16 creators who have been successful share their tips for making

Starting your first online business? Find out how you can make your first purchase from successful entrepreneurs who have been there, done that, and are sharing their advice.

The advice they offer has been compiled into six simple, digestible tips, so whether you're having trouble selling your first item or a seasoned creator looking for an inspiration boost, here's what people who've gone through the same process had to say.

#1: Get to know your customers

"Sales become easier if you understand who exactly you're selling your product to.

The first time I published my book, The Swap  I felt compelled to meet the decluttering needs of every person with a closet, but the language was broad fuzzy, unclear and aimed at nobody.

When that customer became specific -- someone who conceptually loved KonMari but couldn't practically get on board -- I was able to surpass my secret, it'll-probably-never-happen goal.

What is the important thing to Know. Your. Customer."

- Kendra Adachi, The Lazy Genius Collective

For your first sales, you need to know what your audience wants.

And to learn what they want from you it is important to get to know them..

76% of consumers think that businesses are aware of their needs and expectations However, more than half think that the companies don't have their best interests in the back of their minds.

Many businesses are not hitting their standard, showing your customers that you care about them will make your company stand out from competition.

That's where customer research comes in.

Researching customer needs involves collecting the most information possible regarding your market to create a customer experience that makes people feel appreciated and respected.

One of our top ways to research customers is through review mining. Utilize a search engine like Amazon to find other products geared toward your intended audience. Then, read the reviews. These product reviews offer qualitative insights into your customers' desires and needs.

Imagine you want to sell an online course in songwriting for novices. You could search "songwriting for beginner" on Amazon, then read the reviews of books such as The Art of Songwriting :

From these reviews, you can tell that the aspiring writers appreciate useful, practical tips to music writing, with an emphasis on both lyrics and music. You can use these insights in the process of creating and promoting your course to make sure it meets your audience's needs.

If you're interested in learning from your audience directly, surveys are another excellent method of conducting research on your customers. Here's why:

Your audience will see that you are interested in the feedback of your customers.

They provide first-hand insights that no other form of research can.

Surveys help you measure the market need to your item.

Companies that invest in getting feedback from their customers have higher customer retention rates .

Gathering feedback directly from potential clients can assist in avoiding the number one reason that entrepreneurs fail  The products or services aren't innovative or innovative to the market.

It's easy to assume that we are aware of the needs of our customers. It was the case for John D Saunders when he first launched his course. Being a novice entrepreneur and creator of courses He assumed that he knew the needs of his customers.

Don't be afraid to ask your customers what they want. Tiffany Williams, the founder of Rich Girl Collective  was able to determine what types of products and content her audience would like to see from her by asking them directly -- and listening.

"I will simply inquire with my students about their needs, and what they want to learn If it is in line with an activity I've already completed, and that I have been successful with that, then I impart the subject to them," she elaborates.

Another thing to consider prior to moving on to the next point getting to know your customers should not be stopped after making their first purchase.

That is, demonstrate to your clients that you appreciate your customers long after spending their first dollar with you. It can be a significant impact on your profits:

52% of buyers will go over and above to buy from companies they've been loyal to for years.

Return customers tend to be 9 times greater likely be converted than a first-time shopper.

It can cost more than seven times more to acquire an additional customer than it does to retain the one you already have.

If you take care of them the first customers you serve will be your best advocates as well as, more importantly, eager to explain why.

Word-of-mouth (WOM) isn't the only thing you require for your first purchase. It's important to clean up other tools in your arsenal as well.

2. Make the maximum of your marketing

"Having a large social fan base? Sure, that's cool.

Having a lot of YouTube users? Great.

However, the one I concentrate on when it comes to marketing is email. When it comes to email funnels, sequences and even emails I'm convinced that there's a lot of benefit because this is only one step closer for them telling me that they are truly interested in what it is that I can provide or offer."

-- Sef Chang House of Royalties

Small-business owners is responsible for 4.2 positions  in their business, and when at the beginning of your journey, "marketer" is definitely one of them.

From the Google AdWords to search engine optimization (SEO), there are a ton of different ways to advertise your company. But for Sef -- and virtually every writer we speak to -- marketing via email is one of the most successful ways to get your message out to an clients and to sell more of your products.

The statistics are in agreement -email marketing can generate an average ROI of $42 for every $1 spend .

(That ROI could be higher when you use an all-in-one program such as .

To reap the benefits of email marketing, it is essential to establish your email database.

For example, Sef offers subscribers a free listing of companies who are willing to license inventors' new inventions. Sef's primary target market is inventors who want to know more about licensing their products So this list can be a valuable asset.

"I had my first sale from people who follow my blog and downloaded my animation tools. My advice is to offer free assistance and advice to the community that you're a part of before you even start offering your product for sale."

- Sander van Dijk, Regulus

Imagine the lead magnet as a complimentary preview of your digital products or course material. Offer your readers an understanding about who you are as well as what they can learn from you.

Additional tools and methods that you could add to your tools include:

If you've got an investment budget for marketing in influencer partnership and paid social media ads can broaden your audience.

Establishing a presence on your audience's favorite social media platforms will help you establish a following as well as showcase your knowledge.

That last piece is how Min Liu drives online course sales.

The first thing I accomplished was to create My own channel on YouTube called The Art of Verbal War for the purpose of building an audience. I created short video clips on my subject matter (verbal skills) and then linked my YouTube channel to my website in order to capture subscriber emails.

Now, I have a substantial email list to create my courses at any time I want, but mostly simply to provide information and give the value (which is far more essential than simply selling your subscribers). Today, YouTube is my primary advertising channel for my course."

-- Min Liu, The Art of Verbal War

Overall Your marketing plan should reflect what works best for you, your business as well as the customers you serve. You may not get it right on the first attempt -- but this isn't necessarily good, but it is that's exactly what the following section will cover.

3. Be open to experimenting

"Experiment! It's difficult to figure out the best way to promote your business online and every group of potential clients will be different. Therefore, you'll need to test to find out what's effective (and which ones aren't).

I've discovered that publishing to my blog, then having blog posts re-posted and re-posted by others, with an opt-in widget to my blog is an excellent way to go.

I've purchased advertisements for Facebook, Quora, and Reddit However, with limited results. I've also started a YouTube channel and started publishing content on it, with satisfactory results.

In everything you do think about, evaluate, and then modify your methods to make them better. There's no one panacea there!"

- Reuven Lerner, Reuven Lerner's Python Courses

There's no need to be able to do all things perfectly in the very first attempt to introduce a brand new product, or at all.

It is important to try new things, and making mistakes, and learn from them is a vital part of the journey to becoming an entrepreneur.

In the Startup Curve , invented by Y Combinator founder Paul Graham , failure is an inevitable phase. It is experienced just prior to when your business starts heading upward toward scaling and growth.

"I think the most important thing we need to focus on is looking back at the mistakes and failures of the past and also gather information we can then use to inform the current thing we're doing now."

To let go of some aspects of your perfectionist mindset, attempt to adopt the psychology of Carol Dweck calls a "growth mindset". A growing mentality allows you to accept the challenges, conquer them, and gain from your challenges through continuous learning rather than achieving the goal of perfection.

So, give yourself permission to explore new avenues in the course of growing your business- just make sure to keep yourself accountable all the process.

#4: Be accountable to yourself

"To take responsibility, I told friends I was going to launch my new product within 30 days. They also sent me daily emails with D-15, D-14 in it.

Peer pressure worked great for me!"

- Alexis Santin

One way to hold yourself accountable is by pre-selling your digital products, as the marketing expert and creator Val Geisler recommends.

"Sell it before it's built!

If you are able to think of the outline, draw the contents, and draw a rough sketch of what's to come, you can likely pre-sell the course to your inner circle before even creating the course.

It's incredible motivation to actually create the course, and there's a bit of money in the bank to support the course you're creation."

- Val Geisler, Your Signature Experience

John's tweet thread shows how he utilizes the pre-sales method:

John asks his audience to complete an online form and then pay $7 if they're interested to enroll in his new course. Those who invest the $7 get a 50% to 60% discount on the cost of the course when it launches and John takes the remainder of the cost.

"I am beginning to think about the concept that we're making our own businesses prisons, where we basically set the framework of our lives, where the most likely outcome is exhausted and failure due to the fact that we're not taking care of ourselves."

"Even if you don't realize it, you likely have a whole host of limiting assumptions that cause you to self-defeat and live within your familiar zone. Put your money into yourself(and your confidence in yourself) and things will change. "

Successful entrepreneurs like Becky and Minessa have these insights to impart because they've been in your shoes. This experience is what makes them a great resource for brand novice creators to take lessons from. This is, not incidentally, the next thing we'll talk on.

#5 5: Take lessons from one another

"Whatever you're looking to accomplish -- whether blog, creating products, building a list -- start by emulating the people who do the job well. All you have to do has been done by many individuals before, and you can see the steps they took on their websites.

This may seem obvious, but emulate those who are successful. Many of us waste a lot of our time trying to reinvent the wheel, thinking we must do things in a unique, epic way.

The beauty of the web is that it has a wealth of instances of all the things you require to know available."

-- David Cain, Camp Calm

No matter what you're seeking to do,"learn from the top" is an excellent way to start. This is what makes platforms such as MasterClass that are it's a series of online courses given by"the world's best minds," including Neil DeGrasse Tyson to Margaret Atwoodand beyond -- so appealing.

In the beginning of setting up and managing a enterprise, there's an abundance of advice and resources out there. The best information comes from people with years that have experience -- the ones who have been there, done that, and know that you can do it also.

There are numerous groups available for young creators and entrepreneurs to get connected with others, from no-cost Facebook groups to exclusive mastermind group.

Brit Kolo, who is the co-founder of Marketing Personalities , told us that joining mastermind groups is among of the best investment she's made for her career.

"Business expansion is only the beginning of the incredible results ... I've also grown in my personal life, a leader, as well as a CEO. The other business owners in my mastermind group have become lifelong friends, which I will not do it lightly."

A research study of remote working by Buffer indicates that the most difficult two issues that people who work from home face are communication and collaboration, as well as loneliness -- two obstacles which joining the appropriate online community could help overcome.

MegaMaker is a place specifically for designers and developers who " want more than an ordinary 9-5 ". The community connects individuals with the same goals so that they can form partnerships to share ideas, exchange advice and share knowledge as David Cain recommends.

To get the most out of these membership communities, you need to be fully present at the table and talk openly about your personal experiences and challenges. If you want to succeed in making your first (and the second and hundredth) sales, you have to be the same for your customers, too.

#6: Be yourself

"Be yourself. You can tell if you are a fake.

Find your passion and unique voice within it. There is no one who can articulate the things that need to be stated exactly the way you can."

- Katie Orr, Bible Study Hub Shop

They don't want or.

They are looking for authenticity and worth. 86% of customers say that authenticity is an important factor when deciding what companies they trust and like.

The bulk of the value you bring to society comes from your unique experience and perspective.

Few people know that better than Minessa Konecky.

"Stop trying to that you are who your customers want to you to be.

We are drawn to authenticity and when we buy from an owner of a small business, we aren't just buying the product. We're purchasing a perspective.

If your prospects don't know who you are or the values you represent No amount of photoshop photographs and beautifully designed posts will convert them. This gives you enormous freedom to be yourself, warts and all. They'll love you for it."

- Minessa Konecky, Direct to Success

In committing her whole self for her work Minessa built a successful business that helps others.

Now that's a win-win.

The conclusion of the day your personal perspective and experience is what helps you connect with your customers -- not an attractive website or well-crafted copy.

Just show up as you are -- that's all it takes.

Begin with a sale and then grow your business

Whether you're new to all things online entrepreneurship or you're just beginning to market a new product, the path from a product idea to your first sale can be filled with highs and lows.

Based on the real-life advice of 16 successful creators Six tips to help you navigate the bumpy path:

Discover all possible about the needs of your customers. Research your customer and speak to them directly and, most likely, they'll be happy to give you feedback.

Discover the marketing channels which work best for your business and then follow these channels. Marketing via email is an excellent way to begin, and lead magnets are an effective way to grow your list.

Accept experimentation, iteration and even failure. It's okay not to get everything perfect the first time -- in fact, it's part the learning process.

Hold yourself accountable, at home and outwardly. Pre-selling your products ensures you are on the right the right track for completing your plan stopping self-sabotaging behavior will set you up for success.

Get inspired by the top professionals and your peers in your industry. Discover communities that don't just provide you with new knowledge, but provide support and a support system, too.

Do what you do best. Customers want acquainted with you as well Your experiences add the value of the work you do.

Go out and get that deal. We're rooting for you.