It’s about time for another article related to marketing online, as I appear to have been talking tech too thoroughly of late, but missing the marketing message.

In this article, in addition to airing my own viewpoint, I’m also commenting on a post entitled “Are You A Business Opportunity Seeker?” by David Risley which he posted on his blog at davidrisley.com.

David states that when people hear the term “business opportunity” these days, they think 0f things like MLM, pyramid schemes and disguised affiliate programs, in which you make somebody else rich and get screwed.

“They advertise as if you’re “starting your own business”. There are promises of thousands of dollars per month with just a few hours of work per week. They parade success stories of people who quit their job and now make more money at home than they did when working.”

As David goes on to say; “’Just horrible. That’s not a business. You’re making them money – and it usually stops right there.”

Now maybe – just maybe – you’re thinking that clever ol’ Shazza’s mentioning this because she’s never allowed herself to get conned by such schemes. Wrong: I’ve lost money to a few of these too in the past; so if you’re in the same boat then don’t feel I’m talking down to you.

“Business opportunity seekers rarely find the goal they’re after because they’re not operating on an internal compass which is aligned with desire and passion.”

Now this is important, and I’ll be talking about this a bit more further down the page. – But read that again: “…a compass that is aligned with desire and passion.” – Do you really desire to make a large income by doing what it is that you’re doing? OF COURSE you want to make a large income; but do you really want to be doing what it is you’re doing to attain it? If yes then engage that enthusiasm, add fire to that desire, follow that passion without ration and go get it with everything you’ve got. – You’ll win out eventually… But if you’re only half-heartedly doing what you’re doing, maybe you even hate doing it, but the objective – money- makes it appear worth the effort, then there is no passion, and the desire is purely selfish. 

“So, if you want to make money online – awesome! But, let’s start with your passion and your interests. What would you ENJOY doing every day? You’ve got to answer this without any monetary aims whatsoever.”

If you don’t enjoy it then your audience will soon pick up on that fact, and as a result they won’t enjoy reading or hearing what it is that you have to say.

“Money is the result of manufacturing happiness.” – Oh yes, this is such an important point: People will pay to find a good solution to their problems; and when you offer them a solution to their problems – for a price – then you’re manufacturing their prospective happiness.

Another important point to remember is to offer the prospective customer more in terms of value than the price you’re charging for it. Always always over-deliver. If you under-deliver then your customer will look elsewhere for a more satisfactory solution and will become someone-else’s customer. If you over-deliver then your customer will instantly see that they are getting much more value from the product than they expected, and are definitely getting their money’s worth.

Bear in mind that although you’re primarily selling yourself as a reliable brand and a good image, at the end of the day you’re selling people a solution as a product. What you’re not selling is yourself and your expertise. You may be the world’s greatest genius who can do anything and everything – but nobody gives a shit. People want solutions rather than boffins. Your expertise may be a solution to someone’s problem, true, but always remember that you’re primarily selling a solution as a package rather than your expertise as a package.

Above all, though, remember that if you’re not enjoying it and not living every burning moment of what you’re doing with passion, then it’s maybe a better idea to remove your sales campaign, your entire funnel, your whole blog even; because at the end of the day you’re just wasting your time.

In summary, then,

if you can manufacture your own happiness by manufacturing other people’s happiness, then you’re definitely onto a winner!