What are the top 5 mistakes you've made in Internet Marketing, and how are you overcoming them?

Creating hundreds of sites in various niches was a huge mistake for me! I'm selling them one by one others I just let them expire so I can focus more on my money sites.

This might sound cliche, but not taking action is probably my biggest mistake. Now I'm still in school so internet marketing is hardly a job, more like a small hobby, so I can sit and read forums all day and dream up what may or may not work. It's just the matter of actual implementation. The first website I ever ran (when I was 14) made about enough money to break even with server costs, then it fell flat on its face. So my biggest mistake is still not being able to look past a mistake.

Awesome thread!

Personally, I think we ran into a few mistakes that we have learned from and other people should learn from, especially if you are using something other than Clickbank, etc to sell your product...

1. Make sure your merchant account/Paypal properly communicates with your shopping cart. We had 1ShoppingCart and Paypal hooked up but it seemed like every second sale or so, Paypal wouldn't let 1SC know that a sale had been completed. This prevented keys from been sent out and we manually had to complete this job. This was rough because it was on launch day and our product is hot.

2. Do not under estimate PayPal. If you generate more cash than what is normal for you, PP could simply drop you like a sake of potatoes. Try and apply for a merchant account and go this route. Dealing with a real bank and not a faux one will save you headaches in the future.

3. If you have a software, test on numerous different platforms and systems AND make sure Beta testers are given proper instructions on what they need to report back with. Make sure it is simple for them and create a Beta tester cheat sheet and make sure it gets completed.

4. Again if it is software, program with simplicity in mind. If the solution is programmed complicated, then it will be too hard to update and headaches will ensue!

5. Have a dedicated support team to address any problems that could arise.

After reading over what I have written above they are not written as my biggest mistakes but each of them are my biggest mistakes in IM. I wrote them with solutions so everyone can learn from them.

You also asked how we have addressed them... our software is now stronger than ever and way better than what it was. We got a support team in place and so much more! What we had created in the past was good and it worked for us. Now what we have done is created something amazing and far superior to what we originally created.

Kind regards!

1. Same as ItWas, I didn't take action - I bought a ton of stuff that I didn't need and didn't take the time to put enough things into action. I spend most of my time now implementing and optimizing what I already have.

2. I went in too many directions - I didn't settle on trying out one thing before moving on to another strategy. So, I did a lot that made a little instead of one thing that made a lot. I've since focused on a few things at a time.

3. I didn't network - I didn't attempt to meet and speak with other people with the same goals. Now, I network through Skype and am able to brainstorm and decompress.

4. I didn't think of IM as a business - I treated IM like a gig and not like a business. Now, I think out all of the actions that I take. I also make choices by how much value I will receive vs how much I will give.

5. I didn't go to the source - I bought products instead of buying coaching. Now, I value good coaching above other options as it caters to my specific goals and situation. Plus, I get Q&A.

1) Entering a generic "make money online" niche - Too competitive, so now I focus more on specific IM sub-niches (e.g traffic building etc)

2) Not investing in IM tools that cost money. You'll need to put in money in order to make money. Now, I set a monthly budget investing in IM tools to see what works and what doesn't.

3) Not taking enough risks experimenting in my early stages of IM. I now set a monthly budget testing and exprimenting with different business models online.

4) Not networking with other IMers enough. I'm now trying to make more friends on WF.

Finally, just wanna say that mistakes might not be a bad thing. We learn from our mistakes now so that we don't end up going down the wrong path in the long run.

1: Rushing into buying products. I am still very new to Internet marketing, but one of the biggest mistakes ive made is buying something and then realising its a hyped up piece of useless garbage. I encourage people to read reviews on products! Just search on here or in google, it can save you heaps time and money =)

2: Dont sell yourself short, If something seems too hard for you and you dont understand a thing, dont give up, learn it!

3: Having too many products to get through at once. This is something ive done. I used to end up with maybe 3-4 WSO's for example in 1 week. As a result i could never completely learn the course as i just simply had to much going on.

4: Be patient! Success doesn't come overnight. Don't rush your learning. I was so eager to make money online that i never actually took the proper time to learn how at first.

5: I never asked for advice in the beginning. Learn from those who are successful! Participate in forums daily, even just 1 post, listen and learn. You do NOT have to buy anything from a "Guru" to learn how to make money online.

I just pointed this out in another thread actually, but my biggest mistake when starting out, and the mistake most newbies make, is that they dont stick with one method and one traffic source.
Focus on this only, until you have mastered it, rather than jumping around from one idea to the other.

Not implementing what i learn in time seems to be my most undoing, this one is hard to overcome as am usually time constrained but i am slowly mastering the art of sleeping less hours and working long hours but sometimes am so tired i do not know what to do, is there a remedy out there for tiredness?

I think my biggest mistake was not seeing my creations through, and maybe that had something to do with what I was building in the first place.

Build things you care about. I'm still building on domains I don't care about so I can make some revenue from them, but I still don't know if that's gonna round itself out or what.

My year's mistakes which I intend to avoid come next business year include:
1) Not liaising with other IM dealers. It denied me of more experience.
2) Entering highly competitive niches.
3) Engaging in multiple IM deals. I ended up without any good deal to focus on.
4) I did not stick with one traffic source.
5) Rushing on products without enough background information which led me to having a whole garbage stare at me.

1. My biggest mistake is not focusing on one IM venture. In the past, I have tried to juggle two to three methods of IM at once, and it's just not working for me. I plan to rectify this by focusing primarily on my PLR store in 2012.

2. Spending too much time in the planning/decision making stages. I analyze things to death before I do them. I consider the pros, cons, what ifs, maybe I should..., etc. etc. I realize that it's eating away at my success because planning, while it's important, isn't going to directly bring in the income!

3. Procrastinating and becoming easily distracted. Working at home comes with many distractions, so I have to make myself work only when my husband is home to care for our son or at night when he's asleep. During the day, I enjoy my time with them, and in the afternoon/evening, I also make time for my husband. However, I also set aside time at least 4 days each week to work, and if I can't find the time then, I use part of the weekend for work. Setting aside the time to say "Okay, I am going to do nothing but work during this time" really helps me.

Laziness is also a crippler when it comes to gaining conversions. Most searchers spend 80% of their attention above the fold. This is where you have to actually focus a lot of attention. he success of a retail business often hinges on how well its sales staff relates to the different types of people that walk through the doors.

A lot of you guys are highlighting a main mistake, and that's inaction. Failing to take action was one of my largest mistakes, among many others. Analysis paralysis is what some people call it. What helped me overcome that challenge was to create a plan, write it down and hold myself accountable for the things that needed to be done.

Also, networking with other internet marketers was another thing I failed to do at one time. I had to realize that behind all those numbers and emails were real people who could be potential clients and business partners. So, if anything, I would recommend make a plan, take action on it, and talk to people. You will be surprised at the amount of resources at your fingertips.

My mistake was also not taking action and being lazy.

The biggest mistake anyone can make in business is acting on advice from people who are not qualified to give it.

And let's face it, the internet is a breeding ground for people who haven't got a clue, going around and selling information to people who also haven't got a clue. The irony really strikes home when people buy the information with resale rights and sell it on to the next person with their 'expert' endorsement. Talk about the blind leading the blind.
Most of the "I got distracted" and "I buy too many products" and "I can't stay focused" mistakes are from people who are drawn to a product from a purely emotional standpoint. They forget how a little simple logic, like checking out the credentials of the person selling the information, could really save them a lot of time and money.

My biggest mistake is one I continue to make, spreading myself too thin over too many projects.

I'm not going to go for 5, because when it came to internet marketing a big mistake stuck out for me: overeager backlinking. I had a promising site (my first every one) earning a few bucks a day, and I was building loads of links with the exact same anchor text. Rookie mistakes.

On a positive note, I learnt a valuable lesson!