How to Make More... by Doing Less...

11 replies
I can honestly say... that after 14 years online and making a butt load
of money... the MORE I seem to try and do each day, the WORSE off I am.

In all honesty, the single biggest reason most people never see much success online is because they're always trying to do too much.

This automatically means you spread yourself out too thin... and lose the power of focus.

I can 100% say, without a doubt, that making money online comes from doing just a few things right.

Not 100 things. Not 200 things.

Probably 12 things or less.

The only way to have an online biz that's successful... is to offer a product or service
that helps people, and offers value.

That doesn't take learning 100 different things.

Then, it's much easier to make the sale if you can PROVE you know your stuff. And this is why it's important to give away something that WOWS your prospect right away, so that you immediately go from being a marketer... to being a helper/coach.

This is where the opt in/squeeze page comes in.

Again, it doesn't take 100 things.

Offer one amazing tip that someone can use right away to see results.

Do THAT and you'll see more people signing up.

Then, you need persuasive copy or good marketing content to sell it.

If you did your job right of offering a valuable freebie that was ACTUALLY helpful, that will do a lot of the selling for you.

But even with sales copy, you only need to focus on a few things, not 100.

Solve a problem, offer a unique solution, prove it, and ask for the order.

So far, we've focused on about 6 things total.

Most people... they're looking at 100 different things.

Then, you get traffic to your site, so more people see your content and products.

I've sold more than a million dollars in 3 separate niches, all using Adwords, Facebook, and media buys.

3 methods, not 100.

And finally, you build a list of these customers, and keep selling them valuable products and services over time.

This list of customers will soon become your biggest asset and money maker, because you've already sold to them, they've consumed your content and got results.

So the next time you release something, a large majority of them will buy, right away.

This list can be the one thing you continue to focus on, forever, and keep building it and keep releasing products.

But it all starts with selling one product or service that works well for the buyer.

Bottom line, major success comes from only doing a few things right.

In fact, I can even say if you do just ONE thing right in each area, you'll see incredible results.

Most people never see progress because they're trying to focus on 1,000 different things. So they never gain any traction.

They feel that they have to learn and do 1,000 things in finding their niche.

They think they need to focus on 1,000 things with copy, and 1,000 things with traffic, etc..

But the truth is, you can achieve amazing things by just focusing on one or two things in each crucial area of business.

One or two important strategies for niche selection will work better than trying out 100.

One or two important strategies for creating your product will work better than 200.

See, the less you have to focus on, as long as it's the most important stuff, you'll gain more traction and get more done.

The thing is, you have to spend your time on the most important aspects of each area... like niche selection, traffic, copy, product creation,building your list, etc...

If you try to focus on too many things at once, you'll never see any progress.

The key is, learn the one or two most important things in each area of business (niche selection, product creation, traffic, sales copy, list building) and then focus on just those, dropping the rest.

The more you focus on the few important things in each area, you'll see compound results.

Doing one important thing VERY well will produce better results than doing 100 minor things.

A VITAL few things that make the biggest difference, and the most money.

I've made a lot of money in 3 niches. Dating, fitness, and financial products.

I didn't need 100 niches.

In each business, sales were made mostly by people who bought my first product, so it's important you learn the VITAL few things you need to know about product creation.

The sales copy I used all followed the same template.

The lead generation sources for traffic, mostly came from 2 sources... and then when I got involved with media buying, one source. I didn't need 100 methods.

So, if you do a few VITAL things well, you can drop all the rest.

Doing one or two VITAL things in each area of business (niche, product, lead gen, copy, traffic, lists) will get you further ahead than trying to focus on 100 different things.
#make
  • Profile picture of the author discrat
    I think you hit on something that definitely has some Truth to it.

    I know when I just really simplified things and focused on the few things that seemed to make me money, I was overall more productive.

    I know a lot of people fall into this trap in IM : They spent 3 hours of hard work doing what they needed to do but because it was ONLY 3 hours they somehow convinced themselves that they had to work 5 more hours to put in a 'real' days work. And felt guilty if they did not

    I stopped having this delusion years ago



    - Robert Andrew
    {{ DiscussionBoard.errors[10267679].message }}
    • Profile picture of the author shawnlebrun
      Originally Posted by discrat View Post

      I think you hit on something that definitely has some Truth to it.

      I know when I just really simplified things and focused on the few things that seemed to make me money, I was overall more productive.

      I know a lot of people fall into this trap in IM : They spent 3 hours of hard work doing what they needed to do but because it was ONLY 3 hours they somehow convinced themselves that they had to work 5 more hours to put in a 'real' days work. And felt guilty if they did not

      I stopped having this delusion years ago



      - Robert Andrew
      Robert

      Brilliant point you made.

      We've all been conditioned that a typical "work day" is 8 hours... so if you put in anything less, you feel like you're not doing enough.

      So, even though your ONE vital thing may take an hour to do, we've been conditioned to stay "busy" thinking it will help us get where we want to be.

      But "busyness" doesn't mean business.

      You can do 100 things that keep you busy for 8 hours, and still not accomplish
      what one hour of doing a VITAL thing can accomplish.

      So, great point you've made, we've all been conditioned that a work day is 8 hours... so if you finish in 3, you gotta find 5 more hours of "work" so that you put in a full day.

      And as you know, productivity isn't measured in time, it's measured in results.
      {{ DiscussionBoard.errors[10267753].message }}
      • Profile picture of the author footy14
        This is a fantastic post and holds tremendous value. The One Thing by Gary Keller also emphasizes the importance of doing the vital few things that will add the most value to whatever it is you are working towards. I guess it can also be summed up by the 80/20 rule.

        We all fall victim to that trap at one point in time and it can be a never ending cycle of "the next best thing". We lose focus. We start to build momentum and then maybe hit an obstacle, shortly after we hear about the "breakthrough strategy" or the "newest secret" and stray away from our original plan only to start from 0 again.

        I used to try and read one book a week for years. Some weeks I got through two short ones, other times it took two weeks to read one. Regardless, I was reading between 40-60 books a year. The second the last page of one book was read, I cracked open the newest "next best thing", always feeling I was "one book away" from what I need to succeed at "x". The truth was that I already knew 90% of what I needed to be extremely successful, I was just making excuses. The more books I read the more confused I got, new opinions, new ideas - my focus was on 100 ideas and I was applying a little of everything which does not work. I think we all fall for this.

        Now, I usually pick 3-5 of the best books on various topics I want to excel at for the year and read only those books. I read them, apply it, read them again, then again, then apply it. The more I read these same few books the more I get something of value that I missed before.

        If we all applied a few key proven strategies in our specific endeavors and focused 100% on only that - ignoring the latest hype - we would all be better off.
        {{ DiscussionBoard.errors[10271248].message }}
      • Profile picture of the author Odahh
        Originally Posted by shawnlebrun View Post

        Robert

        Brilliant point you made.

        We've all been conditioned that a typical "work day" is 8 hours... so if you put in anything less, you feel like you're not doing enough.

        So, even though your ONE vital thing may take an hour to do, we've been conditioned to stay "busy" thinking it will help us get where we want to be.

        But "busyness" doesn't mean business.

        You can do 100 things that keep you busy for 8 hours, and still not accomplish
        what one hour of doing a VITAL thing can accomplish.

        So, great point you've made, we've all been conditioned that a work day is 8 hours... so if you finish in 3, you gotta find 5 more hours of "work" so that you put in a full day.

        And as you know, productivity isn't measured in time, it's measured in results.
        this conditioning goes back well before the industrial 8 hour work day ..

        thouse of us with european heritage most of the time those ancestors where not wealthy nobels..they where farmers why worked on rented land .. if you happened to become more productive ,, and didn't need to work as hard..the land owner would up the rent ..so it became the thing to do to produce enough to feed your family and pay the rent..and look busy all the time ..

        eventually when more productive farming methods where developed..the land owners kicked many of the people off the land..and these people migrated across the ocean and brought those mindsets to north america .

        the odd thing is .. those poor peasant ancestors who worked the land where really only expected to work hard from planting to harvest and had a good chunk of the year that they where not working that hard .. and they where put in stocks if they where cought working on sunday..so they had at least one day off a week ..

        i believe the figures i saw where ..they worked under 1000 hours a year ..and a lot of their work time included travel on foot ,,

        where as today we work 2000 hours a year not including travel time ,,

        one of the thing that turns me off about the personal development and success comunity ..is it seem to relove around the make as much money as you can..then live a live based on all that money you earn.. and then it is also reloving around retirment or ..a point in the future you are not going to work or earn any more .

        where as today ..we can chose the lifestyle we want and find ways to earn the money to have that lifestyle..and in many cases fit the lifestyle in to the money making

        here again you will run into the voices that will tell you to want more and work more to have more ..
        {{ DiscussionBoard.errors[10271741].message }}
  • Profile picture of the author Nikola7ROI
    That's true. But after you earn loads of money you should make systems. Hire people to work with you, media buyers, designers, accountants and everything else, I know that this is a complicated process where you need to find the right people whom you can trust but once you do, you'll have to work very little after it's all taken care of.

    I mean it's great to work but after some time when you have money you should focus on more important stuff and outsource everything you can. Read Charles Ngo's blog, he writes a lot about it. That way you'll have more time and less stress about your campaigns and everything.


    Best regards,

    Nikola,

    7ROI.COM
    {{ DiscussionBoard.errors[10267681].message }}
  • Profile picture of the author ryanbiddulph
    Hi Shawn,

    BIG fan of doing 1 or 2 things well, then enjoying my afternoon in Fiji, Bali, Thailand, or wherever I am in paradise. You nailed it dude! Where your attention and energy goes, grows. Feed it to 1-2 things and run with that. I blog. I write eBooks. I make more and more by doing less and less, and by loving the few things I do.

    Keep on inspiring!

    Ryan
    Signature
    Ryan Biddulph helps you to be a successful blogger with his courses, manuals and blog at Blogging From Paradise
    {{ DiscussionBoard.errors[10271481].message }}
  • Profile picture of the author diamond9
    Well said. I enjoyed reading this post. Thank you for posting this because it holds much value.

    It's a good reminder for anyone who wants to remain focus.
    It's really easy to get distracted and lose focus when we're trying to do too many things which don't necessarily give the results that we seek.
    At the end, we become overwhelmed by it all.

    I find that by writing down a list on what I need to do helps bring me into focus.
    I would achieve more in less time. As a result, I have time to pursue other things in life.

    -Intan-
    {{ DiscussionBoard.errors[10293244].message }}
  • Profile picture of the author gr8money
    I can definitely agree on this. Doing too many things at one time canbleave you overwhelmed and drained. I've learned it through experience
    {{ DiscussionBoard.errors[10293771].message }}
  • Profile picture of the author laurencewins
    Well said, Shawn. I have health problems and only work part time but I know when I am usually at my best and I choose 1 or 2 specific things to work on, whether it's writing, proofreading or editing. Once finished I have a rest and maybe not come back to it until the next day. It doesn't matter if I only work 2 hours one day and 4 the next. I focus on whatever I am doing at the time.
    Signature

    Cheers, Laurence.
    Writer/Editor/Proofreader.

    {{ DiscussionBoard.errors[10293784].message }}
  • Profile picture of the author NancyWhflare
    I couldn't agree more with you, we all want to do more to obtain more, but in fact it is easier to lose your focus and lead to nothing.
    {{ DiscussionBoard.errors[10293794].message }}
  • Profile picture of the author Trey Morgan
    This is so true. We tend to overcomplicate things and it's hard to believe how simple success can be when you just sit down, write down your goals, and write out a plan to achieve your goals. Focus on taking action towards your goal daily and eventually you will get to your destination.


    You can start out with baby steps and then slowly work your way up, or if you're crazy like me you can go all in from day one. The key is to stay focused on what you're doing and don't get distracted by the hundreds of opportunities that come your way each day. Persevere and stay consistent with your daily actions and refuse to give up.
    {{ DiscussionBoard.errors[10298684].message }}

Trending Topics