Why is IM such a mystery?

It really isn't.

I think that would be a bad idea in all honesty. Marketing courses in college give enough information that is easily transferable to the IM industry, and in time there probably will be specialized classes in online marketing.

Trends and fads are nothing new. Mediums might change and new tools might become available, but in the end it's all marketing. That doesn't change. I see IM becoming the way of the new economy, and more people will have to dive in as time goes on.

Cool. Reading the threads here will give you a lot of great information IMO. Ask the right questions and be specific in your queries. Don't ask, "how can i make money?? That will be ignored or rightly ridiculed because it shows laziness.

You sound like a good candidate for long term IM as it takes a slow and steady approach. However, words are hollow. Action is solid. Walk the walk.

Remember to ask specific questions and don't appear to be lazy or greedy.

Refer to this thread as it will help you syndicate the content you add to your site. Like I said, slow and steady.

Read a book about marketing and apply the principles to the Internet. Marketing is marketing.

Because, and this will sound harsh but it's true, a lot of people who come into "IM" are dummies. They think it is this magic thing that is going to bring them money. It isn't. IM is just a regular business, done on the internet.

There are, get a business degree. It isn't focused on much because it is just one aspect of business, and not business itself per se.

Nope. It's been around since the internet went mainstream enough for commerce to be profitable. Is it evolving though? Yes, just like everything else. The basics are still the same though, the same business principles that were birthed along with civilization.

Meh.

It's already taught in some form at a lot of business schools. It's a mainstream thing. Now is the IM niche ever going to be widely mainstream (outside of those looking for a magic bullet)? Again, meh. Real businesses use it as a tool already.

As long as the internet is a viable marketplace, there will be people selling goods and services on the internet. Basic economics.

You mean building a business with the internet as a major platform. You'll struggle until you learn to make that distinction.

Congratulations!

It's business. Assurance and safety don't exist. You're either made to do it, made to learn it, or made for something else. It's a harsh truth but the truth nonetheless. You'll just have to decide if the fear of failure outweighs the prospect of being successful. None of us can coddle you into finding the answer. You only learn by doing.

Good luck.

Very interesting topic with some basic questions!
IM is still a evolving area of marketing, where the rules of the road are complex or ill-defined.
The the market structure of IM is very much imperfect, where one or two corporate giants (say Google ) determine the fate of the market. One thing I realize well , the success rate in this trade is very low as rules of success are very obscure.

Marketing is marketing.. it's just there are slight differences between the target audience.

For example.. if you were looking for a new TV in a shop you wouldn't walk around asking everybody in the shop their opinion on it first. However, users will happily take advice from reviews on a website from people they have never met before and let it influence their decision to buy.

Existing marketing principles can be applied it's just that often they need to be adapted for use online. Consider buying some books on the psychology of web design to see how you can take existing marketing principles and use them towards your advantage.

What makes IM so fascinating is the pure volume of things that change and can be improved, the pace at which trends change, the minute changes that can mean the difference between conversions/actions and the desire to always keep one step ahead to profit from it.

I think the reason people don't believe its not possible is because most people give up after 5 minutes of trying when the reality is it often takes years of hard work, patience and dedication to become a success.

As mentioned above it is a mystery only to people that think it is different to offline marketing.

At least that is my take on it.

Before I even started IM or "marketing from a computer" I came from a marketing background.

I think what makes IM different is that it is more accessible to ANYONE.

For instance the marketing job I had involved a lengthy interview and I actually had to sell a pen to the interviewer, get up and address the office and my background etc...

Loads of stuff I had to do before I actually landed the job.

With IM being open to everyone it means that a lot of people that are NOT in marketing can have a go - and that is good some do very well.

But i think the "mystery" comes in when people are buying up push button systems and expecting to become rich overnight.

People looking in probably don't even regard IM as marketing or a "proper job" and that is the endless conveyor belt of people that start, realize that there is no mystery but A LOT of hard work and then they move on...

Just my 2 pence.

Chris

Like most have said IM is no mystery, but alot of people asociate it with get rich quick and dive in and then realise it aint and needs hard work, alot of time dedicating to it and at the start with out rewards and at that point quite a few run for the hills because they realise that IM is a real business REQUIREING some REAL WORK failure as not everything you try first time will work!! STAY AWAY FROM THESE 1 CLICK INSTANT MONEY PRODUCTS it dont work,
If it did this forum would be dead as we would all be sat on a nice sunny beach only clicking that magic button once a day.hahahah i wish!!!

Hi,

Internet marketing is a mystery if you did not put in effort to understand it.

Once you start earning your 1st dollar, you will be able to generate more and more dollars.

It takes time to find out what you really like to do online.

You just have to try different stuff.

And by process of elimination learn what you don't like.

Focus on your strengths. Practice those. It doesn't take 10k hours, but it does take consistent effort over time.

Reward yourself by keeping a chart or record of your progress. Maybe just a list of new skills you've acquired. Or a list of websites you've made. Something like that.

Be open to look at new ideas, but don't waste time being unfocused. This is a key discipline which has to be developed.

Look for mentors in a particular area of interest. Even if just an active blog or training forum.

Don't buy everything. If fact, it's best to only buy stuff if you're actually going to use it. So think about the amount of time in your day/week first and see if you're going to schedule time to learn/use it.

Opportunities come and go in waves. There will always be another wave. So wait and take the ones you like.

The reason why I think IM is such a mystery is because of the never ending changes that the internet is going through.

I often times see so much new ideas and niches just being thrown around in the forums, that it makes me wonder if any of these actually work.

But I'm guessing that's because marketing has such creative and limitless ideas that it's almost like venturing through the universe.

I guess most of what you guys are saying will make more sense to me as I go deeper into IM.

What I'm really hoping is for the internet really staying grounded for another 50 years. What got me thinking was an interview with Mark Cuban that I heard a while back. He said that in just a couple of years the internet will be pretty irrelevant because something will replace it. That got me thinking how long the internet will last.

But never ending changes in the world just come with the territory, I guess, especially with business.

IM isnt really a mystery. You just need to pick what you want to do within IM and learn it. Then when it works repeat it and eventually IM will take you to where you want to go.

As for them teaching it in school....not likely. Unless its a watered down class. The reason is because it changes to often and too quick. Methods of SEO can be obsolete in a matter of months..

Like i said you need to pick one area of focus, learn it, master it, then scale it. From there you can move on to the things within IM

I think the core marketing stuff will stay the same. IE copywriting , lead gen , building a list. But thats all stuff you can learn buy purchasing a couple WSOs and only spend 100-300 bucks rather then going to a university and spending thousands.

IM changes and it changes fast..The better the technology is getting the faster it is changing

Let me solve the mystery for you.

Short version: Sell what sells.

Longer version: Sell what people are buying, and sell it in a way that makes them want to buy from you.

Happy to help.

All the best,
Michael