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5 Reasons Why Most Internet Marketers Fail
by Titus Hoskins
More Business Skills Articles
Published on this site: June 17th, 2009 - See
more articles from this month
When it comes to starting any endeavor, whether it be learning a
new hobby or starting an online business, we all have to start at
ground zero. We all have to start at the very beginning from the
very same place. Granted, we each bring different skills and
backgrounds into the mix, but for the most part we are all on
equal footing at the starting line.
If this is the case, then we really have to ponder why is it only
a choice few go on to succeed, while most people don't. Just
what are the reasons why most online marketers fail? This is the
core question that has to be answered if you want to fully
understand Internet marketing and how it works.
What are these basic reasons?
What are the causes or stumbling blocks that hold many marketers
and webmasters from reaching their full online potential? If we
know these factors, we can learn how to avoid them and even
overcome them in our own online marketing. These reasons can be a
solid reference point or even a source of inspiration for any
online marketer just starting out.
Speaking from the viewpoint of someone who has started from the
very beginning with little to no knowledge of computers or even
marketing for that matter, I can honestly relate to the beginning
marketer. I even had to learn HTML from scratch in order to
construct my own webpages. Probably my only advantage, I did have
a background in art but designing webpages was completely
different from anything I had done previously to starting in
online marketing.
Nor did I have any formal training in business or marketing, just
an art teaching background which really doesn't help with the
day to day running of an online business. I had to learn as I
went; struggling with hundreds of marketing decisions before my
sites became profitable. Don't get the wrong impression, I have
probably made hundreds of mistakes along the way and I am still
making them!
But from my own experiences I have drawn some general conclusions
about Internet marketing and why some people succeed while most
people fail. So here in my honest opinion, are some of the main
reasons why many online marketers fail:
- Overwhelmed With Information
Perhaps, one of the biggest obstacles I faced when I first
started my website - I was bombarded with so much information on
how to proceed I didn't have a clue which direction to take or
who to believe. Thousands of different info products telling you
to do this, not to do that... so much marketing information to
absorb that you end up scratching your head and looking like
someone auditioning for a zombie movie.
Completely overwhelmed with so much information, many marketers
or webmasters enter a state of paralysis where nothing gets done.
You go from one course to another or from one method to another,
without any real understanding of how to proceed or how to get a
detailed blueprint to follow.
Been there, done that!
Information overflow can effectively crush all that novice
enthusiasm and literally kill even the most eager of
entrepreneurs. Anyone starting out must be aware of this obvious
but insidious pitfall you have to avoid at all costs. One of the
best remedies, simply try concentrating on just one or two
marketing plans/marketers for all your information. Try to
eliminate the clutter by just working on one marketing system.
Just have a few key marketing resources you go to for
information, not a hundred! And do your homework, only pick
marketers who can back up their claims with observable results on
the web. One obvious checkmark - just see if those marketers have
top rankings for their sites for popular profitable keywords
associated with their sites or products.
- Lack Of Key Marketing Basics
There are some key marketing basics or fundamentals you must
learn about marketing online. Internet marketing has some key
elements you must get right or you will have a difficult task in
succeeding on the web. Just simple factors you must get right or
it's game over before you even get started.
Most marketers fail to realize the web is "information driven"
and you must supply quality information or content in order to
truly succeed. You must provide a valuable service or function to
your visitors. You must help solve their problem. You must give
them a solid reason to use your site or product. Quality content
is and always will be King on the web.
You must also understand much of the web is "keyword driven"
and you must construct your webpages to take full advantage of
these keywords. You must have at least a rudimentary
understanding of SEO (Search Engine Optimization) and how you can
use it to get top rankings for your keyword phrases.
- Lack Of Time And Resources
Another major reason why many marketers fail is because they
simply can't afford the time to learn and build their online
business. Most people just can't stop everything and work full
time online because they have bills to pay and families to
support. It may take months, probably years, before you can build
up a successful online business that gives you a comfortable
living. The average person just doesn't have the time or the
resources to spend months learning how all this works.
Keep in mind, getting a business or website going is probably the
most inexpensive way to start your own business. Domains are
cheap. Web hosting is cheap. Web design is cheap if you can do it
yourself... compared to starting a business in the "real"
world, creating an online business will only cost a faction of
the normal expenses connected with starting a business. But the
main problem is having the resources to pay your living expenses
until your online business is profitable. Many beginning online
marketers don't have these resources and the main complaint from
these marketers: "I Simply can't afford the time to work at
this online stuff."
One solution is to work at your online marketing in your spare
time and gradually build up your business until you can afford to
do it full time. It will obviously take longer but you can still
get to the same end goal.
- Lack Of Necessary Skills
Actually, you don't need many skills to succeed online. However,
one of the major skills you must have or you must learn is
communication. You must learn how to communicate. The web is all
about communicating your points to your visitors or viewers so
you must acquire good ommunication skills.
It really helps your marketing if you are a good writer because
you can easily get your points across with written text or copy
on your site. Writing skills can be learned but many beginning
marketers don't fully understand how important their writing
skills will be to their success. You must be able to communicate
on your site, in your newsletters, with your customers... might
sound a bit obvious but you would be surprised at how many
marketers lack this simple, yet necessary skill.
But don't fret, because once upon a time, the written word was
king online - but not any more. Videos are rapidly taking the
place of the printed word so anyone with a camera can now be a
success online. Of course, you still need good communication
skills even using videos, but many marketers have found this is a
much easier way to communicate information about their site or
product.
- Lack Of Persistence
For me, one the most significant reasons most online
marketers/ webmasters fail, is because of a lack of persistence.
They simply give up too soon. They try something for a few weeks,
even for a few months and then they conclude this is not working
and they give up.
Building a solid online business or viable website takes time, a
lot of time. Just because your business is online, doesn't mean
everything will fall into place overnight, it takes time to
establish a customer base. It takes time to build your business
relationships and partnerships with others in your field.
Sometimes, it may take years before you see some solid returns.
It was three years before I saw any significant revenue coming
from my online ventures, and another year before I could summon
enough courage to do this online marketing full time. If I had
given up and not persisted at this web stuff, I would not be
writing this article right now.
Building top rankings for your keywords in the search engines
(especially Google) can take months, even years before you see
any results. The real key is to be persistent and keep at it, day
after day, until you get those top rankings. You simply must be
persistent or you will fail.
In conclusion, having said all that, you must also realize there
are plenty of exceptions to all of the above. There have been
countless success stories on the web where someone has come up
with a novel idea or product and become successful overnight. The
web can offer immediate success for some but for most of us, it
will take some time and hard effort on our part to build a successful online business. Just try to avoid many of the
pitfalls or reasons listed above and you will have a better
chance of placing yourself in the success column.
Titus Hoskins is a full-time online marketer who has numerous
websites. For the latest web marketing tools try: http://www.bizwaremagic.com.
If you liked the article above, why not try this Free 7 Day
Marketing Course here: http://www.marketingtoolguide.com.
Copyright (c) 2009 Titus Hoskins.
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