65 Lessons Learned Over 12 Years of Being in IM

7/29/2019 65 Lessons Learned Over 12 Years of Being in IM

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65 Lessons Learned Over 12 Years Of BeingIn IM

So this is the list I wish I had when I first got started......

1. You have a lot more power than you think. And don't let anyone tellyou differently. Power simply means "the ability to act" and all of you possessthis. You just have to decide to use it. Power is like the muscle, the moreaction you take, the easier it gets. Science has already proven this to be true asthe neural strands in your brain get thicker the more you do certain things.

2. When I first got started I wish someone would have held a gun tomy head and advised me "look, you're going to focus on ONE thing at a timeand master it before you move onto the next". Focus isn't just a word, it's theability to keep your eye on what you want to accomplish so any obstacles yousee will be ignored.

Ok, "master" is probably too strong of a word. For example, when I firststarted using PPC advertising (Pay-Per-Click) many years ago I was losingmoney for over 2 straight months because I didn't know how to test my

campaigns.

So I invested in a solid PPC course by Perry Marshall and studied it. I startedsmall and then reinvested my profits.

3. The first thing anyone should do is get clarity on what they reallywant. Making 10k per month is not a real goal. It's good to have, but if youdon't become CRYSTAL clear on the WHY behind that goal, you're going tolet obstacles kick your butt.

Wanting money never got me anywhere. Now spending time with my lovedones and telling my boss to go pound sand.......PRICELESS!!!!

4. Trust no one, at first. Yes, there are some FANTASTIC people out therethat are willing to help you, but there are also a lot of charlatans. I paid a lotof money to consultant a few years ago to help me increase my conversions,after the hour long phone call I realized he didn't know what he was talkingabout.


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But boy could he talk a good game. Yes, he was able to sucker someone with20 years of business experience because he was an extremely savvysalesperson, too bad he didn't know much about conversions.

So be careful and don't be afraid to ask for references. I didn't in the

beginning and I learned this lesson the hard way.

5. Automation and software are key to running a business, but thereis no such thing as a push button solution that will make you rich. Anyone

who says so is selling you snake oil.

6. Hard work and persistence are great, but always take a stepback so you can make sure you're going in the right direction. Nosense in ending up in the south pole if your intention was to go to New York.

7. Mediocrity rules the marketplace. I don't care if it's improving yourgolf swing, finding the mate of your dreams, curing sweaty palms, or savingfor retirement.......you will almost always win if you truly EXCEED yourcustomer's expectations in any market.

In the words of the late Cory Rudl, "Take care of your customers and thecompetition will take care of themselves."

8. Ranting and complaining never made anyone rich.

9. You can't please everybody and to try is folly. Stay true to yourself,throw your heart into your business, and stand firm in your beliefs and goodthings will happen to you (as long as your heart is in the right place).

10. Always take income claims with a grain of salt. Remember, theyare not you and.....you are NOT them.

11. Embrace fear and don't let it rule your actions. Even the late

Johnny Carson, the master public speaker and entertainer, got nervous beforeeach show.

12. Adopt the "student" frame and always keep it. Nobody knowseverything. I promise you, if you have this mindset you will never stoplearning and growing and life will bring you good things.

Even masters at something have mentors (and so do their mentors).

13. Learn to help others anonymously once you make it, it WILLcome back to you ten times over. And if it doesn't, you still made this world abetter place.


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(EDIT: People have been asking me about this one. What I mean by this isthat my philosophy is that one should help themselves and their families first.This way they'll be in a better position to help more people).

14. Making money is simple, but it's not easy. Yes, it's simple, almostridiculously so, but it takes W-O-R-K in the beginning. A lot of it. Are thereexceptions to this rule? Very, very few.

15. If you don't write down your goals, you're running a hobby, nota business. Just remind yourself daily that virtually all profitable corporationsplan out their year(s) ahead of time. IN Japan they plan out 25 to 50 yearsahead of time......

16. If you don't write a deadline by your goal, by definition it's not agoal.

17. Internet marketing techniques will always change and evolve,but business principles will remain constant.

(EDIT: People have been asking me about this one too. A few examples wouldbe the ability to create effective sales copy, basic market research, knowinghow to price a product / service, how to deliver value to your customers asefficiently as possible, investing in oneself, giving back to your community,

solving a specific problem, providing great service, promoting your business,etc.).

18. Run a principled-based, purpose-driven business and you willradically increase your chances at long-term success. (EDIT: it could be assimple as under-promising and over-delivering for your customers andhaving that as your core purpose).

19. Follow results, not sales copy. Here's one example of following

someone who GETS results: Tony Robbins "gets it". He's a good mentor tohave because he can help you understand HOW your brain works and once

you learn that there is nothing that you will not be able to achieve. Hispaperback books or digital books are very affordable.

From a personal stand point: no single mentor has had more influence on methan Tony Robbins. Why? Because he has the amazing ability to take the bestof the best and put it into a concise format that anyone can use. And it makessense because this has been his life's focus.

He helped me lose unhealthy weight, to understand the social matrix, how tobuild wealth, lower my blood pressure, and make my doctor grab me and


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exclaim, "how did you do all this without prescription drugs?" (I used to havesuper high blood pressure, high fat content in my blood, and high cholesteroland I lowered it all naturally without using any drugs. I did it all bypermanently changing the way I eat).

20. Don't be afraid to create your own products if that's what yourinterest is, there ARE people out there that want to buy from you, over andover again....and again. At least 20 to 33% of them from your existingcustomer base.

(EDIT: you don't have to create your own products, people do really well withaffiliate, CPA, and Adsense marketing. I have a bias toward product creation

because I like having more control over the products I promote, the salesprocess, the follow up, etc. But if you want to create your own products, then Isay go for it).

If I had to start all over again, the first thing I would do is create my ownproduct line. Remember you can always hire someone to help you create yourfirst product.

21. Feeling overwhelmed is a very common feeling, but don't let itrule you. The best way to deal with it is to have your goals WRITTEN downand then focusing on one of them at a time. Remember, Rome was not built inone day. And it took 30 years for the Taco Bell triple stack to come to

market......

22. Don't try to be someone you're not. Whether you believe it or not,you have some AMAZING things about you. Find out what those things areand use those things to find the Unique Selling Proposition for your business.

And remember, mediocrity abounds on the internet, you can usually competeon value and service.

23. Never, ever compromise your CHARACTER. Integrity, honesty,

and wanting to give value will ALWAYS make your business stand head andshoulders above everyone else. This isn't my opinion, it's the basic law of theattraction universe.

When you're a person of integrity your customers will see it come through inthe way you run your business. In the long run it will increase your customer

base dramatically.

24. Talent recognizes talent, and you have much more of it than you

think.


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25. If you have 2 or more solid info products on how to make moneyonline in your hard drive then you probably have enough information alreadyto make 6 figures by next year. No, I'm NOT kidding.

The list of Businessmen and other Entrepreneurs who have proven this theory

would be longer than the Twilight Trilogy.

26. Education is key. Invest in yourself, always. I've been at this seriouslysince the late 1990s and I still invest in educational materials. One thing I loveto do is attend seminars, I always end up learning something that helps outmy business.

27. After submitting thousands of pieces of content in the form ofarticles, videos, podcasts, original blog comments, etc. I've come to learn thatCONTENT marketing not only works, but it will be around for decades tocome.

Applications might rule the next decade, but after that something else willrule.......but people will always demand quality content, regardless if theformat it comes in.

28. Remember, to make money you have to SELL something.Whether it's a click, a product, a link, a service, etc. and everything else is justmental masturbation.

(EDIT: what inspired me to write this one was watching clients spend endlesshours on things that did not make them money. If you're not selling withsome consistency then you either need more traffic, better conversions, moreproducts, or you're not promoting your business enough).

29. It is very difficult to build a multi-million dollar organizationon your own. You should out source as soon as you can afford it (and itmight be sooner than you think). Yes, I advised to trust "no one" in the

beginning, but once someone earns your trust you better hold onto them.

30. Once someone earns your trust, don't be afraid to make them partof your mastermind / group/ or business.

31. One-product launches are a recipe for disaster. Start off with atleast 3 and you'll more than triple your chances for success. This is based onpure mathematics.

(EDIT: I got a lot of questions on this one. All I mean by this is that youshould have an effective product launch strategy. What's going to be your firstproduct? What are you going to up-sell or cross-sell? What mix of products or


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services are you going to market to them AFTER you've made the sale? Thisgoes hand-in-hand with building a list).

32. Build your own network of people who "get it" and you willNEVER be poor. Whether it's building a list, a Facebook fan page, or a

forum like this one or a membership site, focus on building your own networkof people that KNOW and TRUST you and you will have wealth for as long asthey are with you.

I have a neighbor that lives on my block who stills makes a very nice livingmarketing with post cards. When I asked him why he uses post cards to gethis marketing message out, his reply was simple:

"The mail doesn't have spam filters and people still love getting things in themail".

33. You can build massive wealth in one year, though it will mostlikely take you 3 to 5 years.

34. Reinvest your profits, don't buy things, initially, and if you don'tbelieve me, read the book by Andrew Tobias called The Only InvestmentGuide You'll Ever Need, it costs less than a large pizza and it's entertainingtoo.

35. Once your WRITE down your goals they are not set in stone.You can always change them as needed.

36. Your friends, family, and even your significant other might notunderstand what you are doing. That's okay, as long as they don't inhibit

your progress. Tell them to give you 2 years as that should be enough time toprove them wrong.

(EDIT: When I first started IM I had been with my girlfriend at the time for 5

years. She became very "jealous" of my new business, despite the fact that Istill spent a lot of time with her away from my computer. It got to the point

where she was actually holding my dreams back.

I had to end it with her and even though it was one of the hardest things I'veever had to do, it was one of the smartest things I ever did. I also stoppedspending time with friends who were energy vampires. When you hangaround people that are negative or unsupportive, they really have an effect on

you. Sometimes you have to ask yourself what's more important........and only

you can decide that for yourself.).


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37. Your 5 predominant habits will predict what your future will belike. So take some time and write them down. If any of them have anythingto do with habitual complaining, blaming others, drugs, too much partying,spending too much money, or being negative in any way, then you alreadyknow what you need to change.

38. Change is a lot easier than you think, you simply need toDECIDE that it is so.

(EDIT: this is why it's so important to write down your goals and review themdaily. It will help you stay focused so you can make the changes that you needto make).

39. "There is no such thing as a 'normal life', there's only lifeWyatt." - Doc Holiday.

(EDIT: what inspired me to write this was a friend of mine who spends a lot oftime worrying about living a "normal" life because his IM business is taking alot of time investment and opportunity cost. And I told him that quote fromthe movie Tombstone. There's no such thing as a normal life. There's justlife).

40. Check your ego at the door. Nobody likes a know-it-all. If you stayteachable your rewards in this business will be monolithic despite what some

people will tell you.

41. Get a third opinion, really - it can't hurt in most cases. The worsething that can happen is that you now have 3 opinions to work with.

42. There should be an opt-in form of some kind on every singleweb page that you own. Yes, even "your contact us page."

(EDIT: I've been experimenting with this for years now. I get a lot of free

leads this way. Yes, it does leave a "foot print" that people can find, butpersonally, it's never been an issue for me).

43. A proven viral marketing secret is this: give more valueconsistently than just ONE of your top competitors and you'll be raking it in.

With the internet having more and more people share things with people theyknow, word-of-mouth advertising will never go out of style.

One of my favorite things to do is give people unadvertised bonuses, it's a

great way to build a relationship with your readership, list, buyers, or networkof people.


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44. Seth Godin is one smart cookie; read everything he publishes, yourmarketing efforts will be better for it.

(EDIT: we all have our favorite authors. I like authors that make me THINK,even if I don't agree with them on some things. Seth makes me think and my

business has been better for it).

45. If you want traffic to your website realize that the following willnever go out of style:

A. Providing REAL value to your prospects and customers.B. "Original, valuable, but INCOMPLETE content will always get visitors to

your website." -Jimmy D. Brown.C. Marketplaces and devices are growing every year, whether it's Amazon,Nook, a Kindle device, the iPad, iTunes, Lulu, Clickbank, Digiresults, etc. - if

you continue your presence in more of them you are increasing your chancesof more exposure which will get you more leads, which will lead to more sales.D. PLR content does not get the job done, in the long run.E. Advertising: you can always buy traffic. Start small and scale up with yourprofits.F. Free publicity: press releases, appearing as a guest on TV, radio, or onlineradio will continue to work as long as we have media. Study and learn aboutpublicity and how it works. Millionaires have been created in a very shorttime frame by utilizing the power of the media.

46. Press releases will continue to workas long as we have a mediasuch as the news, TMZ, radio, television, entertainment, talk shows, etc. Isuggest submitting at least one per month per website / business.

47. Learn to PROTECT your wealth.

(EDIT: Ask your financial professional about Living Trusts, Corporations, andother ways of protecting your assets. Remember Rick James @#$%!!. ).

48. Warren Buffett didn't get rich because he's so smart. He got richbecause he stuck to a proven system. Once you find something that works,continue to tweak it so you can grow it and scale up.

49. Test, track, and tweak because 99.8% of your competitors aretoo lazy to do this.

I had a website once that was make $1,400 a month and I was very happy

with that. Then one of my copywriting coaches made two changes to my salespage and my website's sales doubled over the next month. I now track nearlyeverything that I do.


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If you're not testing and tracking your efforts, you're not going to know whoyour losers or winners are.

50. Niche research is a lot easier than you think, do these TWO things

and you'll never run out of profitable niche ideas. Niche research is somethingpeople over complicate:

A. Ask people (known or strangers) what's important to them. I found mymost profitable markets by doing this (this is my favorite way to get new nicheideas).

Some people in marketing forums have poo-pooed this, yet I have to remindthem this is how I have found my MOST profitable niches.

B. Follow the money. Where are advertisers spending their money? Where arepeople spending their money? There are ads everywhere, pay close attentionto them. Check out marketplaces like Amazon, Clickbank, etc. to get ideas.

51. Screenshots are pretty worthless. And not because they can befaked. It's primarily because what they earned has very little to do with what

you'll earn.

52. Don't kid yourself. A blog is just a website with a different

name. Should you have one though? Probably, the Search Engines LOVEblogs that have FRESH content.

53. Social networking is just the beginning. Collaboration is going toincrease in the coming years and beyond. And it's only going to get betterfrom there.

54. After millions of transactions I've learned one essential truth:honor your refund policy, in the long run it can only bring you good will.

(EDIT: there are some definite exceptions to this as some products orservices, by their very nature, are not refundable. But if you have a refundpolicy, you should honor it).

55. One tequila shot once in a while won't kill ya.....

(EDIT: by this I mean make sure you go out and do something fun at leastonce a week, no matter what that is for you. I just happen to love fine tequila

and enjoy it from time to time).

56. It's OKAY to do your own thing. No, really.


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57. Find A Mentor Or A Coach if you want to radically shrink yourlearning curve. You don't need to have a personal mentor, there are plenty of

books, audio courses, master mind groups, etc. that you have access to.

Find a couple of mentors and learn from them.

58. Invest in a medium-sized to large whiteboard. If you're a visualperson like me it helps to see things. Write down your ideas on this

whiteboard. Also write down the daily tasks that you need to do to get yourbusiness going in the direction it needs to go.

After all these years, I still utilize my whiteboard. It helps me organize mythoughts. I also write down my primary 3 to 5 goals on the white board andflesh them out with time lines so I know EXACTLY what to do from week-to-

week.

59. Treat your business like it's a real business. I never trulyunderstood this phrase when I first started. I treated mine like a hobby

because I spent more time procrastinating and reading then actually doingthe things that would GROW my business.

Then one of my mentors advised me to set aside set times for my business. Healso taught me to think strategically and write my thoughts down on a white

board.

From there I was able to ascertain what daily tasks I needed to do. If I put acomplete date by a task, I would go out of my way to meet that deadline. Thatreally helped my businesses grow.

60. Stay focused by focusing on your goals daily. With all thedistractions out there it's a miracle that people are able to stay focused. You'vegot TV, satellite or cable TV, video games, movie theaters, comedy clubs,

plays, family, friends, holidays, new products, new seminars, etc.

Remember, there are new products coming out every single hour trying toconvince you that you need their product or service for you business. Before

you buy anything ask yourself honestly, "does my business really need this togrow?"

61. Put away unnecessary distractions for at least 6 months (a yearis much better). Once I put the video games away, the television, and

cancelled my satellite service it was easier for me to focus on building mybusinesses. I was able to prove to myself that I was serious about this.


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The funny thing is, I haven't owned a television now several years. I honestlydon't miss it. I'm having too much fun creating new products, working withmy team, looking for new opportunities, and spending my time with familyand friends (invariably, I'm now watching TV at their homes...lol).

62. Be very careful whom you choose to spend time with. This ties inwith lesson #37 very closely. This isn't my opinion. Studies started by thegreat Dale Carnegie and many others after him have proven that who youhabitually spend your time affects how you think and act.

It was very difficult for me to break up with my girlfriend back then and tospend less time with certain friends, but I had to surround myself withpositive, like-minded entrepreneurs who got it. Once I was able to do that, it

became much, much easier to earn money.

Some people won't understand why you might want to spend more time onyour "business" then hang out with them. It's not personal, usually, you justneed to communicate to them that you have a dream and that you're going togo for it.

63. The fastest way to tell if a market is profitable is this:

1)). It has advertising dollars.2)). There's competition.

Finding markets is simple. If you head over to market places like Amazon,Clickbank, Commission Junction, CPA networks, you'll find hundreds ofmarkets, niches, and sub-niches.

What's not simple is monetizing that market. Virtually everyone knows thatmarkets like weight loss, dating, wedding planning, dog training, healthissues, etc. are extremely profitable.

Yet people view them as highly competitive and saturated. Yet a new weightloss millionaire is created every single day. I'm not saying that if you're anewbie that your first niche should be highly competitive, but I'm also notsaying you should overlook it either.

64. Fear, uncertainty, and procrastination. I call these the "big 3 dreamdestroyers" because everyone experiences them. I want you to realize that for99.9% of people who start a business, at some point they are going toexperience one of these (sometimes all three).


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So realize you're not alone. I almost quit a couple times during my first yearonline and I am so glad that I didn't. If you are ever in doubt in what youshould be doing always ask yourself this question:

"What's the ONE thing that I can do today that will GROW my business?".

It could be contacting 10 potential JV partners.

It could be writing 5 articles and submitting them to your own website firstthen over to web properties / web-masters that will take them.

It could be opening an account at Advertising.com, Google Adwords, MSNMicro center, etc.

It could be placing a Facebook and Twitter buttons on your home page.

It could be writing a press release (or hiring someone to do it for you).

It could be uploading an e-book to a marketplace like Clickbank, Kindle,Nook, etc.

It could be making more phone calls.

It could be writing a 10 page report and submitting it to document sharing

websites.

It could be finding ONE blog who will take your content as a "guest writer".

It could be testing a new ad campaign.

It could be writing down a simple business plan outline (my first one hadabout a dozen bullet points; it wasn't pretty, but it gave me a road map tofollow and tweak and change as needed).

65. If You Are Feeling Down Or Feel Like Quitting......then go to yourlocal bookstore (or Amazon) and read UNSTOPPABLE by Cynthia Kersey. It'sa bunch of true short stories of people who overcame great odds. I've read alot of books, but I read this particular book many years ago when I was readyto quit this business and go back to corporate America, so it has a specialplace for me in my heart.

Read one story per day until you finish the book. I guarantee you, your

mindset will change and it WILL recharge your batteries.

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65 Lessons Learned Over 12 Years of Being in IM