Stop Reading/Learning/Watching and start doing!

I spend 1-2 hours a day trying to browse through forum after forum. Trying to update myself with what's hot and not in the Internet world.

I haven't taken action yet. But I am trying to weigh options since I got bills to pay I can not spend the next few months learning and/or taking action without cash coming in every day or week.

When somebody first starts there IM journey it is pretty much all learning and very little implementation. There is nothing wrong with this approach...at first! But some people get stuck in this mode and that is when the trouble starts.

The seductive allure of marketing can also cause people to become more excited reading salespages than taking massive action and implementing the steps they know they should be doing. I use to be a "aim first shoot later" type of guy but since IM is a low risk financial investment, I have now changed this to "shoot first, aim later". I have learned enough to trust my instinct, make something happen and then adjust later on if needed.

So my advice to any newbies out there, learn a little, implement a lot and let experience enlighten you. And don't ever pick up a training program unless you are going to implement what you learn immediately.

Alex

i need to fail fast enuff to be able to succeed yeah? I do spend time on the forum, blogs, getting info and also sharing it with my list..

Just again.. Just Do It.. if not it would never happen~ my 2 cents

Of course we all need to make informed decisions and plans - it's when planning and thinking is all we do that we get in trouble.

One approach that I use and teach is to set a deadline for all necessary learning, figuring out, and deciding. Then go do what you decided to do and limit any further figuring out and learning until you need it. In other words don't keep making the same decision over and over and over again.

Mark

This is a good question. What is the balance between learning and doing. Newbies need to spend more time learning than the old marketing pros. But old pros should never stop learning. So I guess each person needs to find the balance that is right for them.

Ahhh great post. I used to start something and then get distracted by the eye candy and flashy Hollywood videos on 20 min sales pages. I thought it was such a waste of time.

Then I realized that those very actions are what made the IM niche so powerful and profitable. I mean my head did have to pop out of my ass, but people are assaulted daily with emails and aff offers. I believe Joe Vitale would call it hypnotic marketing. You get so drawn into to all of that that you must have it.

Then you move on to forums and free reports and "helpful" people and you actually begin to learn. Then one day you get to a post like this, and you are hit as hard as one can be metaphorically be hit with the realization that it is in fact your own fault that you are where you are. You haven't taken any action and more than likely wasted hundreds if not thousands of dollars that should have gone to advertising. The sad part is that when newbie's are stuck in that phase. It doesn't matter what product it is they were going to fail anyway and had no clue.

While I feel a we bit sad for these people they are just going through their right of passage. Because they are in that I make money. I always hope that my fan page will blow up with people who found an offer I sent them and decided enough is enough and they begin to fill it up with success comment and stories of how they actually got that first check. Slowly it is getting there. I have made it my decision not to send out offers to anything but products I know work. Weather review copies of full pull I need to know they work. The only way to do that is by taking action.
What a great post. I just scanned through 5 years of my life right there.

I actually have 5 daily action steps that cover a lot of this.

Often one of these five tasks involve watching and learning of a course. Two of the other tasks are either implementing a content-based task (writing of an article, shooting of a video, etc.) in which the other is more of a direct-response type task (setting up an ad, e-mailing a list, etc.).

Often the fourth task is either something syndication-related or some social media interaction and/or hanging out around forums.

The fifth and often the final task is usually related to another party, or parties or tasks involving doing someone for someone else (e.g some coaching, some errands, etc.)

So to answer the question, the learning, watching and buying of courses is about 20% of my time. The rest of my time is as described above.

Great post! I think you can never stop learning in this business - you are striving to improve all the time to reach more people, stay ahead of the competition, to improve your products and your marketing and you need to constantly learn. I can't say how much time I spend learning vs doing - probably because while I am doing something, I may pause, wonder to myself if I could do it better, maybe go off to do a bit of research and then come back to the task with hopefully a better solution or method...

But I agree that some people never get started because they think they have to know everything first. I sometimes think that it could be just an excuse because they are afraid to take risks... They think they need to make sure they have everything covered so they won't fail and then they don't do anything so they never have to fail... because how can you fail when you never got started?

yes, taking action is vital, and luckily SO much quicker, cheaper and easier in IM than most offline businesses!

Here's a tip for making the choice of methods, easier . . . be really honest about yourself, what your current skills and problems are, what you're good at, what you know about, what you dislike.

Then find a method which is quick and cheap to test, and uses mostly your EXISTING skills, rather than having to learn anything major. Sure, learning's good too, but better to make a start and make some money first, then learn the more challenging stuff later (or outsource it!).

chris