I need help... almost ready to quit IM.

Clarity is a HUGE part of IM success. I hope this post brings some clarity. It's so simple when you know it -- and darn difficult when you don't! I owe my mentors a world of thanks for bringing this clarity.

IM is actually pretty simple: you can sell only one of two things:

1. Products
2. Services

That's it!

And selling products or services online happens in the same basic way for everyone, no matter what they're selling:

Traffic > Opt-in page > Autoresponder series (or e-zine) > Sales page

That's it! It's just that simple. (We IMers tend to overcomplicate things.)

But no matter what your niche is, or whether you're selling a product or a service, do you know what your business model is?

A business model is the framework or skeleton of your business. Essentially there are three types of online business models:

1. Membership-based model

A membership-based business model allows you to build a community of people (your members) who are as passionate about your subject as you are. Your membership fees can be monthly or annual, but either way, you're building recurring, passive income.

There are a lot of resources and information out there to help you build a membership-based business if you're interested in doing this.

2. Product-based model

Selling products allows you to maximize your time and effort by selling items over and over again. This can be hard goods or it can be information products. Information marketing is it's own business model under the product-based model. Information marketing allows you to take your brain to the bank by creating a product ONCE based on what you know and selling it over and over again.

Affiliate marketing falls under both models. You can choose to market either products or services as an affiliate.

3. Service-based model

Selling services can be great for 1) generating quick cash (as in the case of article writing or video producing) and 2) establishing your expertise and getting testimonials.

However, in the long run, your goal should be to offer services at a PREMIUM. The biggest advantage of IM is LEVERAGE. You're able to leverage your time, money and expertise exponentially online. We all have just 24 hours each day. Time to get ruthless about what you expect for those hours you spend in IM each day. Expect more of yourself and more from your business friends, clients, partners, etc.

What results are you getting for those hours you spend online each day? Ultimately, your services should be at the bottom of your funnel and cost the most since they involve your time and personal attention. (We all have a limited amount of time each day.)

The fun (and confusion) comes in with all of the endless mix-and-match possibilities of the above models. If you're just starting or still struggling to make money, keep it simple:

Pick just ONE!

1. Pick ONE niche. (Something you're interested in and know something about.)

2. Pick ONE target market for your product or service. (Who will buy what you're offering? The more specific you are, the more you narrow it down, the more successful you'll be.)

3. Pick ONE business model.

Now that you're clear about what business you're in, FOCUS! (And stop buying any info not related to your niche and target market, period!)

F -- Follow
O -- One
C -- Course
U -- Until
S -- Successful

And remember: build a list, Build a List, BUILD A LIST!

In IM, it's easy to put the cart before the horse. Take a deep breath, step back and consider what type of business you REALLY want. Don't worry about getting traffic or buying that expensive traffic product until you know 1) what your business model is, 2) what niche you're in and 3) WHO your target market is!

Successful business people will tell you that MARKETING is more than half the effort that's needed for success anyway. So pick a niche, target market and business model. Then spend most of your time and effort marketing it.

If you DON'T have a solid plan or system, THAT'S when it's hard. A good system will shave YEARS (and save you big $$$) off of your learning curve

That's why I recommend investing in at least one good, comprehensive IM course (or mentor who will give you such a system) instead of jumping from one $37 e-book to the next. A lot of people here complain about not being able to make any money. But neither are they willing to invest in their business. (Buying a random bunch of $37 e-books doesn't count.)

The best thing I ever did was invest in a comprehensive IM course aimed at REAL business owners, not just other IM wannabes. Yes it was $1500. (It's no longer available.) But it was truly some of the best A-Z IM info I ever bought. Everything else I've learned (from the $37 e-books) since has simply been plugged into this system.

My two best recommendations for phenomenal IM training programs are Ali Brown's Elevate program (ElevateBizTraining.com) and Jeff Walker's Product Launch Formula (ProductLaunchFormula.com)

Get a solid plan or system and then work the plan!

Hope this helps!

Michelle

Thanks that was very helpful! I think I would definitely benefit by following a comprehensive IM course or getting a mentor. I know that much. I lose focus all the time because I don't know "what to do next". There is no set path to follow laid out nicely for me. And that makes it hard.

This tells me a lot about why you're not making any money. You can't see the forest for the trees. You don't seem to know how these interact with each other.

You can create your own product OR sell others' products as an affiliate. Pick ONE and work on that. You can't chase two rabbits and catch either one.

Next, what market or niche will you work in? What is your topic? Raising kids? Writing? Etc. Your original post neglects to tell us what market you're in and EVERYTHING hinges on that. Do you even know what niche you want to be in?

Now, where do you find those people? Go there and make them an enticing offer to join your list. What do they need/want? What problems can you solve for them?

See my post above.

Once you've done all of this groundwork, then it's just a matter of rinsing and repeating: build your list, build a relationship, sell to them.

The process really IS that simple.

PM me your website and I can take a look.

Michelle

I had same issues when i started. The biggest problem is to focus in one field and make it big. Often we try our luck in different niches and then end up failing in all. My advice would be to hang in there and concentrate on one goal and go after it all guns blazing. All the best!

Don't quit! You should find the correct way.

I recommend a simple method: build a sales funnel to promote some affiliate programs, then drive target traffic to it.

I have a free auto responder script, and can help setup a free auto responder system, and help you build a funnel. You can PM me if need help.

These "I want to quit" threads pop up now and then.

And then everybody runs to tell why you shouldn't quit.

I think one important thing to remember is that:

Internet Marketing / Make money online -business isn't for everyone.

Internet isn't some magical money making machine that EVERYONE can use and profit from. At least not to the degree what is reasonable.

It is same thing with entrepreneurs in general. I have seen how people put 5–10 years and hundreds of thousands of dollars to their company. With no success.

They waste their time, money, relationship in search of a success. When they could've just tried to find decent 9-to-5 job.

It is difficult: put in enough effort to prove that your method works (or not) and learn when to give up and try something else.

There is only 3 things you need to succeed.

Offer
Traffic
List

If you are failing, look at each of them and ask yourself, where did it go wrong.

ar 25...go out and get a real job...career. Don't go down this road.

After about 30 you are screwed.

Michelle laid out a pretty good plan.

You need to focus on traffic and conversions. traffic can be gotten from a variety of ways.
You can buy traffic which to be honest is what a lot do, it is one way to test conversions then you have stats you can present to good affiliates.

Traffic can be gotten from article posts, sharing via social networks.
You can get traffic from forums with a link in your signature I have never had much success doing that myself but lots do.

You can take an ad offline and post it via bulletin boards, and anywhere you can legally post it.
You can use trade shows and those kind of venues handing out flyers. a number of people do that successfully.
The important thing is that you focus. Even the biggest house starts with a foundation. That is what you need. figure out what you want to do and focus on it.

Once you figure out what you want to do focus on traffic and converting that traffic into buyers, once you get things happening rinse and repeat and scale it up, Don't try to do it all at once but make a plan of action
where are you, where do you want to be, what is it going to take to do it. then act on it.
Some people aren't cut out for online endeavours but that is just because they don't take the time to set themselves up right. I have been at this a long time and I know I am not where I want to be but I know how to get there.
I wish you much success in your journey
-WD

OP, if you really want help, you need to say what you have done. Just looking at your site won't say what you have done to try to get traffic to it. What have you done to get traffic? Give specific details. How many articles have you written? What ads have you run? How many hours have you put in? What other techniques have you tried?

If you answer dewayneboyd's questions (it's important for us to get some details about what you've done to drive traffic) I'd be happy to take a look at your site and maybe give you some pointers. Just pm me the url and I'll get back to you.

Before spending a lot of time trying to bring traffic perhaps you can see if what you are promoting converts or not. Time is money and with little money you can make sure it's worth the effort.

You can start by putting your sites and sign up pages in your signature the biggest problem with most failed ventures is traffic.

Being active in the top forums is a great way to drive traffic to your offers. Guest posting on high traffic sites is another, experiment with PPC also.

There is a saying that most people fail because they get lazy or quit before the job is done, I think they fail because they don't know how to drive traffic to their sites.

I noticed the one thing that all successful marketers have in common, is that they know how to drive traffic to their offers. It doesn't matter if they are full of crap, con artist, rehashers, or honest marketers, they all know how to drive traffic.

Now that you have everything in place, I think you should focus and learn how to drive traffic, and I promise everything will fall into place for you

Website without traffic, is like a car without gas, you wont get very far...

Getting a job IS more stable. Parent disagree with IM, when you are not working and spend all day online.

If you get a job to support yourself and fund your IM ventures, then they wont care what you do in your spare time.

People don't stop looking for jobs to get into IM, they get into IM so they can quit their job

I would suggest offering some kind of a service - this will allow you to earn some guaranteed income, maybe nothing crazy, but at least you will finally earn something. That should get you motivated again.

Worked for me Good luck mate!

Jan

DO NOT GIVE UP!!! I am probably only going to give the same advice as the others but just focus on one thing and get this right. Once you have confidence, things get easier!

I am not sure if you are doing this but i see alot of people struggle because they just go into IM with no real thought on their product or service. People just see the $ sign.

There is NOTHING wrong with wanting to earn a $ as we need to support our families etc but i think the best way to succeed is to do something you are passionate about and focus on this.

This is something i have done to great success... when times get hard and things get frustrating etc... because you have a passion in what you are doing, you do not get down as much if this makes sense?

so, I would find something you enjoy, find your niche and pick a product or service (or both)... set up your website, and social network sites and start chipping away and do something everyday. Hopfully you will start to see results.

also make sure you capture names by using the software tools you can purchase.

But never, ever ever give up!

Don't ever throw in the towel...persistence is key...I failed in IM for years straight without ever making a $ and then finally I found a method that I enjoyed and saw my first sale. Once you find your niche and offer a service that people are hungry for you will be well on your way...But keep at it!

Post your site and your current marketing plan for it. Then post your monetization plan and budget.

Wait.

Do you know any of the answers to those issues?

Plan first, don't throw a bunch of stuff out there and half ass things.

ready, aim then fire.

Most Fire then get ready then aim.

I think most of us have felt like quitting at one time or another - those who are successful in IM know how to roll with the punches and push through the tough times. If it is worth having it is worth fighting for so don't give up and never stop learning. The world of IM is always changing and so it is important to attend live events and webinars, invest in business tools and find a quality mentor.

Good luck to you.

Get a mentor.

If it's one thing you should get from this post : NEVER GIVE UP.

You don't think us all weren't in your position at one point?

You don't think other people are struggling like that?

Traffic is the lifeblood of any online business.

My tips would be this : Find ONE method and stick to it til you produce results.

There are TONS of ways to drive targeted traffic to your website.

I know you have a dream and a vision, so in order to be successful

your DREAM and your VISION must be bigger than any obstacle that comes your way.

It might take 2 years, it might take 3 years, but you must believe one day you will get there.

I've been in your shoes before, I know exactly what you are talking about.

Just focus, focus , focus.. Think, do you have more time or money?

If you have more time look up "Free ways of getting traffic online"

If you have more money look up "Paid ways to get traffic online"

Stick with one method and stay consistent with it.

Hope this helps.

Dude just post your sites here. If you're not making money with them you have no reason to worry about competition.

Aside from that, 2 years and no success tells me you're not treating this like a biz, but more like a hobby. Driving traffic is half of the entire equation. So if you haven't figured that out by now, you're obviously not trying hard enough.

Or maybe you're just afraid to invest and take risks. Most the money I make is from generating content and ranking it. Its honestly not hard to do. Make a converting offer, rank it, get sales. But you're not going to get anywhere if you don't take risks and invest some money.

I've been in your situation before and like everyone's been saying:

- Don't give up
- Build a list

If I had built a list from the beginning, then I would have been successful sooner.

Telling him "not to give up" is completely and utterly pointless.

Obviously what he's doing isn't working, so why would you encourage him to keep going?

He needs to stop everything and get some help.

Thanks for all the tips! Should I join the War Room? Been thinking about it for awhile now but hadn't had the extra cash for it. Now I do. Just wondering if I'd benefit from joining or if it might cause info overload. What do you guys who have joined say?

OK. You clearly aren't interested in providing the proper information so we can help. You may just not be the type of person who can succeed in IM. You have to be a self-starter, work hard, and pay attention to details. I don't see any evidence that you have the right kind of personality to succeed. And yet, you are now thinking a War Room membership might make you successful.

At this point, I would suggest quitting before you spend any more money or time on IM. The way you are approaching this with making senseless posts tells me why you are not on the right track.

Please pm me. I might help me.

That excuse doesn't fly. I asked you almost 24 hours before for the information. You weren't working for 24 hours. This is YOUR thread with YOU asking for help. And you aren't even keeping up with it. So no, there's no surprises here that you aren't successful at IM.

Hi K,

First off, I have experienced your pain in the past. I know what it feels like. Keep your head up.

As Nightie said, clarity is huge. Also, WHY do you want to succeed? I see you mention working from home. Visualize yourself doing that to the point where you feel excited and free in your imagination.

This excited, free feeling will carry over into your work, and you will never ever feel like quitting again, because you will be inspired to work, feel excited, free, and grateful, and prospering ideas and people will hit you.

Practical tips rock but you must identify the core emotions why you want to do this to even listen to and tune into AND use the practical tips you need to follow to succeed.

Most people never do the inner work so they ignore practical advice, which seems to hard to follow, or just too much to do.....all because their minds are not prepared to receive good advice, because they did no mental clearing of failure-ridden beliefs.

I used the above techniques to travel the world for the past 33 months....typing these words from deep in the jungles of Kovalam Beach, India....and I learned visualizing from many multi millionaires and even some billionaires who I studied online.

Keep on keeping on bro, you can AND will do it!

Hope this helps

Hi,

If you think you are not successful from past. Then leave everything in the past and start a fresh.

Regards
Abdul

That is great advice by @nightengale. The ability to focus on one thing is very important. There are too many distraction in internet marketing. There is always a new shiny object to get you off track. You need to be doing something each day that moves you business forward - most of your time should be spent doing not learning.

Sit down and tell yourself that you will consistently do whatever you need to do to bring in traffic everyday for a whole month. Results will come and I'm finding it hard to believe that you put much effort into IM and haven't had success in 2 years. You are probably not consistent in your IM efforts.