The Secrets of Internet Millionaires

People don’t generally become millionaires through luck alone, particularly in the realm of the Internet where competition is so fierce. To become an Internet millionaire you have to know the secrets of success and have the focus and persistence to apply them effectively. One of the main factors in whether anyone makes money or not is to have the correct mindset, but that aside, what practical things can a business owner do to make a million online?

Planning and strategy

If you don’t have a plan, you won’t know where you’re headed and one of the biggest mistakes that failing businesses make is that they don’t have a solid plan and a well thought out marketing strategy. Before you do anything else, you need to decide how you are going to make your million — what products and services are you going to sell and who you going to sell them to? This might not be as simple as it seems and a crucial aspect of making any amount of money online is to do your market research and find specific markets where there are plenty of potential buyers. Don’t skimp on this process or you could find that you have wasted months of your time and possibly a lot of money trying to sell something that nobody wants or you could find yourself going after the wrong markets.

When you have decided on what you are going to sell and to whom, you need to decide on the market sector you will appeal to. Will you concentrate on the lower end of the price range and sell lots of units at a low price, or will you concentrate on top-quality and sell to be more discerning consumer? Neither approach is right or wrong and you can make your million either way, but it is important to decide which end of the continuum you want to be — focus is vital, as we shall see.

Take time planning your business and deciding on your marketing strategy and use your business plan as a working document — it should be dynamic and referred to frequently because it is too easy to be pulled in too many different directions and end up diluting your effort. Making a million requires dedication and focus and you have to stay on track — a business plan can help you to do this. That said, there should be room in your plan to go for opportunities when they arise, if they can contribute to your success. You need to develop an instinct for choosing the right opportunities, and this comes with practice.

Focus

Internet millionaires focus on their niche market and become experts in that area — they are not generalists. It’s possible to have several diverse businesses on the go, and you could make a million from each one, but every individual business should be tightly focused. These days it is all about appealing to very tight niche market.

Develop your backend strategy

Internet millionaires know that having a backend strategy is crucial. You need to focus on a specific niche market and create a marketing funnel where you draw people in with your lowest priced product and gradually upsell a variety of themed products with higher prices. For example, you could sell a book about how to be a better parent, then you upsell your backend products to your customers, which could include products such as audiotapes, seminars, courses and individual coaching that all build on the topic of being a better parent.

You would find it very difficult to make a million from just a book — although it can be done — it is much easier to sell more products to people who already know how good you are and want more. So, when you are planning your business and your marketing strategy, build in a series of backend products to upsell to your customers.

Seek out untapped markets

Rather than rely on all the mainstream ways of getting visitors to your site, you can make a lot more money when you go after customers in untapped markets. For example, if you can find a portal site with lots of information and good quality content which ranks highly in the search engines, you might be able to find a way to promote your products and services to a new audience with a JV with the site’s owner.

You might also try some unconventional ways of drawing attention to your business such as creating an attention grabbing story for a press release or listing an oddball product on eBay that gets into the news headlines. The point is to be creative and innovative in your thinking and find ways to reach potential markets that others haven’t yet discovered.

Build a dream team

Although Solo entrepreneurs have been known to make millions online, it always works better when you have a team of people to help you such as mentors, marketing experts, people who can follow through with the detail and bring your ideas to fruition. It’s always good to discuss ideas with others, not least because it gives you confidence in your products and in your business strategy. A team can also keep you on track when the going gets tough — too many people give up when they could be on the brink of success and a little encouragement can turn things around.

Automate and delegate

Internet millionaires know the value of automating their business and delegating most of the day to day tasks to others. For one thing, if you have the potential to become an Internet millionaire you need to be spending your time innovating new ideas and creating or researching amazing new products, not working your way through a list of daily tasks that anyone else can do. Don’t burn out on chores or you won’t have the energy left to develop your business.