3 Things That Are Killing Your Business
One of my coaching clients asked me the following question during one of our sessions…
“Part of being productive is knowing what NOT to do. What are 3 common activities that Internet Marketers engage in that you recommend they minimize or not do at all?”
I’d like to respond to that question here publicly because I think it’s something that is EXTREMELY important for ALL internet marketers to consider.
So often we’re so concentrated on “traffic generation” and “list building” and “product creation” and all the internet marketing “stuff” that we fail to realize that there are some fundamental things that are keeping us from really being productive in our businesses.
See if any of these things are killing YOUR business…
1. Looking at and then purchasing distracting offers.
The problem with most internet marketers is that they are information junkies. They are on every major list and get offers to their inbox virtually every hour of the day. Many people spend waaaay too much time reading through the latest “offer of the week”. (I would venture that HOURS are wasted every week on this practice for the average internet marketer.)
And, worse still is the awful practice of routinely buying these offers which only furthers the distraction as the customer then spends precious time working on something new and abandoning any momentum they’ve already gained.
It’s an addiction that is at epidemic proportions. And that’s no joke. People are getting nowhere and perhaps the biggest reason is right here. They spend too much time chasing rabbits.
I have a simple rule that I go buy and that I teach my clients –
Don’t look at any new “offer” until Friday,
at the END of the workweek.
When you’ve gotten everything done for that week, THEN look at the mounting offers. If there was a deadline that you missed, then it’s probably for your betterment anyway. Besides, there will be plenty more opportunities for similar offers in the future, if not the same one.
I told a friend of mine the other day, “There has never been anything in all of Internet marketing that only happened ONCE”. Let that sink in. Whether it’s the same offer from the same person or a knock off from someone else, no “secret” stays secret for long and no offer remains unduplicated for long.
2. Browsing forums, Google, etc. with no real purpose.
How many hours are wasted each week browsing as some form of “entertainment”? That is, how much time is thrown away just reading posts at forums, chasing down webpages at Google, etc?
If you’re going to spend time browsing forums, do so with an agenda. Whether you’re taking notes, looking for product ideas, learning something or any other valuable activity, make sure you do SOMETHING from your browsing that is beneficial to your business.
I always recommend that internet marketers keep a notepad with them anytime they are browsing. Always jot down ideas. Always.
Reading a news page? Look at their marketing and take notes.
Browsing a blog about American Idol? Get ideas for your own blog.
Checking stats for Tony Romo’s last game? Identify ways the site is monetizing their traffic.
And, unless you are super disciplined, don’t do this browsing until AFTER you’ve completed your work for the day. It’s usually a distraction.
3. Taking the long way to do daily activities.
There are many activities that require an investment of time each day (answering emails, supporting customers, troubleshooting problems, managing affiliates, etc.). But, does that mean you should take the long way to get them done? Of course not.
To the contrary, you should take shortcuts as much as possible.
For example: If you find that you’re answering the same email over and over again, make a template that you simply copy and paste (instead of typing out the answer) whenever someone asks it. I probably average 10 hours of saved time every week by using this one thing alone.
Whenever possible, look for ways to automate (or at least semi-automate) any process that you do regularly.
In the end, you’ll be more productive.
—
Want to know exactly how to run your own home business effectively with all of the “shortcuts” that I use that have led Jim Edwards to call me “Mr. Efficiency”? Want to take a “behind the scenes” look at exactly how I run my business and get my very own “operations manual”? And do all of this for fifteen bucks? Visit http://www.HomepreneurHabits.com for all the details.
May 28th, 2009 at 10:23 am
Jimmy,
These are very good reminders for better time management.
To #3, I’d add making them into a FAQs section on your site. That will save even more time, provide 24/7 customer support and can help with search engines too.
Archie
May 28th, 2009 at 11:17 am
Great article!
When I check my inbox to see if there’s anything I must respond to like a subscriber question or a customer problem I automatically delete just about every email that states there’s only a short time left because I know I won’t see it until after the deadline. I also delete the emails that have the same subject line because I know they are for offers and the senders didn’t want to take the time to actually write something so used the pre-written sales copy. If they don’t have time to write something original I don’t have time to read the “highly effective” sales copy.
As for your suggestion about forums I think the same is true for social networking sites. If you’re spending your time on them to actually help your business that’s 1 thing however just browsing around to see what might be of interest can wait until you’ve taken care of business needs.
As for automation, it’s the way to go when possible.
May 28th, 2009 at 12:55 pm
Boy you hit the nail on the head three times. I have the biggest problems with 1 and 3. I’ve liked all of your time management suggestions.
- Jeffery
May 28th, 2009 at 3:40 pm
Thanks for posting these publicly. In the past, #1 has been my biggest downfall. Part of it was being an information junkie and part was to try to stay on top of the market for my clients. But I’ve been a good girl this year and have gone on a diet of sorts. I’ve adopted a Zen like buying philosophy. I can easily bypass the “gotta have it now” offers by thinking”If I’m really supposed to have it, it will be at a good price when I need it.” 9 times out of 10, I don’t really need it and that 10th time..they end up running another special or I can barter for it. It works out very nicely and it’s saved me a bundle.
Too often I think homepreneurs mix up socializing with real work. It’s fine to socialize online, but like you said…it’s best to do it when the rest of your to do list is done!
May 28th, 2009 at 7:03 pm
Hey Jimmy,
Thanks a million. It is amazing how many things we find to distract us from doing the work.
I think the number 1 reason for affiliate failure is violating the Nike slogan…Just Do It…I know I didn’t earn a nickle until I actually started to find products to promote and then promoted them. Hmmm
But it is true, we do find busy stuff to pretend we are working.
May 29th, 2009 at 5:37 pm
Jimmy,
I love reading your materials because you really cut to the quick and hit the heart of the matter.
Ultimately every activity has to go through a “decision procedure” or criteria that either validates or invalidates it.
Doing things any other way is a recipe for disaster.
Thanks for the great content.
May 30th, 2009 at 1:07 pm
[...] It has come to my attention that if you have not been focusing on the right things in order to have your internet marketing business get off the ground there may still be hope for you. “Focus on the right things and the rest will follow!” Jason Dinner recently told me to focus on the task at hand… This message seems to be reoccuring also. See this message from Perry Marshall. Oh, and here are a couple more… Justin Brooke and Jimmy Brown. [...]
June 1st, 2009 at 12:25 pm
If I’m having a particularly “distractive” day, I’ll grab my laptop and take it somewhere to write. I have no internet connection on it so it’s impossible for me to stop writing so I can chat with a colleague, jump on Twitter, or check my email for the 100th time. I get a ton of writing down in a short amount of time when I have no internet connection. You just have to make sure what you’re writing doesn’t require research.
June 1st, 2009 at 5:12 pm
Hey Jimmy,
Great Article.
As for your suggestion about forums I think the same is true for social networking sites. If you’re spending your time on them to actually help your business that’s 1 thing however just browsing around to see what might be of interest can wait until you’ve taken care of business needs.
But it is true, we do find busy stuff to pretend we are working. These are very good reminders for better time management.
June 2nd, 2009 at 3:10 pm
For anyone’s interest, I purchased homepreneurhabits and it is an excellent piece of work (I’m not really interested in the pictures - especially of Jimmy’s buffed body but that’s a different matter). I recommend picking up a copy.
Andrew
http://www.leanprofitmachine.com
June 4th, 2009 at 1:46 pm
I am wondering about time I spend on Twitter, learning about Twitter use, attempts to use Twitter to garner traffic. Its got good points and time wasting points.
August 16th, 2009 at 11:34 am
Thanks again Jimmy I am a chronic time waster you make this so clear.
Best Regards
Michael