Sen Ze’s Business In Your Pajamas! Blog

When you’re a one-person Entrepreneur (which you would want to be, if you can, especially when you’re starting off), you would want to minimize your expenses and maximize your profits as much as you can.

I’ve managed in mega corporations with hundreds of people on its payroll working in huge business premises. And I’ve been on my own as a one-person Entrepreneur (where you basically take care of everything on your own).

There are advantages and disadvantages to both - but if you’re not planning on working for an organization any time soon, you really have only one choice.

As a one-person Entrepreneur, you’ll want a business model that doesn’t require a huge capital outlay, or any employees. You can outsource some parts of your work which can be on an ad-hoc basis (like doing up your accounts, for example), but by and large, you’re in charge of everything, and you’ll be doing all of them.

Internet Businesses appeal to individuals without a huge appetite for risks since a lot of leverage can be achieved with a computer, software and the Internet. Many of your tasks that you have to do to run your business can also be “delegated” or assigned to specialized software, like following up with your Prospects, for example.

Not only that, if done properly, Internet Businesses can also bring in HUGE returns which make the costs of running them quite laughable by comparison with other types of businesses.

Well and good - but what Internet Business should you start?

My recommendation is to sell products on the Internet, as a Merchant, not as an Affiliate for other Merchants.

Yes, even when you’re starting off, with absolutely no experience.

For it is only when you’re a Merchant that you can spot good Merchants that you can be an Affiliate for.

In other words, if you don’t know what’s involved in selling - how do you know the Merchant you’re an Affiliate for knows what he’s doing? You’ll want to maximize your efforts in referring Prospects to the Merchants so that you have the highest possible chances of success in earning your commissions.

The other reason is that once you’re a successful Merchant, other Merchants will be flocking to you to offer you their Affiliate or Joint Venture opportunity so you don’t really have to seek every single Merchant out to partake in their Affiliate Program (unless you wish to, of course).

Thus by becoming a Merchant, you’re really making yourself both a Merchant AND an Affiliate at the same time, with the Affiliate role being an automatic option.

Compare this to becoming an Affiliate first, where you seek out Merchants to refer Prospects to. You simply focus on referring, instead of building up your own range of in-demand products that are your ASSETS.

So the vast majority of Affiliates remain Affiliates, with just a fraction of them becoming Merchants themselves, because being a Merchant isn’t an automatic option for Affiliates, as Affiliates don’t learn the skills or acquire the knowledge on building up their own ASSETS that can generate a fortune for them for many years to come.

You may say that an Affiliate’s asset is the LIST of Prospects he builds up, on his way to referring them to the Merchants - and you would be right. However, a Merchant has to build up his own list too - so why not get 2 streams of income as both a Merchant and an Affiliate, instead of just becoming an Affiliate only?

Best of all - a Merchant can have Affiliates marketing FOR HIM too - whereas most Affiliates work for themselves only since most Affiliate Programs only pay on 1 level directly to the Affiliate where he can’t recruit other Affiliates to help him market for the Merchant.

Know what I mean?

To fit within the low-cost, high-profit boundaries you’re setting for yourself as a one-person Entrepreneur, I very highly recommend that you sell DIGITAL products as a Merchant.

Specifically, digital products that can be DOWNLOADED directly from your web site.

Downloadable digital products are automatically duplicated and delivered to your customers once they click on the link that leads to your digital product on your server, which also hosts your web pages selling your digital products.

This is different from selling digital products on CDs or DVDs where you’ll still have to deliver the physical CDs/DVDs to your customers through the mail. This means handling, packing and physical delivery at the post office - all of which will take up your time, and certainly add to your costs.

You can of course outsource the handling, packing and physical delivery to another outfit, with the costs being borne by your customers. But this will increase your customer’s cost of getting your product, and you’ll still have the usual customer support headaches associated with selling physical products. They could say that they “didn’t receive product, please send another one”, or the “product is damaged, please send another one”, or “one CD is missing from the set of 3 - please send it over”, etc.

With downloadable digital products, especially information products (which is what I suggest that you start with) - what’s your headache?

1. Customer couldn’t download product
Give him a direct link to your product in your e-mail to him. Or attach your product to your e-mail. End of story. Will take a minute or two. This happens only a fraction of the time.

2. Customer thinks your product is crappy. He wants a refund
Log into your PayPal account (assuming you use PayPal to accept payments online), and effect a refund. End of story. Will take you a minute or two. This happens only a fraction of the time, unless your product REALLY is crappy - in which case it’s time to make it better until you get very few refund requests. Refund requests will happen, whether your product is digital or otherwise, and no matter how good it really is. You can deal with it and move on quickly.

Is there anything else as far as customer support for downloadable digital product (information based) is concerned?

Right. There is NOTHING else.

Best of all, downloadable digital products can be taken delivery of by your customers even as you’re lazing around in your Pajamas at home, or you’re at the cinema watching the latest blockbuster in the middle of the day (when you’re escaping from the maddening crowd, and when most of your friends are at work in a conventional job) since a CLICK by your customer on the download link is all that is required to complete the sale.

Your web pages do the selling, your host server serves your web pages to anybody with a browser and an Internet connection and your domain name, your PayPal account accepts payment directly from your web site (via credit card or other PayPal accounts), and your host server automatically duplicates and delivers your downloadable product to your customers.

It’s the PERFECT business to do.

Lest you think selling digital products via a web site is for techies - relax!

I’ve figured out ways to make it possible for complete dummies who have only ever used e-mail up to now, to quickly create downloadable products of his own (sometimes this happens instantly!), quickly write a sales spiel for it, quickly set up this sales spiel and download page on his web site, quickly integrate his web site with an online payment system and finally quickly marketing his web site so that the selling can take place - all within A FEW DAYS!

Yes, it is NOW within the reach of MOST people with an interest to become a Merchant of downloadable digital products, FASTER THAN EVER BEFORE - whereas previously the majority of people can’t do it, no matter how much coaching they’ve received.

This isn’t a pipe dream. I’ve spent the last 4 or 5 years of my life trying to crack this code - and I’m proud to say I’ve finally done it.

Which is extremely good news for you, if you’ve always thought of making money online, but never got started, or never succeeded.

More in my next post!

Sen Ze

P.S. You can link to this post with the following URL:

http://SenZe.com/business-blog/digital-products/the-perfect-business.htm

Technorati Tags: internet business, internet marketing, digital products, affiliates, affiliate program, merchant, business strategy, e-commerce, make money online

Further to my previous post on software hosted on a 3rd party’s server (not yours) - let’s check out Clickbank for an example.

Note: “Clickbank” is NOT a bank, but a Merchant selling digital products on the Internet with a fancy name.

If you’re a Merchant selling digital products but have difficulties getting a credit card merchant account and setting up an online payment gateway on your server so that your customers can use their credit cards to buy your digital product through the Internet, on your web site - Clickbank wants to be your partner.

It wants you to supply your digital product to it (at a price lower than your selling price) for it to sell directly to its customers (at the selling price) using its online payment gateway that processes credit card payments and deposits the money in its credit card merchant account.

The difference between the prices is Clickbank’s profit, which is usually 7.5% + $1 of the selling price.

Thus if you’re planning to sell your product for $100, you’ll be supplying (selling) it to Clickbank for $91.50. Clickbank sells it to its customers at $100, pocketing $8.50 for that sale.

Clickbank then pays you what it owes you every 2 weeks.

This is a great arrangement for small business owners who either find it a hassle applying for a credit card merchant account and then setting up an online payment gateway linked to that account, or are unable to be approved by their banks for a credit card merchant account that can be connected to an online payment gateway.

And there are MILLIONS of small business owners all over the world in that situation.

Note that the selling of the product is done at YOUR web site, with the order link hyperlinked directly to Clickbank’s Order Form. When somebody reading your Killer Sales Letter at your web site selling your product decides to buy it, and clicks on that order link, he is taken immediately to Clickbank’s Order Form for the payment to be made TO Clickbank (not you).

At this exact point in time, you will be “supplying” Clickbank with your digital product, and Clickbank immediately “sells” it to its Customers.

However there is no real “movement” of goods from you to Clickbank since the “delivery” to Clickbank’s customers is via a Download Web Page at YOUR web site (Clickbank immediately routes its Customer back to this page to take “delivery”) - but you can be deemed to be acting as Clickbank’s “Agent” for the delivery (in addition to being its Supplier), so everything is still in order even if Clickbank doesn’t itself doesn’t have a Download Web Page for your product at its web site.

The above arrangement of being a “Supplier” to Clickbank and tapping into its payment facility is necessary without Clickbank being accused of “farming out” its credit card merchant account facility to you to use, which is prohibited by Clickbank’s bank that gave Clickbank the facility since the facility is given by Clickbank’s bank to Clickbank only, not anybody in the world.

For its money, not only does Clickbank help sell your product to the entire world, it also has an Affiliate Program software running its Affiliate Program.

Thus anybody in the world can become a Clickbank Affiliate and sell the thousands of digital products within Clickbank’s catalog, with the suppliers (like you) for those products coming from all over the world.

Thus Clickbank leverages on an Affiliate Program with thousands of Affiliates it has recruited all promoting the products that it carries at YOUR web site (since the sales letter must reside on your own server) - and you leverage on Clickbank for its setup to move your products for you.

Clickbank’s Affiliates also get paid every 2 weeks for any sales made that earn them commissions, via checks sent through snail mail. You don’t have to bother with this at all, since they’re not your Affiliates.

See what a wonderful arrangement this can be for you as a Merchant if you have a digital product to sell but don’t have the setup to sell it online?

You can go directly to Clickbank and apply for an account as its Supplier. Then you simply go to work creating your Killer Sales Letter and Download Page, and entering some details in the Clickbank Merchant Area (which you will access via a login name and password) and doing some test purchases.

When you’re ready, let them know, pay them a one-time Activation Fee of $49.95, and you can be live and ready for business after that with everything in place!

For most businesses with digital products to sell, this is a GREAT arrangement.

However, as good as this arrangement can be for you, Clickbank comes with its own important set of “issues” that you need to know about, that may affect you and whether you would want to use them for your business.

More on those issues in my next post. Watch out for it.

Sen Ze

P.S. You can link to this post with the following URL:

http://SenZe.com/business-blog/internet-business/clickbank.htm

Technorati Tags: Clickbank, digital products, credit card merchant account, online payment gateway, Internet payment gateway, Affiliate Program

I’ve having a blast creating content for the Life Changing Party this December.

You have NO idea just how powerful and useful this Party can be for you - but you’ll be pleasantly surprised.

I don’t want to give too much away, but know that you’ll get more than your money’s worth in just 4 weeks’ time.

If you’re not attending, you’ll be missing out. BIG TIME.

Some attendees will even be able to create INSTANT products while there that they can sell at a later date (if they wish)!

Yes, their products can be created while they do what they do best at a Party (especially this Party) - and within a few minutes from the time they indicate to us that they want their product, they’ll have it in their hands!

I won’t spoil this for you by describing how this is done. It is VERY possible, and it will happen right before your very eyes.

Remember, you’ll want to come as you will be 5 years in the future, so you’ll definitely want to come as somebody who is actually good in something.

(Don’t come as the world 100m sprint champion if you’re 45 years old, weigh 200 pounds, have weak knees and you’ve never competed in any 100m sprints ever in your entire life. Seriously.)

If you’re the selected few from this group, you’ll instantly be able to create something you’ve always wanted to create to make your millions but couldn’t for one reason or another - and you’ll be creating this product by simply showing everybody what you’re good at!

If you want to attend, get your tickets now:

http://www.LifeChangingParty.com/tickets.shtml

The Early Bird price is no longer in effect, but you’re paying a bargain even at regular prices!

In the meantime, and on a different note, here’s a Special Report that you can download and read, and pass around to your friends.

It’s a funny yet educational read that I’ve blogged about (now turned into a Special Report) that your friends will want to pass on too!

This Special Report pre-sells one of SOLOBIS’s main products.

If you want your own version with your own Affiliate Link embedded within, so that the Special Report can benefit you fully once your friends pass it around, simply sign up as a free SOLOBIS Affiliate (if you haven’t already done so) and look under “Profit Center” > “Marketing Materials” > “Special Report” once you’re logged into the Member Area.

Click a button or two and your own Customized Special Report will be ready for you to attach to your e-mail to your friends in less than a minute!

We’re using the same marketing concept as the customized Special Report created for the Life Changing Party.

This is probably the easiest Internet marketing method ever created - and very underused, so you’ll have a good time with it!

Sen Ze