The Primary Source of Internet Marketing Confusion

July 23rd, 2009 | 34 comments

internet marketing confusion Between email, support tickets, my Private Internet Marketing Forum and blog comments I receive multiple (sometimes 100+) questions on a daily basis. These questions obviously vary, but there are a few that I get every single day that are very similar. These are questions that are derived from confusion and this confusion comes from one thing – People who work online for months, even years, and still don’t succeed can usually attribute their failure to not picking a model and sticking with it!

BUT, it’s not as easy as saying “OK, I’m going to do affiliate marketing, that’s my model.”

Did you know that there are HUNDREDS of different ways to make money with affiliate marketing? Let’s say you find 5 affiliate marketers that you trust. You read their blogs and everything else they put out and you soak it all in. The confusion should start to go away, right? In most cases that doesn’t happen because those 5 affiliate marketers have 5 totally different business models.

Sure, they’re all affiliate marketers, but that doesn’t mean they’re doing the same thing. And it gets worse. Now take 5 affiliate marketers, who only use PPC. I guarantee those 5 affiliates marketers who only use PPC are using 5 totally different techniques to earn their money!

This happens with all business models! The primary source of confusion comes from newbies getting mixed signals. They get one piece of the puzzle here and another piece there etc. and when they try to put the pieces together they don’t fit.

How to avoid it

There are 2 things you need to do.

1. Find a very specific plan! Not just any plan though. This needs to be a proven plan that comes from a legitimate source. I know it’s hard to know for sure who is legitimate or not, but you just have to try your hardest and hope for the best. I’ll be coming out with a new product sometime in the early week of August that would be perfect for this, so stay tuned.

2. Find a mentor and stick with his or her advice! You don’t necessarily need to spend thousands of dollars paying for a coach, but you need to stick with one or two people who you really trust. When you follow multiple people you’re going to get bits and pieces of info on multiple business models and techniques! There are alot of knowledgeable people out there, but remember, everyone does things a little bit differently!

img credit: Kristian D.

34 comments

Mark
23rd July, 2009 at 3:45 pm

Josh-

Funny, I was actually JUST thinking about this 2 days ago. I made a work calendar and told myself to stop getting sucked into so many different marketing strategies.

I think this is great advice for newbies.
Alex Yeo (2 comments.)
23rd July, 2009 at 3:45 pm

Sometimes after finding a business model that you would like to move into, you have to do it trial and error. What works for another person may not work for you. This is where perseverance comes in.
Mark Mason (78 comments.)
23rd July, 2009 at 3:45 pm

Josh – great advice. This is exactly how I view all of the great coaching you have given me over the last couple of years.
Sunshine
23rd July, 2009 at 3:51 pm

It’s as if you’ve been a fly on the wall in my home for the pass 4 yrs:) And sadly enough, the only person whose information I’ve followed for 30 days straight and made some coin with is PPG.

Unfortunately, at times I find it overwhelming to write about so many different subjects and have recently come to the conclusion that getting an offline job to pay for outsourced writing is the way I will approach this business going forward.

It’s just way too much writing involved.
Brenda (5 comments.)
23rd July, 2009 at 3:56 pm

Josh, your posts are always great.

The timing of this one is pretty funny though. Yesterday I filled out a survey for Howie Schwartz who wanted to know your #1 burning question. My answer was exactly what you are writing about today.

Just as the “gurus” tell us to dig down and find your niche the same seems to be true about finding a business model.

Thanks for your advice & wisdom.

Brenda
Nell
23rd July, 2009 at 4:04 pm

I think I really get it now. I’m someone that gets caught up in the next great product or idea. Then, I have so much to read, I can’t focus!

So as of today, I’m going to decide on a model and stick to it!
Rich Hill (5 comments.)
23rd July, 2009 at 4:09 pm

Staying focused is so hard to do when you are bombarded with many thousands of “the very BEST ways to make money online”. Myself, I like what Josh has to say and follow much of it.
Justin Case
23rd July, 2009 at 4:30 pm

Like Sunshine said, you must be watching my every move.

This is something I have been struggling with forever. I know getting a focus on is paramount in any business. But there is so many neat things out there and so little time.

Thanks for the reminder get a focal point and keep it sharply focused. The only way to get a fire going. No?
CHEAPEST Minisite Design
23rd July, 2009 at 4:53 pm

Hi Josh,

You’re right. There are so much information out there about internet marketing that people tend to get very confused.

One marketer says A, the other says B, while another says C.

This doesn’t happen to newbies only, it also happens to intermediate marketers.

Cheers!
Forest
23rd July, 2009 at 5:10 pm

Good solid post as usual Josh.

I spent a long time being swamped by business models and now have come out with something that is a little more solid…. But I wish I had been heading in one direction all along.
Anne Pottinger
23rd July, 2009 at 5:43 pm

As far as I’m concerned at least, you’ve nailed it! I follow leads, sign up for emails, get suckered into their “this will work for YOU” schemes, spend a few more bucks and end up even more confused.

After reading your emails and blogs I’ve been tempted several times to cancel all my other subscriptions. Finally I’m going to do it. The only emails I’m going to read are yours.
Paul
23rd July, 2009 at 6:10 pm

This has been my problem. Trying to follow too many people and plans left me so confused I didn’t know what to do. I’ve wasted far too much time because I haven’t been focused enough. I’ve just been busy unsubscribing from most of the blogs etc I subscribed to. From now on I’m going to focus in on one thing.
Paul
23rd July, 2009 at 6:12 pm

Hey Josh…This is they way most newbies do it.

They follow somone or some business model. It kinda works but not to our expectations. Soooo we go to the next program, model or IM Guru. We feverisly try our best again, but It doesn’t happen as quickly as we would like it to or it gets too technical or expensive….We stop again and decide to try something completley different.

I still struggle with this myself but nowhere near what it used to be.

It is a BIG learning experience.

Paul
Jimmy Adames
23rd July, 2009 at 6:24 pm

Hi Josh.

Without question information overload contributed to a lot of my early failures. It was enough to keep me working from behind a long time.

Once I decided how I was going to earn money using the Internet and how things became a lot easier. I don’t let anyone or anything knock me off that path.

Learning from others is essential if you want to succeed but the ultimate key to success is doing what works for you and sticking to it.

Jimmy Adames
vezycash
23rd July, 2009 at 6:58 pm

The mentor part is coincidentaly something I’ve been thinking about all day.
Jim
23rd July, 2009 at 7:48 pm

Good advice. Stick with one or two people whose advice you trust, who have proven success, whose style you like, and don’t move until you achieve their success. You absolutely have to ignore the other tasty bits of info that other people can offer–even though they are often very good. You have to understand that you are not “missing out” by sticking with a proven success model–because it’s working now for the person you’re modeling. And once you’ve succeeded and have a steady income, only thn are you are in a position to evaluate whether or not other info will add to your methods or just distract you. Meanwhile stay focused.
Rusty - Fitness Black Book (7 comments.)
23rd July, 2009 at 8:45 pm

Josh,

Great article. People also need to decide if the method they are using is for short term cash or whether they are after a long-term business.

I used to make money each month promoting tons of affiliate products in 5-6 different niches, but then decided to build an Authority Site in one niche. My income took a big leap back for one year, but now I have surpassed my previous best month and have momentum that I would have never have achieved with my efforts spread thin.

I completely agree that sticking with something long enough (even when it feels like work) is a big key to success.

Solid post,

Rusty
Steve Sponseller
23rd July, 2009 at 9:33 pm

Thanks Josh – great info.
I struggle with staying focused on one business model – too many “new things” distracting me every day. I’m working on ONE business right now and staying focused – I will succeed.
Steve
Gary Hicks
23rd July, 2009 at 9:48 pm

I couldn’t agree more. I think you need to find a teacher who has an approach that’s in tune with your own way of thinking, apply some due diligence, follow a plan of action and stick to it. If things don’t work out, don’t beat yourself up over it. Pick yourself up, dust yourself off and try something else and keep trying until you succeed. There’s no such thing as a ‘one size fits all’ strategy and there are very few successful folk out there who haven’t got at least one failed project under their belt.
Gary
watzzupsport (1 comments.)
23rd July, 2009 at 10:11 pm

So darn true, there is always something that you think fits into your business model but it is really just a diversion.
As for mentors I would like to find a local chapter of Affiliate marketers that you could meet up with so you can chew the fat with interaction like, looking over someones shoulder when they are doing something to help clear up a sticking point you have.
You know the sort of thing when you go over to your mates house to help him with a car repair or help out with a skill you have but he may not
Leonard Greenhall
23rd July, 2009 at 11:34 pm

Thanks for a comon sense advice blog.
Confusion over all the advice out there is the problem for strugglers ( like me) and trying to combine all the advice has been a disaster for so many newbies
AJ James
23rd July, 2009 at 11:44 pm

I keep telling my 13 year old cousin, that stickituitiveness (yes that word), is so important. She has a 10 year plan now involving her blog, it consists of writing 2 short articles per day, building 30 links per day to each article.

It takes her about 1.5 hours.

In ten years at age 23, she’ll have over 7000 articles , about 500,000 lnbound links and a page rank worth bragging about.

But not if she opportunity hops.

Diligence + Vigilence = ????
Ninah
23rd July, 2009 at 11:45 pm

I’m following your five dollar a day model josh. It’s been a slow start for me but I like the idea that I am earning slowly while learning.

I like reading what the other gurus have to say but at the end of the day, if I take all of their pieces of advice to heart, I end up feeling anxious, depressed and yes, confused so I’m sticking with your model for now until I succeed in it and am ready for a new challenge
Kris
24th July, 2009 at 1:47 am

Josh, so true. The hard part is figuring out which one system or expert to follow. Until you start making money, then making really big money, it’s hard to spend all your time following someone or some system you don’t know.

Kris.
Ecommerce Help - Tyrone Shum
24th July, 2009 at 5:55 am

It is true that having a number of models will confuse you so you must stick into having an ideal model or choose models wherein you can for a newly designed model. Marketing strategies differ from one another and so you have to choose wisely among the list.

Unless you already made a big money, that’s when you will find out about the better choice.

Tyrone Shum
Angie (52 comments.)
24th July, 2009 at 2:02 pm

I agree wholeheartedly with these simple truths. It always makes me sad for people that I see who are genuinely willing to put some real time and effort into building a business online, but they jump from one thing to the next so quickly that they really don’t get anywhere at all.

I’m very fortunate that when I was starting out and finally found something that I realized was credible and believable that I was given the advice to put blinders on and tune out everything else online that was clamoring for my attention.

I worked at that particular business model for 9 months without even looking at anything else. I know that’s why I was able to make the progress I did toward a successful online business.

Great tips for those who are struggling!
Adrian Donaldson
25th July, 2009 at 1:39 pm

Hi Josh,

Your advice makes sense. I have spent several months ‘collecting’ all manner of free advice from nearly every name you’ve heard of. I still um and ah as to which is the best way for me to proceed.

I love the idea of ‘set and forget’ and who wouldn’t. The one thing a lot of people have in common is articles and them somebody suggested approx 20+ for just one site , and I have yet to get one past EzineArticle reviewers. (have tried – honest).

I am narrowing the choice down but as a beginner I am never sure whether my decision is right.

But at least I always find good stuff on your site.

Thank You Josh.

Adrian
Michelle Adams (20 comments.)
26th July, 2009 at 7:30 am

Josh as you know I’m a big advocate of engaging mentors. Without sound advice and one point to come back to people end up fumbling through an array of advice that is often in conflict one another.

Choosing an expert in each individual’s chosen field of interest is imperative to staying on track and receiving solid advice.

As I’ve said many times before, your coaching has helped me tremendously as have all the other mentors I’ve employed on and off line.

I couldn’t agree more with your 2 points of advice on how to avoid Internet marketing confusion.
Matt Wutzke
26th July, 2009 at 10:33 am

This could never have been more true. The more you read and learn, the more you get confused. So even if I am following some marketeers that does not mean that I am going to be as successful as each of them. It only shows that some one is successful with a particular strategy and not that every one will succeed by doing the same thing.
IM is not an exact science. But some times people think it is and then they try whatever they find.
But then let us try, who knows somebody might strike gold.
Juhani Tontti (2 comments.)
28th July, 2009 at 1:31 pm

Josh, the post is so true. I agree, that the narrower your focus is, the better chances you have. ( of course there must be money in the niche).

I think, that most newbies just cannot have the ability to narrow down some generally nice looking idea, so they pick the big one.
And the competition is to strong.
Matty @ make money online (1 comments.)
29th July, 2009 at 8:50 am

I find that it’s difficult to pick a specific area whilst being broad enough to generate the traffic from a less specific search.

If you are too specific then there is no room for growth and your target market will remain small.
PLR Video
3rd August, 2009 at 9:42 am

Very true advise on finding a mentor. Don’t be the blind one, squandering your precious time, efforts and money when you have yet to learn a ton!
trevor (2 comments.)
4th August, 2009 at 7:29 am

I enjoyed your post and agree that you do need to set yourself targets as such and stick with them it is very easy to get distracted from your plan/targets but with things set in place it will be a lot easier for you to be successful and make money from home.
Ann @ How To Make A Website (13 comments.)
28th August, 2009 at 4:25 am

Great post as always Josh, and I agree complete, info overload and addiction is one of the best ways to get nothing done online.