The Secret of Success in this Industry
Posted On: 2007-03-01
Every newbie who comes into this industry wants to know what the secret to success here is. Sadly many webmasters who have been around for a while are also searching for the same secret without much success.
They hunt around on newbie boards for the answer. They run after the 'next big thing' whenever it seems to arrive in the hope that they will achieve success. They rush from one big-talking sponsor to the next and they're forever disappointed with meager earnings and conversions that never quite match the sponsors' rhetoric.
And all the while that secret sauce - that one key factor that will give them the success that they hunger for - eludes them. It eludes them even though they have it right there with them every day of the week.
So now I'm going to tell you ... and them ... what that secret sauce is. I'm going to reveal the secret of success in this industry but I guarantee that most of you will just laugh and move on because you won't believe that it could be so simple.
The secret to success in this industry is the ability to think.
Yep, it really is that simple. If you want to succeed in this industry then you have to be able to think. You have to be able to use your brain, think things through and think for yourself instead of running blindly after those who are doing nothing more than running blindly after someone else.
Of course, when you come into this industry you know almost nothing and the best way to learn how to take your first steps is to follow what other people are doing. But don't fall into the trap of continuing along that path for ever.
Instead start to question what you're doing. Why will this work? Why can't it be made to work better? Is this really the best way to do something? Will a slightly different approach make more money?
There are any number of questions you can be asking on the boards as you learn ... and asking yourself too. Even if you find that everyone on the board is assuring you that something will work just the way they describe it be prepared to think about ways of making it work better.
Newbie boards are full of experts - some genuine and some who are only repeating what others have said - so never accept anything as guaranteed until you have spent time testing and evaluating the information for yourself. Even people who are acknowledged by the industry as genuine experts can and do get things wrong.
So don't blindly follow the advice that you get. By all means use it as a starting point but go on to spend time thinking about ways to improve on that advice and go on testing and evaluating what you are doing.
Spend time thinking about the sponsors you are using. Are their great promises of outstanding conversions really reflected in the results you are seeing or are your old sponsors still working well? Is there some way you can combine your old sponsors with some new ones or do you have to drop the old ones and stake your future on new sponsors?
Also be prepared to spend time thinking outside the box. The genuine leaders in this industry are the ones who do just that. They're prepared to try the exact opposite of what the collective industry wisdom says they should be doing and they're the ones who so often succeed.
It's the people who spend time thinking, testing and evaluating who are the big money earners today. The guys who are really making money from search engines these days are prime examples of people who spend time thinking.
They've spent years in research and site development to reach the point where they are now. They didn't rush blindly after the crowd who suggest the only way to make money is to build free sites and galleries. Instead these guys sat back and spent time thinking and evaluating and now they're reaping the rewards for that time spent thinking.
And you can be doing the same if you choose to use that thing that separates your ears to achieve the high income that originally attracted you to this industry. Your brain really is the secret to success in this industry and those who choose to use it are the ones who really do succeed.
Those who don't use their brains - the ones that are basically mindless and want to blindly follow everyone else - are the ones who never stay long.
So if you really do want to succeed in this industry start learning how to think. It might be a new experience for you and if you can master the art of thinking then you will achieve the success you want.