Thursday, October 2, 2008

Why some people succeed online, when others fail

It's a pretty big call I know.

Nonetheless, I believe one of the main reasons that people fail
to make decent money online is simply because they are not
strategic and focused enough.

The majority of people tend to float around from one opportunity
to the next, hoping and praying that this will bring them that
big payday the hype peddlers promised.

Is this you? Even to a small degree?

Don't feel too bad. I reckon all of us have done it at some
stage. I know I've been guilty of it.

It's so difficult not to feel like this when you're presented
with so many different opportunities every day.

Several years ago I identified this as a major problem in my own
life. I was too opportunistic and not focused enough.

I wanted to break free of it, so spent some time studying
the characteristics of people who were able to REALLY take things
to the next level.

I'm talking about making tens of millions a year.

Of course there were a lot of common characteristics like hard
work, intelligence, determination and attitude that were part
of their dramatic success.

However, the common characteristic that stood out the most was
how all of them worked within the confines of a strong
business model.

All of them had a clear structure that they could focus their
energies on to build their business day after day.

They were not jumping from one thing to the next to pick up
loose change. They were building a strong business (within the
framework of their business model).

A business model is really nothing more than a representation
of how a business intends to make money. In a way, the strategic
blueprint behind creating profits.

Some business models are incredibly complex, while others are
relatively simple. All should be deliberate and calculated to
maximize profits.

Here are some online business models you've probably come across.

1) Membership sites
2) Traffic brokering
3) Advertising
4) Physical products
5) Consulting
6) Software creation
7) Software as a service
8) Email marketing
9) Directories
10) Affiliate marketing
11) Ebay
12) Adsense arbitrage
13) Premium content
14) Digital products
15) Seminars
16) Coaching and mentoring
17) Lead generation
18) Social networking
19) Freelancing
20) Blogging
21) Website hosting

The list goes on ....

Within each of those broad categories, there are thousands of
intricate ways each specific business can operate.

In my opinion, if you want to be successful, you need to figure
out exactly what business you're in. In other words, what's your
business model.

Start asking yourself:

1) Do I even have a business model?
2) If so, how can it be improved?
3) Can I scale it easily? How?
4) Am I running lots of business models? If so, why?
5) Does this business model suit my strengths?

I suggest if this stuff isn't clear to you, you should take a
step back and really get to the bottom of it.

Spend some time fully researching the different business
models that are available and match them against your strengths
and capabilities.

Once you've figured out what business you want to be in, then go
after it with focus and determination.

Don't start a business on a whim.

Don't give it a month or two and throw your hands up in the air
and say it doesn't work.

That's like trying to grow a fruit tree and when it doesn't bear
fruit after the first season cutting it down to try and grow
another kind of fruit.

You need to have determination to ignore and switch off
competing and seemingly easier opportunities that we're
bombarded with everyday.

It's difficult, but it's worth it. If you've done your research
well, then have faith and execute your plan with bulldog
determination.

You can do it.

Over the following 3 weeks, I'm going to show you my 3
favorite business models for making money online.

I'll outline why I like them, what capital is required to get
them off the ground, what characteristics are required in a
person who is running this kind of business, what are the risks,
their ability to scale, as well as their strengths and
weaknesses.

Until then, have a think about what business model might be
right for you.

Friday, September 26, 2008

Welcome to the Associate Programs Newsletter

Thanks for subscribing to the Associate Programs Newsletter.

I'm Allan Gardyne.

I've been studying and joining affiliate programs since 1997
and launched AssociatePrograms.com in 1998.

My wife, Joanna, and I been earning a very good living from
affiliate programs since I "quit my day job" in 1998.

My goal is to help you earn a good income from affiliate
programs, and perhaps quit your day job, too, if that's your
aim.

You can do that wherever in the world you live.


MY LIFESTYLE

Most of the time we've been online, Joanna and I lived in a
self-designed pole house by the beach at Tuan, a little fishing
village in Queensland, Australia.

We now spend winters at our apartment at Rainbow Bay, Queensland,
and summers in Dunedin, New Zealand, where we've bought a cottage
which overlooks the harbor.

If you're curious and would like to see some photos
of our water views, see...

http://www.AssociatePrograms.com/pages/About-Us.html

I love affiliate programs because they're so forgiving. It's
possible to make lots mistakes and still earn a good living.

Explore http://www.AssociatePrograms.com

You'll find LOTS of useful info - affiliate tips, a friendly,
helpful affiliate forum, newsletter archives, recommended
products, affiliate directory, affiliate Knowledge Base, etc...


FREE TUTORIAL

For example, I've summed up all the main points I've learned and
put them in an 18-step Affiliate Program Tutorial.

There's no charge. See...

Affiliate Program Tutorial
http://AssociatePrograms.com/articles/188/1/Affiliate-Program-Tutorial

We recently did a major revamp of the site, with new navigation and
new onsite search engine to help you find your way around.

There are now sections for Beginners, Intermediate and Advanced.

There's not a lot of material in the Advanced section yet. We're
working on it. :)


YOUR SPECIAL REWARD:

Here's a bonus for signing up for the Associate Programs Newsletter.

It's my 69-page FREE report, "77 Ways to Get Traffic".

I wrote it because on our affiliate forum people kept asking,
"How can I get more traffic to my site?"

This reports describes 77 ways. Most of them are free.

You can download it here...

http://www.AssociatePrograms.com/pages/77ways.html

The Associate Programs Newsletter is published irregularly,
usually about twice a month, only when I have something
particularly useful to share with you.

This gives me plenty of time to answer questions on our forum -
http://www.AssociatePrograms.com/discus/ftopic5289.html - and
work on new affiliate projects with my assistants.

If you're eager to see copies of the newsletter, here's some good
news: All editions dating right back to April 1998 are archived
online:

http://www.AssociatePrograms.com/categories/Newsletter-Archive


All the best,

Allan Gardyne, CEO

http://www.AssociatePrograms.com
http://www.PayPerClickSearchEngines.com
http://www.LifetimeCommissions.com
http://www.LifetimeCustomers.com
http://www.KeywordWorkshop.com

... and a few other experimental sites