200th post give back to the community ~ Bane's Way
Hey guys,
Many of you have known me for a little bit now and know that I am headstrong (sometimes a little too much) and tend to speak first and think later (sorry Paul
). So I thought for my 200th post I would put some of the ways that I think and what I do down.
You will most likely fail, and this is your first lesson, failure is good! In fact, without failure, you are unlikely to get anywhere at all in Internet Marketing. Don't be discouraged when you fail, instead take a look at what happened, and go "how could I improve?". Don't blame it on the lack of funds, or tools, or anything - just focus on how to move on and get better, I guaruntee there is a way.
Many people may have problems with what I have posted here. If you have an issue, please post CONSTRUCTIVELY
Many of you have known me for a little bit now and know that I am headstrong (sometimes a little too much) and tend to speak first and think later (sorry Paul
). So I thought for my 200th post I would put some of the ways that I think and what I do down.========================
Firstly, I would like to appeal to people who may be new to the forum who are reading this or who Haven't started but are reading, to just go ahead and start something. It doesn't matter if you have precisely $0 to your name, go get a free domain, and a free host till you get up enough to purchase your own hosting and domain. But go out there and try. You will most likely fail, and this is your first lesson, failure is good! In fact, without failure, you are unlikely to get anywhere at all in Internet Marketing. Don't be discouraged when you fail, instead take a look at what happened, and go "how could I improve?". Don't blame it on the lack of funds, or tools, or anything - just focus on how to move on and get better, I guaruntee there is a way.
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There is no magic pill. No method that is 'perfect' no way of doing IM that will make you rich overnight, guarunteed (and the few that can make you rich overnight, are extremely risky). People are going to tell you to do one thing and stick to it. DONT! If you don't get your feet wet trying different things, how are you going to know what's right for you?
I'm not telling you to try sixteen different methods at once, just try something, for at least a month (or as recipes say "until browned") and then get your feet wet doing something else. You'll eventually find something that just 'clicks', be it Bum Marketing, CPA, Affiliate Sales, Copywriting, Product Creation, Email, Media Buys, PPC, JVs, and more - there is something in the huge world of Internet Marketing that will suit you.
Don't focus on success. Don't focus on money. Yes, I understand for some of you, perhaps even all of you (which would make me the only crazy one here) this is your primary goal, but if you don't find passion in your work, you won't make it. Focus on what you are working on and if the money comes, the money comes.
It's really that simple. Stop thinking about money and success - sure let them motivate you, but if you are just continually focussing on it, you're going to screw it up. I knew a young lad who I mentored who was just money hungry, constantly. You know what? He has a list now that he is burning into the ground, he promotes a new affiliate deal daily, and his open rates are horrible. Why? Because he worries too much about money.
For you older IMers out there. Try Offline Marketing at least once... it might not be for you, but chances are it will. The reason is simple - it involves you getting paid lots of money for skills you have built up over your career. Depending on the route you go, I know many people who make 7 figures working 5 hours a week. This is in addition to their normal business.
Just give it a shot, even for a couple of weeks - read up about it, see what services you could offer and how you could offer it, and go grab it! I think many of you will be pleasantly suprised. There is an offline marketing section on this very forum filled with six figure plus members.
I'm not telling you to try sixteen different methods at once, just try something, for at least a month (or as recipes say "until browned") and then get your feet wet doing something else. You'll eventually find something that just 'clicks', be it Bum Marketing, CPA, Affiliate Sales, Copywriting, Product Creation, Email, Media Buys, PPC, JVs, and more - there is something in the huge world of Internet Marketing that will suit you.
========================
Don't focus on success. Don't focus on money. Yes, I understand for some of you, perhaps even all of you (which would make me the only crazy one here) this is your primary goal, but if you don't find passion in your work, you won't make it. Focus on what you are working on and if the money comes, the money comes.
It's really that simple. Stop thinking about money and success - sure let them motivate you, but if you are just continually focussing on it, you're going to screw it up. I knew a young lad who I mentored who was just money hungry, constantly. You know what? He has a list now that he is burning into the ground, he promotes a new affiliate deal daily, and his open rates are horrible. Why? Because he worries too much about money.
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Question Everything and most importantly Listen to yourself. When someone (even me) says that x is the best way, or y is the way things should be done. Question that. Don't just take it at face value. Sure, a lot of the time it is valuable advice, but not always! In fact, quite often people here are so stuck in the IM ways of 5+ years ago, that they fail to see different ways of doing things.
If you think you have a great idea, don't let people crush that idea. Go out and see for yourself if it is a great idea. I'll put a personal analogy here: I love videogames. I was told my entire life that playing videogames would amount to nothing. My mother took a hammer to my NES (a console) because I played it too much, and was wasting my life. Now I am a Videogame Journalist paid 20c+ a word doing and writing about the things that I love. Now I never heard 'playing games could lead to something', all it was was pure negativity for my beliefs... but they panned out in the end... and there is a chance that it could work for you too.
I don't like this analogy because of the segregation involved, but according to IQ scales, 2.2%ish of the people in the world are geniuses. That means that 49 people are going to tell you your idea sucks before 1 says otherwise. Doesn't make your idea bad, or not worth pursuing.
If you think you have a great idea, don't let people crush that idea. Go out and see for yourself if it is a great idea. I'll put a personal analogy here: I love videogames. I was told my entire life that playing videogames would amount to nothing. My mother took a hammer to my NES (a console) because I played it too much, and was wasting my life. Now I am a Videogame Journalist paid 20c+ a word doing and writing about the things that I love. Now I never heard 'playing games could lead to something', all it was was pure negativity for my beliefs... but they panned out in the end... and there is a chance that it could work for you too.
I don't like this analogy because of the segregation involved, but according to IQ scales, 2.2%ish of the people in the world are geniuses. That means that 49 people are going to tell you your idea sucks before 1 says otherwise. Doesn't make your idea bad, or not worth pursuing.
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For you older IMers out there. Try Offline Marketing at least once... it might not be for you, but chances are it will. The reason is simple - it involves you getting paid lots of money for skills you have built up over your career. Depending on the route you go, I know many people who make 7 figures working 5 hours a week. This is in addition to their normal business.
Just give it a shot, even for a couple of weeks - read up about it, see what services you could offer and how you could offer it, and go grab it! I think many of you will be pleasantly suprised. There is an offline marketing section on this very forum filled with six figure plus members.
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Outsourcing. If you can afford to do it, do it. Time is money, and you can frequently turn a 8 hour day into a 1 hour with outsourcing, or even less. Outsourcing frees up time you can use to do other things, and make even more money, so by not using it... for the most part you are losing money.
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If you've read to this point I feel you can be trusted with what I am about to share with you. This is something that I think is more or less unique in this marketplace, and I work to do it the same way no matter what I do in the business. And that is for every new method, I start at $0. I do not invest anything, ever, into a method. Now that's not because I'm poor, trust me... but because I like having a control.
I like analysing how things are going, statistics and doing testing. I start with absolutely nothing, and build it up from there. Say I start in IM E-books. I would create it myself to start with, maybe do some posts on DP or wherever I could sell it for free - start from there. Then focus on things like graphics, making it a better product, rewriting via a copywriter (or myself). Starting sales pages, etc etc.
Starting from nothing means you get a great feel for what you are working with. Even if I use tools that would cost money that I've purchased for other things, I consider that an expense and adjust my books accordingly. This is so that way I can measure the viability and performance against other methods, and note improvements easilly when they occur.
I like analysing how things are going, statistics and doing testing. I start with absolutely nothing, and build it up from there. Say I start in IM E-books. I would create it myself to start with, maybe do some posts on DP or wherever I could sell it for free - start from there. Then focus on things like graphics, making it a better product, rewriting via a copywriter (or myself). Starting sales pages, etc etc.
Starting from nothing means you get a great feel for what you are working with. Even if I use tools that would cost money that I've purchased for other things, I consider that an expense and adjust my books accordingly. This is so that way I can measure the viability and performance against other methods, and note improvements easilly when they occur.
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Many people may have problems with what I have posted here. If you have an issue, please post CONSTRUCTIVELY
Please note - these are my opinions and beliefs they are not necessarily right or wrong.