How To Develop The Right Mindset For Online Marketing
I have been spending a lot of time today contemplating why so many marketers fail to achieve success online and decided to share my views with you.
I really trust you will enjoy this post. Take your time to read it with an open mind and please share your own views.
The aim of this post is not to highlight why marketers quit but rather how marketers can succeed.
It is difficult to condense everything in one word, but, if I have to, that word will be ‘mindset’. I sincerely believe that without the right mindset you cannot achieve real and lasting success online. The important thing is that you can change your mindset. Let’s get started…
It has been said people don’t learn to swim from a textbook.
One of the things that I have been trying to understand is why people fail to take action. They join a mailing list but don’t even open the emails… They buy a book but don’t read it… They read a book but don’t put what they have learned into practice…
The best way to learn is by doing!
How does a child learn to speak? Yes, by repeating everything he hears. My son Remy will be turning three on the 11th of April and he talks nonstop. It is a natural learning process. His instinctively repeats words and will sometimes say the same sentence ten times in a row (driving me crazy), but that is how he learns.
Confucius once said:
“I hear and I forget, I see and I remember, I do and I understand”
This brings me to an interesting point, namely why do people not take action?
I believe there are several reasons. By identifying, acknowledging and understanding these reasons anyone can take the first step towards achieving greater success.
1. Fear of making a mistake
Most of us were laughed at as children when we made mistakes. Chances are most of us laughed at the mistakes other children made.
However, nobody likes to be laughed at. Feeling ridiculous is not a happy feeling. As adults we often tend to remove ourselves from the scrutiny of others because it is the safe thing to do. We believe that the tallest trees get the most wind and try our best not to stand too tall.
As far as marketing is concerned, it often manifests itself as a fear of rejection. We don’t want to ask questions just in case we may end up sounding stupid and run the risk that other people will laugh at us. We do not want to write a book just in case the market hates it.
You know what? Nobody is perfect. We all make mistakes. If you are not going to do something because you are afraid of making a mistake, you will never learn!
I sometimes wonder how many books have been written that will never help anyone because the author has filed it in file 13 on his or her hard drive… He or she is simply too afraid to release it thanks to a fear of rejection.
John Reese once said:
“The biggest piece of crap ever created and launched online makes more money than an almost-perfect project that was never launched”
I can guarantee you one thing… You will make mistakes! However, it is a natural part of learning. Remember that it is always better to try, and fail, than not to try at all!
Do not worry about what other people may say or think of your mistakes. Chances are they won’t even notice them. In any case, it is not like they never make any mistakes.
2. Not believing…
You have to believe in yourself and in what you are doing!
Many people have problems getting out of a rut. They are disillusioned with their jobs and see online marketing as an alternative way of making money.
However, many of these online marketers end up hating internet marketing as well. Why? Simply because they are not doing something they really enjoy. They end up exchanging one boring unsatisfying job for another boring unsatisfying job!
Let me explain…
They don’t do what is right for them. Their heart is not in it. They do not believe in themselves or in what they are doing!
As I mentioned in Niche Marketing Uncovered, it is not only a question of finding a niche market but also finding your own personal niche. Something you are interested in. Something you enjoy doing and something you believe in.
This is one of the reasons why I am against books that sell you a couple of ‘researched niche markets’. Let’s assume that ‘herbal tea’ is a great niche market…
Unless you enjoy drinking herbal tea and believe in the benefits of herbal tea you are not going to achieve a lot of success marketing herbal tea online, even if it is a highly profitable niche. In fact, chances are you are going to end up hating it. It is simply not the right niche for YOU!
The same can be said of the online marketing niche. There are many people trying to sell products on how to make money online but very few of them actually succeed. Why? Yes, they don’t really believe in what they are doing, and it shows!
They have been told that it is a great way of making money online but they are trying to sell something that they do not really believe in because it has not worked for them.
I got a phone call some time ago from a person selling software on how you can forecast whether certain stocks are going to be moving up or down (trend analysis). He did not sound very convincing over the phone but I agreed to a meeting. Within less than five minutes I knew he did not have a clue what he was talking about.
When I asked him how much money he has made using this software he replied that he has not actually used the software himself and only joined the company one week ago. I politely told him that he cannot expect to sell me a software program on how to make money on the stock exchange that he is not even using himself…
It was clear from the beginning that he did not really believe in the product and therefore did not really believe in his own ability to sell the product. It is easy for people to pick up on these things!
By doing something that you are passionate about, or at the very least interested in, you will have a much bigger chance to succeed. Never do anything that you do not believe in. If you can’t even convince yourself you will have a hard time convincing others.
3. Lack of focus
I believe that one of the main reasons marketers fail to make money online is a lack of focus. Two objects cannot occupy the same space at the same time. Many marketers actually try too hard. They try to do many different things at the same time. They try to go in all directions at the same time. The result is that nothing gets done well.
I often refer to this as the ‘shotgun approach’ – Firing at everything that moves hoping to hit something. Occasionally these marketers actually end up hitting something but more by accident than anything else. In addition, such luck normally doesn’t last long…
You cannot build an online business hoping to get lucky. You need a razor-sharp focus.
It is very easy to get distracted in internet marketing. Internet marketing is evolving all the time. What might have worked well last year may no longer be that effective this year.
The dilemma often faced by many marketers (including experienced ones) is how to keep up with new developments without losing focus. In other words, you need to be aware of new developments that can add value to your business while at the same time avoiding new developments that will only serve to distract you.
This is not always easy in internet marketing. It sometimes seems as if just about every new project launch is hailed as a ‘must have’. The trick is to avoid stopping and starting all the time. Many marketers end up doing nothing else than run around trying to find grass that is greener than their own pastures!
I have always maintained, and I still do, that there is no ‘best’ way to make money online. There are many ways. The fact that someone else may be doing well marketing on eBay does not mean you should stop what you are doing and start marketing on eBay as well. On the other hand, maybe marketing on eBay can benefit your business in which case it is worthwhile considering.
Try to always do one thing at a time and stay focused!
Thanks for reading!
To YOUR Online Marketing Success!
Francois du Toit
Your Host Francois du Toit
