‘The Second Step of Success’ by Charlie Page

Charlie Page’s latest ‘Real World Tactics’ Year 7 Issue 9 article is titled “The Second Step of Success.” [‘Real World Tactics’ Article]

Charlie Page’s latest ‘Real World Tactics’ article:

The Second Step of Success

by Charlie Page

It seems that there are more and more people today who are targeting “newbies”. You’ve seen the ads and read the websites.

They sit in front of their fancy cars. They show you videos of their new homes. They display screen shots of their massive bank accounts.

Give me a break!

Everyone wants to show you how to make your “first $1000” online and many seem to promise that you will never have to work or learn anything.

Just plug into their proven system, they claim, and you can lay back and live the good life while their marketing funnel or system or program does all the heavy lifting.

As my good friend Paul Myers says, that’s what comes out of the south end of a north bound bull.

It takes work to make money online. Hard work. Don’t let anyone fool you about that.

But this article is not about the programs or their owners – it’s about you.

It’s about the people who have tried and lost money with the “programs”.

And it’s about those who have found some success with affiliate marketing and now want to do more.

It’s about people who need to take the SECOND step toward success.

I believe there are four things that people need in order to take that second step.

There are more than these four, of course, that a person *could* do but I believe these four steps lay a firm foundation for long term success online.

And that’s the goal – LONG term success. Not simply “cash this week”.

If you want to get off of the opportunity treadmill and start building a real online business of your own, then you will want to read the information below carefully.

So let’s look at these “fab four” (are you old enough to remember that one?) and see how they can work for you.

KEY 1 – YOUR OWN WEBSITE

Ken Evoy had it right so many years ago – you *need* a website of your own. Happily, there are tools that make it easier than ever. Here are a few ideas.

Ken’s company (SBI) makes it very easy for anyone to build a website.

Many web hosting companies offer templates that make building a site quick and easy.

Content Management Systems allow you to log in and create a site of your own that can have various sections and will be neatly organized.

You can go it alone, as many of us did in the “old days” and learn a product like DreamWeaver or FrontPage.

You can hire a person to build a site for you for a very low cost now.

No matter how you choose to do it, you need a site of your own. One that can change as quickly as you want it to change, and one where you can promote anything you want, any way you want.

KEY 2 – YOUR OWN MAILING LIST

You may be thinking “if I hear another online guy say I need a list of my own I’ll scream!”

Well go ahead and scream because here goes.

You NEED a list of your own.

Having your own mailing list is THE most important part of your online success.

Why?

With a list you can share from your experience.

With a list you can promote ideas and products you are passionate about.

With a list you can help others avoid the mistakes you have made along the way.

With a list you can be a true joint venture partner.

With a list you can discover what other people need and provide it to them and earn money in the process – a true win-win.

But WITHOUT a list you will *forever* be at the mercy of others.

I hope that does not sound cold or cruel because that is not my intent. But it IS true.

Want proof?

If Yanik Silver or Alex Mandossian or Mark Victor Hansen or Stone Evans had something they wanted to promote how would they do it?

They would promote to their lists and then find other list owners and offer them a percentage of sales if the ist owner promoted for them. That’s called a joint venture.

They would buy ads in ezines that match their product and make sales. That’s called ezine advertising. They would offer articles to ezine publishers who would run those articles free. That’s called article marketing.

OK – that’s enough.

If you want to progress online, you will eventually see the light and begin building a list.

So why not start now?

KEY 3 – YOUR OWN PRODUCT

You need a product of your own. Something that is unique to you and that you have created.

But you don’t have to build that product from scratch.

First, WHY do you need a product of your own?

With a product of your own you keep all the money on direct sales.

With a product of your own you can have affiliates do the selling for you and only pay them when sales are made.

With a product of your own you can attract joint venture partners and get into the inner circle of active online marketers. And that is a good place to be.

With a product of your own you can build a mailing list easily by offering a discount, free trial, more information etc.

Now, HOW do you create a product quickly and easily? Here are three proven methods.

1. Conduct a teleseminar and sell the audio, transcript or both as your own product. You could interview someone outstanding in their field, have a roundtable discussion or more.

2. Buy a product with “source code rights” and modify it to make it your own. This is incredibly easy to do. In fact, I wrote a book about it that you can find at http://www.realworldtactics.com

3. Hire someone on a service like eLance to write a book for you or create a piece of software to solve a common problem. Think that is too hard or expensive? Think again. I know of people who spent a few hundred on this and have made quite literally six figures from that investment.

KEY 4 – YOUR OWN “SYSTEM”

We all seem to love the word “system”. In fact, if you want to sell something online you almost have to have the word “system” in the name or sales letter. And that’s fine.

But what is a “marketing system” anyway and how can you build one?

A marketing system is simply using automation everywhere you can.

Here are two examples.

1. Instead of sending a thank you email every time an order is placed you set up an autoresponder to send that message for you.

2. Instead of placing ads manually you set up a Google pay per click campaign that runs every day but costs you no more than $5 on any day.

These are only two examples of building a system. More will follow in my next ezine.

You can dance around the mulberry bush all you want, and goodness knows I did when I first started out, but you will eventually find these things to be true.

You need your own website to say what you want to say online, to sell your own product and build your own list.

Without your own product and list, you will forever be marginalized to making a percentage of sales vs. 100% on your own product and will forever be at the whim of people who have their own list.

Without your own automated system you will end up spending too much time at the computer and not realize the full potential of doing business online, which means not only lots of money but the time to enjoy that blessing as well.

And time to enjoy the fruits of your labor is a beautiful thing indeed!

About Charlie Page

Charlie Page helps people succeed online. How can he help you? Find out now at his main site or call his toll free number. http://www.RealWorldTactics.com

* IMNewswatch would like to thank Charlie Page for granting permission to reprint the latest ‘Real World Tactics’ article.