Has anyone studied marketing or bussiness?

I am no sure why you are asking. Academia gives you a great base of knowledge but IM/technology moves way to fast to be in a education environment. AFTER you graduate keep learning online as FOSU said.

This is one of the potential pitfalls of studying marketing at a university. University professors love case studies, theories, statistical analysis etc. But the real world doesn't always conform neatly to academic principles, established models, and statistics.

Regardless, the classes are taught by "People Who Know." They are Professors, and they have Deep Understanding Of The Truth. And so, their students go out into the world with the what their professors taught them...and then can't figure out why they can't get ahead. And why others are so successful despite "not knowing" about marketing.

I have no formal marketing degree. I know for a fact there are valuable things I would have learned if I'd studied marketing in college (particularly financial and statistical concepts). And yet I out-earn most marketing MBAs (by a long shot, if salary surveys are to be trusted). The difference, I think, is that I learned by actually doing direct marketing and sales, failing repeatedly (and often spectacularly), and learning through very painful experiences what tends to work and what doesn't.

I think that getting a marketing degree is a great idea...if you want to work at a place that greatly values a marketing degree. YMMV.

i have an associates degree in general science and a bachelor in Business Administration plus an IAL specialization in international trade & trade laws and i have still much to learn. anyone that says a bachelor makes a world of difference is wrong, i think about 80% of what i learned is not from university but from real life and experienced people. The uni makes you a good employee not a good entrepreneur

I love what you said there! This is very true. I am doing this for over 3 months and I can say I have little experience but more than a year 2 studen at a marketing college wing from my city!

Being in SoCal odds are you worked for someone I have represented.


Because that "theory" is just being pulled out of their butt? Or because it was been proven to work?

There are well worn stats that almost all small businesses fail within a few years. For Internet Marketers without a physical store or product I'd eyeball the failure rate at 99.9%.

IMHO, the #1 reason for failure is not having sufficient business and marketing skills.

Too many people here think they can learn all they need for free from a forum - mostly filed with people like them lacking knowledge - or just "doing it" without any background and somehow that will translate into making lots of money.

Are there exceptions? Sure. Even then, exceptions of "success" often involve small money.

Many "heroes" of "IM making "tons of money" actually make such a pittance compared to their counterparts with real businesses it is embarrassing.

If you were not a good student, do not have a business degree and could not survive creating a business without the Internet, what makes you think you will succeed online? This is why so many are chasing $100 from some Craigslist scheme or whatever. It is the bottom of the barrel but all they are qualified to do. Sorry to be a dream crusher but its factual reality.

Why do you think so many WSOs and IM "ideas" involve chasing low hanging fruit? Example, target keywords with little competition with less than 30,000 searches per month, err 10,000 searches, err 1000 searches, err 100 searches etc. The unstated concept is you don't have the knowledge to compete against real businesses so you have to scrounge around looking for overlooked scraps.

Check out the "what to do if you're desperate thread" and see how many of those "ideas" are actually workable and how many success stories you will read. It is pretty much zero and zero. And that is supposed to be a gold mine of information.




I'd wager that dusty old fart teaching with a lesson plan done once and hardly needing any updating, with tenure, retirement savings, leaving work at 2 pm every day, months of vacation time each year, paid sabbaticals, and playing golf on the weekends, makes more money and has more free time than the vast majority of people currently on the forum.

I wouldn't criticize that person.

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IM = Internet Marketing

It's marketing using the the Internet as a medium. However, for some people in this forum they equate IM with the MMO market (Make Money Online), which isn't accurate. But nonetheless, it has that meaning for some people.

RoD

SANDRA...I think getting a degree is very worth it EVEN if IM is in your future. You can learn good writing skills, basics in photography & videography...AND MOST DISCIPLINE.

Which books did you read?