Internet Marketing Isn’t “Us Against Them”…

November 21, 2007

I get a lot of questions via emails. No problem, I like to really. In fact, I just emailed my lists to find out their biggest question regarding creating and launching products.

I got one that seems to epitomize much of the “us against them” thought process today. Here’s the email and my response…
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How do successful marketers sleep at night knowing they made their millions out of the newbies ignorance and debt? Many seuccessful marketers pride themselves on how they have helped newbies to become successful. Where are they? In my humble oppinion it would favour well for successful marketers to consider teaching newbies free of charge until they are comfortably able to pay for their success. But don’t mind me, I’m just a humble newbie.

This is a great question - and I will do a video on it - but let me give you a bit of insight right now.

First of all, understand a couple of things about me…

I was NOT always successful. In fact, I spent 5 or more years toiling around, not making money while deep in debt. I had the exact same outlook and attitude that you have right now:

“You’re living off the backs of people like me!”
“Teach me free, if you’re so smart!”

Etc. and so on. But I learned quite a few things as time went on, and it helped change my viewpoint…which helped change my life. Let me explain…

First, successful marketers (disclaimer: I can’t and DON’T speak for all marketers, and certainly not for scammers. I speak for me and the people I know) sleep well at night simply because we understand a few things.

-The people we sell products to are adults, capable of making informed choices.
-The products we put out, if followed and worked, do make people money. My Easy Product Profits chronicles EXACTLY how I make money by creating products.
-Helping people for free, whether you believe this or not, never works.

Let me expand on that third one. We all like to think we’re different than everybody else. We tend to think, “If they just gave me their product, if it’s so great, I KNOW I can make money with it”. That’s a fantasy, however.

It has been proven, time and again, that when you get free stuff, you tend to do nothing with it. If you want proof, look at your own hard drive at all the free products you downloaded, and ask yourself how many of them you opened, read, and took action on.

Taking action is the key to your success - not getting free help. I can’t tell you how many people have written to me about their tough times financially, asking me for free access to a product of mine. I typically give access and simply request ANY kind of feedback - show me some progress, ask me questions, tell me if it helps, and so on.

Not a SINGLE person I ever gave free access to my products has ever come back to me with feedback one way or the other. Then I am forced to wonder how THEY sleep at night, knowing they gave me a sob story to play on my emotions, I go out of my way to help, then they won’t even TRY to make an effort. THAT’S disheartening…

But, alas, I love to help people. If I am asked, I usually respond in some way. Not always with free products, but at least with free advice.

In fact, just a few days back a man on my list asked me for a review and some tips for his very first video. It was 15 minutes long. I watched the entire video, and sent him an email (about as long as this one) with my advice, tips, etc. He turned out to be one that is appreciative…he redid his video based on my advice. And guess what? He will finish his product, he will launch it, and he will make a few dollars. Because he’s taking action.

So, here’s the very best advice I can give you. And this is the same advice given to me a few years back and it literally changed my life…

First, lose the “Us against them” thought process. Successful marketers are NOT holding you back.

Second, understand that the odds are, if you are given free access to any product, most likely you won’t follow through. You’ll feel you’ve lost nothing because, well, it was free. When you pay for information - even five bucks - you tend to feel a vested interest and are more likely to take action.

Third, Take Action!

Fourth, change your label of yourself. Newbie is a state of mind, and it’s dibilitating. You will lean on that every time you have a failure. “Oh, well I’m just a newbie, I don’t know how!” or, like in your opening statement, you’ll always feel ripped off because you’re a newbie.

Don’t be a newbie. Study, learn, apply. Don’t admonish successful marketers - learn from them, do what they do. Ask questions. And most of all…Take Action!

Look for my videos in a couple of weeks…
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Names with held. But you get the idea.

Anyway, that’s my viewpoint on this subject. Feel free to leave your comments.

Mike

Written by Mike · Filed Under Mikes Musings

How Much Is Too Much?

November 2, 2007

A lot has been said lately about focus and how many projects you should take on at once. What is said, mostly by the experts, is that you should only focus on one at a time for maximum returns.

Well, I’ve done a lot of thinking about that. In fact, WAY too much thinking about that. Let me tell you what I think…

I worked in a customer service job that serviced the pharmaceutical industry for many years. And the very nature of this job was such that if you DIDN’T focus on multiple projects at the same time, it meant losing contracts, customers and dollars.

At times, I had as many as four major projects running all at once and had tight timelines to go with them. And you know what?

They always got completed. Usually on time and within budget.

What does that mean? To me, that means the CORRECT thing to say would be more like “Only work on the number of projects that you can effectively move forward and complete on schedule”. Stay within your own capabilities.

For me, that can be four. For you, maybe 2. Or maybe 7. That’s something only you can answer.

I was recently talking to a very successful marketer who told me that I should be focusing on one project at a time. He was the second or third one that told me that.

But the funny thing here is, NO successful marketer that I know works on just ONE project at a time. Including the marketers that told me to focus on one at a time.

The major difference here is resources. When you hit a certain level of success, you have more resources at your disposal. Money, people, tools, etc.

So, what if you are NOT one of those who have those resources at your disposal? What can you do?

Tha answer is really very simple and when I tell you, you’re going to smack yourself on the forehead and say, “DOH! I knew that!”

The answer: Strategic Partner(s)

Look, you don’t need to be a wildly successful marketer to have your own team around you. In fact, when you get the right partners, you will see your own productivity, ideas, and success
really start to flourish.

Why do I call them Strategic Partners?

Your partners should have the skills or components that you lack. And conversely, you need to have the skills or components that THEY lack. You need to compliment each other. This also means tht you need to “take an inventory” of your skills. You need to know what you can bring to the table.

One of my strategic partners is a programmer. Another writes ebooks and other content. Still another partner brings a level of creativity that I don’t posess. He’s an idea factory!

And I have certain skills that THEY lack, such as the “back end” knowledge of setting up and running websites, marketing, networking and customer service skills. We compliment each other greatly.

You can do the very same thing. It’s not that hard. But the FIRST thing you need to realize is that it will take an effort from you to make contact with people. OFF the computer.

My first partner I met at a lunch. My second at a seminar. They both started from a simple conversation. We quickly determined that we each had something to bring to the table that would fill the gaps.

Now, working on multiple projects at once is not so daunting a task as doing them by yourself.

The process is really very simple. Look for or organize a lunch in your local area for people who work on line. Start by going to a few of the marketing forums and simply ask who lives in your area. (Heck, it’s how I met Mike Filsaime…)

Meeting face to face is recommended because this enables you to “size each other up” to determine if you have similar goals and value systems. That’s very important. That’s where the trust begins.

Once you understand the power of strategic partnerships, you will not look at your on line business the same ever again. The days of “Lone Wolf” marketing are largely over. Time to roll with the changes.

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Michael Ambrosio - Developer and Internet Entreprenuer
If you would like to reprint this article, please feel free
to do so, just as long as this resource box remains with it.
Copyright 2006 Michael Ambrosio http://www.mikeambrosio.com
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Written by Mike · Filed Under Mikes Musings

Not Protecting Your Business? That’s Not Smart…

November 1, 2007

I have two valuable resources for you today. One is 100% free - not even an email required!. One is not free, but is ultra important that you check out the site. Especially if you consider yourself a business person.

Ok, the free one - I actually emailed you about this one before, but I got such great feedback on it I thought I would send you the link again, in case you missed it the first time…

This is the first in an upcoming series of training videos by Sterling Valentine. If you have never heard of Sterling, he puts out awesome products, and is also a very dynamic speaker and coach. He inspired me to create a product which I am launching next month.

His video is lengthy, so grab a cup of coffee or whatever you like to drink and enjoy Sterling’s powerful video.

http://www.mroverdeliver.com/EasyCashVideos

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You may recall a while back I interviewed internet attorney Mike Young on the legalities of PLR, MRR, etc. Mike is the attorney for quite a few internet marketers - some very well known ones, too. You can find that recording on my blog at MrOverDeliver.com/blog

Well, Mike has just released his new ebook:

“Internet Marketing Legal Secrets Revealed: How Millionaires Protect Themselves Online…And You Can Too!”

http://www.mroverdeliver.com/LawGuru

What you don’t know CAN hurt you. You can have a very profitable website and still lose everything because you didn’t take the right steps to protect yourself.

Lawsuits. CyberTheft. Investigations…and worse.

If you’re like me, you don’t want to take that risk but you just don’t know where to turn.

Now there’s a solution.

Legal Ebook
If you’re already a client of Mike’s, or have seen him speak at a seminar, you know that he provides practical solutions because he’s both an Internet lawyer AND an online marketer too. This means he’s one of us.

This book contains simple and easy steps you can take to reduce your risk of being sued or having the government come after youfor breaking laws you didn’t know existed. And believe me, that happens more than you know…

Learn how to protect what you own online and prevent others from stealing your stuff and getting away with it. If you apply what you learn, you will save you a bunch of bucks and and stress over the years. Just preventing one lawsuit alone will make this book the most important one you’ve read since you started doing business online.

In addition to this book being a must-read if you’re serious about doing business on the Web, Mike’s included six great bonuses to help you protect and grow your business.

http://www.mroverdeliver.com/LawGuru

When you click the link, take a look at the testimonials from other Internet marketers about what this book has done for them… and what it will do for you too.

To Your Success,

Michael Ambrosio
MrOverDeliver

Written by Mike · Filed Under Product Showcase