Should I Blame ADD or the Internet?

0 | August 26th, 2008 | Posted in Advice, Education, Home Audio Production, business

Don’t worry too much!  I didn’t do anything remotely criminal.  I’m just trying to determine if my inherent functional Attention Deficit Disorder (ADD) is the root cause of me not making much progress on my Internet biz…or is it JUST THE NATURE OF THE INTERNET?

I think it’s a 50/50 split, and both are to blame.  To me, if you combine a cup of ADD with a cup of the Internet, and bake at 350 degrees for 30 minutes, you’ll get a perfectly-formed heap of “No Progress Cookies.”  Bear with me…I’m in stream of consciousness mode.

I recently learned from Eben Pagan (who read it in a book…the author of which probably heard it in some Psychology class) that “Multitasking” is basically a myth.  The human brain CANNOT focus on more than one thing at a time.  Say you’ve been pounding out a report for the last half-hour, then you get an email alert. Since you are a super-duper multitasker, you check your email…your cell phone rings, you answer it…frickin’ text messages!!  Anyway, when you interrupt what you WERE doing to look at the distraction for even a very short time, it will take about 5-10 minutes for your brain to “get back” to where you left off in terms of concentration, train of thought, relaxation, etc.

In fact, a study showed that multitasking had the same numbing effect on your brain as THC (marijuana, duuuude!).  Well, I am really starting to believe this.  So many times I go off on Internet-induced tangents, only to find another half-hour has gone by with no concrete progress on my business.  Urgh.

Starting today, I plan to REALLY implement the techniques of focus and concentration that I learned from Eben Pagan’s Guru MasterMind course.  Try to stay focused for a 50 minute stretch, take a short break, then another 50 minutes of concentration, followed by a 10 minute “real break”.  Maybe it’s coincidence, but I remember my college classes being 50 minutes long…and there were 15 minutes between classes…hmmmmm.

My big “TO DO” this week is designing my logo for my Home Audio Production site, including font(s), so that I can order business cards for the next Guru MasterMind Live Summit in mid-September.  Below is my (tentative) selection for the font.  Take it easy!!

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Thirty Day Challenge and Traffic Secrets 2.0

0 | August 8th, 2008 | Posted in Education, Internet Marketing

Wow. I can’t say enough good stuff about the Thirty Day Challenge. Besides having a great Australian accent, StomperNet’s Ed Dale is also a guitarist! He’s a man after my own heart. There are so many informative “How To” videos (with corresponding .pdf transcripts) about Social Networking tools, blogging, and even Google Reader, which I hadn’t fully explored. As I said in my last post, I highly recommend joining…and did I mention it’s free?!?

In addition to being a member of Eben Pagan’s Guru MasterMind, I also finally received my copy of John Reese’s Traffic Secrets 2.0. I haven’t started into it just yet, but it looks to be phenomenal. And I also received the bonus DVDs from Frank Kern. I aim to give my impressions of the course on this blog in the near future.  I’m a busy little boy with this IM stuff lately!!

Until then…stay cool!!
Jeff

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30 Day Challenge - No Cost IM Training

0 | August 2nd, 2008 | Posted in Advice, Education, Internet Marketing

Quick post to tell you about the 30 Day Challenge, which started yesterday (August 1, 2008). This is a zero-cost “challenge” run by a StomperNet faculty member, Ed Dale. There’s a ton of videos and associated pdf transcripts, mainly focused on leveraging Social Networks (aka Web 2.0) to make money online.  I’ve already gotten some great info out of the “Pre Season” training.

What I really like about it is everything is practical, and you will make money while learning effective IM practices. I highly recommend you check it out here. This is an affiliate link, but only for a “contest” they’re running…no $$$ changes hands on the 30 Day Challenge. If you sign up, I get a point…maybe I’ll win a toaster oven…

Take it easy,

Jeff

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Good Guru / Bad Guru…How Can You Tell?

0 | July 29th, 2008 | Posted in Advice, Internet Marketing

Happy Tuesday, everyone! I can’t believe it’s been a week since I last posted. Anyway, enough chit-chat…today we’re going to play “GOOD GURU vs. BAD GURU”!! If you’re thinking a steel cage match in the WWE (which was WWF when I was younger…until the World Wildlife Fund sued them), you’re not far off.  As I mentioned before, this is a business, and you don’t want to waste your time (and money) listening to people who won’t add value to your business.

As I posted last week, the Internet Marketing space is vast, and you really do need a guide. Someone who will lay out proven money-making processes for you, and give you guides/videos/other content that will illustrate tangible tips and techniques. I’m going to share some hard-won advice (my opinions only) on some Internet Marketers I’ve interacted with during the past year or so. I’m not trying to bash people undeservedly (like that caveat?), but I will explain the qualities I look for in a quality IM’er.

Great Content: How do you know it’s great content when you’re first starting in this business? Well, before you opt-in (provide your first name and email), critically read/view the sales letter/video that the Marketer is using to convince you to opt-in. Is a problem and solution clearly defined? More importantly, is it YOUR problem? Does the text “speak” to you? Some of my biggest pet peeves are misspelled words, the “to vs. too” problem, and other grammatical mistakes. If the marketer didn’t even use a spell checker on his SALES copy, do you really think his CONTENT (i.e., the stuff he sends you AFTER he has your email or possibly your money) will be better? I think not…once a customer is hooked, the hard part is over. You’ll get better at this as you learn the IM lingo and get a “feel” for what to look for. But at first, you should be suspicious (and act like a middle school English teacher) until proven otherwise.

Free Content: Closely related to “Good Content”…but BETTER!! I’m not saying this because I’m cheap…an Internet Marketer should give you valuable advice without first asking for money or even for your email address. It should just be there on the site or on YouTube, free for you to study. Sometimes the best free content is associated with a “product launch”, meaning they are giving good stuff for free in the hope that you’ll see enough value that you decide to pay for more content (on the day that the paid product is launched). There is an IM term, coined by Eben Pagan (an IM’er that gets my HIGHEST recommendation) called “moving the free line.” As the industry progresses, IM’ers are giving away content that you would have had to pay for in the past. So they are moving the line that separates the free content from the paid content. And the “free line” always moves toward MORE free content, not less. Here are a couple of links to great free content (I also recommend the marketers that are providing it):

Eben Pagan (This relates to his “Altitude” Program, which cost $10,000 to join)

Jeff Johnson (Bonus: Jeff is speaking at Jeff Walker’s (the IM’er I recommend next) conference.  The “meat” starts at 4:45 if you want to forward past the introduction.)

This is Jeff Johnson’s blog with a TON of useful and free information and tools.

Jeff Walker (Known for teaching a VERY effective method for launching products…”Product Launch Formula”.)

Frank Kern (LOVE this guy…what a great attitude!!  And he cracks me up!!  Being entertained while learning…what could be better??)

Honesty: It doesn’t take long to get a first impression, but is this an accurate measure of an Internet Marketer’s integrity? From my experience, I must say first impressions go a long way. If something turns you off about a Marketer, whether it’s his/her writing style, speaking voice, and to get even more superficial…if he/she looks “shady”, you should probably get off that Marketer’s website and look elsewhere. And everyone who says IM is easy, that there is a guaranteed way to make a ton of money working from home in your dirty bathrobe, should always be ignored. As Thomas Edison said, “Opportunity is missed by most people because it is dressed in overalls and looks like work.” [Editor’s note: I was going to use the “Genius is 1% inspiration and 99% perspiration” quote, also by Edison, but this one came up on the quotes site and I think it’s more germane to the post]

Recommendations from Others: This would be my preferred method of vetting an Internet Marketer. Again, this is tough if you’re just starting out (mainly because you don’t know anybody to ask!!), but I’ve found that Online Forums are GREAT resources. You just search for the IM’er in question, and see what others have to say about him/her. If you like, you can post a question, and look for what others think. In my experience, people that post to forums are generally a very honest lot, and you’ll definitely find some helpful advice. You have to register to post, but feel free to browse before you do.  Here’s my short list of IM forums:

Warrior Forum (A lot of the “gurus” post here…might be the best IM forum in existence)

Digital Point Forum (More technical, but really good stuff here in terms of tools, search engines, and site design)

Anthony Blake Forum (I just discovered this one…looks like a good, no B.S. forum)

Notice I didn’t name any “bad gurus”. I’m flip-flopping on whether to name names or not…let me know if you’d like me to share some of my bad experiences, and I will. Thanks for reading!!

-Jeff

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Need some “Tips”? Eric has ‘em!

2 | July 22nd, 2008 | Posted in Education, Internet Marketing

Yesterday I briefly outlined my recommended “first steps” if you’re thinking about starting an Internet Marketing (IM) business. Since I started exploring IM, I have read a ton of information online and have subscribed to a number of newsletters.

One newsletter that I can recommend without reservation is “Eric’s Tips.” It’s written by an Internet Marketer named Eric Holmlund, and I mainly recommend him because he thinks like me…just kidding. But seriously, I received one of his emails this morning and it ties in surprisingly well with my last post. I was pleasantly surprised, because yesterday’s post was basically my “stream of consciousness” as I was thinking about how you should start an IM business.

Eric is a successful marketer, but his “Eric’s Tips” newsletter is different…it’s all about education. There are no hard selling tactics or monthly fees or any payment required at all. Just sign up here and you’ll receive periodic emails that point you to tutorials on a series of IM topics.

Anyway, the email I received this morning referenced Lesson #15: Creating a Business Plan. I also recommend checking out the previous 14 lessons, and in particular the 3 prior lessons which relate to my last post:

Hope you find this helpful. I welcome any comments or questions you may have.

Take care…Jeff

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Things to keep in mind when starting an Internet Marketing business

1 | July 21st, 2008 | Posted in Education, Internet Marketing

If you’re even a touch interested in Internet Marketing (IM), today I’ll give you some food for thought. Below I’ve listed some things to keep in mind when you start an IM business.

Notice I said “start an IM business,” not get into IM or try IM or take a shot at IM. This is important for a number of reasons…here are a few:

  1. You should only enter the IM arena if you are serious about making money on the Internet
  2. You should have a plan for how you are going to make money on the Internet
  3. If you decide to start IM, you need to form a legal entity (Sole Proprietorship, LLC, Inc., etc.) and register this entity with your State and the Federal Government
  4. You need to think like a business owner during the initial months of your IM efforts

Let’s talk about these items in a little more detail. Is it really important to be SERIOUS about making money? I think this is key, because I’ve found it is VERY easy to get distracted, even discouraged, when you are getting started with IM. Think about it…there are MILLIONS of websites; TONS of text to read; HOURS of online videos to watch - you don’t need to have A.D.D. to veer off course. So you need a map, in other words, a PLAN.

Don’t start without a plan for how to make money. This doesn’t need to be a full-blown Business Plan, but you should determine your niche, your market and your target audience (who are your prospects?). I’ll break this process down in a future article. Of course, in order to figure out what your business will focus on, you need to do some research first. See what’s popular; what people are searching for on Google (http://www.google.com/trends); do you want to sell physical products (a la eBay) or Information Products; what would interest you; etc.

Form a legal entity. When I started, this was one of the first things I did. I decided to form a Limited Liability Company (LLC) in the state of Virginia. At first I was going to choose a Sole Proprietorship, but I found out that LLCs can have only one member, and they are MUCH more attractive regarding taxes and separating your business from your personal assets. In tandem with forming your company, you should open a business checking account, get a business credit card, subscribe to a web hosting service, post your business website(s), order business cards, etc.

The above paragraph illustrates part of my fourth point, think like a business owner. How will you appear like a business to your prospective customers and business partners? When starting out, you need to incur business expenses. Think of these as INVESTMENTS, and when you start to make money, this revenue will be a RETURN on your investments. Obviously, you’ll be able to deduct many of these expenses on your business taxes as well. For me, my largest business investment thus far is my membership in Eben Pagan’s Guru MasterMind program. This is a one-year program, and I’m learning a lot. I’ll provide more details on my experiences in the Guru MasterMind program in future posts.

OK…I know I didn’t cover all of the details, or even all of the things to think about. But I hope you now have at least a general idea of the types of things you need to keep in mind EVEN BEFORE you say to yourself, “I’m going to get into IM.”

Until next time,
Jeff

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Initial Post - Some background information

0 | July 20th, 2008 | Posted in Education, Internet Marketing

Hey all.  This is my first post on my first blog.  So, I’d say this is a mighty historic event!!  Hold your applause…ha ha.

What am I going to be writing about?   I intend to provide a window into my journey into the world of Internet Marketing, or IM for short.  IM is simply Marketing using the Internet as the medium.  IM has unique terminology,  acronyms, and culture.

If you’re just starting out (and I’m not that much farther down the learning curve from brand newbie!), the IM world can be a very daunting place indeed.  At least that’s what I found out first-hand.  But, if you keep a clear head and a clear set of objectives, IM can be a fascinating and lucrative proposition.  Well…I’ve made it to the “fascinating” milestone - but I haven’t yet experienced anything “lucrative.”

By reading A LOT of information on IM, I was lucky enough to discover a very successful Internet Marketer named Eben Pagan.  In early June 2008 I joined his year-long program called the “Guru MasterMind.”  I’ll describe my experiences thus far in this program in future posts.  In short, I’ve learned a great deal in the short time I’ve been a member of Eben’s program…but I’ve also learned there is A LOT more that I need to learn.

As I progress down the IM trail, I’ll be posting quite often.  I intend to provide useful information and advice that I learned “the hard way.”  Some of this information will be:

  • Internet Marketing experts:  Honest and unbiased opinions…who’s who in this IM zoo.  There are good, bad, and just plain UGLY marketers out there.
  • IM Information Products:  Honest and unbiased reviews of eBooks, courses, audio programs, software, and other products that target Information Marketers.
  • Takeaways from the Guru MasterMind program:  My insights as a member of Eben Pagan’s program.
  • Links to helpful IM websites:  Not just the urls…WHY you should visit those sites.
  • Other stuff as it develops…

Again, this is a very exciting time in my life.  But as with anything important and potentially life-changing, the first steps need to be taken…action is needed, not just theory and conjecture.  I’ve taken the first several steps, and the pace is accelerating!!  I hope this weblog will help you on your IM journey, and I sincerely intend to make it easier for you than it has been for me.

Take care!!

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