Nick Ferraro's Blog

I’m constantly bombarded with email lately: you too? But one such email campaign really struck a chord within me. I must admit each and every time I saw the email blast I got angrier and angrier. That was good because I had become complacent and I needed a new crusade.

My guess is one of the Internet Guru’s allowed this person to use their list to broadcast a message aimed at selling a new course. Essentially the course was targeting the two kinds of people on the Internet; the “Alpha” and the “Beta’s” (whatever “Beta” means). Well it seems that the Alpha’s need no or minimal direction and the Beta’s are just plain whiners, taking up the valuable time of the Alpha leaders by asking all sorts of lamebrain questions.

Hum…I wonder if there is any correlation between lamebrain whiners asking questions and an Internet Marketing’s Industry failure rate of 97%.

I liked Alan D’s definition of Alpha Male from Yahoo Search

“A term originating from the animal kingdom, in which some species arrange individuals into a ranked order. For example in wolves, the pack order is split into two chains of command, one chain for the male, and one for the female. At the top of each chain is the ‘Alpha’ animal, and at the lowest of the chain is the ‘omega’ animal.

This position can be seen being fought for, for example in school, by way of social interactions, group contests, or simply fighting to determine who is the ‘hardest’.

The position of Alpha Male is seen as one of the most socially desirable (in wolves as well as humans) as having it enables a male to make decisions about how their social group/pack is run, to exact submission and obedience from subordinates, and generally to control things and boss others around at will. The power of the alpha male is matched only by that of the alpha female, who is just as in control as the alpha male is. Though in human society, individual ego and desire for authority often exclude the possibility of a partnership at the top. Humans seem to have a remarkable tendency for aggregating ultimate authority to one (usually male) person.

Little has changed from wolves to humans in this regard; humans still fight for the dominant position, but unlike wolves (continuing the example), who challenge for dominance and alpha status nonviolently using visual, auditory and smell clues, humans often get in bloody, protracted, and vicious fights/wars to determine who is the most powerful, and hence can dominate the rest of the pack…”

It never set well with me…

You know… the 97% failure rate? I guess this article is not written for “ALFA’S, who are experienced in Internet Marketers but for people who are beginners sometimes referred to as “ Betas “ or “Omegas” who need help in starting their own business online. Most people just don’t know where to start and become frustrated with the lack of training and the enormous amount of information overload that changes on a daily basis.

What industry could survive with a 97% failure rate? I’m not sure if the odds wouldn’t be better in Las Vegas. Those fancy casinos weren’t built on the winners; but the losers…right?

In my opinion, no one who enters Internet Marketing arena is a Beta or an Omega. They are all Alpha’s seeking some leadership and training skills from those who are successful. Training is not intended to be here; “Buy my stuff”. It’s taking an active role in the development and success of those who joined your organization. If there is whining and complaining on your ship, perhaps it’s you Captain.  It sounds like you’ve got a lot of hungry Alpha’s on your tail.

To reach success you first need to develop a business plan and prioritize your goals, this will help you stay centered and will help guide you to the right path of success. Vic Johnson has a great free tool to help you organize your thoughts and create meaningful goals and you can link to it here. I have personally purchase some books from Vic and in my opinion he really is a terrific guy and his books will help develop the mind -set you need in this business.

The Internet is a great source of information where you can find just about whatever you are looking for, however it is very easy to get fooled with the “get rich quick schemes”. There are NO legitimate get rich quick businesses and if it sounds too good to be true, it is.

It’s a people to people business

Many people believe that if they are going to market a network marketing product online they won’t have to talk to anyone. If you are going to get into the business you must care for others as you care for yourself. If you believe in your product and it has legitimate value you should have no hesitation sharing its benefits.

So make sure you fully research whatever online business opportunity you are thinking about joining and remember there are no silly questions. Ask away, this is your chance to determine if this is the right business for you and whether these Guru’s going to help you become successful through their leadership, support, and on-going training.

Take into account that nobody becomes wealthy overnight in this or any business.  If you want success you will need to put in a lot of effort and give it time to grow. You need to work hard and stick with your business plan.

You need to spend money to make money

Not only will you have your initial investment but there are a lot of other necessary investments you will need to consider before you become great in this business. An online networking business is gaining a great popularity, but not all people make the same amount of money. There is a great difference with people who make little money to people who make large sums of money.

The real differential is the fact that the big money makers get out of their comfort zone more often. The key is to shift from being a student to becoming a teacher and host your own training webinars. The people who are making their fortunes in this industry knew that in order to make money and become successful they needed to market their business, their product, themselves and build a team. As an online marketer, your job is to build a sales force.

Your “landing page” should be short and needs to grab the attention of you reader in the first three (3) to (5) seconds the , your opt-in box and copy should be above the fold. Your goal is to peak interest to the point that someone opts–in by providing their email address, and once they do, they are directed to your “thank you” page where more information about you and your business opportunity is shared. The more expensive the product you are offering, generally the longer the page should be. From that point your auto responders take over and the sales funnel begins. Generally is takes 6 to 9 messages until someone takes action.

There are a lot of people who become affiliate marketers and offer low priced products that are related to the industry that they are involved with. This strategy takes full advantage of the traffic that they are directing to the site.

You will need money for such things as marketing, advertising, design and maintenance of your website, education and training, out-sourcing and so on and so forth. This is a real business and if you want to make money YOU NEED TO SPEND MONEY.

Learn from Experienced Internet Marketers

The turning point in my carrier was learning from my mentor and coach, Mark Hoverson. He has a terrific “Coaching Club” training program that is available to all, no matter what business you are in and you can access it here. In my opinion he is one of the best online marketers out there along with Jonathan Budd. The downside is that they have built such large organizations they really do not have the time for personal coaching anymore, so they designate one of their students to do the teaching under their direction and they offer support and guidance.

Online money making opportunities are being widely discussed. People who do not know much about the topic attempt to give recommendations and points on making money through the Internet even when they really don’t have the knowledge, and that’s where the disconnect lies. People who lack integrity say that it is easy to start their online business and become a millionaire.

It is a myth that online is a great way to earn quick buck. It is not true. It is difficult to make money on the Internet. Sometimes you will need more than a year to start seeing results of your work.  You should be patient and be determined. Learn how to set goals, creating your reputation and credibility before you will reap the benefits.

Always learn and update your knowledge. Learn from people who managed to reach success. Read the books and listen to their victories and tragedies so that you can make your online business prosper.

You can become rich with your Internet business, but you should know your goals, you need a serious plan and you should be committed to the implementation of your plan until you reach your goal.

As a final thought, this is one of my favorite quotes from my friend Burke Hedges …””When the DREAM is big enough the facts don’t count!”

All the best!

Nick