I know what am going to say is going to piss a lot of marketers off, but it does not matter… the industry has got enough problems already…
and I wonder.. if its too late.. to let in light… so that hope can be restored…
Seriously, if you look at the industry and how the IM niche is moving, you will realise that the trend is slowly dying…
While many of us has allow ourselves to prosper from the selling information, we ourselves are actually closing the very lids to the niche that has made many millionaires.
Aggressive promoting without clearly helping the very people whom needs our help kills off their beliefs and move them to live with mediocrity. Every new launch is “The next big thing”… and despite the fact that most affiliate promoters never really tried the product… they all agree that this is the “missing element” that can help in your business.
Yes… give them what they already want.
Yes… show it to them and let them decide if they should purchase….
I must say… most purchased not because they think it is the next big thing… they did so because of us.
Law of authority plays a big role here… and we are the ones who is guilty in abusing it.
Are you really helping your subscribers move towards what they really want… or are you feeding your personal bank account so that you can go travel the world and have your meal by the shore while enjoying your champagne on ice…
Funny isn’t it… and I thought our sole purpose was to help realise…and not destory more dreams…
In a way… you could see the IM niche moving towards the same route its counterpart had… yes.. the MLM industry…
If we, as marketers don’t realise that… and if we don’t point people whom really believe in us in the right direction… are we even fit… to spend that money others had so faithfully invested in us…
Sometimes, it helps… when we can just sit down and listen to what we preach… the IM industry is already cluttered with so many scammers and it is really up to us to help save this industry…
It is not really about the success stories that we have help create… but the number of dreams that we have helped realise…
I always wanted to do a Mount Fuji climb ever since I read about it. Mount Fuji, located at the boundary of shizouka and yamanashi prefectures is the highest peak in Japan at 3,776 m (12,388 ft). It is also one of the 3 ‘Holy Mountains’ of Japan with the other two being Mount Tate and Mount Haku. What seperates Mount Fuji from the 2 is that it is the most symbolic and beautiful mountain in Japan.
After some research, It just occur to me that the climbing season is in July-August. Giving me the perfect opportunity to do the climb. Without much hesitation, I took a flight to Japan and its really like an impromptu kindda climb. here is what I found:
Temperature: 6 – 12 degrees (Night)
Stuff To Bring: Hiking Shoes, Torch, Money, Jacket, Camera, Gloves, Water
I kindda took the option of climbing overnight just to see the sun rise the next day. So from Tokyo, I took a train to Kawaguchiko and at Kawaguchiko station, purchased a bus ride up to the Mount Fuji 5th station – There is a total of 10 Station with the 10th being the highest.
I kindda reach the top at about 10pm at night and yeah, it was rather cooling and the temperature is just perfect for my mount fuji climb. Here is some words of advice should you be interested in planning the climb. You need a hat/cap that you can attach your torch to. Because there will be some routes that requires some climbing, which is why you need to keep your hands free.
I am not kidding… It took me 5 hours to reach the top – because of the “jam” near the 4th hour. But I must say, the view of the sun rise was spectacular… and beautifully stunning. Now, what would come as the perfect day was eating that hot udon noodle at the top of Mount Fuji and enjoying that gorgeous view… It is here that you can justify Japan’s other nickname – Land of The Rising Sun.
At the top of the craters, you will be able buy some soveniors and get your “seals”. Of course, you would have printed several seals on your way up at each station. Eg: 6th station seals, 7th station seals.. but if what you really want is the 10th station seals, which signifys that you have climbed to the top of the mountain.
Well, there is an old saying that I’ve learnt on this trip here to Japan – He who climbs Fuji once is a wise man. He who climbs it twice is a fool. I definetly and will back this statement over and over again. The view, as you can see… is breath taking. It is healla of an experience and you will never want to miss it. This I promise. However, the journey down… omg… It is just one long winding road that never seems to end. Add that to the heat of the morning sun, goodness… now THAT is not as incredible as I would want it to be.
Something I realise about this is that 60,000 foreigns from all around the world does a Mount Fuji climb every year. Despite the short climbing season, 1 July – 27 August, the amount of tourism profits made is more than enough to cover for the overall annual expenses spent for the local vendors. As you probably know, the unique merchandises or soveniors is sold at a marked up price. Even if it is sold at a profit of $1 per climber, that would equate up to $60,000.
In marketing point of view, the local vendors is riding on the publicity of Japan’s Image, coupled with unique merchandising and needs(water, food, lodging) to create this mega profit. If you want, you too can think of between the lines of your business USP to ride on this marketing power of Free Advertising.
That completes my wonderful experience of climbing Mount Fuji. Yeah, the ride back to the hotel was a sleepy one, because I had stayed up all night doing the hike.
How to create an online business ? Now that is a question alot asked when starting online. The bad news is, there is going to be a lot of information out there that can clutter your mind about starting a business online. The good news is, it can be easy and affordable if you know how to do it right.
before I go into the details how to go about doing it, first, understand that not everything is 100% gauranteed. That is to say, your ideas might not sell and you might fail along with it. But then again, you can reduce these margin of errors if you follow and stick to the basics.
Step 1
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Finding your market – Creating an online business is like any other business, except that you put your shop or store online. So, before you start any business, you will need to find your target market.
Which group of people does your business appeal to? As such, you will need something to sell… something to make you money.
Step 2
——-
Segment your business – Unlike traditional store, you need to build a brand online. Unless you are already an establish brand like Nike, Microsoft, there is no way you are going to “sell to everyone”.
So instead of selling everything, you should focus on smaller stuffs from your market. This is known as niche marketing in Internet Marketing terms. That is to say, your market is golf. Your Niche market will be golf clubs.
In fact, you can be even more specific by positioning yourself as an expert in “Exclusive Golf clubs for the executives”
So, you set yourself up as a golf club specialist for executives. This will set you apart from “just another online golf stall”. Next time these executive or rich managers wants to buy golf clubs, the only place they can think of is you.. because you sell “exclusive and branded” clubs…
step 3
——
Plan your business model ! – This is very very important. What is your business flow. Do people come and go ? Do you give existing customers any special offers ? Do you include upsells to cater and add profits to your bank ? Do you build existing relationship with your customers ?
How do you make your customers feel special ? What is your support system like ? Shipping ?
Step 4
——-
Set up your online business stall – Get a domain name, hosting plan and a merchant account. Build a website and you are ready to go…
Test your business work flow and see if everything works out properly.
Step 5
——-
Simply start marketing your website – That is to say, drive traffic to it. If you have your business model done up properly, everything should flow on quite smoothly.
Of course, you do need to do those PR stuff and update new offers and stuff like that. But that is all you need to get a small business running.
I hope this can give you a very clear overview on how an online business is created. If you are starting out, focus on these 5 steps in getting your business up.
A few days ago, someone emailed me regarding more details on my previous post on “can you really make a living blogging online“. Well, truth is, as long as you are a blogger, you can use simple strategies to monetize your blog, write what you want yet at the same time, start blogging for profit.
Here is how it really works.
First, you MUST have a blog. You can always get free blogs from wordpress and blogger. If you are already a blogger, it is really a no brainer because what you are doing everyday can actually make you an extra few hundred dollars without any extra effort from you.
Lets assume that you are already a blogger. Here are a few steps you will need to do to monetize your blog. Don’t worry, it is as simple as 1, 2, 3….
Go sign up an account in affiliate networks and affiliate directories. They are Free..
Look for products related to your blog from the affiliate networks and directories and grab their embedded links. Place banners or links in your blog. You are now done !
Your blog is now monetized !
Whenever someone clicks on these banners or links and buys from the merchant, you earned yourself a neat commission.
In all blogs, there is always something which is your main core or should i say, primary topic.
If you blog about the sports of basketball or NBA players, you can always add links associated with basketball. Example: NBA jerseys, DVDs, Basketballs, Shoes etc
Some hot topic around the Internet is blogging about their “private life”… Do you think people visiting their blog will be interested in dating services, horoscopes etc
In singapore, some really popular blogs are about trendy fashions and make ups. Obviously the visitors who visited the blogs are interested in what the bloggers have to say. Do you think the visitors are interested in Trendy gadgets, fashion wears, celebrity make up products ?
As you can see, the possibilities are quite endless. If you have a high volume of searches, you can even rent out some ad space for the merchants, charging them $100 – $500 for that banner space.
If you want to start blogging for profit, you will need to find the right product to put in your blog. In fact, there is no extra effort for you because as a blogger, you will continue to blog and write about stuff which you like. Your “loyal visitors” will continue to come to your blog. Why not take this chance to make a little money from your blogging efforts.
This is one of the easiest ways to blog for profit. If you want to go the extra mile, you can always integrate the strategies listed in “can you really make a living blogging online“. However, one thing still stands, always blog for your interest and your visitors. If you blog for money, you will never see it coming…
I know what am going to say is going to piss a lot of marketers off, but it does not matter… the industry has got enough problems already… 
I always wanted to do a Mount Fuji climb ever since I read about it. Mount Fuji, located at the boundary of shizouka and yamanashi prefectures is the highest peak in Japan at 3,776 m (12,388 ft). It is also one of the 3 ‘Holy Mountains’ of Japan with the other two being Mount Tate and Mount Haku. What seperates Mount Fuji from the 2 is that it is the most symbolic and beautiful mountain in Japan.
I am not kidding… It took me 5 hours to reach the top – because of the “jam” near the 4th hour. But I must say, the view of the sun rise was spectacular… and beautifully stunning. Now, what would come as the perfect day was eating that hot udon noodle at the top of Mount Fuji and enjoying that gorgeous view… It is here that you can justify Japan’s other nickname – Land of The Rising Sun.
Something I realise about this is that 60,000 foreigns from all around the world does a Mount Fuji climb every year. Despite the short climbing season, 1 July – 27 August, the amount of tourism profits made is more than enough to cover for the overall annual expenses spent for the local vendors. As you probably know, the unique merchandises or soveniors is sold at a marked up price. Even if it is sold at a profit of $1 per climber, that would equate up to $60,000.