Yikes! Too Long...gotta' FOCUS

It's simply been too long since I've posted here on my Blog. I've been so incredibly busy, you can't imagine. In the past month I've launched or purchased/rebuilt 5 new websites. I've been very busy shooting cars and listing them on eBay for dealerships, I've been doing quite a bit of marketing on MySpace for a few different companies...and that's just work.

I've got 2 boys playing baseball and I coach both, and my daughter is playing Softball to boot! That's life, right? I know everyone is busy. Sometimes I just feel overwhelmed.

Anyway, I found a fantastic article that I though I'd share with you all. It's helped me tremendously...well not exactly. I think it has the potential to help me if I will only follow the advice given in it.

I'm pasting the article below. I got the article from The Warrior Forum, one of my favorite forums for Internet Marketing information. The original post was writtne by Internet Marketing Guru John Reese. It's long, but very wise.

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"DOUBLE Your Profits Now!"
By John Reese of MarketingSecrets.com

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.


Hope you enjoyed it and you learned something. I know I did!