The Parthenon, a magnificent structure dedicated to Athena Parthenos, was the brainchild of architects Ictinus and Callicrates. Constructed between 447-432 B.C., this simple rectangular edifice, measuring 237 feet in length and 110.5 feet in width, is adorned with Doric columns on all four sides. The pediments at each end rise to a slanting roof, and apart from the roof frame and parts of the ceiling, the entire temple is made of marble. The Parthenon, to this day, is a masterpiece of perfect proportions.
The Parthenon's robust roof is supported by numerous pillars. Without these pillars, the roof would collapse. This concept is referred to as the Parthenon Principle by my mentor and friend, Jay Abraham. The principle suggests that multiple pillars should generate revenue rather than relying on one or two. If your business is only supported by one or two income streams, it could collapse. Many business owners risk everything on a single revenue source, often overlooking the fact that there are at least a dozen income streams they could tap into.
If one of the pillars in your business were to fail, you could risk losing up to 50% of your business. However, if your business had 15, 20, or even 30 different ways or "pillars" for generating revenue, the impact of one pillar failing would be significantly reduced. The more "pillars" you have, the larger and heavier the "roof" (revenue) you can support.
In this article, I will introduce you to 13 different pillars your online business can use to generate revenue. As you explore these "pillars", consider how they could apply to your business.
Keywords: Brainstorm keywords and phrases that someone might use to find a business like yours on Internet search engines. Refine your list to about 20 keywords and have your web designer insert these at the top of your webpages in the header section.
Include your URL on offline materials: Add your website address to all your marketing materials, such as business cards, letterheads, invoices, and brochures.
Capture email addresses from site visitors: Design a box on your website where visitors can leave their name and email address. Offer them something in exchange and include a checkbox where the visitor gives you consent to email them updates about products or services.
Publish an Ezine: Producing an ezine (newsletter your email) on a weekly, monthly or quarterly basis is hard work, but it is one of the best ways to keep in touch with those who have visited your site, build loyalty, develop brand awareness, and build future business.
Press releases: If you have a newsworthy event, consider writing a brief, one-page release and send it to print periodicals and other ezines. You can use the services of Internet News Bureau, Eric Ward's URLwire, and the Netrageous PR Center.
E-mail Signature: Every major email program today will allow you to assign a "signature" to appear at the end of every message you send or reply to.
Search Engine Submission: Submit your web pages to search engines. To do basic no-cost submission, visit each of the top search engines listed at Search Engine Watch and manually submit on each website.
Employ Search Engine Optimization (SEO): SEO focuses on optimizing your pages to improve ranking by creating gateway pages, each tuned for a particular search phrase and search engine.
Join a banner exchange: You join a program where you agree to show a rotating banner on your website for other members, and they do the same for you.
Start an affiliate program: If you sell products on your website, start an affiliate program. Your program pays a commission to other websites whose links to you result in an actual sale.
Autoresponder: An Autoresponder will automatically send the visitor a personalized email reply; some autoresponders will send follow-up emails at later dates, add this visitor to a database, and remove prospects that don't convert to customers.
Contests and Sweepstakes: Properly and tactfully done, contests will draw visitors to your website.
eBooks: eBooks are simply electronic books that can be downloaded to the user's computer and read when they are not online paying internet access fees.
Use these pillars to generate additional revenue streams for your business. Each one could effectually stand on their own, but together, they can generate enormous upside potential with little or virtually no downside risk. So, are you ready to build a bigger Parthenon?
