4-step framework for online business
Most people don’t know where to get started with their online business.
It’s easy to get overwhelmed in the beginning stages of your journey, and as a result, you fail to take the first step.
The routes to choose are endless.
But the structure of every online business remains the same.
Online Business 101:
- You need a traffic source
- You need to provide value for free
- You need to nurture leads
- You need to solve a problem (with a product or service)
I used to think online business was something that you could trick your way into winning.
There are countless accounts on social media platforms claiming they’ve figured it out.
But “making money online” isn’t a quick process – but it is a simple one.
Step 1: Creating a traffic source
Everything changed when I began posting weekly YouTube videos.
I went from 0-1,000 subscribers in 54 days – and have since been averaging ~1,000 subscribers per month.
This wasn’t a happy accident. There is intention behind this growth because I finally understand what the first step to any business is:
Traffic.
You aren’t going to sell anything without people walking through your doors.
To get people into your “digital doors,” you need to provide them with something that will:
- Catch their attention
- Provide them with value
- (Bonus) Offer them a next step
You won’t make progress until you start creating content relevant to your niche or interests.
It’s as simple as that.
There’s no way around creating content and providing value.
You must be where the attention is: Online.
When creating content and providing free value, this is considered “top-of-the-funnel” traffic. This is the starting place for any online business venture.
Creating traffic for your business can be done through:
Long-form content
- YouTube videos
- Newsletters / blog posts
- Podcasts
Short-form content
- Twitter / X
Step 2: Providing value for free
Once you begin growing an audience through your content, you must offer something of value.
This is where 95% of creators miss a major opportunity.
Rather than relying solely on AdSense for your income, you want to solve real problems for your community.
It’s one thing to continue engaging this audience with your content, but we want to take it a step further.
A great place to start is by offering a lead magnet.
A lead magnet is something of value that interested viewers can get for free:
- eBook
- Short video course
- Email course
- Sample product
- Template
- Etc.
Hint: My lead magnet is the Content Clarity Crash Course.
This allows your audience to take the “next step” in the buyer’s journey.
But it’s important to provide a tremendous amount of value through your free lead magnet. This shouldn’t be some hoax to grow your email list.
Ideally this lead magnet will solve the first problem in a chain of problems that lead to an end transformation that you offer through another product.
For example:
1) The CCCC helps to solve the problem of finding your niche and decide who you can best serve.
2) My next course will provide the info and tools you need to write effectively and reach these people.
Step 3: Nurturing leads
As you begin growing your email list and attracting an audience of people, it’s important to nurture this community.
An email list is your best friend in this stage of your online business.
Through an email list, you’re able to provide valuable content and insight to your community week after week.
This is my #1 goal with The Stoke Seminar. (And thank you for reading each week!)
Doing this over an extended period of time allows you to build authority and trust, connecting you with your community in a deeper way.
It is very common for 50%+ of your sales to come from your email list, so that’s why it’s worth building and tending to this group.
Share consistently and be reliable.
Step 4: Solving a problem
The final stage of creating an online business is the part where you actually make money. You don’t want to forget about that part!
Rule #1: Any business survives on their ability to solve a specific problem.
Solving a problem can be done through:
- A product (physical or digital)
- A service
When it comes to creating an offer, you want to make sure that it’s something that people genuinely want (and need).
With that being said — this is the stage of “online business” that I’m currently working on!
Before I create and release my first product, I’d love to hear your feedback about what would most benefit you when writing and creating content for your personal brand.
Even if you don’t plan to purchase this product — your insight is greatly appreciated!
You can take the quiz here. (It should only take a few mins)
Based on real-world feedback from your community, you want to create a product or service that will solve a problem.
People want to experience a transformation from PROBLEM, to SOLUTION.
Quick recap of what we covered:
- Creating traffic for your business (getting people through your digital doors)
- Providing free value to your growing audience, and doing so consistently
- Nurturing this community through an email list and deepening the connection
- Searching for specific problems that your community is struggling with
- Creating a product or service that solves this problem
Understanding this framework is an amazing start for your personal online business journey.
Consider this your outline that you can begin to fill with your own life experience.
I’m confident that anyone who has real-world experience has more than enough insight to provide something of value to someone who needs it.
Your “common knowledge” isn’t common.
It’s your advantage that allows you to serve others in a meaningful way.
- Identify a problem in your own life
- Create a project out of it, and solve it
- Package your process into a product
- Offer it to others who are struggling with the same thing
–Eric Pfohl