What is the #1 skill - above all else - we need to learn?

May I ask, how much should someone who is starting expect to spend aside from investing in a course or what have you (I have a copy of inbox blueprint and a Facebook ads programs on advertising before they can see returns?

I am doing things on a shoestring budget and each day of paying a few $'s for add with no returns hurts.

Yes, you're definitely biased, but I do think you are right to some extent.

Knowing how to write copy that is effective and makes people want to buy what you're selling is such a good skill to have.

You're practically writing copy on your website, affiliate sites, or any site you own. If you want somebody to click on that CPA ad, even if you aren't exactly selling directly to them, you are trying to convince them to input their information, and good copywriting is needed to do that.

I do agree. It's easy to go from one thing to another and to lose hope right away. Of course, you do need to make the right choices and make sure the concept, strategy, or method is worth following and is worth the time to put your hours of work into.

Motivstion to stick to one thing is definitely something we all need to remember.

Ray came closest to my answer. I'm going to be a little more general, though.

The #1 skill you need is the ability to understand and connect with people. I consider copywriting a subset, albeit a very important one, of understanding and connecting with people.

Without that, you can have all the motivation, perseverance and leverage in the world and still make a pittance of what you could with it.

The number one skill, if you want to make money, is selling. It is both an art and a science.

To me, all the other things mentioned in this thread are important because they enhance your ability to sell.

You have to learn how to actually sell something because unless you do, there is no income. And all the other skills mentioned are wasted as far as Internet marketing is concerned.

Good luck to you,

Steve

I'm glad to hear people mention copywriting, since I think writing is one of my strengths (though, I'm more of a technical writer than a copywriter). I don't have much expertise to offer since I'm brand-spankin' new at this, but I've been busy just trying to build information-rich content, nicely illustrated with infographics and photos, including fully researched product descriptions, all in a clear, (hopefully) easy-to-understand writing style.

Slightly off-topic, but a friend of mine keeps recommending Vaynerchuck's books, and for the life of me I can't see what personality trait makes him so successful. Not to single you out for his mere mention, but I've been wondering what the general perception of him is here.

Personally, I was immediately turned off by Vaynerchuck's "no-money-down, get-rich-quick" style. I think Vaynerchuck's approach is similar to late-night TV marketers of decades past, in that he's basically a motivational speaker who inspires dreamers to continue to dream, with little actionable advice other than to continue to contribute to his revenue stream. Apparently, "social marketing" is the new frontier for "no-money-down" pitchmen.

Last night, I sat through four excruciatingly grating minutes of one of Vaynerchuck's videos until he finally offered one small morsel of useful information--even then, he was simply shilling for one of his buddy's enterprises for an over-priced landing-page template subscription. There's nothing I hate more than wasting my time, watching videos with 1% content, and 99% hot air and self-promotion. In contrast, I've gotten more helpful advice on this forum in the last two days than I had ever expected. Sorry, just had to get that off my chest.

I'm going to say copywriting.

5 years into my business and i now see this as integral to all marketing efforts you have.

People are bringing up persistence, mindset etc but these are all things you should have in the business world anyway.

Those are like the prerequisites to be in business. Otherwise you won't have a business for very long.

The second skill I will mention is knowing how to market yourself. Being up to date on the ways that are best to drive traffic; because this is liquid and ever changing therefore you must be liquid and ever changing.

And to be clear these are not the same thing: copywriting and marketing. The former is essentially timeless and the latter can grow and evolve over time.

Master these two things and you can crush it in most markets

yes without systems and funnels you DO NOT HAVE a business I agree with you there. Totally.

The world is increasingly full of marketers, sales people, and entrepreneurs who want to run their own business. That's something that if you can be good at it, then you'll make a lot of money. However, it's pretty competitive... a lot of people are learning sales techniques, hype alone can only get you so far.

I'd say learn a real skill that suits you, that you can also use in your own business effort. For me it's web programming, some graphic design, and database management. That might not seem like passive income at first, but that's a long-term goal. By developing the skills that you can use in your own earning efforts, you gain the advantage of being able to learn a lot more about internet marketing, without the cost of having to hire technical experts for every business you want to make.

I know I'm coming a little from left field, but it seems like a lot of the posts in here are just vaguely motivational without much practical advice.

It's not meant like that. What people mean when they say that is; As a beginner start one project at a time. If you don't have the money to outsource 2/3 projects. Dont try to start 2 by yourself. Only people with experience can do this and even then its allot of work.

Focus on one idea at a time. Once it makes money, you automate it (if you need to) and you improve it a little bit. You can start another project and continue to manage your first one. But never start 2 at a time, not even finishing one half way and then starting another.

Complete every project you start!
You can manage a million if you want just don't start more than 1 if you can't afford it.


Here's a great seminar on the topic. The topic is different but the concept is the same.
Matthew Hussey | The Psychology of Entrepreneurship - YouTube


Here's a great info-graph on MMO
http://threeladdersmarketing.com/ima...stics-2013.png

Here's the article
http://threeladdersmarketing.com/abo...tatistics-2013

My #1 Tip for Lasting Success

There are so many things to think about when you first get involved with Internet marketing that it is easy to get confused.

Worse, that confusion quickly leads to the one thing that will always prevent you from making money: lack of action.

And it isn't just beginners. With so many things changing online, so quickly, even experienced marketers can quickly get overwhelmed. Information overload is at epidemic proportions.

So what is the answer? Why is it that some people can get so much done while others (the majority) quickly get bogged down?

The answer is focus.

Focus - the ability to work on one thing at a time to get it right before moving on to the next thing - is the most important skill you can learn. And you can boil it right down to this: self control.

Most of us are like kids in a toy store where the Internet is concerned. There is just so much to find out, so many shiny new things to read about, new launches almost every hour, forums to distract us, emails to intrigue us, websites to revisit ... and oh, look at that new WordPress theme, or where can I get that lovely new plugin?

The more stuff there is out there, the shorter our attention spans become: by the time we've 'quickly' checked out the latest post in a forum thread we are following, whatever it was we were trying to do in the first place has faded from the brain cells.

I can forget what I was doing in the time it takes me to take a sip of coffee!

Mmmm. What was I saying? WordPress? Oh no - focus! That's right, Martin ... focus.

Nobody is immune to the endless distractions, but some of us have gotten better at learning how to block them out so we can get some things done.

Each year is likely to be even more frenetic online. Online marketing is growing and the number of people getting involved multiplying. And that means that in order to succeed we will likely have to work a lot smarter.

Not harder - even dithering around getting very little done can be very hard work - but smarter. We have to learn how to get two or three times more done in the same number of hours (or preferably less). And the only way to do that consistently that I've ever come across is to develop the ability to focus on one thing at a time.

If you work on producing an ebook to sell, manage to block out distractions and hold yourself back from starting a new project before you're even halfway through the first one, you might be able to go from nothing to launch in 7 days.

But if you start a second project half-way through the week, you'll be very lucky indeed to get either of them finished in a month. And the reality is that more than likely neither will ever see the light of day.

The key to success is to start a project, focus your whole mind on it until it is finished and then launch it. Without the 'then launch it' bit, you can't make any money, and you can't to the 'then launch it' bit unless you've focused on getting it finished.

It is a simple idea, but one that so many people fail to embrace.

As Marlon Sanders says, "It's either done, or it ain't done. Half done ain't done. Nearly done ain't done. And ain't done don't make you jack."

Focus is what gets it done.

One of the most successful Internet marketers I know has more products to his name than I can count, yet he works on his Internet business just one day a week. But he gets more done in that one day than most of us could do in a week because he gets up in the morning and focuses all his attention on getting 'done' before he goes to bed at night.

He knows what he needs to achieve in his one day a week and he makes sure that nothing distracts him from achieving it.

That's the way to succeed. Probably the only true way.

So how can you learn to focus?

You have to start small and work your way up.

Most of the things that distract you are habits. The forum you feel the urge to visit every hour is a habit. The news site you like to check out all day long is a habit. The long message conversations you have on Skype are a habit. Facebook is a habit, Twitter is a habit. Even reading your favorite newsletter is a habit.
Worse than being habits, they are major distractions.
They are fine for the days you don't have objectives to achieve, but big obstacles to your success when you need to get things done.

Wean yourself off the distractions. You don't need to stop doing all those things completely, but you do have to learn enough self discipline to limit yourself to a set time to do them each day. After that, close down your browser, set Skype to 'do not disturb', close your email program and shut the Tweet up!

Give yourself an hour without noise and prepare to be amazed at how much you'll get done.

And tomorrow, make it two hours.

Pretty soon you'll wonder how you ever got anything done before. And the truth is, you probably didn't.

Another method - and one that works wonders for me - it to take yourself off to a coffee shop with a notepad and pen and work the old-fashioned way. No company, no computer, no distractions.

You'll have to find a method that works for you, but my #1 tip is that finding your focus will be the the most valuable one thing you can do to turn your hopes and dreams into a successful business.