[ARTICLE] Controversial SECRET To Online SUCCESS - 90% Of Readers WILL NOT Do It!

The secret to online success is knowing it is just a vehicle, not a new business model. What works as a foundational principle offline, is what is necessary to make work online. I always beat my competition because I had success OFFLINE first then moved online. Bottom line, it is still business - and the principles for success in business have not, and will not ever change.

Use your offline smarts and stomp the online-only guys.

 

Wow. Great article. I can see you took good time to write this.

 

Really good article even if i disagree with a couple of things. And still being read 2 years after publication!!!

 

Wow this post really inspired me

 

This is a great post!

 

What an inspirational articles. I think it is all about getting the right mindset and dedication?

 

Great and inspiring article. Thanks!

 

The fact is, there are very few coaches that actually know what they are doing. These guys are generally failed webmasters themselves who got into the business of selling dreams to noob webmasters.

It's hard to tell who is who because so many of these losers know how to talk the talk. DP is full of them.

 

very true indeed, but that is easy to overcome

1) ask how old they are.

if they are 25 or younger...they are probably new and do not have a lot of experience

2) speak to them on the phone and ask questions about previous experiences.

3) ask to see web evidence of their history (www.archive.org)

4) ask for any 3rd party verifications (chamber, bbb etc)

5) ask to speak to existing/previous customers

6) get a MAILING address! (go visit if you can)

7) ask for corporate details...if they are legitimate they will have a corporation set up


and this is the best one

8) ask to see anywhere where they are quoted...if they are an "expert" then someone at some news source is QUOTING them or they are getting news publicity of some sort (not just a press release but real article/quote)

 

Those are okay questions, but the types of people who need coaching would easily fall for BS answers.

I would be more interested in their answers to these questions, although they could just as easily lie on many of them.....

1) How many sites have you had in the Alexa 100,000, how long were they there and what are the sites?
1b) What influence did advertising have on this ranking?

2) Can you program your own sites (both front end and back end)?

3) Is web development your only source of funds, or is it supplemental income?
3b) Full time? If so, for how long?

4) Will you personally be helping me, or do you have employees answering questions?

5) How much of your methodology relies on 3rd party content hosting services such as Blogspot, Squidoo, Ning, etc...?

6) Are there any upsells, or do I get coaching on all fronts for this single fee?


I would be kind of surprised if there was a coach out there who could give passing answers to all of these questions. And it is for that reason why I strongly discourage noobs from paying professional coaches. IMO they are better off approaching the webmaster of a site they know is big, but not so big that the webmaster has no time for them. This way they get around the wannabe webmasters who became teachers instead.

 

if you understand how alexa works, you will know being in 100k or not is only relevant for certain sites.

I think those questions are unique to a specific type of need and have little relevance to the ability of a coach

1) any niche site can have a low alexa and have tons more traffic and be way more profitable than ones that are.

also, there are many means of monetization, that do not require 10s of millions of visitors each month

2) although I personally owned a large web development company and can program myself - i am unique - i know many of my peers who are top notch coaches and do not know a lick of code. but they hire people who do. Henry Ford didnt know much about engines and aerodynamics

3) also web development is for web development companies...if the coach has expertise in that area...but web development is not BUSINESS development...which is what a coach should do

4) that most likely will be a combination of both for most coaches

5) sounds like you been reading some e-books...totally irrelavent

6) coaching is not buying a burger...so the pricing structure can not be quantified in the way you just suggested with either upsales or single fee.


overall it sounds like you have been hurt/burned in the past and are just untrusting....sorry to hear that..but whoever burned you is not a reflection of the TONS of legitimate coaches out there.

but you have somehow confused success in an online business with the singular dimension of developing some sort of website and mimicking someone elses.

 

Great to still see you on here BusinessCoach. On the ball as ever

 

Howdy Brum

check out my LATEST controversy here on DP

http://forums.digitalpoint.com/showthread.php?t=1782322

 

They are better than your questions, which you fashioned in a way that casts yourself in a favorable light. You didn't like my questions because your answers to them are not as strong as the answers to your own questions.

While this is true, Alexa is the best 3rd party verification to someone's previous success that we've got. Common sense says that it is safer to take advice from someone with a 30,000 rank than someone who can only claim to make good money from their 800,000 site.

Again, true, but the goal is always to get bigger so that you can cast a wider net. It doesn't take 10's of millions either. If you can get 100,000 visitors per day into a site, there is no reason why that site can't be your only source of income. People who focus on niche monetization techniques must remain in a constant state of change. It's very dangerous because those waves run out and you need a new one to jump on. This is a very nomadic style of development. I have seen countless webmasters acting like pimps on forums and then awhile later they are crying poor because the well dried up unexpectedly. Whereas the webmaster with a more stable site is still rolling.

A more up to date example would be auto part designers that work in an office all day, yet they somehow also know how to go down into the machine shop and build the part even though that is not their job. Why is that? It's because they have to know if their part is practical to build and function with the other parts. The only way to know that is to have a working knowledge of how to build it.

The fact is, the webmaster who knows how to code has a distinct advantage over one who doesn't even if the webmaster who can code is hiring the work out. Talk to any coder or designer. THE most difficult part of their job is just trying to figure out what the client wants. This confusion results in days or even weeks of revisions. If you know this stuff yourself, you can speak eye to eye with them and get exactly what you want.

Web development is not business development? Eh... I see what you are saying, but you still need to build the car before seeking advice on how to sell it.

Experienced developers who have coaching programs aren't spending 10 hours a day answering emails. So what we are left with are developers who have a ton of free time. I ask, why aren't they implementing the very concepts they are coaching?

No, not irrelevant. Many "make money online" programs know that their clients don't know how to develop their own sites or even simple static pages. So they send them to 3rd party services that can host the pages. This is the wrong way to do it in the long run for many reasons.

The webmaster coaching industry as we know it is about selling noobs on the next greatest method of promo that involves little skill. There is a new method around the corner all the time. And with each new method there is a new coaching program with a new fee. This is total BS. Legitimate consultation does not involve these practices.

 

actually my personal answers to YOUR questoins are STRONGER than the ones I posted and are verifiable...but yours are slanted in a way that has little to do with the abilities of a coach. $1000 bucks says I can answer those questions better than you can!

Alexa is far from the best 3rd party verification...you sound like someone who only reads ebooks and forums for an education.

Ever hear of a company called Neilsen Media or a company called Comscore?

Those two are well recognized for their web analytics.

what about Quantcast? Pew? Hitwise? Media Metrix? Harris Interactive? Juniper Research?

you need to get out more. alexa is NOT the top dog. The ones I mentioned are referenced OFTEN by news media for what THEY research about a website.

and if anyone is the #1 company its gotta be Keynote Systems.

Notice "alexa" ranking is HARDLY EVER mentioned in news reports...alexa is one of the WORST ways to evaluate a website...again..due to HOW they get their information.

To BE SPECIFIC - if someone doesn't have an alexa toolbar -they don't count.

So lets say someone gets around 15000 visits a month from people in their local chamber of commerce -- all business owners - very few who have the alexa toolbar...is that person not worth listening to? I know, don't tell me, you'd rather listen to the guy who games the all to easy to game Alexa-right?

its the general sites that dry up...which niche died?

fish farming? no - webmaster? (hint hint you are on one of the oldest niche sites =even sitepoint is still around) dating? when you have a TRUE niche --it doesn't dry up. Its clear you are NOT a coach.

that is utterly ridiculous. You think like an employee not a business owner. That PART DESIGNER works for SOMEONE WHO DOESNT DO THAT...and guess who gets the bigger salary.

Any highly successful person knows you must DELEGATE to experts, people who are BETTER THAN YOU and more KNOWLEGEABLE than you about their field. DO you think Donald trump knows how to pour concrete or drive reibar? He probably has never picked up a hammer. Even if he has...he is not the guy DOING THE WORK.

OWNERS know this.

YOU BE a webmaster...everyone else will HIRE THEM.

You be the webmaster....I will be the OWNER who HIRES webmasters...

YOU GET A SALARY...I GET PROFITS...the fact you do not see this difference, is why YOU need a coach- but are too uninformed to know you need one.

Considering i WAS a web programmer/graphic designer, that grew my business from 0 to 10 employees in a matter of 2 years...to move on to become an internationally known business coach

I am gonna disagree with you on that point...again

Simple. because they are developers of websites...not true coaches

its called "business". You know...rather than "self employed". Instead of ONE guy trying to do everything, you have many people, each doing a part....the owner casting the vision, and the employees doing the work.

Radical concept I know...but there are many who do it...just look at your own computer, your internet access, and even this forum to see it in action.

Thats not coaching..thats bizop scams....two different things...do not lump them together.

again you BASH all coaches because YOU were not knowledgable enough (and apparently still arent) to determine what makes a good coach. Thats YOUR issue, and sadly you have attempted to pour it out on others. Fortunately most are not as wounded as you are (or at least were wise enough to get counseling after being hurt) so they go in with OPEN minds.

 

Great article. It's nice to hear folks disclose what it really takes. There really are no microwave results. And anyone who tells you otherwise has an agenda of their own.

Thanks again for the great info!

 

wow! great article.Thanks for sharing

 

I should have known better than to stick my head into a thread that is basically creative spam.

You and I both know what your deal here is. Me and every other experienced webmaster aren't falling for it, but we aren't your target anyway.

 

No,

only pessimists like yourself think its something OTHER than what it is. I am an author, I have more articles and books than I can count.

It is SPAM to you because it is above your level of understanding.

Not much I can do for an employee so you are right..."webmasters" LIKE YOU are not my target. Business OWNERS who hire people like you are.

As I said $1000 bucks says I can answer (with verifiable proof) all the questions I POSTED and the ones YOU POSTED better than you can.

So...how confident are you that you know so much more than I do?

 

Interesting that anyone who disagrees with you must be a lowly employee of someone.

What I would simply like to know is what qualifies you to bill yourself as a demigod webmaster that can coach people down the road to internet riches.