I Give Up!

Well, I think that's a smart decision. This industry isn't for everybody. If it's been 5 years and you still aren't seeing the type of income you've expected, you should just let it all go and try something else.

You'll probably hear a lot of responses like "don't give up", and you shouldn't if you have a plan and new goal. But if you have no direction where your heading now, I think you should just pack up and go.

This is what you did WRONG.

Funny how people think that just because it is on the internet means it shouldn't be treated the same as an offline business.

When you get things back in order, you'll be surprised to still find things in the WSO section that can really help you. You won't be concerned with what was just bumped or is on the first 2 pages. You'll find yourself actually searching with keywords to find things you know you need.

Congratulations on your epiphany!

I think you should give up too!
And I see your point. It is very easy to caught up in the whole jumping on the health, vitamin, viagra silly niche websites which I personally think are so OUT DONE by now.
The one thing this forum lacks and takes away from people is creativity! Im not knocking the forum, I enjoy it but I dont take it too seriously at all.
I keep up to date with the latest news, read interesting things and so on.

I come up my own idea's and make them creative and different from everyone else.
Im not one to sit there find a big keyword that google says is popular and build a site around something i know sod all about in hope to get rich!

Because it never will make you reach.....at least not for long!

Take what youve learnt....go and create something that is UNIQUE, CREATIVE and something that will actually serve people and what people want!

Good Luck

Yeah this thread has really touched me. I can sense the pain, confusion and frustration you are in right now.

Well I can certainly relate to that. Granted not for the same time frame but the feelings and subsequent behaviour online kept me locked down. It is not a good place to be.

Certainly buying tons of products and WSO's is a common thing for struggling marketers to do. In fact I see it as a root cause. Underlying that cause is the need for someone to show us exactly what to do for success. When we do this we give up on something that is unique, that thing is us.

Giving up? Really...

I do not believe that giving up is your best choice. If you do do that I would say it's pretty likely you will experience similar problems, frustrations and feelings in other area's of your life. Now is the time to face up and solve the problems you are experiencing.

And what are the problems you have?

You've said about Guru's, Google, products. You've added that it is YOU to blame.

Blame is the first thing I would let go off. It serves little purpose apart from keeping you stuck in this big, fat rut you find yourself in. - This is your first problem and one you need to overcome I think.

I would highly recommend you go find a coach that has the chops to tell you what you need to hear and has the experience to back it up. Rich Shefren springs to mind and he has a coaching program that's less than $50 a month! It is ideal for you.

One thing you will have to do under a good coach is reflect on your past mistakes but also identify what you done well. That way you can start to clarify your strengths and weaknesses. From there you can focus on the things you are good at that really matter in your business.

By the way I spend the first six months of my IM life swirling around in morass of self pity, failure and delusion. - I changed, under a coach that is. I run at a healthy profit now.

I had also built offline businesses up over the previous years, some successful and others not yet I still failed online for quite a while. I didn't apply all that experience (which many marketers never have) to my online business. This turned out to be my strength and turning point in what is now an ideal way of life for my family and me.

Marcus Rockey

[Bold & Underlined mine.]

When... and only when you start treating your online ventures with this kind of attitude will you see success. Until then? ----> Here is the door.

Best wishes in your future business decisions.

BP

I understand you completely, but I also see your problem... maybe you will notice it too if you read your post... you were using word "spamming" too much... Don't you think that's why your business didn't succeed?

Internet business is not about spamming forums, blogs, article directories and so on... It's not about "nuking" the hell out of any small piece of badly spuned content...

So, I guess you had a wrong approach to it... However, in your last sentences you have a plan that can succeed... Don't "spam" or rely on software that's spamming your poor content around the Internet... That won't get you anywhere...

Instead of that produce only excellent content and deals for your visitors... Build your list and give your best to serve that list as best as you can... As you said, try to solve their problems and give them what they truly want...

That's how you can have your own and successful online business... And if it's possible, try to make it around some niche other than IM...

Good call man.

We all get to that point. I had my breaking point around last year, got so damn burned out with everything. I deleted damn near every course I ever read.

But the internet marketing bug doesn't really go away once you've gotten a taste.

Glad to hear you're still in the game and going to make a more business-savvy go at it

Contradictory post title is contradictory :rolleyes:.

The Internet is a special place and adaptions has to be made.

While some things "business wise" are exactly just like in the traditional world, money management, time management, risk assessment, other things differ.


Internet is in my experience a "Hit and Miss" type of world where 1 out of 5 things might work and it's hard to know in advance. There's really no steady traffic source that can be relied upon like having a store on a good location in a town. Things change so rapidly.

There has to be a balance between over thinking things and constantly go looking for the next shiny object. This is the key in my opinion.

• Pick carefully
• Serious Time management
• Serious Money management
  
• Ask yourself before choosing what to do: Do I risk losing my motivation with this & get caught up in something that will stay with me for a long time draining money, time and energy?

Just my 2 cents ....

Maybe you need to step back, take some time off for yourself, doesn't sound to me your ready to give up just yet.

I would like to say I have heard this before and really its all about persistent persistance. Maybe stop buying multiple software that promise the world and focus on creating a truly unique website that you design and create yourself. Never have others do it for you.
I was much the same until I came accross Google Sniper and since then I have laser focused my attention on one thing and I may only make around $500 per month from one site but since then after finding out what works I have just reproduce that same effort over and over.
Finally I have now got around 30 sites up and running and only 8 of them make any money at all. With all of these sites I now bring in around $5000 per month and am continuing to grow this each month. Don't listen to those that tell you to give up. True success comes from failure and you may never make it true but atleast you tried. Think about the What If scenario. You are of the top of the fence and its up to you as to which side you step Off.
I would be happy to help anytime you need some assistance.
Regard
Mark Wightley

I refused to give up on internet marketing purely because I believed that it is the future (even brick and mortar businesses need to learn internet marketing). What I simply changed on my side is to try and get into niches that I like. I am now focusing on a niche that is close to my heart - this gets me going even if I don't see the dollar signs yet.

I no longer sign up for those opt-ins that promise untapped niches and keywords because I know what I want and which niche is going to give me the satisfaction.

That's a good idea and since you have finally found the actual path to online success, you should forget about quitting and start taking action in the right direction.

Whatever you choose to create (products, services, websites, content, etc. ) do them in an area that you have knowledge or interest and make sure that whatever you create will be helpful to people.

In the last two years, I deleted all my unnatural websites and online properties even the ones that were bringing income and I started creating websites and products that I will be proud of. I have still a lot to do but now I feel much better about what I am doing. And this is what I recommend to all fellow IMers.

Good luck with your new born profiles online.

Judging by the tactics you used, what did you really expect?

If i were your position then i would definitely think after one year not after five years later. I think you were not in the right direction. When i started my journey in this vast and exciting i had a vision and i had a complete idea about what to do. I think you missed that out.

I'd say give up for a couple of days. Think about things.. Think
if you should start again or try to fix your old sites.
You've really got to do something you have a passion for... otherwise,
when your sites get wiped out or you struggle for months and see no
results, it's next to impossible to get motivated. But if you are doing
something you like, it won't matter (so much) if you're not successful..
but the chances of you becoming more successful increase because
you're putting more out there.
Give up on the spam blogs and spam backlinks.. actually.. forget about
SEO altogether. Many more ways to get traffic than search engines.

Stuart

Sounds like you bought into every spam method available under the sun. Not surprising that you didn't see results. Good you're going to start fresh and do things differently.

I think we should focus on how to provide more value for visitors, and instead of tricking search engines.

My old plan is to build many small niche sites, and try to rank them.

My new plan is to build a list, and I will consider buy traffic instead of using free traffic, in fact free traffic means much time.

This was your biggest mistake, and i'm not wonder anymore why you gave up.
Just take a look all these crap WF WSO's are from $5-9 and all OP's will promise you how you will make a millions.
Just think about it, is anyone so stupid to sell a million dollar idea $9? Of course not

But this can be sell only here and on DP i think

To be successful in IM, focusing on ONE idea/project/task at a time is the key to success.

Of course, if you have budget, you can outsource multiple tasks and get things done in parallel. But being consistent, focused with patience is what required in IM.

All the best for your future endeavors.

You sound like you used black hat SEO and didn't care about good and qualitative content, you used tools to just get thousands of backlinks.. That's why I think that it's logical when Google banned your creations. It often happens with webmasters. My friend uses similar methods and he told me that he had to create new websites and blogs every month because his old ones were deleted. Only white SEO and websites can live long enough.

Don't ever give up man. You don't know if 1 more step you take would make you success. When you give up, it means that you just throw what you've learned all of this time. Just try to focus on 1 method and give all your energy to make that method works. Don't jump over methods..

Giving up no I don't think so

hitting your personal restart button and starting over yeah that sounds better
you know what not to do now so why don't you just start over

I absolutely feel and hear you.

Frustrations and disappointments are always part of this IM game. At least you have learned your lessons and now ready to have a fresh start.

Just always set your goals and pursue them whatever it takes.

More power to you, buddy.

Cheers,
Louie Tugas

Mate, just by posting this you clearly state that you are NOT ready to quit. Perhaps you might not know this, but you are NOT ready to quit just yet.

Take some time off, clear your head. And because you are not angry or blaming anyone, this should be easy. Only than take a serious decision for your future, choose the type of business you want to get in to from now on.

Cheers,
Dan

If you don't have a business plan then this was just a hobby for you. If you have a business plan with no concrete objective, milestones, dates and financial goals then it is a hobby with a twist.

Glad that you have realized now that in order for you to be successful, you got to treat it like any other business.

Hope this time it works out for you. In fact if you actually do what you said you will do, it will work. There is no other way about it. A true plan an commitment will make you achieve what you desire.

I should add. I am in the same boat. I had treated my online businesses as a hobby for the last 15 years. No I did not waste money. I made money lots of it. However, it was never my primary business. Instead of sitting in front of TV, I sat in front of my computers. I am about to make it my primary business as I feel confident that if I can make money from a hobby then I can make lots of money if it is treat it as a business. Happy to share notes on my plan if you wish.

So basically, you're going to be doing what you should have been doing all along? Brilliant.


Anyone who approaches this as anything less than a real, tangible BUSINESS, and not some get rich quick by hawking the berries or the latest guru crapproduct, deserves the heartache.

That's the problem with looking for magic buttons, because there's none but many are for sale :-)

It's good that you realize it now rather than even later. But if you plan on continuing online, then yes, by now you should know what you like, and so it's easy, simply need to start growing one site (I recommend a maximum of half a dozen) and don't care about traffic, backlinks, etc.. Care about adding useful content to it, regarding your topic. But it's not just for one week of course, you should still be building it 2 years from now. And even if you don't have a forum or comments, you should have a contact form so that when people ask you a question you publish it with the answer, and also think about publishing more pages about that topic if you find that several people have been asking similar questions, which could mean it is interesting for more people online and that they may have difficulty in finding an answer elsewhere if they bothered to ask you personally. So do some research and compile it and publish it on your site.
Etc, etc..

For monetizing your site, you'll find ways, but first focus on bringing value even for free, and also think of what products you could sell from your site, and make sales pages for each.

Focus only on your site and what you have to offer and ignore all the rest online, only if something seems REALLY important then you can add it on your site, but you can stop reading the WSO for instance, since they are made on purpose to make you think you need whatever they're selling.

We all need to hit the "Reset" button from time to time. No shame in that.

It sounds like you are on the right track, and I wish you well.

All the best,
Michael

Then you should start applying it here. Use your real name and real picture.

Although I am not in the position to say so since I am still using "magiclouie" however, normally at the end of my reply posts, I added my real fullname.

Cheers,
Louie Tugas

Don't give up. Just keep digging until you find the gold. You'll find something that will work and stick with it.

Yeah! Don't give up. Keep it all white-hat.

I have been striving for over 6 years (http://www.warriorforum.com/main-int...r-6-years.html).

It appears that you have at least been striving for about 5, seeing that you joined in 2007.

Thank you all for your comments and input. I actually assumed I was writing this post to myself. And I did mean that "I give up" on the mish-mash approach I have used. I am actually a CPA - certified public accountant not cost per action - so none of what I was doing felt right. So for now, just taking a step back, taking it a completely different and smart direction, and then diving in with strong determination for success!

One very important lesson I learnt in last few years. Focus on helping others but not making money. Money will follow.

Focused Action:
You have a good game plan going. Put up your sites with natural content and don't try to game the search engines (or anything else for that matter). Avoid hype in your copy and make it sound like a natural conversation with a real person. Keeping everything mainstream is the way to go no matter what the niche.

Good Luck Focused

Concentrate on Building That List (which was probably already mentioned in this thread) and you won't have to worry about that Search Engine!

Nice to see you've learned your lessons although I'm sorry to hear you were spamming the heck out of everything before.

OP, I was exactly where you are about 2 years ago. I tried my hand in small niche sites focused around keywords and topics I had zero interest in. I tried my hand at promoting CPA offers and Clickbank products I didn't give a hoot about. I wrote articles and blog posts, tried copying the success of this guru and that guru, etc. my IM business also flatlined. My confidence sunk and my hopes of ever making money online seemed crushed.

It wasn't until I stopped trying to be everyone else and please everyone else .... including Google....especially the big G.... And started creating a site and a business around my passion that I found not only success, but an inner focus and peace about what I was working toward.

True, some passions are more profitable than others, but I guarantee if there is something out there that YOU are super passionate about, there are others who are just as passionate about it. Opportunity is everywhere.

Can I ask why you did not put all your time and effort into some topic you enjoy? :confused:

Good one. Never thought of such update lol. I will be looking forward for the Polar Bear Update of google.

You know what? Now that you have made this decision, the guy who you need to study materials from is Jay Abraham. Most of his major teachings in books are now completely free. Yes, you have to sign up, but he doesn't bug you every day like the majority of these WSO sellers do.

I also recommend Seth Godin's blog and free books.

These guys are the real deal. Not Frank Kern or Ryan Deiss. Yes, those guys have made a lot of money, but mostly selling to other IM newbies. Jay and Seth are business geniuses, period. Big difference imo.

Passion schmassion! It's all about the niche you are marketing to! THEY are the ones that need to be passionate....not you...you just need to be willing to research "what makes them tick" (what is constantly on their minds) and lead them to an offer that satisfies their want/need.

Hair loss is an awesome niche... Affiliate payouts of $50 bucks or so on most orders and you are giving up?

This may have been your problem...

I realize you lost your search engine rankings...but you did have some good targeted traffic for a while no?

That traffic should have at least turned into opt-ins...with a smattering of sales.

Unless....

You were just posting articles on this site that you paid a few bucks for? If so....eeeeeennnt! Wrong!

If you were getting traffic...you should have had reviews of the several hair regrowth products on the market....and like...really done your research. You could have given honest third party reviews of the stuff...even if you never used it...the internet is a vast place and you could have compiled a bunch of data on those products and presented it in a way that gave your niche prospect a compelling case to buy.

Theres a lot of positive in your situation. You learned everything you shouldnt do.Reverse it. Do the opposite.
When you are creating your website, articles, backlinks and so on, you want to focus on quality not quantity. Google loves quality.

Ah, so when reading the last paragraph I understood: you don't want to give up just restart.

It's clear now what mistakes you made...
1.instead of building your own business, thinking it out all by yourself, you followed others... following generally leads to failure!
2.you spammed, used tools and other unethical techniques to artificially "pump up the site" and Google penalized you - it's obvious this happened...
3.you overspent yourself instead of trying to do it for as little as possible, even free advertising is possible on the internet
4.you say you built "worthless sites" - too bad, because Google can tell that they're worthless... adding value takes more time and effort, but it's rewarding afterwards...

Luckily for you, you've finally realized what most newbies never realize: sustained long-term success does not come from ghetto spammy cheat-Google techniques. The only way to build a successful business (online or offline) is to provide actual solutions to real problems/desires. In order words: your business must be based on real beef, not in one-day-wonder flashy gimmicks.

I just wished every newbie entering the IM arena would eventually reach the same conclusion. Most dont, which is why most fail.