Friday, June 16, 2006

How to Avoid Newbie Mistakes!

I think the biggest "mistake" newbies make is focusing on far too many things at once. Most people try to make a living online, when really they should focus on just one thing at the time. Start with ONE project, fine tune it, get it making some money and then once you have figured out how to make money in that niche, and are making money on a steady basis - you simply do the same things over again to start adding an additional revenue stream from another niche.

Of course you will have to make some changes to fine tune your efforts from time to time. Your second project should be a niche that is completely different from the first one. The basics will be the same... traffic generation, conversion, etc. but try to just focus on that ONE thing, figure it out, master it, get it to make some money to a level where you're satisfied, then start all over again in another niche. That is what Internet Marketing is all about - MOMENTUM! You need to push and push until you got that wheel running. When it is running good then change to the next wheel (could be a different marketing effort for instance) and keep on pushing until you achieve the desired results. Then you'll have to repeat the tasks that bring you money over and over again and get rid of the ones that don't produce CASH!

Far too often I see people running from project to project before they make any money, hoping that the next project will yield better results than the last. While this can be true (You do have to throw in the towel sometimes) - the important thing is to fine tune what you're doing with ONE Project, then move on to the next and do it all over again. The basics, as I mentioned earlier - are the same for all types of products / niches / etc...

I have a good number of websites and while not all are earning me any money (some are what I call sleepy sites that I will focus on later when I have time to spare) the ones I DO focus on are all bringing me in money month after month. Some very well, some not so well. But I never "launch" a new venture until the one that I am working on is giving me the return that I feel it should. Sometimes I even launch 2 or 3 sites in the same niche, so that I compete with myself (better that I compete and get the sale on one of 3 or 4 sites - then give it to a competitor) but I still stick with this formula, it works for me anyway and it works for many other Internet Marketers - very successfully!

It's also important not to have unrealistic expectations. Sometimes when I launch a site, it takes 2-3-4, even 6 months before it starts to bring in what I consider an acceptable amount of revenue. But I don't stray from that site. I work to bring the traffic, build a loyal customer base, etc. until I reach what I believe to be a realistic income from that site.

And I can not stress this enough - BUILD A LIST! Make a compelling offer that entices people to sign up for your newsletter. If you haven't got a sequence of autoresponders enticing your customers - DON'T WORRY! Write a quick email thanking them for joining your newsletter and promise them offers they can't get anywhere else (and deliver on the promise of course) - but don't let your lack of 10 or 20 pre-written messages stop you from building your list. Having this list will mean that you can promote your offer to them over and over again.

Don't underestimate the power of a good list!

by Martin Mölsted

Technorati Tag : newbie, online, living online, strategy

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