What Is the Tipping Point for Online Success?
KJ, like many of my subscribers these days, wants to get into Internet marketing. But she feels frustrated and unable to move forward.
“Where should I begin?” KJ asked in her e-mail. “What was your tipping point to online success?”
My answer: “The tipping point in Internet marketing success is to stop reading about it and stop talking about it and actually start DOING it.”
I’m not saying you shouldn’t learn something about Internet marketing before you start. I AM saying you do not need to learn EVERYTHING.
It’s simply Michael Masterson’s “Ready, Fire, Aim” principle in action. And it’s especially true in Internet marketing.
There is an oppressive mountain of courses… seminars… coaching programs… DVDs… websites… audio CDs… e-books… reports… and other “how to get rich on the Internet” material out there.
Aspiring Internet marketers quite sensibly buy and study this material in preparation for the day when they’ll start their own business.
Unfortunately, for the vast majority, that day never comes.
They get so caught up in reading and talking about Internet marketing that they forget to actually DO Internet marketing. And so they never graduate beyond the student phase and move into the real world. Their knowledge remains theoretical and never gets applied… and, they never make a dime from it.
To be sure, many people really enjoy reading how-to business books and studying marketing.
If you’re in that group… and all you want is a pleasant, intellectually stimulating hobby to pass the time… well, nothing wrong with that.
But I’m guessing you (like KJ) want something more than just entertainment.
Specifically, you want to start and build a home-based Internet marketing business. And by doing so, earn thousands of dollars a year in extra income.
To do that, you have to stop just studying Internet marketing… and start doing Internet marketing.
Every day, I hear something like this from one of my readers:
“I’m almost ready to start my online business. I just have to finish reading Mr. X’s book and taking Mr. Y’s coaching program.”
My advice to them is to forget about Mr. X and Mr. Y.
More than likely, you’ve already bought and read a ton of material on Internet marketing. At this point, you will learn much more through real-life trial and error by than by buying more education.
KJ told me that another thing holding her back is that she is a “rookie with no capital.”
I have news for KJ.
Everyone who is successful in Internet marketing today was a rookie no farther back than 10 years ago… and many (including me) much more recently.
So being a rookie doesn’t stop you.
As for “no capital” being a disadvantage — it simply isn’t.
Internet marketing is one of the least capital-intensive business opportunities on the planet. You can create and launch your first product for a few hundred dollars.
And if you don’t have even a few hundred dollars, you can start by selling someone else’s product for an affiliate commission.
KJ also told me that she knows “a little bit about everything in Internet marketing.”
It’s good to be so well-versed. But most of us aren’t.
There are dozens of techniques for selling products and services online. But you don’t have to know all of them — or even most of them — to get started.
In fact, you need only three things:
1. People to sell to — either visitors to your website, your e-list of online subscribers, or e-lists owned by joint venture (JV) partners.
2. A product to sell to them — either your own or one produced by a JV partner.
3. A way to sell it to them — usually e-mail marketing messages driving them to a dedicated landing page or micro-site.
So when is the best time to start your new Internet marketing business?
Quite simply, it’s today. And here’s how…
First, make a commitment to work on your new business at least five days a week, at least an hour a day.
Second, make a list of 10 things you need to do to get the business off the ground. (Not including any reading you still think you need to do.)
When your hour to work on your business arrives today, start with item #1 on your list.
Work on item #1 until it is done. If you run out of time, finish it tomorrow. Or the next day.
Then move to item #2. And keep going until all 10 items on your list are done.
By that time, you’ll be in business!
Yes, there’s always more to learn. But you’ll learn it as you go along. And because you’ll be doing Internet marketing and not just reading about it, the lessons will stick better and will be more meaningful.
Not to mention much more profitable.