Last year was a dissapointment from an internet marketing perspective, although from a family and spiritual perspective it was a really good year. In 2009 I shut down my e-commerce business, but failed to clearance my inventory. I also subscribed to two internet marketing courses, but failed to keep up with the lessons. I just have to accept that 2009 was not the year for my online business or blogging.

2010 offers a fresh start and I believe it can work.

Here are my goals:

1. Set aside time each week to work on my business.
2. Limit the time I spend on things that distract.
3. Liquidate the remaining physical inventory from my e-commerce site.
4. Read the latest edition of The 4-Hour Workweek and apply the principles to my business.
5. Re-start one of the courses I subscribed to last year.
6. Start earning some income from affiliate marketing.

Now that I have written down my goals, it is time to start working!

The 4-Hour Workweek, Expanded and Updated

Timothy Ferriss. Crown Archetype 2009, Hardcover, 416 pages, $12.67

I find it interesting to watch focus groups. Guy Kawasaki moderated a panel discussion for the Revenue Bootcamp called Will anyone pay for anything? This is a group of teens and twenty-somethings and they were asked questions mostly about what they use online, with computers, or cell phones.   While most internet marketers will find it interesting, you really must watch it if you target this age group.

Free was definitely the price point of choice.  Here are a few observations that I recall from watching:

• All members of the panel loved GMail.
• Google is a trusted brand.
• They don’t click on ads unless made to. When clicked, they don’t buy.
• Several had hand-me-down cell phones.
• While all used it, most would not pay for Facebook.
• Not all used Twitter.
• They will pay for online services if their friends are there too and if there aren’t free options.

It is important to note that this was a small focus group and it would be a stretch to apply these conclusions to teens and early twenty-somethings universally.  However, these are important insights. Free and good, will attract them. It is hard to get them to pay beyond that.  I think that Guy got a little frustrated in that he didn’t find much they were willing to pay for!  You remember the lean years as a student, don’t you?

One of the basic problems you will have when starting out with internet marketing is learning what to do. On top of that is the need for a support structure to help you along the way. There are a lot of people on the net promoting “how to” and training products to teach you what to do. Some of these are good and some not so good. You also can’t trust the price tag to tell you what is a gem and what is not.

Many of these products also offer a forum or membership site to help you with support and questions. I have tried several of these and cancelled more memberships than I kept. It seems that so often once the sale is made, there is no more attention paid to you by the “guru” who owns the forum or membership site.

I’m here to tell you that there is a membership forum that is head and shoulders above the rest. It’s Lynn Terry’s SSWT Elite Forum. I stumbled upon Lynn Terry’s blog a little over a year ago and joined her Elite Forum last October. While I believe she would not accept the “guru” title, I’m here to tell you that she is a true expert in Internet Marketing. You can see for yourself by checking out the SSWT Public Forum.

There are several things that set the SSWT Elite Forum apart from the others.

• Lynn is active in the forum.
• Lynn hosts a brainstorming hour every Thursday for Elite members.
• The Elite community is outstanding. There are few internet communities like it!
• Many of the Elite members are experts in their own right. There always seems to be someone online who can address your problem.
• You can discuss your business ideas and challenges “behind closed doors.” The members (and Lynn) are there to help.
• It’s a great place to build your Internet Marketing network.
• Special deals (including many free items) for Elite members.
• The community gives you a built-in review committee to help you improve your projects.
• The price is right – only $27 per month!

I’m a big fan of the SSWT Elite Forum and recommend that you join up. You really don’t have anything to loose and success in Internet Marketing to gain!

Recently, I blogged about several steps I am taking to get focus for my on-line business. I’m eliminating distractions and concentrating on one thing.  The trouble is, I have two (or more) things I am doing and this is causing me to lose focus. I am having great success in eliminating distraction from email. I completed my website update. I got started with affiliate marketing.

There lies the trouble. I only got started, then I stalled. Why did I stall? Of course there are several reasons!

1. I took on a web-redesign project. I am really interesting in doing website upgrades, so that is why I took on the project.  Even that is slow-going – NOT GOOD. This has now become my top priority to finish.
2. I didn’t set aside a definite time to work on affiliate marketing. This will be done, starting with #1 above.
3. Farm-work and my regular job are busy right now.  Both of these will right themselves in due time.

As you can see, I am almost back to navigating some roadblocks, only this time it is not as serious. I believe that website upgrades may be part of my business plan, so this extra project is really worthwhile. I know that I can get back on track, I just need to focus. Lynn Terry posted a great blog about Staying Focused When You Work Online.  There is a lot of good advice in there!

I am in a period with my on-line business where I need focus. Part of what I need for focus is to eliminate distractions. One major distraction is email.  Over time, it is so easy to get on a lot of internet marketer’s email lists. (The money is in the list, right?) This happens in various ways: signing up for free stuff, buying stuff, and being spammed.  One thing that I am finding out, that the money is in your list.  When I get over-subscribed, then all these emails waste my time that I could put to better use making money.

I am taking a multi-pronged approach to eliminating this distraction:

• Deciding which emails I truly value.  These are not constant streams of email sales pitches, but rather provide me with useful information and tips within the email.
• Unsubscribing from emails that either I don’t recognize or that I have not found to be valuable.
• Marking spam emails. Some are true spam and others are spammy. By spammy I mean emails that don’t offer an opt-out, even though I know how they got my email address.  What else can I do when they don’t offer a means to unsubscribe?

This is what I will be doing, every time I work my in-box – eliminating distractions from email.