“I want it all and I want it now” – Queen

I belong to a select few internet marketing forums that I check almost daily and also run two of my own.  I usually drop in for a minute or two and click on the ‘new posts’ button to see what’s new and being discussed so that I can keep up with the latest trends.  I see new people come and go continuously as many people who are facing lost jobs or economic struggle see the internet and the myriad of businesses that can be run online as some instant remedy for their financial problems.  Unfortunately, most of them struggle with the steep learning curve and give up after a couple of months.

It’s an interesting paradox – the people who can least afford to spend time struggling and learning everything themselves are the people who stubbornly think they have a unique answer to the problems they face and refuse to ask for help or refuse to follow the guidance they are given.  You’ve heard the joke about the guy that falls off a cliff and grabs on to a small twig on the way down catching his fall.  As he hangs there in mid air he cries out to God for help.  God calls out “Just let go and I’ll catch you”.  The guy thinks about it for a minute or two and then says “Is there anyone else up there?”.  There’s something in our human nature that causes us to ask for help when we can’t figure something out – then when we get an answer from a marketing coach that doesn’t quite agree with our own idea of what should happen we disregard the advice and try to do it our own way.

I think some of this also has to do with our fast paced culture and the “I want it all and I want it now” mentality.  The gurus all play off of this by promising instant, overnight results with no effort.  Unfortunately, this has never been true, nor will it ever be true.  Casinos and state Lotteries know this all too well and publicize the huge jackpots and winner stories but in truth, the house always wins.

Which brings us back to Internet marketing.  Whether you’re building an online only business or using the internet to increase the customer base to your existing or new offline business there are some simple basics that have never changed.  True, a couple of methods are new and there are some shortcuts that most of us have learned over the years but the overall basics are the same.

Find An Internet Marketing Coach

I’m not talking about some overpriced guru charging $2000 for his super course, I’m talking about a mentor or trusted experienced internet marketer that you can turn to for answers – then FOLLOW THEIR ADVICE!  After you’ve built a couple of successful models and have recurring income in place then you can branch out and do some testing of your new theories and innovative methods.

As I mentioned above – the very people who come to the internet looking for a quick fix to replace a lost job, high debt load and resulting stressful relationships are the very ones who need to slow down, follow the basic outline and build a solid business and residual income stream.  After you have that in place, pay down the debts and get rid of the immediate stress, then you can focus on developing the next Facebook, Microsoft or iPad.