Titus Hoskins |
Titus Hoskins owns and runs numerous sites on the web. To receive more useful
marketing tips and to discover the latest Marketing tools which will help promote
and propel your own website into the success column. Visit his main site:
http://www.bizwaremagic.com |
Titus Hoskins
has written 9 articles for SB Informer. |
View all articles by Titus Hoskins... |
5 Reasons Why Most Internet Marketers FailBecoming an online marketer is not as hard, but if you're just starting out, there can be some serious obstacles in your way. Do You Know Them? Titus Hoskins
June 02, 2009
|
|
| 1.0/5.0 (1 votes total) |
|
|
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:
1. 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.
2. 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.
3. 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.
4. 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
communication 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.
5. 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.
|