Insider Secrets of Lasting Online Success

Watch this video to learn:

• How a former street musician translated good business ideas into seven-figure profits
• Tips for succeeding online in a fluctuating economy
• How to gain a competitive advantage on Google AdWords

“When my wife and I were first married, we made our entire living as street musicians and we always looked at ourselves as enterprising artists… as long as we could make enough money to survive, doing something we enjoyed, we felt we were successful.”

It’s not the kind of reminiscing you expect to hear from Harvey Manger-Weil, whose innovative business ideas have netted him many millions of dollars since 2003, when he first began earning money online.

Manger-Weil’s early 7-figure successes were “in the years when Google let you do pretty much what you wanted,” including purchasing remnant keywords, which is no longer permitted. Plus, in those days, he adds, “you could be at the top of a Google vertical for about 15 cents a click.”

Manger-Weil is the first to admit that Internet marketing has undergone enormous changes. “Affiliate marketing is more challenging now, I think, because you need to be more focused on the type of people who are really interested in purchasing your product. You need to have a product that delivers something that they can’t get somewhere else for less money.” In addition, “Google advertising has become so expensive” he says.

While the rules have changed enormously, Manger-Weil continues to thrive online, currently focusing on College Wizard, which provides one-on-one tutoring for the SAT exams and college admission. Despite charging top dollar for his services, Manger-Weil says, he’s “close being at capacity for what I can personally do” with this particular site—a fact that is prompting him to expand into video and more affiliate marketing.

Manger-Weil’s enduring success can be attributed in part to his strong business ideas and experience. Whether you’re an affiliate or vendor, he says, in business “you have to come up with the next new idea and run it as well as you can until too many people catch up and then you need to come up with the next new idea.”

As an affiliate, it’s important to concentrate on “how to add value to the product.” In today’s competitive online marketplace, “you’re not going to be successful simply doing exactly what somebody else has done.”

For affiliates making the transition to vendor, Manger-Weil advises being “sure that the product you’re delivering has a unique selling point, something that sets it apart from everything that’s already out there.” One way to accomplish that is via price point, making something more or less expensive than the competition. If you opt for the former, of course, you must “provide additional value in some way.”

For example, you might take the content from an ebook and make it into a video education series and charge more for it because, Manger-Weil adds, “the idea of video provides additional value.” Charging a higher premium can work because you’re “giving people the information in a different format,” but also you’re “selling the idea that [video] is an easier-to-use and easier-to-understand format.”

Maintaining that value proposition—and a higher price point—also provides an advantage with Google AdWords. “If your competition is selling a $39 ebook they can only afford, let’s say, 35 – 40 cents per click. But if you put the information into a video course and sell it for $129.95, then, assuming your marketing is good enough, you can theoretically do three times as much pay-per-click, which will put you at the top of that vertical,” Manger-Weil explains. Dominating a vertical market on Google AdWords typically translates into more traffic to your web site—and a major opportunity to achieve higher sales.

Like most Internet marketers, Manger-Weil has learned from business ideas that did extremely well, as well as those that didn’t perform as well. “You never want to bet the house in any one idea, always think in terms of volume of ideas,” he advises. Keep exploring new markets, he adds, because “many times, things will work that you would never expect to work.”

In a fluctuating economy, Manger-Weil recommends “being flexible and agile” because “certain things do better in a down economy and certain things do better in an up economy.” Remember, though, “there is always something that people need a lot.  If you can fulfill that need, you will do well regardless of the economy.”

It’s a story Manger-Weil has lived for nearly a decade—and his success has done more than give him and his family a flexible lifestyle and financial independence. It has allowed them to fund Manger-Weil House, an 8,000 square foot orphanage with a classroom for 75 children in Ethiopia. “That’s been one of the most fulfilling things that we’ve ever been able to do,” Manger-Weil beams. “And that really has come from ClickBank money.”