Annotated Table of Contents
The Gold Rush: Realizing your Dreams in the coming Web Home-business Bonanza is divided into three sections:
Section I
Where’s the Gold? Finding the Mother Lode
Section I is devoted to establishing that there is an opportunity for the web home-business entrepreneur; to identifying where those opportunities lie and how to be successful in each; and then how best to get into business
“Is there Gold in them thar hills?”
Web home-based business has reached the ‘tipping point’ and is about to take off into the mainstream population. Previously the preserve of techies, innovators and fast followers, the web home-business environment has matured to a point where it can support mass involvement. Once an idea goes past the tipping point, it spreads rapidly. Now is the time to get in, ahead of the herd.
For more insight into the coming boom in web home-based business read our extract from the first section of the book. Click Here
The “Economics of Abundance”
One man’s insight has given us the economics of the digital world. The man: Chris Anderson Editor of Wired Magazine; the economics are called ‘the economics of abundance’. These are the economics that drive the giants of the web – Google, eBay, Amazon and they create almost endless opportunity for individuals
The Seven Sources of Web Wealth
This compilation of sources of potential wealth is a ‘first’ in web home-business writing. It is now possible to identify where the opportunities lie and what it takes to be successful. This part of the book deals with the processes and critical factors that determine success. Each of the opportunity areas is dealt with in enough detail for you to decide if the source makes sense for you
Ø Creating a Products Business
Ø Creating a Web Consulting Business
Ø Affiliate Marketing
Ø Developing Sales through a Network
Ø Making Money on eBay
Ø Investing in HYIP
Ø Paid Surveys
The Fundamental Choice: DIY or Pre-Packaged
Every web entrepreneur is faced with the same problem. Do I go it alone or do I buy into one of the proliferating number of opportunities on the web? This part walks you through:
Ø DIY or Pre-packaged: The Choices - Lays out the issues and the solutions
Ø Creating a DIY Business: Key Activities – Walks you through what you have to do if you want to create your own business
Ø Pre-Packaged Opportunities – Uses some of the best-established and innovative pre-packaged opportunities on the web to illustrate the various types of opportunity available. Provides the first-ever classification of web pre-packaged opportunities
Ø Deciding what to buy/join: The Rules for Assessing a Web Opportunity – Provides another ‘first’. The 10 rules for assessing pre-packaged opportunities. Now you don’t have to rely on review sites.
Conclusions & Action
Every section and many chapters end with conclusions and actions you can consider
Section II
The Seven Disciplines of Web Business
There are literally hundreds of books on the practice of web marketing. Nearly all are written by either an offline practitioner (copywriters or catalog specialists) who has pitched a tent online or by people who struck it lucky and want to exploit this by writing a book about it. What has been missing is a comprehensive framework that captures all the things you have to master to be successful. This section combines the practical knowledge of the web practitioners with the depths of business practice in the offline world. The result: the Seven Disciplines of Web Business another first
Designing your own Business
Businesses sometimes just happen. But they can also be designed so that you know that they will make money and you know how they will do it. This chapter walks you through the design process and it starts with the idea of:
Ø The Tiers of Customer – the levels you design for – retail, wholesale – determines the nature of your business. The rest of the chapter picks up this reality and walks you through:
o Designing an ‘End User’ Business – what you would call a ‘retail’ business, and
o Designing a ‘Business Opportunity’ Business – creating your own ‘pre-packaged business opportunity
Ø Positioning your Business – positioning is a huge concept in the offline world; the very basis of successful marketing. Yet it is almost never mentioned in web home business. This chapter provides you with a ‘how to’ by walking you through the three key positioning problems on the web:
o The ‘reviewer’ problem
o The ‘theme’ problem
o “The ‘product’ problem”
VERY IMPORTANT: At the end of this chapter is one of the most profound ideas on the web (the first time it has been written about in this context and the focus of much up-coming research); the dominant role of women in web home commerce and entrepreneurship. Women ‘rule’ in retail, there is every expectation that they will rule in running web businesses. Anyone who doesn’t take account of this is heading into trouble.
Ø Stocking the Shelves - selecting the product mix is a major issue in any web business. In other books, authors concentrate on either affiliates or on how you create your own products. The Gold Rush goes straight to the real issue: regardless of how you source the products (and you may use ALL sources in one site) how do you deal with the problem of product mix. The Report still gives particular emphasis to e-books and software creation.
Ø Creating a Web Presence – there are endless books on how to create a web site. So rather than repeat that work, the Report focuses on summarizing the 10 Keys to Web Design
Ø Generating Traffic – There is nothing – absolutely nothing – more important than generating traffic to your business. There are endless books and suppliers on this subject. The Report breaks it up into 6 categories:
o Dancing with Search Engines – search engines dominate the web world, understanding how the ‘dance’ works is pivotal to success
o Making Money with Pay-per-Click Advertising – pay-per-click is an outgrowth of the search engines and the very root of most affiliate businesses
o Writing for Traffic – few things are more effective than writing articles and providing content. The web is about information; be a useful contributor and it will reward you
o Classic Advertising Tools – even on the web, advertising pays. But like the offline world different tools have different purposes and effects
o Affiliate Programs – having your own affiliates generating traffic for you is a huge advantage. It takes a bit of organizing, but it is profoundly powerful. For example, join Clickbank and you get instant access to 100,000 affiliates
o Joint Ventures – not really a newbie tool, the Report includes JVs for completeness
Ø Converting your Traffic – so you got people to your site. Now you have a major decision: how to go about converting them. The star approach today is an outgrowth of the direct selling business, whether it will continue to be the best solution is coming under increasing review.
Ø Exploiting the Customer-Base – the absolute champion sellers on the web are the catalog houses, building on their 100+ years of experience. In this chapter, the Report introduces you to RFM thinking – ‘Recency’, Frequency and Money. This approach is where the game is today. Linked to RFM is Relationship Marketing a technique used on and off the web to lower the costs of marketing by retaining relationships over long periods. This chapter also includes email marketing tips.
Section III
Success Lies between Your Ears!
It’s surprising, but although web home business is all about YOU as your own key employee, there is virtually nothing written on the impact of personality on home-business success. The Report records another of its 20 firsts in this area. Not only does it provide the first self-diagnostics on personality traits and successful behaviors it provides insight into some fascinating areas.
Ø Passion: Scratching the itch – how many times have you been encouraged to develop a passion for something? This crucial concept is rarely understood and never effectively explained. For perhaps the first time in management science the Report effectively defines this idea and links it to what kinds of business you are most likely to succeed in!
Ø Domestic Harmony: Working from the Nest – you are working from home. It should not be surprising that negotiating domestic harmony is a major issue
Ø Emotional fiber: Dealing with your inner demons – there are some fundamental emotional issues that any entrepreneur has to deal with including being alone, fear of failure and renewal. These are pivotal to long term success.
Ø Entrepreneurial personality: Displaying the behaviors that work – and, of course, personality traits. The Report identifies – for the first time – the critical personality traits that determine success. But traits are only a part of the story. The real issue is behavior.
Ø Knowledge: - as a bonus the Report picks up the important issue of business knowledge. It does it in the form of a fun test that you should enjoy.
The Gold Rush: Realizing your Dreams in the coming Web Home-business Bonanza is a serious business book – after all, you are a serious business person. It doesn’t deal in secret recipes – there aren’t any – it just tells you how to make money on the web! Simple!
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