Experienced Marketers - What are 3 things you know now that you wish you knew when you 1st started?

1. Don't Bother with SEO
2. Learn php asap
3. Just because an affiliate dashboard says you have $xxxx.xx pending payment, doesn't mean they will ever send it!

1) Traditional advertisers weren't kidding when they tell us someone needs to be exposed to your brand around 8 times before they convert. My average conversion occurs 20-30 days after the first time someone sees an ad. You can't judge the results of a new marketing campaign the first day, week or even month. I have no idea how much I lost by cancelling ads when I didn't see any conversions in the first day or two when I was a 'newbie'.

2) Most conversion tracking platforms are deceiving us. If you attribute every conversion to the last click (like Google Analytics unless you have $150k/year for the premium version, and the conversion tag all the PPC search engines give you), you will incorrectly discount the impact of all the other traffic sources people touch before converting. If 90% of your customers come in through search, but return through an ad before buying, Google/Bing/GA/etc will all say your ads are converting great while your search traffic is worthless. You cut your SEO budget and put everything into advertising only to find your conversion rate drops and your CPA triples since you eliminated the channel that was introducing new potential customers to your site.

3) You can almost always do better at every point along your marketing funnel. Better message, better targeting, better ads, better landing pages, better e-mail subjects, better signup forms, better shopping carts, etc. So don't just accept "my conversion rate is 3%, this is how much this product will earn me, time to move on to the next" when you might be one variation away from tripling your income. Make more ads, more landing pages, tweak forms, and split test your traffic to see whether the changes made things better or not.

1) the power of a list
2) how to build a list
3) how to market to a list

That's what I wish I had known from day 1

1. Test and measure everything
2. Engage with people
3. Dont listen to bullshit on forums

1) Dont underestimate free marketing

2) Pick a niche before the product

3) Always track and test my squeeze page for a new niche. If they don't respond to a free offer, they more than likely wont respond to a paid one.

1. Build a List
2. IM is a business, not a hobby
3. You gotta spend money to make money

1) SEO is a really unstable traffic source. PPC all the way.

2) Take action or else you won't get anywhere. Stop procrastinating.

3) Build a list. Having a customer base to market to is really important.

1. Initially establish and constantly grow the four fundamentals of your financial portfolio, namely sustainable income sources, savings, credit and network resources and assets, before you jump to the fifth fundamental = Investments.

2. Don't invest in anything without first having an extensive custom business and investment plan that's logically sound, fundamentally realistic and potentially profitable.

3. Constantly test, monitor, document and improve the results of your different online and offline marketing campaigns.

1). Going after every big and shiny thing is NOT the best thing to do
2). You need money to make money!
3). Planning is good, but action is what will make or break you.

I wish I knew these from start and I would have NOT wasted +2 years.

Great stuff here! I'm reading some pretty consistent replies... Build a list, test and then test some more, and take action. Although I don't think it has been directly said, some of the replies really hit on having a variety of traffic sources and not just relying on SEO.

I'm curious what other Warriors have to say... What are your top 3 things you know or do now that you wish you would have known or done when you first started?

1. Depending on SEO is a fools game.

2. Own the customer relationship

3. Build a business that adds value (as opposed to putting up pages filled with affiliate links)

4. Focus on 1 thing ONLY

Oh crap… thats 4 things. I never could follow directions very well.

I wish I had paid more attention to the following earlier:

1. List building and email marketing
2. Paid advertising
3. Alternate traffic methods other than Google
4. Product creation
5. Launching WSO's when there wasn't so much competition as now
6. Website flipping
7. Increasing my productivity
8. Launching new kinds of services which the market needs
9. Video marketing
10. Offline marketing

1. Mentor

2. Trust

3. Leverage

For me my top 3 things would be:

1. Focus on one project at a time and see each one through to completion (don't get blinded by the shiny stuff)

2. Focus on building relationships and establishing a good reputation, take advantage of forums, social networking and anywhere you can establish yourself as an expert and build your brand.

2. Understand how essential list building is and build a rapport with list subscribers. (I built a list of several thousand and never did anything with it!)

I still have a long way to go, but I've achieved much more than I ever believed possible. It saddens me when I see people with lots of ideas...but no focus, without which they will not get anywhere, just remain stuck in a constant buying loop that yields little or no return.

1. Time management.
2. Build a list and always keep building it.
3. Focus and don't jump around to different opportunities.

1) Build BUYERS list early. The cliche is true - money is in the list. But not all lists are created equal. Buyers list is so much more valuable.

2) Just take action. You don't need to be perfect, just good enough, and tweak along the way.

3) Focus on one thing and make it work before seeking out other opportunities.

1. People buy things online more that are not easily available
2. SEO is a joke when google is running the show
3. Finding a solid niche is extremely difficult but IF you get lucky it pays off big

Great thread.

1. Always do the things you need to do first before the things you want to do.

2. It's not as simple as "build a list" learn how to build a quality list the right way, how to market effectively, how to attract quality subs etc.

3. Be patient, persistent and persevere,

Good ones! Your first two really hit on taking action. It's one of the best habits to get into.

Very true. Although I hope people don't purposefully give bad advice just to throw people off track. I sometimes wonder though!

This is very, very true! I've said it before, but I'll see it again. A list of 100 buyers is way more valuable than a list of 1,000 freebie seekers.

Also very true. Scarcity is one of the most basic principals of sales, whether it's online or off. Think of Frank Kern's Mass Control & List Control Programs. People still pay hundreds of dollars for those because they are very scarce!

Thanks for all comments on this thread!

Who else has 3 things they know or do now that they wish they knew or did when they first started? Let's hear yours!

-Ben

I learned SEO pretty quickly but i got to know about social media marketing pretty late i think that has to be on top priority than

Quality Content and Affiliate Marketing

advertise deep in a website
test, track, optimise, scale ( you can do this fast.....I tell my clients and students...TTOS)
do not give up...
good luck Nick

As for me, they are
1. Ability to take constructive Action.
2. Learn How to build list and grow relationship with my subscribers.
3. Own and sell my products.

My 3 Things are :

1.) Get clear about your goals, priorities and tasks to be accomplished.

2.) Focus and concentrate fully on the task at hand

3.) Always strive to do your best

Bonus Tip *** Always strive to keep getting better ***

The 3 things i wish :

1) building a list
2) targeted traffic
3) need to outsource your task

Here's my three ...

1. There is no magic key.
2. You already know 90% of everything you need to know.
3. It's not about knowledge; it's about action.

Will

Avoid Marketing Parrots (MPs).

MPs are people that repeat what other people say, ask them "how" and they cannot explain or show you, here today gone tomorrow.

Pay close attention to Marketing Parrot$ (MP$).

MP$ are people that repeat to others what they actually do themselves and are very successful at what they do, here today and tomorrow.

Jeffery 100% :-)