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Ten Marketing Pitfalls

By Stuart Reid

If you want to make it BIG in Internet Marketing you need avoid some common mistakes. Here's a list of the top ten Pitfalls that catch out beginner Marketers (and many established ones too!).

The problem is you don't realise you have fallen into one of these holes until someone points it out. Marketers tend to be stubborn and suffer from tunnel vision - hopefully these may help you kick a few bad habits...

1. Procrastination

Putting things off is a killer where this career this is concerned. You NEED a plan and some kind of time management system in place. Prioritize your tasks and keep lists of everything that needs doing. And no matter how much you don't feel like doing something just get it out of the way and NEVER leave it untill the next day!

TIP: Use post-it notes. They are low-tech but work great :-)

2. Striving for Perfection

You'll likely never have a "perfect" website or product but you know what? It doesn't matter! It's important you get started as soon as you can and make your site "live". You can tweak things as you go along and improvements WILL come later - but if you try to get everything "right" before you start then you'll never start.

TIP: Update your site daily in little ways, it saves doing everything at once and the search-engines it too.

3. Wasting Money

This one is important. Especially if you don't have money to burn! Don't get caught up jumping from opportunity to opportunity or buying everything that lands in your inbox. You'll be surprised how much you can get for free. Trust me - you don't need half the stuff you see online. Try to control your emotions and think before you buy. Write a list of pros and cons, and make sure that the product or service is essential to YOU.

TIP: Look for reviews by people without a vested interest in the product and ask questions in forums.

4. Not Spending Enough

Unfortunately you have to spend a little. It won't be much starting out, but you will need more as you grow. For a start you'll need a domain, a host, an autoresponder - but these are pretty affordable these days. The bulk of your expenses will be on promotion, usually ezine ads or pay-per-click. If you're paying someone to create your product or you're buying resell rights then this is another expense (but you can start with free affiliate programs).

TIP: Keep your "Internet Income" separate and re-invest. You'll be glad you did later.

5. Wrong Markets

This is a tricky one. If you are dead set on conquering a certain market you could end up on a long and expensive journey that is doomed to failure. Do some research first. A so-called "niche" market is a good find but only if this niche will spend money! Other markets, like Internet Marketing, are very busy BUT Internet Marketers spend money - and the drive to make money is a strong human emotion. There's a lot of them around!

TIP: Find something that interests you and use a site like nichebot.com to see how many searches there are for that subject. High Traffic and Low Demand are your goal.

6. Lack of Growth

You must continuously grow yourself and expand your mind. Learning is essential. If you don't you'll be stuck with the same skills and ideas and you'll never even notice when you are bogged down in complacency and routine.

TIP: Put some time away each day to read a few articles and browse some sites. Learning just one new idea a day can increase your potential rapidly.

7. Doing It Alone

You can do it alone but it is harder, and without support you are more likely to fail. It doesn't have to be much. On-line forums, for example, are an amazing source of ideas and encouragement. And with other people, by forming Joint Ventures or starting your own affiliate program you can really leverage your efforts and do FAR MORE than you could ever do on your own.

TIP: Visit forums, messageboards and maillists. Lurk for a while until you're ready.

8. Going For The Small Money

You aint ever gonna get rich selling $20 items. Seriously, include some higher priced goods and services in your marketing. You'll get less sales, but more profits. You won't know if they sell until you try! But don't fall into the trap of selling any old thing because you get a high commission. Integrity is important, too.

TIP: High ticket sales work better with existing customers who you already have a relationship with. Try them as a back-end.

9. Separating Life and Work

One of the biggest pitfalls when working from home is the fact that life can enroach your activities - simply because you ARE at home. Try to separate the two and have fixed times when you work, and a set area to do it. Work doesn't have to take over your life, but neither should you let life interfere with your work.

TIP: Use a spare room or a spare corner and ONLY use it for work.

10. Be Ambitious

You won't know unless you try. Assume you can do *anything* - because you can! You may not be ready to do it yet, but don't set up mental blocks in advance. You can create your own profitable items, sell them well, and have others selling them for you. You can operate a range of websites, even host seminars, or teach others. YOU CAN.

TIP: Recognise excuses for what they are. If you need help, invest in a good self-help book.

I hope identifying these pitfalls help you look at yourself differently. Contrary to popular belief internet marketing is not an instant path to riches, but it is an achievable one.

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