How to Make Money on the InternetA Step-by-Step Guide



STEP 1: YOU NEED A WEBSITE FIRST!

The first thing you must do is to select a website provider. There are several FREE website providers listed on this disk, all of which can be accessed through the Master Index. You can choose one, or several, however I strongly suggest you START with just one. These providers are not going anywhere - you'll still be able to get more sites tomorrow, next month, or next year. When I started this, I registered 3 sites in ONE WEEKEND and the result was that I could not do a good job on any of them. You MUST put some time and effort into making your website presentable or any potential customers will soon go somewhere else - there are far too many websites out there who are your competitors - and they are after the same customers you are!
When you choose your provider you will be asked to pick a name for your site, so try to choose a name that relates to the business you will be doing on the web. If, for example, you are selling computers, you do not want to name your website "Easter Eggs". Also, try to stay away from names that could be considered controversial, or that have a double meaning. If the name you choose is controversial, you run the risk of having your website blocked by the "filtering software" designed to give parents control of what their kids see on the web. Of course, if your website relates DIRECTLY to such things, then name it appropriately - you will get more customers that way.

As for double meanings, they will attract people to your website that will not be interested in your product, and others who would be interested might stay away. An example would be a party planning and supplies company that names their site "Gay Parties!". While you (the webmaster) might mean this to say "happy and fun" parties, you will probably attract a lot of visitors who are gay or lesbian. You can see the confusion this could create.
The next issue is disk space. Some websites offer more of it than others. Try to get the most space you can - it can only help you in the future. Also, check what their policies are on advertising. Virtually all of the free websites out there require you to place their ads on your site. Some of them will simply put banner ads on your pages - however some of them use "pop-up" ads which can be annoying. Choose a provider that will not force you to use the "POP-UPS"!
Lastly, make sure you understand their terms of service and abide by their rules. Most of them are simple and straightforward - No adult material, no spamming, etc. The last thing you want is to set up your site, spend hours and hours promoting it, and then have it shut down!


STEP 2: CHOOSING A PRODUCT OR SERVICE TO SELL:

From master index go to "Hot Businesses" or "Career Opportunities" and see what interests you. Click on the links to go directly to the website of the company making the offers and see if it fits with what you are doing - ideally, you will want to choose more than one opportunity for each website! If you want to sell computers, wouldn't software be a nice addition? How about accessories? Or, maybe one company has a better offer on modems than your "primary" computer hardware provider - offer you customers the best values and they will return, time and again. This is another chore that will take some time and effort as you will want to make sure that you are not locked in to any one company exclusively. Read their terms and conditions, and if there is anything you do not understand ASK THEM - DO NOT ASSUME ANYTHING! These companies may also be able to provide you with free pages for your website and offer you other free help. Take advantage of everything you can! Don't be afraid to ask a hundred and ten questions, if that's how many you have. These companies WANT you to be successful, and are only too happy to help you achieve your goals.


STEP 3: CREATING YOUR WEB PAGES:

Once you have your website provider and you know what you want to sell, you will have to create some web pages for your site. There is a program included for doing this: Advanced HTML. While this is not a PERFECT program, it offers lots of help for the beginner who does not know an awful lot about HTML. Also, be sure to visit the sites we have listed on this disk which offer free help with HTML! It is easy to learn the basics of HTML, and with a little practice you can create some very nice web pages on your own and for free. Rather than trying to teach you HTML here, we will leave that for the websites we mentioned, and the HTML program we have included on this disks.


STEP 4: PROMOTING YOUR WEBSITE:

Now, for the hard part. Hello? (was that a "thud" I just heard???) Are you OK? Sorry, I didn't mean to scare you, but nobody promised this would be easy. THERE IS NO SUCH THING AS EASY MONEY - NOT IN THE REAL WORLD AND CERTAINLY NOT ON THE INTERNET! If you follow steps one through three and then stop, you might as well save yourself some time and quit right now. In order to be successful you will have to promote your website and PROMOTE IT AGGRESSIVELY! And then when you are tired of promoting your site, go and promote it some more! This is time consuming, however there are several sites listed on this disk that can make the job easier - and for FREE! There are many more sites that will promote your site for you if you pay them, but I don't like to pay for something I can do myself - and neither should you. Here is a list of things (in my humble opinion) you should do to promote your website, ranked in order of importance:


Submit your website to as many search engines as you can.
Join a Banner Ad Network.

Place FREE Classified ads (never PAY for classifieds - there are too many FREE sites for this!)

Submit your link to as many "Free For All Links" pages as you can find.

Use FREE E-MAIL lists that are "opt-in" BUT NEVER SPAM! You WILL lose your website!
Join a "Web Ring"

Post to APPROPRIATE newsgroups on USENET, just make sure you understand their rules first.

Always seek out new ways to promote your site and ALWAYS take advantage of FREE OPPORTUNITIES!

I know that sounds like a lot. The trick is to take it one step at a time. If you are going to be doing this with another preson, make sure you divide up the work in advance - it is a complete waste of time to duplicate the efforts of your partner (Trust me, I learned the hard way!) And KEEP AT IT! Don't get discouraged. The money you take out of the internet will be directly proportionate to the time and effort you put in to it - and it DOES get easier over time.



STEP 5: DEVELOP OTHER SOURCES OF REVENUE:

Once your website is up and running, and you have promoted it to the point where it is successful, you will want to take advantage of other FREE opportunities on the internet. Like listing some of your products at internet auctions (see the main index for more information on this) or starting another website (or two, or six). If you are already selling computer hardware, set up another FREE site and start a bookstore! Even better, target a specific group of people and offer LOTS of stuff for sale. For example, you could have a website designed for children, or religious poeple, or Irish people, or gay people, or Jewsih people, etc. etc. An Irish-oriented website could contain books of interest to Irish people, Irish music, art, products from Ireland, etc. The only limit here is your creativity - keep on thinking of new things and promote the hell out of them! Don't just do what everyone else is doing, unless you want to fail miserably.
The rewards go to those who are there first - not the million people who follow them. Just look at eBay - they were one of the first auction sites on the internet and the FIRST one to allow anyone who wanted to add a listing to do so. Today they are the largest and most profitable auction site on the internet - and they are going public! For the original owners, the money will never stop - their biggest problem will be counting it fast enough. And what about all the OTHER auctions sites? They don't generate NEARLY as much traffic and are not NEARLY as profitable for the owners (although you can still make money SELLING on those sites). Be first and be rich!
Ok, so you couldn't start something like eBay or Yahoo for free. Not now. There would be no way to compete with them. But if you have a hot idea NOW, you can start it for free and then grow your business to the point of extreme success! Yahoo was started for well under $1000, and I'm sure eBay was started on a similar budget. Start small and grow big.


CONCLUSION:

To be successful, follow these five steps and keep repeating them. Pitch as many products as you can and work up as many ideas as you can. Since the cost of implementing them will be ZERO (or more, if you want to pay for the services of others) don't be afraid to try and fail. When Thomas Edison was working on the light bulb, he tried several hundred substances for the filament before he found one that worked. Before he found it, someone asked him how he felt about having all those "failures" and he replied that they were not failures because he now knew hundreds of things that would not work! There is no shame in failing at something as long as you learn from your mistakes. If your first website does not work out for you, set up another one. And another. And another. Each time, try different things until you find something that works.
We wish you the best of luck in all your online endeavors!

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