10 problems newbies have

by 115 replies
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I just wanna get feedback from the newbies or vets here. It doesn't matter.

I want to know what newbies are having a hard time with. Why can't they make money? What bothers them the most? What makes internet marketing difficult?
#main internet marketing discussion forum #newbies #problems
  • One common complaint I see is that folks who are new to making money online don't know exactly who to follow and what to do.

    For example, it seems like everyone gives conflicting information: "Make money with AdSense." While an equally respected expert says, "No! Don't bother with AdSense." And so on.

    And so the beginner feels directionless. Sometimes he/she chases one idea for a while, doesn't give it enough time, and figures it doesn't work... then starts chasing another idea, etc. Meanwhile, he/she is getting more skeptical about the "make money" thing.

    Cheers,
    Becky
    • [ 4 ] Thanks
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    • Nailed it there Becky.

      Rich
    • As a relative newbie I agree there is a lot to learn and it can be confusing as the experts often disagree. I am marketing a revolutionary e book that actually can radically help people transform there lives, and while traffic is going up, I am still working to convert that into sales.
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  • Well, I'm just getting started, so haven't hit any brick walls yet.

    To be honest, I'm confused with social marketing, blogging, and getting traffic. I guess the rest is academic. If you have a great product, or you promote an affiliate product, in theory all you need to do is get traffic.

    I don't know if there is a good strategy for linking all these together?
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    • Yes there are indeed many good strategies for linking all of these together into a traffic network...see attached image for a simple example



      Good luck with it.

      Thomas
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  • I Agree Becky

    I think that people have this myth of turning on a PC and seeing the cash roll in. I've been at this game now for well over 5yrs and the biggest thing I'm getting out of all this is EXPERIENCE....thats why I STRONGLY advise any newbie to get educated. You will lose faith if you don't and then ....GIVE UP.
  • I agree,

    Being a newbie can be difficult. I started 7 years ago. I remember when there weren't too many forums. I had no one to turn to for guidance. I had to pretty much help myself.

    Nowadays, I see there's a bunch of "gurus" offering advice. Most of it isn't good.

    The best advice I can give a newbie is to work work work...test test test. Keep going hard until you find something that shows some promise and when it does, hit it hard.

    Don't be afraid to fail.
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  • I think most newbies don't know where to start.

    There is so much information out there and it can make your head spin.

    The other thing I think most struggle with is the idea that there is some simple turnkey system that let's them create a great product and website with only 5 minutes of work.

    This is not true. You must provide real value to others and that takes time and effort.
  • I think its having no clear FOCUS and lack of direction. You need to have a plan, otherwise, you could end up hours browsing and jumping from one heart thumping sales letter to another.

    Only recently, I stuck a piece of paper in front of my computer which read "What Do You Plan On Accomplishing After Logging In"?.

    This one sentence forced me to think and write down all the things that need to be done, because, once I logged into my email, time just flies.
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    • * Web sites are amateurish
      * Using autohit/surf sites who offer 20,000 visitors for 2.00 dollars for web site traffic.
      * Too much info (both good and bad) that keeps them clueless (even now I scratch my head with many things I am learning
      * Wrong niche
      * Trying many tings at once.

      Just few to list out ...

      .
  • 1. No business plan
    2. No business acumen
    3. Lazy mindset
    4. No self belief
    5. No time
    6. Stress
    7. Inability to network
    8. Inability to network with the right people
    9. Fear of success
    10. No goals
    11. Misfed dreams
    12. Mislead information
    13. Outright dangerous advice
    14. Procrastination
    15. No money
    16. No marketing experience (and for the record, you can't buy experience)
    17. No focus, following book after book
    18. Looking for the quick fix
    19. The shortcut mentality
    20. The scarcity mindset
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    • That about sums it up
      For me one of the problems that I am having which stops me from moving forward is a lot of the technical of setting up sights, FTP files, HTML....things like that. I look at some of my competition and fill like I can not compete because I can't make a sight like theirs. I am trying to look at it like a learning process but it does get to me a bit but I also don't feel like I need to be rich by tomorrow so if I can learn 1 more thing each day then its like building blocks. I had no clue what a blog was a couple of months ago.
    • I completely agree. Everyone wants easy money.

    • You can have the positive of most of these things (with the exception of money. If you have enough of that you can pay someone to do everything) and still fail. Misled dreams come from programs newbies run into and bad advice come from trying to network. But how are you supposed to know who the right people are to network with. Keep in mind 90% of newbies don't know about this forum. I think we all know of a few others that will cost you more money than it will give you good info. If you don't know the right things to do or find someone who is willing to honestly teach you then you can still fail. Eventually if you stick with it long enough you might figure it out but how long is long enough before someone gets frustrated and quits. You can be as focused, positive and as gung ho as you want for as long as you want but if your not doing the right things it is still going to get you no where. I think #16 "you can't buy experiance" is the truth, but with anything your trying to get some experiance at if you just spin your wheels sideways or in reverse the fun and the positive attitude you started with can dwindle over time. IM is not like a job you know nothing about and then get hired and trained to do the job. Your on your own to figure it out and hopefully get a little help on the way. Luckily for those of us that have found this forum we have access to great info from a lot of people who know what the hell they are doing. Thankfuly for newbies like myself many of you are kind enough to share what you know. Like I said before it's a challenge for me, and I like a challange, so there is no way i'm going to quit. But I can understand how people can get frustrated and quit. Then again if it was real easy everyone would be making a living at it.
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    • Nick,
      I told you my problems in private and now you have to go post it publicly .. Man, your not right ...








      James
    • Yes. Never staying with it...

      Paraphrasing Seth Godin: Several guys had the same idea (permission marketing 1999). Nobody wanted to listen. The other guys gave up. I stayed with it.
    • How do you suggest that people who don't know what they're doing come up with a business plan? Any such plan would likely be useless.
    • Really good list.
      Maemae

  • 1. The jargon. Niches, ezines, articles, long-tail keywords, backlinking, JV, PLR, WSO, etc. There appears to be no glossary that has all of these accompanied by explanations.

    2. The multitude of money making strategies. Adsense, affiliate marketing, articles, eBooks, real goods, website flipping, domain name sales, etc. Again, it would be nice as a newbie to download the entire "menu" and see what looks good.

    3. The quantity of tech knowledge. Having designed a few good websites in my time, I thought that I'd be "ahead of the curve" on this. Uh-uh. SEO, Wordpress, anti-piracy measures, domain name management, anti-hacking measures, autoresponders, shopping carts, payment processors... So much to learn.

    4. The marketing options are bewildering. Blogging, social bookmarking, search engine submissions, affiliate links, Adsense. For every piece of advice telling a newbie that one of them is a good idea, another tells them that it isn't.

    5. The way that things are mixed and matched. Newbies come to IM with preconceptions that websites, blogs, forums, YouTube, podcasting are all separate kinds of internet experiences. But in the world of IM, they're all jumbled together. And that's quite disorientating for newbies.
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    • Thank you ,you've hit it on the head for me.I can't seem to find the solutions to all the tech problems ,some of which you listed here.
  • I agree with nick1123

    I think the number one problem newbies have is not knowing where to start. I get this question so often I've written a free book about it.

    Another big problem is that newbies are overwhelmed by so many choices. When they surf the net searching for answers they are bombarded by sales letters promising them fast and easy riches. This leads to another big problem.

    After reading so many sales letters telling them how "fast and easy" it is they believe it and start buying into all the "get rich quick" hype. Of course none of that works so they get into the next big problem.

    Stuck in research mode. This is when they keep buying and learning and buying and learning, but not doing anything. And this is because when they try to do something they find out the reality that it's not "fast and easy". It makes it difficult to work hard and take your time when you are told and you EXPECT it to be fast and easy. It's a vicious cycle.

    Well, there is lots more, but that's a start anyway.

    John P
    • [ 2 ] Thanks
  • I sure it starts with the mindset of the newbie. Once they understand that they need to get a system and work it - based on their own talents and temperaments.

    For example, there's no need for a newbie to try to create their own product until they at least learn how to slap up a landing page of some sort and actually drive some traffic to the page with some type of "affiliate" product or service.

    Cover the basics first!

    TL
  • As a newbie I could name a couple things that make it difficult for us to get things off the ground:

    1). Lack of focus, follow through and patience: This is probably the number one problem I face as a newbie along with a lot of other newbies that get in and get out because they don't see results in a day or two.

    2). Not knowing where to start - with all of the enticing options out there, its difficult to choose where to begin.

    3). Lack of a solid plan of action

    4). Lack of awareness of ones psychological triggers - my failures and lack of progress have led me to study myself, the things that make me tick and the things that motivate me, and I have come to the conclusion that it's VITAL that a newbie equips themselves with some sort of basic technical knowledge of the art of persuasion as early as possible in order to protect their subsconscious mind from the countless attempts to invade it by other marketers and other people in general. I've only begun to familiarize myself with some tactics and it works WONDERS.

    Those are the most important, in my case at least
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    • I would have to say getting steady traffic is the part where most people new to this (me definatly included) struggle. Most of the time you can't afford to do ppc, for adsense you still have to get the links infront of people, ebooks, scripts, affiliate links and everything else is going to make you zero money if people do not see it. Notice I said steady traffic though. Getting traffic through articles is good for a day then it tails off. Hub pages, squidoo, ect ect. are all good to get a bit of traffic at first but tail off if you don't know how to keep them ranked high. Obvioulsy with higher ranking for good keywords gets you better traffic. If you can get traffic to your sites, links or what ever you have then all you have to do is do some adjusting to find out what converts. As a newbie who's only 2 months into IM I would have to say not knowing how to keep getting consistant traffic is the reason many get frustrate and give up. I'm not upset about it at all though. There is a learning curve that many people here all went through as with anything. Plus I hate working 13 hours in construction 6 days a week to much to quit.
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  • Well, I'm just getting started. I do have a business plan in progress and I started my blog, with my site on the way. But the main thing I face in this early stage is the anxiety, the not knowing how it will all turn out. Like when, for instance, I'll be indexed by the search engines. That level of anxiety could discourage me, but I'm sticking to it and just going to wait it out, and in the meantime, learn as much as I can.
  • Banned
    [DELETED]
  • Lack of focus. I don't mean focusing on 100 different IM things. I mean being unable to focus on IM at all. I was supposed to use today and yesterday to work all day on my site and I've done next to nothing.
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    • Well you can't get more newbie that me. Here is a quick list of some of the stuff I really need work with or having trouble nailing down..

      1. My sales copy (In my case I write reviews of the product and place affilaite links within.) My site has been open for a year, 100 hits a day and no sales

      2. Design of a good blog template.

      3. How to make yourself look credible when selling products so they dont come off as sale pitch. If I'm trying to offer reviews with value I dont want people think I'm pitching them a sale in the same way as a sales page.

      4. A guide. I notice most newbies like myself just jumping around website to website, but I like a system for instance, when you get started you should read the following books. that type of stuff

      Josh
      • [2] replies
  • Great info. Thanks Guys.
  • When I first started, I remember getting hit with different ways to make money online one after another after another. If I could do it all differently, I would take my time to read up on and study the different ways instead of just jumping in head first. Just because a program or a product can make people money doesn't mean that you have what it takes to make money with it.

    One of the first things I did was join a program that had a downline component to it, and though they were clearly selling a product/service I had no understanding what it actually was (and I still have no idea). It was some technical stuff that went over my head, and it didn't make me enthusiastic about trying to promote it. I just jumped in because of the money-making potential attached to it.

    After that was when I got introduced to the idea of online information publishing in all its various forms - ebooks, list building, content sites, article marketing, etc. - and even though I like some forms of this better than others and can still struggle from time to time, this is much more on my level.
  • Actually, I think the biggest problem for a newbie is getting targeted traffic. It is usually too expensive to pay for, or too slow using free methods. I've been trying different things for a few months now, and I can honestly say that getting traffic is the most important skill anyone can learn.
  • - Information overload
    - Trying to do too many things at once
    - Jumping from one method to another when they don't see instant results
    - Not sticking to a systematic plan for a period of time to see success
  • Step One for new internet marketer... (it's actually a multi-step)

    Once you have figured out "who your target audience is" (that would be the ones you want to "help")...

    Stop reading and researching and learning for a bit... and set up a blog.

    Fill that blog with about 5 articles of really good ideas that you want to share with your target audience. Make sure you have a very good "about me" sort of page.

    Set up a newsletter or free report that is very very targeted at "helping" your visitors with some problem they are having.

    Keep in touch with your "list". These people (not lists) have raised their hands and said "yes" I want to learn from You!

    Get on every social media site you can find and start "talking" with your peeps. Help them - stop trying to "sell" to them...

    Eventually this small group of people will turn into a large group that want to purchase anything you create!

    Good luck to all newbie marketers... I was just where you were two years ago. I feel your pain... But if you keep chipping away... it will happen.
    • [ 1 ] Thanks
  • I've been full time freelance for a little over a year so I'm not sure if I'm technically still a newbie, but I know that one of the problems that I run into is needing to pay the bills versus wanting to find something that actually pays well. Using what I do (freelance writing) as an example: I know that what I have to offer is worth much more than what I charge, but because it takes a while to find clients who are willing to spend what I know I'm worth, I find myself taking on much lower paying clients to get the bills paid. I spend so much time on these lower paying clients that I rarely have the brain power or energy left at the end of the day to work on learning about how to properly market myself to the higher paying clients.

    Another problem I run into and I think most newbies might face this too, is that when you are selling your products or, in my case, yourself, modesty has to be tossed right out the window. You have to be able to say "I am better than my competition." or "This product is superior to that product" and a lot of us have a hard time learning how to do this. Most of us have been taught that modesty is good and bragging is bad and in our field (internet marketing) it's quite the opposite!

    Also--what do you do if you are banned from Adsense? I put it on my blog a few years ago and got banned because a well meaning family member was clicking on my ads--from our home. He wanted to help me make money, but Google saw it as clickfraud. :S Oops!
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    • I find the hardest thing is putting together a website even a simple one
  • This has been my personal problems and I think many others too:

    As a newbie all you know was "you can make money online" but how?
    You then find out about Adsense, you then find out you can do freelance work, you then find out about internet marketing, you then find out about product creation, affiliate marketing, list building, CPAs, etc, then at some point you will stumble upon names like Mike Filsaime, Frank Kern, John Reese, etc, but you have no idea who these guys are and they're selling you a "dream" (for a high price than your usual newbie guide ebook). Later on you will realize they all know each other like they're in a private IM fraternity each supporting each product launches as "gurus", and here you are confused how come this guys seem to make 7-figures and here I am with a lousy ebook teaching me how to "make money" by targeting sub-niches using keyword tools, article marketing, and what not, and the cycle goes on... and on... now that you've realized the whole scene, you get a bit discourage due on information overload. In the end those who really made big money are only those part of the so called IM fraternity which you now realize is what is called JVs. Now since you are a newbie, you now have the option to enter the IM niche as a fake-it-till-you-make-it guru or try your luck in other niches like what the gurus told us so through re-hashed versions of the same thing: SELL SOMETHING and keep doing it.

    So my final advice, don't buy any more how-to just start selling something already, whether as affiliate or your own product/service!
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    • Well said Brian. Well Said.
  • I think the biggest mistake many newbies make is simply NOT TAKING ENOUGH ACTION...
  • Another big mistake is trying to learn too much before taking action. When you are just starting out all you need to do is get a prospect to see an offer. That's it. Do it the simplest way possible. Just learn how to do that until you learn and develop your basic skills. One of the easiest ways to do it is simply write an article have it link to a top level redirect and have the prospect end up at an affiliate offer. Learn how to do just that well and you can be making money by next week.

    John P
    • [1] reply
    • By far I would say the number one problem is information overload.

      Once someone makes the decision to get started they are bombarded with tons of ideas and the next magic bullet.

      The money's in the list...
      Articles spread like wild fire...
      PPC is the best way to get targeted traffic...
      and my personal favorite you have to get on the first page of Google.

      Blah, blah blah. Once they start getting on everyone's mailing list the parade of flavors of the day are overwhelming.

      All this leads to SBS (scatter brain syndrome) and so they/we end up doing nothing. Or if we do something it is not well planned and more of a desperate attempt to console ourselves into believing that because we have created something on the web is enough.

      Seems once they are on this slippery slide there is no end in site.
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  • I think the hardest part is finding a good product/package/mentor and then of course getting traffic. Google adwords takes a while to get a hang of plus I don't have any extra cash. I am still trying to learn all the free traffic methods and these can be confusing at the beginning (squidoo?) and slow to show profits.
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    • I'm still a newbie, but I'm past the initial 'floundering around' stage, and can now see quite clearly what I did wrong in the beginning, including:

      *too much reading, not enough action - as others have said, it's easy to just read book after book, and not apply the information. I also felt like I had to learn every little detail before I started taking action, when I should have just learned the basics, then jumped in and corrected things later.

      *info overload - even when the information is good (and I was fortunate enough not to buy any truly horrible products), it isn't much help when you're just flitting from one book to the next.

      *not sticking with any one course of action long enough to see results.

      *focusing on niches where there wasn't much interest or much money being spent - which was a result of 'following my passion'. That can be good advice, but not when your interests are as obscure as mine! But making money is also one of my passions, so these days I focus on popular niches, and am not afraid of entering niches where there is lots of competition.

      *getting too hung up on the design of my sites. I'm a visual person and like things to look pretty, but I shouldn't have spent the months that I did getting my first site to look 'perfect' (though it was a good learning experience in terms of developing html skills etc). A professional looking site doesn't need all the bells and whistles to be effective.

      *not writing in the right style for the web. I come from an academic background, and my 'natural' writing style is a bit stiff and formal. I also have a major problem with long-windedness. So when writing articles for my sites, directories etc, I had to learn to say what I have to say in around 400-700 words, and to write in a more relaxed style (and to be less anal about getting it 'just right').

      *spending too much time reading IM blogs and forums - yes they can be a great source of info, but are also a major time suck (and FWIW, I don't agree with the often-given advice to just spend loads of time reading forums & learn everything you need to know that way. It's true that the info is there, but you have to spend days and weeks of precious time wading through a ton of 'noise' to find it, and a new person won't necessarily know what is valid advice anyway. Personally I'd much rather pay for a single reasonably priced ebook from a reputable author that brings all the basics together in one place, and save myself all that time. But each to their own.)

      *thinking that I had to sell. As an affiliate, I don't have to sell - that's the merchant's job. I need to focus on delivering targeted traffic to their site.

      *underestimating the importance of traffic generation. I spent too much time putting up lots of content, and not enough on actually promoting it - I kind of assumed that people would just find it somehow!

      *spending too much time getting distracted when online - working on the internet makes it very easy to get off track. It's too easy to just open another tab to check your email, or this or that site, or start surfing around.

      *buying a ton of domain names for niches that I thought I might like to get into. And then having them sitting there undeveloped, and eating up money when the time came to renew them (or letting them expire because I couldn't afford to renew them all!). These days I only think about new domain names when I'm actually starting work on a new project.

      *lack of technical knowledge - I hardly knew anything when I started, and was fortunate to have a lot of help from my computer geek BF when it came to setting up my first sites etc. I'm more knowledgable these days, but it was a steep learning curve, and there's still a lot I don't know.

      *anxiety - someone mentioned this earlier - but there's the feeling of 'what if none of this works'? Sometimes people get a few lucky sales early on, but often you're faced with the prospect of working very long hours for weeks or more without seeing results. And it's possible that results may never come at all - there are no guarantees in this business, and many people can't really deal with that uncertainty.

      *procrastination - which was usually a result of feeling overloaded.

      *compulsive stat checking (and then feeling discouraged by the usual '0's!). Now I check my stats once a day at the most (less with some things).

      *not knowing who to believe - there's a lot of 'how to make money' info out there, and a large chunk of it is not very good (at best). This applies to both free stuff like forum posts and paid ebooks and other products. How does a total newbie know who to trust?

      *fear of success - might sound weird, but I don't come from a wealthy background at all, and at first it felt uncomfortable to think that I could end up making more online in one month than I was used to making in a year, and with much less work after the initial start-up phase. So I had to change my belief system and self-image somewhat.

      I'm sure I've made lots more mistakes than this, but those are the main ones that I can think of.
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    • I am guilty on all counts your honor!
      But one thing for sure and two things for certain, I refuse to quit!

      Terry
    • They think ABS has to do with the brakes on their car.




      It really stands for Always Be Selling.

      Most people don't know how to sell and will do anything to avoid learning (especially learning through experience).
      • [1] reply
    • Here's the problem that everyone has... not just newbies.

      Most people get into professions that they don't really want
      to be in. There are herds of people that turn to Internet marketing
      as a last resort - or, because they think that they can make easy
      money.

      Now... I'm not saying that you have to love what you do - but, you
      have to be motivated to reach your desired outcome. And, you have
      to believe and want to do it.

      Here's one of my many perspectives on this: In terms of what people
      want to do for a living - most people are like undecided college students
      that just aimlessly try tons of different subjects - because they don't know what they really want their major to be.

      Some people struggle with knowing what they want to do in life.

      From my past experiences - I've noticed that people that are in professions that they actually want to be in- often times, excel with very little effort.

      If you did a poll right now in this forum on "Do you really want to be an internet marketer- Yes or No." I believe that the most people would say no - if they were willing to be honest.

      More often than not people fail because they do shit that they don't
      want to do.

      Very few newbies and veteran IM'ers fail when they actually want to be in
      Internet Marketing.

      We all have struggles - whether we are inexperienced or not. However,
      when you want something bad enough... you will make it happen.

      So... to answer your question in more simple terms:

      The number one problem that newbies have is that they don't really want to be Internet Marketers.
    • The biggest reasons newbies fail:

      They don't have the proper mindset for success

      They are impatient, wanting instant success

      They fail to take strong consistent ACTION.

      They fail and give up, not realizing success is
      probably just around the corner.

      They fail to have a plan, and follow it.

      It took me a few years to overcome these hurdles
      but it sure was worth the struggle. And if I can
      so can anyone with true desire to succeed.
    • They don't have patience.
    • All newbies should understand this 1st, every marketing gurus were newbies at one time. They all came around lot of learving curve & waited for years to see thier success.

      Newbies want thier success instantly like quick rich schemes. Everyone must accept the fact that "make money online" is not easy for newbies.

      Mostly newbies simply doesn't know where to start & how to start. lack of proper guideness. There is one proverb "Information is Wealth" this is very much suitable for any business either online or offline. newbie don't get this wealth making information easily. they have to spend most of time on researching the online money making methods & techniques & may end up with some crap info, this will mislead them to wrong path.

      Some newbie will keep on searching for free info & some buy info products. from my expereince i would say buying info products will be very helpful if you are newbie, the reason why i am saying this most people search for free info but they won't find it & keep on searching only. it's a waste of time & days. But newbies should be very careful while buying info products because most of them are crap, finding good info products also not easy. for that also newbies has to spent time in researching about that product.

      Newbies don't take action after gathering some ideas from gurus. people buy info products & read at once, that's it. they fail to take action of what they learned.

      Newbies confused with the way of starting thier carrier in online business community. There are literally thousands of ways to make money online, choosing which way to go is the road to success. There is hardways & softways, many newbies fail because they unknowingly choose the hardway that will take years to see the results & they quit. One who choose softway will make money instantly within a day. Some of hardways may be like creating own website, writing articles, blogs, PPC marketing, creating own info products & selling it, etc... Newbies find it's difficult to understand what all this. Softway like promoting CPA offers.

      Any newbie out there reading this, make sure you choose softway rather than hardway. B'coz you can make lot of money easily with CPA offers & use that money for other promotions.

      Wishing all newbies Good Luck
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  • I remember when I first started out, I failed to understand that online business needs the commitment and dedication in any other form of business (offline or online)

    There was no mentor to guide me and I had to feel in the dark what to do. There are many wrong steps I took while at other times, these wrong steps put me in the right spot after many trial and error.

    Beside the absence of mentor and the right mindset, I also fail to see that I need a proper system for my business.

    Now when I come to think about it, I used not able to:

    1. define what I want my business to be like

    2. eliminate all the unnecessary, not productive tasks which include constant checking of traffic stats and incoming emails every few mins

    3. automate my model so as to bring myself out of the system

    4. liberate myself off it so that my system can earn money even in my absence.

    My 2 cents,
    John
    • [2] replies
    • I happen to be one of those "newbies" we're talking about. After about three years of failure, I finally found someone who's made it easy enough for even ME! I've never been able to understand the HOW TO (the mechanics) with internet marketing. Now I'm learning too.
    • What I find confusing abou the Warrior Forum is that the emphasis seems to be on almost spamming the internet with articles, links etc. And it's portrayed as this massive struggle for which you have to put in the hard graft. Then I look at people like Tim Ferris or other friends of mine that are into IM, and seem to have set things up so that they don't just create another job for themselves.

      Eg; the whole 'money is on the list' idea. Sounds to me like you're just creating another job for yourself where you have to write a newsletter once a week or whatever.

      So on the one hand I want to learn from the forum, on the other hand I want to have things automated as much as possible and waste time writing hundreds of articles about the same topic.
  • Every newbie sooner or later comes to realize that their number one priority has to be getting traffic to their website /page. This is where many problems start, with so much information as to ways / methods of getting traffic they begin to suffer with information overlaod and can quickly lose focus.

    Graham
  • As a total newbie - no site yet - I'm finding the hardest thing is discovering a niche. All the advice I see tells me to go with something I feel passionate about. The only problem is that I can't think of anything I'm passionate about! I'm a jack-of-all-trades; I tinker in many areas but am a master in none!

    I am also cursed with gift for procrastination. As soon as I think of a subject I go off on several tangents - talk about paralysis by analysis. I've got to get organised!
    • [1] reply
    • The multitude of online (and offline) ads which imply that "anyone" can earn $xxxx dollars easily with no/little/ work/knowledge.

      Nowhere do you see ads saying you can become a doctor/pilot/attorney with no/little work/knowledge. Yet IM is somehow presented as something anyone can do.

      No - learning IM requires as much learning, practice, reading, studying, experience as any college course.

      Trying to follow every guru's program is like enrolling on 6 different college courses on the same subject and expecting each to teach you the same things in the same order.

      Information overload causes people to panic. They realise how much they don't know and want to learn it all at once. I see just this with the students on my courses. I have to focus them on the hear and now and spend time with them reflecting on what they HAVE learnt. I try to stop them looking too far forward.

      The newbie needs a simple, friendly, step by step guide to the absolute basics. As with learning to use a computer, once you have a solid grounding in the basics you develop the confidence to move forward in the direction that best suits you. (Perhaps I should write just such a guide. Friendly, step by step instructions is what I'm best at writing.)
  • this thread proves that there is a ton of knowledge...one could create his/her own product from this thread.
  • I think the biggest challenge for newbies to pick a niche and discover the proven, working techniques for promoting it. Many people, including myself, spent a lot of money in attempt to discover the paying nice. I, myself, spent more than 800$ on adwords before I found products that are worth promoting. Many get discouraged/scared by this process and quit too soon.
  • I think the biggest problem for newbies is focus and dealing with the overwhelming amount of choices just so you can focus!

    You have to limit how many things you look at. Choose 1 method from 3 to 5 (max) different methods. Choose the one that fits your style of working. Then, stick with it until you've nailed it or at least given it enough of a chance to prove it works or not for you.

    If you swallow hook, line & sinker all the make money quick "methods," you are destined to keep jumping from one method to another.
    • [1] reply
    • I couldn't agree with you more! I'm sticking with this until it works!
      • [2] replies
  • I think the hardest part for a newbie is not taking the time to understand the business they are about to launch into. Everyone touts adsense sites, or affiliate programs and the like. Sure, they are great is you know what you are doing. But a newbie doesn't. However, they often don't spend the time to really understand how internet marketing works.

    The best suggestion I have for any newbie is to do this:

    READ IM FORUMS FOR A LONG TIME BEFORE DOING ANYTHING.

    All the information is free and already out there. Join some forums, sit back, and get educated. After a month or so you will have a very solid idea of how IM works, what to do, etc.
    • [1] reply
    • Sorry, but I think that's the worst advice. It will just leave people more confused when they don't know which advice to believe, which is the same point Becky made above.

      You learn more from doing than from reading, especially when some of what you read is wrong.
  • Yup,

    I didn't see this above (I scanned I must admit...).

    1. Concentrating on what actually MAKES you money
    2. Working on CONVERSIONS
    3. Working on LEVERAGE
    4. Fear of delageting (outsourcing)

    I think newbies are misleaded into getting traffic.

    They need to understand that traffic is only one part of the puzzle.

    The truth is that:

    1. You can make money (I mean a living) without being on Google Page 1, and even without PPC advertising.

    Ah... I need to go, talk later.

    Franck
  • My biggest problem is finding a specific direction and focusing all my energy on it. Instead I am trying multiple approaches, trying to find which method works best. In theory it sounds good to diversify, but I only have so much time and thus end up with a bunch of half-assed projects rather than a single good one that has the potential to make me money. I think I've seen the error of my ways though, and have decided to try a single money making method. If it works I'll replicate it. If it doesn't, well at least I won't be any worse off than I am now
  • Most newbies start their search on google on how to make money on the internet and find all the scams. Then they get hyped and throw up a website and expect the money to start rolling in, and when it does not they give up. What they need to understand is a online business is just like a brick and mortar business, you have to work just as hard and have a solid plan.
  • IM isn't hard. What is hard is the art and mastering of what to do.

    Most niewbies limit themselves with the thinking of wanting to be like Guru XXX, instead of being better than Guru XXX.

    First, what any niewbie need to do is to focus on studiyng, studying, reseraching and researching.

    When you implement all you have read in books, forums etc, you will have your personal exeprience.

    You will fail but your ability to identify where, how and why you failed gives you leverage.

    Finally, all niches are not for you. You must look wihin yourslef and pick niches centered in the following:
    Your Expertise
    Your Passion
    Your Hobby
    Your Mistake
  • These are some problems I have had.

    1) Focus. With so many opportunities out there, it is not easy at first deciding on ONE system and sticking with it. There seems to be so much good stuff out there!

    2) Time management. I still spend way too long just looking/browsing/reading emails, and not nearly enough time focussing on generating traffic.

    3) Positive feedback, which is needed to keep up motivation.

    4) Neglecting my "other" job, which I can't quit yet!

    5) Confusion. How to set up my opt-in page, start my list, add an OTO, there seem to be so many steps to making it all work.

    I wanted to start small with a really easy system, that's why I'm using Silent Profit Machine. Sure feels good to have finally gotten somewhere.

    Hope this helps someone else get off the ground!
  • They cannot find a coach. Now, they can go to Thenicheblogger.com and get help from Amy Bass.
  • There are tons of resources for Newbies and were they should start BUT they can't believe all the work that's involved.

    Once the curtain has been slid back it just isn't as sexy as they thought because they have to actually get focused and work instead of surfing here and there and occasionally make an effort to get something done.

    Sustained effort really widens the gap between successful internet entrepreneurs and the rest of the herd.

    Mike Hill
  • I have sponsored hundreds into my various online businesses and a lot of them are/were newbies.

    I am finding the core of them have problems with establishing themselves...ie
    lead capture pages, autoresponders, marketing.

    I find a lot of them don't want to invest in resources and tools that are necessary tools and resources for internet marketing professionals.

    ...Yes, I used the word professional, while sitting in my home in sweat pants ; D

    They want to make the money first and then invest in the tools when it's the tools that will aid in their success...

    The business is the easy part. Anyone can invest money into a biz.

    It's getting them plugged into and positioned online to conduct business successfully.

    Hope that helps...

    Steph Perez
  • I'm going to go sideways here and say that if IM were all that simple and easy, everybody would be succeeding. Thet fact that everyone is not actually benefits each one of us who will take the time to learn, focus, test and refine. So, those who persevere, win.
  • I have been at it for over a year now. I made a few $'s here and there. For myself, the biggest problem is Lack of plan, No consistency resulting in lack of traffic. I recently bought Michael Cheney's Goldend Thread that gave me all the know how needed to build up several websites of my own. I have also joined Alex Jeffreys' group getting excellent mentoring. I have been wasting my time reading the Emails which earned no money. But Alex's taught me the first thing was to draw up a plan. Now I started to limit myself to 2 hours per day on Emails and 2 hours per day on visiting the forums. My experience was lacking of traffic, the main killer of online businesses. Following Alex's guidance, my 2 main task's from now on will be giving away products to build a list. 70-80% of my effort (consistent efforts) will be driving traffics to promote my give away products.
  • You're asking what is the problem with most newbies? and you asked for 10 reasons.
    I dont think you need 10, because any and all reasons fall within the 3 main reasons below...these are the true reasons why newbies give up.

    Consistency.
    Dedication.
    Patience above all.

    The problem with most folks that are new to the game is that they feel its a get rich quick vehicle - yes there are marketers who can make $12,000 in 24 hours but that's only because they've been working at it for 3 to 5 years - these new guys think that its that possible, they attempt it before putting reliable work into it and then they give up.....they need real mentors, they need to network and listen - once they learn the true basic im sure they will do well.....enough Rambling for me - to sum it up the problem is lack of action, lack of dedication, lack of consistency, and lack of patience.
  • For myself, the biggest problem has been driving targeted traffic to my site. I am currently trying to learn as much as possible on traffic techniques that work. I have set both short term and long term goals.

    I have been consistent with my latest site, but I have set up sites before and failed to stick with them. I think I have learned from that mistake and refuse to let that happen again.
  • Biggest issues I see from the perspective of coaching many newbie info product creators are:

    1. Fear of making mistakes when in fact, making mistakes are the route to success...each mistake teaches us something about our market or our process leading us one step closer to breaking through

    2. Not understanding our customer - who they are, what they REALLY want, why they want it, what they have tried in the past and why they are still looking for answers, how they talk and like to be talked to

    3. Closely linked to #2, not understanding the VALUE we provide to our customer - what do they consider as valuable - have we really got a website, opt-in incentive, content base and products that they value...most people do not have a clue.

    If you can overcome these very common mistakes, suddenly the entire marketplace opens up to you and you can really break through the ceiling.
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  • I've been a newbie for maybe 5 years now (if newbie = not making much money). Check out my Warrior Forum Join Date. My biggest problems...

    - no real plan (just jumping between ideas)
    - unable to convert to sales

    (Great post... keep it coming)
    • [1] reply
    • Wow, so much useful info and which do I use? Nick how do you know who are the right people and which book should we be reading? Jan
      • [2] replies
  • For me and I believe a lot of other new internet marketers have had or will have these problems:
    not choosing profitable products to promote/niches
    not knowing how to find good keywords that brings buying traffic
    not developing a system or business plan
    not getting enough of quality traffic or any in many cases (this goes back to the first 2 problems I mentioned)
    not knowing how to correctly grow and improve their business
    and not knowing when to give up or stick with a particular niche or product.

    Hope this helps!
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  • I am not a newbie but I can tell you a big problem is there is so much information for the newbie to see (information overload) I call it ADD for marketers. Focusing on one thing and building it ...would help the newbies out very much!!

    Great post!

    Kathy Baka
  • I'm going to have to go w/ getting the traffic being the biggest problem. If I can get a few hundred people to my site consistently, I can tweek the other stuff until I start making $$$. If I can't get the people though, I'll never know if my tweeks are worth anything.
  • Yeah lack of focus and bouncing around from thing to thing without mastering anything.

    Remember: A Jack of all trades is a master of nothing.
  • Newbies need to select a online biz model and get busy.

    TL
  • I think the biggest problem is how much information there is. First a lot of it is bad info. second what they do try, they usually quit too soon. and third it getting targeted traffic, because without the traffic any guru cant make anything. If you are new you might wanna get a good mentor to help you through this because it is one wild ride.
  • I think a lot of newbies are gullible and kind of get ripped off.

    What I mean is this. As experienced marketers we don't fall for the HEADLINES that some of the Gurus bombard is with on there sales pages.

    Saying you can get rich quick whilst not being honest about the work required to build a sustainable business is not good.
    • [1] reply
  • So many existing programs offer a lot of technical information without showing you how to connect the dots. Until you understand the fundamental steps of internet marketing it can be so overwhelming.

    The programs I have found to be the most helpful are the ones that you give you lots of helpful information up front before you join them.
  • I am a newbie. I have to say "Distraction". There's a lot of things in IM that always make me stray away from FOCUS.

    Firstly, you cannot do one thing all the time to make your business work. For example, you have made your efforts in building a blog about something that you love. Then, what you are supposed to do is not just blogging everyday even if that's what you like. You need to submit articles to directories and build Squidoo lenses to promote your blog. After your articles are approved, you need to submit more of them to promote the previously approved articles. So what would you do today when you have only couple of hours everyday?

    Secondly, when I first bought some course or ebooks, I started with passion and willingness to focus. However, the author recommended in the ebook or course another course or ebook which is very attractive, too. What would you do? Can you cope your impulse to buy effectively?

    That's the thing. Do you agree, warriors?
  • I'd like to find more information on testing. I know it's a majorly important part of what you do and yet so far I not stumbled upon anyone teaching it!
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  • Important Disclaimer: I'm not trying to offend the person who started this thread or any of the previous posters. But BEWARE... the following post is NOT for the faint-hearted and should just be skipped by anyone who likes feeling sorry for themselves or who doesn't want to hear straight talk about why people fail online.

    For every 1000 people claiming they want success online, about 4 are serious and have enough friggin' sense to realize business requires time, planning, and most of all sustained thought.

    The other 996 are your standard, garden variety, half-assed, play-pretend wannabe, don't deserve the title "entrepreneur", jokers who want success handed to them as they sit in front of the TV for most of the day and spend perhaps 20 minutes per week of actual constructive work toward their business.

    Sound harsh? I don't care.

    I've been working online full-time since 2005 and I stopped giving a damn about what newbies claim they want a long time ago. Most of them are lying through their teeth when they say they want success in the first place.

    What most newbies really want is someone to feel sorry for them. They want to bitch and complain about how their poor excuse for effort isn't paying big money and how it's so unfair that other people make money and they don't.

    Second Disclaimer: I realize we all read about overnight success stories. Anything is possible for anybody, but I meet precious few newbies with anything near a winning, positive mindset required for smashing overnight success. People who cry constantly about the sky falling and getting kicked out of their apartment DO NOT typically have the right attitude for magnetizing themselves to an amazing success story.

    Ok folks flame away. I fully expect a dozen MLM recruiters to rush in here and admonish me sternly for hurting the poor newbie feelings. But some of the more seasoned entrepreneurs on this board will know everything I just said was right on point.
    • [1] reply
    • Hey everyone,

      Speaking as a relative newbie...one of my main problems is a lack of investment $$$ for all the training courses, products, marketing costs, etc.

      I'm doing some writing on AssociatedContent and Suite101 to help with that (and I'd recommend that to others), but I'm still working on getting more money that way.
  • Hi,
    Im newbie.. and I have facing all this matter.
    Thanks for the tips
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  • I am a newbie and have just started out with the David Preston Cash Cow with the Opt-in Autoresponders and I can honestly say there's an overwhelming amount of information nowadays especially when trying to find your own resolutions from such forums. These forums are great and very useful, time taken to read the posts takes away some of the potential time with business owners and prospects. It's all a big learning curve for me.
    In saying this, this is by far the best forum I have 'stumbled across'.
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  • Nothing much hard except from laziness and lack of actions
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    10 problems newbies have

    I just wanna get feedback from the newbies or vets here. It doesn't matter. I want to know what newbies are having a hard time with. Why can't they make money? What bothers them the most? What makes internet marketing difficult?