I have made a few observations about making money online recently that I would like to share. If you are trying to make some cash online, and have had issues getting something to work, I've determined a couple of "roadblocks" that you will likely encounter along your path to success;
1. Not having technical know-how to design and develop necessary sales funnels, websites, landing pages, email marketing systems, or other mediums of visitor engagement online that could result in conversions (sales, opt-ins, other). Lacking this skill set will mean you'll have to take the time and effort to procure it yourself through research and deep trial-and-error, or that you'll have to hire a professional to take care of this area of your digital venture for you in return for either direct compensation or some form of profit sharing arrangement for when you begin generating revenue.
2. Not catching trends. This one is huge. The massive figures out there like Grant Cardone, Tai Lopez, Jon Penberthy (all of which I've spoken with before) made their millions because they innovated their spaces. Tai Lopez beat everybody else to the curve with the educational, digital product course concept. Grant Cardone revolutionized the sales industry with his similar "Cardone University" in-depth sale closing course. Jon Penberthy was a YouTube magnate who acted as an affiliate marketing for a large variety of "make money online" related products. But he was also among the first people to start such affiliate accounts, and figure out all of the search engine/traffic algorithms and top the charts, making him his first million by age 21.
3. Not acting quick enough. Most digital entrepreneurs have great, viable concepts; however those of which don't immediately spring on those opportunities at first site will fall prey to an industry where somebody else will. Swift, decisive action and expedient but thorough planning is absolutely crucial. This also applies highly to the previous step, in the sense that if you don't spring on popular trends making waves in your niche you'll miss them entirely or be dominated by somebody else who monopolized it by then.
4. Not sticking with it. I know for a fact that you won't get this whole internet marketing gig perfectly the first go-around. You'll buy course after course, training ebook after webinar after consultations and so-forth and so-on. But the people that make it massive in this industry are those who strive on long enough to eventually dominate the niche filled with the others who did not do so themselves.
5. Not having a mentor-ship figure. I started internet marketing when I was just 12 years old. For those of you who do not know this, I'm currently only 16 years old. But I would have already have monumentally more success at even earlier ages if I had gone out and found a mentor. I totally missed the mark in this regard; thinking I could master everything myself with long hours and sleepless nights. However, here's the reality; there's likely to always be somebody ahead of the curve, when you're just hitting it; and if you can leverage the knowledge of mentors and others that have superior experience in your field, then you'll skyrocket yourself around critical mistakes that otherwise could have potentially knocked you out of the game entirely.
6. Not knowing your target market, and nailing a specific niche down. This was (personally) a big mistake that I've made previously. I figured; "Well, I will obviously make more sales if I'm doing websites for everybody, right?!?" --- No. Not at all. By lacking proper targeting of my "Consumer Avatar" (also known commonly as Buyer Profiles), I wasn't able to properly nail down my warm leads and close them effectively, and all of my marketing campaigns in my early stages were far too broad and wouldn't convert at all. Be sure to target your ideal customer, and translate that same practice into the development and infrastructure of your ad campaigns.
7. Not having a repeatable, solid sales cycle process. As a digital entrepreneur or any other type of business owner or operator, you will ALWAYS be struggling to keep the sales coming through the door (or, in this case, website!) if you don't have a strategy to gain a sale that can be repeated with no necessary major modifications each time. Be sure to invest a large portion of your time into developing a sound, RELIABLE process of gaining new clientele. When you nail this, you'll feel an overwhelming sense of joy and freedom from financial worry both in business, and in life all around in general.
8. Not having a scale-able business model. This one is huge. Even if your sales process is solid like mentioned in the step prior, you'll never grow as a business financially unless you have a plan or business model that supports rapid growth potential. I always make sure to highlight each and every step of the sales cycle for my digital agencies, and find areas that can be multiplied or enhanced to create more success for my business in the form of better deal flow. Focus a majority of your time on the activities that work, doubling down on them, while minimally operating the tasks that don't produce as well.
9. Not having a team, or knowledge of task delegation. This is crucial. If you don't have the know-how to create, manage, and delegate tasks to a team for the different sectors of your business, you'll quickly swamp yourself when attempting to grow or scale up. You won't be able to manage all of the work load you're taking on, forcing yourself to neglect your sales process, thus choking out your deal flow and revenue as a whole, and strangling your business to bankruptcy in the process. Be sure to research methods of obtaining certified, dependable individuals to establish as your team members that will support such growth movements in your ventures. As for task delegation, you need to find the balance point between micro-management, and no oversight at all. Keep a close eye on your employees/associates/partners, but never make them feel like your a shoulder-mounted camera that doesn't trust their efficiency.
10. Not having a coach-able, networking mindset. You need to get out into the depths of your space, and connect with individuals that clearly have the processes of operating a business venture in your industry down better than you may understand yourself. Create a Facebook group like I have, or join another that holds intelligent, skilled individuals that can further your success. Sometimes, all it takes is the right partnership to nail down contracts that will triple your deal flow as a result; so go out, and find them! Partners also may hold information regarding better lead generation strategies than your own from their past experience, they may know other people that could become excellent team members that you otherwise would have never connected with, and may have powerful insight as to the next steps you should take within your business. Don't underestimate the strength you can gain from leveraging the strength of others in mutually-beneficial partnership.
I hope that this has provided some valuable insights into your business processes, and that it may allow you more success with the effort you are pouring into becoming a successful internet marketer, or digital business owner! And if you're new to all of this then I envy the fact that you saw these critical thought-points before making mistakes not knowing them!
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Cheers, and keep up the hustle!