(1) He's got some websites and he's signed up with something like CJ.com or something similar so that visitors to his website can "click" on on the ads and then earn him some commissions.
(2) The company offering the ads sent him a simple W-9 form that's totally standard in this situation.
OP doesn't need a "business" license ANYWHERE in the United States to do this -- or anything remotely similar. If the OP signs up with the company that's going to be paying him his commissions UNDER HIS OWN NAME, he's considered an "individual sole proprietor" under the law.
If the OP had a website, say "turtles.com" and he signed up for his affiliate account as "turtles.com" then that means he's doing business as "turtles.com." That means he would then NEED a "doing business as" certificate (d.b.a certificate). Even then, he's still considered, under the law of ALL 50 states, a "sole proprietor".
In either situation -- him doing business under his legal name, or doing business under another name ("turtles.com") he's entitled to take legitimate tax deductions on both the federal (and state level if he's got a state income tax where he lives) level.
ALL of his income is taxed together. There's no "personal" and "business" income that needs to remain separate here. The IRS taxes it all at the individual rate. In other words, the IRS is not going to challenge his "business" at all. That's a totally different ball park. That occurs when an individual actually incorporates ("INC") or forms a one person limited liability company (LLC) and then FAILS to maintain the legal requirements for such. Example: mixing personal and business assets. That's called "piercing the corporate veil".
It's one of the many things that IRS would look for under that situation should they audit you and question deductions. They're going to want to know that you've actually operated as a business and not as an individual.
In the OP's case, this is becoming way more complicated than it has to be.
The OP can collect millions in affiliate commissions and never have to worry about a "business license" or "d.b.a." certificate and so on. But the OP is still entitled to deduct home office space/expenses if he operates from home, can take deductions for materials he purchases for his venture, heck, he can even deduct cell phone bills if he's using that solely for the purpose of his little home business. It doesn't matter to the IRS: he's taxed at the individual rate. Period.
So to the OP:
Don't do a thing. IF you end up making $600 or more in affiliate commissions, you're going to get a 1099 from the company (IRS gets a copy, too). Whatever is on that 1099 you need to report on your federal income taxes. That's what the IRS would KNOW about. If it were less than $600, the IRS probably wouldn't find out...
...BUT you're still responsible -- on the "honor system" -- to report it!
As always, if this stuff is really bothering you, consult with a LICENSED tax attorney or LICENSED CPA. Don't leave anything to chance if you've got worries because at the end of the day, you're the one who's going to be facing the fire, not the people here (including myself) that's taken the time to give you some tips/advice/pointers.
Senin, 15 Agustus 2011
Focus on the things that make you the most money
Let's get back to the basics.
I know that the WSO section is full of great methods and super-secret-ninja-monkey ways to beat your competition in SEO, generate thousands of dollars a day with CPA, etc.
But sometimes you just have to focus on the simple, basic stuff.
Like your Return on Investment (ROI).
What's yours?
I don't mean just with your money, but also your TIME.
How much money are you making with those IM activities you're doing?
For example, here's a list of a few things that someone might do during the 4 hours they're working on IM (maybe they have a day job):
Browsing forums: 1 hour
Writing articles for EZA: 1 hour
Writing articles for clients: 1 hour
Setting up PPC campaigns: 1 hour
Easy, right? Now let's talk about ROI- how much money they're making from these activities.
Browsing forums: $0 - $5/hour (only directly making money if they have a WSO or product reviews maybe in their sig)
Writing articles for EZA: $5-$10/hour
Writing articles for clients: $25/hour
PPC campaigns: $20/hour
So let's think about this....
You spent 2 hours of your day to earn what, $5-$15. That's an ROI of $2.5 to $7.5 per hour.
The second 2 hours of your day earned you $45, which comes out to $22.50 per hour.
So where should the majority of time be spent? (this isn't a trick question)...
The PPC and writing for clients, right?
Now that you're making $22.50 an hour with these activities, you can outsource the EZA article writing for like $5 an hour and still come out even or ahead.
Now, I understand that the or browsing other forums isn't just about making money. You come here to relax, build relationships, help other (like I'm doing now
), etc.
I'm not saying that you can't have the biggest ROI.
Ask the guys making 6 figures from the WSO section alone, and they'll tell you they have some HUGE ROI.
But the point of the post is this: Do what makes you the most money or relaxes you and outsource the rest.
Let's go back to economics class for a second.
Remember something called opportunity cost?
Basically it's the cost you pay for doing one thing instead of another.
So for example- if you make $5/hour submitting articles to EZA, but $25/hour writing for clients...
Every hour spent with EZA you are essentially losing $20 in revenue, because you would have made $25 writing for a client.
Now if you flip it- every hour that you spend writing for clients you come out WAY ahead, getting 500% the ROI of submitting to EZA.
Okay so I'm gonna end this post, but before I do I want you to do yourself a HUGE favor:
1) Make a list of the IM activities you do regularly
2) Determine the ROI of each(I know some things are tougher- like SEO- but if you aren't making money with it yet then you know your ROI...)
3) Focus on the things that make you the most money, and outsource the rest.
No industry giant got to where they were because they worked on the little things.
Neither will you!
I know that the WSO section is full of great methods and super-secret-ninja-monkey ways to beat your competition in SEO, generate thousands of dollars a day with CPA, etc.
But sometimes you just have to focus on the simple, basic stuff.
Like your Return on Investment (ROI).
What's yours?
I don't mean just with your money, but also your TIME.
How much money are you making with those IM activities you're doing?
For example, here's a list of a few things that someone might do during the 4 hours they're working on IM (maybe they have a day job):
Browsing forums: 1 hour
Writing articles for EZA: 1 hour
Writing articles for clients: 1 hour
Setting up PPC campaigns: 1 hour
Easy, right? Now let's talk about ROI- how much money they're making from these activities.
Browsing forums: $0 - $5/hour (only directly making money if they have a WSO or product reviews maybe in their sig)
Writing articles for EZA: $5-$10/hour
Writing articles for clients: $25/hour
PPC campaigns: $20/hour
So let's think about this....
You spent 2 hours of your day to earn what, $5-$15. That's an ROI of $2.5 to $7.5 per hour.
The second 2 hours of your day earned you $45, which comes out to $22.50 per hour.
So where should the majority of time be spent? (this isn't a trick question)...
The PPC and writing for clients, right?
Now that you're making $22.50 an hour with these activities, you can outsource the EZA article writing for like $5 an hour and still come out even or ahead.
Now, I understand that the or browsing other forums isn't just about making money. You come here to relax, build relationships, help other (like I'm doing now
), etc.I'm not saying that you can't have the biggest ROI.
Ask the guys making 6 figures from the WSO section alone, and they'll tell you they have some HUGE ROI.
But the point of the post is this: Do what makes you the most money or relaxes you and outsource the rest.
Let's go back to economics class for a second.
Remember something called opportunity cost?
Basically it's the cost you pay for doing one thing instead of another.
So for example- if you make $5/hour submitting articles to EZA, but $25/hour writing for clients...
Every hour spent with EZA you are essentially losing $20 in revenue, because you would have made $25 writing for a client.
Now if you flip it- every hour that you spend writing for clients you come out WAY ahead, getting 500% the ROI of submitting to EZA.
Okay so I'm gonna end this post, but before I do I want you to do yourself a HUGE favor:
1) Make a list of the IM activities you do regularly
2) Determine the ROI of each(I know some things are tougher- like SEO- but if you aren't making money with it yet then you know your ROI...)
3) Focus on the things that make you the most money, and outsource the rest.
No industry giant got to where they were because they worked on the little things.
Neither will you!
Stepping for change your internet marketer
Hey all,
Just wondering...
How much studying of IM info/products do you do, compared to actually digging in and taking action? (If you had to put a timeframe on it..)
I ask my students and peers this a lot, and if you're struggling or falling behind (or not making a red cent), then you seriously need to consider this.
I found that most of my students that were having a hard time with things were studying EQUAL TO OR MORE than they were taking action. Heck, some people were ONLY studying and going through courses, they weren't even applying anything of what they learned!
There's a lot of reasons for that...
That's fair.
But you know what? When you study study study and never apply anything, you won't ever get a single step further ahead.
Studying without immediate action is really just a form of procrastination.
That's a tough lesson to learn, and it involves some self reflection and becoming conscious of what you do.
As for me, for every hour period I "study" or go through information, I force myself to spend between 1-2 hours immediately afterward applying.
That gets me ahead of people. It helps me create and FINISH products, helps make money, helps grow my business. It also conditions me to break the mold of "I can't" and instead form business-building habits that will actually lead you down a path.
So, moral of the short story:
You can study information until you're blue in the face. But all that studying does NOTHING until you apply some of it. Hell, apply ALL of it. Take a step.
Because you know what?
Even if you're unsure about where you're stepping or if you're going in the wrong direction, you're at least that much farther away from "Square One".
Action Steps!
1) Chart what you do on a daily and weekly basis. Find out how much time you spend going through information compared to how much time you spend implementing that information.
3) Take action! It doesn't matter what you're doing. There's tons of guides and products out there that work. The only missing element to their "not working for you" is your lazy habits and not putting the material into action.
Start doing this, and I guarantee you'll see more results in 2 weeks than you have in the last 6 months.
Just wondering...
How much studying of IM info/products do you do, compared to actually digging in and taking action? (If you had to put a timeframe on it..)
I ask my students and peers this a lot, and if you're struggling or falling behind (or not making a red cent), then you seriously need to consider this.
I found that most of my students that were having a hard time with things were studying EQUAL TO OR MORE than they were taking action. Heck, some people were ONLY studying and going through courses, they weren't even applying anything of what they learned!
There's a lot of reasons for that...
- You don't think you understand enough to take action
- You don't feel "prepared"
- You want to know for sure what to do so you don't mess up
- You don't want to do things wrong
That's fair.
But you know what? When you study study study and never apply anything, you won't ever get a single step further ahead.
Studying without immediate action is really just a form of procrastination.
That's a tough lesson to learn, and it involves some self reflection and becoming conscious of what you do.
As for me, for every hour period I "study" or go through information, I force myself to spend between 1-2 hours immediately afterward applying.
That gets me ahead of people. It helps me create and FINISH products, helps make money, helps grow my business. It also conditions me to break the mold of "I can't" and instead form business-building habits that will actually lead you down a path.
So, moral of the short story:
You can study information until you're blue in the face. But all that studying does NOTHING until you apply some of it. Hell, apply ALL of it. Take a step.
Because you know what?
Even if you're unsure about where you're stepping or if you're going in the wrong direction, you're at least that much farther away from "Square One".
Action Steps!
1) Chart what you do on a daily and weekly basis. Find out how much time you spend going through information compared to how much time you spend implementing that information.
Note: You want to know what one of the most consistent methods of losing weight is? Straight up calorie counting. Becoming conscious of what you eat. Same principles work here. When you become conscious of your behavior, it's easier to make changes.2) Start with a small goal (preferably 30-minute increments). For every 30 minutes you study information, apply what you learned for a 30-minute time period. Build this out over time, but keep the ratio at 50:50, or even apply MORE than you study.
In the words of Tim Ferris (who I don't even think came up with this), "What doesn't get measured doesn't get improved".
3) Take action! It doesn't matter what you're doing. There's tons of guides and products out there that work. The only missing element to their "not working for you" is your lazy habits and not putting the material into action.
Start doing this, and I guarantee you'll see more results in 2 weeks than you have in the last 6 months.
fundamental ways in internet marketing
Quick story first:
A few years ago, before getting into IM, I was at a conference in silicon valley where the panel was a bunch of user experience designers. During the Q and A session, someone asked the panel what they thought the web would be like in five years. The guy from Yahoo jumps in and says "everything will change. everything." and rants for a awhile about this. He seemed pretty confident so. Then the guy from Adobe simply says, "But all the fundamentals will stay the same."
I think this is completely true in IM as well. Since you have had a lot of success in the past, then you probably have an excellent handle on the fundamentals of things like building lists. Once they are in your funnel, you're good to go.
So I would say that picking a good niche and getting a funnel going should be your priority. Then next question is how to get traffic, and that's what keeps changing. Unfortunately these either take time or they take money.
Good old SEO (pick a keyword, make a page, build links until you're #1) is still around and I don't see it going anywhere soon despite panda type updates, but you will need to build links differently than in 2003. (Sounds like you already know this
)
You can also try content marketing for traffic; creating for your niche really top notch articles, videos, pdfs, etc with intention of bringing traffic to a squeeze page. Because everything has gone social if you put out some good content in your niche and make it easy to share, you will see a steady stream of subscribers to your list.
PPC is still around too but you can do it on Facebook now too. Facebook has potential because rather than target keywords, you target very specific demographics, like "men over 30 who like to eat hot dogs in Cleveland while watching Entourage" Given your situation, I'd say wait on paid traffic until you get some revenue elsewhere.
Bottom-line: I totally get that you like having a diversity of strategies in the pan. I'm the same way, and I like it because experimenting is always good and keeps things fun. But in your situation, you can't afford that until you pick the most promising strategy, put in those crazy hours for the next month and get some results.
A few years ago, before getting into IM, I was at a conference in silicon valley where the panel was a bunch of user experience designers. During the Q and A session, someone asked the panel what they thought the web would be like in five years. The guy from Yahoo jumps in and says "everything will change. everything." and rants for a awhile about this. He seemed pretty confident so. Then the guy from Adobe simply says, "But all the fundamentals will stay the same."
I think this is completely true in IM as well. Since you have had a lot of success in the past, then you probably have an excellent handle on the fundamentals of things like building lists. Once they are in your funnel, you're good to go.
So I would say that picking a good niche and getting a funnel going should be your priority. Then next question is how to get traffic, and that's what keeps changing. Unfortunately these either take time or they take money.
Good old SEO (pick a keyword, make a page, build links until you're #1) is still around and I don't see it going anywhere soon despite panda type updates, but you will need to build links differently than in 2003. (Sounds like you already know this
)You can also try content marketing for traffic; creating for your niche really top notch articles, videos, pdfs, etc with intention of bringing traffic to a squeeze page. Because everything has gone social if you put out some good content in your niche and make it easy to share, you will see a steady stream of subscribers to your list.
PPC is still around too but you can do it on Facebook now too. Facebook has potential because rather than target keywords, you target very specific demographics, like "men over 30 who like to eat hot dogs in Cleveland while watching Entourage" Given your situation, I'd say wait on paid traffic until you get some revenue elsewhere.
Bottom-line: I totally get that you like having a diversity of strategies in the pan. I'm the same way, and I like it because experimenting is always good and keeps things fun. But in your situation, you can't afford that until you pick the most promising strategy, put in those crazy hours for the next month and get some results.
finding starting point in internet marketing
A self defeating attitude can be hard to shake yet you need to get rid of it or it will completely inactivate you. These feelings are not natural, but are programmed into you by others. They are not truth - just an image that has been ingrained. I have a few tips for getting rid of them, if that will help.
First you must learn to visualize - you need to SEE what it is you want.
Go back to a niche you chose before that you really like but stopped working on because of the negative feelings.
Sit with your eyes closed and SEE the website as finished. See yourself writing in your blog and smiling. See your email filling up with customer responses and with paypal notices. Do this several times a day and whenever doubt seeps in.
Affirmation - you must also continue to affirm that you can do this. When you get up in the morning, and whenever you feel doubt - just tell yourself "It's a good day to create my life" - and "building my business is interesting and easy".
Clearing -- Sit down and make a list of every reason you can think of that making your own business might not work. Then go over the list one item at a time. Does what you have written FEEL like it applies to you? If it does - stop and think of why. Did a teacher tell you that you couldn't do something? Did your parents install the idea that you have to have a 9 - 5 job to make money? Did someone tell you that you aren't smart enough? Whatever you remember that someone said or did to you to shake your confidence - remove it. Tell yourself out loud - and that's important - out loud......that you are sorry for that person and hold nothing against them. They didn't mean to hurt you and did only because they have been fooled about their own ability. Let your own mind know that they put limits on you because they thought it would help you and just didn't understand they were wrong. Then re-affirm to yourself that you are over that feeling, it's in the past. You are ready to move ahead.
When you are done with the list - tear it up. You are done with it. The programming is no longer in effect in your mind - you know better now and forgive everyone for the harm they did - you have closure.
Now go build your business. Re-affirm to yourself several times a day that you are having fun and learning - that you are getting what you want. If you continue to slide back into the negativity, do the clearing again.
It took a lifetime to build that negativity, so it may not go away overnight. You may have to work on it a bit. Every time that you think you can't do it, though - stop and tell yourself how silly it is to think that. You are every bit as smart as many who have made it very big. They made it because they kept working no matter who told them what. And that is what YOU have to do -- just keep working and know that if you continue, you will complete your goal.
What's the worst that can happen? What if you don't make the money you want? You will learn how to build and learn what you did wrong so you can correct it. It's no different than a project that you do for a hobby - if you are interested, you will try, then correct what didn't go right. There are lots of people you have as a resource here that can help you find the right way to do something if you make a mistake. Lots of teachers.
Now.......go grab that old niche that you dropped just because you got haunted and get it done. Time's a wastin'.
First you must learn to visualize - you need to SEE what it is you want.
Go back to a niche you chose before that you really like but stopped working on because of the negative feelings.
Sit with your eyes closed and SEE the website as finished. See yourself writing in your blog and smiling. See your email filling up with customer responses and with paypal notices. Do this several times a day and whenever doubt seeps in.
Affirmation - you must also continue to affirm that you can do this. When you get up in the morning, and whenever you feel doubt - just tell yourself "It's a good day to create my life" - and "building my business is interesting and easy".
Clearing -- Sit down and make a list of every reason you can think of that making your own business might not work. Then go over the list one item at a time. Does what you have written FEEL like it applies to you? If it does - stop and think of why. Did a teacher tell you that you couldn't do something? Did your parents install the idea that you have to have a 9 - 5 job to make money? Did someone tell you that you aren't smart enough? Whatever you remember that someone said or did to you to shake your confidence - remove it. Tell yourself out loud - and that's important - out loud......that you are sorry for that person and hold nothing against them. They didn't mean to hurt you and did only because they have been fooled about their own ability. Let your own mind know that they put limits on you because they thought it would help you and just didn't understand they were wrong. Then re-affirm to yourself that you are over that feeling, it's in the past. You are ready to move ahead.
When you are done with the list - tear it up. You are done with it. The programming is no longer in effect in your mind - you know better now and forgive everyone for the harm they did - you have closure.
Now go build your business. Re-affirm to yourself several times a day that you are having fun and learning - that you are getting what you want. If you continue to slide back into the negativity, do the clearing again.
It took a lifetime to build that negativity, so it may not go away overnight. You may have to work on it a bit. Every time that you think you can't do it, though - stop and tell yourself how silly it is to think that. You are every bit as smart as many who have made it very big. They made it because they kept working no matter who told them what. And that is what YOU have to do -- just keep working and know that if you continue, you will complete your goal.
What's the worst that can happen? What if you don't make the money you want? You will learn how to build and learn what you did wrong so you can correct it. It's no different than a project that you do for a hobby - if you are interested, you will try, then correct what didn't go right. There are lots of people you have as a resource here that can help you find the right way to do something if you make a mistake. Lots of teachers.
Now.......go grab that old niche that you dropped just because you got haunted and get it done. Time's a wastin'.
different paths to follow in IM
This is the problem with so many folks in the IM world. Especially in the beginning. I was the same way. Here's the advice that worked for me.
There are a lot of different paths to follow in IM, and a lot of marketer have different systems. You need to pick one and follow it to completion. Usually you'll make a few bucks. Following advice from too many people will end up in confusion and you won't take the right action.
You should also unsubscribe to 99% of the email lists you're on. (this made a huge difference for me) This will help to keep you focused and Kiel your inbox free of shiny new objects.
Approach IM as a business. You have to show up everyday and produce. It's the same principle as having a job. If you show up to work and do nothing you probably won't have a job for very long. Take the right action every day.
If I could give you a step-by-step that works for me everytime it would look like this: (at it's most basic)
That's pretty much the basics for any business. There are other step that you can include depending on what you want to accomplish like product creation or selling the site.
There are a lot of different paths to follow in IM, and a lot of marketer have different systems. You need to pick one and follow it to completion. Usually you'll make a few bucks. Following advice from too many people will end up in confusion and you won't take the right action.
You should also unsubscribe to 99% of the email lists you're on. (this made a huge difference for me) This will help to keep you focused and Kiel your inbox free of shiny new objects.
Approach IM as a business. You have to show up everyday and produce. It's the same principle as having a job. If you show up to work and do nothing you probably won't have a job for very long. Take the right action every day.
If I could give you a step-by-step that works for me everytime it would look like this: (at it's most basic)
- Keyword and Market Research
- Core Content Creation
- Money Site Creation
- Secondary Content Creation(for traffic and backlinks)
- Get Traffic and Backlinks
- Conversions and Testing
- More Core Content
- More Traffic
- More Testing
That's pretty much the basics for any business. There are other step that you can include depending on what you want to accomplish like product creation or selling the site.
increase enthusiasm marketing product
The squeeze page --> free ebook model definitely works -- IF done correctly.
Here's one model that works well (there are many variations, this is only one)...
In your free ebook, don't "give away the farm". For an opt-in bribe, I wouldn't use a PDF more than @ 15-20 pages. While you should definitely provide some value in the freebie, you want to make it "incomplete", and ultimately use it as a "presell" tool for a paid product.
Think about it... if you give your prospects all the info they need to know in the freebie, then why would they need your paid product?
Of course you COULD give away the entire premium product as the freebie, but then you just "conditioned" your list to expect premium products from you for free (which is not what you want if you plan to actually sell them anything in the future)!
I'm not saying you shouldn't provide great value to your list for free - because you SHOULD. And you should do it regularly. But you should also condition them to expect paid offers from you on a regular basis (IF you want this to be a real source of revenue for you).
As far as getting people on your list is concerned... you will definitely need to promote it. Many good methods for that...
* WSO's
* JV's / affiliates (you could brand your squeeze page PDF with their affiliate link for the upsell - there are scripts that can automate this). Lots of places to find affiliates. ClickBank is a good place to start.
* SEO traffic (put up quality articles on your site, then get good backlinks to those articles). The articles would ultimately link to your squeeze page.
* Videos - put up some of your "Powerpoint" videos on YouTube and other videos sharing sites, then link back to your squeeze page.
* PPC / media buys
Here's one model that works well (there are many variations, this is only one)...
In your free ebook, don't "give away the farm". For an opt-in bribe, I wouldn't use a PDF more than @ 15-20 pages. While you should definitely provide some value in the freebie, you want to make it "incomplete", and ultimately use it as a "presell" tool for a paid product.
Think about it... if you give your prospects all the info they need to know in the freebie, then why would they need your paid product?
Of course you COULD give away the entire premium product as the freebie, but then you just "conditioned" your list to expect premium products from you for free (which is not what you want if you plan to actually sell them anything in the future)!
I'm not saying you shouldn't provide great value to your list for free - because you SHOULD. And you should do it regularly. But you should also condition them to expect paid offers from you on a regular basis (IF you want this to be a real source of revenue for you).
As far as getting people on your list is concerned... you will definitely need to promote it. Many good methods for that...
* WSO's
* JV's / affiliates (you could brand your squeeze page PDF with their affiliate link for the upsell - there are scripts that can automate this). Lots of places to find affiliates. ClickBank is a good place to start.
* SEO traffic (put up quality articles on your site, then get good backlinks to those articles). The articles would ultimately link to your squeeze page.
* Videos - put up some of your "Powerpoint" videos on YouTube and other videos sharing sites, then link back to your squeeze page.
* PPC / media buys
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