If you have read any internet marketing resourceever created, you have no doubt seen simple, onesentence, pot-shot solutions to all of your problems:You will only be successful if you think you aresuccessful. You will make money if you work hard.Think outside of the box. Content is king!
. . .If you fail to plan, you plan to fail.
How can this possibly help me, you think. These peopleare just crack-pots! They do not actually have any realhelp to offer me--just general advice, which reallyhas no practical implications for me and for my business.
This is exactly what I thought and this is now what I see newer marketers and affiliates saying. I was alwaysskeptical of general advice. I thought success stories thatended with an exhortation to work hard and make plans and think outside of the box were just plain worthless.
What I now know (what I have learned as I slowly became moresuccessful) is that this common wisdom--which I initiallyregarded as foolish and too unspecific--was actually the best advice available on the internet and it didnt evencost me money.
These simple cliches make up the best possible over-arching structure of complex business and marketing plans. Theyarbitrate the decisions of the most successful internet marketers. And when marketers decide to be short-sighted and deny these cliches for quicker returns, they are smacked-down and brought to reality or ruin by themanifestation of these cliches.
As someone who has received many brutal, unrelenting smack-downs from the Internet, I can verify this.
So what is it about these cliches that give them suchuniversal, lasting truth--They ignore hype. They ignorenuance. They dont marry a fad. And most importantly,they are results-oriented.
They dont give you the specifics. They tell you what tofocus on--broadly--and allow you to find the best way tonuance, build, and strengthen that simple concept,which ultimately should to be your choice, anyway. Just think: if we all tried to occupy the same niches,optimize for the same keywords, and advertise on the samesites, then none of us would be making money (and this isactually why quite a few of us do not make money).
If you create an ebusiness according to these simple cliches, you will not become wildly successful overnight.You will not find that silver bullet to turn everythingaround. You will simply create a solid, practical businesswith linear increases that achieves realistic outcomesand will one day--with enough work--become that profit-pulling empire you have dreamed of since day one.
Thats great. But how do I apply these ethereal parcelsof wisdom to my real ebusiness--Through structural adjustments and long-term planning, the two mostimportant parts of building a successful, long-terminternet business.
Unfortunately, too many new internet marketers--in theireagerness to see immediate results--refuse to plananything. Instead, they rush forward, purchasing products and services and piles of nonsense that, no matter how goodthey are, cannot be useful unless implemented within asolid business plan.
They get frustrated. They give up. They fail.
Other internet marketers, weary of trying new plans, constantly pound away on unprofitable ideas that alsowill never achieve long-term results. They purchasethousands of clicks, impressions, and guaranteed visitors. They never remake the amount they spenton advertising.
They get frustrated. They give up. They fail.
They never sit down and create plans. They neverfollow up with those plans and revise them as theygo. They make no structural adjustments to theirbusinesses to reflect their successes and failures.
They react to everything immediately or just stagnatealtogether.
But you are different. You will no longer do this.You know that content really is king. And that ifyou want to succeed, you really must work hard.
You know that when you make a new product, youhad better be thinking outside of the box or elseyou will be smacked-down by those stupidcliches that make you cringe whenever someone repeatsthem.
So set goals and try to achieve them. Make yourbusiness results-oriented. Stop hinging your entireinternet business career on a single marketing fad.Dont count your e-chickens before they hatch!
. . .And most importantly of all, always remember:if you fail to plan, then you plan to fail.
---
You may use this article for reprint, as long as it remains unaltered and the resource box and author information are included. - Isaiah Hull
Isaiah Hull is a widely-published business tips writer,a professional internet marketer, an affiliate programPTL, and the publisher of two ebusiness and marketingtraining courses. Hull earns an income by trainingordinary people to use simple, replicable, step-by-stepplans to earn any amount of income on the internet. Onesuch plan can be found at the following URL on his website:
If youre a fan of Western movies Im sure youve heard mostof the title line before; just replace Web with town.That line of dialog is offered right before the two cowboysgo outside and have a deadly gun duel. Wind blowntumbleweeds and shades of the OK Corral as a backdrop!
Nevertheless, can mean spirited politics help you corral alittle corner of the Web Can you put up no trespassingsigns on what youve deemed to call your own
Most progressive Net businesses grab market share by theirgood business practices and excellent customer service.Theres more than a few of those that come to mind. Thereare others - less enlightened - that use negative practicesto maintain their market foothold.
Creative ways to slow down or stop your perceivedcompetitors or opponents are many. They can take the form of misinformation, gossip, poisonous tips, setting up dummyemail accounts to spread rumors, etc, etc
A few of them will work in the short term. Some will be moreeffective than others. Most will stain your personal andbusiness name, when found out! All of them are foolhardy!
Yes, you can raise your hand to the sky and block the sun;yet and still, its not an accurate description of whatshappening. When the mighty Mississippi river wants to changecourse, how can it be stopped When the Net wants to grow,expand and mutate, how are you going to tame it to yourpetty designs
Entire countries have bent to the will of the Web! Heres anexample: Long-standing phone monopolies in Central Americancountries used political pressure to stop their citizensfrom making Internet phone calls, to no avail! Though special legislation was passed, there was such ahuge outcry from the rest of the Net, they relented! Let the Net be the Net, is the call of wisdom.
Historically speaking, the Web is an infant. It willcontinue to grow and expand, networking even the most remoteoutpost or village! Powerful and speedy microchips will giveus the ability to reach out to other people and cultures.Language barriers will be eliminated with real-time, two waytranslation. Stone Age villages are going to join the modernworld in one fantastic step!
The swift technological change and the accelerated rate ofdeployment promise a bumpy ride, to say the least!All we can do is grab the beast by the tail and hang on;uncertain as to where it leads and what it will look like!
Those are just a few of the things awaiting us, in the not-too-distant future. Im sure there are many more in store;not imagined, unseen and unexpected. The only two constantfactors are: growth and change! In its tender years, the Nethas grown and mutated in ways barely imagined a decade ago.
If Ive waxed too fantastically in the preceding paragraphs,I do apologize! The point is to explain the utter futilityof arresting or trapping a corner of the Web! By its verynature its the agent of revolutionary change and growth;never to be proclaimed as your self-appointed kingdom! It wont work!
All Internet Marketers should consider the preceding whenmaking policy decisions that deal with perceivedcompetitors. Notice my usage of the word perceived. Just because an upstart business wants some of the turf youformerly called your own, is no reason to engage inattrition and trench warfare.
These are much better options:
(a) Find weak areas in your competitors business. Not somuch for the purpose of exploiting them, but to see if youcan supply some of their needs. No matter what thecopywriters say, all businesses have strong and weak areas.
(b) Look for product lines that are complementary and formlinking relationships. The nature and placement of the link will insure mutualbenefit from the agreement.
(c) When provoked by some of the negative practices of other- less progressive - competitors, do what you must to upholdyour reputation. If its something trivial and small, turnthe other cheek and seek the high road; not from altruismbut to save your time, energy and attention for moreproductive endeavors. Pick your battles on principle and only when all other avenues are exhausted.
When all things are considered, the best use of your time inmaintaining market share should be spent in finding newresources and partners. Likewise, implementing new contentdelivery technology will prove very effective. By all means,every possible effort should be made to convert competitorsinto friends and partners.
The alternative is so unsavory:
While the Web continues its relentless gallop, leaving bothyou and your sparring partner in the dust; will you evenrecognize why you went into battle, in the first place
About the Author:
Francisco Aloy is the creator of The Newbie Business Guide.For more resources on website building, visit Mr. Aloys website and look at our section on SiteBuilIt integrated hosting.