If your making Money - What would you have done different?

18 replies
Ok Guys

Imagine you are just starting out in IM

What would you have done different or What was your biggest mistake?

Hopefully this post will help some people out just starting out in IM. I have learnt quite a lot from this forum as it is full of advice and great products we can use.

We all see the stories after years of struggling I am now making money, I used to purchase every product going etc etc. Well I am no different

I am in a position now where after years of struggling I am starting to see results, with a small but regular income coming in and a mailing list being built at a nice pace and I am ready to move on to the next stage.

This got me pondering on why it has took me so long, what could I have done different to speed up the process. As I have said earlier there is some great advice on here but I don't see many posts telling us newbies what to avoid.

I suppose the thing I would have done differently would have to be - I would have kept my card in my pocket and not purchased every must have product out there, jumping from one niche to the next. I would have picked one niche I felt comfortable with and look for the best person I could trust and learn from and follow their advice, training etc.

I am just wondering if this would have speeded up the process for me. I suspect it would have.

Anton
#making #money
  • Profile picture of the author Denise Hall
    The thing that held me back was that I kept thinking I didn't know enough about internet marketing to actually get started on anything. Once I finally started something, I began to make money. (Go figure! )

    Denise
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    • Profile picture of the author Intrepreneur
      My biggest mistake was selling Clickbank products.

      I have never sold a Clickbank Product as an affiliate EVER.. when I switched to other marketplaces I started making sales every day.

      I still do promote CB products, don't know why if they have never converted, maybe I'm hoping one day they will.
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      • Profile picture of the author AndrewCavanagh
        Get REALLY good at ONE thing.

        That could be SEO or pay per click, or copywriting, or selling your services to local business owners, or marketing through social networking etc etc.

        But really master just one thing well and you have a skill that's worth money.

        As far as buying products go you should be asking yourself "will this product help me develop this single skill or make money selling this single skill?"

        And don't just buy products for the information...put that information into action...the sooner the better (best is putting it into action while you're going through the product...that's how you learn...before you buy a product you should decide exactly how you're going to use it then follow through and do just that).

        Making money in internet marketing is really about action. The education is easy...there's plenty of information available.

        But only the people who take action on the information they have make real incomes.

        Kindest regards,
        Andrew Cavanagh
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  • Profile picture of the author marketinggt
    I've been making a fulltime income online since 2005. I have made other people millions of dollars online since 2000.

    My newbie thoughts:

    - You just have to get it going. Stop the "starting to start" syndrome
    - Put the blinders on and buy only one thing at a time. Don't move on until it is implemented. - that takes action
    - Get a mentor or coach that has been successful and do everything they tell you to do.
    - Persistence is key. You have to persist. You only fail when you stop.
    - I wish I would have built my list sooner.
    - I wish I would have built my own products sooner (instead of marketing everyone else)
    - I made more money faster when I knew less. Because the more you know, the more you know what "don't work." The key is action and persistence.
    - You've heard this one before - you have to make 1$ before you make 1000. - this is because of a belief pattern. As soon as you see you can make money, you'll then multiply and focus your efforts.
    - Don't be afraid to take risk
    - Don't worry about the negative people - block them out
    - Don't be afraid to tick people off and or lose customers (you will)
    - Don't get worried about refunds or returns. That's business.
    - Focus on the stuff you are good at and outsource the rest.

    I'll come back and add more, but if I started with that short list, I would certainly have more money in my pocket.

    Hope that helps!

    Rock on!
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  • Profile picture of the author MosaicDan
    Hello,

    By far the biggest mistake people make (myself included when I first started back when the dinosaurs roamed the earth) was to try to bite off more than you can chew.

    Let me state it differently: people should find ONE strategy that fits their temperament and financial situation and STICK WITH IT EXCLUSIVELY TILL THEY MASTER IT AND ARE MAKING GOOD MONEY WITH IT.

    For example, I've done PPC; I used to be a Certified webmaster for SBI (Sitesell.com); now I stick almost exclusively to article marketing.

    It's very important to think where your money is coming from. This is something I really learned from Eban Pagan. If you look at your business, you'll realize most activities (the vast majority) are not what brings in the money. It's only a scant few that do.

    The rest either support the money making activities or are simply a waste of time so you can feel busy.

    Rather than trying to master different elements of Internet marketing at once, I suggest newbies pick one strategy and focus exclusively on it.

    I virtually promise if people did that, they would make a lot more money.

    For me, it's Article Marketing. For someone else it might be PPC. For another it might be blogging.

    Here's a short video to watch that will really drive this point home. These two guys, Stephen and Yanik, really know what they are talking about:


    Anyone just starting out in IM should watch that video 5 times until it's pounded into their head.

    I once was interviewed by Rosalind Gardner, author of The Super Affiliate Handbook fame, and I thought that youtube clip of Yanik and Stephen was so important that I referenced it specifically and at length.

    I hope some people newer of the IM game see it here.

    Regards,
    Dan Ho
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    • Profile picture of the author MosaicDan
      Also, I just want to say I am not an affiliate for Yanik or Stephen. I don't know either of them personally. Just so there's no confusion that I'm posting their link as an "ulterior motive."

      It's just bang on, info.

      Dan
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      • Profile picture of the author JohnMcCabe
        Dan, I was going to say the same thing, only from a little different perspective.

        My biggest mistake starting out was also 'biting off more than I could chew', but it involved planning grandiose plans that would take a staff of 12 to accomplish, and planning to do it all myself. When reality reared its ugly head and I burned out trying to do the impossible, I'd abandon a project and start on something else, only to repeat the pattern.

        Clint Eastwood's character, 'Dirty' Harry Callahan, had it right... "A man's got to know his limitations..."
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    • Profile picture of the author vickiej
      As a "newbe" I love the video about doing one thing...I think that we all think that we have to do many things and do none of them well. Thanks! I will focus of one thing!
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  • Profile picture of the author bilt
    i would deff try to invent a way to build a good list of opt in people but due to the crazy chargest for autoresponders and etc its impossible.
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  • Profile picture of the author bilt
    internet marketing sucks right now too much competion and people that know it all will keep on bumping you down there is no way to come to 1st pag eon google for any keyword
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    • Profile picture of the author NaturalStyle
      I would have started with activities generating long-term results earlier. Link building, seo (on site and off site), article marketing, videos etc.
      And I should have started to build a list earlier, and send out more mails to the list.

      None of this is very surprising... it's just a ton of long hours behind the computer.
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  • Profile picture of the author cybernac
    I would have read the first 100 ebooks I downloaded before obsessively amassing 1000 that haven't been read.
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    • Profile picture of the author AndrewCavanagh
      Originally Posted by cybernac View Post

      I would have read the first 100 ebooks I downloaded before obsessively amassing 1000 that haven't been read.

      You know if you read just ONE really good ebook and treated it like this was the only information you had and just took step by step determined action on the information that would almost certainly make you money...probably very good money.

      Kindest regards,
      Andrew Cavanagh
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  • Profile picture of the author billromer
    What marketinggt said! ;-)

    Should have started on my own products MUCH sooner - anything - how-to guides, resource lists, anything - just get started on your own products!
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  • Profile picture of the author SteveJohnson
    I should have started sooner. I was too unsure about what I knew, and dismayed by what I didn't know. I thought I had to know it all.

    Get started, and keep the momentum going.
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  • Profile picture of the author Diane S
    I definitely think a beginner should pick one business model that fits his/her budget and values and interests and go with it until he/she is profitable. Only when profitable move on to business model two.
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  • Profile picture of the author Jon Steel
    1) Listen - but not to everyone. Everyone has an opinion about how things "should" be done. But you can't listen to just "anyone" unless they walked the path before you. Family members are a great example.

    2) Try - and don't be afraid to fail. I've personally blown over $15,000 in "business" ventures. Sure, the money is gone - but the lessons I've learned will help me mold my actions for future success.

    3) Do 1 thing at a time. Many people "multi-task" all kinds of stuff. However, if you are starting out and you feel you have 2 really great ideas - pick just 1 first. If you do them both at the same time, they will fight for your attention. And if you don't know how to handle this, instead of failing with one - you may just lose them both.

    hope this helps...

    js
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  • Profile picture of the author MosaicDan
    Nice to hear you chime in Andrew.

    By the way, one of my partners, Adam, is a member of your online/offline training service thing.

    Which is something we also do.

    I am in the middle of setting up a massive online/offline JV that probably has the single most profit potential for any one deal I've ever done. Gives me chills thinking about it.

    I'm documenting the entire thing as a case study.

    We're big fans/students of Jay Abraham and his materials, too. Which is where I learned to think strategically.

    Much success,
    Dan
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