If You Want An Online Business..... Treat WA Like a Real Business

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I've noticed a few blog posts recently from people who have been here for a few months, expressing doubts as to whether WA can provide them with a viable income source and whether it is worth continuing investing the time into it. So I have taken the time to look around at the sites that these members have set up and have made a number of observations that I feel may be pertinent to share with you all, in the hope that it helps you to persevere and develop a solid income source from WA. Please don't take any of what I have to say personally or as a negative, it is all offered as constructive criticism to help you improve your sites even further as the sites, while lacking in some areas are generally well constructed sites, that just need fine tuning.

Just because it is an online business doesn't mean it is any different from a "normal" business

If you have ever been in business before you will realise that it is not simply a case of opening up a store and people will come. There is a lot (and I mean A LOT) of hard work that goes into getting a business established and then successful, often it can take years and it would only be the very lucky business owner who is making a fortune within months or even a year of starting their new business, so why should WA be any different ? Just because online marketing is the new kid on the block it doesn't mean the rules are any different for this sort of business.

So Word of Advice #1

Treat WA Like Any Other Business

So what does this entail ? Firstly there is the hard slog to get the business established and the doors open (i.e. publishing your site), secondly there is the Business Plan (remember the old adage - "To fail to plan is to plan to fail"). Yes that's right, it is no good going into a business of any sort without a plan and again WA is no different. You don't need an elaborate document, even an outline of what you want to do and how you want to achieve it scribbled on a note pad will do, just make sure you have some where to aim. (Sorry but I do love those cliched inspirational quotes, Always aim for the Moon, even if you miss, you'll land among the stars). Your business plan should at least cover what it is you are trying to achieve and who you are going to be selling to to achieve your goals, it should also include some sort of ideas on how you are going to market your business to reach those buyers and finally you should do some realistic calculations of what you are aiming to achieve. It is all very well to say my goal is to make $5,000 per month within 6 months by selling the WA opportunity, but how are you going to get those 222 premium signups in that time ? Eg. allowing for a 5% conversion, rate that is 4440 actual referrals required in the 182 days you have set yourself, so you are needing to attract 24 referrals per day (1 every hour on average....). It is better to start with an idea of how many referrals you realistically think you can attract on a daily basis and build up your income calculations from there, then develop further scenarios to see where improvements can be made.

Another common thing that I have noticed among the websites of those lamenting the effectiveness of WA is that they are generally banking on the sale of a single item, ie WA membership, now how many stores do you go into where you can only buy 1 particular item ?, even an ice cream stand will have 10 or more flavours.

So Word of Advice #2

Don't Put All Your Eggs In One Basket !

You need to diversify your income source, so that while you may have attracted someone to your site to find out about a great online business opportunity, if at the end of the day they aren't into WA for whatever reason (maybe it is too much hard work.....) then they may buy some of the resources you have recommended on your site like an e-book on affiliate marketing or something. At the very least make good use of the Amazon.com affiliate programme, they seem to have a book for everything you could imagine that you can link to from your page. Remember you need to develop your site as a resource so that people will come back or stay longer, if they see you just as another sales portal for WA alone then you have no USP (Unique Selling Proposition) and they will just move on and you will be but a fleeting memory. If you want to check out some good affiliate programmes to include on your site check out www.thebestaffiliatenetworks.siterubix.com. Sure, by all means market WA, but you need to add more value to stand out from the crowd.

The last thing I have picked up while observing is the dependence on SEO, sure good SEO is great practice, but should only be a part of your marketing mix. Nowadays you really can do a lot with the social media networks that are out there, so I would recommend at the very least set up a Facebook page to accompany your site and push it real hard to grow your fan base, keep it regularly updated and run promotions on here to try and attract visitors to your site. Add Google +, LinkedIn and Twitter to the mix and you have increased your exposure fourfold, and don't forget all of the other sources that are out there to exploit.

So Word of Advice #3

Include Social Media In Your Marketing Plan and Actively Promote Your Site(s)

Lastly, but by no means leastly, spend some time working ON your business not IN it. By this I mean take the time to plan where you are going as a business, even check on progress, rather than spending all of your time getting your website and blog updated. Without the time spent to review your business, you will have no idea of where you are, or even if you are heading in the right direction, so make sure that every now and then you take a breather, assess where you are at, look around at your competitors, work out what you need to do differently and get back into it.

So Word of Advice #4

Spend Time On Your Business and Not in It !

For your information I have been here for about 2 months now, and as yet haven't made a cent, I have 2 confirmed referrals out of a total of 12, but today signed up for the 12 month Black Friday Special, as i know it is going to take me that long to even think about making any real money. I have been operating my own "normal" business for over 20 years, starting out slowly with nothing and over time building up a strong business clientelle. This took me a little over 10 years to achieve, so in that time it was just a case of persevering and I know that with the right niche and the right plan, I can acheive the same long term success with WA and are under no illusions that I will be rich within a year.

So to finish with another one of my favourite sporting quotes (which is just as applicable to business)

A Winner Never Quits and a Quitter Never Wins.

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Recent Comments

12

Great advice, thanks this info helps a lot

Excellent advice Tony. The parts about it being hard work, taking time to come to fruition and not giving up are very relevant. Unfortunately, many people are desperate for money/income and if they are not making money super quick, then they do doubt what is being taught.

I sometimes wonder if a few people come to WA and treat it as any other venture that they've began. They see it as a failure when they don't/can't be bothered following thru' with the training. Unquestionably that has to do with attitude to a certain extent, but I blame a lot of those scams out there. You know, do nothing and make $500/day. Then when they invest in this junk, they realize it's a lot of crud. It is just hard for some to believe that there are legitimate programs out there like WA. And that you can be with like minded people who do actually care about them. I just hope that hey hand around long enough to see that we and WA are different.

Hi Tony,
I'm happy to see you are doing so well. I, also just took advantage of the black friday offer. It really is a no brainier if you are serious about being successful at doing this. i realize you are my referral, but I can learn so much from you. Thank you!

Cheers Harvman, yes truly was a no brainer, even though I am a bit tight on cash at present, I couldn't afford to miss out, things like that make all the difference in your bottom line at the the end. Hope all is going well for you.

So much sound advice here. Granted, I've already had online business success so I know the truth of what you say. So many beginners have been conditioned to expect "I'm going to get rich overnight" by scammy ads and sites and questionable testimonials. Thus they have a hard time adapting here, even though WA makes it very clear that this is something you have to build.

Hi Barb, Thanks for that, it is always encouraging to hear feedback from those who have started achieving success. Just got to remember to condition new comers to the fact that success takes time and effort and that there is no such thing as a free lunch.

Thank you for the sound and timely advise. Great info included.

Cheers Kav

Hi Tony.

There's some sound advice there, having had my own 'bricks and mortar' business in the past. Thank you.

Richard.

Cheers Richard, I don't think a lot of people actually appreciate how hard running a business really is and think that if you run a business you make a lot of money and do a lot of nothing....... if only they all knew.....

See this is why you are going to be a rock star in this business and about 5 years from now, the majority of people here that quit and want to start again, will be buying your courses and subscribing to your membership site!

Awesome, awesome, awesome post!

PS - Is "leastly" even a word? LOL!

Thanks for that, maybe I'll add the courses and subscription based membership to my business plan....
Leastly is a word in New Zealand (well at least we use it as one, but then there are a lot of other English words we use there that you wouldn't recognise either....lol)

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