Judging by your reading of this particular blog I think it’s safe to say that you have more than a passing interest in the inner-workings of topics such as how different online business models operate. One such online business model is in actual fact the backbone of all successful online businesses, because if you actually come to look at it you’ll realise that they all come down to the same thing.
All successful online business models in the true sense of an online business come down to providing answers to some or other question or a range of questions – providing a solution delivered as nothing more than a bit of information. There are various shades to it as well, but the simplest of them all and the one which costs the absolute least by way of operational overheads is that of simply providing solutions to common problems people seemingly have, as suggested by what they search for online.
The world’s biggest online business which capitalises on this is none other than Google. Google is the ultimate solutions provider, making money whether or not the solutions it spits out are valid or effective. Google’s position is a uniquely strong one because its own reputation doesn’t suffer one bit as it really just serves as a platform to bring together content producers and consumers of content. If you buy something having run a Google search and it doesn’t quite turn out to be as advertised, at no point are you going to place the blame on Google.
Getting in on the action
All you really need to get in on the action and get what can be a very lucrative slice of the huge online Q&A business model pie is pretty much just a channel through which you can provide answers to some questions. You don’t even have to target the most common questions out there and you don’t even need to have your own website or blog.
You just have to be smart about the questions you choose to address and about how you address those questions. To walk you through a simple example, internet users who ask a question like what is ytd on my paycheck make for the perfect monetisation prospects because this user typically demonstrates a few things, one of which is the glaring fact that they earn a pay check.
Now, when answering such questions or rather when providing the solution via the online Q&A business model, the key is not to give absolutely everything away. Lead the prospect to a place where they get a good amount of information on whatever it is they’re looking for, but the final step should require them to take some sort of action which results in you getting paid. This could be through something like an affiliate link or perhaps even just something like earning a single penny when someone clicks on the links on your site (PPC).
Considering just how many people worldwide are searching for the same set of solutions, get it right once and you’ll have the ultimate Q&A business running on autopilot.
Hey, I’m Rory and I am the ultimate accidental geek.
Born in London I was never interested in technologies until I started a part-time job at Apple and now I can’t get enough. Join me as a help you navigate the world of tech with some of my fellow geeks.