A Warning to Newbies, Oldies and Others!

Bravo Elmer...

I always ask myself if a purchase will benefit my business.... spot on, fantastic post that will benefit many

Peace

Jay

Great post Elmer! You have such a way with words. It seems we all fall into the same rut so maybe your post will save a few people some of the hard knocks!

I have read your post four times and I STILL didn't find anything about sex in it!

I hear you, Elmer. Without going into a lot of detail, I've gone down a similar path of where I was then to where I am now. Downloaded lot's of "stuff." I even remember a very old Mark Hendricks autoresponder series where after reading message #1, you had to send an email to a different email address to get message #2, etc. I was so hungry I was willing to jump through all kinds of hoops.

I'm much more focused now, and if it doesn't hold some immediate benefit that moves me closer to a goal, I pass, even if it is free.

John

I'm there!
My inbox was a disaster zone. fortunately I used one email addy for subscribing to all that "stuff" - so I went thru all the emails, picked out the ones I wanted to stay subscribed to & resubscribed under a dif email addy. then I just stopped bringing in all that "stuff" into outlook. Problem solved!

As for the other "stuff" on my harddrive - well that'll take quite some time to sort out. I do have it sorted tho - into what category they are relating to.

I've also started a blog making myself accountable to actually do what I say I'll do - thats pretty heavy. So when I see something new I ask myself if that is directly relating to something I'm doing now. If it isnt then I click "save page" & put it in a folder on my computer titled stuff I'd like to try later. Then I'm free to forget about it & its only a link to a webpage on my computer, instead of a whole heap of junk that I'll never read - much better.

Elmer, what an incredible guide for anyone that is serious about getting into IM. It should be made "sticky" for all newcomers. I wish I had seen it a few years back when I got started - would have saved me a lot of time and money!

Thank you

Great post Elmer. I can relate to this as my journey has been somewhat similar and it took me a long time to get a clue, that is why I have a hard drive full of ebooks, reports, software, resell rights, plr etc. that I will most likely never use.

Now I don't buy anything unless I take the time to evaluate whether it is something that I need to learn or use that directly relates to my business right now. I hate to think how much time and money I have wasted over the last three and half years.

Aww Elmer, we like you too buddy!

RoD

It took me YEARS to get this into my head.

I'm not buying anything else unless it will help me in what I'm doing right now, TODAY. And if it's anything that claims to make me $10,000 or more in 30 days, I'm never buying it.

John P

You are also a skilled writer.

Great post.

Been preaching it for years.

Funny though how most of us still have to experience it first before we clearly see the big picture.

Questions like, "Is this going to benefit me at this time?" and,
"Is this marketer generally perceived as knowledgeable and honest?"
or, if a tool or software, "How long will it take me to learn this?";
"How often will I use it?";

"Will it pay for itself?"

Elmer
Very good set of questions. I like "How long will it take me to learn this?" a lot and need to ask myself that more often. "Will it pay for itself?" is one every business should ask.

Thanks folks, for sharing your experiences.

It looks as though many of us have taken the same twisty, tortuous and costly path. Yep, we've been there, done that and too many of us have the tee-shirts...

We've learned and we're willing to share our sorrowful tales with others.

Sadly, many will pay about as much attention to our cautions and warnings as I did years ago when my dad attempted to educate me with lessons learned from his hard-earned experience.

The old railroad caution sign, "STOP! LOOK! LISTEN!", still applies to almost all we do.

Our IM journey is not an exception!

Elmer Hurlstone

Thanks for the compliment on the story. I appreciate it.

While there are a significant number of both scammers and spammers online (in this context, where else would they be?) that wasn't the point of my sad but true tale.

More oft than not we suffer from our own actions more than from the actions of others.

While we're sometimes suspect of others we rarely suspect ourselves. After all, we're bright, aware and engaged people. How could we possibly be wrong?

For many of us failure to logically, objectively and (this is the hard part) dispassionately look at our own habits and actions is the root cause of our marketing grief and problems.

The bottom line: We can't buy our way to IM success!

Elmer Hurlstone

It's always encouraging to know I'm not the only one!

But, Elmer, you're sorely tempting me with your IM Research Power Tool. Maybe I should buy it before my husband gets home!!

Melissa

Elmer, this is a very good post. It is part of the learning curve because we are all pie eyed at the supposed success people claim. It did not take me long, however, to realise that we can't all be millionaires, or even want to be. That's when I stopped being conned into every deal offered.

What also became apparent in the early days was that products offered as 'best things going' with high price tags soon ended up on someone's bonus list for purchasing something else. Only buy what's important for your business and leave everyone else to there's is probably good advice.

Well, here's another view of the same thing. I was seventy-seven years old (yep) and looking for a job (yep), and no matter how marvelous I was, my prospects were at best fair to poor.

Since we were in the middle of a stumbling economy with unemployment increasing daily as businesses retrenched or closed completely, my chances of being hired were poor to forget-it. So I turned to the employer who really knew me and my strengths - Me - and to the business sector that was growing in spite of the downturn - the internet.

I knew I had to have training to start an internet business, and I needed to train on line rather than in a brick-and-mortar school. I spent a lot of time searching the internet to find a trustworthy training program. I slogged my way through garish blinking ads for programs that assured me I could earn hundreds and thousands of dollars a day, even while asleep, have a villa in Tuscany, spend weekends on Anguilla, drive a Ferrari when I wasn't on my yacht, and have any other luxury I could think of. I read miles of advertising copy on site after site.

If there was a program that looked like something real, not pie in the sky, I followed up with as thorough a background search as I could do. I learned that on the internet you could claim almost anything with no worry about it being true. You might put a disclaimer in the fine print about spectacular earnings not being typical, but you didn't have to. On sites "dedicated to exposing scams" it often turned out that the accused scammer would be the one who made the accusation in the first place so they could then write a rebuttal testimonial in their own support.

Long story short: I did find several programs that I believed would give me the training I needed and honor their commitment to me for the long haul. I finally chose a company on the basis of the range of their teaching materials and their promises of long-term affiliation, mentoring, and support. I also appreciated their up-front business philosophy of enlightened self-interest: they will give me all the help I need, because if I don't make money, they won't make money.

Starting a business is scary, even with the best help. For the first month after purchasing this program from I would lurch awake in the night wondering if I had made a huge mistake. Now two months later I am sleeping just fine. I feel like I'm actually in business school, and the knowledge and tools I'm gaining have enabled me to see how this business will work and what I need to do to make it succeed.

To anyone of whatever age getting ready to start an internet business, but particularly to those of us whose span of earning years and cash available to get through them is a bit shortened, I say research, research, research. There are some very good programs out there, but there are hundred of scams for every one of those. Drill down into Google as far as you can go. Follow all the threads. Read everything you can find. Look into business forums for mention of any program you are considering. Read the scam reports (with a salt shaker handy). Ask for information from anyone who offers it, but submit everything you are told to a stringent reality check.

Setting up this business has been an exciting late-in-life adventure. Don't let anyone persuade you that you are too old to do it. Age may have its disadvantages, but it has some maturity and wisdom that you can't get any other way. If you think your own business is the right thing for you, go for it. Use all your hard-earned smarts, make careful decisions about your resources (and I don't mean just money), choose an enterprise that you think will get you out of bed every morning rarin' to go, and you may find you are having one of the best times of your life..

Hi silkpajamas,

I just wanted to welcome you to the forum... and say what a great first post. Looks like we're going to love having you here.

Cheers,
Becky

Wow! I so recognise that story!

All I wanted to do was publish my self improvement books, so when the world wide wonderful web showed up there was suddenly no need for agents, publishers, long nail biting waits for the rejection letters - now I could reach the world in one swoop.

That was easily ten years ago.

Then marketers taught me I needed a website, then a website for every book and niche, (do bookstores do that?), then I needed to learn about PPC, traffic generation, SEO, HTML, squeeze pages, list building ...

It's been a great learning curve, but the writing's still what I love.

So, two lessons from all of this ... first, get someone else to do the slog - you do what you love! (You only get one life!)

And second, there's no one "right way" to get noticed on the net. Find one "blueprint" that's tried and tested and stick to it like super glue. Then, as Elmer so rightly said, you can delete all those pesky emails - and never even SEE the Paypal button! One model - if it works, don't fix it.

I really believe that the top marketers online have that, more than anything else, as their one "true secret." I bet Frank Kern doesn't copy Derek Gehl who doesn't need to use Armand Morin's strategy ... and so on.

Just the one...

That's it.
Trev.

I always end up buying one more thing or one more ebook, convinced that it will have all the answers I need. Only to throw it away the next day. I'm starting to learn the value of asking those questions and getting away from impulse buys.

Hi Elmer,

Great post! Is it ok if I borrow your questions and post it to my group as to share it with them or perhaps, can I invite you to post at my forums as a "special speaker" . I do have some members within your age and I'd really like to be able to have them identify with your situation. The oldest member I have is 77 but they are interested in doing an online business as well, a little perspective from you would be greatly appreciated

Thanks again!

You have a great post, thanks for this, I'm so inspired with this post.

Hey Elmer,

Haha. It seems that my eyes have reached geezerhood with that mistake. *embarrassed*

Thanks. I'll contact you via PM

You always hear those words of wisdom to clear out your hard drive on occassion and/or use what you've actually downloaded. But Elmer's version is much more direct and helpful!

I'd like to add that before I buy any kind of product, whether it's a $7 WSO report or an expensive piece of software, I always ask myself, "Can I use this to get back my return on investment and then some?"

Hey Sherice..

That's great advice there. What's the ROI..yeah. That makes sense.

On a side note:

I like the title on your sig "Buy My Book! Get Niche Quick" -It's almost as if I can hear the word "Get Rich Quick" in my head ;p
A little off topic but..just wanted to point out my observation.

I am such a sucker for good ad copy. If I don't buy this product NOW my life will never be great. As if...

One of the things that I realized (after spending waaaay to much money) is that in a year there will be just a good if not better products, or in 5 years.

If I decide not to get this now, there will be other products. No matter if this super spectacular course will only be available to the next 500 people.

OH me Oh me please let me be one of the 500....Please Please Please!!!

There will always be more.

Determine if you really need it and if it is a credible source.

We already have the information, all we have to do is apply it.

Thank you for your post Elmer, very inspiring! A great perspective and guide for anyone setting up in internet marketing. This will save me a lot of time and money!

Thank you

Elmer, thanks for sharing your online business experience at this forum. Well I got same problem like you, " I always download or buy some ebook or software this past year but I don't know this stuff will usefull for me"

He...he...he maybe some day I will be success just like Elmer.

Learn. Act. Focus. And Get The Money.

Good post. thanks