A few years ago many of the top direct marketers recommended building a swipe file from the various direct response mail pieces (junk mail) we all receive in our mail boxes. The idea was simply a way to learn how others marketers by examining the mail that we received from them.
As Internet marketing began to grow the prevailing wisdom was to sign up for the offers being emailed so that we could likewise begin to see how the marketing campaign was being developed.
As with the offline marketing pieces the idea was to learn from the work of others.
Fast forward to today and most people are being inundated with marketing offers.
So what appeared to be a good idea many years ago is no longer viable. The biggest problem is the duplication of the same offer by various online marketers not to mention the incredible hype that surrounds the “latest and greatest” new technique that is going to make all of us internet millionaires.
The Ugly Truth
One thing that pops up a lot in our email in-boxes are products that promise to make you an internet millionaire overnight . Many of these products claim there is little known secrete that will get you to this unfounded wealth and it will cost you only $35 to $47.
First of all there is no way that a $35 information product is going to make anyone an overnight millionaire. Perhaps there is one out there, but neither I nor any of my colleagues has ever heard of it.
Secondly, in most cases, the $35 promotion is the first of multiple up sells. The usual story is that the $35 product is great, but will work better with three or four other products and services. Each up grade or up sell then adds another $97 to $197 cost.
So does this mean that you should never buy these products?
Are they all scams that will just waste your money?
Not at all. However, it is important to remember that there are no magic bullets out there. The only way anyone has ever made money has been with a lot of focus and work. Sure, there are some products out there that are outright bad, but most are not. There is one thing that is an absolute truth and that is all of the products required time and implementation to work.
You will need to invest the time to learn it and then implement. A recent study found that 85% of people who buy instructional programs never complete the training and even less actually implement. The reason is that like anything worthwhile it takes time and persistence to make it work. So only buy those things you know you are committed finishing and implementing.
Tips To Managing Information Overload
Here are a few tips that I learned and have helped many of our mastermind members
who have decided to enter the internet marketing arena.
Pick One and Stick With It.
First, chose one are of internet marketing that you are naturally drawn to. It does not matter if it is e-commerce, PPV, CPA, affiliate marketing, domain selling, or any other aspect just chose one to focus on.
Next, find the internet instructor in that area that you fell you can understand best and connect with. Don’t follow the brand name or hype the point is that you need to be able to feel comfortable with the person teaching the material or you will not follow through.
Now, If instead you are interested in just marketing your products and services on the web, then choose on area to specialize in whether it is PPC, SEO, blog marketing, social media, ect. This doesn’t mean that you cannot learn about the other areas of internet marketing. Rather begin with one area and focus everything you have on that one area until you master it and then move on.
There are many ways to make money on the internet and there is no one way that is best. They all will take time to learn and master.
Only Focus On The Need Now
Only invest in the products that you know you can use right now or have a need for right now. Many times all of us hear of great services or products that can be useful, but our business may not be ready for.
Purchasing with the idea that we can use it in the future usually turns out to be a waste of time and money . We can all be certain that things will change in the future both for us and for the solution that we are buying. It is not uncommon for products purchased to just sit on the computer, or on the self waiting for the future only to see the newer and faster version come out.
Moving Forward
So, we can all take a lesson from Timothy Ferriss of the fame book, “The 4 Hour Workweek” and unsubscribe our email address from all the gurus list. Then we can focus only on those things that we need right now to move our business forward.
What about all the things That I might miss out on?
What you will soon discover is that you are not missing out on much, and you will not have hundreds of emails to review each day. This will in of itself drop your stress levels.
What most business owners soon discover is that they are good at some things, like others more, and hate to do other aspects of internet marketing. When this occurs it is better to outsource those items you do not have a natural ability for and focus on the running of your business.
There is always going to be new and upcoming techniques and strategies. However the basics of building and running a business have remained the same for some time.
Members of Bay Area Mastermind enjoy the comfort of receiving timely updates on what is really working and not working in the internet marketing arenas. This is one way that membership helps our members save time and still stay on top of the latest advances in business and marketing.
For more information call our offices at 1-888-485-8122. Contact Bay Area Mastermind