Posted on 27th January, 2010 | 6 Comments
A program I am using to create websites for local businesses.
Rapid Affiliate Cash
Getting new clients is always the “hardest step”.
People get nervous about appoaching a business, or even family members in the beginning, but taking that first step will pay off big time when you do.
First of all, make life easier for yourself. Don’t stress yourself out, just talk to family & friends about what you are able to do, it helps to show them a site you have done too, remember you are now the expert, selling a service, so (do not give all you know away).
Of course you DO NOT SELL TO Friends and Family, but you will be amazed how often through conversation that people then tell you of people they know who “needs a website set up”. Especially in our current climate, you will often hear people say that they have a friend or family member that needs a simple brochure style site to improve their business, but cannot afford the high fees that website designers charge at this time.
SO THAT IS THE PERFECT OPPORTUNITY for you to offer the basic site option for FREE! No strings! Remember too that you are building a business and a reputation as well. So you may only be making $50 – $65 per hosting account to begin with in commissions, but once you add up the numbers, in a month, your commissions can climb much higher, plus you will gain the confidence to then offer other third party add ons, like an autoresponder with Aweber etc. That is another affiliate commission.
Telephone or in Person:
Always better to begin in person if you can, but phone contact works well if you are confident and can make the “cold call”. Again, it will help if you have a warm lead to begin with, someone you know has told you that ABC Plumbing needs a website, so you make a call to them. Networking is important.
If you can get to local Chamber of Commerce Meetings, or local business club events, join your local rotary club to get involved, as you will make many contacts this way too.
You can always build your own local Website Directory.
Create a local town, city business directory of your local area. You do not need any fancy scripts to begin with, just a simple site, you can even use a blog like you are reading right now. Just use a new category for each type of business. Then what you do is you begin building a directory of all the local businesses and tradesmen in your home town.
You place their business under the heading for their business type, then you add their contact telephone number and a FREE link to their own website. If they do not have a website, put NO WEBSITE!
Once you have around 100 business listed, you then begin to telephone or write to the businesses that :
(A) Have a website already but are poor.
(B) Those that have NO website
(C) Start a premium posting list where the top 1-3 can PAY for a Premium listing .
The reason this site will pay for itself in time is as follows:
1) You begin writing (or have written) articles about local trades and business types, and you make posts from those on the blog, which then links to the actual business listing. You then place Google Adsense into the pages where you write content and at the TOP & below the businesses that you list. This will earn you income from Google.
2) You charge for premium listing spots at say $25 per month per business.
3) You keep adding all business in your area and then contacting them about getting a FREE website set up by your company. Cool for them, they will get FREE listing and TRAFFIC from your directory site, they get a FREE website, you get the commission and the future potential income.
You Will Viewed As An Authority.
Some people have the ability to right away carry themselves well enough to represent what they are doing with professionalism. You are the Authority. Remember, that you know more than they do already. Most people do not know how to buy a domain name for their own business, or that they can connect an email@theirdomain.com
Setting up a site for them is a daunting task, so you have the lead. You can be confident that you know how to set up a domain, and you also know how to set up a simple website (that’s why you offer it free to begin with -as you are still a small growing business), how to
add an autoresponder etc.
You know that social networking sites like Facebook, Twitter, Linked In etc are great to build a following, so you can offer this as an add on when you are ready. Grow at a pace you are comfortable with.
You can see a site that I have already completed for a local company. Yes its my own Wedding site service.
Check out this blog and then return here to sign up for the Rapid Affiliate Cash course
