Money Now vs. Money Later

I do a lot of coaching and just generally talking to people just getting started in IM. And if there's a common theme in most of these discussions, it's the need for money right now. Yesterday. By the end of this week. No later than next week.

I hate to be a parade rainer, but almost everything in IM involves delayed gratification. You do the work now and the payoff is usually weeks or even months later. Sometimes it never comes. It's an inherent risk. You either accept it and try anyway, or you do something more certain.

Which is what I want to remind newer people about (the more certain part).

Many of us who are established in IM and doing this stuff full-time got our start totally or in large part offering services early on.

What skill do you have that other marketers need done? Figure that out and hang a shingle offering that service. Here are some ideas:

• Installing Wordpress, themes, plugins
• Writing articles and/or site content
• Doing backlinks
• Research of all kinds (keywords, niches, blog material, etc.)

And that's just a small sample. If you need money in a hurry, this is your answer. It's not building affiliate sites or list building or any of the more traditional IM stuff. Most of that won't bring home any significant bacon for weeks at a minimum.

My advice is to go look at the Warriors For Hire section here and see what others are offering and what seems most popular. Get a feel for what marketers and site owners need, then jump in and fill that need.

And if you don't think you have any such skills yet, that's your first step. Devote a week or two to learning how to do just one in-demand thing well enough to offer it and get paid.

Once you've got some cash coming in, invest some of it in the more long-term IM business models for passive income. It's what a lot of us who have "made it" did. It works.

John