You'll Never Make It In IM Today. I've Been There.

Over the years on this forum I keep reading posts where Warriors are having continuing problems finding their IM niche. Trying this and that, and getting nowhere. They're not making money or sales, and it's an uphill battle for them.

Part of the problem is the promise, the allure of Internet Marketing - seems like everybody is making 100 grand a month from it. We know the reality is sometimes different (Fake Check?).

So, for all of you who are lost in this gigantic world of marketing and money possibilities, but can't seem to get anywhere, here's a little story about what worked for me. Hope it will help you look in a different direction.

Back in the early 90's I was having good success with a lottery system I spent a couple of years developing. Now, before you click away thinking that this kind of stuff is corny or bogus, let me tell you that it started out as a personal challenge. I wanted to accomplish something in life that hadn't been done before, that promised a lot of money and was intellectually stimulating.

And this worked. After winning weekly for a long while, I then sold my system nationally in a mail-order 'how to' manual, using some very successful direct mail campaigns.

Then I was thrown into the IM ring when I successfully sold the system on the net in the mid-90's. Again, later, I wrote about my success, and the 420 page "eBook Secrets" was born. (Not available now). That sold tens of thousands of copies over a few more years.

Here's the interesting bit. My IM career ebbed and flowed, and eventually petered out, but the sales of my lotto system kept on rising.

Eventually I tossed in my title of 'how-to guru' and concentrated on what was working. I gave up mainly because there were a lot of smart and fast people passing me by. I simply didn't have the will or energy to spend countless hours keeping up with the latest ploys and techniques. (As it happens now, I didn't have to... I'm using most of the same methods I did when I first started in 1995 on the net, and still getting increasing success. The smart-kids have long crashed and burned).

But here's my point.

People trying to get on the IM bandwagon, with limited knowledge and years, are going to find it almost impossible to beat the Frank Kerns, the John Reeses and Rich Schefrens of this exclusive world. Not only have they got the movie star looks, youth and energy, but they speak long of wise things. They are bright stars at their peak. Hard acts to follow - even for me, a 13-year veteran of the commercial internet.

So this is what I found actually works: I do what has successfully worked for me in the past.

Everyone has some talent, skill or knowledge that causes others to be impressed or have praised you. All we need to do is find it, and convert it to money. A while back, in a period of career stagnation, I had to determine what would work for me, or die broke. So I went back in my work life as far as I could, and looked for areas where I had enjoyed continuing success.

I had to face it, only my lotto system stood out as the true winner.

It wasn't a perfect answer either. I'm a conventional kind of guy, and I really wanted a 'sophisticated' vocation - one that would bring me international respect and maybe a Nobel Prize later on. But through all the ups and downs of my life, the lotto system was the only consistent earner above everything else I had attempted... all the newspapers, the pizza places, the investment properties.

So I stuck with what worked.

But I didn't stop at one product. I expanded it over the years:

- Started with the basic system for my country only.
- Expanded the system to work in a few more countries.
- Built that product list up to over 35 games.
- Worked until the system would run in most countries.
- Developed new specialized products based on the original product.
- Added a membership site (if you do nothing else - get this!... it's a goldmine!)

I guess what I'm saying is, I did what worked for me in the past. I built on it, developed it, grew it. From Warren Buffet down to the fourth generation corner store grocer, the world's winners all do the same. They spend their life in a focused groove, paring and pruning and growing their talent.

Now, there's another part to this story. You need an edge.

Success means you must eliminate the competition by being different. To do that you MUST build something that is protected. Think Coco Cola. Same with my lotto system... the proprietary secret is hidden. Don't rely on patents - anyone can replicate those with a bit of work. What you develop must be unique and unbreakable.

Recognize your past success, polish a unique concept, and work it ruthlessly. I'm saying forget Internet Marketing, and go for areas with less competition, but in your own area of past success. Worked for me.