Understanding IM

We need to understand what IM is. If you are lost online trying to make money by following whatever link you click or reading whatever post you find, you don't have a proper understanding or perspective. You need to understand the big picture of IM – what is required, different methods, where to start – and then take action and not stop until you have succeeded or failed. This is called a plan of action and it is key to success. The faster you understand this and seek out the systems, methods and successful people that resonate with you and then act, the better off you will be. If I was starting all over again, the first thing I would do would be to research and find a internet marketing mentor who successfully runs an IM business. IM is NOT personal. It's a business. The business of sales online. Period.

Mindset

Mindset is a very important part of a successful Internet marketer. First, you must understand that YOU ARE A MARKETER! This means that you are not trying or asking or attempting to sell or market something. You are not a student or 'newbie'. You are a marketer and a business owner – even if you don't have a business license and just have one blog with one ad on it. The mindset of being a marketer involves not being the victim or the recipient of something. But being the creator, sender, builder, provider – the source for something needed online. Yes, you need to research and understand your market, but when you are online with others and are trying to make money, you are a marketer.

With regard to your time and management of self, the proper mindset involves understanding that your time is valuable. Want to earn $50 or $100 an hour from IM? Don't waste your own time reading garbage or posting on facebook. You are a business. You must hold your self accountable for operating that business. You need to have sales systems, marketing systems, operations systems and accounting systems. Sounds complicated and overwhelming? Don't worry, at first, this simply means staying focused to the methods your are implementing and making sure your schedule consists of time spent working on each – proportionate to their importance or priority. For example, I always spend at least half of my time on "marketing". If I'm writing or reading or designing or working on my websites, that's great and necessary. But if I don't specifically allot time to marketing, those things will never make me money. I have certain certain amounts of time and specific days that are dedicated to specific aspects of my business. Just starting out? Use a spreadsheet or even type up a schedule and post it on your wall. Make it simple. Otherwise you're going nowhere and will only realized it months later Standardize and systematize your efforts and then scale up once you have success.

IM Attitude

So attitude and mindset can be similar things, but what is of key importance with your attitude is what I call "realistic confidence". You need to believe in your self and in your Internet Marketing dream AND believe in others and their systems and dreams as well – once you've sorted out the crap of course. This is believing in your head, but not in your practice. You should not and cannot believe in others and their systems – I don't care how successful or large they are – until you have seen the results in your own experience. This means that it is key to believing and having the right attitude of success for yourself and your business so you stay focused and determined, but understanding that you cannot trust or believe anyone else until they have proven themselves or their system. Doing instant messaging in gmail or on facebook for a month with someone you now 'know' doesn't constitute trust or reliability. Nor does an amazing sales letter with sh*tloads of testimonials. Reliability constitutes reliability. Following through and producing is where real trust and relationships are established. Head in the clouds with the almighty vision and feet on the ground with the practical steps to getting there. Don't be a fool.

IM Practice

If you have found a method(s) with a solid mentor or program to guide you, the next step is consistent and persistent practice. If you have not, you need to. Otherwise you will constantly be searching. Searching is NOT marketing and is definitely not success. Even minimal success is huge. Did you make $5 four times last months with a practice? Success! Now evaluate why you had success there and not in other areas and repeat the successful steps. Success again?!! Success!! Now scale. Increase what you are doing. Drive more traffic, put in more time, put in more money. $5 four times in a month becomes $5 daily. $5 daily becomes $25 daily becomes $100 daily. If you do not have a solid method or mentor go here but not before you read the last paragraph

IM Focus

Now we have basically everything we need, but we need to stick with it and maximize everything we are doing. This is where focus comes into play. Without focus, you will never have real growth or consistency. Directed thought The ability to check in with your mind and 'watch' what it is thinking about and saying is extremely powerful. We are either a slave to our thoughts which then determine our actions or we are a silent witness, able to sort out unnecessary and unproductive thoughts and consequent actions. Am I constantly reading ebooks, checking my email or affiliate stats every 5 minutes? Am I on forums all the time reading and buying the latest "AMAZING PRODUCT MAKES MARKETER $13,457.89 in 2 days"? Do I make 'to do' lists and then constantly modify them, always looking for and changing my strategy? Do I not follow through on what I am working on? This all comes back to habit and habit is determined by thought. Whether you are aware of it or not, every thought you have creates an action and for most of us, we are slaves to that action. Our internet marketing career is no different. I must learn to watch my thoughts and to not act when they tell me to deviate from my CLEAR PLAN that I have established. My understanding, my mindset, my attitude, my practice all go out the friggin' window when my mind allows me to take action not inline with my goals.