how to start and grow asuccessful online business

without quitting your day job

THE SIX-F I G U R E

S E C O N DI N C O M E

D A V I D L I N D A H LJONATHAN ROZEK

Business/Entrepreneurship $24.95 USA / $29.95 CAN

Proven methods for building anonline income stream

Maybe you dream of making money with an online business, but haven’t tried so far because you’d have to quit your current job and enter the risky world of Internet startups. Or because you think you need lots of capital and way too much time. Or you think the fi eld is maxed out and overcrowded. Or that you need to be age twenty-four—with an amazing invention to sell. Or just because the economy’s too bad right now.

If these reasons sound familiar, Dave Lindahl and Jon Rozek beg to differ. Having done so themselves, they know you can create a very signifi cant side income online, and their new go-to guide The Six-Figure Second Income shows you exactly how!

Filled with common-sense advice and proven tips, this book supplies you with a complete toolbox to take the things you know or do best and sell them online for a profi t—all in your spare time, working at your speed. You’ll get a no-nonsense approach to creating and selling simple, effective information products that will, with time and work, produce a sizable income stream. You’ll also discover:

• Ten false barriers on your road to online

business success

• Six very real dangers to your success

• Ready-made ideas for quick and

profi table products

• Helpful tips for creating saleable content

quickly and easily

• Seven building blocks of a good Web site

• Common marketing mistakes and their fi xes

• How to use Google tools and other online resources

to discover new trends and markets

• Secrets to creating an upward profi t spiral

[ C O N T I N U E D O N B A C K F L A P ]

[ C O N T I N U E D F R O M F R O N T F L A P ]

If for some reason you object to making money, don’t

read this book. Otherwise, pick up The Six-Figure

Second Income and start building a rewarding and

growing stream of online profi ts today!

DAVID LINDAHL owns or partners

in more than 7,000 apartment units

across the United States, representing

more than $300 million of real estate.

In addition to investing, he travels

the world, speaking on business success and also

supporting charities. He owns RE Mentor, a real estate

speaking/seminar/information-marketing operation.

He has written several successful books with Wiley

including Trump University Commercial Real Estate

Investing 101, Multi-Family Millions, and Emerging

Real Estate Markets.

JONATHAN ROZEK spent more than

twenty years in the fi nancial services

industry in analytical, marketing,

and executive positions. For the last

seven years he has been a full-time

marketing consultant with an international clientele.

He is also a writer and has collaborated with Dave

Lindahl and Bill Bartmann on six books.

Visit www.SixFigureSecondIncome.com

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Praise for The Six-Figure Second Income

“Most people would be thrilled with a six-fi gure income—but a six-fi gure second income would be a real dream. Lindahl and Rozek knock down all the barriers to online business success and show you how ignoring the conventional wisdom may be the smartest move you’ll ever make.”— HARVEY MACKAY, author of the #1 New York Times bestseller Swim with

the Sharks without Being Eaten Alive

“I’ve been in business for over forty years. I’ve been both bankrupt and a billionaire. What have I learned from it? That one of the most important assets you can have on your journey toward business success is a clear path. The Six-Figure Second Income is just such a path. The authors have fi lled this book with straight talk and valuable guidance. I wish it had come out many years ago.”—BILL BARTMANN, author of Bailout Riches!, www.BillBartmann.com

“Jonathan Rozek is a sophisticated New Englander with zero tolerance for make-money hype AND for anyone’s lame excuses for not jumping into business with both feet. I love his direct, frank, even-handed approach to every single topic. It’s hard to name many excellent ‘A to Z’ guides to Internet marketing. But this covers everything from ‘what PDF stands for’ to some fairly advanced marketing strategies. You’ll have a great framework before you go deep into individual subject areas. Loaded with c ommon sense. Excellent!”— PERRY MARSHALL, author of The Defi nitive Guide to Google AdWords,

www.PerryMarshall.com

“I run multiple businesses and I’m always low on time. What I love about this book is the practical, real-world advice about how to start and grow a business when no one’s given you a ‘leg up.’ That is, no one until this book came along. Well done!”— WENDY PATTON, author, real estate builder, broker, and investor,

www.WendyPatton.com

FFIRS 06/25/2010 19:24:4 Page 2

FFIRS 06/25/2010 19:24:4 Page 1

The Six-FigureSecond Income

FFIRS 06/25/2010 19:24:4 Page 2

FFIRS 06/25/2010 19:24:4 Page 3

The Six-FigureSecond Income

How to Start and Growa Successful Online Business

Without Quitting Your Day Job

DAVID LINDAHLJONATHAN ROZEK

John Wiley & Sons, Inc.

FFIRS 06/25/2010 19:24:5 Page 4

Copyright# 2010 by David Lindahl and Jonathan Rozek. All rights reserved.

Published by JohnWiley & Sons, Inc., Hoboken, New Jersey.

Published simultaneously in Canada.

No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, ortransmitted in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying,

recording, scanning, or otherwise, except as permitted under Section 107 or 108 of the

1976 United States Copyright Act, without either the prior written permission of the

Publisher, or authorization through payment of the appropriate per-copy fee to theCopyright Clearance Center, Inc., 222 Rosewood Drive, Danvers, MA 01923, (978) 750-8400,

fax (978) 646-8600, or on the web at www.copyright.com. Requests to the Publisher for

permission should be addressed to the Permissions Department, JohnWiley & Sons, Inc.,

111 River Street, Hoboken, NJ 07030, (201) 748-6011, fax (201) 748-6008, or online athttp://www.wiley.com/go/permissions.

Limit of Liability/Disclaimer of Warranty: While the publisher and author have used their

best efforts in preparing this book, they make no representations or warranties withrespect to the accuracy or completeness of the contents of this book and specifically

disclaim any implied warranties of merchantability or fitness for a particular purpose. No

warranty may be created or extended by sales representatives or written sales materials.

The advice and strategies contained herein may not be suitable for your situation. Youshould consult with a professional where appropriate. Neither the publisher nor author

shall be liable for any loss of profit or any other commercial damages, including but not

limited to special, incidental, consequential, or other damages.

For general information on our other products and services or for technical support,please contact our Customer Care Department within the United States at (800) 762-2974,

outside the United States at (317) 572-3993 or fax (317) 572-4002.

Wiley also publishes its books in a variety of electronic formats. Some content that

appears in print may not be available in electronic books. For more information aboutWiley products, visit our web site at www.wiley.com.

Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data:

Lindahl, David and Rozek, Jonathan.

The six-figure second income: how to start and grow a successful online business

without quitting your day job / David Lindahl, Jonathan Rozek.

p. cm.Includes index.

ISBN 978-0-470-63395-3 (cloth)

ISBN 978-0-470-77045-0 (ebk)

ISBN 978-0-470-87200-0 (ebk)ISBN 978-0-470-87201-7 (ebk)

1. Electronic commerce. 2. New business enterprises–Computer networks.

I. Rozek, Jonathan, 1958- II. Title.

HF5548.32.L556 2010658.8072—dc22 2010007795

Printed in the United States of America

10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1

FTOC 07/12/2010 22:48:46 Page 5

CONTENTS

Preface xiii

CHAPTER 1You CAN Get Rich—But Yes, There Is a Catch 1

10 Giant Keep Out! Signs on the Road to Your Online Business

Success—The False Barriers 2

‘‘I’m Too Old/I’m Too Young’’ 2

‘‘I Don’t Have Enough Money’’ 2

‘‘I Don’t Have Enough Time’’ 3

‘‘It’s a Bad Economy’’ 4

‘‘All the Really Good Ideas Are Taken’’ 5

‘‘I’m Too Small to Compete Against the Big Guys’’ 5

‘‘I’m No Good with Computers’’ 6

‘‘There’s Too Much Competition’’ 6

‘‘I’m Not Educated Enough’’ 8

‘‘Someone Will Steal My Idea’’ 8

Now For the Six Disabling and Very Real Dangers to Your Online

Business Success 10

Real Danger Number One: You Are Easily Influenced by

People Less Successful than YouWant to Be 10

Real Danger Number Two: You Think You Can Sit on the

Couch and Money Will Spew out of the TV 12

Related Real Danger Number Three: You Think that the Only

Good Money Is Hard-Earned Money 13

FTOC 07/12/2010 22:48:46 Page 6

Real Danger Number Four: You Insist upon Staying in Your

Comfort Zone at All Times 14

Real Danger Number Five: You Think ‘‘My Situation

Is Different’’ 15

Real Danger Number Six: You’re More of an Idea Pack Rat

than a Beaver 18

CHAPTER 2How to Build a Quick and Profitable Product 21

The Typical Dream Is Useless 23

‘‘I Must Have a Fortress to Protect My Idea from

Knockoff Artists’’ 24

‘‘I Must Reach Millions of People’’ 25

‘‘I Want to Be Famous’’ 25

‘‘I Want to Be as Rich as King Midas from the

First Invention of Mine’’ 25

‘‘I Need to Invent Something Revolutionary’’ 25

‘‘Inventions Are Things that Are Manufactured

in Factories’’ 26

Your First Product Should Be One of These 26

What Problem Have You Solved? 28

What Can You Demonstrate? 29

What Have You Researched on the Web and

Discovered? 30

What Are the Best Resources You’ve Found? 34

How Do Things Fit Together? 36

Explore Other Variations on A Proven Theme 38

What Have You Tested? 40

Appeal to Rabid Hobbyists 41

Is This Great, or What? 43

Another School of Thought 44

vi CONTENTS

FTOC 07/12/2010 22:48:46 Page 7

Avoid This Pitfall 45

Get My Chart 47

CHAPTER 3How to Create Content Cheaply and Easily 49

Stage 1: Capture the Raw Content 49

Method One: Sit Down andWrite 50

Method Two: Have a Conversation 54

Method Three: Interview People 56

Method Four: Record a Presentation 57

Method Five: Capture Screenshots 57

Method Six: Do a Video Capture of a

Web Session 58

Stage 2: Edit the Content 60

Backup Your Work! 61

Stage 3: Deliver the Content 63

1. Special Report 66

2. Getting-Started Kit 68

3. Home-Study Course 68

4. Sample Newsletter 69

5. Book 69

6. Interview Series Transcript 69

7. Fast-Start Guide 70

8. Pocket Guide 71

9. Checklist 71

10. T-shirt 72

11. and 12. Poster and Laminated Poster 73

13. Calendar 74

14. Game 74

15. Mug 75

Con t en t s vii

FTOC 07/12/2010 22:48:46 Page 8

16. Information Wheel 75

17. CD 76

18. DVD 77

19. Interview Series on MP3 77

20. Free Video 78

21. Live Event Videos 78

22. Toll-Free 24/7 Recorded Line 80

23. Consulting Hotline 82

24. Teleseminar/Webinar 82

25. Trial Software 86

26. iPhone Application 86

27. Software 87

28. Online Calculator 87

29. Interview Series PDFs 88

30. Free PDF 88

31. Free Audio 89

32. Consultation 89

33. Lunch or Dinner Seminar 89

34. One-Day Seminar 90

35. Consultation (Paid Version) 90

36. Boot Camp 91

37. Live Tour 91

38. Cruise 92

The Excellent Concept of Continuity 92

39. Newsletter 93

40. Membership Site 94

41. Weekly Faxes 94

42. Coaching 94

The Opportunity Engineer 96

viii CONTENTS

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CHAPTER 4Getting Open for Business 97

The Seven Basic Building Blocks to a Good Web Site 97

Building Block One: You Need to Own a Good Domain

Name 97

Building Block Two: You Need to Arrange for

Web Site Hosting 108

Building Block Three: Get a Web Site Design 113

Building Block Four: Get an HTML Editor 117

Building Block Five: Get an FTP Tool 118

Building Block Six: Learn How to Accept Money on

the Web 119

Building Block Seven: Set Up an Effective E-Mail System 128

Getting Work Done for You 134

CHAPTER 5How to Get People to Raise Their Hands 141

Myth Number One: ‘‘It’s All about Traffic’’ 141

Myth Number Two: ‘‘It’s All about Targeted Traffic’’ 143

Myth Number Three: ‘‘I’mWaiting for the Game Changer’’ 144

Myth Number Four: ‘‘It’s All about Cost Per Lead’’ 147

Principle One: The True Measure of a Lead-Generation

Technique Is Not Cost per Lead but Instead Return

on Investment 147

Principle Two: Lead Sources Have a Half-Life Just

Like Uranium 148

Principle Three: There Is No One Single ‘‘Best’’ Lead Source

for Everyone 148

Principle Four: Don’t Pursue Prospects—Attract Them 149

Principle Five: Give Before You Get 150

The Moving Parts of a Lead-Generation Effort 151

Con t en t s ix

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Step One: Deliver Valuable Information to a Highly

Targeted Audience 151

Step Two: Direct Them to a Specific Page 151

Step Three: Reinforce that They’re in the Right Place 153

Step Four: Reinforce Their Decision to Visit Your Site by

Giving Them Even More Information 154

Step Five: Explain There’s Even More Where that

Came From 154

Step Six: When They Submit Their Contact Information,

Instantly Have It Go into Your Database and Redirect Them

to aWelcome Page 156

Great Sources for Leads 157

Pay-Per-Click Advertising 157

Key Phrase Techniques 163

Google AdSense 165

Organic Search 167

Getting Found Locally in Google 169

Article Marketing 171

Social Media 174

Blogs 174

YouTube 176

Press Releases 177

eBay 179

Inexpensive and Great Offline Strategies for

Getting Found 180

Local Newspapers 180

Free-Standing Inserts 181

Commuter Newspapers 182

Local Clubs and Events 182

Direct Mail 182

x CONTENTS

FTOC 07/12/2010 22:48:46 Page 11

CHAPTER 6How to Turn Prospects into Buyers 185

Mistake Number One: Ineffective Marketers Confuse Attention

with Shouting 185

Mistake Number Two: Ineffective Marketers Boost Their Claims

out of All Proportion 187

Mistake Number Three: With Ineffective Marketers, It’s All

about Them and Not about the Customer 189

Mistake Number Four: Ineffective Marketers Ask You to Buy

Too Soon 191

Mistake Number Five: Ineffective Marketers Do Not Include

a Call to Action and a Deadline 192

Mistake Number Six: Ineffective Marketers Further Erode Trust

by Creating Fake Deadlines 192

Mistake Number Seven: Ineffective Marketers Speak to

Audiences, Not to Individuals 193

The EightMoney Questions: Answer These and Your Product

Will Sell 195

Money Question One: ‘‘Why Should I Stop and Listen

to You?’’ 195

Money Question Two: ‘‘Why Should I Read the

Whole Thing?’’ 197

Money Question Three: ‘‘What Else Do You Have and How

Will It Help Me?’’ 199

Money Question Four: ‘‘Why Is Your Solution Better than

Any Other?’’ 201

Money Question Five: ‘‘Why Should I Believe

Your Claims?’’ 201

Money Question Six: ‘‘What’s It Going to Cost Me?’’ 205

Money Question Seven: ‘‘What’s My Risk?’’ 209

Con t en t s xi

FTOC 07/12/2010 22:48:46 Page 12

Money Question Eight: ‘‘What Happens After You Have

My Money?’’ 212

CHAPTER 7Relationships Equal Revenues 215

Autoresponders versus Broadcast E-Mails 217

Four Tips for Building Profitable Relationships

Through E-Mail 218

Tip One: Segment for Success 218

Tip Two: Encourage Consumption 219

Tip Three: Become a Welcome Guest in Their Inbox 220

Tip Four: Make It Two-Way Communication 222

Other Ways to Stay Close to Your Customers 223

CHAPTER 8The Secrets to an Upward Profit Spiral 225

Step One: Install Measuring Devices 226

Step Two: Determine Why Nonbuyers Don’t Buy, and Adjust

Your Site Accordingly 227

Step Three: Test Everything 229

CHAPTER 9The ‘‘I’’ Factor 231

INDEX 233

xii CONTENTS

FPREF 06/25/2010 19:25:46 Page 13

PREFACE

Two guys wrote this book—David Lindahl and Jonathan Rozek—

and we intentionally wrote the book as if it were a conversation

between two people, one of whom is you.

You’ll see that we say things such as, ‘‘I hope you see the

value in . . .’’ and not ‘‘We hope you see the value in . . .’’ This is

amore conversational and direct approach than if you constantly

saw alternating versions of: ‘‘We think . . . ,’’ ‘‘Dave says . . . ,’’

‘‘Jon built a . . . ,’’ and so on.

You’ll also soon see that the real secret to your six-figure

second income is not in tangible products and not in gimmicks,

but in honest and direct communication between you and your

customers. This book is our attempt to do the same with you.