With this post, I would like to share my experience of working online since 2011 and what it takes to be successful at it. It does not matter what type of venture you choose, whether it be blogging, affiliate marketing or social, the following principles apply to most of them.
Few Facts to Start With:
No such thing as easy money!
If it sounds too good to be true, then it most likely is. The world is competitive when it comes to making money, IN ALL SECTORS, and the online world is no different. Very few people strike it rich by doing little to nothing, getting into an opportunity at just the right time with little investment. As for the rest, the more you want, the smarter and harder you have to work for it.
The online world can be deceptive!
There are millions of marketers around that want you to buy their product/s and the one with the best sales pitch or marketing strategy is going to make the most sales, period. That includes false promises or facts that are a bit bent at times to create the illusion that you can earn an income doing literally noting only clicking a few buttons. Truth is, those marketers DID NOT get to where they are by simply clicking a few buttons here and there. A LOT goes into creating a successful online business model, hours of creating content, tweaking, and experimenting with different platforms, programs, and tools, to only name a few. So yes, next time you see a successful website, YouTube channel, or whatever venture that promises big results with little investment and time, just know, that they themselves did most likely not have the same results that they promise.
The online industry is not a Lottery where you strike it rich with a small investment!
Okay, so a few people did indeed make a ton of money by entering an opportunity at just the right time frame, however, we cannot use a few examples to compare against the average internet user, looking to become successful online. The online world is now more competitive than ever before and such opportunities will be gone and saturated very quickly.
So What is the Online World About Then?
Not much different than the physical one. A lot easier to get into but, still it should be viewed as any other business venture where you will have to put in the hours, effort, and investment to become successful at it and make a good profit. If you treat your online venture in the same manner that you would go about creating a physical business model, the chances of success will be much greater than treating it like a lottery where you hope to get lucky.
Although it is hard work, working online has many benefits that outweigh having a physical job by far. For me personally, that is;
Freedom – I can work whenever I want and where I want on my own terms. One does not have to depend on a lunch break to satisfy a growling stomach, go for a hike around the block in order to stretch one’s legs, or plan shopping trips around working hours.
You get what you put in – The harder I work at it, the more rewards I get. I am not restricted to a paycheck; I am restricted to my own desire to get things done. It is much easier to battle with oneself than to battle with an employer for a raise.
Learning new skills is cheap – No matter what online venture you want to get into, learning the skill to do so works out A LOT cheaper than going into other professions. In many cases, you can even find learning materials for free or buy entire courses for a fraction of the price of what college or university would cost. The online world created a space for the less fortunate to become something that would otherwise be nearly impossible in the physical world.
Okay, so What does it Take to be Successful working Online You ask?
The Right Mindset
Going into this desperate is a big no. Desperation for money will put you in a negative mindset and leave you not thinking clearly, which will affect your success. Instead, see it for what it is and what will be required and work towards a goal that is NOT money-related.
For example; you decided to start a website/blog and do affiliate marketing. Do not focus on the money you can make with it but rather something like “I want to have thousands of visitors to my website to be able to provide valuable information that could help others” or “ I want to be able to provide a service with value and uplift my own reputation”. If money is your only reason, you will have a hard time creating content or even just enjoying what you are doing.
Focus on one Venture at a Time
Stop chasing golden eggs and focus all your energy on a single venture. Choose One Online Venture that you would like to give a try and give it your all for at least 6 months before you hop on to something else. It takes time to learn new things, build a following, to build a reputation, and so forth. Like I mentioned above, treat it like a physical business, you would not go and start a donut shop and close it up after only 2 months of trying, only to start a hardware store, would you? It is the same thing online, it takes time to become successful at it, and dedication is needed.
Skill and Knowledge are Required to be the Best
I have a few successful websites that made me quite a bit over time. In the beginning, I had one that was a complete flop due to the lack of knowledge and skill to make it work. As time went by, I learned and developed new skills and methods to do it properly. You cannot possibly expect to start a website for instance with little knowledge and make thousands from it in the first few months. It does not work like that anywhere in the world. Give yourself time to learn a new skill set and build your experience with trial and error.
Expect Failure
As mentioned above, you are implementing skills that you are unfamiliar with within a competitive market. You WILL FAIL many times in certain aspects. I have been working online for many years and I still fail to get certain things right. The only way to fix it is to keep going at it until it is working.
Investment
The online industry gives us the opportunity to create a profitable venture with very little investment. However, just like anywhere else, at some point, you will have to invest money to make more. Just like with any business, tools and resources are needed to make the workflow smoother or even to keep up with the competition. However, many newbies jump in and start buying tools and services left and right, stuff that is too expensive or not needed for a newbie just yet. In doing so, they cripple themselves financially way before they can afford to do so and their online venture comes to an end due to a lack of finances to buy the absolute essentials like a domain and hosting. Be careful when spending, especially if you are not making enough to afford it.
Content is Still King
Blogging, social media, YouTube, email marketing, and so forth, all revolve around continuously providing fresh targeted content. If you want to be successful at it, you will have to adapt it to your lifestyle. The more you publish the more money you make, as simple as that.
Hard Work is Needed
Do I need to say more? You are going to learn a new skill set, implement it and then keep it up to standard. Yeah, if sacrifices and long hours are not what you want to do in order to make the big bucks, then it would be best to just stay away.
Have a Schedule
With so much to do, work out a schedule and to-do list to help you stay on track. After working online for years, I still keep my schedule (tweak it from time to time) to help me stay focused on the tasks at hand. There is usually a lot going on at once like learning new marketing tactics, updating profiles, answering comments, creating new content, and so on, making it easy to feel disorientated and overwhelmed at times and a to-do list helps me stay in tune with all my online ventures.
Well, this is it for now. I hope you enjoyed the post and feel more motivated now to start your online venture knowing what it will take to get it done. If you have questions, please drop them in the comment section below and I will get to them ASAP. Have a word of wisdom to share to make this post more informational, it will be much appreciated as the comment section has more than enough room for everyone’s opinion.
Thank You, and Have Yourself an Awesome Day!