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5 Critical Mistakes I've Made

by Jeff Burritt Banned
19 replies
Just wanted to share some mistakes I've made in IM, and also what I've learned to do about it.

Giving up too soon:
Thinking I could quickly duplicate someone else's results would frustrate me. Then I'd quit. And say "well I tried." But now I prepare myself to stick with something longer, knowing it's not about getting lucky, but that results come only with dedication.

Underestimating the time and work involved:
I used to get excited thinking I'd have a project or task done in one day. Now I know that it may take days, sometimes even weeks to truly have a method up and running. So I manage my own expectations better. This reduces pressure, and helps me focus on the work.

Jumping from one method to another:
As obvious as this sounds, I was guilty of jumping to the next 'golden rainbow' method. It was foolish to think that if I just found the right secret method I'd have the success I wanted online. But now I know that sticking with a proven method long enough is key. I try to get one method monetized, and then scale it, before adding another method.

Jumping from one niche to another:
I used to think there was a 'perfect niche' out there. One that was untapped and lucrative. But it's pointless to waste time looking for this elusive niche. It is better to just enter a known proven niche with lots of buyers, and forget about the competition. If I make a great offer in a big niche, I'll get sales.

Trying to do everything myself:
If another IM guy says they make money in something, I used to think I can do it too. And maybe I can; but most often I run into details, technical issues, and unexpected delays. If I try to figure out every detail myself, and solve every technical issue myself, then I'll be wasting time and delaying any results. And often the delay causing frustration and temptation to quit. So now, I regularly bring in help on specific issues, and make someone else responsible for getting that issue resolved. This reduces stress, protects my time, and helps me be a lot more productive. And creates an overall more enjoyable experience.

We live and learn, right. It's easy to hear someone else say what to do and what not to do. But it's only when we actually get working, get doing, that we realize what we're doing may need adjusting. So be willing to make the necessary adjustments.
And then the advice we heard becomes more valuable. And our IM business becomes more profitable.

Life is short, so just go for it!

-Jeff
#advice #critical #im mindset #im mistakes #made #mistakes
  • Profile picture of the author GordonJ
    Originally Posted by Jeff Burritt View Post

    Just wanted to share some mistakes I've made in IM, and also what I've learned to do about it.

    Giving up too soon:
    Thinking I could quickly duplicate someone else's results would frustrate me. Then I'd quit. And say "well I tried." But now I prepare myself to stick with something longer, knowing it's not about getting lucky, but that results come only with dedication.

    Underestimating the time and work involved:
    I used to get excited thinking I'd have a project or task done in one day. Now I know that it may take days, sometimes even weeks to truly have a method up and running. So I manage my own expectations better. This reduces pressure, and helps me focus on the work.

    Jumping from one method to another:
    As obvious as this sounds, I was guilty of jumping to the next 'golden rainbow' method. It was foolish to think that if I just found the right secret method I'd have the success I wanted online. But now I know that sticking with a proven method long enough is key. I try to get one method monetized, and then scale it, before adding another method.

    Jumping from one niche to another:
    I used to think there was a 'perfect niche' out there. One that was untapped and lucrative. But it's pointless to waste time looking for this elusive niche. It is better to just enter a known proven niche with lots of buyers, and forget about the competition. If I make a great offer in a big niche, I'll get sales.

    Trying to do everything myself:
    If another IM guy says they make money in something, I used to think I can do it too. And maybe I can; but most often I run into details, technical issues, and unexpected delays. If I try to figure out every detail myself, and solve every technical issue myself, then I'll be wasting time and delaying any results. And often the delay causing frustration and temptation to quit. So now, I regularly bring in help on specific issues, and make someone else responsible for getting that issue resolved. This reduces stress, protects my time, and helps me be a lot more productive. And creates an overall more enjoyable experience.

    We live and learn, right. It's easy to hear someone else say what to do and what not to do. But it's only when we actually get working, get doing, that we realize what we're doing may need adjusting. So be willing to make the necessary adjustments.
    And then the advice we heard becomes more valuable. And our IM business becomes more profitable.

    Life is short, so just go for it!

    -Jeff
    Thanks Jeff,

    It is very hard to convince people not to make these mistakes. I honestly believe most successful Warriors spent (wasted) the first two years of their efforts making the mistakes you made.

    But many of them, didn't want to spend the 60 days it may take to find the ONE thing which most suits their personality, abilities, aptitude and a realistic understanding of their time.

    I've had many a heated discussion here with successful Warriors when I say it takes about 30 months (2.5 years) to be able to replace most full time income. They scoff, but also admit, that like you, they spun their wheels for up to 2 or 3 years not sticking with the one thing...

    BECAUSE...

    They didn't want (or know how) to do a realistic self analysis and choose the thing they would stick with.

    Also, one has to have FAST results, or it becomes a bog down time. Design the program from the start via a PLAN and check points, including some very fast cash coming in, and build from the plan up.

    NO plan? You repeat the mistakes of countless others.

    GordonJ
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    • Profile picture of the author Jeff Burritt
      Banned
      I agree, and great points Gordon. This is one area where coaching can really make a difference. But you don't absolutely have to get a coach. If you're disciplined, you can do the self-evaluation and make appropriate changes. It's not easy, but it is doable.

      Originally Posted by GordonJ View Post

      Thanks Jeff,

      It is very hard to convince people not to make these mistakes. I honestly believe most successful Warriors spent (wasted) the first two years of their efforts making the mistakes you made.

      But many of them, didn't want to spend the 60 days it may take to find the ONE thing which most suits their personality, abilities, aptitude and a realistic understanding of their time.

      I've had many a heated discussion here with successful Warriors when I say it takes about 30 months (2.5 years) to be able to replace most full time income. They scoff, but also admit, that like you, they spun their wheels for up to 2 or 3 years not sticking with the one thing...

      BECAUSE...

      They didn't want (or know how) to do a realistic self analysis and choose the thing they would stick with.

      Also, one has to have FAST results, or it becomes a bog down time. Design the program from the start via a PLAN and check points, including some very fast cash coming in, and build from the plan up.

      NO plan? You repeat the mistakes of countless others.

      GordonJ
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  • Profile picture of the author Steve B
    Thanks for the warning . . . I wish people would learn from your advice.

    Unfortunately for them, most marketers (I include myself here) will have to learn these lessons by making the mistakes themselves.

    Some things in life require personal experience before the lesson is internalized.

    How many young people would be better off saving money for retirement just as soon as they begin their career? Most people know it's the prudent thing to do. The sad fact is, few start saving until later in life when they've lost the benefit of time and compounding. They have to learn the lesson the hard way.

    Here are a few more things to add to the list of critical IM mistakes:
    • Thinking that a very broad niche, because of its size, is a much better marketplace approach than a deep and narrow niche.
    • Not building a subscriber email list at the very beginning of your niche business.
    • Not responding quickly to the support requests or questions that your prospects and customers send to you.
    • Rehashing everyone else's content in your niche instead of coming up with unique and original thoughts and ideas.
    There are many more "universal" mistakes we all make at one time or another.

    Steve
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    Steve Browne, online business strategies, tips, guidance, and resources
    SteveBrowneDirect

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  • Profile picture of the author Ivana Adnium
    Numbers 1,2 and 3 mistakes are what most AM are all "guilty" of at one time or another. I see AMers as entrepreneurs - for every success they have, there's 50+ failures they had before them that didn't work out but they learned from them.
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    Adnium buys and sells traffic specializing in Members Area.
    Skype me to find out more: ivana.gsmi
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  • Profile picture of the author ivanadee
    Your mistakes are my mistakes too, especially for jumping from one method to another while there will always be new method everyday and it creates difficulties for me to be focused. Thanks for sharing
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  • Profile picture of the author NestZone
    They are all common mistakes in life.
    That is why the simple rule is:

    Keep doing what you love and your passion will get you to your desired results.

    Most people who are not focus and keep jumping from one method to another always give-up too soon.
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  • Profile picture of the author gingerninjas
    Thanking you for your advice and sharing your experiences. You are absolutely right success is not about luck but pure dedication and hard work.

    I think some of the best lessons I have learnt when being in business for myself has been by making mistakes.

    Time management and trying to be my own island and doing everything myself has lead to some mistakes which have been real doozey's...

    Thanks for sharing.
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  • Profile picture of the author Froggys
    In everything you do most important thing is to be persistant and to never give up no matter what people say.
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  • Profile picture of the author Jeff Burritt
    Banned
    When you get stuck, seek out a mentor. This may not be a high-paid consultant. This can just be someone who can help you in a specific area. Ask others first, then get a clear idea of what your specific roadblock is, then seek out a professional who can fix it or solve it.
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  • Profile picture of the author Trey Morgan
    Yeah man I can relate to your list for sure. I wish I would've saw this list about 8 years ago lol. Definitely would've shortened my path to success.
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    [Affordable Coaching] How To Make Money Online Doing What You Love
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    • Profile picture of the author Froggys
      Originally Posted by Trey Morgan View Post

      Yeah man I can relate to your list for sure. I wish I would've saw this list about 8 years ago lol. Definitely would've shortened my path to success.
      LOL,it's never too late I guess.
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  • Profile picture of the author diaz212
    number 1 2 3. That my mistakes and now I try hard to be the biggest IM and I still try. Just Do IT and never give up. Every success people doing that
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  • Profile picture of the author yuccarichard
    I'm quilty in all of them!

    gave up too soon, then jumped to another shiny thing, then jumped to another niche, then another method, and was ALWAYS trying to everything myself...

    now, FINALLY, something is working for me...only when I "fixed" those 5 things...

    most important, was to choose one thing and stick with it...then invest in it, meaning outsource writing/social media etc. so I have more time to focus on big picture and the technical side of it.

    I founded an authority/news site in in a quite wide niche, but approached it in a bit different angle, then outsourced the writing/social etc.

    had some trial and error to get the right look, feel, as I wanted to have sensational news type website that would fit with the target audience.

    so, after using 3 themes, +7 months later, I found one that would do all, great for SEO, and then I started to really optimize the site for speed, got SSL, cloudflare etc. and it also runs on http2 now. then took care of even smaller details with help of some plugins.

    while ago some things went tiny bit viral in pinterest and now the site gets 2000-3000 uniques per day, which is great, due this I had to upgrade my shared hosting.

    now I have very nice cloud hosting from siteground and rather long and heavy homepage loads up under 2 seconds

    so, now it makes only a small income, but now it pays all the running costs + outsourcing, so now I need to focus more on SEO, especially outreach and getting more traffic, as now 95% traffic is only from social, and then I hire more good writers.

    All this took about 10 months to do while balancing with my daily job + year and half old son.

    in the end, it only happened as I didn't cut any corners, I kept consistent, and focused only on what I do best, which is web design I can post an update WHEN, not IF I hit the next level
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  • Profile picture of the author GiftedJourney
    Jeff, thanks for sharing this. I can relate to almost all of the items on your list. For me, I think these were mistakes I definitely learned from...

    - Not being part of a large community where I could ask for help or advice.

    - Not researching enough and narrowing down my niche, so too much competition.

    - Not researching and understanding all the choices out there for bringing in traffic.

    - Doing too many things at one time (full-time job, transcribing and VA work on the side, writing/posting articles for my own site and article directories, creating my own e-books and MP3 course and trying to market them, adding affiliate products and trying to keep up with them.)

    - Not setting things up from the beginning to take advantage of my strengths to make things a bit easier and keep things more simple.

    All great lessons to learn, though!
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  • Profile picture of the author Tatum Parks
    this post is very helpfully ... i hope new makreter avoid this
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  • Profile picture of the author John Jonas Phil VA
    I agree. If you want to make real money on IM you have to stop doing everything yourself. Get talented people you can trust. Only then can you see your business grow.
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    Hire a Filipino virtual assistant and make your business better through outsourcing.
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  • Profile picture of the author ContentQueen1
    Giving up to soon is definitely something I struggle with.
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  • Profile picture of the author elitebill
    Most common mistskes amongst people new to IM
    1. Jumping from one idea to another ( Lets face it, everyday these gurus are coming up with new methods, new niches to exploit, new software and this really keeps people jumping to and fro)
    2. Giving up too early- When you are new to IM you get bombarded with those juicy income reports and those stories of "I made 4500$ from amazon in 3 months" and this makes you think you will make a lot of money in a short time. When you now try and don't make any money down the line in 3 months, many tend to give up
    Always be persistent and take it as a journey, not a destination.
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  • Profile picture of the author justincamp
    This is a good poster to print for a newbie's home office with GordonJ's comment added as a footnote : It takes about 30 months (2.5 years) to be able to replace most full time income.

    The most important lesson for me personally is #3: Sticking with a proven method long enough is key. You can't get BETTER at any proven method if you don't stay focused long enough on it.
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