Top 5 Tips for Newbies Thread!!
Hi all! Its been awhile since I've posted in the main forum, so I thought I would start a thread that has been at the top of my mind lately...
From experienced IMers, what are your top 5 tips for newbies?? I'll give mine below, and I encourage you all to post your valuable, actionable tips in the thread! Lets see how many people we can help get to their first dollar online!
Okay, my top 5...
1. Focus on traffic first. Absorb everything you can about getting traffic. Everything else you learn, from affiliate marketing strategies to blog income to product creation and list building are completely useless if nobody sees it. I am speaking from experience... I learned things backwards. I knew everything BUT how to drive traffic. Once I learned to drive traffic, I got hooked... Now I absorb everything I can on traffic. Even if something only contains ONE new piece of info, it is enough for me!
2. Focus on building responsive lists in the niches you want to work in. If you can build a list, there are potential buyers in that market. Even if you only market affiliate products to them, a list is an income stream.
3. Stay out of the IM niche until you're ready for it, and have something truly valuable to offer. There are lot of people with six figure incomes (and higher) who aren't remotely involved in the IM niche. And that isn't just some lie the gurus tell you to keep competition down, I personally know of people who have been making VERY comfortable livings outside of IM for years. The IM niche has high refund rates, more customer service issues, and is a much harder market to break into in most cases. Some may have a different experience, but from those who have gone from outside the IM niche to promoting IM products, most of them agree that it is more difficult.
4. Outsource, outsource, outsource. Once you can afford it, figure out what makes you money when YOU do it, and what makes you money when it gets done in general. Things like article writing and copywriting can be left to the experts for better results. And I don't just say that because I'm a copywriter by trade, I say it because of what my (and other service providers') clients experience. If someone else can make you MORE money by doing an activity for you, or if you can make more money letting someone else take care of busy-work (like emails and customer support), then outsource as soon as you can afford it.
5. Think ROI. Stop buying into the dream, buying every product that promises you millions. Develop a plan of what you want to do, and only purchase products that do two things... One, they work into your plan. They will help you achieve part of your plan faster, cheaper, or better. Two, they have a conceivable return on investment. Don't pay $1000 for something you don't beleive willl bring $1000+ back. And don't think of things that follow that criteria as an expense. It is not "lost income", or money you could have spent on food or bills (unless you can't buy food or pay bills if you make the purchase, in which case you need to remember your priorities!). Instead, it is an investment in the future.
So, what are your top 5 tips for newbies?
- Cherilyn
From experienced IMers, what are your top 5 tips for newbies?? I'll give mine below, and I encourage you all to post your valuable, actionable tips in the thread! Lets see how many people we can help get to their first dollar online!
Okay, my top 5...
1. Focus on traffic first. Absorb everything you can about getting traffic. Everything else you learn, from affiliate marketing strategies to blog income to product creation and list building are completely useless if nobody sees it. I am speaking from experience... I learned things backwards. I knew everything BUT how to drive traffic. Once I learned to drive traffic, I got hooked... Now I absorb everything I can on traffic. Even if something only contains ONE new piece of info, it is enough for me!
2. Focus on building responsive lists in the niches you want to work in. If you can build a list, there are potential buyers in that market. Even if you only market affiliate products to them, a list is an income stream.
3. Stay out of the IM niche until you're ready for it, and have something truly valuable to offer. There are lot of people with six figure incomes (and higher) who aren't remotely involved in the IM niche. And that isn't just some lie the gurus tell you to keep competition down, I personally know of people who have been making VERY comfortable livings outside of IM for years. The IM niche has high refund rates, more customer service issues, and is a much harder market to break into in most cases. Some may have a different experience, but from those who have gone from outside the IM niche to promoting IM products, most of them agree that it is more difficult.
4. Outsource, outsource, outsource. Once you can afford it, figure out what makes you money when YOU do it, and what makes you money when it gets done in general. Things like article writing and copywriting can be left to the experts for better results. And I don't just say that because I'm a copywriter by trade, I say it because of what my (and other service providers') clients experience. If someone else can make you MORE money by doing an activity for you, or if you can make more money letting someone else take care of busy-work (like emails and customer support), then outsource as soon as you can afford it.
5. Think ROI. Stop buying into the dream, buying every product that promises you millions. Develop a plan of what you want to do, and only purchase products that do two things... One, they work into your plan. They will help you achieve part of your plan faster, cheaper, or better. Two, they have a conceivable return on investment. Don't pay $1000 for something you don't beleive willl bring $1000+ back. And don't think of things that follow that criteria as an expense. It is not "lost income", or money you could have spent on food or bills (unless you can't buy food or pay bills if you make the purchase, in which case you need to remember your priorities!). Instead, it is an investment in the future.
So, what are your top 5 tips for newbies?
- Cherilyn
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