Newbie Tip - Focus versus Diversify.

One of the most common mistakes made by new Internet Marketers and some who've been around for a while, is understanding the meanings of 'focus' and 'diversify'.

All too often we meander around and lose sight of our goals. We get distracted, we pickup the latest WSO and wander down a new path, and we bounce from one task to the next without nailing anything down.

In this instance we lack focus and we achieve less. So we need to create a clear plan, map out our goals for the week, month year ahead. Stay on task and we'll accomplish much more.

But some people take this a step too far when dispensing advice. They tell you to only have one project or one iron in the fire, and to focus on that and nothing else.
There may be places where that logic is sound, but not generally in IM.

So in this context, people are misconstruing the concept of diversification and assuming it means lacking in focus. It does not. Diversification is an important aspect of IM.

To consider it and decide against it is one thing, but to not consider it because someone has told you to "stay focused" is completely erroneous.

A good part of being a successful IM is managing the art of speculation. And I don't mean spreading false rumors about your competitors

Speculating in IM is a little like trading in the stock market. You're buying a piece of property, not with the intent of devoting your life to it, but to see how the market for the property develops. At some point you may drop it from your portfolio, or you may invest more into it.

With web properties they clearly benefit from age. The older a domain gets to be the more authority it picks up and the better your chances are of improving your SERP's. Also, there does tend to be a period of SERP instability with a new domain/site, they often tend to bob around for 3 months or so before finally settling down.

So here's a practical example of how to focus and diversify at the same time.

Today I'm working on a new membership website for business owners. I've mapped the project out and planned my time over a 4 week period. I know what I want to achieve with the project and how long it will take to complete, so I'm staying focused and on-task. But in 4 weeks my time spent on that particular project will taper off sharply. So I'm going to prepare my next project today, then shelve it until I'm ready. I want to prepare it today so that when it finally hits the ground it will have some age and reputation and stability. So in 3 hours today, I've researched a niche, found some good keywords, registered a domain, added it to my reseller hosting account, installed Wordpress, added an 'about' 'home' 'contact' and 'policy' page, written a 950 word article, added it to the site, pinged it, added some links on my network and submitted it to several article directories.
Now I'm going to put that project down and pick it up again when I'm ready for it. My total cost investment was $12.10 for the domain and my time spent was 3 hours. I've made an investment which is ready to be capitalized on at some time in the future.

I call these 'incubator' projects. I always have a bunch of them in a holding pattern around whatever I'm focused on

That's forward planning and staying on task. But many people frown upon it and assume that it's too fragmented or lacking focus. They're missing an important point.
Now YMMV and you may have other ideas which clash with the above. But I just wanted to give you a slightly different perspective on what it means to stay focused.

Good luck with whatever you're working on.