Peter Hanley

How to start a home-based business in 10 easy steps. One that leads to a long term income stream to be proud off

Estimated reading time: 7 minutes

#1 Working from home step one

The first step is deciding what you want to do. I understand this is no easy task however it is important because you are picking a long-term future.

Working with people	For those that like close up and personal
Playing on the internet	Building channels
Writing	For the bloggers
Social media	Choose one and specialise
Affiliate marketing	Selling for others
Selling product	marketing hardware
Training	Running training courses
Online store	Being a shopkeeper
Running campains	The organizers
Considering MLM	Home-based but customer delivery

You need to keep your choice very narrow

The internet world is very big so narrowing down your choice provided much more opportunity for success. It will expand as you grow and that is part of the learning circle.
Those that own a niche have success much faster than the broad brush painters.

Every listing above contains so many sub-niches that all provide great opportunities for you to develop your skills. For instance, the internet comprises endless things to consider.

Buiding web pages
Starting a funnel
Learning SEO
Gathering advertising income
Building an online shop

These are just the tips of opportunities to explore. Just remember to do something for interest not for money, the order must be right.

#2 Learn the skills required to start a home based business

There is quite a lot to learn about the basics so take a bit of time early and save a lot later.
I made this mistake when I started a journey and had to go back and repeat a course that I considered I knew.
Doing small things properly will make a massive difference later.

At wealthy Affiliate, there are 284 free training modules and a further 220 for paid members.
These cover every subject you could ever need.

#3 Every thing starts with a web page

No matter what channel you choose to run with you will need a webpage. However, think about what you are going to the market with. It may be a private page or a business page or even bother if you are so inclined.

This site will cover what you do and a couple of extra pages.

• About you page
• Terms and conditions
• Privacy rules
• Affiliate disclaimer
• Any others you want to include.

From this website, you can blog, post, make a shop, or list a range of opportunities you are promoting.

Under the above Wealthy Affiliate link is access to a free website.

How to start a home-based business in 10 easy steps with critical support

#4 The availablity of support is critical to success

This is one area that is really underestimated. First of all, support is only connected to a product and not the overall duties that you will have. For instance, hosting problems are different from WordPress problems and don't relate to plugin issues or other software used.

Spending hours searching Google for good answers is both time-consuming and difficult to find. That is why I use the forum at Wealthy affiliate (available free) where you can ask any question and someone will pick it up.

With over a million members one of them will have experienced the same issues as you.

#5 The internet is invisable

The internet does not discriminate so If you are looking for excuses of age, race, religion, color or preferences know one needs to know.

Therefore you can delete this from your excuse book right away. I know of teens and those well into their eighties still working magic so you can do it.

How to start a home-based business in 10 easy steps to make money

#6 Can you still make money working from home

The answer is naturally positive and in fact, the earnings are unlimited when you get it right.
A million a year, a hundred thousand or a few dollars will depend on what you do.

it is important to remember that setting up a business takes time and there are really no free meals. Instant money is for those that have spent a lot of time building a structure that can deliver results.

Therefore understand that this is a long-term journey s choose something you really love doing and the money will follow.

#7 Long term planning is a key element when working from home

When you have made the decision on your future then that is the time to sit down and write it out. I don't believe in going out too far because things change along the way and so will your plan. However, two years is a great start and forecasting will not be too taxing.

Furthermore, I recommend a daily cash flow for the next 12 months using a simple excel spreadsheet.

You will need some funds along the way and planning for those shortages is essential in good management. I like to overproduce my expenses and under anticipate my sales to create a more maneagble area.

#8 Staying true to your dream

As we learn more we tend to want to roam further from the journey we are on. Taking little side tracks and easier paths that offer a quicker result. Don't worry about this because it is natural however stay true to your plan over all else.

Focussing on a single destination and applying all your abilities to that journey will win the race. No one is Jack of all trades it is those that specialize that win the race.

Google, Facebook, Tesla, and Apple have stayed true to their goal and have risen to the top of the tree.

#9 No business is built in a day

For many years Amazon was a book shop. Or more precisely an Affiliate marketer. Selling products belonging to someone else and earning a small commission. Starting in 1994 it remained with books for the first four years.

They grew amongst a huge amount of skepticism that they would ever succeed

Gradually Amazon added more products and continued to expand the range however it would take nearly fourteen years to start returning a regular profit.

Bezos is now one of the richest men in the world but still remains a simple affiliate marketer.

Amazon has remained true to its original plan and stuck to a single path to success.

#10 Conclusion

I can't choose life for you, that is your sole responsibility however I trust we have added some tools and logic on which you can base your future.

Your future may well choose you. I never thought of being a blogger however it now controls my life to all else as I write away every day.

Let the winds of change take your life and settle down to doing the work to meet the end.

Bezos took four years to get any traction, steve Jobs was sacked as well Elon Musk however, they believed in what they were doing and stayed the distance.

It will not be overnight but when you look back the time taken will be very short.

Remember ” Giving up is not an option”

How to start a home-based business in easy steps by Peter Hanley

• What home business can you start with little or no experience
• How to write a blog (for money)
• Best way to work online from home for easy success
• Steps to start a successful blog

Do blogs get read or are they a waste of time? Blogging is the answer to every question and to your business and personal growth

Estimated reading time: 6 minutes

What constitutes a great blog

A great blog is one that gets read and creates an action for the reader.

The difficulty is that a great blog can receive zero traffic while another average one gets hit tens of thousands of times a month, so what is the difference.

Search Terms are the solution to being read

That means the use of key phrases that answer a question or solve a problem.

This is a simple matter that is misunderstood by most writers.

Keywords are the single biggest factor in getting a blog read.

Finding a balance between traffic and competition

With every and any Keyword, you have a degree of traffic and a range of competition. Too much of either will make it extremely difficult to get to page one of a search term.

An example of this is the Keyword for this blog, “Do blogs get read”. I could have chosen the Best blogs to read however the QSR figure or number of competing sites is different. Yes, I get less traffic however I will get to page one quickly instead of starting on page 12 and moving forward over time

The meaning in both headings is the same however the search term is different and the results are a long way apart.

Fortunately, we use a tool to look at this and find the best solution available

This takes all the guesswork out of your selection.

Full training and a free Jaaxy planner available at Wealthy Affiliate

For those of you that are getting lost, we have an in-depth look at blogging, Keywords, and all things necessary at Wealthy Affiliate starting for free to new members.

How do you get people to read your blog

The first page of a search term is the only place to be. Furthermore, the first three free lines get nearly 90% of the clicks so your SEO must be spot on.

However, you can create your own traffic to support your SEO efforts

• Push via Social Media
• Pay for advertising
• Use influensers
• Be on page one of a search term
• Use lots of Keywords
• Link from Youtube
• Using other sites to link to you
• Follow the rules of Google

Adding a great Meta description

A meta description is the second thing you must understand. These are the words under the URL that grab the reader's attention. On any page of search terms, there are generally about seven free listings and the one that is chosen will be likely in the top three on the page and answer the reader's question.

It may be done with honesty, excitement, intrigue, or fear however it will grab the reader's attention and invite the click.

I have seen great blogs with pore Meta descriptions that get little traffic whilst its neighbor gets clicked thousands of times.

Therefore a combination of Keyword selection, page one position, and a great Meta description lift your chances

Do blogs get read-only if on page one?

How do you get to page one of a search term

This is easy if you follow the rules and impossible if you ignore a few simple facts.

Your Blog does not generally start on page one because Google sends you to the back of the class until you prove your worth.

Authority helps the cause

Google will rate you on your perceived authority to answer the question
Think of a Doctor or even Professor writing on Medical matters over a layman on Witch Craft solutions as an example.
Many authority figures also have a following so they will gain organic clicks moving them ahead of you.

You can create authority by referencing noted articles or writers that support your contribution to the subject.

Best blogs to read

The blogs that answer a question or solve a problem are the ones that are best.

However, you could search for any category you want and spend a day reading all the great posts on your subject.

• Funny
• medical
• Sci Fi
• Marketing
  

Just think of a question and blog away.
With the more extended use of mobile devices and Siri requests the Keyphrases tend to be much longer and hence more concise.

This is particularly so with the younger set as they seek a quick answer to end an argument.
That is why we usually recommend having the solution early in the blog and then following with all the reasons why.

You will note that Best blogs to Read was a search term I ignored because it is too competitive.
However, I have included that term within my page to pick up a bit of that traffic without having to rely fully on it.

Do blogs get read and make money

Are blogs a waste of time

According to the latest statistics, there are over 7.5 million blogs written every day.
Blogging is still an enterprise that takes time but rewards handsomely for those that do it right.
Business can increase sales, affiliates can earn money, writers can let off steam, and a dozen other reasons to put your writing out in the open market

Making money by blogging

It is all there for the winners and the below list just looks at the big names. However, I know many people that make a comfortable living out of full-time blogging.

Who is the highest-paid blogger? Top 10 highest-earning bloggers

• HuffPost: $500 million per year.
• Engadget: $47.5 million per year.
• Moz: $44.9 million per year.
• PerezHilton: $41.3 million per year.
• Copyblogger: $33.1 million per year.
• Mashable: $30 million per year.
• TechCrunch: $22.5 million per year.
• Envato Tuts+: $10 million per year.

Conclusion and wrap up

First of all, as a part-time blogger, I am a little biased in my opinion however I believe it is one of the better jobs in town.
Therefore You can write for yourself or others to earn a great return for your efforts.

I started writing blogs for my business before expanding out to share my marketing knowledge with as many readers as possible.

Finally, remember that it is a long term business and you need to grow a following to get read

Do blogs get read, or are they a waste of time by Peter Hanley

• Writing a blog post tips
• Writing for a blog
• What is the keyword?
• How to write a blog (for money)

Success is not a destination it's a journey of discovery that continues on through many highs and lows as you trek the pathways of reality

Estimated reading time: 9 minutes

What does success meen to you?

Success is the state or condition of meeting a defined range of expectations. It may be viewed as the opposite of failure. The criteria for success depend on context, and may be relative to a particular observer or belief system.
 Wikipedia

That is saying that success is personal and defined not by Money, opinions, rank, or status.

There was a shoe cleaner in New York that wanted to be the best he could at what many would consider a lowly job. His name was Don Ward and he made his fame being rude to customers. He threw insults everywhere about the state of people's shoes and became famous. In fact so much so he was making nearly $1000 a day working on the streets.

The start of life is a journey, a subject for a blog

This is interesting because the title of this blog became before my understanding of its history.
My consideration was my own journey that has seen the highs and lows of business over three decades. Stories I wanted to share

Ralph Waldo Emerson Quotes

• “Our greatest glory is not in never failing, but in rising up every time we fail.”
• “Live in the sunshine, swim the sea, drink the wild air.”
• “Without ambition one starts nothing. …
• “Nothing great was ever achieved without enthusiasm.”
• “Life is a journey, not a destination.”

Emerson lived by the motto of “Trust thyself” which is a fitting start to my story.

Success is not a destination it's a journey that starts with you

Where does success start

Whist your childhood has a huge impact on your life it is not necessarily set in stone.
It is said that your personality is well established by age ten and that the same-sex parent has the most impact on you. (Christopher Nave, a doctoral candidate at the University of California, Riverside.)

So having your personality formed for you and out of your control then take what is left and find your values for success.

Success is rarely overnight

There are examples of the journey to success everywhere and one of my favorites is that of the author J.K.Rowlings.
She wrote her first book at age 6 called Rabbit and another at age 11about Diamonds.
She finished formal schooling at the University of Exeter in 1986 and had several jobs which included teaching English language in Portugal

The first Harry Potter book took six years to write and was rejected by at least twelve publishing companies before being accepted. Rowlings was even told to attend a writing school if she wanted to be successful.

Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone was finally released in the United Kingdom on 26 June 1997 and a year later in the US.

Instant success to a billionaire it was certainly not. There were so many highs and lows that accompanied the journey including using coffee shops as an office.

Success is not a destination it's a journey for you

Trust Thyself and march forward

The first thing is to have self-belief. Understand where you want your journey to take you and layout the roadmap.
When you can see a vision in your mind and have belief anything can be done.

Certainly writing down your future and having a mantra to repeat on a regular basis will help some people. This may include a Goal board with pictures of your future self and what you want to aspire to.

My way is to set a goal, lay out the steps to be taken and put my head down, and get to work.

Being realistic is part of the process and recognising that the journey will come with upsets and disillusion however the end is the aim and the journey of the game.

Your journey needs a clear definition

Way back in time I started a job as a commission salesperson for a Paging company. I loved the product however the business had money and management problems and sacked me after working for about three months.

I was the only salesperson therefore they were fast going out the back door.
My next step was to offer to buy out one of the partners and become the manager and salesman.

It was intense negotiations as I had little money however I offered to work for six months for free. Their choice was to go broke or take my offer which fortunately they did.

This was a 24 Hour service so I would do a Nightshift of eight hours and then plod the street as a salesman during the day.

We were selling about 5 units a week a number that would never work and we needed about 500 a month to justify the journey.
The way forward was to have 10 salespeople selling 30-50 units a month to make it viable.

I did not end there.

Growing a customer base

My first recruit was an out-of-work senior guy that needed a break. Morrie took the duties on seriously and was soon hitting his target.

When I put on a second rep he cried that I was cutting his territory in half and he could never make it. I explained that less travel time and greater concentration would solve the problem. Which it did he doubled his sales.

This happened again with the same result and he continued to outsell everyone else because it was important to him. He was successful and won awards for his persistence and work ethic.

I was also a success. Having achieved a goal that I set out on day one the company was very healthy. In fact so healthy that we were bought out by an international group and I was back on payroll with a healthy bank account.

How did success happen

It did not just happen, it was a ten-year journey based around hard figures pounded into an excel spreadsheet showing an economic growth pattern.

Even then there were many times when the payroll looked doubtful as funds had not arrived.
We changed suppliers and core products but stayed true to the business.

All this from a commission sales guy that set a dream and worked his arse of to achieve it.
It was planning hard work and a solid belief in the future that paved the way.

Success is not a destination it's a journey but is it for you

Are you cut out for success

Yes, you are cut out for success. It is a matter of believing in yourself that is the difference.

It is also understanding that success does not happen overnight and that it is a journey to discovery. The crucial factor is to enjoy the journey because that helps you stay on track.

Richard Branson has a learning disability, Steve Jobs had a drug issue, Elon Musk has a functioning disability and these guys made the top but not without pain.

Interestingly the three above all put quality before quantity and performance before the price going against the trend of modern economics.

Small goals are the blocks to large achievement

Set your goals along the way and aim to achieve small steps that pave the way to the end result. You can not be an instant millionaire but you can plan your way to that achievement.

It may be making your first sale in a month and then doubling up or even putting foundations in place that will ensure you are heading in the direction that you want.

Ignore the outside influences

You will always get the naysayers, those that want to take you down and be part of your life. This could be family and friends and I assure you there will be plenty of them ready to tell you what you are doing wrong.

When you have your plan and know where you are going you can ignore the critical comments and plow on through your journey.

Remember all the doubters will still be jealous of your success so separate work and private life into different boxes.

Having a mentor

Be it a mentor, a coach, or just a sounding board it is often important to sound off your insecurities.
At one stage I had a critical issue I could not resolve. I had written it down and thought through the various ways to fix the problem however I could not find a solution.

A flyer landed on my desk advertising a new service that specialised in mentorship so I took the opportunity to try it out.

On my first visit, I was asked to explain my issue so they could understand what I was going through.
The funny thing was at the end of my explanation I had answered my own question and knew exactly what I had to do. Talking it through helped me understand .

I carried on with their support for another 12 months.

My conclusion

We don't wish to make light of this matter because it can impact your life in serious ways.

It is up to you, no one else can take the actions for you and only a small percentage will take the opportunity to achieve greatness in life.

It may not be an easy road, it will be filled with danger and troubles however take the time to revisit the big picture and remind yourself where you are going. Imagine the ending and what it means to you and understand that the journey is all part of the process.

Success will be different for every one of you. It is your success so take that as your goal and be happy with your achievement. It may be cleaning shoes on a sidewalk or sending rockets to Mars it is all subjective.

Remember anyone can do it it just needs action.

Success is not a destination it's a journey bt Peter Hanley

• Business Growth Plan
• How to find a mentor online and not spend a fortune

How many words are in a blog post and does it make a difference. Google says content is king therefore the number of words is important

Estimated reading time: 7 minutes

Too many or too few words will make a difference

The old adage of “how long is a piece of string” stands true today. The answer of course is long enough to do the job, less won't cut it and more is waste.

Therefore your blog post is the same with some differences.

The job of a post is generally to answer a question or provide a solution so you need to write enough to satisfy the reader.

The dilemma is that your readers differ in what they want. 300 to 3000 is your starting guide.

Some want instant satisfaction as they cruise by.
Perhaps a few reasons why and who else has experienced it.
Storyboard for the readers wanting to kill time
Full-blown warts and all solutions.

A good blog will cover all of this and more

How many words in ablog post depends on what you want to say

Provide your answer early and then elaborate

Providing an early answer satisfies the attention deficit roamers that want a simple straightforward result.

This group of readers will never buy anything or click further and don't really do your SEO a lot of good. To capture them you need to use an early exit pop that makes a promise to expand on the answer.

Consider a group of people discussing a subject and one says I will Google a result. It might be The year Hitler was born or who is Donald Trump's first wife or even how many words in a blog? They want a simple answer so give it to them early.

Explaining your answer

The next group of readers is the doubters that want more.
You say a blog can be 3000 words but does that hold true?

Yoast SEO who are the experts in the trade state that a minimum is 300 words is required to be considered for reading. ( This page is well past that) so that is really a starting position.

The training at Wealthy Affiliate generally recommends a 1200 word post is optimal and the longer the better.

Personally, I vary from 600 to2500 depending on the subject and many others strive to 2000+

How many words in a blog post with stories

The story board approach to blog writing

This is when the storytellers come out and weave a whole book around the simple subject.
This makes for intriguing reading and keeps you on the page for much longer.
They combine interest with intrigue to take you on a journey to a solution.

This takes a certain sort of person and is not for all of us. As hard As I try I fail in my attempts for poetic license. However, if it suits you then keep those readers going to the end of the page and hopefully clicking away.

Why the long form blog

This is an interesting part of marketing used by professionals.

Motor Car Advertising is a great example.

They can be TV or paper but only show what a car can do for your lifestyle.
Happy families cruising the highways or bumping over bush roads with gay abandon.
The cars sparkling clean even after going through a river and muddy bank.

These are lifestyle ads with nothing much said about the technical details.

However, when they do capture your imagination you want more. You will read everything about the vehicle even down to comparing it with other brands.

Buyers are certainly, a smaller group but these are the buyers and it is your job to carry them across the finish line.

On a web page, you may list a variety of products with a link to a blog site for those wanting to read more. This is where the longer form blog really stands out.

What is the purpose of your blog

Understanding what you want to achieve before you write is important.

If you are writing for a business then you may just want them to go to the webpage where they can buy stuff.
You can fully explain a product and what it can do for those that want the extra information.

A blog is not a sales page, we leave that for funnels and web pages to do the heavy lifting.
However, you will usually have a sneaky link or referral for those ready to buy.

With Affiliate marketing, you need to justify readers moving off to another site where they will be hit with a marketing page. We do this to help people gain a better insight or understanding of a problem they have.

The simple how-to tie shoelaces or bow ties are short and to the point.

Should you have images in a blog

Absolutely as images grab attention with the wandering eyes of the speed readers. An appropriate image can draw your readers to the section that most interests them.

Big images may distract, and even slow your page down, so make them an appropriate size for your writing.

I did mention appropriate and by this, I mean relating to the subject.
Use only royalty-free images or pay the price for buying ones if desired.

It is also important for SEO to fill in the alt name section to describe the image every time

There is nothing more important than Keywords

This is the search term used by those looking for your work.
You really need to spend more time learning the basics than worrying about content.

The ability for readers to find your page is paramount to your success.

You need to be on page one of a search term or you are lost in the bush never to be read.

Your Keywords, Headline, and Meta description dictate your results. If these are not properly constructed even the best-written articles will remain lost.

Effective blog writing Techniques

When Google has the only say we must pamper to his/her demands.
Google lays out the rules, and changes them often, to rank your blog post along with the winners.
Keep up to date on this and make sure you comply with the demands.

How many words in a Blog post concluded

Conclusion

We are often asked the simple question “how many words are in a blog?'
The answer is always as many as needed to carry the reader on a journey of discovery.

If you are new to blogging you will struggle to hit more than about 500 words however this will grow over time as you build confidence in your writing.

I could include many more headings and drag this out further however my aim was to answer a simple question. Albeit with a not so simple answer.

This page will close at about 1300 words that represents a reasonable read time of five minutes.

How many words in a Blog post by Peter Hanley

• Writing for a blog
• Blog post-marketing
• What is blogging?

Free grammar checking software is worthwhile and does it make a difference. My journey with and without software and the results

Estimated reading time: 3 minutes

What software did I choose to write my blogs

Content is written around your reader niche

Content is extremely important and we all know that however do we change our style when we write to a particular niche.

Industry jargon certainly has a place in your content however word shortening looks out of place.

Yoast and Allinoneseo both do a critique on your writing and demand short sentences and shorter paragraphs.
They may comment on structure but not on the use of English and spelling.

Google dislikes spelling and grammatical mistakes so you need to get it right.

The free version of Grammarly makes suggestions for better writing

I am a swinging voter on this and have had an on-again-off-again relationship with Grammarly
I have used Free and premium as well as given it up altogether.

For some time I believed that Grammarly could not be used within WordPress however I was very wrong.

Using MS Word with Grammarly

This has some benefits as you can save your document if something goes wrong in the WordPress page or post.

Grammarly forms part of the document and can help along the way or for later editing, as I do.

Then copy the document and post it to your WordPress site. However, the capitals do not come across and need to be done.

Writing directly into WP is easier and Grammarly used to edit the page.

Both ways have benefits so choose the method to suit your style.

Pro’s of using Grammarly

Whilst I produce about 35,000 words a month with a basic spell check I still miss some important corrections.

Comma placement is a common error and English / American differences.

Interestingly, the Yoast WordPress score for writing can improve without simple errors and mistakes. It may only be marginal but we all chase some degree of perfection.

Grammarly can be used almost anywhere and anytime so it can have a real impact on your results.

Con’s of Grammarly

Pier reviews have found that Grammarly is only about 75% efficient and that real editing has a better success rate.

It does slow your processing down however that is probably more a benefit than a hindrance.

Grammarly does not like my writing style and I don’t want to change so we need to live with imperfections

Competition to Grammarly

List Of The Top Grammarly Alternatives. Comparison Of Grammarly And Its Competitors

In order of recommendation

• Pro Writing aid
• Whitesmoke
• Ginger
• PaperRater
• Reverso
• Sentencecheckup

All the above will work.

Paid Version

One of the principal additions is the plagiarism report which for academic papers could be considered essential.

Writing corrections could drive you bonkers trying to meet the demands of a style.

It is not for everyone.

Conclusion

I have returned to using Grammarly as it does offer several benefits and I seek a better writing standard. It also makes me think about punctuation to a higher standard which can’t be a bad thing.

Certainly, if you want better writing and have never used Grammarly download it and find out for yourself the many benefits offered.

Grammarly does support your writing.

Free grammar checking software by Peter Hanley

• Free website building software
• Online Sales Pro
• How to check my site rank
• Does your content make a massive difference

Online marketing made easy and getting results. This is the quickest way to grow your business without spending a bundle of money

Estimated reading time: 8 minutes

What is online marketing and what does it do?

First of all, there is expensive online marketing, free online marketing and some in between.
However, using basic skills you need to spend little money to get great coverage.

The first great marketing tool is still the easiest to use and I refer to the common email.

Email marketing takes many forms and they include

• A single email
• Broadcast emails
• Auto attended services

We are all using single emails every day and you probably receive many in your inbox that is both unsolicited and from known sources.
they do this for the simple reason that they work. However, they have learned the art of construction that will make you click to read and not delete.

Full training at Wealthy Affiliate

Auto Attended emails

This is set up using any carrier and at a low price.

When a consumer emails you for information they are entered into a series of reply emails that will be sent over an extended time. Sometimes daily or longer periods depending on urgency.
They may follow a format like;

A thank you page and company info
Product description and basics
Who else uses the products and the best advantages
Other great uses
Benefits
Trial close
Goodbye

This is a simple format however it could extend over many months.

Making your attended emails work harder

When your email chain is successful and results in purchase the customer is not lost.
You can then branch out in a whole new direction with a new series saying customers who bought our product also bought this accessory.

You have known like and even trust so the second sale is often easier than the first.

Newsletters are a premium sales promoter

Just like an email, a Newsletter goes to a range of consumers that have shown interest in your company.

Newsletters are not a sales script they are more a friendly touch service.

You will never know when customers are ready to purchase products so the idea is to simply stay at the top of their minds for when that time comes.
Furthermore, when they have been through the autoresponder series they are a natural fit to now go into a newsletter.

A customer base is necessary

One of the most important parts of internet marketing is to build your customer base.
This can include
Names; first and last
email address
Mobile phone number
actual address

It should be noted that your list develops a value of its own. Therefore It should deliver you a return every month plus have a commercial sale value.

It is illegal to just harvest contacts you must have found them through a contact initiated by you. Harvesting is called spam and comes with legal ramifications if Brocken. Look up the rules in your country and make sure you follow them religiously.

Social media makes anything possible

Nearly everyone has a Facebook account but what about your business?
Potential customers will often look at your social media to see if you really exist and how well others think of you.

Not all media is equal however I believe every business or self-promoter should have two accounts;
Facebook. Your business can be found
LinkedIn. Your information is available

If you want to be shy and not disclose anything about yourself get out of business, it is all about self-promotion.

The secret behind successful social media promotion

Consistent posting to the desired channel wins the war. And consistent means at least every day of the working week.

Next is choosing a channel that has a majority of your target demographic.

• Instagram 20-45 Women
• Twitter     30+ higher education
• Facebook  25+ male and female
• TikTok       Generally younger generation
• LinkedIn   Generally mature audience

The rules are not locked in however they represent a basic introduction.

Finally, social media is a delivery mechanism. It is there to gather interest and then transport readers to a sales page like a web page or funnel.

Social media is for entertainment and to capture the viewer information as they flit around the screen.

A high priced game to play on social media

Have you ever noticed that advertising pops up for something you are wanting to buy, do they read your thoughts or monitor your conversation at home using a Google device?

Neither actually. It is simply Pixel tracing and called Retargeting. A paid-for process by advertisers.

This is a very clever technology that is both specific in what it does and also non-specific.

If you search for watches you will get Watch advertising, pretty simple.
However, you may search for men’s presents and get watch advertising as well.

You have shown an interest so they work that interest to a solution

Remarketing is different

This is after you have bought the watch they start to recommend those fancy watch bands that are available for your new purchase. It could also be an extended warranty or even a watch repair kit.

You are a known buyer and they want to extend you further.
It is not cheap however very effective marketing.

Email to SMS marketing has instant results

You can broadcast a message to any number of mobile devices delivering a sales pitch in either SMS or MMS.

The beauty of this is that the response is often immediate so that you can monetise your promotion in a small trial.

All broadcast messaging is based on numbers. How many deletes, opens, clicks or purchases. Just get the percentage right and you rinse and repeat knowing you are in the money.

Inbound SMS is customer capture

So many of the younger set is now SMS centric. They don’t have time to talk and messaging is quick and easy.
Offering a fixed inbound mobile number offers this opportunity. What’s more, you pick up a legitimate potential customer that can be offered other solutions.

Used correctly this can be a very efficient marketing tool and time saver as all calls simply go to an email and can be answered by anyone with access.

When online marketing needs support

I have an old saying that says “When the major marketing companies do it they do it because it works and at a cost-benefit”

When the large grocery chains email me, SMS me and letterbox drop me.
The big department stores do it and even the local pet shop does it.

They combine the old and tested hard mailer with the latest trends in online marketing.

It is all about constant touch

There is an old rule in marketing called the rule of seven. A buyer needs to see your message at least seven times before they will make a buying decision.
Think TV advertising when the same message is repeated ad-nauseam.
It may not be exactly seven however when the brain kicks in recent repeated images come to the front of the mind.
Social post every day, newsletter every week, emails twice a day and SMS reminders all form part of your message delivery bank.

“ If they are not reading your message they are reading those of your competitor”

Peter Hanley

Therefore, be consistent, be brave and spend as little money to gather the greatest returns.

Blogging is a massive source of contact results

Writing blogs about your industry and what it does can gather a huge following that can be converted into ready buyers.
Again and I repeat blogging requires consistency as any media to gather a following. However, a single blog can pick up thousands of readers and be instrumental in gathering links to your selling pages.

Sticking with selling watches for my example you could write articles about the industry.

• Best Waterproof watches
• What does a 30m watch promise
• Does your watch need waterproofing?
• Can you wear a watch under the hot shower?
• Are Swiss watches better than Japanese?

You are not selling anything you are writing for those interested in your niche.

However, we will never miss an opportunity to have a sales link attached somewhere in the article for those that are ready to jump.

Conclusion

This has been just a touch on what you can achieve with simple online marketing solutions. Furthermore, the ideas are available to anyone without using high priced commercial help.

Online marketing is not just something to consider it is an imperative solution to your sales results.

We are in the modern era therefore use the modern tools to your best advantage and stay ahead of the market.

Online marketing made easy by Peter Hanley

• Video maker online
• How to start a small business online
• Ways to make money
• marketing strategies small business
• Best SMS marketing tips for small business growth

How to use WordPress for a website and look like a professional. The latest block builder means anyone can achieve great things with WP

Estimated reading time: 7 minutes

Why use Word press out of all the other offers?

First of all, WordPress is chosen by the majority of home users and top 500 companies as well. It is easy to use and beginner-friendly.

Being new to building web pages I tried a few ideas before I settled on WP.

Back a decade ago the world was different and I had paid a company nearly $10,000 for a site. What bought out my appreciation was that I had to write all the words for the site.
No one else knew the industry like me so I spent weeks writing content that would be repeated for the site, for which they claimed the ownership role.

This got me thinking that if I was doing 80% of the work and they got to invoice me then I was doing something wrong.

How to use WordPress for a website by building a dummy site

Create a dummy site

Naturally enough I was not all that confident in my ability to repeat what they had done but still very eager to give it a try.

First of all I invented a domain then got a free builder and started a journey to building sites.

Today the world has changed and WordPress has caught up with all the highly charged sites and released a Block builder for dummies.

By block Builder, we mean that you pick a block and type whatever you want into it.

We need heading to start so that is the first block. Pick a size and a page position in bold or in colour, it is all there and easy.

Of course, we follow with a paragraph and type in a couple of hundred words.

What followed will train you quicker than any lesson.

I picked as many blocks as I could and tried them out. Quotes, pictures, lists and more, all building a page that told a story.

It may not have been the best website on the Internet however I quickly learned what could be done.
You could go to classes for days and do block by block or give it your all and learn the best way forward by experience.

How to use WordPress for a website with SEO

Then I installed the SEO plug-in

For this case, I chose Yoast SEO as it is really easy to use.

Yoast does a critique on your writing as well as Your SEO.

You will get a green or a red mark over about 30 subjects.

Red means you need to fix things up before you press upload.

Your play site is not there to win awards.

When you try anything can be done

Furthermore, everything can be changed at any time except for your keyword.
It is also  a very good practice to update your sites regularly

Now you can start to believe that anything is possible then the hard parts come into play.

How do readers find your work

This is the most important part of this whole post. Without keyword knowledge and an understanding of how we use words, you will forever languish in the high numbered pages.

There are millions of blogs written every day on all sorts of subjects that will be searched by readers.

Unfortunately, most readers never venture further than page one and  the first three lines of results.

Keywords or key-phrases or Long-tail keywords all mean the same thing. It is just that we must now be more specific in our search terms so that we can be found

• 1) Hiking is a Keyword
• 2) Hiking shoes is also one
• 3) Hiking shoes for snow country gets closer to the mark
• 4) Men’s hiking shoes for snow country in Nebraska
  

All the same search term except it gets closer to what people will look for. I like to think about someone talking to Siri to find an answer
“Hey Siri what are the best men's hiking shoes for snow country in Nebraska”

Keywords are dominated by traffic and competition, therefore, a balance needs to be found and for this, we use a Keyword tool.

Use a great Meta description

These are the few words under the keyword that explains what your article is about. Being on page one still means you have another 10 competitors to choose from so yours needs to be the best.

“If you wear the wrong boots hiking in Nebraska you may well come home bare footed in an inch of snow, let me tell you why?”

I have used both intrigue and fear in the above meta to show why readers should click your blog.

Your Keywords are essential to be on page one

Getting your page read depends on your meta description

Using Word Press with an SEO plugin will prompt you to do all the right things.

How to use WordPress for a website using essential tools

Essential free tools when starting with WordPress

Pick a domain that relates to what you do or the brand you want.

Go to Wealthy affiliate and set up a free site

Select pages

Do all the setup items then;
        add plug-ins

        Yoast SEO
        Generate press for appearance

       Google analytics to see results and connect to

        Monster insights for on-page results and headline analyser.

Waiting is not an options dive right in boots and all.

There is not a massive learning curve about web pages however there are critical parts that will make a difference.

What is the role of a webpage

A webpage is your shopfront. It tells people all about you, what you sell and the terms on which you trade.
Your Main page will generally provide an overview of what you do and link to other pages that fill in greater detail.

Main page
About you Page
Terms and conditions
Product pages
Contact details
Any other page that you want

All these are found under your main Url.

And then there are posts

A post is part of your page but found under its own URL in an order you choose.
You are reading a post that has a keyword to search as www.howtouse wordpressfoawebsite.net

This is part of my main page www.onlinebusinessmarketing.info
You will see the blog listed on the main page but searched separately.

While your website is a shop front your post is to deliver traffic to your other sites.

Further training

When you log into Wealthy Affiliate you will be able to access all the training you want and mostly for free.

This can take you as in-depth as you want or wade in the shallows, the choice is yours.

A word of warning for you so that you don’t follow my mistakes. I skipped through the lessons believing I could absorb enough to get me by. I was wrong and had to go back and do both the written part and video episodes to get great value and be able to answer questions on my learning.

Conclusion

We have tried to give you a sufficient understanding to take you through the basic levels.
No one can learn it all in a day however with a bit of effort anyone can be operational quickly.
The more experienced players could knock up a website in half an hour that would satisfy most readers.
That is purely to say that anyone can do it with a bit of time and energy.

Start on a trial site and play with all the bits to create your first work of art.
Then understand what you don’t know and start to build on your knowledge bank and you will be writing like a pro.

How to use WordPress for a website by Peter Hanley

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