Top Tips by Lesley Fountain
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Once upon a time I decided I had to get out of the medical transcription business I'd started 18 years earlier or die in the attempt. That's when I started falling for every biz-op scam known to man.
Three years and $35,000 later, I decided to stop trying to step into a ready-made "opportunity" and repeat what had worked so well the first time around: I would create my own opportunity and build it from the ground up.
Somewhere along the line I discovered the world of internet marketing, and up went my first web site. I had no idea what I was doing, and it bombed royally. The silver lining came in the form of other people (tons of them!) who had lost their life savings (or worse) to some of the same scummy-scammy "opportunities" that got me. That's when I first realized I'd been victimized, and I quickly developed a passion for exposing these scumbeezles and teaching others how NOT to follow in my footsteps.
I took the long way around, but I'd finally found my niche. I dubbed it, "Scams 101: How To Smell a Rat Before It Bites You In the Hiney."
Scams 101 grew into my thriving little Friends In Business community, and it was there that I sprouted MaaMaw, my alter- ego. I stayed busy hunting down scammers and making their lives hell, and MaaMaw tended to her "Kiddies" on the bulletin board.
A couple of years later, while trying to come up with a product of my own, I realized that I dearly love visiting all the biz & marketing forums, where I can soak up the wisdom of the masters without buying more and more "stuff" to hold my bookends up.
And so "The Boardwatch" was born.
In the dead of night, MaaMaw changes into her surfing duds and scours all the best forums for all the best messages, which she dutifully categorizes, links, and delivers to her subscribers twice a week.
The Boardwatch was a free ezine for six months before I realized I didn't want to resell my ad space every month for the rest of my life and decided to charge for subscriptions instead. A paid subscriber base is a painfully slow thing to grow, and several experts said it would never fly. I, on the other hand, am confident that it will, because The Boardwatch is totally unique. There's nothing else like it on the net. It really is my own little niche.
Top Tips
1) Don't worry about competition. Don't try to compete with the giants. Concentrate on growing your own garden.
2) Spill your guts. Be 100% honest. Don't stretch the truth even a little bit. Leave all the hype to someone else.
3) Be yourself. Write like you're talking to a friend. Read it over and over and don't quit until it sounds like it tumbled right out of your mouth (then carefully edit for spelling and good sense!).
4) Expect to build your internet business SLOWWWWLY. This isn't get-rich-quick. It probably won't be "get-rich" at all, so don't count on that and you won't be disappointed. Set realistic goals and celebrate each little milestone.
5) Give away good information, but don't give away too much. Learn when to put on the brakes, and don't be afraid to charge a fair price for your expertise and/or your time.
6) Focus. It's SO easy to get sidetracked on the net that focusing on one thing is almost impossible. Racing off in a completely different direction has never been easier, so if you're having trouble moving ahead, think about what you're doing, narrow your focus, and try again.
7) Don't give up... but don't be an idiot either. Know when to call it quits. If you've done everything you can to make a project work and it just isn't going anywhere, don't let "the dream" keep you from moving on. Eventually you'll find the perfect fit.
Once upon a time I decided I had to get out of the medical transcription business I'd started 18 years earlier or die in the attempt. That's when I started falling for every biz-op scam known to man.
Three years and $35,000 later, I decided to stop trying to step into a ready-made "opportunity" and repeat what had worked so well the first time around: I would create my own opportunity and build it from the ground up.
Somewhere along the line I discovered the world of internet marketing, and up went my first web site. I had no idea what I was doing, and it bombed royally. The silver lining came in the form of other people (tons of them!) who had lost their life savings (or worse) to some of the same scummy-scammy "opportunities" that got me. That's when I first realized I'd been victimized, and I quickly developed a passion for exposing these scumbeezles and teaching others how NOT to follow in my footsteps.
I took the long way around, but I'd finally found my niche. I dubbed it, "Scams 101: How To Smell a Rat Before It Bites You In the Hiney."
Scams 101 grew into my thriving little Friends In Business community, and it was there that I sprouted MaaMaw, my alter- ego. I stayed busy hunting down scammers and making their lives hell, and MaaMaw tended to her "Kiddies" on the bulletin board.
A couple of years later, while trying to come up with a product of my own, I realized that I dearly love visiting all the biz & marketing forums, where I can soak up the wisdom of the masters without buying more and more "stuff" to hold my bookends up.
And so "The Boardwatch" was born.
In the dead of night, MaaMaw changes into her surfing duds and scours all the best forums for all the best messages, which she dutifully categorizes, links, and delivers to her subscribers twice a week.
The Boardwatch was a free ezine for six months before I realized I didn't want to resell my ad space every month for the rest of my life and decided to charge for subscriptions instead. A paid subscriber base is a painfully slow thing to grow, and several experts said it would never fly. I, on the other hand, am confident that it will, because The Boardwatch is totally unique. There's nothing else like it on the net. It really is my own little niche.
Top Tips
1) Don't worry about competition. Don't try to compete with the giants. Concentrate on growing your own garden.
2) Spill your guts. Be 100% honest. Don't stretch the truth even a little bit. Leave all the hype to someone else.
3) Be yourself. Write like you're talking to a friend. Read it over and over and don't quit until it sounds like it tumbled right out of your mouth (then carefully edit for spelling and good sense!).
4) Expect to build your internet business SLOWWWWLY. This isn't get-rich-quick. It probably won't be "get-rich" at all, so don't count on that and you won't be disappointed. Set realistic goals and celebrate each little milestone.
5) Give away good information, but don't give away too much. Learn when to put on the brakes, and don't be afraid to charge a fair price for your expertise and/or your time.
6) Focus. It's SO easy to get sidetracked on the net that focusing on one thing is almost impossible. Racing off in a completely different direction has never been easier, so if you're having trouble moving ahead, think about what you're doing, narrow your focus, and try again.
7) Don't give up... but don't be an idiot either. Know when to call it quits. If you've done everything you can to make a project work and it just isn't going anywhere, don't let "the dream" keep you from moving on. Eventually you'll find the perfect fit.
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