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How to Start an Online Business in 2026: 7 Steps

Table of Contents

Last Updated: 14 October 2026

Step 1: Validate Your Online Business Idea for 2026

The best way to start an online business in 2026 is to solve one specific problem for one specific group of people before you build anything. Validation means proving people will pay for your solution.

Here is how to test an idea without spending money:

  • List three problems you already understand well
  • Search for forums and social groups where people discuss those problems
  • Offer a simple service or pre-sale and see who responds
  • Ask ten potential buyers what they would pay for a fix

If nobody responds, that is useful information. Move to the next idea. The GOV.UK guidance on starting a business covers the practical setup side once your idea holds up.

Watch Out
The most common mistake is building a full website before anyone has confirmed they want the product. You can lose months of work this way.

Step 2: How to Start an Online Business With No Money

You can start an online business with no money by selling a service first, then reinvesting the profit into tools and stock. Service businesses need only your time and a way for people to contact you. Establishing a professional workspace becomes essential as your client base grows, so refining your home office setup guide ensures that your environment remains conducive to sustained productivity.

Start with these low-cost routes:

  • Freelance skills you already have, such as writing, design, or admin
  • Consulting or coaching by video call
  • Reselling or dropshipping once you have a little cash
  • Affiliate promotion of products you genuinely rate

A common mistake is buying courses and tools before earning a single pound. Earn first, spend second. Our Companies House register is free to search if you want to check names before you trade.

Step 3: Understanding Your Online Business Startup Costs

Online business startup costs fall into three groups: setup, tools, and marketing. Most beginners overspend on tools and underspend on getting in front of buyers.

Cost Type Examples When It Applies
Setup Domain name, company registration Before launch
Tools Website host, email platform, payment fees Ongoing monthly
Marketing Ads, content, email list building From launch onward

Pricing for courses and platforms varies, so check current rates directly with each provider before you commit. Set a monthly ceiling and stick to it.

Pro Tip
Track every expense in a simple spreadsheet from day one. It makes tax return time far easier and shows you which tools actually earn their keep.

Step 4: Create a Practical Online Business Plan Template

An online business plan template is a one-page document that sets out what you sell, who buys it, and how you reach them. You do not need a fifty-page document to launch.

Use this simple structure:

  • Offer: What you sell in one sentence
  • Customer: Who they are and where they spend time online
  • Price: What you charge and why
  • Channels: How you will find buyers
  • Targets: What success looks like in 90 days

Review it monthly. A plan you never update is just paperwork.

Step 5: Build Your Online Presence and Brand

Build your online presence around one clear message and one main channel first. A simple website, a business email address, and one social profile beat five half-finished accounts.

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Focus on these basics:

  • A clean site that loads fast on mobile
  • A clear headline that says what you do
  • A way to capture email addresses
  • Consistent colours, name, and tone everywhere
A person working on a laptop at a tidy home desk, with a notebook and coffee nearby, looking focused while building a website
A person working on a laptop at a tidy home desk, with a notebook and coffee nearby, looking focused while building a website

What most guides miss is that your email list is the asset you actually own. Social platforms change their rules; your list does not.

The main legal steps are choosing a business structure, registering with HMRC, and meeting data protection rules. You can trade as a sole trader or register a limited company.

Key requirements include:

  • Registering for Self Assessment with HMRC if you trade as a sole trader
  • Registering a company at Companies House if you choose that route
  • Following ICO data protection guidance if you store customer details
  • Displaying your business details on your website

Check the official sources for current thresholds and fees, as these change.

Step 7: Launch, Get Your First Customers, and Scale

Launch when your offer works for a handful of buyers, not when everything looks perfect. Your first customers teach you more than any planning document.

To get those first sales:

  • Tell your existing contacts directly
  • Post useful content where your buyers already gather
  • Offer a simple launch deal to spark early action
  • Ask every buyer for a review or referral
Key Takeaway
The founders who succeed are the ones who launch early, learn fast, and improve weekly.

Frequently Asked Questions

How do I start an online business in 2026?

Start by validating a specific idea that solves a clear problem for a defined audience. Next, decide whether you can launch with no money using free tools and your own time, or whether you need a small budget for a website and software. Then draft a one-page business plan, set up your legal structure, and build a simple online presence. Focus on getting your first paying customer before you spend on advertising.

Can I really start an online business with no money?

Yes, you can start an online business with no money if you trade time and skills instead of cash. Use free website builders, social media platforms, and email marketing tools with free tiers. Offer a service like freelance writing, social media management, or virtual assistance to generate initial income. Reinvest that money into paid tools or ads once you have proven demand.

What are the typical online business startup costs?

Startup costs vary widely depending on your model. A service-based business might have minimal costs for a domain and basic website, while an e-commerce store selling physical products could require a budget for stock, packaging, and platform fees. Ongoing costs include software subscriptions, payment processing fees, and marketing. Always list every expense in your business plan template and keep a contingency fund.

Do I need to register my online business with Companies House?

If you operate as a sole trader, you must register with HMRC for Self Assessment once your trading income exceeds £1,000 in a tax year. If you set up a limited company, you must register with Companies House. Both routes require you to keep records and file returns. Check the government’s online guidance for the exact steps and deadlines that apply to your situation.

Starting an online business in 2026 takes a clear idea, a small budget, and the discipline to launch before you feel ready. At Internet Business School, our CPD-accredited courses walk you through lead generation, sales funnels, and brand building step by step, so you can create passive income streams and grow with confidence. Get started with Internet Business School and turn your idea into a real, trading business.

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Practical Digital Marketing Skills for Graduates

Table of Contents

Last Updated: October 13, 2026

Start with SEO Skills for Beginners

Search engine optimisation is the practice of improving a website so it ranks higher in search results and attracts visitors who are already looking for what it offers. For graduates, SEO is the most employable of all digital marketing skills because every business with a website needs it.

Most job adverts ask for it. Most hiring managers test it. And unlike paid advertising, you can practise it for free on your own site this week.

Below, we’ll show you exactly how to build SEO skills from zero, then layer on the tools, portfolio, and CV proof that get you hired.

This guide from Internet Business School covers the practical side: what to learn, in what order, and how to prove you can do it.

Keyword research and on-page basics

Keyword research is the process of finding the words and phrases your audience types into search engines, then building content around them.

Start with free tools and a simple process:

  • Write down ten questions customers ask in your niche
  • Check each one in a free keyword tool to see search volume
  • Group similar phrases into one page per topic
  • Match your page title and first paragraph to the main phrase

On-page basics matter just as much. Every page needs one clear topic, a descriptive title, a short meta description, and headings that break the content into readable chunks. Get those right and you’re ahead of most applicants.

Pro Tip
Most beginners chase high-volume keywords and never rank. Target long, specific phrases first. A page that ranks third for a niche question beats a page buried on page nine for a broad term.

Technical SEO essentials for graduates

Technical SEO covers everything that helps search engines crawl, understand, and trust a site. You don’t need to be a developer, but you do need to know the basics.

The essentials worth learning:

  • How site speed affects rankings and how to check it
  • Why mobile-friendly design is non-negotiable
  • How to read a sitemap and a robots.txt file
  • What a broken link is and how to find them
  • How structured data helps search engines understand your pages

Google publishes free guidance on all of this through its Search Central documentation. Work through it once and you’ll understand more than most graduates applying for the same roles.

Get to Grips with Digital Marketing Tools for Beginners

Learning digital marketing tools for beginners is less about collecting software and more about getting fluent in a handful of free ones. Employers care that you can use a tool to solve a problem, not that you’ve signed up for twenty of them.

Here’s a sensible starting stack:

Tool Type What to Learn First Why It Matters
Analytics Reading traffic and conversion reports Shows you can measure results
Keyword research Finding search terms and volume Core SEO skill
Email platform Building a list and sending a campaign Every business runs email
Social scheduling Planning and posting content Proves consistency
Design Making simple graphics Keeps your output professional

Pick one tool per row. Learn it properly. Then move on.

A common mistake is signing up for everything at once and mastering nothing. Recruiters can tell the difference in an interview within two minutes.

Build a Digital Marketing Portfolio with Real Examples

A digital marketing portfolio is a collection of real work samples that shows an employer or client what you can do. It is the single strongest asset a graduate can build, because it replaces “I studied this” with “here is the result.”

A young graduate sitting at a desk with a laptop open to a portfolio website, surrounded by notebooks and a coffee cup, looking focused and confident
A young graduate sitting at a desk with a laptop open to a portfolio website, surrounded by notebooks and a coffee cup, looking focused and confident

You don’t need paid clients to build one. You need three to five pieces of work that show your thinking.

What to include in your portfolio

Aim for variety. Each piece should show a different skill:

  • A keyword research sheet for a real or fictional business
  • A blog post you wrote and optimised, with the target phrase noted
  • An email sequence of three to five messages
  • A social content plan for one month
  • A short audit of a website, listing what you’d fix and why

Write two or three sentences above each piece explaining the goal, what you did, and what happened. That context is what separates a portfolio from a folder of files.

Where to host and showcase your work

You have three practical options:

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  • A simple website you build yourself, which doubles as proof of your technical skills
  • A PDF portfolio you attach to applications
  • A profile on a freelance platform, useful if you want client work

Building your own site is the strongest choice. It shows you can do the work and manage a web presence at the same time. Keep it clean, fast, and easy to scan.

Key Takeaway
Three strong pieces with clear explanations beat ten random files. Quality and context win every time.

Sharpen Your Digital Marketing CV Skills

Digital marketing CV skills are the specific, provable abilities you list on your CV that match what employers are hiring for. Vague phrases like “good with social media” get ignored. Specific, measurable claims get interviews.

Rewrite your CV like this:

  • Replace “familiar with SEO” with “completed keyword research and on-page optimisation for three portfolio projects”
  • Replace “good at email marketing” with “built a five-email welcome sequence in a free email platform”
  • Replace “team player” with a line about a group project and your specific role in it

Add a short “Projects” section above your education. For a graduate, the portfolio is more persuasive than the degree title. Link to your site so a hiring manager can see the work in one click.

Gain Experience Without a Full-Time Job

You can build genuine experience without anyone hiring you. The trick is to create real work with real constraints, then document it.

Practical routes that work:

  • Build your own site around a topic you know and grow its traffic
  • Offer free work to one local business in exchange for a testimonial
  • Run a small freelance project for a fixed, low fee to prove you can deliver
  • Volunteer to manage social media for a charity or club
  • Enter a competition or complete a structured course with assessed work

Each of these gives you something to talk about in an interview. Employers want evidence you finish things, not just that you start them.

At Internet Business School, our CPD-accredited courses are built around this exact idea. Students work through real projects, from lead generation to sales funnels, so they finish with proof of skill rather than just a certificate.

Watch Out
Free work can turn into unpaid work that never ends. Agree the scope and a finish date in writing before you start, or you’ll still be editing their website six months later.

Common Mistakes Graduates Make When Learning Digital Marketing Skills

The biggest mistake is learning theory without building anything. Courses and videos feel productive, but nothing sticks until you apply it to a real page, a real list, or a real audience.

Other traps to avoid:

  • Collecting certificates instead of results. One finished project beats five unfinished courses.
  • Learning every channel at once. Pick SEO or email first. Go deep before you go wide.
  • Ignoring the numbers. If you can’t read an analytics report, you can’t prove your work helped.
  • Waiting until you feel ready. You’ll learn more in one week of publishing than in a month of reading.

The pattern is the same each time: action beats consumption. Build something small, measure it, improve it, then show it to someone.

For structured, up-to-date training that avoids these traps, you can explore CPD’s guidance on accredited learning to see why assessed, practical courses carry more weight with employers than passive video libraries.

Conclusion: Your Next Steps in Digital Marketing Skills

The gap between graduates who get hired and those who don’t is rarely talent. It’s proof. Build one portfolio piece this week, learn one tool properly, and rewrite one line of your CV to show a result.

At Internet Business School, we’ve trained thousands of entrepreneurs since 2007 with CPD-accredited courses covering lead generation, sales funnels, and brand building. Our training is practical from day one, so you finish with real work you can show, not just notes you’ll never reopen.

Get started with Internet Business School and turn your digital marketing skills into a portfolio that gets you hired.

Frequently Asked Questions

What digital marketing skills should graduates learn first?

Start with SEO skills for beginners, as they underpin most digital marketing activity. Learn keyword research, on-page optimisation, and basic technical SEO. Then move on to content creation, social media basics, and email marketing. These practical digital marketing skills for graduates are in high demand and can be learned through free resources or structured courses. Focus on one area at a time and apply it to a real project to cement your learning.

Which practical skills do employers look for in entry-level digital marketing roles?

Employers value hands-on experience with digital marketing tools for beginners, such as Google Analytics, Google Search Console, and social media scheduling platforms. They also look for evidence of digital marketing portfolio examples that show you can plan and execute campaigns. Analytical thinking, basic copywriting, and an understanding of SEO skills for beginners are also key. Highlight these on your CV and in interviews to stand out.

How can graduates build a digital marketing portfolio without a job?

Create your own projects. Start a blog, manage social media for a local charity, or offer to help a small business with their SEO. Document your process and results, and showcase them in a portfolio. Include digital marketing portfolio examples like a content calendar you built, a keyword research report, or a social media campaign you ran. These practical digital marketing skills for graduates demonstrate initiative and capability to employers.

Do digital marketers need to know how to code?

No, coding is not essential for most entry-level digital marketing roles. However, a basic understanding of HTML and CSS can help with tasks like editing landing pages or troubleshooting email templates. Focus on mastering digital marketing tools for beginners and SEO skills for beginners first. Coding becomes more relevant if you specialise in technical SEO or web development, but it is not a prerequisite for general digital marketing positions.

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AI: Why 2026 Is the Year to Unlock Its Full Potential

AI Isn’t Coming — It’s Already Here: Why 2026 Is the Year to Unlock Its Full Potential

The countdown to 2026 isn’t just about a new year — it’s about a new level of possibility. Artificial intelligence isn’t on the horizon anymore; it’s sitting right in your browser, your inbox, your calendar, and your marketing tools. You already use it — whether it’s drafting an email, generating a social caption, or analysing a spreadsheet. The question now isn’t whether you’re using AI. It’s how much further it could take you if you learned to use it fully.

Because AI doesn’t just make you faster. It changes what’s possible.

Every entrepreneur, freelancer, and small business owner who truly leans into that truth in 2026 will find themselves miles ahead of the competition — not because they’re tech geniuses, but because they understand leverage.

You’re Already Using AI — Now Use It Intentionally

Let’s be honest: by now, most business owners have dabbled with AI. You’ve asked ChatGPT to reword a post. You’ve used Canva Magic Write to speed up design. Maybe Gemini has helped summarise a client brief or analyse some data.
But that’s not mastery — that’s sampling.

What separates the casual users from the business leaders in 2026 will be strategy.

Using AI intentionally means building it into the rhythm of your business, not treating it like a clever trick. It means giving your AI tools the right context, the right goals, and the right systems so that they stop being assistants — and start becoming amplifiers.

Because AI doesn’t just speed up what you do; it expands what you can do.

The copywriter becomes a strategist. The coach becomes a course creator. The small business owner becomes a brand. That shift is what 2026 is all about.

2025 Was the Warm-Up

Think of 2025 as the testing ground. We learned what AI could do, we experimented, and we watched the flood of new tools arrive almost daily. Everyone was learning — but many stayed surface level.

Now, the training wheels are off.

The difference heading into 2026 isn’t access — it’s application. AI has become smarter, faster, and more deeply embedded into everything from Google Workspace to marketing platforms to CRM systems. The winners in 2026 will be those who integrate AI with purpose — building workflows that combine human creativity with machine precision.

In 2025, you used AI to write captions. In 2026, it can write your marketing calendar, schedule your content, generate your visuals, and even build your email funnels — all while you focus on vision, relationships, and growth.

The New Competitive Edge: Integration

Imagine logging in on a Monday morning and your AI has already summarised last week’s analytics, drafted your next email sequence, and updated your social calendar — because you told it how to think about your goals once, and it just gets it.

That’s not futuristic. That’s now.

AI is evolving into an ecosystem. Gemini connects to Google Drive, ChatGPT connects to Zapier, Notion AI connects to your task manager — and suddenly your digital workspace starts behaving like a team that never sleeps. The entrepreneurs who master this level of integration will have a structural advantage. They’ll spend less time reacting and more time creating.

AI won’t just make them faster; it will make them limitless.

Automation vs Innovation with AI

The Real Barrier Isn’t Technology — It’s Mindset

Here’s the uncomfortable truth: the only thing stopping most entrepreneurs from unlocking AI’s full power is the belief that they don’t have time to learn it.
But learning AI doesn’t take months. It takes intention.

You already know how to use prompts — but do you know how to design them to sound like your brand, follow your marketing strategy, and build momentum across every platform? You already know how to generate images — but do you know how to maintain style consistency and integrate those visuals into campaigns automatically?

The gap between using AI casually and using it effectively isn’t technical. It’s tactical.

2026: The Year of Tactical AI

The smartest business owners in 2026 won’t be shouting about AI. They’ll just be using it quietly, effectively, and profitably.

They’ll have AI set up to:

  • Generate blog posts that actually rank.

  • Analyse customer feedback and adapt offers.

  • Create branded videos and avatars that sell.

  • Track business metrics in real time.

  • Automate admin so nothing slips through the cracks.

That’s not science fiction — that’s everyday reality for anyone who commits to learning how AI fits into their business model instead of treating it like a sidekick.

And the best part? The tools you need are already in your hands. You just need a roadmap.

Ultimate AI Success System

The Ultimate AI Success System: Your All-in-One Roadmap

If you’re serious about turning AI from a convenience into a true income engine, you need structure — not just snippets. The Ultimate AI Success System from the Internet Business School gives you exactly that.

It’s not just a course — it’s a complete ecosystem for mastering, monetising, and scaling with AI. Inside, you’ll find:

  • The 21-Day AI Expert Blueprint — your step-by-step transformation into a confident AI practitioner, capable of using AI to build or grow a business in just three weeks.

  • The Ultimate AI Marketing Implementation Course — 15+ hours of expert-led content showing you how to apply AI to real marketing systems that convert.

  • The AI Marketer’s Toolbox — a powerful software suite that creates images, videos, pages, and full campaigns from scratch.

  • Live weekly marketing surgeries, support from AI mentors, and access to the exclusive AI Insiders Club — keeping you ahead of every update and breakthrough.

  • Even resale rights to one of IBS’s top-performing courses, giving you a ready-made way to earn online.

This isn’t theory. It’s a tested, guaranteed system — backed by a 10x results guarantee. If you implement what’s inside and don’t see growth, you get your investment back. It’s that simple.

From Productivity to Possibility

AI is no longer about saving time. It’s about expanding potential. Every task you automate gives you back hours to think, innovate, and create. Every process you streamline opens a new door to growth.

And when your competitors are still asking AI for quick fixes, you’ll be using it to scale, diversify, and deepen the impact of your work.

AI doesn’t just make you faster. It changes what’s possible.
2026 is the year to prove it.

Your Next Step: Secure Your Ultimate AI Success System

You’re not starting from zero — you’re starting from experience. You already know the basics. Now it’s time to go deeper.

👉 Secure Your Ultimate AI Success System and make 2026 the year you turn AI mastery into measurable income.

You’ll get the training, the tools, the support, and the clarity to not just start, but win with AI.

Because AI isn’t coming — it’s already here.
And it’s time to use it to its full potential.

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Is the ChatGPT Bubble Bursting?

Internet Business School Blog Post on AI

IS THE CHATGPT BUBBLE BURSTING?

I would be pretty surprised if you haven’t had a look at the new AI Chatbots like ChatGPT or Google’s Bard – they’ve been all over the news since the start of the year and have sparked a massive international debate over privacy issues, copyright, effects on future jobs, and if robots will take over the world.

Clickbait articles abound with desperate content creators asking ChatGPT contentious / silly / funny / bizarre / lame questions (delete as applicable) and then splash the pointless answer with a  “Guess what ChatGPT said…” headline (and yes, most of them probably got AI to write the whole story for them too). We have been entertained with haikus in the style of a pirate, stories about people getting fired, promoted, passing exams, writing complaint letters and all sort of other mundane AI tales that are designed to entertain or scare people, or just fill column space. Let me explain though why you should be paying closer attention to what is really going on with AI developments and how you can keep up.

I find it pretty odd that powerful AI Chatbots like Bard and ChatGPT, both of which possess immense capabilities for good uses like content creation, coding, translation, and developing ideas,  are instead being used as a plaything, conversation starter, or curio. It’s a bit like buying the latest Macbook to play Wordle on or using a Sportscar for a trip to the dump. They will do the job of course but are capable of so much more if we would only invest the time to find out how to use them better.

ChatGPT in Decline?

Now though, it looks like the usage of ChatGPT has finally peaked. According to Similarweb, visits to Openai.com, the home of ChatGPT, dropped by 10% in June 2023 – the first monthly fall since it launched in November 2022. Mind you, to put it into context, that was still a huge 1.7B monthly visits, and it is still in the top twenty-five list of most visited websites. Remember that ChatGPT was the quickest release to reach 100 million users, taking just 2 months. I say ‘was the quickest’ because that record has already been smashed by Instagram Threads which took just 5 days to reach 100m users.

If we take a deeper look at the user stats on ChatGPT for June, we start to see some clues for the potential reasons for the decline.

OpenAI Demographics June 2023

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Nearly two-thirds of visitors were under 35 years old, plus you may also spot that there’s no indication in the figures for how many under 18s have been visiting to get their final homework done. When you factor in that visits from the USA (which has the biggest proportion of users by country) fell by 17% in June alone, the overall decline could be mostly down to something as basic as school students heading off for the Summer holidays.

It’s interesting too because Millennials and GenZs tend to have a different relationship with technology than those over 35s. They are looking for the dopamine entertainment hit of a quick win or an easy result whilst it’s generally the older age groups who are running online businesses and are more interested in creating something to sell or use.  So maybe the younger age groups have had their fix, got bored and are moving on to the next ‘big thing’ or back to endless swiping up on TikTok? 

Ok, I agree that is a bit of a sweeping statement but you get my drift. Once all the people who dropped in just to check out AI decide to move on because they don’t have the vision to discover what AI  could do for them, it will leave behind those who see the potential. Leading the way is a much smaller hardcore group of people of all ages who are tech-savvy and extremely interested in what makes Large Language Models (LLMs) tick. I’ll show you that what they are working on and finding out is incredible!

The Rise of Prompt Engineering

This new band of AI pioneers who hang out in places like Discord and GitHub, contain the coders, the programmers, and the people who just like to find out how things work from the inside out (the people who previously built PCs from component parts, or took apart radios for fun). What I have observed in these myriad buzzing online forums is something that is really quite unusual in a world that is usually driven by financial imperatives and corporate domination.  The predominant culture is that of open-sourced, collaborative behaviour where work is shared for all to see, tested and improvements suggested. That culture has meant that huge progress has been made very quickly in prompting LLMs to see what they can truly do, and they are steadily pushing the boundaries and fine-tuning the art of prompt engineering. 

Prompt engineers are modern-day explorers searching for new methods to engage with LLMs; they are trailblazers who try new prompting formats, test the styles and structure of the language used, or help build new connections between LLMs and other platforms. They are both methodical and inspirational at the same time, tweaking and continually improving prompts they have created using feedback from a supportive audience who follow their progress avidly. 

 

Collaboration makes for better prompting

These prompting rockstars won’t be people you have ever likely heard of but they are going to be influencing how we interact with AI further down the line and will be much in demand by bigger corporations. I’ve seen some prompters become recognised experts within 3 months of starting out, simply because they have brought a fresh perspective to the challenge or have developed a whole new branch of prompting style. And we aren’t talking about simple written prompts like “ I am an online trainer. Write me a 1500-word blog post on prompt engineering” (I promise I  didn’t do that to write this piece!). Instead, we are starting to see prompts that are beautifully crafted using an almost standalone programmatic language structure approach to clearly define the parameters of the AI output. We are also seeing back-and-forth debate over the use of emojis in prompts to focus the AI thus delivering more consistent results. 

Some of the newest prompts deploy not just a solitary AI skill to help achieve your goal, but instead create an entire AI persona that has multiple balanced strengths to call upon. It means that from a single prompt,  you could start getting advice from an expert AI Parenting Coach that possesses a whole ‘skillchain’ of sub-disciplines that help craft more natural responses; or maybe an SEO specialist, an HR specialist, a Mental Health Counsellor, plus of course any number of fictional or historical characters. 

 

 

 

Is Anyone in There?

I would never suggest that these AI personas are in any way close to replacing humans but they will have a role to play to allow people to access advice online, or provide initial filtering of online support. They could bring healthcare advice to those that don’t have access to doctors, tuition to those that don’t have access to education, or offer basic legal advice for those that can’t afford it. For us as entrepreneurs, that opens the door to a whole load of possibilities, balanced with a need to be mindful that we only want AI to augment and support human intelligence, but not replace it.

Prompt Engineers have taken these personas a step further and are creating prompts that have several different AI personas working together to achieve a set goal. Imagine you are wishing to create a product idea using AI but instead of doing it alone, you have Steve Jobs, Seth Godin, and Dale Carnegie debating with each other to help you refine the final result. Prompts like these are being built and used right now!

I think it is important to note at this point that I haven’t seen one person seriously say that AI Chatbots are ‘alive’ in any way. There’s no talk of a ‘consciousness’ per se and to the people that ask “Is there anyone in there?’, the best explanation I have seen so far is “No, EVERYONE is in there”.

To show you how things are changing in the prompting world here’s an excerpt from a recent cutting-edge prompt:

Extract from a new skillchain prompt

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

If your first instinct is to look at that prompt language, freak out because you can’t make head or tail of it and decide that prompt engineering is not your thing, then you have to tell yourself that you are completely wrong.  Your goal is probably not to become a zen-master prompt engineer – your goal is to learn how to make your business better using AI.  A solid knowledge of Prompt Engineering is bound to be a useful skill that will help you reach your goal, but it’s more important for you to be able to use the right tools and prompts, not build them from the ground up, If you look in the right places and follow the right people, these powerful prompts are accessible for you to use right now.

So How Do You Keep Up?

At the Internet Business School, we recognise that AI is changing everything from the ground up and the new AI tools that we all have at our disposal are game-changers in terms of simplifying the whole process of creation and control. Used wisely, you can save yourself a whole load of time and effort running your business and create tons of content. It’s vital though that you don’t get left behind and embrace new technology. Don’t leave it to others to leap ahead in your niche.

Here are four immediate ways you can take action now to keep up:

      • Get a benchmark of where you are in terms of using AI in your business with our great new interactive tool at www.ai-for-business.co.uk – just answer a few quick questions and get your own report on your progress and ideas to focus on.
      • Get FREE access to our own ChatGPT4-powered toolkit at www.ultimateaitoolbox.com where you can access over 50 ready-made marketing prompts and start making use of AI.
      • Join our Internet Business School Club – we hold regular live training sessions each week to cover all areas of Internet Marketing, including regular AI updates. Plus there is a library of over 50 hours of those training sessions that you can review whenever you need – plus a whole load more. Check it out HERE and get 14 Days of Free access!
      • If you don’t know where to start, then we have you covered with our instant access in-depth AI REVOLUTION training course and learn all about AI and its potential.

Finally, I would simply encourage you to focus as much as you can on the practical use of AI, and with our help, you will continue to discover cutting-edge AI methods that will save you valuable time and help you launch or build businesses online.

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AI Revolution: Don’t Worry, Something Will Turn Up

Internet Business School Blog Post on AI

I’m betting that not many people have heard about the Great Horse Manure Crisis of 1894 and the important analogy it can offer us in today’s AI-driven Internet Marketing Revolution.

Bizarrely, the story itself was actually only written in 2004 as an innocent blog post by economics historian Stephen Davies. It was on the subject of how the free market will solve a problem that doom-mongers say is catastrophic. In the blog, he cited the example of motorcars solving the problem of horse manure in big cities. Now there may have been a few gaps in his article but over time, the story has evolved and been embellished by others until it has become one of those genuine ‘internet facts’.

The gist of his original analogy was this – he said that around the turn of the century, big cities around the world were powered by horses – lots of horses. In 1900 for instance, London had 11000 hansom cabs and several thousand horse-drawn buses, requiring over fifty thousand horses to power them.  When you add in the thousands more carts and wagons delivering food and goods around the city, you can just imagine the sheer number of horses on the streets, plus the size of the industry built around them to keep London moving

But when you have that many horses, the volume of animal waste created was a massive logistic problem and a major health risk. Davies claimed that in 1894, The Times newspaper ran a story where the writer predicted that “ in 50 years, every street in London will be buried under nine feet of manure” and that this became known as The Great Manure Crisis

Despite planning conferences and political bluster (that did actually happen), there was no solution in sight and it was said that urban civilisation was doomed

But as Davies said, the market rides to the rescue, with people like  Henry Ford and Daimler coming along and allowing motor cars and lorries to be built at affordable prices. By the 1920s working horses were a much rarer sight on London streets –  the manure problem had gone away and urban civilisation was saved. 

It’s a great story, whatever the exact truth, and you can maybe see what it has become an internet ‘fact’ but we must take into account that the change from horses to motor power happened steadily over a few decades.  That length of time allowed all the businesses and workers whose income relied on horses to adapt. A whole new industry sprang up from car production, car sales, garages, petrol stations, road building and more – that’s millions of new jobs, products and industries developed on the back of motor cars.

The AI Revolution

Fast forward to today, and we are at the start of another new revolution, the AI Revolution. Think of ChatGPT as the new Model T Ford and you get the idea. But instead of change taking place over decades, we are seeing massive changes happening in just months. It means that all who work in jobs or industries that will be negatively affected by AI tools need to have their eyes wide open and be ready to make a change. And all those with an entrepreneurial spark are looking at the next online gold rush!

Back in the day, horse riders could maybe learn to drive a car, wagon cart drivers could become lorry drivers, livery stables become petrol stations, and wheelwrights become mechanics. There was time to retrain back then but right now, have you got the same time on your hands before AI changes the way you work? And what are the new jobs being created that you could move to?

ChatGPT has only been available to the masses for just 6 months and already jobs are changing, new industries are being created and new products are being released daily. But the only real way for you to stay ahead of the change is by learning about AI now and skilling yourself for the future. It’s not the time to rely on the plan that ‘don’t worry, something will turn up’. 

Incidentally, that saying was actually the mantra of Wilkins Micawber in Dicken’s novel ‘David Copperfield’. Micawber was an eternal optimist, who expected everything to turn out rosy but ended up in debtors prison along the way because his outgoings were more than his income, and thus he gave his name to the Micawber Principle of financial management. You’re welcome!

Ai Revolution Course

At the Internet Business School, we work hard on your behalf to keep you as up-to-date as we can, and we have been all over the development of AI and the changes it is making to online marketing. So who better for you to follow and learn from yourself? 

We have already held a live full-day training to introduce and explain the power and potential of AI for marketers – AI Revolution Live and we have regular monthly training updates via our Internet Business School Club. 

Our signature Internet Marketing Diploma Course is also being updated again to focus on AI and explain how you can create content and products more quickly than ever before, and grow your online income from the new AI economy.

So whatever your situation, keeping ahead of the AI curve is going to be crucial for your future success. From understanding the power of prompting to finding the best new AI tools that actually deliver great value, we have your back. From ChatGPT, to Bard and Bing, we will explain how they work, which is best and how to use them effectively. 

And if you have tried ChatGPT and have been constantly frustrated by the ‘Our Servers are at Capacity’ message, then try out our own UltimateAIToolbox platform where you can safely use GPT and create images without delay. Plus we have added 50 powerful marketing prompts that you can use to generate great marketing content fast.

Check it out right now and check back here for new AI updates!