This isn’t a preach-fest, nor is it some obscure new-age theory. Furthermore, it’s not exclusive to newbies. We ALL “suffer” from these symptoms from time to time, no matter how experienced.

But this is especially important for beginners, as well as anyone who’s never seen any kind of REAL results from this business.

If you read this and actually take it to heart (and take action) – I promise you this – 2010 will be drastically different for you…

It drives me NUTS when I get emails from people who I know are honestly giving this their best shot within the context of their abilities and situation – and I know instantly based on the types of questions they’re asking (or whatever) that they don’t have a chance in hell.

And of course – I try to set them straight, put them on the right path.

But their mindset and “what they’ve learned” blocks it out. The wheat gets lost among the chaff, and it all becomes a big, confusing (disappointing) mess.

Which is truly sad.

Because the real way to success in this industry is far, far easier and simpler than most think. And that “way” will become clear to you as I go through the following 3 “failure symptoms”…

3 Symptoms of a Marketer Who’s Destined for Failure:

Symptom #1: Perfectionism

This is a silent killer because being a “perfectionist” can in many ways be a good thing. (It’s better than being a slacker). But it becomes a problem when the constant improvements, “setbacks” and bar-raising is either a subliminal fear of action/failure/success – or perhaps indicative of a deeper issue, like a lack of confidence in one’s self; and therefore your product.

Even though in most cases the product, or the site – or whatever – is beyond finished. (Just promote the damn thing already!)

We all know someone who’s been “working on their site” or whatever for what seems like forever. Sure, they’ll tell you it’s almost done. Just a few days left. Etc.

Ask them in 3 months, and you’ll get the same old song. And they’re still broke. 

And chances are, most of us have been guilty of it as well (I have in the past, for sure). It’s funny how it’s more comfortable to keep things in “idea” mode or the development stage because you still have an “out” – isn’t it?

That is the root of perfectionism, folks: FEAR.

When I look back at all the stuff I’ve done in the last few years – all the sites I’ve built, all the crap I’ve tried doing, etc – the bottom line is that I ONLY got results when I finished something and rolled it out. Period.

And what’s ironic is that some of my biggest performers were things that took a few DAYS to put together and promote. 5 page sites generating double-digit sales transactions daily. Info-products that were assembled and produced in less than a week. And so on.

And inversely, I’ve also had stuff that took me forever to roll out, and by the time it was all said and done, I’ve probably made more money from my “simple and fast” strategies in the meantime anyway.

That isn’t always the rule.

But the mindset always applies.

And on top of that, there is no substitute for experience. The more you actually finish, the more you truly learn. And it’s a lot easier to springboard from one experience into the next, learning from mistakes (and leveraging profitable discoveries) as you go.

So if you catch yourself continually adding to your tasklist… ask yourself why, and answer truthfully.

Getting big results doesn’t require perfection. It just requires ACTION.

Just like our Canadian hockey-legend (Wayne Gretzky) was quoted saying, “100% of the shots you don’t take won’t go in…”

Symptom #2: “Space Pen” Syndrome

Back when NASA was trying to figure out how to get a man on the moon, they were obviously presented with an endless series of insane technological challenges – and for obvious reasons, given that at the time the average calculator was about the size of my desk.

One of the issues they faced was something really simple. Astronauts couldn’t use a conventional pen in a zero-gravity environment because the ink would simply “float” in the pen.

So what they did was develop the most technologically advanced zero-gravity pen the world had ever seen. The damn thing could even write underwater, since the ink was pressurized.

It took years and God-knows how much (tax) money to develop these ridiculous space pens.

The end result?

Astronauts could now write stuff in space, doodle, etc.

And guess what the Russians did…

They used pencils.

The end result was the same. Cosmonauts could do all the same things as the American astronauts (with the exception of writing underwater), without the months or perhaps years of development, testing and expense.

And I see so many marketers doing the same thing – over-complicating every single task and going way beyond the realm of necessity when it comes to building and marketing their sites.

Everyone’s so caught up with all the latest social media crap, “linkwheels”, spinning their content (which takes forever and has little, if any, benefit), widgets, plugins, etc…

…that they’re missing the POINT.

Make offers. Create content. Promote it.

Not rocket science, folks. Not even space-pen science.

And pretty much everything, with very few exceptions, still works today just as well as it did 10+ years ago. If you think it doesn’t – try it. The fundamentals have NOT changed. And it’s the fundamentals (converting copy, building good content, targeted offers, list-building) that build wealth.

Not “tactics”. And definitely not space pens.

(Hint: All those people out there clogging up the marketing forums with their SEO tactics, “new” strategies, etc… guess what? Chances are they’re broke or making a mediocre living at best. The big dogs are doing what they’ve always done. And it’s not hard to see what that is.)

Symptom #3: Always Looking for Shortcuts

Wanna know what’s funny about most people who are always looking for that ultimate tactic or shortcut?

It takes them 3 times longer (and they put in way more effort) to get the same results as someone who simply does it the right way the first time.

(And there’s usually no long-term effect, either. The guy who’s out there blackhatting has to constantly work in order to “stay on top”. In contrast, the guy who’s produced genuinely good content and earned his traffic, reputation, etc. will see effortless traffic & revenue for years. Which one sounds better to you?)

I’ve seen this repeatedly over the years. Both with my own activities and others. In fact, these days I don’t even care about “tricks” or “new tactics” for driving traffic, etc. I just don’t care.

And I really don’t think I’m missing out, because I’ve gotten to the point where my time is simply better spent working on my core business model (and enjoying my life) than staying up into the wee hours testing out some freakish tactic.

Anyway, let me give you a real-life example of why “shortcuts” are anything but smart…

My partner on the Affiliate Genie project (Matt Chitty) comes from a sales background, and a few years ago he was actually one of the top sales managers on a nationwide scale for a very large Electronics retailer up here in Canada.

As Matt puts it, there are two types of producing salespeople on the floor.

Type 1: “Mr. Tactic”

This is the guy who hard-sells, uses all the “sales tricks” and will basically tell the customer whatever they want to hear just to make that sale.

He typically does the most volume at first, but he also loses a lot of commissions due to returns, etc. Moreover, because he only cares about the sale, the customers can easily sense this and they’ll avoid him next time. He always has to find new customers.

This means that Mr. Tactic has to work long hours and hard-sell all day long to keep up his numbers.

And nobody likes him. All he gets out of it is the cash. (I’m sure about a bazillion people come to mind who fit this description…)

And, then - there’s the other guy.

The anomaly that Mr. Tactic can’t stand…

Type 2: “Mr. Truthful“

This is the guy who’s your typical down-to-earth dude who seems to have more of an interest in the products he sells than he does about actually selling them.

He doesn’t try and “close” every customer he meets. Nor does he exaggerate or talk out of his ass when customers ask questions about what a product does. He simply shares what he does know, and he helps the customer find exactly what they actually need. Regardless of his commissions.

He’s not as “high energy” as Mr. Tactic. And maybe he’s a little bit plain on the exterior. But over time, people come to know him as being someone you can trust.

Mr. Truthful will have regular sales levels for the first little while. His results at first won’t be anything too shocking, maybe a bit above average.  But there will be next to no returns on his commissionable sales, since he’s upfront with the customer.

However…

As the weeks and months go by, something strange starts happening.

Happy customers come back, as do their friends, who specifically seek out Mr. Truthful. This slowly becomes a sort of “chain reaction”, to the point where Mr. Truthful is actually doing the same volume of sales as Mr. Tactic – with the difference being that it’s effortless and painless.

He doesn’t have to “trick” people into buying, nor does he have to “work” a prospect. All he does is basically just help people who want to deal with him all day long. And since his sales generally don’t generate any returns, at the end of the day he’s actually making more money than Mr. Tactic.

Even though he’s working shorter hours and, plainly speaking, not even ”trying”. It just flows to him.

Over time, this sets up Mr. Truthful in a high-paying sales career that he can enjoy and prosper with as long as the company stays in business.

But for the other guy – over time, inevitably, Mr. Tactic will burn out and try and make it big somewhere else, only to meet the same results over and over again due to the core issue – he doesn’t care about the customer, he cares about his results. (Sound familiar?)

——————————————————-

This “Mr. Tactic” approach is what plagues internet marketing.

I understand that we’re all in this to make money. And that’s totally okay.

But you have to realize that if you treat your visitors with contempt and don’t care about the fact that they’re spending money based on your recommendations, then every sale you generate will be a fight.

And you’ll have a never-ending slew of nasty emails, complaints, refunds – or worse.

On the flipside, if you come across as genuine with your visitors and genuinely try to help them – they’ll buy from you in droves! And they’ll love you for it. Then they’ll buy from you again, and again… etc.

That is how you build true wealth online, folks.

It’s not about “tactics” or the latest technique. It’s about building trust and influence.

That’s something you can’t simulate. No sales tactic on earth is going to make somebody trust you. The only way to “get” trust is to earn it. And you do that by publishing good content and providing valuable, honest stuff to your people.

And guess what?

When you have good content and genuinely cool stuff to offer – everything literally falls into place for you. Getting backlinks is easy. It’ll happen naturally. Getting JV’s is brainless. People will want to work with you – you’ll be the one turning down offers that don’t match (not vice-versa).

And of course – making sales is a breeze. When people trust you, they’ll buy stuff just because you recommended it. Some people won’t even look at the offer (literally, this happens). They just buy because they trust your word.

You think you can do that with some weird-ass “hypnotic sales trick” or something?

Um… no. I don’t care what anyone claims – you can’t. You only get to that level by establishing trust.

But it all starts with the basics:

1. Create Genuinely Good Content

2. Make Relevant Offers Prominently on Your Site

3. Promote Your Site

That’s the “big secret” folks. The ultimate tactic – and it’s all you have to do if you really want to hit it on the web, long-term. All of the sites I’ve created where I’ve actually catered to the visitor as a paramount concern are still running strong as ever, and many are several years old.

And on top of that, getting backlinks and stuff was a breeze. All I’d do is simply email all the other sites, show them some cool function or helpful article on the site, and ask for a link or a “story” on it for their readers. For one of my sites in particular, out of about 200 emails like that – 40 of them willingly did so. And one was even a PR8 news site

In contrast, I’m lucky if my little “tester sites” and small conduit sites (which have a purpose of their own) see maybe 6 months of solid traffic before they fade down to a small trickle.

Value matters.

It’s been working since 1995 (or whenever the internet was “born”), and it works just as well today.

And it seems so straight-forward.

Just like using a pencil in space…

——————————————————-

Okay – now here’s how to take all that stuff I just said and make a crap-load of money with it this year…

First, you need to identify areas where these symptoms are showing up. Maybe you’re freezing up and endlessly delaying your sites because they aren’t “good enough”.

This needs to stop. Who cares if your sites aren’t perfect? Your visitors don’t. (And your bank account certainly doesn’t).

Just get them out there and marketed. Period.

You can make them better later.

Now I’m not saying that you take shortcuts or skimp out on value. But what I am saying is that you need to cut out stuff that isn’t an absolute necessity and just FINISH your sites so you can start building links, getting traffic, buying ads – whatever.

Or maybe you’re over-complicating everything.

You think that you need to “leverage” every available trick in the book to maximize your traffic. So you insist on setting up all the latest SEO plugins, developing a 300-message autoresponder series, having your site “drip” content automatically, you spin all your articles and submit them various ways, you set up peel-away ads and exit scripts, etc.

None of that stuff is necessarily bad (in fact lots of it is very profitable) – but if it’s causing you to be overwhelmed… or if you think that it’s all required – stop it.

Just start with the basics, and as your traffic increases, you can add stuff as you need to.

Remember that two complete sites with NO gimmicks will almost always out-earn a single site with EVERY gimmick. (And I’m talking about affiliate sites here, not authority sites or products which are a different animal and not something you dive into before you test the waters).

So if you feel like you have to build a “space pen”, just remember that a pencil will do the same damn thing, and you can always improve stuff LATER.

And finally – maybe the issue is that none of your sites are converting well (even if they get tons of traffic and you’re promoting proven, hot offers) because your content isn’t genuine.

You need to realize, then, that your product reviews, your articles, your presells – everything – needs to not only be truthful, but it has to be published with the intention of actually helping your visitors get the best solution for their needs.

If you’re honestly trying to help your people – it shows. Your visitors can sense that, and that’s how you become trusted.

You’ll sell more, you’ll get more links more easily, you’ll be able to do deals in the market easily – everything works better for you. And on top of that, it’s actually easier to do this since you don’t have to use “hype”. Just talk straight. And wherever possible, allow your visitors to lend their voice as well.

So if 2009 was a rough year, I can guarantee you that 2010 will be drastically different for you by doing the following:

1. Just Finish/Market Your Sites FAST & Improve Them LATER.

2. Keep it Simple & Stop Wasting Time Building “Space-Pen” Sites.

3. Be Genuine & Actually Give a Damn

A lot of people who read this won’t “get it”. They’ll be reading in between the lines looking for tricks, for things they can swipe for a quick buck, and so on. Those are the washouts, folks. Even if they do make a bit of money, it’s always short-lived.

Anyone who’s actually made real money as an affiliate (or any kind of marketer), and I mean well into the 6-figs, realizes that everything I’ve said here is literal. There is no hidden tactic or “trick” to making a pile of money in any viable market. It just comes down to getting sites up, creating helpful content and getting traffic (building links, ads & doing deals).

It’s that simple.

And it’s time to finally embrace that simplicity, rather than rationalize otherwise or believe the “hype”, which is being propogated by people with nothing better to do than rotting away on forums all day.

This is one of the main reasons I decided to package Affiliate Genie as a public offering.

Not only is it brain-dead simple for in terms of creating clean, effective affiliate sites - but it’s got interaction built right in. This allows you to be transparent with your visitors, and your conversions will soar if people sense that your content – and other’s comments – are the real deal.

And yes, it does support basically all the bells/whistles of any other WYSIWYG editor, scripts, etc – but that isn’t the focus.

The focus is on just getting your sites up, running and marketed as fast as possible with good, genuine content.

And that, my friends, is what “works” in 2009/2010.

Whether you choose to believe that is up to you.

All I’m saying is that it wasn’t “tactics” that has provided myself and my wife an amazing lifestyle (we’ve been to every continent), multiple revenue properties, a nice spacious 6-bedroom house for ourselves and a newly-acquired 2002 Porsche 911 Turbo (which I bought in cash – and yes it’s as fast as hell).

No, that’s the result of doing the FUNDAMENTALS. Building sites, building traffic and genuinely helping my visitors.

Just something to consider…

-Chris

P.S. We are days away now from releasing Affiliate Genie. Right now I’m just finishing the salesletter and completing the accompanying training materials. (Interested in promoting it? Email me at chris@chrisrempel.com)

P.P.S. Here’s a pic of my new (ridiculous) porsche:

The previous owner spent a small fortune upgrading it professionally through GMG Racing, and now it produces about 610 horsepower. When the turbos spool up (usually they really hit anywhere after 3500 RPM), it feels like you’re getting shot out of a big cannon or something… it’s insane.

Scary, actually. I’ve driven Ferraris, Maseratis, a Porsche C4S and my previous car was a BMW M3 (which was a very fast car as well)… but none of them come close to this car. It’s a monster.

The racing suspension package makes it pretty low, though I’ve already scraped the front end a bit coming out of a parking lot exit ramp (doh!).

I’ll post more pictures in a future post.

Ever had one of those days where you so busy that you completely forgot about something ultra-important?

Like going to the airport in a rush – and forgetting your passport? Or maybe forgetting about an anniversary, etc?

I’m guessing you have…

Guess what?

I just had a big-time “Blonde Moment” (no offense, blondes…) this week. I completely forgot to make some CRUCIAL additions to the Authority Loophole user guide, simply because during a product launch, you’re simultaneously scrambling to do a thousand things at once…

…and sometimes seemingly “small” things get overlooked.

So it’s totally my fault – and I apologize for the confusion.

Here’s What Got Messed Up:

Authority Loophole actually operates in TWO MODES:

1) Completely White-Hat

2) Gray-Hat

It was Dave’s “job” (which he completed, and very well) to create the content for the gray hat usage of the software. And it was MY responsibility (which I FORGOT about entirely) to add in the sections about the White Hat mode.

So the user guide and training info you’ve received so far has only covered the gray-hat strategy.

Which – obviously – has caused a lot of confusion and even a bit of uproar.

Rightly so, since AL is marketed as being legit and ethical – which it is, along with a gray-hat option for users who don’t mind pushing the envelope…

—————————————————–

Here’s the “REAL” User Guide – The Way It Should Have Been the First Time:

AUTHORITY LOOPHOLE USER GUIDE

—————————————————–

In addition, Dave has also just created a video that covers the white-hat strategy in more detail. He didn’t have to do this (it was also my responsibility), but did so in the interest of time, and to cover my butt, because I am an idiot: Authority Loophole Best Practices

Once again – this was totally my fault, and something “small” that I had totally forgotten amidst the craziness of the launch. I’m very sorry about the confusion…

-Chris

P.S. No, this isn’t some ass-covering attempt, or some kind of “controversy” tactic.

In fact, for those who may be a bit suspicious about the legimitacy of my bad memory – here is the pre-launch “JV page” I’d personally sent to over 200+ affiliates and partners well over a week ago, which clearly states the 2 modes of operation of Authority Loophole…

http://chrisrempel.com/authority-jv.html

I have hundreds of people who can back that up.

The bottom-line is that I simply forgot about this, and it’s had some consequences which I am now attempting to confront and address.

Before I get into this, let me just state up front that it’s a loaded question.

The answer depends on a lot of things, most of which only you can answer (if this in fact applies to you)…

Yes – a lot of people in this industry (myself included) have “success stories” that involve years of struggle, poverty, and so on suddenly being obliterated with an alleged ”tsunami” of traffic of sales, and then building further and further on top of the initial momentum.

John Reese somehow got himself out of $100K worth of bad debt that was spent on “opportunities”, marketing courses and other related stuff – and of course now he’s known as the “Million-Dollar-Day Guy” and likely uses $100 bills for toilet paper.

Armand Morin started out with next to nothing in some crappy little apartment, and now runs a phenomenally succesful internet business that makes mine look like a lemonaid stand.

And apparently Jeff Walker (the product launch guy) also had his “back against the wall” before his first big breakthrough. And on and on it goes.

As for me, well, basically I just ran out of money and had to figure out a way to bring in more if my wife and I wanted to have more freedom, purchase real estate, etc. There was some pressure, for sure, but it wasn’t like I was going bankrupt or anything. I was just sick of not having options.

So what does this mean, then?

Well, I don’t think it means anything.

I don’t think that being “under pressure” is a requirement, or a prerequisite, to success at all. In fact, from what I’ve seen at this point from interacting with literally thousands of customers from this business (“TheLazyMarketer.com & Friends”) , it’s become very clear to me that situation really has nothing to do with it.

What matters is attitude and perseverance. And if you ask me, both the latter and the former are a lot easier come by when you’re not in “panic mode”, with your back up against the wall.

This isn’t a hard business.

Build a site that sells shit. Preferably the kind that people like buying. Get traffic. Make money, and then do it again. And again, and again – etc.

Yes, I’m simplifying it a bit for the sake of effect – but it’s definitely not rocket science.

What it takes is focused effort and logic.

And what’s obvious to me is that people who have previous business experience are – not surprisingly – the most likely to succeed. Becuase they treat this like a task, and they get the job done – or have someone else fill in the blanks on things that they themselves can’t do (like technical stuff).

I think that a lot of the marketers who’ve made it to celebrity status in our little “IM” world have done so as a result of the passion that comes with starting out with nothing, and making it big. They’ve likely all been a part of “IM” since their humble beginnings, and so it makes sense that they are vocal within it when business starts doing well.

So you can rest assured that for every one ”rags to riches” story out there, there’s probably TEN instances where someone with resources, business acumen and drive got online with a project and made it crank out some serious numbers.

But to put things in perspective, no matter what, the money goes to the entrepreneurs. Those who dream AND do.

Not the “opportunity seeker” crowd. (Those who dream, buy stuff, skim, complain, “almost give up”, dream again, buy again… etc.)

Therefore, to answer the initial question, this is what it comes down to…

If you’re in a hard spot right now – and if your NUMBER ONE goal is to generate cash however you can, this is what you need to consider (carefully) before buying, or “investing” anything right now into your internet marketing education:

1. You Need the TIME to Make This Work

I do pretty well at this stage folks, but to be honest – I’m still at the office every day, with hours that are not unlike a regular JOB. (Yes, we travel lots, and yes, we have much more freedom, but it still takes work to keep things growing, to make progress, etc).

So if you’re on the verge of bankruptcy… and you’ve got a fulltime job that at least keeps food on the table… and you’ve got kids and/or a spouse that require a lot of your time…

…then it’s time to get real.

Don’t buy stuff that you know you don’t have time to implement.

I know it’s a lot more exciting to dwell on things related to HOPE – but honestly speaking, the smarter thing is likely to focus on your current financial state – DEAL WITH IT HEAD ON – and then, once you’ve enacted a sensible and logical plan with the help of someone who knows what they’re doing, then you can move forward, taking steps to make time to learn the ropes of this business, and most importantly, work at it.

Okay, on to the next point…

2. To Build a Business in Addition to Working a Job, You’ll Need to Sacrifice Something

You know that little saying “do today what others won’t so tomorrow you can do what other’s can’t”. That’s completely true.

It can be hard at first, but there WILL be sacrifice on your part.

And in addition to making time, you also need to carefully monitor your capital when you start out. It’s much easier to get things going if you’re not “house poor”, proverbially or literally.

Get rid of stuff in your life that racks up pointless expenses, or needlessly occupies your time.

Forget about “ego” and what your peers think if you have to temporarily “lower” your standards of living. (Nobody really cares what you do anyway – as humans we’re all so damn preoccupied with what others think about us that it doesn’t really matter).

And furthermore - don’t be deceived – most people who live a so-called “lavish lifestyle” are in so much consumer debt it would make your head spin if you saw their real financial picture. So don’t fall for the trap. It’s all smoke and mirrors, and most of them cry themselves to sleep at night (or get divorced over the stress of it all).

If you can, try to live under your means while you’re building things up. If you stick with it, and if you play it smart, eventually you’ll be able to live like a rock star and still be way under your means.  

Sarah and I travel lots, and I have a nice little 2002 BMW M3 (bought used, in cash for a great price), I have a fairly nice office to work out of, and we have relative freedom to do whatever throughout the day. But the vast majority of our after-tax take goes into investment properties (real estate).

Yes, we could blow everything. I could lease a Lamborghini. We could live in a $1M home. We could buy tons of pointless “show off” crap for the sole purpose of making a statement (to people who really don’t care).

But soon enough you reach a point where your expenses match your income – and then you’re back on the treadmill again.

And for what?

I don’t know about you, but I’d far rather live under the radar for a while, avoid bad debt and liabilities like the plague, play it smart and end up with a business (and assets) that would allow for a lot of options over the long-term.

It doesn’t matter how much money you have, or how much you currently make – what matters is your mindset.

If you’re blowing your whole paycheck on a $40,000 annual salary – trust me – you’ll blow it just as easily if your business starts churning out $40K a month.

So take a close look at your track record, and ask yourself – “am I really cut out for running a business?”

If you’re only in this for the cash, or the “image” that you can pseudo-create with that cash – then I would say that you probably don’t have the right disposition to hunker down, treat this like a business and build long-term success. That’s because your business is going to need a lot of the cash that it generates at first.

Which is why if you’re “desperate for money” or intent on spending everything you make on yourself, then you’ll just end up starving your business to death, ending up right back where you started.

The people that succeed with IM are fascinated by the business model itself. As much as they love the lifestyle and rewards of a successful online portfolio – they’re equally in love with the process. Like I said, it’s the entrepreneurs who will make it big online.

That’s because sacrifice for “the cause” comes naturally to entrepreneurs. It’s not a constant struggle; it’s a default setting.

And finally…

3. Do You Finish What You Start?

When I first got into this business, I would deliberate and “plan” stuff endlessly. Everything had to be perfect, and leveraged for maximum results. In reality, all of this back-and-forth doddling was exactly the reason why I wasn’t seeing much in the way of results.

Because focused action = results. That formula will always work for you. Even if the “action” isn’t perfect, or taking advantage of every possible form of leverage, etc.

Everything that detracts from you taking action (such as endlessly “learning”, planning too much, researching too much, etc.) directly competes with your available time to do what is actually profitable.

So if you find that you constantly deliberate, over-think stuff, take a long time to make decisions, and in general have difficulty getting stuff done and completed – then you WILL struggle with this business.

But if you treat this like building a deck in your backyard, where you do the necessary research, obtain a deck building plan, get the supplies you need and then just get out there and DO it – you’ll see results.

Most people’s proverbial “deck projects” go something like this:

- See their neighbor’s deck, get really excited about it

- Go online and read up on deck building – even more excited now

- Get wrapped up in the whole world of “deck building”, buying lots of How-To guides, blueprints, etc.

- Eventually buy high-end deck building tools

- Become unsure about the deck, start to question themselves and start to deliberate

- Buy even more how-to guides and tools, to “reassure” themselves that the deck was a good idea

- Finally they start building the deck, but it’s hard work, so they give up after an hour

- Complain about decks, deck-building “gurus”, etc. to make themselves feel better

- See their neighbor’s porch swing, get really excited about it….

What’s the problem with this picture?

It’s insanity!

Just build the damn deck already! Struggle through it and get it done! Quit stalling, “learning”, deliberating, perfecting… and get out there and pound some nails.

But as ridiculous as this seems, it is a rampant pattern in the business world – particulary with newbies who are attempting their first self-employment project.

So if this is a pattern that seems consistent with your own track record, then you either need to make some serious mindset adjustments and dedicate yourself to action…

…or you need to realize that maybe your personality type is simply not cut out for this.

Especially if you’re doing it out of desperation.

Conclusion:

Should you be buying stuff if your “back is up against the wall” and it’s a last ditch effort prior to bankruptcy?

All I can say is that if you don’t have:

1. Time

2. The Ability to Sacrifice Activities/Expenses, and

3. An Action-Oriented Personality

Then you probably shouldn’t be spending any money right now on anything – since it’s just going to go to waste anyway. At least until you’re in a better position.

Now, please don’t take this article as being a “doomsday” prophecy if you happen to relate to one of the negative attributes I’d listed above.

The fact is, I think everyone deals with procrastination, image-dwelling, the desire to “dream” rather than act, etc.

I know I do – and I used to overthink things to death (I called it “planning”). Over time, things changed (and I changed my mindset, attitude, etc.) because it’s undeniable that action breeds results. And when you see results first hand, it becomes addictive. You get your research and “info” for a project as fast as possible and then focus on actually DOING it.

So wherever you’re at, you definitely can change your mindset, your attitude and so on so that you can be action-oriented.

But if you KNOW, deep-down, that right now you’re simply buying stuff in this industry on “hope”, or because it’s entertaining – then don’t waste your time, or your money.

If your TRUE intention isn’t to ACT, then don’t invest in yourself.

You’ll only end up disappointed, and in worse financial shape than you were previously.

Just some food for thought…

-Chris

Today’s message is a very, very important one. It’s something that most full-time marketers who make a great living intrinsically understand, while the scores of misguided beginners just don’t seem to “get”.

And I would like for the playing field to be at least somewhat leveled for those who read this blog post.

So let’s start off by identifying the dangers of mistaking hype for reality so as to prevent a chain reaction of both destruction and limitation that will plague your business right from the start – and all due to perceived, imaginary threats…

Dangerous Assumption #1: “Popular Beliefs Are Usually Right”

Millions of people have died senselessly – in this century alone - because enough people were led to believe a complete MYTH. Examples include the atrocities committed by the Nazi’s in WWII (believing that certain races were inferior), the widespread plague of AIDS victims in Africa (due to certain beliefs about how to rid one’s self of the disease), and so on.

The same ridiculous patterns of senseless, mass hysteria are clearly evident every day – all you have to do is turn on the news for a few minutes to have your fill of grossly-exaggerated (or outright “invented”) potential security threats, the “recession”, pending disasters, etc.

It’s endless, by necessity – because the underlying TRUTH is that “doom and gloom” is the media-at-large’s central offer.

It’s what they sell.

A Close Encounter With Mass Hysteria…

The latest media phenomenon was the “Swine Flu” epidemic. Or should I say Whine Flu. This is one example of how unbelievably irrational people can be – on a global scale – and it struck pretty close to home for Sarah and I as well…

We’d planned a trip to Mexico with some very good friends of ours, and we’d been looking forward to it for months. A friend of theirs has a really nice beach house near Guayabitos (north of Puerto Vallarta) that we’d be staying at, close to the surf, yet tucked away in a nice, friendly little Mexican village.

Sure enough, about a week before our departure from Canada, the “swine flu” outbreak occurred – becoming the next media darling in one fell swoop. And in a way, it was kind of nice, since the media finally shut up about the “recession” (maybe it died of swine flu as well?) 

Nevertheless, since it seemed every government was literally tripping over themselves to “react” to the coming pandemic, we kept a close eye on airline companies, quarantine procedures and travel restrictions that might affect our trip.

So we watched the news every day, scoured internet headlines and checked the WHO (World Health Organization) site daily, just to keep tabs on what was going on.

And it was a sickening experience (pun) – and a sobering lesson in just how damaging hype can truly become. Here are some highlights…

* The flu bug was (mistakenly) called “swine flu”, which instantly led numerous countries to literally BAN pork importation from all of North America, crippling an entire industry on a whim. And the geniuses over in Egypt’s government decided that they should slaughter 300,000 of their pigs because they might be bad. Even though EVERY credible source on the flu said that there was zero scientific connection between the influenza strain and pork.

* Several countries and HUNDREDS of airlines (Air Canada included) just outright stopped flying into Mexico. Anywhere in Mexico – not just Mex City. This was directly against the advice of the World Health Organization, which clearly stated and is still stating that travel restrictions are pointless and ineffective against the spread of the flu virus, which had already spread to other countries anyway.

* In Canada, the news hype was literally over-the-top to the point of comedy. In one case, the Vancouver news station was declaring that the swine flu cases had “doubled” in the last week, urging the TV audience to stay tuned for the full story. So we did, only to find out that it had “doubled” from 3 people, to 6. Even the “expert” doctor they’d interviewed was coyly addressing the situation with obvious contempt, saying that 6 people out of the 8,000,000 or so that live in BC – “doubled” or not – is about as worrisome as UFO abduction.

* Schools all across North America closed. People stopped going to their jobs. Stopped going OUTSIDE. Mask sales must’ve been off the charts…

* Amazingly, there were glaring discrepancies between the “victim” figures reported by the media, and the actual figures as recorded and confirmed by the World Health Organization. While talking heads were spouting lies about “hundreds being dead from swine flu…”, the WHO was reporting less than 20 deaths, worldwide – all but one occuring in Mexico City (and in one of the most impoverished districts, no less).

And that’s just the tip of the iceberg.

But what’s truly sad is that – just like the “recession” – once again….

The Compunding Effects of Media Hype Far Outweigh The Actual Damage From the “Disaster” Itself

As the picture shows above, what we’ve seen since we’ve arrived in Puerto Vallarta has been astonishing. With the thousands of cancelled/restricted flights, literally zero Cruise Ship landings and other travel hassles, since we’ve arrived and spent time in Puerto Vallarta, several popular surfing beach spots and other attractions, we’ve seen less than 50 other tourists (and we’ve been here for 2 weeks now).

Every restaurant is barren. Every tour operator is lucky to see one tour a week.

Almost every store we visit where Sarah or Kim (my friend’s wife) buy something, the vendor usually admits that it was the first sale that day. Or week. It’s crazy.

There’s businesses closing down, jobs being cut in droves and livelihoods drying up.

And of course, inevitably, now the media is saying that the swine flu is no different than the regular flu, etc.

But it’s too late. The damage is already done.

This is the power – the destructive power – of widespread hype. Of going with the crowd, and assuming that what’s popular is true.

It’s the Same in Internet Marketing…

This industry is particularly susceptible to hype, and mass “belief”, simply because much of the market is inexperienced, or at the beginning of the learning phase. It’s easy to get sucked into thinking that only ONE method works. Or that old methods are somehow less effective than “new” ones.

One month there will be a bunch of hype about CPA, and that it’s the future of IM.

Next month, there will be a bunch of hype about how important it is to build a list, and that everything else is just gravy.

And of course, the month after that, the emphasis will be on affiliate marketing. Or whatever.

And on and on it goes.

What you have to realize is that – just like media – everyone has an agenda. Their own.

Even me.

Even you.

Everyone.

But that’s not necessarily bad. That’s the way life is, anyway, whether we admit it or not. Everybody has an agenda – a plan. A way that they think works “best”. And reality is always a different picture, especially from the viewpoint of someone else.

So that brings me to the second point of this blog post…

Dangerous Assumption #2: “Other People’s Results Indicate Conclusive Truth”

This is something that a lot of people don’t want to hear, or consider – or want me to convey. But it’s true.

And it applies to both positive AND negative results.

In other words, just because someone succeeded with something – it doesn’t mean that you’ll succeed with that method. Often times, the success of a given strategy is actually reliant on a specific industry – or an authoritative writing style – that a total newbie won’t be able to emulate just by “doing the same thing”.

AND:

Just because someone FAILED with something – it doesn’t mean that you’ll fail with that, either.

That’s very important. Keep that in mind as you paruse the various marketing forums and become witness to one gripe story after the next about how some method doesn’t work, etc.

Something I’ve learned over the years is that when it comes to simple marketing strategies (SEO, PPC, Product Creation, Affiliate Marketing, Email Marketing, Sales Copy writing, etc.), there are usually three types of characters you’ll encounter who have something to say about them:

1. Someone who raves about them – because they have an agenda

2. Someone who complains that “it’s all a scam” – because they’re beginners and they didn’t have traffic, conversion or both

3. Someone who does these things, recognizes that they obviously work – and keeps on doing them. They’ll occasionally make comments on blogs, forums or directly to people in the industry.

The first 2 are very vocal – especially the beginners who (mistakenly) think that they’ve “tried” something, failed, and that their “results” should be taken as gospel truth. In reality, their results should be taken with a 900 lb grain of salt.

The 3rd type of marketer, above, is usually not very vocal simply because they don’t care, and because they’re too busy actually doing stuff to participate in forums, discussions, etc. It’s sort of like how fat people love talking about diets and obscure weight-loss methods, etc.

When in reality it’s the person who simply eats less and has an active lifestyle that stays in shape. No mystery there.

Guess what?

It’s the same with internet marketing.

The truth is that marketers who get results are the ones driving traffic to offers, building lists and building up their online assets. It’s pretty straight-forward, and it’s all in front of you. Just look at your competitors. The top-dogs in your markets of interest. Not too difficult to see what works.

And, obviously, the marketers who DON’T get results simply aren’t doing those things. They’re the type that are continually looking for “fast money”, shortcuts and the easiest way possible to make money.

It will come with time, but to accurately determine TRUTH in this industry, you’ve got to do two things:

1. Ignore information from marketers that are in line with an agenda (ie. pre-launch “content”)

2. Ignore the “Can’t-Do-Its”, naysayers and whiners in general, because 99% of the time their results are anything but accurate or conclusive.

As you spend time in this industry, you’ll begin to see this.

And you’ll also, eventually, begin to meet people who genuinely make a fortune on the net – people who do simple things, over and over again.

People who actually produce – rather than consume and complain.

So don’t be a sucker for hype, and don’t assume that popular notions, “beliefs” or the alleged results of vested or inexperienced marketers are a basis for truth.

Instead - LEAVE the forums. Close your emails. Ignore other marketers for a few minutes – and just go to Google and actually start researching your markets yourself.

Check out product networks like Clickbank, CJ, LinkShare and others – see what’s hot. See how other affiliates are promoting them.

It’s not hard.

And THAT is conclusive.

THAT is what is working.

Don’t fall victim to invented threats, or perceived “warnings” about a certain strategy or method. Chances are – it’s hype.

Similarly, don’t get suckered into believing that ONLY _______ actually works. Once again, it’s hype.

A lot of people silently and unknowingly sabotage their business, their own livelihood, because they take everything they see in the marketing industry as gospel truth.

Instead, go with what you can actually see yourself. Do your research, watch your competitors and see what the ACTIVE marketers are actually doing.

Let me assure you – the view from “Mexico” (proverbial and literal) is a lot different than how the media paints it…

Buenos Tardes

-Chris

P.S. Here’s some pics from Mexico, as well as some pictures from Las Vegas that you might enjoy. See the previous blog post if the Ferrari pictures seem out of context…

P.P.S Yes, the masks are a joke…

My wife Sarah sun-tanning on the beach, safely

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Me and my friend Cam (left) on our beach house patio

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Me and our rented Ferrari F430. In red rock canyon, just outside of Vegas

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Cruising around… is a lot more fun OUT of town than in it…

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Two beauties in one picture…

But first I’m going to explain WHY this formula is so effective… 

They say the failure rate for small business startups is 5 out of 6.

For affiliates and people who want to “make money” online – I’d say it’s closer to 98 out of 100.

And not because it’s too difficult, or too technical, or because some strategy or tactic doesn’t “work”.

The truth is that most people fail because of one or all of the following:

1. Fundamental issues (marketing something that doesn’t sell)

2. Commitment issues (not following through, not giving it an honest shot, expecting overnight success)

3. Structural issues (fractured attempts, unfinished projects, no proper systems in place, etc)

4. Cash-flow issues (not re-investing some profits into the business to perpetuate growth)

In fact, of all the emails I’ve received from people who are struggling, who just can’t seem to make it work – wanna know what’s almost always the common factor?

They have virtually ZERO web-presence!

And many of them – a shocking number, actually - don’t even have a website!

In fact, I received an email a few months ago from a guy that had spent over $60,000 in courses, seminars, “systems” and God-knows what else, and these were literally his exact words:

“…Because nothing i have done or spent so far has helped me get up [my] first complete site….”

As you can imagine, my reaction was bordering on shock and utter disbelief. Aside from the fact that you can outright BUY established sites already pulling down thousands of dollars a month for $60K on places like SitePoint.com – what really got me was the fact that this guy was literally expecting success to just “manifest” itself, somehow, by maxing out his credit limit on one training course after the next.

This was a part of my response to him:

“…If you’re at a point where you’ve invested $60,000 in “learning” and you don’t even have a SITE up and running – then I really think you should completely stop spending money and actually USE the training you’ve been given.
 
You can learn and “discover” all the secrets in the world.
 
But ultimately – it’s still up to YOU to actually put that into action.
 
Please do NOT buy anything from me, or anyone else, until you’ve come to terms with the reality of your situation (ie. spending vs. action) and establish a clear plan that you actually carry through on.
 
I mean this sincerely, and with entirely good intentions.
 
I’m sorry if I come across a bit harsh, but this is a serious issue. Blowing $60K on an “education” without a single thing to show for it points to some underlying issues. For one thing – nobody “made” you do that. That was your choice, entirely.
 
Second – unless you miraculously managed to buy the worst possible information every time, for $60K worth of marketing materials, there’s gotta be SOMETHING of actionable value there. Have you ever once followed through on anything that you learned from doing so?
 
Remember that our roles as teachers is to provide actionable content. I don’t know about other people – but I make damn sure everything I sell is actionable on its own.
 
And likewise, YOUR role as the customer is to take that content and put it into action so that you benefit from it.
 
Here’s a page that you might benefit from reading:
 
http://www.warriorforum.com/main-internet-marketing-discussion-forum/36335-i-know-they-took-your-money-but-lets-talk-about-your-role.html
 
Thanks
 
-Chris”

Now – would you like to know the real reason why (in my opinion) the $60K guy and so many other “marketers” just jump from one course to the next, without actually DOING a damn thing?

It’s simple:

1. They have no desire to build a business or serve customers – they only want MONEY.

2. They had no real intention of trying, because they prefer the “excitement” of new discovery to the results of a certain four-letter word called…

WORK

Ah yes. It’s an ironic reality for the majority of opportunity-seekers.

Their very motivation is what kills their chance of success.

While actual marketers are out there quickly building sites, making offers, driving traffic and providing VALUE, people who just want “the money” will almost indefinitely move from one thing to the next, ever-searching for a “system” that does everything for them.

So they can get money.

They buy into all the hype because it’s entertaining and it’s easier than WORK.

Whereas real marketers take all the “hype” at face value and invest in what they plan on using in accordance with what they’re already doing, or planning to actually do.

(Are you starting to see a “secret pattern” emerging here?)

And guess what – it practically doesn’t matter what you do. Every viable “strategy” and “tactic” works.

Continuity works.

Selling infoproducts works.

Selling stuff on Ebay works.

The conduit method works. 

List-building works.

CPA offers work.

Hell – even making adsense sites works great (in fact I just got off the phone with a guy who makes a huge six-figure income with Adsense literally 5 minutes before writing this).

Virtually ANYTHING works…

…if YOU put in the work!

And with that said, as promised – here’s a simple formula that won’t cost you $60,000 to “learn”, that works every time and always will:

A Simple Formula For Nearly-Instant Results

Here it is, plain and simple…

You’re going to choose an ultra simple business model (I’ve listed a detailed example below) and you’re going to LAUNCH it in 7 days.

Not have a “plan” drafted in 7 days.

Not buy some jackasses course about the strategy.

Not get all excited about it and blab your virtual mouth off about it on marketing forums….

You’re going to actually DO it.

And this method ONLY works if you start, build, complete and actually LAUNCH it within 7 days or less, because that deadline ensures simplicity, feasibility and a realistic plan of action that won’t continually “grow” 100 times larger than the initial idea (which has the exact same net result as procrastination – regardless of the intention)…

So we’re clear?

Good.

Now let’s look at a perfect example of a super-simple business model that works, has always worked, and always will work – that you can start and finish in 7 days or less…

1. Find a good product in a niche that’s opt-in list friendly. Examples include anything related to music, investing, health/fitness, hobbies, sports, and so on. In general, if the vendors in the market are list-building, there’s a good reason why. Now go scour Clickbank, CJ.com, AzoogleAds, ShareASale.com and others and make a list of all the niches where the vendors have an opt-in form.

You will become an affiliate for this product, and the following steps will explain how you promote it.

Hint: There’s hundreds, if not thousands.

2. Go buy a PLR ebook or report related to that topic. Just google “niche + plr” or whatever and in many cases you’ll be able to find great reports that you can totally re-brand, re-name and all that stuff for as little as $5 or even less. Some examples of sites that sell PLR like this are Master-Resale-Rights and PLR Store.

Modify that PLR report so that it’s easy to read, and have it recommend your chosen product (use an authoritative, conversational pre-sell at the beginning, end and perhaps in one or two spots within the report).

3. Buy a Domain Name and Set Up an Offer For a 7-Day Mini-Course And the PLR Report. “Sell” the report with a brief pitch, and then set up your Aweber form (or whatever autoresponder you use) to add the lead to your opt-in list.

Hint: If you’d like thousands of ideas of what you can do and model after, just Google “7 day mini course” and you’ll have about a year’s worth of things to essentially copy ahead of you…

4. Create 7 Follow-Up Messages, Staggering Their Delivery a Day Apart. These will be 7 useful articles that focus on the selling points that your target affiliate offer focuses on as well. Ideally, the product you’re promoting should be a shortcut, or some kind of automation, so that your quality tutorial content acts as an amazing pre-sell for your subscribers to genuinely save time, automate, etc. with the actual offer.

As an example, a 7-day mini-course on learning guitar could include the basics of how to read tabs, tuning tips and so on, all the while naturally recommending your primary offer – whatever that may be (perhaps a guitar membership site or continuity program, etc.)

If you’re stuck, just join a bunch of related 7-day courses and write about the same topics. Easy.

Hell, some of the good affiliate programs literally give away awesome content that you can use for your mini-course!

5. Go to EzineArticles.com, YouTube.com, ExpertVillage.com and Other Reprintable Content Sources and Find 50 Quality Articles/Videos. Boom. You now have quality followup autoresponder content for an entire YEAR of easily & effortlessly recycling traffic by staggering the messages 7 days apart.

Host the reprinted article or embedded video on a dedicated page of YOUR site, and place a brief recommendation for the offer (or other methods of monetization) at the top and bottom of the content.

Keep the actual emails that point to those pages brief, and link to the main offer as well as a secondary link.

Here’s an example:

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Subject: GuitarMaster Issue #34 – Learn This Hot Blues Riff in 3 Minutes Flat…

Hi {!name},

This is Joe from GuitarMaster.

Today’s guest contributor is Fred Flinstone, a world-renowned blues guitarist who [blah blah blah...]

Check out this tutorial that will have you playing one of his hottest riffs in less than 3 minutes – even for beginners:

–> Yoursite.com/issue37.html

Enjoy!

-Joe

P.S. If you’re serious about learning guitar – and actually sounding hot – then you need to learn from the best. I still haven’t found a better resource than [Whatever Course] at YourAffLink.com

Check ‘em out…

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See how easy this is?

You don’t even need to outsource articles – just use pre-existing content!

The whole idea is to recycle your traffic and send more and more prospects to the offer over time.

In addition to these consistent followups, you can also throw in straight pre-sells that only mention the offer. Or perhaps other offers with different angles.

Now you’ve got a system in place for automatically multiplying the value of your traffic through the roof.

Which brings us to the next and final step…

6. Get Traffic. Add articles to your site, submit articles to other sites for traffic, optimize and get organic traffic, build a dedicated landing page and carefully run PPC tests for relevant keywords, use forum signature links and participate in forums, cite your URL as a relevant source on Yahoo Answers, exchange content/promos with other webmasters, and once you’ve got a bit of a list going – then start doing cross-promos to build your list that much faster.

You know the drill – it’s just traffic building 101.

Even if you just do the free strategies (articles, forums, eventual organic long-tail, etc.), you’ll still get traffic and you’ll still get subscribers if your offer matches what they want.

You can EASILY do all this in 7 days or less. If you can’t, then this is seriously not the business for you. Hell, you can even outsource this entire process for a couple hundred bucks (and if you do, then why not just send your freelancers to this blog post for pre-written instructions?)

Even if your site gets just a few visitors a day and your list builds by a few subscribers a day, if you’re promoting a hot offer and genuinely giving your subscribers something interesting – you WILL see sales.

And over time, your list (and compounding recycled traffic) will grow, along with your sales. Not to mention – you’ll be able to broadcast to your subscribers any time you want. So if it went well and you decide to scale up – great! You’ve already got an email list to work with – and that’s a key factor in building an authority blog, forums, communities, natural links, etc.

It’s also very helpful if you decide to launch your own product in the market at some point.

So this is just a 7-day strategy, from start to finish – including the traffic building elements. You could set up your PLR report, your opt-in offer and ALL your autoresponder content/followups in a day or two, max. (And no, you don’t have to go and find exactly 50 content pieces for followups. You could even just find 10 for starters and then add to it if the campaign was performing).

And the remaining 5 or 6 days you spend on the traffic & external content elements. Articles for the site. Articles for submission to other sites. Directory submissions, forum traffic, yahoo answers, relevant blog comments, PPC tests, developing useful software (see conduit.com) and distributing it, and so on.

It isn’t hard and it’s completely systematic.

If you’re just starting out (or if you have nothing to show for your efforts thus far), then even if you did this just 3 times a month, you’d be on your way to seeing consistent results very quickly.

Once you learn how to “pre-sell” effectively (and it simply comes with practice), then each of these sites can easily earn you hundreds of dollars a month, or perhaps even more. In fact, I have sites like this that I haven’t promoted or even thought about it YEARS – and they still generate consistent sales every month. And I’m talking about sites that are like TWO pages total, almost zero search engine visibility…

Obviously, in time you’ll have some winners that you can scale up.

But even if all you do is just duplicate this process in as many viable niches as you can find, you’d be earning a 6-figure income pretty damn quick – and you’d have an email list in each of those markets as well.

So really, folks – there’s no excuse.

That’s as simple as it gets and it will ALWAYS work.

Question is…

Will you?

-Chris

P.S. And if you’re interested in gaining access to my advanced list-building methods, check out the Rapid List Profit Formula

I just finished doing my tax return for 2007 (for us Canadians, the dreaded due date is the 30th of April, not the 15th).

I will be sending the Government a check that – aside from basically depleting the majority of my savings – would’ve been enough to buy a very, VERY nice car.

(We’re talking the kind of car that can go 0-60 in under 4 seconds)

Had I simply taken the time to get incorporated and structure things differently prior to leaving on my worldwide adventure travelling (which made up most of 2007), I would be sending them a MUCH smaller check. One that could only equate to being a “loss” of something like an economy sedan. Which wouldn’t be all that bad

I say this in a light-hearted tone, but really, all I can say is that I count myself tremendously lucky and perhaps even blessed that I’m in a position where I actually have the funds to absorb a major hit like this. And it’s not like it “came out of nowhere” or anything – but I trust many of you can relate to the “surprise” of your first tax bill once you start making real money as a sole proprietor.

Yes, I’ve since set up a corporation and all that jazz – but it’s “a day late and [almost] a buck short…”

The moral of the story:

Taking a few days to talk to some professionals (attorney, accountant) about setting up an optimized business structure could be worth literally “months” of extra revenue for you come tax time.

Don’t procrastinate on this.

You’re gonna get taxed regardless, but you might as well review your legal options for setting up the right kind of corporation, tax shelters and other strategies for keeping more of what you make.

It really adds up folks – in BOTH directions!

Take care,

-Chris

P.S. Well, if nothing else, this at least gives me the mammoth-scale butt-kicking I was needing to get some more products out this year – so watch for some up-and-coming launches…

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This short outburst has been brought to you by a story I recently stumbled across on a marketing forum:

Some guy was devastated because he had written and submitted something like 900 articles to several directories in hopes of cashing in on the “fortunes” that can be had with bum marketing (pre-selling products and recommending them in your author bio, with a link).

So far, he’s made $200…

Now – maybe I’m thinking a little “short term” here, but you’d think that possibly – just maybe – after the first, say, THREE HUNDRED submissions and not seeing any good results, you’d chalk it up to experience and figure out what you’re doing wrong, or quit while you’re “ahead”…

Heck – if my first THREE article submissions didn’t bring in at least some kind of measurable responses (opt-ins, traffic, sales, etc.), I’d be concerned.

But I don’t mean to rag on him. There’s probably a number of factors at work here, inexperience and bad advice being among the chief culprits. I won’t even begin to address how ridiculous it is to invest that kind of time into “bum marketing”, where you’re building ZERO momentum, ZERO assets, etc.

The sad truth, however, is that I think the real reason that guy (and others like him) will blindly work on a proven dud for months on end is because they’re afraid of doing something that isn’t “comfortable”.

It takes mental effort and courage to take a step into the unknown, or take a small risk, or apply ourselves to learn & master something we don’t know.

In this example – things like niche selection, product selection, keyword research, SEO education, pre-selling & the fundamental technical understanding of building a simple website could’ve been the difference between making REAL money…

…or $200.

Not to mention, the ability to recognize a dud in terms of results after an initial surge of traffic.

It also takes the resolve to TRY something – even if it might fail, or fall short of our expectations initially. So many people have products, sites and projects that they’ve been working on for months and even years – where realistically, from an outsider’s perspective it could launch TOMORROW.

But no - there’s just “one more thing” that needs to get done. One more idea implemented. It’s not perfect yet.

Let me share something with you…

That’s exactly what I did for two years, and I lived in POVERTY.

Because of FEAR.

* Fear of what others might think.

* Fear of what might happen – or, more accurately – fear of what might NOT happen.

* Fear of putting myself “out there”

* Fear of doing something that might actually work, as opposed to doing things where I could internally predict the results (and the results sucked)

The sad truth – then – was that I knew all along what needed to happen. What needed to be done, and what I needed to learn in order to get it done.

But I didn’t do those things because it was subliminally more “comfortable” (somehow) just to do the same things I was already doing, externally hoping for a different result…

…while internally knowing damn well that nothing was going to change.

Can you identify with this?

Is THIS the real reason why you haven’t “taken action”?

Don’t let it be any longer.

Stop holding yourself back, and do whatever is necessary to do things that are proven to work. It’s seriously NOT that hard!

Read my post on “Affiliate Marketing Success – It Ain’t Rocket Science” for a quick action plan for 2008 if you’re stuck on where to start with proven, simple actions.

I’m going to end off with a very comforting wake-up call for many of us. It’s one that, even now, I have to remind myself of at least on a weekly basis.

Here it is:

OTHER PEOPLE DON’T GIVE A CRAP WHAT YOU DO, DON’T DO, ACHIEVE, DON’T ACHIEVE, BECOME, DON’T BECOME  – OR ANYTHING!

Think about it – think about how you actually view others…

Let’s say you see some guy on the bus who trips and drops his stuff all over the floor. At this point, he’s probably hating his life, thinking that everyone else views him as a total klutz, loser, etc.

In that situation – think about your perception of the “victim”. Visualize yourself right there.

You don’t care in the slightest. Some guy dropped his stuff. Big deal. Maybe you thought about how you’re glad it wasn’t you who dropped stuff.

But then, 6 seconds later, it’s the furthest thing from your mind. You don’t care.

IT’S THE SAME THING WITH “FAILURES”.

Unless you go down in flames in your niche because you scammed a bunch of people or otherwise actually made enemies in some capacity – absolutely NOBODY will give a second thought to a project that “didn’t quite make it”, or “fell a bit short”…

Isn’t that nice to know?

The only one who’s going to “care” – is you.

And know this – it doesn’t take long until your projects stop “failing”. Soon enough, the more you actually TRY and friggin’ DO SOMETHING – the more successes you’ll have.

At this point, you let the winners ride and go with them, leaving the duds where they belong – out of your schedule. The winners will make up for your “losers” by at least 10 times or more. It is WELL worth your time to keep trying new markets, new offers, etc. until something hits.

View your online activities like a contractor would – you have no time for emotional connection, “fear”, mental blockage, etc. Just get the damn thing going, fix things that don’t work, and get it done fast.

You literally, in every possible way, have nothing to lose by actually giving this a fair shot.

Not just a “comfortable” one…

-Chris

I won’t get into figures and “lifestyle” comments, which are usually a little cheesy, but let’s just say that it’s taken some real adjusting and discipline to handle the amount of “influx” that’s been happening, and on a consistently increasing basis.

At 23, I earn a passive (and growing) six-figure income from affiliate marketing, and I do it while travelling the world with my wife.

I’m not being braggy or arrogant, though. I fully realize that shit can, and does hit the fan once in a while. Even the “top dogs” can face-plant every now and then.

And I’m not “above” starting over if need be – but what I can say, with confidence, is that even if that happens – what I’ve learned over the past 9 months will always empower me with the ability to create a truly amazing amount of passive profit from the internet marketplace – in any economic state, and regardless of “trends”. What a crazy thing…

And in this case, it actually makes sense to start with the last word in the phrase.

1. BUY

You want one kind of visitor in this business – a buyer.

As nice as it might be to have a “high-traffic site” with some crazy traffic graphs in Google Analytics – at the end of the day, who really gives a flying crap unless they made you money?

I don’t know about you, but I’m not in this business for the charity. I donate my own money as appropriate – but my websites sure as hell better be profitable!

And so I target buyers.

People with credit card in hand, looking for the order form – NOT just “information”.

In terms of building affiliate sites, this means that I focus on product-related keywords and keyphrases. People searching for products do so to research and “make sure” about a purchase decision, in most cases. And some are literally searching for the order form.

A small percentage do so for other “non-buying” reasons, but the majority are either on the verge of buying and in need of a little “push” – or they’re simply looking for the place to insert their CC number because of previous research.

Why it’s not rocket science:

Just build a site that includes info-pages and/or reviews for the popular products in your target niche and make it VERY EASY for the visitor to get to the vendor’s site…

…through your aff. link, of course!

How hard is that???

2. LOTS OF PEOPLE

For the longest time, I truly believed that the only “chance” I had to make a good online income is if I could dominate some sort of un-tapped niche.

Finding a “gold mine” niche that had no competitors.

What a load of crap!

You can make more money on page 30 of Google’s results in a high-demand niche than you can by “dominating” some piddly little untapped micro-niche.

It’s true.

By selling or promoting what millions of people buy, that means that you’re casting your “fishing net” into a lake that’s absolutely TEEMING with fish!

Who cares if you’re only collecting a fraction of the fish that your competition does – there’s plenty to go around.

And if you target the “buyer profile” keywords, than the competition factor is far less of a barrier than you might think, anyway.

I have sites in ultra-competitive niches getting hundreds of visitors a day that are barely even visible in the SE’s – except for a multitude of long-tail & product keywords.

And man, do they pull it down!

So forget what you’ve heard about ‘niche domination’.

Instead, consider the reality of just how possible it is to simply ENTER a massive niche, harnessing the easy traffic due to the sheer demand that exists on the long-tail, the mid-tail, the “product-tail” the “misspelled, unique & crazy keywords”-tail and all the rest of it.

Go after the buyers in ultra-competitive, high-demand markets and just watch what happens when you start building backlinks

3. SELL

I see SO many sites and blogs that could make a KILLING if they would simply place their affiliate promotions more visibly.

But instead, they “hide” all their links at the bottom of their articles.

Or they just get lazy, and put up a banner somewhere – or otherwise “promote” from some dark corner of their site, as if they think that their visitors might get offended if they “over-promote”.

What a sad loss for them.

I jam my promos right in my visitor’s faces. Front and center.

The first thing they see when *ANY* of my site’s pages load is a damn good reason to go and buy something that, in most cases, is what they’re already looking for.

This way, I’ve seen even my “very low” traffic sites make several sales a week – a result of visitor targeting AND effective visitor funneling.

And the profits will explode as your traffic levels increase over time from organic listings.

But you can expect mediocre profits at best if you’re afraid of SELLING.

Try and prove me wrong on this one, and I can practically assure you that you’ll be pleasantly surprised in the process

4. JUST

You know, it used to take me MONTHS to roll out a simple 20-page site.

That’s because I would over-think, over-plan, over-strategize and “perfect” things to DEATH.

I’d have 52 autoresponders lined up, some crazy user-based viral marketing campaigns lined up, and God knows what else.

And in the end – those few alleged “masterpieces” ended up being my worst performers.

Ironically, one of my most profitable sites is absolutely the ugliest, most un-planned DISASTER ever. It sucks. I don’t even show it to other marketers, more out of embarrassment than “niche protection”.

But it’s a classic SEO-friendly, HTML site with targeted title tags, H1 tags and unique content, it sticks the offer right in the visitor’s faces, and it has more than 10,000 backlinks.

(It’s not in the marketing niche, by the way – none of these types of sites are)

So stop planning things to death.

And no, you don’t have to build a list in every niche, and you don’t have to orchestrate some master-plan to conquer your niche in 15 days with the world’s best marketing plan like your favorite Guru.

Screw it.

Just tap into the existing “buyer traffic” and make some easy commissions.

And then do it again and again.

Then – use those profits to start developing your own products, authority sites, etc. so that you can use this kind of “leech” strategy to fund the development of a business with a rock-solid foundation in a matter of a year or so.

All the while pulling down a full-time income, if you take it seriously enough.

And that’s all there is to it.

Like I said – it ain’t rocket science

————————————————–

I’d love to hear some of your experiences if you can relate to the simplicity and POWER of this “discovery”.

Many of you might remember the first part of Allen Says’ ebook (Private Posts vol. 1) where Allen talks about the ideal product types – and warns that many are selling the “wrong things”.

I can say with total confidence – that’s the difference between making a killing, or just scraping by.

If you’re struggling to get by – or if you’re making most of your money from the WSO forum or something similar on a temperamental basis (and be honest with yourself) – then seriously – you OWE it to yourself to try this.

Enter into an actual, high-demand niche with millions of buyers.

Anti-adware, acne removal, weight-loss pills, and so on are a few examples of HUNDREDS of other niches that fit the bill.

Set up a simple site that reviews each major product, with maybe a few articles, etc. Put your affiliate promos in the top-fold of the page, FRONT AND CENTER.

Optimize your pages for SEO, targeting the “buyer keywords”.

And then build as many backlinks as possible – Google “how to get backlinks” to find out more about that.

Work hard, and monitor your stats closely to see what happens when your site gets indexed and your rankings start to climb.

When the sales start to trickle in, reinvest all your profits to strengthen your rankings, increase backlinks, etc. until you’ve got some serious SE presence.

The traffic will be roaring in a few months – and so will the sales, if you’re in a niche full of buyers.

Then – do it again, and again, and again, and again…

It could change your life.

And it’s not rocket-science.

-Chris