When I first ventured into making money online, I stumbled around a while before I discovered the formula. With the massive advances in techniques since then, does that same formula hold true today? In this article I’ll be investigating the answer…
The short answer is ‘Yes, it does.’
That doesn’t make for a particularly informative article though, so let me start by going over the formula, and then explaining why the changes on the internet have not changed it.
The formula can be broken into 3 steps –
– Find a market
– Find what they want
– Give it to them.
Now that’s the formula in pretty much its’ simplest form – of course each step has lots of smaller steps within. If someone is trying, but failing, to make money online, it’s a fair bet they are going wrong with one of these 3 steps.
So, having stated this formula as something I came across back in around 2003, surely the internet has changed so much that it *must* have changed, right?
No, and it would be a mistake to think so. What *has* changed is the range of avenues open to taking those 3 steps. It’s an important difference, and here’s why…
That formula was not invented just when the internet arrived – it’s been around forever! It’s simple human nature – if you can provide someone with something they want, they will pay a price for it.
It’s a basic driver of societies, always has been, and always will be. When the internet first arrived, it allowed people to do it in ways that were faster and cheaper than ever before.
For example, before the internet, you would maybe set up a direct mail campaign, paying for leaflets, paying to have them delivered, and seeing if the results came. With the internet, it became possible to publish great big long full page colour sales material, drive the market to it online, all for a fraction of the cost.
That hasn’t changed since 2003, it’s just become easier still. Whereas before you would maybe have to know how to create your own website with coding, and pay to have it hosted, you can now use free blogging platforms to create your own webspace – with much less need for technical knowledge.
Social network sites, like Facebook have been stunning developments, opening the doors to more and more people to find that market, find what they want, and give it to them.
One problem with these developments, is that people get confused with too many options. Should they sell physical products, or information products? Should they be an affiliate for someone else, or create their own products?
This confusion can stop people dead in their tracks, and I think the best way to get out of this problem is to go back to the basic formula.
Once you’ve picked a found the market, found what they want, and found a way to give it to them that suits your own personality and circumstance, stick with it!
It’s easy to get help via places like online forums, so if you hit a block, get help to fix it rather than hopping to the next idea – you will likely only come up against a different block.
I know about this ‘paralysis by analysis’ because I’ve been victim to it. Deciding to go back to basics has been somewhat of a revelation to me, so I’m keen to pass it on to others.
So, do not forget that basic formula to making money online – it hasn’t changed over the years, and isn’t about to change anytime soon!
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