Is Internet Marketing For You?

Here is a story for you. Enjoy! :)

It was a Sunday. Sunday morning actually (it was probably night at her place). I was astonished to see that she was working on a project even on a Sunday. I instinctively asked her: "Hello Maria! Are you busy even on a Sunday?"

Maria replied: "Yes. I want to make the best use of every extra moment I get!"

Maria is a very hard working girl; she is a good writer, and almost always you will see her busy doing something. It is almost impossible to get her on chat. If you do get to chat with her, consider yourself lucky. :)

We continued our conversation. I said: "I wish I could work like you. If I could I would have been a millionaire today!"

"I wish I didn’t have to work so much!".

"Well, you won’t have to if you move on to product creation or affiliate marketing. It is okay that you are a ghostwriter…"

To motivate her I also gave her the examples of some other top ghostwriters who have broken free from their 'jobs' to make it big in internet marketing, and by their own claims, they now make a lot more money than they ever did from writing for other clients!

"Well, it is not that I don’t do those things occasionally. But doing them on a permanent basis would entail even more work on my part!"

"But ain't it a source of passive income? If you ask me, ghostwriting is just another 'job' – and I see you tied to it 24/7. If you move on to mainstream internet marketing, you only need to build the business ONCE and enjoy the profits for years!"

"I know that, but right now, I would rather do what I can do best. With my current job, I am at least sure of a certain monthly income, with which I can feed my family.

To me, ghostwriting is much better than waiting for some possible affiliate income! I know I can generate passive income from mainstream internet marketing and some day I will surely make the switch, but not immediately!"

Do you think there is a lesson in this story?

This story is mainly aimed to those who are thinking about quitting their day jobs and getting their feet wet in internet marketing. It is easy to get lured by the promises of 'big riches'. Internet marketing can surely make you a fortune, but only IF you are a good marketer.

Internet marketing is not for everyone, and I realized it all the more after chatting with my writer friend. By the way, Maria is a fictitious name; the real name has been withheld for privacy reasons!  ;) 

That was BIG revelation for me! I thought about the whole thing for a long time that night, and felt that she was right! She is superb writer, and I am sure she earns enough to feed her family. While affiliate marketing would have offered her more income, she is new to it.

While ghostwriting is offering her a solid, certain income, why would she wait for affiliate commission checks, especially when she is not even sure IF she would ever earn anything from affiliate marketing?

The question is: Are YOU prepared for internet marketing?

When I started way back in 2005, for me internet marketing was nothing more than a hobby. There were numerous times when I felt it was time to return to my first love – that is writing fiction and poetry (it is another matter that they never got published :( ) and leave internet marketing niche.

Back then, however, I had no choice. I needed to earn, and only internet marketing could offer me the kind of income I wanted for myself (I didn’t want to do a typical 9-to-5 job like my father). So I had no choice.

Of course, after spinning the wheels for years, if now someone asks me to leave internet marketing I won’t be able to! It is as though IM has become my second nature: I love this niche and its people.

BUT, if you have a job, think twice before leaving it for internet marketing.

When you have a job, you have a definitive income. With internet marketing, you are not sure if you would be able to make a penny or not. 

A good option is to keep your present job intact while doing internet marketing part time. Then when you get a hang of IM and feel that you earn enough to be able to survive without your job, you can always quit your job. But until then, you shouldn't quit it!

Not so long ago, I met a fellow Indian on the Warrior forum who was almost broke. He quit his freelancing job because he had a dream of making it big in the IM niche.

I told him that whatever his dreams were, he shouldn't have quit his job, especially when he doesn't even know the nuts and bolts of IM.

Just like any business, IM is NOT easy. It is a BUSINESS and building a business requires tears, sweat and hard work, and above all, patience (something which I myself don’t have)!

Here is another thing to note: if your friend or relative is happy with their respective jobs, it is not right to pester them to quit it all for the sake of internet marketing.

You can always suggest internet marketing to them as an option, but ultimately, it is up to them to choose whether to leave their job or not.

Not everyone wants to swap a definite, secure income or an uncertain, indefinite, 'possible' income opportunity. Not everyone has the patience to build a business from scratch. Not everyone wants to be free, and not everyone hates their bosses. :D

Besides, just imagine: if everyone were to leave their jobs then the whole world would crash. We need 'job-seekers', as much as we need internet marketers.

My father used to say that it is nature's law that not everyone should be highly educated. After all, if everyone becomes educated, then who will do mundane jobs like selling vegetables, carrying others' luggage, driving buses and taxis, masonry, etc? If there are no people for these jobs, where will we go?

Funny example, but you get the idea? Not everything is for everyone.

So, if you have a job and are also thinking about building an online business, first ask yourself

1. What is your ultimate goal? Working from home? Financial freedom? Or just part time income? Your goal is what will keep you motivated whenever you are in troubled times

2. Will you be able to devote at least a couple of hours extra to your internet marketing business?

3. Are you patient enough to devote at least a couple of years in learning the basics of internet marketing (yep, it is a BUSINESS SKILL you need to learn, not some hobby)?

Internet marketing is not as easy as people would make you believe. Maybe it was/is easy for some, but most have to struggle for years to reach the top.

Expect to spend at least 2 years in learning basic internet marketing skills (not the least of which is 'trial and error'). In our country, it takes 5 years to get a degree in Medicine or Engineering. For academics, it is 3 years minimum. It doesn't hurt to spend a couple of years in learning basic marketing skills, does it?

4. Are you comfortable with losing money on junk products? :)

5. Do you know someone who can lead you (hint: mentor)?

And before anyone asks, I am not doing this in order to eliminate my competition! :)

There is also a lesson for those internet marketers who want to be all-rounders (content writers trying to learn graphics, or internet marketers attempting to learn some programming code). Notice what my writer friend said: "I would rather do what I can do best."

Learning a new skill is always good, but make sure you spend the maximum time possible on doing something that you know best. Never spend a lot of time on learning something you could possibly outsource for much less.

Some of the things that everyone working in the internet marketing niche should learn: product creation, copywriting, niche selection, marketing, HTML, etc.

Something that can be outsourced: Graphics designing, article writing, software development and programming etc.

I hope my article has some lessons both for newbie and experienced internet marketers alike. If you know a friend or colleague who could benefit from this article, please pass it on to them. :)