Brian Dew’s IM TidBits

There are numerous ways to make money online. You should
focus on choosing the one which fits your interests and skills,
not just the one everyone else says brings “easy money”.

Here are some of the most common online business models:

1. Selling tangible goods

2. Selling information products (intangible/downloaded)

3. Affiliate marketing

It takes a certain personality to thrive in any one of these. Let’s
take a look at the traits associated with each.

The Seller of Tangible Goods

This type of entrepreneur usually possesses previous
experience in the retail industry, though it is not totally
necessary to have previous experience in order to succeed.
However, an inexperienced online retailer faces the biggest
learning curve.

In order to sell tangible goods, you’ll need to learn the ins
and outs of wholesale for product sourcing. You’ll need to learn
how to set the optimal price point for your products to remain
profitable and competitive. You must deal with shipping and
returns.

If you run a one-person operation, it will be near impossible to
ship products in the necessary volume. In this case, you’ll need
to find companies which can “drop ship” your product. Drop
shipping is a fulfillment service.

Your customer purchases a product from you at your retail
price and then you order that product from a wholesaler at the
wholesale price and they ship the product to the customer on
your behalf.

This sounds ideal – but be forewarned. Most established
wholesalers have minimum order requirements and will not
ship single items.

Drop ship wholesalers often mark up their prices and you end
up paying at least 10%-15% above the true wholesale cost.
This isn’t a small price to pay when your objective is
competitive pricing. Even a small mark up can kill your profit
margin.

If you choose this route, be prepared for a lot of hard work!
Online retail requires persistence, patience, strategic planning
and a high degree of risk.

The Seller of Intangible/Information Products

Information products present an ideal opportunity for small,
home-based business owners. Your costs of development and
overhead are low, while your potential profit margin is high.

Why?  You can set any price you choose when you own your
own product.

Your supply never runs out. You are limited only by your
imagination and your ability to think up new and creative
products to sell.

You will need a new skill set if you choose this path. Primarily,
you will need to learn good copywriting skills and how to sell
people on what they desire, not on what they think they need.
It’s relatively simple to entice a visitor to purchase, say, an
MP3 player when they’re already looking for one. This doesn’t
require convincing sales copy.

An information product, though, does require good copy.
You’re asking your potential customer to invest in a product
they aren’t familiar with – something they can’t see or touch
or play with like a tangible product.

Information marketing is very much “all in the mind”. It rests
on your ability to stir up people’s passions and secret wishes.
If you pride yourself on seeing “the big picture” and have the
heart of a teacher or communicator, information marketing
could be the right choice for you.

The Affiliate Marketer – My Favorite!

The affiliate marketer is an interesting breed. He makes a
living selling products he does not own. His profit comes from
commissions paid on sales he refers to other merchants.

As an affiliate marketer, you can ‘sell’ both tangible and
intangible products. In other words, you could earn
commissions on anything from a vacuum cleaner to an
e-book.

Obviously, you have a great deal of latitude in which
products you choose to market.

This breadth of options is both a strength and weakness.
It’s very easy to lose focus. It’s also such a popular
business that you face competition in the thousands – not
just from other affiliates, but sometimes the merchants
themselves.

The number one skill to develop as an affiliate marketer
is the ability to generate highly targeted traffic. You also
need to learn how to capture that traffic and do a bit of
extra selling before they hit the merchant’s site. If you
don’t capture the visitor’s e-mail address, they’re gone
for good – and you’ll get stuck trying to generate volumes
of traffic over and over again just to capture enough
“luck of the draw” sales to get by. It’s like throwing your
ad budget down a hole.

If you want to be an affiliate marketer, be prepared for
stiff competition and be ready to innovate on a constant
basis. Last but not least, have a back up plan. Many
affiliates have been left in the lurch by unethical merchants
or merchants who suddenly go out of business. Remember,
your paycheck is in someone else’s hands.

Learn more about Affiliate Marketing:

http://AffiliateCashSecrets.com

Regards,
Brian Dew