What I've learned in IM that may help you

by ttdub
18 replies
I've been involved in internet marketing off and on for a few years now. I wanted to give a small list of things to do and not to do when getting started.

1. Stick to 1 thing - I jumped around again and again, trying to find something that would work almost instantaneously. I even ended up trying Mechanical Turk (which still takes a little time to get the privileges to work on better jobs) to no avail, but I found out that my number one problem wasn't that I was doing something wrong, but that I didn't stick with it long enough. IM takes time, and when I say time, I mean months to years, but it's completely worth it in the end. And if you keep switching to something else, you will never be able to make the money you want.

2. Gain friends - It's good to have friends that know what they're doing that can help. Not financially or even giving you some type of advertisement, but knowledge wise. What you're doing has probably been done before. Someone can help you from making terrible mistakes or "learning the hard way". Not only should you gain friends to obtain their knowledge or benefit, but also try and make sure you are kind simply to be kind. This world can always use more kindness.

3. Don't make enemies - Though I've said to make friends, it's still important to note that you want to avoid making enemies. It's unwise to make enemies when first starting out or even as an avid internet marketer. It doesn't benefit you in any way. Try as hard as you can to avoid making them (even though sometimes it's unavoidable).

4. You can't always reinvent the wheel - I'm not saying that you shouldn't come up with a new idea (a lot of money is involved in new ideas), I'm just saying that everything doesn't have to be new. There are tried and true ways to do things. Don't just think you have thought of a new idea before researching it. Make sure it's actually a new idea, and if it isn't, learn from those who have done it before.

5. Learn, learn and learn some more - I made the mistake many times of just jumping into something the second I heard of it. It's not smart to make a leap into a field you know nothing about. It usually doesn't work out. It's best to back up and spend a ton of time researching and finding out the best way to do it. IM is a lot to do with knowledge. If you take action with no knowledge backing your actions, it won't work.

I hope you guys enjoyed what I had to say. I'm no expert, but felt I needed to say a little from my experiences. Thanks for reading.
#learned
  • Profile picture of the author StunningWarrior
    How about "get a coach/mentor?"

    There's no point in reinventing the wheel.

    EVERY top athlete has a coach. Most top business execs have a coach. All the top politicians have mentors. Hmm, there's a pattern developing here
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  • Profile picture of the author felicita
    Great list - thanks for sharing.

    I think it's a pretty great list that almost everyone in general should read and not just people involved with internet marketing. But, for internet marketing in general, make sure #5 does not get in the way of #1. :-)
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    • Originally Posted by felicita View Post

      Great list - thanks for sharing.

      I think it's a pretty great list that almost everyone in general should read and not just people involved with internet marketing. But, for internet marketing in general, make sure #5 does not get in the way of #1. :-)
      I absolutely agree with you.
      I started looking at internet marketing about four years ago, on and off. I can honestly say it literally took me a few years before any sort of success. So it does take a lot of patience and hard work. I still learn something new everyday. Although I stay up late almost everynight doing work on my websites, I am absolutely loving it. Mind you, even before I started making profits, I thoroughly enjoy doing it anyways. It is true: if you love what you do, you tend to stick to it longer and it is only a matter of time that you will succeed.
      I felt good when I saw the posts in here.
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      Warrior from Down Under Australia!
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    • Profile picture of the author ttdub
      Originally Posted by felicita View Post

      Great list - thanks for sharing.

      I think it's a pretty great list that almost everyone in general should read and not just people involved with internet marketing. But, for internet marketing in general, make sure #5 does not get in the way of #1. :-)
      Definitely! You don't want to learn about everything, just your one niche.
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  • Profile picture of the author ldbjr
    2. Gain friends - It's good to have friends that know what they're doing that can help. Not financially or even giving you some type of advertisement, but knowledge wise.

    Excellent point. I have made a few friends that have been kind enough to both point me in the right direction and correct me in some of my many errors.
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  • Profile picture of the author buckeyes09
    Gain friends -- one of the biggest aspects in the world of business. You can't know enough people.
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    Christian

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  • Profile picture of the author Long Beach Nathan
    Thanks for the post! #1 is probably the most difficult to get away from and it's still probably my worst enemy. I think it stops a lot of people. I also think 2 and 5 are really important.
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  • With all that being said, anyone want to be my friend?
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    Product Reviews for Internet Marketers

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  • Profile picture of the author RedShifted
    Except do not stick to "1 thing" unless you know that 1 thing works 100% of the time.

    I mean really I like the list but still I see so many people using this idea of "don't jump around". You need to jump around in order to find what works. Why stick to something thats not working in the hopes it will work some day?

    Isn't that kinda recommending that people be inefficient?
    Wouldn't it be more important to find 1 thing that works, rather than sticking with 1 thing that you're not really sure about? I don't know, just trying to stir debate I guess. But I jump around a lot. I test things and find things that work. If they don't, I refuse to stick with it. Thats like sticking with a plan thats faulty from the start. Sticking to a marriage thats broken from the start. If a relationship is not working. Should a person stay in it and try to make it work?

    I say well it obviously depends. But most of the time its the persons inability to see its not working that is the problem, not the relationship. Thats why I won't stick with a plan unless I can see its going to work. Otherwise sticking with it is just a waste of my time.

    If there is that many missing pieces in the first place, I need to find something with less missing pieces. A more promising idea. Because they do exist. So really why be so loyal to 1 thats not producing immediate results?

    Maybe find different ways to obtain information if you're having that hard a time finding 1 working piece of information.
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    • Profile picture of the author ttdub
      Originally Posted by RedShifted View Post

      Except do not stick to "1 thing" unless you know that 1 thing works 100% of the time.

      I mean really I like the list but still I see so many people using this idea of "don't jump around". You need to jump around in order to find what works. Why stick to something thats not working in the hopes it will work some day?

      Isn't that kinda recommending that people be inefficient?
      Wouldn't it be more important to find 1 thing that works, rather than sticking with 1 thing that you're not really sure about? I don't know, just trying to stir debate I guess. But I jump around a lot. I test things and find things that work. If they don't, I refuse to stick with it. Thats like sticking with a plan thats faulty from the start. Sticking to a marriage thats broken from the start. If a relationship is not working. Should a person stay in it and try to make it work?

      I say well it obviously depends. But most of the time its the persons inability to see its not working that is the problem, not the relationship. Thats why I won't stick with a plan unless I can see its going to work. Otherwise sticking with it is just a waste of my time.

      If there is that many missing pieces in the first place, I need to find something with less missing pieces. A more promising idea. Because they do exist. So really why be so loyal to 1 thats not producing immediate results?

      Maybe find different ways to obtain information if you're having that hard a time finding 1 working piece of information.
      What I mean when I say stick to one thing is that people expect to begin making 1 grand a month their first month, and they keep jumping around, wondering why they haven't done it yet. I just mean not to give up on something in just a month or two.
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      • Profile picture of the author shaunburke
        The jumping around can help in a weird way.

        After a bit (a lot!) of jumping, you start seeing how you are having you strings pulled by marketers who are a bit sharper than you.

        You can keep on letting them twitch you from one thing to another---

        Or, sulk and get out because it's too 'ruthless'---

        Or, (this one is the right answer), you can take the very valuable lesson that even you have repeatedly fallen for the strategies and tactics employed by the experts and truly get that they all work--- and then use them yourself!
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  • Profile picture of the author paul_1
    Awesome lists man! It sure will help a lot of fellow warriors who want to try their luck in this business...
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  • Profile picture of the author shireen
    Thanks for the great sharing.

    Persistent & positive mindset also play a major roll in IM success :-)
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  • Profile picture of the author Tenzho
    Can you be my friend?
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