Keep Your Dream Simple

Have you ever felt like doing more would equal better results? Yeah, I’ve been there to and tried it only to get mixed results.

Three years ago I took action on my dream and quickly realized that if my online dream would support me, I would need to have A LOT of income streams. I had so many doubts and fears, especially the thought of leaving a steady paycheck for the uncertainty of sporadic income.

As I researched all this online stuff, it felt like the information was backing up my theory, do a bunch of stuff and hope something works. I think a lot of people who chase their online dreams do the same thing but after some trial and error, I think there’s a better approach.

As we think about 2014 and our goals, I want to get back into the basics of creating a freedom based, online business, on the side and with a family. As I’ve said, my goal is for at least 10 people to become completely supported by their online business by the end of 2014.

Before we hit the ground running in 2014, I thought I’d go over some prep work to get ready. I’ll be talking about all the stuff I wish I knew when I started, it would have gotten me to freedom quicker.

No matter what your topic is and how you plan on making money from it, keeping it simple will be easier and keep your stress level down. I titled this series this way for a reason, I’ll talk about a lot of things with goal of keeping everything simple

Who’s your target market?

Before you can do anything online with your dream, you have to get clear about who you’re talk to and what you’re talking about. In case you missed it, I made a video all about the importance of your target market and some general information about it.

Watch the video, I know it will clear some things up. One of the biggest reasons most websites blend in with the millions of other websites is the lack of clarity. What makes your website/dream special? What is your unique spin that you could add that makes it your thing?

The more specific you get, the better. I mean really laser in and get as specific as possible. I started this website talking about chasing your dreams, this year I got even more specific and started speaking to family men who have a day job but want to start an online business with a topic they’re passionate about. Also, how they can do this on the side without ruining their family.

Since getting more specific, I lost 1,2000 email subscribers but increased my income online from $2,900 to over $6,000 a month. Once you get specific, you see where to focus your time and what you can do to help a specific community.

Once you have this figured out, the things you talk about, the communities you get involved in, the things you create to sell, will be specific to that audience. Those people will buy and join because it’s relevant to them.

The 10 second test

Are you clear about who you’re talking to? Let’s put this to the test. If I came to your website, would I understand who your target audience is? Would I understand this in 10 seconds? That’s about how long it takes for people to decide whether or not they’ll spend anytime on your website.

You have 10 seconds, if you’re clear, those who you’re talking to will respond immediately. Those who your website is not for will leave, which will save them and you a bunch of time later. Would you pass the 10 second test?

If you want a little help with this, be sure to join my free project #DreamYear. Let’s bring this back to the theme of our series, when it comes to your target audience, keep it simple. You don’t have to be Michael Hyatt over night (if that’s who your audience is). Instead, figure out who they are and reach out to them one at a time. This will take time.

Keep your website simple

Your website is your home base, it’s the place where you’ll send everybody. If you want to speak someday, all your products, all the information you wish to share with the world, will all happen on your website.

When people come to your website, you don’t want them to be confused or distracted with too much going on. We’ll get into some specifics in a bit but the simpler you keep it, the better.

What do you want people to do when they first come to your dream? Is that happening? What do you want them to watch, what do you want them to read and in what order? The less clutter you can have the better. People love Zen Habits for this very reason.

I think this will be a good point to end on. Next post we’ll pick up with the basics of a good website, what you should and must have to make money. Think about what we’ve talked about today and even ask others if your website and message are clear.

I’m super excited for you, this will be your year! How are you keeping your dream simple