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Teen Online Business & Entrepreneurship
Print-On-Demand Merch Store
Instructor Guide
Instructor Notes: Teen Entrepreneurship Online Business Course: Print-On-Demand
Welcome! We are so happy that you have decided to instruct this course and hope you have an amazing, educational, and fun experience with the students. We also hope you will learn how to build your very own eCommerce business. You’ll have the opportunity to learn, create, build, and earn alongside your students!
We created an instructor's guide, especially for you, including a script and lesson notes, to make it simple to guide students through the course. Feel free to engage the students often, laugh a lot, and insert your personality into each lesson. If you need answers to any questions, try Google! Even better, because this is an entrepreneur course, encourage your students to search the internet and share the answers with the class!
How Is The Course Formatted?
The first part of the course is information-heavy as students learn new and exciting concepts. As the course progresses, students will engage in more class activities and transition into independent creative work in class. The class first teaches the basics of entrepreneurship and internet safety protocols. Then students will identify their interests, business themes, name their business, and create NEW email/social media accounts to market their businesses. They will be introduced to the Print-On-Demand concept and how to best market their business using “keyword” and digital marketing strategies.
This course includes 9 sessions, HOWEVER, the sessions are not meant to be "CLASSES". Move through the content at your own pace. There is no rush to finish. Students will have full course access indefinitely. And remember...you don't need to teach anything. The course does the work for you.
Instructor Course Preparation Steps:
Create a CANVA PRO/EDU account:
School Teachers, please create your own account here:: https://www.canva.com/education) (video: https://youtu.be/yc4B2ShRZc4).
NON-School Teachers: Log in Canva with EMAIL (not Google). Eteenlab@gmail.com password: Eteen1234. (video: https://youtu.be/V0phh48JSWE)
Access the instructor’s guide: https://emorysfall.wixsite.com/teenonlinebusiness/post/print-on-demand-official-instructor-s-guide (read and follow through with students)
Bring your laptop to each class, follow the guide, have fun!
If you have any "course" questions please contact us at www.eteenlab.com. We wish you much success and we hope you have a MIND-BLOWING experience!
Student Course Access:
Log on at www.eteenlab.com
Click on The Print-On-Demand Course
Subscrbe to the content (FREE)
LET’S GO LIVE!!!
Instructor Speaks:
Welcome to the ETeen Lab’s Print-On-Demand Course.
My Name Is:______________
The first step is to make sure that we can all access the internet! Can you all access the WIFI?
Through this course, you will first learn about entrepreneurship and the importance of identifying a specific business theme (also called a niche “neeshe”). Ultimately, you will learn how to make money by creating your very own print-on-demand eCommerce store. You’ll learn how to create simple designs which can then be printed on t-shirts, hats, water bottles, mugs, leggings, tote bags, face masks, wall art, sweaters, cell phone cases, stickers, and more! You’ll implement digital marketing strategies (using social media and email) to begin promoting merchandise to make money. Making money isn’t a guarantee, but you will gain a tremendous amount of information to be used towards your future online ventures. So...Soak it all up!
I’d like to know a little bit about you before we get started!
Instructor Notes:
CLASS ACTIVITY: Icebreaker: Ask students to introduce themselves & share something super interesting about themselves….. one at a time.
Instructor Speaks:
Ok GREAT! We’re going to access the E-Teen Course using a site called UDEMY. Can you all go there now? www.udemy.com. It shows a fee, but we have a unique coupon code that will allow free access (Instructor: provide the class with the coupon code that was emailed to you). Enter your information and the coupon code.
We will review the E-Teen course together, and I may ask for volunteers to help read through each section. We’re going to do some fun activities together, and then I am also going to give you time to work independently on your projects.
Here is what to expect in Session 1:
A More In-Depth Course Introduction.
Class Activity: Self Assessment
Cultivating The Mindset of an Entrepreneur
Class Activity/Discussion: 10 Rules of King Solomon
LET’S READ THROUGH THE COURSE INTRODUCTION…..
Any Volunteers...or maybe we can take turns?? (If no one volunteers, the instructor will need to read through it)
Course Introduction
Welcome to the E-Teen Lab’s “Print-On-Demand” course! This course provides guidance on how to brainstorm, create, and grow their own Print-On-Demand E-commerce business. First, however, they’ll learn the fundamentals of entrepreneurship and best-business practices which will cement the foundation and mindset for success. Teens (as early as 13 years old) will learn how to generate an income by creating a simple image or text designs and uploading them onto a 3rd party print-on-demand platform. Using these designs, our students can sell all types of merchandise like….t-shirts, hats, water bottles, mugs, leggings, tote bags, face masks, wall art, sweaters, tank tops, cell phone cases, stickers, aprons, shower curtains, bath mats, and more! With every sale, students earn a commission while the print-on-demand platform handles printing, inventory, shipping, and all of the customer details.
Furthermore, the course teaches them how to drive sales using the power of digital marketing (social media, email, SEO, etc). and is designed to strengthen critical thinking, improve communication skills, encourage integrity, teach leadership qualities, and help teenagers become business savvy, and potentially grow a business to start earning money.
The secret to any successful business is establishing a specific theme and marketing to a specific audience, which we will discuss later in the course. However, if our students are going to be young successful professionals, they’ll first need to have a clear understanding of entrepreneurship, internet safety, and basic online business protocols. Let’s get started.
Do you know what entrepreneur means? An entrepreneur is an individual who creates a new business, bearing most of the risks and enjoying most of the rewards. The entrepreneur is commonly known as an innovator, a source of new ideas, goods, services, or procedures.
Here are some things you will learn about:
Business Ethics
Digital Marketing
Branding
Copywriting - Content Development
Search Engine Optimization (SEO)
Digital Design
Setting Up Business Structure (SP, LLC, Corp)
By the end of the course, students will;
Understand how to think like an Online CEO/Entrepreneur, which will carry over into many other areas of life.
Be proficient in designing logos/artwork for their website or print-on-demand platform.
Utilize the marketing power of social media
Earning money is not guaranteed and will depend on your commitment level and the market appeal of your product or service. This course is for educational purposes only, and you will gain valuable life skills and a great understanding of how people earn money using the power of the internet. It is possible to make money while taking this course, and when you do, watch your excitement grow!
I am not an accountant, lawyer, or financial advisor. Please ask your parents to contact one of these professionals if you have any questions regarding taxes, require legal support of any kind, or need financial advice.
Instructor Speaks:
Ok, I want to learn a little more about you. Let’s do another quick activity!
We're going to do a CLASS ACTIVITY: This is a Self Assessment (Use the student’s names to start building relationships) What is your most outstanding quality/characteristic? What is your biggest fear? How do you think you could use your strongest attribute/quality to conquer your biggest fear? ----------------------------------------------- Awesome! Next, we’re going to read through how this course is formatted and what to expect!!
Instructor Notes: Read aloud to the students how this course is formatted. If they have questions, inform them that their questions should be answered in the course!
How to use and follow the course
This course is formatted into 3 sections;
Section 1: This section will introduce the characteristics of an entrepreneur, discuss internet safety, and help our students identify their interests, skills, and talents. After being introduced to Print-On-Demand, students will be introduced to 4 other popular business models which can be explored following this course.
After discussing the foundations of entrepreneurship, and establishing a business theme/interest, students will begin creating a new email address and social media accounts using their new business name. Once students create their accounts, they will work on business plans to begin forming the foundation of their business.
Section 2: Students will learn the importance of implementing SEO (Search Engine Optimization) strategies to maximize customer reach.
Section 3: Section 3 offers supplemental bonus topics that may be helpful with the business’s growth and development. Students may review these topics in their own time. If the class is being facilitated live, the instructor may decide if these topics should be discussed or taught further.
Take Action Now
It’s unusual for someone to succeed at anything without some type of support or mentoring. Therefore, teens need to find a support system; someone to encourage them, answer questions, and help them grow as entrepreneurs. The E-Teen Lab is a great place to get started for this type of support.
The E-Teen Lab offers
Member support for you
FORUM/GROUP where teens can share their successes, challenges, and questions
Course Updates with content and posts
Community of young entrepreneurs who are just like you
Instructor Notes: Have students visit www.eteenlab.com and register a FREE account! If they can’t do it now, we’ll remind them later in the course.
Instructor Speaks:
Ok, it’s time to get moving onto Section 1 of the course.
Instructor Notes:
Read aloud the Section 1 introduction.
Section 1: Business Exploration & Creation
Section 1: This section will introduce the characteristics of an entrepreneur, discuss internet safety, and help our students identify their interests and skills. We’ll introduce the Print-Demand business model. After being introduced to Print-On-Demand, students will be introduced to 4 other popular business models which can be explored following this course.
After discussing the foundations of entrepreneurship, and establishing a business theme/interest, students will begin creating new online accounts including (but not limited to) email and social media accounts, using the new business name. Once students create their accounts, they will work on business plans to begin forming the very foundation of their business.
Instructor Notes: Ask one of the students to read aloud, “CULTIVATING THE ENTREPRENEURIAL MINDSET”
Cultivating the Entrepreneurial Mindset
You have a fantastic potential to create an income in the world of digital marketing just by sharing what you already know and doing what you love. You can positively influence and positively affect many lives by sharing your skills and talents even at a young age. Maybe, you think you’re just not smart enough or skilled enough. You are! You can do this!
People are hungry for information, so hungry that the digital marketing arena (information marketing) is predicted to grow from a 200 billion dollar industry today to a 350 billion dollar industry within the next five years. You can grab a piece of this massive growth if you build a business with integrity and diligence. Success comes when you are honest, produce quality content and products, or offer something of value. While it may take some time to develop, your business has the potential to last for years and continue to grow through this predicted digital marketing revolution.
Can you imagine potentially building an online presence that generates passive/residual income that lasts for years after your content is created? Let’s use Youtube as an example. YouTubers who started posting videos years ago still earn income on those same videos today.
Instructor Speaks: Are you familiar with any successful Youtubers?” Can you name some? Who is your favorite and why? Instructor Notes: Read the remaining paragraphs aloud in this session.
Ultimately, your goal as a teen business entrepreneur is to work smart towards generating “passive” or “residual” income. Passive income, described by Dave Ramsey, is money you earn in a way that requires little to no daily effort to maintain. So put the work in now, and reap the rewards later! Some passive income ideas like publishing ebooks/books, songwriting, podcasting, starting an eCommerce store, or building a blog/vlog, may take some work to get up and running but could eventually earn you money while you sleep.
Be mindful about being consistent and staying the course; this is not a “get-rich-quick” scheme! Once you begin your business, it may take several months before you start to see the fruit of your labor. However, if you remain focused and persistent, you will eventually reap the rewards and start earning money doing what you love to do.
Remember, building a business is a marathon, not a sprint. To be successful, you’ll need the mindset of an entrepreneur. It’s going to take time, effort, diligence, and patience. The more often you build/post content for your business, the faster you will see growth. Some young entrepreneurs, like my son, who is constantly uploading his content online, are seeing profits within a month.
To be successful in business, one needs to adopt the habits and qualities of an entrepreneur. An entrepreneur has great, innovative ideas that identify the need to create a business to fill a void. Entrepreneurs can be people of any age (from 10 to 100). Their characteristics are creativity, imagination, and they have a passion for what they do.
Entrepreneurs generally start businesses to fill a void, solve a problem, and meet a need. If you “do” something specific or “sell” something distinctive and learn how to market to an audience who would pay money for it, you will be very successful. The secret is finding customers that want what you are selling or teaching in that particular field of interest. This is called a niche (often pronounced NEESH). Before we get into niches, let’s look at Solomon's rules of entrepreneurship.
Instructor Speaks: Do you know who one of the most outstanding entrepreneurs of all time was? What do you think? It was King Solomon from ancient times! Here are 9 entrepreneur directives. Instructor Notes: Read these and ask the class to REPEAT you after each one is read! 1. BE DILIGENT AND WORK HARD 2. WORK WISELY 3. PURSUE EXCELLENCE 4. WORK PROACTIVELY 5. BE HONEST – ALWAYS 6. USE DEBT SPARINGLY 7. WORK COOPERATIVELY 8. ESTABLISH RELATIONSHIPS WITH VALUED PROFESSIONALS 9. PLAY THE LONG GAME – REMAIN FOCUSED AND PATIENT
Instructor Speaks: Well Done! Let’s now talk about some general internet safety rules while we build our businesses on the internet! Instructor Notes: Read through the next session aloud.
Session 2:
Safety Discussion
Class Activity: Online Scams Alerts
Introduction to a “Niche”
Class Activity: Google Search Niche Activity
Internet Safety First!
Ensure all online communications, especially with people you don’t know, can be easily monitored by your parents. If you are under 18, communicate with your parents that you will be building your business by utilizing social media, email, and audience-reaching platforms to market your business and sell your products/services. They must be aware of your online activity. If this course is being taught in a school setting or virtual), permission (click the permission link to access the form) from parents/guardians is required.
In our live settings, our instructors will be closely monitoring each student’s online activities. On our laptops/phones, the sites and apps we’ll be mainly utilizing and accessing are:
Never meet, in person, with anyone alone, ever. If you schedule an in-person meeting/lesson/session, have an adult accompany you. If you are engaging with clients in a virtual setting, be sure an adult can monitor your sessions.
Never share personal information online with others, such as your birthdate, home address (unless you are operating your business out of your home), social security number, or other sensitive information. Keep all interactions professional. Report anything unusual or inappropriate to me or your parents/guardians immediately. Be safe!
Activity: Scam Alerts
Let’s take a minute to talk about some of the SCAMS that are circulating online. Examples; scammer emails from Paypal, Facebook, Credit Card/Banks, IRS, etc.
Notes: Always look at the web address. If you click on any of these email links, notice if the web address is gibberish. For instance, if I get an email from Paypal telling me to log in, I’ll click on the link and then get redirected to a page that looks IDENTICAL to PAYPAL. BUT…….the web address is absolute gibberish, and it won’t appear as a www.paypal.com web address as it should.
Nigerian Prince: Discuss those emails from the estate of a dead prince in Nigeria giving away millions of dollars to anyone who responds to their plea. They will ask for personal information or a payment of $1,000 to release the millions. Approach everything online with extreme caution.
Instructor Speaks:
Can you think of any other online scams?
Instructor Notes:
Next, we are going to be introducing the class to “niches” or also known as specific interests. You can read aloud the next section and have the class follow along.
Instructor Speaks:
It’s time to move into the interesting stuff! The next section will introduce “niches” and should help you identify your special interest!
Session 3:
Introduction to Niches
Niche Exploration
Identifying Skills, Talents, Gifts, and Strengths
Introduction To Niches
A niche denotes or relates to products, services, or interests that appeal to a small, specialized section of the population. An example of this is an entrepreneur interested in trout fishing and who decides to sell specialized river trout fishing rods or trout lures to trout fishing enthusiasts. Another example could be selling high-end Yorkie dog collars to wealthy super-obsessed Yorkie owners. Or yoga instructors offering yoga classes or fitness tips to a targeted age group. The more specific you can make your niche, the more successful you can be. You would be surprised to hear that many entrepreneurs earn hundreds of millions of dollars in the strangest and most obscure niches. Do you have, what other people may call, an odd interest? Fantastic! You may be onto something BIG!
What is your niche? If you don’t have any interests or hobbies, choosing a niche or interest for specific online business models would be advantageous. Entrepreneurs don’t start businesses for the sake of starting a business. They start businesses with a targeted objective and a specific audience in mind to sell a product or a service. It’s much simpler and more profitable to create content and sell products/services in one niche.
Every year, millions of people fail at online business because they don’t have the mindset of a true entrepreneur. This segment of people tries to market products and services incorrectly and to the wrong audience. An example of this is when a person opens up an e-commerce store and then tries to sell too many products without a specific audience in mind.
After a while, the eCommerce store owner becomes overwhelmed and wonders why they never make a sale. The problem is that selling too many products or services prevents this person from targeting a specific audience. Without that targeted audience or objective, the business becomes one that fails to thrive. Many people are looking for a get-rich-quick scheme while providing zero value to their audience. When you start your business, keep it simple and focus on what you can do for your audience. Provide quality content, provide value to your customers, interact with your audience often, and avoid taking shortcuts.
99% of people fail because they are only looking at making money and not the value they can offer someone else. Create a brand for yourself. Create great content for people who want it. Offer something of value. Generate a following. Last but certainly not least, offer products or services to those who see the value in your business. Put others first and be kind to everyone, including those who may criticize you along the way. Keep your integrity is intact as you build up your character, and don’t forget to encourage others in the process.
Instructor Notes:
CLASS ACTIVITY: We are going to be doing a class activity. They can work independently or in groups. They will be doing SEARCHES on Google while the activity demonstrates the power of building a business based on a specific niche.
Instructor Speaks:
We are going to do a fun Google Search Activity. You may work on this in pairs or individually. Let’s get started and share with us what you find!
Activity: Google Search Niche Activity Do a "Google" search. In The Search Engine Type in "Dog" (try using quotations “dog”). We don't usually use quotes unless we search for content that matches an exact phrase with words in a particular order. I believe the word "dog" is found on 2 Billion websites/articles. Look right under the search bar to find the numbers. Try it without quotes. I believe the number increases to 30 billion. Now search for a particular breed like a Yorkie. Do it without the quotes. I believe the search results fall slightly short of 55 million. Dogs = 30 Billions results. Yorkie = 55 Million. Is there a difference in using quotes? Now let's niche it down even further to something like "Yorkie training" (don't use quotes). How many search results populated (look under the search bar for the results number)? I found around 10 Million search results. Now, use the quotations and search "Yorkie training". What results did you find? I found around 14 Thousand results. Fourteen thousand still may seem like a lot of websites to compete with, but it's not. If you are passionate about your Yorkie and starting a Yorkie dog training business only training Yorkies, you would do quite well! You could create exciting content and videos based on training your Yorkie and share that with the world. This is quite simple and very targeted. Lastly, try typing in "Dog Training" and see what happens. How many results do you see? Do you get my point? It would take a very long time to start a generic dog training business unless you have more time and capital (money) for advertising. Niche your niche, and you'll find success more easily using free digital marketing techniques. Don't be discouraged if your topic is broader. You can still succeed. It'll just take more effort on your part.
Instructor Speaks:
Do you have your niche idea? Are you basing your business idea around one of your interests or talents?
Instructor Notes:
Read through aloud the next paragraph. Ask students to review the list of “interests” and communicate to you and the class which ones sound interesting.
Niche Exploration
Identifying Skills, Talents, Gifts, and Strengths
An essential step in this business-building process is identifying your interests or talents. You’ll start by “playing to your strengths.” Suppose you don’t know, no worries. Here are just a few niches/topics to help you brainstorm.
Faith-based interests Volunteer work Community projects/involvement Sports Art Crafting Gaming Music Pet-Sitting Musician/singer Traveling Pets & Pet care Cooking/baking Collecting Reading Dance Dog-Walking Soccer Photography Videography Japanimation Planning/Organization Make-up/hair artist Fitness Yoga Woodworking Weightlifting Weight LossHobbies Clothing lines Shoe brands Martial arts Paintball Science Golf History Math Engineering Inventing Chess/board games Current events Self-help Politics Origami Government Fishing Journaling Public speaking Learning A Second Language Tutoring Babysitting Football Jewelry Making
Instructor Notes: CANVA: Students will need to access Canva (www.canva.com). The basic account is FREE. The free Version is adequate but I recommend using EDU PRO version. If you are currently a school teacher, please take a minute and create a FREE EDU account. Once your account is created, you can invite your students to use this account with you! They will have full access to the PRO account and can “SHARE” their designs with you (the master account). If the FREE EDU account doesn’t work, please utilize the free basic version.
Session 4:
What Is Print-On-Demand?
Open a Canva Account: E-Teen Instructors can open a free EDU account and invite students to use the Pro Version. Otherwise, use the “free” version to get started. Upgrade when necessary.
Explore 4 other Business Models
Local/offline business
Online instructional business
Affiliate Marketing
Ecommerce
Print-On-Demand
Instructor Speaks: During this session, you will learn about Print-On-Demand and other business models. We are all still in learning mode and won’t be creating our businesses just yet. Hang in there! Instructor Notes: Read the following to the class as they follow along.
Print-on-Demand is a retail fulfillment method for printing products only after the customer buys them. Your only responsibility is to create a design and then upload the design to the print provider’s platform. The print company does everything else! We love print-on-demand because it’s fun and free.
The first objective is to create a good design and upload it to the platform. Then, when customers buy products such as t-shirts, sweaters, phone cases, mugs, yoga pants, socks, hats, water bottles, canvas prints, stickers, tote bags, aprons, face masks, bath mats, show curtains, and many other goods in your eCommerce shop, the order goes directly to the print provider. The print provider charges the customer, fulfills the order, and ships it directly to your customer. The print-on-demand provider then pays you a commission from the purchase. Commissions can range between 15% and 30%. The e-commerce store owner never has to do anything but create fabulous designs and choose which merchandise you would like your designs featured on.
Many print-on-demand providers exist (like TeeSpring, Printify, and Printful), but we like using Redbubble (www.redbubble.com). Don’t go there just yet. The greatest benefit of using Redbubble is that it’s not just a design site. People visit Redbubble to make purchases, and this is important because it generates free organic traffic for you!
You can absolutely create fantastic t-shirts and other merchandise on sites like Printful, Printify, and TeeSpring, and the commissions/profits will be much higher, however, your success will be contingent 100% on your own marketing efforts. I would highly suggest starting your Print-On-Demand Business on Redbubble and then eventually transition over to one (or more) of the other platforms after you start gaining a following on your social media accounts!
To receive site visitors organically, it’s essential to use SEO strategies. When creating designs, it’s best to be niche-specific. If creating a generic dog design, your design may compete with a million other dog designs. If you make a shirt based on a specific breed, your competition decreases. You’ll then have a better chance of selling that design. It’s essential to use precise keywords in your titles and descriptions. For instance, if I created an amazing Yorkie design with New York City as a part of the design, I would title it New Yorkie City and tag the description accordingly. Now, when someone in the world searches New Yorkie City on Redbubble, my design should populate. Do you see how that works? Don’t forget to share your new Redbubble store and designs on your website/blog and social media accounts. If you have a social media following, this is a sure-fire way to heat things up.
How do you create designs? You may say, “I’m not a graphic designer!” Many very successful shirt designs are surprisingly just text. Canva (free digital design software) offers many awesome fonts and element/photo designs that can be utilized to create fantastic designs. If you subscribe to the paid version, it will open up many more design options. The free version should be sufficient for now. If you’re creating many designs, I would suggest that you pay for the service. Your instructor may have already created an account for you! If not and you are participating in any LIVE classes, email the eteenlab@gmail to access the Canva Pro Education version. Experiment and have fun!
Merch By Amazon
Use Redbubble for a few months. Become familiar with the design process. If you love selling t-shirts and merch, you ultimately should get yourself on Merch by Amazon. Amazon is the largest destination site on the planet, and if you can create great designs, you can make a high income! You’ll need to apply to the program. Millions of people apply and are rejected because they don’t know how to complete the application correctly. Contact me, and I may help you complete the application to give you a better chance of being approved. I can’t guarantee you’ll be accepted, but it’s worth a shot. Can you imagine your designs selling on Amazon? And by the way, Merch by Amazon is free to join!
Instructor Notes:
Were you able to open up a CANVA Edu account? If you are currently a school teacher, you should be able to create one quite easily. (https://www.canva.com/education/)
Once you create your EDU master account, you should be able to invite your students to join you. You’ll need their email addresses. Send them an invite and make sure all of your students will be able to access CANVA. If you are unable to create an account, email us at eteenlab@gmail.com, and we’ll do what we can to get you into an EDU account.
Instructor Speaks:
Now we’re going to do a super fun activity and access CANVA! Let’s spend a few minutes logging on and poking around the website!
Class Activity: Open an account at www.Canva.com E-Teen Instructors can open a free EDU account (https://www.canva.com/education/) and then “invite” students to use the Pro version. Otherwise, use the “free” version to get started. Upgrade when necessary. E-Teen Instructors, email me at eteenlab@gmail.com with questions. Don’t open a REDBUBBLE ACCOUNT YET!
Instructor Speaks: The next step, which we aren’t going to do quite yet, is to open up a free REDBUBBLE account. Before we do that, let’s learn a little bit more about digital marketing and other potential business models. I’m going to ask that you (the students) read through the next section (on their own) and when we are finished reading, I’d love to hear about anything you found interesting. Take about 8 minutes and read through this section. Stop reading when you all reach the Intermission. Instructor Notes: The instructor should read through it quietly on their own and possibly share what they found interesting.
Intro To Digital Marketing
Stick with your niche, create content, and use digital marketing strategies to grow your business and your income. What does digital marketing mean? In simple terms, it just means that you will be sharing your products or ideas on the internet. For our purposes, our students will mainly be utilizing social media (Facebook, Instagram, Pinterest, Youtube, TikTok, etc.), email, and implementing keyword strategies across all platforms to drive traffic into their ecommerce store.. These same strategies can be applied to a number of online businesses and income generating opportunities. For now, let’s take an in-depth look at 4 other popular teen business models:
Local/offline business (neighborhood service based -marketed online)
Online instructional business (online lessons, skill-based content)
Affiliate Marketing (recommending products/services)
Ecommerce (selling your products on your website)
These business models can be standalone (focusing on just one), or students can implement elements from different models to diversify and increase earning capabilities. For example, suppose a student starts an online video instructional business. In that case, they may be able to generate income by selling merchandise (print-on-demand), recommending services (affiliate marketing), or even selling their products (eCommerce). Check these out!
Exploring 4 Other Popular Business Models
Local-Offline Business
The first business model is a Local-Offline Business where teens can venture into the community/neighborhoods and provide a service, in-person and for a fee. Can you think of some examples? Here are a few: dog walking, lawn care, tutoring, babysitting, sports training, music lessons, snow shoveling, fitness support, selling water bottles, errand running, or whatever else you can provide.
These are “offline” teen jobs, but marketing them online will help the business gain more exposure. One way to accomplish this is to create and sell on social media platforms, which we’ll discuss later lessons. Another important strategy, and probably the most important, is building a simple website or blog and registering your domain name (i.e., www.yourdomain.com).
This would be your digital business identity where you will share your knowledge, recommend products, display pictures/videos, post your contact info and prices, and truly share your unique personality. You could also implement affiliate marketing or set up an eCommerce section to sell physical products, ebooks, or tutorials. There are many ways your business can earn multiple income streams, and we’ll dive more into this later on.
Here are some examples of business domain names that are catchy and to the point;
Jen’s Pet Sitting (www.jenspetsitting.com)
Highfall’s Piano Lessons (www.highfallspianolessons.com)
Danny’s Dog Walking (www.dannysdogwalking.com)
Rachael’s Face Painting (www.rachaelsfacepainting.com)
Soccer Training Trevor (www.soccertrainingtrevor.com)
Tina’s Math Tutoring (www.tinasmathtutoring.com)
Online Instructional-Tutorial Business
The second business model is an Online Instructional-Tutorial Business offering tutoring, lessons, or workshops all online. You can facilitate your lessons/tutorials/ workshops virtually by pre-recording them (and posting on Youtube/Vimeo/etc.) or running live sessions on sites like Zoom or platforms like Google Meet. An income would be generated from paying customers. You can also introduce additional income streams selling/recommending products directly related to the business through direct selling, dropshipping, or affiliate marketing.
Affiliate Marketing
The third and possibly the simplest concept to get started is something called Affiliate Marketing. Affiliate marketing is an advertising model in which a company compensates third-party marketers (i.e. YOU) to generate traffic or leads to the company's products and services. The third-party marketers are affiliates, and the commission fee incentivizes them to find ways to promote the company. Essentially, the marketer gets paid a commission when a customer purchases a recommended product or service through the marketer’s online efforts.
Affiliate networks like ClickBank.com, CJ.com, and Digistore24.com, offer thousands of products (i.e., physical products, PDFs, ebooks, and videos) that you can choose and market on your blog and social media platforms that could earn you a ton of money. If interested in this model, register on Clickbank and search for a digital product in your area of interest. Then copy the link (The “hoplink”) from that Clickbank product and place it on your website and social media platforms. If someone purchases that digital product through the link on your blog/social media account, you can earn a commission between 50% to 75% of the sale.
Amazon even offers an affiliate program on its platform called Amazon Associates. Amazon pays between 4% and 10% commissions from the sales of products that you recommend. I believe the minimum age requirement is 18 years old to participate in most affiliate programs. If you are under 18, you could ask your parents/guardians if they would like to partner with you and they can register. Unfortunately, most online platforms will require you to be 18 and have a PayPal or bank account. However, your parents may want to join you. If you don’t have a Paypal account, go open one!
If you are unfamiliar with Paypal, it’s an online financial service that allows you to pay for items using a secure internet account. Simply add your bank account, credit card, or debit card details. Most online merchants accept Paypal. Also, many affiliate programs will pay into your Paypal account when sales are completed. After receiving money into Paypal, funds are easily transferred into your bank account.
With affiliate marketing, you don’t need to create the product, stress about collecting payments or deal with customer service, similar to Print-OnDemand. Teens simply refer customers to someone else’s product and then get paid a commission. Your job/objective is to figure out how to create a way to market those affiliate links. You’ll need to be very specific with your business/social media presence and how it relates to that product/service. You also need to be creative with articles, photos, and video content targeted at a particular audience (i.e, customers who want or need exactly what you are selling). After you figure out what you want to sell and who to sell to, you’re on your way to earning your first sale! It takes time and diligence, and your efforts will pay off.
Here are some recommendations for starting an affiliate marketing business:
Build a blog/website as your “sales page”(collect customer’s emails as often as possible),
Create Facebook page/group, Instagram, Youtube, TikTok, Pinterest, etc. (or whatever social media platform you prefer to use).
Create lots of great content (photos/videos/articles)
Regardless of your business model, affiliate marketing is a terrific way to earn some extra money within your business if you can find a solid/reputable product or service. Please only recommend products or services you have used or would use and honestly believe in your business’s products and services. Watch the supporting video for more information on how to successfully and adequately build an affiliate marketing business.
Ecommerce Store
The fourth business model is an eCommerce store, where teens can create and earn money selling things that revolve around their passion/interests. Whether they sell hand-made creations, clothing, or drop shipping products from manufacturers, this can be a very lucrative business model.
There are many free ways for teenagers to start online businesses, selling products or services. Most of these can be started for a fraction of what it would cost to open up a physical business (brick-and-mortar businesses like a local florist, computer repair shop, clothing boutique store in your town, convenience store, etc.). The E-Teen Lab instructs how to use WIX. WIX certainly does have the tools and applications to dropship, but let’s use Shopify as our prime example because it is the world’s most used eCommerce and dropshipping platform. It’s used by hundreds of thousands of businesses and is a platform where an online e-commerce store can be created within hours of registering an account.
Most people use Shopify to drop-ship items directly from a manufacturer to their customers. What’s dropshipping? When your customer purchases an item from your store, you would then order and pay for the product from the manufacturer and enter the customer’s address. The manufacturer then fulfills the order and ships it off to your customer! You never have to touch the merchandise. And you keep the profit between the cost of the item and the price charged to the customer.
With just a few clicks, many manufacturers in the US, UK, and China can be easily integrated, for free, into your Shopify (or WIX) store. Then you can find products and easily upload them to your store. Again, finding products is simple, exciting, and fun, but the tricky part is sending traffic to your site. This is why focusing on great content is crucial to the success of your business and using your social media accounts to begin generating sales.
Only consider Shopify if you plan on focusing on a specific theme or type of product. As I mentioned earlier in the course, many people try selling products in different niches/themes (called a general store). This is a terrible idea, especially for beginners. Some of the most successful Shopify stores worldwide just sell 2 to 5 items, and many generate millions of dollars per year. Why? Because the website is simple and the products featured are hyper-marketed on the owner’s blogs, websites, and social media accounts. These are highly targeted stores with very high profits.
If you don’t have a physical product to sell, you can find one from a manufacturer's website and then import it to your store. Most Shopify business owners, using the dropshipping business model, use a website called AliExpress. AliExpress is considered the Amazon of China, and it hosts millions of products in just about every and any interest you can think of.
You may be asking, “how do I import products from AliExpress into my Shopify store?” Great question. Shopify offers app integrations. One app that easily integrates into Shopify is called Oberlo. WIX uses apps called Modalyst and Spocket and works similarly to Oberlo. Oberlo was built to easily import products from AliExpress with just a few clicks, importing images and descriptions. There is a learning curve, but it’s very doable. Many of the item titles and descriptions that transition from AliExpress to Shopify are not formatted well. Ensure the titles and descriptions make sense before activating them in your store.
Shopify is not free; however (if you want to go the e-commerce route), opt into the 14-day FREE trial and go nuts! Learn all you can about the site, download Oberlo, and start importing products all for free. No worries if it turns out to be a mess; your store will not go live during your trial period. For the EteenLab course, we all start on WIX.com because it is free, and you’ll be able to build the store for free indefinitely until you want to go live to accept payments. If you are very serious about eCommerce, use the 14-day free trial at Shopify to get a feel for how it works. You can cancel within 14 days if you decide to move your business in a different direction.
Instructor Speaks: All done? Great! You just read about a few other very popular online business models. Would anyone be brave enough to share about anything that sounded interesting? Instructor Notes: Can you share what you found interesting?
Instructor Notes: Read through the intermission aloud.
Intermission
Hopefully, you have narrowed your interest into a specific niche by this point. You should have an excellent idea of your target audience and the products you may want to focus on selling. Before starting your business, though, you need to create a brand, name your business, create a new email account, and then open up new social media accounts to begin your digital marketing venture. You’ll use social media to generate traffic to your merch store and generate SALES! The following section will guide you through this. After creating a brand, we’ll need to create a business plan to narrow and focus on your objectives and goals.
After you have established a business name and a plan to start making sales. it will be imperative to make your way through section 2 of this course. Section 2 will teach you about SEO (Search Engine Optimization) and how to implement the best digital marketing strategies.
Instructor Notes: Read through section 5 aloud, or you can also ask the students to help read this session. Stop at the name generation link. Instructor Speaks: In the following session, we’ll be looking at how to brand your business, find a great name for your business, and maybe even create a logo.
Session 5:
Branding the Business
Naming the Business
Researching Domain Names
Checking Trademarks
Checking Legal Zoom
Discuss Legally Registering The Business (If Applicable)
Class Activity/Homework: Logo Design on www.canva.com
Branding The Business - Name Creation
A brand is an identifying symbol, mark, logo, name, word, or sentence that companies use to distinguish their product from others. A combination of one or more of those elements can be utilized to create a brand identity. Legal protection given to a brand name is called a trademark.
A brand is seen as one of a company's most valuable assets. It represents the face of the company, the recognizable logo, slogan, or mark that the public associates with the company. Its brand often refers to the company, and they become one in the same.
Creating a Brand
When a company decides to settle on a brand to be its public image, it must first determine its brand identity or how it wants to be viewed. For example, a company logo often incorporates the message, slogan, or product that the company offers. The goal is to make the brand memorable and appealing to the consumer.
The company usually consults a design firm or design team to develop ideas for the visual aspects of a brand, such as a logo or a symbol. We’ll talk about ways you can create logos or designs for free and fairly simply. If you are at a loss for designing, you can use a site called www.fiverr.com and hire a freelancer to create one for you for a very reasonable price. You can also create your designs and artwork on a free site called www.canva.com.
Brainstorm Names
Before you can create a brand, you’ll need to create a clever business name. You have some options for naming your business venture, and you can use your name or use a pseudonym. Most of my business operates under my name, John. J. Peterson. You can find me on iTunes, Facebook, and Youtube. One branded example is my air-tire kick scooter business, and I use the name “SlickScoots” (www.slickscoots.com). I also started a niche online photography gallery called “Mile Square Gallery”(mainly urban/city photography), which I recently promoted on one of my Instagram/Facebook pages.
My family operates a Print-On-Demand (T-shirt) and Amazon affiliate store called www.cloveandlime.com, which is niche’d for faith-based customers and homeschoolers. The name of your business should be relative to your interest. If you don’t have an interest or passion yet, you can use your name or a variation of your name. Also, it would be good to choose a name that isn’t already taken by a .com, .net, or .org.
Instructor Speaks:
Still unsure about a name? Take a few minutes and try this clever and fun business name generator. You should be able to find and click on the link in your course material.
https://howtostartanllc.com/business-name-generator
Instructor Notes:
Ask them to share the names that this fun website generated. After they share, let’s move on to the “name search” part. Read about a Trademark search and then direct them to watch the supporting video.
Trademark Search
Ensure you don’t use something that has already been taken or trademarked. You can first “Google” search to ensure no one else is using that name. You can also search on the United States Trademark search database:
Watch The Supporting Video: How To Search A Trademark https://youtu.be/KXdVsAiPujM
There is no need for you to apply for a trademark to protect your new name/brand for now. After you get started and when you start making money, it would be a good idea to register your name (trademark). Sooner or later, you’ll also want to register your name within your state of residence officially.
Instructor Notes: Read through the remainder of this session aloud.
Registering Your Business With Your State: Name Check
Once the business progresses (when you start making lots of money), it would be essential to register the business within your State of residence. Registering your business can provide you with certain liability protections for your assets. One way is to register as a sole-proprietor solely using your social security number and personal name. There is little to no cost with this option. The second option is to register your official business name (or DBA - Doing Business As) with your state as an LLC (Limited Liability Company), which protects your personal assets. Your state will then recognize you as an official business in your state and send you a tax ID number. The third way to register a business is as Corporation, which is probably not applicable for your business.
I’ll go into further details later in the course. Check NOW to ensure the business name (you want to use) isn’t already taken in your state. You can check here with Legal Zoom: https://www.legalzoom.com/business/business-formation/llc-overview.html
I am not an accountant and cannot advise on your specific situation. It may be a great idea to team up with your parents on your business venture and consult with their accountant about your business plans, or you utilize Legal Zoom.
Resources:
www.canva.com : For designs and logos for free, Upgrade to PRO for many more design options.
www.fiverr.com Can pay a small fee to have someone else design your logo or brand designs
Class Activity or Homework: Logo Design Create a few logos. Head over to www.canva.com. Think about a color scheme for your business. Decide on your favorite design! Either upgrade to the Pro Service, if possible, or contact the course instructor to access the free Pro Education version if applicable.
Session 6:
Open New Online Accounts
Gmail
Youtube
Facebook
Instagram
(Any other platforms students may prefer using?)
Bank Account/Etc. (if applicable)
Class Activity - Watch Supporting Video
Open/Create These Accounts
Instructor Notes: Your students must have chosen cool business names. Now what? It’s time for them to start building the foundations for their business. Read aloud through to the end of the session and then direct them to watch the supporting video.
Creating Accounts - Online/Social Media Platforms
This is exciting! It’s time to start opening your first few accounts. You should follow the recommended steps, whether you are strictly starting an online business or starting an offline service business while creating an online presence. It’s essential to make a distinction between your personal life and your new business.
Account 1: GMAIL www.gmail.com
Before you begin building your online business, it’s a good idea to open up a new email account. Keep your business separate from your personal email accounts. Gmail/Google also provides some unique tools that you will learn about later. For our website www.cloveandlime.com, we use
cloveandlime@gmail.com. Consider a variation of your brand name if the name you chose already exists on Gmail.
Google Docs - Google Drive - Document Creator
After you set up a Gmail account, click the small white boxes on the top right of the screen (looks like a calculator) and open up google drive. In Google Drive, you can create word-processing documents in Google Docs. It’s a fully functional program like Microsoft Office, and you’ll have access to word processing, spreadsheets, a drawing program, and even a presentation program.
I use Google Docs because it allows me to work on my documents on any computer, anywhere in the world. It also allows me to share my documents with my editors. Use Google Docs to write and edit all of your content. You can create different docs for all of your different ideas! Google saves your content every few seconds, so you’ll never lose it!
Account Ids and Passwords
Set up a secure document to store your Ids and Passwords. Different websites will have other character requirements for IDs and Passwords and will be very difficult to remember. If you are not comfortable saving your IDs and Passwords on Google Docs, save them somewhere. You’ll thank me for this in the future. Remember to update each time the password changes.
Account 2: Youtube Account
Have you created any Youtube videos? If you have, it was most likely on your personal Gmail account. You’ll want to create a new YOUTUBE channel specifically for your business using your new Gmail account. You can either access it by going to www.youtube.com or accessing it through your new GMAIL account. Look at the top right for the tiny white boxes that look like a calculator and click in there. When you start creating videos, you’ll upload those to your new account.
Account 3: Facebook Account
Most of you already have a Facebook account. You won’t need to create another profile. Just create a new Facebook Page (Use your new business name). Also, create a new Facebook Group!
Account 4: Instagram Account
I don’t need to tell you how popular Instagram is. Unfortunately, you can not edit anything from a desktop computer; it’s mainly a smartphone app. If you already have an Instagram account, you can create a new business page in the app. Click on your setting and “add” a new account. At that point, it will ask if you want to create a new account! If you don’t have an account, download the app and create your new account.
Business Bank Account (if applicable)
Once your business begins generating money, It’s best to set up a business/separate bank account WHEN you start generating consistent income. This will keep your personal finances and business finances separate. This is also beneficial for tax purposes and to accurately track your business expenses and profits.
Instructor Speaks: This is exciting! Let’s watch the supporting video and start building the foundation of your business. Go open those new online accounts with the business name you have chosen. Instructor Notes: Watch the video while the students watch it… Supporting Video: Opening Creating New Accounts https://youtu.be/9PEQSznL9D8
Class Activity - Homework - Open/Create The Above Accounts
Resources:
Session 7:
Developing A Business Plan
Class Activity: Develop A “Rough-Draft” Business Plan
Class Activity: Goal Sheet (Write out your goals)
Instructor Notes:
Read through the next section aloud. Ask the business plan questions as the class reviews them together. Let’s hear how some of those questions might apply to the print-on-demand business model.
Instructor Speaks:
In the next section, we’re going to be talking about a business plan. In this course, you will NOT need to create a business plan due to how print-on-demand works. However, make note that creating a business plan is a strategic part of initiating most new businesses. For that reason, we’ll review this section. After we look over the business plan, I’ll be asking you about your life goals and objectives!
Developing a Business Plan
BUSINESS PLAN
A business plan is a written document that describes your business, and it covers objectives, strategies, sales, marketing, and financial forecasts. A business plan helps you to clarify your business idea. Even though a print-on-demand business requires little to no start-up costs, it’s a good idea to go through the process of creating a business plan anyway.
A business plan is a vital and strategic tool for entrepreneurs. A good business plan not only helps entrepreneurs focus on the specific steps necessary for them to make business ideas succeed, but it also helps them to achieve short-term and long-term objectives. Try to complete the questions in this section to the best of your ability. It will help lay the foundation for a successful business!
BUSINESS FOUNDATIONS
What is your idea?
Is it a product? A service?
What makes your idea unique from anything else?
What do existing products/services not offer that yours will?
Why will people buy your product or service?
MARKETING
Who do you anticipate being your customers/audience?
(Kids? Teens? Men? Women?Elderly?)
Will you be marketing in or to a specific location?
Are your customers wealthy or economical/budget seeking?
How would this play into your pricing or marketing approach?
Describe/identify your target customer with as much detail as you know.
IDEA
Where will you sell your product or service? (Online, In Person, Ship from home, or combination)
How do you plan on marketing your business? (In-person, email, social media, newspaper ads, marketplaces)
What is the name of your business?
What is the significance of the name of your business?
(Is it unique? Memorable? Easy to pronounce)
FINANCES
STARTUP COSTS
How much will it cost to start your business?
What will you need to buy before you can get started? (Materials? Equipment? How much will those things cost (start-up costs)?
Where will you get the money to cover your startup costs?
COST PER UNIT
What is the cost of making each product or providing each hour of service? (Cost per unit.)
List each expense, and divide your total expenses by the number of products you will make or the number
of hours you will work, as follows:
Product: Cost per product = total expenses / # of products that can be made
Service: Cost per hour of service = total expenses/number of hours of work
Charge?
PRICING
How much will you charge?
How does your pricing compare to your competitors?
What is your profit?
How much will you make on each sale after you subtract your expenses?
Profit = Income - Expenses
Instructor Notes:
Goal Sheet: I think it would be great to hear their goals and let them verbalize their thoughts. Let’s go through this next section together as a class. You can ask for a few brave students to share their goals and objectives.
Instructor Speaks:
Let’s now complete your goal sheet! If possible, copy and paste the following goal sheet into a new GOOGLE DOCS word document in their new Google Drive account. Do you remember how to do that? If you don’t, maybe we can just talk through them for now!
Class Activity:
GOAL SHEET
WRITE OUT YOUR LIFE GOALS ON A PIECE OF PAPER or Google Docs.
What are your main goals in life?
What are your financial goals?
Here are some ideas:
What goals do you have in life that could be achieved if your business is successful?
Will you save money to purchase a car? Which Car?
Will you save money for college? Which College?
If you could donate to a charity or foundation, which one would it be?
If you could help someone financially, who would it be, and what would you do?
What else can you include on your goal sheet?
HANG UP YOUR GOAL SHEET NEXT TO YOUR WORKSPACE AS A CONSTANT REMINDER OF THE REASON YOU WORK SO DILIGENTLY.
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Life is so much more meaningful when our main purpose in life becomes helping others, financially or otherwise. Help others less fortunate than you, and you will experience JOY beyond explanation.
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Section 2: Content Creation & Marketing Strategies
Welcome to Section 2! Learn how to create the best content (text, photos, videos, etc.) and implement SEO strategies.
The Foundations of Digital Marketing
Instructor Notes: This is the last and the most crucial session in this course. It teaches students how to optimize their marketing efforts to maximize customer reach. Read through the next session and go slow. You may also ask the students if they assist in reading through it. Instructor Speaks: We are almost at the end of the informative sessions in the course. This is one of the most essential sessions because it will teach you how to use specific words/keywords to reach the customers you need to reach to generate sales. I’ll read through it unless someone would like to help me.
Session 8:
Creating Quality Content & Implementing SEO Strategies
Understanding Search Engines
Tags/Hashtags
Creating Quality Content & Implementing SEO Strategies
Search engines like Google love fresh unique content. Updating your blog/website often with new posts/articles will help get you listed on the search engines, but have patience. While some of your content may get listed in a few days, other posts may take months.
Don’t forget about adding pictures and videos to make your website (if you have one) and social media accounts more exciting and engaging! People love photos and videos! For Print-On-Demand, you would want to create/use mock-up images of people using or wearing your merchandise (www.placeit.com is a fantastic site for mock-up images). If your site is mostly text, it will appear very uninteresting. Remember to TAG or RENAME the file names of the images and videos with keywords (before you upload them to your site) related to your niche to help your site get found by the search engines.
SEO - Optimizing Your Content For Search Engines
“Keywords” are essential to use within your articles. These are the words that people use to search on Google. For instance, if you are starting a new business to teach people how to play guitar online, your blog post/article title would include ‘How To Play Guitar”. You could even get more specific like...“How To Play Guitar Chords” in the title. Then, in the article, be sure to list those keywords a few times. Google loves this. When someone searches on Google “How to play guitar chords”, Google may show them your website in the search results.
Let’s use another example. What if you are selling handmade wool winter hats? “Handmade Wool Winter Hats” would be a good keyword, in general. What if these wool hats were for girls? Then your title should be more specific; “Handmade Wool Winter Hats For Girls”. This new keyword phrase is called a Long-tailed Keyword. Why is this important to understand?
Here’s why. If you title your blog post/article only “Hats for Girls”, you would be competing in the search engines (Google, etc.) against thousands of other websites that are selling “hats for girls”. However, if you were to title your post “Handmade Wool Winter Hats For Girls” since it’s more specific, anyone searching this “long-tailed” keyword phrase may be sent to your website first. Google loves websites with great content, and niche targeted keywords! This is called SEO (Search Engine Optimization).
More About SEO
Search engine optimization is the practice of increasing both the quality and quantity of website traffic, as well as exposure to your brand, through non-paid (known as "organic") search engine results.
SEO is as much about people as it is about search engines themselves. It’s about understanding what people are searching for online, the answers they are seeking, the words they’re using, and the type of content they need. Knowing the answers to these questions will allow you to connect to the people searching online for the solutions you offer.
Search Engine Basics
Search engines hunt for billions of pieces of content and evaluate thousands of factors to determine which content is most likely to answer the type’d in question (query). Search engines do all of this by discovering and cataloging all available content on the Internet (web pages, PDFs, images, videos, etc.) via a process known as crawling and indexing. Then ordering it by how well it matches the query in a process we refer to as ranking.
Why SEO is important
While paid advertising, social media, and other online platforms can generate traffic to websites, most online traffic is driven by search engines.
Search results from organic (natural traffic sent to websites through search engines) cover more digital real estate, appear more credible to savvy searchers, and receive way more clicks than paid advertisements. For example, of all US searches, only 2.8% of people click on paid advertisements.
SEO is also one of the only online marketing channels that can continue to pay dividends over time when set up correctly. If you provide solid content that deserves to rank for the right keywords, your traffic can increase over time, whereas advertising needs continuous funding to send traffic to your site.
Here are some basic SEO principles to follow:
Make pages primarily for users/consumers, not search engines.
Don't deceive your users.
Avoid tricks intended to improve search engine rankings.
Think about what makes your website unique, valuable, or engaging.
Here are some SEO things to avoid:
Automatically generated content
Participating in link schemes
Creating pages with little or no original content (i.e. copied from somewhere else)
Cloaking — the practice of showing search engine crawlers different content than visitors.
Hidden text and links
Doorway pages — pages created to rank well for specific searches to funnel traffic to your website.
Tags/Hashtags - More SEO Opportunities
Keywords are sometimes called “TAGS” on other websites or platforms. Always use the maximum amount of keywords allowed in keyword/tag fields. For instance, when uploading a video to Youtube, you’ll be required to complete a description field before you can post a video. Youtube then provides other fields, like a tag field, which you should take complete advantage of. Enter as many keywords as you can that are specifically related to your video/content. Maximize your SEO opportunities. In addition to using proper keywords in all of your content and titles, use #HASHTAGS on your Facebook, Instagram, and other social media accounts. This will open your visibility to many others on the platform who share the same interests. It is a great way to start growing your followers.
What Does 'Hashtag' Mean? # = HASHTAG
A hashtag is simply a keyword phrase, spelled out without spaces, with a pound sign (#) in front of it. For example, #doglovers, #chocolatemakers, #jewelryfad are hashtags. Place hashtags anywhere in your social media posts: in the beginning, at the end, or anywhere in between.
These hashtags tie public conversations from all different users into a single stream, which you can find by searching for a hashtag, clicking on one, or using a third-party monitoring too
Instructor Notes: The informative wordy part of the course is complete! The next part of the course, students will be mainly working independently on their print-on-demand business. Read the Intermission 2 section aloud to your students. Review the course topics and instruct them on how to print out their COURSE CERTIFICATE!
Intermission 2
Congratulations! You now have the knowledge and tools to build a strong foundation for your business. Within this intermission, you’ll find essential business model tutorial videos to get you started! See below. The final sections in the course, Sections 3 and 4, are supplemental to provide additional value to your entrepreneur experience. Moving onto the final sections are optional. Before you dive into the creation of your new profitable online business, let’s do a quick review of the topics we covered in Sections 1 and 2. If you missed any, return to those sessions to review the content.
REVIEW:
Cultivated the Mindset of an Entrepreneur
Identified your interest, gifts, talents, and skills
Identified a “niche” for your business
Selected a Business Model (or a combination)
Local/offline business (neighborhood service based)
Online instructional business (online lessons, skill-based content)
Print-on-demand online store (selling art designs on merch)
Affiliate Marketing (recommending products/services)
Ecommerce (selling your products on your website)
Named and Branded Your Business (Created a Logo On Canva)
Created Brand New Online and Social Media Accounts
Google: Gmail
Google Youtube (If Applicable)
Facebook
Instagram
Any Others Favorites
Wrote out a business plan and identified your goals Learned about (Wix) blogs and why we build websites (If Applicable) Learned how to create content and implement the best SEO strategies Understand how to find and create amazing photo and video content
You Earned a Certificate!
By completing sections 1 & 2 you have earned the E-Teen Certificate, certifying that you understand entrepreneurship and digital marketing strategies!
Certificate
Online Entrepreneurship: Specializing In Digital Marketing
Certificate Instructions:
Download Certificate: HERE (https://drive.google.com/file/d/1FDTFUpcctu2A0fETIN_zlaWF9uZzOH55/view?usp=sharing)
Fill In your name via a PDF Filler.
Continue Building
Continue building your online business and focus on your specific business model. Follow the video tutorials closely and take notes if needed. If you are unclear about something, try searching for answers on Google. Use your entrepreneurial skills to keep progressing!
Instructor Notes: In the “Take Action” section, direct students to log onto www.eteenlab.com and register for a free account for extra support.
Take Action
As I had mentioned earlier in the course, it’s unusual for someone to succeed at anything without some type of support or mentoring. This is why teens need to find a support system; someone to encourage them, answer questions, and help them grow as entrepreneurs. The E-Teen Lab is a great place to get started for this type of support. Visit www.eteenlab.com right now and register for your account by clicking LOG-IN. It’s simple, and it’s free. Let’s do this together! We hope you have a blast starting your own online business, and we can’t wait to hear about it!
Instructor Speaks: It’s time to start creating your print-on-demand businesses. The following video will direct you to create and download designs on Canva and then upload the designs onto Redbubble. You should not rush the design process and pay attention to the details. Remember, you can create simple text designs or create intricate art designs on all different products. Just make sure they look good. Ask your instructor or your friends to provide you with feedback. The key to success on RedBubble is creating quality designs and creating a multitude of designs. One last suggestion is to search for answers on Google" or "Youtube" if you get stuck on anything. The final sections in the course are optional and can be reviewed at your leisure. We thought you might enjoy learning about a few other online business options and provide you with some additional tools. Once you have completed reading through the entire course, you will be a well-rounded online entrepreneur. Now let’s get your print-on-demand business going by watching the provided video tutorial!
Begin Your Print-On-Demand Journey
Print On Demand Tutorial
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=g9fywVdE54A&feature=youtu.be
Learn much more in-depth about how to begin creating a print-on-demand online store and creating artistic designs with Canva.com.
Please contact JP at eteenlab@gmail.com to access a Pro Canva account for FREE if you are part of the live classes.
Affiliate Marketing Supporting Video
You may watch this after the completion of the Print-On-Demand Course Supporting Video (40 Min): Santrel Media Affiliate Marketing FULL Tutorial
Digital Marketing Course Supporting Video
You may watch this after the completion of the Print-On-Demand Course Supplemental Google Garage Digital Marketing Course: ECommerce This Google course offers certification for digital marketing and ecommerce. If you have some time and the desire to pursue ecommerce, I highly recommend taking a look at this resource. https://learndigital.withgooglUsing e-commerce to selle.com/digitalgarage/course/business-online/lesson/108
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