A New Service For Newbies
By · CommentsBeing new to internet marketing can be very frustrating at times, especially when you’re looking for answers or guidance. It’s just not easy to find people to talk to about your stumbling block.
Perhaps I can help a little.
If you are new to internet marketing and have questions please present your question here along with how new you are. I’ll do my best to respond to you and offer direction.
In interweb service, friendship, and business;
Tom (TR) Ryan
Internet Marketing Assistance
IMassistance.com
The Death of Trust
By · CommentsHas trust really died? Or does it just seem that way?
We’re all looking for Internet Marketing Assistance to some degree as we Learn Internet Marketing. What better subject to learn than TRUST, and how we should protect ourselves as we meet new people every day on the internet.
My grandmother always told me “never trust anyone who won’t look you straight in the eye”. My grandfather always told me “never trust anyone who looks you straight in the eye because they’ll have their hand in your pocket”. So what’s a little kid to think about trust? My dad said “it boils down to live and learn”. I’m sure all of these were meant to be helpful.
We have all been burned by trust at some point, some of us more than others. At an early age we would tell our best friend something in total confidence, only to have that trust broken in the furure. We couldn’t understand why and in the process probably lost a friend. As we got older we found that it happens more often and usually with more important issues.
So we accumulate these little scars of trust. These scars can’t be seen on our skin but they are ever present on our hearts and psyche. After a while many of us lose our faith in trusting another human being. It has become apparent that self interest and personal agenda has become much more important than trust for many people.
It used to be that a simple handshake was all it took to seal a deal. Now it takes reams of paper and a team of lawyers to protect your interest. Oddly enough I still do handshake deals, and for the most part they hold up. I may have a few extra scars from those that didn’t, but overall I believe we can safely trust more than we do.
I know, I know, right now someone is uttering “romantic fool”. Just so you know I do not trust everyone I meet. We have an extra sense built into ourselves that gives off warning vibes. My wife is especially adept at sensing who not to trust, and she has a great track record with her 6th sense in this regard. Hers is better than mine. At one point in my life when I would interview someone for a high ranking position I would take the couple out to dinner with my wife and me. Her later assessment of their character weighed heavily on my decision to hire. It’s not all about talent, skill and resume.
You know, when someone tells me they don’t trust anyone, they are really telling me they don’t trust themselves. Now isn’t that sad?
In business it is difficult to know whom to trust, but you have to start somewhere. The best place to start is with those who report to you. This is your chance to perhaps build them into something more than they are or were. The best way to build them into something more is to hand out responsibility and accountability to them and at the same time support their decisions. If you do this your actions will let them know that you trust them. What better way to develop trustworthy people.
Naturally we must always be watchful of people’s movements. It’s not what people say that counts it’s what they do, so watch their movements carefully. By the way, you are constantly being watched by your children. They are watching to see if your actions follow what you tell them to do. This is how they really learn from you. Watching people is not only fun, it is enlightening.
With internet marketing it becomes much more difficult to trust which is why Internet Marketing Assistance is important. There are so many fly by night marketers and scammers out for your money that you need to develop a special 6th sense just for that. If you don’t have a 6th sense for internet marketing yet, then begin by developing a healthy sense of caution. It will save your back side and your money time and time again. I received an e-mail the other day that offered something great for $1. Sometimes these are real and sometimes they are not. This one turned out to be a partial reality. You did only have to pay $1 to get the information, but the string was it would also cost you $37 a month after that. I didn’t take part in this offer because I didn’t like the approach. It didn’t seem to me that it was worth taking a chance on trusting this marketer.
On the other hand, I’ve been following one marketer’s blog and receiving lots of good advice all for free for a while now. Then I got an e-mail offering me one of his sales themes for free. I followed the link and downloaded the theme and a video on how to use it. It turned out to be a great tool. A week later I received an e-mail from him again only this time offering me the chance to purchase a course he had written on how he makes money on small product sales websites. The cost was $97. I bought it right away for one reason. This marketer had provided me with great free advice for a while, and provided me with free tools as well. I reasoned that his course would be of value to my marketing plan. He had created in me a level of trust that told me it was ok to buy. I was right! I bought because this marketer had learned the value of giving before receiving.
So I recommend to you caution and an approach to internet marketing that will hopefully reduce the number of scars you collect and increase the number of good people you encounter on the internet. May it also guide your own marketing efforts and allow you to gain Trust from those who decide to follow you.
My own philosophy towards trust with people I meet personally is quite simple. Unless my 6th sense is awakened, I trust everyone until they give me a reason not to trust them. I find this is much easier with much less stress and effort than the alternative. However, if they violate my trust they have a huge uphill battle to regain any trust. Point of truth is that none that have violated my trust have regained the level of trust I originally gave freely.
I believe Trust is alive and well; it just needs to be a part of our life and character every day.
Finally, never forget that “TRUST IS LIMITED TO THE EXTENT OF TRUTH”.
Yours in interweb business, friendship and service,
Tom (TR) Ryan
IMassistance.com
Who Says Attitude Counts
By · CommentsI DO!
In fact, your ATTITUDE is a huge determining factor in your internet marketing success, regardless of how much Internet Marketing Assistance you might need.
As with anything that's new to you, there will be times when you'll want to throw in the towel. DON'T!
There will be times when you'll think you're not cut out for this. WRONG!
There will come a day when you think you've wasted all that you've invested. WRONG AGAIN!
Internet Marketing is not Rocket Science.
There are Internet Marketing Skills you’ll need as you Learn Internet Marketing and get good at.
Yes, there will be bumps in the road, but they are just bumps and you can get over them; even the big ones. Yes, as a newbie you will fall down with something that's important. So what! Get up, dust yourself off, and get after it again. You will overcome the obstacle. How do I know...............because I've been good at falling down and getting back up.
I thought finding local internet marketers would help as sounding boards. Here's how that went. I conduct weekend leadership seminars 3-4 times a year for classes with about 20 attendees. These are high caliber self starters. I always ask the same question at the beginning of every class. How many here are Internet Marketers. Out of over 325 attendees I have had two raise their hands. One of those was by someone who believed he knew an internet marketer. The other was an internet marketer. That’s less than 1%.
Now you could dish out $5,000 for a week long super course by one of the gurus on a cruise ship and then spend several hundred a month for coaching.
Or you can look for the right information, coupled with the right help and just press on. Personally, I'm a press on guy.
That means I'm PERSISTENT. And you need to be persistent as well.
PERSISTENCE is to the mind and spirit of humanity, what carbon is to steel.
More failures occur from the lack of persistence than any other reason.
Many persistent people are students of Napoleon Hill who authored "Think and Grow Rich" many years ago. In there is a poem I'll never forget. I may do this badly from memory, but it will be close.
If you think you are beaten you are…..................If you think you dare not you don’t.
If you like to win but think you can’t…..................It’s almost certain you won’t.
If you think you will lose you are lost…..................For out in the world we find.
Success begins with a person’s will…...................It’s all in the state of mind.
If you think you’re outclassed you are…................You’ve got to think high to rise.
You’ve got to be sure of yourself….......................Before you can ever win a prize.
Life’s battles don’t always go…...........................To the stronger or faster man.
But quick or late…the one who wins…..................Is the one WHO THINKS THEY CAN.
You would do well to learn this from Hill, and repeat it in your mind at the right times.
Build your PERSISTENCE and develop an ATTITUDE for success.
In interweb business, friendship, and service,
Tom (TR) Ryan
IMassistance
What Is Creativity Anyway?
By · CommentsSo What Exactly Is Creativity Anyway?
Are you a creative person? How do you know? What does that really mean? Have you been told that you are not creative? Do you just think you’re not creative? Can you become creative?
These are all good questions. Perhaps it depends on your definition of creativity and your point of view.
There are people who are born with a talent like a good singing voice, writing talent, athletic talent, academic talent, musical talent, artistic talent etc. We all admire these people. We may even wish we were these people or had their talent.
These people stick out in a crowd because of their level of talent. But one thing is for sure. For them to stick out in a crowd they had to take their gift and develop it into a powerful skill through hard work and practice. We label them gifted, talented, and creative.
The truth is we are all born with a talent. It is our gift. Our job is to find and recognize that talent, and then do what is necessary to develop our talent to reach higher levels of accomplishments.
Sometimes it’s difficult to recognize that talent because we are used to it. You know, we all have something we do that comes kind of easy to us. We may not even call it a talent, but it is. It’s our job to nourish that talent and get as good as we can with it.
Does that then make you creative? To some degree it does; especially if you head in new directions with that talent. Breaking new ground tends to get you new labels around the word creative.
Okay, let’s say you are not buying into this because you still haven’t identified your gift. Then think about this. Regardless of how old you are you have accumulated some level of knowledge and experience on many different subjects. This can be the beginning of your creativity. I say this because I believe creativity can be learned; and if it can be learned it can be developed into something new.
It’s been said that knowledge is power. That’s a crock. Knowledge is knowledge. It is the application of knowledge that creates power. It’s also the intertwining of knowledge and facts that will lead to new ideas and new solutions. Try this. Take a subject that is a problem or opportunity for you within your field. Write it down and then read it aloud morning, noon, and night until it’s ingrained in your head. Don’t try to solve it. Turn it over to your sub-conscious mind to solve. Do this every day until your sub-conscious returns the answer to you. You will be amazed when it does. And oh yes, keep a small pad and pen by your nightstand. Why, because your sub-conscious is liable to return the answer to you in the middle of the night. If you don’t write it down immediately you may not recall it all in the morning. Believe me. I know that for a fact. I also keep a small pad/pen with me at all times………just in case.
I had a mentor years ago that gave me some sage advise. He suggested that I immediately find something new for my life, and then take 5 years to get real good at it. He wanted me to repeat the cycle every 5 years. I asked him why? He said it would make me a more interesting person. My immediate response was “am I not interesting enough”? He only smiled. I talked with my bride and she thought it was a good idea but the something new better not be a girl friend. She has a way of keeping my feet on the ground. I’m here to tell you I did take his advice. I wasn’t sure where to start so I began with fun things. Keep in mind this was in addition to my career in the Awards industry and bringing up a family with my bride. Since then I have learned to play the guitar, became a runner, counseled children going through death and divorce, became a photographer, studied mandarin Chinese, became a gemologist, became a Scout Master for the leadership development of boys, became a Rotarian attending to humanitarian issues, became a jewelry appraiser, with two friends started and maintain a leadership institute, with my bride started an annual adoption awareness carnival in conjunction with CPS, and yes, that’s how I became an internet marketer.
It wasn’t long after I started this process that my mentor died, so I never got to thank him. His idea was probably the single most important thing that guided my development over the years. And yes, I did become a more interesting person in the process. More significantly, it was a prime factor in developing my own creativity.
So let’s put this in perspective with Internet Marketing. You need to learn the basics, and not just a couple of them. Study niche and keyword research, copywriting and SEO, affiliate marketing and web design. There’s more but start here. You can find this information stored as E-books on my web site. As you test and practice your new skills you will find yourself drawing connections between them and then you will be able to solve new issues and exploit new opportunities. This process will allow you to develop your creativity. If you stay with it, it will take you to the bank…..literally.
So if you weren’t born a star develop yourself into one. You can become a creative person. It all starts with desire.
My conclusion…….”It is far easier to criticize than create”……..so be a Dream Maker and not a Dream Breaker.
Yours in interweb business, friendship and service,
Tom (TR) Ryan
IMassistance
The Power of Fear
By · CommentsOf all the four letter words there are, I despise none more than the word FEAR. That single word has been the root cause of more failed people than any other word. Perhaps the thing people FEAR most is failure, because it leads to POVERTY, which is their real FEAR. Here’s how to beat FEAR.
As humans, our nature is to let negative things into our minds, and that becomes the breeding ground for fear. Why, because it’s easy. And that’s the first thing you need to change. Your mind needs to become strong. You need to develop an attitude that is positive, and that my friend is hard to do. It takes practice and a strong will.
Of course the naysayers don’t help. They just add fuel to the negative fire. Think about it. How many people do you know who react negatively when confronted with a new thought or idea? Don’t blow this question off because it’s important.
They say things like “it’s never been done”, “that’s stupid”, “that would cost too much”, “what a hair brained idea”. These negative people are an illness to you. They will undermine your confidence and then there goes your idea. My question is why would you even ask for their opinion? My solution is for you to eliminate these people from your circle of influence. Only allow yourself to be surrounded by people who are positive. Here’s why.
It was once said that “Whatever the mind of man can conceive and believe, it can achieve”. Once you have that idea or thought, you need to back it with belief and desire, and you need to back it with positive thoughts and persistence. This is a formula that will help guide your thoughts and actions towards success.
Fear does have a way of creeping back in, so you need to make a concerted effort to eliminate fear. What is fear anyway? It’s just a thought, nothing more. Stop for a minute. Of all the things you have worried about in your life, how many came true? Not many I’ll bet! So you wasted all your worry time when you could have been developing your idea. I’ll bet there is still one lingering fear in your mind. That one fearful thought can turn into a reality if you allow it to be dominant. And then you will have experienced a self fulfilling prophecy.
Let me tell you a little side story. For a long time I liked to control things. I thought I was supposed to control things as part of becoming successful. I worried about losing control. Turns out I was wrong. One day I realized I wasn’t in control as much as I thought. It was shortly after that I made a decision to give up control of everything except my own thoughts and actions. It wasn’t easy but over the years that one decision has paid huge dividends, especially when it comes to peace of mind.
It doesn’t mean I’m out of control or that things are out of control. It means I embrace the concept of not having to be in control. I am now able to spend more time on creative things. I do believe “what we think about we bring about”, so I choose to think of my ideas, success and what I desire. Then I work towards them.
Okay, let’s bring this into focus with Internet Marketing. Right now this country is experiencing a dramatic cut back in public school funds. Budgets are being slashed and teachers as well as administrator positions are being eliminated. Our education system is beginning to experience what brick and mortar commerce has been experiencing the last couple of years.
Remember the saying “the best time to get a job is when you have a job”! Well “the best time to start your own business is when you don’t have to start your own business”!
I submit that Internet Marketing is one of the best ways to create your safety line or whatever you want to call it. Internet Marketing allows you to create passive income streams that can be left alone for the most part. It is not rocket science, it is a new discipline, and it is growing every year.
I have created a Reference Library on one of my websites with over 300 electronic books written by Internet Marketing Professionals, all stored in one place. Some information I paid for, some I got for free, some I got as bonuses, and some I got permission to use. It’s all available on my website for easy downloading and it is updated weekly. It’s a place where you can learn about Internet Marketing at your pace. Along with the information I provide a strategy for learning.
With the right information, a positive attitude, and a desire to be more than you are today, you can be on your way to becoming an Internet Marketer. Cast aside your fear of the unknown. You are on the brink of something that can pay you dividends for a long time.
It’s time you visited my website and discovered what Internet Marketing is all about.
Yours in interweb business, friendship and service,
Tom (TR) Ryan
IMassistance
Why Do 95% of Internet Marketers Fail the First Year?
By · CommentsThat’s the statistic I just received from several creditable internet sources. That’s a higher rate than Brick and Mortar Businesses. Can you imagine why that happens? I can.
First of all there are all the “promise them anything websites” that claim to be able to make you an overnight success if you just do what they say for a few weeks or a month. Then there are the websites that claim to have found a loophole that is allowing them to rake in a four figure income every day. And of course there are websites that offer black hat tricks to make you rich. The list goes on. These people need to be shut down.
I remember investigating some of the claims to success that I’ve received over the last few years. One was about a young man who had just pulled in over $100,000 in a month. It turned out to be true. But what wasn’t said was that he had been working as an Internet Marketer for five years, had launched over a hundred websites, and this was his crown jewel month. That’s great but the inference in the sales page would lead you to conclude it was sudden success. There was also a lady making $21,000 a month from CPA (Cost Per Action). Bottom line, she had over 400 little CPA one page sites making $.25 to $.50 per submit. These examples aren’t fraudulent, but they do leave something to be desired.
Now, please don’t get me wrong. There are loads of good Internet Marketers out there promoting their courses legitimately, and they have good courses. Many focus on one specific topic of Internet Marketing. There’s nothing wrong with that either.
The difficulty arises when someone new takes a course, implements the plan and it does not work. Without getting help this hurts the new person, the author of the course, and Internet Marketing.
Think about this for a minute. Look at the past successes in your life. Did you get there overnight? Did you get there because you found a loophole in your industry? Did you get there by being a trickster? Did you get there because you started a business before you should have? I seriously doubt it.
You got there because you studied, learned skills, got good at your craft, and put those skills into practice daily. That’s how you experience success. What makes you think being successful in Internet Marketing is any different? Well it isn’t! Those people I referenced four paragraphs back had spent the time to learn Internet Marketing, develop the necessary skills, and then put them into practice every day. Once they achieved success with one website guess what they did? You’ve got it! They did it over and over again.
Some of these now successful Internet Marketers spent lots of money following one particular Internet Marketer, taking all their courses and buying all the tools they sold. There’s nothing wrong with that as long as you have the funds to dedicate to that process. It goes along way to channeling your success.
The problem is many new people trying to enter the Internet Marketing world don’t have those resources so they take what they have and invest it quickly in one aspect of Internet Marketing and when it’s gone…..their gone.
I know of a young man that was in and out just that way. He had $2,300 to invest. He did some investigation and decided PPC was the best and fastest way to financial success. Two weeks later he had spent all the campaign money ($2,300) on highly competitive keywords and became a statistic. He never got one sale. He’s a very bright guy but he lacked a few things. First he didn’t take the time to learn and acquire basic skills in keyword selection and competition evaluation, but mostly he lacked PERSISTANCE.
Now consider this alternative approach. It’s based on the premise that long term success in Internet Marketing is just like long term success in the Brick and Mortar business. It is based on skill acquisition to establish a solid foundation based on a strategy of which skills are important to acquire first. Once you have the skills and have tested the waters, then it’s time to evaluate and invest in an advanced course on one topic within Internet Marketing; because now you are prepared.
A former Commanding General of mine had a sign over his doorway. It was simply the letter “P” five times. It stands for “Prior Preparation Prevents Poor Performance”. How right he was.
Never forget....................….P.P.P.P.P.
Tom (TR) Ryan
IMassistance.com
Where Do You Set Your Internet Marketing Sights
By · CommentsHere's a wide open question for you. Where do you set your sights in Internet Marketing? There are many answers to this question.
Certainly you should not set your sights low. That's like the skit they used to do on Saturday Night Live - Lowered Expectations. On the humorous side, if you do have low expectations you'll hardly ever be disappointed. I'll bet you even know some people like that.
You could also set their sights really high. There are those who believe in the adage "If you shoot for the moon and miss your still land among the stars". Believe it or not that philosophy is often practiced. In reality, that will be understood by those around you for what it is......that you always overshoot expecting to fall short, even though new ground was achieved. Can you see how this is dangerous for your future projects. Eventually there is little success to go around because the goal is never really reached.
I believe you are better served if you set a goal that is ambitously achieveable. That way you actually have a goal that everyone can rally around and work towards full achievement. They will share in the success and provide more willing support for the next goal. If you surpass the goal the excitement will be shared by all.
Tom Watson who founded IBM always believed his salesmens' goals had to be achieveable, otherwise they would evetually stop trying to meet them.
People must know they can achieve a goal before they are ready to receive it. Napoleon Hill said "Whatever the mind of man can conceive and believe, he can achieve". He said this in his famous book "Think and Grow Rich" many years ago. His writings are still the standard upon which all motivational books are written.
It takes no more effort mentally to aim high in life for prosperity than it does to accept poverty. The difference between Wishing for a thing and being ready to receive it lies in Belief.
I don't know which poet said it but there is a universal truth in these words:
"I bargained with life for a penny..................And life would pay no more,
However I begged at evening...............When I counted my scanty store,
For life is a just employer............................He gives you what you ask,
But once you have set the wages...............Why, you must bear the task,
I worked for a menial's hire..............................Only to learn dismayed,
That any wage I asked of life....................Life would have willingly paid."
So set your goals high, make them achieveable, and most importantly..............BELIEVE.
Yours in interweb business, friendship and service,
Tom (TR) Ryan
Imassistance
For New Internet Marketers Only
D O N O T R U S H into Internet Marketing! Here’s why!
Remember way back when your mom was working hard in the kitchen whipping up a new chicken dish or chocolate dessert? She’d rely on her knowledge and her skills and then experiment with the ingredients, temperature, and cook time until she was pleased with the results. When she was satisfied she recorded what she had done to document her success. You can still taste that dish every time you think of it. It always tasted the same. Why? Because the next time she made that dish she followed the recipe exactly so it would turn out the same.
Take a moment and reflect on where you are today and where you have been in your business career. Reflect on your successes. If you haven’t yet had a business career then think of where you’ve been in life. If you’re a student, reflect on your academic and sports accomplishments. If you’re a home maker, think of it in terms of your successes as household finance manager, transportation executive, and executive chef.
Were your accomplishments instantaneous? Did you get there overnight? Was it luck? I’m sure the answer to these questions is a resounding NO! You got there because you became knowledgeable, skilled, and put these into practice daily. Yes, that’s the path most people follow to attain success.
What makes you think being successful at Internet Marketing is any different? It is NOT! The process is the same for successful Internet Marketers. They acquire specific knowledge and skills. When their first successful program emerges bringing in a continuous flow of money, they document the success and that becomes their first recipe. The recipe is used for their next program. And they do it over and over again.
The difficulty begins for New Entrepreneurs like yourself because you get flooded with E-mails from seasoned Internet Marketers on “their” topical course for your success or how to be successful without a website, or any of several hundred ideas. I’m not saying these approaches are bad. I am saying you are not ready for them.
You are at the beginning of an Internet Marketing journey. Do it the right way. Enjoy the process of absorbing Internet Marketing Knowledge and acquiring Internet Marketing Skills and build yourself a solid foundation to insure your long term success in Internet Marketing. This solid foundation will develop into your own Internet Marketing Plan.
Since you are at the beginning let’s talk about your vision. It’s not a good idea to have narrow vision at this stage. You need to have a very wide vision. You need to see how big Internet Marketing really is. I’ve personally identified over 100 different Internet Marketing topics. These topics will prepare you for “What You Need to Do” and “How To Use IM Tools To Help Get Them Done”. After that you need to prepare yourself for profitability by learning “How To Build Traffic To Your Offers” and “How To Convert That Traffic Into Repeat Paying Customers”. Like any successful business person you need to know “How To Stay Organized” and “How To Manage Your Time”. This is your focus and it's called “Acquire Internet Marketing Skills While Never Losing Site of The Big Picture”.
There’s one last thing you should know. Internet Marketing is not Rocket Science. It is a discipline and it is definitely learnable.
Now you can Google each of those over 100 topics in Internet Marketing yourself and do your own research if you’d like, but wouldn’t it be nice if you didn’t have to go through all that. Well that is not only a possibility, it can be a reality for you.
As I developed my Internet Marketing Skills I took one extra step. I saved all the good stuff. From there I created a Reference Library on one of my websites with over 300 E-books written by Internet Marketing Professionals, all stored in one place. Some information I paid for, some I got for free, some I got as bonuses, and some I got permission to use. It’s all available on my website for easy downloading and it is updated weekly.
Since there is a lot of information, I provide a strategy for approaching skill acquisition. The strategy includes prioritization of what skills I think you should acquire first and why. You’ve read my article because you’re new to Internet Marketing or you’re relatively new and about ready to give up because you don’t yet have a skill acquisition plan.
It’s time you visited my website and discovered a fresh approach to acquiring Internet Marketing Skills. Once you have a solid skill set, you’ll be able to evaluate all those offers you get from across the interweb.
Yours in interweb business, friendship and service,
Tom (TR) Ryan
IMassistance
Great New Research Tool
By · CommentsOccasionally I come across products or services that are so good that they gradually become an integral part of my own business. Today I am introducing you to one of the most essential tools I have.
I am often asked what keyword tools and market research tools I use and why. One keyword/market research system that stands above the rest is Market Samurai, especially since they have added the best domain selection tool on the market as part of the software, called (you guessed it) "Domain Samurai".
Market Samurai also helps me uncover the "gold-nugget" keywords that can send hundreds, even thousands of free visitors to my site each day.
There are so many remarkable features that I could never highlight them all. So, instead of trying, why don't you just take it for a test drive yourself...........by clicking below:
MARKET SAMURAI KEYWORD RESEARCH TOOL
I am proud to be associated with this product and I think you will be too.
Yours in interweb business, friendship and service,
Tom (TR) Ryan
IMassistance
