Business Turnaround Strategy

Especially at the start of a new year, some online entrepreneurs find themselves at a point where they really need to cure their business or financial situation. When you are in a situation where you need money “yesterday,” here’s what I would do…

#1 – Take a clear look at your current situation. This is the time to be blunt and honest to yourself. You may want to do that in front of the mirror, by talking to a psychologist, your mom, or whatever it is that makes you telling the truth to yourself. Don’t be shy. Reflect what you think brought you to the current situation? Where and why did you procrastinate and postpone unnecessarily.

#2 – Do you have an idol or a Mentor? Is there someone who archived what you’d like to achieve? Step into the mindset of this person. What would s/he do? Which steps would s/he take in order to get out of the misery?

#3 – Map out ideas that came to mind while you performed the aforementioned. Write them all down on paper, create a MindMap outlining each step that surpasses your creative mind, or use a microphone and record your voice while you speak aloud what your creative mind tells you. In other words, do whatever you feel most comfortable with to get the ideas out and keep them aside for the next steps.

Note: Avoid the temptation of evaluating your ideas while writing, mapping, or recording. This would lead to just another path to failure. Note ALL of them. Evaluation comes later, now is brainstorming time. Again, get all of them out and keep them for the next steps.

#4 – Take a look at your knowledge, skills, and at what you did in the past. Is there something you know others don’t? Is there something you can do what others would like to be able to do as well? Anything you could teach? Go beyond your current point of view. More often than not it is something you think is “normal” and “everyone” knows it or “no one” would be interested in. Perhaps go back to #2 and take a look at the ideas you came up with—is there something you could do as well? With that information in arms, let’s move on to…

#5 – Brainstorm profitable keywords based on the ideas that you came up with up to now. Search for phrases where people are begging for solutions using Google’s and/or WordTracker’s free keyword research tools.

#6 – Create a product based on the keywords you just brainstormed. Never created a product yet? Don’t know what product to create? Don’t know what a product is? (just kidding…)

Frankly, in the digital world, you can create products in a few hours. You don’t need an outrageous production facility. All you have to do is to write or record something. You even don’t have to pack and send it on your own. Either you upload it onto a server and offer it as a downloadable product, or you let other companies do the fulfillment for you.

Bottom line, write an e-book, record something with your voice, or create a on-screen video demonstrating how to do what. It really can be that simple.

#7 – Write a SHORT sales letter (1-2 pages length) providing basic information about the product you’re offering, the guarantee, a couple testimonials (you can get them from forums by offering your “beta product” for free for a limited time), and the call to action indicating the price and leading to the link to fulfill the order.

#8 – Register a short, catchy, descriptive domain name, upload the pages, and start pulling traffic to the site by using article marketing, joint ventures, PPC advertising, and/or other marketing methods. Run A/B split tests to improve your sales letter and Conversion Rate.

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The time frame for the above steps shall take maximum 7 days.

—Marcus Hochstadt