Once upon a time, the gurus spread the word that Email Marketing brought in tons of cash by just pushing a button. The Magic  Button, they called it. They were referring to the “Send” button to send emails to their list. It was the forerunner of “one button” or “one click” software that supposedly makes people rich doing practically nothing. Well, apparently they wore the button out pushing it so many times, since it does not work that way anymore.

These days, people are more used to the Internet, they are more savvy shoppers and they are plain worn out with the hype, false promises and outright lies they heard for so many years. Nowadays you will not sell just anything you send out to someone’s inbox. It takes a lot more to build a good, responsive list of people who know and trust you and will buy from you. With good reason.

Anyone who has been on the Internet for any length of time has heard over and over “The money is in the list.” They are referring to a list of email names and addresses they have gathered and put into their Autoresponder. Something else you will hear often is that for each email address on your list you will earn $1 to $1.50 a month on average. Even that is not necessarily true. There are people who earn that much, and more, of course, but just having a list of names and addresses and mailing out offers to them is no guarantee of any amount of money. I know people with fairly large lists who earn little or nothing, and by the same token, people with smaller lists who do quite well.

What makes the difference? The quality of the list and the way you treat your subscribers. Some people on your list will never buy anything–from anyone. They are what we call “Freebie Seekers.” They want everything for nothing, and after they get it, they do nothing with it. Others are really trying to build a business, or gain knowledge about a certain subject, and they will buy what they think will solve a problem or help them in some way.

The best way to build a responsive list is to keep in mind that real people are behind the email addresses you have on your list. Just as real as any who walk into a WalMart or Sears store. People like you and me, with families, homes, jobs and businesses. Remember to treat them as you want to be treated. Not as a dollar sign.

Always give good information, good free content, and only offer products you know are good and that you feel will help someone on your list. Do not send junk products to your list, or ever try to trick them, either into opening your mail with a false subject line, or by misrepresenting something. That is the quickest way to lose your list. If they feel they cannot trust you, they will unsubscribe immediately.

For more information on Email Marketing, check out my Free Report:
http://www.razschultz.com/email_marketing

We will talk more about how to profit from Email Marketing and ways to build your list in the future. I welcome your comments and questions. I am always glad to hear from you.

Trying to manage an email list by sending out individual emails would be an impossible task, taking more hours than you would have in a day. An Autoresponder handles your email for you. It will save all the email addresses you have gathered from giving away free reports and ebooks. Then when you have a new offer, either your own or an affiliate product, you can send it to them, and some of them will be interested in buying it from you.

The best Autoresponder that I have found is Aweber–although there are many more online. But, just as we said about websites and hosting, do not try to go with a free one. For the same reason as anything else that is free, they could take the site down at anytime. You would perhaps lose your list, and you would have no recourse–you are not paying for it.

You can check out Aweber by clicking my affiliate  link:

http://www.aweber.com/?339961

Or you can try it free right from here–just go to the right of this blog and sign up for a test drive.

Once you have your Autoresponder account, you can begin to gather email addresses and continue to build your list through giving away free reports and ebooks, or through ad-swaps, solo ads, and several other ways to begin email marketing. For now, get your Autoresponder account, read the information and watch the tutorials they will give you to get started.

We will talk more in future blog posts about email marketing and list building.

 One thing you should not do is go with free hosting. It may sound good because most people like the word “free,” but it is not a good way to start a business, or even to make a little extra money. For one thing, you will have no control, and the site could go down any time the owner cannot or does not want to keep it up any longer. Also, do not sign up for hosting where you buy your domain name. If something goes wrong with one, you don’t want both affected. Again, it looks less expensive, but don’t do it. If you are serious about making money and/or working from home, spend a little money and get started on a good foundation. You can check out Hostgator here through my link:

http://secure.hostgator.com/~affiliat/cgi-bin/affiliates/clickthru.cgi?id=razschultz

 or you can go to the site on your own. My  main objective is not trying to make a few pennies–it is to help you get started making money online.
So–go to Hostgator or where-ever you want to get hosting and sign up. If you do not go with Hostgator, just make sure your hosting company has cPanel–it will make your life a lot easier. Your hosting site will give you  dns–domain name server–information when you sign up. It will look something like this: ns2342.hostgator.com. 

 You will then link your domain name to your hosting account by going into Name Cheap or where-ever you bought your domain name. Look for NS server, Nameserver, or Domain Manager. They will supply instructions if you’re not sure what to do. Most sites now have video tutorials, live chat or support to contact to walk you through it. After you enter your dns information, it will take 24-48 hours to propagate, so you can be found on the Internet. Now you are ready to build your blog. That will come in the next post.

One way to do that is to back up and start over–begin at the beginning.
Forget every system and push button solution you heard about for now, and take stock of where you are. All you really need to get started is a domain name, a website or blog to put on it, a place to host it, such as Hostgator, and an autoresponder. It will cost a few dollars, but it is not even close to the money it would cost to start a business offline, for instance.

We’ll cover each one in future posts, one at a time.

Okay, then: your domain name. Try to get your own name if you can. Mine is www.razschultz.com. It was easy to get, since there wasn’t a lot of competition for it, lol. If your name is John Smith, it is probably already taken. In that case, you can use your initials or add something to it such as JohnSmithMarketing.com, or whatever works for you.

There will also be suggestions for other possibilities when you search, if your name is taken. If you really do not want, or cannot get, your name and you know what niche you want, you can get a domain name to match the niche. Once again, golfing.com will be taken, but play around with names and combinations awhile and you will find something that suits you. Get a .com, though, not an info or .net.

You can always get more domains later, so you will not make a terrible mistake here, no matter what you choose. Try Name Cheap–here is my affiliate link: 

http://www.namecheap.com?aff=21006

They are an excellent place to get a domain name and will work with Internet marketers, unlike some big name domain sellers who have cancelled accounts without warning. You need to be careful, but that is all I can say on the blog.   

We will cover the next step soon.

Regards, Raz

Anyone who has been on the Internet for any length of time has certainly noticed that it is possible to make a good amount of money working from home, and that apparently, many people are doing just that.

As the old saying goes, however, “All that glitters is not gold.” The hype, the promises, all the shiny objects for sale, all beckon one and all to come and join the gold rush. Just buy this, the story–or sales page–goes, sit back, relax and watch the money pour in. With the click of a button, you, too, will be able to have the lifestyle of your dreams.

Unfortunately, there are no “one click buttons” that will make money on the Internet while you sit back and dream of where you will spend it. Making money working from home, however, is entirely possible.

Not too long ago I was working two jobs to try to make ends meet, and although they were two part-time jobs, I was still working more hours than I wanted to, or felt able. One of them was in social work with a well-known religious organization. I enjoyed the job, but not the nasty regional manager who always had a “bee in her bonnet” about something or other. I was glad to say good-bye to that job. I heard she has since been fired. While I don’t want anyone to lose a job, she got what she deserved–and it should have happened a lot sooner. I want to write more on reaping what you sow someday, but for now, I’m glad I have no more nasty bosses to worry about.

My other job was taking care of elderly ladies so they could stay in their homes instead of ending up in a nursing home. I did light duties such as cooking their meals, making their beds, providing companionship, and so on. That was nice work, too. However, no job that I can think of, no matter what kind of positive spin I could put on it, comes even close to the joy of working from the comfort of my home.

Because of certain health and vision problems, I started to look into working on the Internet. I had always loved writing, and when I found that people would actually pay me to write content for the Internet as a freelance writer, I just leaped in and never looked back. It was my “Flight to Freedom.” It was slow going at first, and I didn’t make all the money I knew I would need, but I kept at it, and kept looking for better writing jobs and gradually I began to make a living. It was a good place to start, but I am looking toward to and developing much bigger and better opportunities.

Starting out with a little less money but far less stress was well worth the trade-off to me. As many people say–it isn’t just about the money. Of course, I knew I would have to make a certain amount of money, too, but to me it was all about finally having Freedom!

Working my own hours, not having to commute, no cranky bosses–what price can be put on that? That is certainly a great measure of what freedom is–working for yourself and not having to please anyone else. Another kind of freedom is having the money to spend time with family and friends, pursuing hobbies, volunteering to help an organization or cause that is dear to your heart–all of that is freedom. Freedom is more than just trading one job for another, and working the same long hours at home.

If you want to be really free–to start making a living from home, and eventually to outsource some of the work, or put income streams on autopilot, keep tuning in right here. Don’t worry if all of it doesn’t make sense right now–we will talk a lot more about exactly what to do and how to do it, step by step, so you can finally realize your dream of freedom. 

Do I know all there is to know about making money on the Internet? Oh, my goodness, no! There are so many ways to make a living on the Internet and so much to learn, it is no wonder most of us suffer from overwhelm and information overload in the beginning. But as I learn more, I will share what I can with you so that you can get off to a good start, too. We’ll succeed together, and soon you will have the option of saying good-bye to your job and working from home, too.

If you are new to Internet marketing, or even if you have been around for awhile, this blog is for you. It is for everyone who has made, or wants to make a “Flight to Freedom.” We’ll talk a little later about what freedom means, because it often has a different meaning for different people. 

I hope  you will visit often, stay awhile, add comments and questions. I want to hear from you. Please tell us about yourself and your business. Tell us if you’re new, intermediate, or a downright genius at Internet marketing! If you’re new, we can help you clear up the fog and the feeling of being overwhelmed. If you’re an experienced marketer, then maybe you will share some of your expertise.  Either way, and at whatever level you are, we are glad you stopped by.

We are going to post good information, helpful tips, stories of people who are on their own “Flight to Freedom” and give reports on our progress. We want you to tell your story, too.

Until next time,

Raz