Why You Need a Strategy to Earn Money Online

As much as you want to make some extra cash online right now -  if you don't have a strategy you might just be floating in the ocean of internet marketing without a real sense of where you're going.  In most large companies having a strategy is a key component to a business plan and direction setting.  But, many times people confuse a strategy with a plan which are two very different things.  A strategy requires some training on strategic thinking to help you define potential opportunities for the future. How does this apply to you online? Let me dig a bit deeper to show you how you might apply it.

What is a Strategy?

Have you ever met someone who was so meticulous that they planned out in detail every step and task in detail?  Or, have you ever met someone who was so creative, inventive, yet so disorganized that they didn't know what day or time is was?   A strategy is can be thought of as the intersection of the two.  A strategy is not necessarily a plan nor is it just a set of creative ideas. The best way to think of a strategy is mix together the best of 'inventor/innovator' thinking with 'planner/organizer' thinking.  This is the essence of strategic thinking.


Let's use internet marketing as an example. If you don't have a strategy you are probably jumping around between great new ideas in, say, affiliate marketing, traffic generation or PPC haphazardly being drawn into offers for new products promising vast wealth or monthly income. With a bit of inspiration you may have also planned a single report or set of articles to be completed in a few weeks. Some dollars probably have started to roll in but without consistency.

How do you define a Strategy?

If your goal is to make money online then understanding your 'idea' and when your are planning to achieve it is the essence of your strategy. Let's say you want to focus on 'article marketing' - a strategy would be first, a core idea of what you're going to market - for example, a comprehensive ebook to be sold on Clickbank. (Your reaction might be, 'oh no, I don't know much about article marketing, how can I write an ebook about it?')  Well, your second step would be to define the phases or high level plan to reach that goal.

For example, your first phase of a strategy could be writing a free report of interviews with expert article marketers to be completed in 30 to 60 days. You've achieved two underlying goals; learning about your topic, and, now you have a report to give away on a squeeze page Next, your second strategic phase could be building a simple squeeze page while actually writing articles that point back to it to start building a list. Guess what, your strategy now has you trained by experts in phase one and actually doing it in phase two. Finally, your third and most strategic phase is to write the ebook on article marketing!!  Your list is started, you've gained knowledge and you now have a final product.

Where to learn more about Strategic Thinking

Being a strategic thinker to define a plan isn't easy. It takes some time to get away from the 'noise' on your computer from email, Facebook, Twitter, etc and not be frozen with too many things to do. Don't be afraid to pick up a few books on strategic thinking if you want.

One trick I like to do is grab a bunch of blank paper out of my printer, go downstairs to the dining room table, spread out the paper, open my laptop to Google (only!!! nothing else open), then using a marker draw a set of boxes in the middle of the the paper of my core idea.  I then ponder on ways to reach my idea by searching Google for experts who have done it before and jotting down on the paper all the ways they've done it.  Soon, a strategy starts to gel in my mind and I start drawing connections between boxes. 

How to Make Money Online - The Strategy

I hate to say it - but if you've read up to this point I've given you a gift of how to really make money online - not with haphazard affiliate products, blog after blog content, push button products, wild traffic notions, scattered lists, etc, - but a focused, long term strategy on how to build something great! This is the winning formula that will always lead to success.