Three Universal Truths of Internet Marketing

There are many truths you realize in your first few months as an internet marketer. There is a ton of information out there and you’ll find yourself learning new things every single day. Even two years into my blogging career, I still don’t think a week passes where I don’t learn something interesting. Of course, this blog is about imparting new and interesting information so I’m constantly researching and studying. However, even if you choose to focus outside the blogging/internet marketing/etc market, you still always need to be learning and knowing where the trends are headed.

The internet is in a constant state of flux. There are (at least) thousands of new applications, blogs and systems released each week. While it is important to stay updated on the things that relate to your niche and/or system, there are some truths that never change. And if you learn these truths and live by them, you have a genuine chance of succeeding.

Truth #1: It Will Never be Cheap, Fast and Good

One of the hardest truths for many internet marketing newbies to swallow is that the basic business triangle still applies. Take a quick look at this:

For those of you unfamiliar with this diagram, the idea is that you can have two of the sides, but not all three. It can be cheap and good, but it’s not going to be fast. Or it can be fast and good, but it’s not going to be cheap. This doesn’t hold true universally, but it’s a solid jumping-off point to use when considering pricing for a service or product.

Newbies have seen so many promises of overnight riches that it’s hard for them to accept that it just doesn’t work that way. While you will find many folks who just want freebies, those who really want to build a business online – or even just make some extra money – will eventually realize that they get what they pay for. Of course, you can also trade time or services, but it’s the same principle. Yes, there are free products and services that are helpful, but – like the triangle says – good and cheap won’t be fast.

It comes down to this: you’re going to need time or money. If you have both that’s great. But you will not quickly build an internet business on nothing. You can buy some good turnkey systems if you’re willing to fork over serious cash. At the same time, the $49.95 special might be a quality system, but it will take time and work to get to the profits.

Truth #2: Without Focus you are Lost

Fairly quickly it becomes clear that there is no free ride. After signing up for endless “guru” lists, downloading countless ebooks and most likely wasting money on products or services that promise to make you rich yesterday, the day will come when you must accept that there is no overnight miracle system.

The next thing you learn – hopefully quickly – is that perseverence in and of itself is not enough. You can be totally dedicated to making money online, but that’s not enough. If you spend all day every day jumping from blog to blog and email to email, you’re just wasting your time. You need to find something that works – or that you are at least fairly certain will work – and stick with it.

Information overload kills off many hopeful internet marketers in the first few weeks of their endeavors. They find themselves reading a book about Twitter and spending a few hours setting up their account, finding a few people to follow and then they find a blog about affiliate marketing. The next several hours are spent researching and finding affiliate programs, maybe setting up an Adwords account. But once they start researching Adwords they read a bit about Adsense arbitrage and they’re off again – spending the rest of the day trying to build the perfect Adsense-optimized site. And at the end of the day what do they have to show for it? A scattered education, three half-finished projects and overflowing email boxes. In a word: nothing.

The key is to pick one project. Then figure out where you want to start and map out a straight line to the endpoint. You will inevitably find other items of interest as you work on your project – that’s what your idea file is for. I keep a spreadsheet open when I’m researching or working on projects so that I can stay on track without losing valuable ideas. As I’ve talked about before, entrepreneurs are idea people so all of the new information is definitely going to open up your mind to a ton of new things. Record these items in your idea file and then get back to the current project.

Truth #3: Deliver High-Quality Products or Services

The internet never forgets. Even if you think that cheap product you marketed three years ago has been long forgotten, you can bet that someone remembers it. So don’t make the mistake in the first place. Your online reputation has to be better than golden. People purchase from sellers they know and trust so it’s imperative that you begin building that trust quickly and solidly.

Whether you are selling a product or service – or someone else’s product or service – you need to be sure that whatever you are delivering is high quality. If you sell sh!t then that’s what you’ll be known for – if you ever become known at all. People are extremely wary of internet marketers so don’t insult your prospects’ intelligence by offering sub-par services or products.

If you sell an ebook full of fluff you may make a few sales today and maybe some of those sales won’t even bother to get a refund. But those buyers won’t be back and word-of-mouth is powerful and instant on the internet. With social media use constantly on the rise, your reputation can be ruined in minutes. However, if you take the time to market a quality product and build a list of happy customers and/or prospects, you may not make a sale today. But you could make ten tomorrow and then twenty the next day. Then you have thirty satisfied customers with whom you have built trust. They are now “warm” and much more likely to buy from you again than from someone they have not bought from before.

Though there are many more truths about internet marketing than these three, I have found that these come up again and again. No matter what niche you’re working, what product you’re selling or what day it is – if you remember these three basics you’ll be well-equipped for the road to IM success.