Today I am going to ‘call out’ one of the main things that keeps people from doing well in the internet marketing business.

 

Given that I’m not only a marketer, that I am also a software developer as well as a person who does his own customer support I get to have a unique insight into many of the people just getting started in the internet marketing business. I get to see what they are doing and what they are not, I also get to see, to a large degree, how they think.

Something I noticed that is super ironic is that two of the biggest advantages for people just getting started are also two of the biggest problems:

 

First there are many, many ways to make money online. You can be a software vendor. You can be an affiliate marketer. You can do CPA marketing. You can do social marketing (Facebook, Twitter, YouTube, Instagram and more). You can do  have an Amazon affiliate store, a Shopify store, or your own stand alone e-com business. You can sell solo ads. You can do Fiverr or some other service / freelance work. You can run online marketing campaigns for local business or build websites for local business. You can build a niche blog. You can flip domains or websites. You can do Adsense ads. This is just scratching the surface, the simple truth is that there are hundreds of well established, tested, proven, and very valid ways of making money online.

 

Second there are many people creating training’s and tools for the different ways. These are real people who are often really doing the things they teach. They are also real tools that where often created by or at the behest of people doing online marketing to make their work and lives easier.

With these two things you have a ton of opportunity to make money online as well as a ton of information, tools and training in order to make it easier than ever to do as well teach new people exactly how it works. But these things are also one of the biggest problem that many, many people just getting started have. The problem is there are two many options!

If there was just one way to make money online in the internet marketing business, just one option, it would be so easy for people. They would buy a training, but some tools, and they would either take action or they would not. But there are many options, many training’s, many tools. Each option is often a valid way to make money but the issue people have is that they are presented with so many options that they never actually do any one of them. People end up being on sensory overload. They end up jumping from one idea to the next and even though each idea would likely lead them to profit since they never actually commit to any one thing they never actually go anywhere.

I think of it as if these people are on a road to online success. They get to a part in the road where they have a choice as to which direction they want to take. Which path the want to follow. Each path is likely to take them to success if they follow it though. The problem is that people have so many options that they get confused and don’t select a path so they never go anywhere. Or worse yet they start down one path then decide to back track, go to the beginning, and select a new path. But then after going down the new path a little, they second guess themselves, head back the the start again and select a new path once more, repeating this over and over in a never ending cycle that once again only means that they never actually go anywhere.

A lot of this problem is exacerbated by the marketers who sell MMO (make money online) products. Frankly they are to good at what they do. Now I am not saying they are doing anything wrong because they are not. A marketers job is to sell a product. The issue comes from the fact that not only are online marketers, selling training and tools, very good at what they do but the customers often buy products without making the critical decision as to what path they are going to take and then committing to it.

Very often I see people buying a product and then deciding that they will build a business related to the product they purchased after the purchase. For example, someone will see a video ranking product, so they will buy it and then decide they want to do YouTube videos. Later they will see a website SEO training for sale. So they will buy it and decide they want to rank websites. Next week they will see an affiliate marketing system. So they buy it and they decide they want to be affiliate marketers. Do you see what has happened here? In the space of a few days or a week this example customer has made three different purchases, in three different niches, decided to start three different businesses and has actually done nothing but spend money. The issue of course is that people are deciding what their business is after they buy tools not before.

A long time ago I was training to be a carpenter working under a master. I needed many tools. But the thing is I did not buy my mallet, my chisels, my saw, hammer, scribe, compass, square etc and then decide to be a carpenter. I decided to be a carpenter and then after committing to that path I bought the tools I needed, as I needed them. Online, people trying to get into the internet marketing business do it the exact opposite and because they never make the crucial first step of committing themselves to a specific path they never go anywhere.

A lot of people just getting started eventually conclude that making money on the internet is just a big scam. Its not. The problem is that what they don’t understand is that its called the ‘internet marketing business’ for a reason. Its a business. And just like any business you have to have at least a general idea of what your going to do before you even start. You have to know what aspect of that business you are going to be in. No one who wants to open a restaurant spends $100,000 on kitchen equipment and then decides what kind of restaurant they are going to run later. Same thing online, you should know what your going to do first, you should have at least your path chosen and a general plan as to what kind of stuff your going to do online first, and then buy what you need later.

Your choices are broad and what path you chose will likely depend on your personality and your specific skill set. Its not an accident that I ended up making a lot of money selling software. Its because I understand computer code so selling software was a logical choice for me. Its also not an accident that I built my reputation and make money by harshly reviewing other peoples products. I’m a detail oriented person and a natural cynic. Those are traits that helped me chose what path I tool.

If you want to do well online the very first thing you must do is decide exactly what your going to do online and then commit yourself to that 100%. Make a decision. Chose a path and stick to your choice. See it to the end. In fact probably the best advise I could give people is to make a list of all of the ways they can think of to make money online and then ask themselves which of these things suites me best. Write out the pros and cons of each option on your list. Write out the things required for each option, and ask yourself honestly, do I have the ability and drive to meet each of these requirements. Cross off anything that does not suit you. Narrow down your list, and then select one option from what is left. Then once you have your path chosen you can start looking into investing in the tools and training you need to follow through with your choice.

 

To help everyone as much as possible I have compiled a list of 10 ways that I know for sure people can make money online. This list also includes information on what skill is required, how much time is required, and the approximate financial investment required. Enter your info below to get this list (in Open Office spreadsheet format) 100% for free.

 

A quick note about the reviews I do on this site. The product vendors give me access to their products for free in order for me to do my review. However I make no promises to them regarding the results of my tests or what I will write in my review. Should you click a link that takes you to a sales page for a paid product for sale this link will be an affiliate link and I will be paid a percentage of the sales price should you decide to invest in it.