Home Based Business of Internet and Affiliate Marketing - Why We Sometimes Fail

In my continuing articles concerning Internet and affiliate marketing, I want to talk about success and failure in the industry. Success is something that often eludes many affiliate marketers with the result that they drop out after a not inconsiderable investment of time and energy (to say nothing of money).

So what is the difference between those that fail and those that go on to make a good living at Internet and affiliate marketing?

Its not "smarts" because plenty of people have made significant money and have only been of average intelligence. Genius has never been a prerequisite. After all, there are smart people making a minimum wage existence.

Is it the amount of work or whether or not a person works "hard?" This certainly can't be it because there are both so called "white and blue collar" workers who, though they have different jobs and apply themselves differently to the task at hand, still work hard and receive sometimes average or even inadequate compensation.

What is it then? What is the reason why people fail to succeed in Affiliate and Internet marketing?

As I look back on my success, I consider both the things I did and didn't do that got me where I am. There have been lots of dollars at times and at others a dribble. Each time I was successful there was one overarching reason. When I failed it was almost always because I didn't do in that case what I did in the successful case. So what was it?

I did or didn't become an authority on my chosen subject matter.

Irrespective of what it is: Internet marketing of physical products, e-book creation, marketing of digital or software products, or reselling for Amazon or eBay, I learned everything I could about the product AND the market where it was to be sold. And when I didn't, I either failed miserably or made so little profit as to make the effort a pyrrhic success.

I have found that concentrating on a single objective, to the exclusion of everything else, is the right key to being successful in this business.

The idea that success comes to those who are a "jack of all trades, master of none" simply has not born fruit, at least not in my case.

My experience has demonstrated that the acquisition of expertise in Internet marketing is the only way to acquire the nice cars, the fancy homes, and the "good living" that we are all led to believe is just around the corner.

The only way I have found to get there is through mastery of the craft. It's as pure and simple as that.

Be the BEST at what you are doing!

Think about this for a moment: you have two individuals from the same level of society, same basic education. They both become pilots and make a very reasonable salary. One, however, continues to become a test pilot, and then astronaut, and finally a PhD in astrophysics. One remained a generalist or simply a pilot while the other specialized and became an expert in his/her field.

Who do you think made more money, which became more affluent?

The specialist, the EXPERT.

This is a lesson I have applied to everything I do. I don't go off half-cocked; I don't assume I know enough about this or that market. I do my research, I apply due diligence to understand the terrain where I will be working. In short, I become the expert in my niche.

After a certain point in your education, continuing to learn a little about email list building or a little about ad copy writing is only going to lead to a vast gap in your knowledge.

To generalize is to court disaster in the field of Internet Marketing.

You need to become an expert in the segment of the market you find the most interesting and have the most talent. The reason why I and others succeed is because we stick with what we are good at and improve those skills over the years. And never ever stop learning, talking, and reading about new developments.

You need to become an authority in the segment of the market of your choice

At this point you should be saying "Well, that's great. How do I become an expert in a field and what field should it be?"

Training. Training is the answer. If there was ever a field so obscure, clouded, and seeded with land mines, its Internet marketing. But you should not let this discourage you because it isn't rocket science and anybody can become successful if they just get the right training.

So where do you get this training you may be asking and is it possible there is a "pitch" coming here?

No pitch. Because the truth is undeniable: there is an excellent chance you will fail without the training. I can think of several reputable on-line organizations that train new affiliates (some are inexpensive and some are not).

Wealthy Affiliate, in my opinion, is the best there is.

Yes, I am an affiliate of Wealthy Affiliate. But you know what else? I am a member and I pay my dues just like the rest of the members. This is because I believe in there training and their commitment to the industry.

Wealthy Affiliate will provide you the basic training you need and they do one better: They provide specific industry segment training as well. For instance, wealthy affiliate has an entire separate course devoted to Pay Per Click marketing and another on Article Marketing (my chosen area of specialty). These courses are above and beyond the substantial content you get as a general member and they will move you down the road of advanced training and, incidentally, make you an expert.

I think it's a rather funny thought: anybody successful in Internet and affiliate marketing can make much more money than Astrophysicist ever will. And let's not forget all the schooling you don't have to do for it!

Here is the bottom line: With the right kind of training you will receive at Wealthy Affiliate, you will be well on your way to making a great income and to becoming an expert in your field. Imagine how you will be building wealth for those 10 years in Internet and affiliate marketing while the new Astrophysicists are....studying.

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