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You know what email is and you know what marketing is – so why is email marketing so hard to get right?

It shouldn’t be. And it won’t be after you read this article.

If you think email marketing can help you grow your online business, you’re right.

In terms of marketing investment, email is still the biggest bang for your buck.

Why?

Because speaking directly to people who have ASKED to hear from you is the most effective way to get (and retain) customers.

This article will show you everything you need to know about email marketing — including how I use it to sell products every day and what business tools I recommend.

Chapter 1: Email Marketing Defined

Chapter 2: How Does Email Marketing Work?

Chapter 3: Email Marketing Platforms

Chapter 4: Email Marketing Strategy

Chapter 5: Email marketing tips

What is Email Marketing?

Email marketing is the digital marketing activity of sending commercial messages – to a group of people – using an email service provider. In the simplest sense, every email message sent to a person for commercial purposes would be considered email marketing.

Chapter 1: Email Marketing Defined

A basic email marketing definition:

Messages sent by email with commercial intent.

In other words, any time a business uses email to reach prospects or customers, it can be considered email marketing.

If you are picturing the digital equivalent of flyers stuffed into a mailbox, it’s no wonder. Ever since marketers realized they could sell products directly to consumers via email, inboxes have been inundated with “special offers.”

No printing costs, no postage, and instant delivery to inboxes all over the world — email is an advertiser’s dream.

Early on, it was a free for all: companies bought and sold email lists, sent endless spam, and used pushy sales tactics.

Today, email marketing is much different, and better.

Sure, there are still bad actors buying lists and sending spam. But service providers filter out junk mail and (mostly) keep it out of your inbox.

And many countries have implemented laws banning spam.

What else is different about modern email marketing?

It’s permission-based.

Most marketing messages you see in your inbox are a result of you asking to receive them.

That means voluntarily joining a list, submitting your email, and agreeing to receive messages from a business.

We’re surrounded by advertising we didn’t ask to see — flyers in the mailbox, commercials on TV, promoted social media posts, billboards, and even podcast sponsorships.

The difference with email marketing is, generally, we’ve asked to see it.

And done right, marketing emails can actually be welcomed and appreciated.

It’s relevant and personalized.

Whether it’s a newsletter, a product pitch, or a reminder to complete the purchase in a shopping cart, the receiver is interested.

Otherwise, they wouldn’t have signed up.

How much more targeted can you get?

It’s respectful.

Opting into an email list is now a transparent and respectful process.

Businesses typically explain what kind of emails they will send, and with what frequency.

For example, Further promises to send one email per week, with a specific type of content:

The focus of email marketing should be providing added value to the customer. Giving away useful content and resources is usually part of the strategy — not constant sales offers.

And respectful marketing emails clearly explain how to unsubscribe and stop getting emails.

But the purpose of this guide is not to give you a long-winded history. It is to teach you how to use direct email marketing to grow your business, and why it’s essential that you start today.

The most compelling reason:

Every other marketing channel puts you at the mercy of someone else’s agenda.

When you have an email list, you own your traffic.

Consider these popular marketing channels:

SEO: Google updates the search algorithm and suddenly your blog posts are buried on page 43. You had a steady stream of website visitors, but it dries up overnight.

Social media: Your target demographic starts drifting to a new platform, and fewer people are seeing your posts. You now have to start from scratch building followers while you are losing sales.

YouTube: Your niche becomes crowded with competitors and suddenly, nobody is watching your videos (or clicking the links to buy).

All the time, effort, and money spent on those traffic sources up in smoke.

Unless… you’ve been building an email list.

When you collect email addresses (with permission) from people who are interested in your business, you retain a lasting benefit from all of your marketing efforts.

If you take care of that email list, it’s an asset that will drive your business for years to come.

So, how can you use email marketing to grow your business in 2019?

Let’s keep going to find out.

Chapter 2: How Does Email Marketing Work?

By now, you should be convinced:

Email marketing is essential to the success of your business.

But if you don’t have an email list, how do you get one?

This section is a step-by-step guide on how to do email marketing when you’re starting from scratch.

Step 1: Sign up with an email service provider

Email service providers are basically software services for managing subscribers and sending email campaigns.

Make sure you read Chapter 3 before you commit to a service. It covers my top picks for email marketing companies, and how to choose the best one for your business.

For now, just know the email service provider is the software you will use to:

Store email addresses and customer data.

Manage lists, add tags, and process unsubscribe requests.

Create sign up forms on your website.

Design and send emails to subscribers.

Step 2: Create an opt-in offer

What will you offer in exchange for an email address?

People are, understandably, reluctant to sign up for more email. For most of us, Inbox Zero is a cruel joke. But we still want free stuff!

“Sign up for my free newsletter” is not likely to convince anyone.

You need to provide a compelling reason for someone to hand over that email address. For example, here’s a lead magnet we use to attract people who want to learn how to start a podcast.

An opt-in offer is an instant benefit, free of charge, you will provide when someone joins your email list. In digital marketing, it’s often referred to as a lead magnet.

Lead magnets can be different things, depending on the type of business.

Here are three examples for you:

A discount offer like free shipping or a coupon code

2. A digital resource like an e-book or course

3. A free trial of the service

Whatever you decide to use as an opt-in offer, it must provide real value.

Try to think like your customers and ask yourself, “Would I hand over my email address for this?”

Here are a few tips for coming up with an enticing opt-in offer:

Save time by re-purposing resources you’ve already created into a new format. For example:

Books and guides >> video tutorials or email courses

Multiple small resources >> a bundle or a comprehensive package

A paid course >> offer one module for free

A book for sale >> give the first chapter for free

Target a specific and immediate problem your audience has. For example:

Don’t know what to make for dinner? Faster Than Takeout: Top 10 Recipes to Solve Dinner

Yearning for chiseled abs? 7 Workouts to Blast Your Abs Fast

Are new parents desperate for sleep? Bedtime Cheat-Sheet: Get Your Kids to Sleep On Time TONIGHT

Step 3: Place an opt-in form on your website

The opt-in form (also called a sign-up form) is how people will submit their email and join your list. I use Thrive Leads for creating my forms, it enables me to create forms within my WordPress dashboard.

Here’s how it works.

First, choose which type of form you want.

When you log into your email service provider, you will find a variety of form options.

Choose a design and function to suit your website, the placement, and the opt-in offer.

For example, here are a few common types of opt-in form:

Popup box: Pops up in front of the page to grab attention.

Inline form: A box that can be placed anywhere on a page, including within the text of a blog post, or at the bottom of any page.

This example is taken from the Soul Salt blog where they are offering a content upgrade to how to find your purpose in life.

Ribbon: A banner across the full length of a page, usually at the top.

Next, customize the form.

The objective of an opt-in form is to convince the maximum number of people to opt-in.

Make it as easy as possible to complete.

Every extra field to complete means more work for potential subscribers — and more opportunities for them to change their minds before they hit “submit.”

These are the only things you really need to include:

Headline

Offer

Place to type an email address

Call to action button

With the text on your form, remember to focus on the benefit of signing up — think about what the opt-in offer does, rather than what it is.

You can also customize the colors on forms to stand out from the rest of your site.

If your website is on WordPress, you can take your opt-in forms to the next level with Thrive Leads:

Create all kinds of high-conversion forms.

Test different offers and forms: Automatically display variations of forms to see which ones get more sign-ups.

Target different users: Automatically display different forms, depending on which type of content they are interested in.

Finally, place the form on your website.

Your email provider will produce a block of code representing your customized form.

Copy and paste into your website.

After you save and refresh the page, this:

Will look like this:

If you use Thrive Leads, you won’t have to deal with any code — opt-in forms are created and placed from within your WordPress dashboard.

Step 4: Write a welcome series

There are two common mistakes that can derail your email marketing before you see any return on your investment.

The first mistake is not sending enough emails. A new prospect gives you their email address, only to have it sit there for weeks until you feel like sending an email blast.Weeks later, they don’t care nearly as much as they did when they first signed up. In fact, they may have forgotten signing up. Your first email is likely to go straight to the trash.

The second mistake is asking subscribers to buy something right away. Not only is that off-putting, but it’s ineffective. It’s a quick way to lose your new subscriber.

Both of these mistakes tend to get you reported as spam, which harms your deliverability. Being marked as spam means your emails are more likely to be filtered as junk mail.

Having a welcome series in place right from the start, you avoid both mistakes.

Right after they sign up to your list, your prospects are most excited to hear from you.

This is when you have the best chance to get their attention and gain their loyalty.

The good news is, you can do it automatically, while you sleep.

A welcome series uses the magic of automation to send pre-written messages on a predetermined schedule.

GET ACCESS TO OUR 4-PART EMAIL WELCOME SERIES

All you have to do is write a few emails and set them up to send over a few days or a week.

If this sounds complicated to set up, don’t worry. Automation is a standard feature for most email marketing companies. You can easily schedule emails to send at certain dates and times, or based on certain triggers.

The hard part is knowing what to write. Chapter 4 covers content and strategy (what to send and when) including how to write an effective welcome series.

I’m also sharing this resource with you:

Email Marketing Template: Welcome Series

Feel free to use the email marketing template for inspiration, or just fill in the blanks to customize for your audience.

Once you’ve written the emails you will send, schedule them to drip out over several days. Here’s a sample schedule you could use:

Email 1: Confirmation email triggered by the opt-in form being completed.

Email 2: Download or success email sent immediately after confirmed

Email 3: Send the next day, at [10:00] AM.

Email 4: Send the next day, at [10:00] AM

Tag and add the subscriber to an appropriate automation offer

Here’s what it looks like in ActiveCampaign:

Step 5: Grow your email list with traffic

With everything in place on your website, you can focus your efforts on building traffic.

The success of your opt-in email marketing now depends on numbers. Your task is to get your opt-in form in front of as many eyeballs as you can.

You especially need the eyeballs of people most likely to become your customers — your target audience.

Attracting targeted traffic to your website will help you fill your list with qualified leads. That’s marketing-speak for: people who need or want what your business offers.

With a brief search, you will find an overwhelming amount of advice on how best to increase traffic. There are many ways you can pursue this goal.

Most of the strategies involve some form of content marketing.

Content Marketing

Content marketing is a catch-all term for any free resources you publish, whether it’s a blog, YouTube channel, podcast, or webinar.

The aim of content marketing is to draw in the right people, by showing them your value.

The term is also a little misleading. Let me explain.

Any blogger can tell you how frustrating it is to toil away, writing and publishing amazing resources, while traffic remains flat. If feels like you’re screaming into a void.

If the right people aren’t finding your work, it’s a wasted effort.

That’s why when I talk about content marketing in 2019, I’m really talking about SEO (search engine optimization).

To make sure your content marketing is effective in building traffic, you have to first:

Make content your audience is searching for.

And second:

Make sure your content comes up in the search results.

Find out exactly how this process works in a step-by-step guide for how to get on the first page of Google.

Once you’ve nailed the process of creating the right content, try some tactics to amplify your reach.

Depending on how much time and money you want to invest, here are some ways to boost traffic:

Paid traffic: Google Ad, Facebook, LinkedIn, etc.

Guest posting: Write for other blogs and include links back to your website.

Podcasts: Appear as a guest on podcasts to share your message.

Step 6: Testing and tweaks

An email marketing campaign can be automated, but your strategy should never be “set it and forget it.” Like starting a side hustle, email marketing takes consistent effort.

There are lots of things you can do to improve conversion rates for your opt-in form, and I’ll cover some of them in Chapter 4.

However, don’t worry about optimizing until you have some numbers to work with.

I advise my clients to focus 100% of their efforts on building traffic until they have at least 350 unique visits per day.  That gives you enough information to judge how well your opt-in form is performing.

By comparing how many signups you get vs. how many unique visitors you get to your site, you get a percentage.

I shoot for a minimum 5% signup conversion rate from organic traffic.

From there, test and tweak variations of your opt-in form and lead magnet offers. This is how you can work towards a higher conversion rate.

Chapter 3: Email Marketing Platforms

Choosing the best email marketing service is a process of clarifying your needs, your budget, and the learning curve you can handle.

First, decide what you need.

Here are the basic features you should expect from an email service:

Personalization: Automatically fills email fields with the data of your contact. This is a must, so all of your emails aren’t addressed, “Hey, Newsletter Subscriber.”

Segmentation: This feature enables you to send different messages to different groups of people. For example, you can tag subscribers based on what they purchased, where they live, or the results of a quiz.

Here are what some of the results look like from a quiz we ran. We use Thrive Quiz Builder to build all our quizzes.

Automation: The ability to schedule when your emails will be delivered is essential. It’s the reason email service providers are sometimes called autoresponders.

Opt-in forms: You’ll need a variety of sign-up forms to place on different pages of your website and start collecting emails.

Analytics: Reporting on numbers like conversion rates, email open rates, and click-throughs, to help you optimize your marketing.

Compliance: Make sure your email service includes tools to comply with privacy and anti-spam laws such as GDPR and CAN-SPAM.

Now think about any specific requirements your business has, and make sure you choose a provider that covers you.

For example:

E-commerce businesses send purchase confirmations, abandoned cart reminders, and shipping information. Their email service has to integrate with their shopping cart, whether it’s Shopify, WooCommerce, or something else.

Service-based businesses like personal trainers or chiropractors may want to integrate appointment scheduling and reminders with their email marketing.

Information-based businesses like blogs the sell online courses have more straightforward needs. They need standard features for building an email list and engaging with subscribers.Sound interesting? Here’s how to start a blog.

Not all email marketing services are created equal, and their pricing often displays this. Let’s take a look at pricing.

How much should you spend on email marketing services?

If you’re serious about using email to grow your business, you won’t get far with free email software.

But here’s the good news:

The best email marketing platforms are not the most expensive. Most email services are priced on volume. That means you pay less in the beginning when your list is small. You can upgrade as you grow your list (and increase your revenue).

Chances are, you’ve seen emails in your inbox sent through popular service providers like MailChimp, Aweber, or Infusionsoft.

These names are ubiquitous not because they’re the best email marketing platforms. It’s just that they’ve been around for a long time — and in some cases, they have a very active sales force.

For example, Infusionsoft is marketed as an all-in-one online business tool. It’s also considerably more expensive and more complicated than most. If you just need an email service provider, there are cheaper and better options.

ConstantContact has been in the game since 1995 — but they lag far behind the competition in automation.

There are also many low-cost services and even free options like MailChimp. Inexpensive doesn’t necessarily mean low-quality. But in general, you get what you pay for. And you will eventually outgrow your free plan.

Don’t make the mistake of choosing based on familiarity or free offers.

Start with a platform that gives you the best tools for your growing business.

These are the platforms I recommend, and some compelling reasons to consider using them for your email marketing.

They’re not the biggest or most expensive players in the game, but they are the best.

ConvertKit

ConvertKit claims to be the best email marketing software for online creators — and I can personally back this claim.

As the creator of a podcast, blog, a book, and several online courses, ConvertKit has helped me grow my audience and increase my revenue.

If you’re new to email marketing, simplicity and ease-of-use should be one of your top criteria in choosing an email service. Because it’s designed for creators, not marketers, ConvertKit is easy to use.

Beyond simplicity, ConvertKit has all the essential features and powerful automation you will need to get started with email marketing, or to power-up your existing efforts.

Additionally, they have a couple of snazzy tools like A/B testing of email subject lines, varied send times, and premade email sequences to make your life easier and your email marketing better.

The bottom line is ConvertKit is an email service provider you can trust to have your best interests at heart.

Here’s what I love most about it:

ConvertKit is NOT trying to be everything to everyone. They have developed and are continuing to develop the perfect email marketing service for creators – bloggers, podcasts, YouTubers, etc.

Simple, yet effective. Yes, ConvertKit does automation and segmenting, but they have managed to create a tool that is intuitive and easy to use.

ConvertKit is founded and run by Nathan Barry, an honest, hard-working, and great guy.

ActiveCampaign

I love email marketing, and I’m fascinated by how it works. I’ve been using it for years.

That said, some of the email marketing platforms I’ve seen are way too complex, even for me. Sometimes I need to set up complicated automation. I do not want to spend weeks figuring out how to do it, or depend on outside help to make it work.

I’ve settled on ActiveCampaign because they make it incredibly easy to set up complex automations – from basic automated emails to transactional emails, and evergreen email funnels to RSS feed automation.

Yes, ActiveCampaign has advanced marketing automation built-in, but they make it simple to implement and understand.

I can map out a subscriber’s journey down to the tiniest detail, in minutes.

Chapter 4: Email Marketing Strategy

The first three chapters were all about how email marketing works, and how to start building an email list.

Now we get to the juicy part — what and when to email your subscribers.

Your email marketing strategy has one purpose.

(Hint: It’s not to let people know what you’re up to in newsletters.)

It’s sales. If selling doesn’t come naturally to you, don’t worry. It’s a skill you can learn.

And the best part?

You don’t have to be extroverted, pushy, or underhanded to sell products to your email list.

This chapter will show you how to bring subscribers on the following journey:

An effective email strategy accomplishes this lofty goal with three kinds of email.

I’m not talking about the content of the messages, which can look very different depending on what business you are in.

Instead, consider the three types of intent behind each message:

Engaging: Teaching readers what you’re all about, and engaging them further with your business.

Selling: Making relevant offers, and asking for the sale.

Segmenting: Finding out more about your subscribers and grouping or “tagging” them to sell more effectively.

Here’s how to use each type of email to build a strategy that will maximize your profits, without being sleazy.

Engaging

The first few emails you send any new subscriber should aim to engage them — get them to open, read, and take action.

Why? Because jumping straight into a sales pitch would be like proposing marriage on a first date. You can imagine what the answer would be.

New subscribers are most engaged in the first few days after signing up. You have their attention now, more than ever.

This is your opportunity to show them they are in the right place, and good things are going to happen when they stay on your list.

Writing an effective email welcome series

In terms of a subscriber’s journey, the first few emails should bring them from stranger to friend.

Starting with your very first welcome email, write with these objectives in mind:

Introduce yourself and your business: Personally welcome and celebrate your new subscriber. Help them get to know you a little better.

Tell your new subscriber what to expect: Let people know how often you will email them, and what kind of emails you will send.

Demonstrate the value of being a subscriber: Remind people why they signed up, and why they are going to love opening your emails.

Engage the subscriber to take further action: Ask them to “whitelist” you, by adding you to their contacts. Entice them to further engage by visiting your website and following your social media accounts.

Raise curiosity about what’s coming next: Give them a strong incentive to open your next emails, by hinting at good things to come.

Here’s what it looks like in action:

You can see in the example above that it’s possible to cover all the bases in one email. But sending a few more emails while your new prospect is still engaged and excited puts you in a much better position.

You want to provide plenty of opportunities for them to engage with one of your emails during this phase.

If they were busy and missed your first email, this gives new subscribers a few more chances to get on board.

Staying in touch

After the welcome series, some of your prospects should be ready to become customers. So absolutely, if you have a product to sell, start selling.

But what if you don’t have a product for sale yet? (If this is the case, you could try affiliate marketing.)

What if you’re still working on products for different segments of your market?

What if you have a product to sell, but it’s something with a longer sales cycle?

Even if none of those questions apply to your business, it’s a bad strategy to email only when you want to sell something.

In fact, regularly sending helpful resources, curated content, or news updates can help with a few important objectives:

Establishing authority: Branding yourself as an expert, and your business as a valuable resource.

Staying top of mind: When they need your product or service, you’ll be the first one they think of.

Deepening the relationship: Over time, regular contact helps readers get to know you better, and trust you more. Conversely, you get to learn more about them as you see what kind of messages get the best response.

Unfortunately, I can’t tell you exactly what to send. There’s no standard recipe for email marketing success. Frequency, content, and tone can vary widely, even within the same niche.

For example, The Hustle sends an email every single day, and Brian Clark at Further emails once a week.

A big retail store like Ikea sends targeted product listings, but a small independent cabinet maker might send updates from the workshop, or pictures of their latest project.

For Hack the Entrepreneur, I like to send a personal message every time I publish a new resource. Not so much when I just want to share a motivational quote.

While I can’t tell you exactly what to send, I can tell you to keep these guiding principles in mind with every email blast:

Be consistent: Whether you’re going to email every day, or once a month, tell people what to expect when they sign up. Then make sure you deliver.

Make it about them, not you: Always put your customer first. Ask yourself how what you are sending is going to help them. If you are writing about yourself, that’s fine. As long as you focus the message on how your story benefits the reader.

Selling

Direct selling is the bread and butter of your email marketing strategy. This is how you will grow your business and make real sales to real customers.

Ultimately, all of the emails you send are intended to sell customers on you and your brand. But product launches and sales funnels are specific art (and science).

The good news is, everything in this guide so far has been about placing you in a strategically brilliant position to close the sale.

If you’ve followed along so far, you have already “influenced” your potential customers.

With an awesome lead magnet, you’ve already provided value.

With an effective welcome series, you’ve convinced leads that they are in the right place.

Anyone still on your list is ready to consider the next step of the journey, moving from friend to customer.

Segmenting

Segmenting your email list is a crucial part of maintaining a healthy list.

Why?

Because irrelevant messages are a bother. People will unsubscribe.

Chances are, your business offers a variety of products and services that will appeal to different segments of your readers.

For example:

A gardening supply business:

Different plants grow in different climates.

Some gardeners grow vegetables, and some only flowers.

The list includes a combination of experienced gardeners and people buying their very first seed packet.

If this doesn’t sound anything like your business, you might be tempted to skip over this section. That would be a mistake.

Even if your email list is already super-targeted, segmenting emails helps to re-engage readers.

Here’s how segmenting emails work:

Email your readers and ask them to take an action related to a specific topic. For example:

Clicking a link to an article, on your blog or another high-quality website.

Taking a quiz or survey.

Jumping to a landing page for a free download, webinar, or video.

Clicking a button to stop receiving info about a certain topic.

Subscribers who take the requested action identify themselves as interested.

Email software tracks who clicks on the links your messages, and automatically adds tags. If you use a quiz, same thing — the results are tracked and responders are tagged.

You now have a subgroup of subscribers to target with relevant content, and you’ve re-engaged your long-term readers.

Now you know what segmenting emails are, and how they work. But when should you segment?

There are lots of reasons you might want to tag different groups of your audience. Here are a few of the most common uses:

After the welcome series: Filter new subscribers into the most relevant sales funnel after the welcome series.

Researching demand: Send a quiz, lead magnet, or new content to find out who might be interested in a new product, service, or business book.

Launching a new product: Find out who is interested first, so you can avoid pitching to readers who won’t care.

If you’re not actively researching or launching new products, you should still consider a segmenting email once or twice per year.

Why? To re-engage with your subscribers.

Segmenting emails are engaging — you are asking readers to do something.

Checking out something on your website, clicking to an interesting article, or getting a useful download — all of these things remind subscribers why they signed up in the first place.

Chapter 5: Email marketing tips

With a solid email marketing strategy in place and a few email marketing best practices, your list should be ticking along with steady growth in subscribers.

Time to sit back and watch sales roll in!

Yeah, no. It would be a minor miracle if everything worked flawlessly from day one.

Chances are, you’ll need to make some adjustments along the way to get the results you expect from your email marketing.

Even if you are getting decent results, there will always be room for improvement.

This chapter covers the most common obstacles that trip up many first-time email marketers — and some tips to get phenomenal results.

How do I know if my email marketing is working?

Email marketing covers multiple phases of the sales process, from lead generation to nurturing and closing a sale.

That means there are a few places that things can go… sideways.

The good news about any kind of online marketing: everything is tracked. You can use data to assess performance and diagnose weak points in your email marketing strategy.

Here are the key metrics you need to know, where to find them, and how to improve them.

1. Page impressions:

Page impressions is a simple measure of how many people are seeing the page. This metric is also referred to as traffic. It’s the first number to look at.

If you are getting lots of traffic, but nobody is signing up to your list, go on to the next metric (opt-in rate).

2. Opt-in rate:

The opt-in rate is a percentage of total visitors who sign up (opt-in) to your email list.

5 percent is a reasonable expectation. But if you target your lead magnet well, you can get as high 15 – 20 percent.

3. Open rate:

The open rate is the next thing to look at. It tells you how many people are opening (and hopefully reading) your emails, as a percentage.

Your initial message to a new subscriber will almost always have the highest open rate — 50 to 75 percent is normal.

It’s natural for the rates to drop over time. For example, in an automated welcome sequence or sales funnel, message two will usually drop into a range of 25 to 50 percent.

As the sequence continues, people will unsubscribe and open rates in the 30 percent range are normal.

4. Click-through rate:

This is the final step — and the limits of what email marketing can do: getting a subscriber to click on a link in your email.

Click-through rates vary quite a bit, depending on what you are asking subscribers to do.

For example, if your message is selling something, you might include a link to a sales page, and expect a rate of 7 to 30 percent.

If it’s a link to a free download, you 40 to 60 percent is reasonable.

How do I get (and keep) more subscribers?

First, let me answer that question with another question:

Do you have low traffic?

If only a handful of people visit your site each day, increasing traffic should be your most immediate concern. Without enough targeted traffic to your opt-in offer, nothing else you do will make a difference.

Stop reading this right now and learn how to increase traffic to your website (start with getting onto the first page of google)!

As traffic increases to your website, your email list should be growing. If it’s not, the question becomes:

Why isn’t your opt-in converting?

There are many things you can adjust to improve conversions. The easiest thing to try is simply changing your opt-in forms to make them more eye-catching.

Next, you can test different lead magnets to find a more compelling offer.

Finally, consider the sources of traffic to your website. How well do your website visitors match your offer, and how mentally prepared are they to take the next step?

For example, people who are referred by someone they trust are more likely to sign up. People who happen upon your site while looking for something else are less likely to sign up.

How do I get more people to open my emails?

The first challenge in getting opened is deliverability. So here’s another question for you:

Are your emails arriving in subscribers’ inboxes?

Although your welcome email should direct people to whitelist you, there is more you can do to avoid getting caught in spam filters:

After making it into the inbox, there are some factors that make a big impact on open rates:

1. Timing

In general, emails are more likely to be opened on weekday mornings.

This is when most people have a minute to scan their inbox for anything interesting — before they start working or going about their day.

Of course, this varies depending on who you are targeting. Some audiences (like mine) prefer to open emails later in the week and weekends.

Find the sweet spot for your audience by experimenting with different times and days.

2. Sender

People are more likely to open an email from friends and family first. And it’s hard to feel friendly towards a corporate entity, isn’t it?

Always use your name as the sender, and not the name of your company.

3. Subject

The subject line is a critical element in open rates. If it’s not compelling, your message will get ignored or deleted.

The subject should be descriptive of the contents, but also intriguing. And it has to be within 30 – 35 characters, or it will be shortened in the display.

4. Opening sentence

Many email clients, like Gmail, show the first sentence or two within the inbox.

Pay special attention to the opening of your message to make sure it grabs attention and promises to be worth reading.

5. Inactive subscribers

Low open rates can indicate a problem with list quality.

Over time, subscribers change email addresses or lose interest and stop reading. Some people provide fake email addresses to get a free offer.

The best thing to do is periodically prune the list by removing inactive email addresses.

How do I keep people from unsubscribing?

The short answer:

You can’t. And you shouldn’t try.

Don’t be afraid of unsubscribes. You can’t expect to keep every subscriber because your business isn’t for everyone.

Of course, you want to keep every potential customer on your list. The best way to do that is to be clear about what subscribers should expect to receive from you — and then deliver.

Many first-time email marketers worry about emailing too frequently. They don’t want to be perceived as pushy or annoying. They are also concerned that asking people to buy things all the time is too “salesy” and gross.

These concerns are understandable but wrong.

Your job is to offer as much value as you can with your email marketing. That means sending valuable information and sending frequently. That also includes relevant sales offers.

Never forget — your subscribers are being inundated with other people’s marketing messages. You need to stay in their awareness.

How do increase sales through email marketing?

Email marketing sales funnels are very effective for selling certain types of products. A series of messages strategically composed and timed can:

Create desire

Demonstrate value of the product

Establish urgency to buy

However, it’s difficult for readers to take the leap directly from an email to a shopping cart — especially for higher-priced products.

If you have an online business, your sales funnel should always direct readers to a sales page on your website. Read more about how to create a sales page that converts.

Thrive Leads is an excellent plugin for creating sales and landing pages in WordPress.

Where email marketing take you in 2019?

Now that you know how to get started with email marketing and build a solid list, it’s your turn. If you are looking to make money online, then you need to have a list.

Whether you’re starting an email list for the first time or fine-tuning your strategy, I love hearing what you’re up to and answering questions.

Let me know in the comments what you plan to do with email marketing this year.

The post Email Marketing: The Definitive Guide for 2019 appeared first on Hack the Entrepreneur.

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Learning how to be an entrepreneur is simple – all you have to do is start a business!

Then why does it feel so damn intimidating?

Because most businesses don’t succeed. In fact, they fail.

It takes a combination of mindset, skill, hard work, and sometimes luck.

The good news is you can change your thinking, learn new skills, and choose the right business idea to improve your odds drastically.

Follow these 9 steps to becoming an entrepreneur, and you’ll be well on your way to being your own boss.

Step 1. Think like an entrepreneur

How to be an entrepreneur: change your mindset.

Waking up one day to $20k in recurring monthly revenue is usually the result of months (or years) of trial and error.

Successful entrepreneurs stick with their vision through the ups and downs, from one project to another. Their mentality enables action, growth, and quick recovery from setbacks.

Many entrepreneurs start side hustles while working full-time and slowly transition to being their own boss.

Cultivate these entrepreneurial mindset characteristics to think like an entrepreneur:

1. Decisiveness

Making a decision when you’re not 100% ready is still better than making no decision at all.

Entrepreneurs avoid the pitfalls of procrastination with decisiveness — both in starting a business and daily operations.

Without decisiveness, you can research your potential business for years without ever deciding on one idea. You can delay launching your website while you deliberate over choosing a hosting service.

It’s easy to put decisions off indefinitely under the guise of learning more, while we’re actually just spinning in circles.

Get to work as soon as you know just enough to decide.

2. Confidence

Learning as you go is key is learning how to be an entrepreneur. So even if you’re not feeling confident, you have to keep going.

Every entrepreneur knows they’re not perfect, and they certainly don’t know everything there is to know.

But just because they haven’t perfected a new skill, doesn’t mean they’re unfit to get out there and start using it.

As you improve, confidence will come naturally. Until then, feel free to download and print some motivational quotes for your wall.

3. Accountability

Becoming an entrepreneur means forgetting about blaming the system or the people around you for your situation.

When things go wrong, it’s not always your fault. But it’s always your responsibility.

Accountability means showing up and doing the work, knowing that you can only rely on yourself.

When you fail, the failure is yours to learn from. And when you succeed, the success is yours to celebrate.

4. Resilience

There are many obstacles on the path to becoming an entrepreneur, but if you really want to become one – you can’t let them stop you.

You will make mistakes, and that’s ok. Resilience means you don’t let your failures define you.

Learn to handle failing as an inevitable part of life — and building a successful business. Even if you fall a hundred times, stand up the hundred and first.

5. Humility

It takes a certain amount of vulnerability to admit when you don’t know how to move forward. It doesn’t matter if you are trying to change the world or just make money online, entrepreneurs have to be willing to admit when they need help.

Life-long entrepreneurs also understand that they must keep learning and growing to stay relevant. The world is changing fast, and there are always new things that are going to help them do business even better.

Humility means understanding that you don’t know always know the answers, and you can’t always do everything by yourself.

Step 2. Act like an entrepreneur

Some people are born entrepreneurs, but most of us had to learn and practice.

Once you start thinking like an entrepreneur, it’s important to act like it. Emulating characteristics will help you change your old mindset.

Practice acting like an entrepreneur in your everyday life, even if you’re not starting a business right now.

For example, make decisions quickly, whether it’s choosing a restaurant or asking for a raise.

Act with confidence by trying that new workout class, even if you’re worried about looking stupid.

When you catch yourself blaming someone else (a busy schedule, a sick child, a mean boss) for your lack of progress, stop. Practice accountability by finding ways to move forward, instead of fixating on what’s keeping you stuck.

Facing a setback with your health, your personal life, or your job? Resilience asks that you shake it off, and try again.

To act with humility, address your weak spots. Ask for help, take a mindset course, or find a mentor to point you in the right direction on your entrepreneurial journey.

All of these things will help you prepare to start your first business. But nothing happens if you’re not taking action on your ideas.

That’s why the first principle of successful entrepreneurs is:

None of this works without action

So take the first steps.

Let’s say you’ve thoroughly researched your business. You know the ins and outs of your market. If someone woke you up at 5 am and asked you to recite your business plan, you’d nail it.

But if your plan is still on paper – you don’t have a business.

Nothing is happening. Things just seem like they could work out.

So, how can you become an entrepreneur?

By taking action.

Taking action is the only thing that can tell you if you’re right. As James Altucher says, “without action, your business is still a dream.”

Building a successful business is a process of testing your ideas in the real world, and adjusting course as you go.

Step 3. Choose your market

Once you’re thinking and acting like an entrepreneur, it’s time to put your entrepreneurial mindset to good use.

The next few steps will guide you in deciding what kind of business you should start.

What are your skills?

Chances are, you already have some valuable knowledge, skills, and experience. To make an impact with a successful business, first consider what you can do.

When thinking about your skills, consider everything. Not just professional skills attained from formal education, or work experience, but hobbies, as well.

After that, it’s important to see if your skills are in demand. Even if you’ve got obscure skills like crocheting, that doesn’t mean you can’t turn them into a business.

For example, people spend money to learn crafts like crochet. They buy supplies, pattern books, and classes. Looking at existing businesses is a clue — it shows you if a market for your skills exists, no matter how unusual it may be.

Again, how can you become an entrepreneur? By being decisive and resilient. Even if you’re facing obstacles, find a way to overcome them – don’t mourn the fact that they’re there.

Why would someone come to you for help?

At this stage, it’s important to understand what your competitive advantage is.

Find something that differentiates you from everyone else in your niche.

Maybe it’s personality or style. For example, you could be a total badass who teaches leadership qualities.

Maybe it’s a unique set of skills. For example, a personal trainer who’s also a nutritionist has an edge in the health niche.

Or maybe, you have special insight into what a particular group of people needs, from lived experience. Overcoming a personal challenge or achieving a big goal gives you first-hand knowledge that could set you apart.

Find what makes you special, and let that guide you towards the market you can serve.

Step 4. Look for problems to solve

As an entrepreneur, customer research should be your first priority.

Once you’ve identified the people you want to help (your target market) you should find out what problems they have.

For example, if you want to get into the web development business, think beyond obvious needs, such as not having a website.

Think about the finer aspects of your prospects’ needs.

Maybe they don’t fully understand that they need your services, maybe their budgets are tight, maybe they want to work with someone who’ll understand them – even if they can’t tell the difference between a sidebar and a landing page.

Or if you wanted to teach people how to start a podcast, you would need to think beyond what kind of mic they need.

You can find out all of this (and more) by performing customer research:

Take to social media and message boards. Explore your key terms and see what people need (and if they need what you can offer)

Create and share a survey

Check out competitors’ customer research

Research in your area, talk to your neighbors and your friends. What problems do they have? How could you help?

Be a painkiller, not a vitamin

People who have their needs mostly satisfied are not very motivated to buy.

On the other hand, people who have a glaring problem are very motivated. They are looking for immediate help.

They are most likely to buy a product or service if it promises to ease their pain.

To help you generate business ideas in your market, think about what’s causing pain.

I’m not talking about profiting from people in physical pain. Being a painkiller also means solving an inconvenience, a frustration, or simply removing an obstacle.

Successful entrepreneurs lean towards creating painkiller products – delivering immediate solutions to alleviate customers’ pain.

They can become vitamins later with upsells and extra services, but being the painkiller – the immediate solution to pressing problems – is a priority.

Step 5. Decide what business to start

Once you understand your market and your advantages as an entrepreneur, it’s time to answer the big question:

What business should I start?

If you already have a promising business idea, that’s great. Congratulations!

If you don’t have the answer yet – don’t worry.

You can find the best business idea for you with the information you uncovered in Steps 3 and 4.

Basically, you need clarity on these three things:

Who are you helping? Identify your ideal customer.

How will you help them? What product or service will you provide to solve their problem?

What makes your business different? Give people reasons to choose your business over the competition.

Your best business idea will leverage your skills and interests, and match them with a problem or need in your market.

Step 6. Execute on your idea

Remember: none of this works if you don’t take action.

By the time you reach this step, you’ve already done your research. You understand your market, understand your audience, and you know what your competition is doing.

It’s time to start creating fearlessly. This can mean putting up a website and creating content to build an audience. Or it could mean starting to build a product.

No matter what you do, get started.

How to be an entrepreneur: Create something out of nothing

Why do people want to become entrepreneurs? Often, it’s out of a desire to create.

Entrepreneurs take ideas and turn them into communities of people making a change in the world. They take business plans jotted down on napkins and turn them into profits and delight.

Whether it’s a more fulfilling life, a thriving business, or selling online courses that help people, entrepreneurship is about creating.

That means entrepreneurs experience all of the ups and downs that come with creative work. Anxiety, fear of failure, and imposter syndrome are par for the course.

What if it’s a terrible idea? What if nobody likes it? What if I’m not cut out for running a business?

If you want to be an entrepreneur, put aside all that creative angst, and just do the work.

Start with the end in mind

Keep your end goal in mind at all times. If you are looking to start online, you need to choose an online business model before starting – and stick to it.

Many businesses don’t get off the ground because the scope of the project keeps getting bigger.

For example, the cooking blog you want to start turns into an idea for a recipe app. Then you decide the recipe app has to include shopping lists and video tutorials, plus you can’t think of the perfect lead magnet to build your email list.

All of this before you’ve finished building the initial idea — learning how to start a blog.

If you keep the end in mind, you’ll avoid scope creep – uncontrolled growth or demands of your project.

Scope creep can derail your entire vision, so it’s important to keep your end goal in mind for each stage of building your business.

Don’t be afraid of the blank space – the nothingness. Your job as an entrepreneur is to make things happen in that space.

More importantly, don’t be afraid to launch.

Step 7. Launch and learn

One of the most critical steps to becoming an entrepreneur is launching and learning.

Most successful entrepreneurs have projects behind them that turned out less than stellar. But they don’t consider their early attempts failures.

Why?

Because every project that that doesn’t turn out right is not a failure — it’s a lesson.

If you aren’t embarrassed by your first version, you waited too long to launch.

The first version of any project or product is rarely perfect, but it has to be out there to become better.

Once there’s an existing version that customers can interact with, you have a chance to learn. You will find out what your market needs and doesn’t need.

Without that first imperfect version, you’d still be speculating. You might invest even more time (and money), on products or features that aren’t needed. Instead, you will get customer feedback that leads you towards a better product.

Entrepreneurs take action and launch before they’re ready, not because they’re risk-takers. They do it because they know that no research can replace the first-hand experience.

Your business will never be worse than it is today

Your project can’t get any worse by launching a version. It can only get better.

The same is true for you, as an entrepreneur. You will only get better at all of these steps by doing them. If your first idea doesn’t work out as planned, you’ll know more about choosing your next one.

Launch and iterate.

That’s when you really start growing.

Step 8. Start small, but think big

Customers today want to interact on a personal level with businesses.

Big corporations spend a lot of money trying to appear small and friendly.

Why?

Well, think about visiting your local small business. The owner knows you by name. They may even know some details of your life. They certainly know your order.

It’s such a delight to buy from them because they value each and every customer.

Then think about a big chain supermarket. It has low prices but it’s impersonal. It feels more like a warehouse than a family-owned shop.

If another big chain has lower prices, you’ll go there instead.

Small is irreplaceable. Small makes an impact and adds value.

So don’t worry about looking bigger than the competition. That’s a lot of pressure you can set aside as you launch your first business.

Start small, and focus on your customers.

Entrepreneurs have a reputation as visionary, and yes, we do make outrageous goals.

Conserving the essence of being small will help you get there.

Step 9. Develop the habits of successful entrepreneurs

I’m bringing you full circle, back to Steps 1 and 2 with this final, essential step.

That’s right, I’m talking about thinking and acting like an entrepreneur, by learning some next-level mindset hacks.

Here’s the truth: Being an entrepreneur is hard.

When you have no boss, you get to decide how much you want to work. The flip side is that you have to motivate yourself, and your team, even when you’re not feeling it.

Now that you’re an entrepreneur, you can define what success looks like and set your own goals. But you also have to decide where to focus your efforts each day for the biggest impact.

Here’s what helps:

Constant learning

On my podcast, I’ve interviewed more than 400 entrepreneurs. They come from all kinds of backgrounds. Some have business degrees, and some never graduated high school.

The common thread is entrepreneurs tend to be lifelong learners. They read books, listen to podcasts, and take courses. They seek out mentors and hire business coaches.

Here’s how to develop your constant learning habit:

Daily reading: Here’s a list of the best business books to learn new tactics and stay motivated.

Upgrade your skills: This might sound obvious, but when you don’t know how to do something, seek out information and learn how. Many people struggle with a fixed mindset and believe they aren’t natural salespeople, or technology is beyond them. Whether it’s writing a sales page or taking your business online, you can learn.

Learn enough to be dangerous: Make sure you know enough about every aspect of your business to make good decisions — especially deciding when to hire an expert and when to do it yourself.

Stay physically and mentally healthy

Do what it takes to stay healthy, both physically and mentally.

I’m no health guru, but I know that entrepreneurs perform much better with:

Daily exercise and sleep: Make time for physical activity and get enough sleep.

Connection: Running a business can be lonely, especially in the early days when it’s just you. Start a mastermind group, or join forums where you can talk to other entrepreneurs going through similar struggles.

Support: Sometimes we all need a little help. That’s why it’s a good idea to hire advisors, coaches, and even therapists when you need them. Don’t wait for burnout.

How to be an entrepreneur: Your next steps

Now you know how entrepreneurs are made. Contrary to popular belief, you don’t have to be a risk-taker or have a ground-breaking idea.

Just follow the steps to change your mindset, clarify your business idea, and keep growing.

Your next step is to take our quiz and find out if you have what it takes to be an entrepreneur.

The post How to Be an Entrepreneur: The Ultimate Guide for 2019 appeared first on Hack the Entrepreneur.

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Think what you want about motivational quotes, but sometimes, a few simple words hit hard.

The right words at the right time can change your mindset and become a catalyst for change in your life.

But here’s the thing:

The best hustle quotes and motivation quotes aren’t always from self-help gurus and motivational speakers – artists, athletes, and even rock ‘n’ rollers often say exactly what we need to hear.

Here is the quote that did it for me:

”On the day I die, I'll say at least I fucking tried. That's the only eulogy I need.' - Frank Turner, EulogyClick To Tweet My life is now dictated by this sentiment. I refuse to not take action –  on my passions, online business ideas, and everything I want out of life.

Do I succeed 100 percent of the time? Nope, not even close.

In fact, doing some quick math – and switching to a basketball analogy – I sink about two out of every ten shots I take. But, you know what?

I take shots every day. Every. Day.

I refuse to not try. I refuse to not fail. I refuse to sit on the sidelines.

This is who I have become. And this is how I play the game. Life is short, so you might as well play as hard as you can.

It can look easy from the outside, but I haven’t always been like this. I spent years spinning my wheels and getting no traction. For a long time, I failed to make the changes that would allow me and my family to live a better life.

But no more.

Perhaps it’s age or perhaps it’s that I’ve learned to stop caring if something will work or not.

Do you know what absolutely will not work?

All the stuff you are too scared to try.

Guaranteed.

If you are looking for a change in your life, these 101 motivation quotes are for YOU.

1. Everyone has a plan until they get punched in the mouth.

Jack Reacher has the best one-liners. This quote is a reminder that plans aren’t always enough. You also have to be able to take a hit and get back up.

'Everyone has a plan until they get punched in the mouth.' – Jack ReacherClick To Tweet

2. No one gets remembered for the things they didn’t do.

Quit talking and start taking action. Frank Turner basically lives by this creed, as a relentlessly touring musician and songwriter. He even finds time to write books!

3. No such thing as spare time, no such thing as free time, no such thing as down time. All you got is life time. Go.

Henry Rollins doesn’t believe in spare time — every second life is passing by. It’s up to you to make the most of it.

4. No one is you, and that is your power.

Dave Grohl, professional rocker, wants you to embrace individuality. Whatever kind of weird you are, stop hiding it and use it as a superpower.

'No one is you, and that is your power.' – Dave GrohlClick To Tweet

5. Most of the important things in the world have been accomplished by people who have kept on trying when there seemed no hope at all.

This mindset quote from Dale Carnegie is a light in the tunnel. When it feels like it can’t get any harder, you just might be about to achieve something great. Don’t give up.

6. Great works are performed, not by strength, but by perseverance.

We should listen to Samuel Johnson on the subject of perseverance. After all, he did single-handedly write A Dictionary of the English Language — before the existence of typewriters.

7. Don’t give up what you want most for what you want now.

In other words, keep your eyes on the prize. Short-term thinking can keep you from achieving big goals.

8. It does not matter how slowly you go so long as you do not stop.

Every journey must be taken one step at a time. It’s amazing how much progress you can make when you keep taking those steps. Use this goal setting worksheet to break down a big goal into tiny steps.

9. You may have to fight a battle more than once to win it.

Perseverance and grit — these are qualities Margaret Thatcher had in spades. Failing on your first try is no reason to quit.

10. Dreams don’t work unless you do.

Positive thinking won’t get you far without positive action. Leadership expert John C. Maxwell is right — you have to put in the work.

11. Don’t play the game. Be the game changer.

12. Success is not given. It is earned.

13. Take a moment and realize how blessed you are.

14. A positive mindset is one of the attributes of successful people.

Focus on what’s possible, what’s good, and what you can do. Author Sandra León writes that a positive mindset for entrepreneurs and leaders is the way to live an abundant life.

15. If you live for the weekends and vacations, your shit is broken.

Gary Vaynerchuk says your work should not be something to escape. If you’re not excited to go to work, it’s time to make a change. Whether you start a side hustle or explore a new career, do something that excites you.

'If you live for the weekends and vacations, your shit is broken.' – Gary VaynerchukClick To Tweet

16. Would you like me to give you a formula for success? It’s quite simple, really. Double your rate of failure.

This is one of the best growth mindset quotes because nobody wants to fail, but it’s necessary for success. Fail more, learn more, and do better next time.

17. It is hard to fail, but it is worse never to have tried to succeed.

Like so many mindset quotes, this one reminds you to keep trying, despite the risk of failure.

18. Anyone who has never made a mistake has never tried anything new.

Scientists like Albert Einstein understand making mistakes isn’t something to fear — it’s fundamental to making progress.

19. Challenges are what make life interesting. Overcoming them is what makes life meaningful.

What makes a meaningful life? Only you can decide. But for most, it requires occasionally getting uncomfortable and facing challenges.

20. Look yourself in the mirror and ask yourself, what do I want to do every day for the rest of my life…do that.

If your work makes it hard to look yourself in the mirror, why not start something new? Gary Vee writes about why now, more than ever, it’s possible to make a living with your passion.

You can learn how to start a blog, build an audience, and create a business around just about anything.

21. Life isn’t about finding yourself. Life is about creating yourself.

George Bernard Shaw embodied the growth mindset. If you believe growth and change are possible, you have the power to reinvent yourself.

22. Anyone can sympathize with the sufferings of a friend, but it requires a very fine nature to sympathize with a friend’s success.

Oscar Wilde reminds us to support our friends, whether they’re winning or losing. Rising above jealousy is part of developing a positive mindset.

23. Anyone who stops learning is old, whether at twenty or eighty. Anyone who keeps learning stays young.

Learning throughout your life helps you succeed in business. But it also maintains the energy, curiosity, and excitement of youth.

24. When you want to succeed as badly as you want to breathe. Then you will be successful.

Eric Thomas is a master of motivational quotes — with enough passion and desire, you can achieve anything.

'When you want to succeed as badly as you want to breathe. Then you will be successful.' – Eric ThomasClick To Tweet

25. Most people never run far enough on the first wind to find out they’ve got a second. Give your dreams all you’ve got, and you’ll be amazed at the energy that comes out of you.

Philosopher William James is a surprisingly good source of hustle quotes. When you start to feel tired, you’re just getting warmed up!

26. Don’t tell me how talented you are. Tell me how hard you work.

As a musical prodigy, Artur Rubenstein had a huge supply of talent. But he knew talent can only take you so far — hard work is the key.

27. Don’t be too timid and squeamish about your actions. All life is an experiment.

If you do one thing to change your mindset, get comfortable taking risks. There’s not much to be gained by holding back.

28. What got you here, won’t get you where you want to be.

Continued success requires continued growth. That means even as you enjoy your achievements, you should look for new ways to move forward.

29. Live as if you were to die tomorrow. Learn as if you were to live forever.

By constantly learning and improving, you can enjoy the present without the risk of being unprepared for the future.

30. The successful warrior is the average man, with laser-like focus.

Most of us will never be martial arts masters like Bruce Lee, but this motivational quote provides hope. Average people can do extraordinary things when they focus and do the work.

31. When it is obvious that the goals cannot be reached, don’t adjust the goals, adjust the action steps.

The trick to achieving any big goal is to break down the steps and adjust course as needed. Whether you want to make money online or build a house, the right action steps will get you there.

32. The question isn’t who is going to let me; it’s who is going to stop me.

Don’t waste your life waiting for permission, especially if you have visionary ideas like novelist and philosopher Ayn Rand.

33. It’s kind of fun to do the impossible.

A playful approach to tackling impossible challenges is fun, and as Walt Disney proved, you can build an entertainment empire with it.

34. The best revenge is massive success.

Of course, there are lots of ways to get revenge, but most of them leave you worse off than before. Instead of letting negativity win, Frank Sinatra focussed on achieving massive success.

35. Great things never came from comfort zones.

Neil Strauss is a writer who knows you have to get uncomfortable to uncover great stories and accomplish anything remarkable.

36. To die is poignantly bitter, but the idea of having to die without having lived is unbearable.

Death is inevitable, but living a fully realized life can ease the bitterness.

37. Man’s main task in life is to give birth to himself, to become what he potentially is.

Another of the brilliant motivational quotes from psychoanalyst Erich Fromm, reminding you to never give up discovering and becoming who you are meant to be.

38. Every accomplishment starts with the decision to try.

Being decisive is a key characteristic for entrepreneurs, and anyone who wants to accomplish big things. Decide, then take decisive action.

39. Patience, persistence, and perspiration make an unbeatable combination for success.

Think and Grow Rich, by Napoleon Hill, is one of the top 10 best-selling self-help books of all time. I consider it one of the best business books you can read to shift your mindset in a positive direction.

40. How you think when you lose determines how long it will be until you win.

The prolific G. K. Chesterton��said losing is inevitable, but you can change how you think about it. The more quickly you bounce back and try again, the more successful you will ultimately become.

41. You can achieve anything you want in life if you have the courage to dream it, the intelligence to make a realistic plan, and the will to see that plan through to the end.

Sometimes lucky breaks help you get there faster, but achieving big goals is almost always a result of courage, planning, and determination.

42. Security is not the meaning of my life. Great opportunities are worth the risk.

As a powerful member of the judiciary at a time when women were almost non-existent in the profession, Shirley Hufstedler took risks that paved the way for many to follow.

43. The greatest mistake you can make in life is to be continually fearing you will make a mistake.

This is such a great mindset hack — recognizing that failing to act is often worse than taking the wrong action.

44. Finish each day and be done with it. You have done what you could … Tomorrow is a new day; begin it well and serenely and with too high a spirit to be encumbered with your old nonsense.

It’s so easy to get caught up in regrets and “old nonsense.” Instead, treat each day as a fresh slate and a new opportunity to find happiness.

45. Success is the ability to go from one failure to another with no loss of enthusiasm.

Failure is such a major theme in mindset quotes because it has the power to torpedo ambitions or fuel success, depending almost entirely on how you look at it.

46. Twenty years from now you will be more disappointed by the things you did not do than by the ones you did.

Avoid regrets by doing those things you dream about. Sure, things won’t always work out how you planned, but at least you’ll have tried!

'Twenty years from now you will be more disappointed by the things you did not do than by the ones you did.' – Mark TwainClick To Tweet

47. The problem human beings face is not that we aim too high and fail, but that we aim too low and succeed.

Michelangelo set his sights higher than any artist of his time, and his legacy is a testament to the power of imagination. Whatever you set out to create, reach beyond mediocrity.

48. The first principle is that you must not fool yourself, and you are the easiest person to fool.

Another characteristic of a successful mindset is brutal honesty — especially when it comes to yourself. Knowing your flaws means you can work on improving them.

49. What man actually needs is not a tensionless state but rather the striving and struggling for a worthwhile goal, a freely chosen task.

Despite struggling more than most will ever have to, Viktor E. Frankl maintained his faith in humanity. He wrote that meaning is not found in complacency and comfort.

50. Whenever an individual or business decides that success has been attained, progress stops.

Entrepreneurs like Thomas J. Watson don’t stop to congratulate themselves for too long. They set the next goal and get back to work.

51. Improve by 1% a day, and in just 70 days, you’re twice as good.

Incremental changes add up to massive transformations. This quote is motivating on those days when you only have a tiny amount of effort to give.

52. We find comfort among those who agree with us and growth among those who don’t.

Seek out those who have different opinions, knowledge, and experience than you. There’s no growth to be found in an echo chamber.

53. The measure of success is not whether you have a tough problem to deal with, but whether it’s the same problem you had last year.

Thanks to John Foster Dulles, you can be sure tough problems don’t disappear when you are successful. As you move forward, you will face new problems with more knowledge and experience.

54. No problem can withstand the assault of sustained thinking.

This mindset quote is so important in this time of continual distraction. It’s up to you to set aside the time for sustained thinking and creativity.

55. Only he who attempts the absurd is capable of achieving the impossible.

The artists, visionaries, and entrepreneurs in the world have a mindset of possibility — that’s what enables them to do what’s never been done before.

56. Luck is when an opportunity comes along and you’re prepared for it.

Luck is not a mysterious force that appears randomly. You can make your own luck by doing the work to prepare yourself for opportunities.

57. The cost of being wrong is less than the cost of doing nothing.

Motivational quotes like this one from Seth Godin are constantly telling you that to risk being wrong in order to accomplish anything.

'The cost of being wrong is less than the cost of doing nothing.' – Seth GodinClick To Tweet

58. Being realistic is the most commonly traveled road to mediocrity.

The world needs your outrageous ideas, crazy dreams, and unrealistic hope. If you believe it’s possible and you want it bad enough, make it happen.

59. We must get our hearts broken sometimes. This is a good sign, having a broken heart. It means we have tried for something.

Always risk breaking your heart, because what you gain is priceless. Elizabeth Gilbert’s Big Magic is an inspiring book about creativity, that I recommend for anyone who is afraid to create — whether it’s a novel, a business, or a whole new life.

60. A man who has committed a mistake and doesn’t correct it is committing another mistake.

The mindset quotes that speak to us about making mistakes are priceless. When you make a mistake, it’s only a failure if you don’t learn something.

61. The only true failure lies in the failure to start.

Being frozen at the start line is a familiar anxiety to many. With a mindset that embraces making mistakes, we can confidently take that first step and let go of the outcome.

62. Vision is not enough. It must be combined with venture. It is not enough to stare up the steps; we must also step up the stairs.

Vaclav Havel had a vision, but it only resulted in positive change because he took the necessary steps — despite great personal risk — to make it a reality.

63. By amending our mistakes, we get wisdom. By defending our faults, we betray an unsound mind.

Humility is foundational to a productive mindset. And as the philosophy of Hui Neng states in this powerful quote, making mistakes is fine as long as you’re honest about your faults.

64. When the facts change, I change my mind. What do you do, sir?

Influential figures like John Maynard Keynes didn’t accomplish anything by ignoring facts. If everyone could get comfortable saying, “I was wrong. I change my mind,” the world would be a better place.

65. The very best thing you can do for the whole world is to make the most of yourself.

Self-improvement is more than a selfish quest for success and fulfillment. It’s also a way to improve the world around you by contributing your best work.

66. It’s not that I’m so smart, it’s just that I stay with problems longer.

Brilliant scientists like Albert Einstein have a mindset that fosters creative problem-solving. That means spending as much time as it takes to find a solution, and not giving up until you do.

67. Don’t worry about the level of individual prominence you have achieved; worry about the individuals you have helped become better people.

This is an incredible shift in mindset, suggested by an expert in business innovation, Clayton Christensen. Instead of measuring success based on personal accolades, consider how many people you have helped. For example, to sell courses online, think about how you can help your audience.

68. To avoid criticism, do nothing, say nothing, be nothing.

69. Things don’t go wrong and break your heart so you can become bitter and give up. They happen to break you down and build you up so you can be all that you were intended to be.

Keeping a positive mindset when bad things happen is not easy. This motivational quote from Samuel Johnson helps — getting broken down is part of becoming who you were meant to be.

70. Failure is success if we learn from it.

Turning failure into success is as easy as changing your mindset. When you see them as valuable learning opportunities, failures can’t stop you.

71. A great pleasure in life is doing what people say you cannot do.

Whether you call them haters, naysayers, or simply the status quo, there will always be people trying to keep you from going after your dreams. Enjoy the rush of proving them wrong.

72. History has demonstrated that the most notable winners usually encountered heartbreaking obstacles before they triumphed. They won because they refused to become discouraged by their defeats.

It’s true that the most stunning victories often happen after the hardest struggle. If you get discouraged and give up, there’s zero chance of winning.

73. Many of life’s failures are people who did not realize how close they were to success when they gave up.

This motivational mindset quote can get you through those moments when you feel like giving up. It could be your very next attempt that works.

74. It takes 20 years to make an overnight success.

Looking at people who have “made it,” you can’t always see the work they put in behind the scenes. Success is rarely due to a single lucky break — put in the effort, and be ready for opportunities.

75. Unless you’re willing to have a go, fail miserably, and have another go, success won’t happen.

There’s no way to avoid failure, so you had best get comfortable with it. Take a closer look at any successful person and you will see a string of failed attempts in their past.

76. Everybody dies, but not everybody lives.

Are you really living, or just going through the motions?

77. There are three musts that hold us back: I must do well. You must treat me well. And the world must be easy.

These three things get right to the heart of how to think like an entrepreneur. If you can shed these “musts,” you gain resilience, humility, and determination in the face of challenge.

78. It is never too late to be what you might have been.

This quote is an inspiration to stop wishing for a different past. Instead, create a different future.

79. There is no greater agony than bearing an untold story inside you.

This is not like most quotes about motivation — it’s about avoiding pain rather than chasing success. Maya Angelou is giving you a directive to create: write, paint, sing, sculpt, and avoid the pain of staying silent.

80. It takes courage to grow up and become who you really are.

At first glance, this quote seems contradictory. How can you become who you already are? The answer is to stop living according to the expectations of others.

81. Knowing what is, and knowing what can be, are not the same thing.

Psychologist and mindfulness researcher Ellen Langer has written much on the subject of possibility. Her research proves that shifting awareness towards possibilities (and away from limitations) is transformative.

82. We should open ourselves to the impossible and embrace a psychology of possibility.

These mindset quotes from Ellen Langer reinforce the idea that changing your thoughts changes your reality. If you blindly accept that something can’t be done, you will never try.

83. Certainty is a cruel mindset. It hardens our minds against possibility.

If you are certain your circumstances can’t change, you will never try to improve them.

84. There is always a step small enough from where we are to get us to where we want to be. If we take that small step, there’s always another we can take, and eventually, a goal thought to be too far to reach becomes achievable.

Don’t worry if it seems too far away right now — it’s not impossible! Use a goal setting worksheet to help you break down your goals into achievable pieces.

85. Failure is not fatal, but failing to change might be.

This growth mindset quote from Coach John Wooden forces you to look at where you refusing to change. You have to change something to avoid making the same mistakes over and over again.

86. Success comes from knowing that you did your best to become the best that you are capable of being.

This takes a minute to sink in, but doesn’t it take the pressure off? Success isn’t about winning. It comes as a result of always working to improve yourself.

87. There isn’t a person anywhere who isn’t capable of doing more than he thinks he can.

Your thoughts have so much power. Don’t put limitations on yourself before you truly know what’s possible.

88. Our greatest weakness lies in giving up. The most certain way to succeed is always to try just one more time.

The science of grit reveals that perseverance and sustained effort are more important than most other factors in achieving a goal. That means not giving up.

89. The best way to treat obstacles is to use them as stepping-stones. Laugh at them, tread on them, and let them lead you to something better.

Enid Blyton talks about treating obstacles with a playful and positive mindset.

90. Being challenged in life is inevitable, being defeated is optional.

Roger Crawford had more challenges than most athletes, but that didn’t stop him. He believed challenges would keep coming, and his job was to get past them.

91. The pessimist sees difficulty in every opportunity. The optimist sees opportunity in every difficulty.

To change your mindset away from negativity, focus on looking for the opportunity in any situation.

92. Today I shall behave as if this is the day I will be remembered.

Each day is part of our life story, whether we think about it or not. So why not make each one memorable in some way?

93. We may encounter many defeats but we must not be defeated.

Maya Angelou writes about resilience in this inspiring mindset quote. You should never let failures and losses define you, or defeat you. Keep going.

94. Failure will never overtake me if my determination to succeed is strong enough.

Og Mandino, Greatest Salesman in the World, is all about the hustle quotes. When you’re determined to succeed, you can fail, shake it off, and try again as many times as it takes.

95. What we fear doing most is usually what we most need to do.

This mindset quote goes beyond the advice to face our fears. Ralph Waldo Emerson digs deeper and tells us to follow our fears. The things we avoid based on fear, are often the most necessary.

96. And the day came when the risk to remain tight in a bud was more painful than the risk it took to blossom.

The beautiful image in this quote from Anais Nin is powerful because it inspires such hope. We don’t have to be stuck forever — there is potential for growth when we are ready.

97. Sometimes you find out what you are supposed to be doing by doing the things you are not supposed to do.

There is wisdom in following curiosity. Instead of following the expectations of others, you can choose to do what excites you. That’s how you can find out who you really are.

98. Being a true badass has no weight or gender requirement — just 100% commitment to greatness.

It’s easy to focus on what other people have — talent, wealth, good genes — and get discouraged. What you can’t always see is the commitment and hard work behind the scenes.

99. You only get one shot, do not miss your chance to blow. This opportunity comes once in a lifetime.

Eminem is not typically known for his motivational quotes, but this one hits me every time I hear it on the radio.

Life really is just a one-shot deal. Since you can’t do it over, all you have is right now to jump on every opportunity.

100. Create a vision and never let the environment, other people’s beliefs, or the limits of what has been done in the past shape your decisions.

Tony Robbins is not only an expert in motivation — he’s a master of belief. He teaches people to harness the power of thoughts and beliefs to transform their lives.

101. Only put off until tomorrow what you are willing to die having left undone.

The time is now. Each day you put off taking action on your dreams, you risk losing the chance. Want to start a business? Choose one of these online business models and start today.

Use these motivation quotes for more than just motivation – take action!

As fun as a list of motivational quotes is to read, they are meant to inspire you to take action.

The goals you have for your career, business, and life – none of these can happen without you taking the action necessary to turn them into a reality.

So take just one of these quotes and use it – print it out, get it tattooed on your arm, whatever it takes. But use it to do work that matters to you.

You got this.

The post 101 Motivational Quotes: Simple Words to Change Your Life appeared first on Hack the Entrepreneur.

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We all start as employees. But some of us, with enough drive and focus, learn how to make money online and start our own businesses.

None of us are born as entrepreneurs. We are driven to start.

My guess is you are one of us — the driven few. The ones who are willing to put in the work NOW to change our lives TOMORROW.

So what’s holding you back?

For most of us, it boils down to three things:

Time: Racing through the day with no time left for yourself, your family, or realizing your dreams.

Fear: Staying frozen in place rather than face the possibility of failure and ridicule, losing your security, the unknown.

Knowledge: Not knowing how (and desperately wanting) to make more money without trading away more of your time. Plus, not knowing where to start.

By the time you finish reading this article, you will have everything you need to take action today.

Find the Time: Where to find the time to build your online business while working a full-time job.

Overcome Your Fear: How to get unstuck today – and move closer to your goal (of financial independence) every single day.

Uncover the Knowledge: The one thing you need to know to take action today. Plus, where to find your profitable online business ideas.

In this article, we are going to learn how to make money online fast in 2019.

We’ve got a lot to cover, so let’s jump straight into it.

How to find the time to take action

Let’s be clear. This isn’t about how to make money online so you can live a fantasy life with mansions and fast cars. It’s not about startups and buyouts.

But it’s not about creating another job for yourself, either. That’s trading time for money, and you already know it’s not the answer.

This is about making enough money to buy back your time.

It’s about starting small, and learning as you go. Most of all, it’s about fearlessly creating and launching your ideas out into the world.

It’s about freedom.

The freedom to sleep late tomorrow if you want, or not work at all next week and take your family to Hawaii for a last-minute getaway.

“No such thing as spare time. No such thing as free time. No such thing as down time. All you got is life time. Go.” – Henry Rollins

Not to get morbid, but we’re all going to die one day. And when we’re laying on our deathbeds, we are not going to reminisce about season six of The Walking Dead.

Every day 1000s of people are choosing to start profitable side hustles rather than watch Netflix. What will you choose?

We are going to remember the chances we took, the places we visited, and the things we produced in this world.

From Consumer to Producer

We spend our entire lives consuming other people’s products and services.

We buy new phones, clothes, and cars. We use apps and watch Netflix without even contemplating these purchases — and this is great for producers.

Producers create every app, song, video, phone, website, podcast, and pair of headphones that you own or use — and they get paid to do it.

They build something out of nothing. They get paid to create, inspire, and do work they love.

You can do that too if you learn to be a producer.

Before you consume anything, think about the people behind your purchase. Consumers pay for producers to live bold, exciting lives, on their own terms.

Which side of that exchange do you want to be on?

You know that show that you are watching but it’s not really that good? Give up one episode of it each night. In that one hour, you can accomplish an astonishing amount.

The beauty of not endlessly consuming other people’s creations is you now have hours every day to work towards your goal of making money online. You need to move from being a consumer to producer.

Here’s what I propose: start small. Start something now that gives you ownership of your time and money. And grow from there. Use our goal setting worksheet if you need help getting started.

Now that we’ve got that out of the way, let’s overcome the fears and anxieties you may have around starting an online business.

How to overcome your fear of failure

The biggest killer of online businesses and entrepreneurial dreams is not what you would expect. It’s not lack of financing, the economy, or bad ideas.

It’s doubt.

Self-doubt kills many dreams, long before any external factors can come into play. Most people are afraid to start pursuing their dreams.

Or if they do start, they turn back at the first signs of struggle, convinced they don’t have what it takes.

This is why your mindset is so important to get right in the beginning. Here are 21 business hacks to get you rolling right.

There are so many misconceptions around starting a business, it’s no wonder there is so much doubt (and so little confidence).

The truth is, you can start to make money online from home without quitting your job, knowing how to code, and without a million-dollar idea.

The most important thing is to start off with the right mindset. You need to go into this journey knowing you can get past any obstacle that comes up — you can and will.

Don’t worry, I can help you do it. Check out my entrepreneurial mindset course now.

Learning how to be wrong

Not only are failure and being wrong inevitable in business and in life, but you should actively search for them to learn valuable lessons.

All forms of education are tied to a cost – the cost of failure is time, resources, and humility.

It’s not always easy to make mistakes and fail, but it is essential to your growth and your success in online business and in life.

When you make a mistake, it’s not catastrophic. Keep moving, iterating, and using what you’ve learned to determine your next move.

When you enter your bedroom in the dark, you reach for the light switch.

If you miss, do you stop looking for it?

Do you decide to wait for the sun to rise and provide you with light?

My guess is you would never think of doing that because without even thinking, you take what you’ve learned (the light switch isn’t where you just touched) and reach out to another spot on the wall.

Again, if you miss a second and third time, you never think of living in the dark.

You instantly reach out again: you don’t get beaten by the defeat, and it never crosses your mind that you might not be cut out for living in a well-lit bedroom.

Think of making money online as a light switch. It doesn’t matter if you’ve tried and failed in the past, you need to know that it will work once you get it right.

Don’t struggle with failure (learn to enjoy it)

As Seth Godin said, there is a difference between failure and your struggle with failure.

Failure is inevitable in business and in life, but somehow we are better equipped to deal with it in day-to-day life.

We don’t know if our business ideas are any good. We don’t know if we have the skills and perseverance to pull it off. We don’t know what will happen if we fail.

Learning to fail and not allowing it to sideswipe you is essential. The good part is, the more you fail, the better you get.

Failure is not catastrophic, it is simply an opportunity to redirect and reiterate your project or ideas.

Of course, you could try to avoid the possibility of failure by never taking any chances. But you will still face risks that you can’t control You can live your whole life taking the safe route, and still have the rug pulled out from under you.

You could get laid off, the stock market could crash, or your job could become obsolete.

Best case scenario — if you silence the voice in your head and push down that feeling in your stomach long enough — you can retire and live with your regrets.

Either way, life is a risk.

How to make money online

There is a lot to learn, and plenty of opportunities to get stuck when you’re starting an online business from scratch.

Even if you’ve run a business in the past, taking your expertise online will involve learning a whole new set of skills.

From creating and selling an online course to writing a sales page that converts, it’s daunting for anybody. Especially those who don’t consider themselves technically inclined.

I get it. I’ve been there.

But I learned the hard way that trying to learn everything all at once, before you start, means… you’ll never start.

The sheer volume of information and challenges ahead will overwhelm you. You’ll get buried in it, and you might not be able to dig yourself out.

“The more you know, the more you know you don’t know.” — Aristotle

You can read the best business books, take courses, and wait for the perfect idea for years without launching anything. It’s procrastination by learning.

It’s easy to fool ourselves into thinking we’re taking action by researching, studying, and reading endless books before we launch our business.

Just-in-time learning

There is no replacement for action. You don’t have to learn everything before you start.

You learn only need to know enough to move to the next step. You take one step, then you learn the next thing.

I call it just in time learning. You learn what you need to know just in time, right as you are about to take action.

You NEED to LAUNCH something. And once you have, I want you to keep improving your process with all the experience and knowledge you gained the first time through.

Until you jump into the pool, you are not going to learn a damn thing about swimming.

Producers do not have to learn to design and code. Producers need to take an idea and turn it into reality. Creating something out of nothing is your job as a producer.

The producer of your favorite T.V. show does not hold the camera and edit the final show. She simply takes an idea and organizes the right people around her to create the best final product possible.

The internet itself was built by people like you and me.

Now let’s take a look at the best ways to make money online for those who are looking to take action today.

Start a blog and use content marketing

Is it still possible to make money online with blogging? Yes, it is.

Now, I won’t lie to you. It takes time and effort to learn how to start a blog.

It only takes a few hours to set up your first blog, but It will take you a ton of work and time (think months or years) to start seeing decent passive income. You may even feel stupid for spending so much time on something with an unpredictable return on your investment of time.

But once it starts, you are off to the races. Trust me — once you get that first win, things start to change pretty fast.

Here are the 3 steps to set up a blog:

Pick a name for your blog (and buy your domain)

Choosing a good name for your new blog can be overwhelming. After all, the domain name you choose is the first impression people have of your blog.

Depending on your topic you can always use your own name for your domain – James Altucher did this and it’s worked out incredibly well for him.

So how do you find a perfect blog name?

It’s much easier to come up with ideas once you know what niche you serve and who you target.

Spend some time writing down words to describe your audience. Focus on how they describe themselves.

Do your search over at Namecheap, my #1 recommended place to buy your domains.

Grab your domain now and save 19% (for a limited time)

To help you decide, here are a few characteristics of an ideal domain name:

Original and available: Do not try to copy another popular name.

Clear and simple: Keep it simple, so it’s easy to remember.

Simple spelling: Don’t get too creative with invented words, or people won’t know how to spell it.

Common extensions: These extensions are common, therefore easier to remember:  .com |  .co | .org | .io

Choosing an ideal domain name will take some brainstorming. But once you have the perfect name, the next step is finding hosting for your blog.

Get the right website hosting

Now that you have a name for your blog, you need to find a place for it to live. This place is your website host.

If this is your first time setting up a blog, then you might not even know what website hosting is. And while this can be confusing, it doesn’t have to be.

Once you understand the fundamentals of how website hosting works, you will be able to make an educated decision.

Website hosting 101:

A website is a bunch of different files connected to the internet. These files hold data and need a ‘space’ that’s secure and accessible to the internet.

This ‘space’ is what a hosting company offers.

The function of a host is to keep the data of your blog safe and accessible.

The worst thing you can do for your blog early on is to choose a hosting company based on price – or going with the cheapest hosting you can find.

You’re looking at endless problems, like slow loading times, and crashing. Add some terrible customer support into the mix and you’ll never want to blog again.

Instead, here’s what to look for in a hosting company:

Excellent customer support: Get help quickly when you need it.

Quality hardware: You need your website to be fast and secure. You can’t do that with crappy hosting.

Economical pricing: The best hosting is less than $10/month.

My recommendation:

If you’re serious about the speed and security of your new blog — as you should be —  SiteGround is the best option you can find. Here’s a complete SiteGround review to give you an inside look at their product and service.

SiteGround is one of the few hosting providers recommended by WordPress itself, and that says a lot about their quality and integrity as a hosting company.

Sure it can be a few dollars more than the cheapest hosting available, but it is infinitely better.

If you want excellent service, a blazingly fast blog, and peace of mind with automatic backups, then SiteGround is a perfect choice.

Pick an effective design for your blog

Now that you have a domain name and hosting, it’s time to get to the fun stuff — designing your blog!

There are two ways to go about this:

Hire a WordPress Developer

Get a WordPress Theme

Developers are expensive. When you’re just starting out it is faster and more effective to go with a predesigned WordPress theme. With a theme, you can make a great-looking blog without hiring a developer.

Your blog’s design should reflect your brand’s identity, while also touching on a few key components such as having a fast load speed, easy navigation, mobile-optimized for all devices, and friendly user experience.

There is no perfect design for a blog – but, there can be a perfect design for your blog.

All WordPress themes are not created equal. Some are fast – others are slow. Some are secure – others will get your site hacked.

We are looking for FAST and SECURE.

Genesis is a framework for WordPress. The benefit of using the Genesis Framework is that there are 100s of Genesis compatible themes and swapping between themes (designs) is simple and pain-free.

I’ve been a fan and user of the Genesis Framework and StudioPress themes for years.

The current version of this site is running Maker Pro theme by StudioPress on the Genesis framework. You can check it out here.

Yes, it will take time to get rolling, build an audience, and start earning money from a new blog. But writing about topics you are really into, building a community, and getting paid for it is an awesome feeling.

When it’s time to start writing blog posts, follow this process for how to get on the first page of Google.

2. Affiliate marketing

Affiliate marketing is the process of earning money by promoting other people’s products. It’s a proven online business idea for getting started.

As an affiliate marketer, you will find and promote products. The owners of the product pay you a commission for every sale or lead you to send to them.

When I interviewed Erik Bergman on the podcast, he said affiliate marketing was the best business model in the world.

If you’re new to making money online, you can use affiliate marketing to test your ideas and find your ideal customer base.

Once you find a product that sells really well to your audience, you can then think about creating your own (better) version of this same product. Consider it market research you get paid for.

Getting started with affiliate marketing is a 4-step process:

Sign up with an affiliate network

There are hundreds of affiliate networks out there. When you know what type of products you want to promote, it’s easy to find options.

Some of the leading affiliate networks are:

Amazon Associates

ShareASale

CJ Affiliates

You can find most affiliate programs by Googling “product name” and “affiliate program” together.

More than anything else with affiliate marketing, you should ONLY be promoting products YOU USE YOURSELF.

Choose an affiliate product

First off, you need to find products that will appeal to your audience – the people you are marketing to.

If you are just getting started making money online, choose a digital product to promote – such as online courses, ebooks, or software – because they pay a higher commission and are typically easier to sell.

The process of choosing your first affiliate product involves three simple steps:

Narrow down product ideas

Choose a single product

Then validate

By testing which affiliate products resonate with your audience, you can learn what kind of products may be big sellers if you eventually decide to create your own.

Promote the affiliate product

You’ve researched affiliate programs and chosen a product to promote. Now it’s time to start making some sales.

But you don’t want to feel like a pushy salesperson.

Here’s how to strike the right balance of helpful content and sales offers:

Always do what’s best for your audience and makes sales later.

When getting started online, many people struggle with this part – you aren’t alone. Here’s the exact process we use to create sales pages that convert.

If let your fears hold you back you will never start making money online – or get to enjoy the freedom that comes along with it.

People purchase the product with your affiliate link

Once you’ve created the affiliate link, it’s time to start selling. Let’s talk about some different ways you can market your affiliate products.

If you already have a good readership on your blog, you have a head-start. You can easily add product reviews to your publishing schedule.

Transparency is always appreciated — let your readers know you will be paid a small commission if they decide to buy.

Affiliate marketing is a great way to get started in online business, but let’s move on to the next way to make money online.

3. Create and sell courses online

There’s never been a better time to make the transition from selling your time for money to selling your knowledge at scale. And creating an online course is a great way to do this.

You can get started with little to no up-front investment, you can start small and grow over time, and you can get paid to help people solve a problem they have.

Your first barrier is figuring out what to teach.

It’s much easier to make money selling online courses when you aim to solve a problem for the intended audience. That’s why it’s one of my favorite online business models.

Instead of pondering, “What’s a good idea for my online course?”

Ask, “What challenges does my audience face that I can help with?”

Successful online courses are results-oriented and unambiguous.

They promise to:

Solve a specific problem

For a specific audience

To achieve a specific result

When framed this way, you’ll spend less time judging potential course ideas and more time focusing on the real goal: delivering something of value.

As you build your audience, use lead magnets to build your email list – then simply ask your subscribers what they need help with.

From here, you simply need to commit to your idea and take action.

Do you want to learn more about how to make money from online courses? Check out this step-by-step guide from Podia.

4. Start a membership site

It takes a lot of time to wade through content online to find the golden resources you need. Membership sites remove this from the equation and provide customers with all the info they need in one place.

A membership site is at its essence a resource hub. Customers pay a subscription fee, and they are granted access to the resources the owner creates, aggregates, or sources.

Resource materials can be anything from tutorials, videos, articles, and any other form of content your audience finds valuable.

With the creation of all-in-one platforms like Podia,  you don’t have to worry about the headaches of setting up a website. These platforms enable you sell memberships, courses, and digital downloads all in one place.

Membership sites are a great path to making money online if you are a content producer and love social media and forums.

That being said, if that doesn’t sound like a way that you’d like to spend your time, then you will want to choose another online business model.

5. Start a podcast

Of course, I’m a little biased on podcasting since it’s the foundation of my entire online business. But that doesn’t make it any less of a great way to make some extra money online.

If you don’t have an existing audience, learning how to start a podcast is not the fastest way to starting making money in your spare time. But as your popularity grows, you’ll build up your credibility and become a resource in your niche.

You’ll also be able to find sponsors for your podcast who want to pay you to introduce their products to your audience.

Additionally, as the demand for advertising on your podcast increases, so will your ability to select sponsorships that fit your brand, and that could provide you with steady streams of online income.

Here’s the (simplified) process for starting a podcast:

Pick your podcast topic

Define your audience

Position your podcast

Choose the right format

Pick a name for your show

Record your episodes

Publish and distribute

It’s not a sexy voice, a good microphone, or flashy editing that makes a podcast stand out and become successful. Those things might help you sound good. But none of that matters unless you build a podcast on a foundation of remarkable content.

It is the content that makes the podcast.

Whatever your reason for wanting to learn how to start a podcast – whether it’s to talk about your favorite TV show or to make money – you need to provide valuable content.

That’s not saying you have to be an expert in your field. You will learn as you grow your podcast, but you have to start with by having value to offer.

Grab our Remarkable Guide to Starting a Podcast

6. Social media management

Here’s a way to transform your Instagram, Twitter, or Pinterest habits into a profitable money-making venture.

There’s no marketing without social media marketing – and because of this, every business needs to be marketing on social media. The thing is, most business owners either don’t have the time or they just aren’t savvy enough to do it well.

If you’re good at creating content and engaging on social media, this is the perfect way for you to begin earning money online.

The best part is, you can start making money immediately with social media management.

Here’s how you can get started:

Clean up your personal social media accounts (remove any posts you wouldn’t want a potential client to see)

Read Buffer’s guide to social media marketing (to create a strategy and brush up on the lingo for making your pitch)

Email 10 businesses in your local area and make your pitch! (Car dealerships, restaurants, and bars are a great place to start)

If your self-confidence is running low, you can offer to work for the first month for a reduced rate or even free

You are probably thinking I oversimplified this process, but I didn’t. The only reason you’re telling yourself this is to make it more complicated than it needs to be – and create a reason to procrastinate.

If for some reason you can’t come up with 10 local business to pitch your services to, you can always set up a profile and pitch your services on a marketplace like Upwork or Fiverr.

7. Become a content writer

If you want to make money online from home, this side hustle may be perfect for you. If you have a way with words, then you should take the time and do the work necessary to become a content writer.

Content marketing is one of the fastest growing marketing channels for businesses – both local and global – and will only increase in the future.

Learning the art of crafting effective content is a valuable skill that will keep you in demand for years to come. According to the Content Marketing Institute, 53% of brands are looking to increase their content marketing budgets in 2019.

Writing for the web is different than writing for other mediums. If you want a primer, check out Copyblogger’s simple rule for web writing.

To find work as a content writer, you can reach out to your personal network or (again) you can use some of the many marketplaces like Upwork or Fiverr.

There is also an excellent marketplace specifically for companies and writers to find each other – it’s called nDash.

I recommend using nDash because it’s the perfect place to find work as a content writer – and it’s free for writers to sign up!

8. Make money online with surveys and research studies

If you were looking for make money online surveys and found them to be too much work for very little reward. This may be the exact thing you were looking for – research studies. No previous skills or experience required, and each study takes only about 30 minutes to complete.

Respondent is the fastest way to find high-paying research opportunities.

You can get started with research studies in 4 simple steps:

Sign up here and verify your profile (with Linkedin or Facebook)

Get automagically matched with your first study

Select a time that works for you and participate in the study

Get paid automatically via Paypal

It could not be easier to get up and running today. No excuses, this is your chance to start earning money on the side.

9. Develop and sell software

If you are searching for ways to make easy ways to make money online, this isn’t it.

Software development has become very popular with the rise of SaaS (software as a service) companies. The software can be as small as a browser extension that does one specific task or it could be as full scale as Adobe’s Creative Cloud.

Making money creating apps works similarly to software. The idea is providing a product that your target audience needs (or wants), and charging them a one-time payment or recurring subscription fee.

There are three popular payment models when it comes to software and apps:

Freemium: This means that customers get limited access to your software or app’s features. If they’d like to use more features, they can upgrade to a paid subscription.

Free trial: Customers get full access to your software or app for a set period of time, after which they’re charged if they want to keep using it.

Free software business model: The software or app is free for customers to use, but you earn revenue from advertising.

Software business models are some of the most innovative online, and for a good reason. They provide a steady source of recurring revenue to the owners, and over time they have the potential to become a saleable asset.

Because software is digital, it is also highly scalable. You can sell 1 copy or 1,000 copies in a day with no additional work. Due to this level of scalability, software is also labor intensive and can require a lot of customer support.

10. Sell your expertise as a consultant

Consulting is a great use of the skills you’ve acquired in school, work, or from your hobbies, and it has high earning potential.

Getting your first clients can be tough, but with some outreach on social media, and using content marketing to establish yourself as an expert, anyone can get started making money with consulting.

Don’t fall into the common trap of undervaluing your skills and knowledge. What seems easy, simple or obvious to you, can be amazing to others – not just in the skills you have but more importantly the end result and benefit you provide to your clients.

As you gain experience and confidence using your skills to help clients reach their career or personal goals, you can begin charging higher fees for your guidance and expertise.

Plus, one of the reasons consulting is the best business to start is that you can get started fast, with little to no startup capital.

Learning how to make money online is not just a dream

I’ve been working online full-time for 10 years. During the past decade, there has been a radical shift in how and where people work and earn money.

Five years ago, I could walk into any coffee shop, grab a coffee, sit down to work on my laptop – and I’d be the ONLY person doing that. Today, I can barely find a table at my favorite coffee shop.

The dream of learning how to make money online from home has rapidly become a reality of 1000s of people around the world.

This article showed you 10 ways to get started online. Some of the ideas will give you a faster path to revenue than others, but they will all get you there. You just need to work on finding focus.

Are you willing to step up, do the work, and make it a reality?

The post How to Make Money Online (While Working Full Time) appeared first on Hack the Entrepreneur.

via Hack the Entrepreneur

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Do you want to know how to start a blog?

Cool, welcome to the party.

It’s true, blogging can be a great hobby to share your knowledge.

But in 2019, blogging is also a viable online business model – not just for thousands of bloggers who make a living from their sites – but also (possibly) for you.

But if you’ve never set up a website before, it can be intimidating.

Fortunately, I’ve compiled everything you need to get your blog up right here.

I’ve covered every step, from choosing a blogging platform to setting up Google Analytics, and lots more!

I’ve left out all the fluff and to help you get started on the right foot — without wasting any time.

How to start a blog (in 6 steps):

Step 1: Choose the right blogging platform

Step 2: Give your blog a name

Step 3: Get the right host

Step 4: Designing your blog

Step 5: Five pages every website needs

Step 6: Essential WordPress plugins for bloggers

[Bonus #1] Google analytics set up guide

[Bonus #2] Google Search Console set up guide

1. Choose the right blogging platform

You can start a blog and manage it quite easily today. But with so many options, it’s hard to choose a content management system.

For example, platforms like Tumblr, Medium, and Blogspot let you post your writing without too much effort.

But if you’re serious about blogging in 2019, your best bet is WordPress.

WordPress is highly intuitive to use and extremely versatile. Instead of pre-set templates, WordPress works with third-party themes and plugins.

That means you can make your blog look and function almost any way you can imagine.

Without getting too technical, here’s why WordPress is great for bloggers:

1) Easy to use

WordPress has a well organized and intuitive interface that’s perfect for beginners. If you want to set up your blog with the least amount of hassle, WordPress is a smart choice.

2) Great ecosystem

With 32% of the internet running on WordPress, you’ll be part of a massive ecosystem. That makes it easy to access resources like guides and tutorials for WordPress users of all skill levels.

There’s also massive support in forums on Reddit and StackExchange in case you get stuck.

3) Good third-party support

WordPress works with themes and plugins created by external designers and developers. Don’t worry if you don’t know what I’m talking about — you will soon understand how great this flexibility is for your blog.

For now, all you need to know is that themes make your blog look amazing, even if you suck at design. Plugins add cool functionalities to your blog, like a shopping cart or live chat system.

The WordPress universe can be a little confusing with all the hosting, themes, plugins, etc. Let’s start off by clarifying how it works.

Hosting + WordPress + theme + plugins = Badass website

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Is WordPress free?

Yes and no — let me explain.

WordPress.org is free open source software.

Here’s how to use it for your blog:

Set up an account with a hosting company: Keep reading to learn more about hosting.

Install WordPress: It’s free and easy to install. It’s also easy to use — you won’t have to learn code.

Build your website: Use themes and plugins to make your blog look and function exactly how you want.

There is a cost of running your blog this way, and it’s determined by:

Your hosting plan

Any themes or plugins you purchase

For a totally free WordPress blog:

Use the free starter plan at WordPress.com

Start a simple but very limited blog

Why do I not recommend the ‘free’ approach?

WordPress.com has a free hosting plan that lets you set up a blog and run it through their platform.

This might seem like the obvious choice — who doesn’t want free and simple, right?

If you plan on building a business around your blog or doing anything beyond sharing with friends and family, you need more power and flexibility. WordPress.com will run ads on your blog and collect the money for YOUR traffic.

You'll spend 100s of hours working on your blog, spend $5/month to own it.

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Using WordPress.com, or any other free website builder to start your blog really limits what you can do.

Here are the biggest reasons NOT to get a free website:

1) You don’t get your own domain name

With free options, the name will include the platform associated with your blog.

For example, instead of yourblog.com, it will be something like this:

yourblog.wordpress.com

yourblog.blogspot.com

yourblog.tumblr.com

2) Limited modifications

Free is fine if you want a small cookie-cutter blog. If you plan to take your blogging seriously, you will need more options.

As you build an audience or start an online business around your blog, you’ll become frustrated with the limitations of a free plan.

For example, free plans limit how many videos and images you can post.

You might want to start building an email list, or selling products. And you will definitely want to promote your blog and get found on Google.

When you do, you’ll be forced to upgrade to a paid subscription anyway.

3) You’re not the owner

When you host your blog for free, whether it’s on WordPress.com, Medium, or Wix, they own it. If they want to delete it, they can!

Plus, when you’re ready for a more custom platform, you’ll have to start from scratch.

Now how does the free approach sound?

Not cool, right?

What about Wix?

Enough said.

While these website builders are free to use, they severely restrict key functionalities, will hold you back from growing your audience.

If you’re serious about blogging, avoid the dumpster fire.

Your ‘free’ account can end up costing a lot of frustration and money when you’re forced to upgrade.

WordPress.org (self Hosted blog)

Instead, I recommend the self-hosted approach — using free WordPress software on your own web hosting account.

While the self-hosted approach requires a bit of extra work, it opens up the entire functionality of WordPress. More importantly, it gives you complete ownership.

The bottom line for starting a blog:

If you’re serious about blogging and want to make money from it, a self-hosted website is the way to go.

The good news?

Hosting is not expensive, and WordPress CMS is free.

If you follow the steps in this guide, your blog will only cost $5 to $10 a month. That’s chump change considering the value you get in return — a custom WordPress blog that looks pro.

2. Give your blog a name

On the internet, every website, blog or resource has a unique domain name. It’s like an address — a name typed into a browser to get to your blog.

For example, when you type my domain name ‘hacktheentrepreneur.com’ into your browser, you’ll go straight to my home page.

Picking a name for your blog can be overwhelming. You want it to be perfect. After all, the domain name is the first impression people have of your blog before they see any of your writing.

It’s much easier to come up with ideas once you know what niche you serve and who you target. This is the same process we use to generate viable online business ideas.

Spend some time writing down words to describe your audience. Focus on how they describe themselves.

For example, if your blog is for dog owners, what kind of dog owners are you targeting? Do they identify with the term dog mommy or does that make them cringe?

Then, start brainstorming:

Combine a word that identifies your niche with your unique contribution.

For example, my blog serves entrepreneurs. My contribution is helping entrepreneurs grow an online business efficiently and effectively.

Hence the name ‘Hack – The – Entrepreneur.’

So what’s the best name for my blog?

It’s easy to get hung up on trying to figure out the best name for your blog.

While it is essential — it’s more important that you decide on a name and move on to the next step.

To help you decide, here are a few characteristics of an ideal domain name:

Original: Do not try to copy another popular name.

Short and clear: Keep it simple, so it’s easy to remember.

Easy to spell: Don’t get too creative with invented words, or people won’t know how to spell it.

Common extensions: These extensions are common, therefore easier to remember:  .com |  .co | .org | .io

Pro tip: You know you have a good domain name when someone can understand it over a call with bad coverage.

Fun Fact: Most people change the name of their blog at some point. Your domain name doesn’t have to be permanent, so don’t get hung up on perfection.

Where do I get a domain name?

Once you have some name ideas, it’s time to head over to a domain registry service.

You can research to see which of your choices are available, then pay a fee to register your final choice.

My recommendation: Namecheap

GET 46% DISCOUNT ON YOUR DOMAIN

Why do I recommend NameCheap?

1) Affordable pricing

Namecheap lives up to its name.

For as little as $9.00, you can register your domain for a year. While this isn’t the cheapest you’ll find (Godaddy starts at $7.95), it’s actually much less expensive in the long term.

This is why you have to read the fine print:

Godaddy’s price is more than double to renew. In the second year, it jumps from $7.85 to $16.95.

While Namecheap has a slightly higher initial price, it stays the same every year — no surprises. Search for your domain name now!

2) Free WhoisGuard

Domain registrars are required to keep a WHOIS database for all the domains they host. They submit information about who owns the domains to a central authority.

This can result in anyone, including spammers, finding your contact information.

Namecheap includes free WhoisGuard protection for as long as you keep renewing the domain. That’s a considerable cost saving of at least USD$7.99 per year.

Sweet, right?

3) Live chat support

Unlike other companies, Namecheap has a fantastic customer support team that you can reach via phone, email or chat.

How to get a domain with Namecheap

Step 1: Go to Namecheap and enter your domain name

Step 2: Choose the best available domain name and add to cart

This part can get tricky — if you use a common name, the .com extension might be unavailable.

If that’s the case, you can try:

Changing up the name a little.

Choosing a different extension like .org, .co, .io.

Step 3: Apply my Coupon Code: NEWCOM

Then simply confirm your order and SAVE 46%!

GET YOUR DOMAIN NAME NOW

3. Get the right host

Now that you have a name for your blog, you need to find a place for it to live.

If you don’t know much about computers, a topic like ‘website hosting’ sounds like rocket science.

In a nutshell, hosting companies:

Operate networks of computer servers.

Store and protect the data that makes up your website.

Make your website accessible to people on the internet.

Just think of hosting as a place (servers) to store (host) your website (data).

I can’t emphasize enough how important good hosting is for your blog.

What’s the best web hosting for a blog?

The function of a host is to keep the data of your blog safe and accessible.

When you’re just starting, you might want to pick the cheapest hosting service. This is the worst thing you can do for your blog.

You’re looking at an endless spiral of problems, like slow loading times, and crashes. Add bad customer support to the mix and you’ll want to throw your computer out the window.

Instead, here’s what to look for in a hosting company:

Excellent customer support: Get help quickly when you need it.

High uptime rating: Percentage of time servers are working and accessible (vs. downtown when your site is crashed and nobody can access it).

Economical pricing: The most expensive hosting is not necessarily the best.

My recommendation: SiteGround

GET SITEGROUND HOSTING

Why do I recommend SiteGround?

You shouldn’t have to do a deep dive on the technical aspects of servers and web-hosting. You just want your blog to work – and so do I. With that said, here’s why I recommend you use SiteGround when setting up your blog.

1) Well-trained customer support

SiteGround support is excellent — the reps know their stuff. If you’re setting up hosting for the first time, they can walk you through it.

When your blog is down (which almost never happens with SiteGround), their support is fast and easy to access. There are multiple ways to reach them, so you can choose which one you prefer: phone, email, and even live chat.

Fun Fact: They offer priority support with higher tier plans.

2) Top-notch servers (with 99.99% uptime)

SiteGround uses some of the best servers loaded with the best technology and architecture in the industry.

It also has the highest uptime rating of 99.99%. That means you can reasonably expect your website to be live 99.99% of the time.

So you can rest assured your blog and its data will remain secure and accessible to the internet at all times!

3) Ease of use

Customer support is helpful, but it’s even better when you don’t have to use it — an interface that’s easy to understand goes a long way.

It’s really simple and easy to manage your blog hosting with SiteGround because it has an intuitive interface.

The interface is well-organized in sections, with detailed icons so beginners can understand what they’re looking at.

For a more detailed review, I recommend checking out my SiteGround review.

How do you get hosting with SiteGround?

Of all the reasons to use SiteGround to host your blog, ease of use is near the top of my list. Let’s take a look at the four simple steps it takes to get SiteGround WordPress hosting.

Step 1: Go to SiteGround and choose Managed WordPress Hosting

Then choose which hosting plan you want:

If you’re starting, I recommend the GrowBig Plan which is the cheapest SiteGround plan that lets you host multiple websites. It offers the most value for your buck!

Step 2: Connect your new domain to the hosting account

First, select ‘I already have a domain’ and then enter the domain name you got from NameCheap and click ‘Proceed.’

Step 3: Fill in the details and make payment

Fill in the account information and proceed to payment.

Note: SiteGround renewal prices are three times that of the promo price so opting for a longer subscription saves you cash.

Step 4: Install WordPress on your new website

SiteGround makes it really easy. When you log into your customer area for the first time, just choose ‘Start a new website.’

The installation wizard will do the rest — just follow the steps and set up your WordPress account.

You’re done!

From now on, you can manage your website by logging in to your WordPress dashboard at:

yourdomainname.com/wp-admin

4. Designing your blog

Now that you have a domain name and hosting, it’s time to get to the fun stuff — designing your blog!

There are two ways to go about this:

Hire a WordPress Developer

Get a WordPress Theme

Developers are expensive. I don’t know about you, but most people don’t want to invest in a custom design when they’re just starting.

With a theme, you can make a great-looking blog without hiring a developer.

What is a WordPress theme?

In a nutshell, a WordPress theme is like a collection of templates. It defines the look and feel of your blog.

Most importantly, it gives you the ability to create a website without writing a single line of code.

Some premium themes like Thrive Themes, operate more like design software, with drag-and-drop blocks for text, images, and other elements.

The theme you choose will determine:

The visual design of the website

Typography

Colors

Page layouts

Styles for your articles

All you need to do is add your logos, text, and images to set up the pages you want.

The theme will ensure that your pages work together to create a visually appealing and functional website.

Free vs. paid WordPress themes

The WordPress theme industry has thousands of themes, and many of them are free.

Why not save money and go for a free WordPress theme?

Here are the four biggest reasons to pay for WordPress themes:

1) Reliable code

There’s a lot that goes into making a WordPress theme, but that’s just the first part. There’s also ensuring everything continues to work and remains compatible.

Theme companies have developers on staff to fix bugs and update code so it keeps working as internet technology changes.

With a free theme, you don’t have anyone working on the back end and this often leads to compatibility issues. That means bugs, errors or worse — downtime!

2) Dedicated support

Most people who use WordPress themes for a blog lack technical knowledge — they’re bloggers, not web developers.

Paid themes offer customer support, with some extending to live chat. This is a life-saver for anyone who is not a developer and just wants to make a nice blog that works.

3) Better community

Apart from excellent customer support, most paid WordPress themes have an active community. That means lots of people using their themes and talking about it on social media and in forums.

Chances are, if you’re trying to create something on your blog and can’t figure it out, someone else has already posted the answer.

4) Highly customizable

Paid themes offer a higher degree of customization than free alternatives.

Although themes are created by developers, they are designed for regular people to use — without learning how to code. A good theme can make your blog look exactly how you want.

Bottom line:

While paid themes cost money, they offer advantages you’ll miss out on with a free theme.

Best WordPress themes for bloggers

To pick the right theme for your blog, you’ll have to sift through a ton of options.

I’ll save you some time: there is only a handful of theme developers worth the money.

Here are the two I recommend:

StudioPress

GET A THEME AT STUDIOPRESS

StudioPress is a top WordPress developer. It has more than 200,000 happy users, thanks to its beautiful and reliable themes. The blog you are reading right now uses the Maker Pro theme from StudioPress.

Here are the best reasons to get a StudioPress theme:

1) Fast and easy setup

Even a non-techie can set up a professional WordPress website super fast with a StudioPress theme.

It has a library of awesome layouts, so you all you have to do is pick one you like, install it, and start dropping in your content.

Who needs a web designer right?

2) Reliable and lightweight code (SEO-Friendly)

Without getting too technical, StudioPress themes work on a “theme framework” called Genesis. When you choose a layout option, you’re just choosing the visual design elements.

Genesis Framework is the core foundation code for a WordPress site. It’s rock-solid, reliable, and fast — and it’s included with any theme you purchase from StudioPress.

Over the years I have used many themes, but never once have I experienced performance issues with StudioPress. In fact, I have the same speed as a website custom-coded from scratch:

My website scores really well for page speed, thanks to the clean and lightweight code of Genesis Framework.

Page speed is important for SEO and user experience — nobody likes a site that takes forever to load! A theme with unreliable and clunky code slows everything down.

3) Great customer support

The support by StudioPress is top-notch. You can get premium support any time of day, plus lifetime updates on all their products.

4) SEO-friendly integrations

StudioPress themes include built-in SEO tools that mitigate the need to install additional SEO plugins.

Recommended WordPress theme 2: Thrive Themes

GET THRIVE THEMES

Thrive Themes is a conversion focused WordPress company. Thrive’s WordPress themes and plugins are designed to help you convert readers into subscribers and customers.

That means it’s great for bloggers who want to build an email list or start an online business.

Best reasons to get Thrive Themes

Thrive Themes offers way more than stand-alone WordPress themes. They provide a bundle of plugins and themes that work together.

1) All-in-one package

With a full package from Thrive, you get everything you need to make sure your blog is effective in getting you more customers and clients.

The Thrive Theme package includes:

Thrive Themes: An array of beautiful WordPress themes focussed on conversion.

Thrive Leads: Eye-catching, effective email opt-in forms.

Thrive Architect: A drag and drop page builder (I use it to make sales pages).

Tons of plugins: Grow your business with tools to publish testimonials, post a quiz, make a sidebar, and more.

Thrive Themes includes so many built-in features you won’t need to buy any external plugins. You’ll save money and your website won’t be slowed down.

2) Huge library of layouts

Each Thrive Theme comes pre-built with close to a hundred layouts. For a non-designer, that’s really helpful.

You can make your home page, landing pages, contact page, and sales pages look great with professionally-designed layouts. Just drop in your text and images.

3) Good for conversion optimization

Thrives Themes primarily focus on optimizing conversion. The built-in features work together to make sure you get the most out of your visitors.

GeneratePress

GET GENERATEPRESS

GeneratePress is focused on speed, reliability, and ease-of-use.

It doesn’t have a lot of bells and whistles, but it’s an affordable option for a fast, clean, and simple blog.

Best reasons to get GeneratePress

1) Performance

One of the highlights of the GeneratePress theme is its excellent performance.

It is developed with clean and lightweight code. With no extra frills, it’s great for SEO and fast loading time.

2) Free site library

This theme sports an excellent library of layouts that let you build a fully functional website in a matter of minutes.

3) Simple and intuitive website builder

Another advantage of GeneratePress is its highly customizable website builder. It enables you to customize your blog without much hassle.

5. Five pages every blogger needs

I know you’re excited to start blogging. But before you start writing, you need some basics on your website so readers know what you’re all about. These same pages are also necessary if you want to start selling online courses.

There are five pages every blog needs to give readers a better experience on your website.

How to create a new page in WordPress

Considering it’s your first time building a blog on WordPress, here’s how to create a new page:

1. From your WordPress dashboard, go to pages and click ‘add new.’

2. Give your page a title, and start adding some content. When you’re happy with how it looks, hit ‘publish.’

Remember: Once you hit ‘publish’ your page is live. If you don’t want to publish it right away, save it as a draft.

Great! You now know how to create pages on your blog.

Page 1: Home

Your home page without a doubt is the most important page on your blog.

Why?

Because it’s the most visited page, and usually the first thing new visitors see.

Your home page should describe what your blog is about and draw visitors deeper into your blog.

As you can see my home page clearly portrays who I am and what I do:

I establish trust by showing some online publications I’ve written for. I also ask people to go deeper by subscribing to my email list.

Page 2: Blog category

While most people use their homepage to display posts, I like to have a dedicated page for all my articles — a blog category page. On Hack the Entrepreneur, we also have a podcast category page.

If you plan to consistently publish, you’ll end up with a huge disorganized collection of articles. Readers will have a hard time finding what they want to read, and new visitors won’t know where to start.

With a blog page, you can create your articles as blog posts, and organize them with categories and tags.

For example, Smart Passive Income has a massive collection of content and uses a nifty slider to filter categories. It’s really easy for readers to find what they’re looking for.

Page 3: Contact

Your blog will open the door to many opportunities. Over time people will be interested in working with you while others may want to get in touch.

But how do they contact you?

Posting your email address on your blog is a terrible idea. You’ll understand why pretty quickly — your inbox will get spammed.

That’s why you need a page with a contact form. Nothing fancy, just a simple and concise form,

Just a simple form and a message about how quickly you usually respond is fine. Here’s a great example from SoulSalt’s contact page.

Note: I recommend using the Ninja Forms plugin to create beautiful contact forms.

Page 4: About me

People like to know what’s going on behind the scenes, or rather who’s responsible for the content they’re reading.

They are more likely to trust your website (and your business) if they see a face behind your blog.

For example, Gemma and Alistair Clay from Class: PR strike a perfect balance between storytelling and social proof and is an excellent example of an about page.

Having an about me page helps visitors learn more about you, and establishes a personal connection.

Page 5: Privacy policy

In the age of GDPR and privacy concerns, this page is essential to every blog.

Here you outline the personal information you collect from your visitors — for example, emails and names collected via opt-in forms.

Once again, don’t overdo it. I use a simple text page that clearly displays my privacy policy without any fluff.

If you plan to use a third-party ad network, you’ll have to mention the use of cookies clearly within your privacy policy page.

Note: You need to have a privacy policy page if you want to display ads from Google and other networks.

Here are a few tools to help you create a privacy policy page.

https://www.shopify.in/tools/policy-generator

https://www.freeprivacypolicy.com/

6. Essential plugins for bloggers

With your website launched and essential pages in place, you’re ready to start blogging.

While most beginners avoid using plugins, they are a necessary part of the blogging process.

If you don’t pay attention to optimizing and maintaining your website, it won’t work as well as it should.

You’ll have a hard time getting traffic, and converting traffic into customers — both essential if you want to make money with a blog.

That’s where plugins come in.

Plugins are bundles of code that add functions to your WordPress blog. They also automate some administrative processes so you can focus on more productive things, like writing awesome blog posts.

While plugins are great, adding too many will end up slowing down your blog.

To get you started on the right foot, I’ve listed the best plugins for a new blog:

Yoast for SEO: Optimizes your blog for search engines

GET YOAST SEO

Search engine optimization (SEO) in the blogging world is a big deal!

Getting on the first page of Google is one of the main ways to get more people reading your blog.

Now, while many ranking factors go into SEO, optimizing content for search engines is essential. Yoast helps you make sure your blog posts are written and formatted properly for search.

Note: You can skip the XML sitemap plugin as Yoast takes care of this too

Social Warfare: Gets your blog shared on social media

GET SOCIAL WARFARE

Social Warfare adds lightning-fast social share buttons to your blog — and they look great on every screen size.

That means sharing your content on social media will be fast and easy for your readers.

W3 Total Cache: Makes your blog load faster

GET W3 TOTAL CACHE

W3 Total Cache is another essential plugin that helps with SEO and the user experience of your website.  It optimizes performance to reduce load time.

OptinMonster: Helps grow your email list

GET OPTINMONSTER

OptinMonster is a plugin for creating lead capture forms, focussed on high conversions.

If you want to grow your business with email marketing, you need to create valuable lead magnets and make sure your signup forms get noticed.

Ninja forms: Builds forms for any purpose

Ninja form is a form builder that helps you collect information from your readers. This plugin makes it super easy to create beautifully-designed forms and drop them anywhere you want on your website.

For example, you can use Ninja Forms to create a quote request, event registration form, or even a simple contact form.

[Bonus #1] Google Analytics set up guide

Google Analytics gives you valuable insight into your website traffic.

Beyond how many people are visiting your site, this essential tool breaks down tons of information:

What pages they visit

How long they stay

What they click on

How they found your website

What countries they’re in

This data is essential to learn the inner workings of your website, so you can assess whether it is accomplishing its purpose.

While this data may not mean much when you don’t have much traffic, it’s essential to integrate it from the beginning.  Collecting valuable data right from the start helps you avoid gaps.

There’s a ton of data in your Google Analytics account, and you don’t need to dig too deep at the beginning.

Tracking these three metrics will help guide your decisions around what to write and how to promote your blog:

Overview report: A quick glimpse of your blog’s audience for a certain period.

Most Popular Posts: This helps you find out what type of content is resonating most with your audience.

Referral traffic: Gives you the top 10 websites sending you traffic. These are sites linking to your blog within their content.

Setting up Google Analytics

Now you know Google Analytics is a must — but setting it up can be tricky.

This section walks through the entire process of setting up Google Analytics to your WordPress website step-by-step.

Step 1: Sign up for Google Analytics

Fill in the required information, and click ‘Get Tracking ID.’

Step 2: Get the tracking code to your blog

Once you add the website, you will get a Tracking ID. Under this, you’ll find the ‘Global Site Tag.’ It contains a code snippet which is your tracking code.

Step 3: Add the tracking code to the header of your blog

Copy the tracking code, and paste it into the <Header> section of your blog.

If you’re using a StudioPress theme, the Genesis Framework makes it easy. In your WordPress dashboard:

Find Genesis in the menu along the left side

Click on Theme Settings

Scroll down until you see the field <Header Scripts>

Paste your tracking code into the field

If you’re not using Genesis, you can either:

Contact support for the company that made your theme: Ask them where to manually add your tracking code to the header.

OR

Install free plugin Insert Headers and Footers: Use the plugin to add your tracking code to any theme.

That’s it!

You’ve just added Google Analytics into your website.

[Bonus #2] Google Search Console set up guide

Search Console is another essential data tool. In particular, it provides data on how your blog performs on search engines.

You want people to find your blog when they search for information on Google. The data in Search Console helps you to know when you’re on the right track with your content.

Search Console provides valuable data like:

What keywords and queries bring in traffic?

What are your top performing keywords?

Google Search Console helps you understand how effectively you are targeting and optimizing your content for SEO.

Setting up Google Search Console

Here’s a step-by-step walkthrough on how to set up the Google Search Console for your blog.

Step 1: Create an account with Search Console

Go to Google Search Console and click ‘Start Now’ to create an account.

Then click ‘Add a Property’ and enter the domain name of your blog.

Step 2: Verify ownership using Yoast

There are several ways to verify your blog, but I recommend using the Yoast SEO plugin.

All you have to do is copy and paste the HTML tag into the plugin:

Step 3: Add the code into your blog

Find Yoast SEO on the left side menu of your WordPress dashboard.

Go to ‘General’ settings and paste the code you got from Google Search Console.

Step 4: Verify with Google Search Console

Once you add the code click ‘verify’ and you should get the confirmation.

Congratulations you’ve successfully connected your blog with Google Search Console!

Final thoughts on blogging in 2019

Now that you have everything set up to start your blog the real work begins — writing blog posts and building an audience!

I won’t lie to you. It’s going to take a lot of work and time (maybe months) to see a noticeable change.

You may even feel stupid for spending so much time on something with an unpredictable return. Trust me — once you get that first win, things start to change pretty fast.

It took me 7 months before I made my first sale but after that, my website took off.

While blogging has many advantages, it’s definitely not easy.  There’s a lot of work to be done. And no matter if you want to become a professional blogger like James Altucher or simply write about your favorite recipes, blogging is a great skillset to learn.

But for now, give yourself a pat on the back for doing something awesome — starting a blog!

Go grab your new WordPress hosting account at SiteGround and get started on your blogging journey.

The post How to start a blog: The Definitive Guide (2019) appeared first on Hack the Entrepreneur.

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You already know lead magnets are essential – that’s why you want to learn how to craft the perfect one.

But did you know that the right lead magnet can transform your simple online business ideas?

For prospects to hand over their email address, you need to make an offer they can’t resist.

Here’s the thing, nobody cares about your free newsletter. At least not right now.

When someone first lands on your site, they don’t know anything about you. You’ve got 30 seconds or less to make them an irresistible offer to give you their email address.

Once you’ve got their email, then you have time to build the relationship – and maybe even make them love your newsletter. Grab them first, nurture them later.

In this guide, you’ll learn strategies for creating a lead magnet that will guarantee conversions down the line – no matter if you are looking to sell courses online or physical products from your garage.

You’ll also get plenty of ideas from killer lead magnets working right now to build huge email lists.

Let’s start at the top.

What’s a lead magnet?

A lead magnet is something you offer to your website visitors in exchange for their personal information.

The aim is to attract potential customers (leads), in the hopes that they will agree to be contacted directly by your business.

In digital marketing, a lead magnet is used to build an email list. It can be any valuable resource, offered free of charge when someone signs up to your email list.

Here are just some of the forms a lead magnet can take:

eBook

Checklist

Cheat sheet

Video course

Discount on products

Free trial of a service

White paper

App or software tool

Goal setting worksheet

For example, BidSketch offers a Sample Client Proposal as its lead magnet.

Now that you know what lead magnets are, the next question is:

How do you create lead magnets that attract leads like crazy?

Read on to learn about creating the best lead magnet for your landing pages, blog posts, and affiliate marketing campaigns.

Features of an effective lead magnet

Lead magnets that do a really good job attracting and converting leads have a few characteristics in common.

They are:

1. Specific

A lead magnet works best when it’s ultra-specific.

It’s important to have a narrow scope in the problem your lead magnet will solve. Aim to address one specific need of your target audience.

For example, Just Creative offers a Logo Inspiration eBook.

This lead magnet aims to attract people who need branding and design services for their business. An eBook on graphic design would be too broad and generic.

Instead, this eBook addresses one aspect of branding — the need for ideas and inspiration for a new logo. It’s specific.

Here’s another example to demonstrate how to narrow down your lead magnet. DebtHelper offers a Free Budget SpreadSheet to help their audience stop losing sleep over their expenses.

It solves a single but important issue.

There’s no need for your lead magnet to be an all-action warrior.

To convert site visitors into email subscribers, focus on providing a solution to a single problem for your audience.

2. Easy to use

When you get a new email subscriber, you haven’t won them over yet. They can easily unsubscribe from your list if they don’t get anything useful from your lead magnet.

Here’s an example of a lead magnet that’s simple to use. It’s a one-page pdf, and the information can be put to use immediately by bloggers and marketers when they write their next headline:

Even though it’s free, your subscribers expect to achieve the desired result right away from your offer. That’s why lead magnets should be easy to implement and valuable.

If you’re offering a report, guide, or eBook, make it easy to read, with short sentences, short paragraphs, and bullet points.

The same ideas apply to video, audio, or email courses. Keep it simple so your leads can benefit right away.

3. Targeted

When it comes to lead generation, quality over quantity is best.

Strive to attract a specific group of people with your lead magnet — the people who make up your ideal customers. On our list of 101 best business books, we offer a free download of our book. You can’t get much more targeted.

Customers want to feel like you understand their needs, so be clear about who you are trying to help.

If you’re in the finance industry, for example, a report on the latest changes in the investment industry is way too generic — it’s for anyone who has investments.

To get more targeted, narrow down which investors you want to help. “Baby Boomers’ Guide to Minimizing Estate Taxes,” makes it clear immediately that the lead magnet is for older investors. Even more specifically, those with sizable assets pass on to their kids.

The lead magnet below from MuleSoft targets SaaS providers. Specifically, SaaS executives who want to sell their product at the Enterprise level:

Don’t cast your net too wide or you’ll attract passers-by who don’t care about your business.

4. It’s action-driven

Your potential lead should be able to take action immediately based on the information in your lead magnet.

No matter what form it takes, the content that works best is actionable and easily digestible — that means keep it short.

If it’s too long, your new subscribers will read or watch halfway without getting the promised result.

Marie Forleo offers 3 Secrets to Copy That Connects and Converts as a lead magnet for a copywriting class. The target audience will perceive “3 secrets” as being short, which means they can apply them right away.

Make sure your tips can be implemented right away. That’s why checklists, cheat sheets, and templates make some of the best lead magnets. They promise instant execution.

5. It solves a problem

Pain is highly motivating. If your lead magnet promises to solve an urgent problem (or show the steps to fix it), they will rush to fill in that opt-in form.

Just remember: your lead magnet has to deliver on that promise.

When you ease that pain point, you immediately build trust. And you’re well on your way to converting leads into customers.

ConversionXL offers a lead magnet promising a solution to low conversion rates. The good thing is the user can download and apply the tactics right now.

Even though your lead magnet is a free offer, it has to deliver. Make sure it really solves a problem (besides your need to capture email leads).

If you begin your relationship with a subscriber on the wrong foot, you lose your best chance to win them over as customers.

6. It’s delivered immediately

Never make your potential lead wait.

Don’t forget they want that solution right now. In most cases, there are two ways you can deliver it “right now.”

One way is to place the lead magnet on your thank you page after the lead has entered their information.

AdEspresso delivers their “Guide to Facebook Custom Audiences Guide” on the thank you page.

The other way is to send your lead magnet by email. If you use a double opt-in, which is advisable, you will be asking new subscribers to confirm their subscription.

You can send the lead magnet through an automated welcome email once they confirm.

7. It’s free

The worst mistake when it comes to list building is adding a price tag to your lead magnet.

People are giving you something valuable in exchange, which is access to their inbox.

No matter how much time and money you invested in creating it, you should expect to recoup those costs by converting leads into paying customers down the line. If you don’t, your email marketing strategy needs to be improved.

For example, Erin Stutland’s lead magnet is valuable. She offers a free audio workout.

The rule is simple: You should offer your lead magnet completely free. That’s the fastest way to build your email list.

Lead Magnet ideas

Many forms of lead magnets can work online. It’s difficult to say that one format is the best.

However, there may be the best format for your business. By testing different offers, you can find out which ones convert.

When you hit on the right format, you’ll know. Your conversions will skyrocket.

What are the types of lead magnets you can use on your landing pages and other website pages?

1. Guides and Reports

Guides and Reports are some of the most popular types of lead magnet.

People are always looking for information about topics that are important to them. In fact, it’s usually what brings them to your website in the first place.

If you make a guide about a topic that your site users (i.e., ideal customers) need help with, they will gladly sign up to receive it.

Reports can have the same effect. Did you research a trend in your industry?

You can summarize the results of your research into a report. One example of this is the State of Inbound Report conducted by HubSpot.

Original research reports can provide new industry insights that can’t be found elsewhere. Professionals in that market will be very interested in getting the inside scoop.

HubSpot has many guides and reports on its website. One of them is a guide for people new to online marketing, promising to teach the essential building blocks.

2. Toolkit

This type of lead magnet includes resources like templates, a glossary of important terms, or step-by-step instructions and SOPs.

For example, a fitness business might offer a workout tracking log. You could get specific by gearing it towards achieving a short-term goal with pre-set exercise routines.

Another example of a Toolkit is MindTools’ lead magnet. When a user fills out their form, one of the tools they’ll get is the Activity Log shown below.

Below is another example by Trello, featuring templates for specific outcomes.

Check this out if you’d like to learn the best online business tools for small business.

3. Free trial

Offering a free trial as a lead magnet works especially well for apps and software platforms.

Free trial offers are powerful because, in the end, users are very motivated to upgrade. They’ve already invested time exploring the tools and features. Plus, they know without a doubt if the product delivers on its promises.

ActiveCampaign offers a free trial of their email service. Users love it because they don’t even have to use a credit card to sign up.

When you offer a free trial, you have the opportunity to convince your lead to upgrade to your paid service.

4. Cheat sheet

Everybody wants a shortcut once in a while.

A cheat sheet doesn’t need to provide too much explanation about a concept. All it needs to do is show your lead how to complete a task better.

Below is an example of a cheat sheet by Jon Morrow. Knowing how much bloggers struggle to write compelling headlines, this lead magnet gets straight to the point with a “Cliff Notes” on how to do it.

5. Discount/Free shipping

If you have a product that’s in demand, you can offer a discount or free shipping to increase sales.

58% of buyers abandoned items in the cart when they saw shipping charges. Interestingly, half of the customers surveyed said they can wait a few days for free shipping.

This can serve as an incentive to someone who’s interested but doesn’t want to pay the shipping fee.

In e-commerce, making that first sale is key for growing an email list. Customers who have already made a purchase are the most valuable subscribers — they are more likely to buy again than brand new leads.

Kate Spade, an e-commerce store offers 15% off plus free shipping.

The same thing applies to discounts. They’re mostly used by e-commerce stores to incentivize an initial purchase.

Rosegal offers a 15% Off for new users. However, the user has to create an account and subscribe to their newsletter to claim the coupon.

6. Quiz/survey

A cleverly crafted quiz can be irresistible to your website visitors. People love to learn more about themselves.

After completing the quiz, visitors will have to submit their email address to get the results and recommendations.

In fact, it works so well that we have our own quiz as a lead magnet.

But guess what? A user has to enter their email address before they can see the quiz results

Creating your own quiz is simple to do with the Thrive Quiz Builder.

7. Assessment/Test

This is similar to a quiz but it’s usually related to a website or a type of content.

For people to have access to the results, they’ll need to provide their email address.

Below is an example by HubSpot with its Marketing Grader.

8. Consultation

A free 30-minute consultation session is a great incentive for consultants, coaches, and service agencies.

It’s perfect because not only do you get an email signup, but you get a chance to speak directly to your potential customer. If you provide enough value in the initial session, they’ll know it’s a safe bet to sign on as a client.

Check out this example of a free consultation designed to capture leads below.

9. Sales catalog

If you have a list of products that potential customers want to see, you can create a product catalog.

In markets like fashion and home decor, shoppers are eager to see what’s new each season. It’s a perfect opportunity to capture email leads of people who want to stay on top of trends.

A company that does this very effectively is IKEA. Check it below:

10. Video series

Sometimes a video tutorial or course is the most effective format for the content you want to share. Although this is not a common lead magnet, it might be just right for your audience.

See this 7-Day Video course by Timothy Sykes which he offers as a lead magnet for free.

How to Create a Lead Magnet

Now that you have some ideas about what makes a good lead magnet, you’re ready to take action.

Here are steps you can follow to create an irresistible lead magnet that will grow your email list fast:

1. Define your audience of one

“Know your audience” is Marketing 101.

To be able to create any type of content that your target audience will find helpful, you need to know them deeply.

It’s hard to know a crowd — the thousands of customers you want to eventually reach. To make it easier, define one person as your ideal customer. It doesn’t matter if you are creating a product or starting a podcast, understanding your ideal client is essential.

Begin by creating a detailed persona about that one person you’re serving with your lead magnet: Your Audience of One.

When defining your ideal customer, include as many details as possible. Think about all the aspects of a person’s life, not just those that have to do with your business, to truly understand who they are.

Include details like:

Name

Demographics

Education

Career

Primary needs

Problems

Desires

Likes

Dislikes

Interests

Here’s a detailed buyer persona as an example of how deep you can go with a profile. It includes personality, life goals, and motivations:

You can read more about creating buyer personas on the Shopify blog:

How to Build Buyer Personas for Better Marketing

2. Research specific problems you can solve

When you have deep knowledge of who your potential customer is, the next step is to identify specific frustrations.

Focus on finding an urgent problem that could be solved quickly.

Here are some ways to research:

Ask questions on forums and discussion boards in your market.

Browse online communities like Reddit or Facebook groups to see what questions people in your niche are asking.

Perform keyword research with tools like SEMRush to find popular search terms related to your business.

Ask your existing customers what they’re struggling with right now, by survey or talking to them in person.

Once you’ve brainstormed a list of possible issues, narrow it down to one.

Remember, be specific and solve an urgent problem to get the best conversions.

3. Determine the best format

Depending on the need or problem you will address with your lead magnet, the right format could be obvious. For example:

Solving the issue of how to pass the final level in a difficult video game might work best as a video walk-through.

Solving the issue of what to make for dinner on a busy weeknight makes sense as a recipe eBook.

Solving the issue of finding side hustle ideas you can start while working would make sense as short report.

If you already have a website or blog, take your cues from what type of content your visitors engage with the most. Is it video, audio, or print?

You can also research by looking at your competitors to see what’s working well for them.

When in doubt about what kind of lead magnet you should offer, just keep it simple.

Remember, the goal is for your lead magnet to solve a specific problem. It’s better to share one idea that works than to share 10 ideas and overwhelm your audience.

Here’s a list of the easiest lead magnets to create:

Checklist

2 – 3 part video series

Free email course

Worksheet

Short Report (5 Steps to…)

Audio (A recorded interview or webinar)

Here’s a secret to creating an awesome lead magnet without starting from scratch:

Repurpose existing content.

Some websites use their viral content as a lead magnet by repurposing it into another format. Repurposing content offers a lot of benefits:

For example, there might be an option for a page visitor to download a PDF version of a blog post to print as a reference document.

Marketo created a Definitive Guide Series with more than 100 helpful pages.

One of the repurposed guides, “The Definitive Guide to Social Media,” has generated over 102,000 views.

4. Launch and test

Once create your first lead magnet, it’s time to put it to work. Place the offer in an opt-in box on your website.

As you send traffic to your site, you’ll be able to see how well your lead magnet performs. The conversion rate tells you how many people sign up to your email list, as a percentage of those who see the offer.

If you’re getting good results, you hit the mark. Good job!

But if your conversions are not stellar, carry out tests and work on improving.

Here are some things you can tweak about your lead magnet offer for better conversions:

Try different call-to-action buttons for the same lead magnet. Changing the text, color, and placement of your opt-in box could improve results without upgrading the lead magnet.

Test different formats for the same content. For example, you could test an eBook vs. a video, or a report about a current trend vs. a tool.

Try variations on the size of your offer. For instance, do your leads prefer a 15-page ultimate guide or a 2-page checklist?

With the results of your tests, you can focus your efforts on refining your offer for maximum results.

OneMan Financial tested its old landing page against a new version and found a winner. Within a few months, email capture rates increased by 29% and the company added additional 1,000 subscribers to their retargeting campaign.

Start growing your email list faster with awesome lead magnets

The perfect lead magnet is invaluable.

It shows potential customers you understand their challenges. When you deliver value, it proves you can help.

With a high-converting lead magnet, you’re on course to achieving your list building goals.

The post Lead Magnets: The Definitive Guide for 2019 appeared first on Hack the Entrepreneur.

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Are you looking for an honest (and easy to understand) SiteGround hosting review?

Cool, I’m glad you’re here. This article is for you.

Here’s the thing …

After reading countless hosting reviews myself and searching for the fastest WordPress hosting I could find – I found SiteGround.

As of today, I have been using SiteGround for 5+ years. In that time, I’ve learned the pros AND cons – the ins and the outs.

So I decided to write a fluff-free SiteGround WordPress hosting review to share what I’ve learned.

I’m going to go in-depth, but at the same time keep the jargon out of it.

Whether you are looking to get a side hustle idea going, you’re starting a podcast, or you want to get an online business idea up and running, this review is exactly what you need to choose your website hosting.

Here’s what we are going to cover in this review.

SiteGround hosting reviewed

Another WordPress hosting review?

What is website hosting and why is it important?

My love and hate relationship with SiteGround

My recommendation (fully explained)

Final verdict: do I recommend SiteGround?

Another WordPress hosting review?

If you’ve been looking for a hosting company that you can trust your online business with, you’ll find the internet flooded with hundreds if not thousands of hosting reviews. Most of them are total BS.

Unfortunately, they’re mostly written to talk YOU into buying the hosting that offers THEM the highest commission.  

Do I get paid a small commission if you decide to purchase SiteGround hosting through a link on this page?

Yes, indeed.

Is that why I chose to write a review about SiteGround?

No. I’m writing this because I’ve been using SiteGround since 2014! And it’s the one that powers my entire online businesses today.

It’s also why I recommend SiteGround as the very first tool on my best online business tools page.

Here’s a screenshot of my bill for SiteGround’s GoGeek Hosting

Bottom line: I’ve used SiteGround long enough (5 years) and am aware of pretty much everything there is to know about it.

Also, I host this website with them. Further on in this article, I’ll show you the results of some speed tests I ran while writing this.

Affiliate Disclaimer: This review contains affiliate links that pay me a commission if you sign up through them. However this in no way affects my recommendation. I do not recommend SiteGround for everyone. (more on this later)

What is website hosting and why is it important?

If this is your first time building a website, you might not know what website hosting even is. While this can be intimidating, it doesn’t have to be. Once you understand the fundamental principles of how hosting works it’s quite simple.

For simplicity, here’s a quick breakdown.

A website is a bunch of different files connected to the internet. These files hold data and need a ‘space’ that’s secure and accessible to the internet.

This ‘space’ is what a hosting company offers.

As you can see, your website host is responsible for holding all the data of your online business.

This is why website hosting is super important to your success, and in no way should be neglected.

Here’s what happens when your hosting service sucks.

A host to a website is what a foundation is to a house. If it’s shaky, it’s all going to come tumbling down.

My love and hate relationship with SiteGround

Just like in every relationship you will have the good and the bad. The same is true with SiteGround.

While there’s a ton that I love about this hosting, there are also a few things I don’t.

Here’s a brief breakdown.

What I love about SiteGround web hosting

1) Well-trained customer service

Sure, if you’re an experienced website developer, you don’t need customer support. However, for the rest of us, it’s crucial.

When you’re new to the world of WordPress and websites, you’ll run into problems and when you do – having reliable support to get help from is a real lifesaver!

SiteGround’s customer support is excellent!  Stellar, in fact.

They invest in trained experts, not general support that acts like they understand your problem.

At times when I’ve had to communicate with them, I’ve found their customer reps to be extremely friendly, helpful, and patient.

You have multiple ways to reach them ranging from live chat, telephone to a ticket based system.

Note: They even tell you how many customers are ahead of you, and in most cases the wait time is minimal!

2) 99.99% uptime rating

Uptime is the number of hours your website is live and available on the internet. Downtime is the exact opposite.  

Ideally, you want 100% uptime because a downtime implies your website is not accessible to people trying to access it.

To a business, this can lead to lost traffic, leads, and sales — lost because you chose a crappy hosting company and your website is down.

Downtime can also have a negative impact on SEO, and this will prevent your website from getting to the first page of Google, and that’s the last thing you want.

Fortunately, SiteGround offers 99.99% uptime which in the web hosting industry is the gold standard.

Note: If you ever experience more than 0.1% downtime on a yearly basis SiteGround will compensate you credit in your next subscription.

Cool guarantee, bro. I’d rather have a site that doesn’t go down.

4) An extremely intuitive interface

Another benefit of SiteGround hosting is how it simplifies the complex process of managing a website server – right from setting up the website to creating a new one and later transferring it.

A glance of SiteGround’s interface consists of well-organized and highly descriptive icons that make it extremely easy to identify what’s what.

Their hosting is great for anyone new to websites, as you won’t have to spend a lot of time trying to figure things out.

Alright, on with the SiteGround reviews!

5) Free website migration (for GrowBig/GoGeek)

If you already host a website with another service, you will need to do a website transfer, which can be a difficult and complicated process.

If you don’t have the technical know-how, you’re going to run into problems.  Sure you can hire an expert to transfer it for you, but this comes with its own set of challenges.

Fortunately, SiteGround simplifies this process by handling the transfer for you – and for free!

What does ‘free’ really include?

SiteGround’s free website transfer lets you move everything from your old host – the website, FTP accounts, configurations, etc. – at no extra cost.  

Note: this service is free exclusively to GrowBig and GoGeek tiers.

Basically, you’re going to have everything transferred from your old host by an expert who knows what he’s doing – and that means no bugs, unforeseen issues, or downtime!

Okay, how does the website transfer work?

Step 1: Sign up with SiteGround

SIGN UP WITH SITEGROUND

The first step is to sign up with SiteGround. Remember, if you want to take advantage of the free website transfer,  you’ll have to pick either the GrowBig or the GoGeek plan.

Step 2: Request your website transfer

After you’ve signed up with SiteGround you have two ways to request a website transfer:

1) Request website transfer through the setup wizard:

I recommend this method if you haven’t set up an account with SiteGround.

All you have to do is select Transfer a website in SiteGround’s Account Setup Wizard and click Confirm.

Next, an inquiry will be generated to which SiteGround’s amazing support team will promptly respond.

2) Request website transfer through support section:

Alternatively, you can directly raise a support request by heading to your SiteGround User area and then to Support > Request Assistance From Our Team > Proceed to contact us here link.

Among the list of services select Advanced Technical Services and click the ‘Transfer Website’ option.

From the dropdown under Select Account choose the website you want to transfer. Next, choose the radio button  ‘I am transferring from another web host.’

Note: If your previous host is not running CPanel you will have to transfer email accounts, configurations, etc. manually.

Lastly,  fill in the all the required fields and click Submit. SiteGround’s support team will be notified about your inquiry and get back to you.

CLICK HERE TO TRANSFER YOUR WEBSITE

5) Cloudflare CDN with one-click activation

Setting up a  Content Delivery Network (CDN) can be complicated. However, with SiteGround you can activate your CDN with a single click.  

Cloudflare’s CDN significantly reduces page load time and is recommended by WordPress in their speed optimization Guide.

6) Great affiliate program (Up to $150 commission!)

Another thing worth mentioning is SiteGround’s affiliate program that offers generous payouts of up to $150 per referral.

Now while this may not be directly related to the hosting itself if you use it right  — you can pay for your entire subscription by simply recommending it to friends and family.

Pretty cool right?  Yeah, I thought so too.

Alright, you get it, I’m a HUGE fan of SiteGround.

But what do other people think of it? Let’s take a look.

SiteGround Reviews: What Do WordPress Users Think?

Lastly, I looked at what the community has to say about SiteGround. In my research, I found a popular WordPress hosting group on Facebook.

As you can see, it’s not just me. Many other WordPress enthusiasts recommend SiteGround as their #1 hosting solution.

This is just one of many other polls conducted where SiteGround takes that number one spot – and for a good reason!

What I don’t like about SiteGround

Now onto the bad stuff you won’t see in those “genuine” SiteGround hosting reviews.

1) Higher renewal prices

SiteGround may seem quite affordable at the beginning especially with all the services they offer.

However, when the time comes to renew your bill will be quite hefty. This is because their first subscription is offered at an introductory price!

The renewal price is much higher than their introductory price, which will come as a shock.

When you look at the hosting service you’re getting in return, you’ll find the cost well justified.

Here’s the thing, if your online business can’t afford to pay your hosting after a year, you’re doing something wrong.

2) Limited resources (and the hidden benefit)

While SiteGround’s features are amazing, they are not the most generous in sharing their resources.

The three plans offer a limited amount of bandwidth and storage, which could be troublesome if you have a massive site.

But remember, I run 5 websites and get 10s of 1000s of visitors a month, all on my single GoGeek account. With 100% uptime!

That said, here’s exactly what you’ll get with your SiteGround hosting account.

You’ll get a limited amount of space. This varies with the plan you sign up for:

10GB of storage for StartUp plan

20GB of storage for GrowBig plan

30GB of storage for GoGeek plan

But where’s the hidden benefit I mentioned?

This limit on storage per account is a blessing in disguise and benefits you and your websites.

How exactly?

Multiple users share a single server in a shared hosting plan. So if one user experiences a surge in traffic, he’ll end up using more resources from that server.

This means fewer resources for others in the same pool, and you don’t want that!

However, by setting a limit on the space per account SiteGround ensures everyone uses the server fairly – this ensures that no one ends up hogging more server space and resources.

This translates into a faster website for you!

With the pros and the cons behind us, let’s move this SiteGround hosting review onto a comparison of the three tiers.

Tier Comparison: StartUp vs. GrowBig vs. GoGeek

StartUp GrowBig GoGeek $3.95/mo $5.95/mo $11.95/mo Single Unlimited Unlimited 10GB 20GB 30GB 10,000 visits monthly 25,000 visits monthly 100,000 visits monthly Get Started Get Started Get Started

What is the best SiteGround tier?

The three tiers offered by SiteGround all have their limits (bandwidth and storage), but these limitations are not linear – making some SiteGround hosting tiers better than others!

Wait… what?!?

Let’s crunch a few numbers:

StartUp 10,000 monthly visits for $3.95 = 2,500 visitors per dollar spent

GrowBig 25,000 monthly visits for $5.95 = 4,200 visitors per dollar spent

GoGeek 100,000 monthly visits for $11.95 = 8,300 visitors per dollar spent

As you can see, you spend less by going for the supposedly more expensive tiers like GrowBig and GoGeek.

However, that doesn’t mean that I recommend everyone sign up for the GoGeek tier.

I do recommend GrowBig over StartUp.

For just $2 per month more (as compared to Startup), you can host multiple websites and accommodate an additional 15,000 visitors every month!

Before making a decision, ask yourself the following questions:

Do you want to host single or multiple websites?

How much traffic do your websites get?

Do you have a high requirement for resources?

First, realize your hosting needs, as that should make it clear as to whether the GrowBig or GoGeek plan is right for you.

Now, let’s take a look at my decision to use SiteGround’s GoGeek for my online business.

SiteGround’s GoGeek plan: reviewed and tested

Why did I get GoGeek in the first place?

When I was looking for hosting, I wanted something that could handle my high-traffic websites and at the same time wasn’t too expensive.

SiteGround GoGeek plan was the best option for me. It was just as fast as a dedicated hosting solution (and at the same time it didn’t empty my wallet.)

Siteground themselves refer to this plan as a semi-dedicated hosting. The servers are built with state-of-the-art infrastructure and shared amongst fewer users than the lower tiers.

Is GoGeek the fastest WordPress hosting?

We live in a world where we can get everything at our fingertips, and the same is the case with websites. That’s why I demand the fastest WordPress hosting I can find, and you should too.

If a visitor experiences slow loading websites, they will most likely go somewhere else, and this is the last thing you want.

Although SiteGround uses state-of-the-art servers that render high performance, I decided to validate it further by running a bunch of speed tests. The results were awesome.

Using GTmetrix, my website reported a loading time of only 2.3 seconds!

When I ran a speed test using Pingdom the loading speed reported was even less at 1.03 seconds.

Finally, Google’s own PageSpeed Insights gave my website a page speed score of 99 out of 100!

As you can see, the results are pretty darn good and well above the average page load time.

With testing complete, I think choosing SiteGround was a good choice for my websites.

Best reasons to get the GoGeek tier

Reason #1: Resources are shared amongst fewer users

Although GoGeek is technically a shared hosting plan, it’s shared amongst only a few users. This results in GoGeek users getting access to far more resources than the other (lower) tiers.

SiteGround claims GoGeek users use up to four times more server resources than lower tiers!

For this reason, SiteGround calls it a semi-dedicated hosting solution.

Reason #2: Priority support (under 10 minutes!)

Now, while SiteGround’s customer service is excellent regardless of the tier you choose, it gets even better with the GoGeek Plan and their dedicated priority support.

In the past, I’ve had technical issues resolved within minutes, all thanks to the priority support available with the GoGeek plan.

They say time is money, and SiteGround’s GoGeek plan is made to save you both!

Reason #3: State-of-the-art server infrastructure:

With GoGeek being a semi-dedicated hosting plan, it uses superior server architecture.

Their servers are similar to ones used by a dedicated host – think SSD powered storage, NGINX, and CDN – top-notch tech that will make your website load extremely fast. As we saw in my tests above.

Reason #4: One-click staging

People often refer to staging as a benefit that’s nice to have. I disagree. To me, it is an essential feature.

What is website staging?

Staging is a carbon copy of your website that you can create with a single click.

This copy of your website is where you can do work, fix errors, or install new plugins. Once you’re happy with your changes, you click one more button and all your changes get pushed to your live website!

This enables you to work on your website without the fear of breaking anything.

This feature is handy if you’d like to test new code, or plugins before implementing them onto the live version of your website.

Reason #5: Automated backup (with assisted restore)

SiteGround automagically performs daily backups and holds 30 copies of your site in storage. 30 copies!

With this kind of automated backup in place, you never have to worry about your website again. If it crashes, click restore!

So if you screw up and break your website, SiteGround will manually restore it for free!

Reason #6: E-commerce ready (plus PCI compliant with free SSL)

GoGeek servers are PCI compliant with free Let’s encrypt SSL. This makes it extremely easy to set up a safe and legal e-commerce website without hassle.

In 2019, every website should be secured and using an SSL certificate. In fact, Google is going to start penalizing sites that don’t use SSL.

To give you some background on SSL, here’s what Google says about securing your website.

I mention the free SSL certificates because there are hosting companies (cough, cough… GoDaddy … cough) who still charge their “valued customers” $50+ per year for SSL!

Final verdict: Do I recommend SiteGround?

We’ve reached the end of this SiteGround hosting review, and you probably are wondering if I recommend it?

Yes, absolutely.

In my opinion, if you’re serious about the security and speed of your online business, SiteGround is the best option you can find among WordPress hosting providers.

SiteGround is one of the few hosting providers recommended by WordPress, and that says a lot about their quality as a WordPress host.

Sure it can be a little bit expensive, but if you want excellent service, a blazingly fast website, and peace of mind with automatic backups, then SiteGround is the perfect choice for you.

Well then, you have to be ready to pay a bit more. But remember, you always get what you pay for.

Get Started Right Now and Get Up to 70% Off SiteGround

    The post SiteGround Hosting Review: A Comprehensive Look at the Pros and Cons appeared first on Hack the Entrepreneur.

via Hack the Entrepreneur

[batclevercandystudent]

If you’re looking for online business ideas, you’re in the right place.

These 71 ideas will deliver all the inspiration you need to start making money online in 2019.

The best part?

I’ve included plenty of examples of people just like you, CRUSHING it with a location-independent online business.

Let’s get started…

1. Blogging

Because so many businesses have a blog, it’s easy to forget how many businesses started as a blog. Blogging can help you establish authority in your subject while earning money in a variety of ways.

Here are some of my favorite examples from the podcast:

Steve Kamb of Nerd Fitness

Michelle Green of Business of Baking

Heather Armstrong of Dooce

With a well-read blog, you can create a business through advertising, affiliate marketing, or selling products.

2. Virtual assistant services

When it comes to internet business ideas, a virtual assistant business is easily scalable and always in demand.

Businesses always need help with administrative tasks like data entry, managing emails, and scheduling appointments. Instead of hiring in-house receptionists and executive assistants, many are choosing to hire VA services instead.

You can freelance through Upwork and Fiverr to get started. Or, you can strike out on your own and build a client base like Travinia Barber of Priority VA.

3. Job search consulting and resume writing online business

Help people find job opportunities, write resumes, and prepare for interviews.

This idea will be more successful if you focus on an area of expertise, or an industry where you have experience hiring (or being hired). In return, you’ll get plenty of referrals and happy customers while living your remote work dream.

4. Online store ideas

Crafters, makers, and inventors can make money by starting an online store. Thankfully, there are options that make it easy to set up, even if you are lacking in tech skills.

If you want to sell artisanal products, Etsy is a great platform. For everything else, there’s Shopify.

Just about anything can become a successful online store — just check out this impressive temporary tattoo business, powered by Shopify.

5. Start a monthly box subscription service

An online business focused on providing monthly subscription boxes for a particular niche can be very lucrative.

With big players like Dollar Shave Club and Bark Box, this business model has obvious potential.

Examples of just how niche you can get with this idea:

Mantry, a monthly gourmet foods subscription tailored to men

MistoBox, a curated and personalized coffee subscription

6. Copywriting and content writing

Writers can create an internet business that provides copywriting and content writing services. You can find freelance writing gigs through platforms like Upwork and Fiverr, or by networking and reaching out to potential clients.

Michael Brown started out with freelance content writing. He was so successful pitching article ideas, he had to hire writers to help.

This was the beginning of online content agency and platform, nDash.

7. Publishing

Selling your books on Amazon is a great way to monetize your blog, podcast, or social media channel. It has never been easier to self-publish a book, using Kindle Direct Publishing.

You could also help other authors get published by starting an online publishing agency, like Angela Lauria at Author Incubator.

When it comes to publishing, stick to what you know well and work on becoming the authority on your subject.

8. Editing and proofreading

Editing and proofreading is a great way of making money online. With so much content being published every day, there is plenty of demand.

You can turn it into a full online business in a few different ways:

Use platforms like Upwork and Fiverr to find clients.

Partner with a marketing or content creation agency.

Set up a website and offer a monthly service.

9. Bookkeeping and accounting online business ideas

If you’re an accountant, you’re the real superhero. Especially during tax season. Browse through platforms like People per Hour, and you’ll see just how many people could become your clients.

You don’t even need advanced software. Quickbooks works just fine in most cases, so you’re cutting your startup costs significantly.

Depending on your credentials and experience, consider these small online business ideas:

A service to help small businesses transition to cloud accounting software like Xero

Monthly bookkeeping services

Individual tax return preparation

Tax consulting for individuals or business

10. Customer support

If you’re good with people, customer support calls, or online community engagement, this is the online business idea for you.

Customer support consulting through platforms like Modsquad, you can make money with these skills while maintaining control of your own hours — and working from anywhere.

11. Teaching languages

The old saying goes: The more languages you speak, the more of a person you are. This is true even today, which is why you can start a small business online by teaching through platforms like DaDaABC.

Using Skype, you can privately tutor people who want to learn English (or another language you know) from anywhere. You can even create passive income teaching languages through online courses, like Go Natural English.

12. Translation online business

Translation can be very lucrative if you are fluent in more than one language.

You can help companies translate their content into different languages and reach a wider audience, or work with individuals.

Your first work can come from freelance sites, but once you have a few regular clients, referrals will help your business grow.

13. Fitness and nutrition services

More and more people are turning to healthy cuisine and lifestyle, which is why the fitness and nutrition industry is huge — and a solid online business idea.

Here are a few ways you can make money online while helping people get healthy:

Sell custom meal plans (paleo, weight-loss, plant-based).

Create and sell digital products, like workout plans, e-books, or online courses.

Remote personal training service.

Health coaching.

Check out this interview with Mike Matthews of Muscle for Life to get inspired.

14. Create an online business from your knowledge

If you want to start an online business from home and you’ve got skills that are in demand, why not create and teach classes?

If you’re worried about the technical side of selling online courses, don’t be. There are services that make it easy. For example, Podia enables to create, upload, and sell online courses all in one platform.

What to do you know how to do well? Anything from hobbies like baking bread, essentials like productivity, and professional skills like marketing can become a successful online course.

15. Start a YouTube channel

Starting a YouTube channel is the best online business to start when you want to build an audience.

Of course, with enough people watching your videos, you’ll make money from advertisements on your channel. Just look at Reza Izad and Studio71, the agency behind some of the top creators on YouTube.

But you can also use your channel as a launching pad for a full-scale online business. As your audience grows, you can make money through affiliate marketing, sponsorships, branded merch, or selling books and courses.

16. Start a podcast

Just like a blog or YouTube channel, a podcast can be a great way to get your voice out there and build a following. All you need is some gear and interesting topics to talk about.

Not sure where to start? Check out the free guide, Launching a Remarkable Podcast, over at Showrunner.fm.

You can make money with sponsorships, or build a business around products and services your audience needs.

17. Consulting

Help others succeed, while you start your small online business — consulting as an expert in your field.

To get started, you can charge for services like on-demand consulting calls, while you work towards recurring revenue with long-term consulting clients.

18. Start a membership site

People are always looking for fresh resources, and many are willing to pay for premium access.

If you like producing content and have the knowledge to share, a great online business model can be to start a membership site. Your site can contain a library of valuable content, and a forum for members to learn from you and each other.

You don’t need to hire developers or learn how to code. In fact, you don’t even need a website. Showrunner Community uses Mighty Networks to process memberships, share content, and host a robust members forum.

The best part of this business model is monthly recurring revenue, that grows with every new member.

19. Dropshipping online business

Dropshipping is a form of e-commerce in which you don’t have to deal with any physical products. That’s right — no manufacturing, storing inventory, packaging, or shipping.

To start a dropshipping business, partner with a manufacturer or wholesaler of products in your niche. You make sales through your online store, and pass orders on to the manufacturer for fulfillment.

All you have to do is set up an online shop, and work on attracting customers.

20. Affiliate marketing

Affiliate marketing is a very simple online business idea: someone needs their products advertised, and you’ll do it – for a cut of the profits.

If you already have an audience through a blog, podcast, or social media channel, affiliate marketing is an easy monetization strategy to try. Just remember only to pitch products you trust, so you can feel good about recommending them.

Amazon’s affiliate marketing program is one of the biggest for physical products, and ShareASale for digital products. Check out this guide to learn more about affiliate marketing.

21. Amazon FBA

Speaking of top online businesses, Amazon FBA lets you sell customized products without having to take care of storage or shipping.

FBA means “Fulfilled by Amazon” because Amazon handles fulfillment. But unlike a dropshipping business, you have to invest in inventory up front.

Manufacturers will customize and package a product with your private label branding. The inventory is then shipped to an Amazon warehouse for storage and order processing.

You can learn more about selling on Amazon from Greg Mercer of Jungle Scout.

22. Designing merchandise

If you’re creative, what better way to show it than by starting an online business selling your artwork on merch like t-shirts and tote bags?

If you want to keep it simple and just stick to design, there are many options. You can use Merch by Amazon, Teespring, and Society6 to name a few. They do all the printing and order processing, and you get paid when someone orders one of your designs.

23. Productize your service and start an online business

A productized service is a way to earn monthly recurring revenue, or flat-rate packages, instead of continually chasing after clients. If you can provide a service online, you can productize it.

This online business model is scalable because you can hire out some of your workload as you grow the business. It works for many services, including:

Graphic Design

WordPress support

Content writing

SEO

Consulting and Coaching

24. SEO business

SEO is the lifeblood of online marketing, so if you have the knowledge, start your online business by offering search engine optimization services.

Check out my interview with Brian Dean of Backlinko to learn his approach to SEO and how to rank in Google.

25. Online ad management business

A lot of businesses want to run Google Ads and Facebook Ads campaigns, but they don’t know how. If you’re skilled at advertising and know your way around bids and CPA, you have a business idea that’s in demand.

To get your first clients, start with local businesses who want to test the online marketing waters. You can also learn from these marketing experts who have found success helping business owners with ad campaigns and sales funnels:

Filling Your Funnel with Facebook | Tamara Baranova

Action Before Clarity | Kamila Gornia

26. Social media management

There’s no marketing without social media marketing. If you’re good at creating content and engaging with audiences in social media, you have a perfect online business idea.

Social media marketing is a perfect business for scaling. You can use CoSchedule to handle multiple social accounts for multiple clients and campaigns as you grow your online business.

27. Digital marketing services

Digital marketing is a catch-all term for everything about creating a presence and making sales online. It could include creating websites, email funnels, SEO, and copywriting.

Of course, it’s very much in demand. If you already do this type of work for your employer, you could be running your own online business.

28. Start a stock photography business

Stock photography is used all over the internet and in print, as an affordable way for publishers to find high-quality images.

If you love taking photos – you may have just found your business idea. There are a few stock photography services you can try. For example, you can submit work to Adobe Stock, and earn a commission from each sale (or get paid per picture).

Admittedly, you have to leave your computer to take photos. But this business can work from anywhere in the world, on your own schedule.

29. Writing music

If you write music and you’ve been told, “Hey, I think I heard that on the radio,” why not take it seriously and start a business?

Writing for film and tv can be a perfect online business for musicians — and it’s easier than ever to get your music out there. For example, TuneCore helps songwriters sell rights to their music for use in advertising, film, and tv.

TuneCore also helps songwriters get published and distributed without a record deal. And they take care of collecting and distributing royalties. That means you’ll get paid every time someone streams or purchases one of your songs through a digital platform like Spotify or Apple Music.

30. Online video production

Videos are marketing engagement boosters, so there is a huge demand for that aspect of content creation. Online video production is also great if you’re combining it with social media management.

Stanley Meytin, founder of True Film Productions, can tell you more about his experience producing videos for businesses and brands all over the world.

31. Sound editing and post-production online business

If you know your way around editing software, monetize it and start an online business that’ll help everyone’s music or videos shine.

You’ll find gigs for editing podcasts, audio tracks for video, mixing and mastering music, and more on freelance sites. Your first jobs will help you build up a portfolio and land regular clients.

32. Starting a graphic design online business

If you’ve got an eye for details, graphic design is always in demand. You can start your graphic design business easily with freelancer platforms like Upwork, Fiverr or PeoplePerHour by displaying an awesome portfolio.

33. Buy and flip websites

If you want to invest in an online business that’s already profitable, why not buy one? You can build it up and flip it when you’ve increased its value.

Check out this interview with Empire Flippers founder, Justin Cooke, to learn just how lucrative this can be.

34. Buy and flip domains

Similarly to buying and flipping websites, you can turn a profit and start an online business by buying and flipping domains.

It’s simple trade: acquire a domain at a lower cost, and sell it to someone who becomes interested, for a profit.

35. Cryptocurrency trading

There’s a reason why cryptocurrency is so popular as of late – there’s a lot of money to be made. If you’re a risk-taker and have a starting capital, try your hand at cryptocurrency trading.

Since it’s such a volatile market, you can make money day trading, as long as you can handle the risks.

36. Cryptocurrency mining

Starting an online business focused on cryptocurrency mining or just setting up mining rigs can be very lucrative. If you know your basic mining from cloud mining, you may just have a great online business idea!

Learn more about blockchain and cryptocurrency over at Blockgeeks.

37. Build apps

If you’re an app developer, look no further. There is an almost unlimited market for new mobile applications.

There are a few ways to approach starting an online business building apps:

Build and market your own app ideas.

Partner with people who can bring ideas and marketing skills.

Developing apps on a contract basis for other businesses.

38. Build websites

A good website goes a long way, and so do the people that create them.

If you know how to create a website from scratch and customize it clients’ requirements, you’re all set! And you have no excuse not to have your own killer website to market your services.

39. Create WordPress plugins

If you’re wondering what business business to start, take a look at WordPress plugins. They’re absolutely essential for WordPress websites, so if you know how to create them, you’ve got your business idea.

It’s a scalable business model since the software can be licensed to any number of WordPress users.

If you have an idea that would make using WordPress easier, or add a cool functionality, get to work building it or partner with a developer.

40. Create WordPress themes

WordPress uses themes to set the design and style of the website. Every WordPress site needs a theme, and it’s the most popular CMS out there. So you can see the potential in this online business idea.

If you’re a developer, you can create passive income building custom themes. For example, Thrive Themes sells themes specifically designed for conversion.

41. Website maintenance

In addition to development, website maintenance is a big factor in running an online business. Most people have no idea how to handle backups, security, server issues, or necessary updates on their websites.

For those with experience keeping websites working properly, website maintenance is a logical idea for an online business.

This service works really well as a productized service to generate recurring monthly income.

42. Build software and sell it as a service

SaaS (Software as a Service) is a very popular online business option, for good reason. It generates monthly recurring revenue as opposed to a one-time license fee.

If the market needs your software idea, get to work building it — or partner with a developer who can. Use a subscription model to turn it into a scalable online business.

Listen to these interviews with SaaS founders to get inspired:

Aytekin Tank of JotForm

Syed Balkhi, creator of List25, OptinMonster, SoliloquyWP, ThemeLab, and more

Sharon Savariego of Mobilize

43. Peer-to-peer lending

There’s a big market for peer-to-peer lending, but it requires initial capital and risk-tolerance. For example, Lending Club is a marketplace that connects borrowers with individual investors hoping to make competitive returns.

This can be a good way to earn on the interest rate if you are looking for diverse investment ideas for your online business.

44. Real estate crowdfunding

If you want to make investment your business’ main area of work, real estate can be an attractive niche. But owning real estate is not exactly a hands-off business idea.

Real estate crowdfunding enables you to invest in real estate through online platforms, without the responsibility of directly owning property.

45. Software testing

Every software, website, and tech product needs to be tested for faults or bugs. This is where your business can come in: test other’s software, find bugs, report on usability, and get paid.

There are crowd-testing platforms where you can apply to be a tester, including uTest and Testbirds. There’s also potential in creating your own platform or service business to perform quality control and testing.

46. Virtual tech support

Many customer support teams are fully virtual since it can often be done by email and chat. If you work in tech support or customer service, why not go freelance and start a tech support business?

This is a very scalable online business idea. You can add to your team as the workload increases and you get more clients.

47. Automation service business

A lot of companies want to automate their processes, but they don’t know how.

For example, if you know how to integrate CRM software like HubSpot, you can help small businesses transition their contacts online.

This business idea is perfect as a productized service model. You can create fixed price packages to migrate small businesses to cloud-based platforms for their accounting, sales, or contact management systems.

48. Build niche websites as an online business

Niche websites target a very specific topic. They’re a great way of earning revenue because the traffic they attract is so targeted. You can monetize by selling information products, e-commerce, or affiliate marketing.

You can make it your online business’ main field of work by building and selling niche sites once they are generating high monthly traffic.

49. Transcription

Transcription is an easy way to start a remote business. There are plenty of gigs on freelance sites to help you gain experience and reviews.

All you need is a computer and decent English language skills. With the rise of video to text content, you’ll have plenty of clients to get you started.

Eventually, you can scale this business by hiring other transcriptionists, so you can focus on getting clients.

50. Lead generation service

There are no sales without leads. Bringing people in the door (or into the online sales process) is essential to any business.

Any effective lead generation strategy could be turned into a successful online business. If you’ve been successful with LinkedIn, Facebook, or Google ads, you could easily find clients to work with.

51. Direct sales

Direct selling is a lost art and one that can bring companies a lot of extra revenue.

Many companies no longer employ in-house sales teams. Instead, they put interested leads in contact with commission-based salespeople to close deals.

If you’re skilled at sales, you can you can start an online business in sales. You could also take your expertise into a consulting business, like Marcus Sheridan, The Sales Lion.

52. Advertising

Advertising creatives are always in demand — everyone hopes their ads will go viral and get attention.

With a creative mind and some marketing chops, you can create a profitable digital agency. Whether your expertise is digital, print, podcast, or video a digital ad agency gives you the ability to work from anywhere.

53. Illustration

It’s easier than ever for artists to make money online. Advertisers, content creators, and all sorts of publishers look to the internet to find the original artwork they need.

To get started, you can find commissioned work on freelance sites. As you build up a portfolio, you can create a full-fledged business by showcasing your work on your own website.

54. Online recruiting

If you’ve got experience in HR, online recruiting can be the best business idea for you.

Helping businesses find and hire stellar employees is a valuable service. Specialize in industries where you have worked in the past to leverage your network.

Maybe you have ideas about how the hiring process in your industry could be improved, like Perry Oostdam. He created Recruitee as a platform to help businesses collaborate on hiring and onboarding new team members.

55. Online research

There’s never been more content online, and it takes an expert to research it successfully. Depending on your interest and knowledge, here are some online research business ideas to consider:

Market research, specializing in your industry.

Private Investigator research

Academic research for writers and publishers

Research for digital content creators

56. Travel consultancy

If you’re the kind of person whose intellectual algorithms work better than Skyscanner’s, start a travel consultancy online business.

This one works well if you specialize in a particular niche. That way, you can establish your authority as an expert in a certain region, or a specific type of travel.

For example, Boutique Japan specializes in creating personalized itineraries for those who want a unique trip.

57. Crowdfunding consulting

Crowdfunding has become a very popular means of financing projects. But with so many ideas fighting for attention on platforms like Indiegogo and Kickstarter, success is far from guaranteed.

Startups need advice on how to launch a successful crowdfunding campaign. This is where you come in.

If you’ve been instrumental in crowdfunding projects in the past, you can leverage your knowledge with a consultancy business. In fact, Indiegogo has a list of recommended advisors, so you can be sure there is a demand for this service.

58. Life coaching

Sometimes we all need just a bit more help. Who do we turn to? Life coaches.

If you can help with happiness, career fulfillment, relationships, or financial success, you will never run out of people who need your help.

Using life coaching as an online business model, you can expand your reach beyond your immediate area. Instead of working only with local clients, you can work from anywhere, help more people, and increase your earning potential.

Check out this interview with Stephynie Malik, who helps high achieving executives unlock their full potential with her coaching business, ChiqueSpeak.

59. Business coaching

Similarly to life coaching, business coaching means working with business owners to help them achieve growth and success.

This can be a very lucrative online business idea. In fact, I’ve lost count of how many entrepreneurs I’ve interviewed who are currently working with a business coach.

If you’re a good communicator with past successes in your industry, consider offering your services as a business coach.

60. Dating coaching

We all just want a chance at true love, and sometimes that means work. People who are too busy, or don’t know where to start, turn to dating coaches for help.

Dating coaches help people put their best foot forward, find a match, and work through the ups and downs of dating. You can make money online as a dating coach in a few different ways:

Coaching services

Creating effective profiles for dating sites

Blogging

Writing books

Creating online courses

61. Start a gaming business

Can you really make money playing video games? If you’re a high-level player and you can put some time into marketing your business, then yes.

This article on Gamefly is a good primer on how advanced players can monetize their gaming skills through streaming, educational videos, or selling items within a gaming platform.

62. Advise on investments

With the availability of online investment tools like Wealthsimple, the personal finance industry is changing. People still need advice on saving for retirement and making big financial decisions. But financial advisors don’t need to work for big investment firms to create a financial planning business.

For a fee, qualified individuals can provide this needed advice, as independent financial advisors — and can work remotely much of the time.

Diana Dyer founded Triumph Capital to help millennials with their financial planning and investment needs.

63. Start a voiceover online business

Every video needs a voiceover, and so do ads. Between independent production companies, ad agencies, and YouTubers, you can find a huge variety of voice acting gigs on freelance sites.

If you’ve got a distinctive voice, start an online business providing voiceover services.

You don’t need a fancy recording studio. With a decent microphone and basic sound editing skills, you can produce high-quality recordings.

64. Start a virtual interior design business

Interior designers can start a fully-virtual business using photographs and simulation tools. Besides making money on interior design fees, there is an opportunity to partner with contractors, furniture and home decor stores, and artists.

Havenly is an example of a platform for designers to work remotely, creating custom designs for clients.

65. Open an online jewelry store

There are several ways to put your eye for jewelry design and style to work in an online business:

Sell your own designs and products with an e-commerce site.

Use Etsy to sell handcrafted pieces.

Source jewelry from manufacturers for a dropshipping business.

Set up an Amazon store and use FBA to sell customized jewelry.

For a unique take on an online jewelry business, listen to this interview with Jessica Honegger. She created Noonday Collection on a social enterprise model.

66. Sell artisanal products online

With the rise of online shopping, you can sell just about any physical products you can imagine with an online shop.

Natural skin care, handmade toys, fashion — what do you like to make?

67. Yoga classes business

Yoga, pilates, and other wellness activities are a big industry. If you teach classes in these disciplines, you can teach online.

Here are a few ways to scale your online yoga business:

Start a YouTube channel.

Sell your classes as an online course.

Create a blog and make money with affiliate marketing.

Teach classes on Skillshare.

68. Teach music

People who want to learn how to play an instrument but don’t have time classes prefer to learn online. This is good news for music teachers because it enables you to find students and scale your business beyond where you live.

You can sell courses or offer one-on-one coaching sessions — fully remote.

69. Plan events

Since event planning involves a ton of research and phone calls, it’s a business you could start anywhere. Depending on your experience and interest, you could consult on wedding planning, private parties, business events, and even corporate retreats.

Just organize everything and leave it to them to have fun.

70. Write speeches

A good speech is a work of art, and many people need help with it. Writers with a flair for crafting impactful presentations can start an online service business in speechwriting.

Speechwriting is not just for politics — people work with writers for all kinds of corporate events and personal occasions. Start by looking at freelance sites to see what kind of gigs are in demand.

You can extend this to press releases and other publicity writing, and have a booming online business.

71. Photo editing

Your first association may be “Instagram influencers,” but many advertisers and businesses need photo editing services.

You could even partner with event or portrait photographers — they do the in-person shoot, and you handle editing and packaging.

Start your online business today

If you’re still wondering what online business you should start, check out our list of side hustles – both remote and non-remote.

And if you’re worried you don’t have what it takes to start a business, you’re not alone. A lot of people give up before they even start.

You don’t have to.

Do something today to start thinking like an entrepreneur.

The post The Ultimate List of Online Business Ideas [2019] appeared first on Hack the Entrepreneur.

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If you’ve been flirting with the idea of selling an online course, you’re not alone. It’s one of the most powerful ways to monetize content.

According to Forbes, experts predict the global e-learning market will be worth $325 billion by 2025.

That’s a ton of money. It’s also a ton of opportunity.

The catch? There’s a lot to consider.

If you want to learn how to build an online course that sells, read on.

Step 1: Draft a list of relevant audience challenges

Your first barrier is figuring out what to teach.

It’s much easier to make money selling online courses when you aim to solve a problem for the intended audience. That’s why it’s one of our favorite online business models.

Instead of wondering, what’s a good idea for my online course?

Ask, what challenges does my audience face that I can help them with?

When framed this way, you’ll spend less time judging potential course ideas and more time focusing on the real goal: delivering something of value.

For example, go to when I go to Google and type in “WordPress plugins,” I get seven questions people are asking.

Seven problems that 100s or 1,000s of people have searched to find an answer to. This information is gold for a course creator.

This works in any market. Plus, it’s free and simple to start the brainstorming process.

So how can you determine which audience challenges might be a good fit for an online course?

Consider what you’re already paid for

Whether you’re working full-time on your business or part-time on a side hustle, your earning potential rests on your knowledge and experience solving a certain type of problems.

Take, for instance, Seth Godin’s spin on librarians:

The librarian isn’t a clerk who happens to work at a library. A librarian is a data hound, a guide, a sherpa and a teacher. The librarian is the interface between reams of data and the untrained but motivated user.

Where do you act as the interface? Start there to uncover genuine areas of expertise.

Scour Reddit and Quora to find market gaps

Some of the most viable online course ideas will come from your audience. This is why social networks like Reddit and Quora –– where opinionated consumers readily discuss their problems –– are another great source for market research.

If you can understand their challenges as they understand them, you’ll stand a much better chance at identifying meaningful ways to help.

Survey your audience

If you have an audience, don’t neglect to get their take. There are a few ways to approach asking your audience for their opinion:

Include a question at the end of your next email blast.

Post in your community forum.

Ask for input on your social media feeds.

Use your industry knowledge as well as what you discover while trawling Reddit to ask the right questions.

For example, armed with a little research from the WordPress subreddit, I might ask my email list:

Hey, I’m thinking about creating a course to help you with the biggest frustrations you have around your website.

I know people are struggling with:

Using WordPress plugins

Setting up payment and checkout systems in WordPress

Monetizing blog traffic

Hit reply and let me know what’s causing your website headaches.

I listed a few ideas to make it easy for people to send a quick response. But I also made it clear that I want to hear any other topics my readers are struggling with.

Step 2: Evaluate course ideas and commit to a topic

Want to know which ideas have merit? Research which courses already exist.

If you discover several courses around a promising topic, press on. If there are books, apps, or services devoted to an area of interest for your audience, take note.

As long as people are paying for help solving similar problems, there’s a market for your course.

Eliminate anything patently generic. An idea that’s too vague, too broad, or not tactical enough is less likely to make an impression that leads to sales.

Successful online courses are results-oriented and unambiguous.

They promise to:

Solve a specific problem

For a specific audience

To achieve a specific result

When narrowing your options, ask, What should my students be able to accomplish when they’re done?

Step 3: Build course content around results

Effective course content helps students achieve something concrete, like getting on the first page of Google or creating a website in 15 minutes.

But being an expert can get in the way of being a good teacher. With so much knowledge, where do you begin?

A) Start with the end in mind

What should your students be able to do after the course?

Whether it’s growing their subscriber list or brewing the perfect cup of coffee, use the end goal as a compass to guide your course content.

B) Write a compelling “why”

This is the high level, intangible benefit of your course.

What value will your students ultimately gain?

Is it working from home in their PJs, improved self-confidence, or both?

No matter the topic, it comes down to achieving a sense of mastery and freedom. Open your course content with the why.

C) Provide the steps to get there

The meat of your course is the step-by-step instruction to ensure the end goal. For instance, if you were launching a course about how to write cold emails with better response rates, you might start by discussing the importance of choosing a profitable niche.

By the end, your students would have every trick and tool you’ve battle-tested at their disposal –– and, if they act on your advice, the response rates to prove it.

When creating course content, ask whether each module builds towards helping students achieve the promised end result.

Step 4: Write with radical empathy

You will be doing a ton of writing to create and sell online courses. There’s the actual course content, which can include video scripts, slideshows, and PDFs. Then there’s marketing content: promotional emails, social media ads, and ultimately, writing a sale page that converts.

For any of it to be effective, your words need to channel empathy. They need to echo your prospects’ reality enough to persuade them to purchase.

Here’s how to channel empathy:

A) Ask yourself why you care

For most entrepreneurs, selling online courses is about much more than money.

Why do you care about your prospects’ problem?

Why does it bother you on a personal level?

B) Look for language

One of the best ways to engage an audience is using their own words. Find book and course reviews on your topic to unearth those gems. Reviews are flush with opinions about what worked and what didn’t.

Market research from Reddit or Quora can also help here.

C) Identify shared “villains”

This could refer to actual bad guys (like mediocre course creators who make big claims), but it can also refer to any obstacle, limitation, or struggle your audience encounters. Bonus points if it’s a shared obstacle.

D) Try Problem-Agitate-Solve (PAS)

This classic copywriting formula does well selling online courses. The genius lies in its simplicity.

Problem: Describe the problem your course will solve

Agitate: Rub salt in the wound –– what pains does the problem cause?

Solve: Present your solution

Step 5: Choose an online course platform

The best place to sell online courses is the one that meets your business needs with minimal fuss.

We use Podia for all our online courses because it is built by a small, hardworking team who we admire — and they have built a beautiful, intuitive platform for independent course creators like us.

That being said, look at all the options in this section and choose the best fit.

Here’s the scoop on three of the most popular online course platforms.

Teachable

Teachable is a simple, straightforward way to sell online courses –– sort of.

With Teachable, you can:

Build a sales page with your choice of colors, logo, and typography

Offer 1-step checkout, 1-click upsells, and an affiliate system

Send course updates and announcements

Things get tricky when you need to do anything else. As a standalone platform, Teachable’s simplicity comes with a lack of sophistication:

You can’t change the appearance of individual courses

You can’t use your sales page to collect leads out-of-the-box

You can’t send drip campaigns without additional third-party software

Adding to the list of cons, you’ll need at least a Professional plan to access live chat support, which is only available during normal business hours.

Finally, Teachable charges transaction fees and has a complicated payment scheme that involves waiting 30 days for course revenue.

Bottom line

Teachable is great for anyone who wants an online course sales page without built-in marketing. It’s also fine for someone who doesn’t mind pasting code snippets from various marketing tools (and having that data spread across systems).

For those who’d prefer native email marketing, centralized data, and design and product flexibility, pass on Teachable for an all-in-one platform.

Kajabi

If you’ve done any research on online course platforms, you’ve probably heard of Kajabi. It’s a robust, complex, and customizable all-in-one platform that can do a lot more than sell an online course.

With Kajabi, you can:

Collect leads with a purpose-built landing page

Sell standalone digital products (e.g. ebooks or videos that aren’t a part of your course)

Create and sell membership sites (where you store and add premium content)

Use a library of different product and website themes to differentiate offerings

Build email sequences to nurture leads before your course opens

Automate pre-recorded webinars

Lock course content

Unlike Teachable, Kajabi doesn’t charge transaction fees and offers 24/7 live chat support.

Bottom line

Kajabi positions itself as a toolkit for building your online business for a reason. If you want to do more than sell online courses, it’s a solid option –– but its useful features don’t come cheap.

Podia

Right away, Podia feels different. Its purpose is clear, its website is friendly, and it has all of the marketing power of Kajabi, save for a few integrations. It’s also way more affordable.

Other benefits of Podia:

Free migration of existing courses from other platforms

24/7 live chat support

Zero transaction fees and instant payments

The ability to sell product bundles

Unlimited bandwidth: file size, number of courses, customers, sales, etc.

Available in multiple languages

Supports custom analytics and tracking

Like Kajabi, Podia has built-in email marketing and supports multiple use cases. It allows creators to easily collect leads pre-launch as well as sell one-off digital products or membership sites.

Bottom line

Podia is more affordable than Kajabi, and possibly more specialized. This is a great option for anyone on a Teachable budget who needs more than a simple sales page.

Step 6: Use goals-based pricing

Forget about finding the “perfect” number. It doesn’t exist. And fretting over price will delay progress. You can’t launch without it.

Here’s an easier way to price an online course: Define your sales goal and let that inform your strategy.

If you want to maximize the total number of sales, make your course so affordable the right people won’t be able to resist. Research similar courses in your niche to find the sweet spot.

If you want to maximize revenue, don’t hedge. Pack your course with enough value to warrant premium pricing and prepare to deliver first-class treatment. People who spend upwards of $1,000 for an online course expect one-on-one time (and courses that sell include it).

If you want to generate leads, give it away for free. It doesn’t have to be about how much you can make selling online courses. You can market other products to your students once they’ve completed the course.

Pricing will vary somewhat on your niche, so note the costs of similar courses to confirm what constitutes high and low. Just don’t overthink it.

Take the next step towards selling your online course

There’s never been a better time to transition from selling your time to selling your knowledge. An online course is a great way to do it. And getting started is a matter of asking the right questions.

Do you want to learn how to make more money from online courses? Check out this step-by-step guide from Podia.

The post How to Create and Sell Online Courses: A Comprehensive Guide appeared first on Hack the Entrepreneur.

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Selling stuff online is easy. Getting started isn’t.

Are you ready to finally start?

Great, then this article is for you. And yes, these online business models are tested and proven to work.

Why this matters to you …

In the past 8 years, I’ve launched 13 businesses and products, helped 100s of people start, and interviewed 483 of the smartest entrepreneurs in the world.

In short, I know how to sell stuff online.

Maybe you’ve got a side hustle idea, or you just want to stop working for someone else and start working for yourself.

This article will show you six profitable online business models, how to choose one, and how to get your first customers.

We’ll take a look at good and bad examples, list pros and cons, and get you where you want to be: On your way to becoming an online entrepreneur.

What is an online business?

An online business is any commercial website – product or service based – that exchanges value for money. Unlike a traditional brick and mortar business, an online business uses the internet and a website as its storefront.

For an online business to be successful, it needs to accomplish two things:

Choose the right business model for the market

Find traffic sources of potential customers

In this article, we will provide you with six business models and six traffic generation methods.

It will be your job to mix and match the combination of online business models and traffic sources for your market.

Alright, let’s jump into it.

1. Make money with digital products

The best way to make money is by sharing your knowledge. Since we’re always online, we turn to Google whenever we need information – not the library.

You can profit off of this if you sell digital products like eBooks and courses. This is also called content production, and it’s a great online business model.

The main things you’ll need to make money with digital products are:

A product that provides value and solves a real problem

A website to sell digital products (but just a landing page works to get started)

A roadmap to finding customers

When it comes to the product, it’s best to stick to a subject you understand well. You can create and sell online courses, or write eBooks and the best thing is: you only have to do it once.

A great example of digital products done right is Nathan Liao’s CMA Exam Academy. There’s a lot of content on becoming a Certified Management Accountant and passing the CMA exam.

What Nathan found was that the existing products in this market weren’t preparing students for the real world – and he wanted to solve this problem himself. In the process of solving this problem, he has created a successful online business that has enabled him to travel the world while building his business.

Pros of selling digital products:

Low barrier to entry (Anyone can do it)

You can start small

It’s scalable (If your customers need more, you can always produce more)

It’s passive (Create content once and get paid over and over)

Cons of selling digital products:

One-time payments (You won’t be getting a steady stream of recurring revenue)

It’s not an asset

However, don’t get discouraged! We’ll be covering ways to get traffic and clients later on. For now, we are focused on choosing one of these online business models to focus on.

2. Advertising or podcast sponsorship

If you want to make it on your own, this is a great online business model.

You can make money if you start your own blog and build enough traffic. Or, you can do it by starting a successful podcast.

This online business model allows you to do things at your own pace, but traffic is a big caveat. You need to be popular enough for advertisers and sponsors to want to promote on your site.

If you’ve got a hobby or a particular niche that interests you, you should definitely consider starting a WordPress blog or a podcast.

Blogs have always been popular (and all you need is a domain and hosting), but here’s what you need to start a podcast:

Equipment (microphone, headphones, etc.)

Skype or similar software for interviews

Recording and editing software

Podcast hosting like Libsyn

We’re going to be a bit biased, and mention Hack the Entrepreneur podcast. It started as a labor of love and turned into a podcast full of interviews with entrepreneurs, where everything from copywriting to Amazon FBA is covered. It’s a one-stop-shop for entrepreneurs, and people who’ve yet to join the party.

Doing what you love is always a good choice, and when a topic is high-profile enough to attract sponsors and advertisers, here are the pros and cons you could be looking at:

Pros of podcast sponsorship:

It’s scalable

It’s in high demand (good content never goes out of style)

Relatively passive

It has a huge growth potential

Cons of podcast sponsorship:

There’s a high barrier to entry (you need a lot of traffic, which takes time and effort)

Advertising and sponsorship are defined by contracts and one-time payments

It’s not an asset

Another great reason to use this business model for online business is building authority. As your popularity and traffic grow, you’ll be building up your credibility and becoming a resource in your niche.

It’s easy to diversify your income by producing content or appearing as a guest speaker at events when people in your industry perceive you as an authority.

Additionally, as the demand for advertising on your blog or podcast increases, so will your ability to select sponsorships that fit your brand, and that could provide you with steady streams of revenue and good PR.

3. Make money with software or app business models

Software business models have become very popular lately with the rise of SaaS (software as a service) companies. Instead of paying for software license once, you can provide your future clients with a lot of value and charge them by the month.

Apps work very similarly to software. The main principle is providing a product that your target audience will use, and to maximize your online business’ profitability – charge them for a subscription.

There are three distinctive payment models when it comes to software and apps:

Freemium

This means that customers get limited access to your software or app’s features. If they’d like to use more features, they can upgrade to a paid subscription.

Free trial

Customers get the full software or app functionality for a set period of time, after which they’re charged if they want to keep using it.

3)Free software business model

Software or app is free for customers to use, but you earn revenue from advertising (see #2: Advertising and sponsors).

A great example of using software business models is Ahrefs, a tool for SEO. Ahrefs offers a variation of the free trial model, at $7 for 7 days of full access. During the trial, you can use all the features, including keyword research, competitive analysis, and content research. If you find it valuable, you can continue to use it starting at $99/month.

Pros of selling software:

It’s scalable (add new features)

It has huge potential

Subscription-based recurring revenue

It’s a saleable asset

Cons of selling software:

You have to offer customer support

There’s a high barrier to entry (you have to hire developers unless you know how to build software)

Software business models are one of the most innovative online business models, and for a good reason.

They provide a steady source of recurring revenue, and they’re also a saleable asset, which is especially useful if you’re in the mood for change.

4. Affiliate marketing

Passive income is the dream, and affiliate marketing is a great way to start. This online business model typically means you’ll be selling another brand’s products, and earning a commission from each sale.

Commissions are typically in the 5-10 percent range, and they benefit the brands because you’re doing their marketing for them. Usually, you want to rely on organic search engine traffic, to cut your overhead costs. This can be done with SEO techniques which we’ll cover later on in the post.

One of the most popular affiliate programs is Amazon Associates. It’s important to pick a good niche when you want to make money from affiliate marketing. However, a niche can be profitable even if there’s a lot of competition.

If you want to see a good example of an affiliate business model done right, you don’t have to look any further than Skyscanner. A flight search aggregator, this site advertises numerous airlines. They also show how you can scale up this business model and achieve the profitability dream.

Pros of affiliate marketing:

It’s extremely scalable

It has huge potential

It’s easy to start

Cons of affiliate marketing:

Non-recurring revenue

It’s not an asset

You don’t have active ownership over the products

The key to succeeding with affiliate marketing is to choose your niche carefully, produce great content, and become known for great product recommendations.

This can sound like a lot of work, so you can skip on to part 7, and we’ll show you how to streamline it!

You can also learn more about affiliate marketing in this definitive guide.

5. Making money with membership sites

It takes a lot of time to wade through content online to find the golden resources you need. Membership sites remove this from the equation and provide customers with all the info they need in one place.

What is a membership site? Essentially, it’s a resource hub. Customers pay a subscription fee, and they’re guaranteed access.

Resources can be tutorials, videos, posts, and any other form of content that your target audience finds useful. We’re all using them one way or another, and you can easily create a membership area if you already have a website.

It’s even easier to use an all-in-one platform like Podia. You don’t have to worry about the headaches of setting up a website, and you can sell memberships, courses, and digital downloads all in one place.

A great example of the membership site online business model is The Showrunner Community. It’s a paid community where podcasters get access to valuable resources like webinars and professional advice. Not only do members learn from the content, but they also benefit from a supportive and engaged community.

Pros of membership sites:

They provide recurring revenue (subscription-based)

They’re scalable

They have decent potential

Cons of membership sites:

Membership sites are not an asset

You don’t have active ownership

Membership sites are a great option if you’re ready to produce content, and you’re sure that people will find it useful. Make sure you stake out the competition and find a way to differentiate yourself from them – especially if they’re offering your premium content free.

6. Coaching and consulting

If you’re an expert on a topic, you can achieve the dream by actively coaching and consulting others. Coaching and consulting mean selling your expertise to your clients.

Unlike other online business methods, coaching and consulting rely on personal relationships. It’s in your best interest to work based on referrals, and become the authority in your industry.

A great example of the coaching model done right is Beverly Burgess. She’s a homeschooling coach and consultant helping parents navigate the muddy waters of educating their children at home.

Pros of coaching and consulting:

Possible recurring revenue

High demand

Low startup cost

Cons of coaching and consulting:

It’s not a saleable asset

You don’t have active ownership

If you’re an expert at something, it’s time to get to work and build up your credibility. Help yourself by helping others resolve their problems with your expertise!

How to get traffic to a website (and build an audience)

You can have a great business idea, but it’s important to find the audience for your product or service.

Most online businesses use a combination of these methods to get traffic to their website and grow an audience they’ll convert into paying customers.

1) Content marketing: blogging and guest blogging

Blogging and guest blogging consists of creating content for an audience. You can have your own blog and optimize it for keyword and SEO (later on in this post), and also generate leads by guest blogging on other relevant blogs in your industry.

Pros:

You can use other people’s network

Builds authority

Low cost

Cons:

Production time can be huge and it’s a lot of work

2) Podcasting

Podcasts are a great way to reach your audience and get in touch with significant people in your industry. Your focus should be on providing unique commentary, and value to your listeners.

The goal here is to convert your leads to customers by showing them that your product or service is useful because you’re an authority.

Pros:

Builds authority in your market

Relatively low cost to get started with a podcast

Opens up alternative sources of income (e.g., advertising and sponsorship)

Cons:

High time commitment

Interviewees can be hard to reach when you are getting started

Most podcasts fail

3) Start a YouTube channel

Having a YouTube channel is another way of promoting your online business through content. This is great if you’re selling a visual product/service, but keep in mind that there’s a lot of competition and you need to stand out with useful videos (if your target audience likes them).

Pros:

Builds brand awareness

Expands social reach

Cons:

Production time to do it right

Massively competitive in most markets

4) Forums and social media

There’s no better way of reaching your audience than reaching them where they are. Sites like Reddit and social media can help you get to them directly while also improving your brand awareness and learning more about your market.

Pros:

Expands your social reach

Builds brand awareness

Low cost

Low time commitment

Cons:

Saturation

5) SEO – organic search traffic

SEO means that your business will be displayed in the Google search network. Essentially, it’s all about providing useful content to your audience. Then you have to make sure the right people find it when they search for information on your topics.

We’ve spoken a lot about SEO techniques with Brian Dean of Backlinko. Check out his tips on getting to the first page of Google in this step-by-step guide.

Pros:

Low cost

High impact

Reach your audience when they’re ready to buy

Cons:

Saturation

6) Paid traffic

Finally, if you want to get your business in front of your target audience, you can always use paid traffic. This means advertising, and it can come in the form of Google AdWords PPC campaigns or social media ads.

Pros:

Great reach

The fastest way to test an offer

Relatively low cost (depending on the platform)

Cons:

Conversion depends on targeting

Steep learning curve

Which online business model is right for you?

You now have six potential business models and six potential traffic sources for your online business.

Now, you must make a choice. Which business model you are going to execute on and what traffic source you are going to use to find your first customers.

If you want to sell digital courses and start a podcast to drive traffic and find customers – great, get started. There is no right or wrong combination. The important thing is that you choose just one online business model and one traffic source.  Then stay focused and don’t get distracted.

Ready to start your entrepreneurial journey?

Check out the Roadmap to Freedom for proven ways to get unstuck and start creating passive income today.

The post 6 Online Business Models (and Proven Ways to Get Customers) appeared first on Hack the Entrepreneur.

via Hack the Entrepreneur

[batclevercandystudent]

Do you want to develop an entrepreneurial mindset?

Great, this article is for you.

Let’s start by dispelling a common myth about successful entrepreneurs.

Entrepreneurs are NOT born.

They are driven to it.

If you have ever had a feeling in the pit of your stomach — that you are meant to do something bigger, more meaningful, and all yours — you are an entrepreneur.

You simply need to harness your entrepreneurial mindset.

Don’t worry, this article will help you do just that.

How to develop an entrepreneurial mindset

Anyone can develop the mindset, build the habits, and learn some business hacks to fearlessly create a business or start a side hustle.

You can work towards starting a business and earning passive income without quitting your job, without knowing how to code, and without a million-dollar idea.

The biggest killer of the entrepreneurial mindset is not what you would expect.

It’s not failure, the economy, or bad ideas.

It’s doubt – in ourselves, our surroundings, and our abilities.

Self-doubt kills many dreams, long before any external factors can come into play.

Learn to master your inner game

Most people are afraid to start pursuing their dreams.

Or if they do start, they turn back at the first signs of struggle, convinced they don’t have what it takes.

This is why your thinking is so important to get right in the beginning.

Being an entrepreneur starts with that feeling inside you – that entrepreneurial spirit you need to nourish and hone.

Whether you are an employee looking to level up your career or a founder and CEO – when you master the entrepreneur mindset, you will begin to accomplish more goals than you ever imagined.

Entrepreneurial mindset: 5 characteristics

Yes, as humans we are all unique. Yet, there are definite qualities of an entrepreneur – ways we tend to think and act.

Although there is no entrepreneurial gene we are either born with or not — I know for a fact that successful entrepreneurs think and act in similar ways — no matter how different we are as individuals.

Some entrepreneurs want to change the world. Others simply want to provide a better life for themselves and their families. Some of us want to do both.

While spending the last 15 years in business myself, reading business books to study entrepreneurs, and interviewing 483 of them for the podcast — I’ve boiled down these conversations to five characteristics that all successful entrepreneurs have.

Here are the five characteristics of the entrepreneurial mindset.

1. Decisiveness

To succeed as an entrepreneur, you must gain the ability to look at a problem or situation, digest all available data (at that point in time), and make a confident decision to move forward.

Your ability as a decision maker will make or break your future successes.

In fact, at the opposite end, indecision is one of the greatest causes of business failure.

When you can’t decide what to do, you delay taking action. In other words, you do nothing. Think about how many dreams (and businesses) failing to take action has killed.

Like many other skills an entrepreneur needs, being decisive is a skill that can (and should) be practiced and strengthened in your day to day life — starting with the tiniest decisions.

The entrepreneurial mindset in action: Sandwich or salad?

For example, the next time you are out for lunch at a restaurant, scan the menu once and decide what to order. And do it confidently.

This can seem trivial or unnecessary, but it absolutely isn’t.

Being decisive takes practice to master and it begins with small decisions in the business of daily life.

From here you can build on your decisiveness and begin to use it in bigger and bigger ways.

2. Confidence

There are many skills you will need to learn to accomplish everything you want in life.

But how do you act confidently when you don’t know what you are doing?

You learn to act with confidence, the second characteristic of the entrepreneurial mindset. And one the of the most important qualities of an entrepreneur.

It is essential that you get used to the uncomfortable feeling of knowing that you don’t know what you’re doing.

Whether it’s getting on stage to speak, launching your product, or writing a book, we tend to see others doing it and incorrectly assume they’ve always been good at it.

They weren’t born knowing how to speak confidently, launch successful products, or write excellent books.

They learned and we can, too.

The difference between appearing good or bad at something is often a matter of acting confidently.

The entrepreneurial mindset in action: Pretend you know what you’re doing

For example, here’s how to become more confident, right now …

Looking confident, practiced, and skilled is what we admire in others. But looking confident and being confident are two different things. Seriously.

Acting confident while getting on stage to give a speech to a packed room, even when your hands are violently shaking, is essential to learn the art of public speaking.

This works with everything. Here’s what I mean.

Do you want to be a podcaster? Start podcasting.

Do you want to become a professional chef? Start cooking.

Do you want to be a copywriter? Start writing sales pages that convert.

Pretending you are good at something will enable you to do it confidently enough times until you become good at it.

The more you do this, the better you will become. It’s counterintuitive, but it works every time.

3. Accountability

The entrepreneurial mindset comes from taking responsibility for your actions and outcomes.

You need to internalize and accept that:

Everything that happens at work – YOU are responsible for.

Everything that happens to your business – YOU are responsible for.

Whether you succeed or fail, it is YOUR responsibility.

From this moment forward, you must accept responsibility for everything in your life and hold yourself accountable to it.

Sorry to tell you, but nobody cares how little time, money, or external support you have to accomplish your goals. Your circumstances may not be your fault, but they are your responsibility.

All that matters is what you are doing RIGHT NOW to find your success.

There are no more excuses. Accountability is required of entrepreneurs as well as successful employees. Stop passing the buck and blaming others.

Hold yourself accountable – even when you aren’t to blame – and take action to fix the problem.

The entrepreneurial mindset requires you to take complete control and hold yourself accountable to your outcomes – both good and bad.

4. Resilience

As an entrepreneur, you will need to learn to deal with making mistakes and failing. They are inevitable and a part of your growth.

If every misstep plummets you into self-doubt, you have to change the way you look at being wrong.

This mindset shift takes resilience and is foundational to the entrepreneurial mindset.

Success rarely happens in a straight line. Taking wrong turns and making mistakes is something that happens to everyone.

“The only people who don’t make mistakes are the ones who don’t do anything.”

– My Dad to me a hundred times as a kid.

Resilience isn’t only helpful when dealing with catastrophic mistakes. It’s a way to handle the small, simple decisions you’ve made that didn’t turn out right.

Resilience enables you to think, act, and move iteratively — making small, incremental corrections along the way.

The entrepreneurial mindset in action: The wind-blown pilot

For example, imagine you are the pilot of a plane taking off from Miami and heading north to Boston.

With the Atlantic Ocean on the right, there’s bound to be a strong wind pushing it westward (or to the left).

As the pilot, you set a trajectory north to Boston upon departure. Yet with the wind blowing, you are beginning to get slightly off course.

Do you keep plowing ahead as planned and end up in Chicago instead?

Or do you continually and incrementally correct your course against the wind and turbulence?

The answer is obvious. You need to constantly correct against external forces, or you will never reach your destination.

You need to be resilient to change and keep pushing ahead no matter what may try and knock you off course.

There is no straight line to where you are going.

5. Humility

Humility is freedom from pride or arrogance, and it ties all of the characteristics of the entrepreneurial mindset together.

From decisiveness to confidence, humility will keep you focused and centered.

From accountability to resilience, you will continue to move forward through failure, mistakes, and upsets.

This is accomplished with humility.

“If you are the smartest person in the room, you are in the wrong room.”

– Someone smarter than me.

Along with humility comes coachability — the ability to be coached.

If you want to accomplish big things in life, you need to be willing to learn from others and nourish a growth mindset.

To do big things, you need to grow. To grow, you need to learn.

No matter what you are trying to accomplish, someone already has done it before you.

Thinking like an entrepreneur means seeking out mentors and coaches who have been where you are trying to go — and having the humility to accept their guidance.

Take the next step towards developing your entrepreneurial mindset

There are so many misconceptions around entrepreneurship and starting a business, it’s no wonder there is so much doubt (and so little confidence).

A few common misconceptions that need to be dispelled are:

Entrepreneurs are born hustlers

You need a unique (and revolutionary) idea to be successful

Starting an online business requires technical skills

You can’t succeed without full-time effort

To be clear, mastering your entrepreneurial mindset is not easy. Nobody said it was.

The most important thing is to start by following a proven formula.

You need to go into this journey knowing you can get past any obstacle that comes up — because you can and will.

If you’re not positive you have what it takes to be an entrepreneur, take a look at our Entrepreneurial Mindset Course: How to Think Like (and Act) an Entrepreneur.

We created this course by interviewing 483 successful entrepreneurs to learn how they thought about life, business, and success.

This course shows you how to use the right mindset, growth habits, and resilience to reach your goal of launching a business and living the life you want.

To learn more, go here now.

  The post Entrepreneurial Mindset: How to Think (and Act) Like an Entrepreneur appeared first on Hack the Entrepreneur.

via Hack the Entrepreneur

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I interviewed 483 top entrepreneurs. These are the best business hacks.

Do you ever wonder why some people have the ability to bounce from success to success, without falter?

To be clear, no one has that ability, but it can seem like that.

There are many mindsets, skills, and attributes required for success as an entrepreneur.

Fortunately, most of them can be learned, strengthened, and nourished through diligence and a willingness to grow.

Having the proper success mindset as an entrepreneur will enable you to deal more effectively with the day-to-day of your business. Because you will be thinking – and acting – like a true entrepreneur.

These are the 21 business hacks that will dramatically improve your business – and life.

1. Believe in yourself and your business

You have to be resilient and able to continue building what you believe is the next best thing. Things you build will often not succeed, but ultimately, those losses will add up to a win, based on what you’ve learned.

Todd Garland, founder of BuySellAds.

Todd didn’t just put out BuySellAds and start earning $10 million a year. The process took seven years and was full of struggles, hardship and things not working the way they were supposed to. Those struggles are necessary to achieve success.

2. Think three steps ahead

I follow my gut. I don’t play chess, but I imagine that if I did, I would think of every opportunity three steps ahead in every possible direction. Even if it seems like something would benefit me in the now, it might not benefit me in the long run.

Jessie Shternshus, founder of The ImprovEffect and co-author of the book CTRL Shift: The Book for Any Day.

I love the comparison between entrepreneurship and playing chess. You always have to think three steps ahead. Don’t just ask yourself, “What is happening right now?” but “What will happen three steps from the action I’m going to take today?”

You don’t succeed expecting one thing to be your winning ticket in the big entrepreneurial lottery. You have to think long-term and have a vision of where you want to be.

3. Do the hardest thing first

The hardest thing is usually the thing you should be going after. Chances are nobody else is, or at least very few people are. Personally, I feel comfortable and even thrive when I don’t have a clue what I’m doing.

Josh Pigford, founder of Baremetrics.

It is essential that you get used to the uncomfortable feeling of not knowing what you’re doing.

Whether it’s getting on stage to speak, launching your product or writing a book, we tend to see others doing it and (falsely) assume they’ve always been good at it.

We all have to do everything for the first time, and none of us does anything very well the first time. The only way to truly learn about business is to start a business of your own.

4. Think big and small

You have to learn to think big and small. You have to go in the same direction with small day-to-day decisions, as well as big actions.

Once you are on your way, you will mostly have to occupy yourself with little things, which can be tedious. Nevertheless, you are the one who has to do them right.

Gabriel Weinberg, founder, and CEO of DuckDuckGo.

This ability is what makes us entrepreneurs: at times, we have to do the work that has to be done (the small things), even if we’re not great at it and don’t like doing it.

Yet, we also have to be able to step back, look at the big picture and give direction to the overall vision. This is the mindset hack we need to harness for business success.

5. Create your own luck

So-called lucky people aren’t necessarily getting more advantages than other people. The universe doesn’t favor them, but they’re putting themselves out there more. They’re creating more connections that could lead to other stuff.

That is really how I interpret luck – creating more of a mathematical probability that you’re going to get what you want.

Russ Perry, founder of Design Pickle.

Luck’s a funny thing, isn’t it? As Russ says, it is about creating a mathematical probability by putting ourselves out there and trying more things.

When you start a business, it might fail – don’t worry about it – that’s how to have a business mindset. You might have to create 10 businesses before one will be successful. We make our luck with the decisions we make and the actions we take. Plain and simple.

6. Give. Give. Give.

I have tips and resources that I want to share, and I don’t want to wait for a publishing platform to give me permission. Nobody told us we had to wait to do anything – we could just put our ideas out there, which was really a huge game changer.

I have always found that over sharing pays off in readership. Hence, I don’t save my best tips for myself, but I share them on all our social media platforms.

Nicole Feliciano, founder, and CEO of MomTrends.

Helping and sharing is content marketing, which is how you build a business nowadays. Build an audience, then determine what they need from you. Create content, find your audience, build your business.

Please do not fall into the trap of building a product or service, and then trying to find customers – that is a recipe for disaster.

7. The growth mindset

If you believe somehow you’re set to a certain capability and level of accomplishment, then you’ll never achieve anything more. However, if you believe you can get better and do other things, that growth mindset will enable you to accomplish more.

Guy Kawasaki, entrepreneur and The New York Times bestselling author of 13 books.

The growth mindset should be an obvious business hack and it is essential to you succeeding as an entrepreneur. You need to have the mentality that you can teach yourself to do anything, as long as you push yourself hard enough and try enough things.

This idea has been further explored and validated by Carol Dweck in her classic book simply titled Mindset: The New Psychology of Success.

8. The path of unpredictability

I had known I wanted to start a company for a while, but it’s difficult to walk away from a paycheck. It was a hard decision that took me longer than I would have liked.

It was easy to see how I could be making more money working for bigger, more established institutions, so I drew two lines to compare.

I drew a line of stability and predictability at a high level of income, where I would be if I had stayed in the path I was in.

I then drew a second, lower line that would be what I could expect as an entrepreneur: bootstrapping a company, not paying myself a salary for a few years trying to make ends meet, and with more uncertainty in the long term.

Jon Stein, founder of Betterment

This is not the type of thing most of us would do, but it might be the business mindset you need to succeed.

Jon Stein is analytical, so he modeled and planned two potential paths. On the one hand, there is the path of stability with high-paying and powerful jobs, which is predictable.

Jon didn’t found a small company in an easy market but stayed in the world of banking and investments. Even though that is an incredibly difficult market, he knew it was the right place for him. He could afford to bootstrap a company for a few years without paying himself a salary and was still comfortable with the whole idea.

There is no right or wrong approach – just follow the method that feels right to you. We have to figure out for ourselves what will shift our mindset in order to take the leap. Become comfortable being uncomfortable.

9. Create a mission worth spending your life on

I have a confidence about myself as a human being. Just appreciate that wherever you’re at, you’re a whole and complete human being with everything you possibly need to be successful. You deserve to achieve and you deserve the fruits of your labor.

Landon Ray, Founder and CEO of ONTRAPORT

Landon Ray is a serial entrepreneur with unparalleled perseverance. At the age of 25, with his father’s financial help, he made the transformation from flower street vendor to top securities day trader.

After beating the odds on Wall Street, he used his team building skills and personal experience to create a family of products that reflect his passion for educating and supporting entrepreneurs.

This is a motivational, inspirational business hack that helps us deal with the impostor syndrome that entrepreneurs sometimes experience. As we begin to gain success, we sometimes think that maybe we don’t deserve that success. Prior to that stage, we might read business books by people that are “famous” or established entrepreneurs, and whom we consider to be natural, born entrepreneurs.

There is no such thing as a born entrepreneur. We all have it in us to step up and achieve things, as long as we are willing to do so.

We have to be aware that our every success and our position in life spring forth from our actions and efforts. We deserve the fruit of our labor and we deserve to do big, cool things.

10. Your business will never be worse than it is today

I think we count our achievements too soon. Some people think they will be rich on the first day their website is online.

There is a much better perspective: the first day that your website is up, it will look the worst that it is ever going to look. It’s the worst product offering you’ll ever have, because you will keep improving it from there. Andrea Lake, Founder of Sticker Junkie

From the moment we launch something, whether it’s a product, an entrepreneur podcast, a blog, or a new service, we want it to be perfect. So perfect that it typically doesn’t even get launched, because it never lives up to our expectations.

We often think something is a failure, even when we’ve only just started. Be willing to suck at the beginning. Be aware that you have to progressively get better. This is a brilliant mindset for business success.

Feel comforted by the knowledge that whatever you do or publish today, that is the worst it will ever be, and you will continue to nurture and improve it.

11. Don’t struggle with failure

There is a difference between failure and your struggle with failure. You do not have to struggle with failure. That is a choice on your part. If you accept the fact that the person who fails the most wins, you can also accept that putting good effort into something that fails is a key part of your job.

Seth Godin, entrepreneur and bestselling author

Here is another epic business hack from world-renowned marketer Seth Godin. Failure is something that is inevitable in business and in life, but somehow we seem better equipped to deal with it in day-to-day life.

We start dealing with it the moment when we learn how to walk because falling is an essential part of the learning process. You have to fall again and again until you’ve learned how to walk. Giving up is not an option.

We should bear in mind that business success works in the same way. Failing is part of the process of getting good at and mastering something. Making mistakes and dealing with your failures is part of your job as an entrepreneur.

12. Have an incredible vision for your business

You don’t climb straight from nothing to something big. You hit an obstacle, climb over it and reach the next level of the plateau. You cross the line again, cross another obstacle and climb to the next level again.

The more you do that, the more you will look back and realize how far you’ve come. It is all about overcoming each obstacle as it hits, and not giving up.

Brian Smith, Founder of UGG Boots

There is no such thing as smooth sailing. Nevertheless, when you fall while climbing an obstacle, you simply land back on the plateau you were just on. You don’t have to start from scratch again.

This is how life works in general: everything seems to be going well until something sideswipes you. The analogy of the plateaus is fitting for a successful business mindset because you always just fall down to the previous plateau. The only struggle is getting onto the next one.

Once you achieve that, you are safe there and only have to pound on the next obstacles. Brian knows this better than anyone, as he has had to deal with much crazier battles than most of us ever will.

13. Do something bold

Failures in business are opportunities to be seized. If you don’t fail at one point in your lifetime, you won’t experience the ultimate feeling of success.

True success comes from a pile of failures and learning from them. As a result, you’ll be able to make the right choices. I’m not a perfect person.

I have made mistakes – as an entrepreneur, as a small business owner, as a human being – and will probably make a ton more. As a result, I’ll learn from them and become even more successful. You need to build the same success mindset.

Nellie Akalp, Founder of MyCorporation.com

When something doesn’t work, change it drastically to see what does work. The classic definition of insanity is doing the same thing over and over again expecting a different result.

As human beings and as business owners, we get stuck in our ruts. We do the same things over and over without thinking until something happens.

Nellie’s business was about to fail, so she changed something and realized that 40% had just been added to her bottom line.

It is necessary to do bold things as a rule, not just when you are going out of business. Test everything and contemplate what your business could be. Even if your business is doing okay, you could do something bold. The worst-case scenario is that you go back to doing exactly what you were doing before, so it is always worth a shot.

14. You don’t need permission to be an entrepreneur

When a baby is learning to walk, they constantly fall over, but that doesn’t make them want to stop trying. They don’t think, ‘That’s it, I’m done with walking. I look stupid, everybody is laughing at me. I will just crawl from now on.’

As human beings, we are not naturally afraid of looking stupid or failing – we get educated into it.

Steli Efti, Founder of Close.io

This is by far the best business hack I have heard about how to be comfortable while being wrong. When a baby does not yet know how to walk, they won’t stop trying after falling down a few times.

We are not born afraid of failure, but we are taught to be embarrassed by it. Bearing that in mind will hopefully help you take a leap into the unknown.

15. Be passionate about your business (not your market)

I think a lot of entrepreneurs limit themselves to the markets they are passionate about. Personally, I’m passionate about business.

When we went into the survival and preparedness market, I wasn’t that passionate about it. I don’t even like camping, but I know that other people do.

I don’t think you can remove passion from the process – someone will always be passionate. It just doesn’t have to be you, so I see myself as a publisher, a producer, an owner.

Ryan Deiss, founder of Digital Marketer

Ryan’s business hack is not just for entrepreneurs. A lot of entrepreneurs – and people looking to start a side hustle – think they need to go into a market that they are passionate about. But either their passion doesn’t align with the market that is hungry for a product, or it just limits them in some way.

Ryan’s passion is business, so he can enter any market and do really well. He has a business mindset.

This is how I see it: if I enter a market that is easy to make money in and build a good, solid business, I can use the money to buy time and freedom, and follow my passions.

As Ryan says, he considers himself a producer and a business owner rather than the person who is passionate about a specific market.

16. Write down your fears (not your goals)

People always tell you to write down your goals, but I write down my fears. Writing down your fears makes them look less scary. When you dimensionalize your own fears and risks, it’s amazing how much courage you will realize you have.

Jay Baer, Founder of Convince and Convert

Goals setting can be very limiting: once you reach a goal, you have nothing left to do. Your fears, on the other hand, are at the basis of an intrinsic problem: why are you not taking action on your ideas, starting a business or going towards your goals?

The answer is usually that you are scared because there is a huge amount of aspects you don’t know the first thing about.

The reason we don’t do things is not that we didn’t set the right goals, it’s that we are afraid.

I have a piece of paper, a “fears page” if you will, on which I write down whatever is keeping me from doing something at a specific moment. By doing so, I can dimensionalize my fears, as Jay said. This has enabled me to see what mistakes I have made and how limiting fears can be. Don’t write down your goals, write down your fears.

17. Most things in life fail (and that’s okay)

We have no ability to predict our future, so it is important to have themes. Jon’s theme was to go to a mastermind in order to inspire and be inspired by smart people, which provided him with a variety of ways for self-improvement.

That is a theme rather than a specific goal. His theme led to him doing a podcast, which I’m sure he enjoys, or he wouldn’t have done so many episodes.

James Altucher, entrepreneur and bestselling author

Themes rather than goals.

It’s true we don’t know where the future will lead us. I knew I wanted to create an online business, and my podcast ended up being that business.

James Altucher is right: I had no idea I was going to create it. I am quite sure that if I’d known what was coming, I would have got bored and lost my passion. As a result, I would have been unsuccessful.

I agree that we should be open, because we can’t predict the future. However, having themes around what you want to do is a good thing. Themes are the best way to set yourself up for success as you see it.

18. Be a painkiller (not a vitamin)

Every company needs to solve a problem, which you can compare to the function of a painkiller as opposed to a vitamin. When we have a toothache, we want a painkiller, not a vitamin, and we’re willing to pay for it.

Matt Barrie, Founder of Freelancer

Does a business hack get any simpler than this?

If your business solves a problem that your customer is experiencing, then you are their painkiller. The customer will immediately need your assistance.

Even though the vitamin market is massive, it’s a much tougher thing to sell, because vitamins are easily forgotten about. I love the simplicity of Matt’s approach: “Be a painkiller, not a vitamin.” If you offer a service that people are in need of, they will happily pay for it.

19. If your business fails, it’s because you suck

There’s no middle ground. Something either worked because it worked out, or it failed because I wasn’t good enough. That’s okay. I have to be okay with the possibility that everything could fall apart, even if I do everything I can to make this company happen.

If it fails, it’s probably because I suck.

Austen Allred, Founder of Lambda School

Saying that something failed because we suck sounds really harsh, but it is absolute ownership. It is important that we take this ownership, not just of the companies we build, but of our entire lives.

Even though many situations are out of our control, we can’t just sit there worrying about what could go wrong. Moreover, we can’t blame others when something happens to us. We are responsible.

When we decide to put ourselves out there by creating a product, service or startup, we have to be aware that everything comes down to us. We are putting ourselves on the line. By doing that, we allow ourselves to succeed, just like Austen did.

20. Avoid the entrepreneurial gap

The gap is what’s between today’s goal and the horizon. If you look back at your achievements and consider how far you’ve come, you will stay out of the gap. However, if you’re always walking towards the horizon, without turning around and recognizing your goals as you achieve them, you will never feel fulfilled.

Brian Kurtz, Founder of Boardroom Inc.

The entrepreneurial gap has caused a huge business mindset shift for me.

It is crazy that we as entrepreneurs are always searching for that horizon. We set goals three months, six months, a year, five years in advance. However, when we hit those goals, we instantly set five or ten loftier ones.

Congratulate yourself on your successes and improvements as you go. It’s an amazing accomplishment to work towards something in order to better yourself and your family, and you should spend more time contemplating how far you have come.

It is tempting to think always feel the need to first accomplish a certain thing, achieve a certain result, or let your business hit a million dollars.

There will always be something new, so take the time to feel proud of what you have already achieved.

21. Know enough to be dangerous

As entrepreneurs we need to know enough to be dangerous in every area.

If someone crosses our path and isn’t good at their job, we have to be able to recognize that. That’s part of what creates these long days: we need to learn all aspects of the business. If we don’t, it is hard to delegate, because we don’t know what is good and what is bad.

Michael Sacca, Founder of Rocketship.fm

One of my favorite business hacks: Knowing enough to be dangerous gives us the leverage points that we need. It is very hard to outsource something completely if you know nothing about it.

Obviously, we don’t need to know everything and be accountants, lawyers and editors all-in-one, but we have to know enough to be dangerous.

Don’t listen to the experts who tell you that you can only do a tiny bit of your business and have to outsource the rest. There’s no such thing as a four-hour work week and being able to outsource everything, especially not at the beginning.

Unfortunately, you have to dive in head first and learn everything about your business that there is to learn.

Then, when you get lucky and have that momentum, you can take the revenue you’ve created, take all the bits of knowledge you have and put people in place to take care of those things. Remember, it’s still your business and you are still responsible for it.

It’s your turn to implement these business hacks

Learning how to have a business mindset will affect your success or failure in business. Luckily,  your mindset is also the thing you have the most control over. choose one of these seven mindset shifts to adopt and begin working on its development.

As you become more confident and comfortable with this new mindset, move onto the next. Push yourself to be one percent better than you were yesterday, and start with changing your mindset.

Developing these success mindsets will give you the resilience and direction you need to push through the ups and downs that come with running a business.

The post Business Hacks: 21 Simple and Effective Mindset Hacks for Entrepreneurs appeared first on Hack the Entrepreneur.

via Hack the Entrepreneur

[batclevercandystudent]

Do you want to know how to get on the first page of Google?

Great, then this article is for you.

How are we going to do this?

With Brian Dean. Also known as Backlinko.

Brian knows how to rank articles fast.

I interviewed Brian on the podcast to learn his exact process for getting on the first page of Google.

The best part? You don’t need a ton of content to do this.

Backlinko has only 40 blog posts and receives more than 100,000 visits per month.

When I started following his advice, I more than doubled my organic search traffic within two months.

Here are Backlinko’s 10 steps to getting first page Google results with your content.

Step 0: A non-technical SEO audit

Let’s begin at the beginning. None of this works if your website is slow and has SEO issues.

How do you know if your website has SEO issues? Perform an SEO audit to find out before you focus on Google rankings.

If you’re starting with an older website, you can increase your traffic dramatically with a few quick fixes.

An SEO audit makes sure search engines understand what your site is about and that they can crawl it fast and efficiently.

The improvements you make now will help your website get found on Google more easily when you publish new articles.

Performing an SEO Audit is not as complicated as it sounds.

I use SEMrush for SEO audits and keyword research. You can get a 7-day FREE trial here.

Brian created a simple guide to performing an SEO audit – the same guide he used to get these results for Backlinko: Once your website is optimized, you are ready to rank on the first page with your next article.

Step 1: Choose the right keyword

The most important factor to consider when choosing the right keyword has nothing to do with SEO. It’s knowing which topics you can cover better than your competition.

Regurgitated content will not get results.

Rewritten versions of existing articles do not stand out enough to get you onto page one.

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Write about your direct experiences and expertise — things you can teach.

For example, Backlinko posts are not about technical SEO like site architecture or HTML. Those topics get a lot of traffic, but they aren’t where he spends his time.

Brian writes about what he does (creating content that ranks at the top of search engine results).

Deciding what to write about

Deciding what to write is more art than science. What ultimately matters is how amazing your content is.

This process is about how to get on the first page of Google by creating better content than your competitors.

How do search engines know your article is better than others?

High CTR: People click on it more than other search results

Be Useful: People find exactly what they are looking for in your article

Social Signals: People share it and link to it from other websites

There are two approaches to deciding what to write.

Start with a topic

Start with a keyword

With either approach, you will end up with a focus keyword for your article.

Keywords are the exact words that people type into Google when they want information on your topic.

Start with a topic idea

The goal is to create an article that will blow the competition out of the water.

Start by thinking of areas within your main blog subject where you can shine.

For example, if you have a paleo diet blog, you might choose:

Paleo breakfast ideas

Paleo weight loss

A specific recipe (paleo pancakes)

The art of choosing a keyword is having an idea for a piece of content that will outshine the competition on a particular topic.

The science of choosing a keyword is research — finding out how many people search for your topic, and which words they use.

This is easy with a keyword research tool. In this example, I used SEMrush.

I typed “paleo breakfast” into SEMrush’s keyword research tool, and came up with these results:

Volume is the number of monthly searches for your term.

The list of related keywords provides more terms people use when they search this topic.

With this information, you can narrow down your topic to one specific keyword or phrase that perfectly matches your idea.

Keyword research

There are many ways to find popular search terms, trending topics, and related keywords.

Check out Backlinko’s Definitive Guide to Keyword Research, and you will never run out of blog topic ideas.

Using a keyword research tool, generate a list of keywords in your subject area.

Here are a few keyword research tools to get you started:

Keywords Everywhere (free browser extension)

SEMrush Keyword Research

Ahrefs Keyword Explorer

Here are some numbers to look at that can help you narrow down your search and choose one.

Search volume: how many people search for your keyword?

In this example, 14,800 monthly searches are the number of people typing this into Google each month.

Competition: How hard will it be to move ahead of the existing articles ranking for your keyword?

SEMRush uses “difficulty” as a measure of how hard it will be to move ahead of competitors for your keyword.

If you’re just starting out, you will have more success targeting keyword variations with a lower difficulty.

This usually means lower volume keywords.

Brian advises that you choose only one keyword (or phrase) to focus on when you start writing.

Most keyword variations are just that — variations of the same searcher intent. Google is smart enough to rank your content for all of them.

For example, I chose a focus keyword “What is affiliate marketing” for a recent article on Hack the Entrepreneur.

This article ranks in search results for 472 keywords:

Don’t get too bogged down in the details of keyword research.

The numbers are helpful, but they don’t tell the whole story.

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What matters most is matching a good keyword to a topic where you can really crush it.

Once you’ve arrived at a keyword, you are ready to move on.

Step 2: Choose a format for your article

Begin your article with the end in mind.

That means deciding what your article will look like before you begin writing.

For example, if your keyword is “paleo desserts,” here are some formats you could use:

List-post: 101 Paleo Desserts

Guide: The Ultimate Guide to Making Paleo Desserts

How-to: How to Make Paleo Desserts

Case Study: How I Lost 83 Pounds Eating Paleo Desserts

These formats are popular because they work well. Not only for conveying information but for getting Google front page results.

Find out which type of post is already working well for your competitors.

You don’t need any fancy SEO tools for this.

Google your keyword, and look at the top results.

In this example, the top five results are list posts:

These results tell us that people click on list posts when they search this topic. You have the best chance of getting to page one with this format. But it has to be bigger, longer, and better if you are going to stand out.

Remember, the number one rule is to create amazing content.

If you’re using the same format as the most popular articles for your keyword, you have to do something to stand out.

For example, to compete with other list posts, you can create either:

a bigger and badder list

go more in-depth with your list items

This is the exact thinking behind these recent articles we’ve published:

176 Side Hustle Ideas

101 Best Business Books of All Time

It sounds simple, but it’s deceptively effective.

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Another way to outshine the competition is to refresh your existing content. Improve on it, add the latest information, and republish.

Brian calls this a content relaunch:

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Step 3: Write an article outline

Creating an outline for your article before you start writing is incredibly helpful.

It’s easy to say, “I’m going to write out 200 recipes.”

It’s a lot harder to do.

Brian learned this important step early in his career when he worked with Neil Patel to write an online guide.

Brian went along with Neil’s request to submit an outline — something he had not done since high school English class.

He quickly realized the wisdom of outlining.

With an outline, there’s no blank page anxiety or writer’s block.

Writing is faster and easier when you don’t have to stop to research and plan each paragraph.

Here’s an outlining framework to get you started, so you never have to start with a blank page.

For a list post, outlining is straightforward:

Short introduction

List all the items

Ending

For more complex posts, like case studies and guides, outlining is a more creative process.

Step 4: Writing your article for SEO

Writing a short introduction

I asked Brian about his approach to introductions because I noticed something different about Backlinko articles — his intros are super short.

A more common style is to use several paragraphs of introduction.

Have you ever searched for a recipe and had to scroll through pages of backstory before finding what you wanted?

Here’s the thing: People already know they need the information – that’s why they typed it into Google.

All you need to do is introduce what your article is about.

Think of it as a preview.

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Not only is this easier to write, but it’s very effective.

Bonus tip from Brian: Including an emotional hook in your intro can be good for SEO.

Try including a sentence or two that speaks to the person searching your keyword.

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The purpose of this is to create an emotional connection. Show readers you understand what they are going through, and they are more likely to keep reading.

Writing the body of your article

Use examples and stories as much as possible. 

As much as you can, use examples that focus on what you have personally done.

This is a powerful way to separate your article from more generic content.

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Write how you speak.

Use simple language and short sentences to make your writing easy to read.

This may be difficult if you are used to a more formal style of writing.

Brian had to deprogram his writing style after years of academic writing in college and graduate school.

Once he simplified his writing, his online content performed much better.

Use images to illustrate every concept.

Use images like screenshots, charts, photographs, and illustrations as much as you can.

You can almost never include too many images.

The goal is to publish an article that someone can skim through without reading, and still understand the story.

For example, I wanted to make pancakes so I looked up a recipe. I read the instructions but still wondered if I was doing it right.

How do I know when to flip them? How thick should the batter be?

These images from Kitchn answer all my questions:

Step 5: Search Engine Optimization

If you’ve followed the steps so far, you’ve already done the hardest part — creating amazing content.

But what about SEO?

It’s easy to overcomplicate this subject.

You don’t need to overthink SEO — there are no tricks to get ahead.

In fact, using shady tactics like keyword stuffing, buying backlinks, and cloning content can harm your rankings.

Google is so advanced, it’s best to think about what makes sense for a real person reading your site.

Essentially, all you need to do in this step is tell Google: My page is about [this keyword].

Here’s how to do it, using an article I published recently with the keyword side hustle ideas.

Include the exact keyword:

In the headline and title:

In the URL:

In the meta-description:

In the main body of the article where it makes sense:

If your site is on WordPress, Brian recommends a plug-in called Yoast SEO.

Use it to set the focus keyword, title, and description:

More on-page SEO tips to help your content perform better

When you make a new page, the default permalink can contain a lot of extra nonsense.

Keep the permalink URL as simple as possible, so Google knows exactly what it’s about.

Besides making it easy for Google, which of these would you rather click on?

Before you publish, specify the permalink URL here:

The information attached to images in your post are also part of SEO.

Google can’t read images, but it does read the file name, description, and alt text.

This information is also critical for visually impaired readers. The software uses these descriptions to describe what’s on the page.

File names should be a simple description of what the image is.

Here’s an example of a screenshot image I included in this article:

Step 6: Article design

When Brian started hiring a professional designer for some Backlinko content, the increase in performance was night and day.

That’s because one of the biggest factors in Google rankings is backlinks (more on that in Step 9).

Here’s the thing, the better your design, the more people will link to your page.

There’s a perceived value when something looks really good. Attractive design helps your page stand out — there’s a wow factor.

If you think good design is expensive, you should look at the cost of bad design.

— Ralf Speth

You can publish regular posts too, but once in a while hiring a designer is a good investment.

Step 7: Publish your article

You now have an article that’s good enough to get on the first page of Google.

Hit publish and pat yourself on the back.

But we aren’t done yet.

Your Google ranking won’t improve without the next steps.

Step 8: Submit your article to Google

This step is not necessary, but it will speed up your results.

Google is constantly crawling the internet to find new and updated pages.

But there is no way to know when your site will be crawled.

And occasionally, a technical problem can mysteriously keep your page from being indexed (this has happened to Backlinko).

Instead of waiting around, you can use a tool in Google Search Console to notify Google about your new post.

I created a process for my new articles. Here is a Google doc of the process you can use to get your new content indexed within minutes.

Step 9: Promotion (The Eyeball Phase)

The first phase of promoting your new article is “The Eyeball Phase.”

The goal is simply to get eyeballs on it and it is crucial to you getting on the first page of Google.

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An initial burst of activity is a signal to Google’s “buzz-meter.”

You will get a temporary boost in rankings when lots of people visit your new page — even though they aren’t from organic search.

Your ranking will drop back down, but the initial boost will help your longterm SEO.

Send an email your list

If you don’t have an email list, stop reading this and start building your list.

It’s essential to building an online business.

Send a short and simple message to your email list.

Just let your subscribers know you have a new post just for them.

Your goal is to get as many people as possible clicking through to your article. Don’t include extra information, like a newsletter or a sales pitch — the simpler the better.

Here’s a good example from the smart content marketers at CoSchedule:

Post to your social media accounts

Promote the article on Twitter.

Share the article on Facebook.

The Eyeball Phase is all about getting a boost of traffic while your article is fresh. Investing in paid ads with Facebook Promoted Posts at this time can help your results.

LinkedIn is another platform you should be using to share and promote your new content.

Particularly for B2B or anything close, LinkedIn has better reach and engagement than other platforms.

Brian recently published a Backlinko article and got these results during his initial promotion:

150 – 200 people clicked through to his page from a Twitter post.

1600+ people clicked through from a LinkedIn post.

Twitter and Facebook are crowded with promoted content. It’s easy to get lost in the noise.

There is much less competition to get your post seen on LinkedIn.

More of the right people will see it, share it, post comments, and click through to your page.

You can get a free $100 ad credit at LinkedIn.com/HACK if you want to try promoting your next article on LinkedIn.

Link building

If you’ve done everything right so far, you may jump to the first page of Google within the first couple of days. I’ve seen it happen within hours.

But the last thing you want to do is immediately start writing a new article. Now it’s time for link building. Backlinks are simply links to your site from other websites. And they are the biggest ranking factor in Google’s algorithms.

The number (and quality) of backlinks signal to Google the usefulness of your page.

Unfortunately, there are no shortcuts in link building.

This cold outreach strategy takes consistent effort, but it works:

Find places online where your post would be useful and add value.

Contact the owners of the page and ask them to link to your article.

Don’t get discouraged if most of your requests get no response.

2-5% is normal when doing this kind of outreach.

If you want to go deep on link building and learn more strategies, check out this guide.

And that’s it!

How do you get on the first page of Google?

Now that you’ve learned how Brian Dean gets on the first page, I’m excited to hear your process.

Do you have any other tactics or strategies that have been effective for you? If so, let me know in the comments.

Check out the full Brian Dean interview.

The post How to Get on the First Page of Google appeared first on Hack the Entrepreneur.

via Hack the Entrepreneur

[batclevercandystudent]

This is a list of the best business books in 2018.

These books have been read by tens of millions of people…

…and have helped them start and grow thousands of businesses.

Whether you need books on starting a business or you are looking for strategy or marketing books…

…this list is for you.

Let’s jump into it.

Use the buttons below to sort the book list by topic.

Persuasion

Marketing

Productivity

Fitness

Strategy

Biographies

Self-Improvement

Vision

Leadership

Creativity

Show only Jonny’s recommended books?

Yes

Best Business Books of All Time

Built to Last: Successful Habits of Visionary Companies

by Jim Collins and Jerry I. Porras

Built to Last is an impeccably researched business book that is bound to open your mind to new astounding ideas about companies. By comparing visionary companies, Collins and Porras portray that the same ideas won’t guarantee you success unless you possess specific characteristics. The astounding yet scary part is that there is no right or wrong – all that matters is your purpose, passion, vision, and values.

Built to Last is full of detailed examples that are meticulously organized to form a framework of real-world concepts. This book serves as a blueprint that can be easily applied by entrepreneurs and managers.

This is one of the best leadership books you can read to help you accelerate towards your dreams.

Get it on Amazon

Listen on Audible

The Personal MBA: Master the Art of Business

by Josh Kaufman

Many have compared this book to a crash course MBA. Instead of spending money on an expensive business degree, you can learn all the concepts you need to succeed in business in a single book.

The Personal MBA is the most comprehensive of all the books on starting a business in this list. Marketing, negotiating, strategy, and setting goals that stick are all covered in a simple, yet thorough style.

For those intending to step out of employment and into entrepreneurship, this book is a comprehensive overview. For anyone considering an MBA, regardless of career stage, read this book first.

Get it on Amazon

Listen on Audible

The Hard Thing About Hard Things: Building a Business When There Are No Easy Answers

by Ben Horowitz

The information in this book goes far beyond a how-to business book. It draws on Horowitz’s personal experiences in Silicon Valley, and his hard-earned successes.

Horowitz is brutally honest about how hard it is to run a successful business. He describes all the difficult moments, mental battles, and stressful situations he faced throughout his career, and all that he learned.

The result is different than most success books — a realistic view from a successful entrepreneur.

Get it on Amazon

Listen on Audible

Deep Work: Rules for Focused Success in a Distracted World

by Cal Newport

Deep Work gives new insight into how people produce their best work. The author asserts that many people work at the shallow end of focus, with social media and cultural changes to blame. Because of our distracting environment, it is nearly impossible to concentrate on anything.

Deep Work helps people rediscover a deep state of focus and concentrate on things that matter. The book will inspire you to eliminate unnecessary distractions and work smarter.

Get it on Amazon

Listen on Audible

How to Win Friends and Influence People

by Dale Carnegie

One of the fundamental keys to business and sales is the ability to network and build relationships. This book promises to instill the communication and persuasion skills it takes to succeed.

Instrumental to people who are socially awkward, this book offers tips on developing listening skills and starting conversations. But ultimately, the book is aimed at helping business people succeed in sales. That’s why this self-help classic also has a place on the shelf of must-read business books. Although originally published in 1936, much of the advice in this book is timeless.

Get it on Amazon

Listen on Audible

Shoe Dog: A Memoir by the Creator of Nike

by Phil Knight

This is a fascinating account from Phil Knight, the co-founder of Nike, of his life and the birth of one of the biggest shoe companies in the world. Many books have been written about Nike, but in Shoe Dog, you get to hear directly from the man responsible for its success.

Phil Knight pours his heart out in this emotionally-charged account, and the results are inspiring.

Get it on Amazon

Listen on Audible

Traction: How any Start-up Can Achieve Explosive Customer Growth

by Gabriel Weinberg and Justin Mares

Gabriel Weinberg and Justin Mares highlight the reason most startups fail — not lack of product, but lack of customers. With simple language and actionable advice, the authors provide solutions. They’ve written one fo the best strategy books for gaining traction.

As the title suggests, this book provides strategies for finding more customers. It covers all of the available marketing channels, both traditional and digital, as well as how to choose the right channels for your business.

Listen to Gabriel’s interview.

Get it on Amazon

Listen on Audible

Essentialism: The Disciplined Pursuit of Less

by Greg McKeown

The information provided in this book is tailor-made for individuals who want to simplify their lives. McKeown is a public speaker, author, and business consultant who has developed a system to juggle all these roles successfully.

Throughout the book, McKeown presents a systematic discipline that teaches readers how to discern what is vital — and eliminate the rest.

Essentialism is one of the must-read books for entrepreneurs. It’s much more than a time management book; it presents a practical theory for making life a more productive and enjoyable experience.

Get it on Amazon

Listen on Audible

The Answer: Grow Any Business, Achieve Financial Freedom, And Live an Extraordinary Life

by John Assaraf and Murray Smith

This book helps you understand how your subconscious mind may be undermining your efforts. The authors go into great detail about the theories around this issue. They go on to provide solutions to overcome the power of the subconscious mind.

The Answer stands out from other popular business books because it avoids the usual get-rich-quick nonsense. Instead, it challenges you to figure out how your subconscious is limiting you and keeping you stuck, regardless of your goals.

Get it on Amazon

Listen on Audible

Zero to One: Notes on Start-up, or How to Build the Future

by Peter Thiel and Blake Masters

Many businesses come up quickly in today’s world, then crumble just as quickly. Among other factors, this is due to a lack of originality and creativity in solving problems.

In this book, Thiel takes on the trend of starting businesses that already exist and tears down the copycat mentality. He challenges the reader to focus on innovation.

Thiel calls for a mind shift that looks to the future needs of the world. He explains the power and advantage that monopolies hold compared to companies that compete for market share. For those looking for the next big idea, this is the book to read.

Get it on Amazon

Listen on Audible

So Good They Can’t Ignore You: Why Skills Trump Passion in the Quest for Work You Love

by Cal Newport

So Good They Can’t Ignore You is an eye-opening take on how to build a truly satisfying career and life. The premise is comedian Steve Martin’s line, “be so good they can’t ignore you.”

Newport argues that the cliché advice to follow your dreams is profoundly flawed. Building from his own experience and that of other professionals he reveals that matching passion to a job is not enough. Instead, he argues that passion comes later — after you work hard to build skill and excellence in your chosen profession.

If you’re thinking about starting a business, this book will help you gain perspective on work, passion, and living a fulfilling life.

Get it on Amazon

Listen on Audible

Grinding It Out: The Making of McDonald’s

by Ray Kroc

Ray Kroc shares his secrets and drive to change the world in Grinding It Out. He explains how his life changed at the age of 52 when he got into the automation of the food industry. This innovation fast-tracked the explosive growth of McDonald’s.

One of the best business biographies, this book will teach you about resilience and persistence. And Kroc is not shy about revealing the mistakes he has made in his personal life and business.

This book is not only motivational but also a call to action for those who have yet to make a mark in their field.

Get it on Amazon

Listen on Audible

Psycho-Cybernetics

by Maxwell Maltz

Psycho-Cybernetics provides readers with a different approach to success. Maxwell states that people who don’t make mistakes aren’t taking risks. Therefore, they end up never being successful.

The main theme of the book is how to cultivate a productive mind and create success by changing your mental attitude. Maltz speaks about how critical it is for you to prepare appropriately and detach from the outcome. This way, you will perform better and live in the moment.

Psycho-Cybernetics explains how happiness is a choice despite circumstances.

Get it on Amazon

Listen on Audible

The Subtle Art of Not Giving a F*ck: A Counterintuitive Approach to Living a Good Life

by Mark Manson

In this book, Mark Manson provides a counter-argument to the positive-thinking movement. He describes how acceptance of reality, including negative feelings and circumstances, is the best way to achieve happiness and success.

The book uses scientific research and humor to illustrate the importance of focussing only on the important things in life — and not giving a f*ck about the rest.

The best entrepreneur books are often those which help people gain the confidence to follow their own path, regardless of what others think. This book is designed to help you do just that.

Get it on Amazon

Listen on Audible

Breakthrough Advertising

by Eugene Schwartz

In the hands of an expert, advertising is the key that propels a business from zero sales to unimaginable profits. Eugene Schwartz breaks down every step of creating an ad, from writing an irresistible headline to removing objections.

Breakthrough Advertising goes deep into the emotional factors causing people to buy, and how to influence them with your ad copy. This book is considered among the top marketing books of all time for a reason — the advice in Breakthrough Advertising will take your copywriting to the next level, even when applied to modern platforms.

Get it on Amazon

Predictably Irrational: The Hidden Forces That Shape Our Decisions

by Dan Ariely

This book makes you rethink emotions, expectations and social norms and how they provoke your behavior. And it will make you think of your ‘uniqueness’ differently.

Unlike most books on human behavior, Predictably Irrational does not dive too deeply into statistics. Instead, Ariely uses everyday scenarios to illustrate how emotions, patterns of thinking, and environment determine our choices. And he teaches how to break free of these hidden forces to make better decisions.

Get it on Amazon

Listen on Audible

10x Marketing Formula: Your Blueprint for Creating Competition Free Content that Stands out and Gets Results

by Garrett Moon

As marketing content floods online spaces, businesses are now, more than ever, looking for ways to create content that stands out. 10x Marketing Formula is one of the best business strategy books you will find for content marketing. In this book, Garrett Moon looks at drawing traffic to your business with compelling content that outshines your competitors.

Moon describes the strategies he used in starting and growing CoSchedule. The book does not give sugar-coated solutions. Instead, it demonstrates how to gain traction for your content quickly. It also dismisses the myth that you need a big budget to create highly engaging content.

This is the book that will take your marketing strategy to the next level.

Check out my interview with Garrett Moon.

Get it on Amazon

The Magic of Thinking Big: Acquire the Secrets of Success and Achieve Everything You’ve Always Wanted

by Dr. Schwartz

Dr. Schwartz shares a detailed and precise method to open a path to success in every area of your life. Whether you are intellectual or not, the book will ensure you understand the habits of behaving and thinking that foster success.

This book helps you identify the causes of failure and cultivate the right attitude to excel. It will help revive your inner potential and motivate you to overcome obstacles.

Get it on Amazon

Listen on Audible

Master Content Marketing: A Simple Strategy to cure the Blank page Blues and Attract a Profitable Audience

by Pamela Wilson

In Master Content Marketing, Pamela Wilson takes the reader through a step-by-step process to unlock the secrets of creating online content, as a highly-effective marketing tool.

Pamela Wilson draws on her 30+ years of marketing and content creation in this engaging and practical guide.

The design makes it easy to implement, with checklists and strategies to get results right away. The writing is simple and friendly enough to take all your content writing fears away.

Wilson teaches how to create content that is highly relevant, useful, and engaging to your audience — and how to do it consistently. After reading this book, you’ll have a turn-key process to keep your content fresh and never start with a blank page.

Listen to this interview with Pamela Wilson to learn about her highly-effective content marketing strategy.

Get it on Amazon

Listen on Audible

Start With Why: How Great Leaders Inspire Everyone to Take Action

by Simon Sinek

Start With Why, presented by Simon Sinek, is among the best leadership books to illustrate a new theory of success. Sinek compares successful people and ties them to a common motivation as the driver behind their excellent leadership.

Sinek argues the drive that steered leaders like Steve Jobs and the Wright brothers was not profit. It was their ability to answer the question, “Why?” He demonstrates how defining the underlying motivation can inspire an organization to achieve great heights.

Whether you want to inspire or be inspired, this book provides many stories and examples about great leaders and why they were so influential.

Get it on Amazon

Listen on Audible

Outrageous Advertising That’s Outrageously Successful: Created for the 99% of Small Business Owners Who Are Dissatisfied With the Results They Get From Their Current Advertising

by Bill Glazer

This book challenges standard advertising methods and introduces a bold new approach. Bill Glazer uses real-life examples to show how independent and ingenious thinking can transform a business.

The book centers around boosting profits while sustaining a customer base that is hooked to your advertising messages. It provides lifelong advertising guidelines and acts as a reference book for any time you feel stuck. And Glazer’s bold and edgy personality makes the book memorable and fun to read.

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Getting Past No: Negotiating in Difficult Situations

by William Ury

William Ury presents solid strategies for when you find yourself up against an adversarial negotiating partner. Whether you’re facing hostile behavior, deceit, or imbalance of power, Ury teaches how to remain calm get past it. He shows you how to determine what your opponent truly wants, and use that to move towards an agreement.

His highly actionable advice will help you become a more effective negotiator, even in the toughest situations. If you’re looking for the best books to learn business, be sure to include Getting Past No to sharpen your negotiating skills.

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Never Split the Difference: Negotiating As If Your Life Depended On It

by Chris Voss and Tahl Raz

This is an easy-to-read and engaging book that will put you in a better position for negotiating in any situation. Voss invites you into his head and shares the techniques he used during his career as an FBI agent.

This book is a must read for those who need a competitive edge during high-stakes business negotiations.

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How to Fail at Almost Everything and Still Win Big: Kind of the Story of My Life

by Scott Adams

Scott Adams, the creator of the long-running syndicated comic strip, Dilbert, narrates his life story in this engaging book. He explains how he failed at almost everything he set out do, but learned valuable lessons with every attempt.

Filled with Adams’ trademark humor, this book provides insights on creating a satisfying life — and they aren’t what you might expect. The book outlines how to use systems instead of goals to increase your odds of success.

This is probably one of the most entertaining business books to read. It provides not only comic relief, but solid advice on getting up after failure, acquiring new skills, and managing energy to achieve great things.

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Decisive: How to Make Better Choices in Life and Work

by Chip Heath and Dan Heath

Decisive is a decision-making guide thoroughly researched and brilliantly presented by Chip and Dan Heath.

The authors argue that humans are prone to faulty decision making, due to the nature of our brains. This book will teach you how to eliminate biases and irrational thoughts from your process.

With the tools in this book, you can make smarter decisions and get better results in all areas of your life.

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Win Bigly: Persuasion in a World where Facts Don’t Matter

by Scott Adams

Many of the best books to read for business take universal concepts and apply them to marketing. In this book, Scott Adams takes on the power of persuasion and shows how you can use it in advertising and marketing. Borrowing examples from politics, Win Bigly carefully dissects cases where persuasion was used to pull votes.

Adams highlights the techniques that worked in politics and demonstrates how to apply them in your business and personal life. He argues that instead of stating facts, you should always lean towards the desired outcome when trying to win people over to your cause.

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No B.S Direct Marketing: The Ultimate No Holds Barred Kick Butt Take No Prisoners Direct Marketing for Non-Direct Marketing Businesses

by Dan Kennedy

Dan Kennedy is a serial entrepreneur, who has built multiple businesses through direct response marketing. In this book, he reveals the secrets he used to create mail-order, infomercial, and direct mail sales campaigns, and shows you how to apply them to any business.

Kennedy has written the best small business books to help entrepreneurs take control of their sales process. As he says in the title, Kennedy teaches the principles of bold marketing, directly to customers. These fundamentals can be applied in any medium — making this a timeless must-read for marketing professionals and entrepreneurs alike.

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No B.S Sales Success in the New Economy: The Ultimate No Holds Barred Kick Butt Take No Prisoners Direct marketing for Non-Direct Marketing Businesses

by Dan Kennedy

Dan Kennedy presents keys to transform your sales strategies and help you attract more customers in a crowded global marketplace.

The book delves into direct sales tactics and copywriting details, essential in today’s economy. It also talks about preparing for adverse outcomes to increase resilience.

Many of the ideologies laid out are applicable even outside the business world. Since trust is in short supply and competition is higher than ever, Kennedy teaches how to build trust, and stand out.

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Rich Dad Poor Dad: What The Rich Teach Their Kids About Money That the Poor and Middle Class Do Not!

by Robert T. Kiyosaki

Kiyosaki uses the stories of two influential figures in his early life to illustrate how some people create wealth, and others remain poor. In this book, he pinpoints the thought patterns and beliefs that get in the way of financial success. These include lack of knowledge about investments, and the idea that employment is the only way to earn a living.

Kiyosaki encourages parents to expose their children to the business world at a young age, as opposed to emphasizing school. He also looks at untapped opportunities in real estate investing while providing a guide on how to start and own businesses.

Rich Dad Poor Dad is on many lists of top ten business books because it covers fundamentals of creating wealth that everyone can learn from. Regardless of your profession or age, Rich Dad Poor Dad can help you improve your financial status.

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The 10X Rule: The Only Difference Between Success and Failure

by Grant Cardone

The 10X Rule by Grant Cardone is a motivational book that will steer you out of your comfort zone and into action. Cardone presents an argument that for extreme success, individuals have to do more and not settle for mediocrity.

The book teaches you how to go beyond the three degrees of action: no action, retreat, and common action. The fourth degree of action is the 10X rule — massive action to achieve massive results.

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Outliers: The Story of Success

by Malcolm Gladwell

Malcolm Gladwell aims to cut through the myths of success by looking at not only traits but origin and environment of the highly successful. He handpicks high achievers and explains how their culture, background, and other factors made them who they are today.

Gladwell uses the stories in this book to illustrate how the availability of opportunity is a large contributing factor to many people’s success. He also dispels the myth of natural talent by citing those considered to be geniuses in their fields. In most cases, 10,000 hours of practice led them to mastery.

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Crushing It: How Great Entrepreneurs Build Their Businesses and Influence and How You Can Too

by Gary Vaynerchuk

The stability and longevity of any business depend on the ability of its owner to adapt to changes in the business world. As the world shifts gears to the digital space, entrepreneurs must also move their marketing to digital platforms. Gary Vaynerchuk explains the best way to do that.

With an entertaining yet straightforward style, Vaynerchuk breaks down existing social media platforms. He shows how each one can be used to market your business. The book also includes voices from successful entrepreneurs to show how each platform helped them increase profits.

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Dotcom Secrets: The Underground Playbook for Growing Your Company Online

by Russell Brunson

In a brilliantly packaged book, Brunson explains why low traffic and conversions may not be the real problem with your online presence. He reveals how to use sales funnels to turn followers into loyal customers and in turn, grow your business.

Dotcom Secrets is among the best business strategy books about digital marketing. The book puts together business advice and real-life examples of what works and what does not. While the online space is flooded with products similar to yours, this book explains how to make your message different.

If you are struggling to create convincing and persuasive marketing content, this book is precisely what you need.

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Invisible selling Machine: 5 Steps To Crafting an Automated Evergreen Email Campaign That Makes Money While You Sleep

by Ryan Deiss

In this book, Ryan Deiss gives a simple framework to take the guesswork out of email marketing. He provides practical techniques that you can implement right away in your email campaigns.

The book dissects this powerful marketing tool and breaks it down into five steps, each leading into the next. With the system in this book, you can automate your sales process and watch your business grow.

If you’re looking for the best business books for beginners to email marketing and those who want to improve, you can’t go wrong with Invisible Selling Machine.

Hear more from Ryan Deiss in this interview.

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The Impact Equation: Are You Making Things Work or Just Making Noise?

by Chris Brogan and Julien Smith

It’s hard to break through the noise and make an impact with your content since everyone has a platform online. In this book, Chris Brogan and Julien Smith reveal how to break the mold and craft unique and impactful content.

The book emphasizes the importance of honesty and articulation to build powerful connections with your audience. You can apply The Impact Equation to everything from blog posts to YouTube videos, to social media posts. If you want your online content to have a meaningful outcome, read this book.

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Virtual freedom: How to Work with Virtual Staff to Buy More Time, Become More Productive and Build Your Dream Business

by Chris Ducker

It is easy to burn out when starting a business, as a lone operator trying to do everything yourself. Chris Ducker explains how to get help from affordable alternatives by outsourcing.

In this guide to hiring and working with virtual staff, you will learn how to gain back your time and freedom as your business continues to grow. With Ducker’s expert advice, you can find and manage the perfect online employees, whether you need a marketing specialist, a project manager, or a virtual assistant.

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Idea to Execution: How to Optimize, Automate and Outsource Everything in Your Business

by Ari Meisel and Nick Sonnenberg

This book proves you do not need a big budget or staff to start pursuing your dreams. Ari Meisel and Nick Sonnenberg tell the story of how they turned an idea into a functioning business in just 24 hours — without spending any money.

Meisel and Sonnenberg reveal the strategies of outsourcing, automating, and optimizing to launch and operate a business with maximum efficiency. Whether you’re starting out or looking for ways to simplify your business, this is one of the best entrepreneur books to get you started quickly.

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Work the System: The Simple Mechanics of Making More and Working Less

by Sam Carpenter

In a perfect world, most people wish they could work fewer hours and earn more money. In this book, Sam Carpenter shows you how to turn this wishful thinking into reality.

Carpenter shares his story of becoming frustrated in his business — working all the time and still not getting ahead. He realized that instead of reacting to problems, he could eliminate them by establishing and improving systems for everything. These revelations have been captured in this inspiring book.

This book will show you that thinking of life as a series of interconnected systems can create order and eliminate chaos. Whether you are looking for top management books or simply to improve your productivity, Work the System will help you.

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The 80/20 Principle: The Secret to Achieving More with Less

by Richard Koch

Richard Koch demonstrates in this book that 80 percent of your output depends on 20 percent of the effort that you put in it.

The 80/20 Principle explains how to determine where you spend your time and energy for maximum results. It can also help you identify the 20 percent of customers that contribute to 80 percent of your profits.

By focussing on quality over quantity, The 80/20 Principle has the potential to skyrocket your productivity in all areas of life. Not only can you stop chasing after customers that won’t help your business, but you can stop wasting time on activities that don’t get results.

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The Secret of Selling Anything

by Harry Browne

In this book, Harry Browne pokes holes in myths around what makes a good salesperson. He shows the reader why selling is not necessarily an inborn trait.

This book dissects the personality traits said to provide a natural advantage in sales and shows how they can be a liability. Instead, Browne introduces the power of paying attention to potential customers and why honesty instead of flamboyance wins clients.

The book also explains why it is vital to know the motivation behind potential customers, and how to use this motivation to make an effective sales pitch.

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How to Get Rich: One of the World’s Greatest Entrepreneurs Shares His Secrets

by Felix Dennis

It is one thing to run a successful business and another to create lasting wealth. Felix Dennis understands the difference between the two and explains it in this book.

The lessons outlined in How to Get Rich came from Dennis’ personal experiences, both successes, and failures. He tears down the concept of humility and considers public failure to be a sign of growth and not humiliation. He also believes that the ability to make money can be learned, regardless of circumstance, and that anyone can learn to do it.

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The One Sentence Persuasion Course – 27 Words to Make the World Do your Bidding

by Blair Warren

If you can master the art of persuasion, you can reach unimaginable heights in your business. The One Sentence Persuasion Course is one of the top business books to quickly learn this important skill.

Blair Warren shares the secrets of persuasion, researched obsessively for more than a decade, in this short but powerful book. He distills his highly effective methods into one practical sentence.

This book teaches you to use persuasive language not only in marketing but in any situation where you want people to take action.

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Meditations

by Marcus Aurelius

This book is a collection of thoughts from one of the world’s most influential philosophers, Roman emperor Marcus Aurelius. The teachings in the book are profound but they offer simple and practical ways to live with purpose.

Aurelius wrote about how to be selfless, let go of unnecessary emotions, and focus on what truly matters in life.

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Tested Advertising Methods

by John Caples

John Caples focuses on small businesses and looks at ways of creating affordable advertising that gets results. The book explores the power of headlines and why these alone could determine the impact of your advertising.

Tested Advertising Methods is also a guideline for writers packed with tips on grabbing attention with your ads. Caples notes that giving the audience a reason to purchase the product or service is the most crucial aspect of an advertisement.

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Cashvertising: How to Use More Than 100 Secrets of Ad Agency Psychology to Make Big Money Selling Anything to Anyone

by Drew Eric Whitman

Drew Eric Whitman teaches you to use the same techniques being used in big-budget ad campaigns created by top ad agencies. The book takes you through the headlines and captions that were successful and explains why they work.

Although the book centers on advertising for print, the guidelines can be applied for broadcast and online advertising as well. The book is short, catchy and uses real-life examples that will help you improve your marketing.

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The Boron Letters

by Gary Halbert

This book is a collection of letters from one of the best copywriters of the direct mail era, Gary Halpert, to his son. Halpert writes about his approach to writing super-effective sales copy, as well as giving general life advice.

Halpert emphasizes that the most critical part of the sales message is not the content but the preparation that comes before it. He describes the process that a copywriter should go through before sitting down to write, including market research and deciding on a product.

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MAKE: Bootstrapper’s Handbook

by Pieter Levels

Pieter Levels, serial bootstrapper, understands what it takes to make and launch excellent software products. He lays down the steps in this book, from choosing an original idea and building a product, to launching and monetizing.

This book is a guide for anyone who wants to start a business independently, without a big budget – or anyone looking to get side hustle ideas.

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The Ultimate Sales Machine: Turbocharge Your Business with Relentless Focus on 12 Key Strategies

by Chet Holmes

Chet Holmes makes an argument against the tendency to switch strategies and focus on too many things at once when trying to improve sales. Instead, he lays out 12 key areas that can impact your business and advises focussing on just one at a time.

Holmes outlines a disciplined approach to growth. With continuous improvement in each area, he promises a radical transformation of your business over time.

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Getting Everything You Can out of All You’ve Got: 21 Ways You Can Out-Think, Out-Perform and Out-Earn the Competition

by Jay Abraham

In this book, marketing guru Jay Abraham puts together 21 practical theories for effective marketing and sales. In a step-by-step format, Abraham explains each concept with real-life examples and actionable advice.

He describes how a passion for what you are selling translates into more effective marketing, happier clients, and more referrals. This book will help you build customer loyalty, and prioritize your marketing efforts. If you want your business to stand out, this book will show you how.

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Million Dollar Consulting: The Professional’s Guide to Growing a Practice

by Alan Weiss

Renowned consultant, Alan Weiss, shares his story of becoming a highly sought-after consultant. Million Dollar Consulting is one of the top business books to read if you want to start or grow a consulting practice.

The book emphasizes focusing on the end result — and eliminating everything that does not contribute to it. Weiss teaches the reader how to become irresistible, express your value, and continually improve.

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Getting Started in Consulting

by Alan Weiss

Setting out in the consulting business can be tough. From convincing clients to hire you, to deciding how much to charge, there is much to learn. In this book, Alan Weiss provides practical solutions to get you started.

The book covers everything you need to know about starting your consulting career, including insurance, sales, and marketing. The book also shares how to keep your new consulting clients happy and ensure they have confidence in your advice.

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Simple Numbers, Straight Talk, Big Profits! : 4 Keys to Unlock Your Business Potential

by Greg Crabtree

Seeing the big picture of the financial health of your business can be difficult when you do not have a financial background. Greg Crabtree simplifies how to manage small business finances for maximum profits in this straightforward guide.

Crabtree explains how to identify key financial indicators to aid decision making in the early stages of your business. He also offers advice on how to determine and manage budget, valuation, employees, and taxes for your business.

With simple language that non-finance people can understand, this book will boost your financial intelligence and help improve your cash flow.

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Managing Oneself: The Key to Success

by Peter F. Drucker

In this book, Peter F. Drucker tears down the idea that we can be anything we want to be. Instead, he advises self-awareness. He introduces a series of questions to develop a thorough understanding of yourself. The process is designed to help you discover your values, as well as how you work, learn, and relate to others.

Drucker explains how to use this knowledge to make your greatest contribution and achieve success. When you can effectively communicate what you need, you can create the perfect conditions to produce your best work. And when you recognize the importance of working to individual strengths and weaknesses, your relationships can dramatically improve.

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The Effective Executive: The Definitive Guide to Getting the Right Things Done

by Peter F. Drucker

Productivity depends on more than simply producing the most work — you need the ability to focus on what is important and ignore what is not. In this step-by-step guide, Peter F Drucker focuses on habits to increase your effectiveness and efficiency.

The book offers a perspective on time management and work prioritization that will help you in running a business, as well as achieving personal goals.

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The Snowball: Warren Buffet and the Business of Life

by Alice Schroeder

In this book, Alice Schroeder explores the life of investor and philanthropist Warren Buffet. The book describes the lessons Buffet learned during his years in business, and the motivation behind his philanthropy.

This inspiring biography encourages giving back to the society once you attain a level of success. Buffet’s story also provides some insight on how to achieve that success. Throughout the book, Buffet emphasizes hard work and productivity. He also urges the reader to identify what they want to accomplish in life and start early.

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The 48 Laws of Power

by Robert Greene

If there is a book that will push you beyond average into an ambitious state, this is it. Robert Greene takes a hard-hitting approach in explaining human nature and individual power.

The book focuses on discovering and leveraging your personality and character traits. It defies the assumption that certain personalities are more powerful than others. Instead, the book teaches how to access power, regardless of your nature.

This book will change the way you perceive powerful people. Once you know their secrets, you can help you guard your mind against manipulation.

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To Sell is Human: The Surprising Truth about Moving Others

by Dan Pink

In this book, Daniel H. Pink looks at the concepts of persuasion and selling from a broad perspective. He demonstrates how everyone is in the business of sales, whether or not you sell products. Persuading others to take action is the essence of sales and the key to getting any of your ideas off the ground.

In one of the top business books about persuasion, Pink explains the science and psychology behind selling. He provides actionable frameworks to help you clarify your message and become more persuasive in every interaction, from business meetings to parenting.

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Don’t Make Me Think, Revisited: A Common Sense Approach to Web Usability

by Steve Krug

Since a website is often the first point of contact between a business and a potential customer, it’s essential that you get it right. In this book, Steve Krug simplifies the complex world of web design for maximum impact.

This short book offers practical guidelines and specific tips that will ensure your website is not only functional but effective. If you are an entrepreneur, web designer or marketing manager, this book is for you.

Different levels of management view a company’s website from different perspectives. This book shows you how to look beyond this to the perspective that matters most — customer usability.

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I Am Keats: Escape Your Mind and Free Yourself

by Tom Asacker

This mind-expanding book offers a refreshing take on self-improvement. Tom Asacker looks at how we perceive reality, engage in harmful self-talk, and limit ourselves unnecessarily.

Asacker uses simple language to describe the powerful illusions created by our thinking and experiences. He explains how to think more independently and stop doing what others think we should do.

The book is packed with inspirational quotes and will help you break free of limiting thought patterns.

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Disrupted: My Misadventure in the Start-Up Bubble

by Dan Lyon

In this candid and humorous book, Dan Lyons shares his story of getting fired from a career writing about tech companies — and starting fresh at age 50 in a strange new world.

Lyons experienced first-hand the excesses, exploitations, and poor management of startup culture. As a career writer and an outsider, he is brilliant at satirizing the types of people attracted to tech startups. While the book is short, it’s an engaging and eye-opening read.

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When Coffee and Kale Compete: Become Great at Making Products People Will Buy

by Alan Klement

Customers are naturally drawn towards products or services that can provide a solution to their current problem. Alan Klement explores a unique way of identifying your the customers’ needs.

Klement’s theory, named Jobs-to-be-done, states that for every purchase, there is a job the customer needs to be done. The book will help you look at products as problem-solving tools. When you understand the underlying problem, you can create irresistible solutions and sell more products.

This book is a must-read for anyone running a business or working in sales and marketing.

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What I wish I knew when I was 20: A Crash Course On Making Your Place In The World

by Tina Seelig

Making the transition from school to a career without guidance can be a challenging experience. However, in this book Tina Seelig helps navigate these uncertain waters.

As an entrepreneur, neuroscientist, and director of a popular entrepreneurship program at Stanford, Seelig offers a broad and inspiring perspective. She writes with honesty and humor about what it takes to become successful, how to overcome failure, and how to turn adversity into opportunity.

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The Secret to Success: When you want to succeed as bad as you want to breathe

by Eric Thomas

If you think success is out of reach for you, Eric Thomas wants to prove you wrong. In this inspiring story, Thomas recounts his story of dropping out of high school, becoming homeless, and overcoming challenges to build a successful career and personal life.

The book speaks directly to young people facing adversity in their lives. It emphasizes the importance of surrounding yourself with people who motivate you to be better and maintaining a positive mindset.

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Choose Yourself! Be happy, Make Millions, Live the Dream

by James Altucher

In a world where traditional sources of security, like stable employment and government safety nets, are increasingly unreliable, it’s hard to know where to turn. James Altucher takes on the challenge in this bold and motivating book. He uses his personal story of destruction and regrowth as a lesson in self-care and self-reliance.

The book explains how the economy has changed, making it increasingly necessary and possible to create your own opportunities. Altucher writes about the importance of putting yourself first, not to be selfish, but as the only way to achieve health, happiness, and financial success.

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Extreme ownership: How US Navy SEALs Lead and Win

by Jocko Willink and Leif Babin

This book is a tactical success manual written by two former US Navy SEALs. Jocko Willink and Leif Babin served as part of an elite combat task force and developed a leadership training program based on their experiences.

The authors outline the principles and mindsets that help teams win, not only in combat, but in business, family, and personal life. Extreme Ownership teaches leaders to take responsibility for their teammates, foster teamwork, and lead to win.

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The Goal: A Process of Ongoing Improvement

by Eliyahu M. Goldratt

The Goal is a novel telling the story of a manager who struggles to keep his factory from disaster. In 90 days, he turns the business around through a process of identifying and eliminating the limiting factors in production.

Goldratt’s system is called the Theory of Constraints. He demonstrates how to determine the points in your business where productivity is limited — and how to fix these issues. While geared towards manufacturing, this book will help you think about productivity in any industry differently.

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Faster Than Normal: Turbocharge Your Focus, Productivity, and Success with the Secrets of the ADHD Brain

by Peter Shankman

Having a hyperactive brain is often seen as a disadvantage since attention deficit makes it very difficult to focus and be productive. In this book, Peter Shankman reveals the hidden advantages of the ADHD brain, and how to use them for good in life and business.

Shankman describes how he achieved success in his life and career not in spite of, but because of his ADHD brain. The book continuously calls ADHD a gift — if you or someone close to you has an ADHD diagnosis, this book is a must-read. It will not only inspire you but provide practical ways to unleash the potential of a fast-moving brain.

Since many entrepreneurs suffer from distracted minds, Faster Than Normal is high on my list of self-improvement and great business books.

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The Coaching Habit: Say Less, Ask More and Change the Way You Lead Forever

by Michael Bungay Stanier

Michael Bungay Stanier provides detailed strategies to help anyone become a more effective leader. The Coaching Habit is a unique approach to leadership, encouraging managers to ask questions instead of offering advice. And it provides the key questions to ask to get the best performance from every member of your team.

With scientific research and stories from his extensive experience in training managers around the world, Bungay Stanier has created a must-read for anyone in a position of leadership.

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The Possible Dream: A Candid Look At Amway

by Charles Paul Conn

This book tells the personal story of Rich Devos and Jay Van Andel and the growth of Amway. The book oscillates between first-hand stories from successful Amway representatives to accounts of outsiders who give their view of Amway.

The Possible Dream reveals the inner workings of the company along with details of the 30 years of effort from Amway’s founders that contributed to its success. For anyone with an ambitious dream that seems impossible, this book will give you the inspiration and motivation that you need.

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It’s Not How Good You Are, It’s How Good You Want To Be: The World’s Best Selling Book

by Paul Arden

Paul Arden explains why it is possible to achieve anything you set your mind to in this brilliantly packaged motivational book. Because he spent many years as a top advertising executive, Arden’s book is full of surprisingly practical marketing wisdom.

This beautifully designed and short book makes a big impact, using quotes, humor, and quick hits of inspiration. If you are looking for a source of encouragement, motivation, and hope, this book is for you.

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Whatever You Think, Think The Opposite

by Paul Arden

This book emphasizes the power of positive thinking, the cost of bad decisions. Former advertising executive Paul Arden’s philosophy is that our lives are the product of our thoughts. He urges stepping out of comfort zones and taking risks.

The book is short, with striking design and photos throughout. If you are feeling stuck in life or you have made mistakes that threaten to end your business, this book is the antidote that you need.

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The Freaks Shall Inherit the Earth: Entrepreneurship for Weirdos, Misfits and World Dominators

by Chris Brogan

Chris Brogan rejects the idea that there is only one route to success. Instead, he will show you how your unique character and even your odd traits can lead to a successful business.

The book highlights ways of turning your passion into a viable business without conforming to expectations. There are more possibilities now than ever before, with the tools of the digital age at our disposal. If you are thinking of starting a business and feel undecided, this book is what you need.

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The Millionaire Fastlane: Crack The Code To Wealth and Live Rich for A Lifetime

by MJ DeMarco

M.J. DeMarco writes about how to begin wealth creation at a young age, by creating a business. DeMarco believes that the highest form of success and wealth is achievable to everyone. With hard-hitting and straightforward writing, he pushes the reader to dream big.

The book is full of practical and realistic advice for anyone starting out in entrepreneurship. It also highlights some of the mistakes that budding entrepreneurs make, that can get in the way of future riches.

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Difficult Conversations: How To Discuss What Matters Most

by Douglas Stone, Bruce Patton, Sheila Heen, and Roger Fisher

The authors of this book have discovered practical ways to make hard conversations easy. They can help you stop avoiding confrontation, and instead, learn the skills to discuss emotionally charged topics calmly.

In Difficult Conversations, the authors share their research on easing into difficult discussions without being defensive. The book is full of examples of real-life scenarios in which we find ourselves needing these skills.

If you want to learn about conflict resolution or boost your negotiation and listening skills this book is for you.

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Sick In The Head: Conversations About Life And Comedy

by Judd Apatow

Renowned comedian, writer, and producer, Judd Apatow has documented his conversations with some of the best comedians in the business. Over his 30-year career, Apatow interviewed his idols and contemporaries in comedy, delving into their stories, both professional and personal.

The comedians in this collection talk about their paths to stardom, the creative process, and the motivation behind their hard work and success. It is intriguing from start to finish, with both wisdom and humor on every page. Whether you’re a fan of stand-up comedy or not, the conversations in this book will inspire you.

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What Got You Here Won’t Get You There: How Successful People Become Even More Successful

by Marshall Goldsmith and Mark Reiter

In this book, Marshall Goldsmith and Mark Reiter look at how to avoid stagnation and reach the next level of success.

The book points out some habits and ways of thinking that have a surprising impact on growth. For example, speaking when angry, poor listening skills, and making negative comments can all keep you stuck. On the other hand, cultivating a habit of gratitude and positivity will help you move forward.

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You, Inc.: The Art Of Selling Yourself

by Harry Beckwith and Christine Clifford Beckwith

You, Inc. teach ways to improve and market yourself, for the sake of business and personal success. The authors explain how every success you have depends on how well you can sell yourself — your companionship, your ideas, and your business.

In a conversational tone, this book shares some ways to be more likable, maximize strengths, and improve weaknesses. It emphasizes the importance of first impressions and how they impact your relationships and business.

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Selling the Invisible: A Field Guide to Modern Marketing

by Harry Beckwith

Different than most marketing books, Selling the Invisible is about selling services, as opposed to physical products. Harry Beckwith talks about the essential aspects of marketing service products, including market research, identifying your customers, and conveying value.

This easily digestible book will teach you how to create a brand, as well as use word of mouth and referrals to grow your business.

Get it on Amazon

Listen on Audible

10% Happier: How I Tamed The Voice In My Head, Reduced Stress Without Losing My Edge, And Found Self-Help That Works — A True Story

by Dan Harris

This is the story of how Dan Harris had a panic attack on live television — and the wakeup call that led him to meditation. Desperate to find a solution to his mounting stress and unhappiness, Harris embarked on a journey of research and self-discovery.

After exploring both spiritual and scientific solutions, he settles on meditation as the ultimate tool for self-improvement. Backed by neuroscience, personal experience, and plenty of humor, this book will convince skeptics to try meditation.

For anyone interested in meditation, or in becoming a happier and better person, this book is a must-read.

Get it on Amazon

Listen on Audible

Anything You Want: 40 Lessons For A New Kind Of Entrepreneur

by Derek Sivers

Derek Sivers shares his life story and how he created CD Baby, one of the biggest music platforms for independent artists. Sivers shares his successes as well as failures in this frank look at building a business based on passion.

In one part of the book, Sivers talks about the driving force behind a business and why it’s essential to identify a need in the marketplace. This book is not only inspiring but will give you concrete pointers on starting and running a business.

Get it on Amazon

Listen on Audible

Elon Musk: Tesla, Space X and the Quest For A Fantastic Future

by Ashlee Vance

Ashlee Vance takes on the life of multi-billionaire Elon Musk and how he created technological innovations with the power to change the world. This biography details the journey to success that Musk begins as a teenager.

Throughout the story, you’ll see the strategies Musk uses to bring his ideas to life. As he takes big risks to reap the rewards of success, you’ll see what it takes to create a legacy and change the future. Beyond risk-taking, Musk’s story demonstrates the power of consistency and patience despite numerous failures.

Get it on Amazon

Listen on Audible

Mindset: The New Psychology of Success

by Carol Dweck

The book looks at how one’s mindset determines what they accomplish, whether they are naturally talented or not. Renowned psychologist Carol Dweck teaches us the crucial differences between fixed and growth mindsets — and how they impact success and happiness.

This is not a book about positive thinking. Instead, Dweck provides realistic advice on removing limiting beliefs about your innate abilities. With a growth mindset, you can embrace challenges to learn and grow without fear of failure.

Get it on Amazon

Listen on Audible

Crossing The Chasm: Marketing and Selling Disruptive Products To Mainstream Customers

by Geoffrey A. Moore

Introducing a brand new product to a mainstream market can be scary to even the most experienced marketers. However, with the wisdom in this book, there is no need to fear.

Marketing guru Geoffrey Moore explains how cutting-edge products can instantly capture a large market and attract a huge customer base. He uses real-life examples of innovative products breaking into the mainstream. This book promises to change the way you market your business and in turn improve your life completely.

Get it on Amazon

Tough Sh*T: Life Advice From A Fat Lazy Slob Who Did Good

by Kevin Smith

With his characteristic sarcasm and brutal honesty, Kevin Smith shares the story of his life so far. The book reveals how Smith’s incredible ambition defied all odds to become a groundbreaking filmmaker early in his career.

Despite his successes, Smith laughs at his flaws and embraces them. If you are feeling discouraged in your life, this book will motivate you to keep going after your dreams.

Get it on Amazon

Listen on Audible

The 4-Hour Work Week: Escape 9-5, Live Anywhere, and Join The Rich

by Tim Ferris

In this classic on the digital nomad lifestyle, Tim Ferriss reveals the secrets of escaping the traditional workplace. The book is a primer on outsourcing — whether for your business, your personal life, or your job.

Using the internet to ease your workload, Ferris argues you can live a more productive, wealthy, and happy life.

Get it on Amazon

Listen on Audible

The E-Myth Revisited: Why Most Small Businesses Don’t Work And What To Do About It

by Michael Gerber

Michael Gerber takes a view contrary to how most small-business owners operate. In The E-Myth Revisited, Gerber explains why he believes entrepreneurs should always work on the business, and not in it.

This book will help you separate what you want from what your business needs, so you can stop getting bogged down in daily operations. Instead, you will be able to focus on what is necessary growth.

This book is a must read for every budding entrepreneur.

Check out more from Michael Gerber in this interview.

Get it on Amazon

Listen on Audible

Like A Virgin: Secrets They Won’t Teach You At Business School

by Richard Branson

Renowned entrepreneur Richard Branson shares the secrets that led to the success of the Virgin brand in this excellent autobiography. Branson candidly shares the lessons he learned as he started and grew his business to the level it is today.

The book is written in a question and answer format, making it easy to follow and pick up lessons as you go. It distills Branson’s wisdom, experience, and opinions on business into something relevant and useful for any entrepreneur.

Get it on Amazon

The Flinch

by Julien Smith

Fear is the subject of this short but impressive book from Julien Smith. The book looks at the subconscious mind and how our prejudices determine what we do.

Once you are aware of The Flinch, you will want to push yourself to do things you fear most. Instead of accepting fear at face value and avoiding risks, you will recognize it as a sign of opportunity.

Smith gives you the tools to take on the risks that are required to become who you want to be.

Get it on Amazon

Big Magic: Creative Living Beyond Fear

by Elizabeth Gilbert

Elizabeth Gilbert challenges readers to think of themselves as people who were born to create. She believes a fearless life is a creative one, whether you are writing, creating art, or designing life on your own terms.

Big Magic breaks down the creative process and teaches you to let go of the baggage holding you back from creating. The book is inspiring and promises to jumpstart your life making it more productive.

Get it on Amazon

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The Dip: A Little Book That Teaches You When to Quit (and When to Stick)

by Seth Godin

This is a short book delivers an important message: Quitting is not always a failure. Quitting when you hit a dip is sometimes the best decision.

Seth Godin writes about the process of learning or building anything as a curve. Everything starts out with a steep curve when you make progress quickly — until you hit an inevitable dip. The Dip is when things get hard, your progress slows or stalls, and you need to make a decision.

Read this book to learn how to know what kind of dip you are in, and whether you should keep going, or choose another path.

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Titan: The Life of John D. Rockefeller, Sr.

by Ron Chernow

This book about the life of John D Rockefeller Sr. offers deep insight into the life, family, and career of an American icon. Ron Chernow looks at how Rockefeller rose from humble beginnings to create massive wealth and the unconventional methods he used to build an oil empire.

The book goes deep into Rockefeller’s extensive philanthropy, while also discussing the corruption and controversy that plagued his business and personal life. Filled with brilliant and hilarious quotes from Rockefeller and those who knew him, this book goes far beyond business methods. It touches on management, religion, philosophy, and art, to provide a well-rounded understanding of an important historical figure.

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Ignore Everybody: And 39 Other Keys To Creativity

by Hugh MacLeod

This book is a call for ingenuity and originality. Hugh MacLeod offers the lessons he learned over his career as a writer and cartoonist and breaking through as a result of not following the crowd.

MacLeod’s keys to creativity include wisdom on everything from marketing, finding inspiration, and cultivating work ethic as a creative person. He argues that pursuing your ideas, however weird or unpopular, is a far better recipe for success and happiness than conforming.

Get it on Amazon

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The War Of Art: Breakthrough The Blocks And Win Your Inner Creative Battles

by Steven Pressfield

Going through a creative block is the toughest thing for any creative person, in art, writing, or business. In this book, Steven Pressfield names it resistance — an enemy you cannot ignore.

The book looks at resistance, and the many ways this force keeps you from your most important work. Once you are aware of it, you will start to recognize procrastination, self-doubt, and fear of failure as resistance, and stop allowing them to derail your projects.

Pressfield gives you the key to creating anything in this funny, yet deadly serious book. He argues that discipline and work ethic are the most critical contributors to creative success. This book will compel you to stop waiting for inspiration and just get to work.

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Linchpin: Are you Indispensable?

by Seth Godin

In a world where companies lay off their workers every year, employees are looking for ways to remain relevant. This book teaches precisely that.

The tendency to play it safe and blend in is what makes you invisible, and therefore dispensable. Instead, Seth Godin challenges readers to boldly share their ideas, lead with uniqueness, and think of each day as a work of art.

Get it on Amazon

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Think and Grow Rich

by Napoleon Hill

Think and Grow Rich is one of the best business books of all time. Napoleon Hill interviewed and studied the big names in business in Depression-era America. His resulting book, initially published in 1937, is a look at the mindset of those who succeeded in achieving great wealth.

The driving force behind success, according to Hill, is a strong desire and passion. This is one of the earliest books in the self-improvement genre. Although short on actionable advice, Think and Grow Rich will motivate you to set lofty goals and work hard every day to achieve them.

Get it on Amazon

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The 22 Immutable Laws Of Marketing: Violate Them At Your Own Risk

by Al Ries & Jack Trout

The fundamentals of marketing are broken down into 22 essential rules in this comprehensive primer. Written by marketing professionals Al Reis and Jack Trout, these laws of effective marketing are ignored at your peril.

Rather than a tactical manual, this book goes deep into the underlying principles that govern any marketing endeavor. Concepts of positioning, becoming top of mind, leadership, and sacrifice will help you think bigger and improve your marketing.

Get it on Amazon

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Influence: The Psychology of Persuasion

by Robert B. Cialdini

After 35 years of research, Robert B. Cialdini produced this simple, yet complete study on what makes people change their behavior. The book outlines the weapons of influence and teaches readers not only to use them but to guard against them.

Concepts and practices employed in marketing are explained in depth, with examples and stories to illustrate effectiveness. Learning to use ideas like scarcity, social proof, and reciprocity will help you succeed in your marketing.

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80/20 Sales And Marketing: The Definitive Guide To Working Less And Making More

by Perry Marshall

Renowned consultant Perry Marshall provides a twist on the traditional marketing advice. This book teaches that focussing on the top 20 percent of your customers leads to bigger profits.

The book offers advice on analyzing not only your customer base but your skill set and your staff to identify the highest value work in your business. Beyond the 80/20 principle, the book offers specific strategies on marketing and growing a business online, such as split-testing headlines and using ads to find high-quality leads.

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The One Thing: The Surprisingly Simple Truth Behind Extraordinary Results

by Gary Keller

Gary Keller has the answers as to why most time management and productivity systems fail. He argues against multitasking and helps you narrow your focus to one thing that will move you closer to your goals.

This book is full of eye-opening realities that will explain why you aren’t getting the results you want in your business and personal life. The One Thing will help you eliminate the habits keeping you from success, and create maximum impact.

Get it on Amazon

Crush It!: Why Now Is the Time to Cash In on Your Passion

by Gary Vaynerchuk

Gary Vaynerchuk aims to inspire you to create a passionate and fulfilling life through entrepreneurship. In this motivational book, he talks about how he transformed his local family business into an international brand.

He goes on to describe how to use powerful digital marketing tools to grow your personal brand and create a business around what you love. If you are looking to monetize your passion, this book will provide motivation and guidance to get started.

Get it on Amazon

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Without Their Permission: How the 21st Century Will Be Made, Not Managed

by Alexis Ohanian

Co-founder of one of the world’s most popular online communities, Reddit, Alexis Ohanian has a lot to say about the power of information and community. Further, he has much wisdom in launching and operating tech startups.

Ohanian shares his life story in this engaging and inspiring read, of creating Reddit in his dorm room, cashing out for millions, and going on to start many more successful ventures. This book will convince young entrepreneurs that the era of being meek, following the rules, and asking permission is over.

Get it on Amazon

Listen on Audible

  What Are Your Top Business Books?

I created this list to help you find the books you need to move your business forward.

And although I have listed 101 of the best business books of all time, it is foolish of me to think I have listed every book worth mentioning.

So now I turn it over to you…

What are your top business books of all time?

What are the must-read books for entrepreneurs?

Or your favorite business audiobooks?

Let me know in the comments.

The post 101 BEST Business Books of All Time (2018) appeared first on Hack the Entrepreneur.

via Hack the Entrepreneur

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101 BEST Business Books of All Time (2018)

This is a list of the best business books in 2018.

These books have been read by tens of millions of people…

…and have helped them start and grow thousands of businesses.

Whether you need books on starting a business or you are looking for strategy or marketing books…

…this list is for you.

Let’s jump into it.

Use the buttons below to sort the book list by topic.

Persuasion

Marketing

Productivity

Fitness

Strategy

Biographies

Self-Improvement

Vision

Leadership

Creativity

Show only Jonny’s recommended books?

Yes

Best Business Books of All Time

Built to Last: Successful Habits of Visionary Companies

by Jim Collins and Jerry I. Porras

Built to Last is an impeccably researched business book that is bound to open your mind to new astounding ideas about companies. By comparing visionary companies, Collins and Porras portray that the same ideas won’t guarantee you success unless you possess specific characteristics. The astounding yet scary part is that there is no right or wrong – all that matters is your purpose, passion, vision, and values.

Built to Last is full of detailed examples that are meticulously organized to form a framework of real-world concepts. This book serves as a blueprint that can be easily applied by entrepreneurs and managers.

This is one of the best leadership books you can read to help you accelerate towards your dreams.

Get it on Amazon

Listen on Audible

The Personal MBA: Master the Art of Business

by Josh Kaufman

Many have compared this book to a crash course MBA. Instead of spending money on an expensive business degree, you can learn all the concepts you need to succeed in business in a single book.

The Personal MBA is the most comprehensive of all the books on starting a business in this list. Marketing, negotiating, strategy, and setting goals that stick are all covered in a simple, yet thorough style.

For those intending to step out of employment and into entrepreneurship, this book is a comprehensive overview. For anyone considering an MBA, regardless of career stage, read this book first.

Get it on Amazon

Listen on Audible

The Hard Thing About Hard Things: Building a Business When There Are No Easy Answers

by Ben Horowitz

The information in this book goes far beyond a how-to business book. It draws on Horowitz’s personal experiences in Silicon Valley, and his hard-earned successes.

Horowitz is brutally honest about how hard it is to run a successful business. He describes all the difficult moments, mental battles, and stressful situations he faced throughout his career, and all that he learned.

The result is different than most success books — a realistic view from a successful entrepreneur.

Get it on Amazon

Listen on Audible

Deep Work: Rules for Focused Success in a Distracted World

by Cal Newport

Deep Work gives new insight into how people produce their best work. The author asserts that many people work at the shallow end of focus, with social media and cultural changes to blame. Because of our distracting environment, it is nearly impossible to concentrate on anything.

Deep Work helps people rediscover a deep state of focus and concentrate on things that matter. The book will inspire you to eliminate unnecessary distractions and work smarter.

Get it on Amazon

Listen on Audible

How to Win Friends and Influence People

by Dale Carnegie

One of the fundamental keys to business and sales is the ability to network and build relationships. This book promises to instill the communication and persuasion skills it takes to succeed.

Instrumental to people who are socially awkward, this book offers tips on developing listening skills and starting conversations. But ultimately, the book is aimed at helping business people succeed in sales. That’s why this self-help classic also has a place on the shelf of must-read business books. Although originally published in 1936, much of the advice in this book is timeless.

Get it on Amazon

Listen on Audible

Shoe Dog: A Memoir by the Creator of Nike

by Phil Knight

This is a fascinating account from Phil Knight, the co-founder of Nike, of his life and the birth of one of the biggest shoe companies in the world. Many books have been written about Nike, but in Shoe Dog, you get to hear directly from the man responsible for its success.

Phil Knight pours his heart out in this emotionally-charged account, and the results are inspiring.

Get it on Amazon

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Traction: How any Start-up Can Achieve Explosive Customer Growth

by Gabriel Weinberg and Justin Mares

Gabriel Weinberg and Justin Mares highlight the reason most startups fail — not lack of product, but lack of customers. With simple language and actionable advice, the authors provide solutions. They’ve written one fo the best strategy books for gaining traction.

As the title suggests, this book provides strategies for finding more customers. It covers all of the available marketing channels, both traditional and digital, as well as how to choose the right channels for your business.

Listen to Gabriel’s interview.

Get it on Amazon

Listen on Audible

Essentialism: The Disciplined Pursuit of Less

by Greg McKeown

The information provided in this book is tailor-made for individuals who want to simplify their lives. McKeown is a public speaker, author, and business consultant who has developed a system to juggle all these roles successfully.

Throughout the book, McKeown presents a systematic discipline that teaches readers how to discern what is vital — and eliminate the rest.

Essentialism is one of the must-read books for entrepreneurs. It’s much more than a time management book; it presents a practical theory for making life a more productive and enjoyable experience.

Get it on Amazon

Listen on Audible

The Answer: Grow Any Business, Achieve Financial Freedom, And Live an Extraordinary Life

by John Assaraf and Murray Smith

This book helps you understand how your subconscious mind may be undermining your efforts. The authors go into great detail about the theories around this issue. They go on to provide solutions to overcome the power of the subconscious mind.

The Answer stands out from other popular business books because it avoids the usual get-rich-quick nonsense. Instead, it challenges you to figure out how your subconscious is limiting you and keeping you stuck, regardless of your goals.

Get it on Amazon

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Zero to One: Notes on Start-up, or How to Build the Future

by Peter Thiel and Blake Masters

Many businesses come up quickly in today’s world, then crumble just as quickly. Among other factors, this is due to a lack of originality and creativity in solving problems.

In this book, Thiel takes on the trend of starting businesses that already exist and tears down the copycat mentality. He challenges the reader to focus on innovation.

Thiel calls for a mind shift that looks to the future needs of the world. He explains the power and advantage that monopolies hold compared to companies that compete for market share. For those looking for the next big idea, this is the book to read.

Get it on Amazon

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So Good They Can’t Ignore You: Why Skills Trump Passion in the Quest for Work You Love

by Cal Newport

So Good They Can’t Ignore You is an eye-opening take on how to build a truly satisfying career and life. The premise is comedian Steve Martin’s line, “be so good they can’t ignore you.”

Newport argues that the cliché advice to follow your dreams is profoundly flawed. Building from his own experience and that of other professionals he reveals that matching passion to a job is not enough. Instead, he argues that passion comes later — after you work hard to build skill and excellence in your chosen profession.

If you’re thinking about starting a business, this book will help you gain perspective on work, passion, and living a fulfilling life.

Get it on Amazon

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Grinding It Out: The Making of McDonald’s

by Ray Kroc

Ray Kroc shares his secrets and drive to change the world in Grinding It Out. He explains how his life changed at the age of 52 when he got into the automation of the food industry. This innovation fast-tracked the explosive growth of McDonald’s.

One of the best business biographies, this book will teach you about resilience and persistence. And Kroc is not shy about revealing the mistakes he has made in his personal life and business.

This book is not only motivational but also a call to action for those who have yet to make a mark in their field.

Get it on Amazon

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Psycho-Cybernetics

by Maxwell Maltz

Psycho-Cybernetics provides readers with a different approach to success. Maxwell states that people who don’t make mistakes aren’t taking risks. Therefore, they end up never being successful.

The main theme of the book is how to cultivate a productive mind and create success by changing your mental attitude. Maltz speaks about how critical it is for you to prepare appropriately and detach from the outcome. This way, you will perform better and live in the moment.

Psycho-Cybernetics explains how happiness is a choice despite circumstances.

Get it on Amazon

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The Subtle Art of Not Giving a F*ck: A Counterintuitive Approach to Living a Good Life

by Mark Manson

In this book, Mark Manson provides a counter-argument to the positive-thinking movement. He describes how acceptance of reality, including negative feelings and circumstances, is the best way to achieve happiness and success.

The book uses scientific research and humor to illustrate the importance of focussing only on the important things in life — and not giving a f*ck about the rest.

The best entrepreneur books are often those which help people gain the confidence to follow their own path, regardless of what others think. This book is designed to help you do just that.

Get it on Amazon

Listen on Audible

Breakthrough Advertising

by Eugene Schwartz

In the hands of an expert, advertising is the key that propels a business from zero sales to unimaginable profits. Eugene Schwartz breaks down every step of creating an ad, from writing an irresistible headline to removing objections.

Breakthrough Advertising goes deep into the emotional factors causing people to buy, and how to influence them with your ad copy. This book is considered among the top marketing books of all time for a reason — the advice in Breakthrough Advertising will take your copywriting to the next level, even when applied to modern platforms.

Get it on Amazon

Predictably Irrational: The Hidden Forces That Shape Our Decisions

by Dan Ariely

This book makes you rethink emotions, expectations and social norms and how they provoke your behavior. And it will make you think of your ‘uniqueness’ differently.

Unlike most books on human behavior, Predictably Irrational does not dive too deeply into statistics. Instead, Ariely uses everyday scenarios to illustrate how emotions, patterns of thinking, and environment determine our choices. And he teaches how to break free of these hidden forces to make better decisions.

Get it on Amazon

Listen on Audible

10x Marketing Formula: Your Blueprint for Creating Competition Free Content that Stands out and Gets Results

by Garrett Moon

As marketing content floods online spaces, businesses are now, more than ever, looking for ways to create content that stands out. 10x Marketing Formula is one of the best business strategy books you will find for content marketing. In this book, Garrett Moon looks at drawing traffic to your business with compelling content that outshines your competitors.

Moon describes the strategies he used in starting and growing CoSchedule. The book does not give sugar-coated solutions. Instead, it demonstrates how to gain traction for your content quickly. It also dismisses the myth that you need a big budget to create highly engaging content.

This is the book that will take your marketing strategy to the next level.

Check out my interview with Garrett Moon.

Get it on Amazon

The Magic of Thinking Big: Acquire the Secrets of Success and Achieve Everything You’ve Always Wanted

by Dr. Schwartz

Dr. Schwartz shares a detailed and precise method to open a path to success in every area of your life. Whether you are intellectual or not, the book will ensure you understand the habits of behaving and thinking that foster success.

This book helps you identify the causes of failure and cultivate the right attitude to excel. It will help revive your inner potential and motivate you to overcome obstacles.

Get it on Amazon

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Master Content Marketing: A Simple Strategy to cure the Blank page Blues and Attract a Profitable Audience

by Pamela Wilson

In Master Content Marketing, Pamela Wilson takes the reader through a step-by-step process to unlock the secrets of creating online content, as a highly-effective marketing tool.

Pamela Wilson draws on her 30+ years of marketing and content creation in this engaging and practical guide.

The design makes it easy to implement, with checklists and strategies to get results right away. The writing is simple and friendly enough to take all your content writing fears away.

Wilson teaches how to create content that is highly relevant, useful, and engaging to your audience — and how to do it consistently. After reading this book, you’ll have a turn-key process to keep your content fresh and never start with a blank page.

Listen to this interview with Pamela Wilson to learn about her highly-effective content marketing strategy.

Get it on Amazon

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Start With Why: How Great Leaders Inspire Everyone to Take Action

by Simon Sinek

Start With Why, presented by Simon Sinek, is among the best leadership books to illustrate a new theory of success. Sinek compares successful people and ties them to a common motivation as the driver behind their excellent leadership.

Sinek argues the drive that steered leaders like Steve Jobs and the Wright brothers was not profit. It was their ability to answer the question, “Why?” He demonstrates how defining the underlying motivation can inspire an organization to achieve great heights.

Whether you want to inspire or be inspired, this book provides many stories and examples about great leaders and why they were so influential.

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Outrageous Advertising That’s Outrageously Successful: Created for the 99% of Small Business Owners Who Are Dissatisfied With the Results They Get From Their Current Advertising

by Bill Glazer

This book challenges standard advertising methods and introduces a bold new approach. Bill Glazer uses real-life examples to show how independent and ingenious thinking can transform a business.

The book centers around boosting profits while sustaining a customer base that is hooked to your advertising messages. It provides lifelong advertising guidelines and acts as a reference book for any time you feel stuck. And Glazer’s bold and edgy personality makes the book memorable and fun to read.

Get it on Amazon

Getting Past No: Negotiating in Difficult Situations

by William Ury

William Ury presents solid strategies for when you find yourself up against an adversarial negotiating partner. Whether you’re facing hostile behavior, deceit, or imbalance of power, Ury teaches how to remain calm get past it. He shows you how to determine what your opponent truly wants, and use that to move towards an agreement.

His highly actionable advice will help you become a more effective negotiator, even in the toughest situations. If you’re looking for the best books to learn business, be sure to include Getting Past No to sharpen your negotiating skills.

Get it on Amazon

Never Split the Difference: Negotiating As If Your Life Depended On It

by Chris Voss and Tahl Raz

This is an easy-to-read and engaging book that will put you in a better position for negotiating in any situation. Voss invites you into his head and shares the techniques he used during his career as an FBI agent.

This book is a must read for those who need a competitive edge during high-stakes business negotiations.

Get it on Amazon

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How to Fail at Almost Everything and Still Win Big: Kind of the Story of My Life

by Scott Adams

Scott Adams, the creator of the long-running syndicated comic strip, Dilbert, narrates his life story in this engaging book. He explains how he failed at almost everything he set out do, but learned valuable lessons with every attempt.

Filled with Adams’ trademark humor, this book provides insights on creating a satisfying life — and they aren’t what you might expect. The book outlines how to use systems instead of goals to increase your odds of success.

This is probably one of the most entertaining business books to read. It provides not only comic relief, but solid advice on getting up after failure, acquiring new skills, and managing energy to achieve great things.

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Decisive: How to Make Better Choices in Life and Work

by Chip Heath and Dan Heath

Decisive is a decision-making guide thoroughly researched and brilliantly presented by Chip and Dan Heath.

The authors argue that humans are prone to faulty decision making, due to the nature of our brains. This book will teach you how to eliminate biases and irrational thoughts from your process.

With the tools in this book, you can make smarter decisions and get better results in all areas of your life.

Get it on Amazon

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Win Bigly: Persuasion in a World where Facts Don’t Matter

by Scott Adams

Many of the best books to read for business take universal concepts and apply them to marketing. In this book, Scott Adams takes on the power of persuasion and shows how you can use it in advertising and marketing. Borrowing examples from politics, Win Bigly carefully dissects cases where persuasion was used to pull votes.

Adams highlights the techniques that worked in politics and demonstrates how to apply them in your business and personal life. He argues that instead of stating facts, you should always lean towards the desired outcome when trying to win people over to your cause.

Get it on Amazon

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No B.S Direct Marketing: The Ultimate No Holds Barred Kick Butt Take No Prisoners Direct Marketing for Non-Direct Marketing Businesses

by Dan Kennedy

Dan Kennedy is a serial entrepreneur, who has built multiple businesses through direct response marketing. In this book, he reveals the secrets he used to create mail-order, infomercial, and direct mail sales campaigns, and shows you how to apply them to any business.

Kennedy has written the best small business books to help entrepreneurs take control of their sales process. As he says in the title, Kennedy teaches the principles of bold marketing, directly to customers. These fundamentals can be applied in any medium — making this a timeless must-read for marketing professionals and entrepreneurs alike.

Get it on Amazon

No B.S Sales Success in the New Economy: The Ultimate No Holds Barred Kick Butt Take No Prisoners Direct marketing for Non-Direct Marketing Businesses

by Dan Kennedy

Dan Kennedy presents keys to transform your sales strategies and help you attract more customers in a crowded global marketplace.

The book delves into direct sales tactics and copywriting details, essential in today’s economy. It also talks about preparing for adverse outcomes to increase resilience.

Many of the ideologies laid out are applicable even outside the business world. Since trust is in short supply and competition is higher than ever, Kennedy teaches how to build trust, and stand out.

Get it on Amazon

Rich Dad Poor Dad: What The Rich Teach Their Kids About Money That the Poor and Middle Class Do Not!

by Robert T. Kiyosaki

Kiyosaki uses the stories of two influential figures in his early life to illustrate how some people create wealth, and others remain poor. In this book, he pinpoints the thought patterns and beliefs that get in the way of financial success. These include lack of knowledge about investments, and the idea that employment is the only way to earn a living.

Kiyosaki encourages parents to expose their children to the business world at a young age, as opposed to emphasizing school. He also looks at untapped opportunities in real estate investing while providing a guide on how to start and own businesses.

Rich Dad Poor Dad is on many lists of top ten business books because it covers fundamentals of creating wealth that everyone can learn from. Regardless of your profession or age, Rich Dad Poor Dad can help you improve your financial status.

Get it on Amazon

The 10X Rule: The Only Difference Between Success and Failure

by Grant Cardone

The 10X Rule by Grant Cardone is a motivational book that will steer you out of your comfort zone and into action. Cardone presents an argument that for extreme success, individuals have to do more and not settle for mediocrity.

The book teaches you how to go beyond the three degrees of action: no action, retreat, and common action. The fourth degree of action is the 10X rule — massive action to achieve massive results.

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Outliers: The Story of Success

by Malcolm Gladwell

Malcolm Gladwell aims to cut through the myths of success by looking at not only traits but origin and environment of the highly successful. He handpicks high achievers and explains how their culture, background, and other factors made them who they are today.

Gladwell uses the stories in this book to illustrate how the availability of opportunity is a large contributing factor to many people’s success. He also dispels the myth of natural talent by citing those considered to be geniuses in their fields. In most cases, 10,000 hours of practice led them to mastery.

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Crushing It: How Great Entrepreneurs Build Their Businesses and Influence and How You Can Too

by Gary Vaynerchuk

The stability and longevity of any business depend on the ability of its owner to adapt to changes in the business world. As the world shifts gears to the digital space, entrepreneurs must also move their marketing to digital platforms. Gary Vaynerchuk explains the best way to do that.

With an entertaining yet straightforward style, Vaynerchuk breaks down existing social media platforms. He shows how each one can be used to market your business. The book also includes voices from successful entrepreneurs to show how each platform helped them increase profits.

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Dotcom Secrets: The Underground Playbook for Growing Your Company Online

by Russell Brunson

In a brilliantly packaged book, Brunson explains why low traffic and conversions may not be the real problem with your online presence. He reveals how to use sales funnels to turn followers into loyal customers and in turn, grow your business.

Dotcom Secrets is among the best business strategy books about digital marketing. The book puts together business advice and real-life examples of what works and what does not. While the online space is flooded with products similar to yours, this book explains how to make your message different.

If you are struggling to create convincing and persuasive marketing content, this book is precisely what you need.

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Invisible selling Machine: 5 Steps To Crafting an Automated Evergreen Email Campaign That Makes Money While You Sleep

by Ryan Deiss

In this book, Ryan Deiss gives a simple framework to take the guesswork out of email marketing. He provides practical techniques that you can implement right away in your email campaigns.

The book dissects this powerful marketing tool and breaks it down into five steps, each leading into the next. With the system in this book, you can automate your sales process and watch your business grow.

If you’re looking for the best business books for beginners to email marketing and those who want to improve, you can’t go wrong with Invisible Selling Machine.

Hear more from Ryan Deiss in this interview.

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The Impact Equation: Are You Making Things Work or Just Making Noise?

by Chris Brogan and Julien Smith

It’s hard to break through the noise and make an impact with your content since everyone has a platform online. In this book, Chris Brogan and Julien Smith reveal how to break the mold and craft unique and impactful content.

The book emphasizes the importance of honesty and articulation to build powerful connections with your audience. You can apply The Impact Equation to everything from blog posts to YouTube videos, to social media posts. If you want your online content to have a meaningful outcome, read this book.

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Virtual freedom: How to Work with Virtual Staff to Buy More Time, Become More Productive and Build Your Dream Business

by Chris Ducker

It is easy to burn out when starting a business, as a lone operator trying to do everything yourself. Chris Ducker explains how to get help from affordable alternatives by outsourcing.

In this guide to hiring and working with virtual staff, you will learn how to gain back your time and freedom as your business continues to grow. With Ducker’s expert advice, you can find and manage the perfect online employees, whether you need a marketing specialist, a project manager, or a virtual assistant.

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Idea to Execution: How to Optimize, Automate and Outsource Everything in Your Business

by Ari Meisel and Nick Sonnenberg

This book proves you do not need a big budget or staff to start pursuing your dreams. Ari Meisel and Nick Sonnenberg tell the story of how they turned an idea into a functioning business in just 24 hours — without spending any money.

Meisel and Sonnenberg reveal the strategies of outsourcing, automating, and optimizing to launch and operate a business with maximum efficiency. Whether you’re starting out or looking for ways to simplify your business, this is one of the best entrepreneur books to get you started quickly.

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Work the System: The Simple Mechanics of Making More and Working Less

by Sam Carpenter

In a perfect world, most people wish they could work fewer hours and earn more money. In this book, Sam Carpenter shows you how to turn this wishful thinking into reality.

Carpenter shares his story of becoming frustrated in his business — working all the time and still not getting ahead. He realized that instead of reacting to problems, he could eliminate them by establishing and improving systems for everything. These revelations have been captured in this inspiring book.

This book will show you that thinking of life as a series of interconnected systems can create order and eliminate chaos. Whether you are looking for top management books or simply to improve your productivity, Work the System will help you.

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The 80/20 Principle: The Secret to Achieving More with Less

by Richard Koch

Richard Koch demonstrates in this book that 80 percent of your output depends on 20 percent of the effort that you put in it.

The 80/20 Principle explains how to determine where you spend your time and energy for maximum results. It can also help you identify the 20 percent of customers that contribute to 80 percent of your profits.

By focussing on quality over quantity, The 80/20 Principle has the potential to skyrocket your productivity in all areas of life. Not only can you stop chasing after customers that won’t help your business, but you can stop wasting time on activities that don’t get results.

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The Secret of Selling Anything

by Harry Browne

In this book, Harry Browne pokes holes in myths around what makes a good salesperson. He shows the reader why selling is not necessarily an inborn trait.

This book dissects the personality traits said to provide a natural advantage in sales and shows how they can be a liability. Instead, Browne introduces the power of paying attention to potential customers and why honesty instead of flamboyance wins clients.

The book also explains why it is vital to know the motivation behind potential customers, and how to use this motivation to make an effective sales pitch.

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How to Get Rich: One of the World’s Greatest Entrepreneurs Shares His Secrets

by Felix Dennis

It is one thing to run a successful business and another to create lasting wealth. Felix Dennis understands the difference between the two and explains it in this book.

The lessons outlined in How to Get Rich came from Dennis’ personal experiences, both successes, and failures. He tears down the concept of humility and considers public failure to be a sign of growth and not humiliation. He also believes that the ability to make money can be learned, regardless of circumstance, and that anyone can learn to do it.

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The One Sentence Persuasion Course – 27 Words to Make the World Do your Bidding

by Blair Warren

If you can master the art of persuasion, you can reach unimaginable heights in your business. The One Sentence Persuasion Course is one of the top business books to quickly learn this important skill.

Blair Warren shares the secrets of persuasion, researched obsessively for more than a decade, in this short but powerful book. He distills his highly effective methods into one practical sentence.

This book teaches you to use persuasive language not only in marketing but in any situation where you want people to take action.

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Meditations

by Marcus Aurelius

This book is a collection of thoughts from one of the world’s most influential philosophers, Roman emperor Marcus Aurelius. The teachings in the book are profound but they offer simple and practical ways to live with purpose.

Aurelius wrote about how to be selfless, let go of unnecessary emotions, and focus on what truly matters in life.

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Tested Advertising Methods

by John Caples

John Caples focuses on small businesses and looks at ways of creating affordable advertising that gets results. The book explores the power of headlines and why these alone could determine the impact of your advertising.

Tested Advertising Methods is also a guideline for writers packed with tips on grabbing attention with your ads. Caples notes that giving the audience a reason to purchase the product or service is the most crucial aspect of an advertisement.

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Cashvertising: How to Use More Than 100 Secrets of Ad Agency Psychology to Make Big Money Selling Anything to Anyone

by Drew Eric Whitman

Drew Eric Whitman teaches you to use the same techniques being used in big-budget ad campaigns created by top ad agencies. The book takes you through the headlines and captions that were successful and explains why they work.

Although the book centers on advertising for print, the guidelines can be applied for broadcast and online advertising as well. The book is short, catchy and uses real-life examples that will help you improve your marketing.

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The Boron Letters

by Gary Halbert

This book is a collection of letters from one of the best copywriters of the direct mail era, Gary Halpert, to his son. Halpert writes about his approach to writing super-effective sales copy, as well as giving general life advice.

Halpert emphasizes that the most critical part of the sales message is not the content but the preparation that comes before it. He describes the process that a copywriter should go through before sitting down to write, including market research and deciding on a product.

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MAKE: Bootstrapper’s Handbook

by Pieter Levels

Pieter Levels, serial bootstrapper, understands what it takes to make and launch excellent software products. He lays down the steps in this book, from choosing an original idea and building a product, to launching and monetizing.

This book is a guide for anyone who wants to start a business independently, without a big budget – or anyone looking to get side hustle ideas.

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The Ultimate Sales Machine: Turbocharge Your Business with Relentless Focus on 12 Key Strategies

by Chet Holmes

Chet Holmes makes an argument against the tendency to switch strategies and focus on too many things at once when trying to improve sales. Instead, he lays out 12 key areas that can impact your business and advises focussing on just one at a time.

Holmes outlines a disciplined approach to growth. With continuous improvement in each area, he promises a radical transformation of your business over time.

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Getting Everything You Can out of All You’ve Got: 21 Ways You Can Out-Think, Out-Perform and Out-Earn the Competition

by Jay Abraham

In this book, marketing guru Jay Abraham puts together 21 practical theories for effective marketing and sales. In a step-by-step format, Abraham explains each concept with real-life examples and actionable advice.

He describes how a passion for what you are selling translates into more effective marketing, happier clients, and more referrals. This book will help you build customer loyalty, and prioritize your marketing efforts. If you want your business to stand out, this book will show you how.

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Million Dollar Consulting: The Professional’s Guide to Growing a Practice

by Alan Weiss

Renowned consultant, Alan Weiss, shares his story of becoming a highly sought-after consultant. Million Dollar Consulting is one of the top business books to read if you want to start or grow a consulting practice.

The book emphasizes focusing on the end result — and eliminating everything that does not contribute to it. Weiss teaches the reader how to become irresistible, express your value, and continually improve.

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Getting Started in Consulting

by Alan Weiss

Setting out in the consulting business can be tough. From convincing clients to hire you, to deciding how much to charge, there is much to learn. In this book, Alan Weiss provides practical solutions to get you started.

The book covers everything you need to know about starting your consulting career, including insurance, sales, and marketing. The book also shares how to keep your new consulting clients happy and ensure they have confidence in your advice.

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Simple Numbers, Straight Talk, Big Profits! : 4 Keys to Unlock Your Business Potential

by Greg Crabtree

Seeing the big picture of the financial health of your business can be difficult when you do not have a financial background. Greg Crabtree simplifies how to manage small business finances for maximum profits in this straightforward guide.

Crabtree explains how to identify key financial indicators to aid decision making in the early stages of your business. He also offers advice on how to determine and manage budget, valuation, employees, and taxes for your business.

With simple language that non-finance people can understand, this book will boost your financial intelligence and help improve your cash flow.

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Managing Oneself: The Key to Success

by Peter F. Drucker

In this book, Peter F. Drucker tears down the idea that we can be anything we want to be. Instead, he advises self-awareness. He introduces a series of questions to develop a thorough understanding of yourself. The process is designed to help you discover your values, as well as how you work, learn, and relate to others.

Drucker explains how to use this knowledge to make your greatest contribution and achieve success. When you can effectively communicate what you need, you can create the perfect conditions to produce your best work. And when you recognize the importance of working to individual strengths and weaknesses, your relationships can dramatically improve.

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The Effective Executive: The Definitive Guide to Getting the Right Things Done

by Peter F. Drucker

Productivity depends on more than simply producing the most work — you need the ability to focus on what is important and ignore what is not. In this step-by-step guide, Peter F Drucker focuses on habits to increase your effectiveness and efficiency.

The book offers a perspective on time management and work prioritization that will help you in running a business, as well as achieving personal goals.

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The Snowball: Warren Buffet and the Business of Life

by Alice Schroeder

In this book, Alice Schroeder explores the life of investor and philanthropist Warren Buffet. The book describes the lessons Buffet learned during his years in business, and the motivation behind his philanthropy.

This inspiring biography encourages giving back to the society once you attain a level of success. Buffet’s story also provides some insight on how to achieve that success. Throughout the book, Buffet emphasizes hard work and productivity. He also urges the reader to identify what they want to accomplish in life and start early.

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The 48 Laws of Power

by Robert Greene

If there is a book that will push you beyond average into an ambitious state, this is it. Robert Greene takes a hard-hitting approach in explaining human nature and individual power.

The book focuses on discovering and leveraging your personality and character traits. It defies the assumption that certain personalities are more powerful than others. Instead, the book teaches how to access power, regardless of your nature.

This book will change the way you perceive powerful people. Once you know their secrets, you can help you guard your mind against manipulation.

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To Sell is Human: The Surprising Truth about Moving Others

by Dan Pink

In this book, Daniel H. Pink looks at the concepts of persuasion and selling from a broad perspective. He demonstrates how everyone is in the business of sales, whether or not you sell products. Persuading others to take action is the essence of sales and the key to getting any of your ideas off the ground.

In one of the top business books about persuasion, Pink explains the science and psychology behind selling. He provides actionable frameworks to help you clarify your message and become more persuasive in every interaction, from business meetings to parenting.

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Don’t Make Me Think, Revisited: A Common Sense Approach to Web Usability

by Steve Krug

Since a website is often the first point of contact between a business and a potential customer, it’s essential that you get it right. In this book, Steve Krug simplifies the complex world of web design for maximum impact.

This short book offers practical guidelines and specific tips that will ensure your website is not only functional but effective. If you are an entrepreneur, web designer or marketing manager, this book is for you.

Different levels of management view a company’s website from different perspectives. This book shows you how to look beyond this to the perspective that matters most — customer usability.

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I Am Keats: Escape Your Mind and Free Yourself

by Tom Asacker

This mind-expanding book offers a refreshing take on self-improvement. Tom Asacker looks at how we perceive reality, engage in harmful self-talk, and limit ourselves unnecessarily.

Asacker uses simple language to describe the powerful illusions created by our thinking and experiences. He explains how to think more independently and stop doing what others think we should do.

The book is packed with inspirational quotes and will help you break free of limiting thought patterns.

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Disrupted: My Misadventure in the Start-Up Bubble

by Dan Lyon

In this candid and humorous book, Dan Lyons shares his story of getting fired from a career writing about tech companies — and starting fresh at age 50 in a strange new world.

Lyons experienced first-hand the excesses, exploitations, and poor management of startup culture. As a career writer and an outsider, he is brilliant at satirizing the types of people attracted to tech startups. While the book is short, it’s an engaging and eye-opening read.

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When Coffee and Kale Compete: Become Great at Making Products People Will Buy

by Alan Klement

Customers are naturally drawn towards products or services that can provide a solution to their current problem. Alan Klement explores a unique way of identifying your the customers’ needs.

Klement’s theory, named Jobs-to-be-done, states that for every purchase, there is a job the customer needs to be done. The book will help you look at products as problem-solving tools. When you understand the underlying problem, you can create irresistible solutions and sell more products.

This book is a must-read for anyone running a business or working in sales and marketing.

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What I wish I knew when I was 20: A Crash Course On Making Your Place In The World

by Tina Seelig

Making the transition from school to a career without guidance can be a challenging experience. However, in this book Tina Seelig helps navigate these uncertain waters.

As an entrepreneur, neuroscientist, and director of a popular entrepreneurship program at Stanford, Seelig offers a broad and inspiring perspective. She writes with honesty and humor about what it takes to become successful, how to overcome failure, and how to turn adversity into opportunity.

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The Secret to Success: When you want to succeed as bad as you want to breathe

by Eric Thomas

If you think success is out of reach for you, Eric Thomas wants to prove you wrong. In this inspiring story, Thomas recounts his story of dropping out of high school, becoming homeless, and overcoming challenges to build a successful career and personal life.

The book speaks directly to young people facing adversity in their lives. It emphasizes the importance of surrounding yourself with people who motivate you to be better and maintaining a positive mindset.

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Choose Yourself! Be happy, Make Millions, Live the Dream

by James Altucher

In a world where traditional sources of security, like stable employment and government safety nets, are increasingly unreliable, it’s hard to know where to turn. James Altucher takes on the challenge in this bold and motivating book. He uses his personal story of destruction and regrowth as a lesson in self-care and self-reliance.

The book explains how the economy has changed, making it increasingly necessary and possible to create your own opportunities. Altucher writes about the importance of putting yourself first, not to be selfish, but as the only way to achieve health, happiness, and financial success.

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Extreme ownership: How US Navy SEALs Lead and Win

by Jocko Willink and Leif Babin

This book is a tactical success manual written by two former US Navy SEALs. Jocko Willink and Leif Babin served as part of an elite combat task force and developed a leadership training program based on their experiences.

The authors outline the principles and mindsets that help teams win, not only in combat, but in business, family, and personal life. Extreme Ownership teaches leaders to take responsibility for their teammates, foster teamwork, and lead to win.

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The Goal: A Process of Ongoing Improvement

by Eliyahu M. Goldratt

The Goal is a novel telling the story of a manager who struggles to keep his factory from disaster. In 90 days, he turns the business around through a process of identifying and eliminating the limiting factors in production.

Goldratt’s system is called the Theory of Constraints. He demonstrates how to determine the points in your business where productivity is limited — and how to fix these issues. While geared towards manufacturing, this book will help you think about productivity in any industry differently.

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Faster Than Normal: Turbocharge Your Focus, Productivity, and Success with the Secrets of the ADHD Brain

by Peter Shankman

Having a hyperactive brain is often seen as a disadvantage since attention deficit makes it very difficult to focus and be productive. In this book, Peter Shankman reveals the hidden advantages of the ADHD brain, and how to use them for good in life and business.

Shankman describes how he achieved success in his life and career not in spite of, but because of his ADHD brain. The book continuously calls ADHD a gift — if you or someone close to you has an ADHD diagnosis, this book is a must-read. It will not only inspire you but provide practical ways to unleash the potential of a fast-moving brain.

Since many entrepreneurs suffer from distracted minds, Faster Than Normal is high on my list of self-improvement and great business books.

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The Coaching Habit: Say Less, Ask More and Change the Way You Lead Forever

by Michael Bungay Stanier

Michael Bungay Stanier provides detailed strategies to help anyone become a more effective leader. The Coaching Habit is a unique approach to leadership, encouraging managers to ask questions instead of offering advice. And it provides the key questions to ask to get the best performance from every member of your team.

With scientific research and stories from his extensive experience in training managers around the world, Bungay Stanier has created a must-read for anyone in a position of leadership.

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The Possible Dream: A Candid Look At Amway

by Charles Paul Conn

This book tells the personal story of Rich Devos and Jay Van Andel and the growth of Amway. The book oscillates between first-hand stories from successful Amway representatives to accounts of outsiders who give their view of Amway.

The Possible Dream reveals the inner workings of the company along with details of the 30 years of effort from Amway’s founders that contributed to its success. For anyone with an ambitious dream that seems impossible, this book will give you the inspiration and motivation that you need.

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It’s Not How Good You Are, It’s How Good You Want To Be: The World’s Best Selling Book

by Paul Arden

Paul Arden explains why it is possible to achieve anything you set your mind to in this brilliantly packaged motivational book. Because he spent many years as a top advertising executive, Arden’s book is full of surprisingly practical marketing wisdom.

This beautifully designed and short book makes a big impact, using quotes, humor, and quick hits of inspiration. If you are looking for a source of encouragement, motivation, and hope, this book is for you.

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Whatever You Think, Think The Opposite

by Paul Arden

This book emphasizes the power of positive thinking, the cost of bad decisions. Former advertising executive Paul Arden’s philosophy is that our lives are the product of our thoughts. He urges stepping out of comfort zones and taking risks.

The book is short, with striking design and photos throughout. If you are feeling stuck in life or you have made mistakes that threaten to end your business, this book is the antidote that you need.

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The Freaks Shall Inherit the Earth: Entrepreneurship for Weirdos, Misfits and World Dominators

by Chris Brogan

Chris Brogan rejects the idea that there is only one route to success. Instead, he will show you how your unique character and even your odd traits can lead to a successful business.

The book highlights ways of turning your passion into a viable business without conforming to expectations. There are more possibilities now than ever before, with the tools of the digital age at our disposal. If you are thinking of starting a business and feel undecided, this book is what you need.

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The Millionaire Fastlane: Crack The Code To Wealth and Live Rich for A Lifetime

by MJ DeMarco

M.J. DeMarco writes about how to begin wealth creation at a young age, by creating a business. DeMarco believes that the highest form of success and wealth is achievable to everyone. With hard-hitting and straightforward writing, he pushes the reader to dream big.

The book is full of practical and realistic advice for anyone starting out in entrepreneurship. It also highlights some of the mistakes that budding entrepreneurs make, that can get in the way of future riches.

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Difficult Conversations: How To Discuss What Matters Most

by Douglas Stone, Bruce Patton, Sheila Heen, and Roger Fisher

The authors of this book have discovered practical ways to make hard conversations easy. They can help you stop avoiding confrontation, and instead, learn the skills to discuss emotionally charged topics calmly.

In Difficult Conversations, the authors share their research on easing into difficult discussions without being defensive. The book is full of examples of real-life scenarios in which we find ourselves needing these skills.

If you want to learn about conflict resolution or boost your negotiation and listening skills this book is for you.

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Sick In The Head: Conversations About Life And Comedy

by Judd Apatow

Renowned comedian, writer, and producer, Judd Apatow has documented his conversations with some of the best comedians in the business. Over his 30-year career, Apatow interviewed his idols and contemporaries in comedy, delving into their stories, both professional and personal.

The comedians in this collection talk about their paths to stardom, the creative process, and the motivation behind their hard work and success. It is intriguing from start to finish, with both wisdom and humor on every page. Whether you’re a fan of stand-up comedy or not, the conversations in this book will inspire you.

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What Got You Here Won’t Get You There: How Successful People Become Even More Successful

by Marshall Goldsmith and Mark Reiter

In this book, Marshall Goldsmith and Mark Reiter look at how to avoid stagnation and reach the next level of success.

The book points out some habits and ways of thinking that have a surprising impact on growth. For example, speaking when angry, poor listening skills, and making negative comments can all keep you stuck. On the other hand, cultivating a habit of gratitude and positivity will help you move forward.

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You, Inc.: The Art Of Selling Yourself

by Harry Beckwith and Christine Clifford Beckwith

You, Inc. teach ways to improve and market yourself, for the sake of business and personal success. The authors explain how every success you have depends on how well you can sell yourself — your companionship, your ideas, and your business.

In a conversational tone, this book shares some ways to be more likable, maximize strengths, and improve weaknesses. It emphasizes the importance of first impressions and how they impact your relationships and business.

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Selling the Invisible: A Field Guide to Modern Marketing

by Harry Beckwith

Different than most marketing books, Selling the Invisible is about selling services, as opposed to physical products. Harry Beckwith talks about the essential aspects of marketing service products, including market research, identifying your customers, and conveying value.

This easily digestible book will teach you how to create a brand, as well as use word of mouth and referrals to grow your business.

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10% Happier: How I Tamed The Voice In My Head, Reduced Stress Without Losing My Edge, And Found Self-Help That Works — A True Story

by Dan Harris

This is the story of how Dan Harris had a panic attack on live television — and the wakeup call that led him to meditation. Desperate to find a solution to his mounting stress and unhappiness, Harris embarked on a journey of research and self-discovery.

After exploring both spiritual and scientific solutions, he settles on meditation as the ultimate tool for self-improvement. Backed by neuroscience, personal experience, and plenty of humor, this book will convince skeptics to try meditation.

For anyone interested in meditation, or in becoming a happier and better person, this book is a must-read.

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Anything You Want: 40 Lessons For A New Kind Of Entrepreneur

by Derek Sivers

Derek Sivers shares his life story and how he created CD Baby, one of the biggest music platforms for independent artists. Sivers shares his successes as well as failures in this frank look at building a business based on passion.

In one part of the book, Sivers talks about the driving force behind a business and why it’s essential to identify a need in the marketplace. This book is not only inspiring but will give you concrete pointers on starting and running a business.

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Elon Musk: Tesla, Space X and the Quest For A Fantastic Future

by Ashlee Vance

Ashlee Vance takes on the life of multi-billionaire Elon Musk and how he created technological innovations with the power to change the world. This biography details the journey to success that Musk begins as a teenager.

Throughout the story, you’ll see the strategies Musk uses to bring his ideas to life. As he takes big risks to reap the rewards of success, you’ll see what it takes to create a legacy and change the future. Beyond risk-taking, Musk’s story demonstrates the power of consistency and patience despite numerous failures.

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Mindset: The New Psychology of Success

by Carol Dweck

The book looks at how one’s mindset determines what they accomplish, whether they are naturally talented or not. Renowned psychologist Carol Dweck teaches us the crucial differences between fixed and growth mindsets — and how they impact success and happiness.

This is not a book about positive thinking. Instead, Dweck provides realistic advice on removing limiting beliefs about your innate abilities. With a growth mindset, you can embrace challenges to learn and grow without fear of failure.

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Crossing The Chasm: Marketing and Selling Disruptive Products To Mainstream Customers

by Geoffrey A. Moore

Introducing a brand new product to a mainstream market can be scary to even the most experienced marketers. However, with the wisdom in this book, there is no need to fear.

Marketing guru Geoffrey Moore explains how cutting-edge products can instantly capture a large market and attract a huge customer base. He uses real-life examples of innovative products breaking into the mainstream. This book promises to change the way you market your business and in turn improve your life completely.

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Tough Sh*T: Life Advice From A Fat Lazy Slob Who Did Good

by Kevin Smith

With his characteristic sarcasm and brutal honesty, Kevin Smith shares the story of his life so far. The book reveals how Smith’s incredible ambition defied all odds to become a groundbreaking filmmaker early in his career.

Despite his successes, Smith laughs at his flaws and embraces them. If you are feeling discouraged in your life, this book will motivate you to keep going after your dreams.

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The 4-Hour Work Week: Escape 9-5, Live Anywhere, and Join The Rich

by Tim Ferris

In this classic on the digital nomad lifestyle, Tim Ferriss reveals the secrets of escaping the traditional workplace. The book is a primer on outsourcing — whether for your business, your personal life, or your job.

Using the internet to ease your workload, Ferris argues you can live a more productive, wealthy, and happy life.

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The E-Myth Revisited: Why Most Small Businesses Don’t Work And What To Do About It

by Michael Gerber

Michael Gerber takes a view contrary to how most small-business owners operate. In The E-Myth Revisited, Gerber explains why he believes entrepreneurs should always work on the business, and not in it.

This book will help you separate what you want from what your business needs, so you can stop getting bogged down in daily operations. Instead, you will be able to focus on what is necessary growth.

This book is a must read for every budding entrepreneur.

Check out more from Michael Gerber in this interview.

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Like A Virgin: Secrets They Won’t Teach You At Business School

by Richard Branson

Renowned entrepreneur Richard Branson shares the secrets that led to the success of the Virgin brand in this excellent autobiography. Branson candidly shares the lessons he learned as he started and grew his business to the level it is today.

The book is written in a question and answer format, making it easy to follow and pick up lessons as you go. It distills Branson’s wisdom, experience, and opinions on business into something relevant and useful for any entrepreneur.

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The Flinch

by Julien Smith

Fear is the subject of this short but impressive book from Julien Smith. The book looks at the subconscious mind and how our prejudices determine what we do.

Once you are aware of The Flinch, you will want to push yourself to do things you fear most. Instead of accepting fear at face value and avoiding risks, you will recognize it as a sign of opportunity.

Smith gives you the tools to take on the risks that are required to become who you want to be.

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Big Magic: Creative Living Beyond Fear

by Elizabeth Gilbert

Elizabeth Gilbert challenges readers to think of themselves as people who were born to create. She believes a fearless life is a creative one, whether you are writing, creating art, or designing life on your own terms.

Big Magic breaks down the creative process and teaches you to let go of the baggage holding you back from creating. The book is inspiring and promises to jumpstart your life making it more productive.

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The Dip: A Little Book That Teaches You When to Quit (and When to Stick)

by Seth Godin

This is a short book delivers an important message: Quitting is not always a failure. Quitting when you hit a dip is sometimes the best decision.

Seth Godin writes about the process of learning or building anything as a curve. Everything starts out with a steep curve when you make progress quickly — until you hit an inevitable dip. The Dip is when things get hard, your progress slows or stalls, and you need to make a decision.

Read this book to learn how to know what kind of dip you are in, and whether you should keep going, or choose another path.

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Titan: The Life of John D. Rockefeller, Sr.

by Ron Chernow

This book about the life of John D Rockefeller Sr. offers deep insight into the life, family, and career of an American icon. Ron Chernow looks at how Rockefeller rose from humble beginnings to create massive wealth and the unconventional methods he used to build an oil empire.

The book goes deep into Rockefeller’s extensive philanthropy, while also discussing the corruption and controversy that plagued his business and personal life. Filled with brilliant and hilarious quotes from Rockefeller and those who knew him, this book goes far beyond business methods. It touches on management, religion, philosophy, and art, to provide a well-rounded understanding of an important historical figure.

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Ignore Everybody: And 39 Other Keys To Creativity

by Hugh MacLeod

This book is a call for ingenuity and originality. Hugh MacLeod offers the lessons he learned over his career as a writer and cartoonist and breaking through as a result of not following the crowd.

MacLeod’s keys to creativity include wisdom on everything from marketing, finding inspiration, and cultivating work ethic as a creative person. He argues that pursuing your ideas, however weird or unpopular, is a far better recipe for success and happiness than conforming.

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The War Of Art: Breakthrough The Blocks And Win Your Inner Creative Battles

by Steven Pressfield

Going through a creative block is the toughest thing for any creative person, in art, writing, or business. In this book, Steven Pressfield names it resistance — an enemy you cannot ignore.

The book looks at resistance, and the many ways this force keeps you from your most important work. Once you are aware of it, you will start to recognize procrastination, self-doubt, and fear of failure as resistance, and stop allowing them to derail your projects.

Pressfield gives you the key to creating anything in this funny, yet deadly serious book. He argues that discipline and work ethic are the most critical contributors to creative success. This book will compel you to stop waiting for inspiration and just get to work.

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Linchpin: Are you Indispensable?

by Seth Godin

In a world where companies lay off their workers every year, employees are looking for ways to remain relevant. This book teaches precisely that.

The tendency to play it safe and blend in is what makes you invisible, and therefore dispensable. Instead, Seth Godin challenges readers to boldly share their ideas, lead with uniqueness, and think of each day as a work of art.

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Think and Grow Rich

by Napoleon Hill

Think and Grow Rich is one of the best business books of all time. Napoleon Hill interviewed and studied the big names in business in Depression-era America. His resulting book, initially published in 1937, is a look at the mindset of those who succeeded in achieving great wealth.

The driving force behind success, according to Hill, is a strong desire and passion. This is one of the earliest books in the self-improvement genre. Although short on actionable advice, Think and Grow Rich will motivate you to set lofty goals and work hard every day to achieve them.

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The 22 Immutable Laws Of Marketing: Violate Them At Your Own Risk

by Al Ries & Jack Trout

The fundamentals of marketing are broken down into 22 essential rules in this comprehensive primer. Written by marketing professionals Al Reis and Jack Trout, these laws of effective marketing are ignored at your peril.

Rather than a tactical manual, this book goes deep into the underlying principles that govern any marketing endeavor. Concepts of positioning, becoming top of mind, leadership, and sacrifice will help you think bigger and improve your marketing.

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Influence: The Psychology of Persuasion

by Robert B. Cialdini

After 35 years of research, Robert B. Cialdini produced this simple, yet complete study on what makes people change their behavior. The book outlines the weapons of influence and teaches readers not only to use them but to guard against them.

Concepts and practices employed in marketing are explained in depth, with examples and stories to illustrate effectiveness. Learning to use ideas like scarcity, social proof, and reciprocity will help you succeed in your marketing.

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80/20 Sales And Marketing: The Definitive Guide To Working Less And Making More

by Perry Marshall

Renowned consultant Perry Marshall provides a twist on the traditional marketing advice. This book teaches that focussing on the top 20 percent of your customers leads to bigger profits.

The book offers advice on analyzing not only your customer base but your skill set and your staff to identify the highest value work in your business. Beyond the 80/20 principle, the book offers specific strategies on marketing and growing a business online, such as split-testing headlines and using ads to find high-quality leads.

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The One Thing: The Surprisingly Simple Truth Behind Extraordinary Results

by Gary Keller

Gary Keller has the answers as to why most time management and productivity systems fail. He argues against multitasking and helps you narrow your focus to one thing that will move you closer to your goals.

This book is full of eye-opening realities that will explain why you aren’t getting the results you want in your business and personal life. The One Thing will help you eliminate the habits keeping you from success, and create maximum impact.

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Crush It!: Why Now Is the Time to Cash In on Your Passion

by Gary Vaynerchuk

Gary Vaynerchuk aims to inspire you to create a passionate and fulfilling life through entrepreneurship. In this motivational book, he talks about how he transformed his local family business into an international brand.

He goes on to describe how to use powerful digital marketing tools to grow your personal brand and create a business around what you love. If you are looking to monetize your passion, this book will provide motivation and guidance to get started.

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Listen on Audible

Without Their Permission: How the 21st Century Will Be Made, Not Managed

by Alexis Ohanian

Co-founder of one of the world’s most popular online communities, Reddit, Alexis Ohanian has a lot to say about the power of information and community. Further, he has much wisdom in launching and operating tech startups.

Ohanian shares his life story in this engaging and inspiring read, of creating Reddit in his dorm room, cashing out for millions, and going on to start many more successful ventures. This book will convince young entrepreneurs that the era of being meek, following the rules, and asking permission is over.

Get it on Amazon

Listen on Audible

  What Are Your Top Business Books?

I created this list to help you find the books you need to move your business forward.

And although I have listed 101 of the best business books of all time, it is foolish of me to think I have listed every book worth mentioning.

So now I turn it over to you…

What are your top business books of all time?

What are the must-read books for entrepreneurs?

Or your favorite business audiobooks?

Let me know in the comments.

The post 101 BEST Business Books of All Time (2018) appeared first on Hack the Entrepreneur.

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