… why not use it to earn money?!

My passion / hobby is poker: I play online and offline. I lose online and offline! Poker is an expensive hobby

If your hobby is costing you money, why not turn it into something that makes you cash?!

Now, there’s a thought …

But, how?

Well, step one is to do what I’m doing right now: start writing a blog!

You can go to wordpress.com (or any of the other FREE online blogging platforms) and sign up for a free account. Within an hour, you’ll have your own blog, with or without a fancy domain name (I didn’t bother paying for one on this site, but I did for my other blogs).

Why do you do this?

Simply to generate ideas and – maybe – establish yourself as some sort of expert in the field!

It’s easy: let’s say that you like sewing. Go to wordpress and start a blog about sewing:

- If you know a LOT about sewing it could be an ‘expert sewers’ blog full of tips and techniques.

- If you don’t know much about sewing it could be a kind of journal of your learning experiences … pretty much what this blog is all about.

- It could even be a review site, reviewing what other people do and say about sewing.

In fact, I’m starting two blogs: one for each of those last two ideas that I just gave you:

1. I am starting a blog which will review online poker sites (I’ll explain later what’s in it for me),

2. And, I am writing this blog to document my learning experiences as I develop and market the first blog.

Besides establishing yourself as an expert in the field, there’s an even more important reason why you should start your blog: it’s the easiest way to start turning your hobby into cash!

You see, over time you will find that you have plenty of content in your blog that you will simply be able to cut and paste into an Information Product!

What’s an information product?

It’s simply an e-book or e-course (anything that’s delivered electronically) that you will be able to sell!

So, this is all about using a blog to create an e-product based on your hobby that you can use to generate cash.

And, that’s exactly what I am going to do with this site: eventually, I will take the posts and sell to others what you get to read right here for free!

Now, that’s how to turn a hobby into cash!

… it’s what I do (sometimes) when I bite off more than I can chew.

Actually, in this case, I am demoting this project (temporarily) to promote the ‘secret’ book project that I am working on with Debbie. However, that doesn’t mean that I won’t be posting here on “all things online business related” from time to time.

In fact, KC put me on to this cracker of a video, which I really like, because it outlines a model of marketing on the internet that is really useful … but, even if you are just looking at some e-books, etc. it goes one step better:

This video gives you some really good ‘rule of thumb’ numbers for what to charge and what to spend and what ‘conversion’ (i.e. sales rates) to expect … it doesn’t look good for selling ‘one-off’ e-books, but you CAN make a couple of thou’ a month.

If that’s all you’re looking for, then don’t wait for me …. get started!

Click here to watch the video

[Note: when you click on this link you will need to click on the video graphic .... but this will take you to a marketing page; just click on the small yellow box at the top of that page to get to the video ...actually, there are three that you should watch]

I’m up to $5.98 … at a site cost of only $49 per month for BeBiz

Of course, that’s not the point …

… this is the point:

1. I have not expended any advertising dollars, yet, so where are these visitors coming from? Obviously, some from this blog, but not all.

2. Average site visitor is worth $0.04 cents … we’re nowhere near statistically valid, yet, but it appears that an eBook can sell … I wonder what would happen (a) if we sold a $49 eBook and, (b) started buying Google Adwords at (approx.) $0.16 – $0.25 each click-thru’.

3. What would happen if we made a search-engine friendly version of my blog, designed to ‘reward’ people with enough free information to entice them to visit http://www.repeatuntilrich.com?

Only time will tell.

In the meantime, I’m off to put the 5 bucks on horse #5 in race #5 …

… oops, he came 5th!

Stage 1

Find a subject that you are interested in and …. start writing!

If this comes easy to you, then jump straight to Stage 2; if not, read on:

The best way to find your ‘writing mojo’ – from personal experience – is to start writing a blog; it can be on any blogging platform that you like (I use wordpress.com … it’s free, but no ads – who cares?)

Also, it doesn’t matter if you consider yourself a ‘subject-matter expert’ or not, just make sure not to pass yourself off as one if you aren’t!

The point is to pick your subject and write about any aspect of it that you have experience in.

For example, on 7million7years.com I write about get rich(er) quick(er) strategies because I have been personally financially successful, so I feel qualified to ‘speak’ on this.

On the other hand, on this site, I write about my experiences setting up an online business more as a ‘diary’ than a ‘how to’ because this is my first ‘information product’ sales site and you can monitor my successes and failures before deciding whether to emulate my unique approach.

No matter which tack you take for your blog, you will be learning more about your chosen subject as you research you posts (by reading books and other blogs, participating in relevant forums, and even drawing your readers into discussion with you).

After just a few months of (hopefully) enjoyable research and blogging (you did choose a hobby or topic that you are passionate about, right?!) you will come to realize that you have plenty of material for Stage 2.

Stage 2

This is where we get to make some (a little bit of) money!

First you need to create at least two information products:

1. A downloadable eBook, eCourse, and/or Video taken from some of your best posts (and, repackaged with additional content that you can create to link the various posts and fill in any gaps); this should sell for at least $29 – $49, preferably more (you’ll see why, shortly).

AND

2. A shorter Special Report or eBook or 3, 5, 7, or 9-Part eCourse (that you can use an autoresponder to automatically send out for you on an ‘every 1, 3, or 7 day’ cycle) that you will give away for FREE.

The first is how you make your money from direct sales (e.g. driven by advertising on Google Adwords … hence the need for a high-margin product) …

… the second is how you build up a mailing list from all of those people who visit your site but don’t buy immediately.

Hint

In addition, you should also let anybody who signs up for either the fee Information Product or the free ‘Special Report’ know that they will be receiving regular newsletters / eBulletins (i.e. “an exclusive weekly newsletter sent straight to your e-mail inbox!”).

Why?

So that you have an ‘excuse’ to remain in contact …

Then you build a sales site to market these products (you can scroll back to my first post on this site, if you want to see how I built repeatuntilrich.com using BeBiz from the Internet Marketing Center).

Stage 3

The other way to drive traffic is to rank high in the search engines … but, we have a problem:

Our ‘sales-oriented’ site is just that – basically, a single page ‘sales letter’ that touches on our prime keyword (if we followed the steps properly), but that’s about it.

So, we solve that problem by adding a new site … and, this is where the blog comes in real-handy:

We create a content-driven site using a product such as Site Build It! by Ken Evoy.

Why?

This allows us to create a content-rich / keyword-rich version of our blog (at least, that’s where we will get most of the content from) designed to direct traffic to our sales letter in some very innovative ways that I will share with you as this experiment in online business building unfolds

What I need to decide now is the order that I am going to do the following:

1. Develop the more expensive (to purchase) eProduct/s, and

2. Develop Stage 3 of my new ‘secret system’ (well, ‘secret’ until I dump it out in the open right here … tomorrow!).

There might be a way to do both: have an eLance contractor develop the new eProduct for me, while I take care of getting the new site up and running … but, that will cost – and, I need to decide if I should do that or try and follow the same process that others are likely to follow when they try all of this ‘on for size’ i.e. do it myself …

One of the considerations, therefore, is whether a ghostwriter can do the job; so, let’s ask a writer (!); Diane, who happens to also be one of my 7 Millionaires … In Training! (on my sister site: http://7m7y.com where we are just a few months into a 7 year ‘grand social experiment’ in millionaire-making), says:

Technically, I can write your book, Adrian. I think you need to look for a writer who can write a book that sells.

One area of blogs that I have been following for the past year are those of professional writers online…it does seem to be a natural place for them to be. Ask for writing samples from your ‘ghost writers’ – hopefully of things that have been published elsewhere, too.

Here are a few links to blogs that may be educational in your endeavor (sometimes it’s also more educational to click on links within writers’ blogs; this is how I found the first one today):

http://thejenhamiltonblog.wordpress.com/2008/10/30/freelance-writing-defining-the-process-for-a-new-client-steps-2-and-3/

http://www.ehow.com/members/mrs75-articles.html

The second one has several articles that the freelance writer wrote about the field of freelance writing.

I really like the tip about asking for ‘PUBLISHED writing samples’ … because, as Diane says, “I think you need to look for a writer who can write a book that sells” and it took me a minute for that to sink in and what I think she meant to add was “… to publishers”?!

My thoughts were that I would write my own ‘books’ to be published in the physical world … I had toyed with the ‘ghostwriter’ idea for this, but I would prefer to do it myself – if I have sufficient talent … from an ‘authenticity’ and ethical standpoint.

The exception might be if I wanted to write a ‘fiction/parable-style’ book (I do, at least for my first ‘manifesto’) and had trouble with the more literary aspects of character/plot development … then I might go the ‘ghost/co-writer route’.

But, for a more ‘beefy’ eBook/eCourse – cobbled together from my existing blog posts – and, designed to be sold purely online for $30+, I would have no qualms asking a more ‘technical writer’-style ‘ghostwriter’ to assist me.

What do you think? What does everybody think?

I think increasing the price of the e-book may actually increase your customer conversion rate. Customers may feel if you think it’s only worth $2.99, then it must not be that important.
Tim Ferris also talks about this theory in T4HWW. If something is priced as a premium product, then people will believe it’s worth paying a premium for, although it may be easier for Tim since he’s selling dietary supplements…

You may need to extend the e-book if your going to charge a premium, just add more posts from 7million7years, almost everything there is good enough to be included in my opinion.

As I said to Josh: “I agree; I only price it at $2.99 because I don’t think that a 5-pager is worth any more than that … there is an ethical component to what I do”.

But, Josh is one hundred percent correct, I need a more expensive product …

… short of bending my ‘ethics’ and charging more for what I already have created, the only way around this is to create a ‘proper’ e-Book; but, that just seems like too much work to me, right now.

A simple solution: I could go to a find-a-freelancer-type website and find a ‘ghost writer’ (with technical book experience) to take my posts and cut’n'paste / screw’n'glue into a longer eBook or eCourse.

Of course, I wouldn’t recommend this to anybody else because that would be too costly, but for the purposes of this ‘illustrative site’ it wouldn’t matter.

On the other hand, if the return (over time) is there, then why not?!

I have a freelancer working on a research project for me, right now … he is in Pakistan (I found him on eLance) and he charges me $4 an hour – of course, what he calls an ‘hour’ and what I call an hour seem to be two different things

However, since he (claims that he) has an MBA, and his written English is flawless and totally professional, it can’t hurt to give him a shot and/or post a general ‘anyone out there can do the job?’ call-for-quotes on eLance.

Thanks for the idea/push, Josh … sometimes, that (and, an entrepreneurs penchant for action) is all that it takes …

Firstly, though, the site certainly fulfilled it’s promise to get a ‘sales oriented’ web-site up and going pronto with a kick-ass sales letter, but as another reader pointed out, it produces one of those ‘sales letter sites’.

Even though long sales letters are the marketers friend (this is a little known secret outside the direct marketing industry: thise long letters really DO sell!) there are so many of them out there on the web that we need to something really clever to stand out.

So, to the problem:

BeBiz sucks at generating site traffic …

… basically, their whole ‘system’ of generating site traffic boils down to three pages of commentary on how to drive search engine traffic (buy entries in yahoo Directory and similar … fuggedaboutit!) and how to by Google Adwords.

Well, I don’t need BeBiz to spend more money!

It would have been really nice if they had some sort of ‘magic traffic tree’ but they don’t so we will have to make our own

So, what’s my problem?

[AJC: I'll give you a 'sneak peek' at my killer idea in tomorrow's post ... but, you'll need to watch 12 minutes of me rambling on a video to get to it ... and, then I will do a whole series of posts to implement this step in the not-too-distant future].

My eBook sells for $2.99 …

…. to buy a Google Adword ad (you know those little text ads that you see all over the internet and on Google’s own search results pages, you will need to pay a minimum of $0.16 – $0.25 per click through to your site. Even if one-in-ten buy (they won’t), I will be operating on the smell of an oily rag.

In fact, I’m currently operating on a revenue of $0.03 per visitor … I can’t afford to even pay more than 2 pennies for advertising!

The simple solution is to create a product from the ‘get go’ that sells for more …

… I will do the same eventually, but it was more important to me to get A product up and going to show you where this is all heading than THE product.

I haven’t bought any Adwords ads yet, but I will … look at it this way: if I can’t pull in traffic that will pay $2.99 for an eBook then I certainly won’t get them to pay $49 (or even $29)!

Well, this is not exactly the profit and loss that I promised you … but, it’s a start:

[since you can't easily read the graphic, I have reproduced the data in a table, below; keep reading and we'll get to ti, soon enough]

It’s the BeBiz ‘dashboard’ which shows me critical site statistics AND it links to PayPal to pick up the revenue (i.e. what I’ve sold).

So after a couple of days, I’ve already made one whole $2.99 sale …  whoohoo!

But, this is still pre-advertising: right now I’m not doing ANYTHING to drive paying customers to this site – that comes next!

Remember, I’m giving away the $2.99 e-book free to all of my readers so there should be NO revenue at all from the three blogs that I have mentioned this on: 7million7years.com; 7m7y.com; and, this blog.

I’m not even sure where the one sale came from – I’d be surprised if the search engines have picked the RepeatUntilRich.com site up yet, so I won’t be expecting many (any?) more sales until:

1. I get the site towards the top of the search pages for my keywords and/or

2. I buy some PPC (pay per click) advertising … of course, for a product worth only $2.99 PPC is unlikely to be cost-effective

3. I use my ‘secret sauce’ …. STAY TUNED!!!!

Here is what BeBiz has to say about the above tables:

Well, we’re not exactly set to retire (for the second time) but, let’s pretend that I actually need the money – and, with the markets going the way they are, who knows?!

At least we have a real-live, functional eBusiness web-site … it’s actually a real mlestone …. yippee!

… I know that I’m beginning to sound like an advertising machine for BeBiz, but I always like to give credit where credit is due (although, I am surprised by some limitations that I will share with you in a later post) and, I may not have thought of this idea:

BeBiz suggested that I also create a ‘special report’ (i.e. a 2nd eBook) that I simply give visitors for subscribing to my site.

Why?

So that I can build up a mailing list to ‘offer’ more stuff to …

So, here it is!

[To see how it all works - and, get a copy of my 2nd eBook for yourself, in the process - simply sign in to the 'opt-in form' on the right hand side of the page that this link takes you to ... don't bother buying the e-book in the main sales letter, when you - dear reader - can have it, too, for FREE right here!]

This eBook (or “free report” as it will be called on my ‘sign in page’ of http://repeatuntilrich.com) took me all of 90 minutes to cut/paste from 3 of my posts (I wrote a series of posts on Building a Perpetual Money Machine only three or four weeks ago) … yet another advantage of starting with a blog on [insert topic of your choice here] as I recommended in my very first post on this site.

BTW: To see how fast this whole web-site was to create, read the following; I wrote it in the draft version of this post just 48 hours ago, and as you can see, it is already obsolete, because the whole web-site (including opt-in forms and e-mails; etc.) is already up and going!

Impressive, huh? Anyhow, this is what I drafted …

I have also started creating a template for my site …

… about 5 minutes to choose between the 20 or 30 ‘standard templates’ that BeBiz offers) and another half hour on photoshop putting some text into the banner that BeBiz let me download (why don’t they include a simple text editor … now, that’s a big oversight; I had to use Photoshop, although I’m sure Paint would do).

I’ll keep you posted … in the meantime, take a quick look at the new eBook and let me know what you think (testimonials are nice … but, your honest opinion is even more useful!)?

[ forgive the 'close' and '<Use This>' formatting clues that BeBiz uses internally ... you can't expect a 'hacker' to deliver everything on a silver platter can you Seriously, I am sure that BeBiz wouldn't mind given that their product has the tools to format this stuff properly and all the great examples, so this is merely whetting your appetite ]

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< Use This >

Your headline should immediately communicate the biggest benefit of your product or service and attract enough interest to draw readers further into your site. A great headline will accomplish some or all of the following:

* Emphasize the key benefit of your product or service
* Emphasize the biggest solution that it provides
* Generate curiosity and pull visitors into your web page
* Capture the essence of the main attractions or power of your product or service

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Your headline and sub-headline work together to attract the visitor to your subject matter, then draw them into the details of your offer. The main purpose of your sub-headline is to lead your visitor into the rest of your salescopy, product description, and eventually, your offer.
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Your salutation is the greeting that welcomes your readers and lets them know whose site they’re visiting.
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Describe the problem your product will solve. Be sure to describe it in detail, so if visitors have that problem themselves, they’ll be able to identify with what you’re writing.
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Share credentials and accomplishments that will establish credibility with your visitors. Explain what makes you an “expert” in your field by providing information about your experience and your credentials. Discuss your business experience, your achievements, awards, and accolades.
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Testimonials are an extremely convincing way to let your visitors know that other people have risked doing business with you and have been very pleased with the results. In fact, testimonials are so effective that they can EASILY increase your sales by more than 250%.

(Note that you MUST use genuine testimonials from real customers! Making up testimonials constitutes fraud, and it’s illegal.)
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I was standing on the deck of a rusty freighter, strumming my guitar, when I suddenly realized what I’d been doing wrong!
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In this section of your salescopy, explain how your own experience with the problem led you to find the solution. This will add to your credibility and begin building reader interest in your solution.
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I, like many of you, spent years pinching pennies and cutting coupons without getting ahead… until I uncovered the secret of financial gain!
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In this section of your salescopy, relate to your audience, develop a rapport with them, and earn their trust. Tell them that you were once in the position they are in � looking for the same solution you now offer.
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What you’ll get is a step-by-step guide to making sure your pet never does its business on the carpet again — plus dozens of helpful tips for all different pet personalities!
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In this section of your salescopy, begin describing the solution you’re offering and tell how it will solve your readers’ problem.
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Great salescopy doesn’t focus on the FEATURES of your product or service � what it does, how it operates, or what it looks like. It focuses on how the user will BENEFIT from these features.

Here’s the difference between a feature and a benefit:

* A FEATURE is one of the components or functions of your product or service � it’s something the product has or does.
* A BENEFIT is something your product or service will DO for your buyer to fill a need or solve a problem.

List the features of your product, then see if you can “translate” each feature into a benefit.
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When you think about it, it’ll cost you less than a cup of coffee a day… and it could change your life just like it did mine!
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In this section of your salescopy, begin to review the main benefits customers will receive when they purchase your product. Remind them of the value you’re offering, including your bonuses. You can also use this section to build urgency � for example, by introducing a time limit on your offer.
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If you are selling a quality product or service, don’t be afraid to back it up! Offer a 100%, no-hassles, no-questions-asked, lifetime money-back guarantee. It will increase customer confidence and win you more sales, and if you offer a quality product, it shouldn’t result in many returns.
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After you’ve grabbed your visitors’ attention with your compelling headline, established your credibility, presented your offer, and included all the other essential copy elements — it’s time for you to ask for the order.
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Sincerely,
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Add your sign-off, signature, and title here to end your salescopy.
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P.S. Imagine having your parents or brother or sister visit your new, bigger home — taking them into the den… walking them over to the computer on the corner table… clicking on to your first web site and saying, “Here’s one of my businesses. It paid for this house.”
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Many potential customers will “skim” over the content of your salesletter, reading the main keywords and phrases as they go. They’ll finish at the P.S. � so this is your chance to remind them of the key benefits of your product, build urgency, and ask for the order again.
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