Struggling Newbies: Talk About Why You Are Failing and What You Need to Succeed

14 years ago

I agree with all of the above, I have a rough idea what to do, but I have no idea whether it will be successful or not. I think my landing page looks a bit... crap.

I'm not sure whether I should make a blog and try and get that ranked in google, or write articles and get them ranked in google. I guess I could always do both!

I need to know what sort of pathway you should follow?
Right now I'm doing this:

Articles -> Landing Page -> Sales Page

Will it work? I wont know until I try it. I've just got to keep churning out the articles.

Thanks

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Caleb D Miller

14 years ago

Samsta, do you worry alot that you're writing the articles for the wrong products, or the wrong keywords in your articles?

I wrote one article that got picked up, got over 1,000 url clicks to the merchant sales page, and $0 in sales.

Over 1,000 hops and NO sales. Yes, this was supposed to be a successful product to promote. I probably didn't do enough research, but if I had had an article catch on for a different product I was promoting, I would have FOR SURE made at least $500 from that one article.

This stuff CAN BE FRUSTRATING to no end, sometimes.

It seems so hit and miss that you're afraid of doing the wrong thing all the time.

Thanks
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Mohammad Afaq

14 years ago

Originally Posted by cdmiller87

Samsta, do you worry alot that you're writing the articles for the wrong products, or the wrong keywords in your articles?

I wrote one article that got picked up, got over 1,000 url clicks to the merchant sales page, and $0 in sales.

Over 1,000 hops and NO sales. Yes, this was supposed to be a successful product to promote. I probably didn't do enough research, but if I had had an article catch on for a different product I was promoting, I would have FOR SURE made at least $500 from that one article.

This stuff CAN BE FRUSTRATING to no end, sometimes.

It seems so hit and miss that you're afraid of doing the wrong thing all the time.

I don't fall in the criteria you mentioned in your thread as I am making over 3k a month but about 5 or 6 months ago I was where you are today. Nothing was working for me and I wasn't making anything.

But it all changed. Now I am not the same me anymore and now I am making more money than a lot of people. So, what' my secret?

Well, I don't know. They only thing I did was try and try and try. I just developed a plan and I followed it and made the necessary changes as I followed through.

So all I will tell you to do is pick up something you want to do. Sit and develop a step by step plan, and then follow that and make changes if necessary.

BTW, if you need any help developing a strategy or crating a plan just shoot me an email at contact@mohammadafaq.com and I will be more than happy to help you out and I can also show you all I said in more detail.

Thanks

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krcorser 14 years ago

So many products claim to be step-by-step, but the steps aren't detailed enough for complete newbies. This is my problem. When I read the steps, they sound simple enough. But I get bogged down in the technical details and give up. Or, I conquer a technical hurdle, but then I don't know what to do next.

A great product for newbies would be written like a daily journal.

Day 1--Do X. Here's a pdf and a video of how to do X. Here's a site with an example of X and here's a template to use.

Day 2--Do Y. (with pdf, video, actual site, and template)

Day 3--Do Z, etc.

Kim
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Louise M

14 years ago

Great question!
There is a great video on this very subject. Frank Kern approaches Tony Robbins and asks why so many people fail with his programs. Have you seen it?
Robbins gives a great answer with his usual enthusiastic flair!

But you are asking struggling newbies....so that would be me. I have only just started with IM and haven't launched anything yet. I'm overwhelmed with the information and the "gurus" trying to sell me the magical method.

I'm sure that many of these gurus and their programs are wonderful. They probably work wonderfully. But being overwhelmed, and constantly hearing how hard it is to succeed....maybe the struggle is based on the newbie's negative beliefs? fear? fear to take action and plunge forward? fear of committing? fear of making mistakes? No matter the system, each person will run into unique situations and will have to tailor it to fit their needs. And you probably can only learn that through making mistakes. So that's scary!

Maybe there needs to be more focus on a positive outcome? Some positive thinking techniques? How does the guru see these tasks? these actions?

And maybe there needs to be some kind of safety net, like a people network to help newbies through the initial steps? I have had the experience of buying a program and not being able to communicate with the author/guru to ask questions. No support is my point.

Initial support and positive thinking techniques/getting inside the guru's head - that's my short answer!

Thanks
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Nathan2525 14 years ago

Hi Guys
I thought i'd throw my 2 bits to help out,

- Choose a Mentor + Commit to that 1 person, don't be following 20 different people, you need to focus

- Do Something, your going to have to make mistakes, that is how we learn, but I bet your following project will be twice as good.

- Your focus should always be to 'give value' and not focused on making sales.

Sales will come when you genuinely give value and solve people's problems

Hope this helps
- Thanks
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Caleb D Miller

14 years ago

It also seems like whenever you watch videos or read ebooks from guru's, they are always doing stuff like "do this" and you'll make it. "heres what you do, step one" and you're on your way.

-They assume we know how to apply the examples in every context. They assume if they show us one example that we will magically know how that example will help us with our own websites.

-They make vague references to what they are saying and and tell you to "just do it."

Thanks

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Caleb D Miller

14 years ago

mohammad, do you have any kind of "plan" or "blueprint" that you follow that you could PM me?

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Caleb D Miller

14 years ago

Kim I feel the same way,

I mean it's no wonder that most internet marketers do not naturally double as effective teachers, but the ones who want to charge $497 for their product should learn a little bit more about effective communication and how to deal with different learning styles.
That is my opinion.

Now you ask, "well why don't you just the return the product if you feel you didn't learn anything from it."

The answer is that most of the stuff I read actually has at least a LITTLE value or some SMALL nugget to it, so it's hard to ask for a refund. But by and large, these guides and programs do not offer specific steps and templates and examples for people to follow to success.

I'm not trying to play a blame game, but it really feels like a lot of gurus spend half their time setting up their sales page and marketing campaign, and the other half or less than half actually making sure they have a decent program that you don't have to be an intellectual to figure out. Again, no blame, just my feelings.

Thanks
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bocephus 14 years ago

Just started IM one month ago. I've built about 10 pages and have earned about $40 in Adsense and Affiliate referrals. Not a big deal, but it's a start.

To be honest I'd have to say I screwed up my first few sites, and consequently they earn next to nothing, my next couple were better and I got lucky with one. I figure I'm going to piss away a few bucks on domains for keywords that flop... that's life. I'm old enough to know that this isn't going to happen overnight. I'm going to build a pile of sites using basics and see what happens. Some will work, some won't... I'll learn from the ones that do.

I've observed some interesting phenomena so far in this pursuit. There are those who just dig in and take a few punches in the mouth and keep on rolling. Then there are those who scour the forums for folks who claim to be making hundreds each day on Adsense and pester them with questions on every last nuance of what they are doing... then get mad when it doesn't work overnight.

Here's my magical secret... there ain't no magical secret. There are just a few sound principles that you need to follow and about one million ways to execute those principles. I made one vow when I started this... the only money I would be spending would be on a hosting plan (which I've had for a few years anyway) and domain names. I broke this once to spend $19 on a very good primer on IM. That's it.

It's a numbers game, not rocket science. Nobody holds the golden key, they simply took their lumps and settled in on a system that works for them... read the forums, this theme is repeated over and over again:

You find a good keyword that gets a good number of searches with low competition and
You register a .com, .net or .org with that exact keyword.
You build a web site that is optimized for that keyword. Monetize it.
You find ways to build backlinks to your website (no single good way).

Tweak the ways you do all of the above until you hit on something that gets you some clicks. It's going to take some actual time and effort.
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- andr3w84 14 years ago
  
  I think on the one hand it's this huge information overload which can eat up large chunks of time day after day, especially when we are just starting and don't know the terminology, or the different business models, etc. On the other hand, some people just don't have a clear idea of what they want to do or don't know their key competitive advantages, which I believe is key for success, not only in IM but in life in general. Knowing our competitive advantages (what we can do easier than most people, what we excel at compared to others) is fundamental to concentrate on the activities we are confident will make us be in a position of dominance sooner.
  
  Thanks
  
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lokodomain

14 years ago

I think that you can be succesful online and if you are determined you will get there. But the mistake that I made was thinking that an online business venture was any different to an offline venture. In my opinion it's a completely different version of exactly the same thing! and that same thing is a 'business'.

Treat your business like a business, plan be professional, be productive, be patient and most importantly perservere. Just because you haven't made any money in 6 months, 1 year or however long; keep going. Because the minute you do start to make any money online. It will not be a minute to early or a minute to late.
I pay no attentio to all those people claiming to have made X amount of money in X amount of time.

Time is relative, and time keeps on going so I pay no attention to time and keep on going anyway!

Thanks

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James Foster

14 years ago

This thread is kind of self defeating. Talking about what is holding you back is a self justification of why you're not succeeding.

You don't need to talk about why you're failing. Look at the what you're doing that is working (even if it's small) and improve on it.

Do more - and faster.

Thanks

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GeorgR.

14 years ago

In your post you focus too much on "some product" [as so many IM newbies].
It might be true that there are some "products" out there which help to make money, but its not essential for IM to get started.

If you SPEND money you are already making your first mistake - since you want to MAKE money, don't you?

(you can spend/invest later once you have money coming in!)

In all seriousness, when i started out years ago i was broke, i didnt have a penny..i couldn't even afford a domain. I started with domains i got for free by filling out surveys, that's how broke i was. I used free hosting.

MOST (99%) of things i did to get started in IM did not cost *anything*.

Now, i am making a living in IM, more than what i made in my 7-5 job.

All you need is following SOLID and PROVEN methods, and learning and learning.

Most stuff in IM is those solid and proven methods, regardless how some guru re-packed it. And 99% of it you can learn for free eg. here on the forum.

Thanks

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Aira Bongco

14 years ago

Hi cdmiller,

I do not mean to sound harsh but being a newbie entails a continuous learning process. You cannot expect things to be fed to you. I know you cannot start right away as you need to learn the ropes. But the thing you must remember here is that you can always try. Get a method that will work for you and implement. Stop looking for more methods until you make that succeed. And if did not turn out well, do not stop. Try again.

But I do understand that some old marketers can get lost in the jargon as they present products to you. Maybe it will take real newbies like you to evaluate their products and implement it.

Thanks

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Caleb D Miller

14 years ago

Look guys, here is what I am trying to illustrate here.

And I'm not really disagreeing with you, I'm saying that you guys are right, but what you are saying is not really helpful to people with different learning styles (again, my respectful opinion.)

There are some people who can pick up these guides or systems and know exactly what to do, and there are others who are a little confused but figure it out after a little experimentation.

Then there are others who will read these guides through 15,000 times and still not understand anything. Is it their fault, or do they just learn differently.

So I made this thread to try to ask NEWBIES what they think they need so that they will understand internet marketing. What do they feel is missing, and what are their unanswered questions when they read these systems and guides.

Now this has just become another thread where experienced marketers just jump in and say "just try harder."

I'm not convinced it's what we need to hear. Respectfully.

I appreciate the discussion though. Always. I know everyone here wants to help, and that's what I LOVE about this place. Cheers.

Thanks
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jecalvert 14 years ago

Oh...one other thought.
Go to the bookstore and pick up a copy of Zig Zigler's "The Art of Making The Sale."

I friend of mine gave me a copy years ago... and I have never forgot the lessons about selling and sales. Especially when he talks about "The Redhead," his wife and how she sold him on the dream house that only cost a few dollars more.

I need to read it again since I am focusing on sales copy, but it may help give you one thing to focus on instead all the things.
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- OmarR 14 years ago
  
  the only one thing that's been holding some is a good, long-tail, low competition keyword. Once I get that I will throw everything I can manually do
  
  Just keep pushing it.
  
  .
  
  Thanks
  
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bocephus

14 years ago

Originally Posted by cdmiller87

Look guys, here is what I am trying to illustrate here.

And I'm not really disagreeing with you, I'm saying that you guys are right, but what you are saying is not really helpful to people with different learning styles (again, my respectful opinion.)

There are some people who can pick up these guides or systems and know exactly what to do, and there are others who are a little confused but figure it out after a little experimentation.

.....

So I made this thread to try to ask NEWBIES what they think they need so that they will understand internet marketing. What do they feel is missing, and what are their unanswered questions when they read these systems and guides.

Now this has just become another thread where experienced marketers just jump in and say "just try harder."

I'm not convinced it's what we need to hear. Respectfully.

I appreciate the discussion though. Always. I know everyone here wants to help, and that's what I LOVE about this place. Cheers.

I'm a complete newbie at this cd... and my comment above was my take. This really is not rocket science. There are literally an infinite number of ways you can approach this thing. In my 45 years I've picked up a couple of helpful tidbits about people and life in general. My dad's favorite saying was "Don't believe anything you hear and only half of what you see". And it has worked pretty well for me in most instances. Take a look up and down these threads. How many posts on here are trying to sell you something? How many are trying to convince you that doing "X" will get you "Y"? Be skeptical.

It comes down to some simple logic:

1. You believe this will work.
or
2. You don't believe this will work.

Obviously you are at number 1... like everyone else here. And I would respectfully suggest you are correct... there is money to be made in IM.

So with #1 in your back pocket, you need to look at this all in its simplest form first. You need to understand some very basic ideas. Break it down.

1. People search for stuff to buy on the internet. So you need to learn how to find the stuff they are searching for. Keyword research. A very important first step. Do you know what constitutes a good keyword? I've already screwed this up a few times.

2. Once you have a good keyword, build a site with that keyword as the domain name. If you want to be really sure... get the .com with that exact keyword. If it isn't available, find the .net or .org. If those aren't available, move on. Other combinations would probably work, buy you want to give yourself the best chance. Let go of the keyword if you can't find an exact match in those three.

3. Do you know how to build a website? Do you know how to optimize it for SEO? If not, do some reading here and learn. Lots of folks use WordPress because it makes optimizing easier. But you need to decide that for yourself.

4. Drive the traffic to your website. Learn how to generate backlinks. There are many ways. Find the ways you like. You need them to get page rank. Your goal is to have your site listed on the first search page of Google and other search engines. Doing the first 4 things right will help. Sometimes your site will appear there in a short period of time, sometimes it will take quite a while.

5. Monetize your site. How do you want to make money? Adsense? ClickBank? Figure that out. Try one thing for now, and if you have sites that seem to get pretty good traffic, try a couple of things. Don't get too scattered. Lots of information out there on common ways to display ads, push products. None of them are sure-fire... but you won't know until you try some of them.

You are going to waste a bunch of time screwing all of these things up... Guaranteed... but that's pretty much how we all learn. If I touch a bare wire and get shocked, I never touch a bare wire again.

Don't waste your time buying crap from everyone that has all the answers, because nobody has all the answers. They only have the stuff that worked for them. Those expensive programs are for folks with lots of money and no patience.

Dive in and get dirty. If you spend one more minute looking for a guidebook that will give you solid guaranteed results you will have wasted one more minute. I'll bet you that for every person on this forum who is truly making a living doing this, you will find a person who has failed many, many times.... maybe even gave up for a while, then dove back in and tried again.

Thanks

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jecalvert

14 years ago

I think the biggest obstacle is the learning curve. I was recently going over a blueprint that I have been using when all of a sudden the WHOLE picture made sense to me. I had been plugging away at step 1 and then step 2 and so on, but had no clear idea of what I was doing.

Why? Well, I was learning how to design a website for sales, I was learning SEO, I was learning sales copy, the list goes on and on and on. It is totally overwhelming, and when you think about it Coca-Cola had whole divisions of people who are in charge of just one little tiny aspect the company. We have only ourselves.

Like I said, one day the whole thing just clicked, and I saw how it all fits together and works together. Since then I have been working toward making all of the pieces flow together in a more effortless way. The first time you submit your articles to a directory it takes all day, the same for videos and blogs and social bookmarks. But every time you do it you get faster, you get more efficient and that's when it all starts to fall into place.

When will you start making sales? Who knows...but probably not before you get good. We're rookies in the big leagues. All we can do is practice, practice and practice some more.

I put a big white board on my office wall. Home depot for about 15 bucks. I map out everything. The wife thinks I'm nuts, but I map out where I want links to go, how many I want to that page, how many social bookmarks I want to link to an article or what ever. Then when I sit down and spin out the content, I know how many pages I want my back links to rotate through. The white board really helps to clarify the strategy.

My last thought, is to think about what your weakest at right now and focus on that. For me the weak spot is writing sales copy. I can write an essay or a story, but an essay or a story that provokes someone to buy something? That is my weakness and one that's what I am focusing one right now.

I hope that was helpful. I feel your pain, we'll get there.

Thanks

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eQuus

14 years ago

I'm outa here then.

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landonwiggs

14 years ago

When i was hired as a cable guy, They taught me the basics for the first two weeks, but i really didnt learn until I went out and did things on my own, got stuck on jobs, had to call my supervisors for help (warrior forum...black hat world.....)) and eventually figured it out to where I don't need help and I know what i'm doing and do it well. get your feet wet and experience is the best teacher.

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landonwiggs

14 years ago

I think alot of newbies and myself included bite off more than we can chew and get overwhelmed... Especially in SEO when you don't see results right away, and on top of that you're trying to get a blogspot post ranked above 4,500,000 other sites.

I suggest start small and work your way up instead of trying to go for the huge prize right off the bat. it builds confidence and really shows you what works and what doesnt when you're a big fish in a small pond at first.

Thanks

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PVReymond

14 years ago

The real reason why people fail in this business is because they can continue living the way they have being living so far...

They are not with the back against the wall and for this simple reason they don't take action, they continue downloading and buying stuff without applying anything.

Think about this...

If someone puts a gun to your head and tells you, you have to start making money with this business or I'll kill you I am sure you make money.

It is all about taking action, putting into practice the strategies and techniques that you know.

The point is that many people spend too much time surfing the Internet, watching videos and reading here and there without doing anything.

So, if you apply what you already know you are going to see how you start to make money.

Thanks,
^PV Reymond

Thanks

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Louise M

14 years ago

Thanks guys. Such great info.And I agree with so much of what you are saying...

And cdmiller, I am as newbie as they come!!! I do feel frustration.

What's keeping me going is positive thinking and I'm using mostly freebie stuff from very positive minded IM like Frank Kern, Brandon Burchard and whoever I come across who sounds positive and genuinely helpful.

I also plan to fail and use those as learning experiences.

To stay positive, I take a step back when I'm frustrated and chill. Rethink my game plan...refocus.

These are actions only the newbie can take...****But to answer your question more directly, what I would like for "gurus" to include in their programs are examples of other types of products or services other than IM. Of course, they are specialists in IM so they will use scenarios that involve IM. But what about other products? other services? that us newbies will be marketing? like real estate, or pet training, whatever. This would show how their system can be customized to different types of businesses and helpful to those who learn through example.

Thanks

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wal742

14 years ago

Some of my learning experiences as a newbie the hard way!

Get a mentor:

Discuss with them if their niche and training is the right for your abilities and interests first, and part as friends if its not
One who actually provides a level of engagement with personal access to them for you, and on a higher level than just the occasional email
Can guide you though the basic entry level challenges
Delivers learning activites in a timely manner to avoid you becoming overwhelmed, and your results comprimised
Will identify you obstacles and ensure that you overcome all of them
Has a feed back loop that will critique your own individual activities and monitor your progress
Demands a high level of accountability
Will fire you if you slack off and waste both your time with no excuses acceptable
Offers more than just a membership site full of videos etc
Provides a level of community incorporated within their mentoring program greater than just a forum for this purpose

You must:

Religiously follow the instructions you are given to do to the letter their way not yours
Avoid the temptation leading to ultimate distraction from signing up to every marketers emailing list to view all the new shinny objects that will ultimately drown you in the
quagmire of marketing messages, most of which is crapola.

Stay focued on one thing at a time, and see it through to completion.
This will get you the incoming cashflow early on and accelerate your progrees much faster.
avoid burnout from overload, loss of motivation and lead to disenchantment.
Dont buy anything unless you can use and apply it to your current activites in a short time frame inside 6 months.
Observe with a childlike facination what the successful are doing and how they are doing it

File everything on your computer in a tidy orgainzed manner to avoid wasting time looking for lost stuff later
Record, screen capture and bookmark everything that you do
Back up all your information either online or using an external hard drive
Save all your passwords both in printed form and also on a USB card

Hope this is helpful

Thanks

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JLaB

14 years ago

I have tried lots of things. Spent lots of time and some money. I have finally made some money writing articles. Not really IM but a skill I acquired by constantly trying things. My major mistake (that I am now fixing) was not staying focused on one thing long enough. There is always some great new opportunity around the corner to distract you. Find someone or something that resonates with you at and stick with it. This forum is a great resource that has helped greatly.

Thanks

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Sue McDonald

14 years ago

Can't help but agree with this. One key ingredient is to never give up. Stay focused and try not to try to many things at once.

If you can't afford a mentor/coach search for both of these names Robert Vance or Gary Bacchetti. They will provide free coaching and mentoring. It may be a good place for you to start. If at present you need help, at least you are in the right place this forum because you can certainly source some good information here.

Thanks
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mjhult 14 years ago

I'm not a newbie anymore, but the biggest thing that held me back was not having a detailed step-by-step plan. And I understand now why that is hard to do - because there are so many ways to make money online and just because something worked for one person (or a bunch of people) DOES NOT mean it will work for someone else.

What I have learned over time is that fundamental business rules apply online just like they do online. Yes, you have new things to learn, but the same basic, fundamental rules apply.

Do you think that if I owned a Subway franchise I would be successful by reading forums all day and buying 8,000 ebooks on "how to make money with a subway franchise?"

Obviously I wouldn't. So, why would I be successful online by reading forums all day and reading ebooks on "How to make money online?"
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Struggling Newbies: Talk About Why You Are Failing and What You Need to Succeed

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