Is the 95/5 rule true?

There are probably 80% of people doing barely anything. Lack of ambition. So there is no way to really know the real percentage. I am definitely not in that 95% or whatever number that is.

Does it really matter what the percentage is? Are you the one who does make money? Then why bother to care about the 95% (or whatever number) who don't?

I believe this. Every day there's people making threads on the forum asking how they can make money that nothings ever worked for them.

There's too many distractions online. There'll always be the new hottest coaching program/ money making guide, etc. If people followed a proven method and stuck with it, they wouldn't have these problems.

I believe it is true, I'd go as far as to say that 4% are conning 95% of the people, which only leaves 1% that truly sell any real value...

I hear different percentages depending on who's doing the talking. It's definitely very high that's for sure.

I would assume (maybe falsely - like most assumptions) that 97% would be close enough. Personally, I'm not one bit surprised. This has nothing to do with "skill" and everything to do with "mindset." It has nothing to do with "resources" and everything to do with "resourcefulness" which inevitably leads back to mindset and self image (belief).

I don't really know what is the real percentage of people making money online.

But, What I learn from my experience is that the hard work always pay off.

People who are always looking for the new secret push button are unlikely to make it online.
If the percentage is right, it still 5% of the people that make it online, which prove that some ways really work.
Find them and stick on it. Work hard, make mistake, learn from your mistake and never give up.
Sooner or later you will be one of the 5%.

I believe in the 95 - 5 rule for products, as five are stars and the other 95 are pigs. They hog your bandwidth, but produce no money. Create 100 web sites and you are in luck if you make money on six or seven. Hard work is the key to success. That said, luck is also a factor that many miss.

Most people that get into "internet marketing" are people that have zero grounding in fundamental business & marketing basics, and so get their lunch money taken from marketers that are obsessed and driven to learn and continually refine their marketing prowess.

Most people only have a superficial temporary drive to be successful, get caught up in a random drive and urge to make it, but after a short period dwindle back to their normal routine existence after they realize there isn't something for nothing.

Most people are by definition *most*, and *most* is never in the top 1% because then it wouldn't be the top.

The top is only for a rare few that are obsessed maniacs of their craft (which is a good thing).

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I wouldn't worry about it... some people who become frustrated look for ways to rationalise failure

When I started grad school we were told that 1/2 would flunk out after year 1 and half again after year 2... I can't remember the students that met that expectation...Except FOR ONE...

He was Obsessed- with stats and grade point averages and how many had to do poorly in each class for him to still be assured of staying in school.

In the end he was one of the first to fail and be sent home so to speak

Others keep the faith, the focus and plodded ahead..some quickly, some more slowly...but the vast majority of those eventually graduated, achieving SUCCESS

Let's engage with those that are succeeding and interest them in mentoring and teaching the paths to prosperity.. at least I think that is time better spent...and hopefully one of these mentors will help the person who made that initial observation you mentioned about making money

It does not matter if that if the number was 99.9% as long as you are dedicated and you have drive to succeed where everyone else would of given up you will be that .01% that will be sucessful, good luck.

Lot's of awesome responses here, this one is super telling:

"One thing he told me that surprised me was that 95% of people who bought the course never did anything with it. They looked at it, put it on a shelf and forgot about it."

And it's so true that 1 dollar is as easy as falling out of your chair LOL!

NO it is NOT true. Its some bs propaganda thrown out there by marketers to scare other marketers into buying their garbage.

95% of people >>can NOT FAIL<< when 95% of these "people" aren't even marketers in the first place. They are just people playing around with marketing. They don't take it seriously. They buy products, dream, watch and read, play on forums, and do very little real work.

Its like saying 95% of electricians get electrocuted. The difference between an electrician and a marketer, is there are very strict guidelines you must pass to become an electrician. If we applied those same rules to "marketers", first thing you'd realize was 95% of marketers weren't marketers in the first place. Because the high majority would fail the initial test to BECOME a marketer.

Sometimes I think I'm an electrician because I can install a cieling fan. Untill I get shocked. Same way a pretend marketer makes a blog, and doesn't earn a dime.

Its not the statistics you need to look at, but the LABELS.

YOU MUST DEFINE THE LABELS/CATEGORIES. If thats not done first, you can NOT derive a single thing from them.

If marketers had a rigid set of guidelines required for earning the label "marketer", I don't even think you'd see 10% of them fail. Lets be real, but marketers have lower standards than hookers do. At least a hooker has to succeed at something before she's called a "hooker". A marketer on the other hand....

95% probably fail in IM. Loads of people can get to a dollar (or a few dollars) but not many go beyond that.

When you look at it, 95% of the stuff being sold is rehashed trash that doesn't work. I don't buy that 95% of the people don't put in the effort, that is B.S. That is just an excuse "gurus" circulate to justify their course not working. I do not believe that 95% of the people looking to make a living online, do not put in the effort.

Guru's come out with make $1,583,762 and 43 cents courses every other day. Do you really think they made money using the methods they are trying to sell? How many logins and screen shots are from money they made selling trash, and not really the method they are trying to sell you?

How many times have have "gurus" release products on how they made $1,958,948,968 and 23 cents, only to find out when you login, that they are not even the voice on the course, but rather someone they outsourced to?

How many times have "gurus" told you that "they are not "gurus" and how they are going to 'spill the beans" on gurus.

I highly doubt 95% of the people don't put in the effort, it's more that the 95% of the people are easy prey for alot of the top 5%

It's way to convenient to say that 95% of the people don't put in the effort, when your product just doesn't work

Lol, this thread is firing up.

The bigger percentage of internet users aren't interested in using the net for monetary means. But if you're referring to 95% of those with a keen interest in internet marketing, then I think that's a little bit skewed. Pretty much all of us at WF have made some money online. Maybe outside of these walls it's a different story, I'm not sure.

Yeah the stat is true. I wouldn't quit tho if i was in the 95% group. 10 years from now, these "failures" would more than likely have a wildly successful online business if they keep going.

How would anyone know if the stat is true? Did someone conduct a survey and make projections? If so, was it a scientific survey and not one with a built-in bias (intentional or not)?

Or did some marketer just make up that number because he wanted to use it in a sales pitch for one of his products, and it just caught on?

How can we know? And does it matter? Yeah, I'm skeptical, because numbers are often sculpted to shape response.

It is very true that 95%+ of people who do get into a home business never do anything and never succeed.

They either don't believe that they can succeed or they are not willing to do what ever it takes for how long it takes to make it. They want a quick easy way which does not exist. They are not willing to invest any money or time.

The other 5% of people are willing to do the opposite and that is why they are succeeding.

Everyone wants to succeed but not everyone will.

It's possible the statistic takes into account the people not into internet marketing or other money making schemes. People that are just browsing, posting on forums for free, and playing Facebook games. In that case, I'd bet 95% of the people on the internet aren't making a dime.

They aren't using it as a money making scheme so of course they aren't making cash.

On the other hand, if people trying to make a buck are really failing in this proportion, it would beat even the abysmal chances of success for a restaurant, some of the fiercest competitions for business in the world.

I'm not sure about the validity of it though, so don't let it discourage you. No matter what, it takes hard work to make money.

Yea I believe this is true. Id say 95% never make $1 and 99.5% never make enough to earn a full time living. I have seen similar threads like this on programming sites where people say that cant make money on the freelance sites. Something I, my house, my car, and my savings account would strongly disagree with.

Fact is most people lack, drive, focus, and ambition.

95% percent of anything is a pretty number with a percent sign after it, that's all.

Anybody here would be hard pressed to find an actual empirical survey proven this 95% nonsense.

I believe that 95% of the supposed internet marketers are not making money because they are tourists, like many others have already mentioned in this thread.

However, I also have to say that internet marketing is an entire system quite complicated and this is another reason why many people cannot succeed online.

It's a similar phenomenon in every sort of pursuit. e.g.
How many amazon affiliates make $1 dollar a day?
How many iTunes musicians make $1 dollar a day?
How many clickbank affiliates make $1 dollar a day?

I believe Dan Kennedy said:

"Procrastination is the official language of the poor" - which I think it's one of the greatest lines ever that concerns people who are just starting out! and everyone who are procrastinating more than taking action.


he also said "Actions beats meditation!"

But massive action is not the answer either...

It's the action under a successful supervisor / mentor, who kicks your butt if you don't do the tasks he tells you to do.

I've always called it the 80/20 rule and it's not set in stone but I believe it has some element of truth in most areas.

I've made $1000's online so far. Not boasting, just delivering the requested info.

I think the 95/5 rule is quite accurate.
It's so easy to earn at least a couple of bucks each month, everyone could do it. The problem is only 5% of people are willing to do it Or, if they willing to do someting, they just doing it the wrong way first, and they give the whole thing up. If someone wants to earn money online, he/she must find a valuable method to follow, and must be really persistent!