How long is it taking you to get your internet marketing business off the ground?

3 months?

3 years?

More?

Odd, then, that so many "systems" promise us riches after just a few weeks of following "easy step-by-step instructions".

My introduction to IM was a LONG time ago - longer than I care to admit, because it took me YEARS before I settled down to set up a proper business.

But it wasn't for lack of first-class advice from a proven master: I went to conference in the UK, presented by the legendary Corey Rudl. Many of you won't have heard of him because, sadly, he died in a racing car accident in 2005. Google his name, and find out more.

However, great though he was as a marketer, and first-rate though his internet marketing guidance was - he didn't set me on the road to riches in the way I expected.

Corey was no different from other IM guru's then or now in that he (and they - well, some of them anyway) did his best to provide excellent internet marketing advice and guidance.

The problem for so many people trying to make a go of internet marketing, is that the IM gurus are working very hard to solve the WRONG PROBLEM!

The problems they try to help us with are:

• Finding a profitable niche
• Getting more traffic to our site
• Improving conversions
• Figuring out how to use cPanel
• Using the right plugins for our blog
• ... and thousands of other details

But think about it: if it is taking us YEARS to get our business off the ground, is that because we can't use FTP or because we don't know how to convert traffic?

Obviously - NO!

So what IS the problem?

Firstly - you need to look at it from a much higher level than the sorts of issues which most IM gurus talk about. It's a matter of PERSPECTIVE.

Secondly - as with all such problems, there is no single issue, but to figure out what the problem is for YOU - again, you need to have the right PERSPECTIVE.

What I mean by PERSPECTIVE is some "model" of the process of setting up an online business. This is what I use as the basis of my low-cost mentoring program. I call it the Internet Professionals Master Agenda

• Stage 1: Asserting
  Getting rid of distractions and asserting your OWN agenda
• Stage 2: Visioning
  Stating what it is you want to achieve from your online business
• Stage 3: Understanding
  Learning what you need to know about the world IM in order to be able to do the next stage
• Stage 4: Choosing & Defining
  Picking your Business Model and Operating Model, and fully Defining your business, keeping in mind your Vision
• Stage 5: Planning
  Working out and scheduling everything that needs to be done to launch your business
• Stage 6: Implementing
  Carrying out your Plan and Launching your business
• Stage 7: Operating
  Running your business

Of course, all the other issues I mentioned above (finding a niche, getting traffic etc.) are critically important - but with the above Master Agenda, we can put them into context. For example, we know:

• WHEN to even think about each of them
• WHEN to do anything about them - if ever
• WHO should do something about them (based on our Operating Model)
• etc.

What I do with the Master Agenda and the mentoring program around it is provide the sort of help that I know would have signficantly shortened the time it took me to get off the ground in the online world.

When you sign up, the first thing you'll get is a detailed analysis - by me - of your current situation using the Master Agenda framework. This has proved to be hugely effective for my current mentees.

Try it out!

The point of the Assert stage is to regain control of time and money.

What we focussed on in particular was gaining control of your inbox, since that can be the starting point of so much wasted time. It's not not just the time spent processing emails, but - more importantly - it's the non-relevant and time-wasting paths we get led down as a result of processing those emails.

We also covered some some simple, but very effective time management techniques. You don't need a massively complex time-management system. Having a few different strategies in place to use under different circumstances is quite enough. We covered what those were.

And finally, we covered some simple strategies for managing your purchases. I know that one of my mentees has already put that idea into practice and was totally shocked by the result. His buying patters will change for sure.

Actually, one of the techniques for purchase control is to know very clearly where you are on the Master Agenda, and that will then tell you which purchases are and are not relevent. That idea is the basis for my Laser Focus Shield product.

If you register for my internet marketing mentoring program (if there are places available), you will be able to access all the materials and a recording for this session.

Alex

http://NameCheap.com

Domain Registration

Coupon: WINTERWIND

Benefit: Register domains for as little as $8.81 (instead of the regular 9.69)! Applies to certain TLDs only.

Domain Transfer

Coupon: SWITCH2NC

Benefit: Reduce cost of transferring domains from other domain registrars. Applies to certain TLDs only.

Web hosting

Coupon: FROSTYTIME

Benefit: Save 10% on Hosting plans

VPS Servers

Coupon: SNOWMAN

Benefit:  10% off on the regular price of any VPS plans of Namecheap.

Regards

Alex

Most people do this in a very un-directed way - looking back and just recollecting what happened, and looking forward with some vague hopes or expectations. But you can take advantage of this mood of retrospection and forward-looking, and do the whole thing much more purposefully and consciously. The result can be insightful learning that leads to real changes that make a difference.

The technique I'm going to explain is taken from a broader topic called Action Inquiry - developed by some very insightful management consultants/academics/developmental psychologists.

You can apply this to any activity, on any timescale - but I suggest you do it in relation to your online activities for the last year (or even the last decade if relevant and if you want a very broad picture.)

I did this for myself for 2009, and it helped me identify a critical change in my strategy/approach. It's powerful stuff.

You can either do it quickly, or take a lot of time over it (it can raise many issues). Obviously, the more time you put in, the more you'll get out of it.

So - here it is. Complete these sentences as honestly and completely as you can.

Purpose, Intent

At the beginning of the year/decade (or when you first started), my intention with regard to my online business was .......

Strategy, Plan

As a result, I decided that my approach to building an online business would be....

Actions (observable activities that create outcomes)

What I actually did was.....

Outcomes/Results/Inquiry

The result of taking these actions was ..... (these are changes in the world that result from your actions; describe them in the same terms as your original intent).

Given these results, I feel .... <try to insert only a single word here> because .....

[If you are happy/satisfied with the results, stop this analysis and keep doing what you are doing, otherwise - continue below.]

My learning from this means that I want to make the following changes from now on (complete one, two or three of these):

Changes in the Actions I take.... (single-loop learning)

Changes in my whole approach - my Strategy/Plan ... (double-loop learning - which also means changing your Actions)

Changes in my Purpose/Intent.... (triple-loop learning - which also means changing your Strategy/Plan and Actions)

Be free in your interpretation of words such as Strategy and Purpose. For example, don't limit Strategy to mean Business Strategy. It could/should also include your psychological strategy that influeces how you make decisions about what activities you get involved in.

Take the time to do this properly, and it could learn some very valuable lessons from 2009.

Do add your comments about this technique below.

Alex

As an internet marketer it is most important to have a firm agenda, and to be always aware of what it is.

But an agenda for one time-frame is not enough. We need....

• An agenda for today.
• An agenda for this week.
• An agenda for this month.
• An agenda for this quarter.
• An agenda for this year.
• An agenda for five years.

Obviously, this is true for any endeavour, but in the internet marketing world, it is more important that in almost any other environment.

There are various reasons for this, but the most powerful reason is that, in the internet marketing world, there are thieves about! These thieves are not out to steal your money - although getting some of your money is part of their plan. No - these thieves are out to steal your agenda!

Usually they try to steal your short-term agendas.

But don't think that they want them. Obsolutely not! In fact, quite the reverse. They want to give you an agenda! But whilst you have your own, they can't do that. So they go about stealing it, and replacing it with the one they give you.

And that is how they make their money - because once you are following their agenda, they can sell you their systems that help fulfil those agendas.

Don't get me wrong. It could well be that that is exactly what you need at that time.

But also, quite possibly, it is exactly what you don't need.

That is why you need to have a crystal clear agenda at all times - so you can tell the difference!

The nature of your agenda changes depending on where you are in your internet marketing journey, but whether you are just investigating, creating a business or operating a business - you MUST know your agendas. Certainly for the short and medium term.

In my opinion, this is one of the most important  things for internet marketers to get right - which is why I'm making it the subject of the next Group Session for my low-cost Internet Professionals Mentoring Program (2.00pm Eastern on 31st December 2009).

I'll be talking about how people try to steal your agenda, how to defend yourself against it, what sort of agenda you should have (depending on the stage of your business development)... and more.

Here's the top level of a MindMap I created for the basis of the presentation:

If think you'd like to attend the session, there's still time. Find out more about the Mentoring Program by filling in the form below. If you decide to join, I'll send you an invitation to the session.

cforms contact form by delicious:days

Alex.

Rather blinkered, don't you think?

If this internet marketing stuff really IS the way to online wealth, don't you think it's worth spending a bit of time understanding the bigger picture?

Figuring out what all your options really are?

Getting a broad perspective of the field?

And by that, I don't mean choosing your niche! Niche marketing is just one of many options.

That's why, for my first Group Session topic on my new low-cost mentoring program, I will be talking about:

The Real "Big Picture" of Internet Marketing: Understanding All Your Options

Most guidance systems on internet marketing close off 95% of your options right from the word go. The good ones do serve a purpose - but usually it's best to treat them as training exercises rather than blueprints for your business.

So how do you choose your actual business?

There are a lot of inputs into that - but the first step is to know what your options are.

There are two strands to that:

• Choosing a Business Model and
• Choosing an Operating Model.

I'll cover both of those during this session.

If you'd like to learn more about the mentoring program, and how you can join in time to attend this session, just send me your details using the form below.

The session above will be on Wed 23rd December 2009 at 2.00pm Eastern (7.00pm GMT)

cforms contact form by delicious:days

Alex.

Do you see something very odd about the Internet Marketing world?

Silly question! There are lots of things odd about it!

What I mean is this: do you see a huge paradox right at the center?

I do, and it's this.

99% of the guidance and advice about "how to succeed at internet marketing" covers topics such as "finding a niche", "generating traffic", "affiliate marketing" etc. etc. Just look at the topics in my IM Index Mind Map for a complete list!

But what are really the biggest barriers to success in Internet Marketing? If you look at those who are successful and those who aren't, what differentiates them?

... It's not whether or not they know how to find a good niche.

... It's not whether or not they know how to generate traffic.

... It's not whether or not they know how to do affiliate marketing.

Of course, all those things (and many more) are important: they are necessary for success but they are not the differentiators.

In my view, the differences between those who are really successful and those who are not are in areas such as:

• Business purpose

• Business strategy

• Business tactics

• Business operations

• Business processes

• Planning

• Networking

• Organization

• Mindset

• Taking responsibility

And the paradox that I see is that there is precious little information or guidance about THESE topics in the Internet Marketing world.

Which is kinda frustrating, don't you think?

And a bit of a glaring opportunity for someone like me, with a strong consulting background and much experience in exactly those areas.

I'd realised this a long time ago, but never followed through.

However, recently I've been chatting to too many colleagues who I have a great deal of respect for, but who I see are going down completely inappropriate paths, or are stuck in a rut, or who are too unfocussed etc.

It's frustrating because, just a little coaching or a touch of mentoring could make a massive difference.

So - I'm biting the bullet and setting up a low-cost IM Mentoring program where the focus will be on those topics.

This isn't going to be a fixed program where everybody goes through the same steps. That's fine for training purposes, but this is not that. Everyone will be starting from a different position, and travelling a different route.

My job will be to provide information and guidance to help you:

• Know where you are starting from

• Know where you want to be

• Decide on a path to get there that is right for YOU

• Come up with options for how you might travel down it

• Figure out the resources you need to follow it

• Ensure you stay on that path

• Travel down it in the most effective and efficient manner

To keep the costs as low as possible, most interactions will be in groups, but I will provide some level of one-to-one advice as well.

The first ten people will get a special price, just to get the ball rolling, and the first sign-ups have started already!

The next group session is on the 31st December - so don't be tardy if you want to join in!

If you want to learn more, please contact me via this form

cforms contact form by delicious:days

Alex.

But that very simple idea spawns a host of unanswered questions. For a long time, I've felt a bit uneasy about this topic and thought I should get to grips with it sooner rather than later.

The sort of questions I had were:

• What is the difference between a good and a bad backlink?
• What are all the ways of getting backlinks?
• Is it a good idea to BUY backlinks?
• How does backlinking fit in to other traffic strategies, such as article marketing and directory submission?
• etc.

Well - I found an excellent resource for the price of a family pizza that answers these questions, and does a whole lot more. (Reason #1) It's called

Atomic Backlinking!

I read through the 87 pages last week and I now feel I KNOW about backlinks!

But that's not all! (Reason #2)

In fact, the book is more of a mini-course on traffic generation, covering a whole range of traffic-generation topics, but all of them centred around backlinks.

The chapter on getting links to .gov and .edu sites (and why you should) is worth the price in itself. Some great ideas there.

In fact, there is a short section about one Google search technique that is revealed that is worth the whole price on its own! VERY helpful!

But that's not all! (Reason #3)

Earlier, I had been looking at a product about keyword research and wondering whether to investigate it futher, and maybe purchase it. But I abandoned that idea when I saw that a bonus with Atomic Backlinking is a 12-video course on keyword research.

I watched that course all the way through, and really, on its own its worth a couple of family pizzas: and since it comes with a full PDF transcript - throw in another pizza!

But that's not all! (Reason #4)

Another bonus is a highly-functional Directory Submitter tool. I did some research and found that this is being sold for $37 which is a very fair price. It comes as part of the deal with Atomic Submitter.

But that's not all! (Reason #5)

The whole thing comes with Master Resell Rights!

The only thing I'm not too impressed by is the website. It's the usual over-the-top style.... but we have to live with that these days.

Happy backlinking!

Alex

• From the stats tools in your cPanel, such as AWStats
• Using Google Analytics
• Using special tracking URLS with Google Analytics
• Using your own link-tracker, on your own domain
• Using a third-party link tracker
• Using the tracking service that may come with the affiliate program you signed up with
• Using the tracking service that may come with your autoresponder service (e.g. click-tracking in Aweber emails)
• Using a combination of the above

• Using a link shortening service, such as bit.ly (most of which nowadays also provide link tracking)
• Using a third-party link cloaking service (which are now pretty much redundant, given all the free link-shorteners, which obviously also serve as cloakers)
• Using your own domain for cloaking/tracking/shortening

• The interface is not so good
It's not aligned with the branding of my newsletter
• I can't use "gotry" as the extension - it would be some random numbers and letters generated by bit.ly
• Spammers use these link shorteners a lot, with the result that some spam filters are suspicious of of emails that contain links shortened with them.