Making Money Online – Vacation Club Business

Primo Vacations Hot Weeks

This has got to be THE best feature of the Primo Vacations Exclusive Members Travel Club.

When you sign up to Primo, you don’t just get access to low cost hotels, condos, cruises and travel – you get to stay at some of the Top Resorts around the world for a mere fraction of the regular cost.  Just check this out here:

Click to enlarge

This list is not even a quarter of what is actually available.  I just returned from Spain there and stayed in one of the top resorts on the Costa del Sol for $100 for the week.  It’s called Pueblo Evita if you want to check it out through your normal travel search engines.  If you do, just look at the quality of the site, the 5* accommodation and facilities that are there, it was unbelievable.

Hot Weeks are released to all Primo Vacations members 5-30 days before the reservation is available and savings of up to 80% can be found.  No that wasn’t a type, I really do mean 80% off to stay at luxury 5 star resorts worldwide.  How does the Caribbean, USA, Australia or Europe tempt you?

This week’s featured resorts can be found right here:

Want to know a bit more about Primo?

Click on any of the pictures below and take the tour?

Follow Your Dreams!

I remember quite a few years back being told by a senior manager that I had a unique ability to engage people and make them feel they could do anything.  This has always remained with me and although I don’t intentionally set out to ‘push people to achieve’ I naturally find myself doing it.

You see the way I learn is through doing or listening to other people relate their experiences, their failures and successes.  This does not mean I still don’t try things that haven’t worked for others, I do what I think is right and best for me.  I never allow anyone telling me I cannot do something to stand in the way of my success, to the contrary.

Success is a very personal thing but I think most people would agree that success is about being fulfilled in your life.   It’s that warm feeling you have, knowing you’re doing OK but more importantly that you are making a difference in other people’s lives.  Now this doesn’t mean heading off to third world countries to do voluntary work although that is highly commendable.  No, what I mean is just touching briefly into the lives of others.

There are lots of people I remember and think highly of and every one of those is because I can remember how I felt when I was around them.  Most are positive and the others – well, I just choose a different path than the one they are on.

The end result is the happiness I have and peace of mind now to know that I always do my best by others and if I can reach out a hand to help, that hand is there and I will stretch it as far as it needs to go.

How would you like to be able to look back on your life with a huge smile on your face knowing you made many of your dreams come true and you made a difference in others’ lives and helped them realise their own dreams?

Here’s a short video I shot with a few personal photos of people and things that are important in my life – everything else is the small stuff and I don’t sweat that!

2 simple words that will guarantee success in Internet Marketing

Do you look in the mirror every morning and like what you see? Do you see someone who has achieved or do you see someone who is always in pursuit of that next best thing but rarely gets there? What about your achievements, successes and things that haven’t gone so great for you – well to be frank, the buck stops with that person who is looking out at you from that mirror.

Just Do It!

Once you begin to really take responsibility for how you want your life to be, then that is when wonderful things start to happen. There are 2 simple words that will determine whether you get there or not. The first of these words is BUSY – yes, that’s right. How often have you used this word to stop you doing something you really know you should be doing?
I often used that word as some way of avoiding what I really should be doing, I would be ‘busy’ on some of the social networking sites convincing myself that somehow this was productive to my online business. Yes it was, but nowhere near as productive as I could have been had I taken ACTION, the second of these 2 simple words.

I knew I needed to have focus and that focus needed to manifest itself into action. Let us study both of these words for just a second in the context solely of internet marketing:

2 words explained

BUSY – being too busy doing the wrong things will do nothing to drive your business forward. Whilst it may be wonderful to spend time looking at others’ perceived online successes, this is doing nothing for you and you are losing money every minute you are ‘busy’ doing this.

ACTION on the other hand is doing what needs to be done to drive your business forward and you are making money whilst doing so. You can also take pleasure in striking actions from your ‘to do’ list each day and preparing your action list for the next day. Action will turn your dreams into a reality, being forever ‘busy’ will ensure they remain just that – a dream!

What intrigued me when I first started online is that I knew I was procrastinating, avoiding, being busy – call it what you will but what was that part of my brain that convinced me I was ‘busy’ all the time when in effect I was achieving nothing.  Whilst in normal terms, ‘being busy’ and ‘taking action’ may equate to one and the same, in the world of online business, there is a huge difference.

The funny thing about both these simple words is that almost every online marketer knows the difference and can easily see it in others.   Why is it so difficult then for us to see it in ourselves?    I’ll use a simple analogy of a smoker.  They know this habit is a bad one but they persist with it – they also know the damage that their passive smoking can inflict on others – but they continue to do it. They know fully what the long term results will be but they persevere with their bad habit.

So too will being ‘BUSY’, it will just eat away at you and in the long term all you will have will be broken dreams.

Busy people will have no end of explanations for why they did or did not do something.

What to do to avoid the ‘busy’ syndrome and get some ‘action’ into your business

• Firstly, do not go near your emails or any social networking site when you first switch on your PC.
• Have a list at your side and write down 5 things each evening you must do the next day
• When you switch on your PC start at #1 on your list and work through all 5 crossing off as you do them
• once this is done, allow yourself some time on the social networking sites because these are important to internet marketers but strictly limit yourself and go on there with a clear purpose
• The same applies to the forums – allow a time and when that time is up – LEAVE the forums

You will face some setbacks and when you do, the question to ask yourself is this “are my goals and dreams worth trying to get over this hurdle?” If the answer is a resounding “YES”, then take ACTION. If your answer is a defeatist “NO”, then you need to have a bigger dream

A dream without an action plan is just that – a dream and it will never be anything more unless you take those vital action steps to make things happen.

Domain Name Mystery explained at last

I happened to be on a mailing list for Noble Samurai and often receive links to really interesting and informative articles with particular emphasis on Domains, what they are, how to find them, whether and when to use .com, .org etc.  I wanted to share this information with you, the readers of my blog site so just head on over here, sign up for this guy’s mailing list and you won’t be disappointed.

Short and sweet today as I just wanted to bring you this information.

Stop fumbling in the dark wondering what domain to choose, the answers are waiting right here

Till next time and hope you’re having as wonderful a Sunday as I am.

Trish

I Cannot Stand Internet Marketing

Does this title immediately grab you and make you want to read more?  Well it did with me about an hour ago whilst browsing in one of the popular IM forums of which I am a member.

Here is an excerpt of some of the author’s frustrations - “people preaching trickery. Whether it be tricking search engines or people, it’s just not fair.  I suppose if I want to leave one message to whoever has read this far, it’s to remember that there are people behind those sales and profit numbers. There are people that will be putting their hard-earned money into what you sell, and there are people who’s lives you are making harder by trying to make a quick buck.   Every time you claim a system to make $x per month, you raise someone’s hopes – and exploiting their human nature to respond to that hope when you know it’s not possible is just inhumane.”

The person posting had left life in the ‘Corporate Rat Race’ for the next best thing that was Internet Marketing and was lured by what he termed ‘the dazzling claims of fortune.’  In summary and what he was actually saying was that almost everyone in the industry lured people in under false pretences.  Each promised that their opportunity was the next best thing and the author of this post claimed to have tried all these things and not earned a cent.

Now I have written several articles relating to this very thing.  Yes there are sharks out there, yes the internet is full of people making false income claims and yes a clear conscience is not something that a lot of people fall asleep with at night!  On the other hand however, it is very easy to point the finger of blame at everyone else when things do not happen.  Amongst the sharks, there are lots of good honest individuals making money on the internet in an ethical and moral way and I am one of those people.

I read this person’s post with great interest and could relate not only to him but to the many others who responded both with agreeing and opposing points of view.  Ultimately, we are responsible for our own destiny and if you think someone is making false income claims, ask to see evidence of this before you sign up for anything if you have the least suspicion.

‘Must Have’ reads before signing up for any opportunity:-

Why so many people give up on their Internet Marketing Opportunity

Adopting the Correct Mindset to Succeed in Business

Don’t fall for the hype

The REAL secret to Making Money Online and what most people do not do

Making money online is a skill and just like any other skill in life, it CAN be taught.  Many people online teach how to make money, or claim to teach this but what they are doing in effect is trying to sell lame products.

How do you actually make money online?

Similar to any offline business, there is a system to success, it is no good starting out in a web business ‘hoping’ and ‘wishing’ and sitting with fingers crossed; there is a process to learn and you need to learn what this process is.

Does this process take time to learn?   Yes it does and it took me 5-6 months to really learn what it was all about.  Does it work?  You bet it does but you really do need to know what you are doing if you want to build a sustainable business and you are in it for the long haul.

4 main elements to online success

Basically there are 4 main elements, all equally vital to online success and these are:   Having the correct attitude, the right mindset

• Knowing some simple web skills
• Having a product(s) (be it yours or someone elses)
• Having the skills to market your product

You have the correct mindset already if you are reading this article, because it means you are interested in, or are considering moving towards an online business.

If you are serious about wanting to make money online and you have a fear of the web, you need to get over this.  I am sure 99% of people have this fear when they first start off and I was no different.

Products – this is where I see a lot of people make mistakes.  A large majority of new marketers will spend hundreds, if not thousands of dollars buying a vast range of products from experienced marketers with great promises of ‘riches’ by simply selling them on.  What happens in many cases are these products, be they DVDs, CD ROMs or elearning materials end up gathering dust under the bed, in the garage or sitting on a computer hard drive and never opened up.  Why is this?  It is because most people do not know WHAT to actually do with the products.

Do you know how the majority of people make their money online?  They sell directly to their own list.  This means they sell directly to people who are already on their database.  How do they get people on this database?  Well they work very hard to capture our details when we first visit their website, we enter our name and email and we are entered straight into the marketers’ list or database.

How do they make money from their list?

The marketers spend a lot of time and energy into building their list by sending out regular emails talking about themselves and offering value to the people on their list by way of free products etc.  They start to build up respect and trust with the people on their lists and then every time they have a product, they send out an email to this list.  Because they have spent time cultivating and building a relationship with their list, it normally always results in a sale.   You will hear the saying time and time again in internet marketing “the money is in the list” and this is absolutely true.

I see many newcomers to the industry make the same mistake in believing that simply having a product online will result in sales.  This may have been true some 8 or 9 years ago but no more.

Common mistakes made

As outlined above, many people misled into the industry believing they will make their fortune overnight become rapidly disillusioned.  Their initial all important enthusiasm (correct mindset and attitude) gets slowly chipped away.  Goodbye excitement quickly changes to hello resentment and they will start to say things like “the web is a con; you can’t make any money on it….”  Well, yes you can but you need to know WHAT and HOW you should be working your business.

The successful online marketers today work smarter, not necessarily harder but smarter.  By that I mean they focus on building their lists.  This business is a marathon and not a sprint.  You may be excited to get you site online and let everyone know about your product and this is great; this enthusiasm is encouraged and supported.

However, if you could just slightly change your thinking to concentrate, at least for a while on simply building a list, this will probably be the one defining element that will separate you from the majority of people who do NOT make money online.

In summary, the three most important elements to your business are:

• Building your list
• List building
• Building your list

There is a HUGE difference between having a website and having a business.  Whilst you do need a website, there are thousands if not millions of websites out there not making money.  Therefore having a website is not having a web business.

Having a product is also NOT a business, again there are hundreds of thousands of websites that have a product but make no money.

So, to finish off, what is the key to having a successful online web business?  The answer………Customers - or in other words ‘YOUR LIST’.

Want to work with me and start off the RIGHT way?  Just enter your details on the right hand side of the page here and get lots of FREE information that will start you off, and more importantly make sure you STAY on the path to MAKING MONEY ONLINE.

Why so many people give up on their online business opportunity

A question I am asked time and time again is “can a complete newcomer make money online”.  My response to that is, and always will be “absolutely YES, if the correct mindset is in place”.  The correct mindset CAN make money online.

Now if you’re reading this article here and already you have those doubts in your head, those nagging fears and you’re questioning yourself in this business, do you know what? – That is absolutely fine, it really is and I almost embrace that.  I was like that when I started out in the online industry.  I was excited about my new business, of course I had fears and I questioned myself many, many times as to whether I could do this.

There has never been a better time than right now to start an online business.  Please do not start thinking that you’re too late, that you should have done this years ago, that you’ve missed the boat because nothing could be further from the truth.

Just think about Google for a second, Google is almost 12 years old.  Imagine 12 years into the car industry or the computer industry or the airline industry.  Do you think people are saying “oh well, it’s almost 12 years old now, we’ve missed the boat”.  Absolutely they are not, people are always looking for the next best thing, how to improve on what is already out there and the world of the internet is no different.

Here we are into the second decade of the 21^st century and this is the perfect time to start, to really consider an online business.  The web is still in its infancy, yet it’s not a fad, it’s not a phase, it’s not going to disappear.

The fundamental fact about the internet, if you decide to really take this seriously, is that you can reach an unlimited audience and the entry costs are pretty much next to nothing.  Compare this to any other business and there simply is no comparison.  This opportunity that is in right in front of both you and I has never been seen before in our lifetime but I suspect there’s a part of you that actually does know that, and it will never be seen again.

Now if you’re familiar with Robert Kiyosaki and his books on success, he always says that the way to success is to stand in front of a trend.  We are all in front of the biggest trend we will ever see.  My question to you therefore is, what are you going to do about it?  Are you going to sit there and let it pass and in a few years from now turn round and say “oh, I should have got involved” or are you going to dive in despite having some fears, which I’m sure you do have, and actually get involved?

Can a Beginner Really Make Money Online?

YES, YES, YES!  Like any business though, there will be a certain number of new skills you will have to learn first.  For some reason, the web has got a kind of reputation of being really quick and you don’t have to do any work.  That is not strictly true, it’s not particularly quick, and it’s not particularly easy.  Great incomes can be made however, but only AFTER a new Skillset is learnt.

The problem or difficulty facing most people starting out online is that all these new skills are more of less thrown at you at once and we end up with ‘information overload’.  It’s at this point that many people give up, they tell themselves it’s not for them, it’s too difficult, they don’t have the skills to make money online.

What I’d like to do now is to take these new skills and break them down.  The new skills you will need to get comfortable with are:

• Correct mindset
• Simple web skills – get over that web fear
• How to create a webpage
• How to upload
• Autoresponders
• How to generate traffic

The very definition of a skill is that it can be learnt, that is what a skill is.  Just think of a baby trying to walk, takes its first steps then falls down.  Mother then says out loud “oh well, that’s it, this one’s never going to be a walker”.  No, the baby is developing a skill that needs to be perfected and the only way this is going to happen is to take a few bumps along the way, get frustrated but the baby never gives up.  You are a baby in the world of internet marketing, you will take many bumps along the way, you will probably want to tear your hair out in frustration but what you must NEVER do is GIVE UP.

Brick wall ahead – non techie about to come crashing through!

I’ve gained so much technical knowledge these last 6 months or so now that I think I get a wee bit carried away with myself and sometimes I think I’m a lot better than I really am.  I try and be too adventurous and it always comes back to bite me on the proverbial.

What I’ve been trying to do for the last xx hours is something that probably sounds really simple to some people and it is to do with setting up accounts.  It was in place, or so I thought until I went to move some accounts around and realised I hadn’t quite got it right with one of them in the first place.  In the end I got so frustrated with trying to backtrack etc, I just closed the account and opened a new one.

Do you ever find yourself doing that, taking the long way round things when a really simple solution is staring you straight in the face?  Pragmatism is a large part of my personality and most pragmatists don’t take time to read instructions, they just plough straight in.  Well that is me over and over, and I never learn.  It doesn’t always result in errors but when it does, I would give anything to be the opposite type of personality and be a reflector.  Someone who doesn’t make decisions quickly but takes lots and lots of time to evaluate, to weigh up all the pros and cons and then takes things one baby step at a time.

So, that’s where I’m at right now.

On the positive side, I attended a fantastic webinar with our marketing group tonight and learned of really exciting things happening.  I’m always amazed at how we never sit still, there’s always some other high money making venture waiting to be thrust into our laps.

Tonight was extra exciting though – not only is there some really HOT STUFF coming our way but we are putting on a timebound promotion where people can try before they buy with all our marketing and coaching club.  All this for just $1 - I just can’t see how it is possible but if that’s what the boss says, that’s what we can offer.  I just wish I had this opportunity to access the best training materials and make lots of money for just $1 – I would have been laughing all the way to the bank.

So, here it is - grab it while you can because it won’t be there forever and could be taken down at any time.

Out with the Old and in with the New – Reflection of an Internet Marketer

As we get towards the end of 2009, I thought I’d take a bit of time to reflect on where I’m at personally in comparison to this time last year.

At the end of last year and having worked on an extremely demanding and mentally draining task in my corporate role, I was in work and thinking “I need another huge challenge similar to that, I need to be working pro-actively, making decisions, devising strategic plans and working alongside my fantastic team to deliver outstanding results.

It didn’t happen and much as I tried to be pro-active and forward thinking, proposing several suggestions based on sound business sense and customer service, others who needed to endorse the proposed changes were much more risk averse than I was.

Working in career guidance we teach a model called the alignment model and this basically outlines that your needs and wants have to be in alignment with the organisation you work for.  If you are out of alignment then you need to either find that motivator, that driver outside of work to feel fulfilled, or you need to look for another job.

I didn’t want to look for another job because I really love and believe in what I do, I work alongside a fantastic team who are well motivate, embrace change and constantly come up with new and exciting ideas that we discuss then implement.

So what did I do?  Well I found the challenge I was seeking by joining a Home Business opportunity with the full intention of making it a success and eventually working from home full-time.

I have to say however, I had absolutely no idea about internet marketing or how to make money online.  I knew how to surf the net and send email but that really was about the extent of it.  Now I have so much learning under my belt, I amaze myself sometimes by things I do know but thought I didn’t if that makes sense.

5 months down the road and I’m still working in my management role and running my business part-time.  That however is my choice.  Financially I could leave now but something inside of me is saying “don’t do it just yet”.

You see, I still have lots I want to do in my job, changes I want to see implemented, some of which I have personally proposed and many of these will happen in 2010.  I also don’t feel I’m ready to leave the team and sit at home on my own.  Although I love to work on my own at times, I also enjoy going to work in the morning, having a laugh with the others and seeing great results every day.

If you’re reading this blog post and you are working in a position that often leaves you unfulfilled, why not consider doing what I did and finding that challenge in something else.  You definitely won’t regret it, that’s for sure and may find like I did, that this is something I should have done years ago.

If you want to get started, just fill in your details at the top of this post and I’ll help you get started on your road to financial freedom (if that’s what you want) or get you to a point where YOU can sack YOUR BOSS!  How good would that feel?

As I sign off now with only 3 days left of this old year, I have to say it’s been fantastic, rewarding, challenging at times but just like any other year I have had, I wouldn’t have changed anything.  Everything I do and have done has been for a reason and it’s all been worthwhile.

Every day’s a school day and a day you haven’t learned something new, is a day wasted!

The #1 Secret as to why 97% of people fail to make money online

Making money online is the ultimate goal of every internet marketer whether you are marketing affiliate products or running a business opportunity.  What is it then that makes 3% of people hugely successful whilst others can only look on in envy?

Why do so many people fail?

In summary, the answer is that ‘97% of people marketing online have no real idea of what they should be doing’.  If you are one of the 3% of people that are really making money online, then this article will resonate with you.  If on the other hand, you are with the majority, then what you will read here should, if you want to change the statistics, really make you think and operate differently.

The main reason I did so well in such a short space of time was that I focussed on getting the basics right, the fundamentals and completely took my eye off what is most people’s focus, making lots of money in as short a time as possible.

How do I do it the right way?

To make money online, you need to follow systems that work and replicate them.  Innovation is also great and welcomed but if you continue to build castles in the air with very little or no foundations, the sustainability of your business is at risk.

The success of any online marketing business is building a list and makes all the difference between failure and continued success online.

Any successful online business works in basically the same way – a website is created and focussed on the niche industry you are marketing.  You then GIVE SOMETHING AWAY FOR FREE in order to build your list.  This is THE most important step that many people (97%) miss out on because they are too focussed on trying to make immediate sales and it just does not work, well not long-term anyhow.

Once you have that list, you need to nurture a relationship with them.  You need to always under promise and over deliver each and every time you are in contact with them.  You need to provide information of value to them and if, after a period of time, this value is in the form of your products, then you market them to your list. 

By nurturing a relationship with your list, you get to know them; you get a feel for what they are looking for – remember the basic rule of economics, demand and supply.  If they need something to move their business forward and you happen to have that product, then at this point you sell it to them whilst outlining the value it will bring to them.

Once you understand the power of building a list first and building a relationship with that list BEFORE you do any selling to them (treat people as people, not walking ATMs) then you will succeed in your online business and make lots of money online.

Would you like to learn these strategies and follow some very simple but really effective strategies?  Sign up on this page here to receive your first FREE gift from me and there are many more to follow, I give you that guarantee!