The Incredible Pinterest Hoax - Driving Targeted Traffic To Your Site

Women seem to like Pinterest
for some weird reason.

For those of you that don’t know, Pinterest has been around since about 2010 and it is a unique spin on Internet photo-sharing.  The easiest way to describe it is that it a digital, online version of a bulletin board that you can pin pictures of things that interest to. (Hence the name “Pinterest”.)  

You can take a look at and follow other people’s boards, you can invite people to join you, (similar to Facebook), and you can re-pin other people’s pins.

People use Pinterest to not only pin personal pictures and things of interest to them, but what entrepreneurs have the ability for businesses to showcase their wares and business messages on Pinterest.

If You’re Going Down That Road…Make Sure You've got the Horses!

Since we can probably all agree that using as many social networks as we reasonably can to get our marketing message out is important, we can all probably agree that since Pinterest is a site we probably can’t ignore. 

And since we can’t afford to ignore it, we need to know how to use it.

However, don’t think for a second that using Pinterest is going to be easy-cheesy-peasy.  Just like all other social networks it’s a HOAX to believe that you can just do a few simple things and get away with it. 

This requires work, persistence and care, just like all other forms of social media marketing.

I would like to point out that this is another one of those dirt cheap methods that requires no money to market your business.   It merely requires a free account with Pinterest to post your pictures and get your compelling message out to the masses.

Pimp Yo’ Board with Blog Pictures!

Here’s a great way to get followers to follow your blog or website.  Some people refer to the area on your Pinterest site wherein you post articles a “blog-board”. All you have to do with this little gem is to post the URL of your Blog post to Pinterest using a very simple and easy interface that they provide.

So, each time you post on Pinterest, you can merely drop your URL in the box they provide you and an image and a link will appear on the board where you are posting.  

Even though this is a dirt-cheap method of marketing, I wouldn't use this as a sole means of driving traffic to your blog or website.  Mostly what you'll get on many of the social media sites are folks that are looking for people to sell their own wares to and tire kickers.  

Selling YOUR Stuff On a Pinterest Board

If you want to sell items on Pinterest you can easily do so.  You need to make sure that your items

I said you could sell stuff on
Pinterest....I didn't say you'd like it!

have very good, high quality pictures with them.  Pinterest usually has a drop down menu on it that will allow you to look at different types of items to buy that range between different price points.  

When someone on Pinterest clicks on a price range, ( like the $100-$200 range)  Pinterest will then take them to a board that has items that are selling within a price range. Personally, I think this is a huge waste in time looking over items like this versus going on Amazon and typing in exactly what you need.

Once you've clicked on a product, you are taken to similar screen that has pictures of items that are similar and similar in price.  

I kind of look at buying things on Pinterest like a huge browsing tool for people that just want to blow money.  Like it's burning a hole in their pockets and they're going to float around on there until something strikes their fancy.

Let's Go Grouping!

Not to say that the site doesn't have its merits.  For one thing, Pinterest will allow you to network with other people that are in the same niche as yourself or in the same industry.  However, it is hard to find other groups that are similar to yours because there is no search feature that will help you find groups.   

You can get re-pinned if people find what you have to offer interesting, but finding groups to hang with that are similar to your interests are slim.  There is a site called PinGroupie that will allow you to look through a list of Pinterest boards that you can search through.  

There is a drop-down menu that allows you to go through entire categories and determine which ones are relevant to your search.

The Big Hoax...Revealed!

Just like other social media sites, using Pinterest to market your business isn't a real significant way to generate traffic.  

In order to get a decent amount of traffic from social media sites, you'll have to work a bunch them simultaneously before you get any significant traffic, and then that will only occur on days that You are posting on them.  

After that, you'll have to go back and re-post several times before you will notice a spike in your traffic.  However, if you couple this with all of the other dirt-cheap methods I've shown you to generate traffic to your site, you'll be a heck of a lot better off than someone that went into hock to get started 

To Your Success!

Mark “Elmo” Ellis

"When it Comes to High-Response Copy - I've Got Your Back!"

www.MarkEllisCopy.com

(859) 797-9560

How to Build a Ravenous, Loyal Marketing Fan Base - Dirt Cheap!

Internet Marketing Gurus are EVERYWHERE!

Usually whenever you read anything about Internet marketing you hear about the latest whiz-bang method that someone claims to have thought up. 

Of course, they’ll tell you that it is a SECRET way to make money online, but in reality there is no new thing under the sun.

Trust me on this. 

Now, having said that, I’d like to point out that there are people on the Internet that you should listen to because their information is valuable.  They’ve been around the block quite a bit and know what they are talking about.  Their books and courses are pretty good and I think if you want to pay $200 + to buy one…Go for it!

You’ll probably learn a lot more from those courses than if you went to college for the “4 year vacation” and you’ll have spent quite a bit less.

The Dirt Cheap Method of Learning

I once read an article by Gary “The Prince of Print” Halbert wherein he was talking about the lean years of his life; he didn't have a lot of money and he was dealing with an overbearing wife. 

However, Monsieur Halbert was a smart man, and he knew that he was living in the richest country in the world. He knew that he could learn a crap-load about marketing if he read a lot of books on the subject.  So, off he went to the public library where he read every book on marketing he could get his hands on.

Yeah, I love it…The DIRT CHEAP method of learning!

He didn’t need to pay someone $5000 to learn how to make money marketing, he just needed the information available and he took it from there.

Not only can you learn from books in the library, but now we have the Internet as well.  Amazon, sells tons of books on just about any kind of marketing you can imagine, and you can get the books used for a lark. 

TIP!  Not only can you find used books in online stores like Amazon, but you can also get FREE reports and eBooks by many of the top-o-the-line gurus for the mere cost of your email address.

Your Marketing Can Be Dirt Cheap Too!

While it would be bone-dead stupid for me to tell you that you’ll put zero dollars into your marketing, you can still market your business as cheaply as you can and still have an effective way of reaching out to potential prospects and customers.

One of the cheapest ways to do this is by building a community.  It takes work but it’s not as hard as

you think, either. The fastest and easiest way to do this by simply being nice and helpful.

When I say “being nice” I mean it. 

I was on a forum the other day and I made a comment about how people don’t even say thanks by pushing a simple button on the forum that says “Thanks” on it.  (You can read my rant that started a group of people talking here: Your Attitude Sucks – That’sWhy You’re in Neutral! 

The problem I have with a lot of Internet Marketers, (especially younger ones) is that they think if they’re snarky, rude and use a bunch of foul language they’ll get somewhere.

BIG MISTAKE.  This is where I draw the line and tell whoever it is that I’m not even going to listen to them anymore.  Not only that, I’m NEVER going to recommend their business to anyone, ever.  I can’t tell you the number of times that I've not recommended someone based on their attitude and language.

Especially Internet marketing gurus that think it’s cool to do so.  Apparently, they think they’re so rich, powerful and invincible that they’re too big to fail.

Man, is that a stupid way to act.

About 2 years ago there was a guy that had a way of marketing on Facebook that was kind of popular so I went on YouTube to see if he had a training video on there for free.  

Sure enough he was on there, and it was a video of a seminar of his that he had recorded live in front of a large audience. 

About 30 or so seconds into his dissertation he starts spewing out the “F” word like it was a badge of courage.  And the real sign of immaturity was that he laughed at himself every time he said it.

Very impressive.

And to think there were ladies in the audience and had to listen to that rubbish.   

Now riddle me this…

If a person like that runs their filthy mouth in front of an audience, especially where women are present, do you really believe that he’s doing ANYTHING in your best interest?  Really???

It’s been my experience that people like that look at you like a number with a monetary symbol in front of it and that’s all.

Why you should never do this…  

But, you know what?  Let them be that way.  Because entrepreneurs that really care about the people they deal with are RARE!  People that respect others, follow up and help people sometimes without any gain in life are very hard to find these days.

And if you treat others with respect and dignity and call on their higher qualities rather than their basest instincts, then you’ll have gained a loyal following of people that know you really care.

Years ago, I saw a documentary about this guy who unclogged sewage lines for people.  He really had his business down to a science and really made a huge difference in his community. 

The thing that drew my attention the most to this guy was he had actually built a mini- shower in the back of his van.  He also had a whole row of uniforms hanging up in his van that he would change after almost every appointment. 

“I don’t want to smell like a rat when I go to somebody’s house.” He grinned.

He worked in a rundown part of a large city and was booked solid. Everyone knew and loved this guy. 

The reason? He was always super nice, extremely professional and his prices were very fair.  I remember one older lady that had no husband, and was obviously broke crying because the man did the work for free.  He looked at where she was living and saw that the services were going to break what little she had left. 

“Now, Ma’am please don’t tell all your friends I did this for free OK?  They’ll be calling me off the hook and I can’t afford to help everyone for free.  OK?  I just had to do it because you’d be up to your knees in sewage.”

“Thank you…Thank you!  The woman cried, tears running down her cheeks.”

Pushing his hat back and scratching his forehead he smiled again.

“She’ll tell everybody.”

However, this man was one of the most successful people in the business.  He was making money hand over fist and booked solid BECAUSE EVERYONE KNEW HE REALLY CARED.

It’s like the Joker said in that Batman movie,  

“It’s not about the money…It’s about sending a message….”

But hey, even if you don’t want to be Mother Teresa, think of how little he has to spend on advertising and marketing.

I’m tellin’ ya what Forrest…All the shrimp you can eat!  Dirt Cheap!

Even if he didn't want the attention, he’d get it and the people he helped won’t ever forget what he did for them.

Here's a company that really gets it. Watch this video:

So, random acts of being nice and helping folks can be beneficial to your business.  If you can’t afford to give something away, give away your expert opinion or advice because it costs virtually nothing to give those away.

To Your Success!

Mark “Elmo” Ellis

Another Off-Beat Way to Immediately Start Making Money Online

They'll NEVER Tell You
How Hard Making Money Online
REALLY is!

About a week ago I told you how I first started making money online using eBay.  If you didn’t get a chance to read it just click on the link and take a look.  Reading how people do things sometimes is very inspirational.

It can also be very motivational.

You’ll probably say, “Heck, if Ellis made money doing that, why can’t I?”

It’s true, if I did it, so can you.  Just don’t ever say that I told you it was easy.  (I’ll leave that up to guys like Frank Kern, or Yanik Silver.)  I’ll never tell you Internet marketing is easy, because that hasn't been my experience.

Using eBay and Craigslist to Make Immediate Money Online

Just when you thought you’ve probably heard every angle in Internet Marketing, someone comes up with another angle that you’ve never heard before.  This on involves eBay, but you can replace that site with any other auction site on the Internet if you so desire.

It is not a complex idea, but one worth trying because it is DIRT CHEAP!  Ha-ha!  Here I go again with a wild and weird way to make money online without buying expensive Internet guru courses or even building a blog or a Website. 

I mean we’re talking CHEAP here!

So, if you don’t have access to an eBay account you might want to get one to try this out. 

Very simply you’re going to:

1.  Find HOT items that are trending or selling on eBay.

2.  Locate and buy the same or similar items that are selling on Craigslist

3.  Negotiate and purchase the items as cheap as you can from the folks selling on Craigslist

4.  After buying the items from the Craigslist sellers, take the item and resell it on eBay for a higher price.

5. Rinse and repeat!

Possible Problems from Perky Prospects Prompts Precautions

Without too much wide-eyed optimism, I think it is always prudent to think things through before executing an idea, no matter how good it sounds.  Funny thing how all of this sounds so simple when you’re told to try it for yourself.   If you've ever been involved in any kind of business, you know that it’s NEVER simple.

Precaution 1

For one thing, anything that usually involves Craigslist (CL) usually means that you’re running the risk of being spammed to death.  So if you’re doing any business at all on CL, take precautions!  Use a throw away email account or some way to ward off spammers. 

Also, don’t give out your phone number too quickly, either.  Communicate with a seller for a while to determine if they are somewhat normal.

Precaution 2

When you decide to look up items to see if they are hot on eBay, you need to make sure that the items that you are going to try to target are REALLY viable.  You can easily go on eBay and see certain items that are selling well and get excited. 

However, if you don’t know a lot about a particular subject, then you can easily get fleeced on this deal.

Example:  You look at hot items on eBay and discover fantasy based comic books are selling like hot cakes for a lot of money.  So you go on CL and buy a crap-load of comics.  However, after you buy all those comics and put them on eBay, nobody buys them.  Not one single bid! 

Let us step back for a minute and examine what went wrong.

 The fantasy based comics you originally viewed that were selling like hotcakes were mint condition, Conan the Barbarian comics from circa 1970 by Barry Windsor Smith.  No wonder they were selling like hotcakes on eBay!  These were elite, mint condition comics that are legend in the industry!

So, if you don’t have knowledge about a particular industry, you run the risk of doing something really stupid.  Learn a little about the items you are considering buying and selling before going into this venture.

Precaution 3

When you go to buy the items you are pursuing on CL, you should know how to negotiate the price down.  There are loads of books and now great videos on how to negotiate.  This is a great skill for every negotiator in any type of business to know.

So, before you start haggling prices, try to learn a bit about negotiating before you get started, it will be a HUGE help. 

Here is an excellent video on negotiating:

Precaution 4

Before you just toss your items on eBay, learn how to describe your products.  This is where knowing how to write a little advertising copy would really come in handy.   

First of all, having a real eyeball grabbing headline in your description is very important.  You want to generate interest while creating some curiosity at the same time.  You also want to mention the main benefit of your product or service in the headline as well. 

Make sure that you describe the item as best you can, pointing on features (color, size, functions) and really expand on the benefits. (What the product will do for the prospect thinking about buying the product.)If you take these precautions at the onset, this idea will probably work OK. 

Precaution 5

Consider the costs of shipping on the front and back end.  You’ll need to make sure that whatever you’re buying on CL that you are considering the costs of shipping.  This is crucial in this type of business!  The same thing with eBay.  You will need to make sure that you’re including the shipping prices.

However, having said that, don’t think for a second that this will be smooth sailing and you’ll be raking in loads of cash, enough to live off of. 

I highly doubt that.  In my humble opinion, you can easily and quickly make your first money online doing this and you will get some valuable experience doing this.

Don’t forget, you’ll be spending quite a bit of time doing this, so you have to consider the time you’ll be spending doing the following tasks:

• Looking on CL for items to buy and researching what’s hot on eBay to sell
• Calling people up or emailing them about stuff they’re selling
• Spending time negotiating and haggling prices
• Boxing up, and taking items sold on eBay to the Post Office
• Taking pictures of the items and posting them online
• Writing up the descriptions

There may be other things you’ll have to do, but basically that’s most of it.  So, you can see, that all that glitters is not gold and there is work to be done. 

Hey, at least I didn’t sugar-coat it for ya!

A New Spin I Thought Up Based on This Scheme

Let’s bump this idea up a notch!  Here’s an idea I just thought of that I haven’t tested yet, but one of you may want to try.  Instead of searching all over Craigslist for items that you can resell, why not take out a cheap ad in Craigslist asking for a product that you know id red-hot on eBay?

That way, people will be trying to sell YOU the item that you’ll want to sell on there.  And think about this: If they do call you wanting to sell the item and it is more than you’d want to pay, try negotiating the price down. 

If you can get the price down low enough, chances are you’ll sell the item and still make a profit!

Just an idea.  Like I say, it is untested, but I’m very tempted to try so…

To Your Success!

Mark “Elmo” Ellis

"When it Comes to High-Response Copy - I've Got Your Back!"

www.MarkEllisCopy.com

(859) 797-9560

elmo033057@gmail.com

Quick-Start Method of Making Money on Amazon That's FAST and DIRT CHEAP!

I’m always bumping into someone that comes up with a new Internet marketing angle I never thought of before.  Funny thing about it is that it is usually some young new maverick that has somehow leaped over us older dudes and are on their first million or so.

Ahh… To be young again!

Anyway, if you have a unique way of marketing or making money online, send it to me here and I’ll post it for you and even let you put your URL and other credits with it: elmo033057(at)gmail.com

Using Amazon to Make $500 a Day

I’m about to start selling a few books and reports myself on Amazon, so when I found this piece of marketing advice I thought it was great.  Great timing too. 

The beauty of using this method is that it doesn’t take great skill, you can outsource a lot of it, and it is DIRT CHEAP!  That’s right, you heard my favorite words…DIRT CHEAP.

OK, so this method of making money online involves information marketing by selling books on Amazon.

What you’ll need to do this:

1) A word processor to write your eBook

2) An Amazon account to sell with

3) Time

Extra stuff that would be great to have:
4) Dragon Naturally Speaking Voice Recognition Software. 

Step 1 – Find a Niche that’s selling but small enough that you won’t have tons of competition

I've already written a rather extensive article on how to find a niche, but here’s the fast and quick explanation.  You can use other sites like For Dummies or eBay, but Amazon is my site of choice for niche research.

Go on Amazon and in their search window, click on the drop down menu and then scroll down and click on “Books”.

Click on the drop down menu until you get to "Books"

Once you click on “books” click on the little search icon and it will take you to another Amazon page.  This page should be dedicated to Amazon books.  Scroll about halfway down the page until you get to a section that has all of the Amazon book categories. 

Next, click on the "Search" icon

You’re going to start clicking on these different categories and drilling down into them looking for hot niches and sub-niches. 

For example you could look through the business and marketing books.  Whenever you click on a book category, more categories open up.  So in the “Business” category, you could click on the marketing link and you’d find pages and pages of books on marketing.  Within those pages are niches and sub-niches.  How do you find out which topics are the hottest? Look at the 
comments!

What The Comments Will Tell You…

There are loads of
categories to drill into!

If people take the time to read a book, go back online, log in with their account, and then write an essay or comments, then chances are it is a good book with good subject matter.  Amazon will also allow you to peruse several pages of the book to include the Table of Contents.

That is where you can really get some great ideas for a short eBook or paper.

At this point, you can do one or two things:

One, you can take an idea from the Table of Contents and then surf the net looking for free information on that subject area. 

Two, you can also just go ahead and buy the book from Amazon. 9 times out of 10 you can get the book dirt cheap used on there, and you know how I feel about getting things done DIRT CHEAP!

P.S. In case you want to watch a video on how to use Amazon to find a niche, look at this:

Step 2 – Write a short eBook based on the hot niche or sub-niche.
 

You want to write a short eBook that gets right to the point if you can.  The title should describe exactly what the eBook is about and the eBook should be SHORT and to the point, explaining exactly what you stated in the title.  Around 30 or so pages should be more than enough.

The reason why you’ll want to write a short eBook is because most people are going to want to read exactly what they’re looking for.  A lot of marketers make massive courses because to the purchaser it looks impressive. 

 However, many times it can have the reverse effect.   People see a vast ocean of information and get overwhelmed, so you want to create short eBooks but make sure that the information in them is well written and dynamite.  You don’t want to produce a bunch of useless crap, either!  

How to Get You eBook Into Amazon

Step 3 – Post and Sell you eBook/Kindle Book in Amazon Books.

Actually, Amazon makes it pretty straightforward about the process, and all you really need to do at this point is follow their step by step set up directions.

TIP: However, it should be noted that when you have to write a description of your product, some knowledge of copywriting techniques will go a long way.  This is where many people fail in their attempts at selling products of any kind on Amazon.  Also, make sure that it’s clear in your description that this is a SHORT eBook and let your potential customer know the number of pages in it.

TIP: For starters you may want to write your short eBooks under an alternate name.  This way, you won’t damage your good name or reputation if for some reason people don’t like what you’ve written.

TIP:   Price your short eBook at about $5.00 a shot.  That way you can easily justify a shorter eBook.

The Dirt Cheap Beauty of this Bid-Ness Model

The thing I like the most about this idea is that you can move very quickly with

it.  You don’t need to spend 4 months writing a pant-load of material for a massive eBook.  The $5.00 price point means that people will probably not mind parting with that much money as they would $30 or so dollars.

(Personally I love Bob Bly’s books, but they almost all start at about $30 dollars or so.  I bought 4 of them a month until I realized how much a month I was spending.  Not Dirt Cheap enough...Ha-ha !)

If you do decide to use your real name in this, make sure you've branded your eBook with your name and contact information.

  However, many times it can have the reverse effect.   People see a vast ocean of information and get overwhelmed, so you want to create short eBooks but make sure that the information in them is well written and dynamite.  You don’t want to produce a bunch of useless crap, either!  

Step 3 – Post and Sell you eBook/Kindle Book in Amazon Books.

Actually, Amazon makes it pretty straightforward about the process, and all you really need to do at this point is follow their step by step set up directions.

TIP: However, it should be noted that when you have to write a description of your product, some knowledge of copywriting techniques will go a long way.  This is where many people fail in their attempts at selling products of any kind on Amazon.  Also, make sure that it’s clear in your description that this is a SHORT eBook and let your potential customer know the number of pages in it.

TIP: For starters you may want to write your short eBooks under an alternate name.  This way, you won’t damage your good name or reputation if for some reason people don’t like what you’ve written.

TIP:   Price your short eBook at about $5.00 a shot.  That way you can easily justify a shorter eBook.

The Dirt Cheap Beauty of the Bid-Ness Model

The thing I like the most about this idea is that you can move very quickly with it.  You don’t need to spend 4 months writing a pant-load of material for a massive eBook.  The $5.00 price point means that people will probably not mind parting with that much money as they would $30 or so dollars.

(Personally I love Bob Bly’s books, but they almost all start at about $30 dollars or so.  I bought 4 of them a month until I realized how much a month I was spending.  Not Dirt Cheap enough...Ha-ha !)

If you do decide to use your real name in this, make sure you’ve branded your eBook with your name and contact information.

Danger Will Robinson...Danger!  Danger!

Danger!  Danger!

One other thing that I almost forgot to mention about selling eBooks on Amazon using this method. You can create quite a few of them quickly using this technique.  However there is a big danger here.  

Don’t make the mistake of creating a piece of JUNK.  Because if you create a piece of junk, no matter what pseudonym or moniker you hide under you’ll eventually get a very bad reputation. 

Besides that, you’ll get used to making junk and not quality products for your prospects and clients.

Please leave comments ...God knows I need them!!!

To Your Success!

Mark “Elmo” Ellis

"When it Comes to High-Response Copy - I've Got Your Back!"

www.MarkEllisCopy.com

(859) 797-9560

elmo033057@gmail.com

How I Found My First Niche and Made My First REAL Money On eBay!

Yesterday I told you how I got started on eBay and how I finally figured out

You can make money from
eBay if you know how!

where in the heck I went wrong.  

If you want to really get the lowdown on how all that happened, you can go back and read the previous post here:

eBay!- How I Made My First REAL Money on the Internet!

The Reason Why eBay Is so Easy to Make Money From…

eBay was instrumental in my getting started in Internet marketing, because it had so much going for it.

For one thing, you could know absolutely nothing about building a website and still be able to set up a site on eBay in a reasonable amount of time.  Since I already had some HTML experience to begin with, eBay was an absolute snap. 

All I had to do was take pictures of the products I wanted to sell, make a brief write up about them, and boom! -- I was in business.

The other wonderful part about selling things on eBay, was the fact that you got TARGETED TRAFFIC to your products.  If you had a website, you had to somehow drive traffic to your site that wanted what you had to offer.

For people just starting out, that meant shelling money out on ads, which sometimes required lots and lots of money.

With eBay, all you had to do was put your item on the auction block in the category that was relevant.  Once you did that it was duck-soup getting people that were in your target market bidding on your stuff.

Finding My Niche and Making Money…Finally

So after a few bad attempts at selling random stuff on eBay, my wife and I decided to go into the embroidery business together.  And as I mentioned in my last post, I threw a rather wide net and started making any kind of embroidered item that I thought people wanted.

Once again the old marketing adage, “Marketing to everyone is marketing to no one.”

So, my feeble attempts at making any kind of good money fell flat. 

Our Master-Blaster Hat

It wasn’t until I came across the idea to mix two of my passions together that I got the idea to mix embroidery with music.  I created Ellistrations music apparel.

I made all of the digitized designs myself.  Hats for every type of musical instrument you could think of.  Trombone hats, shirts, and jackets.  Trumpet apparel, etc. 

And I must have been some sort of pioneer in the niche, because at the start, people were fighting over my stuff. 

I remember designing an oboe hat and putting it up on eBay.  It had a cool design with an oboe crossed in front of it and it said, “Double Reed Disaster” in the design.

Two or three women started bidding on it and it quickly escalated to $65.  Man, I was elated.  After wholesale the hat only ran me about $6.00 total and I didn’t pay shipping because I had already included it in the price.  So, I made about $60 on just one hat.  

We even sold flute purses!

I started to make other hats and shirts as well. Sax hats, trombone shirts, bassoon jackets and every other piece of apparel and musical instrument I could think of.

 

I digitized my own designs and came up with my own catchy slogans and ideas.  Flute shirts that said “Fluteaholic”, Bagpipe hats that said “Piping Hot”, and tuba hats that said, “Blastissiomo Con Forte” on them. (That phrase is kind of a joke with brass players.  It means blow the *$%@ out of the instrument as loud as you can.)

How I Expanded on My eBay Business

I quickly recognized that there was real market for this music apparel stuff, so I created the Ellistrations website.

Since I’m cheap as they come, I decided to get the cheapest hosting plan I could find and build the site myself.  I needed a merchant account, but during the year 2000 merchant accounts ran about $500 just to get started.

I searched the web extensively and found two alternatives: PayPal and another site called 2Checkout.  Since PayPal had not evolved to a full blown merchant service yet, I needed a way for people to pay by credit card if they wanted to. 

That’s where 2Checkout came in.   

This site would process credit card orders for you without the commitment or outlay of cash that you needed to get started.

It merely took a percentage (2.5%) of each of your sales.  All you had to do was go to the 2Checkout site, type up the prices and label the merchandise, copy and paste the code into your website and you could take credit card orders!

It was perfect for a cheapskate lie Moi.  (That’s French, I think.)

A Huge Lesson in Internet Marketing From the Trenches

Everything was going real well, I was making sales from putting my stuff up on eBay and then directing those happy customers to my website and making sales there. 

It worked perfectly.  I was in business and making money doing something I loved.  

That is... for about a year…

For some reason, I started losing sales on eBay; sales just weren’t coming in as fast as they were before, and I was starting to feel the pinch. I did some investigating, reading and searching. 

Turns out I had made a big miscalculation.  You see in business, if your idea is can easily be replicated, you’ll have competition sooner or later. (Watch Shark Tank if you don’t believe me.)

I started searching eBay and found out that other businesses were duplicating me with much slicker marketing and material as well.  They weren’t making high quality embroidered apparel, they were cranking out silkscreen designs of all sorts.

Anyone can duplicate your business...
if you aren't careful!

Pretty soon, I had at least 20 other businesses competing with the same types of ideas as mine.  It didn’t take long before burn out and long hours multitasking took their toll on me. 

So, I made as much money as I could, socked the money in the bank and sold my machine. 

Turns out that I made quite a bit of money from my little venture, better than I had expected, actually.

But the BIG IDEA I learned from this was: If your business is easily replicated by others, you’ll have loads of competition.  

The key to creating a unique, hard to replicate business is to figure out a way to make it so complex, it will be difficult for other businesses to follow.

So I was pretty much out of the online embroidery business.

However, while running my business I discovered an easy way to make money that was so lucrative, and easy to create, it blew my mind.  This is an idea ANYONE can do if they put the time and effort into it.

However, I’ll tell you more about it in my next post.

Until we meet again…

To Your Success!

Mark “Elmo” Ellis

"When it Comes to High-Response Copy - I've Got Your Back!"

www.MarkEllisCopy.com

(859) 797-9560

elmo033057@gmail.com