Why Many Newbies Fail
Hi again, it’s James…
I want to first thank everyone who took the survey about the new feature ideas for IMSP. Your comments have helped tremendously.
There were several comments that really caught my attention as I was reading. I want to share one with you right now that I think is responsible for many newbies not succeeding online. I truly believe that if I help coach you through this, you will SUCCEED!
Here’s the comment from Richard:
James, one of the hardest things for IM beginners to do is focus. It’s like a candy store out there when you first get started, and we’re always rushing off to try the newest thing without completing and following through on the last thing. So a “How to Focus” and get things done, one step at a time, I think would be useful for beginners. And me.
Can you relate to the Richard?
I struggled with this issue for years online. I wanted to give up.
So how did I finally crack the code?
Simple.
1. I set specific goals
2. I created a specific plan
3. I implement my plan and blocked everything out until my goal was reached
I did this for the following projects:
iBuzzIncome.ws
The result:
- 18,000 downline members in 18 months
- Steady passive income for life
- It took 2 weeks of total focus
DownlineSecrets.com
The result:
- $24,000 in 24 hours
- A foundation to build on
- It took 11 months of total focus and concentration with a new baby and a full time job (which I hated) dividing my time.
DownlineSecrets2.com
The result:
- Passive 6 figure annual sales that shows no signs of ever stopping
- It took over 12 months of non-stop focus and obsession to complete this project before my 2nd child was born
Which leads to Instant MLM Squeeze Pages, which took over 12 months from idea phase to launch.
The reason I’m sharing this with you is to point out that making money online takes serious discipline and a plan.
Internet income doesn’t happen overnight and does require a lot of hard work at first. But after you push that huge snowball up the hill… it’s fun and exciting to watch it pick up lifelong passive income as it rolls down the other side with much less effort.
5 Steps To Help You Focus:
Step 1: Grab a pen and paper (I’m not joking, go grab a pen and paper now and come back to step 2)
Step 2: Write down the dollar amount you want to make each month (Be realistic at first. You need to crawl before you can walk)
Step 3: Write down the time frame in which you want to reach this goal (again, be realistic)
Step 4: Figure out how many sales you must generate from your MLM business or IMSP to make that amount
Example: Let’s say you wrote down $1,000 per month in step 2. The affiliate program at Instant MLM Squeeze Pages pays $9.99 monthly recurring income, right? That means you will need to refer a total of 100 people to Instant MLM Squeeze Pages to make $1,000 per month.
If you want to reach this goal in 30 days, you will need to refer roughly 3.33 sales per day for the next 30 days.
Step 5: Once you have your number from step 4, it’s time to advertise your squeeze pages and analyze your results.
This is the step where many new comers freeze because they don’t have a huge advertising budget or don’t know how to get traffic.
And this is where I’m supposed to come to the rescue and say… “Don’t worry, you can simply do this [INSERT FREE METHOD] and still make $1,000 per month!”
Sorry, it generally doesn’t work that way. I’ve already shown you 9 different ways to generate traffic in the Squeeze Page Traffic Secrets videos. How many have you tried?
Many people have only used traffic exchanges to advertise and wonder why they are not making huge sums of money per month.
Here’s a metaphor to help address that concern:
Visualize a bicycle wheel with 10 spokes. Each spoke represents a different advertising method.
Spoke 1: Traffic Exchanges
Spoke 2: List Builders and Safe lists
Spoke 3: Pay Per Click Search
Spoke 4: Co-Registration Services
Spoke 5: Article Marketing
Spoke 6: Social Bookmarking
Spoke 7: Forum Advertising
Spoke 8: Targeted Banner Ads
Spoke 9: Blogging
Spoke 10: Ezine Advertising
The more of these advertising methods you use, the stronger your bicycle wheel becomes. Which means you will hit your income goal faster and easier.
And you can start by mastering one advertising method at a time. As you master each one, move to the next. Just keep things simple and focus on your specific goal.
Look for another post tomorrow where I share all the changes I made to IMSP last week…
- James Grandstaff





41 Comments so far
Leave a comment
James - There are several golden nuggets in this post as I think we have all suffered from a lack of focus somewhere along our journey - for new marketers a big challenge. You are out there feeling your way around and trying to learn as much as possible and you are not yet making money at any one thing, so everything sounds promising. Add to that the rapid fire launches of new products and wow!
I think you offer a great strategy to combat this and your recommendations are completely actionable. The encouraging thing is that by your examples; the months you invested have returned significant value for you and leveraged success into new products and revenue streams.
Thank you for the great post.
James
By James Holmes on 01.12.09 4:05 pm
James,
Good info. Focus is a challenge. Many of us are focused on other businesses that we are using to pay the bills. We are looking for something better with residual income. When something in a program does not work for us, or we do not know how to work it we will move on. Technical issues can be challenging for newbies. Add on top of that our time restraints with the rest of our life and the combination can slow us down. That is why we need mentors. People who are willing to take us under their wings, offer their help and coaching.
I love your program. I have learned so much from imlmsp. I continue to struggle with the autoresponder, but I am overcoming those challenges slowly. Your program is the first that I found where it actually works.
By John Grant on 01.12.09 7:35 pm
James,
You hit the nail on the head with this one. Thanks for sharing the truth … that it actually takes sustained, focused “effort” to reach your goals. Interestingly enough, I just recorded a video earlier today that touches on the very same topic.
I think there’s an ever-increasing notion that building an online business is easy and can be accomplished with little effort. Thanks to folks like you, perhaps the record and begin to be set straight.
By Brian Kelly on 01.12.09 7:35 pm
I really like this blog post James. It is good to learn from your experience. The first thing that I noticed is you said you need to “crawl before you walk”. This statement is so true, and many newbies give up because they did not make a plan. I can see from your series of websites that one success has built on top of the previous success. Thanks James for your Downline Secrets 2!! It has really helped me get an understanding of how to get started online.
By Samuel Heins on 01.12.09 7:36 pm
Ithought this was a great blog article.It is really full of information to help with sites.I intend to try some of this on my http://www.hevenpeturns.com and my blog http://www.heavenpeturns.net to see how it works.Thanks
Norma
By Norma on 01.12.09 7:43 pm
Thanks for posting this James. At least someone else that is honest and admits they didn’t make upteen jillion dollars in there first 90 days. On line is the same as off line, it takes focus, concentrated effort and time to build a business and anyone who tells you different is lying or wants in your wallet.
Thanks
Bo Tipton
The Ornery Marketer
By Bo Tipton on 01.12.09 7:48 pm
Hi James,
Thanks for your insight. It’s scary to focus on one way to market your business but it is a must. So many times you know a lot of methods but you’re are not focus on a single goal. Thanks again for a great post!
james
By james on 01.12.09 8:04 pm
Great info James, has given me a lot to think about, really want to do my own thing and get away a bit from being someone elses affiliate like
By bob on 01.12.09 8:15 pm
Hi James,
This is a comprehensive list that is to the point. Not only is it hard to focus on one thing while promoting one product, it is also hard to focus on a single product until success is achieved before starting to market another product.
Thanks for your tips!
Lucie
By Lucie Bellemare on 01.12.09 8:28 pm
Hello James !
Great article. Simple approach to online success but most people are losing focus in the net. I’m one of your GDI member. I’m wondering whether the ibuzzincome system can still be use or not. I would love to use it again to promote GDI.
By Kaz on 01.12.09 8:30 pm
James my man…FOCUS is more than a 4 letter word. For this newbie the toughest thing was getting past all the material that arrives in your email. Trying to focus on just what you are aiming for….whew!This is day 2 of my install and know I will have it done before midnight tonight. Thanks for the blog that has helped me ReFOCUS. Here goes.
By Donald Bedford on 01.12.09 8:52 pm
James,
Great thoughts. I wish someone would have crammed “focus” down my throat a year ago. Things would have been a lot more clear. The truth is that marketers with years under their belts can still use such coaching. I hope lots of IMs read your blog and really see what your saying. I hope I do!
Keep up the good work,
John
By John Bonzo on 01.12.09 9:14 pm
I find it extremely hard to believe that you made 24 thousands bucks in 24 hours with “downline secrets”. Please give or tell me how you actually did it!
Paul
Hi Paul,
I purchased a product called the “Product Launch Formula” and applied the techniques and generated $24K in 24 hours. Remarkable stuff I know
James
By Paul on 01.12.09 9:16 pm
James,
Wonderful! Once again, you hit the nail on the head and explained things so even a “newbie” can understand….
Fantastic!
James Norman
By James Norman on 01.12.09 9:18 pm
Well I only used WOIP as my primary program and I joined almost 8mos. ago and until now I am promoting this program. So James you are correct stay focus and you will succeed.
A big thank you,
eric
By eric on 01.12.09 10:23 pm
Hi James,
I focussed for 4 years but made nothing. Now I focus on this (see link) and it is by far the best thing for me ever.
Jeff
By Jeff on 01.13.09 1:07 am
Hi there James, TrudyVan here
Great post. I train in our live Training Conference Room and one of the basic and key training weeks that we have is Time Management and Goal planning. Your post was just what I needed to brush up on mine and to let my members know.
There is something Great about writing down and implementing your goals in a structured way. It does bring results.
Kindest regards
TrudyVan
Lgt Trainer and proud co-founder of Socialbrats Social Network
By TrudyVan on 01.13.09 1:22 am
James, you hit the nail on the head. I have many newbies in my downlines and they are always calling or emailing me about the latest and greatest that they have seen. I keep telling them to crawl before they walk but it is hard to get that through to them. If you have a plan or idea brewing here about getting newbies on the right track then count me in.
Everything else of yours has been great so I know my guys could use a little common sense drilled into them.
(or a bigger hammer)
By George Savery on 01.13.09 1:27 am
The reaon why only 3 to 5% of people make real money in Network Marketing is because they have true focus. Without doubt, it is the main reason I created huge success in MLM. Juomping on all the new programs launching is a surefire way to fail big time. It is a shame that people think the grass is greener on the other side of the fence.
The old saying of throw all your eggs in one basket and watch them grow is so true, and yet there are many so called “Gurus” out there telling you to build income streams in dozens of programs. Building one income stream is hard enough for most people, let alone 3 or 4!
Nice post and let’s hope those who read it finally understand!
Gary J Kidd
By Gary Kidd on 01.13.09 2:11 am
James, thanks for this important post. I wonder how many times people need to be told this before they really understand that they need to concentrate on one thing and really learn to master it before they move on to the next. I think most people are looking for magic software in which they just have to push a button to send money to their bank account. I have seen magic software but they can only automate certain tasks in your marketing, they don’t send money to a bank account.
Olov
By Olov Forsgren on 01.13.09 3:39 am
Hi James,
Good subject, (An understatement!)
Staying focused with all that is going on out there may sound impossible, at the least very hard. This I believe is due to not having that objective sufficiently defined. Are we not real Gurus in the knowhow when it comes to preparing our vacations? The same principle needs to be setup for a business. Knowing what is needed for all the bits and pieces, and getting them listed into a “Whatstodo” list, then with a “Howgosit” list tick off those items that are done preferably within a time scale. Doing this makes the incoming “focus killers” a little more welcome, similarly to the shops downtown that will provide you with the absent object needed for a missing vacation detail or object.
So, have your dream, make sure it is crazy impossible, (avoid telling your friends about it, because their opinions are the cheapest commodities on earth), setup the steps, all of them, and they absolutely must be totally realistic all of them. What I mean is; that you can talk about the step and get some help from some friend without him telling you to stop dreaming. A monumental advantage is having a partner to travel this road with because a lone wolf may well eventually starve. So thank you James for being a pack-leader, a trail-setter for whatever our objectives.
Robert.
By Robert on 01.13.09 4:09 am
Excellent post. Great advice for newbies and old goats like me. It’s easy to veer off the path and get lost in the jungle.
In the Internet Jungle there are lots of predators that will eat you alive if you aren’t focused. Regardless of what you are doing, if PPC marketing is part of it, then this free PPC research tool will help you.
James you have offered a lot of great advice over the last year that I have found really valuable. Just like this post.
By milford walton on 01.13.09 4:27 am
Richard’s comments hit the nail on the head. I know it is possible but I am not focused because of information overload. I keep thinking something magic will turn up and start me off earning like magic.
Regards
By Roseline on 01.13.09 5:53 am
Or use free technology that can get you no 1 placements in Google
By Peter Fry on 01.13.09 6:14 am
James, great article lack of focus is the reason of failure for most everything that a person does online or offline..
In order for a person to find focus all the extra chatter in the mind must disappear..
Having focus is something you must do on a daily basis, everyday you need to reconfirm and recommit in your mind what it is you are going to do…
Take time out daily (10mins) and clear your mind of all your thoughts focus on your breathing and allow your subconscious and conscious mind to relax, from a relaxed state you will find your focus..
If you feel yourself drifting away go for a walk and clear your mind enjoy the fresh air… Don’t focus to hard on why you aren’t able to focus you will just give yourself a headache..
Attaining good focus comes down to being able to Rewire your brain to function freely..
It takes repetition to achieve a high level of focus. Many times you should focus your attention on what “feels” right, we second guess ourselves and end up running around in a circle…
Ask yourself this one question….
What is it that I am really after? Then on a pen a paper write down every thought that pops in your head. Once you know what it is that you really want ask yourself how are you going to get it.
The only thing left to do is take action and never look back…..
Success In business and Life comes down to one thing….
You taking the responsibility and accountability of your actions “all” your actions. Failure doesn’t happen because of 1 event, it happens because of a bunch of little events throughout your life…
Everyone looses focus and everyone fails. Failures are people that give up because its easy to do….If you haven’t given up and you don’t plan on given up enjoy the journey and savor the learning experience…
Nothing happens over night…
Become the master of you and everything else will follow….
By Larry Rivera on 01.13.09 7:06 am
Sometimes its not only lack of focus that stunts advancement, besides being committed and also aware of where you want to take your business is the real ground to concentrate on.
Many people fail to create their way ahead, a simple plan is all you need?
When you achieve success with your plan, then its time to increase the detail of that plan and take another big step to your end goal.
Your information and guidence shows all of these atributes James, and once again gives all of us inspiration to get to the top of the same street you are on?
Thanks for the awesome info and advice.
Sincerely
Andrew Smith
By Andrew Smith on 01.13.09 8:29 am
Hey James,
WOW! I didn’t realize I had hit such a responsive chord. What a great post, especially in the way you answered, and itemized, a lot of our concerns. All I’ve got to do now is follow your advise. And I’ll do that as soon as I finish these other gazillion things I have to do (LOL).
By Richard on 01.13.09 11:06 am
Hi James,
This is very exciting verbiage. What 95% of your recruits, however, will need direction (as you stated). A list of things to do is just that, a list and ends right there. Most folks venturing into the internet marketing business have no idea of the “how”. So a list of 10 different advertising methods is fine but the plethora of questions anyone has, who isn’t savvy with the methods, will stop them in their tracks. They can’t contact someone right then and ask that question and so time goes by until finally in the end they lose focus and incentive is lost. If they were able to ask the one question, get a coherent answer, and move on they will. Most answers they do get, if they get one, will generate another. If there is no avenue to receive these critical answers (even if they seem simple to someone like yourself) you will lose them and they will lose interest. Most folks see what happens when they trade time for money in a job. If you can’t show them how to do the job them they won’t get any money and they will go back to what always has worked for them in the past. Just saying you could make X amount of money in X amount of time is not good enough, and in fact is counterproductive. If they are conversing with you it means they are trying to find out the HOW already and all one needs to do is give them some concrete direction. If I sound like a ‘newbie” I am, I have been doing what others have said works for the past three months and have gotten no leads and made no money. I do believe that if others can make money through attraction marketing, so can, I but my plan is flawed.
Thanks.
Ron Richter
By Ron Richter on 01.13.09 12:00 pm
Hi James,
It’s so difficult to focus when your holding a full time job working 60+ hours a week.
I guess the secret is in the planning, and the need to walk before you can start running.
for three years I bought every product going. A dream subscriber to the Guru’s of this tough marketing world.
Now I’m slowly learning to focus on the few jewels picked out from amongst the garbbage.
Cheers,
Ken.
By ken. on 01.13.09 2:39 pm
Picture my palm smacking my forehead. Of course! “So obvious” some might say. Yet so often overlooked—including by me. No wonder my results (though great) are not what I thought they would be. Thanks for helping me get on track. I am sure your post will help many of us.
By Linda on 01.14.09 1:42 pm
Focus is what we need to do. After you read 250 e-mails from the questionable gurus, then you get another one saying yeah, they are all wrong, do this. I’m afraid I’ll miss something if I don’t open them. Now, I am starting deleting.
By bet on 01.21.09 3:18 am
James, I posted this for the readers, looked like a related area for it.
Folks, Never Ever do this to your MLM squeeze page or any optin pages you have.
I came across this page, and out of the blue a big box pops down from above. Now I’m sure people are seeing this page because I saw it. But I guarantee you their opt in rate is probably ZERO
http://www.virallinktracker.com/vlt/links/17546
I have seen a few IMSP and DLS2 sites like this.
By Brian on 03.01.09 10:51 pm
Focus! WOW..Just what I needed to hear, what a excellent reminder. O ne step at a time,got it i’ll start doing this right now. All other programs to the side.I will give everyone my re-sults i’m working on mlm squeeze pages. till it is up and runing one advertiseing market at a time. kept me in check. please …Albertjoseph
By Albertjoseph on 03.13.09 5:23 pm
Ya, I think I agree with these posts. Interesting stuff, good discussion going on here…
By Web Designer on 05.05.09 10:21 am
Hi I see what you mean about traffic quality on the exchanges 1400 hits this in 5 days and just 1 lead
By freecash on 06.06.09 3:20 am
It’s good to see someone telling the truth about building an on line bussiness. We need to understand that it is a business and it takes time to develope….thanks for this post.
By Ron Outlaw on 07.16.09 8:05 am
Hi all. It is not always the same thing to be a good man and a good citizen.
I am from East and also now am reading in English, tell me right I wrote the following sentence: “Newer banks vending with the r142 date resigned tracks for card card, entitling cards, and same secure advances in plaid of team capacities, although antitrust insurance rules can often be pulled.”
Thank
Audrey.
By Audrey on 09.06.09 7:49 am
I guess to be an affiliate to Instant MLM Squeeze Pages I have to join?
By David Abel on 12.05.09 3:42 pm
Hey James Prince here thanks for the life changing post. Honestly I started a marketing plan and started seeing steady results for past 3 months,but it is not what I want it be. It was too complex and and confusing so i will definitely go by your advice and start all over again and until I get it and no turning back.
Thanks bro. you are great teacher.
By Prince Samuels on 03.20.10 4:46 pm
Thanks so much for the awesome post James. Your so right about this being the main reason people fail online. Too much information overload & not enough task specific focus.
Thanks again for the strategies!
By Gerrad on 03.23.10 8:09 am
I saw the videos, interesting, you explain step by step clearly and how we have to use it. I will take the chance if my paypal is not trouble. I have find you James, net time I will be your affiliate.
By indi on 05.31.10 5:58 am
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