Lifestyle Entrepreneur and Online Marketing Success Blog - Internet Riches - e-Riches 2.0 by Scott Fox

Click Millionaires Member Update

[If you were a member of Click Millionaires, here are some of the fun activities you would be enjoying this week.  Check out the Free Trial Offer here.]

Hey Click Millionaires!

Here’s some of what’s happening this week:

1. Video Office Hours: Our first session of live Q&A video with me will happen Wednesday! Visit the “Video Office Hours” section at 2pm ET / 11am PT / 7pm GMT on Wednesday to SEE and ask me questions live via Video.

2. Featured Member Awards: Our first Featured Member Award voting is starting today. Please email me at “------- @ clickmillionaires.com” with the name of the Click Millionaires Member who has been the most helpful to you this month. Winners get public recognition and a free month membership, too! (More details are available under the MEMBERS tab.) Email me now with your vote!

3. Click Millionaires Kick-Off Podcast: Last Wednesday I spent an hour on the air for the Click Millionaires Official “Kick-Off” Podcast. It's now available under the RADIO tab. Tune in to learn more about Click Millionaires philosophy, why I started this community, and why you are so smart to be an early member of the #1 online success coaching community on the Web. Stream online to listen or download an MP3 copy for later, too. Thanks again to everyone who tuned in live!

4. Web Site Tune-Up Community Clinic: Have helped in the group review of Bob Russel’s web site yet? Please visit the Forum’s Web Site Building section to give Bob your insights for growing his new e-business. You could win a free month's membership, too!

Please enjoy these activities and let me know what you think in the FORUM, too!

Scott Fox

Get the online success coaching your e-business needs:
Check out the Click Millionaires Free Trial Offer here!

 

13 New Twitter Bits

Here is my latest collection of interesting, helpful, and entertaining Twitter "tweets".  Click on any of these links to keep up with the latest in e-commerce and online marketing news and gossip:

* 10 Practical Small Business SEO and SEM Marketing Tips http://bit.ly/gZsUT

* VentureNet 2009: Your 1 day pass to the future of SoCal technology. Please join us 10/7 at South Coast Plaza www.venturenet.org

* BUSTED: Burglar Arrested After Checking Facebook During Robbery http://bit.ly/10wsMO

* New Click Millionaires members! CA, UK, Sydney, NY, Turkey, Costa Rica, FL, S. Carolina, and more! http://is.gd/3nUoA for free trial!

* finally the PC industry starts to simplify its consumer marketing. from @NYTimes: http://is.gd/3c1kH it's about time guys!

* Facebook Activities Haunting Job Seekers - Careers http://bit.ly/1IQTDG

* 3 Easy PR and Press Coverage Tips for Your Blog: Dear Scott: I am writing a food blog that I am v.. http://bit.ly/3HOizp

* Seth Godin says "Pay for Stuff" (Sometimes). And he's right! http://is.gd/307dw

* Honoring the fallen SFC John C. Beale - a video that may make you cry http://bit.ly/DyQPT

* U R doing PR wrong - "How to Anger Bloggers and Hose Your Client" from @jonathanfields http://is.gd/2QtXw

* What is "black hat" SEO? Getting lots of visitors today to this helpful blog post. http://is.gd/2O470

* New book out from @chrisbrogan ! Check out http://bit.ly/buy-ta for info on where you can find Trust Agents.

* Encouraging statistics here for online entrepreneurs: Starting an Online Business in a Down Economy from @entmagazine http://is.gd/2qzRr

If you're active on Twitter, please follow me at www.twitter.com/scott_fox.  Or, just check back here regularly for more of my favorite "Twitter Bits"!

[Twitter bird courtesy of Luc LaTulippe]

King Silas says...

"If it's in you to be of service to your fellow man, then you have an obligation to God to do it.  Be it a policemen, a fireman, a soldier, a king.  If it's in your DNA, if the job fits, you must do it."

- King Silas, as played by Ian McShane on NBC's "Kings" TV series

A quotation from the 365SuccessQuotes.com collection.
Subscribe for a fre-e daily dose of inspiration delivered directly to your email inbox!

My Easy 10 Question Free Business Plan Template

Last week in my new Click Millionaires Forum, a member named Tony asked me for a free business plan template recommendation.

My response? Most entrepreneurs spend way too much time on writing business plans. I’d rather see your creative energy invested in product development or marketing, things that will directly lead you to more revenue.

So I sat down and thought about all the business plans that I’ve written and seen over the years. I think that they all boil down to a few basic questions that apply to any startup business.

My Free Business Plan Template for You
Here are my Top Ten questions I think are most important for you to answer when starting a new business. You can use these to focus your thinking and to impress potential partners or investors (like your spouse!).

This basic business plan template doesn’t cover everything, but if you can answer these questions solidly, you are on your way. (Conversely, if you spend much time beyond answering these fundamental questions, your business planning process may be too much.)

Scott Fox’s Top Ten Business Plan Template Questions

1. Who is your target customer? Be specific.
2. How does your product or service solve a problem for them?
3. Will your solution to the problem be unique and valuable enough that these customers will pay you a good price for it?
4. How can you reach this target audience cost-effectively?
5. Will satisfied customers naturally tell others? If so, how can you encourage them to do so?
6. How much time and money can you afford to invest in this new business before you need to stop? (Set a time and money cut-off.)
7. What will it cost you to get started? Why? How can the Internet reduce those costs?
8. If you make conservative assumptions about the number of people who buy, and how much it costs you in both time and money to sell to them, can you make enough money to achieve your goals?
9. How can you differentiate yourself from the competition?
10. What are the 3 key assumptions you are making that are required for you to succeed? Are they reasonable and probable? If not, what could you do to change them?

Bonus Question: How can you systematize your new business so it takes proportionally less of your time as it grows but makes as much or more money? (Creating a business that will grow without you can lead to a true Click Millionaire lifestyle!)

[Note: These questions are for a solopreneur considering starting a new venture. If you are planning a larger venture or looking to raise money from investors, you’ll need to be a lot more thorough, especially with financial analysis.]

An Easy, Instant Business Plan!
If you can write just a couple of solid paragraphs answering each of these questions, you will be well on your way to creating a respectable business plan, as well as clarifying your own strategy.

Don’t fall victim to “analysis paralysis” by over-indulging in business planning. I recommend emphasizing “doing” over “planning”. It pays the bills much better!

What did I miss? Please let me know in the Comments below if this business plan outline is helpful to you?

If you would like more details and follow-up conversation about my simplified approach to writing business plans, please join us in the Click Millionaires Forum!

What is Click Millionaires? Free Podcast

Why is everyone talking about Scott Fox’s Click Millionaires? Are you wondering what all the fuss is about?

Listen to this fre-e podcast to hear me explain the philosophy behind my new Click Millionaires online success coaching community. 

Click Millionaires membership can help you redefine success for yourself in the 21st century. Tune in to learn more about how this new social network dedicated to your personal e-commerce and online marketing success can help you upgrade your life!

Click on the player to listen now online or right-click on this download link and select “Save Target as…” to save an MP3 copy to your own hard drive.

Get your free trial of Click Millionaires today!

P.S. I’d like to help you succeed online, so you can try Click Millionaires for FREE here.

Please let me know what you think of this Click Millionaire Kick-off podcast?  It's my most personal one yet and I'd love to hear your feedback in the Comments below!

New Contest: Free Click Millionaires Membership

Today’s contest is my most personal one yet:

Comment to win a Free 30 day Membership to my new online success coaching community, ClickMillionaires.com!

Learn more about what it means to be a “Click Millionaire” by visiting ClickMillionaires.com now.

 Leave me a Comment below to be entered in the drawing for a free membership - a $29.00 value! 

Just tell me why you would like to be a Click Millionaires member!

Ask Scott Fox: Where can I find a good Business Plan template?

Dear Scott Fox,

Can you shed some light on how to write an effective business plan? Your input will be greatly appreciated.

Sincerely,
Tony S.
Click Millionaires Member
Hawthorne, California

SCOTT FOX'S ANSWER

Hi Tony,

I'm actually not a big fan of “business plans” for solopreneurs. I realize that may not be the answer you were expecting from a best-selling author of business books!

Business plans can be important, but too many entrepreneurs invest too much time in planning and not enough in doing.

In my first book, Internet Riches, Chapters 17 & 18 deal with how to do the basic financial analysis I recommend before investing your time and energy in a business. Running some numbers like this is important to help you quantify the profit potential you are pursuing.

Then I would focus on product development and audience demand research.

What does your target market really need? And can you provide it at a price they will love enough to tell their friends?  If you can hurdle those two obstacles, a business plan will emerge or maybe not even be necessary.

Free Business Plan Templates
If you want a template to organize your own thoughts and efforts, there are plenty available online these days, many even for free. Try Googling for them or visit the U.S. Small Business Administration's web site here.

Using a business plan template may be helpful for you, but I would prioritize action over planning if your business is new.

That will help you find paying customers sooner than creating a big document with a limited audience.

This answer assumes you’re running a business by yourself. If you are trying to raise money from venture capital investors you will need a more thorough and detailed business plan with details on your strategy and customer acquisition plans.

But even then, success at making money from real customers will impress them a lot more than a pretty document.

I hope that helps,
Scott

 - - - - - - - - - -

Tony is a Charter Member of Click Millionaires, my personal online success coaching service.  If you would like to ask me questions, too, learn how you can get a FREE TRIAL of Click Millionaires here.

Click Millionaires Progress Report: Thank you!

Thanks to readers like YOU my new Click Millionaires membership service is off to a ROARING start. Thank you for your support!

The FREE TRIAL offer is still open at www.ClickMillionaires.com if you want to join us. (But hurry! There are now fewer than 59   46   28 Charter Memberships left!)

Welcome to new members Sherry from Florida, Stephen from California, Brian from UK, Irwin from Virginia, Carol from Connecticut, Vijendran from Thailand, Jeff and Sheryl from Canada, Patrick from North Carolina, and many more!

Joining Click Millionaires can Upgrade Your Life!
Check out this unsolicited testimonial from a new member:

Hi Scott,
I think I'm finally believing that I can really make some money online......you know, that "feeling" deep down inside.

I have to admit that I've never honestly had that optimistic viewpoint before being exposed to this Click Millionaires community of like-minded, success-driven people.

I want so bad to rid myself of my boss, corporate life, and other "toxic" people. Life's too short to be surrounded by negative thinkers!
- Fred

Visit www.ClickMillionaires.com NOW to get your Charter Membership FREE TRIAL of this exciting new service.

I guarantee Click Millionaires will help you make more money online
– or I’ll give you your money back!

EARLY ACTION BONUS: Sign up today for your FREE TRIAL and you’ll get invited to my first-ever private VIDEO WEBCAST next week. Charter Members will be asking me questions LIVE on camera!

Click Millionaires is LIVE!

The new Scott Fox online success coaching community is now LIVE at www.ClickMillionaires.com!

Take the FREE TRIAL and you’ll find a unique (and very affordable) package of all the things YOU asked me for.

Click Millionaires offers YOU:

• Personalized online Video and Forum coaching directly with me, Scott Fox
• Cutting-edge info and training in the latest Internet marketing strategies
• A worldwide community of fellow entrepreneurs and marketers
• Special Reports, members-only resources, Podcasts, Videos, and more!

ONLY 100 87 59 46 28  19 CHARTER MEMBERSHIPS LEFT!

VISIT CLICKMILLIONAIRES.COM NOW FOR FREE TRIAL INFO!

Winner: Internet Riches Audio CD set

Thanks to everyone who "Commented" for this week's contest to win the audio version of my first book, Internet Riches.

The winner is Pat Whitten.  S/he was nice enough to say:

"I can't thank you enough for the straight-forward information you've packed in this book and I would love a copy of my own. I've been checking and rechecking it at local libraries and it is inspiring me to get started with my ideas." 

Courtesy of my audio book publisher, Brilliance Audio, I'll soon be sending Pat the full, unabridged 7 CD set of recordings of me personally reading the book.  (This edition retails for $29.95.)

Pat - please contact us with your mailing address!

Keep your eyes open for another fun contest coming soon...

Testimonials: Beta Testers are loving “it”!

The beta testers have been tough. They’ve been finding bugs and making me fix typos for weeks now... But the Thursday 900am ET launch of my new online success coaching community is almost here!

The Good News?
The good news is that the beta testers are LOVING my new online success coaching service. Here are reviews of what people just like you are saying:

“[SCOTT'S NEW SITE] is a valuable resource and I would recommend it to anyone who is interested in starting or improving their E-Business! These days there is a lot of misinformation on the internet about how to start and build your own E-Business. Scott Fox is someone I trust and who I know is an advocate for people like me. People who desire to be in business for themselves and understand the financial benefits that the Internet can offer! All you need is personal passion, hard work and patience and Scott Fox.“ - Andrew S., Evergreen, Colorado

“For me [SCOTT'S NEW SITE] puts a human face on internet marketing. It's an excellent value and the best place I know of for learning all you can be on the internet. Thank you Scott!” - Jon T., Edgewater, Florida

“Scott Fox's [NEW SITE] is a great site with valuable information. Everyone should check it out if they are looking for ways to bring your company to the next level.” - Jessamyn A., Derry, New Hampshire

“[SCOTT'S NEW SITE] is a great place for aspiring entrepreneurs to share ideas, get motivated, and get help for your online business ideas. There is a ton of valuable information and answers to your questions are just a click away!” - Michael S., Escanaba, Michigan

“This is a great service with a lot to offer an online entrepreneur like myself. I found the responses on [SCOTT'S NEW SITE] Forum very helpful and gained valuable insights into effective online marketing.” - Jason H., Hacienda Heights, California

Pretty good reviews, huh? And we have not even launched yet! And I promise you that my new service is only going to get better!

Register for the FR-EE TRIAL on Thursday and
you can meet these friendly "real people" and many more!

Have you marked your calendar yet?
Be sure to visit ScottFox.com at 900am ET Thursday morning for the public unveiling of my new site.  Get there early to grab your Charter Membership Fre-e Trial!

Ask Scott Fox: Collecting E-Mail Addresses

Hello Scott,

What do you feel is the optimal strategy for collection of email addresses? From my understanding, most sales today will be through continual marketing vs. converting first time visitors into buyers.
Thanks,
Sidney W., Austin, Texas

SCOTT FOX'S ANSWER

Hi Sidney,

I agree that today email-driven "continual marketing" is a better strategy than the traditional approach of attempting to immediately convert first time web site visitors into purchasers.

As you suggest, however, that continual marketing can't "continue" unless you know how to capture email addresses from your site's visitors.

How best to collect email addresses from your web site visitors? I have two answers for you, 1 theoretical and 1 practical:

* Theoretical Answer: What are the expectations of your audience?

If your visitors are shoppers already expecting to buy something or looking for specific information from your site, you can probably safely interrupt their clickstream. An offer to provide what they were seeking shouldn’t annoy them too much!

But if your audience is casual browsers, a soft-sell approach is going to be less intrusive and more in line with their expectations. Meeting the expectations of your visitors is the key to attracting repeat visits.

* Practical Answer: Mix it up. On ScottFox.com you'll see a mix of the direct and indirect approaches. An "in your face" pop-up appears to new visitors asking for their email address. This does a good job of collecting email address for me. But I have that pop-up configured to only appear every 3rd or 4th visit because I don't want to be "in your face" all the time. So, in addition to that pop-up there are email collection signup boxes in both the left and right sidebars of my web site. And all of those offers are accompanied by a "Free Offer" of e-books for download to new subscribers. (In today's attention-challenged economy, I'm a big fan of offering incentives to inspire action and commitment from viewers.)

I use Aweber for this email collection. Their service is reasonably priced (starting at $19.95/month) and offers many powerful tools, including autoresponders. They even provide for free the scripts that I use to create the pop-up email signup windows. I wrote a more detailed review of Aweber’s autoresponder capabilities on my blog here. (There is also a much longer discussion of email strategies in my book, e-Riches 2.0, FYI.)

The real answer to your email marketing strategy questions is testing. Try the different approaches to see what works best for your audience. The answer may be different for different products because (back to point 1 above) they attract different audiences with different expectations.

I hope that helps. Follow-up questions are welcome (as are contributions from other members). That’s what we’re here for!

Best,
Scott Fox

 

Sidney is a member of my new private coaching network.
If YOU would like to ask me questions like this in the members-only Forum, mark your calendar for Thursday at 900am ET.  There will be a great deal on just 100 Charter Memberships available then!