Diversification, don’t place all your eggs in one basket

Diversification, yes it is a big word and one that is easy to misspell but it is a crucial element to any online business. Whether you are selling ebooks, promoting a product line or “enlightening” the world with your infinite wisdom, tips and tricks on how to make money online you should diversify. I was reading a post over at ryanmclean.net today and it got me to thinking, there are so many people that start off in their online ventures with a narrow focus and when that doesn’t produce the desired 7 figure income in 3 months, they give up and are never heard from again. It is nice to see others in this industry that are focused and dedicated to acheiving their goals. I can say from first, second and third hand experience that if I had given up every time one of my plans didn’t take off as I had hoped, I would have stopped trying years ago and would be working retail somewhere instead of making a full time living working from home at my computer. Having this flexibility in my career as well as the ability to be at home when my kids are is something I would not trade for anything.

By broadening your revenue streams, or as grandma always said “Don’t place all your eggs in one basket” you will be much more likely to find success. Marketing is the same no matter what you are selling, promoting or endorsing, you will be surprised how doubling the methods you utilize to make money will not double your work load. It’s not always relative, those who are capable and effective multi-taskers can triple their avenues of income while only increasing their overall work load by a small percentage. How many of you have heard the phrase “work smarter, not harder?” and how many of you can honestly say you actually do work smarter instead of harder?

With the ever increasing methods of monetization, it can be a daunting task to keep on top of the list, but a little effort and some good old fashioned elbow grease will pay off. I encourage everyone to take 30 minutes, find something you would buy and become an affiliate for that product, take another 30 minutes and check 5 blogs in your niche and see what they are advertising on their sites, chances are that 80% of it will be items that they actually believe in, while the other 20% is just there because someone was willing to pay to advertise it on their site. In one hour, you have not only educated yourself but have also possibly found a few new income opportunities along the way.

Lastly for tonight, if I could give one small snippet of advice to anyone just starting out online it would be to promote and advertise your product, materials or site. If you want traffic, do not ever think that simply creating excellent content will be enough to cause your blog/site to get 20,000 visitors a day. If you want traffic, you MUST go out and find it. Locate blogs in your niche and participate by commenting, not just rubbish but useful participation that adds value to the other site. Karma does play a significant role in the online marketplace, it will come back to you good or bad. If you can help yourself by helping others at the same time, why not do it?