This is the second post in the new blog series called: Successful Corporate Blogs and we talk about a technique that many people do not exploit!
Successful internet marketing can be easy if you can get well-organized, but it’s important to understand the process thoroughly so you can keep to a schedule.
Let’s Dream…
Many people dream about working from home, but when it comes to reality they soon understand that it’s not as easy as they think. They come from structured 8 to 5 jobs and find when they try to start working at home they become too easily distracted.
Strength in this situation lies in a system. From day one you should figure out when you work best – working from home gives you the flexibility to work whenever you want, and you should also give yourself a plan and a list of goals. The main thing to understand is that what you’re doing is a job and not a hobby. Set the alarm clock, grab some coffee and get to work every day. No excuses.
If you’re an internet marketer doing affiliate marketing or blogging to make money having a system will make a day more productive.
Get A System
You will have to spend time doing keyword research, writing articles, posting them to your site and to article directories. You will answer comments on your blog or website, participate in social media and make videos. You will also have to gather data and analyze the numbers. Which of your articles are getting the most hits, which keywords are most effective, which ad campaigns are making money for you and identify where the majority of your traffic is coming from.
By having a system you can do all these tasks in order until they are completed.
Be Realistic
A list of goals posted somewhere you can see it will help on days you don’t feel so motivated. You may have many of those days until your site starts showing positive results. Be realistic about it – if you’ve been looking at certain internet marketing products you can forget putting “buy a Lamborghini” or “make 10 grand this month.” Maybe next year…
Outsource What You Hate
If you find you like writing articles and can produce them quickly, then write lots of them. If you discover the majority of your traffic is coming from a certain social media site then devote more time to it. If on the other hand you hate writing articles and one article takes two hours to write, then one of your first goals should be to generate enough income so you can outsource that work. If you can buy a good 500-word article for under $10, that would normally take you two hours to write, that means you’ve been making five dollars an hour. If there’s something you prefer to do that produces better results, then keep doing that and outsource everything else.
If you have half a dozen websites it makes sense to outsource or you’ll be working 18 hours a day. There’s nothing worse than waking up in the morning knowing you’ve got to do something every day that you’re no good at. It can destroy motivation quickly.
Most jobs to do with internet marketing can be outsourced, and although it may take some time to find the right people you will then be able to get on with doing the things you love – it makes work a lot easier.
What’s your view?
Do you use your strengths?
Please share your views in the comments below.
Previous posts in this Successful Corporate Blogs series:
Successful Corporate Blogs: Are You Really Writing For YOUR Audience?
Andrew is a website builder and helps small businesses with their on-line presence…so they can grow their customer list and increase sales. That’s it! That’s what we do each and every day.
Just want to add. Learn a lot about SEO and WordPress, if you choose WordPress as your CMS. And spend time learning new things everyday.
Cool Post!
Sanjay,
Unless SEO and technology is NOT your strength – then you should outsource.
Exploit your strengths!
Andrew
Helpful advice! Without a plan I end up checking Google Analytics, YouTube and other stats way too much during the day. A longer term plan plus daily lists are key for me but not always easy to prioritize unless my goals are specific. I’m creating three new products for the holiday season and a new online store and this article woke me up with a purpose. Gonna get those lists done first thing. Thanks for the motivation!
Cindy
Wow – sounds like you are busy and a plan/list is essential.
Have you tried my WP stats plugin:
http://www.problogstats.com/
It should speed up your stats looking!
Andrew
“Be Realistic”
For many of us, this is the hardest pill to swallow, yet the one that will do us the most good. We need to be aware of how realistic our goals are. It’s one thing to aim for something slightly unrealistic that’s just out of reach… this can stretch us. But to aim for $1,000,000 in 3 months when you just started and have no network of people you’re engaged with… That’s just foolish.
Thanks for sharing!
Grady
Totally agree!
Problem is there is too much hype around about making money on-line and many believe they can make $1,000,000 in 3 months!
Andrew
I do agree that discipline is the most important virtue of someone who hopes to work from home (on their own projects). Its not difficult to lose track of the activities in hand. I guess it helps to have a clear set of goals for everyday activities (jotted down) and stick to the plan.
Raj,
I have a big white board in my office which lists all the things I want to achieve that day. It keeps me focussed and works for me.
Andrew
My favorite quote is this line:
If there’s something you prefer to do that produces better results, then keep doing that and outsource everything else.
…after affiliate marketing for about 2 years now, making a passive income from those efforts – I have to say that if I didn’t LOVE writing, I wouldn’t have been as successful as I have been privileged to become.
You also mention how doing things you’re NOT motivated to do can “destroy motivation quickly,” well said!
Looking forward to outsourcing what I don’t like in 2012. Great ideas.
James
Go for it…you will not regret it.
Andrew
Hey Andrew
The delegation thing is tough for an entrepreneur, but, it’s critical. I’m currently mired in shiny objects and drowning in information and choices. I need this more than ever…
Cheers
Mark
Mark,
Before working from home, I was a Manager of hundreds of staff and I never found delegation a problem. With so much work, I was almost forced to delegate.
Trust!
Andrew
Very often ‘simple’ doesn’t work. Except in marketing messages, where it works very well. But in this case simple DOES work – have a system [and no excuses]. Not only at McDonald’s – success is not work, it’s a system. Okay, it’s both.
Thanks for the tips, I am not as productive as I should with my online business as well. I tried to outsource some work to others to help reduce my workload, as there are so many things to do to in order to keep the online business going.
David
I agree – there are so many things.
Write them all down…then spread each activity over a weeks work.
Andrew
There one thing, most internet marketers don’t try and that is to relax. If you are too impatient and wants things done now, you will never get anywhere.
I think internet marketing can fit into a variety of lifestyles. One can even be successful doing it as a hobby. however, you do need to be disciplined and consistent. Also be prepared to be patient while you work on getting results. You can work on your internet marketing activities a couple hours a day after you get off work. It’s that kind of flexibility that makes the internet attractive. The key is that it will take time to see results, so stay consistent while you work on it.
Richard
I started part-time and it took me 3 years before I was making enough income to go full time.
Andrew
For some people who are tired of doing their regular 8 to 5 jobs, and for some who wants to explore other options, working from home is the best option. And I have to agree that it’s not as easy as it seems. It takes a lot of patience, time and effort to be successful. Working from home indeed attracts a lot of distractions especially when you know that you have a flexible time. Making a schedule like you’re still doing your 8-5 job will help a lot. And the key to all of these is learning how to prioritize.
I’d also say that when working from home, especially if you’re not being as productive as you were at the office, dress as if you were in a public office. Pajamas may be driving your productivity down.
Brian
For some people…I can understand that working in your pajamas could be counter productive.
Good advice.
Andrew
I agree with your post that internet marketing is easy if you are moving in the right direction. But due to the heavy increase in traffic over web and online marketing everybody is doing SEO for their online business and websites. I would like to prefer affiliate marketing if you really want to earn some extra money with your blog.
Atishay
I would go one further and say you also need your own products and offer some service.
Andrew
You should make goals on your work and not on your merits like making a 1000 dollars a month. Instead make goals like writing 3 articles and you feel much more satisfied to yourself when you get those 3 articles published. It’s more easy to do it that way because you control more what you accomplish.
Marissa
I would certainly have income goals as well. The 3 articles may not bring in any income – so you need to do something else as well (or instead!).
Andrew
4 great tips Andrew, thanks.
Having a system is probably the most important tip in my book. Its very easy to waste time on the internet.
I also believe measuring and reviewing your results on a month basis is also a habit to speed up success.
Cheers,
Cade
Cade
What results do you measure each month?
Andrew
I discovered the hard way about getting a system. I would go from task to task without getting much accomplished at all. a well-known marketer emphasized getting a system in an email I received and the light bulb went on. Big difference!!
I have also recently begun to outsource some of the time-sucking tasks of my business.
Very well said Andrew. Thank you for the tips. Internet marketing entails a lot of hard work and outsourcing can help you big time.
Allow me to share this system I learned from one of the interviews of Ann Sieg. “Before you go to bed, list 5 things you really need to do the following day. Make sure you arrange it from hardest to easiest. Of course the easiest will be the thing you love doing the most”. In this way, I learn to manage my time and do everything that needs to be done on that day.
More power to you.
Lishiel
Thanks for sharing your system. A simple one but one…many do not follow!
Andrew
thanks for the share sir.your keyword research article is verynice.and other points also memorable.
A friend of mine had contacted a SEO company, and there gave her a quote, with a breakdown of what would be done each month.
The quote for too high, but she used the breakdown as a rota for what tasks she would do/outsource each month. And it worked really well. Setting yourself routines and deadlines is often all it takes to get results.
Tim,
That can be a good tactic – especially if you find someone with the experience…to outsource to.
Andrew
It is always good to have a plan and work towards it. There are days when I wanted to outsource things that are simple and need a lot of manual effort. With marketing, it’s a constant process especially if one is relying on search engines for traffic.
Outsourcing is the best thing to do if you want to make things fast and easy for you. I agree outsource things that you hate. You can outsource article writing, keyword research and many more. There are many freelancer out there who can do things for you.
True. If you can’t write, you HAVE to outsource it. Internet Marketing is not effective without writeups/blogs/articles.