If you’ve ever wondered exactly what it takes to put together a non-trivial Internet business – here’s a rare opportunity to see up-close how it’s done. This is a chance to fully understand what is really involved – the challenges and issues and setbacks - as opposed to the story you’re normally told about how easy everything is.

I am in the process of setting up Twitter Professionals, which will provide a range of Twitter related products and services and memberships. This is not a single-product website, but a family of products and services and multiple related websites. (That's why it's a 'non-trivial' business.)

Recently, it has become obvious to me that the model I am creating is one that I will certainly want to replicate for future online business ventures: it has taken – and is still taking – a lot of effort to define and set up the required infrastructure, and I fully plan on re-using all that effort, as well as refining the process. And then it occurred to me that others could benefit from seeing not only the end result, but more importantly, the process I am following to get there.

And so I got the idea of forming a Club where I would share all my learning with the members. As a member, this is what you will get:

• Invitations to attend weekly webcasts covering a variety of topics (see below)
• Q&A sessions after the webcasts
• The ability to download recordings of past webcasts and Q&A sessions
• Access to a private forum where you can ask further questions and have discussions with each other
• Access to whatever materials could be of value, such as planning templates and examples of request for bids
• Access to my “Online Internet Marketing k-Map”.
  
  Some while ago I started storing my useful links and learnings about Internet Marketing in a sharable Mind Map format (like my Twitter Resources k-Map http://twitter.k-maps.com). I’ve toyed with making this available to others online for a fee, but it’s a long way from being complete enough. However, I’ll give you access anyway as part of the Club membership.

PLUS:

• If you are still a member when the first information product is launched – the Twitter Tools Report - you will get that for free.
• If you are still a member when the second information product is launched – the Twitter Master System – you will get that at 50% discount
• Access to the script as a beta user (I don’t want to say more about this yet.)

The topics I cover in the seminars will be based on the following activities that I have done/am doing/plan to do

• Defining and creating a number of information products using Mind Maps, PDFs and Spreadsheets
  
  
• Identifying the need for Twitter related services
  
• Getting a script written for that service:

• Specifying the requirements for a script,
• Finding developers
• Working with them
• Testing the script
• Integrating it

• Creating a suitable infrastructure and integrating all the components which include

• Choosing suitable domain names for multiple sites
• Setting up and configuring one of the most advanced e-commerce platforms (Delavo)
• Using one of the most advanced content management sites (Drupal)
• Installing and configuring a WordPress blog
• Setting up and using a number of Twitter Accounts
• Researching and identifying an advanced auto-responder with the required facilities
• Defining an inter-linked network of auto-responder sequences

• Getting graphics created

• Defining the needs for graphics across all the products
• Identifying a graphic designer
• Choosing a suitable "tone" and "style"
• Providing the right degree of "control"

• Defining and putting into practice a plan for traffic generation
  
• Defining and putting into practice a plan for finding affiliates
  
• Working out how to handle metrics and measurement
  
• Creating ways to record how all the components of the business relate to each other
  
• Recording the business requirements, plans and schedules
  
• Using online collaboration systems for working with outsourcers and other collaborators
  
• Finding resources to help run the business
  
• The bigger picture: defining how the Twitter Professionals business fits into my overall online business strategy
  
• .... and probably others…

Let me clear about what this is NOT and what you will NOT be getting:

• This will not be a comprehensive blueprint with detailed instructions that you can simply copy and paste. However if you are a reasonably experienced Internet marketer, and you wanted to create a similar business model, this will save you a great deal of time.
• This will not be a properly planned course with a published timetable of topics. This will be much more fluid, and the topics I cover will be influenced by the voice of the members.
• You will not learn everything there is about Internet Marketing. I will only be talking about what is related to creating and setting up this business.
• This will not be suitable for Internet Marketing beginners; the business model being discussed is not one I would recommend for the beginner. However, getting the infrastructure right is key to any business, and the ideas here will help new people understand the foundations they will need to put in place for the longer term.

At this point I can't predict for how long the club will exist. My current intention would be to keep it going until I run out of interesting things to talk about. Of course you'd be able to cancel whenever you felt you had learnt enough.

To begin with I'm going to limit membership of this club to 50 people, and the charge will be $47 per month. If you are unhappy after the first two webcasts, you can leave the Club and receive a full refund.

Finally, not everyone will be allowed to join.

For reasons of commercial sensitivity, and to ensure that people without a suitable background are not wasting their money. I wish to vet everyone who wishes to join.

So, if you are interested, please contact me via my helpdesk (select Behind The Scenes Business Club for the department) and tell me the following:

• A little about yourself (unless I already know you)
• How sure you are that you wish to join to the club
• Your email address
• Your Twitter ID

I will respond within 48 hours and if appropriate, I’ll let you know the planned start date and give you instructions for joining.

Please remember that I am limiting membership (for now) to the first 50 who qualify. Confirming your commitment now reserves your spot.

Also, unless I get 20 committed members, I will not go ahead. Fewer than that will not warrant the distraction from me actually putting the business together!

I hope this interests you and that I’ll be able to welcome you to the club shortly.

Kind regards
 

Alex Goodall

Many fortunes have been made selling business blueprints on how to make money through internet marketing. I know, because I have personally contributed to those fortunes! But I have a big problem with these business blueprints. In fact, I have many issues with business blueprints. Here is just ONE of them. The whole marketing approach for selling a business blueprint is to convince the site visitor that "this is THE fastest, easiest way to make money: no-one in their right minds would do anything different". Of course, that's what the person promoting the product is supposed to do. I don't expect them to have an impartial, dispationate viewpoint. But the fact is - it's their job to keep your mind closed and to stop you thinking for yourself! The very LAST thing they want is for you to look at the bigger picture and examine all the options available to you. Whereas, that is, in fact, the very FIRST thing that you DO need to do! There are many, many ways to make an income online, and it's just foolish to jump into anything without really examining your options. Sure, it's great to have a "take action!" attitude and we all understand about the dangers of paralysis by analysis. But too many people jump in, take action, then decide against it, then take other action, then decide against that, and on and on. So step back and understand the bigger picture. Examine all the ways to make an online income and then match them to what YOU are capable of, what YOU are interested in. It's important to NOT be suckered in by a slick sales pitch that fulfills someone else's agenda, but to define and stick to YOUR agenda. And when you look at the options available to you, be creative! By which, I don't just mean "look at many niches". "Niche marketing" itself is just ONE approach to making money online. Affiliate marketing, PPC, Adsense, blogging, product development, eBay, .... the list of options is huge, and actually it's much bigger than you probably realise. In the rather introverted, self-referential world of "internet marketing", we are constantly having the same few ideas re-cyled and re-hashed. Just look around the Web and see what's going on from a businessperson's perspective, and you'll begin to see many new ideas that aren't on the radar for most people. So, my advice is to take a step back, and:

• Understand the context - all the options available to you
• Understand yourself - you goals, abilities, strengths, weaknesses
• ... then put them together and choose your path carefully!

I hope that's helpful. This is one of themes that I'll be expanding on in a forthcoming service / site about being an "online professional". If this topic interests you, please register here to stay informed of how our ideas develop. (You won't get lots of extraneous promotions by doing this, so please make sure you use your primary email address!)

Also, I Twitter a lot! Follow me there: http://AlexGoodall.com/twitter