How to Start an Online Business and Grow Your Income
Disclosure: This post may contain affiliate links. I may receive a small commission at no additional cost to you if you purchase a product or service using one of the affiliate links within this post. I love all my affiliates and make sure they align with my brand before allowing them into my blog. Thanks for your support!
I have been surrounded by entrepreneurs my whole life.
My dad had his own company when I was growing up and as a teenager, my mom started her own successful business that still provides for my family to this day.
Many of my close family members are as well!
When I decided to become an entrepreneur after high school I thought I knew a lot about how to start a successful business.
And it's true, I did know a bit, but there were still many things that I needed to learn, especially as an online business owner.
Nobody in my family had ever started a business like mine.
I had to learn most things from scratch, including how to grow my online business and make money.
In this blog post, we will discuss everything I've learned about making a business plan you love!
How to Start a Business Online
What I love the most about my business plan is that it can work for anybody!
You get to choose how you want your business to look and the things you want to do every day.
These are the basic building blocks for your online business and you build everything else around it.
Let's create a foundation for your business that you absolutely love and can see yourself doing 10 years from now.
How to Grow an Audience
First, let’s talk about building an audience.
This was something I didn’t do for around a year when I first started my business because I thought it didn’t matter.
Oh my goodness was I wrong!
The main thing I put my time and energy into is my audience because it's so important for pretty much any business to thrive online.
My main audience builder is my blog (the one you're reading right now!).
The reason I chose to start a blog is because I have always loved writing and it has been a strong suit of mine since I was a kid.
Even though I have a blog there are quite a few other options.
Some of them are more for events throughout the year and others such as my blog are something you do continuously to bring new people into your audience.
My favourite ways to grow an audience and have new people find you year-round are podcasting, blogging, and social media.
I love these so much and I have worked with people who have used all three of them, including myself.
Depending on your strengths and skills one of these might be better for you than others.
Blogging
Blogging would be perfect for you if you enjoy writing!
It's pretty cut and dry because if you're a blogger, one of your biggest tasks is typing.
So, if you like working away on your laptop or talking into a speaker and having your voice transcribed, which is actually what I’m doing right now, then you should try blogging!
Podcasting
Podcasting is another really great way to grow an audience!
If you enjoy speaking into a microphone and interviewing people, this is a great method for you.
The only reason I didn't become a Podcaster was because I enjoy writing a little bit more than public speaking.
If you love to edit videos and audio and you enjoy finding people that align with what your podcast is about then this can be fantastic for you.
Social Media
And finally, there is social media!
There’s a good chance you will use social media if you’re a blogger or podcaster to bring more attention to your blog or podcast.
It can also be done on its own through short-form videos and static posts!
If you really enjoy speaking in front of a camera and coming up with many different ideas for content then this is a great idea for you.
How to Grow Your Audience with Online Events
Let’s talk a bit about the other methods I mentioned for growing your audience.
Online events!
These are virtual events you create or host throughout the year.
Some of the different options you have are summits, bundles, and webinars.
There are a few others, but I’d like to talk about these because they’re a little bit bigger and are definitely more event-style than other methods of growing your email list.
Virtual Summits
Summits are one of the very first things I learned to put together as a VA!
There are quite a few steps to it but I'll explain the main points.
First, you reach out to many different entrepreneurs who align with your summit's topic and invite them to be a part of your summit.
You ask them to promote to their email list (usually using promo material you provide).
Collect the emails of all of the people who attend your summit.
Depending on whether your summit is recorded or live, you can ask the other entrepreneurs to record a video for you about some information that they would like to give or you can interview them.
If you are interviewing them, ask them what kind of questions they would like to be asked beforehand.
Automations are a big part of this too!
As far as pricing goes, these are usually free but you can have a VIP package with a bunch of special products in it and promote it in your summit to attendees.
Digital Bundles
Bundles are similar to summits in a few ways.
Once again, I'm going to go over the basics of putting together a bundle.
You reach out to entrepreneurs who are in a similar niche as you and ask them for a free online item or online product that they can give to all of the people who attend your bundle to download for free.
The size of your bundle is up to you. You can have as big or as little of a bundle as you would like.
Your bundle doesn't have to be free! It can be a paid-for event that attendees must purchase to gain access.
You collect emails and names of everybody who signed up for the bundle and they become part of your audience.
Ask all of the entrepreneurs who gave their product to your bundle to promote it to their email list/social medias using promo material you usually provide.
Online Webinars
And finally is the webinar.
This is usually a smaller scale than the other two.
It can include just you or you with a few other entrepreneurs who again align with your message or your niche.
You then speak about a specific topic and you record with either just yourself or with everybody who is there and either a live or a recorded webinar.
If it is only you, promote it to your email list and social media.
If you’re with other people, then you yourself promote but you also ask them to promote to their email list with promo material you usually provide.
Events Can Help Boost Your Email List!
I know that was a lot of information, but now that you have a better understanding of how to build your audience online let’s talk a bit about how you can grow your income online and make money using the audience you built!
How to Make Money From Your Business
One of my favourite ways to generate income online is with products.
Products can be about anything and there are many different kinds of products you can make.
My favourite online products are planners, journals, courses, e-books, and trainings.
They’re all fairly self-explanatory, but I am going to briefly discuss what each is about.
Planners
A planner is a digital product that allows your buyers to plan out a certain amount of time.
It can be a daily, weekly, monthly, or yearly planner and you can put whatever you would like in it.
Some examples of what you can include are goals, reflections, or a small section for a grocery list.
It can be a themed planner too!
Make sure they can fill it out.
Journals
A journal is a digital product that allows your buyers to write whatever they think of.
You can also have prompts in there but it’s mostly just for them to write things down.
You can add different pictures or prompts or quotes and things like that.
Courses
I really love courses as a product because these are generally larger and you can make them as big or as small as you want.
You create lessons that teach people who purchase your course some sort of topic that you choose.
E-Books
E-books are digital books.
You send the people who buy them one copy digitally of your book.
It can be an autobiography or a story or a nonfiction.
It can do whatever you would like, but it’s just a book online that you sent them.
Trainings
Similar to a course but usually it’s a single video that is in the lower price range.
It can be similar to a webinar but this time it is a paid-for event meaning attendees purchase access.
It can either be live or recorded but usually, you have a time when they need to be there.
Pricing Your Products
You can choose whatever price point you would like for your products.
To understand that further, I would suggest researching people who have similar products to you and seeing their price points.
Then decide where you would like your price to fall based on that research.
Promotion Time!
Promote your products to your audience.
No matter where your audience is you can send them an email, talk about it in one of your posts or, depending on whether you have a podcast or a blog or social media, just talk about it on there and let them know that it is available.
Make sure you give them a link that isn't hard to find!
Are You Ready To Start Your Online Business?
Thanks for reading this far!
You should feel proud that you're doing the research to become a successful online business owner.
If you want to chat about anything I mentioned in this blog post, I'd love it if you DM me on Instagram!
See you soon!
Isabella
How to Start an Online Business and Grow Your Income
Disclosure: This post may contain affiliate links. I may receive a small commission at no additional cost to you if you purchase a product or service using one of the affiliate links within this post. I love all my affiliates and make sure they align with my brand before allowing them into my blog. Thanks for your support!
I have been surrounded by entrepreneurs my whole life.
My dad had his own company when I was growing up and as a teenager, my mom started her own successful business that still provides for my family to this day.
Many of my close family members are as well!
When I decided to become an entrepreneur after high school I thought I knew a lot about how to start a successful business.
And it's true, I did know a bit, but there were still many things that I needed to learn, especially as an online business owner.
Nobody in my family had ever started a business like mine.
I had to learn most things from scratch, including how to grow my online business and make money.
In this blog post, we will discuss everything I've learned about making a business plan you love!
How to Start a Business Online
What I love the most about my business plan is that it can work for anybody!
You get to choose how you want your business to look and the things you want to do every day.
These are the basic building blocks for your online business and you build everything else around it.
Let's create a foundation for your business that you absolutely love and can see yourself doing 10 years from now.
How to Grow an Audience
First, let’s talk about building an audience.
This was something I didn’t do for around a year when I first started my business because I thought it didn’t matter.
Oh my goodness was I wrong!
The main thing I put my time and energy into is my audience because it's so important for pretty much any business to thrive online.
My main audience builder is my blog (the one you're reading right now!).
The reason I chose to start a blog is because I have always loved writing and it has been a strong suit of mine since I was a kid.
Even though I have a blog there are quite a few other options.
Some of them are more for events throughout the year and others such as my blog are something you do continuously to bring new people into your audience.
My favourite ways to grow an audience and have new people find you year-round are podcasting, blogging, and social media.
I love these so much and I have worked with people who have used all three of them, including myself.
Depending on your strengths and skills one of these might be better for you than others.
Blogging
Blogging would be perfect for you if you enjoy writing!
It's pretty cut and dry because if you're a blogger, one of your biggest tasks is typing.
So, if you like working away on your laptop or talking into a speaker and having your voice transcribed, which is actually what I’m doing right now, then you should try blogging!
Podcasting
Podcasting is another really great way to grow an audience!
If you enjoy speaking into a microphone and interviewing people, this is a great method for you.
The only reason I didn't become a Podcaster was because I enjoy writing a little bit more than public speaking.
If you love to edit videos and audio and you enjoy finding people that align with what your podcast is about then this can be fantastic for you.
Social Media
And finally, there is social media!
There’s a good chance you will use social media if you’re a blogger or podcaster to bring more attention to your blog or podcast.
It can also be done on its own through short-form videos and static posts!
If you really enjoy speaking in front of a camera and coming up with many different ideas for content then this is a great idea for you.
How to Grow Your Audience with Online Events
Let’s talk a bit about the other methods I mentioned for growing your audience.
Online events!
These are virtual events you create or host throughout the year.
Some of the different options you have are summits, bundles, and webinars.
There are a few others, but I’d like to talk about these because they’re a little bit bigger and are definitely more event-style than other methods of growing your email list.
Virtual Summits
Summits are one of the very first things I learned to put together as a VA!
There are quite a few steps to it but I'll explain the main points.
First, you reach out to many different entrepreneurs who align with your summit's topic and invite them to be a part of your summit.
You ask them to promote to their email list (usually using promo material you provide).
Collect the emails of all of the people who attend your summit.
Depending on whether your summit is recorded or live, you can ask the other entrepreneurs to record a video for you about some information that they would like to give or you can interview them.
If you are interviewing them, ask them what kind of questions they would like to be asked beforehand.
Automations are a big part of this too!
As far as pricing goes, these are usually free but you can have a VIP package with a bunch of special products in it and promote it in your summit to attendees.
Digital Bundles
Bundles are similar to summits in a few ways.
Once again, I'm going to go over the basics of putting together a bundle.
You reach out to entrepreneurs who are in a similar niche as you and ask them for a free online item or online product that they can give to all of the people who attend your bundle to download for free.
The size of your bundle is up to you. You can have as big or as little of a bundle as you would like.
Your bundle doesn't have to be free! It can be a paid-for event that attendees must purchase to gain access.
You collect emails and names of everybody who signed up for the bundle and they become part of your audience.
Ask all of the entrepreneurs who gave their product to your bundle to promote it to their email list/social medias using promo material you usually provide.
Online Webinars
And finally is the webinar.
This is usually a smaller scale than the other two.
It can include just you or you with a few other entrepreneurs who again align with your message or your niche.
You then speak about a specific topic and you record with either just yourself or with everybody who is there and either a live or a recorded webinar.
If it is only you, promote it to your email list and social media.
If you’re with other people, then you yourself promote but you also ask them to promote to their email list with promo material you usually provide.
Events Can Help Boost Your Email List!
I know that was a lot of information, but now that you have a better understanding of how to build your audience online let’s talk a bit about how you can grow your income online and make money using the audience you built!
How to Make Money From Your Business
One of my favourite ways to generate income online is with products.
Products can be about anything and there are many different kinds of products you can make.
My favourite online products are planners, journals, courses, e-books, and trainings.
They’re all fairly self-explanatory, but I am going to briefly discuss what each is about.
Planners
A planner is a digital product that allows your buyers to plan out a certain amount of time.
It can be a daily, weekly, monthly, or yearly planner and you can put whatever you would like in it.
Some examples of what you can include are goals, reflections, or a small section for a grocery list.
It can be a themed planner too!
Make sure they can fill it out.
Journals
A journal is a digital product that allows your buyers to write whatever they think of.
You can also have prompts in there but it’s mostly just for them to write things down.
You can add different pictures or prompts or quotes and things like that.
Courses
I really love courses as a product because these are generally larger and you can make them as big or as small as you want.
You create lessons that teach people who purchase your course some sort of topic that you choose.
E-Books
E-books are digital books.
You send the people who buy them one copy digitally of your book.
It can be an autobiography or a story or a nonfiction.
It can do whatever you would like, but it’s just a book online that you sent them.
Trainings
Similar to a course but usually it’s a single video that is in the lower price range.
It can be similar to a webinar but this time it is a paid-for event meaning attendees purchase access.
It can either be live or recorded but usually, you have a time when they need to be there.
Pricing Your Products
You can choose whatever price point you would like for your products.
To understand that further, I would suggest researching people who have similar products to you and seeing their price points.
Then decide where you would like your price to fall based on that research.
Promotion Time!
Promote your products to your audience.
No matter where your audience is you can send them an email, talk about it in one of your posts or, depending on whether you have a podcast or a blog or social media, just talk about it on there and let them know that it is available.
Make sure you give them a link that isn't hard to find!
Are You Ready To Start Your Online Business?
Thanks for reading this far!
You should feel proud that you're doing the research to become a successful online business owner.
If you want to chat about anything I mentioned in this blog post, I'd love it if you DM me on Instagram!
See you soon!
Isabella
I'm Bella!
A 21 year old Canadian living in Guatemala with her own business... and I adore it! This blog is for anyone who wants to learn how to grow an online business from their passions.
Enjoy!
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