Today we are going to take a closer look at Direct Sales businesses on the internet. As a refresher, Direct Sales is the type of business that most people think of when they think of starting an Internet business. Direct sales is selling a product or service directly to the customer and processing the payment through a payment processor such as Paypal or your own merchant account. Affiliate sales could be lumped into direct sales in some instances but for simplicity we will cover that in depth later.

Once you master this type of sale, you can literally sell your products - or someone else's product - 24 hours a day. If you have ever wanted to write a book, this can literally turn you into a best selling author overnight. If you don't have a product or an idea for anything you want to create that is OK. You can sell other peoples products and get a big cut of the profits.

You don't even need to create the product you are selling yourself. If you have an idea for a book or an audio product, you can post the project on sites like elance.com to get bids from providers around the world who can write, produce and market your product relatively inexpensively.

Here are some examples of successful direct marketing products and services:

E-Books

An E-Book is simply an electronic version of a book that people can download instantly. It really is the perfect product. People can buy them 24 hours a day and you never have to ship anything!

A lot of people find e-books to be good promotional tools and offer their e-books for free. The e-book usually provides some good information along with the product or service that the creator is promoting. E-books are a great place to start for many people.

There are many ways to CREATE an e-book. Notice that I didn't say WRITE an e-book. Writing an e-book yourself is probably the longest way to create an e-book. Here are the 3 main ways to create an e-book:

Public domain – You can reformat books and material whose copyright has expired.

Outsource – There are dozens of sites that allow you to post your project and have providers from around the world bid on your project. This resource can save you thousands!

Transcription - You can interview an expert or record yourself speaking and then have it transcribed & edited into an e-book. You can also have this all done through one of the freelance websites.

Membership sites

A membership site is a site that allows people to access information in exchange for a monthly membership fee. Usually the member's credit card is automatically charged a flat up-front fee or a reoccurring monthly fee until they cancel. This is the model used by many dating sites, DVD rental sites and it is the same model Jiggerbug.com uses to rent audio books and courses.

You no longer need to have extensive & expensive development done by a high-priced Webmaster. There are many turn-key solutions that can get your membership site up and running in a matter of days. All you have to do is add content.

To have a successful subscription site you must have extremely compelling and unique content that isn't easily available for free. In most instances, someone just starting out doesn't have enough compelling content to start with this type of product but there are always exceptions to this rule.

Audio Products and Home Study Courses

The popularity of i-Pods and MP3 players combined with faster internet connections and ever increasing hectic schedules have helped make recorded audio content more popular than ever.

People are also busier than ever so if you have a solution that you can deliver to them while they are driving or doing something else your chances of success are greater. People will pay you for solutions to their problems or the methods to fulfill their desires in the form of an audio product. You can make your product available on CD, cassette and even instant download.

This doesn't have to be a Hollywood production. You can simply record and sell interviews with experts in your field, record a speaking engagement or record sessions with a client or friend. If you would like more information about creating audio products, click here.

Teleseminars

Teleseminars are conference calls where many people are connected on the same line. Coaching, specialized training or interviews with industry leaders are just some of the things teleseminars are used for.

Some people offer free teleseminars in order to get a group of qualified people on the line to sell them a related product or service. You can get more information on setting up your own teleseminars here.

Coaching & Apprenticeship Programs

Sometimes people need additional coaching to help them implement what you are teaching or providing. This has opened the door to online coaching programs via e-mail, chat and live telephone coaching.

Coaching programs are relatively simple to start-up and can be a great profit center. Some business coaching services charge in excess of $14,000 per year.

The direct marketing channel is a fantastic area to start with. It gives you the opportunity to help people solve their problems, fulfill their desires and make a nice profit in the process!