1. A Product or Products
2. Your Own Website and Domain name
3. An Autoresponder
4. Money to pay for advertising
5. The Desire to do it
6. A way for people to pay you if you're selling your own product

The Product

Whether you come up with it yourself, or partner with someone else, you need something to sell. Maybe you already have an idea of what you'd like to sell. So, let's start there.

There are two types of things you can make or create yourself and sell Online:

1. Information - If you have knowledge that other people will pay to learn, you can offer it on the Web. Now, this can be "How To's" or "How Not To's." How to Build a Bird House, How Not to Lose Money Investing or whatever you know a lot about that you can put into a report or what's known as an E-Book format and sell from your Website. If You are an expert in something, chances are, you can sell that information to others who have a need to know what you know. You could even set it up as some kind of multi-part course and then sell the course.
2. A Real Product - Are you handy at making something? Building something? You could set up an Online Business to promote and sell what you make or build. That could be anything from Home Made Soaps or Candles, to Bird Houses or Lawn Signs. Whatever you can build or make, you can sell. Provided it's something people want to buy.

Not everyone is handy at building or making things and not everyone knows enough about a subject to write something that others will want to buy. But there's another way to get a Product to sell without having to come up with it yourself.

You can Affiliate with someone else, and sell their products or service from your Website. If you visit just about any merchants Website, you will notice some kind of affiliate link at the bottom of the page. They want more customers, and they are willing to share to get them.

There are many places you can go to and set up some kind of Affiliate agreement with a merchant that will pay you everytime someone clicks on a link or banner on your Website and goes to the merchants site and buys something. I'll give you some links further down the page. These affiliate agreements will not cost you a penny, but you will need a Website that's up and running before any merchant will even think of affiliating with you.

And there are the ever present MLM Opportunities or Network Marketing Programs that are everywhere on the Web. IF they offer Products or Services that can be sold Without having to talk about the Opportunity, it is another way to go. And if one of your customers wants to do what you are doing, you can earn something from any sales they make. But there is a lot of Junk, Garbage and out and out Scams you need to be on the look out for, if you go this route. For more information about what to look for and what to look out for, see the Scams, Schemes and Questions page. And you need to read through, MLM Lies and Hype too.

It's my belief, that if you can come up with your own product or service, you will probably do better in the long run. If for no other reason then it will be all yours, no one else will be marketing anything exactly like it. Even if you offer free information through some kind of course or series of reports, you can build a maling list that way, and advertise your affiliates products through it.

Going the MLM route, even if you are retailing the products, means you will have lots of others marketing exactly the same thing. You'll have to give people a reason to buy from you, rather then someone else. That could be your knowledge, some other offer you will send them if they buy from you, or because they have gotten to know you and like you. People buy from people they like more times then not.

A Website and Domain Name

There is no getting around it, you need your own Website and a Domain name that is all your own. That's right, you will become a "Dot-Com."

It's really not as expensive as you might think. I'll give you some links to Web Hosting companies. And you don't have to know HTML code, which is the code that most Website are written with. There are Hosting Companies that offer Online Website Builders where all you have to do is point and click, copy and paste. If you can type, you can build a Website. This site is built using an Online builder for example. I know very little HTML code. For this site and all the other sites I have, my monthly cost is only $12.95.

If you are going to be selling your own product, then that's what your site is going to be about. But you can also build your site around something you are not selling, but are interested in. A City, State or Country for example, or your favorite Movie, Actor, Actress, Singer, Band or Organization. Then you can get affiliations with other sites that offer things people visiting your site might want or need.

For example, if you built a Website around a singer, like Rick Springfield, you might want to have some affiliations with sites that sell CD's and DVD's. And since many of Rick's fans travel to see him all over the country, you also might want to have some travel related affiliations too, Hotels, and Airlines for example.

The World Wide Web is made up of niche markets, meaning whether you're looking for a site about Left Handed Pitchers or Movies with the word "Blue" in the title, you can probably fine a site on the Web about them. Well, maybe not quite that focused.

The point being, you don't want to build your site like a some kind of Real World Shopping Mall, with something for everyone. Which is what I've done, but don't use me as your example. This site should be more focused than it is and I know it. 

Pick just one area or subject that you love and have a lot to say about, and focus on that. If you did do a Website about Movies with the name "Blue" in the title, you probably would be the only one. And if anyone is searching for that, your site would be number one on the list. Would anyone really search for a site about Movies with "Blue" in the title, is another concern.

The more unique you can make your site, the better off you'll be.

Here's another example of what you might do...

Say you Love Sailing, well you could build a site around that love. Write about different trips you've taken, different types of ships and things a would be sailor is going to need to know. And then get affiliate relationships with merchants that offer things people interested in Sailing might like or need. Or more to the point, be able to afford, Sail Boats aren't cheap you know.

Whatever you know a lot about, you can build a Website around. Then affiliate with merchants that go well with your subject.

Domain Names

• You need your own Web address. And when most people search the Web, they see .com at the end of most of the sites they visit. So, try to get a .com name, if you can find one that fits what your site is going to be about. If your site is going to be for some organization, you might want to get a .org name. A .net domain name is a close second to .com if you can't get a .com you like.
• As you try and think of a domain name for your site, you may find that many of the ones you come up with have already been taken. Keep thinking and you will find one that works. It should contain words that have something to do with your subject. For example, the domain name I have here, is Shop-Money-Time.com. By using both Shop and Money in the name, people should have an idea of what to expect when they see the name. Also, it helps with Search Engine rankings. More on that later.
• The cost? Not much at all. You can regester a domain name for less then $10 a year many places. I would suggest that you regester your domain name with the Hosting Company you plan on using and pay whatever they charge, usually $20 to $30. That will save on having to transfer it from someone else. If you need or want to buy a slightly different version of your domain name, you can regester that somewhere cheaper then have it forward to your Main domain address. For example,  I own Shop-Money-Time.com, but I also own shopmoneytime.com as all one word, just in case. It doesn't cost that much to be your own Dot-Com, so don't let that stop you. You might even want to purchase the .com and the .net names for your domain, just to make sure you have things covered.

An Autoresponder

This is a simple tool that you are also going to need. I'll explain why in a minute. But first let's go over what an Autoresponder is.

Simply put, an Autoresponder is a program that allows you to send an automated message, E-mail, or several, to anyone who enters their information into a form or who you add to the responder. You can set messages to go out automatically every few days or everyday or however often you'd like. Once a persons contact information is placed into an Autoresponder, the messages are sent out without you having to do anything more. For more information on Autoresponders, see this page, Autoresponders For Your Business.

Whatever you're selling, chances are a first time visitor to your site is not going to buy. They need more information or they're not sure they want what you're offering. You need a way of reminding them of who you are and why they need to come back to your site and buy what you have.

You're building a mailing list, which is the Key to making it online.

You just need to give them a reason to subscribe to your list. You could offer them a free sample or set up some kind of contest and capture their names that way. Or just place a form on your site for people to request more information about you, your product or service. You can get the code from your responders site.

Once you have a customer who's bought from you, you need an Autoresponder to follow up with that customer, so you can offer them more products or make them aware of new offers you have. It's a lot easier to keep a customer then to get a new one.

Many Hosting Companies will offer unlimited Autoresponders with whatever hosting plan you choose. But sometimes these are single message responders. That is not going to work for most of the things you will need a responder for. So, you may need to seek one out that offers what you need. There are links below.

Tip: Whatever you use your Autoresponder for, make sure there is always a link so people can remove themselves from your list. The responder will create this for you.

Money to Pay for Advertising

That's right, you will have to PAY for Advertising.

As you run around the Web, you will see people advertising different ways of getting visitors to your Website, some at no cost to you. What you need though, is not just bodies clicking on your link, but people who are really looking for what you have to offer. What we called Targeted Visitors.

Search Engines are probably going to be the best source of these Targeted Visitors. The people who click onto your site from a Search Engine, should be looking for what you have to offer. They are more likely to hang around and look over your site and what you have there. They might even buy something. And that's a good thing.

There is a lot to learn about Search Engines and this page is getting long enough as it is, so I will refer you to SelfPromotion.com for everything you ever wanted to know about Search Engines, but were afraid to ask. It's also a long read, but a fun one. And you'll learn a lot.

I do want to say a word about PPC, or Pay Per Click Search Engine advertising. This is where you bid on Key Words that people are using to search for things. You bid on Key Words or Phrases for your site. You only pay when someone clicks on your Ad. This can be a good way to get paying customers to your site. Google.com is one of the best Search Engines and one of the largest, and offers a good PPC called Ad Words.

Gettting a good ranking in the Search Engines doesn't always mean spending money though. Search Engines like to see other sites linking to you. So, set up a "Favorite Links" page on your site, and then search out other sites to exchange links with. These should be sites offering similar things, though not sites directly competing with yours. When you find a site you'd like to trade links with, make sure they have their own "Links" page, and then write the owner, compliment them on their site and offer to exchange links. Give them the link copy you'd like them to use and the URL of your site. As an act of good faith, you might place a link to them before you write them, and give them a link to the page it's on. I get requests for trades all the time and I can't remember turning anyone down. It's good for me, and good for them.

The Desire to Do it

Starting a business, whether it's Online or Off, is a risk and success is not guaranteed for anyone. If you start this, you must be in it for the long haul. Nothing big is going to happen overnight. And there is a lot to learn. If you think it's going to be easy because it's Online, wake up and smell the coffee.

Don't start trying to earn money in any business if you need money right away. There's not going to be any. Start any business when you have extra money to invest in it and yourself. Take care of the important things in your life first, like The Bills and keeping your family happy.

Starting any business, Online or Off, can pay off down the line, it can replace a full time income of a normal Job. But it is not going to happen next week or next month or even next year. It is going to take time, work and money to get going. So, plan long term and don't think it's going to be a quick way to make a few dollars.

How Do People Pay You?

If you have created your own product and are going to sell it Online from your own Website, then you are going to have to have a way for customers to pay you. And the easier the better. Just asking for people in todays world to send you a check is not going to generate very many orders. You need a way to take Credit Cards right from your site. This means, a Merchant Account. That can be a little expensive to set up when you're just getting started. But a way to get around this expense may be to set up an account with a service like PayPal.com, it doesn't cost you anything to set up an account and you can then take Credit Cards from your site for goods and services. PayPal makes it's money from fees it charges when items are purchased. There's another service like PayPal, called StormPay.com, their fees are higher, but it's not a bad idea to have more then one option for your customers.

Whatever you do, you need to treat it as a Business, but handle it as a hobby, when it comes to depending on it for income. Over time you will learn and it will grow.

Links and Resources

What I have written here is just an overview of what you are going to need and will give you a good starting point. Below, I will give you some links for the things you are going to need. Like places to get Hosting for your site and domain names, Autoresponders and more. There are also many other resources on the rest of this site you may want to look over.