Mikael Rieck is the author of more than hundred articles on topics of how to make money both online and offline. He has been online since 1999 and has always had a passion for money making opportunities and teaching others how to make a profit.Stop Product Jumping If You Hate Starting Over
Have you ever been the “victim” of buying tons of Internet Marketing products? You start off by buying a well promoted product about becoming a super affiliate marketer making millions from selling other peoples products…
…you read the ebook / watch the videos and might even be taking a lot of notes…
… you do product research, sign up for affiliate programs, create a website, starting buying PPC traffic and the result is that you sell very little (if anything) and it costs you a lot of money.
Sound familiar?
Now you have three choices.
- You can keep working on this business and hope that you will get better and eventually learn how to make a profit from doing it, or…
- You can quit trying to become an affiliate marketer and move on to buying the next product (e.g. about becoming a top SEO expert and sell your services to small offline businesses), or…
- You can give up everything that has to do with making money online and go get a better job.
I am sure we all know that choice #1 will be the right solution in order to become successful, but I will also bet that most of us have picked solution #2 because it seemed easier at the time, right? As for #3 I am guessing that you haven’t picked that one since you’re reading this. 
Have you ever heard or read that “things take time”?
Just like anything else there will be a learning curve. Some will be fast learners and some will be slow learners but that is not the point. We can all learn what it takes to bring us to where we want to go. The point is that whatever we start out trying to do will have a learning curve and will take some time to perfect.
Personally I simply LOVE starting new things but I HATE following through on them because they will start to bore me after a while and especially if I am not making rapid progress (which most often I am not because “things take time”).
So let me ask you this: Why in H*** do we keep starting over only to have to live through the same startup process where we work many hours for very little payoff?
Logically it makes no sense to me.
Instead what we should do is pick something, work and ENDURE the hard and unprofitable startup process because at the end of the rainbow lies the gold.
Stop chasing every new rainbow you meet and stick with the one you already got. There will be more than enough gold at the end of it
To Your Success,
Mikael
20 Responses so far
jason
July 23rd, 2009
3:51 pm
A few years ago I was making good money online and it started getting tougher out there on the internet and decided to do #3. Went out got a corporate job and it was not any fun at all, so I just decided last year to go back to making money online and stick to #1.
Mikael
July 23rd, 2009
5:57 pm
Hi Jason,
I think that was a wise move but I can also relate to your situation when moving back to the corporate world. As human beings we will always have doubts so the goal is to learn to trust ourselves and our abilities and just stick to what we know works (even when it changes and gets harder).
Mikael
Sire
July 24th, 2009
2:29 pm
I’ve never bought any type of internet marketing system, but if I did I would want to make sure I bought the right one before wasting my time trying to make it work. I suppose this is where it would be nice to actually know someone who could refer a decent marketing system
.-= Sire´s last blog ..Aussie Powerball Jackpots To $80 Million =-.
Mikael
July 24th, 2009
5:04 pm
Hi Sire, to be honest my experience have told me that the problem is very seldom with the product but with the person buying it. Almost every single system will work if the buyer will. So if you need a system all I can say go pick one and follow through.
Mikael
Doug Dillard
July 25th, 2009
12:35 am
Good post. I have been in the Internet business for many years and have never gotten to #3, and never plan to, but I have done #1 & #2 many times over the years.
#1 is definitely the way to go for long-term success, but there are some things that just never work out, so “sometimes” you need to lick your wounds and work on something else. The problem is a lot of people give up just before they get to that “success tipping point” where all the real money starts to flow and that is a shame.
.-= Doug Dillard´s last blog ..Quick Tip – Simple Affiliate Cloaking Method =-.
Nicolas Prudhon@SEO Help
July 25th, 2009
2:30 am
Hi Mikael,
Your last comment is so true and so in line with my latest post!
I would say personally that the mistake probably always comes from where people start, either promoting the wrong product, or the wrong niche.
Often people try to sell what they think is good, or what people told them was good, but hardly spend time finding out what the market is really looking for…
Another mistake if I may call it so is people using the wrong metrics to judge success, I know I did in my early time online. For PPC in example, I thought I was doing pretty good when my ad showed up on thousands and thousands of pages, got a reasonable amount of Clicks (well, when there’s a lot of traffic it’s not that difficult even it the actual CTR is laughable) and since I have a lot to pay at the end of the month, I thought not bad… Dead wrong… Also people expect to make Billions of dollars overnight, it doesn’t work like that, especially when you start.
Now, I only use small surgically placed ads that are viewed only a few times, but with great CTR (4-5%) and equally good conversion at 5-7%. This kind of ad only cost me about $100/month but each of those bring back about $600/month. That’s not much but if you look at the ROI and consider that you can have more than one like that, you can start to smile…
.-= Nicolas Prudhon@SEO Help´s last blog ..SEO Tools and SEO Knowledge =-.
Mikael
July 25th, 2009
7:14 am
Hi Doug,
I was wondering when someone would mention that sometimes things doesn’t work out
Some ideas will never work and you’re absolutely right that you will need to cut the project loose. But as you say most people will never give their project a fair chance but will say that “it didn’t work”.
I think the best way to make sure you’ll succeed is to model someone else. If they can do it you can do it and you will therefore avoid the projects that really doesn’t work.
Mikael
July 25th, 2009
7:18 am
Hi Nicolas,
Measuring success is a really interesting topic that I will have to write a post about some day. I still recall a recording from Tony Robbins where he talks about this subject and explains how one man that has everything (health, wealth, family etc.) is never fulfilled because his level of success is set at an unreachable point.
On the other hand another person sets he measurement of success by saying that “every day above ground is a success” and because of this he is constantly feeling successful.
Very interesting topic indeed.
Yan
July 26th, 2009
4:53 am
What a wake up call, Mikael!
I’m guilty of *chasing every new rainbow* jumping from one product to another but for only one tool – that is “keyword research” tool.
Guess what? And I’m yet to stick to one, except for Google keyword tool.
And I guess I belong to those who think that “every day above ground is a success”. Why keep pushing when can’t take everything with you at the end of the day?
To me, feeling successful everyday is healthier than a BIG success that may come too late to enjoy. Not to mention, some people just couldn’t handle it, even when they wanted to.
Just ask Michael Jackson.
Yan
PS: Oh by the way, I’m compiling some really awesome blogging tips and if I were to ask you to contribute one, what one blogging tip for beginners would give? In one simple paragraph.
Please do email me yours.
.-= Yan´s last blog ..How to Earn Money At Home with HubPages? =-.
RB @ RichBy30Retireby40
July 26th, 2009
8:11 am
I commend anybody who can earn an income full time online. I started my own blog several weeks ago and it is a whole lot of fun, but it’s definitely not enough to make a living on.
I work full time and work on my blog at night. Maybe after 3 years, I’ll gain a good amount of traction, but i’m not counting on it.
Rgds,
RB
Rich By 30 Retire By 40
.-= RB @ RichBy30Retireby40 ´s last blog ..The Correct Change =-.
Mikael
July 26th, 2009
8:35 am
@Yan, I’m glad that you are already feeling successful. That is definitely an achievement of itself. Personally I am living to enjoy what I already have while at the same time working on becoming all that I can be. “Settling” to be less that I can be would be a defeat in my view.
I’ll shoot you an email shortly. I know just the tip for new bloggers.
Mikael
July 26th, 2009
8:39 am
@RB, It is good to hear that you have started the process but if I can give you one advice it will be to change your attitude towards yourself and the work you put in.
If you don’t believe in yourself and in your goal it is not going to happen. Ask any successful blogger and they will tell you the same thing. Nothing happens by accident (as least nothing good).
So start believing in what you’re trying to do and then keep working at it. If you can’t believe in what you’re doing my best advice would be to stop doing it. You would only be wasting your time and feel even more disappointed when you don’t succeed.
Believe in your self or find something else to do that you believe in.
Mikael
Chloe @ Ben 10 Toys
July 27th, 2009
6:40 pm
Bit of a bodge there on the comment with nothing in it – please delete!
This is so true! When I started about a year ago I bought a few products and signed up to a few free courses and tried to read everything. The trouble is you can read so much and never do anything that I had to stop reading and start doing. After signing up for so many things though I kept getting offered more things and it is easy to get carried away and think you have to buy into the latest promise of riches. Amazingly I managed to hold off and promised myself that until I had tried every technique I had read about so far on my first project I wouldn’t go off and try the next big thing. I’m still not through the list and am persevering. It’s hard though to stick with it when your overnight riches don’t come flooding in!
Cheers, Chloe
PS Nice image!
.-= Chloe @ Ben 10 Toys´s last blog ..Bumblebee Helmet Review – A Transformers 2 Toy =-.
Mikael
July 27th, 2009
6:50 pm
Hi Chloe,
I got the “hi” comment and I assumed something went wrong so yes I deleted it
Yes perseverance can be really hard and especially if you’re in the habit of product jumping. But since the product jumping discipline has been learned when we entered into this IM world I am confident that it can be un-learned as well or at least to a degree where it will no longer get in the way of our goals.
Chloe @ Ben 10 Toys
July 27th, 2009
6:59 pm
I think we may be born with the product jumping gene as it seems to be a natural human instinct to follow anyone that’s dangling a carrot in front of you. I agree you can un-learn it though – you just need to make the mental ‘opt out’ leap and not even start reading the sales letters. Unsubscribing to all those things you should never have subscribed to in the first place probably also helps!
.-= Chloe @ Ben 10 Toys´s last blog ..Bumblebee Helmet Review – A Transformers 2 Toy =-.
Mikael
July 27th, 2009
7:04 pm
It definitely helps. And the fun thing is that you can run an awesome online business without ever signing up for any of those newsletters, without ever watching a sales video/webinar and without every downloading an ebook.
Sure you might learn a few hints and tricks along the way but if you have already found something that works, time is much better spent doing that instead of learning small new tricks.
Brian @ Bumblebee Costumes
September 3rd, 2009
6:09 am
I have been a faithful follower of rule #2. Fortunately, I think I’ve found my calling in this latest program as I have done more work and followed through on it in the last month than all the other rainbows I hopped on. I’ve made yet another promise to myself to stick it out with this one. I have a good feeling that I will. Soon I will find that pot of gold. Nice article, you’ve just given me more fuel to carry-on.
.-= Brian @ Bumblebee Costumes´s last blog ..Do-Follow Blog, CommentLuv, KeywordLuv =-.
Mikael
September 3rd, 2009
8:32 am
Hi Brian,
I’m thrilled to hear that you have found something that you have been able to stick to. It is really important for long term success. For how long have you managed to keep working solely on this project?
/Mikael
Christopher Basilio
October 21st, 2009
12:48 am
Hi Mikael,
For years I jumped around with anything free I could get my hands on. Nothing lasted/worked – just piles of paper that are now origami to my son.
I’m now on my first program/tool where I doled out some cash.
Okay so far but I keep getting all getting all these emails about the next big thing. I share what is happening to me with the program with some friends, only to find out that they are into IM as well (without telling me!) and end up recommending other programs/tools that are cheaper.
The pervasiveness of making money off the Internet is both it’s blessing and curse for people like me. A BLESSING as I would not have heard about the possibility of this extra income stream IM had this pervasiveness not made it known to me. A CURSE as this same pervasiveness bombards me with other tools/programs to try.
Cheers!
Chris
.-= Christopher Basilio´s last blog ..Day 7: Incubator – Affiliate Marketing Game Plan =-.
Mikael
October 21st, 2009
7:41 am
Hey Chris,
You are going through the same thing that I believe everyone goes through. I don’t know why but I guess it is something that we need to learn and become better.
If you have been trying for years without much outcome then maybe it is time to start getting serious about it. Cancel all your newsletter subscriptions, stop reading blogs and do what you know works. And do it MASSIVELY.
Also I would recommend that you stop listening to your friends UNLESS they are doing exactly the same thing that you want to do. Do not let them sidetrack you (again). You will never get ahead if you don’t learn to focus and stay focused.
/Mikael
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