I believe that part of the creative calling is the call to create wealth. I have also found that digital publications, products and courses are by far the most effective pathway if you want low costs and high profits. Because you are no longer selling your time, such products and publications can literally make money while you sleep.
I have also noticed some common mistakes that people make when they are looking to create products or get their feet wet in the internet marketing pool.
A Bajillion $ With The Push of a Button
It is so common to read or hear the shooting star stories of people who have made a bajillion dollars online selling information products, apps or some other product that has gone viral. The reality however is that the huge majority of folk who begin their online entrepreneurial journey make a big fat ZERO. Actually it ends up emptying their bank account, not filling it.
Here are 5 mistakes that people make when they venture into online products, particularly information products, that you can avoid so you actually make money, not lose it.
Internet Marketing Mistake No.1
PEOPLE BELIEVE THAT IT IS TOO EASY
People actually believe the hype!
If you are new to this arena, please be warned. There is so much hot air and hype surrounding making money online that sometimes it clouds our common sense and befuddles reason. We are dazzled by the screenshots of swelling bank accounts, video testimonials of thousands of dollars created overnight, and an army of other inflated promises that generally are either unsubstantiated, or the result of several unspoken factors (such as an existing list of buyers, connections with the right places and the right people, an unlikely strike of luck and fortune, and a bunch of other elements that make up the success equation).
Don’t be swizzed. Yes, it may happen. Yes it can happen. But it probably won’t.
You will actually need to apply some wisdom and work, just like any other profitable job, in order to create a solid, real and sustainable stream of income.
With a realistic mindset, a dose of patience, and the heart to create something of real value for others to enjoy, it is absolutely inevitable you will make money. But this is generally not a one click transaction.
Come with an expectation of great things, but also be ready to work to see it happen (usually progressively, step-by-step).
Internet Marketing Mistake No.2
PEOPLE BELIEVE THAT IT IS TOO HARD
Many people fail to recognise and share their value online because they think that it is too hard or complicated to do so.
They believe that the technical aspects of setting up a website, an eshop, a membership site or even a simple Paypal account are the exclusive bastion of the super genius, and that mere technically challenged mortals are destined forever to be the consumers not the the suppliers.
But technology has moved on. It is super easy, with a little education, to do any and all of the above, even if you have virtually zero online experience.
Internet Marketing Mistake No.3
PEOPLE FOCUS ON THE MONEY THEY CAN GET, RATHER THAN ADDING VALUE THROUGH THEIR PRODUCTS
A transaction between two human beings should always be an exchange of value. Too many people enter the online market place with $$$ in their eyes, focused on what they can get, rather than a heart to honestly share and add value – focused on what they can give.
Money mindedness lead to shoddy products and even more shoddy relationships. A value mindset invests in the customer, understanding that what we sow will always be reaped many times over.
A generous man or woman will always be watered, and supply will never dry up.
The online world is replete with charlatans – don’t be one of them.
Think carefully about the gifts and talents, and the unique knowledge you carry in your spirit, and share those skills liberally with the world. As you do so, people, and their money, will naturally be attracted to you.
Internet Marketing Mistake No.4
PEOPLE TRY TO DO EVERYTHING, AND BE EVERYWHERE, AND WIND UP NOWHERE DOING ZIP
This one says Facebook marketing, so we run over there; that one says Google adsense, so we throw up an array of second-rate sites plastered with ad bars and banners. Then we hear that Twitter is the herald of a new business age and we Tweet our socks off with no real clue why we are doing it.
STOP!!!
Figure out where you fit in the big picture. Settle into what comes naturally for you, and truly flows from your inner person, and become very, very good at that, rather than a complete novice at 10,000 opportunistic possibilities.
Don’t get flushed away with a thousand promises of instant richess. Instead, flourish in your chosen field.
Internet Marketing Mistake No.5
SHINY OBJECT SYNDROME
Beware shiny objects. They come in all sorts of guises, and most of them are empty without serious implementation. If you don’t have time to do what you are doing already, what makes you think you will magically find the necessary hours to master the latest, greatest, buy-it-cos-your-life-depends-on-it product infecting our inboxes and Facebook feeds? Let me put you out of your misery. You won’t.
Determine your path, choose just a handful of strategies that are in keeping with your own personality and skill set, and shovel your efforts into learning the skills and tools that you will actually use to fulfil your goals.
A report about internet marketing would be lacking without a bonus – so here it is, mistake number Six.
BONUS! Mistake no.6
PEOPLE FAIL TO REALISE THAT WE ARE NOT IN THE BUSINESS OF MAKING MONEY, WE ARE IN THE BUSINESS OF CHANGING LIVES.
What do you know that can benefit someone else?
It may be a spiritual insight, or a practical skill. It may be an emotional key, or an amusing story. Whatever it is it was designed to be shared with others.
Take 30 minutes sometime this week. Sit down with a blank piece of paper, and begin to write down what you know that could be of value to someone else if you were to share it with them.
Keep writing until the paper is filled. It could be a recipe or a rhyme. A children’s tale, or a unique take on life. Or it could be all of the above.
Provoke your own curiosity by demanding your heart to spill the beans, and spill out the riches that reside there, waiting to be shaped into publications and products.
See, we are not in the business of making money. We are in the business of changing lives. As our focus shifts from what we might gain, to what we can certainly give, incredible things can happen. We tap an inner resource of generosity that will never run dry, and money follows.
Go for it people. Stay on course, and your dreams are in reach!
Plant seeds of greatness in others.
Share your worth with the world liberally.
Let’s leave a legacy that we can be proud of!
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