(Part 1)

Many people ask me what it takes to start an internet business. They usually ask me because I work as a consultant to some of the industries top names. So, in this short article I’m going to share with you the 3 strategies you can use RIGHT NOW to start your own internet business from home.

1) Decide On A Market

One of the greatest problems most people have is that they don’t understand marketing basics. It’s not your fault, though. How could you know if no one ever told you? You see, growing up most of us read the newspaper or watch the news and get our heads filled with these ideas of how people get rich.

Most of the time we read about a single mom who invented a new cookie and now she’s rich! Or we hear about a guy who sold a piece of toast on ebay and made $45,000. So instantly we think we have to create something new, or stumble upon some gimmick.

But the truth is, that’s not how the majority of people become wealthy. And it’s definitely NOT how you start an internet business.

The easiest, safest, and most profitable way to start an internet business is to find a market of people already buying products. Generally, the more competition the better. You just want to get a small piece…because that’s all you need to make a BOATLOAD of money.

But how do you find a hungry market ready to shove their money into your bank account? I’m glad you asked.

2) Conduct Thorough Research

Research is the safety net upon which you build your empire. Most people fail for one reason only - lack of research. But how exactly do you do research? And how do you know when people are actually buying something?

The easiest way to start your research is to use a research tool. Most of these are free, but there are some paid ones. Some of my favorite tools are:

http://inventory.overture.com

and

http://www.vretoolbar.com/keywords/

Here’s how they work.

These tools allow you to find out how many people are searching for a certain keyword or phrase. You just type the keyword in the box provided and click on submit or go. So, to research your market idea, you start with your general keyword. For example, if your market idea was pets, you could start by first seeing what sort of search volume the keyword “pets” gets.

This is a very broad topic, but from here you’ll work it down until you have something with a good search volume (50,000+) that you know you can write about. To continue our example, you might find that dog products are really popular. Within that, you discover that dog food diets get searched quite a bit.

From here, you go to Google.com and do a search for dog food diets. You are looking for at least 1-3 pages of Google ads, appearing on the top or right hand side of Google. These ads let you know that other people and/or companies are out there PAYING to advertise, usually a very good sign.

Once you have a well searched topic and plenty of Google ads running, you are ready for step 3.

A word of caution, though. The other side of the research coin is just as bad as not researching. And that’s over-analyzing. There is only so much research you can do before you’ve got to take action. Don’t get caught up in what many call “analysis paralysis”. There’s a time to research, but just as important there’s a time to take action.

And leads us to Strategy # 3.

See Part 2 For Internet Business Strategy 3
In the meantime, you can read my letter here, it’s good reading!

How To Write A Sales Letter

There’s nothing quite like watching Paris Hilton talk about how much money she makes because of her perfume and clothing line. While no doubt she’s had to have some skill in order to make money, we don’t really “respect” people like that.

Let’s face it, most of us could “launch” a business if we have $100,000 to spend, right? Haven’t you always felt a little left out? How many times have you watched a close friend or relative fall into a large sum of cash?

Isn’t your thought always the same? If I had that kind of money I’d open my own business and start making my own products and then I’d do this and that, etc.

Or even better, have you ever DREAMED of winning the lotto?

I have a friend who has probably spent the last 8 years fantasizing over what he
would do if he were to win. He’s already picked out his mansion, his fancy cars, the
charities he would donate to, the clothes he would wear, and he even figured out
EXACTLY how he would invest the money!

Have you ever done anything like that? I may be a little guilty of that myself

Anyway - my whole point is that MOST of us don’t have a lot of money when we start. We’re here because we WANT money! But there’s a startling fact about money that most people seem to ignore.

Money goes to those willing to accept it. I’d bet right now you have several million dollar ideas in your head, just sitting there. But you want to know the funny part? They’re not what you think.

If you were thinking along the lines of “pet rock”, a squeezable soda dispenser, or some other weird idea - think again!

The fastest, easiest, and least corniest way to make money is to tap into an existing market where people are already BUYING. Let me give you an example.

You’ll have to pardon me for writing this, but let me ask you a personal question. How often do you buy toilet paper? If you’re an average family, you probably go through several rolls each week.

Will you stop buying toilet paper someday? I hope not!

You buy toilet paper, your neighbor, your minister, EVERYONE!!

Now I’m not suggesting you go out and starting selling toilet paper, not by any means. What I’m pointing out is that the companies that sell toilet paper have a captive market. That have a product they can sell over again and again…and again.

And it doesn’t matter that TONS of companies sell toilet paper. Some people like a certain brand, some people want CHEAP, while others want the most expensive.

So what does all this have to do with YOU?

Take something you already know. Something you are into now. (Poker, Sewing, Cooking, Writing, etc) and package it as a product!

You don’t have to be an expert, you just have to know a little more than the guy who buys your ebook! As you write more, you’ll know more. Everyone has to start somewhere, but the important thing is just to start.

And one of the BEST ways to start your own business from scratch is with a blog. We’ll get into that in another post really soon.

In the meantime, send a friend a link to this post, it just might be what they were looking for.

And check and see if you need some toilet paper.

Mike Antoni