6 Years & 8 Figure$ Later, Here's What I've Learned... (5 Key Things)

It took me many years to learn the things I'm going to write here. In the 6+ years that I've been an internet marketer as my sole source of income, I've earned well into the 8 figures in revenue (8 figures = $10mm+).

Over the past 6 months I've done a lot of thinking about the most important factors that determine one's success online. These are the factors that have MOST contributed to my success too.

I want to share some of my key factors here for no reason other than to merely share them and hopefully help some of you.

I've had countless friends, family members and conference attendees ask for advice over the years and I've tried helping many of them. I'm sure you all have friends asking you to teach them to make money online. Most never do anything with your info; a few test things out; and even fewer make good money.

But through these experiences and my own successful campaigns and products, I've learned a lot.

Here is my personal advice to making a lot of money for yourself online:

1. It is very important to have a MENTOR. By mentor I do not mean an overpriced "coach" or expensive coaching program you purchase. That is absolutely not necessary. By mentor I just mean someone that is several years ahead of you in knowledge that can help you get at least one step closer to your goal.

A mentor can be - a knowledgeable account manager at the affiliate network you work with. A blogger who's blog you read that is willing to communicate with you via email, AIM or Skype to answer your questions. Someone you meet at a conference who has been doing things longer than you and has the same mentality and values toward their business that you do.

If you absolutely cannot find a mentor, then watch videos on YouTube by successful people that you wish were your mentors. This can be people like Jim Rohn, Warren Buffett, Eben Pagan, etc (more on this later). Do this every day while in your learning phase.

2. Reverse Engineer everything! Successful marketing campaigns are literally everywhere. Look online and find them. Seriously. Then thoroughly examine how the campaign works. Sign up for their offer, check out their backend, register for their email list, study their emails, find their traffic sources, reverse engineer their keywords... reverse engineer ALL of it and test it. You'll be amazed at how well this works.

3. Only learn marketing from the BEST. If you're into info-product marketing then spend most of your time studying the guys who have had the biggest launches. Guys like Frank Kern, Andy Jenkins and Eben Pagan. There are more but these are the first three that come to mind. They put out a ton of free information. Many people make the mistake of thinking that just because something is free there is no value in it. That couldn't be further from the truth.

You can learn everything you need from the free information the top marketers put out.

4. Test everything. I've run into so many people who say tell me they have been researching for years but can't make money online. When I dig deeper it comes out that that is all they have been doing - just researching. You must have a healthy balance of research AND testing.

Making the shift from researching TO testing is one that puts you outside your comfort zone. That's the point!

It will only feel uncomfortable for the first few days or weeks. Getting out and testing campaigns with your own money on the line is the only way you will functionally learn how to succeed.

5. Attend conferences. Whatever your category of making money online is, there are good conferences for you to attend. I have been going to a handful of conferences every year since 2008 and it has been the single best investment of my time that I have made. Not so much for the speakers but for the people you meet. You meet people just like you (always better if they are a little more advanced than you) and you form bonds where you keep in touch via chat or email. This really helps advance your knowledge and stay on top of new industry ideas. Your goal should be to have at least 5 people (who are at your level or higher) on your chat that you can talk about business to on any given day.

You don't have to attend expensive conferences. For example, if you are a CPA affiliate, then attend Affiliate Summit West and East (just buy the $100 hall pass). Attend Leadscon and Pubcon too. You can go to all those conferences with just a conference hall pass for not much money. It is well worth it, trust me.

I'll stop right here so I don't overwhelm you. These are seriously the top 5 concepts that have helped me make 8 figures online in the last 6 years.

If you do these things, stay persistent and actually work your a** off, you will make more money than you thought possible.

There is a saying that goes something like "I was an overnight success after 10 years." I don't remember who said it but it's so true. However, the beauty of the internet is that it doesn't even take 10 years.

You can be an overnight success after 6 - 12 months if you REALLY put everything you have into acquiring knowledge, testing and staying persistent. This time frame is conservative. I know smart guys who have truly applied themselves and began making A LOT of money in 1 - 3 months.

These are the actionable concepts I wanted to share for now. I don't want to answer too many questions but if you have any urgent questions you cannot find answers to anywhere else, feel free to ask them here.

Good luck guys!