Massive Action In The Wrong Direction = Massive Failure

by tpw
11 replies
So many people address the secret to success to reside behind the simple words, "Massive Action".

My friend Brian McLeod once said it is like getting on the wrong set of tracks. If you come to the train junction and take the turn to the east, when your intended destination is to the north, then when you hit the nitrous oxide, you will be thrown miles off course by going completely away from where you intended to go.

His analogy tells the story in a way that cannot be outdone, in that to get back to your original destination, you have to go back to the start. And for every mile you travel forward, you are moving further and further from your intended goal.

Before you take any massive action, you must first determine where you want to go, and make darn certain that the actions you are taking will definitively get you where you want to go.

I once dropped a ton of resources into getting ranked for one specific search keyword in Google. I literally spent $20,000 to get #1 in Google for my target keyword. I got #1, but it did not deliver the massive profits I anticipated.

Don't get me wrong, it delivered sales, for my product that sold for $40. Most people who hear that story assume that I only needed to sell 500 units to break even, but it was a product that I made $4 on after costs. In the end, I needed to sell 5,000 units just to break even on my investment.

And at the rate I was selling those units --- 3 per day, it would have taken me nearly 5 years to earn back my initial investment.

LOL

I set a course for success. I started doing those things that would be necessary to help me sell my offer. And I took massive action, until which time I have achieved #1 ranking in Google for my target keywords.

And in the end, I lost my ass on that campaign, because I forgot to see the importance of every advertising campaign showing a near-term profit.

Winning in the search engines is never enough. You must also win, when your accountant counts your profits at the end of the year.
#action #advertising #direction #failure #massive #massive action #strategy #wrong #wrong direction
  • Profile picture of the author TheCG
    I worked for a guy once who liked to say, "Never confuse effort with results"

    Hard work is good but you must have a plan first. A GOOD plan.
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  • Profile picture of the author wanna-succeed
    At least you tried to make the best of things and broke even.
    I'm sure you could also flip (if you haven't already) the website for a huge profit, as it ranks #1 for a high comp kw.
    None the less, spending the time & putting in that much effort, only to realize you have you have strayed away from your main goal, can be devastating to many.
    Rebounding is a big part of this business, as not everything goes the way we planned.
    Everyone has setbacks & losing campaigns, knowing how to deal with them is the key to succeeding.
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  • Profile picture of the author CurtisN
    Ever read The Dip, by Seth Godin?

    He writes about how winners quit, and often, in order to find the right path.

    I'd rather crawl in the right direction than sprint in the wrong one!
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    • Profile picture of the author rcritchett
      Originally Posted by CurtisN View Post

      Ever read The Dip, by Seth Godin?

      He writes about how winners quit, and often, in order to find the right path.

      I'd rather crawl in the right direction than sprint in the wrong one!
      I totally agree with you on this. We've all, especially if we're here, had our share of going in the wrong direction. No one just comes out and smashes it.

      I read the first half of the Dip, and am compelled to read the second half now.

      Awesome.
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      • Profile picture of the author candem
        A friend of mine always used to say "There are lots of things that are interesting but only a few are important". If business and ESPECIALLY the IM world it is crucial that you figure out the important things ... before spend too much on the interesting things!
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  • Profile picture of the author Highkick
    bravo!...this should be a blog post.
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  • Profile picture of the author Mohammad Afaq
    BUT

    If a person taken ZERO action then he gets ZERO results and he takes away ZERO knowledge from the experience (because there was no experience really).

    So in my opinion, it is kinda good to work hard and fail because you actually "LEARN" something.

    EDIT: For example, you learned not to spend $20,000 trying to rank for one keyword. Right?

    What is stupid though is to KNOW that something doesn't work and doing it anyway.
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  • Profile picture of the author Kevin_Hutto
    Its like an illustration from golf... The saying is that "practice makes perfect" - but thats not true. The truth is that if you practice the wrong things you will just ingrain your bad habits even deeper. Dave Pelz, one of the smartest golf teachers out there, says a more appropriate truth is this: "perfect practice makes perfect". So, you not only need the hard work, but it has to be on the right things as well.
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    • Profile picture of the author genietoast
      No s#%t! Aint that the truth.
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  • Profile picture of the author paulie888
    Originally Posted by tpw View Post

    So many people address the secret to success to reside behind the simple words, "Massive Action".

    My friend Brian McLeod once said it is like getting on the wrong set of tracks. If you come to the train junction and take the turn to the east, when your intended destination is to the north, then when you hit the nitrous oxide, you will be thrown miles off course by going completely away from where you intended to go.

    His analogy tells the story in a way that cannot be outdone, in that to get back to your original destination, you have to go back to the start. And for every mile you travel forward, you are moving further and further from your intended goal.

    Before you take any massive action, you must first determine where you want to go, and make darn certain that the actions you are taking will definitively get you where you want to go.

    I once dropped a ton of resources into getting ranked for one specific search keyword in Google. I literally spent $20,000 to get #1 in Google for my target keyword. I got #1, but it did not deliver the massive profits I anticipated.

    Don't get me wrong, it delivered sales, for my product that sold for $40. Most people who hear that story assume that I only needed to sell 500 units to break even, but it was a product that I made $4 on after costs. In the end, I needed to sell 5,000 units just to break even on my investment.

    And at the rate I was selling those units --- 3 per day, it would have taken me nearly 5 years to earn back my initial investment.

    LOL

    I set a course for success. I started doing those things that would be necessary to help me sell my offer. And I took massive action, until which time I have achieved #1 ranking in Google for my target keywords.

    And in the end, I lost my ass on that campaign, because I forgot to see the importance of every advertising campaign showing a near-term profit.

    Winning in the search engines is never enough. You must also win, when your accountant counts your profits at the end of the year.
    Great post, Bill. While taking action and seeing sales does count for something (even when you end up with a massive failure), the one fundamental thing we ultimately need to remember is that we're in IM to make a profit and generate a positive ROI, and we all need to measure each campaign that we run using this yardstick. Never get emotionally attached to anything, and drop those unprofitable campaigns quickly when they occur.
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  • Profile picture of the author Neil Morgan
    A refreshing post and a change from the "all you need to do is take action" calls.

    There are many more "wrong" ways to take action than "right" ones.

    IM rule #1 - know your numbers inside out - they'll tell you all you need to know.

    Cheers,

    Neil
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