Category: Entrepreneurs

Posted on

How To Use Email To Build Your Brand

Use Email To Build Your Brand

Email is a powerful business tool. We’ve become dependent on it for communicating with customers and coworkers, using it as a marketing tool and a customer service channel, and more.

We can’t live without email, although there are some things we might like to change about it, such as spam messages, unintentional group emails, and so on. The reality is that even with all of its flaws, email makes sense. I did a little research and came up with seven effective ways we can use email to enhance our communication with customers and employees, promote our brand, and improve customer relations.

Nate Skinner, Chief Customer Officer of Campaign Monitor, a company that specializes in email marketing, had this to say: “When it comes to sales, marketing, and customer service, it’s important to think of email as a channel that can accelerate the customer journey.”

In other words, email provides a fast connection to your customers. Think about the many ways email can be used. Skinner shared a few ideas about the effective use of email, and I’ve added a few more, along with some commentary. Here are seven ways to effectively use email to build your brand and create a better customer experience:

  1. Create awareness through newsletters and special offers. This is a common use for email. Just be careful you don’t send too frequently. You can ask your customers how often they want to hear from you. Today’s technology will allow you to customize your contacts based on their preferences.
  2. Customers can give you feedback. Email provides a great way to survey your customers. An important consideration, however, is to respect your customer’s time. I stay at the same hotel several times a year. The first time they sent me an email survey, I answered it. It took almost 15 minutes. Three weeks later I stayed at the same hotel and, you guessed it, they sent me the same survey. I didn’t take it. Be smarter than that. Respect your customer’s time. Don’t send repetitive appeals for feedback – or other too-frequent requests.
  3. Use automated systems to re-engage with customers who haven’t had contact with you or your brand for a certain amount of time. Technology has given us some gifts, and this is one of them. It can track our customers’ buying patterns and frequency … or lack of frequency. When it spots a break in a customer’s buying pattern, it can jump in with engagement email.
  4. Share value-added information, such as tips on how other customers are using your products and services. Customers love to get tips, tricks, and helpful hints on how to best use the product they’ve purchased. And, they really love to hear how other customers are using it. It not only validates their purchase but also gives them ideas on how to gain more use and enjoyment from the product.
  5. Use email as a tool for onboarding new customers. Amazon.com AMZN -1.06% does an amazing job of this with its Echo, one of the coolest inventions ever. The Echo sits on a table and can best be described as a cylindrical object with a microphone and speakers. You ask it questions and it answers. It can play the music you request, give you a weather report, order a pizza, and much more. Amazon sends weekly emails introducing customers to the amazing things that the Echo can do. I look forward to those weekly emails, as do many other Amazon customers.
  6. Use email for internal messages to employees and coworkers. This isn’t about individual messages from one employee to another. Similar to the way you use content marketing to deliver value-added ideas to customers, you can communicate with your team. At its most basic level, an employee newsletter can be sent via email. The nice thing about creating and sending emails through an internal communication program is that you don’t have to worry about anyone unsubscribing!
  7. Analyze your customers’ buying habits and use the data to create targeted personalized email experiences. One of the great opportunities for data collection is tracking an individual customer’s buying patterns. Smart companies are using this information to create a customized, personalized experience. Emailing content that the customer sees as 100 percent relevant to him/her will create a stronger connection that can lead to trust, and ultimately, more business.

Skinner says, “To successfully use email marketing, you need to be aware of what the customer journey looks like for your business and use email strategically to directly impact team or company goals. It’s surprising how many people think ‘email is a good idea’ without stepping back and thinking about how it can work in tandem with other channels, or actually deliver value.”

Yes, email is more powerful than ever, but it must be used the right way. And even with all of the great uses of email, the customer has the ultimate control. If you have been given permission to interact with the customer on this channel, don’t abuse it. All a customer has to do is delete the email, or worse, unsubscribe from being connected to you.

So relish email, but respect it. And most of all, prosper from it!

Source: forbes.com ~ By: Shep Hyken ~ Image: Canva Pro

Posted on

5 Ways to Keep Your Productivity High All Day

Keep Your Productivity High All Day

We all get to that time of day sometimes when you look at the clock thinking 4 hours have passed and it is only 2 minutes later than when you looked last time… Know what I mean? So when we see an article like this it spikes our interest. I know I would try what I could to keep productive. Unfortunately, time is just one of those things that we cannot control, but what you do with it could make a huge difference. Ayodeji Onibalusi has contributed this awesome article pinpointing five ways to keep us productive. Let’s give them a go, shall we…

There are a few things we can actually control in our lives; sadly, time isn’t one of them. But we can control how productively we use it. Certainly, we need to: Most of us have been in situations where we wished there were “more hours in the day” to get things done.

However, a recent Stanford study throws water on that notion, suggesting that simply devoting more time to getting things done isn’t as helpful as it would seem.

The study revealed that productivity falls off dramatically after a 50-hour work week and that those working 70 hours accomplish little more with those additional 20 hours. So, the issue isn’t about having more time to get things done, it’s about using the time you already have more wisely. Consider these five productivity hacks to optimize your daily hustle.

1. Start your morning right.

How you start your morning sets the tone for the entire day.

Waking up earlier and getting into full activity mode can help you get more done the entire day. You should also start your day on a positive note. While most people tend to focus on what they’ve not been able to accomplish the previous day, resetting your priorities and attacking the new day’s goals is key to making the best use of your time.

Keep the phone and emails aside and start with some mind-stimulating exercises such as lifting weights and doing yoga. The workouts will get your blood flowing and pump you up for work, while yoga will help you clear your mind.

2. Employ the Ivy Lee productivity method.

This an old productivity strategy recommends that you close each day by writing down a list of six important things you want to do the next day. Each task is listed according to its level of importance. The most important one comes first, the least important, last.

Your aim is not to clear your tasks as soon as possible but to focus only on completing the first task. Move on to the next task only once you’ve completed the first one. Do this until everything is done.

James Clear, productivity expert and author, explains in a blog post how in 1918 Ivy Lee, a productivity consultant, counseled Charles Schwab, then the president of Bethlehem Steel, to adopt this plan for his employees. Schwab did just that, saw productivity soar, and presented the consultant with a $25,000 check — a princely sum back in those days.

3. Try polyphasic sleep.

According to research reported in the New York Times Magazine, sleep deprivation costs businesses in America more than $63 billion annually. While it’s in our nature to sleep only at night — which for most people is insufficient — taking short naps or siestas during the day may be just what you need to keep your productivity high.

Polyphasic sleep is a sleep hack that aims to boost productivity by disrupting the normal straight seven-hour sleep (monophasic sleep). With polyphasic sleep, you sleep only 30 minutes every six hours. This approach gives you roughly five hours extra in a day, while your body still gets the rewards of a normal six-to-seven-hour sleep.

4. Always wear a cheerful outlook.

Our productivity seems to be connected to our mood. That statement seems obvious, but now there’s proof: A University of Warwick study found that happy employees work harder. The study established that by working alongside cheerful people, employees studied were 12 percent more productive.

If you aim to see increased productivity at your business, stick with employees who are cheerful and happy and stay away from those who tend to share negative stuff. You can also contribute to the productivity levels of others by staying happy yourself — which is great for everybody.

5. Drink coffee.

Hey, all you Java fans, multiple studies show that drinking coffee can boost our productivity levels. Jeff Bickley, founder of Gayo Kopi, an exclusive coffee brand, validates this in a chat.

“Coffee can play a powerful role in boosting our productivity,” he says. “Throughout the day, a compound known as adenosine is produced, as neurons in the brain are fired. We end up feeling tired and worn down as a result of its continuous production.

Coffee helps combat this by impersonating the A1 receptor, which helps block adenosine.”

Source: Linkedin ~ By: Juliette Ryley ~ Image : Linkedin

Posted on

Adjusting to Life as an Entrepreneur

Life as an Entrepreneur

My palms were clammy, and my heart was pumping blood to my face so quickly that I was sure my cheeks were already beet red. It was a moment I’d been dreading — putting in my two weeks’ notice. I knew it would come as a shock, mostly because I really did love my job and the people I worked with. But deep down, the desire for freedom — to steer my own ship — won out. I knew that as long as that itch was there, I’d never be able to ignore it. I’d be living a lie.

Up until that point, the most surprising thing to me was that when I told close, trusted friends that I was going to quit my job, the response wasn’t “Are you crazy!?” like I was expecting. Instead, they said, “I wish I had the courage to do that.”

I’ll be honest. This wasn’t the first job I’ve left, but it was the best job I left.

It has always fascinated me how people resign themselves to clocking in and out every day. They waste time and energy convincing themselves that they need the job to survive, and it becomes a self-fulfilling prophecy. Expenses inflate, and all of a sudden they’re trapped in a cycle they can’t break.

Don’t let that happen to you. There are some key things you can do to make sure your transition to self-employment, when you decide to make it, is as seamless as possible. This will probably be the toughest part, but if you can overcome these first five steps, you’ll have the heavy lifting behind you.

10 Tips for Leaving Your 9-5 and Adjusting to Life as an Entrepreneur

Keep your expenses low.

Easier said than done, but this is what your self-employment success will hinge on. Lower expenses mean greater flexibility. Keep the business of YOU lean, and reduce your overhead costs as much as possible. This means having a roommate (or two), not giving in to your shopping habits, and watching every discretionary expense. For some, this might be too much, and I’m not saying you can’t have little splurges every now and then. But if you are reliant on your full paycheck to fuel your lifestyle, you will never get your freedom.

Establish a parachute fund.

Trust me, decisions are so much easier when you have a stash of cash handy. Personally, I have about 3-6 months’ worth of expenses, which is lean for some, but as a single person with no dependents and a steady stream of rental/dividend income, it’s plenty. I typically reinvest most of my rental/dividend income, but I know that if I have higher than average expenses one month, I could just re-divert those dividends for a month to knock out the unexpected expense and be okay. I’ve never had to do this though — it’s definitely for a true emergency, which happens rarely.

I left my job mainly because I had so much going on outside of work that I felt the job was getting in my way. That is the “problem” you want to have, but it’s not going to happen unless you build up other potential streams of income. I’ve invested in rental properties, built up a real estate brokerage business, doing freelance writing/social media work, run my own personal finance blog, and flipped textbooks — and I’m still getting pitched different job opportunities without me even asking.

The key to this is always hustling and being open to what comes your way. Just like with money, your hustle will have a compound effect over time. When I officially left my job, I had three more people approach me about working with them. It truly is a snowball, and every skill you add makes the snowball even bigger.

Remember that you’re not alone.

Don’t forget that everyone, at one point or another, has been where you are. Some of them wish to be where you are. You probably expect people to tell you that you’re crazy like I expected. That’s natural, but you’ll be pleasantly surprised at how many will actually look up to you. Some may even follow in your footsteps and pull the trigger as well! In the end, you have to live for yourself, but remember that you’re not alone, even when it seems like you are in certain isolated moments.

This is not forever!

I’ll admit I fall victim to black-and-white thinking all the time, too. Just because you are leaving your job doesn’t mean you will never be able to get another one! If trying the whole entrepreneur thing for a while tells you that it’s not the right fit, you can always go back to traditional employment. Being an entrepreneur is NOT for everyone, so don’t feel guilty if it just isn’t right for you.

After The Talk

So, you did it. After rehearsing what you were going to say and summoning up the courage to have that dreaded, painful conversation with your employer, you officially have turned in your two weeks. They’ll go by faster than you think, as you’ll be busy tying up loose ends.

What’s next, you ask?

Here are some tips to ensure your first week as an entrepreneur is a productive one.

Continue with a routine.

When I was working, I would wake up around 6:00 a.m. I’ve found that I would wake up tired and grumpy, regardless of what time I went to bed the previous evening. The important thing here is to pay attention to how your body feels and adjust accordingly. Now I wake up a little later, usually between 7:00 and 8:00. Some entrepreneurs are probably appalled at how late that is! But I have found that by doing just that one thing, I feel better and don’t succumb to the customary afternoon haze.

However, to make sure I was sticking to that timeline, I scheduled appointments my first week at either 8:00 or 9:00 a.m. There’s nothing like a client appointment early in the morning to light a fire under your behind. Whatever you want your routine to be, plan it out and stick to it. Everybody is going to have a different style so what works for me may not work for you.

Have a designated work area.

For me, it’s my kitchen table. I know that if I have my laptop with me at the table, it means business. I’m not doing my work in bed or on the sofa because it’s just that tempting to procrastinate and turn Netflix on.

If I find that I really need to pound some work out, I either go to a coffee shop or a local free co-working space. The energy there alone is often enough to pep me up even more and get me in the zone.

Talk to people.

This goes beyond your first week (as should all the steps, really), but set up meetings with people ahead of time. Maybe it’s an acquaintance that you’ve been meaning to catch up with but haven’t found the time to. Or perhaps it’s someone new you met at a networking event. You completely control your own schedule now — so fill it!

I can’t highlight this point enough. My network has grown exponentially because I take the time to sit down and get to know people one-on-one; in fact, I prefer it this way! You can really get to know someone, and as an entrepreneur, you can truly never know too many people.

It’s okay to reward yourself with food/coffee.

This may not apply to you (boy, do I feel sad for you if that’s the case), but I love food. I don’t drag my feet much, but if I find that I need to work on a project that I just don’t really feel all that excited about, I head to Bruegger’s Bagels. Feel free to go wherever you want. In my city, there are a few spots that are Bruegger’s and Caribou Coffee combined. I know — heaven, right!?

You have to tempt the little kid inside of you sometimes, and that’s totally okay. As soon as I’m on my way to Bruegger’s/Caribou, I find that I look forward to working on whatever it is that I need to work on. It’s like magic!

Set up a to-do list or goal checklist.

My previous employer turned me onto a nifty Google Chrome extension called Momentum, which makes opening a new tab a reminder of what your main priority is for the day, along with a pretty picture and a to-do list on the sidebar. And I know you (like me) open a lot of tabs. It allows you to check things off, prioritize, and be inspired with a little quote and a picture, all in one minimalist little dashboard.

It doesn’t matter how you do it, but having a list of what you want to accomplish for the week is super helpful. That way, if you find that you have a moment where you’re not working on anything productive, you can re-focus your mind just by referencing your to-do list. Aim to have everything checked off by the end of the week!

Your Future is Bright

Leaving your 9-5 (I’m personally not a big fan of the word “quitting”) is difficult, regardless of the individual circumstances surrounding your decision. Growing up, getting a corporate job was just what was expected. I am so glad that I’ve learned that being entrepreneurial and going my own way is not “weird” — frankly, it’s darn courageous. I hope this article helps you make the leap when you’re ready. This is where the fun really begins!

(If you liked this article, be on the lookout for a follow-up from me on how I’m building up my real estate business! Even if you’re not a broker, it should give you some business insights that are applicable to any industry.)

Source: biggerpockets.com ~ By:  ~ Image: Canva Pro

Posted on

Share Your Skills With Interested People Online

Share Your Skills Online

Do you have a skill that you think other people would be interested in learning? Maybe you know how to knit, or you’re an expert at making homemade soap. The internet has given people from all walks of life the ability to share their skills with the world. If you have a skill you would like to share, there are many ways to do so online. This blog post will discuss some of the best ways to share your skills with interested people on the internet. Without further ado, let’s get started.

Create an online course

If you want to share your skills with the world in a more formal setting, you can create an online course. Many platforms allow you to do this, such as Udemy, Thinkific, and Skillshare. As highlighted in these Thinkific reviews, each platform has its own set of features, so it’s essential to choose the right one for you. You need to check on your needs, like the number of students, type of courses, and your budget.

To have an online course development, you will need to determine what your course will be about and create an outline for each lesson. Once your course outline is created, you can start filming your lessons. You can either film yourself giving a lecture-style lesson or create a screencast of you completing a task related to your course topic. Once you have all of your lessons filmed, you will need to upload them to your chosen platform and set up your course.

Start a blog

If you don’t want to create an entire course but still want to share your skills with interested people, you can start a blog. A blog is a great way to share your knowledge on a specific topic, and it’s also a great way to build up a following of interested people.

When starting a blog, it’s essential to choose a catchy name and create branding to make your blog recognizable. You should also choose a platform to host your blog on, such as WordPress, Blogger, or Tumblr. Once you have your blog set up, you can start writing posts about the topics you want to share with your readers. Ensure that you promote your blog through social media and other channels to get the word out.

Make tutorial videos

Another great way to share your skills with the world is to make tutorial videos. These can be videos of you completing a task related to your skill or more general videos explaining how to do something. You can upload your tutorial videos to YouTube and then share them on social media or on your blog. You can also create a paid course on a platform like Udemy or Skillshare if you have a large following.

When creating these videos, it’s essential to ensure that they are high quality and well-edited. You should also create a catchy thumbnail image for each video, which will help draw people in. Finally, be sure to add descriptive tags and titles to your videos so that people can easily find them.

Share your skills on social media

Social media has come a long way in recent years, and it’s now a great place to share your skills with interested people. You can use Twitter, Facebook, and Instagram to share tips, tricks, and advice related to your skill. You can also use social media to promote your blog or videos if you have them.

When sharing your skills on social media, it’s essential to use hashtags and tag other relevant accounts. This will help to ensure that interested people see your content. For instance, if you’re sharing tips on gardening, you could use the hashtag #gardeningtips. You should also post your content when it is likely to be seen by most people.

Start a webinar

If you want to share your skills with a larger group of people, you can start a webinar. A webinar is an online seminar that allows you to share your knowledge with interested people worldwide. You can use platforms like Zoom or GoToWebinar to host your webinar.

When planning your webinar, it’s essential to choose a topic that will interest your audience. It would be best if you also promote your webinar through social media and other channels. Be sure to send out reminders to people who have registered for your webinar, as this will help to ensure that they attend. Ensure that you have a great introduction and conclusion for your webinar, as this will help make it memorable for your attendees.

Share your skills in a podcast

Podcasts are becoming increasingly popular, and they’re a great way to share your skills with interested people. You can start your podcast or be a guest on someone else’s show.

Starting a podcast is not as complicated as it may seem. All you need is a microphone and some basic editing software. You can then record your episodes and upload them to a platform like iTunes or SoundCloud. When recording your podcast, it’s essential to make sure that you are clear and concise. You should also try to be entertaining, as this will help to keep people listening. Finally, be sure to edit your episodes to be high quality.

As you can see, there are many different ways to share your skills with the world. Choose the method that best suits your personality and skill set. Whichever way you choose, be sure to promote your content so that people can find it. And most importantly, have fun.

Source:  forcreativegirls.com ~ Image: Canva Pro

Posted on

Make Money Online By Sharing Your Knowledge

Make Money Online By Sharing Your Knowledge

One of the best ways of making money online is by sharing your knowledge with thousands of people who are willing to pay for it.

It could be a skill you picked up over time and currently use in your day job or one you learned out of curiosity. Whatever it is, if it’s valuable and can solve some problems that people face, you can make money from it.

This post covers 11 interesting ways you can use to monetize your expertise and knowledge starting today – that are actually worth your time.

How to make money online with your expertise

Here are 11 of the best ways to make money online using your expertise, skills, and knowledge.

1. Paid Newsletters

Newsletters have been around for years, but paid or premium newsletters are booming.

In fact, Substack, a startup that makes it easy for anyone to start a newsletter and get paid by the subscribers, recently raised  $ 65 million and was valued at $650 million.

Another startup, Revue, was acquired by Twitter in January 2021.

If you have some expertise that’s in demand and valuable, there are thousands of people willing to pay for it.  It could be about health, finance, business, marketing, politics, sports, or countless other categories.

But you’ll want to niche down and find an engaged audience to stand out and charge for your expertise.

For example, Scott Keyes of Scott’s Cheap Flights started with a newsletter for people looking for great flight deals. The newsletter has grown to over $320k per month with more than 2 million subscribers.

Premium members get more deals on domestic and international flights for only $49/annum– a good bargain considering they’ll save hundreds to thousands of dollars on each flight.

Similarly, you can create a niche newsletter and offer value-adding advice, guides, and resources to all readers. Then provide extra and exclusive benefits to paid members.

Your own newsletter can be focused on cryptocurrency investing, weight loss or fitness, curated children’s activities, small business accounting or marketing, and many more.

Getting started is fairly easy from the technology side. You have many options to choose from including:

    • Substack: 10% charge + the credit card fees.
    • Revue: (recently acquired by Twitter) takes 5% fees on paid newsletters
    • Patreon: charges between 5-12% on your monthly income from the platform
    • Campaignzee: a Mailchimp integration for selling subscriptions to newsletters takes a 10% cut.

2. Blogging

Another way to make money online by sharing your knowledge is by starting a blog.

Blogging isn’t just a great way to monetize your skills, it’s also a fantastic way to build your brand and get your name in front of your potential clients.

How do you make money from a blog?

One obvious way is through ads on your blog. But ads are just scratching the surface in terms of how to monetize your blog.

You can also make money by recommending products and services that’ll be valuable to your audience. Or use the blog to generate leads for your online training or courses, coaching sessions, books, and many more.

To get started, you’ll need a place to write and reach your target audience.

Medium and similar platforms make it easy to start with minimal effort for free, but you won’t have full control over your blog. Plus your options for monetizing the blog and selling your expertise will be limited.

WordPress is a better option. You can buy a domain and get WordPress hosting for cheap (as low as $3.95/month from Bluehost for example). Next, install a theme and some plugins and start publishing to your new blog.

But note…

Blogging is hard, and doing it well consistently is harder. But that’s not necessarily a bad thing. It’s actually great news for you.

It simply means if you commit to it for the long term, continue to add value to your audience, and treat it as a business, it’ll eventually pay off.

3. YouTube

YouTube is the second most visited website, just after Google.

Every day, over a billion hours of video are watched, translating to billions of views every month.

What better place to go to share your expertise to the world?

So if you love being on camera and helping people, YouTube, and vlogging in general, is another great way to earn money online.

With nothing more than your mobile phone, you can record and upload your very first video to YouTube.

Of course, you’ll want to invest in some equipment to improve the quality of your video production and come across as professional. You can start with a decent mic, camera, and light at the minimum.

You can make money on YouTube through

    1. Advertisements
    2. Channel memberships
    3. Selling your own branded merchandise
    4. Sponsored video posts
    5. Promoting other people’s products (affiliate marketing)
    6. Selling your own digital products like training, courses, ebooks, etc

And many more.

Other Skills needed: Video editing skills (and software), content research skills, and SEO knowledge. You can outsource some of these to freelancers on Fiverr or Upwork.

4. Podcasting

Podcast listening is growing in popularity and it is estimated that the number of listeners in the USA alone will reach 132 million by 2022.

With podcasting, you can share your own knowledge with listeners, and get interviewed by other podcast hosts within the same or related niche to grow your reach.

Similarly, you can also invite other podcasters to come on your show.

Let’s say your podcast is about small business accounting. Your podcast listeners will probably be interested in marketing their products and services too.

So bringing a marketing expert to your show will be a great idea.

Your listeners will get more insights on how to manage their businesses; the guest may pick up some leads and increase in their brand awareness; and you get to add to your content library.

It’s a win-win for all parties.

What do you need to get started?

    • Equipment: Headsets and microphone at the minimum.
    • Software: You’ll need to get software to edit your audio, and learn how to use it
    • Podcast hosting: A place to host your recorded and edited podcast. Some of the popular ones include Buzzsprout, SoundCloud, Captivate, Transistor, etc
    • Podcast Directories

Directories like Apple Podcasts, Google Podcasts, and Spotify make it easy for your podcast to be discovered by millions of potential listeners.

Check this 6,800+ words guide on How to Make a Podcast from Buzzsprout, a podcast hosting company.

5. Webinars

Webinars are live, interactive seminars done online. They’re a relatively easier and quicker way to share your knowledge.

Usually, the attendees would sign up in advance for the session and can ask questions at the end of their presentation. Webinar sessions can be as short as 30 minutes, but 1-hour sessions are fairly common.

You can make money from a Webinar by charging the attendees. Or make it free, but upsell your other products like online courses, coaching or even books.

If you’ve done a great job of delivering value during an hour free webinar, it should be easy to persuade some of the attendees to sign up for your higher-priced services.

Simply rinse and repeat as many times as you wish. Alternatively, you can create an evergreen webinar to sell your products on autopilot.

Evergreen webinars are great for teaching principles and foundational knowledge in your field. That means you can record the session once with a live audience and use it for years to come.

When you’re ready to start making money from a webinar, you’ll be able to choose from several platforms such as Podia, GotoWebinar, Zoom, and so on.

EverWebinar, Demio, and Livestorm are options for automated or evergreen webinars.

6. Online Course

Online courses are everywhere, and you’ve probably taken one in the past.

People love online courses because they can be taken on-demand, at their convenience and pace, and at a relatively cheaper cost compared to a traditional school.

So if you can create an engaging course that captures the attention of your students and improves their knowledge, you can definitely make tons of cash through online courses.

At the end of your course, the participants should walk away with a specific knowledge or skill they can use in their lives or business.

It could be as minor as learning how to tie a tie, or as significant as knowing how to play a musical instrument. Whatever it is, there should be a measurable goal and objective for your course.

How much can you charge for an online course?

You can charge anywhere from $50 to over a thousand dollars. The skills level and its complexity, course duration, and the value to the students will dictate how much you can charge for your online course.

What I love about this option for making money from your expertise is that it is relatively passive. You can create a course once and earn recurring income from it for years to come – with minimal or no updates required depending on the subject.

Another great thing is getting started is fairly easy. You can record your online course and sell it through platforms like Udemy or Skillshare.

Your course will be available to millions of potential students immediately. But in exchange, they’ll take a percentage of your course earnings and you lose some control.

Alternatively, you can host your online course on platforms like Teachable, LearnWorlds, and Podia for a flat monthly fee. However, you’ll need to do your own marketing to make good money here.

This may not be a problem if you have an existing audience. Otherwise, marketing an online course as a beginner with no track record may be hard.

But it’s doable.

One smart way of doing this is by leveraging on other people’s audience and subscribers. For example, let’s say your online course is on how to use Pinterest to drive leads for small businesses.

A quick way of getting in front of your potential students will be by reaching out to bloggers, podcasters, or Youtubers that serve small businesses. If your offer is valuable, they’ll likely be willing to partner with you.

Check below for some helpful resources to get you started:

7. Freelancing

This is a pretty straightforward and easy one. Fiverr and Upwork are 2 of the popular freelancing platforms.

There are services for anything from copywriting, graphic design, web development, content writing, SEO, and accounting to financial consulting.

Your biggest problem here is that you’ll be selling your time. So scaling your offering could be a challenge. Unless you can charge a sufficiently high rate to make it worth your while.

Another concern with freelancing platforms is the race to the bottom because of the intense competition with other freelancers.

But if you niche down, do a great job consistently, and manage to get glowing reviews, you can make it work.

Getting started is easy. You simply create an account, verify your profile, and start applying for gigs on Upwork, for example.

Fiverr lets you list the services you offer and people can reach out to you.

8. Paid Ebooks and Reports

Compared to the other ways of making money using your skills, ebooks will generally have more accessible pricing. Therefore, you can expect to make more sales from an ebook compared to, say, an online course or one-on-one coaching.

But done well, ebooks can build your brand and drive leads to your more expensive offerings.

An ebook can be anywhere from a few to hundreds of pages depending on the topic. And you can definitely put one together in a few days or weeks. Or come up with an outline and get it ghost-written for you by professional writers.

Paid reports on the other hand are usually more technical, detailed, and research-type writings for a specific industry. If you can put in the time and resources to produce well-written market research that addresses a specific area of an industry, this can be very lucrative.

And you can charge thousands of dollars for your report.

Once you have your ebook or reports written, you can simply convert it to PDF or epub formats to sell online.

Amazon Kindle Direct Publishing makes it easy for anyone to make money by sharing their expertise and knowledge with millions of readers worldwide. It takes less than 5 minutes to self-publish your ebook and make it available on Kindle stores worldwide.

Gumroad is another alternative. You can start for free but pay a 5% cut on sales plus a payment processing charge.

Or pay $10/month to reduce their fees to 3.5%, have your own custom branding, use your own domain, and many more.

9. Group Coaching

Group coaching is another powerful way to share your knowledge while getting paid to do so.

A coaching session can be used to drive results for people looking to improve a specific area of their lives or business.

These could be about public speaking, managing a business, developing leadership skills, job search strategies, starting in a new field, growing an online business, and many more.

The possibilities are endless.

Group coaching is perfect for you if you want to establish your expertise, increase awareness for your brand, and grow your business quickly and exponentially.

You’ll be reaching more people at the same time and making more money in less time.

To really do well here, you should have great communication and facilitation skills or gradually improve the skills over time.

Your biggest challenge will be getting people signed up for your coaching sessions. But you can drive leads to your sessions using one of the other methods above or by running ads.

If you have that area covered, organizing an online group session is a piece of cake with tools like Zoom or Google Hangout.

10. One-on-one coaching

This is similar to group coaching, but the sessions are between yourself, as the coach, and a client.

Obviously, you’ll charge more for a private coaching session than a group session. Your ability to scale and make more money will be limited.

But if you charge a reasonably high price for your time, and more importantly, the value you deliver to your clients, you can have great results with one-on-one coaching.

These coaching calls can be live, over the phone, or using tools like Skype, Zoom, Google Hangout, and so on. Just pick the right one that best serves the result you are hoping to achieve for your client.

11. Mastermind Groups

Think of this as a premium and higher-priced version of group coaching sessions. Here, members of the group are not only trying to solve their own problems, but they are also helping the other group members too.

A Mastermind group is an accountability group, peer mentoring group, success team, and support group – all rolled into one.

If you have the expertise in a specific area with track record of excellent results, you can make loads of money from organizing mastermind groups.

You can meet monthly, quarterly, or as often as you think is suitable for the goals you’re trying to achieve.

Mastermind groups can be used for entrepreneurship, investing, writing, and so on.

Best way to make money with your Knowledge and Expertise

The best way to make money online is the one that utilizes your existing skills and expertise, has the potential to scale, and provides a good balance between the efforts you put in and the money you make.

Beyond the expertise, each of the 11 ways to make money by sharing your knowledge covered above requires additional skills at varying levels. Blogging, newsletters, and ebooks will require some basic writing skills for instance.

That means the best one for you will vary depending on your unique situation and abilities. For example, selling a coaching program or mastermind group program may be easier if you already have an audience or know how to get in front of one.

Are you comfortable speaking in front of a camera? Then webinars or YouTube could be for you. Otherwise, you can start with a blog, ebook or freelancing.

Ultimately, you will have to combine a few different options to really maximize your earning potential. With careful planning, you can create a value ladder that combines different offerings at varying price points and value to your client.

Here’s an example using Susan, a sales and marketing expert. She can combine several offers into a value ladder that looks like this:

    1. Free PDF download of the “7 low-cost ways to generate leads” through her blog, Youtube and Podcast
    2. Automated Sales Funnel System ebook for $29
    3. Get More Sales Using LinkedIn Course for $97
    4. Ultimate Sales Training for Entrepreneurs for $597
    5. Sales Blueprint Group Coaching Program for $2,000
    6. One-on-one coaching with Susan for $5,000
    7. Access to her Mastermind group for $1,000/month or $10,000 per annum.

Each level in her value ladder provides more value to her clients. And of course, more money for her.

Conclusion

Sharing your expertise, skills, and knowledge can change your life beyond just the money you can make from it.

It can make you a recognized leader in your area, build your reputation and ultimately generate more leads for your business.

And the best part is: You don’t have to be 10x more knowledgeable in an area to make money by teaching others what you know.

In many instances, you just need to be a few steps ahead of them. That means you don’t need a formal education or certification to get started in most cases.

So take action today and get started with one of the online money-making options covered in this post.

If you loved this post, please consider sharing it on your favorite social media. Have any questions or anything to add? Let me know in the comment section.

Source: walletbliss.com ~ By: Simon Ikuseru ~ Image: Canva Pro

Proudly powered by WordPress
Ask Michele Today Skip to content Secured By miniOrange