DOUBLE Your Profits Now!

By John Reese

I just thought I would share a little "wisdom" with you that I learned the "hard" way over the past 12 years of running online businesses. Hopefully, some of you will be able to benefit right away from what took me YEARS to figure out and finally DO. It was the major difference in finally finding big success online.

1. Have many Internet projects you are working on? Have many ideas you are developing that you want to make money with?

YOU'RE IN DEEP DOO-DOO AND YOU DON'T EVEN KNOW IT.

One of the hardest lessons I had to learn was that working on several projects at the same time was literally the KISS OF DEATH for my online ventures. I was under the impression that if I could create TEN little online ventures that could each make a measily $2,000/month, then when the day came that they were all online I'd be making $20K/month.

Take it from me, that will NEVER happen.

I once had over 20 projects being developed at the same time. I even had a TEAM of employees at that time to do it. It still FAILED.

FOCUS. THAT'S THE SECRET TO MAX PROFITS.

Just as you cannot make a million dollars without making just ONE DOLLAR first (there's no other way around that order) you really can't succeed online unless you work and FOCUS on just ONE PROJECT and work on it until it's profitable. Then and only then should you work on Project #2.

It's too easy for entrepreneurs like us to surf around the Internet and see opportunity everywhere. It's too easy to come up with yet another new "plan" to create yet another little venture -- often sidetracking us from our original project.

So stop working on multiple projects at the sametime -- at least not until you have ONE project making you enough money that you can sitback and relax and "play around" with a 2nd and 3rd and 4th project. Until you create just ONE project that is able to support your lifestyle you have no reason to be working on other projects. YES, many people will disagree with me, but it's a FACT.

The way to succeed online is to FOCUS. It's better to do one thing "great" than to do many things "fair". If your primary project is just not growing to the size you want it to to support your lifestyle, then you should probably focus on another project instead. Pick another market. Do some research. Don't be afraid to try something else.

DON'T FALL IN LOVE WITH YOUR PROJECTS.

If you give them an honest effort and they prove not to be as profitable as you want, don't be afraid to DUMP THEM. Online ventures are very inexpensive to start. Don't be afraid to bail out on a failing project and start another to focus on.

You'll make a lot more money by making one project as best as you possibly can. Instead of spending your time trying to get another project going, work on GROWING your original project -- go out and get more affiliates or test more advertising campaigns. THEN work on creating a backend product that compliments your initial product/service.

MILK YOUR MARKET.

Work on making your original project as big as possible. When you can't do anymore, THEN considering starting a second project.

2. Make Lists And Prioritize Based On One Thing -- PROFITS.

You should do "brain dumps" often. Pour everything in your head onto paper. Get everything off your mind. We all get a gazillion ideas everytime we surf around. Don't clog your mind with these ideas, write them down.

THEN RELAX AND STOP DWELLING ON THEM.

You don't need to let these ideas encompass your thoughts -- they are safe on paper or in a computer file you've created to note them.

Make a list of "tasks" you need to work on for your business. Write down every conceivable thing you'd like to accomplish. Then prioritize this list from top to bottom based on what will you make you the most money or have the biggest impact on your bottom line.

It's funny how we often will spend a lot of time on tasks that don't necessarily bring in new profits for us. So work on those things that will most directly affect your bottom line FIRST -- then work on the rest of the list.

Also work with a better PRODUCTIVITY "BALANCE". Plan to work 3-4 hours a day working only on some tasks on your list. As Internet entrepreneurs it's too easy to surf this site and other sites and PROCRASTINATE. The Information Age makes it too easy to procrastinate -- because we can NEVER know everything there is to find online, so we can surf INDEFINITELY.

Kill your web browser for a few hours a day if you don't need it to accomplish the work you need to do. Surf only when you've accomplished your day's tasks. Same with email. Close your email client if you don't need it.

(AND HERE COMES A "BIGGIE")

3. STOP TRYING TO COME UP WITH THE NEXT "BIG THING". LET OTHER PEOPLE *SHOW YOU* WHAT'S MAKING MONEY.

For many years of my life as an entrepreneur I was trying to come up with the next "Big Idea". I was always trying to innovate. I was always trying to invent something. I finally realized that it's much easier to make money THE LAZY WAY.

Let other people do all the hard work for you. Let other people figure out what people want to buy. Then you can DIFFERENTIATE yourself and offer something similar to the same market. No, don't copy off of people. But create a product that compliments a popular product/service. Not only have you created something to offer to that same "hot" market, you have also created something that makes for the perfect JV for that original person that "showed you" the market.

Online, you can find out ANYTHING about any business. Do some research and check out other successful people online. Notice what kind of ad copy they use. Subscribe to their ezines or autoresponder series. See what they send you -- realize WHY. Buy your competitors' products. See what they sell you on the backend. Figure out HOW they are making money.

THEN EMULATE SUCCESS.

Stop trying to do things the HARD WAY. Keep an eye on people that have already figured it out.

OBSERVE ADVERTISING

Check out the keywords for your market. Notice the companies that are bidding for your keywords. Keep an eye on these listings for at least a couple of weeks. The companies that remain at the top are most likely MAKING MONEY with that advertising or they wouldn't keep paying for it (unless it's some Fortune 500 company just wasting money). Go to their site and see WHAT they are selling. How much they are selling their product for. What autoresponder series they might be using. What their offer is. Buy their product. Figure out their backend.

Do a little RESEARCH and you can find out the exact "blueprint" for success in any market.

AND LAST BUT NOT LEAST...

4. Be proactive.

If you want more subscribers, go get them. If you want to bring more traffic to your site, go find some partners that can send it to you. If you want more email subscribers, create more ways for people to opt-in and take more advantage of the traffic you already have.

Don't sit back and "hope" your business grows, MAKE IT GROW. No matter what your goals are, you CAN make them happen if you TAKE ACTION to make it happen.

This is your year to do it. Make it happen.


-----------------------------------------
John Reese is an Internet Marketing pioneer that has been actively marketing online since 1990. John has sold millions of dollars worth of products and services online and his network of Web Sites have received over 1.4 BILLION Web Site visitors since their inception. You can learn more about John, his home study courses, and subscribe to his free ezine by visiting:

http://www.marketingsecrets.com

(c)2003 MarketingSecrets.com. All rights reserved.

Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=John_Reese

The Single Biggest Marketing Mistake Online

By John Reese

I have been marketing online since 1990. Long before the Web came about. I have been actively marketing on the Internet as we know it today since 1994.

Yes, I'm an Internet Marketing old geezer.

I have pretty much tried it all and seen it all online when it comes to marketing tactics.

Certainly, there are new strategies and tactics being thought of and tested everyday, and that's why I continue to buy new ebooks and teaching products from others because you can never know it all -- no matter how successful you are.

But the single biggest mistake I see online, and have seen for many years, regardless of the strategy being used, is one simple thing...

POOR TRACKING!

People often ask me...

"John, is there any ONE thing that you can attribute your online success to?"

The answer is simple... TRACKING.

I am a tracking FREAK. I track everything. And I mean EVERYTHING.

As my good friend Jonathan Mizel likes to say...

"As online marketers we are not in the 'marketing' business we are in the MATH BUSINESS."

If you want to know the difference between success and failure online it comes down to one thing.

If you want to know the difference in making 10 dollars online or $10,000, it comes down to one thing.

If you want to know if your hard work is not going to waste, its comes down to one thing.

TRACKING.

I like to joke that the secret to being successful in Internet Marketing is this really complex "formula."

Then I go on to explain this exact formula...

When we do things online, such as our marketing tests, site changes, place ads, buy clicks, do a JV, whatever, one of TWO things happen EVERY TIME.

Yes, only one of two things happen.

1. THEY MAKE US MONEY 2. THEY LOSE US MONEY

Amazing rocket science isn't it?

The fact of the matter is Internet Marketing is EASY. It's an absolute JOKE to make money when you have the basic fundamentals down, and that you TRACK your efforts.

The tracking results will tell you what works and what doesn't. Then it's EASY...

YOU KEEP DOING WHAT WORKS AND STOP DOING WHAT DOESN'T!

In order to be extremely successful online you must learn to track everything. You must learn the value of tracking and get used to doing it.

You make a change to a headline on your site you must track it.

You test a different price you must track it.

You use a different description on your Web Site to get people to opt-in to your list you must track it -- not just the percentage of people that opted in, but also the QUALITY of the people that opted in. I.e. Are they buying or taking the necessary ACTION you want for them to take AFTER they have opted in?

The biggest tracking mistake people make is lumping all of their TRAFFIC SOURCES together when trying to determine their conversion rates.

In other words, when someone is trying to figure out how many people are buying or taking a specific action when they visit a site, they are taking their total traffic numbers and doing the math based on the total number of buyers (or whatever the desired action was.)

BZZZZZZ THANKS FOR PLAYING.

Major mistake. Huge. Yet marketers are doing it everyday. And ironically, it's being done by some people that are making a lot of money!

I know, because many of these people are friends of mine and I've given them a hard time about it. We laugh about it, but they know it's true and they are working hard to become better "trackers" as I hope you will too.

(Don't worry I'm almost done with this article and will stop rambling in a moment.)

The problem with not tracking traffic sources (such as individual pay-per-click keywords, link partners, search engine listings, JV links, affiliate links, etc.) is this...

YOU CANNOT ACCURATELY DETERMINE WHAT IS *WORKING* WHEN YOU TEST.

For example, if you run PPC campaigns for multiple keywords (and if you track them properly) you will find that some keywords generate great conversion rates and sales.

Others will create sometimes NOTHING.

In fact, many will be losers. I.e. they don't turn a profit. Yet many PPC advertisers will continue to just lump all their PPC traffic together, and as long as they are making more than they are spending they consider it a "Victory."

DUMB.

Tracking allows you to MAXIMIZE your efforts. It allows you to SQUEEZE every last penny of profit our of your marketing.

The other major pitfall with lumping all of your traffic sources together is when you go to make changes -- such as testing prices, or different headlines, or new bonus offers, or another guarantee, or anything else.

If your traffic fluctuates on a given day from a given traffic source (which it WILL) your results will always be SKEWED.

Your conversion rates for a specific test may in fact be HIGHER for that given day. OH JOY!

But, guess what? If the traffic to your site happened to fluctuate so more of it happened to come that day from a source that typically converts higher than the rest of your traffic, it's very possible that your "test" may have...

DECREASED YOUR CONVERSION.

That's right, DECREASED! But you'd never know it because looking at your overall traffic stats "appears" as if your average daily conversion rate increased.

So what do you end up doing? You KEEP that test because you think it is making you more money.

99.999% of online marketers are making this mistake. And people wonder why it can be difficult to make money online.

Reason #1: Poor Tracking

We'll touch more on this topic in the near future. I strongly believe it's the single most importance element of Internet Marketing success.

I know for a fact I would not have made 10% of what I have been blessed to have made from marketing online if I wasn't a tracking freak.

I am going to teach YOU how to become a tracking freak for your business. It's the ONLY thing that matters when marketing online -- because it tells us what works and what doesn't. There is no guesswork.

-----------------------------------------
John Reese is an Internet Marketing pioneer that has been actively marketing online since 1990. John has sold millions of dollars worth of products and services online and his network of Web Sites have received over 1.4 BILLION Web Site visitors since their inception. You can learn more about John, his home study courses, and subscribe to his free ezine by visiting:

http://www.marketingsecrets.com

(c)2003 MarketingSecrets.com. All rights reserved.

Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=John_Reese

Climbing Mount Profit (Starting From The Top)

By John Reese

I have been an entrepreneur for most of my life. I started my journey as an entrepreneur at age 11. Ironically, it was running a BBS (bulletin board system) with a computer, a 300 baud modem, and a phone line in 1981.

(BBSs essentially became the Internet that we know today.)

It would take me nearly 15 long years of being an entrepreneur before I would really make much money. And by that I mean more than $6,500 in a single YEAR which didn't happen until almost 15 years later.

I have made every mistake in the book and invented several new ones when it comes to being an entrepreneur.

I was in nearly $100,000 of debt by age 22 -- mainly from trying every business possible.

I practically ruined my health by age 25 and it almost killed me.

(I ended up in the emergency room with a body that was so overworked and stressed that it was trying to shutdown.)

BUT... I eventually turned things around. Through hard work, faith, and perseverance. But I won't kid you, it wasn't easy.

I did finally start to make a good income. I was finally able to get out of that mountain of debt. And then the best thing of all happened -- I was able to learn how to GROW my business.

I was eventually able to make more money in a single month than the entire amount of debt that I had racked up by age 22.

But I was only able to start having success when I learned to grasp a powerful concept that I am about to teach you. I honestly believe that this one concept can change your life, because it changed mine.

No matter what stage you are at with your business, whether you are just getting started and dream of leaving your real job, or whether you are already making good money online, I have an absolutely critical question to ask you...

WHAT THE HECK DO YOU WANT?

Reread that question. Then reread it again. Take your time.

I ask you, "What the heck do you want?"

Since we're talking primarily about business, I am relating this question to HOW MUCH MONEY DO YOU WANT?

Seriously, how much?

When people used to ask me this question, I used to have a simple answer... "Millions!"

And even, though, that honestly WAS what I wanted, that wasn't the "right" answer.

The right answer is something SPECIFIC. It doesn't matter how big the amount is, it matters how specific the figure is. In other words, $5,000,000 if that's what I really wanted.

But that first "big" figure should be more of your "ultimate dream" and not what you will settle for to be happy and live the lifestyle you'd be perfectly happy with. Take it from me, when I ended up making a lot of money, I quickly realized I didn't need anywhere close to a large amount to basically do and buy anything I wanted.

So you need to also answer this question...

HOW MUCH WILL MAKE YOU HAPPY?

And don't get me wrong, I'm not trying to tell you to abandon your dreams of some huge amount of money. You can still grow your business and work towards that, and it certainly can still happen. That's not what this is about. This is about something much more powerful.

So you need to decide on a figure that will make you happy. Such as an annual income that will allow you to live the life you want without having a real job if you still have a job. Or that next level of lifestyle if you already work for yourself.

Whatever it is you really want, you need to be SPECIFIC about that dollar amount. For me, when I was in debt up to my nostrils, I eventually set that want at $40,000/year for income. I figured if I could just earn $40,000/year I could live a modest life, not be overly depressed about money, and "eventually" pay off my debt.

Setting that goal for me changed my life. Within less than 90 days of setting that realistic and achievable goal, I accomplished it.

Now how on earth did that happen when I spent YEARS trying to make money and was going literally nowhere?

It's simple.

I learned to climb what I call "Mount Profit" starting from the top.

I wrote down $40,000. I then worked the numbers BACKWARDS to figure out how much I would have to earn per month and then per day in order to achieve that figure. Then I figured out how much my product would have to cost and how many people I would have to sell it to. (Or whatever my business model was.)

It was EASY. It was very simple MATH. There was no more guesswork. There were no more mysteries. I knew exactly what I had to do to get what I WANTED. So I got to work and got it. And it happened very quickly because I had FOCUS on what I had to do.

I believe the #1 problem that entrepreneurs have is that they have no FOCUS on what they really WANT. They simply think, "I want to make a lot of money."

Well, I've got news for you, if you think that way, you're DOOMED and you might not even realize it yet. NO ONE just goes out and makes some mysterious amount of money from their efforts.

And no one makes a million without making one dollar first. Write that down.

In order to accomplish whatever amount it is that you want, you must have a specific dollar figure in mind. You must then work the "math" and process backwards to create a plan to accomplish that goal.

You must work that process back to the smallest incremental action step of your path to achieve what you want.

Have you ever heard...

"The journey of a thousand miles must begin with a single step."

Well, business is the same way. The journey to a million dollars, or even $100,000/year, must begin with a single dollar.

In order to accomplish that single dollar, you must put a 'system' in place to earn that dollar. But if I told you all you had to do is earn one dollar to be incredibly rich, you'd quickly and easily figure out how to do it.

Do you realize that if you can figure out how to make $1 of profit that you are 90% of the way to making $100,000/year and beyond? All you have to do is REPEAT the process of what it took to make that $1 of profit. It's called scalability.

Did you know that Mount Everest is exactly 29,035 feet high?

Well, you might not know that, but I can guarantee you that anyone that attempts to climb Mount Everest knows that. And they know that before they take one tiny step up the mountain.

That 29,035 feet must be the dollar amount that you want to earn. You must have a very SPECIFIC amount in mind for the next financial goal you wish to accomplish. And set that goal as a realistic figure so it is easily reached. You can always revise your goals as you go. That's why I stated earlier that the ultimate lifestyle you want is a lot cheaper than you realize.

So stop falling into the trap that you are just "working as hard as you can" and however much money you make will be the result.

I am trying to tell you... THAT'S THE KISS OF DEATH.

That's the best way to keep from making money, if any.

You need to learn to THINK of everything you want backwards. Reverse engineer what you want. Visualize what you want and "see" what the path is to get back to where you are now.

Then start walking down the path towards what you want. And do it one small step at a time. Because the only way to get from here to there is many small steps. There is no other way, so why waste your time doing anything else.

With Internet Marketing, it at all starts with one Web Site visitor. Then one opt-in subscriber. Then finally one order. Not 100 orders, not 10,000 subscribers, not 1,000,000 visitors. ONE of each.

So stop making all of this HARDER than it really is. Start getting ONE MORE of each of everything you want and then SCALE that to achieve your SPECIFIC goals.

You CAN climb your "Mount Profit" no matter how high it is for you. But remember to plan your climb by knowing EXACTLY how high that mountain is before you start your climb. You stand a much better chance of reaching the top if you aren't just climbing in the dark.

-----------------------------------------
John Reese is an Internet Marketing pioneer that has been actively marketing online since 1990. John has sold millions of dollars worth of products and services online and his network of Web Sites have received over 1.4 BILLION Web Site visitors since their inception. You can learn more about John, his home study courses, and subscribe to his free ezine by visiting:

http://www.marketingsecrets.com

(c)2003 MarketingSecrets.com. All rights reserved.

Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=John_Reese