The Great Resignation has finally emerged in society where employees are sick and tired of working for someone else – held captive to their wage limits, their demanding hours, and other ridiculous rules that detract from a woentrepreneurial option is exploding.
No matter where you are in your career journey, you may be struggling to determine what the best path is for you. Employers are desperate right now – offering extra perks to get people onboard.
But if you think they’ll continue that when the job market returns to normal, you’re wishful thinking. You want to be self-employed in a lucrative career that has no boundaries on earnings, where you can work whatever hours you want, wearing pajamas or working from the beach if you please.
In just 30 days, you could go from feeling unsettled about what your next move should be in the job market, to running your own online brand in just about any niche you want. You have to be willing to work consistently and thoughtfully, but in the end, you could cultivate a career that is far more rewarding than anything you could have imagined.
Day 1: Research Potential Business Models
You’ll waste no time today when you jump right in and start looking at your options. Study these more in depth, but you might consider the following options. First, becoming an affiliate marketer, which is one of the easiest ways to go.
Second, becoming an info product creator where you write or record courses to teach others about a niche. These are the two most popular and profitable options for being your own online boss, but they’re not the only ones.
You can become a coach who works one-on-one or in groups via Zoom or other tools. You can product content called private label rights that others use in their business as their own.
You can become a freelance service provider who ghostwrites, created graphics or acts as a virtual assistant. Even though you’ll be working for others, they’ll be your client, not an employer – so you can still set your hours, rates and determine what you do and don’t want to do.
Day 2: Take Stock of Your Skills
Being your own boss means you shoulder all of the responsibilities of running your business. From product creation and strategic thinking to the menial tasks such as updating your blog settings, it all falls on you.
Therefore, you have to know what you’re capable of and what you’re going to have to outsource. Not only is talent and understanding a factor, but time may be as well. You may not be ready to leave your offline job right away, so you’ll depend on someone else to help you get further in your quest to be your own boss.
You’re going to have to watch a few YouTube videos to see how confident you feel doing certain tech tasks, like installing WordPress or setting up a sales page. Test your hand at creating graphics and writing and if possible, ask others what they think of your attempts with the request that they be honest and blunt with you.
Some things can be learned. You may have doubts or lack confidence doing them, but with enough practice, your efforts will be more than enough to help you build a business.
Day 3: Determine How Much Money You Want to Use to Get Started
There are definitely ways to start a business online with zero dollars. For example, you can sign up to be an affiliate marketer and only use social media to promote things on. However, it’s best to have the basic tools needed to reach an audience, brand your business and build a list.
That means you’ll need a domain for about $12 a year, and hosting for under $10 a month. Other than that, you may want to utilize the services of people who can create sales copy or graphics for you, who write your content for your blog or info products, and more.
If you’re on a tight budget, don’t spend money on things like keyword tools or SEO plugins right away. You can find free information to help you get by initially, and invest in those at a later date.
Never, ever go into deep debt trying to get started with an online business. There are people who will say you have to spend $10,000 on a sales latter – or pay $497 for a page builder.
It’s simply not true. And you don’t want the added pressure of finances to haunt you as you’re working to build a business. It can cause you to make desperate or rushed decisions that aren’t in your best interest.
Day 4: Evaluate Your Niche Options
Imagine getting to control the topic you’re immersed in every day. Whether you have a passion for pets or you love talking to others about fitness, crafts, cooking, making money, gardening – or anything else, it can be a business for you online.
In fact, when you sit down today and brainstorm the list of things you’d love to build a business around, keep this list – because over time, you can expand your online empire to include many different niches and business models – not just one!
You might have a site that thrives on dog care, and another that helps people manage their diabetes. You can later add a niche site that shows people how to raise a vegetable garden.
You might be an info product creator in some, and just an affiliate in others. Or, you may even add coach to your online resume if you feel confident enough to lead people in that endeavor.
Day 5: Look at the Profit Potential of Your Niche and Business Model Pairings
Once you make your initial niche choice, look at how it might pan out with the business models you were interested in. For example, if you chose the gardening niche, you’ll find tons of tangible products on sites like Amazon, but also digital info products on the topic, too.
You may have listed relationships as a topic of interest, and can’t find as many products to promote, but becoming a relationship coach could be lucrative. If you have kids or grandkids and chose toys as your niche, then you’ll soon discover that digital product creation is a no-go, but tangible affiliate promotions are booming.
Day 6: Sign Up for Networking Profiles Where Useful
No matter what business model you choose, there will be times when you need to network with both customers and competitors (who will serve as helpful colleagues and affiliates for you later).
You want to see where your people are hanging out. It might be Facebook, forums dedicated to your topic, TikTok, Instagram, YouTube, or another type of social site. Get set up with a profile, page, group or other presence there so you can brand your business, ask questions and share helpful advice to cement you as a leader in your niche.
Day 7: Use a Keyword Tool to Gather Data
Don’t fork over a lot of money for this, but find a way to gather a list of niche relevant keywords. You can use Amazon, Google, YouTube, Instagram and other places that have hashtags and auto-filled keyword lists.
Or, you can invest in a keyword tool (monthly or one time fees) where you can search and download large batches of niche keywords and phrases. These lists will help you find a good domain, write relevant blog posts and social or email content, and form the foundation for your info products.
Day 8: Pick a Domain for Your New Business
You don’t need to buy up every extension. Just get a dot com domain for your niche using relevant keywords or phrases. Try to keep your domain as short as possible to help consumers remember it and have less of a chance making a typo mistake.
Don’t buy hosting through the domain registrar. You want to get them separately. There have been reports of companies essentially holding a domain hostage, so you always want them separate.
Day 9: Sign Up for Hosting
Your hosting account can be a starter level in the beginning. You’re not starting with a dozen large sites right away. You’ll have a small blog, so you only need hosting for one. Later, if you expand to the point where the system is telling you that you’ve grown too much, all you have to do is increase your plan slightly until the next level is required.
In fact you can begin with a free account at Wealthy Affiliate and get started right away with no out of pocket expense. And you’ll have a great community that you can learn from as you begin to earn. Find out more here.
Day 10: Install and Set Up WordPress for a Niche Blog
Log into your cPanel and choose the QuickInstall option to get WordPress loaded onto your domain, either on the root domain, such as yourdomain.com, or using an identifier such as yourdomain.com/blog.
Go through the settings on the left sidebar updating everything, and making your personal selections for the settings, such as how people comment or what your theme looks like for your niche blog.
Day 11: Secure an Email Autoresponder Account
To build a list of subscribers and future customers, you have to have an email autoresponder account. Check out some good ones such as GetResponse, Aweber or MailChimp and avoid the fly-by-night ones that come and go and promise the world.
You want to use one that offers ample support, that’s been around for years and that has a treasure trove of helpful videos walking you through the set up and use of the system.
Day 12: Create a Lead Magnet to Entice Subscriber Sign Ups
Your lead magnet is what will entice people to give you their contact information in exchange for a free gift. So it has to be worth it to them. Create a short report, a series or a checklist or handout they can use to solve a pressing problem in your niche.
Day 13: Write Your Welcome Email and Follow Up Emails
Your welcome email goes into your email autoresponder follow up series. It’s where you’re going to thank them for signing up, let them know what to expect from you, and give them the important download link to the free gift.
If you want to surprise them with an additional unexpected freebie as a show of good will, now is the time to do that. You can also write and schedule your follow uo emails if you plan to have any go out on autopilot, as opposed to writing emails on the fly each and every time you want to contact them.
Day 14: Install Your Email Forms Where Applicable
When your lead magnet and emails are ready, go through the steps needed to create a form to capture the data you need – first name and email address. Install it in the sidebar of your blog, on the primary lead magnet page, and below each blog post.
Make sure you test the system to see if it’s working. When you get the welcome email, test the download to see if it downloads okay for the subscriber. Once it’s all in working order, you can begin generating traffic to build a list.
Day 15: Create Ongoing Blog Content
Your blog posts will pull in organic traffic. You can use keywords and phrases and create value-packed posts that serve your audience well and make them want to share your insight with others on social media.
Your blog should never sit stagnant. You should be posting daily, if possible, but if not, then at least several times per week. Every time you post, make sure you make it as search engine optimized as possible.
Day 16: Socialize Your Posts and Your Profiles with Competitors and Customers
Your posts need to be shared by you on social media, too – not just by your readers. Once you publish it, share it on Facebook, on your profile, page or group, put a link in your bio on other sites, make a Pin on Pinterest about it, and so on.
When you share it, not only will your prospective customers see it, but your competition will begin to take notice of your growing expertise. This will help them get onboard when the time comes to support you with a product launch.
Day 17: Research a List of Tangible Products to Review
One of the quickest ways to make money is to promote products that are already in existence to your subscribers. You can earn a nice affiliate commissions of 50% or more, depending on what you choose to promote.
If you’re in a niche that has ample tangible products, scout out the places with an available affiliate program. You don’t have to stick with just Amazon. Go to Commission Junction and Share-a-Sale and even use Google to look for affiliate programs for products your customers may want mailed to them.
This can be anything from individual products (such as a tent for survival niche customers) to bundles of items (like MREs for survival preppers), to subscription boxes (such as monthly pet treats or toys in the dog niche).
Apply to the program and include a link to your blog so they can see that you’re a serious marketer who is sharing good information with your target audience. If your site has value and isn’t spammy, they’ll feel more comfortable approving you.
Day 18: Make a List of Digital Products to Review
You need to do the same with digital products at this point. Some niches, like toys, won’t have any available. But you can find courses for many other niches on sites like ClickBank, Udemy, JVZoo and Warrior Plus.
Some vendors sell their info products directly from their own platform and system, so you might find things like eBooks, video courses, memberships and online tools that you can promote once you start digging around.
When you apply, you may be able to secure a review copy of the course so that you can write a thorough and fair review for them. It never hurts to ask. If they don’t have one, you can also buy the product to review if you want to.
Day 19: Write the Reviews to Generate Affiliate Income
Writing your product reviews should be done with the intention of fully vetting the product for your customers. Your goal is to protect their interests, not just earn a commission.
If you lie to them to make money, not only will they likely refund on you, but you’ll never get their trust again. Be honest and fair about any pitfalls with a product. Highlight what you loved about it, too.
You can create product reviews on a regular basis. Write them on your blog, showcasing the product specifications, pros and cons, and tips for maximizing their purchase.
Once you write it, be sure to email the link to your product review to your existing subscribers. This is one way you’ll monetize your blog content. Share it on social media, too – if you want to get the most out of your efforts.
Day 20: Brainstorm an Idea for Your Own Info Product
One of the best ways to get a large influx of money and build a list is for you to create an info product of your own. Having a product launch not only allows you to make money from the sales you generate, but it gives you the opportunity to profit from the sales affiliates bring to the table for you.
See what’s already on the market so that you aren’t duplicating anyone exactly. You want to pay attention to what is selling well, and what is flopping with consumers. For those topics that are doing well, create a slant of your own that will set you apart in the marketplace.
Day 21: Map Out an Outline for Your Lesson Topics
Today, you will be outlining your info product. You should cover enough so that the product is thorough. Never assume your audience knows how to do something. For example, if you are creating and info product about how to succeed with blogging, you will want to walk them through every step of installing WordPress and setting up the technical tasks on their blog.
If you are creating an eBook, don’t worry about the length of the product as much as you do the value contained within it. However, common sense will tell you that you can’t sell a five page report and call it a full eBook.
Your lessons may be in video format. If you are creating videos, make sure you divvy up the content into multiple lessons. It’s better to have multiple 10 minute videos than it is to have an hour long video that the buyer has to sit through in one lesson.
Day 22: Create or Outsource the Graphics
You have to have a graphic to represent your digital product online. You can do this yourself using a variety of tools, some of which are paid and some of which are free. Or, you can hire someone to do this for you.
The most important thing you want to remember about the graphic that is representing your eBook or video course is that it looks professional. If the image looks like an amateur created it, customers won’t buy it and affiliates won’t promote it.
Day 23: Write Your Page Copy for Affiliates and Customers
Today, you will create the copy for your sales page as well as your joint venture (JV) page. The JV page is the page that details your upcoming launch for prospective affiliates.
Many of your potential affiliates will want to see the sales page before they agree to promote. This is a good indicator of whether or not their traffic will convert on your offer. There are some top tier affiliates who will even want a separate sales letter created for them with slight changes or with a video hybrid letter rather than just text.
Day 24: Submit Your Listings and Network for Promos
When your idea has been finalized and your pages are ready to go, set up your listings on the platform of your choice, whether it’s ClickBank, JVZoo, Warrior Plus or elsewhere.
Make sure you notify all of your prospective affiliates and networking colleagues about your upcoming launch. You may want to list it on Muncheye or another product launch site that notifies affiliates about upcoming listings.
Day 25: Create Your Product in Text or Video Format
Today, and for as many days as you need to, you will work on the creation of your product in either text, video, or hybrid format. You may not just have one product to create.
If you are creating a funnel to launch, that will mean that you have to create sales pages and products for your one time offer upgrades, whether you have a single one or multiple ones.
Day 26: Recruit Competitors as Affiliates
If you’re going to launch your own product, you will need to bring those affiliates onboard. Of course, some of them will see your listing and take the proactive step to apply to promote your product for you.
But that usually doesn’t apply to the top affiliate marketers who have limited room on their schedule and who are very picky about the products that they promote. If you are a newcomer to the niche marketplace, you will have to go above and beyond to get on their radar and get them to agree to send out an email for you.
Start by making a list of the best affiliates for your niche topic. Contact each one on social media or via email with a link to your JV page, a brief introduction about your product and why it would be a good fit for their list, and a complimentary copy of your product for them to review.
There may be some things you need to do in order to convince people to promote for you when you are an unknown marketer. For example, you may need to entice them with a higher commission, a bonus they can use, a discount code for their buyers, or something else.
Day 27: Consider Coaching Opportunities for Top Tier Customers
On this day, you want to take a bit of time to analyze whether or not your niche and personal knowledge would be a good pairing for a coaching program. Some niches, such as personal development, relationships, and fitness might be a lucrative fit for a coaching program that you create.
You can coach people one on one or offer group coaching programs that are conducted virtually via zoom or some other tool. Even if you start out as an affiliate marketer or digital info product creator, you will often have individuals coming to you and asking about whether or not you offer a coaching program, so it’s a good idea to have thought this out beforehand.
Day 28: Repurpose Your Launch Idea to Increase Profits
When you launch an info product, you own that content and can do whatever you wish with it. For example, you may want to increase sales by offering private label rights to the content.
This would allow others to use the content as their own, so you may want to wait until after your launch, months later when you want to turn it into an additional revenue stream.
Over time, as you create multiple info products, you may want to upload them into a digital membership site. Then you can charge a recurring monthly fee for access as you continue building the membership into a larger digital product bundle.
Day 29: Reinvest a Portion of Your Profits Into Your Business
Whenever your money starts coming in, begin to level up with your business spending, so that you are getting more advanced tools, saving time and building your brand without going into debt.
Take some of the profits and buy a keyword tool or course, outsource writing or graphics, or buy paid ads to test the water and see how it goes for you. Just don’t spend all of your money as some people do and end up never making progress.
Day 30: Create a Plan of Action for Your Future Earnings to Scale Up
The last day of your 30-day business building venture should be spent on planning for growth. If you started out as an affiliate, where do you want to grow from here – with a second business model, or more niches?
If you started out as a digital product creator, will you be adding affiliate marketing, growing your empire by bringing freelancers onboard, or tackling a new niche to lead in?
Because this career is everything you ever wanted in terms of opportunities and freedom, you want to make sure you’re making the most out of it with proper strategic planning.
Don’t just randomly make decisions on the fly. Take time to brainstorm, analyze and sort through your possibilities so that every decision you make is one that serves you well in life.
