So many products are simply a rehash of other products, and the same goes for books.

Someone wants to write a book on persuasion, so they buy five books on persuasion. Read them and then take all the best ideas from the books and write a new course or book or whatever.

Be Unique

But what if you want truly unique, stand-alone info that no one else has?

Then you’ve got to go to the sources.

Let’s say your niche is cat care, and you’re in a forum. People are discussing how they helped their cat get over a certain illness. In that forum, you meet Jessie, who found a way to cure her cat in half the normal time at one-tenth the normal expense.

You contact Jessie and ask for an interview, which you then turn into a product. No one else has this information because it’s something Jessie came up with in her veterinary practice, or wherever.

Split The Profits

You now have a product no one else has. Split the profits with Jessie, and do it again and again with people who know stuff that no one else knows.

For example, you can dig through various niches and find people doing new, unique, unusual things. Or people who have just achieved some sort of milestone. Anything special that solves a problem or gives a benefit that people want.

Several ways to interview

Do an interview over email, Skype, or any method you choose. Let your subject know you’re thinking of using this in a product, and that you’ll share the profits.

Almost no one will turn you down on this, especially if you’re working outside of the make-money niche.

Now you have an endless source of truly new, helpful info that you can turn into posts, products and books.

People will approach you

This is a great way to make a big name yourself in any niche. Pretty soon people will be approaching you, asking if they can share their discoveries in exchange for a slice of the profits.

Simply write up the info they give you, pad it out as needed, write some sales copy and get busy selling it.

This is a perfect business model for almost any niche outside of IM where money is being spent.

And it works especially well if you’re solving people’s urgent problems – like getting your kitty over her illness twice as fast at one-tenth the expense.

There are only so many hours in your day, which is to say, you can only do so much.

In the beginning of your business, you’re probably doing everything yourself.

But as things start working and making money, you’ve got to scale it up if you want to keep growing the business.

If you don’t scale, then you can’t grow beyond the point of what you can do alone.

Consider Outsourcing

That’s why you want to begin outsourcing as much as you can. And the easiest way to do it is to record yourself performing each step of your business, so you can hand the recordings over to an outsourcer to do these things for you.

Either write it up, take screenshots or use video recording.

And no, it doesn’t have to be perfect. You’re simply going to hand it to an outsourcer and let them take over the task for you.

Work ON not IN Your Business

Remember, your goal is to work ON your business, not IN your business.

Otherwise, you will have trouble hitting six figures and you will never come close to that magical seven-figure income.

Keep Learning New Aspects

In business, you are always faced with another new thing to learn and it is no different with an online business. Call it digital marketing or internet marketing or several more options for your home business ideas.

There is much to, not only learn, but you will become a master of many things.

Keep Your Dream Alive

One of the biggest hurdles in digital marketing is keeping your dream alive as you come up against challenges. A common thing in the early days of business is hearing yourself say, “I didn’t know I needed that”.

Remember why you are doing your online business. Whether it is to earn a few hundred bucks a month to make ends meet or give more to charity or become financially independent.

Keep your dream in front of you using pictures, writing on the bathroom mirror or refrigerator. Also, write it on paper and read it several times throughout the day, every day.

It Will Take Some Time

Yes, there are many facets that need to work together and it takes time to put pieces in place. Sometimes you need to learn a new software program and sometimes you need to wait on someone else to finish a project.

Then there are also things or events that you can’t plan on. Maybe you want to think about everything as a big picture before taking a major step.

Believe In Yourself

Remember that your business is you! Most entrepreneurs that have successful online businesses believe that you can do what they have done.

When it comes to newbies to internet marketing, it is common to have doubts about nearly everything. Experienced entrepreneurs have been through all those challenges and more and have a strong belief in you and that you can be successful too.

I believe you can do it. Take it one step at a time, one day at a time, and do your best to keep on keeping on.

The ‘secret’ isn’t all that secret, and yet most marketers get this wrong.

You simply have to give a much higher value than the price that subscribers pay, and two things will happen:

They will join in droves, and they will STAY and continue to pay.

It doesn’t matter if you’re charging $10 a month or $1,000 a month. Just make sure that your members are getting far more than the price they are paying.

For example, let’s say you want to build membership on how to start an online business.

If you give your subscribers an eight-week guarantee (think ClickBank) and a promise that they can start earning by the fourth week, you’re in business.

If you further promise full email support, you’ll do even better. Yes, you’ll outsource the support, and it will be well worth the cost. Many members will join just to get that live support.

Subscribers get new content each week, they have 8 weeks to get a refund, they’ll be making money in just 4 weeks, AND they have live support – do you think that might be a winner?

Absolutely. And you can use a similar model no matter what niche you’re in.

Let’s say you teach golfing. You promise that in 4 weeks they will shave 4 strokes off of their game. They have an 8-week guarantee. And sure, maybe you even throw in live support of some kind, too. Again, you’ve got a winner.

Always give far more in value than you’re charging for your membership sites, and you can’t go wrong.

Did you enjoy the Olympics? Every four years we get to see the best of the best and their gold medals, but sometimes the best inspiration comes from those who don’t win – or even someone who came in dead last.

In 1988, Eddie “The Eagle” Edwards became the first competitor since 1928 to represent Great Britain in Olympic ski jumping.

How did Eddie do? He came in #58 out of 58.

But it didn’t matter. His fans loved him for other reasons. He had no trainer, no money, no practice facilities – and some called him the great British loser.

He had a cheerful air of bumbling incompetence, epitomized by the big pink goggles he wore.

Lifechanging letter in the mail

Says Eddie, “I got my letter saying, ‘Congratulations, you can represent Great Britain in the Olympic games’ when I was in a mental hospital in Finland. I wasn’t a patient.

I was there because it was the cheapest place for me to stay.”

On getting ready to do his jump, Eddie says, “There were about 85 or 90 thousand people in the ski jump area. I thought this is going to be really good, I’m really going to go for this.

The Germans and the Swiss and the Italians were going down jumping, but the crowd was ignoring them and chanting, ‘Eddie! Eddie!’”

“And I got out and sat on the bar and they started cheering and cheering and it was great!”

Top of the Olympic ski jump

“When you sit at the top of the ski jump, you look down, and you’re probably about 500 or 600 feet up from where you’re actually going to finish. You can see a million and one different reasons why you shouldn’t really go down.

So you do have to be not a little crazy, but probably a lot.”

“You’re traveling at 65 or 75 miles per hour. Within about a second you’ll be 250 feet up from where you’re going to be landing. And you just try to relax and let your skis carry you to the bottom of the hill.”

“It’s the most exciting, exhilarating feeling in the world.”

Eddie’s British record jump of 71 meters landed him in 58^th place – out of 58 competitors, 19 meters behind the jumper who placed 57^th.

Who was the winner?

And if you ask anyone in Great Britain, “Who won the Olympic ski jump in 1988?” Almost no one could tell you.

But if you ask, “Who is Eddie ‘The Eagle’ Edwards?” They’ll tell you all about the crazy ski jump guy who they still remember and love to this day.

Eddie stood on the top of the precipice and said, “Geronimo!”

The British people were so proud of him for just trying, that winning didn’t matter a bit.

He dared to go where most of us won’t. Yes, he came in dead last, but he will be forever and fondly remembered by his country for doing what no one else had done in 60 years.

So what daring thing are you afraid to do? Whether it’s something online or in real life, take Eddie’s example and just go for it.

You might just become a legend.

You’re just starting out and your list only has 500 or 1,000 people.

While it’s true you would gladly trade your small list for one that’s 100 times bigger. It’s also true that if you treat your little list right, you can still make really good money.

How does that work?

Get personal and answer emails

First, answer emails that you get from your list. When someone reads your latest email and takes the time to write to you – answer them. You’ve only got 1,000 people on your list, so odds are only 5 to 10 will ever write to you at a time. Yes, you can do this. Keep it personal.

Make them your private community

Second, let your list members know that they are part of a very small, intimate, private community by telling them. Otherwise, they’ll assume you’ve got a gazillion people on your list and don’t give a flying flip about any of them.

Daily emails are important

Third, email them daily. Yes, DAILY. Keep in constant contact with them. Update them on the latest news and give a tidbit here and there about yourself.

Show you care about them

Fourth, care about their success. If you really, truly care, then it will show in your emails to them. Communicate how important they are and that you want to help them succeed in a big way.

Question and answer sessions

Fifth, hold open Q and A sessions over webinars, Skype, or your favorite platform. Don’t charge anything, and let your subscribers know it is only for your list. You’re creating the feeling that they belong to a small, exclusive, private group.

Say “Hi” and use their name

Sixth, send out emails that start with something personal, such as, “Hi (name) – I wanted to contact you personally because I think you might be a good fit for my coaching program.”

Ask for their help

Seventh, ask for their help or opinion on something and then answer every response.

Doing these little things will keep your list engaged and interacting with you.

And when you send out an offer for just 10 people to get personalized coaching at $500 a month, what do you think will happen?

Odds are you’ll fill those slots in less than a day with no additional effort at all. You might even have a waiting list of people who didn’t make the first ten slots.

What happens when someone emails their list of 100,000 with the exact same offer? Surprisingly, there’s a good chance they’ll have trouble selling those ten slots, even though their list is 100 times bigger.

You can make great money with a small list when you take the time to get personal with your subscribers.

How can you create a product in less than a week that has a high perceived value and is almost guaranteed to bring its own traffic and sales? One word: Interviews.

Here’s how to do it…

Choose a niche

First, choose a niche if you don’t already have one. Preferably you want to find a niche with experts who have their own email lists.

Choose a hook

Second, choose a hook. If your niche is vegetable gardening, your hook might be, “How to grow an entire year’s worth of veggies for less than $50.”

If your niche is classic cars, your hook might be, “How to buy classic cars for half their real value.” If your niche is Internet Marketing, your hook might be, “How to drive tons of traffic to your website without spending a dime.”

Choose an expert

Third, once you have your hook you’ll want to find your experts. Book authors are great for this, as are bloggers and any fairly well-known experts in your niche.

Don’t be afraid to approach well-known people because you’re going to offer them something they want – exposure. Everyone has something they want to plug, whether it’s their latest book, their website, their new product, or whatever – and you’re going to use this to your advantage.

Contact the expert

Fourth, contact your experts. You can do this through phone or email, whichever you’re more comfortable with.

Ask them if you can interview them, and be sure to mention that you want to plug their latest product or book for several minutes at the end of the interview. Everyone loves a chance to not only expand their audience but also make some sales of their latest product.

Sign up to their affiliate program

Fifth, if their product has an affiliate program you’ll want to sign up as an affiliate, do a redirect and give that link at the end of the interview to promote the product. This way both you and your interview subject will make money.

Conduct an interview

Sixth, conduct the interview. Sign up for a trial at Instant Teleseminar. You’ll get your own conference number and access code. Set the interview up to be recorded, and once the interview is over you can download the mp3 recording. Simple!

Keep the interview fun and relaxed, and ask questions along the lines of your hook. You might want to let your interview subject know ahead of time what you will be asking so they can be properly prepared.

They might also have suggestions for you on what they would like you to ask them.

Ask the expert to promote their product

Seventh, ask your interview subjects to promote your new interview product for you. Because they are one of the featured speakers they will likely not only promote it but promote it heavily. In addition to sales for you and commissions for them; it also means subscriber sign-ups for you and back-end sales as well (remember, you’re promoting a product at the end of each interview and receiving affiliate commissions on those as well.)

And there you have it – an easy, fast way to create your own product with a high perceived value. If you do a dozen or so interviews, you can easily charge $47 to $97 for the package. And since you’ve chosen experts who have their own mailing lists, you’ll also have a way to promote your product for immediate sales while simultaneously growing your list!

Okay, your competition has been around longer than you.

Experienced marketers have experience

They know more than you about your customers, your products, your marketing…

…let’s face it – they’re racehorses, and you feel like you’re a mule.

But what does that mean?

New marketers feel like they are coming into a race when it’s three-quarters over.

Seasoned marketers know more, have more tools, more contacts, more customers, bigger lists, more outsourcers, and so forth.

How is a mule to compete against a tried and true racehorse?

Get started in the learning process

One step at a time, that’s how.

In 1976, the Great American Horse Race – 3,500 miles long through 13 American states – had 90 teams of purebred racehorses competing…

And 1 team of mules.

That’s right, mules – competing with thoroughbreds from across the world in perhaps the longest, greatest horse race ever.

Entered in the race were Viking horses from Iceland; Arabian stallions, favored to win by almost everyone; tall Irish thoroughbreds; striking Appaloosas; and horses from France, Australia, Denmark, and Japan.

And then there was Lord Fauntleroy, the mule. “Leroy,” for short, was the choice steed of Virl Norton, a steeplejack from San Jose, California. Lady Eloise was the backup mule. And no one – no one – took them seriously.

3,500 miles later, you already know who won: The most unlikely victor in any horse race, ever. As Leroy crossed the finish line into the stadium, he flopped his ears and gave a victorious “hee-haw.”

The mule had won with 315.47 total hours. Second place went to an Arabian, clocking 324.6 hours. That’s right – it wasn’t even close.

Have a big dream to get through tough times

When you think you can’t compete – when you’re sure you don’t know enough, have enough experience, don’t have the contacts, or whatever thought is going through your head, just think of Leroy.

No one expected him to win except his owner and rider, Norton.

Maybe no one expects you to win, either, except maybe your spouse or loved one.

That’s okay because if you simply stay in the race and be consistent, you can outshine them all… Or at least cross the finish line with a lovely payday for yourself.

So you’ve set up your blog and you’ve got several posts – and no readers. Now what? Here are 7 proven methods to drive traffic to your blog in no time.

Facebook Fan Pages

You can set up a Fan Page for your blog in about a minute – ten minutes if you’re hunting for a photo and just the right thing to say. It’s simple, easy and free, and here’s my favorite part: Once people become fans of your blog they’ll be able to see your blog updates when they’re on Facebook. Plus, when they like your blog, their friends see that and check out your blog, too. Some of them ‘like’ it, and their friends check out your blog, and so forth.

Twitter account for blog

Yes, just about everyone seems to be either on Twitter or joining, so go ahead and set up a Twitter account just for your blog. Again, it’ll take you a whopping 2 to 3 minutes. Make a few interesting Tweets, and then begin adding followers. Use one of the many Twitter add-ons to schedule your tweets to run around the clock, mixing them up and always making them interesting. Tweet each time you make a new blog post, and be sure to use your blog’s URL in your profile. Ask others to retweet you, continue to build your followers, and you’ll be driving traffic to your blog in no time.

Forum signatures

We’re going to assume you’re blogging about a topic you thoroughly enjoy, and thus you belong to at least one forum that focuses on that topic. Be sure to place your blog information in your signature line, using something catchy that teases them into checking out your blog.

Social Networking, RSS Feeds and Blog Directories

How are people bookmarking and /or finding blogs these days? Through blog directories, RRS feeds and social networking. That’s why you want your blog to have all those social networking buttons – they’re not just for decoration. And get your blog listed in all of the big blog directories as well. Here’s a list to start you out…

http://www.toprankblog.com/rss-blog-directories/

Blog Commenting

Find the most widely read blogs in your niche and comment on their posts. Here’s how: Create an Icon that absolutely catches the eye. If you’re not sure what it should look like, spend some time looking at other Icons/Gravatars and see which ones positively pop out at you. Next, leave helpful, interesting comments on the blogs, always with your blog’s URL in the website field. Last, watch to see which of these blogs sends you the most traffic, and focus your comments on those blogs. Better yet, hire someone to post the comments for you.

Guest Posting

Now that you’ve been leaving great comments on these blogs, let’s take it a step further. Contact the blog owners and ask if you can write a guest post for them. Since they’ve been (hopefully) seeing and reading your comments. There’s a good chance they will be open to letting you do the heavy lifting of writing a blog post for them. To increase the chance they’ll say yes, actually attach the blog post to your email. If they turn you down, it could be because they didn’t like your topic, so ask if there is something else they would prefer. Then resubmit your original blog post to another blog.

Ezine Articles Dot Com

Yes, this is still a good way to drive free traffic, for a couple of reasons. First, people searching for information on Google often land on a particular article at this website – so why shouldn’t it be your article? With your blog in the resource box, this can result in free traffic. And occasionally your article will end up on someone else’s website. Again, a good source of free traffic, not to mention another backlink.

I feel almost silly writing an article on this topic, because I can sum it up in one sentence:

Write about your own personal experiences in story form.

Storytelling

That’s it! People love stories – especially true ones – that show you overcame an obstacle, solved a problem, created something positive and so forth.

So if you’re writing a blog post about how to increase traffic, use your own examples of what you did, how you did it, and the results. If you can flavor it with storytelling skills that keep your reader riveted, so much the better.

And who better to show you how to tell a story than professional stand up comics? These guys and gals live and die by the story – they either get it right or they’re booed off the stage, and being booed is not funny or fun.

According to comedians

The steps to great storytelling according to comedians?

1. Be Brief (don’t ramble – get to the point)
2. Give Details (the useful ones – don’t bog the story down with useless stuff)
3. Use Story Twists (surprise is a wonderful thing)
4. Work the Crowd (or in this case, your readers)
5. Act Out The Characters (difficult to do in a blog, but I’ve always thought lending your own personality or character to your writing is extremely important)
6. Practice (write often – the more you write, the better you’ll get)
7. End on the Biggest Laugh (or point if you’re a blogger)

Get the details on how comedians tell great stories here:

http://www.askmen.com/money/how_to_400/443_how_to.html

Implement these storytelling tips into your blog posts, and you’ll engage your audience on a deeper level, and keep them hooked on your content.

Half of Facebook’s more than 2.2 BILLION active users are on Facebook in any 24-hour period. In addition, the average U.S. Facebook user spends nearly 6 hours a month browsing this social network.

In other words, if your business isn’t on Facebook yet, maybe it should be. And one of the first questions I invariably receive from newcomers concerning Facebook is, “What should I post to get people interested in my business?” Here are some ideas:

Showcase your customers

If you’ve got photos, videos or emails from happy customers using your products, go ahead and show them. Just remember, you’re not bragging about your product, you’re showing what your customers are doing with your product. Keep the difference in mind when choosing and framing content and you can’t go wrong.

Instead of showing a testimonial from Jimmy telling how great your product is, show Jimmy using or enjoying your product, or show the direct results Jimmy achieved with your product. For example, if you teach your customers how to restore classic cars, show Jimmy with before and after shots of his car.

Use humor

Don’t make yourself or your business overly serious on Facebook. Instead, use light-hearted humor whenever possible. This isn’t necessarily telling jokes – most times it’s simply taking a poke at yourself or your day, showing something in a humorous light, being witty or simply sharing that silly thing that happened to you a few minutes ago.

Post funny videos, especially if they’re relevant to your business. And don’t just grab videos from YouTube – make your own quick videos when you feel inspired.

Give them content

Facebook isn’t necessarily the place to offer long-winded diatribes about anything. But it is a great place to share cool content – especially the “How-to” variety and the entertainment variety. And it doesn’t all need to originate with you – use curated content to round out your own and keep people engaged.

Let them inside

That is, show off your staff (if you have one) or your family or the inner workings of your business. Engage them by pulling back the curtain and showing what they normally wouldn’t get to see. For example, if you’re a one-person business working out of your home, show them your office, your view, and your little dog that keeps you company. If your business has oodles of employees, post pictures of your in-office celebrations such as birthdays, as well as the antics that go on and so forth. By giving them a peek behind the curtain, your friends and fans feel very much included and part of the group. You’re no longer just a business, you’re part of their circle.

Ask questions

Nothing engages other people like asking them their opinion on something, even if it’s as silly as, “What’s better: Baseball or Football, and why?” Posts with questions get the conversation rolling, especially when it’s an easy question to answer. And be sure to respond to the answers you receive.

Use these Facebook “attention getters” to quickly begin bringing more people your way.