Internet Marketing - Ten Reasons Why It May Not Work For You

This article is the result of listening to co-workers offering countless excuses why they cannot or will never consider a career in sales – much less internet marketing.

As you know, there are hundreds of "how-to" books and digital products available that promise to teach you how to sell practically everything you could ever want to sell from the comfort of your own computer chair. Back in 1998 when I got online, there were very few reasonably priced products that showed newbies how to make money. Today it's easier than ever to become an internet entrepreneur and earn money that rivals any executive's salary.

Have you noticed that online marketing in general, and affiliate marketing in particular, is very much like regular sales? From what I've observed, the life of a sales person is more of a lifestyle choice – you either take it upon yourself and make the best of it or you don't.

Since I myself have only recently come around to accepting my life as a sales person of digital product and services, I can look back and see there were ten key reasons why I was not making it as an internet affiliate marketer. Actually, this list of failure points came from listening to my own self-talk, listening over the years to excuses for shunning the sales profession from my co-workers (even some of the sales people I've worked with), and reading forum posts from confused and overwhelmed newbies. Those observations bought me to these ten reasons why marketing may not be a do-able career choice for some people.

And now, the 10 reasons why...

#1. Internet marketing won't work for you if you are not willing to read and follow directions – especially when they are made obvious within the general viewing area of the program's website.

#2. Internet marketing won't work for you if you are not used to taking charge. You have to take the initiative to make things happen for yourself. No one has time for holding your hand and building your business because they're busy building their own.

#3. Internet marketing won't work for you if you prefer the comfort and implied security of a steady pay check – no matter how small.

#4. Internet marketing won't work for you if you can't make decisions for yourself. You have to decide how to advertise, how you'll get sales leads, what you'll do with those leads once you get them, etc. Your ultimate decision is this: how much money are you willing to work toward having 365 days after you begin your marketing campaign.

#5. Internet marketing won't work for you if you are afraid of failure. It's hard to make concrete, believable plans when you're quaking with fear. You talk yourself out of beginning the project, thus you never fully commit to going all out for your own success.

#6. Internet marketing won't work for you if you're afraid of success. This is the type of fear that turns people into program hoppers. You just know you can easily succeed with Project A, so you figure you'll make even more money if you go all out and join even bigger Project B. If none of the umpteen projects you're currently working on are bringing you a profit, then perhaps you're just afraid of doing whatever it takes to make a success of just one of them. What it takes is the "F" word: focus.

#7. Internet marketing won't work for you if you have no clue what you'd do with extra money that come to you virtually as in through the ether of the Internet. When you make money online it's almost like making a living in your mind. And if you've never experienced the thrill of even the smallest affiliate pay check, it may all seem like a big dream to you.

#8. Internet marketing won't work for you if you have little or no organizational skills when it comes to your own interests. You may have created the best filing system in the metropolitan downtown area, and your desk may be spotless even in the midst of the most demanding project at your day job. It's up to you to do a skills transfer where your own business is concerned.

#9. Internet marketing won't work for you if you tend to resent the good fortune that comes to others as you lament that such good things could never ever happen for you. Feeling worthy of wealth can be difficult if you grew up with a poverty mentality or an ingrained obligation to self-sacrifice. This is the toughest thing for traditional working class people to overcome.

#10. Internet marketing won't work for you if you can't stand constructive criticism from people you have never met. People you meet online may not seem as real as folks you interact with face-to-face. That's why it's so easy to get involved with Flame Wars in online forums. If you truly want to succeed you've got to be willing to open your mind to the suggestions of forum mates, program managers, your "sponsor", and people who have already become wildly successful.

On a more positive note, you CAN be a success if you just "get over yourself". After all, if you were already "all THAT" wouldn't you yourself be the one receiving big, four- to five-figure pay checks in your mail box or PayPal account each week?