Internet INCOME by Design

Existing clients of Insite Internet Developments may be wondering what happened to the old website. Well that is a small story and a good example of how marketing third party products through affiliate programs can lead to increased revenues, and a better way of life!

It all started the year of 2007. In that year, Insite Internet Developments' primary business was focused on developing websites based around the Joomla content management system. And there was a degree of success that provided a steady but small return.

Our ability to grow was entirely dependent on labor and procurement of new contracts to supplant contracts nearing completion. our goal of financial freedom would be difficult to realize within the business model that we had. Afterall, the nature of our business required that the monster be fed with a continued supply of new jobs. And to us, that seemed to be a viscious cycle that we wanted to change.

We had developed websites for many individuals and companies over a number of years (we began making sites in 2001 trading as GEM Hosting). During that time, it became clear that we weren't making websites at all. Instead we were making tools! Tools for revenue generation, that if used effectively, were able to generate a good income or supplementary income for their owners. The desire to create tools to supplement our own income increased each year, until we finally put that desire to action and started investigating ways in which we could tap in to the vast pool of revenue that is the internet. It was then that we took a closer look at affiliate advertising.

Typical conversion ratios of 0.3% were well known for advertisements placed on web pages. What that means is that about three in every thousand visitors that click on the advertisement might actually buy something. Selling on the web was a numbers game. Get sufficient qualified traffic volume and the sales volume will follow.

This posed two questions.

• Could we generate enough traffic to our site(s) in order to obtain enough sales to make this profitable?
• Could we obtain quality traffic that wanted to buy the product rather than casual visitors that see the product by chance?

It turned out, as expected, the answer is relative to the product chosen for promotion. Obviously selling Ford motorcars would return a higher amount per sale than selling trial memberships for a dollar. So a lower conversion is more acceptable for the motorcar than it is for the trial memberships.

Eventually we chose a membership site (memberships starting at $29.99 and rangeing through to $159.99) and began construction of a site to promote memberships to our chosen affiliate sponsor. We would receive 30% of the gross sale value (in US dollars).

By mid November, 2007, we had finished our fist site that was designed to generate revenue specifically for us through the marketing of a product from an affiliate program.  That was a major turning point.

We spent the month of December 2007 promoting and submitting the site to search engines and directories. And to our surprise we instantly began getting sales. By the end of January we were earning $450 (US dollars) every 15 days just from one website that was really put together to test the feasability of the affiliate markeing idea. To that, all we can say is IT WORKS!!!

Because we were so successful, and immediately successful, we decided to cease acceptance of any new web development contracts and begin affiliate marketing as a career. Having done that, we have no regrets.

So, Insite Internet Developments is no more. And instead, we have Internet Income by Design (chosen to utilise an existing domain name - iid.co.nz).

Website hosting is the only part of Insite Internet that fits in with our present business plan and because reseller hosting is based on an affiliate program, we intend to keep it as a part of the new portfolio. All existing websites will continue to be billed yearly for hosting as usual.

Our decision to change our business has provided us with certain freedoms that we regard as highly desirable and valuable.

• Firstly, we have the freedom of time. We do not have deadlines to meet and contracts to fulfill. That in itself removes the biggest pressures of business ownership. We live a more relaxed life as a result.
• Secondly, we are well on the way to financial freedom! Yes I know financial freedom is a cliche, but yes, it can be a reality. Our formula for success is achieving that.

If you're a website owner, or just curious how people make money online, then take a closer look at Internet Income by Design. Browse the articles to find how to get started with affiliate marketing, or find affiliate sponsors to best match your site visitors. And of course signup to get the most from this site with tools, resources and examples of techniques that were successful with particular affiliate programs. We'll help you make money online!