My 10 Biggest Mistakes In Online Marketing
Hi Everyone!
I have been away from this blog for FAR too long!
Why? Because I have been busy making a LOT of mistakes! But to be fair, it is not ALL my fault. I have had a lot of life distractions as well, as we all do. Life has a way of getting in the way for online entrepreneurs.
But what is the main reason I have been away for so long? Honestly – the way I learned to build a blog was kind of daunting. Very hard work. But recently, I started taking an online course that helped me to understand that a blog should not seem like such a massive task and instead, needs to be fun documentation of my online journey. I can tell you right now, that makes things tremendously easier to keep up with! All I have to do is just talk about my latest adventures? Apparently so.
But that is only one of many options available, which we will talk about in this article.
I thought that the first thing I wanted to say in my “comeback” post, was to talk about all of the things I have been doing wrong. Because believe me, I am crystal clear on this topic at this point in time! Let’s put it this way, I am at a point now where I realize some things that (had I recognized them before), would have put me light years ahead.
So, what if I could go back in time and tell my younger self “STOP” and do things differently!!?? What would I say? That is what this post is about.
MISTAKE ONE: I Changed My Mind Too Much
In part, this was due to “shiny object syndrome,” but for me, it was more than just that. You see, I love to learn. I have an interest in so MANY things that it was a problem for me, to say the least. For example, I am interested in (and have a degree in) psychology. Personal growth and development are other favorites. Spirituality often caught my attention. Especially when under stress. The latest discoveries in science fascinate me. And of course, my love for internet marketing should be obvious.
As a result of that, I chased one interest after another. I bought one domain name after another. In fact, I have bought so many domain names that I am quite sure I am one of GoDaddy’s favorite people. I am probably on their top 10 list.
But worse than that, I did realize that I did not have time to devote to ALL of my great domain name ideas. So then, I would “not renew” some of them, and guess what would happen? They would show back up for sale for $2500, $5000k, and even $10,000! Can you believe that?
Apparently, I had a knack for picking good domain names, but it did me absolutely NO good because I ended up spending all of my time creating blogs and building businesses, but getting nowhere with any of them.
I don’t know about you, but I am TIRED of starting over.
MISTAKE TWO: I Was (And AM?) A Perfectionist
Now, I’m not too, too hard on myself for making mistakes, but when it comes to actually advertising and putting myself out there? Well, that is a different story altogether. In other words, I’m fine with mistakes as long as I am the only one who sees them. But to actually advertise, everything needed to be perfect. You know – the Catch 22. No one could see it until it was perfect, but it was not perfect unless people were seeing it, commenting on it, and liking it.
Which comes first? The engaged followers or the blank, empty blog? I have finally come to realize that what really makes a blog (or life) beautiful and interesting is to create a pattern or mosaic of colorful pieces. “The Coat Of Many Colors,” so to speak. That is what makes the journey beautiful, not the perfectionism of it all.
MISTAKE THREE: I Kept Falling For The “New Opportunity.”
Yes, the shiny object syndrome. I had it bad. I was always interested in the latest, newest thing. As mentioned above, I am interested in EVERYTHING, really. But at this point, I know enough about marketing to know that this is part of their strategy. Oh yes, you need to move from the old method to the new method!
What they don’t want you to know is that there are tried and true, “EVERGREEN” methods that work consistently, time and time again. Why? Because human beings are virtually the same today as they were 20 years ago. They have the same fears and problems. All of us are basically just doing the best we can.
Now admittedly, with technology rapidly changing the way it does, this creates new opportunities as well as new problems that need to be solved. I don’t argue that point at all. Therefore, sometimes the “latest and greatest thing” might be pretty awesome after all.
But does it fit YOU? That is the question to ask yourself.
MISTAKE FOUR: I Got Too Stuck In The Learning Instead Of The Advertising
As I mentioned earlier, I love to learn. This turned out to be a BIG and EXPENSIVE problem for me throughout the years. I would take course after course after course. You can easily see this by looking at my certificates under the “About” page. Don’t get me wrong, I enjoyed every minute of it. But here’s the problem – all of that COST me DEARLY. Did it make me money? Well …
If it didn’t, I’m sure they would all say that was my own fault. But as mentioned, I could not find the business that was “perfect” enough and fit “MY personality.” Oh sure, they were all fun to learn. But if their program was not perfect for me, I would not put my heart and soul into it. And unfortunately, most programs out there may be perfect for some people, but not me. And it took me a long time to be able to recognize my own strengths and weaknesses and realize upfront – “Oh, this will not be right for me.”
Kind of like if you love to cook and you go out and take a course on how to become a diesel mechanic. Or vice versa.
Now, don’t get me wrong. I am ALL FOR education and learning. I LOVE it.
BUT – and here’s the big BUT ….
The next time you are tempted to take a new course, ask yourself, “What are they asking me to do? Does it fit my personality?” Because if not, don’t even go there, no matter how tempting it may be.
Because here’s the big secret – the money isn’t in the learning. The money is in the next phase – ADVERTISING. If you don’t advertise, you will never make a dime. And I’m not just talking about paid advertising. Free advertising can work too, if and when you remain consistent enough.
But the point is, you have to put yourself out there to make it online. But when you do that, you want to make sure it is the right business for YOU and your personality.
AND – the one thing you don’t want to do is stay in school indefinitely and never graduate – to make money.
MISTAKE FIVE: I Could Not Decide On What Products To Promote
I would go back and forth and back and forth and back and forth with this one! Why? Because I would be thinking to myself, “I need to focus on this because it will generate more income.” And then I would say, “But I need to focus on that because that is what I am most interested in.” (Passion.)
And then I would think to myself, “I need to create my own products.” Followed by the thought, “No, I need to promote someone else’s products.” At that point, I would go off into either learning how to create products or where to find other people’s products.
At this point in the game – what do I think is the best strategy? Mostly, it depends on your financial situation. If you don’t have a large enough advertising budget to go after your “passion,” then I suggest starting with what would be most profitable. You want something that is going to give you a “Return On Your Investment.” (ROI).
Which, nine times out of ten, would be in the internet marketing and/or the make money online niche (area of interest or specific market.) Once you get that mastered and become profitable, then branch out into other areas of interest.
Now, I know what you are thinking, “But isn’t that niche too competitive?” Yes, but this is a good thing. It means it is making money. It is profitable. If you have been listening to internet marketers for any length of time at all, you know that the objective is to drill down into smaller sub-niches. For example, there are many different ways to make money online. Once you focus on one of those ways, drill down even further to go after a specific, targeted group of people. (Another topic for another day.)
And last, you may be thinking, “Should I create my own products or should I promote someone else’s products?” Let me put it this way, there are some fantastic products in the internet marketing niche. The BEST, actually. If you can outsell them, then you are somebody amazing, that’s all I can say! In other words, good luck with that.
So what does this mean? It means to promote what is already working. And believe me, I focus on the absolute best products here on this blog. For starters, check out the banners on the right side and you will be off to a fantastic start.
But what if you like to get creative? I think that’s great and you should. But get creative with advertising products first. Create content. Create articles, videos, slideshows, or whatever. And use them in your marketing. Test them. Find out what works. Once you master that, then move on to creating your own products to sell. (My advice.) Take it or leave it. Because after all, do what makes you happy. I’m just saying that if I could go back in time and tell myself the best strategy to begin, this is what I would tell myself.
MISTAKE SIX: I Suffered From Paralysis of Analysis
Oh my God, this was HUGE for me. I would agonize over the details. I felt like I had to understand EVERYTHING before I could move forward and actually advertise. Wrong!! Just start with one product and one landing page and one ad network (or platform) and start driving traffic. You will never get anywhere unless you just do this. 
There are a few things you need to do before you start on this. First of all, you need to set up your tracking pixels on your blog and/or landing pages. This is important because this is how the major ad networks gather data on who would be the best customers for your product. If this seems too complicated to you right now, then start out with an educational product and learn how to master this.
Next, choose ONE product to promote and ONE ad platform and master this first. Forget about trying to learn everything about everything. Even if you could accomplish such a monumental feat, the huge advertising landscape changes so rapidly and so often, who could keep up? Nobody! If you can keep up, then you are somebody exceptional, for sure.
Now, I’m not saying to put all of your eggs in one basket because that can be risky as well. Just ask anyone who got “google slapped” a few years ago or got their Facebook ad account shut down for not understanding their compliance policies. (Which, by the way, gets stricter and stricter as time goes on.) Remember, Facebook’s number one policy is to make the experience a good experience for their users. If you go against this, you are out.
So, it is good to have more than one strategy EVENTUALLY. But not at first. Start out with one ad network at a time. And then move up from there.
MISTAKE SEVEN: Not Budgeting My Time & Money Correctly
Here we go again. HUGE mistake of mine. Mostly due to my analysis of paralysis. I spent ALL of my time and money on education, and not nearly enough on advertising. Let me put it as simply as possible: Nobody ever makes money unless they advertise. (Could be free. Could be paid.) But the point is, if you build it, they will NOT come unless you ask them to come.
If I could go back in time and tell myself how to do it all over again, but this time, the right way? I would tell myself, start advertising. Have ads running WHILE you are learning. Heck, go take a walk or go have fun or whatever. But HAVE ADS RUNNING.
This is the best way to schedule yourself into your schedule. For the sake of your own sanity!! Even if you are out partying, you are still working if you have ads running!!! Can you think of a better way to work?
If you want to learn and buy courses, that’s fine, but study (and master) one at a time, and advertise while you learn. If nothing else, you are building up information for future ad campaigns. Even if you totally screw up and don’t make a dime. You are at least learning about your market and gathering data as you go. Because believe me, this is sooooo important. It will put you light years ahead of the game.
Even if you change your mind and move to another product and even another domain name, you can use your list of previous customers as a custom list that you can use to create lookalike audiences later on. If that makes no sense to you right now, don’t worry about it. Just know that it is important and make note of the fact for future reference. The more info you gather on your audience, the better results you will have in the future.
If you are still unsure of what products to promote and where or how to advertise, start with a beginner educational product that will teach you step-by-step. Don’t start with the advanced courses unless you are making money elsewhere first. Start out by promoting a product that is already winning. A company that has already figured out how to make a campaign profitable on the back end.
Even if you think you are already an expert, remember this. You are not an expert unless you are profitable. Period. What you need is to learn how to begin tracking your income and your expenses!!
MISTAKE EIGHT: Not Understanding The Right Tools Needed
There are all kinds of people out there trying to sell you the latest and greatest thing, but here’s the truth. You need to TRACK your advertising. One fantastic way to do this for free is to learn Google Analytics, Google Console, and Google Tag Manager. You can YouTube tutorials and set it all up for free, without ever paying a dime. Who do you think is better at tracking than Google? Nobody! Except, maybe, arguably, Facebook.
What’s amazing to me still (to this day), are all of the tools that Google will give you for FREE!! And not just average tools, either. I’m talking amazing stuff. Far, far, FAR above and beyond my head. But – you don’t need to understand how they work. You only need to understand that they do work and how to use them.
Other than that, you need a profitable product to promote, landing page or funnel software, and (optional but preferred) a keyword research tool and link tracking software. You used to be able to use Google’s free Keyword Planner, but I believe that now this is only available to people who are advertising on their network.
As far as link tracking goes, you can get a great free WordPress plugin called “Pretty Links” that works great. For more advanced tools, Click Magick is my preferred link-tracking tool.
But, all you really need to get started is the right product. You can always go from there later on as your budget, understanding, and interests evolve.
MISTAKE NINE: I Could Not Let Go Of My FEARS
This was another biggie for me. I had soooo much trouble deciding which path was the right path. But even more importantly, how do I move forward and put myself out there when I don’t feel ready? When I don’t feel successful enough yet?
This was so huge for me, it stopped me dead in my tracks every single time. I would take a course and be moving along just fine, creating products and having a good ole time. Then all of a sudden, someone would tell me to do a Facebook Live or change my cover photo with my new business link or do a live video and record myself talking to people. 
WHAT?????? Oh hell no.
In front of my ex-husbands and ex-boyfriends and ex-relatives and ex-customers and ex-coworkers? In front of my current boyfriend (or husband), current relatives, current coworkers? What about my boss? Are you kidding me? Not no, but HELL NO.
Now, if you don’t have all of those issues and you like being on video and talking to the world, then you have a MAJOR advantage here. You are what is known as an extrovert. Therefore, this would not be your problem.
If, however, you are an INTROVERT like I am, then this is – how shall I say it? TORTURE! If you are a private person, then you want to remain private!! If you are employed, then you don’t want to alarm or alert your boss. It’s okay ….. You don’t have to.
It is possible to get out of your comfort zone without announcing it on a major news network (like Facebook.) Haha. And with that, I will go into my final mistake for clarification.
MISTAKE TEN: Last, But Not Least – I Tried To Be Somebody I Was Not
It took me a LONG time to figure this one out. I blamed it on lack of confidence or lack of self-esteem. Some of the marketers I listened to blamed it on stupidity or laziness. Which I knew for a fact that neither of those was true. I wasn’t stupid and I certainly wasn’t lazy.
I worked harder than most people I know. But here is where the real problem was – I took all of these courses and listened to all of these marketers who told me to get on Facebook Live, to revise my entire Facebook to invite people I did not know, to get on video and talk to the world, AND to be happy and excited about it!
Now, it’s not that I don’t get happy and excited, and especially when it comes to the topic of internet marketing, but here’s the thing. I’m an INTROVERT. I don’t WANT to be the center of attention. I don’t want to be on video. And I damn sure don’t want to get on Facebook Live and talk about a business that has not even gotten off the ground yet because after all, what if I change my mind again? What if I fail?
But the real problem with this is that I am simply a PRIVATE person! I am not one to get all over the internet and talk to people. I’m not saying it is wrong or bad because it isn’t. It’s just not ME. You know, the “Fish Out Of Water” problem.
Writing is different. Obviously. I can deal with writing it. But to get on VIDEO? I don’t think so. However, as a psychology major, one thing I have figured out is this – there are just as many introverts as there are extroverts in this world. Kind of like there are just as many women as men. It is just part of the design of the planet we are on.
And I will admit this – extroverts appear to have an advantage. The more outgoing, the better. Especially in internet marketing. BUT – introverts have a reason to live too! Introverts need loving too! Lol
We do!! And we have a LOT to share! BUT – we need to find a business that fits US and fits our personality. Going against the grain is NOT a good idea. I’m not saying to never get out of the comfort zone. Not at all. But what I am saying is don’t try to be somebody you are not. The next time somebody offers you an opportunity, ask yourself, “Do they want me to be somebody that I am not?” Because if so, STAY CLEAR!
I recently read a quote by Matthew Hussey, an online dating coach, that was eye-opening for me. And that quote was this: “So, my philosophy is, if you do something you don’t want to do right now, it at least has to be getting you somewhere you want to go.”
Wow. Not to get off into the dating world, of course. But this applies to everything, including online marketing.
Do you want to be the PERSON they are asking you to be? Hmmmm. That is the question!
I finally found an online business that fits MY personality AND has helped many others just like me to succeed online. Whether you like being on video or not, this can work for you. I chose to use a blog as part of my strategy, but if you don’t like blogging, you don’t have to do that, either. You simply choose the methods that feel right for you.
But not only that, what if you could share products that you know will help people, through a funnel that is already built out (so you don’t need to be the extrovert), that sends people to high ticket offers that someone else sells for you over the phone! Someone who is an expert in this? And all you have to do is send traffic!
If this sounds as exciting to you as it is to me, click the link below to gain access to several FREE marketing courses!
We would love to hear about them in the comments below, and more importantly, what you did differently that worked better for you!
