Have you ever failed?

59 replies
Hey there Warriors,

Just wanted to run something by you.

Have you ever had a website or blog that has failed miserably? Or just been a failure at all?

I know I have, one actually which was mostly due to lack of knowledge and entering 4 big markets instead of a single niche, or a single market!

Share your experiences and why!
#failed
  • Profile picture of the author JakeStatler
    Yes, I've been in your position. I think all marketers can attest to being here before..

    My first niche site I launched was a complete failure. I wasn't getting traffic, clicks, or conversions. Since then I've moved on to creating my own training inside custom membership sites, but my first site was a complete swing and a miss!
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  • Profile picture of the author markeeter
    I think we have all been there. My first blog failed miserably simply because I had no idea of what to do or what I was doing :p I just launched a blog and hoped to make some great passive income. Intially I couldn't even get adsense verified. Things changed with time though
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  • Profile picture of the author Xsparshx
    Yes I fail to bad , I was working on a project and turn out it is a failure
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  • Profile picture of the author DaleRodge
    I've failed several times, that's why I've succeeded.

    I've launched several projects that I was so hyped about, I thought each one of them was "the one", they flopped.

    I kept trying & trying and I finally found "the one".

    Failure is merely a hurdle.
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    • Profile picture of the author christoz
      HI there guys
      Can you possibly give me some pointers on were to go or what to do
      I also failed misrebly and because of loosing my job im in S**T right now
      I am with an affilate company but cannot seem to suceed in getting anything(traffic,leads,conversions)
      Just to let you guys know i have been trying online marketing for 3 Years now but it just never seems to work for me.
      But now i do not have a choice so if anyone can please help me out
      would be much apprciated
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  • Profile picture of the author HDRider
    Yep, plenty of times, everyone does. Eventually you figure out what works and what doesn't

    If you are not failing you are not growing
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  • Profile picture of the author Alexa Smith
    Banned
    Originally Posted by karlstech View Post

    Have you ever had a website or blog that has failed miserably? Or just been a failure at all?
    Yes. When I first started off in IM, absolutely everything I did was a total failure. It was nearly the end of my 4th month before I earned anything at all.

    http://www.warriorforum.com/main-int...ml#post8532320


    .
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  • Profile picture of the author Ross Dalangin
    I failed multiple times.

    Read this:
    Before success comes in any man's life, he's sure to meet with much temporary defeat and, perhaps some failures. When defeat overtakes a man, the easiest and the most logical thing to do is to quit. That's exactly what the majority of men do. Napoleon Hill
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  • Profile picture of the author askreviewbonus
    failing is part of success.. don't give up if you fail even 4 times or more!
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  • Profile picture of the author allegandro
    Offcourse.

    But I not like to call it failing, but learning moments.

    Because in my opinion, if you not learn from filing, that is when you are failing!
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  • Profile picture of the author Tommyg123
    I've always been pretty pragmatic. Try not to make decisions based on emotion but what makes logical sense.. what do the numbers tell me!

    So my view on failure, I think it is fairly reasonable to expect a 1 in 20 chance of a business succeeding (given that old adage of 95% of businesses fail).

    So with that in mind just through "luck" some people hit it out the park on their first venture. Other people that are unlucky crack it on their 20th. The odds are still the same. Unfortunately most people have quit even bothering to try by the 6th or 7th. So just by not being a quitter your odds go up.

    But add in the fact probably half the people that attempt a business do it really half arsed, no money invested hence the "i have no money how do I get started in IM" type question.

    Then probably half of those that are left think its as easy as just building a site putting an advert out and hoping the money rolls in (I'm in the process of trying to move past this hurdle now.. please help ;-)).

    Then factor in all the people that think they can produce any old garbage, some rehashed ebook you copied from someone else, what you are left with is probably more like a 1 in 4 chance of a business succeeding. I'll take those odds!

    Thats the thinking the keeps me sleeping at night anyway..
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    • Profile picture of the author Steve B
      Everyone fails. The thing that sets successful people apart from those that are not is this:

      Successful people in business consider failure merely part of their education, and a valuable part as well!

      Often we learn what to do by gaining experience in what not to do!

      As long as you persevere and learn from your mistakes, you are on the right path.

      The best to all of you,

      Steve
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  • Profile picture of the author MWatson
    I'm pretty sure every successful person has failed at one point or another. Though I wouldn't look at it as failure, more a learning experience to continuously take you to the next level. What you ask from the universe, the universe will give you.


    Cheers,
    Mark
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  • Profile picture of the author Diana Lane
    Years and years ago when I worked from home as a dressmaker, a relative told me that she thought that I was really good at what I did. I thought a bit too... about the times I'd accidentally sewn in a sleeve inside-out, the time I was merrily cutting two inches off the sleeves of a customer's blouse (as per her instructions) before discovering I was cutting two inches off the bottom of it instead and a few other disasters that I'd managed to remedy before anyone found out about them. I told her that I thought that the art of being good at anything was knowing how to put right the mistakes you make.

    I still believe that. None of us are born knowing how build a blog or to make money online any more than we're born knowing how to run up a ballgown. If you're one of the few (assuming there are any at all) who hit the sweet spot with IM at the first attempt, you'll just be lucky - until something goes wrong and you have no experience of failure to draw on to help you figure out where. These imaginary people who have never failed only have that 'luck' on their side. 'Failures', however, are at least building experience.

    You can generally rely on experience to get you much further than you can rely on luck.

    I've had my fair share of online failures too, but I'm grateful for them. Easier said with hindsight, I realize, but if I had not made these mistakes yet I would never have learned from them and would have to start making them now instead. As long as I'm figuring out the reasons for things that go wrong and not making excuses for them to myself, I'm fairly sure I'm profiting. Just in ways I can't immediately measure.
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  • Profile picture of the author Hugh
    I find that the more failures I bounce back from,
    the more money I make.

    Hugh
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  • Profile picture of the author Carter Boatright
    Failure is just a natural part of the learning process. In fact, its probably one of the most effective ways to learn something new.
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  • Profile picture of the author miklanderson2
    I've failed...repeatedly.

    For a long time, it seemed like everything I did resulted in failure, but I slowly but surely learned from my mistakes and have managed to build a fairly successful business in the process. It's all too easy to see failure as the end of the road, when the reality is it should be viewed as a new beginning.

    You'll never be successful if you give up when you fail. Pick yourself up, gather up the pieces and start over again, putting the new knowledge you have to work. There aren't very many people who get it right on the first try...
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  • Profile picture of the author jbsmith
    Yes, if you define failure as something that doesn't turn out as you expected...

    My sites all fall into one of 3 categories:

    1. Sites that are tested and chug along generating income reliably

    2. Sites that are designed around businesses where we are testing markets and ideas...we don't expect massive income from these sites, instead we are testing different sub-niches, products and messaging - most of these end up succeeding in one shape or another within a few months. In other words, we learn enough to pivot and take them into a direction that is profitable

    3. Sites that don't work out or are so limited that they are no longer worth our time/effort - these sites we either shut down or (in some cases) sell them off to someone else in that niche who has a different vision or idea for the site

    With good research ,solid testing methodology we can limit the sites that fall into #3 - but even those that do, we learn valuable lessons about that market and the products.

    Jeff
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  • Profile picture of the author skyro
    I think everyone has or will fail at one time or another. Its through ya failing that you gain your experience.
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  • Profile picture of the author Anish Khandelwal
    yes i failed many times ..only thing important is to never give up ...learn from failure and try again
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  • Profile picture of the author C G
    When just starting out. I spent 3-4 months setting up a website without getting paid. Then found out that I did my niche research wrong. I was devastated. But I learnt from my failure and started again with another niche

    Cheers,

    C.G.
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  • Profile picture of the author Zak L.
    For me it's NEVER a failure - it's always a learning experience.

    It's all about how you reframe it in your mind.

    If you give up and quit - it's failure.

    If you take the feedback you got from the experience, course correct - it's a valuable lesson.

    I have had a TON of learning experiences along the way and still do - I love that, it forces me to grow - not just in business, but my whole mindset as well.

    Hope that gives you a bit of insight in to my mindset
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  • Profile picture of the author tonyharte
    There are only TWO - failure to learn and quitting. Period. If you have never quit you have never failed. If you learn from setbacks, learn from others setbacks and continue getting closer and closer to success then the setback are not failures - they are building blocks!

    Best of Luck!
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  • Profile picture of the author jayden1981
    ok now tell me who hasn't failed
    you are going to fail to succeed
    you will fall down many times
    but it's how you react to the situation
    pick yourself up...and keep it moving
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  • Profile picture of the author NeedBucksNow
    Success only comes when you learn from your mistakes
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    • Profile picture of the author ElGuapo
      I think most marketers can reflect on many, many abandoned websites and strategies.

      Thing is, and perhaps this is a little harsh, but it's usually character failure than business failure. Almost any business idea could succeed if you worked hard enough at it. The trouble is that we pick ideas and niches we're not at all suited for.

      I remember going into the gazebo niche, which was at the time pretty open and paid handsome commissions. But damn, after getting the domain and building a site and logo, I realised by day three that there was no way I could write about gazebos and engage in that community for months to come. Wasn't the first or last time I made that mistake, either! I also had a friend who really wanted to get into PPC and PPV advertising. He loved the idea of being at a stats dashboard just raking it in. But he just wasn't suited for it, letting ads run with minimal filtering of demographics or testing of his landing pages.

      I think... it's not a waste of time if you do actually learn from those experiences. If they help you do honest self-assessment, sharpen your focus, and refine your options, then you'll get there in the end.
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  • Profile picture of the author satrap
    Failing is part of internet marketing, and in fat any business.

    I have failed more times than I can count. But the beauty of failing is the lesson you learn from it. Those lessons are what make success happen.
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  • Profile picture of the author mfxms
    Hi, I have failed numerous times but each time I learnt from them and got better as I went along. At the moment I just joined and mentoring program with Bill Hugall and I can finally see a light at the end of the tunnel. Failure is part of the "growing pains" of doing anything in life.

    Were just need to pick ourselves up and carry on even when those around you, especially those close to you think you should stop.

    "Set your GOALS in concrete and PLANS in sand"

    Plans can change but your goals (dreams) stay solid!
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  • Profile picture of the author Terry Gunn
    Thomas Edison said, "I didn't fail, I just found 10,000 ways that don't work!"
    Failure is not Fatal. Learn from it and move on.
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  • Profile picture of the author hollyda31
    Haven't we all?

    My first site ever was a partnership with one of my friends. She & I both did psychic readings on eBay, but then eBay had a policy change and decided that they were no longer going to allow psychic readings to be sold because it wasn't a "physical product" (they since reversed it). At any rate, I was making about $1,000 and my friend was making about $3,000 off eBay psychic readings EVERY MONTH! Both of us had consistent 100% customer satisfaction ratings, and because of a beauracratic change, we were both out a LOT of money! So we got to thinking that we couldn't be the only ones, and we started a site called Zazziq. The basic premise was to set up a site as a psychic directory where the non-tech-savvy psychics could pay a small monthly fee for their own subdomain and stuff. Honestly, it was a great idea! But we had no clue about search engine optimization or social media marketing, and it failed pretty miserably. BUT I learned how to set up a membership & subscription site.

    Then my next big failure was Frugal Ella. It was originally intended as a discount fashion site, but we had multiple problems. First problem: Shoddy suppliers. Second problem: Insufficient capital. Third problem: highly competitive market, very high-cost PPC, and very crappy social media. So we learned a LOT from that problem.

    And now, I'm running a site that's got a strong audience, great social/SEO results, and is unveiling its first course/membership options in about a week. And I know I wouldn't be able to do this if I hadn't failed so miserably with the other two sites I tried.
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  • Profile picture of the author yogyogi
    My website is bring only some or say few conversions. I am too looking for SEO advices on it.
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  • Profile picture of the author Terrance01
    My first website was called Moneychicken.....I built the site signed up members who were equally clueless. I had no business plan or strategy. It quickly fell apart.

    To your Success,
    -Terrance
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  • Profile picture of the author masonisabella794
    Yes, I failed by a blog, When I was trying to get earning from that blog. Finally I found there was insufficient content. I must have to write more content to earn a handsome amount of money. then I did not frustrate, I wrote more content. Finally I found I am earning as my expected amount of money. To gain in this filed, never do the plagiarism/ need original content. select good niche. Thanks
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  • Profile picture of the author joeho
    i failed more than 15 times before i hit a home run for my authority site!
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  • Profile picture of the author BernardR
    Absolutely ... I have failed lots of times and celebrate this fact.

    In order to be successful YOU HAVE TO FAIL

    Thomas A. Edison - The Inventor of the Light Bulb once said ... I have not failed. I've just found 10,000 ways that won't work.

    Obviously we can minimize failure by modelling our lives on successful people. A great shortcut is to learn from their mistakes. That is why it is important to have a mentor i.e. someone who has been there and done it.

    BernardR
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  • Profile picture of the author Adie
    I failed several times, succeed several times, and I know I'll fail again in the future... Life is just like that. But future failures will not as big as the previous ones..
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    • Profile picture of the author busybee
      Yes, Yes, Yes and Yes.

      I can remember back a year or two, just before google started to penalize.

      I had 5 sites built. Pumped lots of backlinks to them. But all in vain, as the google onslaught began.

      But, I did learn how sites were built, and learn't my way around Wordpress.

      So, as others have so wisely stated above, failing is learning.
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  • Profile picture of the author anynewsbd
    Yes i have been failed but i think failed is the key of success so do not worry & learn from the failure & work hard your success will in front of you.
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  • Profile picture of the author spearce000
    I've failed more times than I've been successful, but the successes more than compensate for the failures. I think that's the same for most people in just about every walk of life.
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  • Profile picture of the author Dec Mc
    Failing is all part of Learning , you should learn from your failings online and in life in general !!
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  • Profile picture of the author bertieallsorts
    I think most of us have failed at one time or another, my first website, was a total failure, no traffic, no sales, poor rankings and ended up pouring money into a site that was doomed from the start, and their was basicaly no way back, i scrapped the website , went away and learnt alot of things , once i thought i had the ammunition i needed, i just needed the gun to fire it from, so i built anew website, took my time, and can say i now make a comftable living online

    how long it will last, i dont know, so im always thinking of new things i can work on, and possibly build new websites around new found ideas

    the mistakes a made in the beginning definatley ended up doing me more good than harm, and i think sometimes we should not be afraid of failure.



    Bertie
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  • Profile picture of the author ethanabigail782
    Yes,I failed when I was new in this sector. During that time I was trying to approve my blog on the google adsense, then the authority of adsense told me that "we do not want like these content" then I change my efforts. where was my wrong. Finally I see these article was written for one of my client about his product. Then I wrote about interesting blog. now I see its a good idea to use the adsense. Thanks.
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  • Profile picture of the author dawoodkhan97
    We fail so that we can pick ourselves up and learn from our mistakes
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  • Profile picture of the author spearce000
    Further to my last answer, I found these inspirational articles on linkedin.com

    The Greatest Failures of All Time

    Oprah Winfrey: A Profile in Failure

    Makes you think, doesn't it?
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  • Profile picture of the author msuper28
    Man, you need to learn from your own mistakes and failures! I want to tell you these five steps to follow:

    -Learn

    -Take action

    -Learn from mistakes

    -Don't give up

    -Persistent

    Good luck!
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    • Profile picture of the author nik0
      Banned
      Oh I fail all the time, the clue is to climb out stronger and somehow I never fail at that.
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      • Profile picture of the author Daniel Monk
        I'm just starting out in the vast IM game, and although I have no desire to fail, I know it's a possibility and want to learn as much as possible as fast as possible. Failure is a way of learning, always has been, always will be. Can't be afraid of it, just do it.
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    • Profile picture of the author Sangfroid
      Yes, a couple times already.

      I had a security site selling stun guns, peper spray, etc for
      4 years but never turned a profit.

      I was also in a very expensive MLM but made no money.

      But, we can learn from every failure and I have.
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  • Profile picture of the author writeaway
    Originally Posted by karlstech View Post

    Hey there Warriors,

    Just wanted to run something by you.

    Have you ever had a website or blog that has failed miserably? Or just been a failure at all?

    I know I have, one actually which was mostly due to lack of knowledge and entering 4 big markets instead of a single niche, or a single market!

    Share your experiences and why!
    Failure is necessary for success. Yes, I have failed before.
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  • Profile picture of the author Rory Singh
    Yes repeatedly.

    But then I realized that the failure wasn't really failing at all.

    When you are new, there can seem to be a lot to learn.

    The truth is once you are really clear about what you are after, then you can go and get it.

    Patience and persistence is the key!

    I get the impression that most people in this industry are believing that it is very hard to succeed.

    The truth is that it really isn't hard at all.

    The only thing that is hard is to get your self to start doing the work necessary.

    What makes us strong, self reliant and powerful marketers with confidence is the ability to go out after our dreams and to not stop until we get this thing that we are after.

    Your dreams are in you for a reason.

    Most people will decide to not pursue them.

    What are you willing to do?
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  • Profile picture of the author eac113
    I know there are a couple of Geocities sites out there sparkling with my genius
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  • Profile picture of the author rMike
    Oh yeah, I've failed so many times it's not funny. But every time you fail, you grow & learn how to become better at what you do, so no worries.
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  • Profile picture of the author Brent Stangel
    If you don't fail it means you are not trying, or you're perfect.
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    Get Off The Warrior Forum Now & Don't Come Back If You Want To Succeed!
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