Internet Professionals Guide

7/28/2019 Internet Professionals Guide

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The Internet Professionals

Guide

Why You HAVE To Be A

Professional To Succeed Online

ByAlex Goodall

Copyright 2009 Alex Goodall

You may NOT distribute this document unless you have explicit written

permission from Alex Goodall.

It is provided exclusively for subscribers to the Internet Business Insights newsletter.

If you are NOT a subscriber, pleaseregister here.

2009 Alex Goodall
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The Internet Professionals Guide

Why You HAVE To Be A Professional To Succeed Online

What is a Professional?

A person who earns a living in an . occupation

frequently engaged in by amateurs.

Dictionary.com Unabridged (v 1.1). Random House, Inc.

This Manifesto is a wake-up call to everyone who expects to earn a living from

internet marketing during 2010 and beyond.

The era of the amateur has passed.

- - -

Only the professional can succeed.

If you agree with the ideas in this Guide, my low-cost Internet Professionals

Mentoring Programcould help you overcome the barriers to getting your

business underway, or to improving it.

2009 Alex Goodall Page 2 of 24
http://netbiz-insights.com/mentoringhttp://netbiz-insights.com/mentoringhttp://netbiz-insights.com/mentoringhttp://netbiz-insights.com/mentoringhttp://netbiz-insights.com/mentoring


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Table of Contents

1 THE INTERNET PROFESSIONALS MANIFESTO ............................................................................. 4

2 WHAT THE MANIFESTO AND THIS GUIDE ARE ALL ABOUT ......................................................... 6

2.1 KATHYSBIRTHDAYSTORY................................................................. ........ ......... ........ ......... ........ ......... . 6

2.2 PAULSBIRTHDAYSTORY........................................................ ........ ......... ........ ......... ........ ......... ........ ... 8

2.3 WHATWENTWRONGFOR KATHYAND PAUL? ........................................................ ......... ........ ......... ........ ... 9

3 WE HAVE CROSSED THE THRESHOLD. WHY PROFESSIONALISM IS NOW ESSENTIAL TO SUCCESS

................................................................................................................................................. 11

3.1 ECONOMICCLIMATE: THEWORSTRECESSIONFOROVER 100 YEARS........................ ......... ........ ........ ......... ........ . 11

3.2 COMPETITION: THESHEERNUMBEROFPEOPLECOMINGONLINETOTRYANDINCREASETHEIRINCOME..................... ........ . 12

3.3 FAST-CYCLEMATURITY: SHORTERTIMESTOMAKE "EASYMONEY" FROMNEWIDEAS ........... ........ ......... ........ ......... ... 13

3.4 THEMYTHOFSTEP-BY-STEP: WHYSKILL, JUDGEMENTANDMASTERYAREKEY............................ ......... ........ ......... ... 14

4 BENEFITS OF BEING A PROFESSIONAL ..................................................................................... 17

4.1 BEING PROFESSIONALMEANS - YOUAREUNAFFECTEDBYTHEDECEPTION, DISTRACTIONANDSHORT-TERMISMOFMUCHOF IM

.................................................................................... ......... ........ ......... ........ ......... ........ ......... ...... 17

4.2 BEING PROFESSIONALMEANS - YOUGETMOREDONEINLESSTIME.................................. ........ ........ ......... ........ . 18

4.3 BEING PROFESSIONALMEANS - PEOPLERESPECTYOUANDYOURREPUTATIONGROWS........ ........ ......... ........ ......... ..... 19

4.4 BEING PROFESSIONALMEANS YOUMAKEBETTERDECISIONSBECAUSEYOUAREDRIVENBYSTRATEGY, NOTDOGMA. ...... .... . 20

4.5 BEING PROFESSIONALMEANS - YOURSUCCESSISSTABLE, NOTSHORT-LIVED.......................... ......... ........ ......... ...... 22

5 "I'M NOT A PROFESSIONAL BECAUSE I'M A NEWBIE" .................................................. ............ 23

6 BIO ...................................................................................................................................... ... 24

7 CONTACT ................................................................................................................................ 24



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1 The Internet Professionals Manifesto

The rest of this document explains WHY it is important to be an Internet Professional inorder to succeed online. This section explains what it means to be Internet Professional.

Honesty, integrity, a professional image, customer care . all of those are more-or-less

givens these days. Although they are essential, it is hardly worth mentioning them.

Instead, I have identified a collection of Principles which are a little less obvious, but are

nevertheless critical to online success in a professional way. I have put them together in

the form of a Manifesto.

You should think about whether you are prepared to sign up to this and if you do, what

that means about how you go about setting up and running your online business.

The Manifesto

I am excited and highly motivated by the incredible opportunity for wealth creation that the Internet offers,both now and for the foreseeable future.

But I recognize that times have changed: the days when the amateur dabbler could earn a living online areover.

I need to become a Professional, who is:

"A person who earns a living in an . occupation

frequently engaged in by amateurs"

And so, I agree to the following (either or both, as applicable):

In order to fulfil my commitment to myself to become wealthy through internet

marketing, I will be anInternet Professionalin all my online business activities

In order to help others become wealthy through internet marketing, I will help

them beInternet Professionals.

Also, I agree that being an Internet Professional means following these



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Principles:

# 1: Understanding Internet Marketing

Making informed decisions about my business based on a "Big Picture" understanding of the nature

of internet marketing. (Without that, I dont fully understand my options and cannot create astrategy).

On the other hand, I don't need to wait till I know everything before I make a start.

#2: Vision, Goals & Strategy

Having a clear Vision, Goals and Strategy for my business.(Without that, I have no direction and no basis for making business decisions).

#3: Project Management

Planning my projects at the right level of detail and managing myself and others to those plans.

(Without that, I cant tell how long anything will take, whether Im on track, or what I should be

doing day-to-day).

#4: Focus

Using all means at my disposal to remain 100% FOCUSED on following my Plans.

(Without that, Ill be dancing to someone elses tune; following someone elses agenda).

#5: Operational Excellence

Using time-saving systems, documented processes and personal productivity tools so that I can

maximise the time I spend working to my strengths.(Without that, Ill be hopelessly inefficient and rarely doing what Im best at).

Minimizing the risk of going out of business due to unforeseen circumstances; minimizing disruptions

caused by adverse events.(Without that, Im running an unacceptable risk of losing everything).

#6: Customer Focus and Delivery Excellence

Ensuring that whatever my business delivers, it does so exceptionally well and is driven by what my

customers need. (Without that, my business will never grow).

#7: Mastermind Groups

Being part of a Mastermind Group to provide accountability, inspiration, ideas and contacts.(Without that, Ill be alone, isolated, and will miss out on the unique creativity of multiple minds).

#8: Working in Teams

Working in a team rather than in isolation where I have to do everything myself: whether with

partners, with outsourcers or with employees.

(Without that, it could take me years to get my business going and I may never have enoughresources to run it profitably).

#9: Personal Development

Spending time to develop my mind, body and spirit. (Without that I may give up too soon, maysabotage my success or may be overwhelmed by the challenges).

Balancing work, family and friends. (Without that may end up with a business but no life: or worse -

no business, no life, no family and no friends!)

#10: Legal and Financial

Being fully compliant with all legal and financial business requirements.

(Without that, I may end up paying dearly in time and money on avoidable battles with theauthorities).



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2 What the Manifesto and this Guide are all about

I wrote this Guide and the Manifesto for Kathy and Paul.You may well be a Kathy or a Paul in which case, I also wrote them for you.

You see, neither Kathy nor Paul fully took to heart this rather obvious statement:

It is no longer possible to make an income on the internet unless you

take a professional approach.

I know that its not a surprising or dramatic statement. I know its not emotional. And

its very easy to agree with it. Kathy and John just thought it was common sense.

But because they didnt follow through and really take it to heart their stories dont

make happy reading. In fact, they are both rather sad.

(Note that these are dramatized stories, but they are based on real people.)

2.1 Kathys birthday story

Kathy is 39, works as a purchasing manager in a department store and is raising

her daughter Gracie on her own.

She was on Facebook the other day, sharing news and gossip with her friends and

family, and writing about how much fun she and Gracie had had yesterday with

her 16th birthday celebrations.

But even as she was writing, the joy from that memory disappeared. It was

pushed out by the familiar fear that took its place. The family finances had gone

even more into the red this month and by a lot more than usual because of the

costs of the birthday.

What was she going to do? She was beginning to get desperate.

And then she noticed something which shed seen many times before but never

focused on. There on the right was an ad which said: How I made $276 a day in

just THREE MONTHS! Free Report explains how YOU can do the same!.

So, thinking what have I got to loose?, Kathy clicked on it.

Its now one year later and Gracies 17th birthday has just passed, but Kathy isnt

saying anything about it on Facebook, which she hardly uses any more. There

were no celebrations worth writing about. She couldnt afford them. Her car was

about to be re-possessed and she didnt know how she was going to make the

mortgage payments that month.

Her mind turned back to the day shed clicked on that ad almost a year ago andshe tried to re-construct the sequence in her head.



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It started with the Free Report. That turned out to be a 32-page eBook which told

the story of someone called Dave who had been given a secret method for

making money on the internet by his friend Andy. Dave was desperate for money,

and Kathy easily related to his situation. Most of the report consisted of pages of

proof of Daves income, and how it shot up from nothing to well over $200 per

day in just a few months. Kathy was annoyed that it didnt give any useful

information but she was impressed with the evidence. It was very convincing.

So Kathy paid $147 for manual in a 3-ring binder that provided the step-by-step

guidance. That seemed a small price to pay to learn this powerful secret.

But when it arrived Kathy was again disappointed: it didnt seem like much of a

secret. It seemed more like a complicated method that was going to take her

months to learn. There seemed to be a never ending stream of new ideas to get

familiar with and systems to master and skills to learn. And the more she read,

the more she realised that, even when shed figured it all out, it was going to take

many months of effort to make any money.

This wasnt looking good.

Then she received the email and the series of video demonstrations from the

same company, and that gave her renewed hope. For $797 she could get access

to the most advanced software system on the market that would do 90% of the

work for her: she wouldnt have to learn all those different systems to get set up,

and the running of the business would be almost completely automated. From

the manual shed learned enough to understand the real value of this software.

Sure, that was a huge amount to pay out (but less than the $997 shed have topay if she didnt buy NOW), but she was sure shed get it back in about six weeks.

Maybe even less. It was an investment to help her with the business that she was

now committed to. She had to make this work!

Two months later. It hadnt quite worked out as shed expected. There still

seemed to be an awful lot to learn, and although there was an active forum for

asking questions, every answer given seemed to raise more questions.

But Kathy regarded herself as a professional: she wasnt going to be beaten by

this. She was determined to find a way through. And to be fair on herself, she had

learned a great deal, and made some real friends in the forum.

So when she received the phone call, she was flattered and thankful. She

regarded herself as very lucky to have been picked as one of the special

customers to receive a 30 minute free coaching session to help with her

business

at the end of which, shed agreed to pay $397 per month for ongoing coaching

to make sure she stayed on track and received personal guidance. To get that

level of one-to-one advice was exactly what she needed at this point.



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But after four months (and another $1,600) Kathy cancelled the coaching. And a

month later, abandoned the software and the manual and the whole secret

idea.

Instead of solving her financial problems, this whole episode had added another

$2,532 to her debt. And now the crunch had come.

Kathy wondered where she had gone wrong. Most likely it wasnt her fault and

the whole money from the internet idea was a complete scam. She didnt think

shed try anything like that again.

2.2 Pauls birthday story

Paul did a scary calculation the other day.

It was his birthday, and he was delighted at the number of cards he had received.

There was no doubt that he had many really good friends, and that meant a lot to

him.

As he was opening the cards, he began to see a theme emerging. Paul was in that

age range where he was getting more and more of those jokey cards that imply

you are "past it" or "on the way down".

Some of them were wickedly funny and he laughed heartily, along with everyone

else. All in all, his birthday was a great day, and he blessed his good fortune.

But that night, after everyone had gone home or to bed, Paul sat down at the

kitchen table with a final drink and the cards in front of him, and he read them allagain. He still laughed, although less heartily this time, because the truth behind

the jokes was getting through to him.

The years were relentlessly slipping by.

Very soon, he was experiencing the familiar mix of emotions that came to him

whenever he thought about his unfulfilled goals, his ambitions, his "lost years" -

and the passing of time: disappointment, anxiety and frustration.

It was then that he did the scary calculation: he worked out how many years he

had left to achieve his goals and then to enjoy the fruits of his success with his

family and friends - based on a normal life expectancy.

He did NOT like the result, and no longer felt like sleeping. This was not a good

way to end his birthday - and an even worse way to start the next year of his life.

Instead of going to bed, Paul began to take stock: to look back at how he had

ended up where he was.

He had not taken a conventional career path. Hed had a mix of jobs and self-

employment and business start-ups, with some successes and some failures. Over

the years, though, hed learned what he regarded as the core goal of personal

wealth creation: time freedom. He had many goals and ambitions, despite beingnot so young anymore, but they all required money andtime.



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Then, in 2003, hed discovered the internet! Here, for sure, was the answer to

time freedom! Here, for sure, was the route to wealth!

At that time, Paul was in a position to be able to devote 2 days a week to his new

hobby, and still keep his family in a reasonable life style. And very quickly he

realised that he was quite capable of handling pretty much anything he cameacross on the internet.

He could learn new systems quickly. After some struggles, he learned how to

install scripts. His copywriting was OK (although could always be better). Basic

HTML, even a small amount of php, was within his grasp.

Paul was a sponge for new information and new ideas. He read everything he

could lay his hands on (and that turned out to be a lot of material), and when

video became popular, he spent hours and hours watching videos.

But Paul wasnt just a learner he understood he needed to take action. So he

did. He bought many systems and signed up to many membership sites, and he

followed quite a few of them sometimes for four or five months or even more.

And yet, after six years, what could he show for it? Certainly hed made no

progress towards achieving time freedom. In fact, he was hardly getting any

income from the internet at all.

Paul wondered where he was going wrong. He knew for sure that money couldbe

made on the internet (not a scam for sure) and knew many people who were

doing very well.

He knew he was smart, hard-working and had certainly put the hours in - so whydid he have nothing to show for all that smartness and time (and money!) afer all

those years? WHY?

2.3 What went wrong for Kathy and Paul?

Kathys problem was that she was a DQFS - Desperate Quick-Fix Seeker.

A DQFS confuses the idea that making money online is easy with you can make

money online quickly. Once you have learned all you need to learn, and acquired

all the skills and experience, and built all the systems, and put into place all theprocesses, and got all your supporting resources in place . THEN it is easy to

make money.

But all that takes time and patience and the correct mind-set and. well, it takes

everything that I listed above in the Manifesto. However, the crowd which Kathy

got into were never going to tell her that. If Kathy had understood the principles

of being an Internet Professional, she would never have bought all those

expensive upsells.



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Pauls problem was that he was/is an IH - Intelligent Hobbyist.

Intelligent Hobbyists are an anomaly, and there are a lot more of them around

than you would think. I understand this type of person because I was one for

many years!

In fact, I was embarressed to tell people how long I had been online because

according to all the websites I visited, if you had been online for longer than 6-9

months, you should be earning a very respectable full-time income by then.

But Id been online for years and was earning $0 per month.

For a long time I though I was a special case, and that no-one else could possibly

be as hopeless as I was. But I was verywrong! After some time, I discovered that

most people were exactlylike me if they werent a Depserate Quick-Fix Seeker.

The problem with Intelligent Hobbyistis exactly what the name suggests. They areintelligent, inquistive and love learning and thats where they spend 90% of

their time.

Sure, they take action: they find a new system which they buy, learn about and

then put into practice for a while. But once the learning is over, and the hard,

often repetitive work starts to replace it, they easily get distracted by the next

system that comes along. And so the cycle repeats itself.

The goal of turning all that learning into an income never becomes strong enough

to make it a reality.

The thing is, in the past, both Kathy and Paul would almost certainly have made

enough money to make their efforts and expenditure worthwhile despite their

unprofessional approaches. In fact, they might even have been able to make a

decent living online eventually.

But not any more. The line has been crossed, and

it is no longer possible to make an income on the internet unless you

take a professional approach.

Are you a Kathy or a Paul? Can you relate to these scenarios?

If you can, then its essential for you to read this Guides carefully and adjust your

strategy acordingly.

Also, if you know anyone who is a potential Kathy or Paul, PLEASE send them to

this page:

http://Netbiz-Insights.com

so they can get a copy of this Guide and understand the true picture.

For their sake.

http://netbiz-insights.com/http://netbiz-insights.com/


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3 We have crossed the threshold. Why professionalism is now

essential to success

Running your business professionally produces many rewards: satisfaction, a sense of

being in control, pride in your work ...

But make no mistake - I'm not suggesting you run your business professionally so that

you can feel good about yourself. I'm suggesting you run your business professionally

because that is the only way you can make a living.

This is all about the bottom line.

The internet has been around long enough for there to be stories of the old days.And there are many stories of people, in those old days, throwing up websites and

making money pretty easily. Sure, work was always involved and the basic principles

always applied: traffic, monetization and conversion.

But it was different. Then was then, and now is now.

In this section Ill talk about some of the factors that have changed: why the

professionalism threshold has now been crossed.

3.1 Economic climate: the worst recession for over 100 years

In a sense, this factor should come last since its the most recent. Its almost like

the final straw that pushed us across that threshold.

At one point, some senior politicians in the UK were beginning to speak the

unspeakable: they were saying that this is the worst recession the world has

experienced in over 100 years.

How does that make you feel?

This is a time when the FUD factor rises exponentially.

Fear.

Uncertainty.

Doubt.

People start to panic. To act irrationally. To want to do something. Anything! To

look for answers, for a way out, for relief. Preferably immediately.

Its a time when its all too easy to turn into a DQFS Desperate Quick-Fix Seeker.

The FUD factor is a multiplier: it means that all the other factors are several timesmore potent.



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The antidote to FUD is, of course,professionalism: adopting a professional

mindset and mixing with other professionals.

The professional eliminates fear by crafting a plan and taking action

The professional minimises uncertainty by thinking and acting strategically, and

learns to live with the uncertainty that remains.

The professional removes doubt through the confidence that comes from simply

doing the right things.

And THATis why you have to take a professional approach.

3.2 Competition: the sheer number of people coming online to try

and increase their income

The number of people coming online each week and looking for ways to make anincome is enormous and of course, the recession is increasing that number

dramatically.

So competition in the Internet world is fierce indeed!

But is it really? Need it be?

In fact, this appears to be more of a problem than it needs to be.

The opportunities to make money online are almost limitless. Your imagination

and creativity are the only barriers.

The problem is, however, that people new to online business opportunities get

led into a relatively small range of business models and are told that they don't

need imagination - just the ability to follow a step-by- step guide - a magic

"blueprint to success".

And so those "blueprints" get overloaded with too many people following them.

At one time, it may well have been possible to make relatively easy money with

those blueprints. Fewer people were applying them and the level of sophisticationwas much lower.

Now that is no longer the case.

The truth is, the days of "easy money" are gone. None of these off-the-shelf

blueprints are a route to quick riches by amateurs. They all require a business-like,

professional, dedication in order to compete with the increasing number of

people piling in to them.

Alternatively, a professional approach could mean looking outside those

blueprints and separating yourself from the crowd using imagination and

creativity.



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3.3 Fast-cycle maturity: shorter times to make "easy money" from

new ideas

The internet is forever changing and evolving.

And every so often, a new Idea (a technology, a tool, a site, a system) comes alongthat makes internet marketers sit up, take note, and consider how it can be

transformed into an internet marketing strategy or tactic.

Sometimes these ideas are big and general - sometimes verybig. For example:

Sequential Autoresponders (yep - they were new once!), Adwords, Adense, Web

2.0.

Sometimes they are more specific - such as ClickBank, Videos, Click Flipping, and

Social Bookmarking.

And sometimes they are 'niche' or very targeted: the sort of things you find in

Warrior Special Offerings, such as "Monetizing Stumbleupon", "Promotion Using

Twitter", and Getting Backlinks from Software Download Sites".

In very general terms, the sequence of events goes something like this:

The Idea Arises

o A few people spot the opportunity for internet marketing and

start using it.

o They make some easy money.

o It gets systematized, written up as a new "Blueprint" and sold.

o Some other people make some easy money.

o More and more people pile in.

The Idea Matures

o The level of sophistication / skill / expertise needed to make

money goes up, and the easy money stops.

o Only the professionals continue to make significant money.

Think of any internet marketing strategy or tactic, and you can see this pattern

over time.

This maturity cycle - the time from when the idea was born, through the "easy

money" stages and ending with maturity can be years or a few months,

depending on the size of the idea and the intensity with which it is promoted.

But because there are more and more smart people out there spotting the new

ideas, exploiting them, systematizing them and selling them, the level of

sophistication needed to make money with those ideas is quickly forced up, and

the maturity stage is reached much sooner.

This is "fast-cycle maturity"



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The key point here is that the days of making "easy money" on the internet are

pretty much over for the vast majority of people - except for increasingly short

windows of opportunity.

So should we despair?

Of course not!

Money can still be made with any of these ideas as a professional. And THAT is

why you have to take a professional approach.

And if you can achieve a higher level of professionalism, you could be one of those

smart people who spots the new ideas early and makes some easy money. But

there's no blueprint for doing that! It's a competence that only comes from

professionalism and creativity, combined with years of experience.

3.4 The myth of step-by-step: why skill, judgement and mastery

are key

If you give an amateur or a novice the right instructions, they should be able to

perform at the level of expert, shouldn't they? That would seem to be the

assumption behind much of the guidance on internet marketing.

The novice is always seeking that special, comprehensive, easy-to-follow step-by-

step guide. "Just tell me what I need to do and I'll do it!" And the experts are

always striving to create improved, more detailed, better organized, moreaccessible guidance.

And talking of step-by-step guides, you are in luck!

Weve spent the last six months locked away in a secret hideout creating the

simplest, most fool-proof formula for online success. It doesnt come much

simpler than these 4 secret steps to success.

If you follow this to the letter, we can guarantee that you will make money.

Step 1:

Find a need / want that a group of people have and for which they are

willing to pay money to have it satisfied.

Step 2:

Find a product or service (or create a product or service) that satisfies that

need/want perfectly, and that you can sell at a price which gives you a

good profit and that the potential customers are willing to pay.

Step 3:



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Build a website, along with all the necessary infrastructure of payment

processors etc. from which people can buy that product or service. Design

your website in such a way that people will buy the product or service

when they visit it.

Step 4:

Get the people with that need/want to visit your site.

Keep repeating step 4.

.... Then all you need to do is change out of your pyjamas every week or so to go

and bank your checks!

That example is supposed to demonstrate the foolishness of relying on step-by-

step guidance for any significant task. But you may think that we cheated, and all

we need to do is add in more detail.

Of course we could. And we could make your life a lot easier and save you a lot oftime by pointing to useful tools and resources and showing you step-by-step how

to perform a whole host of administrative task (such as ftp, using cPanel, simple

HTML etc.).

BUT - and this is very important - no matter how hard we were to try, there will

always be a number of essential, non-administrative, tasks for which no amount

of step-by-step guidance will be of much help.

These are tasks that require skill and judgement, such as

- Selecting a niche

- Assessing competition

- Designing a product

- Keyword research

- Copywriting

and many others that are much less obvious.

To be successful online - or in anything in life - requires a whole collection of skills

and the ability to make a whole range of different types of judgement. And for a

true professional, it requires mastery. Skill, judgement and mastery can onlybegained from experience; from practice.

Step-by-step guides can certainly help, but you should never assume they can

provide you with the route to success.

Success requires skill, judgement and mastery; and that comes only to

professionals who understand this and plan for how to acquire that mastery.

Now I can hear many people saying - "But I can outsource those tasks! I don't

need to become expert in those things."



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Fine. Of course you can. But you just changed the business model - and for some

personalities, that is exactly the right thing to do.

However, having got rid of a whole collection skills that you don't need to learn,

you've created a whole new set: finding suitable outsourcers, writing

requirements/specifications, people management, negotiation etc.

You simply cannot escape the fact that success requires skill, judgement and

mastery in one form or another. And THAT is why you have to take a

professional approach.



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4 Benefits of being a Professional

In the previous section I explained why it is no longer possible for you to approach theinternet as an amateur if you want to make a living from it.

What that section was saying is there is no longer an alternative to being a

professional.

This section covers some of the benefits of being professional.

4.1 Being Professional means - you are unaffected by the

deception, distraction and short-termism of much of IM

We are all looking for easy solutions. The path of quickest return for least effort.

That is basic human nature.

And, quite naturally, the promoters of online businesses exploit that fact

mercilessly. Kathy was an extreme victim of that.

Anyone with half a mind to making money online gets enticed by the dream of

making money in their pyjamas. What I call the "pyjama lifestyle" syndrome.

Quite unashamedly, many promoters of online businesses imply - and sometimes

explicitly state - that all you need to do is press one button (optionally, whilst

wearing your pyjamas), and your work is done for the day.

Ironically, these promoters are themselves true professionals: they do their job so

well, and so effectively, that people get suckered into believing that this is

possible - even subconsciously- because they wantto believe it.

Even the most sane, rational, intelligent and sceptical people get taken in.

One reaction to this is to rant and rave at the promoters of online businesses; to

chastise them and question their ethics. But that isn't a very professional reaction

because it turns people into victims. "Don't do that to me! I don't like it! It isn't fair!"

A much better reaction is to take responsibility for one's own responses to these

"irresistible enticements".

That is much harder than it seems, though, because we are being affected at

deep, psychological levels. And it's even harder when so many people are

becoming desperate for ways to create an income in this worst recession for over

100 years.

Nevertheless, by resolutely adopting the mindset of a professional, and equally

importantly, seeking out regular interactions with other professionals, it is

possible to create a defence against these hard-to-resist offers.

Another way to think about it is this: there are two worlds existing side by side.



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There is the world of the professional. The real world of effort and imagination

and creativity and collaboration: the real things it takes to succeed.

And then there is the dream world. The world painted for us in the sales letters of

the online business promoters. Easy money. No effort. Anyone can do it.

Interestingly, as I mentioned above, the people who paint the dream world for us

don'tlive in that world. They live in the world of the professionals - and rely on

the fact that most of their audience live in the other world.

By the way, I'm not saying that the pyjama lifestyle is a total myth. It is achievable

- but only after many years of highly disciplined work as a professional, including

having clear goals and outcomes.

In summary:

A benefit of being a Professional is that you are unaffected by thedeception, distraction and short-termism of much of internet

marketing.

4.2 Being Professional means - you get more done in less time

A professional knows the value of their time. How much a day is worth. How

much an hour is worth.

Originally, the term "professional" was reserved for people who were highly

skilled in some academic discipline and who sold their services to clients -

normally by charging for their time. Here, we're talking about doctors, lawyers,

architects, engineers and so on.

Such professionals know to the penny how much their time is worth - and will

charge you down to the minute. It's not unusual for such people to keep time

records in which they have to account for what they are doing ten times per hour

- every six-minute period.

How often would you see entries like this on an internet professional's timesheet?

11:00 - 11:05 Made coffee.11:06 - 11:11 Drank coffee while starting up laptop.

11:12 - 11:17 Watched Part 1 of an interesting video about some guy who says

he's making $15,324 per week.

11:18 - 11:23 As above. Still not really sure what it's all about. Started Part 2.

11:24 - 11:29 As above, and Part 3. Still confused, but registered to get early-

bird notification of his launch.

11:30 - 11:35 Tried to sign up for his affiliate program, but it was a bit

complicated, so I gave up.



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11:36 - 11:41 Checked emails. Accepted Facebook Friend Request from my

cousin in New Zealand.

11:42 - 11:47 Hunting for the draft e-mail broadcast message I was working on

yesterday.

11:48 - 11:53 Revised the e-mail broadcast message.

11:54 - 11:59 Looked at all the earlier messages - they don't seem to gel;

thinking about scrapping them.

12:00 - 12:05 Searching for wallet - need to go out and buy a sandwich

If you're a professional, you'll organize your time and your environment in a way

that suits you and the nature of your work, because you will know how many

dollars you're losing for every six minutes that you go off course.

In summary:

A benefit of being a Professional is that you get more done, in less time .

4.3 Being Professional means - people respect you and your

reputation grows

To say that respect and reputation are important in business is a truism. It's

obvious, isn't it?

Let's break it down a little and see.

First, let's consider whose respect is important; with whom is it important to have

a good reputation.

If your business model means you operate in one or more specific niches - such as

silver jewellery - and you have a membership site on that subject where you are

attracting people to learn from you, then without any doubt, respect and

reputation for your knowledge in that area is critical.

On the other hand, if your business model is to create three sites per week withindifferent niches selling plr eBooks, then your reputation in any of those niches is

not going to be an issue. (More accurately, it would be great if you couldhave a

justifiable reputation for every niche, but that is never going to happen.)

So having a reputation in the area related to your business is notalways

important.

However, there is another dimension to this, which is reputation and respect as

an internet marketer. Is that always important, or are there circumstances where

it doesn't 'matter.



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The answer is: it does matter. Building a positive reputation in the internet

marketing world, and gaining the respect of other internet marketers always

matters - no matter what your business model is.

The reason that it always matters is that, even if you work in total isolation right

now, sooner or later (preferably sooner), you willstart working with other people.These may be members of a mastermind group that you join, or your partners or

your employees. Or all three.

And the quality and calibre of the people who you interact with will be

determined to a very large degree by your reputation and the respect people

have for you.

Humans are inherently social creatures. Without human interactions we whither:

our best results always arise out of the interplay between multiple minds.

So we've established that, no matter what, it is hugely important to build a

positive reputation as an internet marketer, and gain respect from other internet

marketers. But what is the key to doing this?

You guessed it:professionalism.

Respect/reputation and professionalism go hand in hand. If someone refers to

you as "a real professional", that is without doubt a statement of respect.

But if you come across as an amateur, no matter how enthusiastic or jolly or

sociable or well-meaning or friendly, you won't gain that all-important respect.

Lots of people may like you, but that's something else entirely.

In summary:

A benefit of being a Professional is that people respect you and your

reputation grows.

... and that is essential for your success in working with people.

4.4 Being Professional means you make better decisions

because you are driven by strategy, not dogma.

One way of distinguishing between a professional and an amateur is this:

o An amateur is driven by dogma.

o A professional is driven by strategy.

The amateur listens to what other people are saying, watches what other people

are doing, and follows suit.

Dogma says: The key to success is to have a list.

So the amateur focuses on building a list.

Dogma says: Always provide the best possible customer service.



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So the amateur plans on offering the best possible customer service from

the beginning.

Dogma says: You have to be active on social networks to build your reputation.

So the amateur gets active on social networks.

Does this mean that the professional doesnt build a list? Or doesnt provide the

best possible customer service? Or doesnt participate on social networks?

Of course not but they do it because it fits into their strategyand contributes to

a definite plan. Not because everyone says its a good thing to do. By the way a

plan which says Build a big list is not a plan!

Even more important, though, is that a professional will decide againstfollowing

the dogma when it does not fit in with their strategy/plan.

The professional looks at the context - their strategy, their big picture and

decides on what to do based on that not on dogma.

Here is an example to illustrate the point. Most people fall into this trap, and I am

as guilty as anyone.

Lets look at the dogma that one should Always provide the best possible

customer service .

An amateur, usually with the best intentions of trying to be professional, puts

great emphasis on providing exceptional customer support. Always putting the

customer first and responding as quickly as possible to their needs. After all, thatis the obvious thing to do, isnt it?

Not always.

Sometimes, that approach is notthe best decision.

The professional, on the other hand, whilst recognising the exceptional

importance of the customer, knows when to discard the dogma and put the

customer second, or even last. The reason for doing so would be when the

customer's needs jeopardise the strategy.

If you feel this idea is close to blasphemous, consider the views of two peoplewhom I regard as consummate professionals: Rich Schefren and Tim Ferris. (If

you've not heard of either of these people - go Google them when you've finished

reading this).

Both of these highly successful individuals put business strategy before customer

satisfaction

Rich suggests that in the early days of an internet marketing business, your

personal time is so important that you may sometimes have to sacrifice the

quality of your customer support until you've created enough momentum to be

able to start outsourcing some of your activities. (Note that he only argues for this



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in the early days of a business. Do this when you are established and your

reputation and hence your professionalism will take a serious dive).

And Tim simply applied the 80/20 rule and "sacked" those customers (actually,

distributors) who needed too much support in comparison with their sales.

In summary:

A benefit of being a Professional is that you make better decisions

because you are driven by strategy, not dogma.

4.5 Being Professional means - your success is stable, not short-

lived

Achieving stable, long-term success is a direct result of the fact that a professional

makes better decisions by being driven by strategy, but it goes further than that.

Behind the strategy, the professional also has a Vision or a Purpose, and it is the

vision/purpose that defines what success means to the professional in the long-

term.

The hierarchy is like this:

(1) Vision/Purpose

(2) Strategy/Plan

(3) Actions/Behaviours

(4) Outcomes/Results

As a professional, you are aware of all levels in this hierarchy at all times (or at

least you try to be: it isnt easy).

The focus on vision/purpose means that, alongside short- and medium-term

considerations, you always have an eye on the long-term.

That isnt to say that everything has to be directed to the long term (that would

be an example of dogma) but it does mean that, as a professional, you attach

the right degree of importance to the long term.

In summary:

A benefit of being a Professional is that your success is stable - not

short-lived.



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5 "I'm not a Professional because I'm a newbie"

Well.... yes and no.If you are relatively new to internet marketing, it's true that you can't properly be

regarded as an InternetProfessional because that requires both professionalism

and experience.

But there's nothing to stop you from taking aprofessional approach to everything

you do. And in particular, there is nothing to stop you taking a professional

approach in your efforts to become an Internet Professional.

You can earn respect and start building a reputation based on the professionalism

of your journey.

That point leads me to the final idea I want to introduce to you. Personally, I find

this a very inspiring concept, and I hope you do too. It is just three words that

summarise a simple, but very profound idea:

Living life professionally

What's the alternative? Who wants to live life amateurishly?

What I've done in this document is attempt to take that very general idea and

apply it specifically to internet marketing. And that means that the goal of being

an Internet Professional- with all the benefits you get - starts with striving to live

life professionally.

And if you can truly live life professionally, you will have achieved something

wonderful indeed!



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6 Bio

Alex Goodall

Alex has played many roles in his long career, including entrepreneur (founded

and ran a 22-person software company with distributors in 8 countries);

consultant to multi-national companies; editor of a high-quality technology

newsletter; technical director/trouble shooter hired by investors; project

manager, online community builder.

He has successful online businesses specialising in tools for information

management for internet marketers and Twitter for business

Alexs approach to life and business are informed by:

His 25+ years experience in the field of knowledge management, online

learning and community building

Studying and applying developmental models of organizational and

personal change

Integral philosophy

7 Contact

http://OxfordAndBoston.com/Support

If you agree with the ideas in this Guide, my low-cost Internet Professionals Mentoring

Programcould help you overcome the barriers to getting your business underway, or to

improving it.
http://oxfordandboston.com/Supporthttp://netbiz-insights.com/mentoringhttp://netbiz-insights.com/mentoringhttp://netbiz-insights.com/mentoringhttp://oxfordandboston.com/Supporthttp://netbiz-insights.com/mentoringhttp://netbiz-insights.com/mentoring

Documents

Internet Professionals Guide