Internet Marketing Mentors

Hey Salkema,

I would suggest you NOT get a Mentor at least not right off the bat. Take a second to gather some information. WF is a good place to start.

I never had a Mentor ,per say.

There were lots of 'free' Mentors that I would ask questions to. And I studied there techniques.

Of course having a paid Mentor will cut the time in the learning curve.

But, imo, not necessary.




- Robert Andrew

Like Discrat, I've never required a mentor. But then Discrat and myself have been around for a while; 20 years in my case. They didn't have them when I started,or else perhaps I would have purchased such a service. In the current climate, I'd suggest it only if you want the fast route and you do your due diligence and check them out beforehand. As far as costs go: anywhere from low-hundreds to thousands.

Tom

Personally, I find the whole IM coach/mentor industry more than a little weird. I can't think of any other type of business where so many people make a living (or at least try to make a living) teaching others how to start a business. If you have a successful restaurant, it's unlikely that you'll make your next entrepreneurial effort teaching would-be restauranteurs how to start a restaurant. Sure you might write a cookbook. Maybe you'll even teach an occasional cooking class. But restaurant coaching? It just doesn't happen. But don't get me wrong, I'm not suggestiong that mentors/coaches can't be helpful -- I really wouldn't know since I never had one. But I do find the whole IM coaching industry bizarre.

That said, there's a long history of entrepreneurial mentoring, at least in the US. Moreover, there are all sorts of free resources -- and mentors -- available to entrepreneurs.

For those warriors in the US who are looking for a business mentor, I recommend that you do some research on Small Business Development Centers (https://www.sba.gov/offices/headquar...esources/11409), a program of the Small Business Administration designed to provide technical assistance -- including mentoring -- to new entrepreneurs. (I imagine other countries have similar programs, I just don't have any knowledge about them). Most of these centers are run out universities, non-profits and local governments with grants they receive from the Federal Government.

SBDCs certainly aren't for everybody. You're unlikely to find a mentor who is an internet marketing expert -- indeed, most of them will never have heard of Clickbank or Amazon Associates; they'll have no experience with WordPress or AWeber; they'll know nothing about SEO or running PPC campaigns. But most will be able to help with most of the important aspects that all real businesses face and help you develop a strategy and a plan to become successful. The point is, if you're just looking to learn a few IM techniques to make a few bucks on the side -- or if you're looking for someone to hand you a ready-made checklist of every task you need to accomplish every single day, they probably aren't for you -- but if you're really interested in growing a real, sustainable business, they're probably at least worth a phone call.

I should also note that there are other non-SBDC resources for entrepreneurs, whether incubators or university research institutes or something else entirely. Do some research and you may find exactly what you're looking for. In short, there's a whole world outside of IM that you can learn from!

Don't waste money on mentors/coaches. Only suckers buy such service. Listen to people above my post... they gave you REALLY good advice.

The #1 thing you need to understand going into this is that "internet marketing mentors" are just glorified newbies who specialize in training other newbies how to be "internet marketing mentors" who in turn train the next newbie how to be an "internet marketing mentor." That segment of the online industry is just an elaborate chain marketing scheme and you are probably going to lose your money. Beware that the sales materials for this kind of thing are vague and they aren't going to come right out and say what the business model is. It's easy for newbies to get pulled into this trap.

If you want real paid help, you'll need to decide on a business model and then contact someone who you know for a fact is successful at it and ask them if they provide consulting services. The people you are looking for do not sell "get rich" ebooks or generic "how to make money online" coaching. You want people with a real business that you can actually see.

Its not true, you don't need a mentor. All you need is knowledge and experience, the form being freely available all over the internet, the latter coming with trying things out as you go.

Look, those people who make tons of cash don't have time nor any interest in teaching new people.

The ones who are left are those who don't make any serious money online, but they think they know a lot about SEO/online marketing - you don't want them to be your mentor

Your best bet is to read this forum, because there are a lot of great articles who are worth reading here.

This is an Interesting thread, with somet great advice. From personal experience, I would say, find someone who you can bounce ideas off that would help you... As others have said, don't pay anyone for the advice, because, those claiming to be mentors, are not.

WF is a great learning curve, where you will find plenty of people willing to give advice, based on their experiences.This helped me very much when I was starting out.

Applied education is the difference

Ok I will have to disagree strongly with the posts above.

A mentor in my opinion is the best thing you can get as a newbie internet marketer. If you have the financial capabilities, then yes you should get one. It is like a shortcut to success.

When I was in your position (just starting out) I believe I spent over 7 months trying to learn things, but I fell in to what is called Shiny Object Syndrome. SOS is when you buy every product out there that you see. I did this for 7 months and I spent over $600 on products that never worked, and for those 7 months i never took action. Then I finally decided to get a mentor, and the game changed.

If you can handle lots of stress and if you are very patient, then do it on your own. But if you can't (which is most people), then getting a mentor is your best choice. Me, i would rather avoid that hard time period of doing it on your own, it doesn't really interest me.

I messaged you a list of some good coaching programs that I recommend.

Hope this helps

Nathan

Are you really that clueless?

He's launching another new product as I write this.

mentor= money taker

good luck

al

Mentors are helpful. Just don't waste their time. If they say do something, then do it (!!!). If you wanna hire me, that's cool. I charge $5,000 for a complete marketing package and campaign. What's your idea of "affordable"? $100? LOL

It depends on the kind of marketing you plan on doing and the product you plan on marketing. For any real money, a mentor is absolutely needed. I mean in the financial, technology and telecom sectors mainly. Regardless of what any of these IM experts are telling you, the right person guiding you will make all the difference. You just have to be careful since there are a lot of people just regurgitating the same bull.

There are some good mentors out there and some that are no good but charge too much.

If you want to succeed without a mentor just know that you will need to go through a lot of trial and error to find out what is working for you. At the end, it will be all worth it for you.

Most are here saying don't get a mentor.

Some are saying get one.

What do you do? Who do you listen to?

Well that all depends on what you are looking for. If you don't mind 'learning' for a few years before you really get a 'grip' on this whole internet marketing game, then take your time and learn on your own.

It can work for you but it will take longer. Hopefully you dont' quit before you really get started.

I have been online since 2005 and to 'this' day still have a coach.

"Every Coach Needs a Coach"

And I Know the value of having one.

However, having said that...

I get the feeling that you are 'brand new'. You probably need to 'tough' it out a little while so that you could get a vague idea how things work. Then if you haven't quit in a year or so, you will then see the value of having a good success coach.

Hope this makes sense.

This industry indeed has tons of people with false claims offering almost worthless consultation services. However, I've actually had 5 "mentors" and out of the 5, I would recommend 4 of them with all my heart. One of them was indeed awful, and I fell into the "newbie trap" of thinking I'd be killing it when we finished our coaching. The coaching was mostly worthless; filled with very general and non-actionable information and I found myself ready to give up. Any follow up emails after coaching were met with responses at least a week later and did not answer my questions, very general responses like "just keep building your list!" Gee, thanks! I had no idea THAT'S what I needed to be doing!

I almost gave up until I tried my luck again, and I'm so glad I did. The next few guys I worked with are honest marketers (yes, they exist in this niche, there's hope for humanity) and they promote honest marketing methods that actually work and help people.

I'm going off topic here...the point is, some coaches are awful and frauds, some are excellent and legitimate. But without outside help, I personally would have given up long ago and joined the sad line of angry failed newbies crying the same "this is all a scam!" nonsense that I roll my eyes at every time I see it.

I'll provide some good ways I've learned from experience in finding a good mentor.

1) They won't try and bully you into buying.
I've had this and it's such a turnoff. You ask a couple of questions about the coaching you know almost nothing about, and are hit with a paypal buy link for $2000 and are told that you will be given the program AFTER paying. Yeah, no thanks.

2) They tell you what method you'll primarily be using BEFORE you pay for coaching

For example, maybe they are a solo ads coach. Maybe they are a product creation coach. Maybe they are a google adsense coach or CPA marketing coach. You want to know which method you will be using BEFORE you sign up, because now you can actually validate that person's credentials and reputation.

3) Get references and contact them directly.
Contact previous students of the coach directly and ask about their results and if they would personally recommend the coach. Do this with at least a few people. If the person doesn't give you anyone to contact, move on to another prospective coach.

4) See if you can reserve some or most of full payment until after you have made some money.
Only one guy was willing to do this, but he said "after we make you some money, you can pay me the rest". He honestly cared and was so confident with his coaching that he subdued most of his payment until I made any money.

I hope this helps you in picking a good coach. I also would like to point out the following about having a coach, because I see some posts on here leaving most of this out.

A coach, must like a personal trainer, is there to assist YOU with your goals. Not do all the work for you. It's up to YOU to get in shape, up to YOU to get money. A coach can assist you by:

-Providing you the confidence needed to take action
-Provide you with the information necessary to succeed
-Hold you accountable to meeting goals you set
-Help you network with other marketers in your niche

So remember to keep your expectations realistic.

It's helpful to pick up Sean Mize's "Anyone Can Coach" as well to help open your mind to what coaching really is. Hope this helps.

As In every kind of business and society...There are some bad and good people and same is true when it comes to Internet marketing coaches.

There are some in this forum itself, who are learning themselves but will be ready to provide you coaching with a good sum of money... In reality ... they are getting a coaching to start a coaching program.... Stay Away from them.... Always ask...who are their students and what they actually achieved before hiring anyone for coaching...

However, There are some who have really mastered one kind of art...within several streams of internet marketing. They are the people...who can cut short your entire learning curve of an year to a month.... And That is something very important when it comes to Internet marketing...

Why?

Because the newbies in Internet marketing field don't have patience and persistence of keep doing a productive job for a longer period of time.... and A good coach can guide you in a proven direction.... and by making you accountable for each and every step you take...

So, In my opinion.... A Good is Important to have... And I must say... Coaching itself is a skill and not many have mastered that skill... And if you find someone....who is good at coaching and their students have achieved significant success.... You must and should Join a coach or a coaching program....

Wish you Best!
Vikash