2010 Reflections And 2011 Intentions
So I got to my computer this afternoon after enjoying a wonderful holiday weekend and saw all these emails from marketers about the new year. Some were about trends and business and such. But then I read one from Mario Brown that I thought was interesting. In summary, his intentions are to…
1) Stay authentic and keep integrity
2) Move away from WSOs and product creation and go offline and do small business consulting for $997/month (just the example he gave)
He also advises that you join or start a mastermind group that will help keep you accountable to your business.
What I liked was his intention with the message. He shared what he wants to do and why. So I thought I’d do the same thing.
I’m in agreement with Mario on point 1. Keeping integrity is paramount. I’m not going to preach about it or say I am the example of it. I’ll just say how much his first point resonates with me.
What I most likely won’t be doing, is going out and grabbing offline clients.
I’m not saying this isn’t an awesome business. It is. It’s satisfying a huge need in the market AND it’s a growing service area.
SERVICE area.
It’s just not for me. Don’t get me wrong, I love my customers, but I don’t have any “clients” for a reason. One of my favorite parts about Internet Marketing is the freedom that comes with it. I wouldn’t give that up to essentially work for other people (that’s how I see it). Also, in my mind it is too much of a time commitment – if you are the consultant on every case and you’re not outsourcing, it is not scalable, and you will run out of time in the end. And if you end up working too much and not enjoying life, no amount of money is worth that effort. I just spoke to a friend tonight at dinner who has 60 clients she does web design and marketing consulting for. And guess what, she’s looking to get out of it because – why? – she works too hard and can’t enjoy her passions.
So, I’ve decided I’m going to continue what I’m doing. Except I might make less WSOs and products in general.
My focus is going to be on “what has worked.” My year has been highlighted by my success in Email Marketing and SEO. And when I look at the situation, Google has changed quite a bit. But the only thing that has changed with email is my bottom line when I add more subscribers. My tactics stay exactly the same, my customers stay very happy, and my income increases. Wait, one thing does increase as well – my Aweber subscription cost! But I will gladly pay Aweber an extra $100 a month if it means I’m making an extra $5000.
So from me, you will probably see more of the same. I’ve got a very top secret email marketing project that is so new that I can’t even give details. But if it works out the way I am hoping, it might be the biggest thing in email marketing since… email! 
And I promise, I’ll be divulging all the details once it’s the right time. Of course, if I do make more training materials, you won’t be disappointed. **If you haven’t seen Email Marketing Revolution yet, just click the banner link at the top of the page.**
I have other goals as well. I want to continue to diversify, not only in marketing methods, but also in niches. It’s important not to rely on once source for your entire income. And when it comes to email (goal-wise), I’d really like to reach that “super-affiliate” status – but not by being cheesy and lame, but by being cool and providing awesome value to the marketplace: = you guys. I still don’t want to be a guru.
I will continue to be a great informant for solid marketing methods. Of course, SEO will be at the top of the list. In fact, my first recommendation will be this SEO info product. It’s about saving a BUNCH of time and money on backlinks! But just to walk my walk, you will get more info in an email (coming very soon)!
In 2011, I’m also interested in video, mobile, Facebook, offline/small business consulting, monster commerce sites (Ebay, Amazon), Pay Per Call, blog use, and other important or trending (IMO) methods. Regardless of method, I’m still interested in helping people conduct smart business, make fast cash, build a sustainable income, and/or grow their existing business. Ultimately, bringing VALUE to the marketplace is my number one priority.
I hope everybody had a great holiday and I wish you much success in 2011!
Please comment below on your New Year’s IM intentions!
Cool post David – funnily enough I went through my entire PayPal history for 2010 and strangely enough most of my income came from promoting affiliate products to my list and a product I have out there in a non-IM niche.
My 2010 income was more than triple my 2009 income so I think I’ll be focusing on more of the same.
Likewise … I don’t really want to go offline and have clients to look after.
To me the most important thing is being accountable to someone, so I have now joined Stirling Valentine’s coaching group, recommended by my good friend Martin Avis in his Kickstart Newsletter.
I live in hope of retriving my website having been badly let down by Cambridge Business Academy who have sold out with my site on their server! So much for caring for their students.
I enjoyed every word of your post David.
I really get your disdain for offline marketing. Although I purchased maybe a half dozen offline WSOs in 2010, on a subconscious level I was fighting moving forward pretty much because of the reason you mentioned. I do not want to be the owner of a job. Been there done that.
However, I have come across an offline model that will allow me to earn what most would consider a full-time middle class income working with only a hand full of clients.
Online, I plan to really get involved in Facebook advertising as it pertains to driving super targeted traffic to my offers. I am really exited by the possibilities. There’s a lot to be said for free traffic. After all its FREE! However, paying for very targeted traffic at the right price that converts well is like having a magic money lamp. Every time you rub it, money comes out.
The Best of 2011 to you and all of your readers David.
David,
I may have to purchase that WSO. Looks interesting. I agree on focusing most on what gets the biggest ROI.
One thing I’ve noticed in 2010, it people getting hung up on the backlinking method-of-the-week. What I plan on doing is focusing on just 1-2 methods that work.
This will save me time and efforts for things that make the biggest difference…creating value, pleasing customers, creating free reports for my list, crafting interesting emails, etc.
Solid post,
-Rusty
I loved this post. I’m fairly new to all this and actually bought your Emailing Marketing Revolution back in August. However, I was nowhere near ready to go online and put the course away in my “someday” folder. Well, after reading your comments above, I re-read the sales letter, got totally jazzed and pulled out your program. It’s now on my desk and I’m really looking forward to jumping into all of it. Many thanks for your help, and I wish you a Happy New Year!
I’m with you. I recently went to an offline meetup group for businesses and was shocked at how clueless most of them were about the internet. They all thought of me as a guru since I have built about 50 sites or so and am comfortable with online stuff. Believe me, I am no guru!
I could have gotten plenty of clients right then and I believe it’s probably like this in most areas of the world. It was tempting but I work online for a reason. If I were to take on clients, I would be accountable to them and I might as well just go get a job.
I like having the freedom to work when I want and on my schedule, not someone else’s.
Nice sentiments and a sound plan. One thing I noticed in 2010 and certainly in the bombardment of promotions I’ve been getting so far this year is the total lack on customer service, product quality and value. Even marketers that I respected have slowly been sucked down into the vortex of “fleece em for all they got” marketing.
In fact a recent affiliate promotion I received from a very well known marketer concentrated entirely on how much money could be extracted from the customer rather than value provided. I emailed him and his response was I was naive and had no real understanding of affilate marketing. My response to that was there are 2 types of used car salesmen. Ones that sell quality and ones that sell dodgy lemons. Unfortunately he had become a dodgy lemon seller. He has been deleted from my email list.
My 2011 will be to totally move away from promoting internet marketing products and concentrate on physical products. “Build it and they will come” is my motto, so more sites and try a few different traffic tecniques. No need to reinvent the wheel.
I wish everyone a happy, healthy and prosperous 2011. Let’s just keep it real.
Hey Up David,
Happy New Year To You!
Well for 2011 I would like to start a membership site about IM, I will be going into WSO, which I have just finished a report and just waiting for an interview with Daniel Tan. And since you are making less WSO will leave room for us other marketers!
So as you guest the report is about SEO, which I would blame you for getting me into. I think facebook is something we should all look into to use as part of our marketing, the amount of traffic that is there each day is amazing.
Considered offline consulting but as you mentioned could become another normal job, with all the headaches.
Cheers
Craig
Hi David,
Excellent post, I particularly enjoyed your comments about clients -v- customers and how so many reach a success level and then want out because it sucks out the time from their life.(4 Hour Work Week Springs To Mind)
Good luck in 2011
Austin
Thank you Vadivu for an amazing reflection guide. I had an amazing New Years and birthday because of it. I look forward to using these questions to support my reflection throughout the year and have already started!
[...] year I wrote a blog post about what I was going to do in 2011 (see it here if you want). It was interesting to read because I got to see what I followed through on and what I [...]