16 replies
Hey warriors, I wanted to share some things that might help newbies, and those struggling, to focus on becoming successful and avoid several of my mistakes.

Focus and planning is my main advice for anyone in the business. But this is easier said than done. It hasn't been until just recently that I have taken a look at the past year and a half or so and decided to reset my journey in I.M.

You see, my background is in education. I'm currently an elementary school principal and taught students for 7 years prior to my movement into the office. When I teach I'm thoughtful, careful and intentional about the decisions I make on a minute by minute basis.

In my teaching I determine in advance the learning outcomes (objectives) I want my students to achieve. From this I plan backwards. Each lesson is geared to give my students the next set of skills they need to get a step closer to their end learning goal. I monitor their progress through frequent, authentic assessment and provide feedback. I intervene for students needing additional support on a regular basis. I end a unit of instruction with a summative assessment to determine the learning my students can demonstrate, and maybe even more importantly, to determine my instructional effectiveness and help me to plan the next unit of instruction. This process continues for every unit I teach. It can be broken down into these steps in a nutshell:

1. Determine End Goal (Objective)
2. Plan backwards lessons needed to get to End Goal
3. Frequently Assess along the way to make adjustments needed
4. Conduct Summative assessment to determine success at meeting End Goal
5. Intervene for those not meeting End Goal
6. Reassess to determine success at meeting End Goal
7. Rinse and repeat for every lesson, unit of instruction, subject, etc.

What I have found to be ironic is my lack of following my training when it came to my internet marketing journey. Until very recently, my steps included the following

1. Purchase the next "biggest, greatest" WSO, or new marketing strategy
2. Put in at least one week of true effort
3. Become disappointed when it produced little to no results
4. Move on a purchase the next "biggest, greatest" product
5. Follow steps 2-4 over and over again.

It was easy to become frustrated at the product seller when I didn't see the immediate results I was expecting. But in fact, I started to realize, unfortunately not until after many months and quite a few dollars, it wasn't the products at all but instead my lack of focus and planning.

It is October 2012 and this is a new day for me personally. I have realized I have the training necessary to be successful in this business. In fact, I had it before I ever read my first $7 e-book about blogging. I just needed to apply my training to my I.M. journey.

Sorry for the long post, but hopefully some will find something they can learn from my experiences. My new steps in I.M. are as follows:

1. Determine an End Goal (Objectives) for any project I start
2. Break the project into manageable steps all building upon each other to reach my end goal. (create timelines for project steps and stick to them)
3. Frequently assess along the way to measure progress towards the main goal and make adjustments as needed. (advice from others, tracking, etc.)
4. Conduct a summative assessment to determine the project's success and determine whether or not to continue to invest time and/or money into the project to achieve my main goals
5. Intervene on my project steps if needed to improve performance (ways to increase conversions, split testing, etc.)
6. Conduct another summative assessment to determine the project's success.
7. Rinse and repeat!

Thanks again for reading my long post. In short my advice for any newbie or anyone struggling is to start with an end goal, plan each step intentionally, take action, monitor frequently, adjust as necessary, avoid distractions that aren't in your original plan and seek the advice of others.
#end goal #learned #planning #take action
  • Profile picture of the author Jacob Pionke
    Great post, planning is the key to success. And i like the part when you say "Put at least one week of true effort" into the WSO you purchase. I think a lot of people miss that part as they just buy a wso and expect something that will generate money for them but they don't realize that it's very valuable information, that when the action is taken, big $$$$ can be made.
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    • Profile picture of the author martimoney
      Originally Posted by Jacob Pionke View Post

      Great post, planning is the key to success. And i like the part when you say "Put at least one week of true effort" into the WSO you purchase. I think a lot of people miss that part as they just buy a wso and expect something that will generate money for them but they don't realize that it's very valuable information, that when the action is taken, big $$$$ can be made.
      Yea, I busted my rear end for a whole 7 days or so on many products. I only wish back then I would have put all those 7 day efforts into 1 project. I could only imagine where I would be today, although I can't complain too much. We all learn from our experiences.
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  • Profile picture of the author willay
    Awesome post. Ya you have to have a proven plan of what you're going to do and really learn how to be an entrepreneur and think about internet marketing logically. Like Frank Kern has said making $2000 per day is unbelievably easy. But guess what if you believe its hard then its going to be.
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  • Profile picture of the author shintaiguy
    Great post but first thing on the list should be to establish will power and discpline. A lot more folks trying to make it online should focus on this before diving in.
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  • Profile picture of the author talfighel
    You have to know what you want to get out of your business. How much money do you want to make each month? Your goals should be realistic.

    Then you need to think:

    What do I need to do to get there?
    What actions do I need to take?

    Find someone who has already done it before you and become like a private investigator to see what you need to do and what they have done in the past that moved them closed to their goals. (Hint: there are many great courses on the market).

    Then take action and see if that action moves you any steps ahead. Some of your actions will not work and some will. You just have to figure out what works for you and what doesn't.
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  • Profile picture of the author geoffnotjeff
    Great post, I love the part about determining an end goal. Its something i had a lot of problems with, you start spinning if you dont have it planned out.

    When you do, you can just check things off the list.
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  • Profile picture of the author O0o0O
    This is a great post because your story is a reflection of many internet marketers online. As far as discipline goes, it is clear you already know how to discipline yourself. It sounds like it's just a matter of knowing what to do step by step. From there, you can apply your work ethic and then consistently get results. Don't let the first week or two weeks of poor results drive you away. That might not have been long enough. If the methods are proven to work, stick with it and continue to improve.
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  • Profile picture of the author MarkTrueman
    Thanks for sharing. My personal rule has always been focus on one thing at a time and give it time.

    I used to also do things for one week at a time only but that is a process that makes it hard for you to succeed.
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  • Profile picture of the author PhillyGalJen
    Thak you for sharing this. It is good to see how the discipline that we bring to other areas of our lives should be used when it comes to IM.

    I think many of us tend to forget that we know how to focus on one thing and make a plan of action when we are working on IM.
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  • Profile picture of the author solomos
    good post. same stuff/rules apply to all business in general i believe. people tend to look for easy money. if they cant find it they move on the next promising boat. a very good example in forex trading and trading in general.
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  • Profile picture of the author Willing2Learn
    Great post indeed! It's very easy to get stuck and not make any progress in internet marketing but I've found that the only thing that separates the dreamers from the doers is action!
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  • Profile picture of the author Susan A
    This makes my strength back after a few bump in my several IM project. A sudden realization comes to mind, that I always rush my effort and only using a very small part of my big brain. I always underestimate IM, I know its not rocket science or brain surgery, but I always do it without plan and evaluation. Thank you Mr. Teacher.
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    • Profile picture of the author martimoney
      Originally Posted by Susan A View Post

      This makes my strength back after a few bump in my several IM project. A sudden realization comes to mind, that I always rush my effort and only using a very small part of my big brain. I always underestimate IM, I know its not rocket science or brain surgery, but I always do it without plan and evaluation. Thank you Mr. Teacher.

      Thanks Susan. I find myself often discussing with the teaching staff in our school the importance of not underestimating the abilities of our students. If we teach to a low standard and not challenge our students than guess what... they will meet our low standard. Not good for them or our future.

      My I.M. adventure didn't show any progress until I quit underestimating my abilities and pushed myself to take on challenges.

      Good luck with your projects. Use that BIG BRAIN : )
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  • Profile picture of the author Randall Magwood
    Thanks for sharing your personal insight with us. Goal setting is very important online, and it's something that alot of newbies overlook - while all the "gurus" do it each and everyday.
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  • Profile picture of the author impro42
    That's good advice. It seems like a lot of beginners come on here and they see some of the flashy stories about how a bunch of money has been made so they either try to carbon copy what that person did or something similar and do it in a half-hearted manner, then when it doesn't work they basically give up.
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  • Profile picture of the author Dlemon
    I agree...good advice. It's easy to get sucked into all the flashy sales copies etc. It's good to also have a coach or mentor that can guide you through the processes so that you arent spending unessessary funds on achieving your goals.

    I find that it is easy to get side tracked...focus on one project till you got it up and running and move on to the next once the previous task is automated...then repeat.
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