Internet Marketing Courses
You know there are hundreds of thousands of people making a good living online. Some are millionaires. Others simply have replaced their job with a much more fun lifestyle of working for themselves.
What’s a beginner to do?
I was thinking about this today. When I started I learned everything by trial and error. There was almost no one online proclaiming they had the “secret to online riches.”
Today we’re surrounded by the message. Everyone tells you they have the missing secret. For just $1 (and a million payments of $99 per month) you’ll have the answer to your dreams…and money will come flowing in like a flood.
When I came online, since no one was proclaiming they had the “answer,” I KNEW I would have to work my butt off to figure it out. What would have happened if I came into this mess of confusion we have online today? I don’t know.
But what I do know is that many people flounder around for years – trying all these different messages before they come to the correct realization.
There isn’t one secret that will transform your life.
It is a progression. It is a process of learning. And yes, quality information products can shortcut some of the learning process. But they will never eliminate the work factor.
It’s all about momentum.
Think about this. It takes a lot of power to get a train moving. Once it’s moving, it then becomes difficult to stop it.
When does the space shuttle expend the most energy? It’s during liftoff. It has two separate boosters and an external fuel tank JUST for the liftoff process.
Getting started is HARD. But once you’ve got the momentum, you simply need to keep doing and expanding on what’s working (sometimes that can be a challenge in itself).
And it’s only made harder by the fact there’s hundreds of “foolproof systems” promising to make it so much easier.
Put a hundred gurus in a room…is it a mastermind or a fight?
It all depends on which clique those gurus come from. Almost reminds me of high school all over again (oh the horror)!
We’re got the internet marketing joint venture list crowd. They’ve got a new $2,000 product launch for you every week. Something else down the pike is the secret of life and happiness you’ve been waiting for. Note here it isn’t the price I’m complaining about but the overhyped pitches of how it’s the greatest solution on the planet (at least till next week’s launch).
What could you learn from them? You can learn the main key, which is that the big money really comes from a list – and from doing joint ventures with others who have your target audience. No matter what “instant traffic” solution they promote – notice how their entire business is based on their list and their joint ventures/affiliates.
We’ve got the social media crowd who have 45,000 Twitter followers, but have trouble selling anything except a course on how to get 45,000 followers on Twitter. They say it is ALL About being social – and spending day and night building friends on these sites. Often they’re also big time bloggers and write half a dozen posts before lunch (like I really want to see a photo of the ham and cheese sandwich they had for lunch).
What could you learn from them? You can see that they do KNOW how to build their social media lists and how to tap into these lists. They’re building audiences, just often they have trouble converting them into profits. Now they simply need to learn the key is to get people OFF of these sites and onto their own list in addition to using social media as a way to contact joint venture partners (see above for what we learned from the internet marketers).
We’ve got the direct hitting seo crowd who constantly complains about the social media people. They know the conversion numbers from social media are pitiful…enough to make anyone who gets a lot of seo or joint venture traffic to want to tear their eyes out for looking at the hideous conversion numbers.
They teach us how to target the BUYING phrases people are already looking for (all keyword phrases are NOT created equal). They also share how important it is to get those incoming links with the right anchor text to rank well on the search engines…targeting those who are looking for information or products on the subject RIGHT NOW.
But too often they don’t want to be associated with “evil” internet marketers with lists, so rely on Adsense ads or some other limited method of profits instead of maximizing their profits with smart marketing.
I could continue with the groups as there are more. Put them together and they hate the others. They’ll often even refer to the stupidity of each other.
Is anyone else getting recollections of high school like me now?
What’s a beginner to do? Each group (and as mentioned the groups break down much deeper than this) is demanding your attention, saying their way is the right way, and promising you the BIG SECRET.
I’ll let you in on the big secret for free here.
The BIG SECRET is focus and hard work.
I originally wrote the above sentence backwards. I put the hard work first and focus second. That’s wrong. It’s focus first…then the hard work (working hard on all the wrong things will not produce what focused work does).
Choose something you’re passionate about where people are spending money. Build your site (I recommend using WordPress to manage your site and content). Produce content focused on your audience AND the search engines (since that is what your audience is searching). Build links from social media and other sources. Concentrate on your list. Make the sale.
This flows back to a statement I keep saying now:
“Internet marketing is simple, but it’s not always easy.”
When you’re starting out, it’s not easy. It is simple though. We simply overcomplicate and make the process difficult. Find an audience. Tap into a source of buying traffic. Make the sale.
Which high school group should you follow: the preppies, the jocks, the cool kids, etc.?
The true answer is they ALL have some value – if you don’t get blinded by all the extra baggage that comes with them.
Which training course is the best?
Mine of course! I had to say that…because this is my website. And if I DIDN’T feel that way, I wouldn’t be selling them. I’d sell someone elses.
A more complete answer is you’ll likely buy multiple courses in the future. I don’t know a single person who reads one golf book and never buys another. That person who cares about their game is constantly looking for ways to improve.
The same truth applies to every subject you can learn. Colleges don’t have ONE CLASS…and then you graduate. You learn multiple subjects about your chosen profession. Expand your knowledge and keep growing.
And here’s something a lot of people forget to do. Go back and RESTUDY some of the same courses you’re purchased as your knowledge grows. Recently a client mentioned to me how he went through one of my courses a 2nd time and was shocked of everything in the material…much of which he missed on his first run through.
If you want to keep expanding and growing your knowledge each month as you build your business, I highly recommend you check out the Monthly Mentor Club. In addition to a load of bonuses, it starts you off the very first month with a lesson on choosing the right market at the intersection of passion and profits.
Click here now to find out more…
Related Entries:- October Monthly Newsletter
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- The Truth About Internet Marketing Conferences
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[...] This post was mentioned on Twitter by Scott Smeester, Greg Nemer and Greg Nemer ???, Scott Smeester. Scott Smeester said: Another great read -> 'Internet Marketing Courses' http://bit.ly/cPWj0t [...]
“It’s a progression of learning.”
That resonates with me and the way I do things in a big way Terry. Too many people believe there is one magic secret that will “unlock riches.”
There just isn’t.
Even focus, then hard work will only get you so far without the rest (the market, the plan, the infrastructure etc…)…but focus and hard work WILL get you a great start.
IMHO, one of the reasons that it seems most IM courses lack substance lies with the fact that people create them too soon…usually right after they get 45,000 followers on Twitter (which means nothing without the rest).
Since those people haven’t had success with conversion, targeting their audience, etc…etc… they don’t bring that to their course…so that course lacks substance because part of the message is missing.
Great post Terry (again
).
I like the sense of perspective in the post Terry – yeah it is just like school and it reminds me of getting chosen or in my case not getting chosen for various teams.
As you said, “O the horror”
I wonder if you think it has become harder for beginners in the last few years, or easier?
Joseph: I agree completely. One of the reasons I see a lot of courses as lacking is someone just succeeded with the subject once. So they haven’t ran into the roadblocks that come up. That’s one of the reasons that actual teaching (such as an online ecourse, teleseminars, or coaching) improves products because you get to see problems you didn’t experience yourself.
Alex: I think that technology makes the actual work easier, but it seems to be getting harder to focus (for both beginners and experienced) all the time. And without that focus, you’re dead meat.
Hey Terry Dean.
The BIG SECRET is, if enyone whants to succeed in the internet marketing, or anything else. All he needs to do is aim high and pay
the price to get there.
he must pay full price, and to pay it in advance.There is not any
magic secret.
“Success is steady progress toward one’s personal goals”.- Gim Rohn.
Good word Terry. I’m a newbie, but I’m past the wide-eyed oohs and ahhs, and have come to the point where I realize, gee, everyone really isn’t an expert. I’ve shifted gears, and gathering momentum now.
I also agree that all of those components have some benefit. It’s a matter of finding balance; making them all work together with the understanding that no single formula will make or break you, but the more ideas and different methods you can employ, the greater your success will be.
The challenge for a newbie is settling down, and yes, focus. I personally found this business overwhelming because there are so many components. Once I figured out I just needed to start one plate spinning then move on to the next, things began to come together.
As a hypnotherapist I tend to encounter people who expect a “quick fix”, and I’m more and more becoming convinced that (though hypnotherapy can be a great accelerator), a real “fix” is going to come from disciplined practice over the long term. This isn’t necessarily what people want to hear.
On the upside, though, if you have that filter right out front, and provide some tools to help them persevere and succeed, your long-term success rate is going to be a lot better – even if your short-term sales are eclipsed by the guy promising instant transformation.
It’s stuff like this, Terry, that makes you the Internet marketer that people believe when they don’t believe any others. Keep telling it like it is.
I agree that in general, social tools like Twitter are over-hyped. It really is the list that makes sales. Give them valuable information, then over deliver on a product that has great value. Earn thier trust and the over deliver! It works…but takes time to build.
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This post was mentioned on Twitter by ScottLSmeester: Another great read -> ‘Internet Marketing Courses’ http://bit.ly/cPWj0t...
You’re more right than you realize. Internet marketing is not totally different from real marketing, it is expanded. The same things that lead to success in brick and mortar marketing, work on the ‘net. It’s just that it has expanded, in many ways. SEO, Social media, etc., are all ways to publicize what you do.
But, if you do not first and foremost think about the customer/client, you won’t make any sales. Most of the so-called “Guru’s” care about making money, not the package buyers. With a few exceptions, all they care about is “monetizing” their lists. Which means how many dollars they can make, by selling the list members something. Now, I’m not saying they don’t care about the list members, but their main focus seems to be money.
I’ve had and lost three businesses to being in accidents that left me partially, or nearly crippled all together. As a result of the last, I’m almost a full paraplegic. But, there has been one thread to all three. The focus was on the customer, not how much I could make. I,learned to be honest abougt who _I_ was, and what I knew, by seeing customers face to face Where they would know if I as lying, right away.I don;t have my website yet, even though I have a product to sell, I probably won’t get rich, or even better than break even, but I won’t forget the business doesn’t exist for me. It exists for the customers, and any clients I pick up. If I forget that focus, I deserve to lose it.
You have summed up my mental condition so well. Yes this is exactly how a newbie feels when they think of entering online business
Always a pleasure to read!
Terry, your blog is always dead-on and we share the same perspective. I would say your thinking most closely aligns with my own.
Well done…again!
Professor John P. J. Zajaros Sr., PhD
Thank you Terry. You are on point. Simple but not easy. Focus and hard work.
However, these are the same principles that it takes to run any business.
The train analogy is perfect. I will certainly use that one.
Thanks
Iyabo Asani
You’re right, time and hard work is key, but you also posted and gave me some other very helpful information, thank you!
“Focus and hard work”, that says it all. I’m amazed at how some weeks I can focus and get a ton of stuff done, causing streams of income for years to come in. Other weeks I’m not so motivated and would rather “play”.
I used think it was the hard work that was hard, but now I know it’s the focus thing that’s really tough.
Whatever you conclude to do, there is no fast fix – all these courses will demonstrate you variations of how to generate cash online but it still takes hard work and preserverence to get something up and running.
Great post Terry. I like your approach.The hype out there does get old after awhile.
Great post Terry. I like your approach