If You HAD to Start Over - What would you do Different???

[benschiltz]

Hi, I chalk it all up to education so even though I would do some things differently, I wouldnt curse what I have done so far. With that being said, I would definately help newbies understand that they don't have to go out and buy every single ebook on the internet. There are lots of free info online to help them such as coming to this forum. Also, they should get a basic idea as to what internet marketing is all about and then develope some ideas or strategy and then go with that, instead of wandering aimlessly chasing other peoples ideas and not committing to just one idea and building on that. That is probably one of the most common things new internet marketers do, is chase after ideas and not building on just one at least until they conclude that it works or not.

Testing the markets is another mistake I came into. Instead of testing, I just put all my eggs in and blindly hoped for it to work out. So if any newbs are reading this. Test, Test, Test.

These are a few things that I would have done differently. But in the beginning we are all so excited to get started we just ignore these vital steps, even though we have read them in all the ebooks we gotten online.

Thanks for reading

Benny

 

[Dynamite88]

I agree being passionate about what you're promoting/marketing is the key! Also being a "jack of all trades" is good but focusing on what you're good at and outsourcing the rest!

 

[HerMedia]

ASK. I should have found a mentor and asked for their help A LONG time ago.

Like anything in life have a PLAN and stay focused to your goals. In the last 7 years I have stayed focused on a 'demographic' or niche - but didn't have a plan - leading me onto too many ventures ....

 

[webdelux]

Well the number one thing I would have done differently would have been plan further ahead in my marketing and link building efforts. I would have developed a 10 year plan a lot sooner.

 

[jamian]

I would rather choose to use the natural method than the paid method of boosting your site's traffic and increasing of your page rank in search engines.

 

[affilojetpackpreview]

Getting into business involves risk. However, careful approach is needed as well. If I were to start my own business today, I will never let fear block my way.

 

[motherwaddles]

why on paid traffic? Just curious..

 

[djbaxter]

why on paid traffic? Just curious..

I'm not sure what you mean by the question or who in the thread it's addressed to...

 

[wingman]

Benny,

Sounds like good advice but when you leap into the aligators nest its hard to focus "is this guy really going to eat me before that guy?"

I feel like a kid in a toy store....so many goodies, so little time. Slowly getting under control, if only we knew what we know now at the beginning!

 

[Byagi]

I'd have to mirror what other people have said throughout this thread - if I could do it all over again, I would have picked something I was really passionate about and would have focused on that.

 

[hemsley]

I would have concentrated more on building my online business and less time reading every free guru ebook and email out there, (they'd all say the same things). And like others said on here, I would have picked a niche I enjoy and not try to compete with an already saturated niche that the gurus rule on.

 

[AliceandMosee]

I would budget my time more effectively and always remember that I really do have time to learn new things and meet new communities online. It's so important to try and fail online especially for affiliate marketing, always ask questions and reach out.

 

[cutequotes]

i would work only on the niche that was successful for me and ignore those who wasnt that good

 

[JZ100K]

Many good point in the thread!

Great thread!

If I started again, I would not gone down the start a e-commerce/ebay route.

Even though I have not yet made a single sale in affiliates and info product, I truly think I will find my success on the net via this route and being very niche! That said all our failures builds us up for the greater plan!

So no regretta as far as my business venture is concerned.

Edit: Actually I should have started reading and studying SEO from the get go!

 

[emarketschool]

If I had to start today I might have acted on my ideas a lot sooner.
I have been in the online markieting business for over five years now.
I know today that some of the ideas I had were good but I never acted on them in time, and a year later it was already too late..

I would choose something that I am passinate about. When I tried my hand at affiliate marketing I went to become a poker affiliate. This was a mistake as I didn't care much for poker, hence lacked the drive to come back home after hours of work and work on my own site.

I would also choose my business partners very carefully. I went into business with a friend and we didn't see eye to eye. This was a real problem and at the end we were both too tired to keep going.

Today I'm happy being an affiliate manager and really admire those affiliate who made it.

that's just my 2 cents..

 

[nobled99]

When I began considering starting over again with the knowledge we now have would be better off embarking upon affiliate marketing. I would strongly investigate and start with the easy and quick methods to create cash flow...I believe affiliate marketing is the way I would start. The many possibilities and programs would not leave me guessing about how to make money. There are great authors working toward your success. Certainly I understand why some authors work hard to help you to succeed. Because they know “when you succeed”, you will be much more willing to promote future products. This intelligent and fresh approach to marketing is important to get you to promote his or her future products, he/she will make more money and you also will get a great opportunity to make more money for yourself.

 

[Kelli]

If I had to start over again (albeit I'm a 4 month newbie!) - I would've checked out the quality and quantity of affiliate programs available for my first proposed niche, as well as how "spammy" other sites in my proposed niche would be. If that makes sense!

Other than that, If I had to start over again, I would've paid for the Skip the Scams -Affiliate Marketing Schoolbook course for newbies if I hadn't won the course and mentorship in the contest - because the course is that good

 

[Ben26]

Wow! Boy the answers are really good and i think this thread is going to create very good information for all.Thank Linda for starting it.
Now my answer is: First concentrate on list building and keep on doing it while i work on my passion.Definitely List building techniques at all level.
By the way Liza touched on a very key point, thank you also; it was great absorbing all this information.God bless.
Cheers;

 

[dogbarkman1]

I definitely would have gotten off my butt and started working sooner! I was just too lazy to make money when I first started

 

[webcashgiver]

This is SO important!
Free traffic sites are making money for those people who are running the sites.
It's designed to put cash into their pockets. Sure you get free traffic, but it's not targeted in most cases and it's sent out under a 'blanket' site name which makes it resemble Spam.

If you really want to get results from traffic, you must know what your target market is and pay for the exposure. Otherwise you will bang your head on the desk joining everything you get in your email box from 'FREE' sign-ups. Trust me, I've done it and you are better off learning how to get MASSIVE TRAFFIC in front of your target market(s). Research and verify. It's worth it in the long run, folks!