Is it possible for a little guy to survive in the world of IM?

14 years ago

Originally Posted by Daniel_James_Warburton

With such a massive saturation of affiliates, jvs, pro-marketers and so many products, is it even possible for someone just starting to consider this as a main income stream?

There are super affiliates all over the place, various well known names and a mass amount of people. I'm wanting to weigh up a realistic picture of what it will really take to succeed. In other words, I'm thinking it's best to see the water in the pool before I jump off the diving board.

Thanks for your help guys, I hope this isn't too much for a first post.

Daniel Warburton

Daniel

Hi! Welcome to the WarriorForum!

You can read the page linked by my first sig below if you have time.

That's our old website, and I lost interest in developing it further after our then PR6 domain, grayscaleservices.com, was snatched by NameJet, because the domain expiration email notice went into my spam folder, so just saw it at a time it had already expired and was already snatched.

Anyway, that's my startup story. I initially made stable income from an Internet business without a website, just a home office and a Gmail account, all while totally blind and without any capital investment other than my own time and skills.

Hope this helps.

Best Regards,

Marx

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CianMcCarthy

Banned 14 years ago

Having a massive saturation of affiliates is GREAT (to quote my friend Tony the Tiger) news...if you have a product

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Nick Brighton

14 years ago

Originally Posted by Daniel_James_Warburton

With such a massive saturation of affiliates, jvs, pro-marketers and so many products, is it even possible for someone just starting to consider this as a main income stream?

depends what "it" is. Different strokes for different folks. Dozens of business models, millions of markets, millions of products, billions of people...

...which combo did you have in mind? :-)

There are super affiliates all over the place, various well known names and a mass amount of people.

you really think one more will break the camel's back?

I'm wanting to weigh up a realistic picture of what it will really take to succeed.

lots and lots of f###ing hard work, time, sacrifice, money and true passion to the core. As few deviations towards BS products that feed you dreams and lies as possible.

In other words, I'm thinking it's best to see the water in the pool before I jump off the diving board.

If you constantly stare at the water, all you will ever see is your scared face staring back at you in the surface reflection. You never learn to swim by standing on dry land.

Good luck, and enjoy the ride!

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impact-productions

14 years ago

The good thing is that it's always possible to survive, but you have to be able to develop contacts very quickly to make it anywhere.

Unless these are contacts you already have offline (by a strike of luck) it means that you need something to offer.

You can devote a lot of time to helping people, or have demonstrable results. Either of those will generally be enough.

So, it's certainly possible to enter the Internet Marketing niche, but, for many, it's a slow path to progress, and it might be quicker to consider alternatives.

Thom

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Daniel_James_Warburton

14 years ago

Brilliant advice already, I knew I'd love this place.

From my efforts so far, I've gathered it'll take either a mass of work or a mass of research in order to work a lot more efficiently.

My target at the moment is to find a mass of cheap tools that I can use to help.

I've found a good service to submit rss and url's to various search engines, social bookmarks...etc (to be honest, I was thinking of offering it as a wso but tht is another story).

Quoting from another new thread, I'm not one of those noobs who thinks I can just press a magic button and it all work. I know this is going to possibly take years before I'm earning a main income, but i'm willing to put the work in at least.

(what can i say, it's a good pass time)

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MariusJ

14 years ago

Originally Posted by Daniel_James_Warburton

Brilliant advice already, I knew I'd love this place.

From my efforts so far, I've gathered it'll take either a mass of work or a mass of research in order to work a lot more efficiently.

My target at the moment is to find a mass of cheap tools that I can use to help.

I've found a good service to submit rss and url's to various search engines, social bookmarks...etc (to be honest, I was thinking of offering it as a wso but tht is another story).

Quoting from another new thread, I'm not one of those noobs who thinks I can just press a magic button and it all work. I know this is going to possibly take years before I'm earning a main income, but i'm willing to put the work in at least.

(what can i say, it's a good pass time)

The best advice I ever got was "get a coach". It will cut the learning curve down by a ridiculous amount. And save you a large amount of money.

No matter what you are involved in, find someone who has what you want, and learn from them. They know what to do, what not to do and can tell you what it will take to achieve your goals.

If you want small results, get a teacher.
If you want good results, get a coach.
If you want to excell, get a mentor.
All in good time.

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mainstreetcm

14 years ago

I would saw it is very possible for a little guy to survive in the world of internet marketing. I am doing it myself, with my own business model, based off the valuable information I have consumed over the last year.

There is no doubt that not only am I surviving but I am definitely thriving, having exceeded all of my goals nearly five months after starting this journey. I think being interested in creating a business instead of running this as a hobby is what separates the successful from those who think its all a scam.

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Paul Parkhouse 14 years ago

There is no such thing as "saturation." If there are lots of buyers then there will always be the need for lots of sellers.

Get the right mindset and go grab yourself a piece of the pie!
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- Daniel_James_Warburton 14 years ago
  
  Good advice paul, i guess i need to learn to find and identify demand and satisfy it.
  
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caseycase

14 years ago

Daniel,

Best of luck to you. I was very skeptical as well, but I started making money online within one day of trying, and I had spent a total of 10 dollars to make 50. I am still super new to this, but it is obvious that it can be done!

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CDarklock

14 years ago

Originally Posted by Daniel_James_Warburton

In other words, I'm thinking it's best to see the water in the pool before I jump off the diving board.

It doesn't matter how deep the water is. You're only using the top of it anyway.

You can make six figures year on year and those superaffiliates won't even notice you. It's not that hard to get onto a decent launch every five to six weeks, pull $15k out of it, and not even make the leaderboards.

And at the end of the year, you've made $120k to $150k, but nobody knows or cares who you are.

If you want the fame, you've got your work cut out for you. But if you just want a reasonable income and a comfortable lifestyle, not such a hard thing. Takes a couple years to get it dialed in, but still a lot less time than it takes to work your way up the corporate ladder, and you don't have anyone backstabbing you on the way.

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mlord10

14 years ago

Originally Posted by CDarklock

It doesn't matter how deep the water is. You're only using the top of it anyway.

You can make six figures year on year and those superaffiliates won't even notice you. It's not that hard to get onto a decent launch every five to six weeks, pull $15k out of it, and not even make the leaderboards.

And at the end of the year, you've made $120k to $150k, but nobody knows or cares who you are.

If you want the fame, you've got your work cut out for you. But if you just want a reasonable income and a comfortable lifestyle, not such a hard thing. Takes a couple years to get it dialed in, but still a lot less time than it takes to work your way up the corporate ladder, and you don't have anyone backstabbing you on the way.

There is more than enough room for new marketers to make it in the world of internet marketing. There are so many people searching for products and services in a variety of niches that you could not sell to even 1% of them no matter how hard you try (in the bigger markets).

You don't have to be one of the household names to earn a six figure income, which I expect for many people would be a nice measure of success.

Heck, you could probably earn 500k a year in the internet marketing niche, and 99.9% of people who are studying internet marketing will never know you exist. (Admittedly no facts to back this up, just an estimate).

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CDarklock

14 years ago

Originally Posted by mlord10

Heck, you could probably earn 500k a year in the internet marketing niche, and 99.9% of people who are studying internet marketing will never know you exist. (Admittedly no facts to back this up, just an estimate).

There are people in this forum earning at that level, and hardly anybody knows it.

And they like it that way.

I will probably never understand why they like it that way, but they do.

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RichardHK

14 years ago

Originally Posted by CDarklock

It doesn't matter how deep the water is. You're only using the top of it anyway.

... ...Takes a couple years to get it dialed in, but still a lot less time than it takes to work your way up the corporate ladder, and you don't have anyone backstabbing you on the way.

Haa... Very good point mate! I am a newbie IM-freak here but already learnt that getting away from the corporate world has so many benefits.

Instead of getting stabbed for whatever talents you have, just sell the same talents/skills/knowledge across the globe through micro-niches that others will buy through. My back is now recovering nicely.

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tyroneshum

14 years ago

Originally Posted by CDarklock

It doesn't matter how deep the water is. You're only using the top of it anyway.

You can make six figures year on year and those superaffiliates won't even notice you. It's not that hard to get onto a decent launch every five to six weeks, pull $15k out of it, and not even make the leaderboards.

And at the end of the year, you've made $120k to $150k, but nobody knows or cares who you are.

If you want the fame, you've got your work cut out for you. But if you just want a reasonable income and a comfortable lifestyle, not such a hard thing. Takes a couple years to get it dialed in, but still a lot less time than it takes to work your way up the corporate ladder, and you don't have anyone backstabbing you on the way.

Fantastic words man. I was touched honestly because life really is that challenging. Sometimes you would feel like losing it, sometimes, you would feel like fighting for it but still, the bottom line would lie upon how you face these challenges right and it comes with persistence. The more you persist with what you want to happen in your life, the more you can get over it.

There's still enough time for you to strive your way up and continue thriving for the best in achieving a perfect lifestyle you wanted.

Good luck.

Originally Posted by Will Edwards

All the big guys started as little guys!

Will

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awmi

14 years ago

Get in on a market or trend before it gets "saturated." There are always new trends, new gadgets and new accessories for the new gadgets.

I watch the trends with news from sources like:
cnet.com
comscore.com
emarketer.com
clicknewz.com

Some trends I am following right now:
lithium-ion battery for electric vehicles
cloud computing
polymer solar cells v silicon solar cells
nanotechnology for use in touch screens and solar cells

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AffiliateCashPile

14 years ago

We were all little guys when we started. My advice is never give up, network with everyone, and learn everything. When you learn something new always try to tweak any method to make it better and when you can do this successfully, that's when the money comes flying in.

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John Atkins

14 years ago

Of course it's possible. Pretty much everyone was a 'little guy'
when he started.

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Ofthemix 14 years ago

Realisticly, it takes a lot of time and work. . . and truck loads of patience. You won't get rich over night . . . won't be able to quit your day job in a week, probably not a month, and, for the majority of newbie internet marketers, not even within a year. The learning curve is steep.

Your success greatly depends on your ability to focus, find a system that works for you, and stick to it. Only you can decide if you'll succeed or not, if you'll be able to quit your job and make it as a full time internet marketer.

There are a lot of gurus out there, a lot of people jumping on the IM band wagon every day, and tons of competition. But there are also more and more consumers gaining access to the internet. There are more products to promote than ever before and new ones come out all the time. If one method of traffic generation or SEO gets oversaturated and deemed useless, another springs up to take its place.

You can definitely survive if you have the right tools and mindset. Since I've been on the WF I've seen a few people reach their dream of becoming self employed.
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darren16b

14 years ago

When You think about how fast the internet is growing and how large it will be in 5 to 10 years from now. There is no such thing as saturation. My thought (and that's all it is) is there is room for everyone. People make money with some of the weirdest things!

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AndrewCavanagh

14 years ago

It is easier than ever for a little guy to make a good income working online.

You can create sites easily, you can outsource easily, you can do everything far more easily then when I started out.

Keep in mind that many of those "super" affiliates started out as tiny affiliates doing joint ventures with other little guys.

There is always someone else who's coming up at the same level as you.

Just focus on providing real value to people and on building relationships and a few years on you'll be amazed at the contacts you build.

Kindest regards,
Andrew Cavanagh

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Rod Cortez

14 years ago

Originally Posted by AndrewCavanagh

It is easier than ever for a little guy to make a good income working online.

You can create sites easily, you can outsource easily, you can do everything far more easily then when I started out.

Keep in mind that many of those "super" affiliates started out as tiny affiliates doing joint ventures with other little guys.

There is always someone else who's coming up at the same level as you.

Just focus on providing real value to people and on building relationships and a few years on you'll be amazed at the contacts you build.

Kindest regards,
Andrew Cavanagh

You beat me to it Andrew!

I think it's actually EASIER today than ever before. Not just because there's more information. Not just because it's easier to outsource. Not just because more niches have become "online friendly". And not just because more and more people are spending online and more advertising dollars are coming online.

BUT because ALL those reasons and plenty more. In fact, I have seen so much opportunities today that it's really tough staying focused on my existing projects. Somehow I manage......

RoD

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kingofthecrate

14 years ago

The average guy is less than 6.. oh sorry, wrong thread.

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CharlesDenney

14 years ago

There will always be profit opportunities for true entrepreneurs who are just starting out. It doesn't matter if you are online or offline. It doesn't matter if you're jumping into a saturated market, either.

What does matter is your strategic positioning and USP.

Here's an example from the offline world...

I think we can all agree that McDonalds, Burger King and Wendy's pretty much had the hamburger niche sewed up. Right? Then out of nowhere "5 Guys Burgers and Fries" comes on the scene.

According to INC magazine, 5 Guys is one of the fastest growing franchises in the US.

Who would ever imagine that they could steal substantial market share from the likes of
Micky D's, BK and the little red-headed girl with freckles?

The Internet is jammed packed with thousands of micro-niches and more are being spawned every day.

If I were starting out again, my problem would not be finding a niche, but choosing from all the incredibly promising niches that the web offers.

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BonganiS

14 years ago

Hi! The fact that there are many affiliate programs and many people promoting them means that this thing is really working. Just think about the number of people who have access to the internet and that is your market in IM. What is important is to: 1. Choose the product(s) you like. 2. Choose a platform(s) in which to promote your products. 3. Then optimize your IM business and you will start making money online. The best way to see if something is working or not is to take the first step. Then the other things will follow.

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rypher21

14 years ago

you can make things possible, its about will, work, good mindset, and the skills you have..success is not base on how big, popular, or what you are...its the way you do things

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Daniel_James_Warburton

14 years ago

lol... i think this thread should be renamed:

If you are about to give up on IM for good, click here.....

I've never seen so much inspirational advice and motivating words in my life.

People of the web, watch out... there's a new kid in town

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mesya

14 years ago

Originally Posted by Daniel_James_Warburton

lol... i think this thread should be renamed:

If you are about to give up on IM for good, click here.....

I've never seen so much inspirational advice and motivating words in my life.

People of the web, watch out... there's a new kid in town

yeah...I think so..:lol:

but I see many people give a very good advice here.

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drmani

14 years ago

Originally Posted by Daniel_James_Warburton

With such a massive saturation of affiliates, jvs, pro-marketers and so many products, is it even possible for someone just starting to consider this as a main income stream?

Daniel Warburton

In quite a coincidence, I just queued up a post to be published on my blog (a few months later), with the title: "Can The Little Guy Still Win?"

I'll share it here, and hopefully it helps in some little way

There has been a paradigm shift in Internet business. No longer is it quick and easy for anyone to launch an online business and rake in massive profits.

Now, it has become more structured, organized and professional. Competition is fierce and smart. Strategies and tactics have evolved to a higher level of sophistication.

So, can the little guy still win? Let's talk about it.

The IM mindset - Easy money, FAST

For far too many years, marketing on the Internet was easy.

That's what made it possible for a total techno-phobe with zero marketing or business background (like me) stumble through the start-up phases and struggle through to have an online business that survives. (It couldn't happen offline)

Trouble is, folks expect this unreal situation to last forever.

Well, I've got bad news for you - it won't.

And that's the change we're talking about. A change that any business owner serious about his or her work already is well aware of, and has likely planned or factored into their projections and plans.

It is also the one thing the 'make money online - quickly, easily' crowd is terrified of.

Because let's face it - to their style of working on the Internet, the...

Barrier of entry is non-existent

Anyone - and I mean, literally, anyone - can walk in and eat their lunch. Not necessarily a $270-million Goliath info-publishing company like Agora.

These folks are 'at risk' every day of their existence. They just didn't realize it - until recently. And many of them vent their fears and uncertainty on public forums and lists.

This takes on a life of its own - and other 'legitimate' business owners caught the 'Fear Bug' - and started worrying about their own future. Asking if they even had one. Wondering if they should bother creating one.

Which is what prompted this 'expose'.

Learn To Think For Yourself

For many years, I've been advising my readers, clients, subscribers to do this -

T H I N K

Take the oft-repeated phrase, for instance.

"Well, if it's more difficult now, trust me, it will only get 10 times more difficult in the future"

Turn the clock back by 10 years, 25 years, 50 years or even 100 years.

Would the phrase be any less true at any of those points in time?

Of course not.

Business DOES get more difficult - for many reasons. So does survival. Charles Darwin expounded the philosophy well over 100 years back - he called it 'Survival of the Fittest'

But there's also another strange thing that's been around for years, and is now in the limelight...

The Long Tail Paradox - and why this means the small guy can ALWAYS win

You will ALWAYS be able to dominate your niche. Only thing is, the niche may need to be redefined.

The 'Long Tail' is about the evolution of MICRO-niches - and the fading of 'mainstream' everything.

Folks are finding about things closely related to their individual tastes, preferences and interests - in non-traditional ways.

Which means you must look at WHAT YOU WANT for your business and yourself. And then, on that basis, define your niche differently from others.

And then, exploit this 'long tail' paradox to attract a very specific (even if very small) target audience - and DELIGHT it.

You will OWN your niche.

Yes, the 'little guy' can still win.

All success
Dr.Mani

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abednego

14 years ago

Originally Posted by drmani

In quite a coincidence, I just queued up a post to be published on my blog (a few months later), with the title: "Can The Little Guy Still Win?"

...

You will OWN your niche.

Yes, the 'little guy' can still win.

All success
Dr.Mani

Thank you for the informative post.

Random question, and I don't mean to hijack the thread... are you a DR? And if so, what kind?

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Mac Wheeler

14 years ago

Million dollar tip:

If you can't hack it in IM (which I cannot, I prefer more traditional business models), then provide a service to the IM community. If there are millions of people out there willing to pay $97 for an e-book, how much cash do you think is floating around for people who can supply them with what they need to help them with their venture? They already probably dumped $97 on a regurgitated info product, they have more money in their pockets for sure.

Yes IM is cool, but look at this forum, how many "Help me I spent thousands and have not made a dime" posts do you see?

Instead, ride the market.

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Will Edwards

14 years ago

All the big guys started as little guys!

Will

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elchupacabra12

14 years ago

the internet is over loaded with alot of affiliates and products.

i think the majpr parts are failing and will not keep doing it. so if you are a little guy but you dont give up than you still have hope!