I have spent hundreds of dollars on e-books and instruction manuals for everything from cellular phone recycling, affiliate marketing, drop-shipped eBay products, Google Adwords tips, and many more still waiting to be printed from my hard drive. The one thing the various pitch pages and manuals never seem to encourage is patience and hard work. There is no such thing as a free ride. And people who are interested in getting into the possibly lucrative field of internet marketing need to remember those virtues as they dream of six-figure incomes.
While I definitely believe my education has been supremely enhanced through purchasing many of the guides and manuals, my education has been more successful due to my careful application of the information. I have recently begun to see some of the exciting profits that I have been promised. But not without the hard work of going beyond the ebooks, manuals, and computer programs. I've learned and re-learned many lessons.
Do your own research. Especially beyond the first few pages of a Google search. Read and re-read the reviews of any product you are considering. Often, there are free alternatives available and public domain information that can support or enhance that e-book you purchased. You'll have to look very hard and deep into the internet to find it, but it's worth it.
Do not act on impulse. Set up a budget each month for what you may be willing to spend in the pursuit of knowledge. Like any education, you should plan for it to be expensive. I initially limited myself to $100 dollars a month to start. I called it, "My dinner and a movie money." Now, of course, I have a lot of extra money available, but I still only have the hundred dollar budget...and I can take in dinner and a movie more often.
Be prepared for profits. Have a business plan and follow it. Be prepared to lose money at first, but if you plan for it, you won't have any frustration affecting your determination. When you do begin to profit, your business plan will help you deal with the many other things than come from success. The IRS, for example.
Keep records of everything. Document all you can on paper. Computers are great for storing and keeping track of information. But the ease of storage and retrieval can lead to apathy. Thinking you'll get to it later gets harder the more excited you are about your latest affiliate program and you'll make a big mistake.
And finally, be ethical. Quick-buck artists and fraudulent practices give everyone a bad name. You don't want the reputation that members of the current political class have, do you?
Greg Alan, E-Commerce Now!
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