If you are reading this blog post, you want to know how to make a full-time income by working online. Many people want to earn a full-time income from the web. The thought of working from home is a dream that many hold. Working at home eliminates the commute and makes a life balance easier to maintain.
It is possible to make a full-time income on the web. Many people post their income reports. And some of those income reports reach eight figures. It’s amazing what kind of opportunities the web has created. To get the best of those opportunities, we must utilize them.
So how does one go about building a large audience and making a full-time income? Here are the seven ingredients to success on the web:
#1: Large Audience
Building a large audience that constantly grows makes it possible for you to scale up with your business. Having 100,000 people in your audience creates a larger platform for your products than having 1,000 people in your audience.
However, it does not take long to realize that growing an audience is easier said than done.
I stumbled across this problem in the beginning of my journey. I had no idea how to grow an audience, but I knew social media was the next big thing.
So I gave it a try and decided to focus on Twitter.
My best advice for growing a social media audience is to focus on one social network in the beginning. Once you master a social network, it becomes easier for you to master all of the other social networks on the web. Social media is the best free tool for growing your audience. However, a social media audience is only part of the story.
You also need a large email list. I primarily use social media to engage, provide value, and build my email list. Having a large audience matters for social proof and success.
Now that you know a large social media audience and a massive email list are the two most critical types of audiences, it’s time to explore the other six ingredients to online success.
#2: A Product
If you want to establish yourself as an expert in your niche, then you must have a product. You can write Kindle books, create Udemy courses, or put up any type of product. But you need a product, and that product needs to be exceptional.
Most people with the six figure income reports make their money by creating and promoting their products. While affiliate marketing is a possibility, affiliate marketing is not as powerful as having your own product and promoting it to your audience.
The best part about creating your own product is that it is an asset. You can literally start making money in your sleep once you create your own product. Even if you only make $2 when you wake up, making any type of money in your sleep is an incredible feeling.
Products make that possible, and if you continue growing your audience and creating products, that $2 per night will scale up very quickly.
#3: Provide FREE Value
Many people are okay with providing value in their products. The customer pays money for the product, so it makes sense to give them a great experience. For some reason, the same logic does not apply to free value.
The free value you provide allows a relationship to build between you and the people within your audience. More importantly, the people in your audience begin to trust your value and expertise. That trust eventually leads to sales because of a common belief (this belief actually turns out to be true most of the time)
Paid value is better than the free value
If you over deliver in your free content, then imagine what impression that gives prospect customers. Providing free value also allows you to grow your audience. People who like your content will share it to their audiences. Your content will get more exposure, and as a result, your audience will grow.
#4: Relationship Building
When you grow an audience and take the time to engage with that audience, relationship building is one of the outcomes. Knowing the individuals within your audience allows you to serve them better.
That means you can write better content and create better products based on what your audience wants. Building enough relationships will potentially expose you to more opportunities such as podcast interviews, guest blogging opportunities, and speaking engagements.
Building relationships with the people within your audience is paramount to understanding your audience. But the people in your audience aren’t the only people you need to build relationships with.
You also want to build relationships with successful people within your niche.
Each time I began thriving in a particular area within my niche (i.e. Twitter and blogging), it was because I built relationships with people more successful than I was. I read the influencers’ blog posts, applied their methods, and actively engaged with them.
Right now, I have my eyes set on Udemy. I have created several courses on my own, but I also co-created some of my courses with other Udemy instructors. The Udemy instructors I create my courses with are more successful than me on that platform. And that’s by design.
There is a difference between running with people you see in the trail and running with an Olympian. There is a difference between having a consultation session with any business expert and having a consultation session with Bill Gates. There is a difference between hanging out with the ordinary and hanging out with the extraordinary.
If you associate with people who have a higher status than you, then you will have more motivation to thrive. You are surrounded by successful people cheering you on—whether through their content, through their videos, or via a 1-to-1 conversation—and that will motivate you to reach the next level of your success.
#5: Effectively Communicating Your Message
Clarity is what results in people coming back. If you are a returning visitor, you came back to this blog because you understood and appreciated the message and tidbits within the content. Then you wanted more. That’s why blogs get returning visitors.
Effectively communicating your message results in more people sticking around longer. It is important to practice with your blog posts.
Once it becomes second nature for you to effectively communicate your message, it will become easier for you to explain your products. Prospective customers don’t know what your product is until you explain it to them.
The better you do at explaining your product, the more people will buy it.
The way you effectively communicate your message depends on your niche and the message itself. However, copywriting will help you in this leg of the journey. There aren’t many blog posts on this blog that deal with copywriting, so I’ll end this portion of the blog post with two notes:
- When it comes to copywriting, Ray Edwards is the man.
- This blog post on CopyBlogger has awesome insights about copywriting.
#6: Seize The Game Changing Opportunities
When you see an opportunity that you believe has the potential to lead to rapid growth, jump on that opportunity. I first heard about Periscope on the day it came out. I saw the potential in the social network and decided to create an account.
I did some scopes and then largely went dormant on the social network. Now I’m back on it. The lesson from this story?
I did some scopes on the first day the social network came out. Three days after Periscope’s launch, I was already past 2,000 followers. I was only following 16 people. I stopped because at the time, I wasn’t fully aware of Periscope’s business potential.
In my defense, Periscope at the time was a social network where people broadcasted their puppies and there was always a “What’s in your refrigerator?” comment during the live stream.
Seizing the game changing opportunities when they are still new allows you to reap more of the rewards sooner. Then, once you master the new opportunity, you can move onto the next big opportunity when it comes up (or work on two big opportunities at the same time. It’s entirely up to you).
#7: Look At The Results To See What Works
Once you are utilizing the first six ingredients to success, you are bound to get results—good or bad. The only way you get better results is by analyzing your current results. Analyzing your current results lets you know where and how you can improve.
If that Facebook ad does well because you included/excluded certain countries, and you can see the difference in your results, then you know how to get better results from that Facebook ad. My blog gets a lot of traffic from Twitter. That’s why I spend so much time on Twitter.
My blog traffic from Facebook started picking up ever since I started advertising and posting more often. As a result, I am continuing those activities.
In Conclusion
Online success consists of many ingredients. Making all of these ingredients a part of your business creates the possibility of making a full-time income from your house. The biggest challenge is actually implementing all of these ingredients and making them a part of your business. However, it is a challenge that is worthwhile.
Right now, I want to hear from you. Which of these ingredients to online success do you think is the most important? Do you believe there are other important ingredients in the recipe? What are your thoughts about online success as a whole? Sound off in the comments section below.
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