s a senior who is interested in starting an online business, you may not want it to consume your life the way a regular, 9-5 corporate job would. You are supposed to be enjoying your retirement years, after all.
Still, you may have a thirst for success, a need for a supplemented income, or want to do something you feel passionate about and make money while doing it. The problem in this industry is that it’s often taught from the viewpoint of someone dedicating endless hours and pouring a lot of money into their quest for success.
It doesn’t have to be this way. You can create a thriving online entity that pays for your desired retirement lifestyle without being chained to a full-time career. Micro opportunities are everywhere on the Internet.
You can find things that leverage your passions and skills to work for you in earning money in a way that feels rewarding to you. It should be flexible to align with your desire to have free time and even your current energy levels, which tend to wane as you grow older or deal with health issues.
There’s a growing number of seniors seeking work online, but don’t believe the lie that you have to buy all the tools and courses or spend 8 or more hours a day building a business, because it’s simply not true.
Understanding Micro Marketing Opportunities
Micro marketing can be done in different business models and niches. They’re typically based on your skills or expertise – or a passion or hobby that you have. Sometimes, both come into play.
Start by thinking about the niche you want to go into. It’s more fun if you choose something you’re good at or have an interest in, and it’s okay to build a business as you learn something because people love following along in your journey as they go on their own with you.
Think about who you want as customers or clients. If you want to sell products to people, that can be creating digital or tangible items – or even promoting them as an affiliate marketer.
You wouldn’t want to do something that requires a lot of time and effort. For example, taking things at your own pace and creating an eBook is good. Opening an ongoing membership site where you have a scheduled supply and demand issue is not.
If you want to take on clients as a freelance service provider, you want small projects and clients who don’t need a weekly delivery of graphics or content that take too much time and effort to satisfy.
You want to always make sure when evaluating an idea or opportunity that it’s a go-at-your-own-pace business and not something where you’ll be deemed a failure if you can’t keep up.
You can become a blogger who publishes information about your favorite niche, and do it 2-3 times per week, monetizing it with links to affiliate offers. Or, you can build a brand using micro marketing on social media platforms, publishing short-form content, and getting sponsorships and creator funds paid to your account.
If you have a talent, such as a craft that you’d like to sell online, you can do that without having to promise a lot of stock, taking your time to create and even personalize products for your buyers, with you setting the turnaround time so that it fits in with your availability.
Building a Micro Business Online
How do you go about building a micro business online? It’s important that you treat it like a business and don’t just randomly start telling people on Facebook that you’re selling something.
That’s not a true micro marketing opportunity. Instead, you want to think about your brand first, once your niche is picked out. Don’t be afraid to niche down, either. You don’t have to have an all-encompassing pet blog.
Create a dog blog, a chihuahua blog, or a specific long-haired chihuahua blog. You could do dog grooming as your narrow niche, too – where you teach people how to groom their dog and promote products you can earn commissions from.
Another great micro marketing opportunity is to be a micro niche influencer on platforms like TikTok or YouTube. You don’t have to be the kind of person who has millions of followers – but you do need to learn how to engage your audience to reap the rewards of this kind of business model.
Who will your target audience be when you’re marketing? You need to define them and know as much as possible about them, such as their needs, goals, preferences, behaviors, and more.
Think about where your business will be most effective with the least amount of work. You might find a large following of people on Facebook, There could also be plenty of engaged viewers on TikTok, and that content can be as short as a 30-second video tip.
If you’re selling things, you’ll need to check to see how to competitively price things. If you’re promoting them, you’ll want to ensure you’re getting a fair commission for your promo.
With a micro business, you want to batch work and get as much done in a short time as possible. For example, if you’re targeting a gig as a micro gardening influencer on TikTok, you could record a week’s worth of 30-60 second videos in a single day.
Rely on Artificial Intelligence (AI) tools to help you with things like keyword discovery, search engine optimization of your content, or even writing your emails, but always remember that micro influencers succeed because they are so personable and approachable.
Setting Yourself Up for Maximum Profits with Minimal Effort
Being adept at networking with other micro marketers is something that can benefit you. Reaching out to introduce yourself and expand your reach with collaborative projects lessens your workload and gives you more exposure.
Any time you can leverage something that lightens your workload, do it. For example, start a campaign for user-generated content. You could have a prize like a package of heirloom seeds you send to your gardening followers if they create content and mention and tag your account. You choose a lucky winner after the event.
Micro marketers convert best when they’re authentic and transparent. Storytelling will help you achieve your monetary goals. It takes the burden off of you to continually churn out sterile content to gain traction because your personable content gets more viral reach.
One thing you want to be careful of is connecting with people who want to scam you or take advantage of you. You can compete without having to take a second mortgage out on your house for a coaching package someone is pushing on you from a boiler room.
Take your time in growing your business, but prioritize getting your brand momentum built up. Always be in learning mode. Spend at least 10 minutes on work days learning something new to integrate into your business.
Micro marketing is a concept that can help interested seniors get a business off the ground without feeling as if they can never be competitive because they assume they have to do more than they can handle (or want to get involved in).
Work on being the most attentive, ethical, and helpful marketer to a small base of rabid consumers and you’ll have all you need to launch and grow your brand into something fun that supports you financially.
