There are some advantages to using PayPal’s payment buttons:

• It’s easy to do and you don’t need any additional software
• The money goes directly to your PayPal account via a secure page
• You can also collect payments via credit card if the user doesn’t have a PayPal account

I tried searching for tutorials on how to create a PayPal payment button but wasn’t satisfied with what I found. So I decided to create my own tutorial.

To setup PayPal buttons and payment links however, you need to have a Premier or Business account. You cannot do this with a personal account. However, you can upgrade from a personal account to Premier / Business at no cost. The only difference is that you will be paying a higher fee per transaction.

Setting Up Your Product and Pricing

The first thing you need to do is enter your product name and pricing details. Just login to your PayPal account and click on Merchant Services. Then, click on Website Payment Standards.

Next, select which type of payment you need. If you’re selling a single item (for example an ebook) then you only need to choose the Sell Single Items button. If you’re selling recurring products (like a membership site), then you can choose Offer Automated Payments. For this example, just select Sell Single Items.

Next, enter your product name and product price. If your product has an SKU number or reference number, you can enter that as well under Item ID.

If your product has a shipping fee or a tax rate, you can enter that as well. PayPal gives you the option to accept payments to your PayPal email address or you secure merchant account ID. I recommend choosing the merchant account ID option for better security.

Setting The Return URL to Your Website

To automate the deliver of your product, you must have a “Thank You” page on your website where customers will be redirected to once they have made a successful payment. The “Thank You” page should contain the product download links (for digital items) or instructions on what to do next.

Make sure you enter the correct thank you page URL for completed payments, and your website’s product page URL for canceled payments.

Getting The PayPal Payment Button or Link

The final step is to get your PayPal payment button code. You can just copy this code and paste it into your website’s salespage. The PayPal “Buy Now” button will appear on your site, and users can click on that button to be taken to the payment page.

However, if you already have a different payment button or if you want to get a link to be included in your emails, click on the the Email tab and you will see a link like this:

This is the direct payment link that you need to put on your salespages. Make sure you copy and paste the URL exactly as it is, or the payment link will not work.

If you’re planning to open a complete e-commerce store however, creating PayPal payment buttons for your entire product line is way too tedious. Instead, I recommend you try the BigCommerce shopping cart software. It comes with a complete e-commerce store, templates, and built-in PayPal payment system.

If you’re from Malaysia and want to learn how to use PayPal, here’s the best place to get video tutorials: PayPal Malaysia

Related posts:

1. How to Make Money with Affiliate Marketing [display_podcast] In our third teleseminar session, we cover everything about...

That will mean it’s the best business to be in on the Internet right?

Well, not exactly. As you may know by now, web hosting is one of the most competitive industries out there. Yet smaller providers continue to exist, and thrive.

In this article, let me give you a brief overview of how to start your own web hosting business, based on my own experiences with Host Commando. Although this is not the exact thing we are doing (cos that’s a secret), it’s pretty close.

Basically, there are 5 steps you need to take:

1. Create a Unique Selling Proposition or USP
2. Get a reliable dedicated server, with WHM and cPanel
3. Get a reliable web hosting automation software
4. Do some simple SEO and a lot of promotion
5. Prepare for the worst, but expect the best

Create a Unique Selling Proposition

This is actually the hardest part. No matter what the hosting companies tell you, they are all basically selling the same thing – hard disk space. It’s just a small section of a hard drive on a computer that is referred to as a “server”.

And no, don’t say “I will provide the cheapest solution” or “I will provide the best customer service” because quite honestly, you cannot beat the larger players at their own game.

I think it will be better for you to provide “value added hosting”. In other words, offer something more than just hosting. Offer a service, like we did with Host Commando, where we help users install, optimize and troubleshoot WordPress.

Whatever the extra stuff is, make sure you mention that clearly in your sales page and ads. Then, follow through on your promise to the best of your abilities.

Let me give you an example:

• Host with us and we’ll design your corporate website for free
• Host with us and get free Internet marketing coaching

Or sometimes, it can act to support your existing business model instead while building a stream of residual income:

• Hire us to design your website, and get free 6 months hosting
• Join my Internet marketing workshop, and get free webhosting for a year

Just remember that if you decide to offer value-added hosting, you cannot afford to sell it cheap, simply because there will be additional work for you to do. Go “premium” and make your hosting appeal to those with a bigger pocket – it’s not a sin!

Get a Reliable Dedicated Server

This is really the easiest part, if you’re not too fussy about the cost. Just get a dedicated server from HostGator from as low as $174 / month to start with.

If you get a dedicated server from other providers, make sure your dedicated server has the following:

1. The Web Host Management or WHM script to manage your server and accounts in the server
2. cPanel installed and configured with the latest specs, for your user hosting accounts
3. MYSQL, Apache and latest version of PHP
4. Good and timely support (the most important part actually)
5. Some sort of server monitoring or alert tool

Again, getting the HostGator server is your safest bet. They will give you both the automation tools I mention below for free.

Get Web Hosting Automation Software

This is the part that sucked up most of my time when I wanted to start a web hosting business.

Basically, there are two good solutions you can use – WHMCS and WHMAutopilot.

Yes there are others, but if you take the time to do research you’ll find that these are the top two recommendations. Even established hosting companies use them.

Since I didn’t know better when I first got started, I flipped a coin and decided to go with WHMAutopilot. Although the software is decent enough, I soon regretted my decision when I saw what WHMCS can do.

Without getting too technical, let me explain why WHMCS is better:

1. Better overall User Interface or UI – you will not be scratching your head for too long
2. Way better support and forum / community – there are a lot of smart people willing to help you out with your questions
3. Better provisioning and reporting tools – makes it almost 99% automated
4. Built-in support ticket system and knowledgebase
5. Much more integration options and third-party add-ons

WHMCS will cost you $249.95 One Time if you buy an “Owned License”, or $15.95 monthly for the “Leased Version”.

If you bought the HostGator dedicated server like I asked you to, you’ll get the basic Owned License version of WHMCS for free. Basic is good enough when you’re getting started

Next, you need to get a domain name reseller account with Enom.

Enom integrates very nicely into WHMCS (and also WHMAutopilot) and allows you to easily sell domain names with your web hosting account. The process is 100% automated once you’ve set it up in WHMCS.

If you get the HostGator dedicated server package, you’ll get an Enom reseller account for free as well.

Now all you need to do is set-up everything – WHMCS, HostGator and Enom to work together perfectly. It’s the perfect combination if you want to slash the learning curve and get started fast – it’s not for those who want to save money and waste their time.

How do you set-up everything?

I can’t teach you that unless I create a 3-day hands-on workshop, so good luck on your own. But don’t worry, – huge part of the web hosting industry involves around this “holy trinity” of hosting and help should not be that difficult to find.

A few forums that may be helpful:

1. WebHost Automation – Can get a bit technical, so prepare
2. Top Hosts Forum – Another webmaster forum
3. Web Hosting Talk – Good participation here, one of the largest
4. WHMCS Forum – Probably the most useful if you’ve decided on WHMCS

NOTE: Leaving a forum signature to your new webhosting site (while participating honestly) will help you with the next part, Search Engine Optimization.

Simple SEO and A Lot of Promotion

Let’s not get too much into SEO as there are more e-books and blog on that topic that any human being can possible read in a lifetime.

All I have to say about SEO in terms of web hosting is don’t rely on it. Have you ever met a webmaster who didn’t know SEO? Chances are most web hosting companies understand SEO better than you do, and spend much more money on it.

Sure, you must get your keyword research right and have basic software like Keyword Elite. Sure, you must make an effort to some link building and SEO.  Sure, you should have basic knowledge about how Google ranks websites.

But that about all you should do. Trying to make money from search engine traffic is just to darn slow in the early stages – you need a more direct approach to avoid heartbreak.

Try approaching people who are already in the business of building websites or web design, and offer them your affiliate program so that they are more open to promoting your hosting package to their existing clients.

Approach other marketers and ask them to do an email promotion for you. If your USP is solid and you’re offering an attractive affiliate payout there should be no issues with this.

You may also want to offer a promotional discount or free trials to get your hosting business going.

Prepare for The Worst Case Scenario

As a business owner you must always hope for the best and prepare for the worst.

What is the worst that can happen with your web hosting account? You lose some money. How much money exactly?

Well lets say your HostGator dedicated server costs $174 a month. By going with HostGator you also get WHMCS and Enom for free, so you save money.

How many hosting accounts can you sell from one dedicated server? Opinion varies, and it depends a lot on your packages, but generally speaking you can easily fit 50 accounts into a single dedicated server. Sometimes you can stuff in up to 200 accounts.

If you’re selling for $9.90 a month, that will mean you need to sell about 18 accounts only to break even. If you really cannot do that, you should reconsider your intentions of starting an Internet business in the first place.

Everything you make after that is pure profit, so push yourself to sell your first 18 accounts as soon as possible, preferably before the next invoice for your dedicated server is due.

That’s why I recommend that you stop hunting for freebies and “cheaper” options that don’t work well and end up costing you more. The solutions I give on this page are proven to work, go with them first before you decide to get adventurous!

Related posts:

1. How to Start Your First Business on The Internet [display_podcast] This is from the IMC Teleseminar 01, the topic...
2. Getting Funds For Your Start-Up By Daniel Lim Here are the presentation videos and presentation slides from our...
3. Rest In Peace Chapter-M In May 2005 I created one of my first successful...

Instead of having one big market (26+ million people), we now have many different (and fragmented markets):

• Those who predominantly read and speak in English
• Those who predominantly read and speak in Malay
• Those who predominantly read and speak in Chinese
• Those who predominantly read and speak in Tamil

It’s funny that I should list the markets according to the language that they use to communicate most often, but there’s a reason for that.

The people who only read and speak in Malay tend to watch TV programs and read books or publications in Malay only. Same goes with those who only read and speak in Chinese. Life imitates art, and therefore these groups have different set of values, different needs and wants, and a grossly divergent view of the world.

Now as an Internet marketer in Malaysia, you have to address three different markets instead of one cohesive market with similar needs and wants. Not that this scenario isn’t true for other markets like the US, where Hispanic, Black and Chinese communities each have slightly different set of values, needs and wants. It’s common in most multi-cultural societies, and variety is always great.

The only (and most important) difference is that in the US, everyone can still speak and write a common language; English. In Malaysia however, I find a lot of people who predominantly speak and write in Malay have terrible command of English, and this is a big problem. Because they hand around in communities that only speak the same language, there is no incentive form them to improve their language once they are out of high school or college.

“So what if they can’t speak in English?” you say. “What’s the big deal?”

A lot, actually. You need to understand that e-commerce and Internet marketing is a US-driven economy. Not Malaysia-driven. Not China-driven, at least not yet anyway

And most definitely not India-driven, regardless of the fact that India produces top-notch programmers who are really good at being employees.

They are always left behind in the online world, and rely too much on others to translate their service and products into a language they can understand. But try as they may, no one can translate the entire Internet. So if they cannot understand what “Click here to continue” means, it takes massive effort and patience for them to do even simple stuff an Internet marketer does on a daily basis.

When we launched Rahsia ClickBank for instance, I never expected the response to be so overwhelming. To be honest, Rahsia ClickBank is not a new idea – it’s based on the tried and tested affiliate marketing method of writing product reviews. Similar products have been around for ages, except with Rahsia ClickBank we raised the level, produced a much better product, created a killer salescopy, and targeted the Malay-speaking market.

Based on the support emails and feedback we got, it’s clear that this market were not exposed to the idea before. It took more than 4 years to reach them.

Although we translated the main guide to Bahasa Melayu, it’s impossible for us to translate the entire Internet. When someone goes to ClickBank to register and account and is dumbfounded because everything is in English, that’s most probably the end of the journey for them.

The Internet marketers in Malaysia who can speak and write in English however, have experimented with product review websites before and already understand the concept. They can learn and progress on their own without a lot of spoon-feeding.

Ok, this is starting to sound like a REALLY LONG rant

But my point is, language and culture is a big obstacle in targeting Malaysia as your market. That’s why we’ve decided to focus on one language only (English), and try to make our products or services appeal to an International market. It’s the only way we can even hope to make a lot of money and at the same time be in the forefront of marketing technology.

However, that doesn’t mean that there is no money in the fragmented markets.

In the Malay-speaking market for example, due to lack of choice and lack of noise, it’s much easier to sell low-quality products at a cheaper price. A quick look at the Wang Cyber forum and you’ll find many doing exactly that. Most of the stuff are translated to BM from Private Label Products. But hey if it works for you, then go ahead and do it.

I just wish sometimes that things could be different.

What do you think?

Related posts:

1. Malaysia Internet Marketing Survey – Ecommerce Exposure I recently send out a survey form to my Malaysian...
2. Malaysia 10K Internet Marketing Case Study My previous video with 17-year old Labanon (who is from...
3. Survey of Internet Entrepreneurship in Malaysia Picked this up from SmartUsaha: For those that don’t speak...

• Conducting seminars and workshops
• Conducting mastermind events & meetings
• Adding more interviews and content
• Helping our affiliates make more sales

The blog and the forum, while useful for members, requires too much effort based on expertise that we do not have. Instead of having members come to a rather empty forum all the time, why not align ourselves with one of the most popular and active forums in Malaysia, WangCyber.com?

There were 2 forums we considered for the move: WangCyber.com and WebmasterMalaysia.com. However, I believe WangCyber.com will be a more mutually beneficial partnership as this a forum more for marketers and idea builders.

At WangCyber you will find Internet marketers who are friendly, knowledgeable and helpful. This “marriage” in the long run will be better for IMC members. Here’s how it will work:

• Under WangCyber there is a sub-forum called “Internet Millionaires Forum” which is the default forum for all IMC members
• WangCyber forum is in Bahasa Malaysia, but the sub-forum will be in English – of course you’re free to write in English, BM or the trademark “Manglish”
• You’re free to participate in any other part of WangCyber, trade with other members, and much more. 

We’re starting the forum from scratch, so you will have to register again here: http://www.wangcyber.com/forum/register.php

Please also read this announcement from me.

Ideally, we would like to have the forum right here as it is. But I’m sure with this move, we can both provide a more conducive environment for members to discuss and learn from other members, as well as help us focus on planning and creating more valuable content and events for members.

I will make a commitment to visit the new forum daily and answer any questions posted in this forum. With all the technical headaches removed, I look forward to learning from each other.

All other areas of InternetMillionaires.com.my will remain unchanged.

Related posts:

1. Will Malaysia See More Internet Entrepreneur Events Like This? The WangCyber gathering on 2 August was perhaps the most...
2. Internet Marketing Malaysia – The Big Problem Our colonial fathers, a.k.a the British, implemented a “Divide and...
3. Wang Cyber Gathering for Malaysian Internet Marketers WangCyber.com, an established Malaysian Internet entrepreneur portal, is holding their...

Most of you may have already met Sunny, and while Sunny and me started out about the same time, we took very different paths. Suny focused more on building content-driven sites and monetizing them with Google AdSense, helping him earn a 4-figure USD income which eventually gave him the confidence to become a full time Internet marketer starting January 2008.

Sunny eventually discovered that other people are more than willing to pay him thousands of dollars to buy his sites, and hence started a new business model of “flipping” websites for profit.

In this short podcast, Sunny explains how it works and what t expect. To discover more on buying and selling websites for profit, make sure you attend our bootcamp!

[display_podcast]

Related posts:

1. Why Are You Only Selling To Malaysians? One thing I noticed about a lot of people selling...
2. Malaysian Spammers Selling Email Addresses Don’t you ever fall for this deceiving scam – someone...
3. Internet Millionaires Mastermind Session 01 One of the best ways to grow your Internet business...

Here are some selected pictures from our bootcamp, feel free to use them on your blog. If you have your own pictures, feel free to link back / trackback to this blog post.

Ah, the lucky winners who got to go back home with more than just good tips and strategies on making money online.

And the book signing after the event. If you have a copy of The New Millionaires you should read it from start to finish as soon as possible. My friends tell me it’s pretty easy to read so you should be able to understand the language well.

Finally, the big group picture with all the participants, me, and the organizing team.

Related posts:

1. Internet Millionaires Mastermind 02 Our first mastermind session was a moderate success, and almost...
2. Internet Millionaires Mastermind Session 01 One of the best ways to grow your Internet business...
3. Internet Millionaires Mastermind – Open Session Want to meet up with other Internet marketers for small...

The reason is pretty obvious:

• A much bigger market - Sometimes there just isn’t a big enough market online for the topic of your e-book, if it’s just focused on Malaysians. However when you make it global, the size of the market and hence your potential customers increase dramatically.
• Higher income per sale - If you sell an ebook for RM20, just change it to the dollar sign (USD) and I’m pretty sure the global market would be stepping on each other to buy it. Sometimes just by making small changes to your existing e-book, you can easily earn 3 times more per sale and triple your yearly income.
• Longer product life - You have to understand that for every product, only 1-4 people out of every hundred people who visit your site ends up buying your product. So if your product is targeted at a Malaysian market only for which there is less than 1,000 potential buyers online, after a few weeks your product is as good as dead.

Here’s what I recommend you do.

• If your product is about making money online, make it relevant to the international market. My product WordPress Adsense System has been producing about 18-30 sales a month, every month, since August 2006. If I wrote this in BM it would have already reached every potential buyer in a few months, after which it would have been considered old. Sure, there are new people coming online every day who may be interested, but in Malaysia alone the market is too small.
• If your product is Islamic in nature, why not target other Islamic countries as well. Our neighbor Indonesia has about 10 times the population of Malaysia and it wouldn’t be too hard to get someone to create a version for them, would it?
• If your product is only for Malaysians, at least have 2 versions,one in English and another in BM. Don’t just create a BM version and lose the opportunity to sell to those who would not want to read it in BM.

Make no mistake about it.

Selling to an all-Malaysian crowd will make you money. It’s not wrong to do it, just don’t do it at the expense of earning a better income is USD from a bigger market,especially when the possibility is just a few clicks away!

At the Internet Millionaires Bootcamp, I teach you how to do both. I have experience creating information products both for the local market, and for an international audience. I know based on my success (and failures) exactly how to design for each market, and address each differently.

At the bootcamp, we’ll go through some examples from my own products, and a step-by-step guideline on creating popular, profitable information products. Make sure you attend it.

Related posts:

1. Malaysian Spammers Selling Email Addresses Don’t you ever fall for this deceiving scam – someone...
2. Buying and Selling Websites for Profit Welcome to our guest speaker for the November BootCamp –...
3. Why Some Malaysians Have The Wrong Mentality Over the past 2 years meeting a lot of Malaysians...

The WangCyber gathering on 2 August was perhaps the most refreshing event I’ve been to in the past 2 years here in Malaysia. Perhaps we as Malaysians need more events like this (once in a while) to lift up our spirits and inspire us to work towards our dreams.

Others Story:-

• (Alang) Sehari bersama warga WangCyber.com | Blog Webmaster Malaysia
  (Bagak) Gathering WC Yang Pertama – Bukit Jalil
• (Galadriel) Gambar Gathering WangCyber 2008 Part 1
• (Galadriel) Gambar Gathering WangCyber 2008 Part 2
• (TheReds) Gathering WC yang meriah
• (Flarebiz) Terima Kasih WC Gath…
• (Din Beramboi) Sekitar WC Gathering 03 Ogos 2008, Bukit Jalil Golf & Resort
• (Nasrun) WC Gathering Rock!!
• (afzaiafandi) Gathering Pertama Wang Cyber
• (Badruzamani) Perjumpaan Ahli Forum WangCyber 2008
• (Noorizam) Update I – WangCyber Gathering
• (Osman Affan) Forum dan Gathering Warga Wangcyber.com
• (Catzer) WangCyber Gathering, Bukit Jalil
• (shuth) terima kasih..
• (Carllys) PC Fair and Gathering WangCyber
• (azuwan) Gathering Forum WangCyber Pertama
• (hasrul) Gathering WangCyber.com
• (amirol) Kenangan Terindah Bersama WC
• (irwan dahnill) Berjayakah Gathering WangCyber #1 ?
• (zamri nanyan) Berita Perjumpaan “WangCyber.com”
• (maizul) WC 1st Gathering 2008
• (noorizam) Update II – WangCyber Gathering
• (fai) Apa Yang Menggembirakan Anda Sebenarnya?
• (Syed Ikhwan) WC Gathering – Memories of Malaysian IM

Related posts:

1. Malaysia Dot Com Entrepreneur Search I first read about it on Steven Wong’s blog –...
2. Wang Cyber Gathering for Malaysian Internet Marketers WangCyber.com, an established Malaysian Internet entrepreneur portal, is holding their...
3. Internet Marketing Malaysia – The Big Problem Our colonial fathers, a.k.a the British, implemented a “Divide and...

After close to a year working on it, The New Millionaires is finally released, and should be available in bookstores around Malaysian by end of August.

For more information on this book, please refer to our books and publications page.

If you’re a member of Internet Millionaires Club you can get the book at a special rate, please check the membership page.

If you have a copy of this book, I’d appreciate if you can write a short review about it on your blog or website. If you know someone who might be interested in reading it, please direct them to this page.

I’d like to take this opportunity to thank the following people (in no particular order):

• My mom and dad, who have no idea what I do online
• My wife Sheila who kept on asking me "What’s happening to your book?"
• Zamri Nanyan, who got me in touch with True Wealth
• Nirmita and Fai from Truewealth, for being patient with me
• Azizi Ali, for his guidance and for giving me the opportunity
• Melvin Ng for always telling me the danger behind everything
• Vince Tan for keeping me excited about online marketing
• Sunny Tan for expanding my mind on subjects I know nothing about
• Telekom Malaysia, for helping me get sick of working for someone else
• Irfan Khairi, for the inspiration
• Kidino, for selflessly doing important stuff for me
• Joey Chua and Rakawi Ling, for being so darn efficient
• Khai, for making me laugh and for giving me a nickname I hate
• Kay, Faizarul, Lim CS, Nurul, Felex Tan and Zul for their testimonials
• Daniel Cerventus, for widening my horizon
• Edmund Loh, for sounding serious all the time
• MMU, for the opportunity to spend 4 years of my life doing something
• Steven Wong, for helping me when I was starting out
• Tazilan, Liew CF, Saifulsham, Hafiz Latib, Donald Ng, Dennis Ng, and the other marketers I’ve worked with
• God, for making me fail first before helping me succeed
• Any anyone I missed out..

My target now is to make this book a best-seller in Malaysia as soon as possible. If it changed the life of just one person, I would have achieved my goal.

Related posts:

1. Gobala Krishnan Interview with NST If you read the New Straits Times paper yesterday and...
2. Yellow Post Interviews Gobala Krishnan [display_podcast] Find my interview this week on Yellow Post, available...
3. Testimonials for The New Millionaires Alright people, I need some testimonials for my new book,...

WC 1st Gathering 2008
Tarikh : 3 Ogos 2008
Masa : 2 ptg – 6 petang
Tempat : Bukit Jalil Golf and Country Resort

To book your place and make a payment, please go here.

Here are some of the Internet marketers you should meet there:

1. Shuth – www.mohdsuhaimy.com
2. Sabri Saifulsham – www.saifulsham.com
3. Yusry Jom Seminar – www.jomseminar.com
4. Osman Affan – www.osmanaffan.com
5. Fai – www.IMmalaysia.com
6. Catzer – www.catzer.com
7. Hasrul & Wife – www.hasrul.net
8. Badruzamani – www.badruzamani.org
9. Alang – www.szab.net
10. Waidakmy – www.waidakmy.com
11. Kodin – http://kodin.blogspot.com
12. AzmanZainal – www.azmanzainal.com
13. Ramfir – www.rammelfirdaus.com
14. Fauzul – www.fauzulnaim.com
15. Zhafran – www.flarebiz.com
16. Gobala & 2 friends – www.internetmillionaires.com.my
17. Deen – www.SimplyTranslate.net
18. AfzaiAfandi – www.afzaiafandi.com
19. Ubi – www.kartunisubi.com
20. alhafiz3d – www.peng-u.net
21. mzakimy – www.JomTraining.com
22. noorizam – www.noorizamshah.com
23. dynn – www.dynn.org
24. labanon – www.teamflarebiz.com
25. syed ikhwan – www.jomseminar.com
26. azuzafu & kawan – www.digital-apprentice.com
27. abg_x – www.aridztech.com
28. nasrun – www.makmalcyber.com
29. Zamri Nanyan – www.zamrinanyan.com
30. Farid Sulaiman – www.rahsiakambing.com

Related posts:

1. Wang Cyber Gathering 2011 Want to meet other Internet marketers and online entrepreneurs in...
2. Seminar kePOWERan Featuring Top Malaysian Internet Marketers Seminar kePOWERan is an Internet marketing event organized by Suthan...
3. Will Malaysia See More Internet Entrepreneur Events Like This? The WangCyber gathering on 2 August was perhaps the most...