Paralysis By Analysis: Is This You?

15 replies
I have searched and read this board and found a lot of great information.

However, I wanted to ask you, if you could relate?

I spent numerous hours listening and reading various IM stuff. I have familiarized myself with different systems. I spent last year learning marketing and sales, Internet marketing, copy-writing. I joined clickbank, setup several independent affiliate accounts (mostly pickup/dating stuff). I even tried doing my own blog on a subject, I thought i could write a book about. A few months back I tried affiliate marketing, but it literally yield no results. Nothing.

Here is what I am getting at: I can't pick ONE thing and stick to it.

How did you guys get started?

I have full time brick-and-mortar business which literally takes a lot of time, so I am looking something that wouldn't require a lot of time investment right now. I am not going after thousands a month, I JUST WANT TO MAKE THE FIRST STEP IN IM!

Which is less time and money consuming?
- Becoming an Affiliate and re-selling through "report" page?
- Generating content in Niche market and building the List to sell affiliate products/Ad Space/adsense?
- Creating your own product and doing Launch also Utilizing affiliates through click bank?
- Another way?

I UNDERSTAND THERE IS NO RIGHT or wrong way, i just want to hear how you guys broke into internet marketing and selling.

Also, if you could please tell me why you like what you do?


this would greatly help me get started and motivate me to do something.

And IF you have a favorite guru you would recommend, and why?


No right or wrong answers, of course.
#analysis #getting started #paralysis
  • Profile picture of the author CDarklock
    Originally Posted by TrueStory View Post

    I have full time brick-and-mortar business
    Expand your offline operations online. If you sell products, sell some of them on eBay. If you sell services, sell some of them on Craigslist. Build a website for your business. Make it part of your day to day operations.

    As it becomes more profitable, use the profits to hire the help that can free up your time to concentrate more on your online stuff. Eventually, you won't need to work in your brick and mortar business, and you'll be able to concentrate on the online stuff.
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    "The Golden Town is the Golden Town no longer. They have sold their pillars for brass and their temples for money, they have made coins out of their golden doors. It is become a dark town full of trouble, there is no ease in its streets, beauty has left it and the old songs are gone." - Lord Dunsany, The Messengers
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  • Profile picture of the author rickkettner
    Online success is about serving peoples needs. You need to find a niche where you can offer value to people, and build long-term relationships. If you jump from thing to thing, it will never work (as you seem to have figured out). There is no magic bullet, just pick something and throw your effort behind it.

    I like CDarklock's advice about expanding your offline business online... that is probably the most natural way to get started (based on your specific situation).
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    • Profile picture of the author TrueStory
      Originally Posted by CDarklock View Post

      Expand your offline operations online. If you sell products, sell some of them on eBay. If you sell services, sell some of them on Craigslist. Build a website for your business. Make it part of your day to day operations. ..
      My regular day-to-day job is Staffing and Recruiting. Very unique kind of recruiting: seasonal. We do most of our recruiting online, but my clients are actual businesses: hotels, resorts, country clubs, ski resorts, etc.

      I've exhausted every "online" opportunity with this business. It's also slowly dying out due to economy and lack of tourism.


      Originally Posted by rickkettner View Post

      Online success is about serving peoples needs. You need to find a niche where you can offer value to people, and build long-term relationships. If you jump from thing to thing, it will never work (as you seem to have figured out). There is no magic bullet, just pick something and throw your effort behind it.

      I like CDarklock's advice about expanding your offline business online... that is probably the most natural way to get started (based on your specific situation).
      Yep, exactly.

      What i am afraid to find myself in, is a IM venture i started, and half way through realised it's more than I have time and/or money for.

      My regular business took over a year AND SIGNIFICANT investment of time and money to take off the ground.

      Hopefully with IM it's more exponential than offline.
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      • Profile picture of the author CDarklock
        Originally Posted by TrueStory View Post

        My regular day-to-day job is Staffing and Recruiting.
        Is there some reason you couldn't do the same sort of thing for, say, small hotels? Other types of business, similar enough to your usual work that you can still do it, but different enough that the specialty isn't dying out?
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        "The Golden Town is the Golden Town no longer. They have sold their pillars for brass and their temples for money, they have made coins out of their golden doors. It is become a dark town full of trouble, there is no ease in its streets, beauty has left it and the old songs are gone." - Lord Dunsany, The Messengers
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      • Profile picture of the author mpeters7
        Originally Posted by TrueStory View Post

        My regular day-to-day job is Staffing and Recruiting. Very unique kind of recruiting: seasonal. We do most of our recruiting online, but my clients are actual businesses: hotels, resorts, country clubs, ski resorts, etc.

        I've exhausted every "online" opportunity with this business. It's also slowly dying out due to economy and lack of tourism.
        Have you taken a look at the keyword situation in your industry and if there's anyone dominating? There's probably more opportunity than you think.

        Even something like a review site of different services with affiliate links? Try to work toward your strength.

        I forget where, but I heard recently of someone making millions on a nurse-staffing agency.

        I think I met a bunch of your clients when I was in South America, young kids working at ski lodges in North America, and I met tons more who were dying to do the same.
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  • Profile picture of the author Dan Bainbridge
    Originally Posted by TrueStory View Post


    Which is less time and money consuming?
    - Becoming an Affiliate and re-selling through "report" page?
    - Generating content in Niche market and building the List to sell affiliate products/Ad Space/adsense?
    - Creating your own product and doing Launch also Utilizing affiliates through click bank?
    - Another way?

    I UNDERSTAND THERE IS NO RIGHT or wrong way, i just want to hear how you guys broke into internet marketing and selling.

    Also, if you could please tell me why you like what you do?
    I think the best way to start is as an affiliate - if you can promote other peoples products then you can sell your own. You will learn a lot as 6 months as an affiliate, whereas if you start out now as a vendor while not even being able to do the basics of setting up sites, writing copy, driving traffic then I think you don't really stand that much chance... and there is probably a longer period of investment of time and energy (and money) in becoming a vendor / merchant, and if it totally flops it may be hard to see what you have learnt... whereas I think even 6 months "flopping" as an affiliate will teach you a lot - even if it is just what not to do


    I like what I do as I get to be creative every day, I also learn new skills all the time, and I love the end result where weeks and months of work come together and start to make something big.
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  • Profile picture of the author travlinguy
    There are three main areas of expertise needed to be successful online. Those are:

    1. Writing. That might be content or copywriting, two distinctly different writing styles.

    2. Web design and Webmaster duties. Fairly self-explanatory.

    3. SEO - Diving targeted traffic to various destinations such as opt-in pages, pre-sales pages, sales pages, etc.

    Almost no one excels at all of these three things. The trick is to figure out which one appeals to you most and then run with that. Maybe you're good at Web design or writing. If so, develop your skills until you're really good at it, until someone (and here's the key) is willing to pay you for it.

    What you're going to discover is, while you're sharpening your skills at one of the three essentials above, you're absorbing lots of useful information about the others as well.

    And before you know it you've got the confidence to coordinate and manage a profitable project on your own. You still won't be wearing all the hats, but you'll know what the people wearing those hat should be doing. That's it.

    The key to all of this is to first figure out where your intrinsic talent lies and then STAY FOCUSED on that talent until it becomes valuable to others. The money will follow naturally. Good luck.
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  • Profile picture of the author eflo
    Follow your passion as it's something that you'll have a longer stick factor to if you're having trouble deciding. Once you figure out your passion, choose the model to pursue whether it's article marketing, affiliate marketing, creating your own product or what not. You've read quite a lot - once you've decided your niche, choose a method that will give you FASTER gratification (ie: Money / Users in a list) to help give you the motivation to keep going. Success is addicting as it encourages MORE success.

    That can finance your movements into other marketing methods and models.

    People that I've followed in the past that have given me great content are:
    Frank Kern (I've done Mass Control, and am currently in List Control)
    John Reese (Traffic Secrets)
    Ryan Deiss (Continuity Blueprint)

    I've learned a TON from Dan Lok (just google for him) in terms of marketing strategy and copywriting.

    The thing is though, you can't just chase forever. Take a step - get paid, and have it fund your next step.

    Best of luck!
    Earl
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  • Profile picture of the author TrueStory
    Thank you guys.

    I think I am slowly realising that my biggest sticking point was not taking actions.

    I was afraid of doing things "wrong" way. By reading this forum, I realised there isn't really right or wrong way. There is a way or nothing at all. "I've been doing nothing". (Technically speaking, I haven't been doing anything)


    Any good tips on finding a niche?

    Travlinguy, you're right, I've been doing Web Design since 2005 and I learned great deal of SEO in a process. Most of my projects were NON-SEO for Government sites and Intranet site for private small organizations. But once I started picking up more independent clients, I learned great deal of SEO. Actually, my offline business' site is on first page of Google for my industry keywords.


    My biggest, yet STILL obstacle is to overcome my doubt in any given advice. Learning about IM I discovered that many "gurus" make their money by teaching other people how to make money online. Write a book on how to make money => Sell it to people wanting to make money => Make money from sales of that book = > Rinse Wash Repeat. So i am a bit skeptical trusting gurus. Even though it's purely emotional reflex on my part.




    I am going to look into Affiliate Programs.

    Any particular thing you guys recommend? OR good for GETTING STARTED?

    also

    Any tips on finding a Niche? I looked through clickbank's marketplace, sh!t load of products, various gravities, various popularity, and i hear different things: "pick one with most gravity" vs "pick one with less competition for keywords" then i hear "Setup 3-4 sites at a time and focus on quantity rather quality" and some suggest to "focus on 1-2 site of excellent quality"

    I am sure each has a valid point to his/her argument, any advice on that?
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    • Profile picture of the author CDarklock
      Originally Posted by TrueStory View Post

      Learning about IM I discovered that many "gurus" make their money by teaching other people how to make money online.
      Going to college, you will discover that many "professors" make their money by teaching other people how to do what they know.

      Does that help?
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      "The Golden Town is the Golden Town no longer. They have sold their pillars for brass and their temples for money, they have made coins out of their golden doors. It is become a dark town full of trouble, there is no ease in its streets, beauty has left it and the old songs are gone." - Lord Dunsany, The Messengers
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      • Profile picture of the author TrueStory
        Originally Posted by CDarklock View Post

        Going to college, you will discover that many "professors" make their money by teaching other people how to do what they know.

        Does that help?
        HAHAHA!

        True. I went to Ohio State, it's pretty much as you put it. Almost no applicable knowledge, just fundamentals. (I was CIS and Business major)

        Well, i started on my own product, slowly. But i am doing reaearch for affiliate.

        My plan is right now is to offer information on upcoming book i am writing but not mention the book yet. Just collect people on my list. Occasionally giving them affiliate link if i find something of value.

        When my own book is released, i should have big enough list anticipating its release.

        Going to look at Mass Control stuff for Product Launch tips
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  • Profile picture of the author The_Archer
    I UNDERSTAND THERE IS NO RIGHT or wrong way, i just want to hear how you guys broke into internet marketing and selling.

    That's where you are wrong. There is a right way and a wrong way for everything. When you are driving... The right way to get off on an exit ramp is keeping your speed and start slowing down ONCE you are in the off ramp. If you slow down too early or while you are still in traffic, you run the risk of getting rear-ended or upsetting a lot of people.

    Same in applies in marketing. If you write an article on ezine articles, the right way is keeping it between 400-500 words. It shouldn't have spelling mistakes and should be entertaining and it should pertain to your niche. This is the right way

    if you have a site about fishing and you write an article about football, chances are that you're not going to get targeted traffic. This is the wrong way.

    I am just saying this as an example, as a whole. If you do things the right way, the right outcome will happen. Don't do it the right way and you're probably, the wrong outcome will happen.
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  • Profile picture of the author TrueStory
    Archer, I meant within common sense of IM.

    For example:
    Option a: Start with Affiliate Marketing and build your client list, learn ins and outs of internet advertising and only then create your own product.

    Option b: Create your own blog, build a huge list, then do affiliate and eventually your own product.

    Option c: Create product of quality, create buzz about it, build a list, get affiliates on board to promote your product, reap the results.


    As you can see there are several approaches to IM.

    I worded this wrong. There are MANY WAYS to making money online. To each their own.

    Yeah, of course there is wrong way. But assuming that every advice given here is from users that have successfully made their way work.
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  • Profile picture of the author hemen
    I've been through your situation. Right after I attended my first I.M. Workshop, I immediate log-in to Clickbank to look for some product to sell. I used PPC Advertising because I was hoping to make my first few bucks from the internet. I ended up jumping around products and wasted some money in PPC.

    It took me awhile to realized the problem... The problem is that I focus too much on the sales or the $$$. Then I resorted to do what I know best, which is what I was doing in my offline business. I used what I learned in I.M. and apply the marketing strategies in my business, one step at a time. Bingo! Sales increased and confidence grow.

    After awhile, I starting to spot the niche in the International market place and spent sometime to create my first e-book. I was excited when I got to know that someone actually pay for my knowledge! Now the momentum is building up and I'm coming out another bigger and better e-product to offer to the market.

    Internet is wonderful platform to spread your wisdom to the world, money is one thing, but the sense of achievement is what keeps you going. Good luck! See you at the top! Follow your heart.
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  • Profile picture of the author TrueStory
    Archer, I meant within common sense of IM.

    For example:
    Option a: Start with Affiliate Marketing and build your client list, learn ins and outs of internet advertising and only then create your own product.

    Option b: Create your own blog, build a huge list, then do affiliate and eventually your own product.

    Option c: Create product of quality, create buzz about it, build a list, get affiliates on board to promote your product, reap the results.


    As you can see there are several approaches to IM.

    I worded this wrong. There are MANY WAYS to making money online. To each their own.

    Yeah, of course there is wrong way. But assuming that every advice given here is from users that have successfully made their way work.
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    Your business matters only to people that matter to your business[/U][/B] - Reach them?

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