Are You On The Right Track?
Have you ever asked yourself whether you and your online business are on the right track or whether you’re more or less wasting time? Not to long ago I wrote a post about this topic but I still haven’t come to a conclusion so I thought I would bring it up again.
If you too are trying to build an online business that will let you travel the world and not have to worry about paying the bills or getting laid off from your job, then I assume that you too have been reading blogs and ebooks on the topic.
Two of the things that get me to keep coming back to this topic is that:
- I’m not yet where I want to be (in terms of income)
- I keep reading stories about people cranking out websites making hundreds of dollars a day
If you have had (or still have) similar experiences please let me know in the comments. Maybe we can help each other out.
Are the stories true?
When reading the stories of newbies creating new websites and making 1, 2 or $3,000 per month I can’t help to think whether it is just a marketing gimmick or whether it is actually true. We’ll never know the truth but I believe that it should make you think.
I recently heard an interview with some of the StomperNet faculty members and I believe that the words one of them said was: “If you find yourself creating an online business and you’re not making at least $1,000 per month within your first 6 months, you’re doing something utterly wrong”. Maybe that wasn’t the exact words but the point was the same.
Let me ask you this: Are you making $1,000 per month after 6 months in your business? I can tell you that I’ve never launched an online business that was able to do that kind of profit that quickly. Which brings me to the conclusion that there is something I’m not getting. I just don’t know what it is.
Is it the path that is the problem?
As most of you know the Case 2008 project is moving along and I’m making more money from Adsense almost every single month. All of this is fine but I’m nowhere near $1,000 per month and the project has been going for 10 months now.
That makes me wonder where the problem is. Is it:
- Not being able to pick the right market?
- Focusing on Adsense when other solutions might be much more profitable?
- Not having a definite business plan in place?
- Trying to do too much on your own?
There are probably a million other questions to ask but I’m not sure that asking anymore questions would help. Because since you’re on your own you only have yourself to answer the questions that you put out. If you don’t know the right answer you can give it (obviously).
So where do you go for answers? The best place would be to someone who had already done what you want to do. Maybe the first question you ask should be: “Where do I find someone capable and willing to teach me?”
I’m still looking for the answer to that question so if anyone of you know the answer please let me know.
I think you are partially right. A lot of the marketeers are putting some extra in to make it look good. Some of it are true, but mostly the people that made a lot of money, also spend just as much on marketing on Adwords… So perhaps they made 10.000$ at adsense and affiliate, but used perhaps 12.000$ on Adwords and banner campaigns… And that is never told, but the 10.000$ are shown greatly in checks and bankaccounts, nice pictures, but not the whole truth… And then suddenly they made a fortune, and get some respect from the new people in the business…
Just my humble opinion and conspiracy theories…
You have a point Brian. However you yourself have proven that it is possible to make a decent amount of money from a website (http://webshop-hvordan.dk/). You did a lot of hard work writing and promoting the ebook but you also showed us that you were able to make a decent amount of money by doing so.
Only you know the hours spent and the actual figures but as I recall you made what equals $1,000 in your third month!
True… writing an ebook is a pretty good way to earn some decent money.. But it fades out… but if you could come out with books as fast as Seth Godin, you could earn a great living by just writing books and running a great blog…
February was above $1.000, yes
. Does that make me a legend online marketeer ?
I can call you a “semi-legend”
I know that it faded out but didn’t your efforts fade out as well? I can only guess but I think you could have sold that amount of books for a long time if you had kept working at it. Maybe you could even have created a system that would have others working for you so you would have more time to do other stuff.
Spekulations, all spekulations
…
I never really done the big market research for the book, the idea just came and then I started to write back last summer.. So I don’t know if the market is a bit smaller.. I think that 200+ is a big amount of new webshops.. but of course, if I tried making it a book for the universities, then perhaps it would sell a lot more..
Could I hire someone to try that ? Anybody know anybody that has those connections ?
Nope I can’t help you there sorry.
But who says that you can only sell to new web shops? There are thousands of poor and underperforming web shops online and most of them could use your book to improve. That market would easily let you hit 200 a year.
200 a year.. it is already doing that
!
But of course, I won’t stop selling it, and it still sells okay.. I have some ideas in work, so just hold on for some weeks / month, and it will sky-rocket again
!
Good to hear Brian
I’ll look forward to what you have coming.
About the “1, 2 or $3,000 per month I can’t help to think whether it is just a marketing gimmick ”
I am very sceptic when reading this kind of stories. I must admit that I ALWAYS assume that they are marketing gimmicks.. not to say straight up LIES.
I think that the stories almost always are so unbelievable that it makes me laugh.. Typically the same story about no work/little effort, no particular internet/computer knowledge and incredible incomes.. And typically marketed by the same ugly website with untrue testimonials, “guarantees”, one-in-a-lifetime-incredibly-offer and all that bullocks. I really hate this kind of marketing(!) witch to me is borderline scam tactics. I know that we cannot get rid of it because it works – apparently this it what the general (naive?) user wants – some crazy dream they can fantasize about becoming part of..
The only reason that I’m still looking into programs, software and so on that are marketed like that is when they are recommended by someone not directly associated with the site who is believable and credible, like e.g. yourself!
I then hope sometime to stumble upon some system that actually works IN SPITE of the scam marketing – not “work AS marketed”..
In other words: I believe it is all lies! I don’t even hope that some system/software/e-book will be able to get me the kind of income that are advertised, but are thinking “if this were to bring me an income 1/10 or 1/20 of what the creative writers and photoshoppers have come up with for the marketing that would actually be great”..
Christian, I have to comment on your comment
in two ways.
First I agree with you that there are probably marketers that lie and tell stories that are untrue and simply misleading.
When that is said I think you’re being to judgemental and that you’re probably keeping yourself from achieving what you want. I am 99% convinced that some of these stories are true and if you read some of the stories you will also find that nobody says that it is easy or that you don’t have to work for it.
I think the real problem is in that because the “work part” is toned down in the sales letter then people instantly assume that no (or little) work is involved. So it is their own assumption that creates the “lie” and not the actual seller.
On top of that I believe (which has also been my own problem and to some degree still is my problem) that the real issue hear is not that what is being taught in ebooks and videos is wrong or doesn’t work but merely that people do not follow the plan and work hard at it. They simply give up before they have spent the time required to learn what they need to learn.
…which is actually the original theme of this blog. You will get the success you deserve if you do the work UNTIL… never ever quit
P.S. Yes there are scammers online and yes many marketers are lying but some are telling the truth. We just need to find those marketers and listen to them!