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In this blog post, I decided to update everyone on how I am progressing so far on my 2024 goal of finally getting my online business running. First, a quick aside if you don’t mind humoring me for a minute…
When I started my journey three years ago into trying to figure out how to make money online, “digital marketing” wasn’t a term that I’d heard. But I have noticed a trend emerge over the past year and now I am hearing about it all the time. And at first I was a little confused about what the heck it was, and I did some research (enter Google!)
Turns out, digital marketing is just a big term for using the internet as a means to advertise. So what I have been doing all along, with learning affiliate marketing specifically and how to grow an email list, build a sales funnel, make offers to my audience, etc etc … it all fits under the umbrella of digital marketing skills. I would argue affiliate marketing itself is just a branch off broader the digital marketing tree.
So if affiliate marketing is the specific selling of other people’s products, taking one step back into the broader digital marketing space can include both offering your own products as well as the products of others. For some reason this really flipped a lightbulb switch in my head. Because for some time I had been struggling with what to offer my audience that would best serve them, and wanted to be able to do more than just hand them off to other people, other businesses – such as what you do with affiliate marketing. I wanted something of my own to offer.
So – getting back to the main topic of this post…. My newfound understanding of digital marketing has kicked off a new phase of my online business journey, and one that I am obsessing with in every spare moment I can find in my day. I am currently in the fledgling phases of developing my own little course to help people build a simple WordPress blog. Because if you happened to have read my prior blog post, I feel very strongly that a blog is an important asset for any aspiring solopreneur to have in their toolbelt.
I want to bundle my own WordPress blog course with the education I recently discovered that lives within the Roadmap course. The Roadmap course hit the scene a year ago last February 2023 and has taken off like crazy. I decided to see what all the hype was about and purchased the course about a month ago, and boy was I glad I did.
In the past few weeks, I’ve been working through the modules of the Roadmap course and have been learning and accomplishing SO MUCH. Things that will not only help me with my affiliate marketing journey, but my larger vision of building a business that helps both beginners and existing small businesses get started generating income online.
It covers both foundational aspects of building an online business as well as practical application of how to actually set up your systems to support that business, like the email automations, sales funnel building, and content development/promotion. It is a great product at a fantastic value and I feel very aligned with promoting it, since it addresses the problems that my target audience (beginners like me) face.
(If you want to know more about the Roadmap course, I will put my link here. Just know that it is connected with my sales funnel, as I am now promoting this course as part of my business).
So, I was finally able to launch my first sales funnel and connected email campaigns on January 31, and while I know it’s not very good (because who nails it the first time around??), I’m still celebrating the BIG WIN of actually getting it done.
(queue happy dance!)
I also wrote my own lead magnet using a free Canva account which I have decided to call “How to Grow a Money Tree” and it helps provide an introduction to digital marketing to help people decide if investing in a digital marketing education fits with their own business goals. I’ve connected this lead magnet with my promotion of the Roadmap course.
Now I am diving deep into learning how to develop and promote content on Instagram which is the platform I have chosen as my primary traffic strategy to compliment my blog. The Roadmap course has a very thorough module on this (and covers other platforms as well such as Tik Tok, You Tube, and Facebook).
So far, I am finding the content development component of Instagram very difficult! There is definitely a skill that must be learned to be able to attract an audience that on average is only going to give you three seconds of their attention before scrolling past. I much prefer spending hours click-clacking away on my keyboard to write a blog post.
To help me get better, I’ve found and followed a few helpful Instagram gurus, which I’ll list below in case others would like to check out their content on the app:
- @jennaspaige (she also has a very fun podcast called “Shiny New Clients”)
- @montylans (offers beginners help on IG with his “Reelest” course)
- @brock11johnson (he also has a paid subscription service called InstaClubHub)
As we know, we don’t get better without practice, practice, practice. Throw an occasional pity party of one, and then practice some more.
Can I even say I have a business yet if I have no customers?? The journey continues…
What are your own wins so far this year? How are you getting along with your new year goals? Let me know in the comments below.
With love,
Wow, I am in awe of what you have gotten done. I am totally a beginner and seeing this gives me some hope that given enough time, I can see some progress as well. I am going to check out the links you recommended. Thank you!
Patience and persistence are our friends!
AK
Acasha, I think you’re putting the art before the horse as you have mentioned several times you have no customers and you also stated you’re struggling with leads. Consider the fact you have not identified your niche. So how do you know your customer avatar? Until you complete your customer avatar research you will continue to struggle.
Hi James, I think you’re new here, welcome!
I do indeed have my target audience identified, which is beginners like me. And yes, I have had no leads yet because up until now I wasn’t actually collecting any – the subject of this post was all about how I finally have my own lead magnet ready to go. So onwards and upwards from here.
AK
Great post Acasha,
Love the money tree and and all the links you have added. So much great information. You are flying through all this.
I can’t wait to see your next post.
Sandy
Thanks, Sandy! Its a process for sure, but one I am enjoying (and I think that’s important too!)
AK
Acasha, thanks for your blog. Your website is looking really nice and crisp and neat. I like the icons and borders at the top. It looks really good. I’m a little confused about your link. Is that a program you have made or is it someone else’s product that you’re promoting.? it’s helpful to have those links to the Instagram pages as useful contacts. Thank you until next time. Thanks, Atif
If you mean the link/banner I added to the right sidebar, that is my new “Money Tree” lead magnet that I wrote myself and am hoping will generate leads. The other links I included in my post are referencing other products/other resources not my own, but I tried to be clear in those instances that it was the case. I am working on my own blog mini course but I think I’ve got a few more weeks before I get that finished (so that will be a future blog post!)
AK
This is great! I have been thinking similar thoughts about creating a course, but am a long way away as still working out the topic and target audience.
I think creating your lead magnet is awesome as you are putting into practice what you are learning!! So growing heaps and in just 3 years!
Congratulations!
I admittedly have made most of this progress in just the past two months. I’ve finally decided to draw that line in the sand and will stall no further in getting my business running. May 2024 be great years for us both!
AK
Hi Acasha, I’m very impressed with what you are doing. I followed your links and received your book. Most eloquently written, well done! I must admit I was expecting to see a product of Dean’s being offered ultimately. It’s great to see that you can use Internet Profits tuition to promote other things. I look forward to following you progress.
Andy
I plan to add to my offerings the Beginners Advantage/Affiliate System to my suite of offers once that becomes available to a wider audience. The roadmap course is something that stands alone and is a great foundational education. When people are ready to go further, I think that is where Affiliate System will fit in best, in my opinion. At least that’s my current plan anyway!
I’m glad you found the guidebook I wrote well composed. I’ve already got ideas on how to improve it, but have other balls in the air currently before I circle back to it (which will probably be discussed in my next post haha).
AK
Acasha,
Impressive! You’ve achieved so much, and major kudos for getting your own digital marketing tool on your Money Tree – that’s fantastic. I’m definitely going to check out the Road Map and the Insta gurus you mentioned. Keep up the amazing work and keep forging ahead!
Sherri
I’m so glad you found the resources helpful!
AK