Copyright © 2008 Willie Crawford
I've been marketing goods and services online since late-1996, and I have never seen a better time to start your own Internet marketing business. Current economic conditions around the world are driving millions to the Internet looking for additional income and a better lifestyle.
Sadly, thousands of people coming online every month enter the WRONG niche. They enter the most challenging niche that I can imagine. They enter the niche of people earning a living by teaching people how to earn a living online, teaching people how to earn a living online.
No, I didn't make a mistake. That's how I'd describe the "Internet marketing niche" that I'm most familiar with.
However, anyone who has studied ecommerce for more than six month probably knows enough about leveraging the power of the Internet to easily earn a six-figure income serving an entirely different market.
Many "Internet marketers" with YEARS of experience are foolishly ignoring this market.
This market is local businesses who need to learn how to use the Internet to drive more leads, and more buying customers through their doors.
Local business owners understand that they MUST spend money to grow their business or they'll quickly be out of business. Those that have been in business for more than a few years understand that even during an economic downturn, they MUST invest in advertising or lose market share.
That's where you can enter the picture, help them, and earn a nice six-figure income for yourself.
You contact local businesses and explain how to use the Internet for direct response marketing that's infinitely more powerful than advertising in the yellow pages or local newspapers. You explain to them how to leverage the power of things that you already understand such as:
Yes
All you really have to do is find a place, schedule a local workshop, and spend a day or two teaching ecommerce to local businesses. Local business owners will see the value in what you teach and many of them will want to tap into it immediately.
Many local business owners will also understand what you are teaching but also "gloss over" and ask if you can simply do it for them. At that point, you simply smile and tell them that your website ecommerce packages cost $3000, $5000, even $10,000.
Then you simply outsource the work
Can it really be that easy?
Yes, that's EXACTLY what I'm doing.
"But, I don't know enough to actually teach a class or workshop," you argue!
Not a problem
In other words, others who are already doing this will provide the material for you. If you're really lazy, you could just hand the materials to an assistant, and let him/her run the events for you!
My friend Rachel Rofe created the very presentation package that I use. That's right, I didn't create the presentation that I use, I got it here: http://TeachingEcommerceToLocalBusinesses.com
If you don't feel comfortable contacting local businesses and getting them into your events, my friend David Preston taught me a technique where you get the local governmental agencies to promote you and fill the room for you. David wrote an ebook that tells how the U.S. government actually advertises for you on radio, television, in newspaper, etc. They actually send you the business owners who come to them for guidance! When David showed me his system, I so fell in love with it that I invited David and his wife out to dinner so that I could really pick him mind. You can see a photo of the David and I on his website :-)
I'm telling you, if you're marketing to "Internet marketers" and ignoring local businesses that have money already budgeted for building their businesses, "you're barking up the wrong tree!"
You can read more about what David does at: http://HelpingOfflineBusinesses.com
After reading David's and Rachel's material, I serious considered getting out of the "Internet marketing niche" altogether. I'm someone who's built a solid reputation, and lots of name recognition in the niche. Yet, when I saw how serving local "brick and mortal" businesses was so much easier, the sift made a lot of sense.
Let me close with one example of how easy it is to make $50k when you use what I've just shared with you.
In most cities, during certain times of the year, you'll notice civic and fraternal organizations, such as The Knights of Columbus, or the Kiwanis, holding fundraisers. All you need to do is get THEM to promote your event, you teach the workshop, and split the proceeds with them.
If they get 100 local businesses owners to pay $1000 each for a 2-day workshop, and you split it 50/50 with the sponsors, you walk away with $50k, plus you'll have 100 business owners wanting you to continue teaching them.
Can it really be that simple? Yes, you can get an organization that also has facilities and lots of business owners as members to sponsor an event for you. They'd actually prefer doing that to holding dozens of car washes, or collecting donations on street corners.
Think about it!
About the Author:
Willie Crawford has been teaching others how to build their own home-based Internet businesses since late-1996. He teaches easy, proven methods that he and other leading Internet marketers actually use. Discover more of Willie's hype-free teachings at The Internet Marketing Inner Circle: http://TIMIC.ORG
