Ready to learn the steps to fire your boss, become an internet marketer and achieve financial freedom?
Heed the first step of this post, in it is a strong warning from someone who's been down the road and messed up a few times before I dialed in these steps for you.
We all want that kind of life where you’ve got the freedom to live two, three months a year in some place super awesome, maybe on the beach or near some upscale mountain resort or something.
Then pack up, leave, and set off to the next super cool destination other folks can only imagine in their daydreams.
Quit the daily grind, make piles and piles of cash in your sleep, and not spend a full day hustling for the rest of your life.
Worst case scenario, you might find yourself moving back to your parents’, maybe with your wife, and borrowing their car because you had to sell yours when your bank account was drained to the last dollar.
Oh wait, that’s what happened to me and why I am so passionate about you getting this right!
Internet marketing seems like a glorious way to build the company of your dreams. However, as you'll soon find out in this post, it takes WAY more knowledge about marketing that you might think.
A Few Successful Steps To Follow
I’ve witnessed and lived a horror story of an online marketer who leaves their job too soon, hit rock bottom and got into a new rhythm of working the hours away every single day for years.
That means no weekends, no holidays, only break you get is dinner or when you have to go to the bathroom.
There I was, thinking I got it all together and that I was far up the internet biz ladder.
But I fell flat on my face - as many marketers do.
See, if you’re thinking about quitting your job because you think it sucks and you want more freedom, or you’re tired of having a boss, or whatever reason you have, you have to be prepared.
There are specific parameters you should set in place, clear signs that you’re ready to get out of that job and be your own boss. Pay attention to these before you search for a way out.
1) Be Willing To Delay Gratification and Hustle
“Wait, what? What hustle?!”
You got that right.
Taco Tuesday with the boys is Type Away Tuesday for you.
Holidays? What holidays? Your life is now marketing.
Thanksgiving day, you’re probably holding a plate of your turkey dipped in gravy in one hand, and the other hand is punching away on the keyboard.
But that’s how this thing is done. Most will need to devote every waking hour to their business.
Internet marketers create a lifestyle.
Do it right, and you’re setting a path to unlimited income potential and Lifestyle Freedom in a few years.
Maybe nothing seems to be happening right now.
Or little accomplishments seem too insignificant to call them “success.”
If you want to be successful at internet marketing, then you gotta have the right attitude.
No slacking off, no more lame excuses, post yourself at the computer and never leave.
Pure hustle since day one.
You'll need to:
- Develop copy skills,
- Read tons of books
- Become a traffic ninja,
- Learn search engine optimization best practices
- Become a funnel expert,
- An overall sales wiz
- Become a split testing master,
- Seek help when needed
- An email marketing expert, etc.
Maybe 2, 4, 5 years from now, your buddies are gonna look at you and say you’ve gone a long way.
That you probably just got lucky.
But let me tell you one thing.
It is not from luck that you will succeed; it is from you delaying gratification and hustling.
That’s it!
2) Your Finances Secure BEFORE Going All In
1. Zero Debts
If you’ve got a mortgage, you’re still paying off your car; credit card debts keep racking up, then there’s no way in hell you can have a semi-easier life when you quit your job.
Marketing and building your new business will take lots and lots of mental energy. So let's not jump ship too soon.
Yes, you’ll still get to eat three meals a day at best, or maybe have a roof over your head (by that, I mean, living out of stranger’s basement or garage or staying at your parents’ indefinitely).
But come on, is that actually what you can call “living”? Pretty far off your original plan or idea where you’re sipping a margarita while lounging on the beach and cash keeps on rolling in by the minute, right?
If you’ve got debts under your name, the last thing you should do is lose that steady income from a day job. You’ll be up a river without a paddle, and life gets even more desperate from there.
So get out of debt first,
This means:
- No massive mortgage
- Student loans
- Credit cards
- Big car payments
- Any other ridiculous purchases you decided to "finance"
This all takes a massive chunk out of your income each month. By then, you can start thinking about leaving your job and transitioning to doing web based business.
2. Money in the Bank
Build that emergency fund that covers you for at least six months, yes savings, and maybe get multiple sources of income going.
You have your regular job, a couple of internet marketing gigs on the side, and then just grow your savings a bit more until you can eventually tear away from your day job.
This is where many marketers move too quick. Don't confuse having a steady income for having a real savings. You may have ultra ninja-like marketing skills, but the Google search engine won't just magically deliver sales for your SEO or marketing efforts right away.
Needless to say, this is going to take a while.
And because it is going to take a while... You'll need extra money in the bank... A savings...
You'll be subsidizing your new venture from BOTH your savings AND your steady income.
3. Internet Business Taking Off
Say you’ve got your web based business all set up and you’re still doing your 8 to 5. And you figured it out and made more money with your internet stuff than your paycheck.
Should you finally do that long-awaited Facebook post to tell the world you quit your job?
Not quite. I suggest you give it a couple more months when things are a little bit more steady with your web gig, and it’s not just in its infancy stage.
You want to keep the momentum to make sure it’s all under control and not going to flop anytime soon.
Again, all the other two parameters have to be there - no debt, emergency fund in the bank, and you’ve got cash coming in from your day job and even more cash inflow from your internet business.
By then, it should be easier to navigate around those recurring expenses without being chained to your regular job.
4) Have Your Target Audience Defined
So many people trying to build a business on the net are going about it all wrong...
And the gurus are selling tactics and tools that perpetuate this false approach...
Here’s one of them, oh and another one here.
Some say that social media marketing is the key... Others say that doing SEO is the key...
They make massive amounts of money, and you don't get any closer to a successful business...
So what is the problem?
Most people choose a product first.
Whether it's a full-on "business opportunity," MLM, affiliate product, software product, or something they created... They start with the product.
This creates a massive challenge because now you need to find the traffic that will work for the product…
And you're going to have to figure out the persuasion tactics, copywriting, funnel, email marketing, split testing, and more...
This is the backward approach, and it rarely leads to success because there are too many challenges for you to overcome.
Most people get lost in a loop of buying more info products or 'tools' to solve all these problems, but it creates more overwhelm because it is too much to take on for most people.
Just flipping the model on its head is a much better way. Most marketers don't realize this until it's too late.
Starting with the audience you can most help and be of service to, that’s the FIRST STEP to make money online!
Then, building trust with the audience through quality content positions you as the trusted adviser. So, when you recommend a product the likelihood of them taking action goes up massively!
When you have an audience of people who know, like and trust you… You merely need to find or create the solutions to their problems and mention it to them! These are the marketing skills you need to develop.
They will line up to buy when it is presented in this way!
You have to find the right audience and figure out what they want and offer it to them!!!
So, as you're moving forward… I urge you to ask yourself these two questions:
- One: Am I focused on being of service to an audience?
- Two: Am I just trying to find people to buy my stuff so I can "get money"?
I hope it's number one... This bit of knowledge can save you lots of pain and frustration down the road.
5) Decide on One Type of Internet Marketing Business
There are two overarching paths to choose from in internet marketing.
Paid Advertising
Content Marketing
#1 Ingredient for Successful Paid Advertising
Every human being on earth wants to enjoy life more...
When your product, course or service will help them experience greater levels of joy, happiness and fulfillment… You're on the right path!
But here's the catch...
Having a great product that works wonders for your customers is not enough.
Which leads me straight to the three reasons your potential customers are not buying...
- They are too busy to care/pay attention
- They are bombarded with ads & sales pitches
- They are more skeptical than ever before
These can also be the reasons no one is watching your videos, reading your blog posts or opening your emails too…
We will get to the cure for these 3 problems here in a quick second...
Because you need to fully understand the problem before you can actually fix it.
We really don't need to dwell on the fact that everyone's too busy to care or pay attention…
You see this everywhere around you from how people drive to how they interact with the others, etc.
Most marketers forget that digital marketing is a brutal winner-takes-all competition between MASSIVE numbers of pro-level players...
This Forbes article from 2017 estimates we are all bombarded with up to 10,000 ads per day...
And that was two years ago…
Facebook and Instagram both are showing more ads today than ever before.
By these estimates in one year your best potential customers are exposed to 3.6 million advertisements...
- Every day you have 10,000 competitors...
- Every year you have 3.6 million competitors...
Is it any wonder people are more skeptical today than ever?
- They don't trust you (or anyone for that matter)…
- They don't believe your solution will help them (even if it can)...
- They don't believe it will work for them even if your testimonials prove that it works for others!
When you add these three things up its abundantly clear why most marketers are not making enough sales...
And this is exactly where I was a few years ago...
For the life of me, I couldn't convert a Facebook ad into a sale.
I was driving a ton of traffic but we were still struggling to generate enough cash flow to cover our expenses and pay down my student loans...
This is when I went all in on copywriting...
It turns out that with the right words on your ads, your emails, your landing pages and your sales pages…
People will STOP what they are doing and PAY ATTENTION!
The right headline, the right hook, the right lead with the right promise…
This is how you break through their "I'm too busy to care" filter
Great copy is also what breaks through the noise and makes your ad the one that they read out of the 10,000 that they see, every day.
It connects with them, it draws them in… It stands out as the one worth reading in a sea of rubbish.
Finally, great copywriting will help them suspend their disbelief and not just overcome their objections…
But it also connects your potential customer with HOPE… With the belief that "This is different...This WILL work for me!"
So you need to ask yourself honestly...
Is your messaging standing out from the noise, capturing their attention in a sea of professional advertisements and moving them towards the sale?
Mine wasn't... And that's why I wasn't generating any profits.
Until I went all in on copywriting.
And now, I've been able to generate 10X more sales with the exact same effort...
Our profits have grown from thousands to millions!
Looking back… Copywriting is probably the first skill I should've mastered.
My path to 10k/mo would have been MUCH shorter if I had.
For marketers and digital entrepreneurs, it is undoubtedly the most valuable skill you will ever learn…
And if you are going to be in this game long enough to be successful, it is a skill you will have to learn!
It doesn't have to cost you an arm and a leg to learn how to write copy that converts.
In fact, I've been going through this new copywriting course and it has revolutionized how I look at copywriting.
Content Marketing
Content marketing is pennies to begin, has the best ROI, and the longest life cycle.
When you run an ad on Facebook, you get traffic fast, but once you turn it off, you are starting this marketing process all over again.
But what about playing your strategy to the appease a search engine?
When you write 50 blog posts, make 100 YouTube videos or 100 Podcast episodes, those pieces of content continue to work for you helping people discover you, your business, and your products. Focusing your skills on these type of marketing efforts will be best if you're low on funds.
However, please understand that going this "organic search" route will take a while.
- You've either got to spend the time - doing content production for search...
- Or you've got to spend money - doing paid ads.
And let's face it, if you don't have the money, you'll be forced into the organic search route.
When you learn to the gap between paid advertising and content marketing is best and explained in this video and here are 10 online businesses that pay off big time.
They are:
- Selling Information Products
- Affiliate Marketing
- Coaching and Consultations
- Membership Programs
- Selling Digital Marketing Services
- Freelancing and VA work
- SAAS Products
- Sell Handmade Goods
- Influencer Marking via Podcast
- Drop Shipping
Focus your skills on one thing. It may be YouTube. It may be Facebook. It may be SEO and your blog, But focus on ONE thing.
When you choose a single internet business model and stick to it, YOU WIN.
Guaranteed!
Be it social media marketing, blogging, paid Facebook ads or whatever...
DO NOT jump ship to a different one because you happen to learn a new thing 3-months later, or you were sold by some amazing copy from one of these shiny object sellers.
Marketers need to pick one thing and stick to it - period.
Real Life Examples That Are Crushing It
Some folks are born rich, and use this to figure out how to keep getting richer.
But others are born of blood, sweat, and hustle.
These people are what I call the bad boys (and girls) of internet marketing.
They didn’t wake up one morning and got it all together 24 hours after.
But here’s their common denominator - they found a niche, focused on it, delayed gratification and hustled.
Hustled hard.
Just like Gary Vaynerchuk, a hustling machine, and VaynerMedia’s CEO. He’s also the author of #ASKGARYVEE and Jab, Jab, Jab, Right Hook, among a few other digital marketing must-reads.
Then, there’s Anita Perez Valdez, a self-proclaimed data geek and TopSpot Internet Marketing’s VP of Operations and Co-Founder. All that data geeking and hustle paid off when she became one of the first 100 Google Adwords Pros!
Josh Steimle had quite an early start when he put up his internet marketing agency called MWI back in 1999 while juggling this then-startup and college. All his efforts paid off, and he’s now the CEO of this company that’s still killing it. He also shares his knowledge by contributing to major publications such as Mashable, Forbes, TechCrunch, and Entrepreneur.com. Plus, he’s a TEDx presenter and the author of “Chief Marketing Officers at Work.”
And on the other side of these huge CEO’s, there are guys like Andre Chaperon. Andre has access to all these "million dollar launch club" internet marketing “gurus” and knows the truth behind their numbers. He doesn’t have a budding YouTube channel or any of the typical “have-tos” in internet marketing. His crazy successful internet company is even called Tiny Little Businesses!
Think of all the years it took of building skills for these entrepreneurs. Learn from these legends and you'll be way ahead of most marketers.
Prepping for Internet Marketing
Choose your audience FIRST, and DON’T ever get this wrong! Working out the 5 steps to online business success will ensure you don’t fizzle or regret what you have started nine months from now.
The FASTEST way to make money on the web is with an affiliate marketing funnel or a minimum viable funnel, but choose your audience BEFORE you dive into one of these.
A little takeaway for you
You will make mistakes, things will not always be perfect, but you have to start.
Starting is the only difference between you and any other successful internet marketers.
Here’s a free 7 Step Blueprint to get started fast.
Once you focus more on your business, you’ve got to keep hustling. You can’t just quit your job one day and say “yeah, got it all together and I’ll take off and have a break for a month because my online thing is doing awesome.”
Let me tell you that’s a seriously dangerous mindset.
Just like any endeavor, a bomb can explode any second.
You don’t want to go back to square one after enjoying a remarkable lifestyle for a while.
So you have to keep grinding the hours, days, weeks, months, years doing your internet marketing business.
And now, you LOVE what you’re doing, you’re living on your own terms, and you build your skills along the way becoming a successful internet marketer.
No boss looking over your shoulder, no daily commute to work, you can live anywhere you want, and you are working on something from YOUR passion.
Trust me. When you build companies like this - it's worth it!
If you’ve been going back and forth, leaving your job or going full time online, you HAVE to be super prepared before you make that jump.
Have these parameters in mind and don’t quit your J.O.B. too soon!
Your future self will thank you.
If you’ve got questions on how to get going as an internet marketer, how to overcome a roadblock, what is a good audience, put those thoughts down in the comments section below, I’m here to help!