I wrote an article for my clients about some of the lesser talked about traits that can help people set-up and maintain a successful internet business. Hope some may find it a little useful Today, something a little different. Because, usually we discuss internet marketing techniques that work, niches that rock, how to do this, and how to do that. Helpful? Yes. But let's look at some lesser talked about things that can help your internet marketing and business growth. 1. What Is It That Successful Internet Entrepreneurs Have, That Can Put Money In Anyone’s Pocket, That You Can’t Buy Right Now…? Experience. The simple fact is that experience is one of the most wonderful assets to have under your belt, whatever your trade. In the online biz world, only with experience can we understand what’s good and what’s trite. Only experience can tell us what is a good business proposition and what latest big ticket fad to avoid with a bargepole. Experience guides us as to what advertising methods are worth the time and investment, and which are scams. When an employer looks for a worker for whatever job they wish to fill, you can bet it’s experience they look for, even above qualifications or other traits. In the game of football (soccer), even the most youthful, energetic and skilled team can be blunt and win nothing at the end of the year unless shepherded by an old pro who’s been there and done it (just ask Arsenal fans if you don’t believe me). It’s a great thing, but it’s also a double edged sword. Because, only by DOING and over TIME can we actually gain experience. We cannot buy it. It’s not to be found in Bob The Guru’s shiny new video course, and no teleseminar or any third party product/service can give you this most elusive of traits. It can only really be earned through the virtues of graft and action. Experience taught me that not all niches are the same. Experience taught me that what monetisation model works for one website business will fail in another. Experience taught me that an opt in list is well worth the trouble to develop, and that it cannot be reliably bought at any price (not even for 1.5k as I had “invested†with one “guru†many years ago). So, go ahead and “experience†things. Go ahead and have a GO at building your list, at setting up a niche business, at getting traffic using a myriad of different methods. Do it fearlessly and don’t be afraid to fail. Because with each day that you try something new, you’ve found a method that may or may not work. Either way, you’ve gained experience…and that’s worth it’s weight in gold, because one day your accumulated experience will afford you more success than you dared dream possible. 2. Know Yourself, Know What You Want And Understand Why… A few days ago, we talked about the importance of goal and plan setting. I wont go over the logics and technicals of this again but there’s another thing that plans can help you with. As you scribble down your plan, you’ll actually have a clear idea of what you want in your business, and maybe even in life. You’ll discover why you want whatever it is you’re striving for. This is important, because when a person knows with crystal clarity what he or she wants, they have a good chance of achieving it. Subconsciously, they will find a way to make it so. And, I believe strongly that there is an unwritten law within our universe that rewards those who have a strong, clear desire for something. Personally, I don’t seek money first. I seek happiness. In fact, I can name you some gurus who make probably twice what I do…but, I’m willing to bet not one of them can match my level of inner-peace and happiness. Fact is, I choose happiness first in my blueprint for life. Money is simply a part of that happiness, and the internet business I’ve built over the past decade is a fantastic way of achieving wealth without sacrificing happiness. In contrast, during my stressful banking career I had oddles of cash but rarely any peace of mind. Only through experience did I learn that money can be a very fickle mistress to worship, and that we need much more to enjoy life. I still keep in touch with some of my old bank buddies – some have made it to VP, some haven’t – but all are looking seriously tired, haggard and, dare I say it, unhappy. What’s the point of that? I choose to have more than just wealth. I choose to enjoy love. I choose to take care of my body by going to the gym and being selective with my diet. I choose to go on nice holidays when I wish and buy whatever I want be that an iphone, ipod or PS3. That is why I am an internet business entrepreneur – because the title allows me not only wealth but so much more of the wonderful things that life has to offer, such as time to enjoy life and stay fit and healthy. And only this combination can make ME happy. It may be different for you. So, what do YOU choose? What do you want? Why do you want it? Write these things down, and refer to it from time to time. Be honest with yourself, because you’re brilliant and wonderful and you deserve getting whatever it is that you really WANT. And once you know what that is, not much can stop you. 3. The Beauty Of Long Term – It’s The Only Term Worth Thinking About Excuse me. I promised when I set out to write this article that I would NOT criticise the internet marketing industry today. But, one of the things that do get my goat within it is the amount of “short termism†that exists within it. The emphasis is almost always on the here and now. The big magic red button that will fill your paypal button. The magic software that will fill your autoresponder with fresh hot subscribers and all that garbage. In fact, it’s only the long term that matters and we all need to know that. Only by providing consistently good products or services will we ever get repeat clients. Only by steadily building a list of qualified prospects in your direct market (and giving them useful content) can we build our list into the tens of thousands. Only by learning, applying, and repeating this countless times can we ever hope to have the know-how to be leaders in the industry of our choice. And, like it or not, this is likely to take years as opposed to months, weeks (or even minutes as some sales pages may have you believe). It’s all about the long term, not about being a one hit wonder. Most people give up, not because of any fault of their own but because that’s the default setting in human nature. If after a few days, or weeks, or months they don’t see a wild ROI, they are liable to just quit. That’s sad, because there’s greatness to be had - just hang around long enough to let it embrace you. 4. Take Care Of Your Mind, Body & Soul Ok, I don’t wish to sound like your mother here but this is as important as everything else above. It’s important to achieve balance in life. That means working not only on your business, not only on getting traffic, not only on list building, outsourcing and the thousand other things that we need to do to run a successful online business. It also means working on everything in our life that matters. Because, human beings have a complex nature – it’s impossible to be happy in life unless a number of key needs are met. We need other things besides money to be content – there are no shortage of wealthy yet miserable people in life and I’m not sure about you but I would never wish to be that way. Believe it or not, we can all make small changes that can impact our lives very positively, no matter where we currently are. For example, our health. Everyone is at a different stage in life, but for most it’s never too late to make small changes that can dramatically improve our life and health. Like, even small amounts of exercise a week can help to keep us healthy – and exercise has the added benefit of stimulating our brains (I swear, so many of my best ideas have come while I’m in the gym…just make sure you go with a tiny notepad.) And, if the gym is not an option then there’s lots of other things you can do, from jogging to gentle walking. Together with exercise, consider eating the right foods too – what we put in our body has a big say in how we feel, as well as our energy levels and so much more. It’s funny, but the best I’ve ever felt in life has always been when I’ve eaten the right things and done my time at the gym. And, most important of all, that’s also been when I’ve produced the best work for my clients and my business. And, whichever stage of life you may be reading this at, I’ll bet it’s not too late to start. There’s always time for YOUR health, don’t you think? 5. Have Faith In The Internet – Amidst The Global Economic Downturn, It Will Hold It’s Own I’ve touched on this in recent times, but now is probably a better time than ever to set-up an online, internet based business. I’m not the only one who seems to think so, with The Economist recently publishing an article that predicted that online spending will remain relatively buoyant, with particular mention to online advertising. That means, that for those of us in high-demand, high-impact niches there is every cause for optimism. Big companies, in big niches will continue to offer big payouts through Adwords, CPA offers, and other general commissions. That means your blog/site, when in the right niche, should not see the type of slowdown and brutal wealth devastation that we’re seeing in the offline world. It’s to do with a change it trend. It’s to do with the internet business model being a low-cost, high efficiency one. That’s why offline companies like Woolworths (UK) have gone bust, while online retailers like Amazon and Play.com have reported record holiday profits yet again. All of them sell DVDs, gifts, playstation games – but while Play.com and Amazon are able to utilise the benefits of an internet business model (with a fraction of the staff and real estate costs of Woolworths), Woolworths just could not compete – it refused to change in a changing world. It did not develop it’s web presence (indeed, it’s website and what it offered just could not stand up to those of established internet retailers). It was trying to use a business model developed in the late 1800s, when horses and carts were still in use – in an age where we have spacecrafts orbiting Mars. There’s a lesson here for all of us – to keep our fingers on the pulse, to see and hear the winds of change coming and to act on them before we’re swept away. Believe me, the internet as a source of income for more and more ordinary people is only starting. Wealth is being transferred from offline to online at a remarkable pace. And everyone, you included, can be a part of it.
To bad we don't have a "thank you" button!! But I repped you for such a simple but yet profound post. As I read over this forum, a common theme that I am seeing is a lack of the basic skill sets of internet marketing. It's like people are in a hurry to make money but don't want to take the time to learn the fundamentals. You can see it in the questions that they asked. Not saying that they should not ask question (everyone has to start somewhere) but a lot of these questions are about basics stuff.
Well-done.Internet market is also full of challenge.We may be defeated by your competitors at any time even for some little fault.What's more,we should pay more attention to the needs of our customers.We should understand that we survive on the basis of our customers.All for customer,and customer first.