense aren’t happy about these various ad blockers as they feel they will make their effective marketing tool a waste of time. Those who advertise for Adsense are worried to because they don’t know how those blocked ads will make their website appear to the user. They can rest easy because all the user will see is a blank spot where the ad would have been.

Will Ad Blocks affect the vitality and economy of the internet? I guess it depends on who you ask. Some researchers believe Ad Blocks simply give the consumer some choice over what they are exposed to just like any other mode of advertising. We all have the right to turn the TV channel if we don’t like what is on just the same with the radio station. Other researchers believe that Ad Blocks will hurt the internet and cost consumers more in the long run. This is because the advertisers will have to find new methods of reaching the consumer but it will cost them more. That additional cost will be passed on to the consumers. However the world of advertising and consumers continues to evolve and there are always new ideas being introduced. It will be interesting to see what happens next.

You can choose from various types of programs and software to block such ads. Some will block all of the advertisements while others allow you to block them from particular hosts. Others allow you to click on particular ads and remove them from your computer. Ad Blocks give you a choice in how advertising online affects you and your computer.

About the Author

Terry Detty, 42, enjoys his time away from work and getting out for a breath of fresh air occasionally. Find up to date marketing news at the Search Engine Marketing Blog, one way links at online shopping mall or online SEO software services?

Top 10 List of the Best Affiliate Networks

First, if you’re new to affiliate marketing, some preliminary explanations may prove helpful in your quest for becoming a part-time or full-time affiliate marketer.

What is Affiliate Marketing?

Affiliate marketing is quite simple to explain: you promote and market a product or company in return for a commission if a sale or lead is made from your marketing efforts. With online affiliate marketing you simply place your affiliate ID embedded links on your web pages and if a customer clicks your link and proceeds to that designated company’s site and makes a purchase or signs up for a service, you earn a commission.

Affiliate marketing, if done right, can prove to be a very lucrative venture. Commissions can run anywhere from a few pennies to thousands of dollars for just one click or sale. Professional marketers develop affiliate relationships with hundreds of companies and build sites to promote these companies and products.

Needless to say, the advent of the Internet has been a golden opportunity for affiliate marketers to really expand their promotions and marketing. As more as more customers choose to buy online, advertising and purchases keep increasing at a maddening pace.

To accommodate all this online ecommerce we have seen the birth of large affiliate networks, operated by large corporations. Make no mistake, affiliate marketing is big business, accounting for billions in sales and commissions.

What is an Affiliate Network?

An affiliate network is a third party facilitator which brings affiliates and companies together. It connects Advertisers (companies with products or services to sell) together with Publishers (those who display and promote these products or services) so they can do business. The affiliate network does all the tracking, accounting and payment of commissions.

The following Top 10 list of the best Affiliate Networks is compiled by an actual full-time affiliate marketer who has worked these programs for over five years. This list is subjective and based on first-hand experience. It should be seen in this light and every marketer probably will have a different list or have these in a different picking order depending on the type and nature of their marketing.

But this list of the 10 Best Affiliate Networks will give you a general rundown on these affiliate networks and how they operate.

1. Commission Junction (www.cj.com)

Now owned by ValueClick, Commission Junction was one of the first affiliate networks. It is also one of the most important with many of the Top Fortune 500 companies listed here.

CJ is an international network with excellent stats and tracking (some of the best you will find), along with regular monthly payments makes this the obvious first choice for anyone wishing to try affiliate marketing. For those new or old at affiliate marketing, CJ also holds regular seminars and training sessions.

Most merchants offer pay-per-lead or pay-per-sale, one of the best features is the performance bonuses and incentives. As most experienced marketers will know, selling 50k to 100k each month for merchants will bring in the big incentives or bonuses.

Commissions run as high as 50% but most are in 3% to 15% range. You have the option of direct deposit for your payments. One major plus, CJ will tell you which merchants and ads are earning the most revenue for affiliates so you can easily choose which merchants are worth promoting.

2. ClickBank (www.clickbank.com)

ClickBank is another professional affiliate network with excellent stats and tracking. Easy to use and pays every two weeks.

ClickBank is slightly different from the other networks in that it deals mainly with digital download products. The commissions from ClickBank are usually much higher than the other networks, around 40% to 50% or more.

ClickBank has over 10,000 products but keep in mind, info-marketing products will have stiff competition from all the savvy and well established Internet marketers promoting these same products. Consider youself warned!

The most successful marketing tactic here is to first dominate your targeted niche with your blogs and sites, then find affiliate products to match your content or niche subject matter, whether it be gardening equipment, gaming laptops or Mediterranean cruises!.

3. LinkShare (www.linkshare.com)

LinkShare is another excellent affiliate network. It is one of the oldest affiliate networks on the web. LinkShare was recently acquired by the Japanese Portal Rakuten, with a price tag of $425 million.

Very good stats and reporting with their Synergy Analytics system. Many Top Fortune 500 companies are presented here so you will no trouble finding products and services to promote. LinkShare pays commissions as they receive them from merchants – monthly checks.

4. Affiliate Window (www.affiliatewindow.com)

Affiliate Window is an UK based affiliate network which offers top brand companies and good commission rates. Pays once a month and has excellent stats.

Savvy affiliate marketers know promoting in other countries can be much easier than promoting in the American market place. Mainly because these other countries haven’t become saturated with online marketers, little competition means more sales.

5. Amazon (www.amazon.com)

Amazon is another excellent affiliate network to join if you want to sell products from your site or blog. Amazon has excellent stats and the links are very easy to create and place on your web pages.

You also have the option of creating your own store with Amazon aStores. Amazon also now has context link ads and Widgets!

Commission rates are somewhat lower than the other networks but making sales thru Amazon is much, much easier. You will make more sales mainly because Amazon is a well known and trusted online company. Amazon now pays monthly.

6. Shareasale (www.shareasale.com)

Shareasale is yet another easy system to work with good stats and simple to create links. With 1,700+ merchants to choose from, Shareasale is another good affiliate network to promote.

The control panel is easy to use and the reporting is very good. Usually pays the month following your sales.

7. Google (www.google.com/adsense/)

Many won’t think of Google as an Affiliate network but it does run affiliate products thru its Adsense program. Very few products but like everything from Google it is professionally run and top caliber all the way.

Please note, top marketers know affiliate links/products on their content pages will return 10 times what Google Adsense will give them. However, these marketers will also know using Google Adsense on less targeted pages throughout your sites or blogs will give you a healthy return.

Besides receiving that monthly check from a multi-billion dollar company like Google will put a smile on your face every time.

8. LinkConnector (www.linkconnector.com)

LinkConnector is a relatively new affiliate network which launched in 2004. It has Pay Per Click, Pay Per Sale and Pay Per Lead. Good stats and reporting. Worth checking out for their different types of new affiliate technology such as Direct Linking which passes pagerank along to the merchant’s site.

9. CPA Empire (www.cpaempire.com)

Great CPA (Cost Per Action) network especially if you do a lot of email marketing and promotions. Geared towards acquiring leads and sign-ups but does offer other merchants as well. Good stats and reporting.

10. Independents

Individual affiliate deals with different companies which may or may not be listed with the major networks above. Your independent affiliate deals will be some of your most lucrative since you can sometimes work out separate private commission rates and bonuses. Aim for residual income here. Don’t ignore this aspect of affiliate marketing as it will pay the highest dividends.

Keep in mind, all the above affiliate networks are middlemen, they come between you and the merchant you’re promoting. For affiliates with a proven track record, who have shown they can deliver the customers and sales, a private deal cutting out the middleman/fees can prove very beneficial for both parties. If you’re fortunate enough to become known as a super affiliate, these private deals will become more common and more profitable.

Professional affiliate marketers use all of the above networks to create multiple income streams from their marketing efforts. In the process, they build a healthy monthly income for themselves and their families. There is no reason why you can’t do the same.

About the Author

The author is a full-time online marketer who has numerous websites, including two sites on Internet marketing. For the latest and most effective web marketing tools try: Internet Marketing Tools Copyright ? 2007 Titus Hoskins. This article may be freely distributed if this resource box stays attached.

Building Your Own Ecommerce Website

Building your own ecommerce website may not be as difficult or as expensive as you think. If you’re like the majority of people online, chances are that you have at least thought about building your own ecommerce website. The reason most people don’t get past the actual “thinking” process is because they believe there is too much technical expertise involved or the cost of building an ecommerce website is too high. With the new technology evolving so quickly, you can find many website building programs or softwares available. You can build your own ecommerce website quite easily if you have the right building tools and know the basic steps in putting one together.

First, choose a theme or concept for your site. Think of something that you are passionated about, such as singing, music, golfing, gardening, cycling, fishing, comic books, dieting, fitness, shopping, or anything else you may have an interest in, to use as your main theme. You want to be the expert of your chosen theme. If you are passionate about your hobby or concept, then you probably know more about it than most other people. Combining your own knowledge about your chosen theme with doing research on the Internet will make you an expert in no time!

You need a domain name. Register a domain name related to your site them or concept. Make a list of possible domain names that you would like to use, then choose a domain registrar, type in the domain names that you want to use until you find one that is still available, and if nothing you want that’s available, try using .net, .info instead of .com, or you can separate your domain name with a hyphen. There are hundreds of domain registrars on the internet, and most of them charge about ten dollars (or less) a year to register a domain name.

Now you need to find a software to build your own ecommerce website. There are many program you can find on the internet. Some range from a couple hundreds dollars, some let you use it for free. All these programs requires you to know some of the computer language coding and may need to download a few other softwares to create and publish the your site. This process could be a bit complicated if you don’t know enough about computer. To help simplify things for the not so techie people, a brand new website building tool is being released called Site Rubix. With Site Rubix, you will be able to drag and drop the content on your ecommerce website, make your own header, add videos or screenshot then publish it right within the software. You’ll save lots of time on learning the various programs needed to build your own ecommcerce website.

As for the content for your website, it may be overwhelming at first. Simply express your passion, your expertise on a subject related to your theme like you would be talking to a friend, then it will become much easier over time, and before you know it, you have a website full of interesting content.

Now think about how you can monetize your site’s theme. You can promote related affiliate programs or products, insert Google Adsense, selling your own ebooks, or any number of monetization models.

If you are satisfied with the look and feel of your site, you are ready to upload it to your web host for it to “go live” on the internet.Then your site has to be indexed to different search engines. Choose a reliable web hosting for your ecommerce site, because with the free hosting service that some internet companies offer, you won’t be able to use your own domain name. Hosting service is not at all expensive. You can have your site hosted for less than ten dollars per month.

To get high ranking in the search engines, you need to find the best keywords relating to your site concept. To find the best keywords (the ones with high demand and low supply), type your basic keyword (site concept) into any keyword research tool you like to use. It will generate a list of hundreds of keywords related to your site concept, with the detailed data for each keyword phrase. Pick out the best keywords that is suitable to your theme and use them as your site blueprint. You will then begin creating pages of content for your site revolving around the keywords you have chosen. Use one keyword phrase for each page you create, and be sure to insert the keyword phrase several times throughout your page. The page with the right keyword density will start to receive high search engine rankings and get targeted traffic to your website.

After you create each website, submit your page to each of the major search engines (Google, Yahoo and Windows Live). You may need to resubmit them about once a month until you get indexed. You can check if your page has been indexed by typing the URL of your page to the search engines.

It may take some time, effort and persistent on your part. When your site starts to receive traffic and generate profit, it will be all worthwhile since it’s running 24 hours a day, 7 days a week bringing in income with not much over head. Building your ecommcerce website yourself, you can save time and money, have total control of your own site without having to depend on your web developer should you ever want to make changes to your site.

About the Author

Visit Karen’s blog to find out how Site Rubix ecommerce website builder can help you dramatically cut your website building time so you can focus on what is more important to you: running a building a profitable ecommerce business.

http://siterubixsitebuilder.blogspot.com/2007/09/site-rubix-site-builder.html

How to Market Giblink with Squidoo

Have you heard of Squidoo? Chances are, if you have done any searching for Giblink on the Internet lately, you have run across a Squidoo site. However, if you don’t really know what it is, you are missing out on the newest phenomenon on the web.

If you have a website or blog, and want to get free traffic to it, using squidoo.com is one of the quickest and easiest ways. Not only is it free and easy, it is also fun.

An affiliate marketer can use squidoo to market the product they are trying to promote. One way to look at squidoo is kind of like a blog, my space account, and a mini-site. It is really a difficult method of marketing to explain.

Squidoo is so easy, that you can have it up and running, promoting whatever it is you want to promote, in 15 minutes.

On squidoo.com, you create what is called lenses. These are the squidoo sites that you may have run across while searching on the Internet. These lenses are a suidoo site used to promote a product or information. Within this lens, there are modules. Modules are basically like a post to a blog.

Within these modules, you can write articles, testimonials, and reviews about your product/service you are trying to sell. This is a great place to tell all the readers everything about this product/service, and to inspire them to learn more. You don’t want to give away everything about it, as this is where you want to promote the product. You eventually want them to click through to the site where the product or service is sold.

You can also use Squidoo to drive traffic to your primary blog by using the RSS feed module. You load the RSS feed from your blog and your lens will update as you update your blog.

There are so many different types of modules to use, such as the Ebay module for those who sell on Ebay.

There are also YouTube modules where can put a YouTube video within the module. As you can see, squidoo.com has so much to offer. They are also very helpful with tips about how to choose good keywords to get good traffic. The lenses rank high on Google, so you can build backlinks to your primary Giblink website if you wish.

One of the great things about Squidoo is that it is free, yet you can earn a little bit of money when you use it. Squidoo makes it money from affiliate advertising with Google AdSense, Ebay, and many other sites. They keep track of the earnings, for each module, and split the profits with you by half. If you choose, you can donate your money to a charity, set up through Squidoo.

Many squidoo users simply like to use it to get pertinent information out. They simply want to let other readers know about something that they feel is important, and they can share about their experiences with something they feel is important.

If you haven’t done so, start searching the Internet for Squidoo sites, and then visit squidoo.com and have fun.

About the Author

Discover how to clobber the competition and dominate virtually any online market or niche. See the amazing http://www.ClobberTheCompetition.com marketing strategy that allowed me to personally sponsor 116 people in less than 60 days.

Creating Your Own Information Product – Part One

There are a number of ways to create revenue online … Adsense, affiliate marketing, membership sites. But the best way to build the foundation for an online business is by creating your own information product.

I realize this can sound like a daunting task, but it doesn’t have to be. Just follow a few basic steps, put in the effort, and you’ll have an information product that’s uniquely yours.

But before you get started, you first want to make sure there’s a market for your information product. The quickest way to do this is to enter the keyword for your product into a Google search and see what comes up. For instance, let’s say you’re considering writing an ebook about how to paint with watercolors. You’d search on the term “how to paint with watercolors.”

Take a look at where Google sends you. Are there ads along the right side? If you don’t find any, then you might have a problem. If you do, then follow up on them. See what’s selling and make note of anything that appears to be missing. Also, you want to note how many competing websites Google lists (this information is located at the top on the right in the light blue bar).

Next, venture on over to the Overture Keyword Selector Tool (http://inventory.overture.com/d/searchinventory/suggestion/) to see how many searches are conducted for “how to paint with watercolors” every month. You’ll receive a list of the top 100 searches that include your search term (assuming there are 100). This will give you a ballpark figure of the size of your potential market.

Finally, check Google Groups (http://groups.google.com/) to see if there are any painting with watercolors groups. If there are, this can be a great place to find out what people are looking for. This is the type of valuable information that can help form the structure of your product and assure that you don’t leave out anything that might be vital to its success. Try a similar search for any forums that are related to painting with watercolors.

Got a market for your potential product?

Great! Now it’s time to get down to work.

Keep The Possibilities In Mind

At one time, most Internet products were delivered either as an ebook or as a software program. While both of these continue to be popular mediums, the Internet has evolved dramatically as additional bandwidth has become more accessible to greater numbers of people. Today, products are also delivered in the form of video lessons, audios, transcripts, CDs, hard packages (mailed directly to the buyer’s home), monthly membership sites, or any combination of these.

While at this point you certainly don’t need to make a decision about how you’re going to deliver your product, keep the possibilities in mind. Consider what might be the best way to convey information to your targeted audience? In the case of “painting with watercolors,” is an ebook the most effective medium? Or is it, perhaps, a video series actually showing you going through the process? Or a membership site that delivers a training series on new techniques every month? Or perhaps a combination of these?

Of course, your decision making process will have to take your budget into consideration. Can you afford the software required to put together a video series? Can you afford the software for a membership site? Just don’t lose sight of the fact that your primary consideration should be your potential customer. What will best suit his or her needs? Plus, with a little hunting around, you should be able to find some shortcuts that will make any required software reasonably affordable.

Just remember to think in the long term, not the short term. You’re building a business, not playing around with a product idea.

In Part Two, you’ll begin to research your topic and organize your material.

About the Author

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