The Hines Site » Mind of an Entrepreneur http://thehinessite.com/blog Approaching Internet Marketing with Hindsight Mon, 29 Jun 2009 16:36:28 +0000 en hourly 1 http://wordpress.org/?v=3.0.1 Internet Marketing Kickstart Course: Just DO It! http://thehinessite.com/blog/mind-of-an-entrepreneur/internet-marketing-kickstart-course-just-do-it http://thehinessite.com/blog/mind-of-an-entrepreneur/internet-marketing-kickstart-course-just-do-it#comments Mon, 27 Apr 2009 21:13:08 +0000 admin http://thehinessite.com/blog/?p=254 OK.  I am on lesson 5 of the Internet Marketing Kickstart Course.  One of the longest lessons, it is actually one of the easier ones, truth be told.  It mostly has to do with signing up with Clickbank and gives great tips on pitfalls to avoid.

I have to admit, this is where I get hung up though.  While I have a strong creative bent – it is easy for me to write and design web pages – I come up short with self confidence.  I begin to wonder do I have anything really worth, say, $27 to someone else?  So taking the Clickbank step is not an easy one for me simply because I have these voices telling me “make it bigger, make it better.  Don’t do it – it isn’t worth it…”

But I have a monkey on my back that is goading me on; no, two monkeys.   Tony Shepherd and Sara Brown.  They are my cheerleaders.  Then there is my husband that believes in me and my kids, too.

So get yourself a support team.  Whatever is keeping you from taking the next step, take my advice (which comes from Tony)

Just do it! (and clean up the mess later)

While you don’t want to offer cr** to your customers, stop with the analysis paralysis.  Just Do it!

Chill on the details and whether the formatting looks right – Just do it!!

You can’t sell it if it isn’t out there connected to a Paypal button.  Just get it out there and let your customers tell you how to “fix” your report.

OK. Now on to Clickbank!

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]]> http://thehinessite.com/blog/mind-of-an-entrepreneur/internet-marketing-kickstart-course-just-do-it/feed 0 Internet Marketing: Love it or Hate it http://thehinessite.com/blog/mind-of-an-entrepreneur/internet-marketing-love-it-or-hate-it http://thehinessite.com/blog/mind-of-an-entrepreneur/internet-marketing-love-it-or-hate-it#comments Sun, 26 Apr 2009 13:10:05 +0000 admin http://thehinessite.com/blog/?p=251 The Internet is here to stay.  From its small beginning as a medium of communication between government departments and research facilities it has exploded to be a worldwide transcontinental network upon which most business is already using as it’s life’s blood or will soon.  It seems a fact that if you are not on the ‘net you will not “be” at all, in the future.

What is more is that Internet marketing is the way of the advertiser.  Marketers love it as it gives them a huge, no, monstrous crowd to market to and the store never has to close.  This spells nearly unlimited opportunity for those who know how to tap into it.

And that is where marketing to Internet marketers and other businesses plays a big role.  Many may say that the make money online or Internet marketing niche is too saturated – that there is no chance for the new marketer to get a piece of the pie – but it simply isn’t true.  While some have been in the game a bit longer and have an established piece of ground, there is always room for the enterprising entrepreneur who is willing to add his or her slant to it.

The key is to learn how to do some aspect of the process – maybe web design, or make creative headers or other graphics, retell in your own way how to get traffic to your site, or some short cut to article writing… the key is to do it yourself and then tell others how to do it, too.  I call it “selling shovels” and for good reason.  Offer the tools and systems for other marketers and they will pay you for them.

Be helpful.  Go the extra mile. While I understand you are “hungry” and want to make that fabled thousands of dollars online, now is the time to give and give and give.  Be known for giving great info – info others might even charge for.  This will help you establish a reputation and a relationship which is the key to success in this highly competative economy.

In order for you to understand better how to sell shovels, I wrote a report you can get free if you sign up for my blog.  I promise I won’t write junk.  So why not give it a try?

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]]> http://thehinessite.com/blog/mind-of-an-entrepreneur/internet-marketing-love-it-or-hate-it/feed 0 How Does Susan Boyle Have Anything To Do With Internet Marketing? http://thehinessite.com/blog/brick-and-mortar-business/how-does-susan-boyle-have-anything-to-do-with-internet-marketing http://thehinessite.com/blog/brick-and-mortar-business/how-does-susan-boyle-have-anything-to-do-with-internet-marketing#comments Wed, 15 Apr 2009 16:09:35 +0000 admin http://thehinessite.com/blog/?p=235 Are you ready to toss in the towel on your Internet business?  Do you see your dreams of succeeding fading.  Are you tempted to think,  “I’m too old;  I am too plain, fat or past my prime…”

Have you come to the end of your hopes to ever come out on top?   Well, think again.  This story is inspiring for anyone in any pursuit that you just keep your dream and see it through.

Who is it that I am talking about?  Susan Boyle who recently shocked the judges and audience of Britain’s Got Talent (their version of American Idol) with her stunning performance.  The faces of all who saw her as she first walked on stage was to say the least, unimpressed, even cynical.

Did she make the house “rock”?  Watch the video.  And think again — I don’t know who said it first, but, may I say, JUST DO IT!  Ignore the scoffers and pursue your dream.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9lp0IWv8QZY

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]]> http://thehinessite.com/blog/brick-and-mortar-business/how-does-susan-boyle-have-anything-to-do-with-internet-marketing/feed 0 Are You An Opportunity Seeker? You Capitalist! http://thehinessite.com/blog/mind-of-an-entrepreneur/are-you-an-opportunity-seeker-you-capitalist http://thehinessite.com/blog/mind-of-an-entrepreneur/are-you-an-opportunity-seeker-you-capitalist#comments Wed, 08 Oct 2008 19:00:02 +0000 admin http://thehinessite.com/blog/?p=188 Warning: I am on my soapbox today!

Now here is term that can be taken two ways: one is that you are looking for a way to make a living through a “prepackaged” opportunity and the other is the more daring, entrepreneurial seeker/creator of opportunities.

The first one tends to be the guy who is looking for a get rich quick (GRQ) system.  They will sign up for anything that says, “Learn how you can make $1000 a day while sleeping”.  Anyone who has ever signed up for one of those programs knows that they are forever on a mailing list of opportunity seekers, which is then sold to similar GRQ programs.  Chain letters, free money, casino riches – you know the type.

Now, I am talking about the entrepreneurial spirit type of opportunity seeker.  Like a blood hound, they are always sniffing the air for some way to make a living through ingenuity and persistence.  Anyone who is this kind of opportunity seeker knows that it will take a bit of imagination coupled with dogged determination to see a project through.  But that is the fun of it!

The ones who are doubly blessed are opportunity seekers that are looking for ways that benefit mankind, their neighbor – and still make an honest living.

These are tough times.  While whole banks are failing and business on Wall street are melting down due to an accumulation of bad business practices, there is going to the opportunity seeker rising from the ashes.  Not to take advantage of the common man’s misfortune and to prey on others dying hopes.

No, the new breed of opportunity seeker will be a man or woman that sees a need, no matter how small, and reaches out to fill it.  He or she will take his or her talent to aid in rebuilding in their community.  And yes, they may capitalize on it, just not in an abusive way which way is the reason for our current economic status.

Had the past generation of opportunity seekers not been so greedy, we wouldn’t be in this current state of affairs.  But we are and the new breed of capitalists will rise and take their place.  A more thoughtful capitalist.

And before you curse capitalism, remember the true definition of capitalist and not the media’s twisted version.

The media and TV make out all businessman/capitalist out to be a greedy claim jumper that makes his living on the flesh of mankind.  They would have you believe that capitalists take and never give.  They prey on the weak and poor – grabbing their last dime.  The media would have you think that all capitalists are in the same league as PT Barnum, the circus man, who is quoted as saying, “There is a sucker born every minute”.

While there are a few wretches who may operate this way, most true capitalists are folks like your mechanic, selling his talents to repair your car.   The produce market is owned by a capitalist – he expects to make some profit on the goods he sells you or you wouldn’t have access to the produce.  The fellow who drills for oil needs to make at least some profit to stay ahead.  He isn’t greedy if he makes a profit.  If a guy designs and sells software that makes life easier for someone else, even he should make a fair profit.  Hey, even any pop star, athlete or celebrity is a pure capitalist – he or she wouldn’t act or compete for free.

The problem seems to come in as to what “fair profit” is?  Well, several factors come in. If an item is a need like basic food, basic clothes and simple shelter, then I submit that even this should give the seller some profit – just perhaps not a usurious margin.

But when it comes to things we want, over and above those basics, then frankly, fair profit is what people will pay.  Sure most of us won’t be able to afford a Rolls Royce or a house in Manalapan, FL, but those aren’t needs.  Maybe you can’t afford what you want to afford but if you live in America, Great Britain and much of the western world, you can still do something about it.

After all, ask yourself, if you made a widget that helps make life better for someone else and people want it enough to pay for it, are you just going to say no, I want you to have it for free.  Even the guys who design open source software earn a living selling themselves to a boss for wages.

Don’t berate the business man or woman that earns millions and can afford to drive a Rolls.  Most of them started out just like you and saw an opportunity.  They came by their wealth through honest hard work selling you something you wanted: an iPod, Lancome cosmetics, Apple laptop, Lexus, etc.  You don’t need any of those items.  But nothing is stopping you from pulling yourself up by the bootstraps and cranking it up a notch to get the things you want.  Be an opportunity seeker!

Thank God for honest business men and women who seek opportunities to make products we want and services that make out lives more efficient.  They are what true capitalism is about.

P.S.  Next time you are tempted to rank on capitalists, remember it is capitalism that:

  • Provides you with a job that you can choose to leave or to improve your station
  • Encourages competition between businesses which in turn gives you variety and choice so we have more than one brand as well as more than one price level — not one brand of peaches, one type of car or truck, one clothing store, more than one grocery store to choose from.  None of us likes the idea of always having to shop at Walmart so there is Target and Fred Meyers and others.
  • This competition causes mp3 players, cars, and houses, for example, to be more affordable since there are more than one to choose from
  • Allows anyone ANYONE to climb the ranks and improve their station in life.  And yes, this is tough.  It is one thing to have a great idea.  It is still another to make it happen.
  • Provides schools have books and computers and extension programs
  • Offers assistance to the truly needy
  • If you are enjoying using the Internet to earn a living or even just to find useful information, you can thank a capitalist.

As my grandfather used to tell folks who griped about the greed in business and government, “Perhaps your troubles would be better solved with a one way ticket to Communist China or Cuba?”

End of rant, for today!

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]]> http://thehinessite.com/blog/mind-of-an-entrepreneur/are-you-an-opportunity-seeker-you-capitalist/feed 0 Learning the Language of Internet Marketing & Web Design http://thehinessite.com/blog/mind-of-an-entrepreneur/learning-the-language-of-internet-marketing-web-design http://thehinessite.com/blog/mind-of-an-entrepreneur/learning-the-language-of-internet-marketing-web-design#comments Fri, 29 Aug 2008 14:37:26 +0000 admin http://thehinessite.com/blog/?p=131 I have never had to do it before, personally, but I have heard that the best way to learn a new language is to immerse yourself in it.  You have to go so far as to live and interact with the people who speak their language natively.

The same goes for Internet Marketing.  And within that, web design, with all its technical “language”.

Two years ago, I was like an American visiting, say, China with not a lick of knowledge of the language.  Can you imagine on your first day, you have to find a bathroom fast and you frantically look for someone – ANYone – who is willing to listen to you in the first place and secondly take the time to show you the way.

Internet Marketing is like that.  There are lots of courses out there – great ones.  But until you immerse yourself in the “land of Internet Marketing” and learn the language and web design dialect, you could be as frustrated as a person with a full bladder in the middle of Chinatown!

Take PHP, for instance.  I have no idea how to get around in it.  Now, HTML I managed to figure out OK.  But PHP is like Russian, to me.  But I know that if I want to navigate the “land of Internet Marketing” I need to at least master the basics.

It really is my responsibility to learn my craft, to at least manage a bit of it so I can communicate to someone who does know how to do it, just what it is that I want.

Someday, I will outsource the technical stuff.  But until I can, I am determined to learn the language of web design and Internet Marketing, well, at least just enough to get to the bathroom :lol:

(thanks to Mark W. for the inpiration of this message!)

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]]> http://thehinessite.com/blog/mind-of-an-entrepreneur/learning-the-language-of-internet-marketing-web-design/feed 0 Self-Employment is NOT For Cowards http://thehinessite.com/blog/mind-of-an-entrepreneur/self-employment-is-not-for-cowards http://thehinessite.com/blog/mind-of-an-entrepreneur/self-employment-is-not-for-cowards#comments Fri, 08 Aug 2008 13:01:47 +0000 admin http://thehinessite.com/blog/?p=35 Our first “real” money making home business, the Olympic Munch, is frankly as labor intensive as raising a child. It takes dedication and determination to push through the mundane aspects of a brick and mortar business. Product inventory, supply inventory, processing in medium scale production (hundreds of bars a day and all by hand!), packaging and labeling, etc.
Why do we keep on? I guess for me it is two fold. One is that I get my kicks providing a great unique healthy snack like no other out there. And Two is that my mind needs to be creatively occupied and making Munch bars does just that!
Not everyone is cut out to manage or plan or create which is what jobs are for. Some folks are content to just put in 6 to 8 or more hours a day working for someone else. They may have a job that involves creating or managing or planning but you are still working for someone else. That someone else can tell you what you are worth, tell you when to take lunch and go to the restroom, when to take vacation, and for all your pains can lay you off on a moment’s notice.
Any way you look at it, working for someone else is the pits for someone who is not content to take orders from someone else, but is willing to take less pay/income in order to call their own shots, determine their lunch break, when to take time off, determine your own deadlines, and take the boss (or secretary) out to lunch any day of the week.
Yet the self-employed DO have a boss!! That boss is the consumer of your product or recipient of your service. If your product or service stinks – you’re not going to last long in business (i.e. you’re fired).
The self-employed person has to be on their toes with their ears and eyes wide open. He or she will need to be their own worst critic. How can I make my product or service better, more appealing? They are constantly looking for ways to make life better for someone through offering their product or service. The honest businessperson never loses sight of the Golden Rule “Do unto Others as You Would Have Them Do Unto You”.
A self-employed individual is in it for the long haul. He/she will roll with the punches and rally after losses learning from the experience – making their business better because of it.
It takes guts to succeed. It is not easy but it is worth every minute of it. Lunch anyone?

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]]> http://thehinessite.com/blog/mind-of-an-entrepreneur/self-employment-is-not-for-cowards/feed 0 Internet Marketing and Ethics http://thehinessite.com/blog/mind-of-an-entrepreneur/internet-marketing-and-ethics http://thehinessite.com/blog/mind-of-an-entrepreneur/internet-marketing-and-ethics#comments Wed, 25 Jun 2008 13:57:19 +0000 admin http://thehinessite.com/blog/?p=28 I am sort of disappointed with some internet marketing gurus.  It seems that the prevailing attitude is to deliver only part of a part of some information in the info products they sell just so that they can sell you another piece of the IM puzzle later.  Of the dozens of ebooks and courses and hundreds/thousands of dollars spent on how to make money on the internet, only a small handful sell the whole package for a fair price.

It also seems that these marketers deliberately short change and expect everyone else to, too, or receive the displeasure of the IM community.

Speaking as a beginning IMer as well as buyer of IM info products, I see both sides of this.  And I for one am glad to know there are others who feel the same way I do.  That is, under promise and over deliver.   Sure it is tempting to sell an ebook or course for big bucks.  But I am glad to see that there are more and more IMers coming on the scene who are more interested in serving the IM community, giving honest value, even appear to give away solid information.
I have been known to spend $400 on one course and receive such value that I knew I got ten times the worth out of it.  That is a fair price, to me.  It isn’t the dollar amount; it’s the combination of cost and value of information. 

I have recently spent $20 on an ebook that gave me the tools and skills to make my business explode.  Did the guy give info away i.e. overdeliver?  Definitely!  Well, it seems to me that each of us ought to sell their products as whatever they deem right.  Will this guy build trust?  I think so.  Sure he could have charged $77 for it.  But his goal is to serve the IM community and not just his wallet.

Everyone expects businesses to make a fair profit.  But just who decides what is a fair price?  Let’s use an example of a tangible item like running shoes.  You may be able to buy the same Nike shoes for $30 at an outlet or $120 at a specialty shoe store.  Was the specialty store gouging?  I don’t think so. 

People vote with their dollars.  That specialty shoe store stays in business because they offer something people are willing to pay for.  The folks who bought the $30 shoes were happy and the folks who paid $120 were happy (or if they weren’t, they should have shopped around). 
It is still a free country (or should I say free world wide web).  And the Internet is probably the biggest example of sellers offering items with huge price ranges.

The golden rule in my business, taken from the Bible, has always been “do unto others, as you would have them do unto you”. For you Bible believers, you already know what I mean. Whether or not you are a Christian, there are sound business principles in the Bible that have been the Key to success in life and not just business.

 

There will always be shysters and marketing hucksters making huge promises and charging an arm and a leg for a small piece of the pie or cheap goods.  I for one am glad there is a quiet revolution of marketers that underpromise and over deliver.  I hope it will be a trend that will catch on.  

What determines fair price?  Word gets around that you give great service, great info or great products and folks spread the good news.  People will vote with their dollars.  It’s as simple as that.

You can be sure I will continue this story in coming months…

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]]> http://thehinessite.com/blog/mind-of-an-entrepreneur/internet-marketing-and-ethics/feed 0 Internet Marketing University of Hard Knocks http://thehinessite.com/blog/mind-of-an-entrepreneur/internet-marketing-university-of-hard-knocks http://thehinessite.com/blog/mind-of-an-entrepreneur/internet-marketing-university-of-hard-knocks#comments Mon, 05 May 2008 13:02:47 +0000 admin http://thehinessite.com/blog/?p=20 In business timing is everything. Well, almost everything. You may or may not be on any time constraints/deadlines with Internet Marketing. But there is usually a pattern or better way to do things.
In Internet marketing I have floundered around like a new swimmer trying to swim without guidance or even a book! Since I am not drowning, physically, at least I still keep at it as I want to learn this thing called Internet Marketing!! But drowning is a good description of one who is diving into this with zero training or direction.
What if the first time you were surfing the Internet for how to make money at home (as you were desperate to make a little extra cash) and you happened upon a method to make money in affiliate marketing? Lots of good instruction out there but the first thing you run up against is – WHICH program do I try? Of three programs you opt for the cheaper one say for $27. You wait for the download excitedly and rip into it and … well, it’s all “Greek” to you! You have no idea what SEO is. You are intimidated my Clickbank. You ‘ve read the horror stories about Pay-pal.
Timing …and education!… is everything. Yup! it’s back to school and guess what there are LOTS of “teachers” who want to teach you the ropes – for a price. But I/you want this bad so we spend the dollars/pounds to learn this craft. But it’s kind of like that story about the three blind men describing an elephant. One fellow thinks an elephant is like a tree as he pats the leg. Another says it’s like a vine as he grasps the tail and the third says, ‘no, no an elephant is a fan’, as he feels the breeze froms its flapping ears.
So how do you describe this elephant called Internet Marketing? It is creating unique products (writing info products)! Internet marketing is studying human psychology (writing sales copy, right?!)! Internet Marketing is beating the statistics (SEO)! It is flying by the seat of your pants, sometimes (split trials)! It is a way that ANY average Joe or Jane can have a chance to earn an honest living. Ultimately, Internet Marketing must be felt from all sides and angles or you just don’t get the whole story.
You can’t just read about affiliate marketing – that is only part of it. SEO is advanced IMing. Writing copy is both science and art. So…
AND there is no convenient way to find where to begin in Internet Marketing. There is no syllabus, no yellow pages even to look up how to do Internet Marketing.
What it comes down to is anyone who really wants to make Internet Marketing work will join forums (like the Warrior Forum) and discussion groups and the earlier in his IM career the better. From there you will be able to glean from experienced marketers and be able to ask what is the best path to take.
But I am preaching to the choir. You most likely are here due to reading about it from an article or a discussion on a forum.
I heard it once said, “It takes guts to succeed” and this isn’t less true in Internet Marketing.
Stay with it! Anyone can succeed at this business. Anyone that is who is willing to do the time and “go back to school”.
See you in the trenches!

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