I love meeting new Internet entrepreneurs. I love seeing the sparkle in their eyes, the passion for their new businesses and their drive to succeed.
I think it's great that people know where they're going. It's fantastic that they understand it is possible to build a successful online business, something that can give them a stable six- or even seven-figure income, and it's wonderful that they're determined to get there.
That's why I hate bringing them back down to earth.
It took me years to get where I am now. Those years weren't all easy. There were failures and disappointments, avenues that led nowhere and great-looking deals that delivered nothing.
There were quite a few successes too.
That's why I'm so determined to share my knowledge with others. That's why I write books, give talks and attend conferences. I want to make it easier for others to do the same thing. I want them to achieve success without many of the worries and the cliffhanger moments that I encountered on the way. (There will always be some of those but if I can knock out some of the bigger problems and take years off the journey, I'll be happy.)
Perhaps the best piece of advice I can give then is to build your success step by step.
For Internet marketers, that means launching a site and starting with AdSense. Get your site up and running, understand how AdSense works and how you can make the most of it.
Then sharpen your search engine optimization and traffic skills. You'll need to bring users in to your site and turn those users into a community.
That means learning how to use social media, now a topic of its own. Building followings on sites like Facebook and Twitter is a huge amount of fun - I'm having a ball on Twitter - but they do take time and they do take effort.
And while you're doing that, you can also start expanding your ad network to include affiliates and ads from other advertising systems.
That's a lot to learn and a lot to experiment with. Internet marketing is a profession and like any profession, you have to study the skills, and practice to understand how to use them.
No one ever achieved success in Internet marketing overnight but take it one step at a time and you'll get there too.
It's Del.icio.us!
Furl It!
July 13, 2009 01:50 PM
That was a very inspirational post and at the same time an eye opener to the reality to Internet Marketing. It's so important to let inspiring new entrepreneurs/Internet marketers that while it's so very possible to make a 6 or 7 figure income, that it does take work, effort, drive, and the learning of a new skill. This is not money or success achieved overnight, but I can tell you that in this business the money and the opportunity are limitless. Something to really think about.:)
July 14, 2009 01:53 PM
I really enjoyed reading this post, because it hit the nail right on the head. Internet Marketing is only mastered over a good few years and extra coaching.
I'm in a coaching course right now and I can assure you, there is a ton of work out there to do. If you have a site that is just half the size of mine, you'll still spend a great deal of time doing your research and applying your strategies.
Thanks for the article Joel, it inspires people like me to keep going. No matter how tough it gets.
I look forward to reading some more inspirational posts.
Thanks
Kim
July 15, 2009 05:33 AM
Thanks for sharing your experience in internet business, i like reading your blog.
July 15, 2009 12:49 PM
I agree and in the same time disagree.
I immediately recognized myself in your first words. When you meet me you really see the sparkle...especially if you know I'm from a country where the average salary is in the low 3 figure income ($300-400max.) Not just because of that but because the internet is a land of opportunities and currently the land where everyone can have a chance no matter if he's from America, India, Philippines or Serbia.
I hate to say this but it is very beneficial for me and other hard-working internet marketers when we see all of you "gurus" selling books with the promise of a "magic pill" that will make you overnight millionaires (actually by 'you' I didn't quite mean about you Joel because I see your latest titles aren't filled with hype and all that...they're up to the point.)
Now...I agree with you. It is not an instant process. Some of you 'gurus' started to tell that to people...and I'm very glad for that.
However I don't quite agree with your point about the books I think books are good to read...20-30% of your time max. The other time should be spend implementing what's in the book IMMEDIATELY. Reflecting back I learned the things that make me money through EXPERIENCE (50% discovering my stuff + 50% implementing things from book and seeing they work) and testing. So it's not what's in the book it's what you do with the book what you implement with it...it's about the EXPERIENCE you get out of that book.
That's what I wanted to share with new internet marketers...I don't have a blog nor nothing I'm just an 18 years old boy from a developing country who started from 16 and is now making monthly income larger than his parents.
I'm very worried for new marketers...they are being taught lot of BS...promote via ezine articles (ezine is dying with a slow death...unless you hire a guy to write your articles for 1.5-2.0 it's not worth it IMO) and they aren't told about such wonderful stuff like viral marketing and proper SEO (tip: seomoz.org gives some neat seo tips.)
So what I recommend is:
- LISTEN ONLY TO YOUR EXPERIENCE (THAT IS, THINGS THAT YOU IMPLEMENTED FROM BOOKS YOU'VE READ and WORKED FOR YOU - read this once again.)
- TESTS YOU'VE CONDUCTED.
Books are good IMO for giving you a foundation but if you get a wrong foundation you're screwed...listen to John Reese (I think you Joel are friends with John) he gives pretty good foundation in his paid courses like TF2 and opportunity.com...I said paid not free.
And a last thing: ASK PEOPLE. You have no freaking idea how many people are there that are having results and willing to share what they learned and made them money (that includes me :) ). Go to forums like DP, go to different websites of people that make money and CONTACT THEM PERSONALLY (email or PHONE IS BETTER) and ASK! Just when you start getting results don't forget to get anything in return ;) you might even form a mastermind with them one day...who knows.
July 17, 2009 12:45 PM
Great points Joel and ones that seem to get lost in the Social media world today. I agree that building a Twitter presence and following is a lot of fun, but there are more and more tweets out there promising "1000s of followers in 10 days" or "Make a ton on money with one tweet" and so on.
These fly in the face of building a genuine community, giving value and making contributions to the denates in that community etc. Establishing a following/network that is really interested in you is far more likely to encourage them to visit your site than trying to short circuit the work and the learning.
July 25, 2009 03:41 AM
Thanks for posting this article. I really appreciate that. I first felt that after few months running my blog, I didn't see any significant income from it. But I did some research in SEO and creative writing. Now, I can cover the internet expenses and of course get some money from Adsense. Your article encourages bloggers to keep on improving the content of their blogs.
July 30, 2009 08:51 PM
i always enjoy your post . and off course i love your ebook .
July 31, 2009 07:26 PM
actually i am new one too . and i hope can be the best one
August 5, 2009 05:10 PM
I really liked your article this one. I think you have to give motivation to the many people who want to develop themselves through the internet. You give so much knowledge that we can use and can be proven correct.
August 6, 2009 08:57 PM
This post is definitely necessary for those of us prone to impatience to see our business take off or our products fly off the shelves. Success often comes along to those who take the time and have the patience to plan their efforts, build relationships with people important to their success, execute their plans step-by-step and to take in advice from others more experienced than themselves like yourself. Somehow over the years as a generation, we've gotten more impatient as we grow up in a generation where we expect things to be instantaneous (the microwave generation).
August 8, 2009 08:14 PM
Hi Joel
Superb post. I totally understand what your saying it seems most of the time in the world of a newbie your learning how to get things set up and spending very little time implemeting the strategies. I think thats why a lot of people quit.
"No one ever achieved success in Internet marketing overnight", how true are your words, but most people, myself in the past included, who jump aboard are very often told the opposite. Its not untill lately that I have realised it is like any other business and if you don't spend enough time marketing your business and bringing trusted customers in then it will fail.
Take Care
Graeme
August 17, 2009 11:55 PM
Joel,
You are right when you say that making money online can take some time.
You go to college to study for 4 years or more to be able to earn a 6 figure income like a doctor or an attorney.
What if it took somebody 4 years to master the art of making money online?
Wouldn't it be worth the embark in the journey when you know that in the process you could make maybe not a 6 figure income but a 7 figure income?
Would it be worth the time spent to learn it and apply it?
I think it would.
Jerry
August 18, 2009 04:31 AM
Hi! Its really a nice thinking and the mentioned informations are very useful and its just out standing,superb,just it is a hilarious one,so keep post continue and thanks for the nice post.
August 26, 2009 11:50 AM
So true - this is what we tell our clients all the time. You have to build, build build for the future!
September 10, 2009 10:16 PM
Hi Joel,
It is always nice to read or hear advice from somebody who made it and who genuinely cares and wants to help those just starting out.
Your post Being Success One Step At A Time fits the above like a glove.
If we who are just at the start of our internet marketing journey can remain starry eyed even after we realize that it's not going to be as easy as we first thought then I think we have a good chance of making it too.
The advantage we have, if we take it, is that we can learn from the mistakes that people like you warn us about.
I really appreciate your desire to help and I will use your advice whenever I can get it.
This is my first visit to your blog and I'm really happy that I found it.
I will visit again for sure.
Vance.
September 14, 2009 08:56 AM
That was awesome great info:
I have found it easy to make a sale online as long as you focus on the person calling. You must be a very personal person or you will never talk with them again.
September 22, 2009 02:28 PM
I suppose that is why so many people give up so soon.
To do any skillful job you have to go through a long training period and like you say this is no different.