Observations from a NEWBIE Internet Marketer 2
Observations from a NEWBIE Internet Marketer
For the past year, I have been working on becoming an internet marketer. This has been a long and difficult journey, but at last, there is some movement on my accounts. Becoming a marketer during the pioneer days of internet commerce is very exciting. At the same time, it is just plain hard work. Here are some observations to help you survive as an e-commerce Newbie in a fast-paced internet world.
- Take time to plan your business. Are you interested in affiliate marketing, search engine optimization (SEO), e-commerce (Amazon, drop-shipping, eBay), product creation, or content writing? There are many possibilities. Start by choosing one path and concentrate on that. You can always add something else after you are generating income in your chosen area.
- Once you have chosen your market, you must choose your niche, or specialty. People with this special interest are the ones you want to concentrate on as customers. It helps if you have some experience or interest in a particular area. Perhaps you understand making money from home, carpentry, animal care, cooking, fitness, music or bicycling? Once you have a subject, you can decide what goods and/or services you are going to provide to people who have the same interest, or desire to learn about it.
- Purchase nothing until you have decided in what direction you will go with your business. Do your homework about your niche on YouTube, or your favorite search engine. There are forums on every possible subject, and articles galore. Research and ask questions to make sure this is what you want. Get on e-mail lists with care.
- Be careful at first, that you only purchase what you are going to use in your business. It will make a difference if you establish a good filing system for your digital purchases. It is very easy to buy everything and use nothing. You can miss out on many bonuses and courses because of purchase overwhelm. You can easily get in the habit of buying, filing (or not) and never utilizing what you already have. “Shiny Object Syndrome” is a reality. I have it myself. I caught it unawares, and it is an expensive phenomenon. It comes with a PayPal account full of debits, and an extremely full e-mail in-box every day.
- Stick with FREE INSTRUCTION as much as possible. It is plentiful. Look up tutorials, testimonials and case studies (basically people sharing their experiences). There are some very helpful tutorials and case studies that will come to your in-box. This will take some time and give you a good foundation. Only listen to successful people. When you are ready to move on your business, go ahead and start purchasing pertinent products as you deem them helpful. Ask yourself, am I going to use this product? Be sure you have a business budget and keep a good tax record for your purchases.
- Be wary of marketers who say they are the only ones with the BEST ever software, program, coaching, etc. to help you get started. The truth is that there are many options available. You can buy something expensive, but wait until you are ready and can fully implement the benefits of your purchase. My experience as a newbie is to wait before a big purchase. There will be more opportunities for a similar product later. Often products will come around again in a few months.
- Work at your business at least six days a week, for as much time as possible. Treat your months of foundational set-up with as much importance as if you were making some income. Maybe you will have some income, but in most cases, regular earnings will take some time. This is the nature of the business. You have to learn about marketing first, and what is expected for success, before you can profitably start. This is natural and expected in any business start-up. Be grateful for any progress and note it. Tell others about it and remember the successes during days of discouragement. However, do not wait too long to take action. There came a point when I was not 100% ready, but I dove in anyway. I did leave a good amount of money unearned by doing this. The trade- off was a tremendous amount of learning and skill honing. I also make mistakes. Correction is a great teacher. My confidence increases daily.
- Internet marketing does cost some money in product investment. Some helps are needed for efficiency and effectiveness in seeking revenue. You can start with “lead products”, the first ones in a sales funnel. However, you will find yourself investing in the “back end” products as time goes on. This scale-up will help to set up your business properly. Personally, I have done some major investing and setting up, and am still working on it. As I mentioned before, buy carefully. If you do not have time for a course or a product, save your money. Something similar will come along in time. Too many purchases will cause you to lose time.
- Have your business basically set up before you seriously launch into the world of internet business. Have your autoresponder, your website and your money receiving apparatus in good order. Set up your affiliate status with the main product distributors. Be able to capture your leads and record your e-mails. Lead capture is where I was lacking when I started. This cost me as I had more free traffic than I thought possible visit my website during its’ initial weeks. Understanding of the world of internet commerce comes gradually. Learning and applying newfound skills takes time, effort, and patience.
- Start building a buyers’ list as soon as you can. Focus on learning to drive traffic to your website and your products. This is key. Give your visitors opportunity to subscribe to your list. Your list will come gradually as well.
The opportunities of Internet Commerce are unprecedented at this time. The present group of very successful marketers arrived where they are by dedication, hard work, study, and multiple failures and successes. Their struggle was quiet. Internet marketing is not easy. However, when you succeed, your needs can be met. Not everyone will get wealthy, but anything is possible. Make every day one of learning and growing. Do your research, choose your market and your niche, and stick with it. When you have mastered that specialty, you can branch out. Explore your business options before you start and you will save time, trouble and money later. Stay focused and positive and be thankful in successes and in failures. Be determined to make your business better.
I am Valerie Knies, the founder of Valornet,
A Division of Valor Sales and Services. New quality and affordable digital products and reviews are being added regularly to my website, https://valornet.blog. “Determined to Make Your Business Better!”
Join my Facebook page for internet marketers, a place for learning and sharing, facebook.com/valerie.knies.58. You can send a message to be added to the Facebook group for people starting their businesses. We seek to encourage each other to success. Write me a message to be added to Facebook Affiliate Newbies. You can also keep up with excellent digital products at the Facebook Valornet Page.