Most work-at-home opportunities are known for promising three things: You will make a large amount of money, right now, without any large amount of effort on your part. Here’s what they don’t tell you: you WILL make a large amount of money, but here’s the catch… it does take time and it does take effort, at least in the very beginning.
While scam sites do exist, aspiring marketers don’t fail to replace their day jobs because they fell for a con artist: it is far more likely that these would-have-been marketers signed up for a legitimate program but then succumbed to the all-mighty mistake of Internet marketing:
The #1 reason 98% of marketers fail to make a decent profit online is that they have NO FOCUS.
Marketing, while extremely profitable, is a giant field that is constantly evolving, sometimes on a day-to-day basis. One does not anticipate the number of nuts and bolts that are involved. Let’s take a fictional affiliate marketer, Joe Bob, and use him as an example. Joe signs up for a work-at-home program that will teach him how to make at least $100 a day, starting. The program instructs him to set up a domain and guides him through basics of developing a product. First, Joe must choose a compatible host, a memorable domain name, and set up his website. Joe doesn’t have a clue how to use HTML, so he tries to find a website designer. However, most templates look hokey and unprofessional, so Joe spends a good two hours finding a design that looks decent enough for his website. After much trial and error, Joe creates a product for his website.
Joe knows that the main thing he needs to get now is TRAFFIC. However, let’s say Joe does not have a dime to spend on advertising. For this, Joe looks for free traffic. Now Joe is bombarded with safelists, banners, viral marketing, pay-per-click, and - a prime lack of focus - traffic exchanges. Traffic exchange is a simple concept - “I’ll show you mine if you show me yours.” If Joe had been fairly organized from the start, this is where he will fall apart. Traffic exchanges take time, as many require one to stay on the same page for 20 seconds or more. He is now faced with hundreds, if not thousands, of other opportunities that promise traffic or otherwise teach him how to make money. In consequence, he signs up for a multitude of programs that he won't even remember the names of in hopes to promote his website. He will sign up for a FREE opportunity, only to be faced with a one-time offer that promises the moon for a “small” price. If Joe buys the one-time offer, he now has a bunch of programs that he has no clue how to use. In the meantime, Joe is not getting any worthwhile traffic to his website.
Joe’s case is often the most common scenario with marketers who have just started out. Most get frustrated and give up, but the ones who overcome the seeming madness of marketing prosper. Many would-have-been marketers are also bitter about the idea of making loads of money, when in reality they are still stuck in a 9-5 job trying to please a miserable boss and still worrying about the electricity bill. After all, they were told making money would be easy - when it turns out that starting your own business can make your old high school chemistry class seem like a walk in the park. It is nearly impossible to stay focused, so how does one combat this?
A simple marketer’s organizer has been proven essential in helping online enterpreneurs succeed. The Internet Marketer’s Compass compiles together a list of your daily tasks, your expenses, your income, your resources and any opportunities you run across that could prove useful later. With this program it is easy to prioritize - would mailing your downline or posting a new resell program be more productive for you right now? Are you spending .00 a month to use a certain resource, and does your income outweigh your expense? You can also print the pages you compose and keep them for your personal records. The Internet Marketer's Compass is free and available for download here.
Keeping records and staying organized is vital in guaranteeing an online marketer’s success: while the Internet is a resourceful tool, thousands of new pages are added every day and countless hours can easily be wasted in hopes of finding that “perfect product” that will enhance your business. It is also very easy to empty the wallet on one-time offers that trap you in an ultimatum. While there are many services that can help you out, you MUST keep track of what works and what doesn’t and how much you are spending. The next time you spot a tempting offer, take the time to look at whatever products you already have.
The other pitfall of marketers: they spend more time buying products and no time looking at the things they bought.
No matter how savvy a program is, computers are only as smart as the users who implement them. Let’s go back to Joe as an example. Joe is now not only looking to build traffic, but after hearing about the countless benefits, Joe now wants an autoresponder, an article submitter, a downline builder, an ebook writer, and one-time offer generator, just to mention a few. Joe sees a bunch of offers that look good, so he signs up and downloads. He’ll open two, maybe three products, get overwhelmed with the setup process and his mental to-do list, then search for more programs. While one might be thinking that Joe is simply a case of someone with major ADD, this is often the rule rather than the exception. Yes, it can be quite overwhelming, this is perfectly understandable in the beginning. However, most programs sit on beginners’ computers, unused and forgotten.
The only way to combat this is to prioritize. Make a list of the products you have, then write your goals. Focus on the programs that promise to help you with what you need - do you need traffic, graphics, an ebook writer? Focus on those programs first. Promise yourself that you won’t download anymore programs until you have explored the programs you have and have fulfilled their max potential. Keep your primary goal in mind.
It can be a challenge at first to keep your head above water in the beginning. In fact, it WILL be a challenge. But don’t give up. The only reason anyone gets anywhere in life is because they stay focused and perservere. Once you get the hang of it, it truly is a “set-and-forget” process. The only requirement on your part is that you not only sign up for the opportunities, but you actually do what it takes to achieve your goals.
Free Articles Online - Online Article Database - Article Directory
Tags: The Cold Hard Truth: Why 98% Internet Marketers Fail Online
