Today Is My 12 Year Anniversary: Here Are A Few Things I've Learned

20 replies
Howdy Warriors,

Today is officially my 12 year anniversary as a member of this fabulous forum!

Admittedly, I have not been very active over the last few years but I still check in from time to time and still occasionally buy WSO's that pique my curiosity. In addition, I don't make millions of dollars a year. I do make a decent living though and at least some of that has to do with things I learned on this forum.

Here is a list of things I've learned over the years in no particular order:

1. Learn how to write basic sales copy - No matter what you're selling online, you will need basic sales copy to sell it
2. Embrace Social Media - I have a love/hate relationship with social media. On the one hand, I find it a little annoying that people want to share trivial details about their lives 10 times a day. On the other hand, social media is a fantastic platform for reaching a gigantic audience. It's also inherently viral, easy to use, and essentially free
3. Learn Wordpress - Wordpress is awesome. It's free to use, search engine friendly, and there are a million things you can do with it
4. Learn Google Adwords - This is my favorite way for generating traffic. You can get super targeted traffic in less than 24 hours and once you learn what to test for you can gradually reduce your cost per click. I actually had a job for while co-managing the Adwords account for an electronics company in Ohio. They spent an average of $60k per month and averaged $400k in sales volume.
5. Ignore Anyone That Promises Fast, Easy Money - I can not possibly calculate how much money I spent on products promising fast, easy money. None of them worked. If you are serious about building a business online you really have to accept the fact that it will likely take you years. There are exceptions to this of course but they are rare and not the rule
6. Don't Be Afraid To Fail - I can not count how many times I've failed but I never, ever gave up. There are probably even business ventures in the future that I will fail at but it will never deter to me. One of the great things about the internet is that it is cheap to fail. Don't quit your job and put all of your resources into a single venture, this is a recipe for disaster. Learn from your mistakes and start over
7. The Internet Is Far And Away The Greatest Medium For Starting Business In The History Of The World - In the real world, starting a business (any business) is expensive and very risky. On the internet, however, you can build a million dollar business on a budget of just a few thousand dollars. Yes, that's not the norm but it's far more possible on the internet than building a business in the real world.

I really hope you all find that helpful.

This forum has been an invaluable resource for me over the years and will continue to be for many years into the future. Thank you for everyone who has helped me!
#anniversary #learned #things #today #year
  • Profile picture of the author sameerjoshi
    Hi Zachary,

    Congratulations on your 12-year anniversary here. Gosh, that's been a while. I am relatively new to the WF, but not so all that new to Internet Marketing, as such.
    I absolutely agree will ALL of the points you have mentioned above. The only little addition I'd make while conceding that it is not a stand-alone point as the others are is embracing VIDEO in one form or the other. I find that video is really growing very fast (faster than what I have seen grown over the years) and many marketers (including myself) have been a bit wary of getting in front of a camera and just talking. Video, in my view, would be an addition to many of the points mentioned above (such as right the first one i.e. making a basic sales copy - and then using it as a video).

    Anyway, I loved your post and the points you listed out. 12 years is a long time and yields a lot of credibility to what you say when you so candidly share your experience. Thanks!!
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    • Originally Posted by sameerjoshi View Post

      Hi Zachary,

      Congratulations on your 12-year anniversary here. Gosh, that's been a while. I am relatively new to the WF, but not so all that new to Internet Marketing, as such.
      I absolutely agree will ALL of the points you have mentioned above. The only little addition I'd make while conceding that it is not a stand-alone point as the others are is embracing VIDEO in one form or the other. I find that video is really growing very fast (faster than what I have seen grown over the years) and many marketers (including myself) have been a bit wary of getting in front of a camera and just talking. Video, in my view, would be an addition to many of the points mentioned above (such as right the first one i.e. making a basic sales copy - and then using it as a video).

      Anyway, I loved your post and the points you listed out. 12 years is a long time and yields a lot of credibility to what you say when you so candidly share your experience. Thanks!!
      You're absolutely correct about video. In fact, I was actually going to list this but I kind of ran out time this morning.

      Good, quality video works fabulously for just about every product or service. It's also cheap and easy to produce.

      I wish you all of the best in your online endeavors!
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      "The successful man is the one who finds out what is the matter with his business before his competitors do"
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  • Profile picture of the author neshaword
    Zachari first of all sincere congrats. Respect! I think that your 12-year anniversary deserves at least 12 points. Or, how about an eBook? I bet, you have plenty of things to say and share. In case that's not already the case I'm fishing you for your next anniversary to write a thread from you $12M worth house or a yacht, lol. I think that WF should also honor these kinds of special moments. Twelve years, that's something man. Cheers!
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    • Profile picture of the author Junaid khawaja
      Wow! This is amazing zachary - definately an achievement! You have listed things you have learned over the span of 12 years, but guess what, there is something we all should learn FROM YOU instead. And that is: Consistency.
      You have been consistent for last 12 years, working on this internet/blogging/blab bla thing for so long. And I think that is your secret key to success. Consistency and dedication is everything! Cheers to your 12 years and wish you best of luck for all your future endeavors!
      Thanks
      Junaid Khawaja
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      • Originally Posted by Junaid khawaja View Post

        Wow! This is amazing zachary - definately an achievement! You have listed things you have learned over the span of 12 years, but guess what, there is something we all should learn FROM YOU instead. And that is: Consistency.
        You have been consistent for last 12 years, working on this internet/blogging/blab bla thing for so long. And I think that is your secret key to success. Consistency and dedication is everything! Cheers to your 12 years and wish you best of luck for all your future endeavors!
        Thanks
        Junaid Khawaja
        Yes, consistency and dedication are the key to success in any field.

        But I think it's equally important that you have no fear of failure.

        I wish you all of the best in online endeavors!
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        "The successful man is the one who finds out what is the matter with his business before his competitors do"
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    • Originally Posted by neshaword View Post

      Zachari first of all sincere congrats. Respect! I think that your 12-year anniversary deserves at least 12 points. Or, how about an eBook? I bet, you have plenty of things to say and share. In case that's not already the case I'm fishing you for your next anniversary to write a thread from you $12M worth house or a yacht, lol. I think that WF should also honor these kinds of special moments. Twelve years, that's something man. Cheers!
      You're right, I probably should have made it 12 points. I actually I wanted the list to be 10 things but then I ran out of ideas and time this morning lol

      Perhaps I should write an ebook, I haven't written one in years

      I wish you all of the best on your online endeavors!!
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      "The successful man is the one who finds out what is the matter with his business before his competitors do"
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      • Profile picture of the author neshaword
        Originally Posted by Zachary R. Skinner View Post

        You're right, I probably should have made it 12 points. I actually I wanted the list to be 10 things but then I ran out of ideas and time this morning lol

        Perhaps I should write an ebook, I haven't written one in years

        I wish you all of the best on your online endeavors!!
        Thx Z, you got yourself a first official reader, lol. So, don't keep us waiting too long. And, you can update this thread with some additional points. No one would mind, that's for sure. Happy next anniversary! Cheers! N
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        • Originally Posted by neshaword View Post

          Thx Z, you got yourself a first official reader, lol. So, don't keep us waiting too long. And, you can update this thread with some additional points. No one would mind, that's for sure. Happy next anniversary! Cheers! N
          Thanks alot!

          I am actually working on a cool project now, it's about bitcoin

          I'll actually have a bitcoin webinar next week. You should check it out!
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  • Profile picture of the author dana67
    Congratulations on your 12 year anniversary Zachary! Also, thank you for the fantastic post and sharing some very useful tips. Things sure have changed a lot in the past 12 years, haven't they?

    Here's to another 12 successful years!
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  • Profile picture of the author Nate92
    Absolutely! Thank you for this!

    Too many people are scared to finish something and just get it done and see what happens! Failure happens when you don't finish!

    Don't be afraid of rejection of your work! Be faithful that someone will find it helpful! You will always have haters and doubters so long as you are doing something with your life, so just stick to your goals and plans and make it happen!

    The truth is the same as long as clocks tick; hard work and dedication will pay off in the end!
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  • Profile picture of the author CommanderDracula
    Congratulations Zachary, I am on a journey to educate myself on becoming an Affiliate master marketer. Do you have youtube videos on your success and failures you can send me a link to view? Any help is greatly appreciated.

    Sincerely,
    Rodolfo de Hoyos
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    • Originally Posted by CommanderDracula View Post

      Congratulations Zachary, I am on a journey to educate myself on becoming an Affiliate master marketer. Do you have youtube videos on your success and failures you can send me a link to view? Any help is greatly appreciated.

      Sincerely,
      Rodolfo de Hoyos
      I do not have any videos unfortunately. But perhaps I should seriously consider making some?

      It takes a very long time to become an affiliate marketing master. There's plenty of information available on this forum that can help you

      I wish you all of the best in your online endeavors!
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      "The successful man is the one who finds out what is the matter with his business before his competitors do"
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  • Profile picture of the author O0o0O
    Great post, Zachary. I completely agree with you that social media is very very important. I also agree that the Internet is a very easy place to start a business. There's so much information here that when you take the time to sit down and really study on how you should do things, then you will make progress. The main thing is to study. Even going to forums like this one will allow you to get better at what you do.
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  • Profile picture of the author aizaku
    cool post Zachery

    you don't find adwords to be expensive even with a good quality score?

    and what type of interstitial overlays do you use to collect leads without angering Google

    right corner overlays?

    full page overlays?

    top /bottom bar overlays?

    Thanks for your information
    Ike
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  • Profile picture of the author jamie3000
    Couldn't agree with point 5 more. I like to think I've finally become immune to the IM BS now, just about!
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    • Originally Posted by jamie3000 View Post

      Couldn't agree with point 5 more. I like to think I've finally become immune to the IM BS now, just about!
      That's really great that it only took you two years lol

      By contrast it took me many years to learn this basic lesson
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  • Profile picture of the author discrat
    Good job Zachary.

    I keep having to remind many others how #7 is something that NONE of us should take for granted.
    Sometimes we all can be guilty of forgetting how It's an amazing time in the History of doing business in our World via Internet.

    Cheers

    - Robert Andrew
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    • Originally Posted by discrat View Post

      Good job Zachary.

      I keep having to remind many others how #7 is something that NONE of us should take for granted.
      Sometimes we all can be guilty of forgetting how It's an amazing time in the History of doing business in our World via Internet.

      Cheers

      - Robert Andrew
      Thanks. And yes it really is an amazing time to start and grow a business. I guess it's good that any other people don't see it...more opportunity for the rest of us!
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  • Profile picture of the author silveroaks
    I offer a lot of congratulations on your twelve year anniversary. You say that you make a decent living that gives hope to the newbies. and knowing that you stuck to this field for twelve years with the highs and lows that we know occur from time to time tells us that you remained persistent and consistent that are rare strengths these days. You must rite an E-book this will help many , including you as well.
    It is really great that you shared your success with the people at this forum.
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  • Profile picture of the author mogulmedia
    Good on you man. I have been here since 2006 (had an older account) and learnt a lot on the IM space too.

    My path divided from that but like you I still check in here from time to time to see what's going on! One thing' for sure WF itself has changed quite a bit. Now feels more like a business than before.
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    Converting sales copy and professional press releases -> Here <-

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