Getting Started Online
Hi, I’m Sean Twomey and welcome to my personal website – the place where I share my ideas, experiences, insights and advice with regards to creating, managing and growing successful online businesses.
If you are new here, then you have found the right page. On this page I will share with you everything you need to know to get started creating and building your own business, earning income online as well as marketing any existing business via the web. But first…
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What is an Online Marketer, Mediapreneur and Digital Nomad?
As an Online Marketer, I focus on all aspects of promoting and selling a brand, product or service online. This includes website design and development, email marketing, content marketing, search marketing, social media marketing, mobile marketing, online advertising and web analytics. More about all of that later.
As a Mediapreneur, I run online businesses and create digital products to sell online. I’m also an affiliate marketer, which means that I recommend and sell other companies services and products and in exchange I receive a commission. However, I only recommend and sell services and products that I personally use and genuinely recommend.
As a Digital Nomad, I am location independent, which means that I have the freedom to work from anywhere as long as I have my “mobile office” and an internet connection. This let’s me design my work around my lifestyle instead of the other way round.
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How Do You Earn Money Online?
First of all it’s important to understad that there is no fast and easy way of earning money online. There are many get rich quick schemes out there, but this website is not one of them. Like most things, building an online business takes hard work, dedication and consistancy. However, it is not impossible.
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The 3 Models of Earning Income Online
1. Selling Products & Services
This is without a doubt the best way of generating income online. Digital products can include eBooks, online courses, membership site subscriptions or software. Services can include web app subscriptions, web design, web development, app development, graphic design, copywriting, editing, online marketing, or being a virtual assistant. You can of course also sell physical products online and there are ways of outsourcing the stock handling and shipping.
2. Affiliate Marketing
This involves recommending and selling other companies products and services by linking to them from your site using your special affiliate link. If someone makes a purchase using your link, then you receive a commission. Affiliate marketing has a bit of a bad reputation, because many promoters try sell whatever makes them the most commission without having an first hand experience with the product or service. I highly recommend only promoting products and services that you personally use or have used and genuinely find useful and recommend. It’s also advisable to let your readers know that you are including affiliate links as part of your content.
3. Advertising & Sponsorships
This option is often the first one everyone thinks of, but it is in fact the least effective (when getting started). Advertising and sponsorships only become feasible and lucrative when you have a substantial audience. When I say substantial, I mean thousands of podcast listeners, hundreds of thousands of website visitors and millions of youtube views. I would ignore this option for now if you are just getting started. Rather focus on selling your own product or service and find some affiliate offers that you can genuinely recommend to your audience.
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How To Get Started? My 11 Step Process.
1. Having The Right Mindset & Attitude
If you are looking for a magic silver bullet or overnight success, then I unfortunately won’t be able to help you. There are in fact a few “magic silver bullets”, however they’re not what you want to hear – they are hard work, consistency, continuous learning, persistence and a positive attitude. If you can line up all these characteristics, then you are destined to succeed. Online business and marketing is not a sprint, it’s a marathon. You need to commit and stick to it for the long haul.
2. Choosing The “Right” Niche & Planning For Success
Choosing the “right” niche refers to choosing an area of interest and expertise that you are A) passionate about and can add value to and B) that is profitable and in demand. Questions to ask yourself include … What problem are you solving? How can you add value? What do you know that others can benefit from knowing? What knowledge and experience do you have that you could teach someone else? What do your friends ask you advice about? What will someone be willing to pay you for? Who is your target audience?
3. Choosing A Name
The name of your website and business is not as important as you may think it is, so don’t get stuck trying to find the perfect name. Give it some thought, make a decision and move forward. Keep it short, unique, memorable and easy to spell and make sure that the name you choose is available as a .com or .net (ideally .com) domain name. What is important is your hook – in other words why should people listen to you and how can you help them solve a problem or pain point? Before finalising your name, also make sure to check the major social networks to see if the username is available. For example “facebook.com/yourname”, “twitter.com/yourname”, “youtube.com/yourname” & “pinterest.com/yourname”.
4. Creating A Website
To have a presence online, you need your own website. This will be your home on the internet – the place where potential customers can read about you and your business, connect with you, hire you and/or buy your products or services. I highly recommend using a self hosted WordPress site and hosting it with Dreamhost. To learn how to register a domain, setup your hosting and install WordPress, click the button below.
5. Publishing Content & Blogging
After setting up your own website, you’ll need to start creating and publsihing content. WordPress makes it really easy to manage the content on your your own website. You can easily publish new pages and blog posts, as well as edit them anytime. You’ll want to create various pages on your website explaining who you are and what you’re offering. You’ll also want to create regular blog posts discussing topics relating to your niche and your work.
6. Building An Audience
Creating a website, publishing content and offering a product or service is worthless if you don’t share and promote it. There are many different ways of generating traffic to your website. Online marketing is an ongoing process that you will need to learn about and apply. It includes search marketing, email marketing, social media marketing and online advertising. I will cover all of these topics in due course.
7. Building A Mailing List
Email marketing is one of the most effective, yet undervalued, forms of online marketing. It’s crucial to start collecting email addresses and building an email list from the start. By collecting email addresses from those that are interested in what you are offering online, you have a direct line of communication to followers. That way you can stay in touch with them, build a relationship with them, understand their requirements, nurture them as leads and hopefully sell them your services and/or products down the line.
8. Generating Sales
To earn income online, you need to generate sales. Make sure that your website has the necessary pages in place describing what it is you are offering, as well as a call to actions, contact forms and/or buy now buttons to encourage enquiries and sales.
9. Content Marketing
As you build up your online presence you’ll want to regularly create and publish new content, which you’ll then promote online in order to increase traffic to your site. Your content can include blog posts, graphics, podcasts and videos.
10. Social Media Marketing
As part of your online presence you’ll want to join the conversation online and share your content on social media networks like Facebook, Twitter, Google+ and LinkedIn. Before jumping in and posting your content, it is important to understand the fundamentals and best practices of effective social media marketing.
11. Web Analytics & Optimisation
In order to track your progress and make regular improvements, you will need to track your web properties using tools like Google Analytics. Knowing what strategies and tactics are working will help you make necessary changes to optimize your online platform.
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Staying Ahead By Staying Up To Date
In the world of online business and marketing it is crucial to keep your finger on the pulse. I will thus regularly be posting new posts, videos and audios covering latest developments and best practices. Make sure to sign up to my list to get my weekly email update to stay in the know what is working right now.
I Am Here To Help You Succeed
Please contact me if you have any questions or if there is anything you need help with. I am here to help you succeed. You can email me anytime at sean@seanptwomey.com
To Your Success
Sean P. Twomey