ATTN Noobs: "It is better to do a few things well ..."

"... than to do many things poorly."

This quote, or some variation of it, has been used all over. It's rather common to hear it. We've all probably heard it once or twice used somewhere.

Yet, I think it's probably one of the things that is most quickly forgotten when we start out trying to make money online.

At one time we all were new to this Internet Marketing business. I'd be willing to guess that probably 99% of us violated this little piece of wisdom early along in our journey. Regardless of whether or not we were trying white hat, black hat, gray hay, or all of the above, since we didn't know where to begin, we began all over the place.

Personally, I jumped around from E-mail to SEO to Social Media to back-linking to YouTube posting. There were probably even others in between there that I don't recall.

Guess which one worked out of that? None of them. I had nothing to show for my efforts. Why? Because I was dabbling in all of them, and the time I spent in all of them kept me from learning to do any one of them well. I couldn't be innovative in any of them, because I spent too much time and brain power on the rest of them.

Fortunately, I came across someone who reminded me of the above quote (I'd heard it before, but for some reason didn't make the connection between that truth and what I was doing). I was reminded that being successful in IM is not about being a Renaissance Man. It may sound crazy, but someone trying to be a well-rounded Internet Marketer will continue to be an unsuccessful Internet Marketer as long as he keeps down that road.

So, this is to the newbies here: I know it's overwhelming to start out, and I know that you might not know where to begin. That's okay. You're not going to be expected to know where to begin. My encouragement to you, though, is within that adage: Learn to do a few things (or, better yet, just one thing) well. You won't be a pro overnight, or even maybe in a year. Don't know which to choose? Shit, write them down on flash cards, throw them on the floor, blindfold yourself, point, then open your eyes to see which one you're pointing at, and GET GOING on learning THAT ONE. If you know nothing about any of them, then just pick one and go. If, after you've learned about it, you don't like it, then do the same with a different one, but at least you'll know enough about the one to know that you don't want to pursue it. That narrows your vision and helps you focus.

So don't make the mistake so many of us have. Catch one idea and run with it. That's how you make a living at this: Not by understanding all facets of Internet Marketing, but simply by doing one or a few things well.

Good stuff. Can't believe people haven't taken the time to thank you.

Thoughtful of you to share that. I must admit that I suffering from information overload, especially when I visit this forum. I've owned a bunch of brick and mortar businesses that have failed. The biggest problem with the internet is that you can't believe everything you read. So you end up researching even more to find out what's true or false.

I had hosting, Aweber, domains registered and the works ready for action. But believe it or not, all of them had expired because I didn't take enough action to justify the expense.

Being that I was just laid off I have nothing but time.

Great post. This is the same problem I'm having rt now.
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So true.. learned it the hard way as well..

When I started making money online I was lucky to make money pretty fast.
It wasn't much but having a method right away that made money really motivated me to expand on this method and stay focused.

I only cover a few areas of IM but I make sure I know the ins and outs of them....and when they make money and it's expandable I rinse and repeat.

Whenever I try a new method I make sure I have time to dedicate to it. This will only be in between campaigns.
Never during one.

Whenever I apply a new technique it must support my existing methods. The time invested must be beneficial right away.
I.e. new social media tactics or new ways of preselling.

To be perfectly frank, I'm not goint to be demonstrating my own method for everyone. There's a reason my method works, but if too many people were to begin doing it, that reason would fade quickly.

What I can tell you is that I KNOW people (ie see them at least weekly ... see how they live ... talk to them about what they do ... etc.) who use each method I mentioned.

I'm far from a strict idealist. I don't tell kids they can do whatever they set their minds to. Why? Because sometimes it's just not true.

I'm not that kind of guy.

I'm not sure how a reminder to focus your efforts is "pie in the sky." That can be as applicable outside IM as it is inside IM. I just know it's a lesson I learned the hard way, and that I'd share it in hopes that others wouldn't have to.

By the way, pie-in-the-sky has made me between $400 and $1100 a week this past month.
Posted via Mobile Device

To be perfectly frank, I'm not goint to be demonstrating my own method for everyone. There's a reason my method works, but if too many people were to begin doing it, that reason would fade quickly.

What I can tell you is that I KNOW people (ie see them at least weekly ... see how they live ... talk to them about what they do ... etc.) who use each method I mentioned.

I'm far from a strict idealist. I don't tell kids they can do whatever they set their minds to. Why? Because sometimes it's just not true.

I'm not that kind of guy.

I'm not sure how a reminder to focus your efforts is "pie in the sky." That can be as applicable outside IM as it is inside IM. I just know it's a lesson I learned the hard way, and that I'd share it in hopes that others wouldn't have to.

By the way, pie-in-the-sky has made me between $400 and $1100 a week this past month.
Posted via Mobile Device

How is internet marketing and focusing on one area a pie in the sky?
Do you think Amazon, eBay or any of the other 1 billion companies online that are making money would agree? I don't think so.

It's always about focus. It's a basic rule of success. Want a demonstration? Sure, set up an adwords campaign with a daily budget of $100 or more and leave it unmonitored for a month... Then come back and agree that if you had focused on it, you would perhaps have made money instead of losing it.

Ask any successful person around, and they'll tell you that time management and focus are two essential things for making it.

Yea .. I think its a good idea to keep everything limited. Its nice to not put all your eggs in a single basket but better not try to put them all at once.

Please don't badger the op here, he is making sense.

If you want a strategy, I'll give you one. - "Start Typing".

It doesn't matter which traffic generating method you use as long you stick to something and it is consistent. The money comes when you figure out how to construct your content in a manner that gets others to do what you want. It's simple really. If you are selling something, offer them good thorough comparisons. If you are shooting for adsense, put out long boring pages of content. However, I think what the op is trying to say here is don't do all fo those things, pick one and do it until you see the results. If you find that you hate doing it, find something else. There are more than enough game plans here to get you started. To make money, do as he says and pick only one then do it.

"A double minded man is unstable in all its ways"

im currently doing alot of trial and errors..but mostly errors lol

I know this is an old thread but I thought that it deserved a bump. Thanks.

very inspiraring for me..thx a lot :thumb:

This post really is superb. OTrap has summed it up perfectly. It should be required reading for all newcomers to the forum. I think most of us have stumbled into the trap of trying to learn EVERYTHING AT ONCE, and it's only when you get past that stage that you begin to prosper.

Great post.
You have right, better to to one thing good than many things bad. I will help in the long run.

bhjmc said:

"A double minded man is unstable in all its ways"

Click to expand...

James 1:8 Good scripture

This is some very useful info
I am definitely guilty of doing this, even now, I need more focus on 1 thing, I think I have bookmarked like 30 methods lol

This all comes down to the person you are - if you are EFFICIENT at what you do.You are capable of multiple Things - Some people can only focus on one thing at a time. Others are Multi Skilled capable of managing alot of different projects at once.

I chose mainly auto pilot streams of income,which require little work,but still right now.I get income from Youtube,Fiverr,Facebook and My business.

I think each person should do what is within their capability. If you are more than capable of handling it jump straight in the deep end.

If not take baby steps.Whatever works for you.thats what matters