Is it building your list?

You will hear and read over and over again that this is held true, and most people will agree that having a responsive list, with whom you have a trusting relationship, is the most important and necessary component to becoming successful online. This is where most of your efforts will be focused and it will take up most of your time.

But alas, I find myself unable to fully agree. Over all this time spend online, I have reached a slightly different conclusion: that having a cooperative, keen and receptive list who look forward to your communications because they know that you deliver excellent value and truly want them to benefit positively from your advice, training and suggestions, is ONLY THE SECOND MOST IMPORTANT PART and SHOULD ONLY BE FOCUSED ON LATER ON! Arrggh, heresy, you say?

No, I have found that the most important thing you will need is:

Have something to say or share.

It sounds obvious, but it is often overlooked as people rush to the Internet and think they can become overnight internet barons, go boating, skiing, vacationing and have villas overseas.

Hold on, while this is of course possible for many, other mere mortals might find it more of a challenge to become multimillionaires by working a 4 hour week with minimal input and effort.

Yep, you will first need to:

• Know why you are going online to start a business as opposed to starting a business offline or in your local community.
• What are your driving forces and passions behind wanting to start up a business in the first place?  (Contrary to popular opinion, it is always hard to start a business and does require effort, hard work and sacrifice, especially in the beginning.)
• What are you going to be selling? Remember, if you want people to buy from you (how else will your business be profitable) you have to offer your customers something which they need and would be willing to pay you for.
• How much time will you have at your disposal in order to do this, and how are your energy levels?  Will you be able to stay committed, to stay focused, and to keep going even in the face of constant setbacks and disappointments?
• What methods do you want to use in order to make money online?  There seem to be so many, such as affiliate marketing (promoting other people’s products, as if you were a salesperson for a company or business), writing a book or informational product, selling physical products or digital products, writing blog posts, doing reviews, surveys, research, typing, and so on. Which method will suit you best?
• What is it you want as an end result? What will having this business online mean to you ultimately?

Because it is almost guaranteed that if you do not know what you want to be doing, and why you want to do it, you will be all over the place, and that means failing in the long run. Just as in athletics, you need to be able to see the end post; otherwise you will not keep running to get there.

Again, what do you want to say with your website and blog? Do you have specific talents or do you have specific knowledge which you know will be able to help others? Are you in a specific situation and have learned to cope with it, which you could share with others out there?  Are you creative and look forward to helping others find their own creativity? Are you very good with finding information and would like to help others with completing their research more competently? Have you always had an itch to write funny articles for magazines, or for writing a novel, which you know others will enjoy reading? Do you know how to fix things, or build things, and you know others will enjoy knowing how to do this as well?

You notice from the above that I keep mentioning helping others.

This is because I have found this to be the single most oft repeated reason most of the successful online marketers and business owners mention when asked what they hold most important. If you genuinely desire to help others, you will be much more likely to succeed than if you just want to go online to make big bucks.

Of course, there is nothing wrong with making money; we all need to do that in order to survive. Some need more than others to be happy and fulfilled, some need less. But if that is your only motivation, what will you offer your customers? Information on buy this, buy that, and you can’t wait to convince them to give you their hard earned cash? That might be quite risky, because there is a lot of free information out there. Why would people pay for what they could get for free?

But many would be willing to pay for specific knowledge, expertise, experience and for items they could not make themselves. Is that not one of the reasons why people pay in order to go to college or university?  They pay for knowledge and information in order to grow and have better lives. People go into shops to buy things they cannot or don’t want to make themselves. (fast foods are here probably the best example… hehe)

So in conclusion, first find it in your mind and in your heart to know what you want your business to say to your customers, then what do you want your business to sell to your customers and THEN you will find that you can confidently and with integrity find ways to build trust, promote your business and build your own list.

It is also far better to have a targeted list than it is to have a huge list who is not all that interested in your niche or product.

Thaaaaaaat’s it, folks, signing off until next time.

Keep safe, be happy and keep smiling.

Because loving what you do is just that damn important! (Alexander Kjerulf, as in Chief Happiness Officer)

Ursula

“Because you matter”