Internet Marketing - Has It Become Overcomplicated?

Do you believe that Internet Marketing has gotten to be more complicated than necessary because people have a tendency to overthink every little thing?

There's always some little marketing tactic to add to your arsenal, then as the Internet evolves new ones pop up while older ones fade. Case in point - remember when Myspace was all the rage? Regardless of whether you use Facebook, Twitter, social bookmarking sites, JV giveaways, articles, ad-swaps, or what have you, the point still stands: at the end of the day, business is about product, presentation and traffic. These have been the fundamentals of business long before the Internet was ever invented. If business is failing, at least one of those three aspects needs to be tweaked.

If the concept is so simple, why do people struggle? Something deeper is going on than not posting good enough articles this week. I know this is (or should be) pretty common by now, but success begins in the mind.

There's always excuses to be made. I know I've had more than my fair share. There's always something better to do, not enough energy, not enough time, don't feel like it, NCIS is on, interesting discussions on Warrior Forum, cat's sleeping on my lap (though cat lovers agree, who can blame me for that one >:P), etc.

When I get stuff done, though, I get it DONE. And I make money. I made money before I even knew what I was doing at this whole IM game, so I take full responsibility for any shortcomings. I haven't done my best.

Internet Marketing isn't rocket science. There's no secret marketing tactic that you've been "missing" - and even if such a thing existed and you got wind of it, nothing would change unless you used it.

That said, mindset is not only imperative, but ESSENTIAL to any marketing success. If you have a subconscious attitude that things will fail, then yes... they will fail. This is what the Law of Attraction is about - like attracts like. Some people treat it as this mystical thing you can turn on and off. It's there, regardless of what you think. Before you dismiss it, think about what goes on in your life - what do you think about, and what is your outcome?

If your mind is stopping you from getting work done, you need to figure out why. Then you need to address those issues. Stop blaming product creators for not spoonfeeding you - believe it or not, you do have to use your brain in this business.

If Money Were No Object...

If money were no object, would you still try your hand at Internet Marketing?

Serious question. I saw a post on WF recently from a very frustrated beginning marketer, who I don't really believe is interested in IM in and of itself, but just wants "extra money" to support the family. I can understand that. Money is tight. There’s nothing wrong with her intentions, but I point them out because I strongly doubt she’d be in this game if circumstances were different. We're in a global recession, after all. It doesn't help that companies make it worse than it actually is, and so lay off their employees to save costs - mostly because, I suspect, of paranoia.

Anyway.

With scarcity of jobs, people turn to the Internet out of desperation... many of whom are not entrepreneurs and under any normal circumstances, wouldn't dream of becoming one.

I’ll be honest with you. Work is work. Day of blogging or day at the movies? What do you think? But think of it this way – if you could do WHATEVER you wanted to earn a secure living for you and your family, what would you do? Pretend the economy’s booming. Pretend the politicians care about how you’re doing. How would YOU earn your living?

Would you still have a passion for earning money online? Would you still want to write your own paychecks? Sure, you’d have to handle things such as insurance and a 401K yourself, but the beauty of Internet Marketing is, there’s no income ceiling. You’ll see fluctuations, and you have to stay motivated – but here, IM actually rewards you for the effort you put forth.

I have no problem with hard work, AS LONG AS it rewards me in huge dividends. If it’s not going to pay off really well for me, I won’t do it. Period. That probably sounds really juvenile, but think about it – your energy is a precious commodity. You only have 24 hours in a day, 16 if you only think of waking hours. Why spend precious energy and time you’ll never get back on things that don’t reward you?

Not everyone wants to be an Internet Marketer. Not everyone CAN be an Internet Marketer. That’s all right. If it’s not your game, it’s not your game. There’s no shame in that – you need to find what personally is rewarding to YOU. Internet Marketing is rewarding to me, but may not be to you.

I remember in high school, when everyone was talking about going to college, picking a major and choosing a career, I didn’t really put in any effort (though I did graduate with A’s and B’s). I actually have known what I wanted to do since I was a kid – write books. I’ve completed some, actually, though it’s been awhile. I knew being an author by itself would still require some other form of income, so I searched for years for something I could do during the day, that would help me live comfortably, AND let me continue my writing. Once I found Internet Marketing, I never looked back.

What’s rewarding to YOU?

I Gotta Admit, I'm BORED and Restless.

I'm gonna be honest with you... I'm Bored and Restless.

My schedule as of late doesn't exactly allow me to be on the computer as much as I used to be, and when I do get on, I don't necessarily feel like doing much of anything, unless it's for a client. This, of course, means my personal projects have suffered, and as a result I suffer.

It's time to Do Something. I'm no longer content with browsing the Warrior Forum all day... while the Warrior Forum is extremely educational and provides me with many hours of fun, I can't simply browse anymore without thinking, "What have I DONE today?" I suppose that's a good thing, as it forces me to Take Action... yes, Take Action. That phrase has become rather trite in the Internet Marketing world because everyone and their mom uses it so often, but it's a true sentiment.

I suppose I'm still getting used to the fact that I *have* this blog. I haven't really promoted it since I've resurrected it, though I'm sure it's gotten some backlink juice from my signature file (I doubt I post often enough for it to have true sig-file exposure). One of the biggest reasons I haven't promoted it, is because it's not finished. I'm not yet building a list, so I won't be breaking my back to drive traffic just yet.

You may be wondering, "What happened to all the inspiration? And why aren't you building a list?"

Don't get me wrong, I'm still making an effort to be proactive, in business as well as my life in general. I'm cleaning out a few things in my personal life - like cleaning out my closet (getting rid of old associations, etc.), working out and that good stuff. Now onto the second question. Why don't I have a list yet?

If you've been at the Internet Marketing game for any length of time, I'm sure you've gathered by now people like to give stuff away for free to build their list... I'm not going to just hand out the flavor-of-the-week giveaway-rights product just to get people's email addresses. I would like to give away something that would really, and I mean REALLY, help my readers. I know this is where many people fall short - their customers stick around for content and value, and marketers get stuck because they feel it's either too much work, they don't know what to say, or both.

I don't mind hard work if it pays in big dividends - and customer service is as rewarding as it gets for all parties involved. That said, I'd like to figure out who exactly is reading this (as I haven't done any targeted traffic generation in months) so I can come up with something that will really help my readers out.

MoneySoapBox Reader Survey

Of course, it's by no means scientific, but maybe getting some feedback will give me some ideas of what I should provide that will be most helpful. So if you have five seconds...