As a person who has been trying to do it all herself for the last 10 months, I got to the point last week where I finally took a serious look at my goals and my progress and had to make a decision. Did I want to sink or swim when it came to making money online?
Without hesitation I knew my answer was neither sink nor swim but rather . . .
SOAR – above and beyond my wildest dreams!
With that being so, I came to some conclusions that would require a definite change in my game plan for success online. It is beyond the realm of my immediate skills and knowledge to successfully pull off and profit from my intended projects. And while I’ve known this for quite some time, I was confused as to the two, very different, schools of thought among marketers.
Any successful marketer will tell you that they don’t do the bulk of the work themselves but rather outsource and use virtual assistants (VAs). So outsourcing is an agreed upon strategy among marketers. Their point of views differ on, whether you gain the experience first by doing it yourself before actually outsourcing the task so you’ll know if it’s done right or outsource what you lack in knowledge and/or experience and just let someone else do it.
I followed the path of, “do it yourself first” so you’ll know if it’s done right and so you’ll be better able to train your team. While I gave it my best shot, it just wasn’t working for me. I started becoming frustrated and with that, thoughts of self doubt began sneaking into my mind. I had to put a stop to the negative chatter going on in my head so flipped the coin and went the route of just let someone else do it.
I officially hired the first two people of my new “team” and I’m really excited about what lies ahead. I have no doubts that this is probably one of the best strategic moves I’ve made yet and promise to keep you updated with the progress of my team members and projects.
I picked this link up on twitter and felt the need to share it. For me, I found what Gary Vaynerchuk had to say as motivational, inspiring and “real.”
Be forewarned, if you are easily offended by “adult” language – move on – curses included as he keeps it “real” and speaks from his heart.
If you do watch the video and listen to what Gary has to say and it Doesn’t make you think – Watch It Again!
There are many good tips to take away from this video. Below I’ve listed a few of my favs. What about you? Share your favorite take aways in the comments section below.
Stop doing what you hate!
Hustle!
Have to have a business model!
Legacy is greater than currency!
If you don’t believe in what you’re doing, even for a ½ sec, get out now!
Three Sides Of Traffic was a 2 day event held on Long Island, NY and hosted by Howie Schwartz, Simon Leung and Ross Goldberg. The event was different right from the get go with the cost being a donation to Al’s Angels to help children and families in need.
I attended the event because first and foremost, I’m a Big Howie fan – the man really knows his stuff and always overdelivers- and second, I wanted to undertstand traffic from 3 different “proven” perspectives. And as if learning about traffic from 3 different but effective points of view wasn’t enough, they unselfishly invited a husband/wife team, Lee and Robin Collins, to speak about yet another way of getting traffic.
Today was the first day of the “Three Sides Of Traffic” 2 day event being held right here in my own backyard, Huntington, Long island, NY. The 3 main speakers at this event include Howie Schwartz, Simon Leung, and Ross Goldberg. All 3 dropped the bomb with information and I can’t wait till tomorrow to learn more about dominating traffic with their personal proven methods.
I have only attended 3 Live events in the 8 months online but all three were Howie Schwartz events and occured within the last 6 weeks. I almost feel like I’m a Howie Schwartz stalker! Howie’s material is so “must have” if you want a real advantage over your competitors. And from what I heard today, Ross and Simon are equally dominating in their areas of traffic expertise. Tomorrow is the second and last day of this event and I can’t imagine the information and resources they plan to share.
For anyone who has never been to a Live event, I would strongly suggest you get your butt to one as quickly as possible. Live events are not only filled with information and resources you won’t find any where else, but the networking that takes place is priceless. As an online marketer who is still wet behind the ears, I felt star stuck with some of the attendees at this event. As silly as this may sound, today I was thrilled to not only meet Ross Goldberg and Simon Leung in person (had already met Howie), but I also introduced myself to Donna Fox and Ken McArthur. To me, it was like meeting “famous” people – and in many respects they are in their own right! Looking forward to tomorrows training. Will post with more after the conclusion of “Three Sides Of Traffic”
Back in November of 2007 I tried jumping straight into Internet Marketing by joining Passport To Wealth. From there I took advantage of their promotional offer to join MyInternetBusiness.com at a discounted rate. I joined in on all the conference calls, read, researched and did a lot of self teaching. I found that even though I belonged to a group that was pretty accessible I still felt like I was on my own. There was so much for me to learn that the more I learned, the more I realized how much I needed to learn. Like any other education, it’s a never ending cycle of gaining knowledge and skills in order to succeed.
With all that I learned and all that I implemented, my efforts still showed no profits. Now I could have easily quit as most new internet entrepreneurs will. Afterall, over 95% of the people who attempt to start an internet business will quit before ever making a dime. I was not going to be among them. I was going to succeed online.
So it hasn’t happened over night and I never really believed it would. I have learned lots and have no regrets. But I do need finances coming in and not just going out! So my solution, which I heard before but I guess, just wasn’t ready, diversify, diversify, and diversify!
If you read my last post, “Hidden Treasures Found in Twitter“, then you’re well aware that I’ve been tweeting and building relationships with marketers who are of a different mindset then those that I initially came into contact with. The main difference being, the marketers on Twitter are people who look to build relationships first and then market, while the typical marketer you find on the web through Google searches and the like are just that, marketers and sales people. Their first priority is making the sale and putting more money in their pockets!
So as I begin to diversify my income streams and work on building relationships, I have turned to affiliate marketing. But not the type where I bombard my list to get them to buy into every new product other internet marketing gurus are promoting. I have chosen to go the route of quality name brand items that the general public seeks to buy at a less expensive price or from the convenience of their home.
Earlier this afternoon I was fortunate enough to listen to Howie Schwartz for over 90 minutes as he answered over 300 Traffic questions live. It was packed with content and people. Listeners on the call were able to simply fill out a form and ask/submit any traffic question(s) they had.
Yes he did promote an upcoming event, but hey, the content he covered and gave away for free on this call was well worth the time. And I’m sure, just a sampling of what you’d get from ANY of his Live events. In a previous post about attending live events, I spoke of my experience at Howie’s Online Profit Workshop. And I’ll still stand by what I said, “If you can get to a Live event, Go! If you can get to a Howie Schwartz Live event, Go faster!
If you’re interested in listening to the webcast replay of this call, visit http://tinyurl.com/6rczhs
If you’re interested in attending Howie’s next Live event, go to: http://www.TrafficTornadoWorkshop.com
I believe you should also be able to listen to the replay here, if he takes it down from the site listed above.
And No this is Not an affiliate plug. This is just my humble opinion and strong suggestion as to where to go and who to follow/listen to when it comes to Making Money in any Niche Market.
This past Wednesday – June 4, 2008 – I attended my first live event – Howie Schwartz’s Online Profit Workshop – and all I can say is, “WOW” what a wonderful experience. I had no idea what to expect and actually was a little nervous about going because I wasn’t sure my knowledge would be up to par with the content to be delivered. I wasn’t that familiar with “Social Marketing” and “Web 2.0″ and that is one of Howie’s fields of expertise.
I had heard Howie a few months ago on a teleseminar with another well-known Social Marketing Web 2.0 genius,Jack Humphrey. I was simply amazed to hear what they had to say, but in retrospect, I was not ready for the content they delivered. It just sat there in the back of my brain as I continued to focus my efforts in other areas. The impression lasted however and the names would not be forgotten. I continued to keep up with Jack through his Friday Traffic Report and heard Howie maybe one other time (not really sure of this as I think I had him mixed up with someone else). In any case, I liked the quality of content they delivered and put them on my “worth following” list.
Then I heard Joel Comm on Ask.JoelComm.com answer the popular question, ”What’s the fastest way to make money online?” You can watch the clip here if you like but the short answer was, “Go to a conference!” “Go to a conference!”
Let me ask you a question: Do you think it is easier to sell your product or services to a complete stranger or to a person you have had contact with before; whether it’s an email conversation, forum participation or even an existing customer relationship (i.e. already bought something from you). Without a doubt, it would be harder to sell to a total stranger who has no prior experience with you and/or your products or services. First time buyers, who haven’t been referred by a family member or friend, still have to go through a process of:
Article directories are websites that house free articles. These articles are usually put there by whoever owns the copyright to them as a promotion method. Each article has the owners byline/resource box placed under it so that those who eventually read the article will know who wrote it (or at least who owns it) and will be able to get in contact with or visit their website for further information.
Articles directories are a great place to put your articles so that they drive traffic to your website and at the end of the day make you money. Article Marketing is a highly effective marketing strategy that yields a high ROI. People who are interested in your product or service will search for information, see your article, view you as an expert in the subject, and hopefully visit your website. Even if you cannot write or do not have any knowledge on the subject on which you are promoting (for example if you run an affiliate website), you can always hire a writer to do the work for you. Getting quality articles written will incur a fee, but there are plenty of ghostwriters for hire and the fees will vary depending on what you are requesting. In the long run, they will pay for themselves in no time either through affiliate sales or selling your own services, and everything from then on is pure profit. Read the rest of this entry
