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Here's the missing step that nobody's telling you

by Ron Douglas
26 replies
Some may argue with me over this but Internet marketing is not a business, it's just a way to market over the Internet.

- You can learn everything there is to know about Internet marketing and still not make any money.

- You can buy every Internet marketing course and read every post on this forum and be dead broke.

- You can join all the top marketer's coaching programs and still not succeed.

The fact is, there are millions of smart people in the world who don't make any money. And there are many people who are not as smart as you that are making money out the wazoo.

At the end of the day, here is the one missing piece to the puzzle that no one is going to give you specific details on:

You need a product that actually sells, know how to best sell it, and know how to get it in front of the people who will buy it. And in your efforts to market the product, it has to make you more money than you're spending to promote it.

It may sound simple, but that's all you need to know. If you're struggling to make money online, read that again and analyse whether your marketing is consistent with that statement.

- Are you selling something that people actually buy?
- Are you promoting the benefits of the product to make it as attractive as possible to potential customers
- Are you getting your offer in front of the people who will be interested in buying it?

Let's put it another way... You could be the best marketer on the Internet but:

- If you don't sell what people want to buy, you will fail
- If you don't effectively communicate how the product will benefit customers, you will fail
- If you are promoting your product to the wrong market, you will fail

What, How, and Where.

What to sell; how to sell it; where to market it. Figure that out and you can't help but succeed.
#missing #step #telling
  • Profile picture of the author artwebster
    There you go again, Ron, stating the bloody obvious!

    What's the betting nobody takes it on board?
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  • Profile picture of the author Ken Preuss
    Great post Ron. I'd like to hone in on the very last sentence you wrote:

    Originally Posted by Ron Douglas View Post

    What to sell; how to sell it; where to market it. Figure that out and you can't help but succeed.
    So the next question most people will ask is, "Great Ron. Now how do I figure those things out?"

    For those asking that question, here's the answer:

    What to sell, how to sell it and where to market it are ALL being shown to you in EVERY niche 24 hours a day by the most successful marketers in the world.

    There are no secrets as to how to succeed online:

    1) Pick a niche - one you engage with and can relate to

    2) Figure out who's successful - if you can find them easily among a ton of competition, they're certainly successful to some degree

    3) Model EXACTLY what they're saying, doing and selling but with your own presence and packaging (e.g. your own name, your own brand, and your own twist)

    Example:

    When I started online I marketed to real estate investors. Why? Because I was one (therefore I could relate to the audience - I didn't have to try or pretend the way most people do with niches they have no connection to)

    Then, instead of guessing "what to do" or "what to market" I simply immersed myself in the real estate marketplace and opened my eyes. Lo and behold the marketplace was SHOWING me "what to do", "what to sell" and even "how to sell it."

    How was the marketplace showing me, you ask?

    Because I could see with my own eyes who was successful in the market, who was selling products on teleclasses, webinars, etc.... and even HOW they were doing it. (They were literally *showing* me how)

    Did I know how to sell products on a teleclass when I started? No. So what did I do?

    Simple - I listened to, recorded and studied the teleclasses of several top-selling marketers... then simply modeled their format with my own content. (Rocket science, ain't it?)

    Moral of the story:

    The approaches that will make you the most money are the EASIEST to find. That's because the most successful marketers in YOUR niche are using them right now in the wide open for ALL to see.



    Ken
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    • Profile picture of the author 4morereferrals
      I came to this forum over 2 yrs ago and read and signed up for lists and thought OMG - this Filsaime guy is crazy off the hook. BFM wasnt all that old then. Read a lot and did NOTHING really other than eBay stuff.

      I had made a very substantial income off eBay a long time ago by capitalizing on something a lot of people needed wanted and were buying alreay. Network Gear for businesses. I found a better faster way to get to them online all over the globe for far less. Money chased me. Problem was I didnt control the product availability. It dried up and I went back to 100% offline.

      Came here and was schooled how the big boys really make money - wit ha near ZERO cost to deliver, and an ENDLESS supply [unless you want there to be ] product[s].

      Blogging and affiliate offers ... etc - seemed interesting. Nothing doing.

      It wasnt until I found/saw something that seems like a lot of people want and need, and struggle to get - that I had my eyes open for a better way to get it for them, once again. Stepped out and made a little product.

      Get YOUR OWN PRODUCT ... is the lesson I learned and was MY Take Away this year. I just learned it this week :-) [that and another valuable lesson]

      I am damn glad I just said - Screw it - make one. These other folks can - so can you. Youre smart enough - Dont be a wuss - man up and go for it. And that is my suggestion to folks - it turned out to be dang fun too.

      At the end of the day, here is the one missing piece to the puzzle that no one is going to give you specific details on:

      You need a product that actually sells, know how to best sell it, and know how to get it in front of the people who will buy it. And in your efforts to market the product, it has to make you more money than you're spending to promote it.
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  • Profile picture of the author Gene Pimentel
    Hey Ron! It was great meeting you in person in Orlando last week. Great advice in this post. People have to be reminded of the 'obvious' over and over before it really sinks in, and stop getting distracted by all the shiny objects in the road that distract focus.
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    • Profile picture of the author Ron Douglas
      Originally Posted by Gene Pimentel View Post

      Hey Ron! It was great meeting you in person in Orlando last week. Great advice in this post. People have to be reminded of the 'obvious' over and over before it really sinks in, and stop getting distracted by all the shiny objects in the road that distract focus.
      Hey Gene, it was nice meeting you and your wife also. I had a great time at Willie's event.

      It's amazing how the obvious often gets overlooked as people work hard to complicate things.
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      • Profile picture of the author Steven Wagenheim
        I don't know Ron. I've been trying to drill this into people's heads for years.

        Maybe they just don't listen.

        Or maybe we have it all wrong.

        Maybe the way to make money on the Internet is to sell a can of air.

        Remember that?

        Or the pet rock.

        Truth is, anything can be sold if you market it correctly.

        If those two examples don't prove that, nothing will.

        I have seen things sold in this world that have absolutely astounded me.

        Is is easier to sell something that people really need that solves a problem?

        Sure...but like I said, with killer marketing you can sell anything.

        Now I have to go see what I did with my can of air.
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        • Profile picture of the author Ron Douglas
          Originally Posted by Steven Wagenheim View Post

          I don't know Ron. I've been trying to drill this into people's heads for years.

          Maybe they just don't listen.

          Or maybe we have it all wrong.

          Maybe the way to make money on the Internet is to sell a can of air.

          Remember that?

          Or the pet rock.

          Truth is, anything can be sold if you market it correctly.

          If those two examples don't prove that, nothing will.

          I have seen things sold in this world that have absolutely astounded me.

          Is is easier to sell something that people really need that solves a problem?

          Sure...but like I said, with killer marketing you can sell anything.

          Now I have to go see what I did with my can of air.
          I know you're speaking tongue in cheek :p, but I'd say good look anyone trying to find the next can of air or pet rock.

          I'd also say that those products deserve more credit because they were so outrageous and buzz worthy that they were easy to market.

          The marketability of the product is more important than killer marketing IMHO.
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          • Profile picture of the author Kay King
            Things like pet rocks can become a sales phenomenon because they are original. Pet rocks sold many years ago....and people are still trying for "the next pet rock".

            Whenever I see a product advertised as "the next [insert buzzword here]", I think 'that one's sunk'.

            Another good example is the high earning pixel site of a few years ago. It was original with a good story so it worked. The thousands of "next pixel sites" didn't.

            kay
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          • Profile picture of the author Steven Wagenheim
            Originally Posted by Ron Douglas View Post

            I know you're speaking tongue in cheek :p, but I'd say good look anyone trying to find the next can of air or pet rock.

            I'd also say that those products deserve more credit because they were so outrageous and buzz worthy that they were easy to market.

            The marketability of the product is more important than killer marketing IMHO.
            You're right Ron...I was making a wee little joke about this.

            I've personally stopped looking for the next can of air or pet rock because
            those things are few and far in between.

            I'd rather market something that has somebody write to me and say...

            "Thank you...I solved my problem."
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            • Profile picture of the author John Taylor
              Originally Posted by Steven Wagenheim View Post

              You're right Ron...I was making a wee little joke about this.
              Steven,

              As 'wee' and 'little' have the same meaning, I suspect that
              you may be attempting to keyword stuff your posts.

              Looking for keyword stuffing in list of infractions......



              John
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      • Profile picture of the author DeadGuy
        Excellent post Ron! But there may be a semantic difference of opinion about whether IM is a business or not. IM can either be a business unto itself or simply one tool used by a business. Here's an ancient story to highlight my point.

        A man walks by a construction site and sees two men working fevorishly with shovels. The man is curious so he asks the first worker what he's doing. "Digging a ditch", the worker replies. The man asks the second worker in the ditch the same question. The worker says, "I'm building a cathedral".

        There are a thousand ways to interpret that story, but the highlight to the story is the unique perspective that each worker applies to what he's doing. Certainly, IM can be a business. And it is for a huge number of entrepreneurs. It could also be considered only one tool in a business promotional arsenal.
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        • Profile picture of the author Ron Douglas
          Originally Posted by DeadGuy View Post

          Excellent post Ron! But there may be a semantic difference of opinion about whether IM is a business or not. IM can either be a business unto itself or simply one tool used by a business. Here's an ancient story to highlight my point.

          A man walks by a construction site and sees two men working fevorishly with shovels. The man is curious so he asks the first worker what he's doing. "Digging a ditch", the worker replies. The man asks the second worker in the ditch the same question. The worker says, "I'm building a cathedral".

          There are a thousand ways to interpret that story, but the highlight to the story is the unique perspective that each worker applies to what he's doing. Certainly, IM can be a business. And it is for a huge number of entrepreneurs. It could also be considered only one tool in a business promotional arsenal.
          Other than providing a service of Internet Marketing to clients, please explain how Internet Marketing in itself is a business. I'm curious to know.
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          • Profile picture of the author DeadGuy
            Certainly! Here's my take on it. A good friend of mine sells products into 4 different niches... health care, fitness, specific women's health solutions and dating. Some of these are affiliate products and some are of her own creation. This is her exclusive, fulltime job and she does quite well at it.

            We were just talking about taxes this last week, so it's still fresh in my mind. She operates her business as an LLC Partnership and has listed her "Principle Business Activity" as "Internet Marketing" with the IRS for the last four years. This hasn't raised any eyebrows or red flags.

            It's important to point out, at least in this instance, that she makes no bones about which products she sells. Actually, she doesn't care as long as they are quality and fill the needs of her customers. Since the products are reasonably irrelevant, her sole "business" is IM. In other words, her only forte is putting the right products in front of the right people, using only the internet. That is IM by strict definition. Since it's her only income producing function as well, and her business description is acceptable by IRS standards, I think that it's fair to say that IM is her business by definition.
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            • Profile picture of the author Ron Douglas
              Originally Posted by DeadGuy View Post

              Certainly! Here's my take on it. A good friend of mine sells products into 4 different niches... health care, fitness, specific women's health solutions and dating. Some of these are affiliate products and some are of her own creation. This is her exclusive, fulltime job and she does quite well at it.

              We were just talking about taxes this last week, so it's still fresh in my mind. She operates her business as an LLC Partnership and has listed her "Principle Business Activity" as "Internet Marketing" with the IRS for the last four years. This hasn't raised any eyebrows or red flags.

              It's important to point out, at least in this instance, that she makes no bones about which products she sells. Actually, she doesn't care as long as they are quality and fill the needs of her customers. Since the products are reasonably irrelevant, her sole "business" is IM. In other words, her only forte is putting the right products in front of the right people, using only the internet. That is IM by strict definition. Since it's her only income producing function as well, and her business description is acceptable by IRS standards, I think that it's fair to say that IM is her business by definition.
              I see your point. In that example though, I think her real business is a publisher of information or direct sales. Internet Marketing is just the method she uses. I guess it's all just semantics.
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  • Profile picture of the author John Taylor
    Originally Posted by Ron Douglas View Post


    Let's put it another way... You could be the best marketer on the Internet but:

    - If you don't sell what people want to buy, you will fail
    - If you don't effectively communicate how the product will benefit customers, you will fail
    - If you are promoting your product to the wrong market, you will fail

    What, How, and Where.

    What to sell; how to sell it; where to market it. Figure that out and you can't help but succeed.

    Ron,

    And that in itself is a big problem for many people.. they
    try far too hard to sell stuff.

    The real trick is to position yourself between a buyer and
    the best solution to his problem.

    John
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    • Profile picture of the author Franck Silvestre
      Yes,

      If you got your target market right and understood what your customer want, your marketing is just about how to sell MORE.

      Originally Posted by John Taylor View Post

      Ron,

      And that in itself is a big problem for many people.. they
      try far too hard to sell stuff.

      The real trick is to position yourself between a buyer and
      the best solution to his problem.

      John
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  • Profile picture of the author sajae102
    That is really true!. However, I believe this....if you are a good internet marketer, you could sell dog poo, as long as you know how to get the message out there. Of course, you could make a killing if you got a really good product and have excellent internet marketing skills. They kind of go hand and hand
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    • Profile picture of the author Ron Douglas
      Originally Posted by sajae102 View Post

      That is really true!. However, I believe this....if you are a good internet marketer, you could sell dog poo, as long as you know how to get the message out there. Of course, you could make a killing if you got a really good product and have excellent internet marketing skills. They kind of go hand and hand
      That is probably the biggest misconception about Internet Marketing. If a product is not marketable to begin with, your message will always fall short. Unless of course you lie about the benefits of the product.
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  • Profile picture of the author adpablo
    I think you need both ends of the internet business "rope" in order to earn a good income and close the circle. You need the product, a good one with a well identified market and you need traffic (the more targeted the better and if it's abundant much more better), this is, you also need good internet marketing....
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    • Profile picture of the author Daniel Molano
      I'm going to quote Allen Says from an ancient thread here that I have in my swipe file.

      Originally Posted by admin View Post

      Great copy will be useless to you without eyeballs.

      And I can sell a total sh*t product IF I have a cheap enough lead funnel..

      "Cheap Lead Funnel".... <--- If I can set one of those up, I can sell millions of dollars worth of almost anything. Bad copy. good copy, great product, completely turd product - it doesn't really matter, I'll still move product.

      The better the copy the faster I'll move it and the more profit I'll make, but I'll still move it either way.

      If the "System" you've set up gets you in front of enough eyeballs you're going to make money, selling some of the most ignorant products I've ever seen. I've seen this live and in living color and know it to be a fact.

      Testing rules - yes - but what testing comes first?

      Many will tell you copy - not true. Testing what "system" gets the maximum number of eyeballs comes first. If you don't get eyeballs, you may as well quit because the best copy in the world is useless.
      I have to agree with him completely.

      Sadly, it's not about the copy and/or a fantastic product. You can have the best product in the world and you can have the most killer copy, but if people don't see it, you will NOT make money.

      It's all about the massive number of eyeballs. If you generate thousands or even better millions, no matter how crappy your product is, no matter how bad your pitches are and no matter how poor the design is, you will make money.

      And I'm not talking about traffic alone, this goes beyond that. I'm talking about eyeballs, online and offline. The actual number of physical people who see your product/service.

      It's sad, but that's the world we live in and I have come to accept that.

      Now, combine that with great products/services and you've got yourself a succesful business.

      Do you really think the pet rock is something people desperately wanted? Nay, but the exposure made it a shocking success.
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  • Profile picture of the author Hililuud
    Killer tip ron, but what if the person only knows about the things that don't sell. It will be hard to swich over and start article marketing, and promoting things you know nothing about..
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    • Profile picture of the author Peter.B
      Some great points everyone.

      I agree the product quality is very important plus of course your technique of converting prospects to customers (or "clients" as Jay Abraham would say)..

      The vital factor to get right is getting enough targeted visitors to enter your website's doors. Without enough targeted visitors, even the best product is doomed to failure.

      When I started off, some of my first products were "a bit basic" but still sold like hotcakes because I had a ton of cheap PPC traffic.

      I am still convinced that having enough targeted traffic (which includes traffic from any number of possible sources and / or having a decent sized and responsive list) is our nirvana as IMs.
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  • Profile picture of the author BizBoost
    Another fine post, Ron, but I do see DeadGuy's point.

    Eric
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  • Profile picture of the author seobro
    I have a saying - ice cubes sell well in hell.
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  • Profile picture of the author andrewharrison
    Eskimos need freezers. . . So their food won't get freezer burnt. . .
    Regards
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  • Profile picture of the author MattRobson
    Great post about getting back to business fundamentals.

    Probably a layover from the days where one great model of making money was all about getting traffic and running Adsense or a mini-mall of offers.

    I think these stories along with a few people actually making new money with these techniques like domaining, SEO, and PPC / CPA with no product, will make IM carry this "traffic only" mentality for some time.

    For people in CPA, their sales funnel is their product, and they often don't treat it like that.

    I think Direct Marketing is basically the secret of those initiated beyond the "startling" techniques of getting traffic, but, you still need to have something to sell.
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  • Profile picture of the author reynald2790
    Great, people forget how to market the products, and how to chose a product that sells high. But, I do disagree with misconception with smart people. Smart people don't earn to much money in internet marketing but they earn money in offices rather than choosing online jobs. But not all smart people go on with office stuffs, some also are into online jobs the only problem would be those people who are really smart are more into giving services to other people to give the best quality of articles. And yes, average people are more earning money in online market because they are very eager to have one.
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  • Profile picture of the author charlesburke
    As Artwebster said, "There you go again, Ron, stating the bloody obvious!"

    And it NEEDS to be stated again... and again. How many times have you read comments on WF from guys who have bought this or that marketing manual and all they can come up with is:
    * "I didn't find anything new in it."
    * "I already know all of that."
    * "Such-and-Such Guru already covered all that in _______."
    * "No, man, it just can't be that simple - it's all too obviouis."

    These are the guys who know lots ABOUT marketing and sales, but they still have that big disconnect between knowledge and action. So when the world's top athletes train, what do they practice? The fundamentals. The basic stuff. The plain, simple moves that, when perfected, look like magic and carry them to the heights.

    More of the obvious stuff, please.

    Cheers from warm and smiling Thailand,
    Charles
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