What Would You Say...

[bobang]

If some people with no knowledge & experience with internet marketing ask you how they can start making money, what would be the first thing you say to them?

To me, the question is too broad to start with, but this is one of the most frequently asked questions all time.

When someone asks me this question, I ask back "please ask me more specific questions." something sounds similar to that. When I do this, I found that only the serious ones actually reply back. Then I go about helping them one at a time.

My question is, I don't know if this is the right way to do it. What would you say to them when you are being asked this question?

[bookmarkrobin]

well!! must say thats a difficult question to answer.... never thought of it before...

[JAmieF]

Good Question!

I think you should manage their expectations. Start off by asking questions to find out their knowledge about internet marketing and what they have researched.

Give them your personal experience from when you started.

As you said if they answer you with a decent response then you can offer your services.

[fitnfree]

Excellent points, Jamie.

The first question that popped into my mind when I read your post was, "Are you ready and willing to work very hard and devote time to this endeavor?"

From there I'd have a zillion more and agree with Jamie that learning just what they do know and what they need to learn would be crucial.

[Linda Buquet]

Hi Bo,

I feel your pain! We get questions like that alot here too.

I just this second answered something similar. Other common questions are:
how do you get started with affiliate marketing?
how do i build my 1st site?

Or worst of all 10 generic questions in the same post!
"Whats AM, how do I build a site, should I build a site or a blog, how do you do PPC,what's the best affiliate program to start off with and then too what is the highest paying affiliate program?"

WHEW! How in the world do you answer posts like that?

I like using brick & mortar examples. So here's the one I just wrote and have used a few times in different flavors. Feel free to use and adapt as needed with a link back to 5 Star! (Kidding )

Asking a bunch of generic questions about how to get started or simply asking
the broad general question of how do you get started or how do you build a site is....

Kinda like if you asked a forum full of builders how do you build a house?
Well that's just too big of a question for anyone to answer.

Each step would require a long answer to explain - how to pour a foundation, how to do framing, plumbing, roofing, cabinetry... And then again each builder has its own style. PLUS there are tons of different types of houses so depending on whether you want a stucco one bedroom condo, a sprawling wood ranch, a contemporary bi-level or a mansion, many of the steps above would vary.

That's not exactly an answer to the question how do you make money online - but it's an answer to related questions you probably get sometimes.

[surfallday]

First thing I would tell them (show them) would be the basics of SEO.

After that I'd direct them to someone who could build a good CMS website.

Next, give them a website to model their site around...something that is easy to navigate and use.

After that show them how you can make money through article/press release writing (no website needed but always a plus).

Tell them to work hard for about a year and then show them how to play a lot more golf and work a lot less then they used to.

[surfallday]

Oh yeah, tell them to get a good mentor. You can learn all you need to know in a few weeks from a good mentor which could take years to learn researching it yourself.

Just my opinion...