What I’ve Learned After 2,555 Days of Internet Marketing

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7 years ago today, my husband came home from work to find me staring at a totally white computer screen.  He carefully asked me what I was doing to which I responded, “I’m making a website”.  He then asked me why I was doing that – my answer was simple, “Because I am going to make money online”.

He then asked me if I knew HOW to make a website or how to make money online and I replied, “Nope, but I am going to figure it out!”

Lessons learned after 2,555 days of full-time internet marketing - from PotPieGirl.com

That was exactly seven years ago – 2,555 days ago.  I can easily say I averaged at least 8 hours a day so that would be 20, 440 hours ago.

I don’t dare to even guess how many Advil ago that was…. or how many Post-It notes ago that was… or how many Google algorithm updates ago that was – or how many moments I wanted to put my fist through my computer monitor…lol!

It’s been a ride, that’s for sure.

I feel extremely blessed of my achievements and accomplishments, but above all, I feel VERY VERY blessed to still be here 20,440 hours later.

I’ve seen too many great people slowly disappear from this business.  And who can blame them?  After allllll the Google madness the past 2 years or so…and don’t even get me started on all the Squidoo craziness in that time period…  things like that feel like defeating brick walls.  It’s like you take 6 big steps forward – and then something shoves you back a mile.

This business sure can rock your world at times, can’t it?

So what have I learned after these 20,440 hours of working online?

I’ve learned a TON – and the beautiful thing is, I am STILL learning.  I love that about this business.

So here’s some things I’ve learned –

1.  Everyday is a GOOD day – Even the bad days

The moment I decided to stop feeling defeated when an algo change would happen or a rule change at a site would happen or any of those million things that happen day-to-day around here, things got easier for me.  Your positive attitude and your ability to “roll with it” are a BIG asset in this business.

2.  You can not BUY experience

You can buy tools, and training, and coaching, and systems, and answers, and all that – but you can NOT buy the experience you get from USING those things.  You simply must put in the time, break things, and DO IT.

3.  Free resources ROCK

Leverage any and all free resources you possibly can when you’re getting started with all this.  The internet is full of amazing free-to-use resources where you can learn AND earn – use them.  This is one business where there is no reason to go into debt in order to learn, earn, AND get that experience I talked about in #2.  If you’re brand new to all this, start here with the free training membership.

I know many others say that when you use free-to-use websites and tools you aren’t in “control” of your business.  And that’s true for the most part – when someone else owns a site, you are at their mercy…THEY are in control of what happens on that site.

BUT…. YOU are in control of your spending while you are learning all this and gaining experience – and as you earn, THEN you reinvest that money back into your business.

If you have money to spend on learning all this, then go for it if you want to.  However, if you are starting out like I did 20,440 hours ago, and don’t HAVE money to invest and risk on this, then leverage any and all free resources you can.  You can’t buy your way out of debt.

4.  Be Everywhere

No 500-word article is going to make you a strong presence in a niche – you gotta get out there and be everywhere.  If you’re building a site on a certain niche topic, you can’t just type away on your own site and think that the masses will magically appear – you simply must get out there IN your niche market and be where those people are.

And yes, that can be exhausting – but if you really want it, you’ll do it.  And by the way, you really can’t buy that either.

5.  Keywords = Problems

Every, single time someone types something into the Google search box, they are looking for a solution to their problem.  Now, their “problem” might be something simple like what time a movie starts or directions to some place – but that’s still a solution they are looking for.

If you can find the “problem-intent” behind your keywords and offer answers and solutions, you’re golden (if you also follow #4).

6.  Everybody wants what everybody wants

I wish I could remember where I read that/heard that, but it was something I wrote down and keep near me.  I know it sounds silly, but in our business, it’s a very powerful statement.

Let’s take an Amazon product as an example – say you find a great keyword about blue widgets.  Then, you hop over to Amazon and see that they SELL those blue widgets.  Awesome, right?  So you make your web page and pop your Amazon affiliate link in that goes to that blue widget product page.

But did you really LOOK at that blue widget product page?  Does it have good reviews?  AND are the reviews recent?  Personally, I am hesitant to buy something on Amazon if it appears the last time it was sold was 2 years ago (based on the most recent review dates).

Does the product have a sales rank?  Scroll down and look under the Product Information area of the product listing page… does it have a Best Sellers Rank?  If not, guess what?  It’s never sold – ever.

An Amazon product has to make at least ONE sale to obtain a Best Seller Rank.  Yes, it’s possible it is a brand new product, but no one wants what  appears that no one else wants.  You know the whole saying, “Perception creates reality”?  It totally applies here – if a product listing gives a viewer the perception that no one else wants the product, they don’t want it either.

7.  Days off are VERY GOOD for your business

Take time off – and do your best to do it BEFORE you feel stressed and burnt out.  Get off the computer, email, Facebook, cell phone, ipad, etc….and do something AWAY from all that.  Even if all you do is go stand outside in your driveway and let the sun shine on you (yep, I’ve done that…lol!) – just do something to get away from it now and then.

Personally, I have learned that I need to literally get AWAY to be able to really do that.  Ever since I started all this 2,555 days ago, I worked at it with the mentality that if my eyes were open, I was working.  And, when you work from home, you’re always AT work.  No disrespect to the guys, but I think this is particularly hard on the moms.  No matter WHERE we are when in our home, there is some sort of work that needs to be done, or somebody has needs that we have to meet.  So when you work online on top of all that, when you’re at home, you are always “at work”.

Once I realized I worked for myself and “myself” is a pretty cool boss that would let me take time off , I totally did – and it’s totally worth it and good for business.

8.  Reinvesting in your business is great, but pay yourself first

No matter how you divvy up your monthly earnings, make sure you pay yourself at least 10% of it first and tuck away in an account you don’t touch for ANYTHING.  As someone who started all this with really bad debt and really bad credit, I can tell you that it is SO empowering to have a nest egg of money put to the side.  That fear of “What If” that keeps you awake at night slowly goes away as the balance builds up.  You are totally worth being paid first so do it.

9.  Learn how money works

This was a really tough one for me.  In my world 2,555 days ago, money “worked” like this – get some sort of paycheck in the bank and then pay whatever bills I could with it.  And the bills I couldn’t pay?  Well, that was part of my “What If” insomnia I referred to in #8.

I am so glad I learned how money worked (and I’m still learning it) – the best part is that as I was learning it, my kids were at the age where they really needed to LEARN those things.  And sadly, it’s not something that is really taught these days.

Probably the biggest pride I feel from all this is what my kids learned from my learning (and my preaching…lol).  My son is now 25 and my daughter is 22, and they are BOTH home owners all on their own.

(and another fun fact, they are both giving me new grandbabies this fall!  My daughter is expecting her first baby in September, and my daughter-in-law is expecting her third in October.  To say I’m excited is a HUGE understatement!)

I think other parents will agree with me when I say that we want our kids to be/do better than we have.  I was in my 40’s before I even started the self-education of learning how money works.  My kids, on the other hand, have a healthy understanding of money, good jobs, and good credit in their 20’s.  Breaking harmful cycles from our past to improve their future – and their kids future – is a big deal.

10.  Don’t feel guilt from success

This is a tough one to explain, and a little hard to admit because I’m not sure others feel this way, but I have experienced many moments in the past 2,555 days where I realized I was actually feeling GUILTY for my success online.

Here’s an example:  As I said, I am still always trying to learn about money and how it works – and how to make it work for ME.  I was with a few people and we were talking about cars.

Now, I have a nice car and I’m really proud of it.  Not because I like to show off, but because at one time I had a car repossessed.  What a VERY humbling experience…and that feeling when I had to tell my kids that mommy had her car repossessed was a pretty sh*tty feeling.

When I started all this and made that first money online ($7) and I realized that this whole ‘make money online thing’ really DOES work, I promised myself that someday I would save up enough to buy the car I wanted.

And I did.

Ok, so back to that “guily feeling moment” – I was sitting with a group of people and we were talking cars.  I mentioned that I was thinking about getting a new model Escalade soon but was torn between actually buying it or leasing one.  I really don’t know what the best financial choice for my situation and was still trying to learn how car leases work.  So, I asked this group of people what they thought to see if I could learn something.

The first response I got?

“Must be nice.  Tough problem to have.”

My first immediate emotion was GUILT.  So I stopped talking about it because I felt bad.

It took me a long time of those kinds of situations to realize that was the most INSANE internal reaction to have – I felt BAD because I worked my ass off, saved the money, and bought the car?  Say WHAT??!?!

You have every right to every success you have earned.  If you feel that guilt thing bubble up in you, it’s time to detox – there is no room for guilt.  Do YOU make snide comments to others due to THEIR success?  Or are you proud of them… happy for them?  I realized that guilt thing was a “me problem” that I had to address and work through…and their ease of snide comments to me was a “them problem” that I couldn’t do anything about.

And that brings me to #11 –

11.  Remove yourself from “Must be nice”

You just might find many people in your life suddenly having the “Must be nice” attitude towards you as you excel online.  You might also find that these are people that you can’t, and don’t WANT, to literally remove from your life.  I’m not saying to dump all your previous relationships if/when this happens – I AM saying to teach yourself how to remove your FEELINGS from those moments and how you ALLOW them to affect you.  You can only change and/or fix YOU.

And as an extra little tip I’ve learned – take time to get around other people who have the same kinds of “Must be nice” type of problems you have.  In the past 2,555 days I have been blessed to meet and hang out with some people who make more money than I can even dare to imagine.  They are the risk takers, the over-achievers…and they are my counsel.  I love learning from self-made entrepreneurs – they are an amazing breed.

Ok, that’s it from me.  It’s been WAY too long since I’ve posted here and I figured today was the perfect day to get back in touch.  I’ve been super busy since my last post “in the lab” developing my Reverse Attack Marketing Method and then hanging out with all the FANTASTIC folks in our Private R.A.M.  Google Plus Community.  It is such a blessing to work every single day with such a phenomenal group of people.

I’d love to hear what YOU have been up to since my last post….and best yet, what things YOU have learned from working online that you can share with everyone.

 

 

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