Along with FOCUS which we have talked about, the other trait that successful people appear to have is a consistent approach to what they do. Remember Edison consistently attempted to find a way to make a light bulb. What he found were a thousand ways it did not work before he found the solution. That is a consistent, focused approach to the problem or situation.
There is a saying that there is no problem that does not have a solution. I have found that this holds true with my endevours online. There is information freely available to help your online business make money. Don’t let age, technophobia, or anything else take your mind away from your goal, to make money online. I’m the first to admit that it’s not easy to stay focused and consistent. However, one fact I do know is that the next shiny option to come on the web will not be the long-term answer.
That’s where focus and consistency play their part in keeping you on track. Now an important consideration is to occasionally check that your focus is aligned to your goal. By this I mean don’t try to break a slab of concrete with a toffee hammer, it’s just not practical. Likewise ensure that your aim is realistic because if it’s not then your focused, consistent approach could well achieve zero results.
My aim is and was to make around £12,000 a year online after tax and other expenses. Broken down that is £1,000 a month or £33 a day. There is my focus point to make £33 a day online. Next was to work out a consistent method to achieve that. Either I need a single income stream or a number depending on what I was going to sell. I decided on digital products initially and as a second stream physical products, specifically POD or Print On Demand. This I subdivided into two main categories, namely mugs and T-shirts.
Therein was my first problem, my focus and consistency were going to be pulled from pillar to post; and they were. I ended up achieving Zilch. Yes, I had about 50 mug designs I created and a number of T-shirts too but I was now hitting the first BIG hurdle. How to get people to my stores to buy?
I needed to understand how to get people to my web stores to buy. My focus shifted as did my consistency. What I had done was not realistic. Sure I had done all the research into niche areas and used two platforms for my goods but had not first focused on methods to get traffic or buyers to my sites. A bit cart before the horse approach on reflection. What I had done was put all my attention on getting the product to sell first, because that’s what everyone said to do. What they forgot to mention was that you also need customers and I had overlooked it too.
I used a platform to sell my mugs and a different one to sell my T-shirts because I reasoned that I could easily be consistent and focused on producing new designs for both each month plus have a backup of seasonal designs too. I had mockups and good-quality photos of my designs which I posted to my shops. The net result was that I got some sales but barely enough to cover my costs.
Everyone goes on about the money being in the list because it’s true. What seems to be blurred is that you need a product to sell before you build your list but it is a chicken-and-egg situation. The most difficult part is getting buying customers, called a responsive list. Now here’s the thing if you have a responsive list it doesn’t need to be big for you to make money.
A number of 6 figure sellers I now know have small, but very defined lists and you will often see them in the top 10 places when promoting an affiliate product.
So next up will be a look at list building and how I have faired using different methods.