Thread by @PhilipObin

What does Digital Revolution mean?

The Digital Revolution refers to the advancement of technology from analog electronic and mechanical devices to the digital technology available today. The era started to during the 1980s and is ongoing. The Digital Revolution also marks the beginning of the Information Era.

The world of digital media is changing at a phenomenal pace. Its constantly evolving technologies, and the way people are using them, are transforming not just how we access our information, but how we interact and communicate with one another on a global scale.

It’s also changing the way we choose and buy our products and services.

Not everyone is destined to become the next Steve Jobs or Mark Zuckerberg, but applying digital skills to your work can work wonders even if you work in a company or are a freelancer.

You might already have a set of these skills but polishing them and adding a few more can take you to the next level.

Today, we shall be discussing some essential global and 'mobile' skills that will cost you little or nothing, within the shortest time possible, yet equip you to survive profitably anywhere you find yourself in the world, be it in the labour market or as a Solopreneur

These skills are basic skills you already know or possess but never thought could be developed and harnessed, so there's nothing to worry about, as you do not need to reinvent the wheel. I'm going to simplify them as simple as APC for you!

Before I finally settled on these skills, I had done sales of foodstuff, petroleum products, video clubbing, journalism, barbing, scriptwriting, hawking, business centre, traditional marketing, etc. None of these businesses gave me the fulfillment and freedom I enjoy today!

I may not have made billions yet but since I acquired these skills and learnt these businesses, over a decade ago, I have never been broke, as there's no passing day I don't make money, including weekends & holidays. Making money daily, however small, extends one's lifespan

Blogging: When it comes to a lifestyle-friendly business, blogging appears to have it all. You get to work from home, focus on a topic of interest and share your creative talents. But can you really earn a living as a blogger? And if so, what’s the best way to get started?

How much you’ll ultimately earn and how quickly you would turn a profit depends on the quality of your content, your niche, how often you blog and, most importantly, how effective you are at promoting and monetizing your blog.

It's possible to earn 24 million naira /year as a blogger at N96,360/day or N36,500,000.00/year at about 90 kobo CPC, from Google AdSense through your blog. However, you'll need approximately 100,000 unique visitors to your blog at 1% CTR, which gives you about 1,000 clicks/day

Who can tell us the meaning of 'CPC' and 'CTR' in this context?

To be honest, only established publishers like Jiji.ng, Linda Ikeji, Legit.ng, and others can achieve this. However, there are many other ways to earn from a blog, almost instantly - even before you start generating high traffic.

Today, even those with tight schedules can own and run successful blogs, if they acquire the right tools and knowledge.

The last time I advertised on her blog, here was how much Linda Ikeji charged for adverts:

Leaderboard N1,500,000/month

Sidebar ads N600,000/month

Sponsored posts - N70,000 per post (If she posts it 10 times, you pay N70,000 times 10)

Page branding - N2,500,000 monthly

You can automate your blog to automatically post new articles every 60 mins & update same on your social media accounts (Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, etc.) without your physical help. You can also get apps that will help you rewrite articles copied from others blogs or sources.

With a popular blog, you’ll soon become famous and your blog may earn you money for life. It can also provide you with an avenue to market anything, just like I do at fullyreported.com.

Years back, Blogging was just hobby for a few people. Today we have seen a growth in the terms of bloggers and people who started taking blogging as a career option.

With the evolution of entrepreneurship and solopreneurship, people these days are keen to start their own businesses, and blogging is such career anyone can start with little or no capital, and from anywhere.

One of the biggest dilemma for people who are blogging part-time is: Should you quit your job to become a professional blogger? Is blogging the right career choice for you?

Hundreds of millions of blogs are online today…
Thousands more are started every day…
Anyone can start a blog in just 5 minutes, but very few people will start blogs that matter…
Yet, there are more dropout bloggers than college dropouts today…

What is a Blog? A weblog or blog is a website containing a blogger’s own experiences, observations, opinions, etc., and often having images and links to other websites. A blog is managed and frequently updated by a person popularly referred to as a Blogger.

First professional blog was links.net, registered Dec 19, 1994.

In 1999, Pyra Labs launched Blogger.com - a free blog-creation software, allowing anyone with Internet access to create & manage a blog. However, Google acquired Blogger from Labs in 2003.

Things you must consider STRONGLY before taking a blogging career:
Becoming a professional blogger is not going to happen over night. However, if you have the drive and focus, you’ll find it a lot easier to build a blogging career.

You don’t need to reinvent the wheel, so don’t panic about anything

The art of blogging is filled with content to get you started on the right track.

It will only take you some time, but all you have to do is learn and take action.

Choosing a Marketable Niche for your blog
What is a niche? – Consider a niche as an area or a subject which your blog or website is all about. We have niches like, Education, Technology, Arts and Culture, Celebrity, Health, Banking, Airline and Flights, etc.

For example, if you say your niche is Politics, this means that all articles on your website or blog must relate to Politics in at least one way.

There are some niches that advertisers are willing to pay heavily to advertise on, but unfortunately, very few people or none write on such niche. A typical example of such niche is “distance learning”.

The keyword is so competitive that an advertiser would be willing to pay as high as $5 per click from Nigeria and $15 per click from the United States, Canada or United Kingdom

The two most popular ways to create a blog are through Blogger and WordPress. Having tried both of these great blogging platforms, I will recommend Blogger for beginners and those who do not have adequate startup capital.

Continues...

The number of retail eCommerce transactions taking place through smartphones in Nigeria spiked by 73 percent within the first quarter of 2016. Nigeria’s ICT is finding strength in eCommerce, a sub-sector estimated to worth N3.06t, according to market observers

Miss Gloria, one of the Digital Marketers I mentor, sold items worth over N5million online within 2 weeks during the last Jumia Black Friday. She had no products of her own, not even a shop or adequate capital.

She simply keyed into the power of digital marketing, which you can also achieve, with the right mindset.

It’s time to stop wasting time on social media abusing people, debating Buhari vs Atiku, PDP vs APC or just sharing annoying religious chain messages. The internet, especially digital media, is underutilized by lots of younger people, who are rather unconsciously addicted to it.

Part of Mark Zuckerberg's vision is to lift as many people as possible out of poverty, through Facebook, and now is time to position yourself to key into that vision. Imagine how much you've spent on data & smartphones + time wasted online since you bought your first mobile phone

While you may not afford to start as big as Jumia & co, you can start by selling online for others. Lots of physical store owners and suppliers overtaken by online stores are willing to partner with you to sell their products online.

I sell, on average, 10 products online every day and have never met most of the suppliers of these products I sell online. See potechng.com

All I do is call suppliers to get prices/details of products, add my profit + delivery charges, advertise the products online, get buyers to pay me upfront, send money to the supplier, get DHL to pick up & deliver within 48hrs, and everyone involved is happy! Isn't this amazing?

STARTING A COURIER SERVICES BUSINESS
Did you know you could start your own Logistic and delivery services without initial capital or registering a company, by partnering with the likes of DHL?

Delivery services are important because they help businesses manage the movement of goods and services from the original depot to the consumer. While this service has always existed in Nigeria, it is currently witnessing a boom with the growing popularity of e-commerce in Nigeria

E-commerce platforms need to have goods ordered from them transported to their buyers. They usually outsource this task to logistics services providers, who help to transport the goods to the consumer. Physical stores are also including delivery as part of their service packages.

Imagine securing a deal with an importer who imports goods from China to Nigeria or farmers who export their farm produces overseas, or even a corporate or governmental organization that delivers parcels and other documents regularly within and outside NG. Philipobin.com

The best part is that, you can completely run this business from anywhere in the world, using just your mobile phone

I will show you how I started one, picking up & delivering shipments within Nigeria and overseas, partnering with DHL. Sign up @ Philipobin.com

DHL Express is always looking for suitable DHL SERVICE POINT partners to manage and operate professionally-staffed retail locations which provide shipping services to the general public. Sign up at PhilipObin.com for details

I have just concluded a 6hr digital marketing session online via a dedicated WhatsApp group with 24 participants who paid between N20,000 & N45,000 each. Will upload testimonials soon. Social media isn't only for politics & insults. You can touch lives & make money with it, too!

Here's a testimonial from one of my previous classes. Those interested can join my WhatsApp group at PhilipObin.com

Start selling phones, laptops, Slimming coffee, Airtime/data, POS Machines, ATM Cards. No start capital/shop needed plus get access to collateral-free loan, N100,000 Club080.com voucher, 100,000 emails, your own blog, etc. Ltd offer. Signup at PhilipObin.com

Want to write an article on any subject but don't have adequate materials or simply don't know how to get started? Worry no more. Simply type the title of the article at Essaytyper.com and the website will help you write the article from beginning to finish!

With W3schools.com, you can learn everything about web design, programming and if you spend min of an hour on this site, after a year, you should be able to develop sites as complicated as facebook.com, if you're creative. Sign up at philipobin.com

Don't write any letter or article again without having grammarly.com installed on your browser and PC. It helps with all errors and helps you write like a pro. Even articles from govts & ChannelsTV are found wanting when edited with grammar. See philipobin.com

articlerewritertool.com allows you to copy articles &posts from other people or blogs, then it will help you rewrite it such that the original owner & google do not see them as copied anymore. Very useful for those interested in full time blogging. Signup philipobin.com

Money for nothing? Well, not quite—but close! Google’s AdSense is a revenue-sharing opportunity for small, medium and large websites that place ads for goods and services that are relevant to the content of your site. Sign up @ philipobin.com to learn more

URL shorteners, such as bit.ly and tinyurl, are services that help take longer URLs (which can be over a hundred characters long) and transform them into manageable links that almost never exceed 20 characters.

URL shorteners are not new - TinyURL has been around since 2002. But their popularity has skyrocketed with the rise of Twitter, which only allows for 140 characters in any message. Sign up @ philipobin.com for my 25th May digital marketing class and learn more.

We all know that there are so many ways to make money from blogging, but most of them are outdated and won’t work now.

So I won’t be sharing them here, instead, I’ll give you some real ways to make money from blogging.
See philipobin.com for details

Admittedly, Google AdSense is still the most effective way to monetize a blog. But it can only give you decent money when your blog starts getting massive traffic, and I am not sure you want to wait till then

Launched in March 2003, Google AdSense is a program run by Google that allows publishers and bloggers alike, in the Google Network of content sites, to serve automatic text, image, video, or interactive media advertisements, that are targeted to site content and audience

These adverts are administered, sorted, and maintained by Google. They can generate revenue on either a per-click or per-impression basis.

In 2014, Google earned $13.6 billion (4.7 trillion naira) or 22% of total revenue, through Google @AdSense See philipobin.com

Google uses its Internet search technology to serve advertisements based on website content, the user's geographical location, and other factors. Those wanting to advertise with Google's targeted advertisement system may enroll through Google AdWords.

AdSense has become one of the popular programs that specializes in creating and placing banner advertisements on a website, because the advertisements are less intrusive and the content of the advertisements is often relevant to the website.

Alternative to Google AdSense
Bloggers who may not use Google Adsense, can use Infolinks as an Alternative and easy way to make money from their blogs. Sign up at philipobin.com for my next professional blogging training and digital marketing.

The best part is using Infolinks alongside Adsense does not violate its strict policies and can help you make extra income. For those who got rejected or banned from Adsense, infolinks.com is a must!

Infolinks.com is about the best alternative to Google AdSense and does not have strict policies like Google Adsense

Compared to Adsense, it’s easier to get approved and they always work on benefiting the publisher by bringing in new ideas and methods to increase publisher’s revenue.

Write And Sell eBooks on your blog:
eBook is an electronic version of a printed book which can be read on a computer or a specifically designed handheld device.
You may write your own eBooks, look for free ones with reseller rights online or buy some for resell on your blog

Example is "How to become mobile money agent and earn up to N605,750 monthly" by Philip Obin. There's virtually no day I don't sell at least one e-copy of the book, and I'm willing to offer you resell rights to reproduce and resell at your own price.

Promote Affiliate Products on your blog:
When you sign up for affiliate programme, you’ll receive a referral fee or commission from sales when your blog visitors clicked your affiliate links to get to the merchant's web site and buy a product. Sign up at philipobin.com

For example, as a Jumia affiliate, you promote their products on your website and earn a commission with every order placed from your website.

You can earn up to 11% commission, depending on product, if the customer purchases within 30 days of clicking from your blog

Your earnings can be paid into your local bank accounts. Sign up for my 25th May Digital Training to learn how to become an Affiliate Marketing @ philipobin.com

MOBILE MONEY BUSINESS: HOW TO EARN N100,000 – N487,250.00 MONTHLY AS AN AGENT. Limited offer. Sign up at philipobin.com

MOBILE MONEY BUSINESS: HOW TO EARN N100,000 – N487,250.00 MONTHLY AS AN AGENT. Limited offer. Sign up at philipobin.com

Mobile payment, also referred to as mobile money, mobile money transfer, and mobile wallet generally refer to payment services operated under financial regulation and performed from or via a mobile device.

Instead of paying with cash, cheques, or credit cards, a consumer can use a mobile phone to pay for a wide range of services and digital or hard goods.

Mobile payment is being adopted all over the world in different ways. In 2008, the combined market for all types of mobile payments was projected to reach more than $600B globally by 2013, which doubled as of February, 2011.

In developing countries, mobile payment solutions have been deployed as a means of extending financial services to the community known as the "unbanked" or "underbanked," which is estimated to be as much as 50% of the world's adult population.

According to Financial Access' Report, "Half the World is Unbanked“.
Sign up @ philipobin.com to join my Mobile Money Business Training Class

Mobile money in Kenya

Kenya is the world leader in mobile money. For 26 million Kenyans, the cell phone is a wallet & bank account. They get paid, transfer money, pay bills, withdraw cash & even make in-store purchases – no matter what handset. Now that is a catalyst for a vibrant mobile economy!

Of the 31 million mobile subscribers in Kenya, 83 percent (26 million users) are subscribed to mobile money services.

Safaricom’s M-PESA service was the pioneer of mobile money in Kenya & worldwide. Launched 2007, M-PESA now has over 20m subscribers, which gives it over 75% of total mobile money subscribers in Kenya & today, one quarter of the $44 billion economy in Kenya runs through M-PESA.

M-Pesa—the M stands for “mobile,” while pesa means “money” in Swahili language

The beauty of mobile money services is the ability to a) transfer funds from one mobile device to another and b) deposit and withdraw money via a network of local agents. But mobile money can be used in many other innovative ways.

These includes paying utility or school fees, insurance, charity/religious donations, in-store purchases, m-ticketing, phone top-ups, withdrawing cash from ATMs, sending money home from 45 countries overseas, Some even have their wages & stock dividends paid into their account.

All of this is achieved without needing a bank account, bank card, a smartphone or a post-paid contract. Sign up for my Mobile Money Business Training at philipobin.com

Mobile Money in Nigeria:
The CBN Cashless Policy was introduced in June 2012, to ensure individuals and corporates no longer make cash withdrawals above N500,000 (five hundred thousand naira) and N3,000,000.00 (three million naira) per day, respectively.

The policy stipulates that any withdrawal exceeding above limits attracts 3% penalty on the excess for individuals or 5% for corporate organizations.

So if an individual makes a N1 million withdrawal, they pay 3% charge of N30,000 or N250,000 on corporate withdrawal of N5m

The movement of large amount of physical cash has become a crime and offenders will be prosecuted.

Exemptions have however been granted on withdrawals for accounts operated by Embassies, Diplomatic Missions, Multilateral Agencies, Aid Donor Agencies, Ministries, Departments & Agencies of Govt(revenue collection only), Microfinance Banks and Primary Mortgage Institutions (PMIs)

Already, individuals and corporates have positioned themselves to benefit from the policy, and you too can. Sign up for my 25th May Mobile Money Business Training now @ PhilipObin.com and thank me later.

Benefits of the Cashless Policy to Nig.
Table below shows the view of respondents on benefits of cashless economy in Nig. The lowest percentage, 11.1% of the respondents, believed that cashless policy will increase employment & reduce CBN spending on printing of new currencies