I see posts every now and again on the forum regarding either the fundamental mistakes or the fundamental steps that people need to avoid or to take (respectively) when seeking success in the crazy world of Internet Marketing. There are usually a few things that are consistent in these posts, but there are usually a few unique things as well. Either way it is all good. So, I thought I’d throw my 2 cents into the ring too. A few years ago i was a zero in the Internet realm (zero money, zero credibility, zero strategy, etc) and I struggled hard for a breakthrough. It finally came, but it would have been sooooo much easier if i had just realized a few things earlier:

1. Stick with one thing (at least for awhile). This was a huge, difficult lesson for me. It is so easy to get distracted by all the new ideas, voices and products out there. It is easy to get excited about the next big thing and the next “can’t loose system.” I know tons of people who went from new project, concept or system almost weekly. I was one of them. Nothing will kill your chances for success faster than losing focus and/or putting your hands in too many baskets too quickly. Pick a strategy or a system that you know works and stick with it for 3 to 6 months MINIMUM. Don’t do anything else, don’t buy any other WSOs or start a new business plan. Keep a laser focus on that one thing until it finally burns a hole through the Internet. Please don’t confuse this advice with sticking with something you hate or throwing good money after bad for the sake of saying you tried for 6 months. Which leads me to the next point…

2. Learn to adjust. Odds are you will make mistakes and you will fail. Dont take that as a personal failure though… it is really a learning success! You’re now just one more step closer to what will work!. Make sure you view your learning as progress. Make adjustments and avoid throwing in the towel at the first obstacle. No one gets it perfect the first time out and you shouldnt expect to. You should expect to succeed and expect that you are on a journey. But believe me that the journey to success will be much shorter if you learn to make adjustments quickly and creatively and move forward.

3. Hire a coach. Avoid the big gurus like a plague. Sure, they have some good products out there, but they can’t really coach you the way that I guarantee you want and need to be coached. There is a difference between a coaching program and a coach. The former may have a figurehead, but most often the content is boiler plate, pre-prepared and never customized for you. Here is a better idea: hire a coach that doesn’t coach. That is, find someone who has a business like the one you are attempting (but not the same subject/product) to establish and see how much it would be to have them take you on as a mentoree. It will be well worth the cost and speed you on the way to success. You may just be surprised at how eager someone is to do this.

4. Outsource everything you can. I spent a lot of time trying to do everything…. Designing, programming, writing,etc. That is a huge waste of time (and, ultimately, money). You can outsource any or all of that for super cheap, letting you foucus on ideas, partnerships, traffic or whatever. Once i got over the desire (or falsely percieved need) to do everything myself, things really started to move forward. Dont ever be afraid to outsource.

5. Find the money. The great thing about this biz is that you can start on a shoestring. I hear too many people complain about a lack of funds. A website can be up and running in a couple of hours for less than 20 bucks. Sure, twenty dollar bills dont grow on trees and youd really like to have a few of those handy to start out, but it is just not that hard to get you seed money. Seriously, have a garage sale, skip that dinner or lunch out, sell your books, house-sit for someone, ask for money for your birthday, sell your ipod and your tv, take out a small loan from a family memeber. The possibilities are endless when you really want to succeed (yes, i know there are always circumstances and issues that make getting some investment funds difficult). But…

6. There are always excuses. And very few of them are any good. So, get over it (I know I had to). There never is enough time. Wrong. There isnt enough money. Wrong. I will start fresh on monday. No you wont. This new system i just bought will change everything. Nope, it wont. My dog died. Sad, but has zero to do with making money. The season finale of my favorite show is on. You are the master of your own choices.

Just stop. Stop. Stop. Stop.

In fact, just stop reading this thread right now and go answer these questions:

1. How much seed money do i have right now?
2. What can i do or sell to get more money by this weekend?
3 What single system or business model will I implement over the next 6 months?
4. Who could help me learn the ins and outs of that model/system better and faster?
5. What are my first ten actual, specific steps that i need to take to move forward. I will complete 2 per day until thay are done and then write my next 10 and repeat.

Now, go. Go make some money.

And don’t forget to have fun!

Yeah, we’ve all seen the lame sales pages promising a way for you to make money online auto-magically. They all have the same characteristics: a long long long bunch of words paragraphs sentences more words lotsa sentences blah blah blah testimonials until FINALLY at the very bottom of the page you find the price. And the sales page usually doesn’t tell you much about the product itself. It’s all hat and no cowboy.

Many times, these sales pitches try to get you to buy the product by displaying something like this: $900 $199.99 for 24 Hours

Or sometimes you’ll see: “Only 2 spots left!! Buy now before the doors close forever!”

And of course like a sheep, seventeen people follow and buy those coveted “last” spots.

Also, a lot of these programs/ebooks do something really evil: they say it’s not a get-rich-quick scheme and tell you you have to work hard to get it to work. What’s so evil about that? The fact that they only say that…yet they are selling you a scheme to get rich quick and they paint a picture of you sitting at home doing nothing and watching the money come rolling in.

Need money now? If you’ve exhausted all other avenues, consider cash advances. When you’ve got no where left to turn, a payday loan can take a huge weight off your shoulders. If you’ve got mortgage loans and just need a tiny boost of liquidity, learn more about cash advances.

The truth is, it never ever works that way. What no one will tell you is that it really IS hard work, and you really DO have a lot to learn, and you WILL NOT see those checks for months or a year or even a couple of years. You CAN attain the vision you have, but don’t expect it anytime soon – and don’t expect the expensive ebook or “exclusive” online community to be the answer to your poverty problems.

What IS the answer? While I’m not totally sure about this, here’s what I believe the answer to be…it looks something like this:

Hard Work + Patience + Ingenuity + Money + Replication = Profits

For those of you who DO make money online, tell me – does that equation look fairly accurate? Have you worked hard to get where you’re at? Did you need to have patience before you finally reached your money-making goals? Was ingenuity required of you, or can any ol’ lame-brain do what you did? Does it really take money to make money (i.e. is a dedicated server really necessary, is professional software really necessary, are custom-made scripts really necessary, etc.)?? Do you need to replicate your successful projects over and over again before you see real earnings?

I’d really like some opinions on this. My opinion is that the ebook “gurus” never paint the whole picture and they like to appear to be truthful but hold back the hard truths.

The hard truth is that while success is real and it is possible, it isn’t easy and it isn’t something you’re likely to achieve within a short time period. Should you quit?

No way.

What you should do is be smart, be ready, and stay in it for the long haul.