Since I started working online, I’m asked weekly “How Do You Work Online?” or “What Can I Do To Work Online?”

That is a loaded question that is full of a lot of choices, and your first choice is deciding on which business model you are going to follow. If you don’t make this choice carefully, you’ll find yourself hopping from business model to business model, spending money on programs and “secrets,” and not making any profits at all. Trust me when I say that finding a business model that appeals to you and working with that model will go a long way toward helping you succeed online.

I personally started with an eCommerce site, selling my own manufactured products as well as products I sourced. I then had the ability to start consulting other start-up entrepreneurs on how to bring their own product to market and I also did freelance work. But it doesn’t stop there, I also leverage affiliate marketing (where you get paid a commission for products your recommend) but through all the years I have seen or tried more models than I can list.

If you are just starting out there are a few basic business models to choose from that will give the greatest chance of success (and save you from the scammers). Each of them have their advantages and disadvantages. By looking over this list and considering your strengths, you should know where you want to focus your business.

- Information Publisher

When you create your own product, you are in complete control of your stream of income. By writing a product, or hiring a ghostwriter to write one, you can set up a website and sell your product over and over again. You can set up an affiliate program so other people are selling the product for you. The only major downside is that you can spend a lot of time and money working on a niche product that may not fill your expected income.

I just started working with Wishlist, it is a membership plugin you add to your WordPress blog and boom, your membership is site is up and running. Here is a free video on building a community with Wishlist.

- Affiliate

This is my FAVORITE model for a beginner just getting started. Unlike being a product creator, with affiliate marketing you don’t have to spend time and money creating a product. You just need to be good at promoting the product. You’ll earn commissions for sending buyers to the product creator’s website. With the right promotional techniques, you can establish yourself in the niche and make affiliate commissions from several different programs all at once. On the other hand, you are at the whim of the product creator when you use this business model. You never know when a product creator will stop offering the product.

I find affiliate marketing can be a difficult concept for some, so let me break it down this way.

We have a bean bag chair that our entire family loves, all visitors to my house climb in and won’t get out of it and it’s totally not your “average” bean bag chair, really, it kicks butt

So we are always telling people where to buy their own, it’s natural word of mouth recommendation but heck.. what if you can make a few bucks on that recommendation? I do so in three easy steps.

1. I simply joined the bean bag chair’s “Affiliate Program”
2. I bought a URL- http://www.bestbeanbagchair.com that was easy to remember
3. I forward the special tracking link from the affiliate program and to my URL so the store knows I sent that visitor.
4. Money get’s deposited into my Paypal account every month when someone visits the website and buys a rockin bean bag chair.
5. I’m happy to get a few bucks for my personal recommendation (I only recommend things I really do like and use), the store is happy that they just made a sale and the new customer is happy because they have a great product. Everyone wins!

That is the very basics of affiliate marketing, obviously, you can get crazy and promote that link everywhere and make even more money.

- Administrator

Starting your own membership site is another option. With affiliate programs and information products, you’ll earn money from a one time sale. When you own a membership site, you’ll have an ongoing stream of income coming from one website. You can provide monthly reports on a niche topic, host a forum or offer coaching for a flat fee each month. You can even use an affiliate program with your membership site so that other people will send new members your way. The downside is that you need to keep providing fresh content each month to keep your members sticking around.

What hobby do you already have that others can use? Would people be willing to pay you 10.00 a month for a new pattern of the month club?

- Virtual Assistant or Virtual Specialist

The world of the web is exploding around us, website and business owners are always looking for services, what skills do you have that can earn a little extra cash or even your full time income.

One of the best programs I found will guide you to become an Internet Marketing Specialist. The Internet Marketing Specialist 2010 Training Program will equip you with the exact skills, knowledge and tools to be able to fully coordinate and implement your client’s Internet Marketing campaigns from start to finish! This is a great option if you prefer to be service based and have a more reliable income. Of course, the fact that you get to work when you want to work and in your jammies is a bonus.

Plus, you will gain new Internet Marketing tips and tactics to help you further ignite the visibility, traffic and overall web presence for your own business!

As a special bonus, you can bundle your course with a 2 Half Day Clinic Keyword Research and Optimization Clinic.

Use the coupon code for a reduced rate. $100 Coupon Code: IMST2010

There are a few options for you to consider, again, it is important for you to have a clear vision of your own goals and realistic expectation of your time. Unlike what people try to convince you, success to become a millionaire does NOT happen overnight.

To Your Success,

p.s. The Internet Marketing Specialist course starts April 26 and seats are limited so take advantage of this offer now, I’m not sure how often they open the program. Here’s the coupon code again for $100 bucks off: IMST2010

Post from: Online Business Marketing For Home Based Businesses

4 Business Models To Get Started Making Money Online

I just got done reviewing Charles Kirkland WordPress Codebreaker, a new product that just hit the market so I thought while the thoughts are fresh and my notes are not shuffled to the bottom of my to do list, I would post my initial reactions here.

I apologize that this is not going to be a full “formal” review but I think I have a couple important thoughts that I wanted to capture.

First, I’ll point out that this product is all video based and perfect for the beginner wanna be blogger- I mean really perfect, and the price? For under $40.00 someone will be given the step by step blueprint to how to set up a blog, one video at a time… you can’t pay a virtual assistant that cheap to do it for you.

Like I said, I’ll go into more depth later on but here are what I consider a couple of my biggest take aways after watching all the videos:

• This really is soup to nuts on how to set up a blog start to finish
• The videos are all screen captures so you don’t miss anything
• The common steps that are taken for granted like how to ftp, how to set up feedburner, how to do SEO on your blog, even how to find content and actually make your blog posts!
• How to upgrade your WordPress from one version to another in a series of about 8 videos. Very helpful especially since I “heard” that the WP automatic upgrade plugin will not work on future versions of WordPress….(I have not investigated the truth of that)
• ADSENSE! These videos go into the best Adsense tips to get the most out of your blog if you are using that as your $$ strategy.
• How to make more money with your blogroll- brilliant strategy that I will try out myself!

Who would I recommend this product for? Anyone that is new to blogging and wants to learn how to do everything from start to finish from changing themes to installing MyBlogLog. You can check out my thoughts on MyBlogLog in my earlier post here.

This would also be great for anyone that isn’t a techy geek but is interested in adding an additional revenue stream or just making money flipping blogs, this is a very small investment that would pay for itself.  Blog flipping is a simple business model and you could easily make $100.00 or more in 24 hours with all free tools and not having any additional skills then what is shown in these videos.
So there you have it, my totally off the cuff, first thoughts after watching all the videos in the WordPress Codebreaker. Even after I have set up many, many blogs myself I still learned some golden nuggets in these videos. I highly suggest you check it out!

Still not sure? Get your FREE WordPress videos now… Click here!

Post from: Online Business Marketing For Home Based Businesses

Charles Kirkland WordPress Codebreaker Review

A couple months ago I created a Barefoot Bootcamp blog post about the new program offered by the Barefoot Executive. You might have remembered that I focused on Barefoot Bootcamp being especially for Network or multi level marketing professionals, however, that all changes this round!

The first Barefoot Bootcamp was such a success, and Carrie Wilkerson, the Barefoot Executive herself has such a loyal following of business owners from every background, that she just opened a second program that fits any business model!

Online Marketing Barefoot Bootcamp Open NOW

This program will run over the course of three weeks and will include the following Lessons via webinars:

• Who is your target market
• List Building
• Affiliate Marketing
• Product Creation
• Using Video (from my favorite video guy AskMrVideo!)
• Monetize Your Mind- this alone is priceless-everyone should be able to make money from what you already know right?

They say a picture is worth a thousand words. Then video must be worth millions, go check out the Barefoot Bootcamp videos and you will see what the right information can do for your business.

New = Scary?

I have spoken before how my own online business has grown since I took the leap of faith (still with a rock in the pit of my stomach) to invest in my eduction and it has returned ten fold with the knowledge, earnings, networking and connections that it opened up to me. I can’t believe how much of a personal impact it has on your business when you start associating with like minded, motivated and dedicated people.

As I stated above, the classes haven’t even started yet and the forum is already active with people connecting and sharing information, resources and encouragement. It’s exciting to think about it exploding after this group of motivated people start taking action and implementing the new techniques.

Is Barefoot Bootcamp For You?

I know I have a good number of readers that are ecommerce owners, and I asked myself if this would apply to anyone that is running an ecommerce store. I decided that it really depends on your personal situation.

There are some ecommerce store owners that are happy with a few extra bucks every week and are enjoy creating and packing their orders every day. Honestly, this may not be the best fit for you. However, if you are someone that wants to learn more about how to grow your business into different areas and learn how to leverage connections, affiliates and enhance your online business with other income streams then you could absolutely learn from this bootcamp and benefit from the masterminding that occurs in the forum.

There are two problems with this next round of Barefoot Bootcamp.

1. There are only 75 seats available and last time I checked it already dropping into 60 open seats. Due to the format and the personal interaction it can’t let in everyone that wants to attend.

2. The second problem? It starts this Thursday, Yes THIS Thursday, so you need to jump at the opportunity. I already have registered and the forum is already very active with everyone that can’t wait to put massive action into place.

Start by taking one small action item and checking out the videos, reading more details and see the incredible bonuses that are available and imagine what you can do with that knowledge, resources, support and encouragement- visit Barefoot Bootcamp now and get ready to kick off your shoes and get to work!

Hey, if you join, then let me know and we’ll work through the lessons together!

Post from: Online Business Marketing For Home Based Businesses

Barefoot Bootcamp Review