Are You Frustrated By Internet Marketing?
Alternative Title:
Why I Attend Seminars
Hi Everyone
I get a lot of feedback and emails from my blogs. Most of it is very positive and encouraging – but occasionally there are some less positive comments. (I even had someone refer to me as a ‘retard’ last week) I accepted a long time ago, that I am not going to please everyone and not everyone will like me. Come to think of it, that’s a business rule that could have well been included in my recent list of 21 Rules For Business blog post.
Anyway, last week I sent out a promotional email for Yanik Silver’s Underground Online Seminar It is not unusual to have some un-subscribes after a mailing – but one in particular that I received last week got my attention. In the reason for un-subscribing they said:
Fed up with all these people trying to sell me things, I want to make money not buy things.
I was surprised and saddened – I mean how can anyone in business hope to make money without spending some money on their education?
As I thought a bit more about this email, something else occurred to me – that this comment was in fact a comment made out of Frustration. In fact this person is most likely trying very hard to be successful online but for whatever reason not having the breakthrough they hoped for. (Either that or else they are already so successful they don’t need to educate themselves anymore!)
I like the Wikipedia definition of frustration:
Frustration is an emotional response to circumstances where one is obstructed from arriving at a personal goal
I am not sure I can help this individual but I do know from the emails I get a fair number of my readers experience frustration.
I think too many people have been ‘sold’ on the idea that making money is easy, requiring little investment and almost no hard work. Often the people being ‘sold’ are desperate, in debt, working in jobs they don’t like and even quite depressed.
I am not going to give a lesson on handling frustration here but I will give you my personal strategy for handling those frustrating moments by asking myself on simple question:
What Have I learned From This Situation?
Even if you are BROKE, you have learned how to be Broke – and if you know how to be broke, then you should be able to reverse engineer so that you are not broke!
Another great question to ask is:
What Can I be Happy About Right Now?
Not an easy question to ask in really tragic situations but most times in business there is something that you can be happy about – even if it is only that you are taking ACTION about being Broke, or you have learned away to not do something.
I know that many of us don’t find it that easy, especially if we have had a lifetime of conditioning otherwise. Where we are right now in our lives is the sum total of all our decisions up to now. If we are to experience a better outcome then clearly we will have to make some new decisions.
What New Life Changing Decision Are You Going To Make Today?
Finally on this point, almost every major breakthrough in my life has been preceded by some moments of frustration – when you accept that frustration leads to breakthroughs then I find it is much easier to handle.
Why I Attend Seminars
For me personally, all the big breakthroughs have come at seminars – it is being around other like minded and ambitious people that makes the difference. If I had not attended seminars then I would never have been able to brainstorm with people like Yanik Silver, James Schramko, Ryan Lee and Alex Jeffreys. Being able to do that is Frankly worth far more than the price of admission to any seminar.
I appreciate for some of you it is a financial stretch – but if you can do it, I really believe that Yanik Silver’s Underground Online Seminar can be life changing, as it has been for me. Indeed it was attendance at last years event that allowed me personally to move up to being a 6 Figure Blogger. (Remember The Starbucks Effect I discussed in this POST)
I have had more Ah-ha Moments and breakthroughs from frustration at seminars than anywhere else.
Finally, on the subject of seminars, I have to say that not all Internet Marketing seminars are equal — indeed, there are some dreadful seminars (better described as “Pitch Fests” ) that often offer free or low cost admission that I plan to discuss in a future post. That said, even at some of these Pitch Fests I have made some awesome connections and got ideas for my business – ideas that I would not have got if I had stayed at home. When I do that post I will reveal my personal strategy for deciding what products to invest in for my education – and which ‘teachers’ to avoid.
I also plan to discuss mentoring, coaching and Mastermind Groups (another ‘secret’ of my success) in a future post. If you have any questions related to that let me know.
Also, I would really love to hear what frustrates you about Internet Marketing or business in general? Or what your solutions are for handling frustration? Let me have your comments below.
To Our Success
Michael
PS: Just as an afterthought — I also know some of you get upset when people un-subscribe. Please don’t. What interests someone today may not interest them in 6 weeks or 6 months from now. Get over it 
About Michael Dunlop
I'm Michael, I created this site back in 2009 and since then it's received over a million visitors from all around the world. We offer tutorials and inspiration for online entrepreneurs wanting to achieve more.
20 comments so far… Leave a reply
Tom | Build That List
January 21, 2010 11:04 AM
You are definitely right about there being something with hanging around like minded people! Because when times get tough and your friends tell you that you're going to fail, it will be those like minded people that will pull you though. BTW, I had someone unsubscribe in a similar method saying "there was no need to pay for anything because everything is available for free online." However I think that if you invest into training you are going to be more likely to apply what you learn.
Andrew @ Blogging Guide
January 21, 2010 11:14 AM
A few years back a ‘famous’ Internet Marketer mentored me and there were 2 things he said to me during our first conversation. One, “some people will disagree with what you are saying and offering and abuse you”. AND two, “some will un-subscribe from your list”. He went on to say, "Don't take it personally. Quickly grow a think skin and move on". If you react to these un-subscribers or abusers, it will be just another hurdle you'll have to overcome to be successful on-line. And If I'm getting 100 subscribers everyday, I don't mind if one or two un-subscribe, anyway. Now to the question: "what frustrates you about Internet Marketing or business in general?" THE HYPE! Headlines like "Follow Me, By Tomorrow You'll Also Have $100k in Your Bank Account". Yeah right! And those sales pages full of pictures of mansions and flashy cars. "Simply buy my e-book - $27...You'll be rich just like me". I think IM is getting a bad name as a result of these types of sales pages - bit like Estate Agents here in the UK. Andrew
Barry Dunlop
January 21, 2010 11:22 AM
My thoughts exactly Andrew - well said
Daniel
January 21, 2010 11:49 AM
I simply feel the same as Andrew that IM has been sold on it is very easy to make money online and all you need is to follow a certain formulas (which may be outdated). I believe in educating yourself by attending those people who already are successful online. There is no standard guide books on How To Successful As An Entrepreneurs. Everyone got to learn it on the job. Those who do not believe in spending can probably forget about this business cos education is part of the "cost" to be taken. Cheers
Andy
January 21, 2010 12:04 PM
This quote is Quality, "Fed up with all these people trying to sell me things, I want to make money not buy things." Of course you have to spend money to setup a new business. Even if its a website, there is domain costs and hosting costs.
Derrick
January 21, 2010 4:36 PM
Some internet marketers use sneaky tactics to get people to subscribe,and once you are inside the "secrets member area" you see crap content that forces you to unsubscribe as quickly as possible.Here are some of the reasons why people unsubscribe and run away from your mail list: 1.Lack of quality content that pre-sells to the subscriber. 2.Getting people to register on your mail list for a free report or video,then you force them to make one or two more registrations to access the free report/video.This is time-wasting.Let them see the free report immediately after making an e-mail confirmation.You can ask them to make more registrations after reading the report. 3.Giving excuses 4. A free report/video that is nothing but another lousy sales letter.You keep referring people to more sales letters,instead of showing them a technique or demo. 5. Abusing the word "free".Now ,I know for sure that Facebook is FREE.I am not talking about a "Free Trial". 6. Screechy sales letters.
Asker
January 21, 2010 4:44 PM
Hi it'll be really great if you can write a post about the income that you are getting.( just want to know :- )
Shane
January 21, 2010 10:17 PM
I can understand anyone's frustration when starting out in IM, to be honest. There's just such an unbelievable amount of hype all through this industry and if you spend a few minutes looking at sales-pages it seems a stunned monkey should be able to make $5000 in an afternoon if it just has access to the right tools and knows the "secrets"... But being angry at someone sending a promotional mail is getting it very wrong, of course. The whole point of getting a promotion via a list is that you (hopefully) trust the sender and know he doesn't pitch rubbish just to get a commission. Cheers, Shane
Felix
January 23, 2010 3:23 PM
I know that starting to make money online is easy. The Formula is simple: Deliver value and get paid for it. Leveraging the value you deliver involves either education or trail and error. Both, education and experiences need to be applied to be able to consistently deliver value, get paid for it and make a living. If you are not willing to put in the work, your fairy tale bubbles will burst as soon as you stop hustling. To round it up and drive the point home: Stay away from the IM scams, they are a waste of time and fail to deliver anything of value that might be new. A product or program will probably not be a scam if a lot of value is being delivered upfront. If a lot of value is being delivered for free, how much more will you receive if you buy :-) Take it with a grain of salt. Enjoy your weekend!
Matt Adamo
January 23, 2010 7:44 PM
I personally like it when people unsubscribe to my email list. The people who get annoyed by an internet promotion were never going to buy from you anyways. Plus aweber charges you by the subscriber once you starting getting a lot. Basically sending promotions has to be done smartly. (i say about 10-15% of the emails you send). But it's also good because it purges your list of the non buyers. Just my thoughts -Matt
S Ahsan
January 23, 2010 8:17 PM
Michael, You are back to writing again. KICK-ASS post mate! thanks for the share.. am actually looking forward to connect; maybe we will do stuff sooner or later.. :) good luck
Mr Q
January 24, 2010 2:24 AM
Good point Matt (2 Posts up) Those sorts of people Micheal are talking about will continue to be and get frustrated. The sad part is that they will never be successful! Jim Rohn once said "the moment one realises to start working on themselves just as much as they work on their job, is the moment they become successful.." You HAVE to continually work and develop yourself, whether that's through seminars, books and people if you want to become successful!!
Luke Etheridge
January 24, 2010 7:23 PM
Very well said Andrew, Completely agree with you there mate. We all have a rough patch from time to time but you have to just pick yourself and try again. Even if that does mean spending a litle bit of money. You are investing with the intention of making more in return and that should be your motivation to carry on. Thanks for sharing... Luke Etheridge
Shirley
January 25, 2010 4:31 PM
Just don't mind the haters, Michael, and just keep your focus on and move on ahead :).
Maren Kate
January 26, 2010 12:51 AM
Great post, very encouraging & thought provoking! I definitely like how you say that you'll be broke if you think broke... its true. Cheers!
Underground Scholarship, Internet Marketing Discussion and Forced Continuity | Make Money Online
January 27, 2010 1:22 PM
[...] was very pleased to see some very interesting and considered comments following my “Are You Frustrated By Internet Marketing” post last [...]
Heidi Passey
February 3, 2010 5:15 PM
Hi Michael, Not letting your frustrations get in the way can be difficult, especially with trying to build an online business. I think you have to make a mental choice to look at the positive and press on. I like your thoughts on asking yourself, "What can I be happy about today" and "What life changing decision can I make today". What am I going to do today to make my situation better?
Tom
February 19, 2010 6:45 AM
Hi, I agree with what you say. We have a very short time to produce a lucrative income. Therefore we must always accept self motivation from others to succeed in Internet business. Thanks for sharing ...
Dave In Wales
March 3, 2010 10:00 PM
Re: The person who said "Fed up with all these people trying to sell me things, I want to make money not buy things". Is probably sick to the back teeth with wild promises and like all of us wants something that works, and is being bombarded by the psychobabble-hype that is so rife in this community. There are 1000s of coaches and so called Guru's out there and 100s of ways of making money. Finding that you like isn't always easy. If you do something online that you are able, it doesn't mean you like it, you've just changed jobs. Peace Up
Caleb
January 27, 2011 6:12 PM
I haven't gotten frustrated with Internet Marketing at all. If its not for you, its super easy to not buy anything and just absorb the free content. Complaining about people selling things doesn't help at all. I am looking forward to my first seminar/conference this summer and how to get a lot out of it as well. Thanks for sharing your experience with them.
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