9000 Posts - 9 Things I've Learned In 5 Years

In my 5 years plus of marketing online, I have learned a lot. These are
the 9 things I've learned that I feel are the most important. They are in
no special order.

1. Communication Is Critical

Communication is absolutely critical if you're going to be successful
with your business. Think about everything that you do to make a sale.
Almost all of it has to do with some form of communication, from your
first squeeze page to the prospect emails that you get delivered to you
in your in box. Do you not think the person who can effectively
communicate with his prospects is going to have a better chance of
success than somebody who can't communicate well? I know there
have been many sales I've made because of replies to prospect
inquiries.

Even your sales pages are a form of communication. They have to
be well written if you're going to make any significant number of sales.
This is why I work on my communication skills everyday. They are the
one thing that I know I can count on when all else around me falls apart.

2. There's More Than One Way To Skin A Cat

Don't let anybody tell you that there is only one right way to run your
business, advertise, make sales, make a sales page or whatever. I
have gone against the norm in so many areas it's not even funny. I've
done things that people have told me were crap and I still succeeded
with them. My first sales page was the worst looking thing you ever
saw. It still made me over 200 sales monthly for almost a whole year.
The blasted thing started off with a STOP sign right at the top of the
page. I mean talk about corny. But it worked. So try out your crazy
ideas. If they don't work, fine. But you never know what will turn out
to be a winner for you.

3. Don't Piss Off 7 Men When All You're Packing Is A 6 Gun

Learn to pick your battles, especially in forums. You can't win some
of them so don't try. If you constantly go out looking for a fight or get
defensive at everything somebody says to you, guess what? It only
makes YOU look bad. So turn the other cheek. Be the bigger man.
I know it's hard. It was hard for me. And trust me, I failed at it one
too many times. But those days are long gone. Sure, if you strongly
believe in something, stick to your guns, but do it professionally and
without getting into name calling and hostility. It does nobody any good.

4. Don't Try To Do It All Yourself

Pride is a terrible thing. I felt I had to be successful all on my own. Boy
was THAT a mistake. I should have tried to cultivate friendships a long
time ago. A member at this forum, when I talked to him on Skype, called
me a loner. He was so right. Well, those days are long gone too. I have
made many friends and am in the process of putting together some JVs
that are going to be very profitable for both parties. To those of you who
had enough faith in me to want to work with me, thank you. I appreciate
it more than you know.

5. Don't Rely On Your Memory

I'm getting old and it's not fun. Aside from the aches and pains, my
memory isn't what it used to be. So I am having a very hard time
keeping track of things. So as a result, I have to write everything down.
Don't let pride get in your way of doing this. Nobody is going to call
you names because you keep a cheat sheet or whatever. If you end
up forgetting a crucial part of your day when it comes to your business,
you can end up losing money. I know, I've done it. It was a hard
lesson to learn. Write it down.

6. Find At Least One Person You Can Trust

This is so important because things are going to happen online that
will require you to go to somebody you can trust. I am not going to
go into detail but I am sure you can guess what I'm talking about.
There will be people out there who will screw you just as soon as
look at you. Having somebody you can turn to and say, "Hey,
what do you know about so and so" is one of the most comforting
things in this business. I have a few people I can go to and it's the
greatest feeling. So find somebody who you can trust and is also
knowledgeable about the not so nice parts of this business.

7. Never Think You Know It All

Boy, was I a know it all. Ask Andy Henry and John Taylor. They'll
tell you. I've learned, quite recently actually, that I don't know it all.
As a matter of fact, I've learned that in the grand scheme of things
when it comes to Internet marketing, I know very little. I've been
wrapped up in my own little world for so long that I didn't notice that
there are things out there that I didn't even know existed...things that
are actually useful to my business. I am finally using them. So
always keep an open mind. That is one of my biggest flaws that I
have recently corrected.

8. Money Isn't Everything

Now that I've achieved a level of success, I realize that money isn't
everything. That I wake up in the morning pain free, cancer free, or
whatever other horrible disease I could easily be stricken with, is
the most important thing of all. That and the knowledge that my wife
and daughter are also in good health. Without those things, all the
money in the world doesn't mean crap.

9. There Are Good People In This World

IM has a terrible reputation. All you hear about are the scammers
and the crooks. And heaven knows we've had our share of them.
Anybody remember Joe Kumar? LOL. Point is, even though there
are bad people in this business, I have come to know many good
people, most of them here at this forum.

Paul Myers - Saved me from losing thousands of dollars.
Andrew Cavanagh - For teaching me so much about copywriting
John Rhodes - Gave me my first JV.
Willie Crawford - Gave me my first radio interview.
Andy Henry - Made me realize that there's a better way.
John Taylor - Ditto
Big Mike - For saying the nicest thing anybody ever said to me here.
Bev Clement - For watching out for all of us.
Judy Kettenhofen - For hooking me up with George Sepich.
George Sepich - For making me such a generous offer.
Allen Says - For making all this possible. I owe you a debt of gratitude
that can never be repaid.

I could go on forever. This place is filled with so many good people
who have made such a big difference in my life that quite honestly,
I don't know what I'd do without this place.

My hope is that in the short or long period of time that you've been
running your own business, you've learned a few things too. If you
have, please share them in this thread. I don't want this to just be
about me. This thread is about sharing what we know so that we
can maybe help others. Please contribute what you can to this and
maybe we can make this the Warrior thread for 2008...All the Warriors.

Thank you for making these first 9000 posts ones that I will always
cherish.