97% Fail To Earn Anything Online – There MUST Be A Secret to Internet Marketing!

Well, what do you think?

Hidden Secret of IM Success?

The headlines of this post appear to contradict each other, or do they?

Today I want to discuss the truly great and most obvious Secret to Internet  Marketing. A secret that has the potential to explode the business and  popularity of those that know and practice it. A secret that can create an  unlimited amount of money online and propel exponents of this secret onto the  world stage to become an instant global celebrity in that elite group of the  most respected, followed and sort-after Internet Marketers.

Does that opening paragraph sound like a load of unsubstantiated BS hype to you? I know that I have certainly seen too much of this nauseating clap-trap on the Internet and I have forgotten just how many email lists I have unsubscribed  from because I’ve gotten so fed-up with this sort of thing.

Too many marketers out there become so obsessed about the money making aspect and treat their  subscribers like biological ATM’s. Any trust or authority they might have built up will quickly wither away and the long term viability of their Internet Business will become irrepairably damaged.

It’s a strange phenominon that seems to affect people online far more than those with a traditional bricks-and-mortar business. Maybe it has something to do with a perceived sense of anonimity afforded them by the Internet – who really knows?   It seems they start to totally disregard the fact that behind  every one of their subscribers email addresses is a real live person. And anyone who has run any kind of business knows: “If you aint got no customers, you aint got no business”

However, before I go off-track too much, I do actually have a great tip which is cool and most importantly, true.

Ah, So This is The Real Secret to Internet Marketing Then!

The obvious fact is that Internet Marketing is actually a real business. As long as it is treated like a business, with customers given the respect they deserve.

A very good chance of success should then follow.

Did you see the tip, or was it so obvious that you missed it?

OK, here’s the tip again – and this time I’ve made all the relevant words uppercase, underlined & orange: INTERNET MARKETING IS actually A REAL BUSINESS

Now, just as with any business, success requires the wilfull participation of customers – and as we all know, customers are actually Real People that buy stuff. Notice the subtle emphasis on the two words ‘Real’ and ‘People’?

I’ll repeat what I said earlier: “If you aint got no customers, you aint got no business”

In the virtual world of the Internet, it can be easily forgotten that there are Real People  interacting with a computer, tablet or smartphone. Funny videos of kids, cats, dogs or people doing stupid things don’t just magically materialize in cyber-space.

They are uploaded to sites like Facebook or YouTube by people that could very well be potential customers of your Internet Business.

So, what is that supposed to mean? How can some lady from Milwaukee with an uploaded funny cat video be a potential customer?

Well, she could be interested in learning how to make some extra income online and we also know that she really likes cats, especially funny videos of them.

But, you’ll never know what people really want unless you reach out to them first.

Offer More To Keep Or Get New Customers

Owners and managers of traditional bricks-and-mortar business’s know that to gain customers, they have to give something first. That something could be free advice; a free trial of a service; a free product to new customers who sign-up or buy a specific product.

The list of incentives is endless, but the goal is the same. Which is, t o position themselves or their company directly in front of people by giving them value before, or even if, they become a customer. It also allows the company to begin instilling trust by demonstrating to the potential customer their depth of knowledge, experience and willingness to assist them now and in the future.

In the traditional bricks-and-mortar  – or offline –  world, as it has come to be known. Just how long  do you think the business will survive, if someone set themselves up in a business area (or niche) they actually knew nothing at all about?

Common sense should be enough to tell them that they should, at the very least, know something about that specific area of business, or make it their number one priority before making that important first  step.

If you’re anything like me, I would make sure that I at least  knew a little about the type of business I was planning to open.

Just to throw  open the doors and hope for the best isn’t the kind of business plan that leads  to success. It’s certainly a good way for someone to waste any money they may have, unless they  have a lot more money than sense, of course! As no bank would lend them a dime  with a business plan that consists of “open the doors; coax people inside; ignore their requirements and just sell them the product with the highest commission”.

So imagine that scenario.

His Only Business Plan Is To Get Money!

A new business just opened, with a sign outside saying “Grand Opening Come On In Be Amazed!!”  A guy standing in the doorway, enticing people to enter, with nothing more than a  pretty window display promising them that he has the  solution to whatever they need.  He may be able to lure in the odd one or two  curious passers-by who would, no doubt, be amazed  – as the sign says – when he tries to take a deep-dive into the funds of their credit cards!

Personally, I would hope that they just didn’t enter in the first place, or at the very least, make a hurried exit back out the door. I t should be abundantly obvious when he tried to steer them into buying the most expensive or inappropriate item. This guy actually knows or cares very little to nothing about people or their requirements. It’s a sad fact that there are marketers out there who operate just like him.

Beware – He Only Wants Your Money

Internet Marketing has more than its fair share of so-called ‘gurus’ who really regard their customers as ‘suckers-with-credit-cards’. An endless source of easy funding for them, as they know there are plenty of eager newbies dreaming of that push-button Internet Lifestyle.

Marketers like this give Internet Marketing and online business in general a very bad name. They are just after money and are not interested in giving away any value, they don’t care and do not have any respect for anyone.

The guy with the bricks-and-mortar business above would eventually be shut-down when it becomes well known that he’s just ripping people off. But having a real business premises means that he’s a lot more easier to find.

Affiliate Marketing may be touted as a  quick and easy way to make money – and I’m certainly not knocking it – in fact,  I cover it in my free eBook ‘Internet Marketing Entrepreneur Kick-Start’ or just ‘IMEKS’ for short. It’s free and there’s a lot of valuable content in it that I  have personally learned along the way.

There’s no doubt that Affiliate Marketing can be very lucrative. However, just  like most things, it can be abused and over-used to such an extent that it can  have a negative affect on marketers who make constant and aggressive use of this marketing model.

Every business, whether on or offline, must have something that either solves a problem or addresses a specific need. Indeed, all successful companies owe their success to some type of product or service that addresses a need or solves a problem. Other than my free IMEKS eBook that I created, I am actually an affiliate for most of the products I offer.

Get my Free eBook ‘Internet Marketing Entrepreneur Kick-Start’ or IMEKS. Just enter your email below.

Though in time, I will have products & services of my own.

Consider the launch of a new product.

What I regard as abuse or over-use of Affiliate Marketing, is the sheer number  of affiliates who jump on the bandwagon of each and every product launch. Every  one of them competing directly against each other and all of them  taking space in your inbox.

When you realize that the emails from different marketers are all exactly the same, it means that those  marketers have put in zero effort themselves, because they are using the vendor supplied emails  (or swipe files) as-is. Also, they don’t bother with offering any bonuses of their own. I guess the tactic may work with some people who are extremely new to IM, who just buy from the first email they read, but as far as I’m concerned, these are the types of marketers to be wary of.

They may as well just send  emails that say “I’m only interested in the commission, I don’t care about the product or giving you any extra value of my own!”

It’s also obvious to me that the hype surrounding the  latest-and-greatest-shiny-object is the same as the hype that surrounded the  last one. And the number of times I have read and heard the phrase: ‘…ABC…  is the last and only product you will ever need to buy for…XYZ’.

Just who are they kidding?

Resist The Lure of Bright Shiny Objects

Alas, it would seem that serial consumers of bright-shiny-objects (BSO’s) are  also afflicted by a sudden loss of common sense when it comes to the Internet  and the promise of untold riches there for the taking.

They’re always ready,  with credit card in hand, eager to click the Buy button and take advantage of  that ‘special early-bird price’ before the deadline. Some may promise you the earth and show ‘proof’ of how they’ve made $$$$$’s thanks to this “truly amazing product – a game changer!”

Yep, heard it all before and ‘game changer’ appears to still  be a popular and over-used phrase now that we’re in 2016!

Don’t get me wrong though, I think most people do go through the BSO phase. I  certainly did and openly admit to having hard disk folders stuffed with BSO’s, a  lot of which have never even been looked at again after all the hype had finally  died down.

Do you also receive emails with subjects like “GO, GO, GO..”; “GO NOW!”;  “GET…XYZ…BEFORE THE PRICE GOES UP!”….

I’ve had emails like these and a lot  of them have been directly from the vendor of XYZ themselves. At this point, you  may ask: “so what’s wrong with promoting your own product then?” And the  straight answer is “nothing at all”. It’s the way they have chosen to market  products of their own to their subscribers that really should start to ring alarm bells. Also consider that their continued survival in Internet Marketing is heavily dependent on a continuous stream of product launches.

So, be very wary if any of them release a product and state something like: “This really is the last and only IM product you will ever need to buy!”  because the implication is that they will never, ever, need to produce another product – and that would go directly against their business model and would mean the end of their business!!

Mixed Messages of the ‘Guru Mentors’

Marketers that present themselves as mentors, who warn against all the hype and  the money-pit that BSO’s can become. Yet, they also use these very same tactics themselves to  encourage people to buy their own products, which, I am sure they will put forward convincing arguements of how ‘essential’ their product is  – and certainly nothing like a BSO!

Guro Mentor Marketers Mixed Messages To Loyal Followers

Take a good look through your email inbox and see how many there are from marketers who are said to be gurus or even mentors. Maybe you are already a member of one or more of their private Facebook groups. I’m sure you must have come across them. Groups where people are banned for self promotion, but the ‘Guru-Mentor-Marketer’ takes full advantage of their loyal followers to use the group as their own private sales machine.

I don’t intend to dig any further into this and will instead leave you to  examine your own inbox and form your own opinions on this matter.

Some products  launched, though, can be genuinely useful as long as you don’t get swayed by all the hype. Focus instead  on direct benefits to your business; whether the product will fit into your  business plan; is it a useful tool or just a nice-to-have toy? I’ll freely admit  that some products can advance your business, when used correctly.

When I’ve seen something that appears to be a good fit and really useful for my own business, I always check  out Brett Retucky’s site first. He conducts and publishes in-depth tests on the latest IM product launches and is not afraid to give his straight and unbiased opinion.

At this point, I’ll remind you again that the greatest secret of an online business is the fact that it is a business, as long as you are serious enough to  treat it like one. And always give your subscribers and customers the respect they deserve – and never forget that they are real people.

Now, concentrate on all the basics you need to get started. Download my free IMEKS eBook and use the information contained in it to start on your own journey. You will expand on your knowledge as you go and eventually start to make some money . Seriously consider signing with a genuine  and successful mentor whose business is not dependent on their own continuous flow of  product launches.

One such mentor, whose business does not depend on constant product launches – and also happens to be my mentor – is a well respected and successful marketer  by the name of Dean Holland. His Business Commission Blueprint was the thing that finally enabled me to make my first ever income online.

Whatever you decide to do is obviously your choice, but remember to never stop learning. Keep up to date with new methods and techniques which are always being  developed and can potentially grow your business even more.

Momentum is key!

Take action and don’t hold off doing something until you know it all, because the fact is, you never will know it all.

Just get started once you have the basics in place and in time, your knowledge  will also grow.

Until Next Time…

Mike Flanagan

In 2014, I retired from Senior Technical Executive post with a top level, global IT systems and solutions corporation. Freelanced in the late 1990's in my own IT consultancy business & rejoined the corporate world 2005. Now decided to go into business again, this time online with an Internet Marketing Company I call CS Marketing (the CS stands for Corporate Survivor). I help others interested in online business and use the technical and business skills gained throughout my professional career.