5 Common Mistakes Online Entrepreneurs Make

Every single year, thousands of people try their hand at online marketing. The unfortunate truth is that most of them fail miserably and leave the scene with their tail between their legs. Just like the fox and the sour grapes, they tell themselves that the whole internet marketing industry is a scam, and all those who succeed at it are scammers.

In reality, most of these beginners make cardinal errors in judgment and sabotage their own chances of success. To become a successful online entrepreneur requires knowledge, perseverance, a dash of luck, patience and a truckload of "massive action taking."

There is no other way to succeed online. The illusion of a laptop lifestyle by some sun-kissed beach in the Caribbean is exactly that - an illusion. It only becomes a reality when you've put in the work and have automated systems in place that generate passive income day after day, month after month.

To reach this stage, there are 5 common mistakes that you absolutely must avoid. Failing to do so will almost always guarantee failure and leave you stuck in the muck and mire of mediocrity. Maybe that's a bit harsh, but it sure drives home the point.

1. Waiting To Feel Ready

This is the biggest mistake of all. Most beginners are stuck in a hamster wheel of learning but not doing. They get their little paws on every eBook that they find, they watch every YouTube video out there on making money, they attend every pitch fest disguised as a "Webinar", but they don't do the one thing that matters.

They don't TAKE ACTION. This is the most important step. You learn by doing. You can't learn to swim if you won't jump in the pool. Start doing, and you'll overcome your inertia and get the ball rolling. You'll start seeing results and know what else needs to be done to succeed.

2. Your Business Model Is Not Passive

Initially, you may need to do everything yourself because you're just starting out and learning the ropes. You might be bootstrapping your business and funds may be tight. This is perfectly understandable.

However, your business should be able to run without your presence when it is successful. You should be able to scale your online business by automating tasks and outsourcing where necessary.

To truly succeed online, you'll need help from others. It's impossible to do everything yourself. Hire people to handle your support, or do your graphics or create your content.

Focus on only doing the most important income generating activities. The other extraneous stuff can be handled by your virtual assistants.

3. Expecting Success Online Because You Have a Degree

It may come as a huge blow to the ego, but your paper qualifications do not hold much water in internet marketing. Many newbies fresh out of school with impressive qualifications, expect it to be a cake walk online.

When reality hits them that their degree has no bearing on their success, it can be a bitter pill to swallow. Being an online marketer is about profits, and not wages. If you're looking to be hired at a company, your university degree will matter.

When you're selling online, your customers can't give two hoots if you have a degree or a Dalmatian. They just want products that are of value, and which help them. If you can deliver these two, you'll make the money. The focus is always on the customer, and not the fancy credentials after your name.

4. Failing To Adopt a Profitable Online Business Model

When starting out online, there are many paths to follow. Some can be scaled up and become wildly profitable, while others have invisible ceilings. If you become an info-product creator, you're only limited by your imagination and skills.

However, if you become an article writer at a content mill online, your earnings will be dictated by what they pay you. You'll also only be able to take on so many jobs in one day because your time is limited.

Always choose a business model that will allow you to scale up, and where you can set your own prices.

5. Focus On Your Strengths

This is a big one too. You absolutely MUST follow your strengths. If you have a good personality and can make interesting videos that get a lot of views, that's your strength. Go with video marketing and make a killing there.

Do not try to become a writer and struggle to write and sell content because you heard that's where the money's at. Or try to jump into graphic design and spend five hours creating an eyesore.

Focus on your strengths and exploit them to their fullest. You'll shine at what you do, and make enough money online to be considered a success. You'll probably end up influencing other beginners to do what you do, when that's not their strength to begin with. The vicious cycle never ends.

All online entrepreneurs should do their best to avoid these 5 most common mistakes and they should find success online.

Article Source:

Its not about you!

There's nothing more irritating than to be lectured by a zealot who thinks his/her way of doing things is the only way. I can assure you that that is not the main premise of this blog. I am doing this for my own purposes and the exercise of putting my experience in the form of a newsletter is a challenge, something different to occupy my mind. Should it be of any assistance to anyone else then that pleases me but I do not propose myself as campaigner or a 'disciple' of any kind, the very thought bugs me. I am embarking on a new venture simply because I needed something to stretch me. Following a relatively successful career in education and a short period of time playing golf (badly) I realised I was vegetating and needed something to stimulate the grey matter. Thus I did some research and found something I thought had the potential to do what I was looking for. The ability to work from home was a big attraction, indeed, as I began to discover, the 'business' can be done from anywhere (e.g. you often see marketing material showing bronzed young men/women with their laptops on their beach towel.) Though possible, I am content to be writing this whilst on a short break 'house minding' for my in-laws, anywhere, as it happens, there is an internet connection is a workable environment. That appeals to me. The subject of the 'business' is 'Social Media', something I confess I knew little about (I should explain that although my main criteria in terms of involvement in a new venture was cerebral there is a good opportunity of making some money as well). Indeed I suspect, like most people of my generation, I was of the opinion that elements such as Twitter and Facebook were simple teenage fads. winging trivia across the atmosphere without much substance. How wrong I was, using either/both of them for business purposes is a totally different proposition and I am learning to do so in the belief that I will soon be able to generate a reasonable level of income from a home based business which is giving me plenty of food for thought. It is not easy. There is much to learn and key to it all is persistence. There have been times when I questioned my involvement but I am encouraged by the level of support I receive and my confidence and level of expertise is growing exponentially. The Internet is a vast arena of opportunity and there are a myriad of ways one can benefit from participating. It can be a frightening thing and the consequences of making a mistake can be daunting, however it is like most things in life, how did you learn to drive a car? by going to someone who has done it before; listening to their advice; accepting their support/encouragement; practising their proposals; passing the test of your capability and then continuing to learn as different situations present themselves. I am following a similar path in terms of the business of Social Media Marketing. It is fascinating, challenging and potentially lucrative. All it needs is positivity and the desire to make the most of your capabilities. I now have a blog of my own, I am regularly posting on  Facebook and Twitter with a long list of 'followers' and just three months ago I didn't have a clue. I have targets and I am attempting to shake off 50 years of bad habits which affect the way I look at the 'new order' of things. I want my independence back! 

It is possible. Let me know what you think, always interested.

You are never too old!! 

for your first 'driving lesson' try

http://tiny.cc/2y17ky

The future

Following the disastrous result of the UK  election it remains to be seen whether promises made can be kept. Unholy alliances with Minority parties are likely to dictate compromise just when we need positivity. I was a last minute decider and IMO the outcome is the worst possible option. The uncertainty in terms of business and the Brexit negotiations is likely to have profound effects on employment and the economy as a whole. Assuming that the 'Brexiteers' are right it will take years to build up flourishing relationships with new business partners and who knows what the effect will be on existing partnerships within Europe. As these uncertainties take hold it could not be be a better time to become completely independent of the system and go it alone. Those who dipped their toes in the Online Marketing business in recent years have seen tremendous growth and with the tendency for more and more people to purchase goods and services through the internet it is only going to get bigger.

With this in mind I have invested in a programme fronted by a top level online marketer and the course  I will be following is aimed at building a solid business which I can take on and provide for my family into the future. I am developing a set of skills to enable me to take advantage of the current (and future) situation and in the process I aim to pass on experiences from my perspective to help others who might be thinking along the same lines, There is no magic bullet in this respect, it is taking a lot of hard and persistent work and I don't expect to see the benefits of my efforts for a few months yet, However, in twelve months I should have all of the tools to enable me to go it alone and sustain a growing business which can be handed on to my children to further develop. As I have said earlier in this blog the main aim is to generate a sustainable level of income for my children but also it has given me a new lease of life in terms of exercising the 'grey matter'. I felt that all of the skills I had developed over the years were being wasted and I felt I had so much more to offer. I am afterall ONLY 70 and needed a challenge to stimulate me and keep on growing. I plan to develop the blog to cover a range of associated elements linked to a perceived 'senior lifestyle', primarily associated with online marketing and my personal experiences I hope it will also provide some amusing asides. It is still early days and there's a lot to do but I am comfortable with the targets set and confident in the potential outcome. Watch this space. (and learn from my mistakes ;-) http://tiny.cc/2y17ky

Are You Ignoring Social Media Marketing To The Detriment Of Your Company?

In today's market, businesses cannot dismiss social media as a way to get good exposure to potential customers, as well as being able to enhance their company brand. In fact, social media has become a well-known and popular way for businesses to extend their reach in a very cost-effective and efficient manner. Social media sites like Facebook and Twitter have millions of registered users, with these numbers expanding immeasurably on a daily basis. In fact, if it were a country, Facebook would now be the largest country on Earth* - with an estimated 1.39 billion people logging into Facebook from month-to-month, that makes it bigger than the entire population of China that has 1.36 billion people. Therefore it would be a huge mistake for any business, small or large, to ignore the economic value that these websites could be to them.

Social media for business has many advantages and the prime one is that it allows you to reach out to a large set of online audience base who are telling you what their interests they have. There are entire groups of people who are telling the world that they have an interest in photography. They even tell you what level they are at when it comes to this space. Does your business cater to amateur photographers who are just starting to learn how to take better photographs? Search Facebook and you'll find groups of people who fit that category perfectly! Do you sell small dog outfits for breeds like Shih Tzus or Chihuahuas? Guess what! There are so many groups for these breeds of dogs full of doting owners who want to spoil their four-legged friends. And it is so easy for you to get involved in these communities and reach out to the group members.

In the past advertising online was so expensive. Search engine pay-per-click advertising tended to have the monopoly for these types of opportunities, but the problem was that it was so expensive, and you were often paying Google or Yahoo a few dollars for every click that people carried out on your ads, even if the click was made by mistake, or by a competitor who was trying to run up your advertising bill. The other problem was that you very limited when it came to controlling who saw your ad and would therefore, have the opportunity to click on it. In fact, the only control you had was to say which keywords should be searched before your ad would be seen.

With Facebook ads, online advertising has become way more affordable, and you have so much more control over who sees your ads. You can limit visibility by age, sex, religion, stated interests, location and even by purchasing history. And best of all, your ad costs will be measured in cents and not dollars.

The other benefit with social media is that potential buyers will often be influenced by the reviews and comments of previous customers of a business that they read online. If your customer satisfaction stinks, then perhaps this is not such good news. But for the more reliable and conscientious suppliers who take customer satisfaction seriously then this can be used to their advantage.

So what are you waiting for? If you haven't already it's time for you to take the social media's bull by the horns and to show it who's the master. If you don't know where to start, there are so many social media experts out there who are waiting to show you how they can help you and your business. Or, if you're more of a do-it-yourselfer, then there are numerous books and videos on YouTube or Vimeo that can help you get started. Make the decision to start building your own online marketing strategy today, and it is only a matter of time before your business will be enjoying the benefits of brand and product recognition on the major social media sites.

* http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2015/01/28/facebook-biggest-country_n_6565428.html

Earl Gardner is the founder and owner of Alchemy Digital Media, a website development and online marketing company in Fort Myers, FL. Earl has worked directly with many small to medium-sized businesses to help them develop and implement their own online marketing strategies and shown them how to measure success and re-organize their online marketing plans to help them get a better return on their marketing investments while maximizing their financial and personnel resources.

SOURCE

Internet Marketing Is Simple - But Not Easy

There are many misconceptions about Internet Marketing circulating today. Some see it as a "Get-Rich-Quick" scheme - which it most certainly isn't. Others preach a message of doom and gloom: "It doesn't work; it's a rip-off; it's a waste of time and money" - which, again, it most certainly isn't. The more informed and open-minded see it as a great business opportunity which, like almost everything else in life, can produce great results for those prepared to put in the work - which it certainly is!

Whether you succeed at internet marketing is far more up to you than any other factors. For most people beginning an online business there is a lot of new information to take on board, a lot of new skills to learn. The actual process of internet marketing is well-known and easily understood. Almost any informational sources will tell you, it is just about following a pathway which has been trodden by many successful entrepreneurs over the last few years. By following in the footsteps of those who have walked the path before and doing exactly what they did you will succeed. This is good advice! You must be prepared to do what needs to be done with a single-mindedness of purpose. You can only reap what you sow. However, as I said in my headline, internet marketing is simple - but not easy.

The secret to success is through consistency and persistency. You will have tough days and exasperating failures at times but, if you are able to accept these and be prepared to learn from your mistakes, success will eventually come. Promise yourself that you will never give up however difficult it becomes at times. Many people are making very significant amounts of money from internet marketing so keep in your mind just what your success will mean to both you and your family.

"Anything worth doing is worth doing well", says the proverb. This is so true. Set out to do everything to the very best of your ability, follow your plan to the letter and don't be distracted. You are likely to be bombarded with all sorts of information offering a new way or a better way of running an online business. Keep your head down, keep your focus to follow the plan you have set out for yourself. Once you have begun to make money you can start to explore other options - and not before! Remember you are running a business which could ultimately change your life so treat it as such. Once it turns into little more than a 'hobby' your chances of success will be zero.

To draw on my musical background, all instrumentalists will tell you that practising scales is an essential part of learning to play well. However, not many would admit to enjoying practising scales. It is work that has to be done but takes willpower and commitment to do it. It takes a certain mindset to do this essential work. The enjoyment and satisfaction ultimately comes from using your improved technique to play the music you really want to play and to be able to play it better. I'm sure you can see the parallel.

My headline was "Internet Marketing Is Simple - But Not Easy" which really is true. The process is straight-forward but applying that process is not. Your eventual success, however, depends on you and your ability to see it through; to learn what needs to be learnt and to do what needs to be done. I wish you every success in your business.

Robert Hinchliffe is an experienced writer on the subject of internet marketing and related topics. If you have found this article of help and would like to learn more about how to earn money with a profitable online business, please visit http://www.internetmarketingmanual.com for further information on the subject. Internet marketing is the business of today. Discover how you can become a part of it.

SOURCE

Why Searching For The Online Marketing Magic Bullet Will Lead To Frustration AND Failure

Today I want to talk a little bit about this topic, because I find that it is very common. Especially in online marketing, we tend to think that there must be ONE way, a magic bullet, that is THE way to success. Fast. Here and now. And that this "Magic Secret" is known by the top earners, but they won't share it with us. What I have learned over the past two years in online marketing is that there is NO magic bullet. The top earners have NOT used a magic button to get where they are now and all though they might have SOME secrets they are not sharing with everyone, they know that the ONLY way to success is FOCUS, CONSISTENCY and HARD WORK.

PERIOD.

Now, let's look at why this aimless search will lead to frustration and ultimately failure and WHY being focused is perhaps THE most important work ethic you'll need. When it comes to social media there is no platform being better than the one you chose to focus on.

While some are crushing it on Facebook, Instagram is not working for them at all. Some find Twitter the best platform, while others use Snapchat or LinkedIn. I've seen known 6 figure earners with absolutely no activity on Instagram for example. What all these marketers have in common is this: they concentrate and focus on ONE platform and strategy only. That's it.

And this is what being focused means. Focus on ONE platform only AND stick with it! Once you get bored, because you feel nothing happens and start jumping around from platform to platform you are doomed. Doomed to fail. Why?

Because you need to put in the work behind your strategy over time to get the results you desire. No 6 figure earner started out with 20.000 followers on Instagram or leads pouring into their autoresponder every day. No, they built it up from scratch. They started out with 100 followers and no leads at all - just like you. I know, because I've been there to. If I hadn't stayed focused on my strategy I wouldn't have the results I'm getting today. I was jumping around my first 4 months and all though I concentrated on blogging, every time we had a training about a new platform I thought I had to do be on that platform as well.

And that is not possible.

Once you stay focused and put ALL your energy and work behind one single platform YOU will grow and YOUR business will grow. And once you do that you will not have time to get frustrated. IF that happens, you might have to readjust your expectations. And what I mean by this is that if you expect amazing results from day one, you will be disappointed.

Expect none or very little results in the beginning, whilst building your foundation. And remember even the smallest accomplishments are results. They are signs that what you are doing is actually having an impact on someone out there. A sign that what you are doing is having an effect. Results are not just sign-ups. Results are when you get likes, comments, messages, people reaching out to you.

Now, YOUR response to those small results in the beginning is what defines your success. If you ignore them, don't expect much.  But if you see and treat them like openings and react to them, reaching out to people, you may see some pretty nice results real quick.

It's a process and you have to work consistently on a daily basis for a good while. And that is why if you are everywhere, doing a little bit here and a little bit there it will take much longer time. Perhaps years before anything happens. This is where frustration takes over and the reason so many give up.

A time frame? I would say you need to work your one strategy for a minimum of 6 months, before you add a new one. It's really all up to you. Everything depends on how you react to those first small signs and reactions in the beginning that you get. If you don't react and expect that others should take action only you are placing the responsibility on someone else - not on yourself and nothing will ever happen this way. Once you take over responsibility and stop searching for a magic bullet and stop blaming outside circumstances you are on the right path.

And if you keep going you WILL succeed!

SOURCE

5 Elementary Ways of Online Marketing

Online Marketing can be referred as another tool for digital or internet marketing. It is the marketing of your brand and products through digital media, that is, the Internet using various tools and sources of media. The most important thing is to create a brand reputation which helps you to drive maximum sales. Also reaching out to customers have become easier through online media which encourages engagement with your customers.

In this article, I would like to share ways of online marketing by which you can build up a brand reputation and can help you to drive sales.

Read on...

1. Content Marketing

It includes posting blogs, eBooks and interesting content on the web. Basically, it is the marketing of the content that you post on your website including infographics and videos. If the quality of the content is worth reading and sharing, then no doubt people will start reading your blog which will build a brand and quality reputation. This also helps you to get organic traffic.

2. Social Media Marketing

As we know people are more active on social media platforms like Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, Pinterest, and others. Using social media to market your content and brand increases brand awareness and website traffic. Posting updates on social media go viral within seconds. Also, responding to complaints, requests, and praise becomes easier.

3. Email Marketing

According to research, it has been noted that people check their emails 8 or more times a day. Email Marketing is leading the way for sales by sending helpful, relevant messages to the email contacts that have subscribed to receive emails from you. It helps to keep your customers engaged with your company and build brand loyalty.

4. Online Advertising

Advertising through digital medium involves publishing your ads on various websites, social media platforms and even on search engines like Google, Yahoo and Bing. It is generally paid or performed on the commission basis as pay per click on third party websites. You can also use Google AdWords as well. It also helps to gain website traffic and deliver marketing messages to the right customers.

5. Online Surveys

These can be sent as web forms, generally on email or you can create a page on your website for the survey form. It stores the database with answers which act as analytics to your brand. This helps to examine and evaluate the reputation you are building with your customers. You can improve by knowing the flaws in building your brand reputation.

Above article is associated with techstack which is providing digital marketing course in delhi with more than 25 modules of digital marketing.

SOURCE

One (Senior) Internet Marketing beginners experience

One (Senior) Internet Marketing beginners experience

“Once upon a time I couldn’t even spell ‘Social Media Marketer’, now I are one”.

As I approached my 70^th birthday I recognised that something had to change.

Having been retired for 7 years and feeling myself stagnating, I was in dire need of some mental stimulation and a challenge (not to mention some extra cash).

Several years ago, whilst in work, I dabbled with Internet Marketing but, frankly I did not have the right mindset to make a success of it at the time. All sorts of excuses were used to justify my lack of progress but in the end it was clear that I had become stuck in my own little pool of inactivity.  In an attempt to resolve this situation I attended a three day ‘Bootcamp’ in Brighton (Oct 2016) and was captivated by a number of the presentations which were light years ahead of those I saw back then.

One, in particular, stood out for me and it was to do with Social Media. I have two grown up children who use Facebook & Twitter incessantly (as well as Whatsapp amongst others) and frankly I was both bemused and dismissive of it all until I heard Paul OMahonys exhilarating talk at the show.

My reason for attending was principally that I was looking to develop a worthwhile activity which could not only provide some income but also give me the mental stimulus that I so badly needed. Although I knew enough about the topic to realise that this is the way of ‘the future’ when I heard what Paul had to say it became clear that the potential/opportunity was even more vast than I had ever envisaged.

Paul OMahony is one of the leading International experts in this field and has a bankroll to prove it. His collaboration with the top Marketers in the world has enabled him to produce a programme which is clear, thorough and comprehensive in its delivery.

Having only recently joined his online course I have to say the level of support is impressive, (which is just as well as my speed of picking up the intricacies of the internet is somewhat slower than that of your average 10 year old).

Nevertheless, I am pleased with the steady progress I have made with the patient help of the team in his office, it is not claimed that success will be achieved overnight and participants are encouraged to plan well ahead setting realistic targets which are reachable within an appropriate timescale.

As far as the course itself is concerned I have access to a community website with a Helpdesk accessible 24/7 as well as 2 x monthly Skype calls with my personal mentor and a One-to-one meeting once a month with the man himself.

The path to setting up a profitable business is clearly outlined and if followed diligently will direct even the most inexperienced participant towards a successful outcome.

There are costs involved, although, if looked at as an investment in your future, they are relatively small. The risk factor in my experience is not extreme and is largely dependent on the level of commitment to the 'setting-up' programme,

As with most things in life it is what you make of it and the criteria (at least on the programme I am on) is clearly laid out before you commit and from the very beginning the level of support is exceptional.

Don’t get me wrong there is a lot to learn and some of the terminology is a bit baffling to begin with but as I’ve already said the back-up support helpline is pretty much immediate and very thorough, above all I am finding it an enjoyable and stimulating challenge and I have made working contact with others of similar experience who share the same issues,fears and pressures and are happy to cooperate, sharing successful responses to any problems that may arise.

I am three months into a year long programme designed to build a profitable online business which I aim to pass on to my children / grandchildren. I have now gained a sense of purpose and feel as though once again I'm doing something worthwhile.

Suffice to say, I’ve got my ‘zip’ back again! Watch this space.

7 For 17: Trends to Look Out for and Adapt in Your 2017 Marketing Strategies

1. Interactive & Multimedia Content
Because 2017 won't be all about the impact of words; it will be about the experiences created for the consumer, and sometimes words are simply just not enough to educate, entertain and engage. We have all found ourselves skimming through text only to move to something new because we lose interest. For this reason alone, all brands must try to engage their audiences through images, quizzes, clips, GIFs, videos, infographics - anything that will make your brand's value jump off of the screen, because words alone are like empty promises nowadays. Start experimenting and explore the endless possibilities on offer!

2. Live Streaming & Video Content
Ditch the script, improvise, and go live - simple as that! What better way to engage with your audience than giving them a real glimpse of what you're doing and what your core values are. Live streaming and video content will continue to push the boundaries, allowing brands to drop the corporate veil, connect human-to-human, and allow users to participate in brand storytelling in ways that enrich the customer experience. So, start embracing the digital conversation by incorporating live content streaming, visuals and videos!

3. Personalisation
Everyone's special, or at least we all like to think we are. No matter what your stance is on this, you have to get personal with your target audience - for starters, your website, emails and social media should. Start segmenting your content to reach different types of audience members based on their preferences, habits, etc. - because let's face it, if you keep treating them as one homogeneous group you are bound to lose out on the huge potential of your message. Start truly analysing the data: location, age, needs, hobbies and so forth - the technology is available, so make the most of it and you won't lose out.

4. Purpose Driven Marketing
Become a brand that gives and gets! In today's world we're all looking to be part of something bigger, something meaningful that will make a difference. Everyone's passionate about their causes and trust me, customers will love that you have one too. Partner with a non-profit or charity, or set up an internal programme that "gives back" in some way - and you're bound to win over the hearts of your customers as well as employees, helping them connect more fully with your brand as a whole.

5. Native Advertising
No one likes ads, unless you manage to slip them into content contexts that your users are already part of and give value to. This is the core reason native advertising is taking the marketing world by storm: $36.3 billion will be spent on native ad spending by 2021. Good native advertising is not meant to be trickery; it's merely allowing a storyteller to share publishing tools with marketer, whilst at the same time maintain consumer trust by telling the truth, being transparent as to who's telling it, and finally adding value to the conversation with an audience. If done properly, it can be a win-win situation.

6. Mobile
Mobile is not just first, it's second, third - it's everywhere and everything! Internet traffic is firmly derived more from mobile devices than desktops and if you're not gearing your content, ads and online experience towards mobile users, you are definitely missing a huge opportunity. Remember not to stop at optimizing for mobile. Also, ensure that the specific content is integrated and respectful of the lifestyles of users-on-the-go!

7. Embrace the lOT
How awesome is it that your fridge can actually remind you that you're running out of milk and gives you the option to place an order immediately! Everyday objects are beginning to connect to the internet, and this trend is going to open the doors for brands to play a more active part in the everyday lives of consumers. By 2020 there will be 75 billion connected devices - now that's a boom! The implications are huge and far ranging as we will witness a transformation in the way we live our lives, and consequently the way we market our brands.

In short, keep the 7 in mind, utilise your budgets effectively and stay ahead of the game

SOURCE