The Keys To Online Success

Finding success online does not have to be hard but it may take a while, so you will need to have patience if you want to succeed. There is no secret formula which will grant you success online and you will have to come up with your own methods and strategies for success. 

However, there are a few things that you can do that will help you to build your online business. 

Willingness To Learn

Your willingness to learn is one of the most important abilities which you can posses if you want to work online. You will have to learn things like how to do a market research, how to set up your website or blog and then how to effectively market your business. 

Then once you think you know it all, the rules will change and so you keep learning in order to stay on top of things. 

Hard Work And Dedication 

Starting your online business will take a lot of hard work and dedication. Unless you have money to pay for marketing or your content creation you will have to spend every waking moment of your free time into your online business.

You may also have to spend a lot of time in learning how to write effectively, or how to type fast. 

Perseverance

Starting your online business will take a lot of time and perseverance. You may not see any profits for the first six months to a year and you may feel like giving up. But if you do not give up at this time and keep going you will reap the rewards of your hard work and dedication.

Avoiding Negativity 

You may find that the majority of people will not support you as you start your online business. Many will tell you that you are wasting you time, and that you will never be able to make any money online, and that you should just go and get a real job. 

But whatever you do, do not listen to these people as they don't know what they are talking about. Associating with them on a regular basis will cause their negativity to rub off on you and this is the last thing you need. 

So stay focused on your dreams and on your goals and keep working on them everyday, no matter what anybody says. For you will succeed if you do not give up, and once you do, they will come to you asking for advice on how they can get started as well.

How To Avoid Distractions

When working at home, you may soon find yourself unable to work because of all the distractions you have to deal with. But there are ways to somewhat eliminate your distractions so that you can still get a fair amount of work done.

Get An Office

The best way to eliminate distractions is to designate one room as your home office. This will get you away from the commotion and you will be able to avoid most distractions.

If you do not have such a room you may want to look for a quiet corner.

Turn Off The Phone

When turning off the phone you should always make sure to leave your answering machine on so that you can return any missed calls.

You should also turn off your email client or any other alerts which you may be getting on your computer.

Ear Plugs

Sometimes you may not have the convenience of your own office and may have to resort to a corner somewhere in the same room as where everyone else is. This situation could make it rather difficult for you to concentrate on your tasks, so you may want to use earplugs so you can tune everyone out until your work is done.

This allows everyone else to continue with their activities, and they won't resent you for trying to do your work at this time.

Earplugs can also be helpful if your office is situated in a noisy neighborhood where you cannot avoid the noise of children playing or barking dogs.

Be Organized

Being organized can also help you to avoid getting distracted. This means you should have all your files, pens and notebooks in a place where you know where to find them, so that you will not be distracted by having to look for them when you need them. This will also help to save you a lot of time.

Music

Generally you will not want your music on, but in certain situations on-going music may help you to drown out any noise in the background which is distracting you. This could be from cars and trucks driving by your street, as well as your children, or the neighbor's children as they play outside.

There will always be distractions which you cannot get rid of, but by getting rid of those which you can get rid of, you will increase your productivity and will be able to stay more motivated to work.

Free Gifts To Give Away

Giving away free gifts is a great way to jump-start your online business. They will help you to establish your online credibility, plus they will help you to get more free traffic by marketing the free gift on article directories or social media sites.

Free gifts do not have to be expensive, but they should be gifts which you could sell at a decent price, and others should be able to benefit from them in one way or another. Never give away anything that you would not buy, as this could hurt you more than help you. So what are some of the gifts that you could give away? Here are a few ideas to get you started.

Ebooks

Ebooks are the most popular and most effective gifts to give away for free. Once you have taken the time to create the ebook you will have no costs to ship it or anything as your customers can simply download it online.

Ebooks can be anything from product information, statistics, motivational, or tutorials. As long as it is related to your business you can give it away.

Videos

Videos are also a great way to entice people to come to your website, or to gain their trust. These could be to demonstrate how your products work, more information, or just to walk your customers through certain steps regarding your products.

Product Samples

If you are selling products which can easily be put into samples then this is a great product to give away. To keep the shipping costs down, you could offer the samples along with an order, or have the customer pay the shipping.

When giving away free samples make sure that it is in your budget to do so, as the costs could add up quite fast.

Prizes

You can also hold a special contest and give away free prizes to the winners. Again these prizes can be anything from an ebook to an actual product which you can ship. When you are giving your product away as a prize you should never charge the shipping fee to the winner, as this may come as a surprise to them and they may not return back to your website.

If you are just starting your online business then free samples or prizes may not be suitable because of the high costs involved, so before you give these away, make sure that it is in your budget to do so.

How To Manage Your Time

Starting your home based business will take a lot of your time so you may find yourself working at it every waking moment of spare time that you have. Therefore it is essential that you learn how to manage your time efficiently. 

Starting Your Work Day 

When your alarm clock goes off in the morning do not hit the snooze button, as this will only make you lazy, making it harder for you to get started in your day. If this means that you have to go to bed an hour earlier then do so. 

You should start your work day as early as you can everyday, and spend at least 15 minutes to half an hour of brainstorming and deciding what you will do that day. This will help you to stay focused throughout your whole day so that you can get more done. 

Take Frequent Breaks 

Studies have shown that if you take a short five to ten minute break every hour, it increases your productivity. Use this time to drink lots of water or eat fresh fruits and vegetables to refuel yourself. Taking a break will also help to eliminate the stress of looking at the computer, from typing or from sitting in one position for too long. 

Go for a short walk after lunch to get some exercise as well as fresh air. This fresh air will stimulate your brain cells, allowing you to get more work done. 

Set A Schedule 

Make a schedule for yourself of when you will work and then stick to it. During your work sessions you should turn off your telephone as well as your email or any other alerts that you might be getting. This will help you to avoid distractions so that you can stay focused on your work to get if done faster.

If you turn off that telephone make sure that you have your answering machine on so that you can return any missed calls. People should understand that you are working and that you cannot always pick up the phone when it rings. 

Use A Timer

Give yourself an allotted time slot for each task, and then set a timer to motivate yourself to get the job done within that time frame. If your task is not completed within that time frame, move on to the next task if possible. This method will motivate you to pick up your pace. 

Now of course when you work at home you can always go at your own pace, but by managing your time effectively you will make more money, plus you will have more time for social activities.

Save Time By Using Multiple Computers

For the most part you only need one computer when working online, but if you have several websites or blogs to maintain you may find it useful to have several computers which you can work on. This makes it easier for many different reasons and will help you to be more efficient.

Easier For Bookmarking

If you are in several different markets then a computer for each market will come in handy, as you will be able to keep your bookmarks organized for each market.

This will also allow you to save all your account logins so that you can login automatically without having to log out, and then log in with the other account. This alone can save you a lot of time.

Taking Notes

If you do a lot of research for your writing then you may find that 2 computers are essential, as you can search for the information using one computer, and use the other to take notes. This eliminates the need to write it down, plus typing is a lot faster, and thus you save a lot of time.

Plus saving your notes on a computer will save you from having to deal with a lot of files which tend to build up over time, making it almost impossible to find your notes when you need them.

Maintenance

Having multiple computers will allow you to still continue to work when one breaks down. Additionally you won't have to put up with a slow computer when you do your periodic scans, or when defragmenting your hard drive.

Multi-tasking

Having several computers at your desk will allow you to easily switch between projects without you having to close them down before starting a new project. This way when you get stuck, simply go to the other computer and work on something different until you are ready to go back to your earlier project.

Stay Organized

Having more than one computer will help you to stay more organized as you can keep everything separate. The amount of files and programs stored on each computer will only be a fraction of what they would be if you only had one, and thus you will be able to find your files much faster.

You should have a laptop where you can easily have access to all accounts such as email, twitter or any program which you use frequently. This way you can take it with you where ever you go, and still stay in touch.

How To Stay Motivated

Motivation plays a major role on your success. If you are not motivated, then you will not have the willpower to continue at your dreams until you succeed. Even though you start your online business with great motivation, you could soon find yourself in a place where there is none left.

So when you end up in this place you need to pick yourself up and keep going, but not ending up in this place to begin with will be a lot easier than if you have to pick yourself up.

So How Do You Stay Motivated?

Keep working. Make a list of all the things you need to do in order to make your dreams come true. Then every day before you begin your work, go over this list and decide what you need to do for that day. Then as you complete each task simply scratch it off your list. 

Doing this creates a chemical in your brain which is known as dopamine. Dopamine makes you feel good. And when you feel good, you will be motivated to work hard, and create even more dopamine.

Reward Yourself

You should find a way to reward yourself for each task that you complete. But you should set a deadline for each task so that you will be motivated to complete it so that you will still have time to enjoy your reward. Your reward could be anything like a game of solitaire, or any game which stimulates your brain. 

If it is a major task which you completed you could reward yourself with a greater reward, such as a weekend get-away.

Whatever you do, do not reward yourself with a heavy meal like fast food, or candy as this will weigh you down, making it harder for you to start working again.

Avoid Certain Foods

Avoid certain foods like fast foods, or any heavy meals that contain saturated fats or are high in sugar. These foods will give a rush of energy, only to have you collapse after an hour or so. You should also avoid alcohol and certain drugs which make you drowsy (if possible).

Get Up Early 

Getting up late is the worst thing for de-motivation. There is nothing like looking at the clock and realizing that it is already 9 o'clock and you have not accomplished anything. So the sooner you get up in the morning, the more motivated you will be to work hard all day.

How To Motivate Yourself

If you do not have a boss looking over your shoulder, then you will have to motivate yourself to work hard. This may not be easy at first, but once you get going and you begin to see positive results from your work, it will be second nature to you.

But nevertheless, there are several different ways in which you can motivate yourself and keep yourself motivated.

Write Down Your Dreams

One way to keep yourself going is to write down your dreams and keep the list in a spot where you will see it everyday. You can post pictures, notes and reminders all throughout your house to constantly remind you of your dreams and goals.

Meditate on Your Dreams

Whenever you have a moment you should meditate on your dreams. You should picture yourself in the position you want to be once your dreams have come true. If your dream is to live in a nice house, then you should picture yourself living in that house. If your dream is to go on vacation, pretend that you are working on a sandy beach, or on the balcony of a 5 star hotel.

Meditating on your dreams as well as your goals will also help you to stay focused on what you need to do.

Make a List

Make a list of tasks that you will need to complete in order to make your dreams come true. Then as you complete each task, you can cross it off. You will be amazed at how much it motivates you when you can cross off an accomplishment. Therefore the more you accomplish the more you will be motivated to accomplish even more!

By making a list and keeping the old lists you can also go back periodically and see how much you have accomplished. This way you will not be as overwhelmed when you look at the long list of things which you still need to do.

Stay focused

Many like to multi-task, because they think they are more productive that way, but studies have shown that you get more done if you stay focused on one task until it is done.

It is okay to take on several different projects at once, but you should keep your tasks organized so that you can stay focused. Staying focused will also help you to achieve your goals faster.

When you come to the point where you do not feel like working, just remind yourself of where you want to be, and how good it will be, and before you know it, you will have found a new serge of energy to get the job done.