Knowing Your Limitations, and Learning to Work with That

[Dan C. Rinnert]

Perhaps this post will contain some advice that will be of use to others, especially new and aspiring Internet marketers.

Many moons ago, I started what we'll call a membership site. Actually, it was more like a mini-AOL. I think it was back when 28.8 modems were just starting to come out, and many people were still limited to 14.4 modems or 19.2 max. Something like that.

Anyway, there was a free level of service and a higher premium level of service for a fee. Most people were at the free level. So, I realized that I needed something to supplement the little income there was from that, I decided to sell a physical product as well.

Which was a good thing, since the membership site went disastrously awry, but that's a whole other story.

Eventually, the physical product site went to the web, and did fairly well. I offered a variety of products and, on same product pages, I had pretty good conversion rates. My highest may have been 18%. Maybe I hit into the 20's; I don't remember for sure. The average was maybe 8-12%.

In the past couple of years, sales have really taken a downturn. This is due to several factors. Some are circumstances beyond my control, but one factor is that I haven't been putting my 100% into its website.

And that's because I've been more or less lured into Internet marketing. It's not the lure of perceived easy money (okay, some of it is), but putting together and shipping a physical product is a lot of work for relatively little money per sale. So, you're sitting there making the product, assembling it and packaging and shipping it, and all that time you're thinking if I could spend this time marketing a digital product, how much better could I do? If I can get as high as a 18% conversion rate on this product, one where there is a ton of competition, why can't I do the same with a digital product?

Maybe that's dangerous thinking.

And, another thing is that I see people making money now doing things I was trying to do years and years ago. Back then, it wasn't easy convincing people they even needed a website.

Anyway, getting to the knowing your limitations bit...

I had some early success (and failure!) with PPC advertising through AdWords. In fact, I think that's the only method by which I've ever sold any ClickBank products as an affiliate. I haven't been able to sell any ClickBank products through any website links as far as I know. (I have had some success with other affiliate programs, but not with ones that have had high enough commissions to make it worthwhile with the volume of traffic I'd get.)

And, that's kind of frustrating because basically I went from someone who could get 18% conversion rates to getting el zilcho.

That leads to my first limitation, which is getting traffic to a site. I mean, if I pay for traffic, I can get it there, but that's not always profitable.

People recommend article marketing, and that leads to my second limitation, which is not being able to produce copious amounts of articles on a single subject. You see, I know that some people are passionate about things. Maybe they love cars. Maybe they love Star Trek. Maybe they love gardening. And so on.

I'm not one of those people. I have a variety of interests. I like birds. I like gardening. I like cats. I like my chihuahua. I like science fiction. I like cooking. I like history. And so on. I just can't focus in on one subject and stay on it.

Last fall, I thought I could put together some articles and sell them as PLR in a WSO. I found a niche I thought would be popular. I researched keywords. I think I may have found some ClickBank products to promote with them. I worked out 10 articles to write. I wrote one, and then I was completely bored and couldn't figure out what to write for the body of the other 9. Yes, I had the keywords but still...

But the key is that you cannot let your limitations hold you back. I figured that, since I had problems driving traffic to a site, the solution for me would be to create my own product and have affiliates drive the traffic.

As for that second limitation, well, I'm not entirely sure about that yet, but I'll figure it out.

On to limitation number three, and that is organization. And, by that, I am referring to the organization of the content of the eBook. I usually start out with a sensible outline, but then I remember things I missed, and then it's like where do I put this or where do I put that, and then things end up where maybe they shouldn't. And you get into whether it makes more sense to put this here or there. And you just get confused and set it aside for a while, which is, of course, a bad plan.

That, however is an easy one to fix. Just find someone good at organization, and pay them to organize your outline and content in a sensible manner. Problem solved.

My fourth limitation is overkill mode, though I'm not entirely sure that's a limitation so much as a delaying factor. For example, about a month ago (December 20th, judging by the date on one of my files), I grabbed an old book (public domain) off my shelf and thought, hey, I can quickly and easily make an eBook out of this.

So, I started to work on it and, since then, I have gone into overkill mode, buying additional books to flesh out the content that I felt was lacking, and doing research into a particular portion that really needs more detail (and for which I've been having problems locating all the info I need), and figuring out the extra bonus to go along with it and really getting into perhaps excruciating detail on some parts. I don't know that this is really a limitation; I just need to work faster! (And find that info that I haven't been able to find.)

The original book I started with is pretty good, and, as a reader, I'm happy with that original book. Still, I'm of the mind that I'd really like to over-deliver on something rather than just give them the bare essentials. And, honestly, the biggest hold-up on this one has not been all the "overkill" I've been adding to it, but rather trying to find the missing info, which has turned out to be more difficult than I expected.

At any rate, long story short, the lesson is that you can't just learn Internet marketing overnight. Some people may find success in a short amount of time, but those people aren't the most common. It takes time not only to learn the ins and outs but to find your own weaknesses and limitations as well, and then find ways to work around them. If you're serious, you just can't give up when you run into obstacles. You've got to find ways to go over, under or around them, push them out of the way, or just blow them up. Whatever it takes.

[ScamFreeSuccess]

I am soooooooooooo happy to finally see someone saying that it takes work & time! Me thinks it needs to be said a little more often.

[Elmer Hurlstone]

Hey, Dan,

All in all, a very useful post.

It's interesting that every so often someone writes what I'm thinking.

I'll disagree with part of your take on the subject however. What you are seeing as limitations are actually strengths.

Having wide ranging, eclectic interests is not a completely bad thing. It provides a breadth of knowledge that is very useful.

As a sufferer of a similar problem I've found help in a book written by Barbara Sher entitled, "Refuse to Choose." It's about people like us--she calls us/herself, "scanners."

Another great help to me is having an, almost, obsessively focused business/JV partner.

When I get too far off track he figuratively slaps me up the side of the head and we continue.

You have tools to work with. You write well and I'd give my--well something--to have just 10% of your graphic/art skills.

Best of luck,

Elmer

PS. I'm writing a review of the Sher book, but it's not quite right--yet...

[Jessica Lynn]

Excellent post! Very few people can master everything they need to be successful in IM. Taking your time and working with your strengths is so much more profitable than trying to be a overnight millionaire/jack of all trades.

[Dan C. Rinnert]

Originally Posted by ScamFreeSuccess

I am soooooooooooo happy to finally see someone saying that it takes work & time! Me thinks it needs to be said a little more often.

By the looks of it, judging by the reads & comments on this post, it's something people don't want to hear.

I should have squeezed "money" in the title somewhere. LOL.

[Dan C. Rinnert]

Originally Posted by Elmer Hurlstone

Having wide ranging, eclectic interests is not a completely bad thing. It provides a breadth of knowledge that is very useful.

As a sufferer of a similar problem I've found help in a book written by Barbara Sher entitled, "Refuse to Choose." It's about people like us--she calls us/herself, "scanners."

I may have to check that out. Have you read "The Hamlet Syndrome"? That's a worry too! I don't recall the author, and I don't have the book handy at the moment.

You have tools to work with. You write well and I'd give my--well something--to have just 10% of your graphic/art skills.

Thanks. Sometimes I wish I had half the graphic/art skills that some people seem to think I have. ;-)

[Dan C. Rinnert]

Originally Posted by Jessica Lynn

Excellent post! Very few people can master everything they need to be successful in IM. Taking your time and working with your strengths is so much more profitable than trying to be a overnight millionaire/jack of all trades.

As Thomas Jefferson said "Delay is preferable to error." Then again, things didn't work out so well for him in the end.

[GuruGazette]

Knowing your limitations can actually help you make money sometimes. Like you, I have a wide variety of interests, and I get bored easily. I can focus and be productive like a wild woman when needed though, and I've been known to crank out 500+ articles on one topic over a period of 4-6 months before, and create entire books in a day or two.

I love to create websites too. Technically I love domain names and niches, so when I find a fantastic domain I can't seem to help buying it. And if I think of a niche I want to tap, I go looking for a great domain


One of my biggest problems is consistency though - particularly with my websites. I'll get them designed really nicely, get the content and promotion started, then be completely disinterested for months (or years) afterwards. Which means they don't always do much in the way of getting traffic or income.

So to fix that huge flaw in myself, I created software (scripts) which could be my follow through, our "outsourcers" in a sense. Now days, instead of having a great site just sitting there unattended, I have software that keeps fresh content publishing, so the site continues getting regular attention and promotion even if I've already forgotten about it.

This isn't perfect of course (what is? ) but it sure helps me deal with that major flaw I've had for so long.

[jeewant]

Great post. Indeed, it takes time, money, effort and a LOT of hard work to build a sustainable business- online or offline

[Dan C. Rinnert]

Originally Posted by GuruGazette

One of my biggest problems is consistency though - particularly with my websites. I'll get them designed really nicely, get the content and promotion started, then be completely disinterested for months (or years) afterwards. Which means they don't always do much in the way of getting traffic or income.

So to fix that huge flaw in myself, I created software (scripts) which could be my follow through, our "outsourcers" in a sense. Now days, instead of having a great site just sitting there unattended, I have software that keeps fresh content publishing, so the site continues getting regular attention and promotion even if I've already forgotten about it.

This isn't perfect of course (what is? ) but it sure helps me deal with that major flaw I've had for so long.

I did that too on a couple sites. The flaw in the plan is that you might run out of content before you get back to the site again.

[Dan C. Rinnert]

Originally Posted by GuruGazette

I love to create websites too. Technically I love domain names and niches, so when I find a fantastic domain I can't seem to help buying it. And if I think of a niche I want to tap, I go looking for a great domain

I have that habit too. I buy domains with the intention of building something on it. Sometimes I get as far as doing the design. ;-)

On a few sites, I've put up some content and just left it there until I get back to it. I figure the few pennies I might get out of AdSense on (some of) them may be better than having them sit there earning nothing.

But, I still have a bunch of domains with nothing on them. It's too bad that many of them aren't the best names in the world.

[Dan C. Rinnert]

Originally Posted by jeewant

Great post. Indeed, it takes time, money, effort and a LOT of hard work to build a sustainable business- online or offline

A lot of times when you hear about stories about people getting rich "overnight," what you're not told is how much work they had to go through to get that "overnight" success!

[JayXtreme]

GREAT post Dan.. and a rare beauty from you too.. I don't think I have ever seen you start a thread before.. if this is the standard, you should do it more often dude

Thanks for a cool post

Peace

Jay

[Dan C. Rinnert]

Originally Posted by JayXtreme

GREAT post Dan.. and a rare beauty from you too..

Thanks!

I don't think I have ever seen you start a thread before.. if this is the standard, you should do it more often dude

In that case, don't go looking for any other threads I've started. Let's keep this current impression in your head. LOL!

[ScamFreeSuccess]

Originally Posted by Dan C. Rinnert

By the looks of it, judging by the reads & comments on this post, it's something people don't want to hear.

I should have squeezed "money" in the title somewhere. LOL.

Sad really. Quick Easy Free Money and your post would be a blazin'. No wonder the GRQ pushers just keep on getting richer.

[Jacqueline Watson]

Your story rings absolutely
true...today during all the
commentary on the news
stations, I heard a member
of congress say:

"You have to fail in order
to learn how to win..."

And as a newbie, we see
all those amazing stories
and we want that "fast"
cash too...

The simple fact of the
matter is if you want to
succeed, you are going
to have to put your
back into it- do doubt
about it.

Thank you for putting IM
into perspective for so
many of us.

Peace and Love

Jacqueline

[Dan C. Rinnert]

Originally Posted by Jacqueline Watson

Thank you for putting IM
into perspective for so
many of us.

Well, at least I've accomplished something then!

Last night, I got the motivation to go back and work on those 10 articles I mentioned. I came up with a bunch of ideas and decided that, tonight, I'd bang some of these articles out. I didn't expect to finish them all of course, but I figured I'd get a few done and at least have that much more accomplished on that particular project.

At this point, I've spent maybe 3 hours on it. I mean really working on it. I'm not counting the time I've spent reading assorted messages on WF. I'm figuring I've spent about three hours working on these articles. Writing, researching, etc.

And, I have 388 words to show for it. Argh!

[GuruGazette]

Originally Posted by Dan C. Rinnert

I did that too on a couple sites. The flaw in the plan is that you might run out of content before you get back to the site again.

LOL! And Thus...

Reposter was born!



An excellent example of the concept: Turn your flaws into something productive and useable