When you’re already in the process of making money, it can be the most liberating feeling. And it should be!

But over time, there’s a tendency to feel as if your business is stagnating. This often manifests in profit margins not increasing as fast as they used to. It’s also understandable if you become scared and insecure when you see other businesses able to make more money with much less effort.

So, what’s the secret? How can you scale your business, keep the money growing, and put yourself at the top of the food chain?

1) The first secret is ADS

We know that companies pay a lot of money for advertising. A study by emarketer.com estimates that the world’s global ad spending will reach USD600 billion by the end of 2020. That means the total amount companies spend on ads is higher than the individual GDP of at least 150 countries!

But what does running ads entail? Well, there are a few simple ways to leverage the growing demand for advertising.

The first way is through banner ads. These are the kinds of ads you see on websites and apps. If you’ve ever been annoyed by these kinds of ads in the past, then get ready to make them your best friend.

But you can only truly leverage these kinds of ads if you have a big niche market. You have to make sure that your content drives a big enough readership or viewership that advertisers feel excited to capitalise on a good ad placement. That’s why this method is best for those with websites, or those with apps, because it’s easy for advertisers to place their bets on markets already targeted by your content.

Aside from this, you can also do video or shoutout ads, which is how many YouTubers, Instagram celebrities, and podcasters make their money. It’s as simple as making sure your content is monetisable and showing the stats to potential advertisers.

For YouTube, it’s more or less automatic for good content to get paired with good advertisers. However, if you’re thinking of venturing into this platform, know that this isn’t the simplest feat. You still need a certain amount of watch time and subscribers to monetise your channel. As of 2018, the requirement is to have at least 1,000 subscribers and hit 4,000 hours of watch time within the span of a year.

Finally, there’s affiliate marketing. This is the kind of advertising where you receive a commission whenever someone buys products from online services like Amazon, or other brands that offer discount codes. It’s been shown that 81% of brands leverage the power of affiliate marketing because of its simple setup of promoting products and receiving a cut.

2) The second secret is FREEMIUM

Freemium is a mix of the words ‘free’ and ‘premium’. But more than just being clever wordplay, it’s a strategy that can help you make more money and scale your business.

The concept is simple – users get basic features at no cost and can access advanced features for a subscription fee.

This income-generating model gained popularity through entertainment and video games. One of the biggest examples is the billion-dollar valued game, Candy Crush, which made USD86 million from in-app purchases in the span of just one month.

Another good example is Gacha game – a genre of videogames that encourages users to spend money in order to gain better characters or weapons. The wildly popular gacha game, Fate/Grand Order, netted a total revenue of USD4 billion by the end of 2019.

Even non-videogame apps have gotten in on the trend. Food app Zomato has over 1.1 million paid users, dating app Tinder has over 6 million paid subscribers, and music app Spotify has over 144 million paid subscribers.

But freemium works anywhere. If you’re in a service business, try offering free trials of your services, and build customer trust with your offerings. If you’re a fitness instructor, or a medical professional, or a music teacher, consider giving customers free trials of your best services.

For more product-based businesses, you can also give lower-end or older models of some products for free, and ask your customers to consider upgrading to the better version.

But whatever the case may be, make sure your product has more to offer than just the free service. You have to make sure people see the value in your business, while not being completely content with the free service.

3) The last secret is DIRECT SALES

One of the simplest rules of entrepreneurship is that you always need multiple income streams. Today’s most successful entrepreneurs follow this rule to a tee.

The biggest YouTubers like PewDiePie can make up to USD6 million a month just from selling merchandise. Even small YouTubers can sell merch to earn USD70-100 a month, which isn’t shabby for small content creators.

But it doesn’t just have to be merchandise. You can sell directly into other businesses, like how YouTuber Casey Neistat turned his vlogging career into selling his company Beme for USD25 million, or how former esports player Andy Dinh started his own professional esports team called Team SoloMid, which earned him over USD6.5 million.

If you’re going down this route, consider your business’ products, and how you can market additional and supplementary stuff.

Direct sales help bolster your already growing profit, so whatever method you choose, make sure the money is working for you.

To your success,

Mario

[Visit www.mariosingh.com now to enjoy a FREE e-book of my latest “37 Essential Principles for Massive Success” when you subscribe!]