I am one of the four featured speakers, which include (left to right) Shuth from WangCyber, Irfan Khairi from RahsiaInternet and SmartZul from SmartUsaha. Malaysia Internet Summit also includes several expert panelists:

• Vince Tan – www.vincetan.com
• Sabri Saifulsham – www.saifulsham.com
• Ammar Zahar – www.ammarzahar.com
• Labanon – www.majalahim.com
• Amirol Zulkifli – www.mohdamirol.com
• And others..

This seminar is predominantly in Bahasa Melayu but some speakers and panelists will of course speak both English and BM. Here’s why I recommend that you attend Malaysia Internet Summit:

• At RM397 it’s one of the most affordable events in Malaysia
• You’ll meet some of the top Internet marketing minds in Malaysia
• You’ll get to network and get useful business contacts
• Of course, you’ll learn valuable marketing secrets

I strongly recommend that you grab your seats now to qualify for early bird pricing.

More info: Malaysia Internet Summit

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Similar to the previous author’s talk in Mid Valley, this event is free. The details are as follows:

MHP Bookstores,
Alpha Angle Shopping Centre
Jalan R1, Seksyen 1,
Bandar Baru Wangsa Maju
53300 Kuala Lumpur

I will be speaking from 3.00pm to about 3.30pm. If you’ve got a copy of The New Millionaires or Jutawan Era Baru, I’ll be more than happy to autograph it for you.

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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 build some links to your site. 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!

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If you’re not sure how to recognize a phishing scam, let me give you an example.

You will get an email that appears as if it was sent from Maybank themselves. Even the email address it was sent from may appear to be from Maybank themselves.

But if you put your mouse over the link in the email, you can see exactly what website it takes you to – which of course will not be the Maybank website. Do not click on the link, and if you did, do not enter any information or try to login to the site you were taken too.

Same thing applies for phishing emails related to other banks, it’s better ignore these emails altogether and type in the bank website directly in your browser.

Another useful online privacy lesson brought to you by Gobala Krishnan

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I got my biggest check ever from Aweber, for $1,158.71. The truth – it’s my one year total earnings

My affiliate commissions were so low, that I decided to set a higher payout limit because I didn’t want to receive checks for amounts lower than $500.

I didn’t really promote Aweber aggressively until mid-2009 as you can see from the earnings below.

Promoting services like Aweber is a lot more difficult that promoting a typical ClickBank “make money” e-book, for a few reasons:

1. Cash-stricken newbies drunk on the idea of instant riches don’t need (or want) Aweber
2. Anything that requires indefinite recurring payments is usually harder to sell
3. You make between $5.70 to $44+ in commissions for the first month, so advertising for Aweber can be tricky and unprofitable

However, the BIG advantage of promoting recurring products like Aweber is that when you have a satisfied buyer, you can literally earn from that one referral for years. I can’t remember if I clicked on someone’s affiliate link when I signed up for Aweber, but hey I’ve been using them for more than two years now.

If you’re thinking or promoting recurring products like Aweber etc, here’s my advice:

1. Don’t promote them up-front – build your own list or sell your own product instead
2. Don’t expect much in the beginning, commissions can be really small in the early stages
3. Promote only the winners – although I sent the same amount of traffic to GetResponse, their affiliate program just isn’t working as well, so I dumped them

So what did I do to increase my Aweber commissions since July 2009?

It’s easy – I created a product called RSS To Email and sold it with Master Resell Rights. The product itself explains how to use Aweber to build a big subscriber list from your blog, instead of services like FeedBurner etc.

It worked really well. I made money upfront (more than $6k), resellers made money, and Aweber made money. Win-win-win

You can also get Private Label Rights to that product from PLR WordPress Videos and take it to the next level.

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I’m not alone – even Seth Godin says it’s not for him.

But that does not mean that I don’t communicate with my subscribers and customers. If you’re on my list, then you’ll know that the easiest way to reach me (or my support team) is by clicking on “Reply”.

Let me share something interesting with you:

The stats above are taken from my link tracking campaign for Host Commando. As you can see, the conversion rates I get from email marketing are way higher than from my blogs, affiliates.

You cannot get that type of conversion from Twitter or most other social media sites. Sure, you can get a lot of traffic, but the conversions usually suck.

Even by putting the link in email signatures, I got a conversion of 6.67%. And that took me like 1 minute.

Of course, the data may be a little premature, but it’s still a big difference from the affiliate results.

I’ve been telling people for years that they need to create their own email list, and build a relationship with their subscribers first. Twitter, FaceBook or whatever else you use, should only be driving traffic to a page where you can build your subscriber list.

I use Aweber, and I highly recommend that you do too. Or, you can check out the top autoresponders comparison and choose the one that fits your purpose. I also wrote an article that directly compares Aweber Vs GetResponse.

Either way, build a list now. Twitter may be gone tomorrow, but a list is forever

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Now I’m going to quit it all. Everything has to go.

Why? Because I’m going to turn THIRTY soon and I feel like my life is going to end in a flash, so I want to enjoy every single day and spend all the hard earned money to experience life to it’s fullest.

(Ok, you didn’t really believe that, did you?)

But yes, I’m doing a complete u-turn for the sake of future business growth. If I can give you one reason why, it’s because of the book Good to Great.

I highly recommend that you read it too. It will reveal the truth about why some companies experience dramatic growth, and others don’t. As I was reading it, I began  to realize how related it was to what I want to achieve in life.

Money, for me, is not important. Sure, it was important in the beginning when I was dead broke, but after I started making a steady five-figure income every month, making MORE money just wasn’t that exciting anymore.

What I really want to do is make a difference. I want to make a change in people’s lives, and get a small mention for myself in history books.

“Gobala Krishnan, the guy who…”

The guy who what? Made a lot of money on the Internet? Quit his job at 25 with $30k in debt and never looked back?

No I want history to remember me for how I helped others, not myself. After reading Good to Great, I realized the only way to achieve it is by being the best in the world at something.

But what? What can I be the best in the world at?

I will tell you what I discovered in the next post.

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1. Search for a catchy domain name, and register it
2. Screenshot as many ClickBank earning reports as possible
3. Create a long and boring salespage, add more screenshots
4. If it sounds and looks good, create the product

Sounds silly?

Think about it – how many products can you find on ClickBank today that seem to follow this formula? There’s othing really new about the information in the product itself. Just a different “spin” on things, and it all starts with the domain name.

Who am I to day what’s right and what’s wrong, when the formula works for them?

What do you think?

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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?

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Las weekend we had our last mastermind for the year 2009. It was a great session overall and I hope I helped Jackson and Elton get some motivation and inspiration to move forwards in his Internet business.

I was also happy to hear that some of our Rahsia ClickBank customers are getting really good results (2 sales) with very, very little traffic in just 2 months. Remember my advice – don’t abandon what is working in search for something new that may or may not work!

Personally, I love the mastermind sessions. It gives me the opportunity to understand the problems that most newbies are facing, which in turn helps me get feedback and develop more useful products and solutions.

Sometimes my customers want to get personal help from us, and want to sit down to “have a cup of coffee”. Yet, when I have the mastermind sessions (which are free for members) they don’t turn up.

Those who do show up, I believe, are the ones who are taking control of their own future and making an effort to move forward with whatever they have. Congrats to those who attended, you deserve a pat on your back!

If you want to join our mastermind session, sign up here and attend our next Workshop or BootCamp.

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