Six Models of Success

By Terry Dean

If you want to build something...first find a model!

During the past week, I have spent a large amount of time studying successful web sites and finding out what it is that is separating them from all of the run of the mill web sites which are just there.

It is really interesting when you stop for a moment and look at why certain sites are becoming extremely successful on the Internet. What really stood out to me more than anything else was the variety of different types of businesses there were out there.

I researched extremely successful sites which focused on web hosting, business opportunities, pet products, golf, computers, information, and even paint thinner! Anything, if planned appropriately, can be sold online.

The other thing that has stood out to me is the variety of different models of success there are out there. A key to being successful in any venture is to find a business which is already doing what you want and model after them. Play follow the leader.

I can't go into every model of success I have found, but I do want to introduce to you six different models which kept springing up over and over again in successful sites.

As you look over these models, you may find that you are on your way to becoming just like that type of business. If so, good. If you don't see anything listed here which is what you are trying to do, you really should stop for a minute and organize your plans to more closely follow a successful web site model.

You may even find that your business fits into more than one of these categories...if so, again you are probably following the right road in your business.

Model #1 - Free Information Provider and Opt-In List Builder

These two things go hand in hand. For months you have heard me tell you over and over again that the profits in an online business are in the Opt-In List. Well, it is still true and I am going to keep right on telling you this.

Look at the most successful business online and almost without fail they are the same businesses which are building the Opt-In Email Lists. One key that you have to remember though is that you MUST provide high quality information to your list and not just a bunch of ads. If your newsletter is just an ad sheet, you can be assured that it will almost NEVER grow!

Then, learn how to write effective offers which ride right along with each of your mailings to the list. Once your list begins to grow, you will find out just how easy it is to build a Guaranteed Monthly income on the Internet.

Advantages: You can build your list up each month and watch your guaranteed monthly income go up right along beside it. It can be an easy way to create a Residual Income no matter what products or services you are selling.

Disadvantages: You have to like to write. If you hate writing and only want to send out pure advertising without value, you will find that this is a very hard road to travel.

Model #2 - Malls and Co-Op Advertising

Another successful model I found were sites which could almost be considered malls with many different products and advertising opportunities. Although a site like this wouldn't be successful in most cases by directly advertising, the mall owners came up with a very simple and effective method of creating awesome traffic at their sites.

They would start Co-Op Advertising online, in postcard decks, in magazines, etc. They would buy a large ad or postcard deck card and then split it up between 10 - 20 others and everyone would pay a small share. Then, the mall owner who is running the co-op would get his share for free and even sometimes make a small profit from the deal.

Being a co-op participant can be a low cost way of getting traffic to your site, but the real opportunity opens up when you start running co-ops yourself in this manner. I know of one Internet marketer who gets over $150,000 a year in free advertising by running these types of co-ops!

Advantages: You can get $100,000 or more free advertising if you schedule enough co-ops and they produce good leads for each of the participants.

Disadvantages: If your co-ops don't work for everyone involved, expect to have some serious trouble growing.

Model #3 - Free Services and Paid Advertising

If you find a service people need such as autoresponders, forms on their site, search engine listings, traffic tools, etc., you may find that this is the model for you. Sites which provide something extremely valuable for free can often take their traffic counters into the thousands literally overnight...then they can start charging people for placing banners and other types of advertising on their site.

You may think it is hard to come up with a Free service to drive traffic to your site, but it really isn't that difficult. Spend some time over at http://www.cgi-resources.com which contains thousands of CGI programs, many of which are low or NO cost. Some of them would also make great traffic generators if you would position them on your site in a unique way.

Advantages: You never have to pay to advertise this site. If your Free Service is extremely valuable and unique, word of mouth and press releases will be all of the marketing you need for it.

Disadvantages: The hard part is coming up with the winning idea.

Model #4 - One Product Page and Paying for Advertising

People don't talk about this technique as much as some of the others, but I have found it to be one of the easiest ways of making a good income online. When you find a hot product that you know a certain market is interested in, then focus on putting up the best sales letter possible with just one or two pages about the product.

Then, focus all of your marketing towards bringing people to that page. By presenting people with only one choice at your site, you eliminate any of the possible confusion or distraction which come with multiple page sites. From studying all of the different models, this one will usually have the highest response rate per visitor.

After someone buys your first product, you can then introduce them to all of your other products and services on the backend to create multiple income streams.

Advantages: This type of site has the highest sales rates of web sites because it eliminates the confusion and distractions.

Disadvantages: The biggest disadvantage is that you can't expect too much free traffic. You will have to pay for all of your traffic in most cases.

Model #5 - Catalog Sites and an Affiliate Program

Many sites have hundreds of products and services so choosing a lead product like the above model just doesn't make sense for them. Usually in these cases, I recommend going with creating a catalog site and building a network of affiliates.

Look at the size of Amazon.com's affiliate program. It is quickly establishing itself as the number one bookseller in the world. No one else is even close. Much of this is due to one factor...their affiliate program.

Every day new affiliate programs spring up...and go down. If you have a selection of products which have a strong USP and are good sellers online you have the makings of a good affiliate program.

Make sure to allow your affiliates to link to specific products also, not just to your main
site. This will allow them to earn maximum commissions.

Advantages: This is the way to take over a large market share on the Internet...expect to see in the coming years that probably as many as 40% of the top profiting sites will be affiliate programs.

Disadvantages: You have to support your affiliates better than the average site AND you have to be able to handle the amount of orders that will be coming in. Neglect either one and your affiliate program won't last long.

Model #6 - Community Building Even If You Don't Have a Product to Sell.

The other side of the affiliate program are those who sign up as your affiliates...the most successful of which will usually be those who have built an online community around a certain subject or hobby.

By putting up a discussion group, providing links to interesting content, publishing an ezine, and more you can build an online community around a specific subject that interests you and others.

Then, as your traffic grows, you can join affiliate programs or set up joint ventures to offer your audience products or services which are of great interest to them.

Advantages: You can start this type of business without even having a product or service to sell. You can build a traffic base and then ask your visitors what it is that they want. Then, you can find the exact products or services they want and need!

Disadvantages: You will have to go without much income for a while until your traffic begins to grow to a high level.

Each of these models presents a possible online business for you. Which one interests you the most? Which one do you understand the best? Which one would your enjoy?

Pick one or more of these above business models for your Internet business and you will have taken the first step to Internet success...

"Getting Started."