We're Not Detached from Reality
Posted On: 2009-06-15
As times continue to remain tough and more and more people outside of the adult online industry start looking at what we do and thinking that it all looks like very easy money perhaps it's time I offer newcomers the cyber equivalent of a cold shower.
And I have to say here that it's not just those who want to start selling porn online that need the cold shower ... people who are thinking of jumping into mainstream marketing need that cold shower too. Sadly way too many people are convinced that making money online is as simple as throwing up a website somewhere and later today I'll be talking face-to-face with someone who thinks that's how easy it is.
There's no free pass
Somehow I have to convince him that it takes a lot of time, a lot of effort and the injection of some money if you really do want to even break even here. Marketers on the Internet are not detached from reality ... we don't have a free pass that allows us to skip all the issues that businesses in the bricks and mortar world have to face and the sooner newcomers understand that the sooner they will begin to make some real money.
Sure there was a time when making money here was so much easier but those days are gone ... even though some gurus seem to think that they're still around. As recently as early last year one industry analyst calmly announced that if there were a recession 'online ad spending will almost be unaffected - even if there's a depression.'
I hope that the person who made that ridiculous comment is now eating his words every day because nothing could be further from the truth and right now we're seeing just that. Online ad spending has fallen by 10 percent in the first quarter of 2009 and you can expect to see it go down even further in this current quarter so please don't think that the Internet is somehow immune from global economics because we're not!
You have to work a whole lot smarter
Now that doesn't mean that you're not going to make money here but what it does mean is that you're going to have to work far smarter than you ever did before. While the global financial crisis has affected lots of people in all sorts of industries there are still people out there who want to spend money on products that they can buy online.
If we want to sell to those people we need to understand the way they're thinking and where they are in the buying cycle and what we can do to reach them where they're at. Even here in online porn ... a product that many consider to be an impulse purchase ... we need to understand the people we're selling too.
Obviously, if you're new to this industry ... or still believe that working here is all about partying, posturing and being a baller ... then it's going to take some time to reach that point where you really understand your market. While you're reaching that point your income is not going to be great so you'll need to supplement that income in other ways.
The faster you learn the lessons that you need to learn to make money here then the sooner the money will start to flow. So be prepared to work long and hard and forget all those parties and hot times that your fantasies are telling you that you will find here.
Invest in your future instead of buying trinkets
Even when the money does start to come in be prepared to stash most of it away or reinvest it in your business rather than acting like a big spender. I know it's often tempting to buy a flashy car or new plasmas for every room in your house when you see those big affiliate checks start arriving but just don't do it.
If you really do want to spend some of that hard-earned cash then do what any prudent business person would do out there in the real world ... reinvest it in your business. Buy better equipment and software to help you work even smarter rather than harder ... buy in the expertise that you don't have ... add new staff to increase your output ... just don't waste it in the modern equivalent of beads and mirrors.
And now I have to head off and talk to that person who thinks that he can make a fortune in just a few weeks even though he hardly any experience of the Internet and has never sold anything online or offline before. Trying to convince him of the realities is probably going to be impossible but I have to try ... I just hate seeing people waste their time and money chasing a fantasy that can never become a reality.