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Make Money with building Websites: The ultimate Way

Patrick Jones

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So you want to learn how to program websites?

Good.

Don't.

You can spend hundreds of hours on teaching yourself the basic skills. Then you will be on the same level as half the Indian subcontinent. Only they are willing to work for a fistful of dollars per day.

You won't be very good at programming websites.

It takes thousands of hours to master a craft as complex as that.

So you have to ask yourself: Can't I get a better ROI on my time?

Yes you can.

Learn how to SELL websites.

Making money with websites is not about the websites. It's about the sales.

Why put yourself in competition with millions of people who are willing to work for less than you'd make flipping burgers at the golden arches?

You live in the western world and you have direct contact to businesses who are willing and able to spend several thousand dollars on basic websites.

Sell them those websites.

And then let somebody who has a clue of it implement the website.

Don't wast your time trying to tackle a highly challenging and highly frustrating technical craft.

Learn how to sell.
 
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ProcessPro

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So you want to learn how to program websites?

Good.

Don't.

You can spend hundreds of hours on teaching yourself the basic skills. Then you will be on the same level as half the Indian subcontinent. Only they are willing to work for a fistful of dollars per day.

You won't be very good at programming websites.

It takes thousands of hours to master a craft as complex as that.

So you have to ask yourself: Can't I get a better ROI on my time?

Yes you can.

Learn how to SELL websites.

Making money with websites is not about the websites. It's about the sales.

Why put yourself in competition with millions of people who are willing to work for less than you'd make flipping burgers at the golden arches?

You live in the western world and you have direct contact to businesses who are willing and able to spend several thousand dollars on basic websites.

Sell them those websites.

And then let somebody who has a clue of it implement the website.

Don't wast your time trying to tackle a highly challenging and highly frustrating technical craft.

Learn how to sell.

Have you done this yourself? Can you describe how you've been able to execute this? I'm genuinely interested.
 

hydemx

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As a software engineer, most of us grow up with this kind of one sided mentality about ROI. We always push for the technical mastery; we want to use the fanciest framework, use shiny things like GraphQL and other buzzy technologies, but at the end, the people who know how to sell get the most money, at least in my experience. It's hard to swap the chip from being overly technical to be a good seller.
 

Andy Black

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As a software engineer, most of us grow up with this kind of one sided mentality about ROI. We always push for the technical mastery; we want to use the fanciest framework, use shiny things like GraphQL and other buzzy technologies, but at the end, the people who know how to sell get the most money, at least in my experience. It's hard to swap the chip from being overly technical to be a good seller.
A sales tip for techies
 
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BlokeInProgress

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Sell them those websites.

So is the process:

1. Offer businesses their own website
2. Look for affordable website developers
3. Provide website to the business

Or is it:

1. Create multiple website templates
2. Offer to businesses

Thanks.
 

GrandRub

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very good point! also applys to art. you dont have to be a starving artist. just learn how to sell.

"selling" is a very bad word for many people (including myself 2 or 3 years ago). reminds us of that cliche of a a pushy salesman or boilerroom telephone calls.

but what is a "salesman"? just somebody who consults somebody and informs them that they may have a great solution to the problems and needs of the buyer.
 

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"Sell websites that sell" is my personal approach.

This way you use your sales skills to not only land projects but also to build a better product that gets much higher ROI for your clients.

Code is cheap. Sales are always in demand.
 
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mdivljina

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Code is cheap. Sales are always in demand.

Yes, yes and yes. I so agree with this line.

To be honest, I believe I was lucky because my life took a turn where I'm going to be a salesman and not the guy who does code, but that is so true.

Good salesmen are always in demand and the 80/20 principle just highlights that. Selling is no zero-sum game.

Don't know what the 80/20 principle is? Here is a wikipedia article.
 

Patrick Jones

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Have you done this yourself? Can you describe how you've been able to execute this? I'm genuinely interested.

My background is in tech, I've been developing software for something like 20 years. For the past three years I've been growing a freelance website business (i.e. I already knew how to code). And only in the recent past have I learned that a mediocre website with great sales earns heaps more than a great website with weak sales.

These days I'm outsourcing most of my development work to developers in Vietnam and Romania and focus on selling and project management. In addition, I have started to offer people commission if they bring me new clients. Commission is usually in the 12-15% range, which is quite attractive for sales prices of €3000 to €5000.

As a software engineer, most of us grow up with this kind of one sided mentality about ROI. We always push for the technical mastery; we want to use the fanciest framework, use shiny things like GraphQL and other buzzy technologies, but at the end, the people who know how to sell get the most money, at least in my experience. It's hard to swap the chip from being overly technical to be a good seller.

So true!

So is the process:
1. Offer businesses their own website
2. Look for affordable website developers
3. Provide website to the business
Or is it:
1. Create multiple website templates
2. Offer to businesses

My recommendation would be:
1. Find local web developers/designers with a good track record
2. Contact them and offer to bring in business for a commission
3. Approach local businesses with outdated websites (i.e. those that already know that having a website is of importance) and get them to invest in something new and shiny.
4. Redirect leads to the developer and
5. in case of a sale: collect your commission
 

GrandRub

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but if i am good at selling websites and services - why should i stay with the comission and not do it myself/outsource?

3/4 of local businesses just need a good converting, modern looking website and nothing special that would need a deeper coding knowledge.


Selling is indeed the most valuable knowledge. not selling and pushing things like a idiot on cocaine. but finding and screening prospects, adressing needs, building relationships and solving problems.

that is something no machine can do and i think if you know how to sell you could sell almost everything.
 
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Patrick Jones

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but if i am good at selling websites and services - why should i stay with the comission and not do it myself/outsource?

Doing it yourself would again mean investing time in learning a technical skill. Time you could better spend on selling websites and making money.

Oursourcing is very difficult, as 99.9% of the cheap developers suck balls.

Even if you manage to find a good one, running them well is still a new challenge (that usually requires some technical know-how on your end).

The idea is to rid yourself of the technical part of the business. You'll never be good at building websites or running an outsourcing team - unless you spend hundreds/thousands of hours on doing it. Which brings you back to the ROI question.

3/4 of local businesses just need a good converting, modern looking website and nothing special that would need a deeper coding knowledge.

Very true. And they need a website that looks good across devices and loads fast. A website that can be adjusted quickly and easily and doesn't require fiddling around with a visual composer for hours. Something secure that doesn't get hacked the moment you index it on google.
 

Danczyk

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You live in the western world and you have direct contact to businesses who are willing and able to spend several thousand dollars on basic websites.

What if you don't live in west? Do you have a blueprint for those of us far from the civilization? There is always the trust issue.

I have no problem finding local businesses but it's peanuts and not worth working on really.
 

Consolation

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What if you don't live in west? Do you have a blueprint for those of us far from the civilization? There is always the trust issue.

I have no problem finding local businesses but it's peanuts and not worth working on really.
But a web design company do exists outside of the western world. If you 'sell websites that sells' to these web design company that should clear the problem:
"Sell websites that sell" is my personal approach.



Regarding the trust issue, you're running a B2B, not a B2C. Present them all the numbers, figures, that should convince them.

But, again. The website must sells.
 
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hydemx

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How long should it take to make a decent, basic website?

It depends what basic and decent means to you. If you have a clear idea of what you need and is a static website you can grab a template and get the site up and running in matter of hours. The more experience you have the less time it’ll take of course.
 

The Abundant Man

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Have you done this yourself? Can you describe how you've been able to execute this? I'm genuinely interested.
Step 1
It depends what basic and decent means to you. If you have a clear idea of what you need and is a static website you can grab a template and get the site up and running in matter of hours. The more experience you have the less time it’ll take of course.
How does hosting work after creating an html website?
 
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srodrigo

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Oursourcing is very difficult, as 99.9% of the cheap developers suck balls.

Yeah, bargains apart, you get what you pay for. Also, good devs are usually intelligent people; intelligent people wouldn't ask for less than they're worth.

I have no problem finding local businesses but it's peanuts and not worth working on really.

Maybe to start with and build a portfolio, local business are fine. Then, markets where you can add more value.

BTW looks like everyone is selling static websites :)
 

Jeff Noel

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Step 1

How does hosting work after creating an html website?
I don't know if you're asking them the question, or you're genuinely curious.
Once you got your hosting setup with an hosting provider, you usually have access to cPanel or another similar hosting management panel (at least, FTP credentials). You upload the HTML files in the www directory. You then access them through your domain name (if you already have one setup, with it's DNS linked to your hosting provider) by typing https://example.com/myfile.html

Even if you're not building a transactionnal website, I highly suggest getting an SSL Certificate so your website uses the HTTPS protocol. Popular web browsers and search engines have already begun punishing HTTP websites, since they aren't using a secured protocol.

If you're just starting, I can recommend NameCheap's Stellar Hosting bundle. If you purchase your domain name with then, they also include the SSL Certificate for the year most of the time (I'm not affiliated with them, I just prefer them to GoDaddy & Hostgator from past experiences).
 

Patrick Jones

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Interesting reading. How do you plan on selling to the owners?

As mentioned above, I target businesses that already have a website. They don't need to be sold on the general idea of a website, only the idea of a new one.

Fear generally works well for any kind of selling and google provides good tools for striking it into their hearts. Most older websites fail horribly on Page Speed and Mobile Friendliness:
PageSpeed Insights
https://search.google.com/test/mobile-friendly

Reports full of red colours are quite effective. You can also tell them how google punishes mobile-unfriendly sites, how slow load times loose business, etc.

Ca$hvertising is a good read on learning to sell:
Ca$hvertising: How to Use More Than 100 Secrets of Ad-Agency Psychology to Make BIG MONEY Selling Anything to Anyone by Drew Eric Whitman
 

ZeroTo100

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I’ve done this before and actually am working on one that will be done within the next week or so.

I can probably build around 1 Amazon/affiliate site a week with around 25,000 - 30,000 words as well as include some highly authoritative backlinks (non PBN) and sell them for $2200 bucks each.

PM me if you’d like one :).
 

cwalto12

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As mentioned above, I target businesses that already have a website. They don't need to be sold on the general idea of a website, only the idea of a new one.

Fear generally works well for any kind of selling and google provides good tools for striking it into their hearts. Most older websites fail horribly on Page Speed and Mobile Friendliness:
PageSpeed Insights
https://search.google.com/test/mobile-friendly

Reports full of red colours are quite effective. You can also tell them how google punishes mobile-unfriendly sites, how slow load times loose business, etc.

Ca$hvertising is a good read on learning to sell:
Ca$hvertising: How to Use More Than 100 Secrets of Ad-Agency Psychology to Make BIG MONEY Selling Anything to Anyone by Drew Eric Whitman
How do you transfer the website domain and stuff?
 
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Jeff Noel

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How do you transfer the website domain and stuff?
This is relatively easy. In most cases if you never did this, ask help from their domain registrar or hosting provider (most of the time they're the same entity). They need to provide you a transfer code that the new domain registrar will require for the transfer.

Some registrar charge fees for domain transfer as far as I know.
 

Patrick Jones

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How would you do this?
Would you create a partnership with a skilled coder or would you "sell" leads for a commission?

The latter is what I have experience with. It is easy to convince developers of it, because it requires no investment on their side. You just give them the qualified lead and wait for your commission to be paid. Which obviously requires some trust on your part.

How would you imagine a partnership to work?

That’s OP’s point. It’s none of your business. Just sell and leave that to someone else.

Thank you for pointing that out :)
 

MakeItHappen

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Thanks @Patrick Jones
How would you imagine a partnership to work?
I am not sure.

Maybe finding a designer that is interested in starting a business with you (likely after you have sold him some leads so that he knows you gab sell).

He could take care of the design work and ultimatively outsourcing/hiring more good designers.

You would grow and scale the customer acquisition, hiring sales people etc.

Both of you profit from the growing value of the equity of the business.

Atleast this could become fastlane instead of just getting a commission?
 

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