How to Avoid Information Overload....

[edwellman]

Hi everyone -

My name Ed Wellman. I'm still fairly new to the forums, but I've been posting around trying to help people out and get to know some of you.

Anyway - a short introduction. I got into marketing nearly 2 years ago now, when I started looking for ways of starting my very own ebay business. Fantastic.

Then I started discovering all the millions of ways of making money online and began buying ebook after ebook. I moved from simple reports to more high ticket items, as you do.

I told myself that I was learning all the way (and I was), and that eventually it would all come together. The excitement remained for the first year or so.... and then frustration kicked in.

I realised I enjoyed the learning, but not so much actually doing anything about it. I was overloaded with information, hitting me left and right.

The point of this story is: in November 08, I discovered somebody who turned this all around for me. I joined his coaching program, and had learned more about business and marketing in a week than I had for the last year and a half or so.

He taught me to stop reading all those sales emails and to watch them instead.

I learned how the system works. I now know:

-that you need to get people to know, like and trust you, and then selling becomes superfluous.

-that if you help others first, you will be rewarded by their trust in you

By learning from a mentor, I've discovered that marketing is about helping others while revealing your story to them.

But I've come away from this coaching with more than just business knowledge. I've actually changed as a person. He's taught me to give before I receive (as he says - it's better to give first, as the giving creates the receiving).

I no longer read endless ebooks, even the free ones.

Instead I spend my time productively. I've had some success since back in November, and I'm only looking to expand. I'm shortly going to be producing my first ebook to give away (give it away to create value and trust, and build my story).

So if you want to avoid information overload

-file all those sales emails into one folder, and then only refer to them for copywriting purposes

-focus on marketing, not the system. Do something each day that builds your business

Anyway, thanks for listening. I've recently relaunched my blog, so if you would like to get to know me better then please check it out and leave some comments.

I'd love to hear from the great people on the Warrior Forums.

[scorpions84]

It's like Pringles, once you pop you can't stop.

When I feel like having an information overload, I just accept that I'm having information overload, do more work without analyzing whether it would work because I know if think more, I can't do anything.

[marciayudkin]

Ed,

I would draw quite a different lesson from your story.

If you want to avoid information overload, get a mentor.

You see, if one of the books, articles or emails you were overwhelmed by advised the lessons you drew, you would not have paid any particular attention.

Why not? Because there would undoubtedly be someone else saying the opposite.

Having a mentor helps with information overload because you have guidance from someone you trust.

Below is an excerpt from an article I wrote on why a mentor helps you make progress in marketing.

To Master Marketing, Use a Mentor - Here's Why
by Marcia Yudkin

A mentor is an expert who provides you with personal guidance on how to grow your business. The mentor has “been there, done that,” understands the terrain in which you are trying to succeed and enjoys helping others find their way.

Mentoring can happen in the context of a series of one-on-one coaching or consulting sessions or in a membership program where you get access to a mentor’s advice in a private, small-group setting.

Here’s why marketing mentoring cuts through overload and confusion, promoting intelligent action:

· Instead of floundering, you can ask questions and keep asking until you feel confident about what to do first, second and third. The more you take action, the sooner you succeed.

· You don’t have to wonder about whether you’re implementing things correctly – you can ask for and receive savvy feedback.

· In response to your request for feedback, the mentor can point out areas you didn’t ask about but that need to be redirected or revamped as you go forward. This saves you from learning through disasters and failures.

· You save time from not having to filter multiple, dispersed sources of information and to decide between conflicting advice. What you do is far more focused and effective than before.

· A mentor cheers your progress, nudges you off the starting line, puts setbacks in perspective and helps you analyze what unexpectedly didn’t work. Emotionally, you’re no longer struggling alone.

Avoid the temptation to think that if one mentor is great, two or three give you even more momentum. In fact, the opposite is true. Looking to more than one mentor at a time sets you up for frustration, overload and confusion all over again!

So select your mentor wisely. Be clear on the qualities you want in your marketing coach or advisor. Consider these qualities and qualifications as you search for the mentor who can spur you to intelligent action:

· A lengthy track record of success. This should go without saying, but lately you can find people setting themselves up as mentors who are barely out of the starting block themselves.

· Experience in coaching, teaching or advising. Some successful people know how to do things right but haven’t a clue how to communicate what they know in a helpful way.

· Confidence and caring. Good mentors direct mentorees without doubts and with the desire to see others succeed. Absent from the picture are competition, sarcasm, belittlement, disdain and contempt.

· Consistency and availability. Your mentor should have a stable temperament and a schedule that leaves time and energy for mentoring.

· Rapport with people like you. Some mentors work best with men or with women, with those in a particular industry or from a certain kind of background, or they prefer working with beginners or advanced students. Read their testimonials carefully and then go back and read between the lines.

If this makes sense to you, then I wish you success in finding the individual who can help propel your business beyond where you are today.

Cheers,
Marcia Yudkin, Experienced Mentor

[ccprosell]

Information overload - been there, too.
I have cancelled a lot of my newsletter and totally focus on all the tools i already have.

You don't have to get all the latest tools, focus on what you are already doing, make it perfect and then move on to another method.

Do only one thing at a time - make a list of task for every day and focus on it. Don't get distracted by reading emails all the day. Finish your task and then do your email.

I've noticed, that I was busy the whole day doing this and that, but at the end of the day I don't have done anything with value for my business.

Stay focused and make a list of tasks for each day !

Has helped to get on track again.

Mark

[Topher Walker]

If you want to avoid information overload, get a mentor.

It sounds obvious but- get a good mentor. When I was trying to get away from Ebay based selling into more mainstream IM I picked a mentor who sounded like he new what he was doing, gave me all the right advice and promptly stoped responding after two weeks!

Get someone who has a track record of getting people where you are to the next level and beyond and who sound like they actually enjoy coaching & teaching people... the kind of people who would be mentoring or coaching in some other way if they weren't in IM. Don't just go for the guy who makes the most money!

[funky_budha]

i think getting a mentor is a very good idea, because theres too many information, especially from here, and you just dont know how to organize everything you have learned and to make it work for you. unless you are a well organized person, and you have sorted out what you want to do.:-)

[edwellman]

Hey, thanks for the replies.

Yeah I think in my post I was trying to impart the wisdom from my mentor...

but, you're absolutely right - you should get your own mentor if you want to really focus, and strip away all that is unnecessary in order to run your business.

Because that's what this is - it's a business. As soon as there is a transaction involving money exchanging hands, it has become a business, and you should treat it as such.

Finding a good mentor is tough, though. So I would absolutely recommend my mentor, Alex Jeffreys.

Now I don't know what the general consensus is on him on the forums or anything, but from my experience he's just a down to earth guy who is very passionate about helping others.

He's opening up a new coaching program soon if anyone's interested. I'd do it all again, because I'm sure he's adding some great new stuff. He admits that he's still learning too, hence his blog marketingwithalex . com, marketing 'with' you, not 'to' you.

I think he's got a great catchphrase there.

Anyway, if you wanted to give him a chance, he's got loads of free ebooks (he tends to only release free products to build his list) that are a great way to get to know him and learn about his track record.

[Tyrus Antas]

Originally Posted by edwellman

-that you need to get people to know, like and trust you, and then selling becomes superfluous.

-that if you help others first, you will be rewarded by their trust in you

Unfortunately, many people here equate those important lessons with "impractical fluff that doesn't help you make money".

Tyrus

[Paul McQuillan]

I am all for a good mentor. To me a good mentor is one that has you
focus on one thing at a time until it is complete.

The obvious reason we need a mentor is because we are not disciplined
enough to stay the course. The society we live in moves very fast and
distractions for the undisciplined are robust.

That is why only a few can read a great book or study a great course
in their area of interest and learn and implement from it.

I also believe that our internal communication is effected by our perceived
value of what we are buying. If we buy even the most coveted of
books in our area of interest, it is still a book.

For me Sugarman's Adweek book is one of the greatest written for
copywriting, yet I have an internal battle with "it's just a $20 book" vs
"everything I need is right here"

We are a goofy people

[grahamg4]

I too went thru information overload and link hopping. Hours would go by and little was accomplished towards the goals I had set for that day.

Overall I think everyone goes through it and I view it as a newbie thing. Once you mature with IM and realize how it works, it should fade. IMO ... you are either selling or being sold.

[RobertTemple]

Great post!

I'm also new to this forum (although not to Internet Marketing). I've just finished reading Alex Jeffrey's "Newbies Nightmare" and he discusses the idea of avoiding Information Overload extensively there.

It's a free download and well worth checking out. Google it, I'm sure you'll find it easily enough.

I think you'll find it interesting :-)

[tofumonkey]

i second that.

a good mentor, in my opinion, is someone who can truly share their experiences and guide you towards success.

It's not necessary someone who makes alot of money. Because I know people who claimed that make tons of money but is nothing but a whole load of bull...

how i know? been 'swindled' many times myself. Mentors DO come in many shapes and sizes and often from unexpected sources.