How To Get Filthy Rich On The Internet
Time for the 5th and final article in my step-by-step list building series. In the first 4 articles I have focused on setting up a full list building system, monetizing the sign up process, and putting up a great follow up series, featuring good affiliate programs (you will find links to the first 4 articles at the end of this post). Today we’re going to take what you’ve learned so far, and explore how you can take it to the next level.
So How Do You Get Filthy Rich On The Internet?
Following the steps in the first 4 articles is a very good start. Building your own list is extremely important if you want to be successful in internet marketing, and you can make a very decent income just from promoting affiliate products… But in order to take your internet marketing career to the next level (the filthy rich part), you really need to have your own products. As you are about to discover, setting up your own product isn’t that difficult. But first lets take a look at some of the benefits from having your own products.
Leverage Your Affiliate Program
If you have your own product, you can also have an affiliate program. By giving your affiliates an incentive (usually cash commissions) to promote your pages - you can move from just you promoting your squeeze pages, to having hundreds, even thousands, of people driving traffic to your site. Sure you give up a percentage of each sale, but the extra sales will outweigh that by far… Being able to run an affiliate program is one of the biggest reasons why you want to have your own products.
Leverage The Power Of Joint Ventures
With your own products you are also poised to do joint ventures with other marketers… You can promote their products to your list of customers/members, and they can return the favor. You can find products related to your service and add them to your auto responder follow up series. Not only will you earn commissions on any sales you make, but you can get your JV partners to turn around and add your product to their follow series. You can also do various other forms of integration marketing with your JV partners, including swapping thank you page ads, log in/log out ads, exit pop ups etc. Doing joint ventures like this is arguably the fastest and most profitable way to grow an internet business.
Leverage Your First Product To Expand…
Launching a product, doesn’t matter if it’s a free or paid service, ultimately comes down to building a list of customers/members. Chances are that your original customers will be the people most likely to buy from you again. In other words you can leverage your original lists to launch new products and services. This particular strategy is very well covered in Robert Puddy’s Mastering The Membership Model ebook, you can download a free copy here.
Setting Up Your First Product…
… Is actually quite easy. In line with Robert’s ebook above, I highly recommend that you set up your first product as a free to join membership site. I use and recommend the full version of the Launch Formula Marketing Script. But if you purchase the one time offer at either Floating Action Button or TweetMyBlog you will actually get a free copy of the LFM Lite script, which is perfect for setting up your first product.
Creating a free product, that people want to sign up to get, is very similar to the process I described in How To Set Up Your Squeeze Page & Monetize The Sign Up Process. Here’s a rough battle plan for you.
- Create a free product that has enough value to make people want to sign up at your membership site to get it.
- When they sign up for the freebie you present them with a one time offer. This could be for an upgraded version of the product, some related products, rebrand rights to the ebook etc. This will of course generate some profit that you can reinvest, and thus grow you site faster. But the real purpose of the OTO is to generate commissions for your affiliates and JV partners - keep them happy and keep them building your list.
- Then you have your follow up series for your new customers. With a free to join program you want to monetize it the same way as I explained in How To Write A Killer Follow Up Series That Converts Like Crazy. Of course now that you have your own product, with an affiliate program - you should put more effort into finding JV partners, so you can swap auto responder emails.
- Use your new list of members (and affiliates) to launch new products and services.
Using something like Launch Formula Marketing, makes all of this very easy. It has an inbuilt affiliate program (every member is automatically an affiliate), it automatically integrates with your auto responder and it presents the one time offers to your new members.
Some Ideas For Your First (Free) Product
Write a short ebook on a topic people in your niche are interested in. If you don’t want to write your own ebook you can go to elance.com and hire a ghost writer. You can get a super quality ebook written for under $500. If you go the ebook route, it’s pretty simple to come up with a good one time offer - you can offer rebranding rights or maybe resale rights, plus some related bonuses.
Doesn’t have to been an ebook, you can give away software, scripts, plugins etc. TweetMyBlog is a good example of free to join site, giving away a free Wordpress plugin. Again you can go to a freelance site like elance and get a programmer to create something for you.
Another (very simple) option is to grab one of the many private label rights products out there, and put your own spin on it. New graphics, edit the sales letter a bit, maybe bundle a few products together. Resale Rocket is my favourite place to hunt for good PLR and resale rights products.
You should also consider making your first product an interview product. Get on the phone and interview some marketers on a topic your target market would be interested in. By interviewing successful marketers you get the benefit of becoming “famous by association” - and if they are willing to do the interviews in the first place, chances are that you can also get them to promote your product (instant high profile JV partners right there). I highly recommend that you grab a free copy of Bob Jenkins’ Teleseminar Formula - It will show you step by step how to get an interview product set up in 10 days or less.
I also recommend the Dominating Clickbank Videos. They will show you step by step how to take a resale rights product and turn it into your own successful product. I actually used Dominating Clickbank as the blueprint for one of my first product launches, and as you might have guessed, that turned out pretty well for me 
We’re At The End Of The Series
I hope you have enjoyed these list building articles… And that following the steps, have gotten you started building a list and that you are starting to see some profits from your efforts. As I said the first 4 articles deal with laying down the foundation for internet marketing success, and it’s something I believe everyone should set up… before even starting on creating their own product. But as we have discussed here today, creating your own products is the key to taking it to the next level… and possibly getting filthy rich on the internet.
Here are the first 4 articles, in case you missed them:
1. How To Set Up Your Squeeze Page & Monetize The Sign Up Process
2. How To Write A Killer Follow Up Series That Converts Like Crazy
3. How To Drive Massive Amounts Of Traffic To Your Squeeze Page
4. How To Drive Even More Traffic To Your Squeeze Page
What About The Ebook?
As I’ve said before, I’m going to take this article series and turn it into an ebook. However I have a bit of work to do before you get to see that. I want to add some more content, make the ebook rebrandable and add a killer affiliate program to it. In other words, you’ll have a to wait a bit, but I can promise you it will be well worth the wait.
Got Any Comments, Requests Or Rotten Eggs You Want To Throw?
Feel free to leave a blurb below if you have any questions or comments about todays article (or the series as a whole) - or maybe a few suggestions for what you would like to see in the final ebook - thanks 
Tuesday, July 29th, 2008 at 11:45 pm and is filed under Information. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.
Another stellar Job, Thank you Soren for sharing your knowledge.
I have started a lightly irreverent look at some Marketing Myths. You readers may enjoy Watching SIFTING Through the BS of Marketing
Thanks again for all your help over the years
Soren,
an informative post, but what I like most about it is what you’re going to do with it.
The idea of repurposing your content and getting - and giving - extra value from it is something that many beginners overlook.
Your example of creating an ebook with an affiliate program is an excellent idea. Not only are you offering your series in a convenient format, but you’re offering your visitors a way to make money with it.
Blog readers should always be on the lookout for the ‘ideas behind the ideas’ to give them models to follow. I think this post certainly qualifies!
Excellent post with lots of useful information.
I think the first step is the hardest for anyone to take. Just do it!
Very helpful. Thanks, Soren.
albert grande
I am really interesting create online. Thanks for your Information
Another great post Soren,
As mentioned by Albert - the important part is ‘Getting Started’.
If anyone follows the advice in your articles they willhave a business… and then they can rinse and repeat.
The rinse & repeat part becomes easier too - as they will have a head start on each subsequent product or site - due to having established relationships with the people on their lists and other marketers!
I look forward to seeing the ebook
Randy
www.RandolfSmith.com
As a professional writer, I really have to question the validity of this claim: “You can get a super quality ebook written for under $500. ” Who exactly is determining said quality? Unless your ebook is under 2,500 total words, there’s no way you’re getting “super quality” for that price.
Of course it depends on the lenght of the ebook, but since we are talking about a free front end product the under $500 comments still stands.
I don’t make these numbers up, they are based on what I do… day after day
It wasn’t the number I was questioning (crappy writers are a dime a dozen). It’s the quality of the writing I’m suspicious of. If you really want to get “filthy rich,” you might consider paying a REAL writer PROFESSIONAL rates.
So you are saying that there aren’t any professional writes on elance.com ?
The ghost writes I use there usually charge $10 per article (400-600 words)
Getting them to write an ebook is obviously a bit more expensive (per word) as it takes more research and effort to produce a cohesive book.
But I still maintain that you can get a kick ass (free giveaway) ebook written for $500 or less.
No, I’m NOT saying that. I’m a professional writer on Elance. What I am saying is that you would have to pay me 10 times what you’re currently paying for the same type of material. And it would be worth it, because you’d be getting 100 times the quality (and hence 100 times the profit) in return. That’s how you get filthy rich on the Internet.
Well I sincerely doubt you can write 100 timers better than my current writers, but lets just say you can…
100 times quality does not guarantee 100 times profit… again we are talking about a loss leader that just has to be good enough to get them into the system (and over deliver on the promise).
It’s what you sell and how you do it, after they get into the sales funnels, that creates the profit.
Btw name me one internet marketer that would pay you $5000 to write a free loss leader ebook. Most marketers that spend that kind of money on writing, spend it on the copy writer.
… And for the record, I write my own stuff for internet marketing related products, but outsource various niche products.
I think you need a little math lesson here. I said you would need to pay me 10 times what you pay your current writers for 100 times their quality. Even if that highly increased quality didn’t lead to a 100-fold increase in profit, it would still lead to way more than a tenfold increase in profit. Therefore, you would still be getting a far better return on your intestment by hiring me, the more expensive, but higher quality, writer. And to answer your question, I’ve worked with Internet marketers before and they pay me for one page (500 words) what you pay your writers for 10 articles, and they do so on an ongoing basis. As a professional, I don’t name names, but tis very true.
Hej Søren
Godt at finde en dansker der har Succes med Network Marketing, prøver selv at skabe en karriere herinde med Reverse Funnel System.
Er det kun udenlands du for det meste markedsfører dig selv eller er det også indlands ?
Dbh
Mikhael
Anyone who would write an entire book for $500 isn’t a writer; they’re a schmo that doesn’t deserve the epithet. I’d blame you, but it’s really the people who accept such pathetic wages that are at fault for driving down reimbursement for professional writers.
But you shouldn’t escape part of the blame. The Writers Guild of Alberta recommends $75/hour for professional writers. For ghost writing, which is what you’re talking about, they specify $10,000 to $50,000 flat fee, entire advance + 50% of royalties. So your measly $500 looks rather pathetic in comparison. Would you pay your plumber a couple of bucks to fix your shower? How about asking your mechanic to fix your car for $2/hour? So why do you think it’s ok to pay writers such chicken feed?
It’s elance.com for crying out loud…
I post specs, they bid, I accept, they write and I pay… end of story.
And frankly I don’t care about the writers guild of Alberta.
Hi Soren.
At this time I don’t think I can afford to spend $50,000 for a “super quality” ebook. I would be more than happy to pay someone $500 to write an ebook for me. Do you think I could get “very good quality” for that price?
Thanks,
Jerry
I’m the professional writers worst nightmare, a guy self published by Lulu who has made a name for himself by ranting and raving in my newsletter since 2003. Am I a professional? Because I earn a very good living from not only my words, but also my businesses directly related to my ‘rants’? I have no formal training of such, and did really bad in high school…In the era of self publishing and blogs, I find it very hard for anyone to claim to be a ‘professional’ writer and everyone else who isn’t can’t charge what they want. Someone wants to write an ebook for 500 bucks? Why not? I’m sure a college kid who excels in English could write an incredible ebook and would LOVE 500 bucks to do it.
Hi Jerry,
Yes you can get a good ebook written for $500 or less, but there are a few things you need to keep in mind:
1) At that price I’m talking about free giveaway ebook, to form the front end of your product - It’s not a hundred page ebook.
2) The more research you do, the cheaper it will be for you. If you do the research, write the outline etc. and just require the writer to put words on it, you will get a lot for $500
3) The $10-$15 price per 500 word article is pretty standard at elance.com - however when you want an ebook the price per 500 word “article” or page is usually twice that.
So for $500 you would get a 20′ish page ebook (500 words on each page) - which, depending on the content, would be more than enough for a free front end product.
Yes, it’s obvious you don’t care about the rates that professional writers should get paid. And I already commented that the “writers” on sites like elance who are willing to get paid slave wages are a big part of the problem. You, and the internet marketers like you, should be aware that paying such pittances for professional services is at best a questionable practice.
Uh yeah, and when you claim to be a professional writer and your post is littered with common grammatical errors, you become YOUR OWN worst nightmare.
Jerry, please read my math lesson post to Soren. A super-quality ebook will cost you $5,000, but if you’re offering $50,000 feel free to contact me.
Soren, is there anything you care about … besides yourself, that is?
ha ha ha ha - that’s funny. because people always tell me how horrible my English and grammar are. but look at that, I make a very good living online.
but you are better than me, because you know proper grammar and are ‘professional’.
Yes (Kathy?) I care about a lot of things, but…
I don’t care about what you think I should pay a writer. I would only be interested in that if I needed/wanted to hire you.
You can’t honestly think that I should pay twice (or ten times) the fee, when I can get what I want and need for what I pay now? Just because you think that’s the right thing to do?
Seems to me like your problem (if any) is with your fellow writers, but you find it easier to take that anger out internet marketers.
Jon: If you can’t even start a sentance with a capital letter, you are not a writer by any stretch of the imagination. Writers spend years developing their craft and they earn the right to be called a writer through natural talent sculptured and refined by struggle and plain old hard work. Judging by the quality of writing in your posts here, you are not a writer and have a very long way to go before you can call yourself one.
These are blog posts Paul, not Pulitzers.
i can start a post any way i want. even not capitalize an i or the beginning of a post. scary huh. grrrrrrrrrrrr
stop thinking you are above people, you’ll enjoy life more.
Jon: Stop distorting my argument. I’m not saying I’m “above people.” I’m saying if you have no respect for grammar, even in a mere blog posting, you are not a writer.
Not to worry, Soren; I take my fellow writers to task too. The difference is, they don’t go around bragging about how little they get paid. You, on the other hand, seem proud of the fact that you get “filthy rich” by taking advantage of other people. I guess that’s caring about something–if you want to call it that.
WOW! Just that! I’m interested in what you have to say Soren and not how much it costs to say it. Look me up on the surf when ebook is ready and I will be glad to affiliate with it.
Hopefully the writer crisis will be solved!!!!