STOP Reading... Take ACTION

I hear you, but I have to disagree. In fact, I have an upcoming WSO (The Unofficial WSO Style Guide) that has taken me about two months to complete. Before I can launch anything like that, it has to be completely flawless, as I am primarily a writer and editor. It wouldn't be right to put out trash and expect it to sell, especially if I'm getting on to others about cleaning up their sales copy, articles, etc. to look professional/authoritative/credible, or whatever. Sales conversions are better when what you put out looks worthy.

I'm not going to put my name or face on anything that isn't up to par because as the theme of my style guide suggests, you only get one chance to make a first impression although it's never too late to stop making the same mistakes. So I wouldn't suggest anybody start off making the mistake you are suggesting to begin with...

Patience is a problem with a lot of people trying to make it in this IM game. Taking the time to do something correctly will take you a lot farther than half-assing and thinking you will get respected or paid handsomely for it. Wasting time is when you rush just to say you've got something and then have to go back later and correct it (not tweak). Often times you'll find that the mistakes will jump out at you when you go back to read something, especially if it's rushed. Writers know this. Editors know this. Anybody in his or her right mind knows this.

The bottom line is, take your time and do it right. I see so many WSOs riddled with errors that it makes me cringe, and I don't regret taking a minute to put out something that I think will sell and very well...

What action is my question to you.

First you need to ‘McDonald’ your process. Make it super easy. Yeah, so you can out source. Think of um PUSH HAMBUGER in your process. Out line your seven easy steps – yes seven. Most people do not share sources. I am using SEO a lot more now. However, my fave is YRO or You tube Ranking Op. There is one site that get over 50% of its traffic from you tube, another gets 90% from Craigs list and that shocks even me.

I use to buy a lot of Google Adwords ads a long time ago. That is no longer our case. First, they are super expensive. Second, it does not work anymore. Most traffic paid clicks have poor conversion now. That was not the case years ago. However, I have seen my PPC conversions decline every year. Turning clickers into buyers back in the 90's was super easy.

I think an optimum balance needs to be struck between reading/performing research and taking action. I mean, you shouldn't act so fast such that you haven't thought everything through properly ("haste makes waste") nor keep on researching for so long that you end up doing nothing either.

So you are the kind of guy who "try to sell an infoproduct" rather than to distribute a quality and useful infoproduct which answer a demand for a step by step method to achieve something.

I do exactly the opposite of what you do, i research the subject the best i can, i test and experiment the concepts and the principles to know what is really efficient and accessible to apply, and then i have no difficulty to outrun competitors like you who try to make a quick buck with no real knowledge or experience about the topic.

But this requires time and energy, so lazy people don't want to do that.

A good technique to use when you create an infoproduct or a product or an article/video is to try to see it from the interested person eyes and mind, from this perception, if you think the info is useful and well presented then you can post it / sell it. Otherwise, you may damage your reputation and the news spread fast on the web...

I do think it is possible to produce something fast that is also of high value. What I'm talking about is a 4000 word report packed with no-fluff, good, actionable content. Research is an important step and is the most time-consuming, you're digging out the gems and saving time for your readers. If you've done the research well (shouldn't take more than a few uninterrupted hours), then writing should be a breeze.

But I do agree that going out and doing it and putting it out fast is the way to go. Perfectionism can often be an enemy.

Its both....people get stuck doing nothing or too much....this is the paradox of this and everything in life. balance and touch.

There is a time for everything ... after getting the knowledge it comes down to action.

I kind of understand what he's saying, though. Sometimes people get so caught up in making sure everything is perfect that they never actually get anything done. I've been like that before in the past. I wanted to make sure my stuff was perfect, but I'd start doubting myself and my ability to make it perfect, and I would eventually scrap the whole thing. It kept me from really putting myself out there for a long time.

What you really need to do is find the balance between making something as good as you can but still being brave enough to post it. The longer you wait to get going, the less likely you're going to be to publish/do something at all (or at least that's how it was in my case.) Now I try to do the best I can, but still do SOMETHING, knowing that if I learn something else or see ways to improve it, I can.

Ok, I think some of you have misunderstood what I was trying to get at with this post.

I am not saying that you should rush yourself and just throw out any old rubbish without offering any value at all.

What I am saying is that you should not get so wrapped up in getting everything 100% perfect or there is a chance that you will never end up getting anything done at all.

You will end up doubting yourself that your product isn't perfect or it needs more etc etc...

I think this makes sense.

I read.....Then I stopped reading...Then I took action................
But the action was wrong.......
So I m reading again.

I feel that there needs to be a healthy balance of research and action especially if you're on a budget. I feel that you should choose one topic to research and one topic alone. Research it a bit... and then start testing it out.

yah i am also agree with u .

So very true. As Mike Litman says, "you don't have to get it right you just have to get it going". People spend way too much time trying to make something perfect. Nothing will ever be perfect. You will constantly have to tweak and test things to make them better. But once you get the ball rolling you are half way there. I think the title of this post is right on. Especially for newbies.

STOP READING AND TAKE ACTION!!!!!

Agree completely. What's funny is that everyone knows this. But not many do it.

I was guilty of it as well. It seems like the hardest thing in the world to do.

Staying in the safe zone of reading, researching, learning etc. without implementing
the information. Until you step out of your comfort zone and into the 'unknown' you
won't achieve anything.

TAKE ACTION!

I really do agree with the overall statement. It's not about quitting all information searching or education, it's about actually doing some work once you got the information you need instead of just continuing to search for information.

I'm a huge procrastinator and so I'll spend a whole day reading the forums, blogs and watch videos on youtube but then write a post in 30 minutes. This is what the OP is talking about, research is good but do some damn work ultimately!

For me the definition of insanity (Einstein): Doing the same thing over and over again, expecting different results...

With all due respect iAmNameLess I kind of think you missed the point.

There are many people who are starting out in Internet Marketing , who never get off the ground. They are stuck like a jet at the airport waiting for the right time to take off. And they end up staying on the ground.

They become paralyzed by research, buying and reading WSO's, looking for the next silver bullet but never really doing anything. Reading, looking, researching, searching but never finding anything. Never taking that first step...

Jim Edwards says something like: "Good enough and done is way better than perfect and never done".

So I will agree with everyone who states quality of all you do is extremely important..don't become so hung up on being perfect that you never get anything done.

Have passion....then take action. But you must take action to get something done...

And here, iAmNameLess, you are giving great advice: But to be a success you may have to fail many times....talk to Thomas Edison who failed 9,999 times to build the light bulb.
You failed Tom: "But now I know 9,999 things that don't work".

On the 10,000th time, as the story goes...he nailed it!

(I'm not sure how accurate this story is..but you get the point..)

There was this blog by Tim Ferris. It was a 4HWW case study and Tim Ferris interviewed this person who mentioned that if you launch a product and you are completely satisfied with it, you've launched it too late.

Amen! I'm a researcher all the way down to my genes. Sometimes I get so deep into my researching that I forget to get going to step 2.

Finishing my first project was like opening the floodgates. Once I got that done, I realized how many half-done projects i had that were just a FEW HOURS from being completed.

Finish something big and you will understand how simple it is to crank out content!

I agree with you. Reading and learning can very quickly become an end in itself and if you're not careful, it provides an excuse. In fact all you're doing is procrastinating, which is essentially a coping mechanism that helps you justify not doing what you know you should be doing!

A good tip I learned was choose the 5 most important tasks you need to do every day and complete them, day after day, after day, come rain or shine, unti you've achieved your financial goals! I tried it when I started and it works!

I think some individuals missed the point the Op is making.

There are loads of beginners who spent 99.9% of their time reading all the threads on this forum and keep on reading without taking any action on the current knowledge they have.

The Op is encouraging them to take action on what they currently know and not wait for that Golden idea that is lurking inside a WSO or in a guru's post.

Some great points in this thread and once again I agree with Iamnameless...

Taking action can't just be a shot in the dark, you need some balance in your mind. You need a plan, you need to stick to that plan for example, do this today, do this tomorrow. Planning is the key to action taking effectively. You can't go around like a headless chicken expecting to see good results, you need to follow a proven marketing plan, and plan what you are going to do, and where you want to be in a months time or something. Take action upon a proven business plan, and don't stop until you pull it off. Learn from your mistakes and don't make them again.

for some this will have been the 204th post they have read in the warrior forum without doing any work.

So make sure you allocate an hour or so a day in the warrior forum and then leave and put into practise what you have learnt.

Simple, when you start taking action the earth will move and you will see lots of great results.

okay thank you

Thank you! it's always great getting re affirmations about taking action, stops your habitual patterns.

In my own personal opinion.. I don't think that there's any right or wrong answer.. It really depends on each individual..

Some would love to whack a product fast and easy and post it online just to make "quick-cash" - Doing it the fast way so to speak... There's nothing wrong.. I should say at least 75% of IMer are doing this.

On the other hand,

Some people would love to take their time and build up quality products, design a nice sales-page etc.. there's nothing wrong with it too!

Just don't be extreme (on either sides) You need to find the right balance.. Designing and creating a quality product is of course a GOOD thing.. but by sacrificing 12 hours a day for the next 6 months doing so.. Hmmmmm -.-" is it a good thing? I don't know - again, there's NO right or wrong answer.. It's solely depends on each individual..

Jeremiah

Perfection will keep you broke and there is no such thing as perfection anyway.

Thanks for the post. I have been sitting on the sidelines way to long and am now trying to take action.

I hope that this thread has sparked some ideas with you and made you think about how much time that you waste reading and reading instead of actually getting on with it and taking some kind of action whatever it may be.

At the end of last year I read Rework by the guys at 37Signals. One of the main points that I took away from that was "launch,launch,launch"! Meaning, stop trying to be perfect. Get your product (whatever that may be) as close as you can and launch that sucker. The marketplace will help you correct. On some of my websites I've built, I wouldn't have known what to fix or make better if actual live customers hadn't told me!

For me too, when I allow too much time on any given product I begin to second-guess myself. Not good. It's definitely better to act when inspired!

I've always been a fan of "Ready...Fire...Aim" when it comes to launching businesses and products. As long as you have proper feedback mechanisms in place, you will always get further ahead by getting your products and services out there in a reasonable amount of time. You can always tweak the processes along as you measure your results.

Since most of us operate as one man operations, we cannot afford to be wrapped up in perfection. It will paralyze your progress!

This is good advice if you KNOW what you're doing, if you don't, or even if you do, RESEARCH IS KEY.

While taking action is obviously a key to success in pretty much anything you attempt - it's only one of many. You can't simply drop everything and "take action" and expect results unless you're prepared to execute said action.

You wouldn't stop a chef halfway through learning a new recipe and tell him to stop reading and just take action, would you? Without knowledge, understanding, and preparation behind it, that "action" will most likely result in failure.

Also not to be critical but do we REALLY need another one of these threads?

Finally took action after nearly 5 months of reading...

Avanyx, I totally agree with you! Most important thing is NOT to give up after 1st frustration