Trying to make money online is a curious thing. You get started because of a website or an email that promises you overnight riches. You know that can’t really happen, but you hope for it anyway. So you purchase this traffic program and that list building how-to, always hoping that the next one will contain the magic fairy dust that will whisk you away from your day job and onto some tropical island where you sip pina coladas all day while pulling in thousands in passive income.
Are you done dreaming?
If you have been online for more than a week then you most likely already know everything you need to know to start making money online. Understanding what you need to do isn’t the hard part. The hard part is looking past all the crap that will stand in the way of you and your paycheck. If you learn to recognize distractions and avoid them, you will find your path to success much smoother. Here are three major roadblock to your internet business success:
Information Overload
You’ve heard this term so many times that it has most likely lost its meaning. The problem is, it really is one of the biggest obstacles you will face when trying to find your online passion. For anyone not following, information overload is exactly what it sounds like: an overload of information. Too many tactics, methods and miracles are thrown at you at once. So what do you do? If you are like most people, then you either do all of them or none of them. They key is to figure out what works and dedicate all your energy to it.
I can’t tell you how much time I wasted my first eight months of blogging jumping from one tactic to the next. One day I was dedicated to building a profitable list, but the next I got an email about a super-secret traffic building method that I just had to try. It wasn’t until I really and truly focused on a few hard-tested methods that I began to see any results.
The very worst thing you can do in the beginning is sign up for too many Giveaway Events. I thought those were the coolest things ever - all that free software and information just waiting to be downloaded! I literally have thousands of products I have downloaded from giveaway events and there is really only a handful that I have ever even read, let alone profited from. I’m not saying giveaway events aren’t great, they definitely have their place. In fact, I highly recommend contributing to them when you are ready to build your list or start driving traffic to a site. But if you are spending all your time downloading products, then I guarantee you aren’t building your business.
You will find a lot of advice out there on how to avoid information overload. The Crooked Gurus (not all gurus are crooked!) will try to sell you information products that will teach you how to avoid information overload. They play into fear and confusion, taking advantage of poor newbies and desperate folks who can’t seem to make that first online dollar. Don’t buy anything for awhile!
My advice is to read successful blogs for a bit. You need to find a few bloggers or internet marketers that you can relate to; who you feel you can trust. The Good Gurus will give you a lot of great information for free. You don’t need to pay to learn how to make money online. Save your money for software that will help you succeed like Build a Niche Store and Link Luv Post Builder. One of the best things about the internet is that you really can make money without spending any, you just have to find the right information and do the work.
Wasting Your Time with “Sales Blogs”
There is a breed of blog out there I like to refer to as “sales blogs”. This is the type of blog that has post after post trying to sell you different products. Whether the blogger is trying to sell you his/her own information products or a bunch of others, you are wasting your time reading this type of blog. These guys will not give anything away for free because they either (a) don’t really know how to make money online aside from hawking crap internet marketing products or (b) they save all the worthwhile information for their own crap internet marketing products.
You will notice that I rarely endorse products here at Pajama Professional and I do not market my own information products either. To me, the blogosphere is a community built on give and take. Sure, I keep certain things private - like specific Adsense sites and stuff like that. But as far as tactics for making money online, I am an open book and have no plans to sell information any time soon. There are many other bloggers out there who feel as I do, you just need to find the ones that speak to you.
If you feel like you are reading the same old tired sales pitches over and over again then I recommend you start off by subscribing to the feeds and reading through the archives at: Court’s Internet Marketing School, Blogger Unleashed and, if you are interested in affiliate marketing (and you should at least check it out)Super Affiliate Tips. These blogs are full of straight-forward, honest information and these guys won’t try to sell you shit. In fact, they will rarely try to sell you anything at all unless it is something which they truly believe will help you succeed.
Waiting for the Easy, Overnight Plan
You won’t truly succeed online until you completely give up that dream of making $10,000 by next week. If even a tiny slice of you believes that there is some sort of internet “lottery” business, you will waste your time searching. I assure you, this search is entirely futile - unless you do in fact win some sort of online lottery. Any product or software that promises to make you rich with no work on your part is complete shit. I don’t even have to look at it to know that it won’t make you any money this week. Or next week. Or any week.
Making money online is just the same as any business in the beginning. You have to go in with your eyes open, realizing that you must work in order to be successful. I know that it’s hard to give up this dream of “passive” income, but there really is no such thing. You have to have one of two things to succeed online: time or money. You can buy your way to success (by investing, outsourcing a blog, etc.) or you can work your way to success - sounds drearily like the “real” world, doesn’t it? The road to making money online is challenging, but it is very rewarding and (at least for me) a lot of fun.
I’m really not here to piss on anyone’s parade, I just feel so bad for newbies who jump from one “instant moneymaker” to the next. Slow down, learn some tactics and put the time in to build a real business. Scammers are counting on you to keep the dream alive so they can sell you more worthless shit. Just say no. Open your eyes, face the facts and start working for it. I promise that first Google Adsense check or affiliate commission check will feel awesome because you know how hard you worked for it. And the first one really is the hardest. Making money online can be a lot of fun, but if you keep dreaming of easy, overnight riches you will only become disgruntled, distracted and, ultimately, discouraged.
The internet is filled with wonderful distractions and the things I mentioned here are just the tip of the iceberg. With Web 2.0 (and 3.0 soon to come, whatever that is exactly) you can waste your time in nearly unlimited, vastly customizable and mind-blowingly interactive ways. From Twitter to Second Life to an overflowing feed reader, you could spend days online and not do anything truly productive. However, if you know ahead of time what lies between you and success, you may be able to avoid the roadblocks and reach your online business goals.
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Technorati Tags: internet business, information overload, blogging, information products, succeed online, Making money online
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WOW, you just told my life IM story!
Ugh those blogs that you land on that are nothing but sales pitches presented as “product reviews” where you get two lines and an affiliate link…crap!
I was one of those wanderers jumping from place to place, downloading and bookmarking everything, RSSing my time away until I finally have to take action kill the distractions and cancel all but 3 RSSl feeds. This one, Courtney Tuttle and Jeremy Palmer’s - http://www.quityourdayjob.com (has a fantastic free Affil Mrktng e-book for newbies). I am down to these 3 sites as my guides and the rest of my time I spend actually putting what I learn to use and it is working.
Court’s Site ROCKS, as does your Sara, because all the information is honest, straightforward and most important “hands-on.” BTW, I highly recommend Court’s Keyword Snipping Technique, works everytime!
Stick with those guides and just DO IT!
Thank you!
Hi JR!
I actually tried to comment on one of those “sales blogs” one to thank the writer for the great product recommendation. I used keywords as my anchor link and he deleted my comment! That was the end of me reading any of that crap.
I’m glad you find my blog useful, the Squidoo lens you linked to your comment is really well done. =) Do you have a regular blog? I will have to check out Jeremy Palmer’s blog.
Because I don’t want to forget about all the blogs I love, I actually keep two feed readers: one desktop client (great news) and Google reader. Google reader has just a few subscriptions and the other one has stuff I might read sometimes if I have a chance. The five blogs I never miss are Court’s (he’s my very favorite), Blogger Unleashed, Zen Habits, Successful and Outstanding Bloggers and SEO Book. Aside from Court’s though, my list changes sometimes.
You are absolutely right about Court. He is just so generous with his knowledge and such a great teacher. I have been applying his keyword sniping techniques - including the custom themes - for a couple of months now and am finally really seeing some online income. He is the real deal. He and Vic at Blogger Unleashed are buddies and have same philosophy of sharing information for free. So if you don’t read Vic regularly I highly recommend you check it out.
Thanks for commenting, JR, I hope to hear from you more often!
Sara
Thank you Sara!
I do not have a blog yet but I am working on one now and will let you know when it comes out.
SEO Book is of course an invaluable tool and I also use the KW tools there regularly.
I have read Vic’s blog before but had not subscribed but I will now.
Thank you
[...] How to Recognize and Avoid Internet Business Roadblocks [...]
Hey.. this is a really great article.. and I agree that I would rather not read post after post of affiliate links plastered all over a text. I remember when I first starting doing the whole internet marketing thing and found out what to do… I realised that it wasn’t so much … one big thing that could change my life…. but it was the small details involved with these things that make a huge difference between success and failure! Everyone knows that you can make money through affiliate marketing or through adsense… but finding out how to do it properly and optimize your earnings is a different task. Great read!
One Year Millionaire’s last blog post..Issue 72 : 10 Bullet-Proof Ways to Increase RSS Subscribers!
Hey Sara,
great post and so true. The biggest problem for so many is really information overload. If you subscribe to the lists of all these gurus you gonna receive tousands of promotion mails for products which gonna promise you the overnight riches.
I had the same problem. While you getting all these emails and then reading all these sales letters you gonna miss building your own business. And that’s why so many are not making any money online. They don’t TAKE ACTION they just follow all these promotion mails buy ebooks after ebooks, memberships and software and fill up their hard drive. And then complaining that nothing is working!
Like you saied. if you’re online for a week or month than you nearly know erverything on how to make money online. The only thing you have to do than is taking action and building your business!
Just buy an ebook if you think you gonna learn some extras which gonna let you grow with your own business!
That’s what I do.
@ JR
I have to agree with Sara. Great squidoo lense. Very well done. I gave it 5 stars.
Daniel
Sorry me again.
@JR
Just an idea about your lense. I would take the getting traffic part away from the lense and would create a short report with it. Than you could offer this report as a bonus if they gonna buy BANS through your link. (I didn’t wanted to post it on your lense)
Daniel
Thanks Daniel,
That is a great idea, I think though I will be pulling that lens or at least shortening it significantly since I am building a blog, I would rather have that on my blog than on Squid.
This post is a must read for newbs. Most will waist the money on crappy Ebooks and will never find Court, Vic and Grizz.
Car Wraps’s last blog post..Introduction to car wraps.
yes! we must all learn to avoid these ! i like this post simply because it is very informative and true!
@ JR
Yes I think it would be better to have that on your own blog. With a blog you can get much more visitors than with a lense and the chances to make money from this is much higher with the blog than with the lense.
Let us know about your blog when it’s online.
Daniel
Daniel @ Secret Affiliate Code’s last blog post..The Secret Affiliate Code - The Secret To Making 6K In One Week With Free Traffic
Thanks for pointing out that making money online isn’t easy - it’s starting a small business and takes the time and energy of starting a small business. Unlike many small businesses though, you don’t have as much financial output to get started which is why it seems so easy. Thanks for being one of those great bloggers who is providing actually good information on their blog posts about internet work!
its important not to get caught in these little traps ! don’t make these mistakes!
i couldn’t agree more! making money online is a time consuming process , don’t fall for anything !
@Daniel
Thanks I will!
Hi Sarah!
This is not good news. I didn’t want to know that it is not easy, that it takes work and dedication, that I have to actually CONCENTRATE!
Fortunately for you pro types, most are like me and prefer to dream on about the riches we will rake in with the very next download; - otherwise the competition would be impossible
Rhys’s last blog post..Maximize SEO like a ?Pro?
I think that the best way of making money online is to have a website.
Hi Sara and Daniel,
OK Blog is finished…whew!! What a job that was. But overall Wordpress RULES!!
Check it out and tell me what you think!
JR’S Internet Marketing Strategies Blog’s last blog post..11 Ways to Link Building that also Increase Web Traffic
Dear Sara & Comment Readers,
I found this article thought-provoking; exploring powerful themes for many of us online today.
The “blocks” Sara mentions are familiar to me. Alas, I am not familiar with the lingua franca of “affiliate marketing”, “adsense”, profitable “lists” and “web 2.0″. I apologise for my ignorance! (Any advice welcome).
Since I’m a fantasy writer, I wish to market “information product” (which I still quaintly call “a manuscript”) to a wide, hopefully appreciative audience. What I noticed in Sara’s article is “sales blogs” are often viewed as crass, commonplace and uninspiring . . .
. . .So, avoiding descent into “sales blogging” (amusingly) strikes me as a business in itself. I’ve adopted the ethos of keeping my “weblog” ad-free and fastloading - This amounts to a “blog experiment” that fascinates me. . .
I wish to support readers and writers . . . One cannot do this lost in the Marketing Hinterlands. Sara’s article above strikes me as a welcoming guide through the “marketing maze”.
Kind Regards, Writer.
PS: If it helps - I was directed here via Dustin Wax’s & Liz Strauss’ informative websites.
that’s a wonderful thing
I’m still new to this. I know from personal experience that it’s easy to get information overload. Since I still work a nine to five I don’t have as much time as I’d like to devote to my blogs. I’ve found that being very organized and making lists of things you want to accomplish daily is important to achieve goals. Good luck everyone!
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