How to Build a Successful Online Business with Digital Real Estate 2024

Hello Future entrepreneurs, welcome to the Digital World! A place where you can start your own Business, market it and even make huge profits by sharing your valuable insights.

If you think I am being snarky, then you are mistaken.

Statistically, Digital real estate is foreseen to grow by $5.37 billion at a CAGR of 61.74% from 2022 to 2026.

Before we dwell on Digital Real estate and cutting corners, I want to ensure we are on the same page.

Digital Real estate is a new term for most young entrepreneurs. It is interchangeably used with the word “Digital Marketing”.

Although Digital Real estate involves Marketing as its core component, the main difference lies in holding the property and attracting your target audience to come where you are.

In this article, I will walk you through What is meant by Digital Real estate and How to Build a Successful Online Business with Digital Real Estate without being lost in the digital world.

If this is what you want, let’s get the ball rolling.

Table of Contents

What does Digital Real estate mean?

Digital real estate works similarly to Traditional Real estate, in which you buy, acquire & sell a property for either loss or property depending on the market demands and needs.

But the difference to Traditional real estate is that Digital real estate is the ownership, development, and management of online properties and assets.

These Online properties, also called Digital Assets of the Business, include Websites, social media accounts, and online marketplaces.

These digital assets, like physical real estate, can be bought, sold, and leased, and they can generate revenue through advertising, e-commerce, and other forms of online business.

For example, You buy a property for millions only if it meets a few criteria, like location, country, interior, square meters, mobility, Mortgage options, long-term demand, tax practices of the country, family requirements, etc.

These can be the conditions for buying a Physical property.

The same happens with Digital real estate but with relevant digital assets. Here the conditions will be Website traffic, social media followers, and overall online presence are frequently used to determine the value of digital real estate.

Another place where you can make your purchase in the Digital world is in the Metaverse.

You might have already heard the demand the Metaverse is having lately and how companies are investing rapidly in Metaverse projects and building virtual worlds with games, schools and even assets.

Creation is rapid, and investors are buying it at the same demand.

Don’t you believe it?

Here is the proof, A unknown buyer paid roughly $650,000 Ethereum for an NFT yacht, aka Ghost Yacht, that only exists in a metaverse platform.

Isn’t it crazy?

Although this is just an example of the demand, I would recommend you not to spend such vast amounts on “Non existing things”, but I hope you got my motives.

Why digital real estate is the source of Success in the Online World?

It’s 2024, and everyone including a toddler, owns a mobile phone. From opening our eyes in the morning to the end of the day, we use our mobile phones to consume, create and share information, aka CONTENT in the Digital world.

For an average human, this content is just some information. But the businesses, this is the “CONSUMER DATA”.

Companies love to spend millions researching this kind of data, yet they miss some core information.

But here with the Internet, your audience is willfully sharing their personal information, life preferences, financial choices, work and future updates and every single thing.

As Jay Baer said, “Data surround us but starved for insights.”

This data is in millions and billions, and businesses need to identify the right data and act on the insights carefully.

These insights can be shared and created in the digital world using the “NOT SO OLD SCHOOL” methods.

These methods include:

1. Websites

A well-designed niche-specific webpage gives you information about the people reading the content using CMS, WordPress, and other insight tools like Google analytics.

To give an example: By looking at The popular Social media examiner website, we can identify the people landing on the website and consuming content are either Digital Marketers, Social media marketers, Influencers, Branding experts or even Budding entrepreneurs.

These insights help identify the role, location, age, dynamics, and much more about your target audience.

2. Online marketplaces

These are the following big data banks for business. To buy some product or service, you need to provide your personal information like Name, mobile number, age, email ID, location, address and your immediate emergency contact just in case.

Although that’s a lot of information for a product, we do not feel any danger in sharing.

Business needs this information to run ads, target you and the people around you, and create customized products based on your purchase history.

A typical physical store doesn’t require this information and only gives you a few tailored suggestions. You go, choose your product, pay for it and done.

3. Social media accounts

As a regular user or an emerging brand, having a Social media account is a must in 2023. If you are not on social media, you are not alive.

If you ever created your social media account, you would have remembered the details you filled in the registration section.

All that is your personal information, and you willfully shared it for “ENTERTAINMENT.”

Although people argue that Social media platforms are more than Entertainment, who cares, companies need your data to brand their products.

Entertainment attracts more audience, so people promote their products by entertaining you and based on your like, time spent, engagement and other data, ads are shown on your profile.

Social media platforms are the secondary search platforms for small businesses that cannot beat the large company on google.

4. Email lists

When you subscribe to any newsletter or application, you receive an email stating you have successfully registered on the platform.

If you think it’s just a protocol, I am sorry to say, Its more than just a protocol.

Through this initial registration email and verification process, they validate the information provided, and this data is used for target segmentation and audience behaviour on the platform.

It tracks your input all the way. That how powerful building an email list for a business is.

Popular Digital Real estate examples

1. Niche & Authority Blogs

This means focusing on one MAIN topic that resonates with your brand and sharing content in the form of articles through the blog.

Here are examples of such Niche or Authority Blogs:

For travelling:

Global Grasshopper
Dangerous Buisness
Manvs Debt
Velvet Escape
The Shooting Star
Travels Of Adam

For leadership and Business:

Skip Prichard
The Leader’s Digest by Suzi McAlpine
Michael Hyatt
Ken Blanchard
Robin Sharma
Leadership Freak by Dan Rockwell
Tanveer Naseer
John Maxwell
Leadership Now
Harvard Business Review

2. Youtube and Video streaming platforms

Creating a youtube account is a piece of cake, but sharing scroll-stopping and unique content make the difference.

For success on these youtube or other video streaming platforms, you need to be good at one significant “SKILL” and share content as answers for your audience’s problems.

Here is a list of such Youtube channels which you can take inspiration from for the Marketing Industry:

Social Triggers TV
Marketing 360
Duct Tape Marketing
Billy Gene is Marketing Inc.
Koozai

3. Ecommerce stores

An eCommerce store will always be worthwhile if you are an online physical product seller.

All you have to do is promote your brand and store using multiple marketing techniques like Influencer marketing, running ads, brand promotions, collaborations, etc.

Dillards.
Zazzle.
Bonanza.
Thrive Market.
iherb.
Fandango.
Lightinthebox.
Yoursuper.

4. Social media accounts

As mentioned earlier, Social media accounts are more than just an entertainment platform.

You need a Business account on any 2 or more platforms where your target audience is heavily devoted to and shares your brand message, product and services based on the context of the platform, and you can drive immediate results.

For example:

Instagram and Tiktok – Best for small brands in textile, handmade, accessories and freelance services
LinkedIn: Best for sharing professional services like web designing, SEO, marketing, Finance and other investment-related

Pros & Cons of Digital Real estate

Pros:

Minimal to No investment: Starting an online business often requires less initial investment than starting a traditional brick-and-mortar business. Some digital estate options like social media accounts and email lists can be created and grown with little to no investment.
Brand recognition: Building a robust online presence can help businesses establish brand recognition and credibility. You can combine digital real estate assets such as a website, social media accounts, and email lists.
Global Audience: The internet allows businesses to reach a global audience, which can help increase sales and revenue.
Source for multiple passive income streams: Digital real estate can be a source of various passive income streams. For example, a website or online marketplace can generate revenue through advertising, affiliate marketing, and e-commerce.

Cons:

Takes time: Building a successful online business takes time and effort. Establishing a robust online presence and developing a steady revenue stream can take time.
Unpredictable over the long run: The online business environment is constantly changing, and it can take time to predict future trends and changes. This makes it challenging to plan for the long-term success of an online business.

How does digital real estate generate revenue for Businesses?

1. Online Advertising

One way to earn money from online advertising is by placing ads on your website or social media account.

For example, if you have a website that receives high traffic, you can sign up for an ad account like Monumetric and place ads on your site.

These ads will target your audience, and when someone clicks on an ad, you will earn a small amount of money.

2. Affiliate Marketing

Affiliate marketing involves promoting other people’s products or services and earning a commission for each sale.

This can be through reviewing other people’s products and providing suggestions on their products, and linking to their websites. You will be released a fixed commission amount whenever someone buys using your link.

3. Sponsored content

Sponsored content involves creating content for a brand or business and earning money.

For example, if you have a popular Instagram account, you can work with companies to create sponsored posts that promote their products or services.

4. Selling Digital Products

Selling digital products such as ebooks, templates, and stock photos can be a great way to earn money online.

If you are a writer or marketer, sharing your knowledge through ebooks and listing it on Kindle could be a good idea.

5. Selling Services or Courses

Selling graphic design, writing, or consulting services can be a great way to earn some extra bucks online.

Online courses are also a popular way to make money as they can be sold to a broad audience and delivered in various formats such as video, audio, or text.

6. Establishing a unique resource website for communities

Building a unique website that provides valuable information and resources to a specific community can be a great way to earn money through advertising, sponsorships or affiliate marketing.

For example, a website that provides resources for new parents, such as parenting tips and product reviews, can be monetized by including ads for baby products or affiliate links for products related to parenting.

How to start your own Online Business with Digital real estate?

1. Identify your USP and Skills

Although doing business is like breathing relentlessly in deep water, every business existing online is one way or another, different from its competitor.

And that is what is called “Unique selling proportion”. This applies to all business that operates online.

Identifying your USP can involve a series of challenges, but it can scale your business to a different level and enhance your Brand visibility online.

To clarify, let’s take the example of Domino, a fast food outlet that is proficient in selling pizzas and is well known today.

But in the beginning, differentiating among thousands of pizza sellers was seen as problematic. So Dominos started advertising, “You get fresh, hot pizza delivered to your door in 30 minutes or less—or it’s free.”

This was the first time anyone did this, and this became its USP of Dominos.

2. Start your own Blog or Youtube channel and start sharing your skills through content

Once you identify your USP and understand your skills, it’s time to let the world know your existence. That is possible by creating your place in this Digital world by building your own blog, website, or YouTube channel.

When talking about presence, the Online world exists for a reason, people are more introverts and like to consume information without making themselves visible. But their actions are visible.

If you identify their actions and attract them toward your Brand, they will be your recurring customers. This is only possible through buying your place in the digital world.

Let’s take an example of this, imagine you are trying to shop for a Music system for your house. You may ask your friends, check online for different models and specifications and then look for quality, usually by Brand.

If your friend or relative already has a music system and referred you to the same Brand, you are likely to consider it and start visiting the website or look out for other reviews on Youtube.

What if the music system brand is your Brand, and you don’t have any online presence?

You are likely to lose a potential customer here. It is no joke why people trust active online brands more than those companies they never heard of before.

3. Follow Omnichannel strategy

Omnichannel strategy refers to having your Brand presence on multiple media platforms. Suppose you take the example of the above music system.

If you created your customer base on Youtube, Instagram, Twitter, Linkedin & on TikTok, you would likely attract a diverse audience.

But creating an account is not a strategy. Acting based on the platform’s context makes your brand presence strong and more trustworthy.

To give you a little context, influencer marketing in IG & Tiktok works like magic while responding to consumer queries and keeping up with the trend makes you the star on Linkedin & Twitter.

Design your strategy based on the platforms; the results will crawl toward your growth.

4. Create a system

Although business needs humans to run, it requires more systems in place for smooth functioning.

If that sounds too technical, I will simplify it for you.

When a consumer wants to place an order through your Facebook Business page, you need to create a backend system that seamlessly redirects your consumer from Facebook to your product page so they can buy it quickly.

This process is called a system, which takes place through pre-designed commands and codes.

Although this seems straightforward, one thing to note is that complex systems must work better with consumers.

You must refrain from taking your customer to your website page and asking them to search for the product they plan to buy.

This needs to be clarified for the buyer, and they immediately bounce back from your website and social media page, making it difficult for you to identify the problem.

Always create a simple & straightforward system for your audience.

Quick Links:

Final words on Digital real estate – Business 2024

We’ve reached the end of our discussion on digital real estate. I hope that you found the information valuable and enjoyed reading it.

To thank you for your time and attention, I’ve included some bonus tips to help you take your online business to the next level in the digital real estate market.

When building your online business using various tools and platforms, it’s essential to ensure that your brand message and voice are clear and easily understood by all online users.

Your brand message is what sets you apart from the competition and attracts customers to your business. Make sure it is simple, searchable and memorable so that your audience can easily recognize your brand across all platforms.

If you have any queries or doubts about this Digital real estate, feel free to comment down below or reach out on our Social media pages.