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Welcome To
Lesson 2 In Your
12 Lesson Online Training Program
"The Internet Connection Classroom For Success"
Copyright© 2007 Jerry Plumlee. All Rights Reserved. |
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3
Key Ingredients
Necessary
To Snatch Up Instant, Highly
Responsive
Traffic To Any
Website On A
ZERO Budget
Introduction
In today's lesson,
we're not only going to discuss
the THREE KEY INGREDIENTS every
website needs to make sales, but I
also have a little surprise in
store for you...
Together, we're also
going to begin building our very own
fictitious "Virtual E-Store".
And it's not only
going to be just any e-store -
but an e-store that kicks butt!
I know you'll find the
whole process not only
ultra-informative, but it's going to
be a lot of fun too... you'll see ;-)
In each of the
remaining lessons in this 12 part
course, we're going to continue
constructing our "virtual store" -
building on strategies and techniques
we learned in previous lessons.
Once you've completed all 12 lessons
you'll know exactly what you need to
do - and how to do it - to
build your own site that continuously
MAKES THE SALE!
Just as I shared with
you in Lesson 1 the exact strategies I
personally used many years ago to
build my first "Online Pet Shop" into
a $60,000 a year money maker, you too
will know how to implement you're very
own "Profit Nuggets" into your
own website.
In my humble opinion,
learning by example is a far better
teaching method than simply telling
someone how to do something. So,
by building our "virtual e-store"
together, you're going to get a "front
row seat" so I can demonstrate exactly
how you should begin setting up your
own website. Best of all -
unlike most of the other sites
online... your site will be a SITE
THAT SELLS!
So let's jump right in
and get started. We've got a
site to build ;-)
A few
things we need to consider before we
start our site construction...
-
What are we going
to call our "fictitious" e-store?
-
What products and
services are we going to offer?
-
How are we going to
get traffic to our store?
-
Who is our target
market?
-
How will folks find
us - or even know we exist?
-
How many different
income streams can we produce from
this one site?
I like to refer to
this first step as our "Game Plan".
Every business needs a game plan
before they should ever begin to
build.
You've heard the term
"If you build it they will come!"
DON'T BELIEVE IT! You need a
specific game plan in order to
generate traffic to a new website
(especially when your budget is very
limited) and more importantly...
You
need to know what you plan to do with
the traffic once it begins to arrive
at your storefront.
Just like any good
recipe, you already have the basic
ingredients you need to build your
site from our previous lesson...
In
lesson
1, we learned:
-
We need a domain name
-
A web builder software
program
-
A shopping cart
-
An affiliate program
-
An autoresponder
system to follow up with our web
traffic, and...
-
A reliable drop
shipping company to supply us with
quality products for "BACKEND" Sales.
Now it's time to start adding our
"Special Herbs And Spices" to make our
website recipe hot, spicy and full of
flavor! A dish you just can get
enough of!
Building Our Virtual E-Store From The
Ground Up
First and foremost,
it's imperative to your success to
remember that building your customer
list and establishing a
relationship with them is your
primary focus!
That's
it! End of story! BUILD
YOUR LIST!
Your customers are the
foundation of your business... and a
solid foundation is KEY! Just
like when building a house, if you
don't have a solid foundation it'll
collapse faster than a straw house in
a hurricane without the proper- solid
foundation. That's why it's
extremely important to be sure to
start building a solid foundation
(your customer list) and plan and then
expand on that foundation.
Okay... let's move
on...
Before we can begin
building our "virtual e-store" we have
to decide who are customer will be -
in other words... who we'd like to
target. In my opinion, there are
three key ingredients I always
consider before deciding upon a target
or niche'.
What are the
three KEY ingredients I always look
for?
-
An easily targeted
"laser tight" market
-
Interesting content to
write about in the marketplace
-
Products readily
available to generate both front and
backend sales
Okay... So now it's
time I take the reigns and make our
first decision about our "Virtual
E-store"... After all... this is my
course ;-)
Since one of my
favorite pastimes is cooking,
I'd like to build our e-store around
this subject. So, let's take a
few minutes and see if we can't look
at the three key ingredients as they
pertain to a "cooking theme" for our
site...
1
An Easily
Targeted " Laser Tight" Market
Obviously...
WAY TO MUCH COMPETITION online for
a website only focused on cooking in
general.
We could throw that
thought right out the window....
But luckily we don't
have to dismiss the idea all
together...
What we can do
is break down the subject of cooking
into a more laser targeted "pinpoint
focused" niche'. This way,
we would still be able to capitalize
on the market.
So let's see if we
can't get a little tighter focus and
dig deeper into this niche'...
How about cooking...
but more specifically targeted to a
specific gender?
The male "cooking"
population would definitely be an
easier "LESS COMPETITIVE" market to
target than the female market...
Wouldn't you agree?
But I'm only assuming
- I didn't actually look into it.
And there are a lot of
Chefs who are males - even more than
women...
But I think that there
are probably more women cooking the
"family meals" than there are men.
Should we just specifically
focus on the men online who like to
cook for their families?
Good thought... we'll
keep that in mind!
Now I think we're
starting to get somewhere!
But I still think we
need to get more specific. We
want a "pinpoint" targeted site!
Why? Why do we
have to be so "Laser" targeted?
Ahhh.. patience
my astute student!
Once we've completed
this entire course, you'll completely
understand the need to tightly define
our market ;-)
For now - Let's keep
digging...
What about the diet
craze? How about desserts?
What about fried foods or baked dishes
as a main focus? We could
consider just offering "Southern"
cooking ideas or ethnic dishes.
We could focus on just appetizers,
snacks, or finger foods.
What about cakes,
pies, or sweets in general...
Our options are really
limitless!
And it's all part of
the brainstorming process -
trying to define a laser tight
niche'...
Here's a thought...
I recently made up my
mind to lose some weight so that's
something that really interests me
right now. Perhaps we could run
with something focused on weight
loss...
Can we focus on low-carb
meals for men?
We could... but I
think there's still way to much
competition online for "weight loss"
in general... albeit man or woman...
But let's see if we
can't run with the "weight loss" theme
since there's a huge demand online for
"low carb" meals right now (and I am
personally interested in the subject)
We need to keep
brainstorming and continue to dig
further...
We really need to find
an ULTRA RESOURCEFUL extremely laser
targeted niche...
Wait a minute...
I have got a great idea!
You know what I really
enjoy more than anything else when it
comes to a good meal?
I love it when my wife
and I have some time alone and we plan
a nice romantic dinner together (NO
KIDS!) and turn off the lights, light
a few candles, and just talk over a
good bottle of wine and a nice
delicious meal!
I especially enjoy
cooking those types of meals for
her!
NOW THAT'S LIVING!
The only problem for
me lately has been trying to cook up a
nice romantic meal and still watch how
many calories and carbs I'm eating. (I
think I just love food TOO MUCH!)
Perhaps there's a way
we could focus our site around some of
those topics!
By Golly... I think
we're getting close...
Okay... so what do we
have so far?
First, we're going
with a cooking theme.
Second, we're going to
focus the cooking around "everyday
folks" who REALLY like to cook -
almost as a hobby of sorts.
Third, we'll try to
keep in mind the "healthy conscious"
aspect of cooking since so many folks
are watching their weight and eating
healthy.
Fourth, ROMANCE!
If we could come up with a game plan
to focus our cooking website around
all those things, I think we'll
definitely have a winner!
Remember the three
areas of interest (KEY INGREDIENTS)
that we want to make sure we
incorporate?
Let's review...
What are the three KEY
ingredients?
-
A "laser targeted"
market
-
Interesting content to
write about in this marketplace
-
Products readily
available to generate both front and
backend sales
Excellent!
You're a brain-child!
Do you think we could
laser target a niche' in the cooking
category, focused on folks who like to
cook as a hobby, who want to eat
healthier, and (my favorite) are
looking to spice up the romance in
their lives?
Guess what... I think
we'll hit a HOMERUN!
I think we've
definitely found our laser tight
niche'. Now let's look into
our second Key Ingredient...
2
Interesting Content To Write About
What could be more
interesting than "good food" and
increased romance, all while
maintaining a healthier lifestyle?
Plus, as I mentioned earlier, I don't
think we'll have much competition on
that topic... do you?
You see... because we
took our time and had our thinking cap
on before we ever began to build and
plan our site (our game plan), we can
now design a site that's not only
informative but also entertaining -
focused around a "hot", interesting,
"PINPOINT targeted market!
You always have to
keep one very important aspect of
Internet marketing in your mind at all
times. We discussed this in
Lesson 1 briefly as well.
The Internet is the
Information Highway!
It always has
been... and always will be!
Never lose sight of
the fact that folks are searching for
information online. Therefore,
when considering a theme for your
website, you'll always want to keep in
mind the fact that your site will not
"PRIMARILY" be providing products for
sale, but more importantly...
HIGH
QUALITY, INTERESTING CONTENT!
Sales will then come naturally!
Like I said, I like
the topic of cooking. Therefore
I know I'll find working on a website
related to cooking both fun and
relatively easy to maintain and keep
updated with fresh content.
I also like to
consider myself a "romantic" (although
my wife may disagree!)
Add to that the fact
that I'm also trying to live a
healthier lifestyle... and I
think we've found the perfect
combination!
We will want to plan
our site around a lot of valuable,
interesting, informative, free content
to attract visitors, so this second
ingredient is very important (and
we'll talk about this in more detail
in later lessons as well).
Just remember
this...
On the Internet -
Content Is King!
So, regarding our
SECOND KEY INGREDIENT when
considering our website theme with
respect to "Interesting Content
To Write About", I think we've
passed the test!
Two Ingredients
Down... One To Go!
If we pass the third
test, I think we'll have a winner!
3
Products To Generate Both Front And
Backend Sales
Well, I think we could
find plenty of cookware, flatware,
perhaps custom initialed chef aprons,
novelty chefs hats, dinnerware,
glassware, small appliances. You
name it - I'm sure we could get it!
PLUS - and
here's a goldmine!...
We could eventually
even add some "romantic" gifts when
sales really start to take off - like
chocolates, fine wines, even roses and
such that we can offer via an
affiliate program like 1-800-flowers!
Yes... BRILLIANT I
KNOW!
We'll definitely find
ways to create multiple streams of
income from this little gem of a site
- GUARANTEED!
It's important to
remember that the actual products
you'll be offering your customers is
your last concern when starting out!
I know that may sound
crazy to you, but it's very true.
Pick a laser tight theme, make sure
you could offer good interesting
content, help your visitors solve
their problems and strive toward
strengthening their lives in some way!
Your last step -
your least concern at first - should
be finding products to offer for sale.
Sound crazy?
Well, I think you'll change your
opinion once we're done building our
"virtual e-store"!
On a side note: I also have a
few GREAT ideas for additional income
streams (BIG MONEY MAKERS) for our
site... but we'll have to wait on
those for future lessons. I
don't want us to get too far ahead of
ourselves just yet...
So, we've got a highly
targeted market to tap into...
We're convinced we
could write quality, entertaining,
informative content for our site...
And, we can easily
find a drop shipping supplier for our
product sales...
Hocus Pocus... I
think we have a winner!
So, why don't we raise the curtain and
unveil the
name of our new site...
Drum
roll please....

A candle light cooking
theme focused on fine meals, fine
wines, juicy desserts, and ROMANCE!
And because we added the "LITE" into
our theme, we can even throw in a
section for those "healthy conscious"
eaters too!
Now let's
reflect back for a minute and think
about something...
Imagine if we simply
decided to setup a site dealing with
the topic of cooking.
So, we ventured out to
setup a "superstore" and to find every
supplier imaginable who would drop
ship cooking supplies for us to make
sales. After we completed all
our product research and setup
accounts with all our drop ship
suppliers, we then decided to
build a HUGE site with all the "bells
and whistles" and start promoting it
in the search engines everyday.
It could be quite
exciting! We may even spend
months designing the site - or worse
yet - thousands of dollars hiring a
web designer to build our dream
website.
And guess what...
It turns out looking awesome!
Boy... are we proud!
We've got credit card
processing, PayPal all setup, a whole
database of high tech "goodies"!
Tell a friend, A Newsletter about
cooking, Impressive photos of our
products, etc., etc.... Quite
Impressive!
We call all our family
and friends to give them the web
address. They're quite impressed
as well! We tell everybody we
come in contact with that we're a BIG
BUSINESS OWNER and to check out our
website when they have time.
Our store has over
FIVE THOUSAND products!
Now, all we have to do
is sit back and let the Internet work
it's magic! We've got a super
site online so - of course folks
will find it! The search
engines would be crazy not to list our
website in the top 10 searches for
cooking or cookware.... right?
Heck, we've got 114
pots and pans sets, 12 uniquely
designed cutting boards, 122 varieties
of steak knives, 16 different wine
bottle openers, 7 electric fryers, 31
high tech microwave ovens, 14
toasters, 6 blenders, 4 deep fryers,
16 spice racks, 11 espresso machines,
3 cappuccino machines, 44 flatware
sets, 85 ceramic canisters, 25
different cookie jars... and the list
goes on and on!
If someone surfing the
net is looking for anything related to
cooking... rest assured they'll be
buying from us!
So we sit back and
wait..
... and wait...
...and wait...
...and wait...
Our e-register hasn't
rung once! There must be a
problem with our credit card
processor!
Nope...
... that all checks
out fine.
Maybe our shopping car
is having a problem... WRONG AGAIN!
Our cart is working fine...
Maybe our prices are
too high? Let's lower 'em a bit
and we'll certainly start seeing
orders pile up.
So we lower our prices
and flash "ON SALE NOW" signs all over
the website! Now we're
practically giving away our products
for little to no profit but that's
Okay! We're sure going to make
it up on volumes of sales we'll
have coming in now!
Weeks go by... still
NO SALES! Months go by... Still
no sales!
So what do we end up
doing?
We could hire a search
engine expert (a few thousand bucks
there) to give us a good ranking in
the search engines...
We could hire a web
design consultant to analyze our site
to see if there's anything more we
could do to improve sales (a few more
thousand there).
We could hire some top
copywriting guru to re-write the sales
pages and "HOPE" that will increase
sales.
The list goes on and
on...
But needless to say...
we end up doing what most new online
entrepreneurs do...
We give up our dream
of owning a profitable business online
and go back to looking for another way
to make a living.. Usually another
J.O.B!
Trust me! 99% of
hard working, determined, intelligent
people starting out online go through
this exact scenario. I'm talking
about "soccer moms", hard working
dads, entrepreneurs, small business
owners, grandparents, sisters,
brothers - all hard-working, honest,
GOOD PEOPLE!
So, where did they go
wrong? They had all the high
tech products stocked to the ceiling.
They paid a web designer to build a
flashy "state of the art" website.
They stayed focused and dedicated.
They offered sales and FREE shipping!
They even dropped prices to a bare
minimum...
They thought they did
everything they were supposed to do!
They read all the e-books and spent
hundreds - if not thousands - on info
products and seminars guaranteed to
teach them the "secrets" to making it
big time on the net.
So why aren't they
depositing rolls of cash into their
bank account everyday?
It all comes down to
one cruel aspect of doing business
online...
BECAUSE NOBODY
CARES!
SO WHAT!
There are hundreds of
websites just like theirs all over the
Internet!
The question is...
Why should I buy from
YOU?
What's in it for
me - THE CUSTOMER?
I'll tell you where they went
wrong right from the start...
-
They failed to
pinpoint a highly-targeted laser tight
niche...
-
They didn't offer
me any Quality, Informative,
Entertaining content...
-
And all they did
was try to sell me something! I
DON'T WANT TO BE SOLD ANYTHING!
If I want to but something... I'll go
to Wal-Mart!
Thank
goodness we're smarter than that!
And in lesson 3, we're
going to continue on building our
e-store and begin adding a few more
"profit nuggets" that'll be sure to
get our site off on the right track...
So, until next time..
See you at the top,
Jerry Plumlee
P.S.
I'd Love to hear your comments or
any feedback about this course.
Please send me your comments to
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