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Does Multiple Steams Hurt Your Credibility?

by Adrianne_
26 replies
This question keeps coming up all the time and I thought I would get some warriors opinions about "to multiply or not multiply" your different streams of income. I totally understand the concept behind not putting all your eggs in one basket but I have seen some people offer everything including the kitchen sink to their audience. I mean...where do you draw the line?

Personally, I have only one home business which is my primary focus. This is what I spend the majority of my promotion efforts toward. If I have some spare moments, I will give a little attention toward my affiliate program and that's pretty much it. By promoting too many offers, do you think IM'ers are spreading themselves too thin and hurting their online reputation or are they being smart?
#credibility #hurt #multiple #steams
  • Profile picture of the author Jill Carpenter
    Well, if you are going into the realm of just being a "niche marketer" in general, then you can have many and will probably use some pen names with some of those.

    Personally, I found myself spreading too thin and had to reorganize my goals and focus.

    I now consider those other niches things to use as "examples" but don't push them.
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    "May I have ten thousand marbles, please?"

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    • Profile picture of the author mariochase
      I think if you go to too many niches you end up losing opportunities in other markets.

      Only do that if you are only interested in small markets.

      For general big markets.. it's always better to focus on them. Create back end
      offers.

      Starting by offering a low priced ebook and than offering them some DVD and
      seminars for more.
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  • Profile picture of the author JohnMcCabe
    Since it appears that your primary business is a network marketing opportunity, I'll answer from that perspective...

    It's fine to have completely separate income streams. If your primary opportunity is health related, go ahead and spend some time in a hobby niche as a pure affiliate or blogger, for example.

    As Jill said, you can use pen names and alternate personae to avoid looking scattered.

    If I ever got involved with network marketing again, one thing I would NOT do is start getting involved with a lot of leads companies, etc. which also operate on multi-level pay plans. What usually happens is your team gets fractured and starts hopping from bizopp to bizopp, and then cross-recruiting their downlines. Pretty soon, everyone just says to heck with it and quits or wanders off on their own.
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  • Profile picture of the author Kezz
    I think in IM you have to have multiple streams. This is a field in which there can be a great deal of fluctuation, and sometimes big changes can come out of nowhere with little warning. You need to have more than one leg on your chair, otherwise sooner or later there's a good chance it's going to fall over.

    At the same time, there's no point in doing more than you can handle, but as much as is practicably possible, I feel you should definitely diversify.
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    • Profile picture of the author Jill Carpenter
      Originally Posted by Kezz View Post

      I think in IM you have to have multiple streams. This is a field in which there can be a great deal of fluctuation, and sometimes big changes can come out of nowhere with little warning. You need to have more than one leg on your chair, otherwise sooner or later there's a good chance it's going to fall over.

      At the same time, there's no point in doing more than you can handle, but as much as is practicably possible, I feel you should definitely diversify.
      Multiple streams yes, but this can be done without seriously fracturing your specific niche.

      If I sell widgets, I can stick to widgets and just add multiple streams of how I market the widgets while retaining high credibility as an expert in my field.

      I want to have a main site all about the widget, and can monetize by selling widget directly there. Perhaps I will have some sub sites that only talk about widget and get income via adsense.

      I might sell widget on ebay as well. I might add a book to amazon about widget.

      Multiple streams of income is not to be confused with multiple niche marketing.
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      "May I have ten thousand marbles, please?"

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  • Profile picture of the author Joe Dalton
    No, but spelling 'streams' incorrectly in a forum title will..
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  • Profile picture of the author Sean Ski
    Multiple streams of income doesn't have to mean you're involved in 39 different markets; it can simply mean you have 39 different products in the same market; that's 39 streams of income right there with 1 business.

    Think of the IM market... You can have an SEO product, a PPC product, a CPA product, a copywriting product, and so on and so forth...
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    • Profile picture of the author JohnMcCabe
      Originally Posted by Sean Ski View Post

      Multiple streams of income doesn't have to mean you're involved in 39 different markets; it can simply mean you have 39 different products in the same market; that's 39 streams of income right there with 1 business.

      Think of the IM market... You can have an SEO product, a PPC product, a CPA product, a copywriting product, and so on and so forth...
      Taking that a step further...

      You can have a beginner's manual, a home study course, a seminar, DVDs of the seminar, and on and on...
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      • Profile picture of the author Daniel Brock
        Well, I think you should have a good balance.

        You know that saying 'Jack of all trades, master of none'?

        Well that can apply here...

        If you are involved in dozens of niche markets outside of plain old affiliate marketing, I can see that as spreading yourself thin.

        However, if you have provisions in place, employees, systems, content producers, etc. you aren't really spreading yourself thin anymore.

        I think the best way to go about it is divide your effort into businesses.

        For example, I currently run three businesses:
        • A web hosting company
        • An affiliate marketing business
        • An internet marketing training business
        What I do is spend one month - two months going hard at one business. I'll devote 2/3rds of my time to the one business of choice that month, with the other 1/3 divided to my other two. Then after I get tired of going all out on one, I'll switch to another.

        It's worked really well for me so far. I tend to get burnt out if I spend too much time on one thing. This has solved it for me.
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    • Profile picture of the author Steven Wagenheim
      Love seeing other folks from my home state of New Jersey.

      Okay, let's talk about credibility.

      If you are John Doe and you proclaim to be an expert at, say, basket
      weaving, no problem there as long as you can prove it...right?

      Okay, what if John Doe also claims to be an expert at pole vaulting? That's
      a far cry from basket weaving, but okay...a sport and a hobby pro...it's
      possible.

      Where you start to lose credibility is if you begin to sell things in dozens
      of niches, proclaiming to be an expert, all using the same name.

      Then people start to wonder about just how much of an expert you are.

      That's why people who venture into multiple niches will often use a pen
      name, and there is nothing wrong with that...though some will claim it is
      unethical. I don't want to get into that argument in this thread.

      Now, what if you sell multiple items in ONE niche?

      For example, in making money online:

      article marketing books
      pay per click books
      list building books
      email marketing books

      ...and so on.

      These are all related to making money online and any decent marketer
      should have a solid handle on all of these, so there is no credibility issue.

      In fact, if you presented yourself as somebody who could help another
      person make a decent income online and only presented yourself as
      an authority on one sub topic, prospects would seriously question your
      ability to truly help them.

      Yes, there are exceptions:

      The expert copywriter who is going to teach you copywriting. He doesn't
      need to really know anything else.

      But nobody is going to question your credibility if you claim that you are
      knowledgeable in different areas of making money online.

      I don't know if this answers your question, but I hope so.
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  • Profile picture of the author Robert Puddy
    Multiple streams of income are usually misinterpreted...

    It should mean, get one stream (product) up and running and making profit, tweak it so its optimsed and can be handed over to someone else to run for you, like your VA or support team...

    then you move on and spend 100% of your time getting the next product/site/niche up and running and making money etc, and get it ready to hand over to someone else to run while you move to the next stream

    You only move to the next stream once you are sure the last one is automated or you have someone who can run it for you.

    Thats true multiple streams of income

    Robert
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    • Profile picture of the author Steven Wagenheim
      Originally Posted by Robert Puddy View Post

      Multiple streams of income are usually misinterpreted...

      It should mean, get one stream (product) up and running and making profit, tweak it so its optimsed and can be handed over to someone else to run for you, like your VA or support team...

      then you move on and spend 100% of your time getting the next product/site/niche up and running and making money etc, and get it ready to hand over to someone else to run while you move to the next stream

      You only move to the next stream once you are sure the last one is automated or you have someone who can run it for you.

      Thats true multiple streams of income

      Robert

      Robert...take this scenario.

      John Doe is a copywriter...and a damn good one. He writes sales letters
      for 10K a pop.

      He's not going to turn that over to some flunky as his reputation is on
      the line with every sales letter he writes. That is ONE stream of income
      and it's totally hands on.

      Now, John Doe also happens to have some killer marketing smarts, so he
      also goes into coaching...one on one through email, skype, even person
      to person, if he has to. He charges big bucks for his time...HIS time...not
      some flunkies time.

      That is ANOTHER stream of income and it's totally hands on.

      Not all true multiple streams of income have to be handed off to staff to
      do.

      Of course this is just my opinion as the above post is yours.
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      • Profile picture of the author JohnMcCabe
        "John Doe", huh...

        Originally Posted by Steven Wagenheim View Post

        Robert...take this scenario.

        John Doe is a copywriter...and a damn good one. He writes sales letters
        for 10K a pop.

        He's not going to turn that over to some flunky as his reputation is on
        the line with every sales letter he writes. That is ONE stream of income
        and it's totally hands on.

        Now, John Doe also happens to have some killer marketing smarts, so he
        also goes into coaching...one on one through email, skype, even person
        to person, if he has to. He charges big bucks for his time...HIS time...not
        some flunkies time.

        That is ANOTHER stream of income and it's totally hands on.

        Not all true multiple streams of income have to be handed off to staff to
        do.

        Of course this is just my opinion as the above post is yours.
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        • Profile picture of the author Steven Wagenheim
          Originally Posted by JohnMcCabe View Post

          "John Doe", huh...
          Just a hypothetical situation John. I certainly don't make 10K a sales letter
          and go traveling all over the country coaching people.

          Hopefully though, the example made my point, which again, is just my
          opinion.
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          • Profile picture of the author Pat Lovell
            Originally Posted by Steven Wagenheim View Post

            Just a hypothetical situation John. I certainly don't make 10K a sales letter
            and go traveling all over the country coaching people.

            Hopefully though, the example made my point, which again, is just my
            opinion.
            Actually, it's not the same thing... John Doe "IS" the stream of income, he can't be writing a sales letter, coaching on the phone, traveling abroad for personal coaching, emailing students, etc.. all at the same time.

            John has to work on one stream at a time.. unless, he's not very smart.

            John, could and should work smarter to make his 'streams' of income automated if he wants to take his 'stream' to a higher producing level. Right now, John is trading his time for money and that's the first step to "failure". Maybe failure is too strong a word..

            First step to a J.O.B.
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            • Profile picture of the author Steven Wagenheim
              Originally Posted by Pat Lovell View Post

              Actually, it's not the same thing... John Doe "IS" the stream of income, he can't be writing a sales letter, coaching on the phone, traveling abroad for personal coaching, emailing students, etc.. all at the same time.

              John has to work on one stream at a time.. unless, he's not very smart.

              John, could and should work smarter to make his 'streams' of income automated if he wants to take his 'stream' to a higher producing level. Right now, John is trading his time for money and that's the first step to "failure". Maybe failure is too strong a word..

              First step to a J.O.B.
              So copywriters making 10K per sales letter and possibly 100K per
              coaching client are failing?

              Man, I'd love to fail that much.
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              • Profile picture of the author Robert Puddy
                Originally Posted by Steven Wagenheim View Post

                So copywriters making 10K per sales letter and possibly 100K per
                coaching client are failing?

                Man, I'd love to fail that much.
                Pats point was, he cant make 10k on a sales letter if hes spending his time on the coaching student. its not true multiple streams, because he has to stop doing one too administer the other.

                He also cant walk away from either, and spend a month or two just enjoying his income, because both depend on his time. If he bunks off... no income

                While 10k for a sales letter seems like good fine pay, it takes a lot of time to produce that kind of excellence, and they have to block out everything around them to achieve it. So while they are writing said letter, the coaching student is left hanging on the phone tapping his foot

                Robert
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                • Profile picture of the author Steven Wagenheim
                  Originally Posted by Robert Puddy View Post

                  Pats point was, he cant make 10k on a sales letter if hes spending his time on the coaching student. its not true multiple streams, because he has to stop doing one too administer the other.

                  He also cant walk away from either, and spend a month or two just enjoying his income, because both depend on his time. If he bunks off... no income

                  While 10k for a sales letter seems like good fine pay, it takes a lot of time to produce that kind of excellence, and they have to block out everything around them to achieve it. So while they are writing said letter, the coaching student is left hanging on the phone tapping his foot

                  Robert

                  So then what you're saying is that all high priced copywriters and
                  consultants are doing nothing more than working a job.

                  I wonder how they would feel about that assessment?
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                  • Profile picture of the author Robert Puddy
                    Originally Posted by Steven Wagenheim View Post

                    So then what you're saying is that all high priced copywriters and
                    consultants are doing nothing more than working a job.

                    I wonder how they would feel about that assessment?
                    I know some of them, and the really good ones like million dollar mike morgan, now only write sales copy for people they have a relationship with and take a cut of the site, so they have recurring income.

                    But yes your right they are trading time for money which is a job.

                    But if you make a name for your self as a top copywriter then the stream of income becomes the revenue from the sites you write the sales letter for. And the fee is just an advance on payment, just like any writer who gets an advance from the publisher and then royalties from sales
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                    • Profile picture of the author Steven Wagenheim
                      Originally Posted by Robert Puddy View Post

                      I know some of them, and the really good ones like million dollar mike morgan, now only write sales copy for people they have a relationship with and take a cut of the site, so they have recurring income.

                      But yes your right they are trading time for money which is a job.

                      But if you make a name for your self as a top copywriter then the stream of income becomes the revenue from the sites you write the sales letter for. And the fee is just an advance on payment, just like any writer who gets an advance from the publisher and then royalties from sales
                      Gotcha.

                      What about top consultants? Same thing? They get a percentage of
                      whatever the client earns?
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                      • Profile picture of the author JohnMcCabe
                        Originally Posted by Steven Wagenheim View Post

                        Gotcha.

                        What about top consultants? Same thing? They get a percentage of
                        whatever the client earns?
                        Steve, back when I was doing my research, I found three basic models operating.

                        1. The standard flat fee or dollars for hours model.

                        2. The performance based model, which is indeed based on an advance against future revenue or profit. Some of these extended to equity positions.

                        3. The Robert Half/Anderson/etc. corporate model, where most of the actual work is done by more junior partners and employees/contractors working jobs.
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                      • Profile picture of the author Robert Puddy
                        Originally Posted by Steven Wagenheim View Post

                        Gotcha.

                        What about top consultants? Same thing? They get a percentage of
                        whatever the client earns?
                        Exactly...

                        Plus what Pat said, they can leverage the students time. 3k for the student 1 or 2k for the master copywriter for over seeing the writing of the adcopy.

                        Wouldnt upset me none to pay 5k for a sales letter written by one of mikes students, if I also knew he was putting his guarantee stamp on it. thats a 10 k letter if he is going to tweak it after its written

                        Usually the difference between a 5k letter and a 10k one is the subltilties that mike can add in later

                        Robert
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                  • Profile picture of the author Pat Lovell
                    Originally Posted by Steven Wagenheim View Post

                    So then what you're saying is that all high priced copywriters and
                    consultants are doing nothing more than working a job.

                    I wonder how they would feel about that assessment?
                    Steve, you are missing the point.

                    A. I guarantee you a true 10k copywriter has students working for him writing letters for 3-5k (I've seen it many times,they don't want to turn down the business and not everyone can pay 10k per letter, so the client knows it's their student and the 10k copywriter will review the letter)

                    B. Robert is right, you can't do it all yourself and if you try, something will suffer and thus, you will fail not completely but you will fail a potential client, current student, etc..

                    C. IF a 10k copywriter is only trading time for money and not taking advantage of automation and streams of income... yes, he's failing himself and his clients.
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  • Profile picture of the author Nick Brighton
    Here's the thing...

    You can spread yourself too thin, especially when working in several markets, and especially when you're trying to wear all the hats.

    Outsourcing works in this situation, but the problem is that it can be just as hard (and very expensive) trying to manage people and quality of work.

    Now more than ever, I believe that multiple income streams are perfect when you are focused in one market. That way, you can leverage each aspect of your business, such as your products, your personal knowledge, your research, your affiliates etc...in order to spread into different areas within the same market.

    The common misconception is that people assume in order to make multiple streams of income from the internet, that they need to find multiple niches.

    This simply isn't true. You can make dozens of products and services in one single market. The problem is, when you go too narrow with your niches, that becomes nearly impossible...

    ...and you run out of product, content and expansion ideas.
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  • Profile picture of the author sbucciarel
    Banned
    I diversify, but don't do anything that I can't do well. I would outsource before compromising quality for quantity. But I do believe in not putting all your eggs into one basket.
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