If you’re considering starting an online business, you need to create a plan using proven marketing strategies. Half the battle is steering clear of the pitfalls… and the other half is doing what matters in your business, instead of running around in circles.
The brutal truth is that thousands of people come online in droves every single day with hopes of starting an online business. Unfortunately, most will fail.
The road to success in this business is paved with the virtual corpses of the many who have tried and failed and given up. BUT don’t let that discourage you.
Many do thrive and reach the pinnacles of success beyond their wildest dreams. It can be done…
And it all starts with you adhering to the tips below!
1: Choose a proven business model
The first and MOST IMPORTANT of the marketing strategies you should be aware of is that you need to start a business based on a business model that works. Here are a few examples:
- Affiliate marketing
- Creating and selling infoproducts
- Running a membership website
- Ecommerce
- Kindle publishing
- Domaining
- Flipping websites
- Freelancing
These are just some of the online business models that work.
How do you know they work?
Simple! Others are making money from them. That is the litmus test of profitability.
It’s always easier to do what works than to conjure up an untested strategy of your own and test it out. Note, it’s so important that you choose a business model which uses with your innate talents and/or passion.
For example, if you love to write, publishing books on the Kindle platform could prove to be very profitable for you… and a rewarding undertaking too.
However, if you’re inclined towards graphics and art, you could become a freelancer and offer your graphic design services on sites like Fiverr or Upwork.
If you worked in a brick and mortar store before, the idea of running your own online ecommerce store might excite you, since you have tons of retail experience.
Well, go for it then!
What matters is that you choose a business model that suits you.
But what if you have no skills?
No worries. You are never too old to learn. Research the various types of online businesses above and choose one that you think would suit you best. Then start learning about it.
2: Focus is everything
Here is one of the marketing strategies that I had trouble with when I started. Make sure that once you choose your business model, you are 100% focused on it.
The BIGGEST mistake many seniors make is that they look at tons of different offers and make money online schemes – and they want to be a part of it all.
There’s even a term for this. They call it ‘shiny object syndrome’. It’s what happens when people keep buying every offer that looks profitable. I have been there and done that and all I had to show for it was an empty back account.
Today, they’re buying a course on affiliate marketing. Tomorrow, they’re into ecommerce. The next day, they’re creating a product on a topic they know nothing about.
I like this tongue-twister quote: “They’re lured by the pitch and the promise of painless profits from a plethora of putrid products.”
This ‘get rich quick’ idea leads to their failure in online marketing.
In a matter of time, they’re broke, overwhelmed and cynical of the entire industry. It happens to the young and old alike… and it happens ALL the time!
You can avoid this by being focused on your chosen business model – like a horse with blinders.
Once you pick your niche, you’ll stick with it no matter what – UNTIL you succeed. Nothing else distracts you. If you can do that, success will be inevitable.
There’s even an acronym for F.O.C.U.S – Follow One Course Until Success.
So simple and yet, so difficult to practice… but your longevity in this business hinges upon it.
3: Know your budget
Generally, seniors tend to be on a limited income. Since they’re no longer working, they’ve to rely on their savings, pension, etc.
You absolutely MUST know your budget and allocate a percentage of it to your marketing. No more, no less.
NEVER EVER spend more than you can afford.
I repeat… .NEVER EVER EVER spend more than you can afford.
It’s extremely easy to rack up debt in this business. Thousands of people buy unnecessary products, courses, etc. and put it all on their credit cards hoping for quick profits to cover their costs.
In reality, the bills always come before the profits, and they come like clockwork. Sadly, I learned this lesson the hard way.
Usually, the profits never materialize because the courses were unreliable and unnecessary in the first place.
You must avoid this pitfall! Treat every product you come across as an opportunity to lighten your wallet. In most cases, you’ll be right.
These are the 3 basics you’ll need for most online businesses;
- A domain (Namecheap / Name Silo)
- Web hosting (Siteground / A2 hosting)
- An autoresponder (ConvertKit / Aweber / GetResponse)
For most online businesses, you’ll need these 3 components. Later on, you may get a page builder, keyword research tools, etc. to further your business.
But in the beginning, stick to the basics and just choose one brand of each to go with… which brings us to the next point…
4: Start small
Since you’ll probably be on a limited budget, you’ll want to bite off only what you can chew. When buying a domain, it should be under $10. There’s absolutely no need to add on any extras, despite the offers you will be presented with while purchasing your domain.
When choosing hosting, opt to pay monthly or quarterly. Do not pay for an entire year at once. Or worse, for 3 years. Choose shared hosting rather than dedicated hosting.
Keep your costs low… but don’t buy cheap, unreliable products/services. (Always do your research before buying.)
Start small, and once the profits are rolling in, you can scale up and improve. That’s how you do it.
Avoid the error of thinking you need to start off on a grand scale. You don’t need to. Simplicity is the key to initial success.
5: There’s no button to push
Just so you know – there are NO overnight profits in this business and there are definitely no ‘push-button profits’. Don’t let them tell you otherwise.
This industry is full of snake oil salesmen who will talk talk and deliver nothing. In fact, they’re the norm. The reputable vendors are in the minority.
Most seniors who get into this industry can’t fathom how some people will say anything or lie about everything just to make a sale. Such dishonesty is abhorent to most seniors.
So, they tend to believe all the hype and part with their money thinking that the vendors are trustworthy – only to discover that the products are regurgitated, rehashed, and the vendor’s actions are reprehensible.
But it’s too late. The money is gone, and all that’s left is a bitter taste in their mouths.
This unpleasant experience can be avoided by getting acquainted with the brutal truth that to make money online WILL require time and effort.
Both of which YOU will need to put in. There’s no other way.
6: AVOID high ticket courses
This is one of the marketing strategies that I wish I had adopted earlier. When you’re starting out, there is NO need to pay anyone a few thousand dollars for a course or mentorship.
You’re still new and there’s much to learn. Once you’ve gotten started with your business model, you’ll understand the lay of the land. After that, if you wish to get a high ticket course, that’s up to you.
Just remember to exercise due diligence before purchase. Check on the vendor’s reputation and make sure they’re legitimate.
7: Keep learning
This is a business where there’s no end to the learning process. What’s amazing is that you can learn just about anything by Googling it or looking for tutorials on YouTube.
In fact, there are many successful marketers who have built thriving online businesses just by learning as they go along. They didn’t buy high ticket courses or rely on mentors.
Anytime they had a problem, they’d search online or on YouTube for answers, and test them out. This is all part of the learning process and it’s a crucial skill you must have.
Knowing how to find answers to the problems that crop up in your business will help you overcome any obstacle which rears its ugly head.
8: Networking helps
One of the best ways to get help and support will be to join forums and/or Facebook groups in your niche. You can build profitable JV partnerships and even find customers in these groups in future.
Join these groups early on and contribute value when you can without selling anything. Just by being helpful, you’ll develop a positive relationship with the people there and they’ll want to support you later on when you do start selling.
Another benefit that you’ll get is that when you teach others, you’ll end up learning more yourself.
9: You’ll fail your way to success
Sooner or later, you WILL encounter failure. This is to be expected. Failure is not the opposite of success. It’s a part of it.
This is one if the most important of these marketing strategies you can adopt – when you encounter failure (or if you hit a roadblock), always find a way to overcome it.
While this seems simple on the surface, so many people get it wrong.
Here’s an example…
Bill is building a niche website. He fills it up with content and everything looks great. This endeavor took him about 3 months.
But there’s just one problem…
Nobody is visiting Bill’s awesome website!
This is a traffic generation issue. It’s an obstacle.
On the surface, Bill may think he has failed and his site is a flop. In reality, this is just a new challenge and a learning opportunity.
However, what Bill does is abandon the site thinking he failed… and he begins working on a new site from scratch. Guess what happens?
It takes him another 3 months to build an awesome site, and AGAIN he hits the same roadblock.
Why?
Because he hasn’t learned how to overcome the obstacle. That’s why!
As long as you don’t figure out how to smash through the roadblock, you’ll be destined to keep being blocked by it.
Once Bill learns how to drive traffic (using video marketing, SEO, paid ads, etc), he’ll see visitors swarming to his site… and any future site he builds. Fantastic!
You only need to learn how to overcome an obstacle once and you will progress. At least until you meet another obstacle and have to figure that one out.
But this is how it is. Your online business will be built on the rock-solid foundation of the obstacles you’ve overcome.
10: Outsourcing
For the last of our marketing strategies, we look at outsourcing. As a senior, you’ll be well aware that your energy is finite. As enthusiastic and eager as you may be, sitting in front of the computer for hours may tire you.
It even affects younger folks. This business is a cerebral one and it can sap your energy.
The best way to conserve your energy will be to focus on the tasks that matter and outsource what you’re not good at. One common area many marketers struggle with is graphic design.
They can spend hours fiddling with some graphics to create a blog image or a YouTube thumbnail only to discover that their image is too ugly to use.
At times like these, you should just pay someone on Fiverr $5-$10 to design a cover for you. This applies to any task you’re just not good at. They’ll do a better job than you because that task is not your forte.
Not only will outsourcing save you effort, but you’ll have the time to do more important work such as content creation or recording videos or whatever it is you do.
As your business progresses and the profits start rolling in, you can outsource more tasks and focus on the non-negotiable work that moves your business forward. Your time and energy are precious. Conserve them by outsourcing.
In conclusion, it’s definitely possible to make money online even if you’re a senior with no experience. You just need to pay attention the marketing strategies above and have an open mind that’s keen to learn.
You’ll need patience too and should expect to wait at least 6-12 months before you see income rolling in. So, plan your budget well.
If you start making money sooner, that’s exceptional. But if you don’t, just know that it’s the norm.
Make sure you have what it takes to stay the course until you see profit. It will come if you keep at it. Success in this business can definitely be yours.
“Only those who dare to fail greatly can ever achieve greatly.” – Robert F. Kennedy
