What IS Your REAL Problem?

One of the most persistent, almost humorous topics
that I've seen discussed on this forum over the
past decade is about marketers marketing to marketers.

We complain about email lists that we subscribe to
where the publishers then try to sell us things.

We complain about marketers using the very same
copywriting tactics that we study, in an effort
to influence our behavior.

And my favorite is that when someone who started
out right here on the forum, through some "miracle"
makes it big, we instantly put them in the other
camp in the "them vs us" battle with the gurus

Yes, as a community, we all seem to have agreed
that the forum is most useful it we don't allow it
to degrade to nothing but blatant self-promotion.

I spent over 4 years as a moderator here trying to
help keep the forum useful.

At the same time, I think that it's important that
we acknowledge that many (perhaps most) of us are
here to learn what works in earning a living online.

If we are REALLY honest with ourselves, we also have
to acknowledge that many of us see the forum as a
potential marketplace of 1/2 million customers.

Realistically, most forum members aren't your potential
customers, but the fact that so many affiliate programs,
and WSO management platforms have sprung up, prove that
many of us DO view the forum primarily as a marketplace.

So... my question... "What IS your real problem?"

What's really frustrating the heck out of you?

Yes, that is a rhetorical question!

The honest answer for most that I see complaining is
that you are still struggling trying to figure out
how to actually earn a decent living online.

You are trying to do that in a rapidly changing
environment, and you keep taking advice from others who
are also still trying to figure things out.

All that aside, there are things you can do, that are
100% in your control, to make things a little more
manageable. So let's look at a couple of frustrating
problems, and I'll invite you to bring up others.

For many of us, it is email overwhelm. We simply can't
keep up with the flood of email yet some people feel
obligated to stay subscribed to hundreds of lists.


Here's how I handle that problem...

I filter my email. I send newsletters to specific
folders where I can read them when I want to. That also
allows me to easily search through those emails when
I want to do a little research. Gmail makes this
incredibly easy.

I stay subscribed to lots of "lists" because I do
want to see what tactics others are using, keep up
with who is launching what products, and in my role
as a JV broker, I also like tracking who the most
effective super-affiliates are

I unsubscribe from lists that I get no value from. There
are actually very few people who seem to put out newsletters
that really grab my attention these days. Paul Myers and
Marlon Sanders immediately come to mind.

Unsubscribe from lists that are no longer useful to you.
You owe that to myself, and you certainly aren't going
to hurt my feelings

On the other hand, don't waste time obsessing over who
is on your list. You do want to be aware of trends and
what's causing them, but getting upset over unsubscribes
is a huge waste of energy.


A second problem that we seem to have is lack of focus.

I handle that by giving myself a schedule and sticking to
it. I control how much time I allow myself to be on
forums, Facebook, etc.

I consider visits to this forum and Facebook as little
rewards to myself, but even then, I consider what I'm
doing during those visits as work.

I am a bit of a workaholic.

On the topic of focus, another problem that we have
is the ability to pick one course of action and stick to
it. Even I, with 16 years as an internet marketer, have
this problem.

The solution with this last problem begins with acknowledging
that you have it.


For me, I also solve it by having an accountability partner,
and mastermind group members, who have permission to keep
me focused.

My accountability partner and I discuss what we are each
working on, and then give each other permission to push each
other to really focus on those things and get them completed.
We have "a boss" who will calls us on our BS... with our
permission

The final one that I'll mention is simply not being able to
do all of the things that we feel that we need to do.

The short answer there is to outsource, doing what you do
best, and getting others to do the rest.


I know... most of you don't feel that you can afford to hire
someone to do things for you. I learned over a dozen years
ago, after struggling with a .cgi script for hours and not
getting it to work, and then having a friend point out to me
in mere minutes that I had a comma (or maybe it was a
semicolon) in the wrong place, that it's often cheaper to
leave some things to the experts.

If you can't come up with the money to get others to do it,
then look for ways to barter or exchange services. It's just
cheaper in the long-run to get others to do things that you
are not proficient at.

The answer is NOT to get better at what you are not good at,
it's to focus on doing the things that you ARE good at...
provided they pays adequately and that you enjoy doing them.

OK, I'm stepping off the platform. I just noticed the guy with
the basket filled with rotten tomatoes!

What are other real problems that you are noticing, and what
are workable solutions?

Willie