Are You Caught in the Headlights?

I was talking to one of my subscribers the other day and he was describing how he was finding it difficult to make any progress with his Internet business.

Like lots of people today he was finding it harder to make ends meet as the economic recession continues to bite and getting more desparate than ever to generate some extra money online.

As he described to me his frustration I could feel his pain, the sort of pain that lots of people are feeling now. It took me back to the time when I was in that situation and I was surprised that I  started to feel those feelings of stress, anxiety, worry and internal turmoil that he was feeling and I felt back then.

It reminded me how I got to the point where I didn’t know what to do next. I’d been online for a long time already trying all sorts of things that were supposed to be sure-fire winners but weren’t. I also remembered the stages that I went through as things got worse. I started off full of hope that in no time flat I would be enjoying the life I dreamed of, with no money worries, able to work when I wanted, take the vacations I wanted – when I wanted, you know – everything we are told to expect.

At first I worked through things thoroughly telling myself that if anything was worth doing, it was worth doing properly. It didn’t work, so I bought into another plan and started to work that one. That didn’t work either and so it went on.

The only thing that I seemed able to achieve was get deeper in debt. Working on the Internet can be a very lonely life, you lock yourself away in your back bedroom or the corner of a room somewhere and end up having less and less contact with your friends or family. You don’t discuss what you’re doing or ask for help from them because they don’t understand why you don’t just get a better job.

It is also very addictive, before you know it you can’t bear to be away from your computer in case you miss an opportunity.

I started to get desparate, I found myself buying program after program, each one guaranteed to generate quick cash. You see I was now at the stage where I needed cash quick to pay the mounting credit card bills. When you need an instant cash generator, all of your sense of reason goes out of the window.

Let’s face it, if there really was a ‘press this button, sit back and watch the money come in’ system wouldn’t the person that developed it just keep it to himself/herself? I mean, why share the secret to unlimited wealth with anyone if it took no effort to generate? Don’t get me wrong, I’m not saying that there aren’t any people in the world who genuinely want to help others, but think about it for a moment.

How long would any system like this remain effective if everybody online got to know about it? Not long is the answer and then the original owner would lose his goldmine – and that’s not going to happen.

But back to my experience. The crazy thing was that looking back, even though a lot of what I bought into was junk, a lot of them would have worked if I’d given them time. But at the time I wasn’t thinking that way, I was blinkered, I was like a rabbit caught in the headlights, paralysed, frightened to move in any direction.

It finally struck home to me that I needed to sort myself out when I experienced a total burn out. I’d been working at this thing for so long that I didn’t have the energy or willpower to do anything anymore. I stopped reading my emails, I didn’t trust anyone anymore anyway so why bother.

I decided that I had to do something and that the Internet wasn’t going to give me the immediate answer. So I started looking for the dreaded job again. Although I didn’t want or like working for anyone else I knew I had to do something. I also knew that I wasn’t going to give up on my dreams for good. Just for a while to sort things out.

The first thing I did was to get a contract in my field of work, IT, that paid my immediate bills and removed the pressure a bit. That’s not as possible today as it used to be I know, and not an option for everyone anyway, but there is usually  work of some sort if we look for it. One of the biggest difficulties when you’re in this situation is to face up to where you are.

I remembered reading one time about how John Paul Getty approached things. Apparently whenever he was facing a potentially worry or stress situation regarding a business venture, he would ask himself what was the worst possible outcome that could happen. Having done that he would accept that if the worst happened he would be prepared to live with it but would then do everything possible to make sure that it didn’t happen.

I used the same principle and it really helped me. I had to accept that I had debts to pay off and that the only way to do that was find something that was guaranteed to get me some money, and that was a job of some sort. I also faced up to the fact that if the worst happened and I went bankrupt I would live with it.

The biggest tragedy of the Internet in my opinion is that it is being peddled by lots of unscrupulous people as a way to make quick easy money. And they prey on vulnerable people to do it.

The Internet is potentially the best invention of all time, when used properly. It has made many, many millionaires. In fact there are Internet millionaires created everyday, but not overnight.

What this did for me was allow me to go back to basics. To read some of the material I had accumulated and put together a plan of what I needed and wanted to do. I chose affiliate marketing in lots of different niches. This time I worked on one project at a time and stuck with it until I had it all working properly before moving on to another niche to start again.

It’s easy and cheap to host as many sites as you want now. I use Hostgator. I purchased one of their reseller accounts and host all of my sites there using WordPress.

The key lesson for me was that any business, offline or online, requires time to build. There are virtually no overnight successes despite what any of the Guru’s tell you. If you dig into their past you almost always find that they have been very successful at something else before.

My advice to anyone in this situation is to pick one coaching program that you can reasonably afford and work all the way through it. Do every single step that you are asked to do, don’t skip through anything.

If after you’ve done everything, worked all of the way through the course and you have not started to experience the outcomes that you were promised, tell the product owners, demand your money back. It’s time more people stood up and said this stuff doesn’t work. Most people online now are so quick to move on to the next best thing that they don’t know if a program works or not because they don’t actually try them.

I’m putting together the finishing touches to a new coaching program aimed at complete beginners. Although suitable for people of all ages, I’m particularly passionate about helping retired people, or rather people who should be retired. Unfortunately, too many people now can’t afford to retire and face having to work for the rest of their life and I find that really upsetting.

To make sure I cover everything that you guys are having difficulty with, I want you to post your comments down below this post. I will acknowledge all of you that contribute by either referencing your business or website in it or providing you with something special. I need to hear from you if I’m to help you overcome your difficulties like I did my own.

So take a few minutes and post a comment now while you’re here.

until next time,

“Remember nothing happens until you take the Right action”

regards,

Trevor

I’m surprised by how many of my subscribers write to me saying how overworked they are getting and when I ask them they aren’t using an autoresponder in their business. If you’ve reached the point of exhaustion trying to keep up with answering the mountain of emails that threatens to bury you alive every single day, it’s time to learn about autoresponders.

The bad news is that people expect prompt replies to their email inquiries. However, unless you can figure out how to work continual twenty-four hour shifts, or hire enough people to constantly monitor incoming emails (while they’re eating up your revenue), you have a problem. The good news is an autoresponder is an inexpensive – or even free – method of quickly responding to emails. What these programs do is automatically respond to incoming emails as soon as they are received.

Emails are essential to your business for many different reasons. Most importantly, these invisible email voices give you their feedback about your website – for free! However, if you spend all your working hours answering these emails, how are you supposed to run your business? The answer is simple: use autoresponders. Autoresponders are programs that automatically respond to your emails without you so much as having to click on your mouse.

There are a number of good reasons why you need an autoresponder besides just answering your email. For
example, autoresponders can be used if you need a way to send information about your services or products, price lists, or if there are repeated questions asked across large numbers of emails. Maybe you want to offer your site visitors a special bonus of some kind, such as advice or relevant articles. All of this can be handled by an autoresponder. Additionally, you can advertise your business and then build stable relationships with your customers by using autoresponders.

Autoresponder programs vary from software that runs with your email program to a specialized script that runs on your web hosting company’s server. This kind of script may use a web page form or simply operate with your email account. This kind of script is programmed to send out a standardized message whenever an email is received. The message is sent to a particular script or email address.

Some autoresponders can do more than simply send out standardized messages. They can send out an unlimited number of follow-up messages sent at predetermined interval of time. For example, you can set your autoresponder to send out a new message every day for as long a period as you desire.

There are numerous companies who offer autoresponders free of charge. Your website hosting company often provides autoresponders as a free service. If this is not the case with your web hosting company, there are numerous companies who offer this service for a small fee, or free of charge, providing you attach an advertisement for their company to your emails.

To personalize your autoresponder messages, you can attach a signature. Signatures in this case are much like business cards. You can include your name, company, all your contact numbers and addresses, and a brief message.

It’s a good idea to attach a signature to every email that is sent out. This works as a repeated reminder of your business identity every time a customer sees it. The more they look at your signature, the more likely your company will spring to mind when your particular service or product is needed.

You can create a standardized signature that every employee in your business uses, or you can go wild, and let every staff member create their own personal signature. Of course, like everything in life, there are some rules and guidelines to creating a personal signature.

Keep the length of your signature between four to six lines of text, with no more than 70 characters in a single line. Make sure that your email program does not cut off your text! The content should include your name, your company name, your email address, fax number, and any other contact details, such as 800 numbers. Lastly, always include a short personal message about your company. It should be a subtle sell of your services or your products, and possibly your company’s reliability and longevity.

Another specialized use of autoresponders is to create courses that you can then offer your site visitors for
free. You must choose a topic in which you are an expert and that precisely targets your potential customers.

Once you have carefully chosen your subject, divide it into a number of different sub-topics. Then offer your site visitor a free 10 or 15 day course, each day offering a different sub-topic. The first topic should always be a welcome message to your site visitor and an explanation about what is to follow. Your explanation should be enticing, getting the point across that you are offering free, quality information that your target audience will find of great value.

With every lesson, include the number of the lesson, the topic title, information about your company and its
services or products. At the end, include a few lines about the next lesson to entice the subscriber to continue on.

Make sure each topic is packed with essential and valuable information, and leaves the visitor lusting to know more. Otherwise, you may lose them in the very beginning.

Of course, you have to write up your course before you can offer it. Once you have done this, and gone over the material carefully, employing a professional writer or editor if necessary, you must transfer your text to your autoresponder.

There are a number of free autoresponders you can use. Try http:/www.getresponse.com, or http://www.fastfacts.net. Or go onto Google and you will find a long list of free autoresponder companies. Then sign-up for your chosen autoresponder. Once you do, you will receive instructions as to how to set it up and transfer your text.

Email is an excellent marketing tool; it is inexpensive and it is fast. Use it to advertise your business by choosing your email address carefully. Your website should contain different email addresses for different contact requests.

For example, use info@yourdomain.com for information requests, or sales@yourdomain.com for questions about sales. It’s a good idea to set up one for the owner, such as president@yourdomain.com. This presents your company in a personal, approachable light and insures that direct contact is provided.

Autoresponders are an effective and powerful marketing tool, allowing you to make contact with thousands of potential customers. This is an invaluable asset considering how many potential customers you usually have contact with before you make an actual sale. Essentially, an autoresponser allows you to automate part of your marketing campaign.