Anyone Else Losing Interest In IM?

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Man have I spent a LOT of time, energy, and $ on internet marketing!

Have I gained enough to justify this expenditure? The flat answer is no.

There was a time that I was making about $4000 a month selling precious metals until Google bitch slapped me so hard I was back to square one.

I know, I know, there were countless things I could have done better in retrospect but man! ...the amount of work it took to get to that point was astronomical! To do it right was logistically out of the question for me at that time.

Anyway, the point is, IM is somewhat of a pipe dream if you are buying IM opty products on how to make an income from home.

But nothing of value can ever be gotten without a lot of work - I get that. So on that level, I'm not knocking IM and it's power but I definitely think there are easier ways to make money without having such sophisticated sets and subsets of skills and abilities as does require IM if you are going to do it right.

I gave IM a fair effort and failed. I whole heartedly felt I was going to get rich with it. I put in YEARS of effort and research and education and implementation. And to a point, I succeeded. Until it all came crashing down.

So, in the end, I wouldn't try it again unless I had a time machine and could go back to the late 90's and early 2000's and try my hand at shooting some fish in a barrel.

I mean, is anyone in this forum making a true living at IM? If so, are they like the 0.003% or what?

Anyway, just my ramblings and disillusions of what IM was going to do for me....

So the whole point of this discussion:

Tell me about your experiences with IM and have you found it to work? or have you found much easier ways for generating living the dream?
#main internet marketing discussion forum #interest #losing
  • IM is such a wide term... Of course it is very much possible to make a living of IM, but it is certainly not for everyone...
  • I make a living (and have been for a decade or two) running a real business (for which I have a passion for all that it entails), and using the internet only as one of the many tools available to reach potential clients, and to distribute products in the digital domain, as part of a "much" bigger picture.

    I've been accused of this. Just try to get there. From the sounds of all the $7 WSO's it's really easy. (sarcasm).

    But seriously, you don't need to be in the 0.003% to be making a true living at "using the internet as part of a business marketing strategy".

    I can't speak for ranking sites filled with content, writing blogs, finding and pushing a product I've never used by driving traffic to it, etc...

    I've never tried that, and I leave that to the IM'ers who enjoy having to reinvent their game every other month / year.

    Losing interest? That could only possibly happen if you follow the "your business doesn't need to be a passion" advice that floats around here.
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    • I agree with just about everything in this post.

      I make a living from my IM business, and so do many others. Am I rich? No. Do I make $1000 a day like the "rock star" IMers? No. Am I comfortable and happy with my income? YES! The reason is because I LOVE what I do. There are very few aspects of IM that I don't fully enjoy doing.

      I get emails from people all the time telling me how bad they need money, and how fast they need to make it. They ask me things like "How can I make $1000 to fix my car in a week?" I always answer them truthfully and tell them that is very unlikely to happen if they have little or no IM experience. I've had many people write back and tell me that I'm wrong because they saw somewhere that they can make $2000 in the next 24 hours or some other BS they saw online somewhere. I've even had people write back and call me nasty names because I told them something they didn't want to hear!

      The reason I bring this up is because I think a lot of people get the wrong idea and think that starting an online business is an easy thing to do and something which allows people to make exorbitant amounts of money very quickly. This has some truth to it, for those who have worked incredibly hard and have built up the resources which allows them to make a lot of money in a short period of time.

      For instance, someone who has worked hard and spent years building a huge, responsive, targeted list can make a ton of money at the "push of a button." I just think that many marketers take too much liberty with the whole "money at the push of a button" thing.

      People that have not put in the work are not going to be able to do this, and that is where I think most of the confusion lies. It's not always the newbies fault, either. I blame a lot of the hyped up sales pages and products out there for this.

      The bottom line is that I started my online business in May of 2008, and it took me a little over 3 years before I had acquired the knowledge and resources I needed and put in the work necessary to make the business produce an income that I felt I could support myself fully with. It may not take everyone that long, or it may take some longer. Everyone learns and works at different speeds, so it's impossible to predict how much money one can make in a certain amount of time.

      Believe me, I tried and failed at many things along the way. In fact, I have probably failed twice as much as I have succeeded. The point is that if you get knocked off your horse you don't just lay there in the dirt. You get back on and keep on riding!

      If you want to see success with IM, you have to put in lots of long hours, both researching and then taking action on what you have learned. You have to LOVE doing it, also. If you hate most of the aspects of what you are doing with your online business, you will most certainly fail at it.

      Based on what I've read, I think the OP has what it takes to be very successful online, if he finds a niche he is truly passionate about, creates a realistic business plan, is willing to work VERY hard, and is truly dedicated and determined not to fail.

      Also, it won't come crashing down if you set up multiple income streams, make backups of everything important, and always have a "plan B" if and when something goes wrong.
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    • This is exactly right -- and this is true whether your business is both online and offline like stoltingmediagroup's or purely online like mine is.

      Internet marketing isn't a business in itself, it's a business activity. True, it's a key tool that can be used in support of important business goals, goals like finding customers, putting your products in front of them and getting some sales. But it's still only part of the picture and if you don't have the other parts of the picture in place -- whether it's product development, customer service, finance, technology or developing your business strategy -- you're going to fail.

      Though it might seem counter-intuitive to all the wannabe IM gurus out there, it's no accident that in most (though certainly not all) companies marketing is only a VP-level position and not a C-level position like a CEO, COO, CFO, or CTO/CIO. Marketing is essential, but in the grand scheme of things, it's still less important that many other business activities.
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  • Doing what you have vaguely described? I lost interest a few years ago. Bumbling and pretending doesn't get you far in the end, even if it gains you a bit in the short term.
  • 100% the I.M. game is filled with lies. I see them all the time and with more experience I can spot them much easier. I think a big issue is, people are pursuing I.M. and not running a successful business. A real business helps people in exchange for money. When you do this you can build up repeat customers and a good reputation. When people only pursue making money, they usually burn bridges and their method eventually gets shut down. Then these people have to move on to some other type of scam and all of their energy was wasted.

    I feel for you OP as I am in a similar situation to you. If I pursue anything else in the future, I will have a clear plan and it will be a long term endeavor.
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  • You have to get back up and keep trying no matter what happens. You fail by quitting not because you didn´t get the result you wanted. keep learning and get a mentor.
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  • People fail at IM for a host of reasons, but a common one is not sticking to a business development plan long enough. A second reason is not adapting quick enough to changes in Google or other major influences.
  • Be more pAHsitive.
    Don't be so nAgative.
    Embrace all methods no matter what more experienced people have to say about them.
    The naysayers aren't making any mAHney.
    That's why they're so nAgative.
  • IM is as exciting as you are successful and passionate about what you're doing.

    Every time I've gotten slapped, banned... or some simple change has worked against me... I've lost interest in IM.

    It's really the same thing with anything in my life. When you first meet a woman, it's always exciting. After a few years, you have to intentionally seek out ways to keep things exciting.

    When I first got into music, I use to love it. After a few years, I lost that spark. But still, now, 14 years later I still go into my studio and produce music.

    With IM you can definitely lose interest. Especially when you're doing it to survive or have doing it for 3+ years fulltime. I do get sick of nonstop updates and nonstop changes. Yet at the same time.... how bored and spoiled would I be if marketing didn't keep me on my toes?

    I've had times where in 90 days I cleared 6 figures. Where I had a series of good luck. Then I coasted on autopilot for a few years and had a series of really bad luck. And I damn near gave up on IM.

    But you gotta get back in the ring. You train, evolve and grow smarter. You ever heard that saying, "The true measure of a mans character is how he deals with failure"?

    It's the same thing with IM and anything else in life.

    It's also important to distinguish the difference between passion and love. Like I may not always be passionate about IM but in the end it's something I love. What other career can I be doing right now where I can work when I want when I want how I want and have the freedom I do?

    The only real thing I miss about having a job is that I use to be forced to interact with people on a daily basis. But every job I've had, after you work with the same people year after year doing the same shit with a boss barking the same orders.... you wind up feeling like a slave. You hate your job. You grow to hate your life.

    I've had some cool jobs too and worked with cool people but I just can't work under any type of boss. It's not for me.

    And maybe IM just isn't for you.

    Maybe you need a a job and a boss to tell you what to do everyday.

    Maybe you think that will be more "stable". I don't know what you think. But jobs aren't as stable as most people think. And the people who really make it in life, whether employeed or self employeed... it's always the people with drive, ambition, and a positive outlook on life. There is an element of luck involved. Like some people are just smarter than others. And tbo I think that plays a huge role in IM as with anything else in life. But even if you're not smart as the guys who are making a killing... you can learn skills and better yourself.

    Life is all about growing and learning dude.

    Good luck figuring your shit out.
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    • That's pretty insulting dude

      where in my post did I ever hint that I need a job and someone telling me what to do?

      I merely wanted to know if I was on my own in my IM experiences or if I am part of the majority of people training a wild beast that may not be worth it in the end.

      I would also like to pose that there are WAY easier ways to make money such as what I now do. More money, less work, more time with family. That's the equation I was looking for with IM but didn't obtain. Now that I've obtained this lifestyle, I have no need to keep updating websites, doing keyword research and optimization, writing follow up emails, blogging, adwords, and all that other IM J.O.B crap that I got sucked into years ago.

      I'm seriously glad if some of you actually earn money at this. It's just I don't think you are the majority and I don't think it was what most of us signed up for. If I'm wrong I'll eat my shoe.

      By reading some of the comments in this thread it sounds like by and large IM is an endeavor you need to slag through and you MAY get compensated in the long run as long as you keep at it, become and expert, and work a LOT.

      I just wonder if that is the message we should be sharing with our newbies rather than rich beyond measure in less than 30 days.

      Anyway, now that I've ranted, I'm not so insulted by your comment any more - the healing properties of the written word I guess

      I just hate the idea that you think I've given up just because I got knocked off the horse. Well, the story I gave initially was a simplified version of what happened. I got knocked off of MANY horses only to get up again and get knocked off again. I had many failures and then some successes but in the end I had to question my direction. and question, "Is there an easier way?"

      Luckily I DID question otherwise I wouldn't be where I am now! doing the things I am doing now.

      IM is like hiking uphill, sludging through sticky mud, for countless miles, to get the apple which may or may not still be ripe by the time you get there.

      lol

      ok - I admit to being a tad dramatic but that's honestly how I feel about my experiences.

      Tell me I'm wrong!
  • I agree that IM is a slow process and it can take years to see any results from what you are doing. You mostly just have to keep it going until you are making a decent return from the amount of time that you put into it. Sounds like you need a boost in traffic to keep you motivated and I can see how Facebook ads could become addictive. You can always reach new people with your IM offers though and this truly makes the sky the limit for what you can achieve online
  • I guess it depends what your definition of internet marketing is. If you follow most of the stuff taught in WSO's your in for mediocre earnings and every time the rules change the bag of tricks that you were using fail.

    You have some skills now so just put them to better use.

    I handle internet marketing for clients that if they make one sale a month they can write off paying me 2k/month. Get yourself half a dozen of those and it's a pretty nice life.

    As far as pushing CB products and affiliate offers you can't depend on SEO or little tricks that have an expiry date if you want to make serious money. Work on products and ways to pitch them that are still profitable if you pay for traffic via media buys then when you massage an offer into a winner you can scale up.

    Pretty much every WSO is how to make money with nothing or how to make money if you get your traffic for almost free like really cheap FB clicks etc... BUT that is NOT how the rest of the business world works and they do very nicely online lol

    A good product and offer should do well paying normal non ninja/hacker prices for views.

    It becomes picking winners, testing, adjusting and scaling.
    Of course this requires actual cash but be honest, if you could go back and do it all again what would be better? All those lost years for 4k/month or just accepting that you need to start rolling with 10k/monthly budgets if you ever want to have a real business. Of course anyone selling a WSO would never make a sale if they said now get a budget lol
  • Like what?
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    • I knooow. I lost interest when Penguin came, I lost interest when Panda came... and know I have a pretty good system in place that have been working for a while... althoug sometimes there are "those" days when I can lose interest as well (a pain in the but client, just a bad day, etc).

      IM has a lot of ways outside of G though.

      There is a lot of people killing it with Facebook, Amazon, Youtube, PPV, creating software, Selling stuff here that works, you may even go and get a job at an agency or something.

      Loosing interest or feeling down could be normal when you don't have the results you want, endurance and surrounding yourself with the right people (aka people that is doing what you would like to do) is key IMO.

      Anyhow, I hope you find your way to where you want to be!
  • Hi,

    I believe many of us have come through a point when we feel like throwing in the towel. I have failed a lot of times too. Spent a lot of money with Paid Advertising and figuring things out in order to make profitable campaigns.

    I make money online with affiliate marketing as a sideline income. I did not quit my job. The reason I am still into this IM is that I enjoy the adventure. I like figuring things out and making solutions to existing problems or hurdles that many affiliates would be facing. A lot of changes happen every now and then and what worked before may not work today and what worked today may not work tomorrow and may go back to square 1. I think that is normal and so what I do is to be flexible.

    One way of doing this is by playing by the rules of Google. Got my sites up and running with blogger blogs or commonly known as blogspot blogs optimized in the top SERPs at the same time mobile optimized. I have just set it and forget it once they hit top rankings for buyer keywords without worrying about domains and hosting. When I am doing other ventures, my sites continue to generate sales on auto pilot and the checks arrive on time. They are not day job killing income but they are proofs that Automated Online business through affiliate marketing works. The initial work for setting up takes more effort but once it is set up and many people are into it, income is unstoppable.

    This is just one of my experiences in the IM world. I am currently doing other things like CPA marketing, Adsense, and Information Product creation and really honing winning strategies. I am looking forward to helping fellow online entrepreneurs get over with any hardship that they may encounter by searching for winning combinations/ formulas that can make their marketing profitable for the years to come.

    As for you, I am glad you found something that you can be concentrating on aside from IM but Internet marketing is actually a TOOL that anyone can use in order to further any business that we are in. I am hoping that you will not abandon the skills that you have learned so far with IM because they are actually great leverage.

    Keep going!
  • Being in the game for a long time doesn't really mean much. The most important thing in that sense is engagement and being engaged in the game for a short but focused time is probably better than long and unfocused.

    It seems like a lot of IM is shady and at the end of the day, the question is are you bringing value to people. And have you developed the skills necessary to bring that value? It's not too late to offer more value, there's lots of opportunity in the world.
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  • IM now earns me better than my brick and mortar HR business. The key here is to keep evolving as I see it.
  • [DELETED]
  • I want this job
  • Yes it is very discouraging when your main money making business is down due to certain changes in Google Algo overnight. But if you were able to earn money then you can do it again. My simple advice is don't give up. your efforts will not be wasted.
  • The best way to protect yourself from Google Slaps, advertising changes, etc is too...

    Start owning your own traffic a.k.a. BUILD A LIST

    That was you are in control of your traffic, and you can sustain income
  • I lost interest in taking in a lot of GRQ/MMO noise quite a few years ago. Even though I was never a huge consumer of IM products, I used to constantly read books or listen to teleseminars about IM. I kinda lost interest in that around 2008 and am not really plugged into anything within the IM arena.

    I started my e-commerce business in 2004/2005 and the IM crowd had much more value back then. Big companies were not doing much of anything online so a smaller competitor with good marketing could easily compete. Nowadays, that’s not really the case anymore. I mean, you can still compete with big companies, but the gurus online don’t really have the answers in the same way they did back in the early to mid 2000’s. As recently as 2011, I was ranking on the first page for terms like “CRM” or “CRM Software”.

    Back then, big companies were dumb/slow and you couldn’t learn much by watching them. Nowadays, with the right selection of marketing books and by watching some smart companies, you can pretty much figure out what you need to do and make it happen. Those old IM products were very gimmicky and full of hype…butterfly marketing? I would not be surprised if the success rate of that product was like .00005%.

    Still though, what most people miss is the product piece of it all. Whether the product is your service, a physical product, software, etc. You need something with high gross margins so you can actually make money when you get people to your page. Most people don’t even have that so the traffic is worthless.
  • It seems to be getting harder and harder every year. More junk comes into the market and rich keep getting richer. People don't trust anyone other than the big sites anymore and for good reason.
  • I've been making my living online for well over a decade. And guess what? I worked my ASS off to get to where I'm at today. I also made a ton of mistakes and more than once, I wanted to quit. I'm glad I did not give into that temptation.

    As Mike Miller already mentioned, "internet marketing" is such a broad term. There are so many ways one can make money online. You can sell infoproducts, you can run a forum, you can run a membership website, you can create your own network and charge transaction fees, you can sell hard goods, you can sell food, you can buy and sell real estate online, you send traffic to offers, you can run and promote a blog, you can run and sell webinars, and the list goes on an on.

    Even though the barriers to entry are very low for starting many kinds of business models online, that doesn't mean it's easy. There are some things that are far easier to do today because of the technology that we have now. Do you remember what it was like before autoresponders and shopping carts or even Paypal?

    I've worked with a lot of entrepreneurs over the years and I see many of the same mistakes being made over and over again. The reasons are many, but if I could boil it down to a few things it would be the following:

    1. Getting clear on your outcome
    2. Finding a problem / need/ want.
    3. Finding a solution or solutions for that problem / need / want
    4. Finding someone or a company that is succeeding doing that very thing.
    5. Focusing your time on things that will make you money.
    6. Know your numbers before you pluck down any money.
    7. Understanding your market
    8. Testing, tweaking, and beating your control group.
    9. Mindset.
    10. Positioning.

    For a more detailed list of things that I wish I had when I first started, you can refer to this post I made a few years ago:



    My interest in doing business is at an all time high because I believe there are more opportunities today to make money than even 5 years ago. Internet marketing is far more than just putting an opt-in page and sending traffic to it. There are many moving parts to it and it all depends on what business model you want to pursue.

    I leave with you with this last thought: whatever business model you decide to go after, make sure it doesn't rely on Google's algo changes. Finds ways to get traffic that goes beyond SEO. Look to Social Media, paid advertising, joint ventures, and free publicity.

    RoD
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  • I really appreciate your honesty!
    My suggest for newbies is find out the strategy
    and start with few money.
    The important think is to give your best before losing interest!
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    • What is more easier than Marketing to people on the internet

      or INTERNET MARKETING???

      anything online that gains profits is Internet Marketing.

      What part of IM are you losing interest?
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  • Sometime I lose my motivation temporarily, but quickly thereafter I usually snap out of it and remember how much I hated working in the 9-5 corporate world. My attitude is if I can make more than "just enough" doing what I do now, I won't go back. Us IM'ers need to give our heads a shake every now and then no different than regular everyday working folk.
  • Whenever i see Google ads display at first page , i felt so bad bro
    Cuz i did all kind of shit to get ranked on first page and people just easy paid to get high
  • I went back and forth for years (since 2005). Didn't make my first thousand bucks until 2007. Quit and then started over and over until I got into an accident (head injury) and was forced to succeed.

    Success is not a straight road or line.
  • I would agree that IM is not for everyone! But hard work and dedication will only lead you to SUCCESS! So don't you ever give up!
  • I hear you.

    I was you. Tried a whole load of different stuff over a whole load of years. Had minimal success. Got very, very cynical about IM and online business generally. Whenever I heard the names of IM 'gurus' i spat blood. In the end was very tired of the whole thing.

    Was extremely fortunate to find my niche after all that. Now, some months, after being in my niche couple of years, sales are into 6 figures (i'm not selling anything here, just saying).

    So, it is possible, just unlikely.

    Good luck to you and others in the future.
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  • Does anyone else find it ironic that this was posted on an internet marketing forum....a website for people that ARE interested in internet marketing?

    Alright. Kidding aside, most people here will fail. They will fail because they "got tired of IM" and gave up. Persistence is the key. If it was easy, everyone would be doing it instead of working a 9-5 job for some jerk of a boss.
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