Trying to Drive With Square Wheels

“So far, my website is pretty much identical to the Early to Rise site,” PG told me.

PG is one of my coaching students. I had just asked him to tell me about the progress he was making.

He had a sign-up box on the top right-hand corner of every page of his website. It offered a free newsletter in exchange for a site visitor’s first name and e-mail address. He had a lot of quality content. And the site navigation was clean and easy to follow. He even had a search box and “refer a friend” option.

Was I upset by the striking similarity between his website and ours? Absolutely not. I was happy to see that he had copied so much. In fact, as his coach, that’s what I told him to do.

You see, it wasn’t our “intellectual property” that he was using. It was the structure of the website and the business model.

When you’re starting an online business, one of the smartest things you can do is follow a proven model instead of trying to figure it all out on your own. And if you have a coach or mentor to help you, so much the better. It will really speed up your learning curve.

Now you may be thinking that “following” another business and having someone “hold your hand” doesn’t sound fun, exciting, or original. But the fact is, most fledgling entrepreneurs who try to reinvent the wheel end up frustrated and disappointed. (There is nothing fun or exciting about spending a lot of time and money on a business and not turning a profit.)

I should know. I used to be one of those guys. But after a couple of years of trial and error, I decided to attend an Early to Rise Bootcamp. It was there that I learned about the Agora Model and met the mentors who helped me apply it.

In a nutshell, the Agora Model uses direct-response advertising to drive traffic to your website. On the website, you offer valuable information — say, a free newsletter or special report. In return, you ask your visitors for their e-mail address. Once you have a visitor’s e-mail address, you follow up by sending them additional free information, as well as offers for your products and services.

This simple model is underutilized by online entrepreneurs. But make no mistake about how powerful it is. It is the model that Agora used to grow into a $300 million a year company. The same model that turned Early to Rise into a $25 million a year powerhouse.