Start Your On-Line Business.
Everywhere you turn there seem to be offers for starting a business online. Surely the market is saturated. No, it’s not, and stop calling me ‘Surely’ (Sorry, a flying high joke).
Here are some statistics for 2024 that show the room for growth and how fast the market is growing.
E-commerce Statistics of 2024 (Top Picks)
- There are 2.71 billion online shoppers worldwide.
- 20.1% of retail purchases are expected to take place online in 2024. …
- E-commerce sales will surpass $6.3 trillion in 2024.
- There are over 26.6 million eCommerce stores globally.
- 52% of online shoppers look for products internationally.
- 34% of shoppers shop online at least once a week.
- 99% of customers look for reviews when they shop online.
Source; Bing
And my personal opinion is that AI is going to take over so many jobs that you need to get a foot in the “online doorway” now. Those who wait will be struggling to search for an income to help your family and goals.
Writing blogs and creating a website are the foundation of an online business. In the three years I have been doing it I am now at the stage I do not have to rely on others “payslips”
And that is one of the things you need to know, why are you doing it? And don’t tell me you can’t do it, I sarted my life as a cleaner, then a printer and moved around…so if I can do it, you can too.
Think Clearly
Getting clear on why you’re creating a blog or website sets the foundation for everything else. Is it for sharing knowledge, building a personal brand, or driving business? Knowing your primary goal helps shape your content, design, and marketing efforts.
Digging into who your target audience is can’t be skipped. Think about their demographics, interests, and pain points. Creating user personas can help make this more concrete. When you know who you’re talking to, making content that resonates becomes a lot easier. In other words discover your ‘niche”. Most people go for something they like or know about.
For example, I have been teaching ESL in Vietnam for over 10 years ( English as a Second Language) and my wesite www.vietnamesl.com is one of my “niches” And very successfull.
Taking a look at what your competitors are doing provides valuable insights. Check out the type of content they produce, their design elements, and user engagement tactics. This can highlight gaps you can fill and opportunities to improve.
Every piece of content should align with what your users need and want. Regularly ask for feedback, and use it to adjust your strategy. Tools like surveys or comment sections can be instrumental in gathering this crucial information.
Planning and Designing Your Blog or Website
Choosing the right domain name and hosting service is step one. Your domain name should be memorable and reflect your brand or topic. When it comes to hosting, reliability and speed are crucial. Research and pick a service that offers excellent customer support and scalability options.
Selecting the right platform or Content Management System (CMS) makes a big difference. WordPress, Wix, and Squarespace are popular options, each with its own set of pros and cons. Consider ease of use, customization options, and available plugins or extensions.
The Best Content Management Software (CMS) Systems of 2024
Wix: Best overall
WordPress.com: Best for tight budgets
Drupal: Best for enterprises
Shopify: Best for e-commerce businesses
Joomla: Best for new developers
TYPO3: Best for extension library
WordPress.org: Best for customization
My favorite is WordPress, I like the ease of operation ( You can set up a website in less than 5 minutes), the support you get and the huge number of ‘themes” and “plugins”
Design principles really matter for user experience and accessibility. Your site should be easy to navigate, with a clean design and a logical layout. Don’t forget mobile users; responsive design is essential. Pay attention to color schemes and fonts to ensure readability and visual appeal.
Your content strategy and editorial calendar will keep you organized. Plan out what types of content you’ll create and how often you’ll publish. An editorial calendar helps manage deadlines and ensures a consistent posting schedule, which is key to maintaining audience interest.
Creating High-Quality Content
E-E-A-T is a cornerstone of content creation. Incorporate your experiences and expertise into your writing to build trustworthiness. Whether you’re a seasoned professional or an enthusiastic amateur, showcase your knowledge clearly and confidently.
Engaging and informative posts are the backbone of any successful blog or website. Focus on delivering value to your readers. Answer common questions, solve problems, or provide insights that are hard to find elsewhere. Aim for clarity and conciseness while keeping your unique voice and perspective.
Multimedia elements like images, videos, infographics, and podcasts can enrich your content. They can illustrate points more effectively than text alone, keeping readers engaged and making your site more dynamic. Always ensure multimedia elements are high quality and relevant to the content.
Read more here at ” Why your blog needs images”
SEO is important, but quality should never be sacrificed for it. Use keywords naturally, write compelling meta descriptions, and structure your posts with headings and subheadings. Properly optimized content helps search engines understand it better without compromising readability and user experience.
Read more about SEO here at my website with this link “What is SEO”
Promoting and Maintaining Your Blog or Website
Effective promotion strategies ensure your content reaches the right audience. Utilize social media platforms, engage in relevant online communities, and leverage email marketing. Consistently sharing your latest posts and updates keeps your audience in the loop and drives traffic to your site.
Building and engaging with your online community fosters loyalty and interaction. Respond to comments, conduct polls, and host live sessions or webinars. When your audience feels heard and valued, they’re more likely to stay engaged and spread the word about your content.
Read more here about “Social media marketing”
Monitoring Performance
Monitoring performance with analytics tools helps refine your strategy. Tools like Google Analytics provide insights into your site’s traffic, user behavior, and popular content. Regularly review these metrics to pinpoint what’s working and where there’s room for improvement.
Regularly updating content is vital for relevance and SEO. Fresh, up-to-date content keeps your site relevant to your audience and improves your rankings. Schedule time for content audits to update or remove outdated information and confirm all links and multimedia elements are functioning properly.
My Experience.
I have been with an affiliate platform called “Wealthy Affiliate” for the last 3 years and if it was not for them I would still be “tripping over my ankles” and not making money.
First off, it is not easy but some tips make things easier and I’m going to show you how.
What would you look for in an online business and what would you want provided by a platform that helps people achieve their online dreams?
Three years ago that is the question I was asking,
And here are some other common questions people ask as well.
Questions
Number 1. How Much does it cost, tell me up front…don’t stuff around with bits and pieces.
Answer. It is $50.00 US a month, but during “Halloween”, you can get 50% bonuses. Not guaranteed, but it has been done for the last 3 years and it is “grandfathered” which means the cost never changes.
( You can look for free though, I must have been one of the most cautious people because I had a free look for 3 months)
Number 2. What training is given? Because I can turn on a computer and I know the basics but asking me to do anything outside of that is “Alien” for me.
Answer. Full training from building a website ( A 5-minute process ) to learning about SEO or Search Engine Optimization and this training is done daily. There is a step-by-step introduction for those just starting and you can always return to it.
Number 3. What support do I get? I live in Vietnam so I don’t want to wait 8 hours to get a response to my problem. (We have members all around the world)
Answer. There is a 24/7 “help” line that will answer all questions about your website.
Number 4. Can I look around for free without handing over my credit card details
Answer. Yes.
Number 5. Do “Wealthy Affiliate” take a “cut” on any commission earned from anybody?
Answer. No.
Number 6. Can I speak to the owners?
Answer. Yes, even though there are over 2.7 million members ( Source; Co-Pilot) Kyle and Carson are very approachable and I am currently doing a P.P.C campaign with Kyle mentoring me.
Wealthy Affiliate Success Stories
Here are some blog posts from WA members who have followed the training and achieved results.
They are real people just like you and me, and most of them have started as complete beginners to affiliate marketing and thanks to WA they are now making money.
There are too many to list all of them but I hand-picked some highlights. Not because how much they made, but because they are all “normal folk” like you and me.
From, Wealthy Affiliate Website.
Wealthy Affiliate Complaints
Wealthy Affiliate is not perfect and they have had their complaints. So in fairness, I should show some of the complaints that have happened in the past.
Random & Unrelated Blog Posts
Wealthy Affiliate has this integrated blog system that allows members to browse & post blogs kind of like on Facebook. This brings some understandable problems.
These blog posts should be related to online businesses but some people tend to think WA is the same as Facebook.
Every day you can read how someone forgot to take their morning medicine or how their dog just had a birthday party. It doesn’t really help your business much, right?
This is understandable though. Many beginners are just getting started with WA and they might not “get it” immediately.
At this point, it’s just something you have to deal with and scroll past.
The “Unnecessary” Ambassador Program
Everyone inside Wealthy Affiliate has a number rank that indicates how active you are within the platform.
The most active members in the top 25 will receive an “ambassador” status which doesn’t have any correlation to how successful someone’s business is. It just means you spend all day long socializing in WA.
This also means some people pursue this status with the only reason of “showing off”. There are exceptions of course but having an “ambassador” status doesn’t mean you should follow their advice blindly.
Outdated Training Created By Members
Every day people in WA are creating guides and sharing their strategies on how to best make money with our websites.
This has been ongoing for over a decade which makes the place pretty unique.
Inevitably there is user-created content that is outdated by now and should be deleted.
The old content is being cleaned constantly but it’s not uncommon to come across a blog post written many years ago that shares a strategy that might not work anymore. Source: ” Affiliatist.”
But like any company that has been helping others for a long time, you will always get the haters, especially if those are people who have not been successful.
And for those who know me, you will know my opinion. And if you don’t read my blog about how people fail in Affiliate marketing below,
Thanks.
“Why do Affiliate Marketers Fail?”
Steve
And a little more about me; “Lions Gate 888”
I wish you all the best in your online business journey.
Any or all links on this site may be affiliate links, and if you purchase something through those links I will make a small commission on them.
There will be no extra cost to you and at times due to my affiliation, you could actually save money.
You can read our full affiliate disclosure here.