How to Earn Money Online?
I believe this is one of the most frequently asked questions I get from beginners attending my basic lectures.
In reality, things should be approached completely differently-what do you want to achieve, what are your goals?
When I hear that the desired goal is to increase sales, I immediately react-THAT’S NOT A GOAL!!!
That’s a birthday card.
It’s like writing someone a letter wishing them lots of luck, health, and increased sales.
That’s a wish, and it can never be a business goal.
A business goal has several key components, summarized by the first letters of the English words Specific, Measurable, Achievable, Realistic, Timely, forming the concept of SMART Goals.
Why isn’t a wish a goal?
Because a wish expresses an attitude, a mood, a mindset.
A goal, on the other hand, is something defined, measurable, and time-bound.
For example, let’s say you want to sell a product or service with a 10% sales increase annually.
That’s much closer to a business goal than a wish, but it’s still missing a few elements to be complete.
For instance, if you have two fully occupied workstations (e.g., car repair lifts, dental chairs, massage tables, etc.), no advertising strategy can achieve that goal because scaling the business is impossible.
You’d need to acquire a third equipped workstation, and only then would the maximum achievable goal be a 50% increase within the set timeframe.
Only after equipping the third workstation, which enables sales/revenue growth, can you realistically expect growth.
This brings us to fulfilling the requirements in the category of Achievable.
If you still want to grow sales by 10% but don’t want to invest in a third workstation, the only option is to raise the price of your services or products.
This raises the question of pricing positioning, and perhaps your goal is no longer Realistic.
And even when you’ve got everything neatly arranged and believe growth is achievable, we come to the issue of Milestones or KPIs (Key Performance Indicators).
It’s not the same whether you grow steadily and linearly throughout the year or aim for exponential or logarithmic growth.
This is without factoring in seasonality (e.g., Black Friday)!
Therefore, before defining sales channels, advertising budgets, and methods, focus on defining goals according to the SMART framework, consider the dynamics of growth (Milestones), and determine how you’ll measure success.
Only after you’ve done all this does it make sense to dive into online (or digital, or internet marketing, as many mistakenly call it) advertising.
Also, consider the budget you have available and what preparatory steps you’ve taken (e.g., do you have photos, videos, permission from the brand owner to use their branding, etc.) and whether you can scale your business.
Once all this is defined, don’t forget that every advertising campaign can only achieve one of these four business goals:
- Increasing market share
- Increasing sales volume
- Increasing revenue
- Increasing profit
Only when you’ve defined all of this does the question “How to earn money online?” make sense :))
Sincerely,
Miroslav Varga
We thank Mr. Varga for this insightful text.
For those who haven’t heard of him yet, we’ve prepared a short biography.
Miroslav Varga
GCT – Google Certified Trainer and Martech SpecialistMartech expert at Escape Digital Agency.
Specialist in search engine advertising, teacher, professional, and TEDx speaker, fluent in multiple languages.
Experienced and specialized in optimizing Google Ads accounts and statistical analysis (data mining). A lateral thinker, reading the message behind the data and always seeking its context.
In essence, a storyteller.
Fluent in Croatian, German, and English.
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