Hello from Virginia, USA

[kwatk15]

HI. I am also new to this forum and am looking forward to learning what you have to say about IM and affiliate marketing. I have made a little $$ so far, far from the income I need to retire on. I was reading a terrific ebook the other day about beefing up your fanbase on Facebook, sending out a few quality posts about topic X (oh, the fans must all be interested in topic X), then try to send a post once in awhile with an affiliate link or your own product. Does this sound like a good way to get free traffic and make sales?

I have also been studying about publishing on Kindle and plan to do that soon. Need to write a couple of short How-To Guides first.

Made my first post on the Kindle Challenge thread. It's interesting how that platform is really taking off.

Look forward to talking to some of you soon.

Karen

[JimWaller]

Hi and welcome Karen! You've found a great source for the information you're looking for. There are a lot of very helpful people here. Don't be afraid to ask questions, especially since the answers may be useful to other members of the forum. Also feel free to share what you know. I look forward to learning more about you from your future posts.
Jim

[KenW3]

I am also new to this forum and am looking forward to learning what you have to say about IM and affiliate marketing.

Hi Karen, Welcome to Experienced-People.net There are two definitions of IM that you will see on EP, and when members are speaking about IMers, it is most likely referencing online sellers promoting digital download products focused on (taking advantage of people who are new to) the make-money-online and work-from-home demographics.

Internet Marketing (IM) has two definitions; One definition is as a niche (that offers n00bs endless supplies of redundant digital products), and the other is an acceptable process followed by businesses selling products and services. To further cloud the definition, IM is used to reference Information Marketing as well as Internet Marketing.

[kwatk15]

There are two definitions of IM that you will see on EP, and when members are speaking about IMers, it is most likely referencing online sellers promoting digital download products focused on (taking advantage of people who are new to) the make-money-online and work-from-home demographics.

Thanks for making me feel welcome guys, and for clarifying the definitions of IM. Soooo, if I get to the point of selling informational products to newbies, I am totally taking advantage of them???

I hope that I will have something useful to offer. I have gotten lots of free info from forums and free ebooks, and bought several, that are chocked full of terrific and useful information. I'll try not to take advantage of people. That's not why I am starting out in this business. And although I have been looking around for awhile, I still consider myself a newbie. I haven't made much at this yet, but I have made a little.

Talk to you soon.

Karen

[TheodoreK]

Heya Karen and welcome to EP!

You said:

Soooo, if I get to the point of selling informational products to newbies, I am totally taking advantage of them??? n

and I have to say that it really depends on what kind of products you sell and how you market them, as well as their real value. If you sell informational products that can really help others, then there is no problem there; it is a respectable business practice and is also morally correct.

If however, you sell informational products whose only purpose is to make people buy more informational products and keep them hooked at your informational products then you fall under the category of online sellers that take advantage of naive people, as Ken previously said.

These scammers are not restricted to the online moneymaking niche, there are countless "get-thin-quick", "grow-back-your-hair-quick", "produce-gigantic-tomatoes-quick" etc informational products out there that (obviously) don't work and only aim to exploit desperate people.


Anyway, you seem to be the honest type

[kwatk15]

OK. I hope that I am the honest type and will only help people. Oh, and make a little $$ too!!

[JimWaller]

If you focus on being helpful, people will be more receptive to buying from you. The main thing is try to create win-win or win-win-win type situations rather than "I win you lose" ones. Try to provide more value than is expected. (You may have heard the phrase underpromise and overdeliver) Focus on building relationships with your client base as it is more cost effective to keep a returning customer than get a new one. Never forget the most important person to your business is your customer. Build a business not just a website.

I hope this is helpful.

Jim

[Andy]

Hi Karen,

Welcome to the forum. I'm convinced it is the best forum anywhere. (Peter Davis may take exception to that :-)

I see you're from Virginia. I just moved here again about a year ago. The upside is I really love this area (Southside). On the other hand I broadband is scarce in these parts.

About your concerns selling to "newbies" - it DOES depend. If you want to show newbies "how to make money in the Internet" - don't even think about it. However if you are knowledgeable about some topic that others want to learn about and you have a perspective on that topic not yet substantially explored then you may have a niche waiting for you.

For example: Let's say you are an expert at field stripping a Chevrolet 350 engine (I chose that topic because it's about as dead a subject as I could think of). And let's suppose that there is a substantial group of individuals who actually WANT to learn how to do such a thing but nobody has thus far led the way. There's your niche.

A friend of mine bought an ebook on bonsai some time ago. He rarely buys anything online, but he bought this. He told me it was because the author's site on the subject was extensive and the fellow was truly a passionate expert on the subject. He admitted he probably could have learned most of what the ebook taught by just poking around on the site and reading the newsletters. But the ebook was a handy reference for him.

Something like this takes time and a lot of TLC but it can happen.

Hope this helps.

Andy

[kwatk15]

A friend of mine bought an ebook on bonsai some time ago. He rarely buys anything online, but he bought this. He told me it was because the author's site on the subject was extensive and the fellow was truly a passionate expert on the subject. He admitted he probably could have learned most of what the ebook taught by just poking around on the site and reading the newsletters. But the ebook was a handy reference for him.

Andy

Hey, thanks for the information. I'm trying, but have no website yet. Not really a website designer. I am trying to sell affiliate products, mostly, and maybe a Kindle book or two. Will see how that goes.

Karen