If You were a complete newbie again...What would be the #1 program to start all over with?

I think this comes down to what
do you want to do?

There are many ways to make money
on and off line.

I will say that if you have skills that others
don't that is worth money.

If you are interested in something that is not
hard to learn or has an easy entry it is not
worth as much to others.

The highest paid people in the world are those that
know how to sell.

Online that could mean knowing how to write
copy that sells.

I hope that made sense.

Interesting question, especially since most beginners don't even know what to focus on since they don't know what their choices are.

If I was doing it all over again, I'd combine all the information here in the WF, including a membership to the War Room, and go through the 30 Day Challenge right from the get go.

By the time you're done with those you'd have an excellent basis for making some solid decisions on what direction to take and how to achieve your goals.

Cindy

Definitely start building a list right off the bat. I regret not building a list earlier.

There is no way to be new to the IM world and know what I know now :-)

I would leave all programs that require big red headlines to sell alone.

I would pay more attention to building relationships . When we are young and dumb ... it is easy to think we can do it all by our self . While you can, it is much easier to have the right people in your corner .

I almost chuckled when I seen this post, because that is basically what I am doing this very moment. I've been marketing online since around '98 but 3 years ago I took a break. I was very discouraged and burnt out, I had some great success but it was always fleeting.

I just started back about a month ago, because of this I have the unique opportunity to examine my successes and failures, and start over having the knowledge that I gained through those years. When i quit, I thought my problem was lack of focus, and for some reason i could just not seem to focus on one idea. Even when i would have some success and make money, I could not seem to muster up enough focus to stick with it and take it further, i would just move to something else.

Looking back now, even though focus was part of the problem, there is no way to focus if you have nothing to focus on. I never really had business plan, just ideas, some ideas worked but since I had no plan even when they succeeded I still had nothing to focus on because i had no clear plan. My only plan resembled something like this:

Come up with idea to make money.

When i made money my plan was complete so....

Come up with new idea to make money.

and I just repeated this cycle.


With that said, here is my answer to the OP:

Create a clear business plan
Execute said plan on sound BASIC marketing principles.


Sure all the tricks, techniques, and new amazing methods can still be used if they fit within my business plan, and that's the key, if you don't have a plan that's all they are is tricks.

Jon

I would simply follow the steps to Jeff Walker's ProductLaunchFormula.

Seriously. That's the ultimate whole entrepreneurship business education right there. For online AND offline.

I would have started with something simple like writing for associated content or another place that would have paid me per article. Then, after I had about $500 I would have started writing for myself and used the money to outsources some of the tasks like building backlinks.

Benjamin

Hey Sherman...

One of the hardest things to do as an entrepreneur, is decide WHAT you are
going to do as a business.

I've been both, a "self-employed" person and an "Entrepreneur/business owner"
for over two decades now, both online and offline, and can assure you that
there is a BIG difference between 'being the business' and 'owning' one.

One of the biggest problems I see with new marketers (and many of the successful
'gurus' also, to be honest) is that they are not building long term, sustainable, business
models or products. Most are just looking to make money, make a quick buck,
get in on the latest fad or trend...

Frankly, although you can do very well approaching the internet this way, I think
in the long run it is going to catch up with you and you'll be right back here again,
wondering what to do next.

Blogging, CPA, Affiliate Marketing, Product Creation, Copywriting, Programming, Offline-
Gold, Consulting, Coaching, etc. etc. etc.

All just things you can do on the internet, but if you have no real plan for each
of these or if you get into the one you make money at but don't like doing...
in the long run, you'll find yourself right back here... imo.

The internet is just a place to market what you offer... it's not the offer, generally
speaking.

Here is the question: If you were going to open a business in your local community,
what would that business be?

A Drycleaners?
A Janitorial Business?
A Website Design Business?
A SEO service?
A Dollar Store?
A Landscaping Business?

Would you write a book? What about?
Would you coach or help others? Who? What about?
Would you do sales for a local business and help them get more money? What kind of
business would you do sales for?

The internet is not the lottery ticket folks look at it as being... it's a media.

A place to MARKET what you have to OFFER your TARGET AUDIENCE.

That's it.

So... define what it is that you bring to the table (your strengths) and determine
if you can leverage those abilities to make money with them online... if not, ask
yourself what skills or connections you need to get to build your business.

For example, if you need to learn how to do a website or copywriting or lead
generation... or if you need to connect with someone else who can already
do these things for you.

Do you have money to invest in your business?

Do you have the time to invest in your business?

Are you willing to DO what you need to DO to market your business
consistently?

These are more important questions, imo.

As for the quickest way to make money from the internet? There are many
quick ways to make a buck online... but all of them require a learning curve and
a trial and error approach, at least in my experience anyway.

Nothing I have done over the past 5 years online has worked exactly
as promised... and none of it was nearly as brain dead simple as everyone told
me it was going to be.

What are your goals? To make a little extra cash or replace your day job?

Are you trying to make money because you lost a job? How much time do you
have to make money or do you need money NOW?

All of these will change the answer we can give you or the feedback we can
offer to help you.

What are you trying to do? Why?

Let us know.. and I'm sure we can give you some better answers.

Oh.. and definately, start and keep building your list of BUYERS as quickly
as possible. The better the quality and quantity of your list - the easier it
is to keep your business moving forward once you decide what you are
going to focus on.

I too, wish I'd have started that a LOT earlier.

But thats another story...

Thank You, very helpful post for newbie. Grateful for your insights.

I would spend 80% of my time studing on the Warrior Forum

Decide which IM way is best for me and take strong action with 20% of my time.

All the Best

Not as much as any "program" in itself, but rather I'd focus on two basic pillars of IM:

- Targeted traffic generation (SEO, pay per click, media buys, etc)
- List building/monetization (squeeze pages, email sequence, etc)

If you've got those two, you're pretty much in business.

Also, as a newbie, it's best to stick to niches you're already familiar with from your personal hobbies or work. That way you can start off a blog or a cheap product to get rolling as soon as possible. That's how I started myself and it went just fine.

Carbon copypro. I would have not wasted my money buying small training and programs and lessons and tips. Just get all I need in one spot with Live support.