Advice you wish you had when you first started?

by akmtl
11 replies
Hi, this is kinda of a two part message. I just wanted to introduce myself, I'm Alex and I'm just starting out in this IM adventure!

I work full time but have always wanted to establish another source of income. Lately, my budget has been tight and it's been motivating me to get off my butt and get something going.

I'm starting off with affiliate marketing using Clickbank and with humble goals to begin with. I've picked up some of the free and low cost WSO's posted here and they've been very helpful.

I've picked out a product from CB, got my domain and webhosting done and I'm in the process of setting my wordpress up. The only thing I'm missing is some words of advice from those already doing this

Do you have any advice that you wish you heard when you first started out? Things that make you go "I wish I knew that months or years ago!" General advice also appreciated!
#advice #started
  • Profile picture of the author Mauricio Lopez
    Dont fall victim to inforamtion overload - Very easy in this business especially when your first starting out.

    My best advice to you would be to create a plan, learn from someone that is already successful doing what you want to be doing, set your dates for completion, and master one skill set at a time.

    Don't try to many things at once because you'll get overwhelmed quickly...

    This business is definately doable and it can be life changing but remeber it take persistence, time, and more importantly skills - which luckly for us all skills are learnable.

    Good Luck...
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    • Profile picture of the author Dr Dan
      Originally Posted by Mauricio Lopez View Post

      Dont fall victim to inforamtion overload - Very easy in this business especially when your first starting out.

      My best advice to you would be to create a plan, learn from someone that is already successful doing what you want to be doing, set your dates for completion, and master one skill set at a time.

      Don't try to many things at once because you'll get overwhelmed quickly...

      This business is definately doable and it can be life changing but remeber it take persistence, time, and more importantly skills - which luckly for us all skills are learnable.

      Good Luck...
      Solid advice...

      Here is how I work best and wish I started this way.

      Buy every WSO that looks interesting to you and that you feel might be right for what you want to do for the next 2 weeks.

      Then study each one and take great notes and pick out nuggets that you could use in your new business.

      Now take action!

      Be consistent and stay committed.

      If you can make $10 doing this, then you can make $1,000+

      Also I would target only those offers that interest you or better yet, you are passionate about. It will be easier for you if you do this.

      You will also do better if you follow that piece of advice since it wont seem like work, and more like fun instead.
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    • Profile picture of the author Bill Farnham
      Keep your credit card in your wallet.

      The temptation to see every sales letter as justification for buying the product because it tugs at your desire to move forward is a mistake. Basically, when you're starting out you don't know what you don't know.

      It is so easy to rationalize a purchase under the guise of "Well, I'll need that later", or "I better get this now because the price is going up", or "I better get in on the ground floor with this opportunity or I'll be kicking myself later", that you can wind up in debt very rapidly for things that will do nothing more than take up space on your hard drive.

      Contrast that approach to someone who took the time to formulate a plan and has that same money potential available for things like, wait for it,...advertising. Or outsourcing, or software to streamline their operations now that their energies can be applied toward a set goal.

      Bottom line...watch your initial cash or credit outlays. The bad ones can haunt you for too long, and even stunt your growth. The good ones can propel you forward at a faster rate because of the leverage they provide.

      ~Bill
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  • Profile picture of the author art72
    Start with FREE knowledge. Naturally, you'll have to spend a few bucks on the essentials, domain, hosting AWeber, etc...

    I personally waited (nearly 4 months) until I had 250 posts to join the War Room, "under the belief" I needed to acquire a 'basic understanding' of IM first- I can say now, I wish to have joined sooner as there are tons of free 'golden nuggets' in there.

    Without overwhelming you, I think you're on the right track, affiliate marketing is a safe way to start. Build Your List, I am just now starting this process, and almost regret blowing off that advice early on.

    Finally, remember your objective is to make money. Don't develop a "buyer's mindset" and start buying a bunch of crap you don't need or won't use until down the road. Buy only what you need.

    I made this mistake too. But, I can say that much of what I bought were tools, and it wasn't a total loss.

    Stick around here, read, read, read, and research the topics of your interests, find what works for others, and add your own blueprint to the market you choose to target.

    TAKE ACTION!!!

    All the Best,

    Art
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    Atop a tree with Buddha ain't a bad place to take rest!
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  • Profile picture of the author Dr Dan
    Also I know you said your budget is tight. But dont skimp on your education when it comes to your business.

    I would rather eat noodles and rice for 2 weeks and have the extra cash to re-invest in my business, than to try to find free info scouring the web and forums.

    You can get great advice and tips for free. But the challenge is that you have no idea who is actually making money and who is full of crap. Free advice can be more expensive than anything else if it wastes your time and energy. Which would cost you more in the long run.

    Spend the money and dont skimp.

    WSO's only cost on average $7-$15 lately and are full of great tips and nuggets you can take action on.

    I bought one from Tim Castleman awhile back for $9 and it made me over $2,000 since then and only took me about 10 minutes to implement 1 time! I get paid off that one stragety every single day no matter what I am doing or where I am. How cool is that?

    But if I didnt buy that WSO or if I tried to just get free information then I would have never learned that 1 little strategy and taken action on it and then made over 2k from it.
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  • Profile picture of the author akmtl
    Thanks for all the replies!

    I can totally relate with the parts about information overload, especially from this site. I still can't believe how much great info gets posted here and that's just from browsing this section of the site.

    I've also felt the urge to buy lots of tools but luckily have kept my credit card in my wallet... for now. However, I do want to join the War Room. I'm glad you guys are pointing out things I'm experiencing right now... I guess it means I'm on the right track!
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  • Profile picture of the author IamTJM
    That's definitely a great quality to have to not buy in to all the hyped up products. Don't get me wrong, there are a lot of great WSOs that have information that can make you money quickly, but it's easy to blow a lot of your money on them if you are on a tight budget. You can build a great amount of knowledge with free resources and I found it best to focus on what you want to do most. The advice I wish I had when I began was to focus on CPA marketing because that's where I have found the majority of my success and what I enjoyed doing. Instead, I was starting projects and not finishing them because I was getting distracted. It wasn't until I focused on strictly CPA that I found great success, and then after I reached my goals, I started venturing off into other areas of monetization.
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  • Profile picture of the author TheHotChick
    Banned
    If it sounds too good to be true, it most likely is. The hardest part about doing anything is sticking to it. You will feel discouraged & want to give up at times, but keep following through.
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  • Originally Posted by akmtl View Post

    Hi, this is kinda of a two part message. I just wanted to introduce myself, I'm Alex and I'm just starting out in this IM adventure!

    I work full time but have always wanted to establish another source of income. Lately, my budget has been tight and it's been motivating me to get off my butt and get something going.

    I'm starting off with affiliate marketing using Clickbank and with humble goals to begin with. I've picked up some of the free and low cost WSO's posted here and they've been very helpful.

    I've picked out a product from CB, got my domain and webhosting done and I'm in the process of setting my wordpress up. The only thing I'm missing is some words of advice from those already doing this

    Do you have any advice that you wish you heard when you first started out? Things that make you go "I wish I knew that months or years ago!" General advice also appreciated!
    Yeah, I have advice. Focus on SEO if you want to make any money. Hanging around forums is only worth your time when you're building backlinks.
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    • Profile picture of the author Msands
      Yep, I'd definitely say be carful for information overload...This is so important to your success...

      It is so easy to be eager and want so badly every piece of information to make money. Only recently did I realize that you should stick with one idea at a time...

      It's a good goal you have to want to make money online. But just like everything, you need to plan it out...

      Go get it All the best in your pursuit!!!
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    • Profile picture of the author art72
      Originally Posted by affiliatecopywriter View Post

      Yeah, I have advice. Focus on SEO if you want to make any money. Hanging around forums is only worth your time when you're building backlinks.
      Taking into account your user name implies your are a writer, yet your reply suggests SEO :confused:

      Forgive my confusion here, but in all due fairness 'writing' can be a strong force in building backlinks without much SEO, if you "syndicate" your writings/articles this can be a great way to get targeted, relevant backlinks... again, with little SEO effort.

      Secondly, I personally don't give a rat's backside about getting backlinks from this forum.

      Instead, I see it as a 'community' that provides life support to newbies, intermediate, and advanced users. Sure, some might suggest their reasons for being here are more erroneous... as the quote above implies, but I believe; the majority are here to educate and be educated!

      Get a grip, your advice is unfounded!

      Art
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      Atop a tree with Buddha ain't a bad place to take rest!
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