We’ve all heard about persistence.
When I first began working online I saw that while there were thousands of people looking for ways to earn money online, only a percentage of them became successful, and a handful became extremely successful.
While you still hear the occasional story of the cyber-rapid progression from rags to riches, these stories become fewer and further between. There is more competition online than there was a few years ago (although, once you really know what you’re doing, there isn’t really much real competition). And it isn’t possible to short-cut or cheat oneself into momentary wealth, as it once was.
I decided that the prime difference between the successful and the not-so-successful must be, primarily, persistence.
There are many other qualities. Ability to focus, to pick out key data and value importances, to study and apply, to learn from ones mistakes, to finish what you start … and probably a lot more I could list out.
But this factor of persistence must rank among the top make-break qualities of a successful Internet Marketer, or a Successful-Internet-Marketer-To-Be.
Positive attitude helps. Deciding one is going to do something and that no barriers are going to stop one. Deciding that one will study and work to get past any barriers. Deciding that success is possible.
But even if you don’t have a positive attitude – persistence might get you there anyway!
If you have ever seen a hungry man open a can of food with a broken can opener, you might get the picture of what I am talking about.
Tonight at about 4:00 a.m. (here in Belgium) I published my thirty-eighth Squidoo Lens for a certain niche I’m working on. I’m trying to get 50 lenses made before 30 September so I can become a “Giant Squid” on Squidoo (want to join me?) as well as create a solid backing in that niche with a network of good-quality educational pages. I had two more articles ready and waiting for me to make them into Squidoo Lenses.
I’ve made about 30 Squidoo Lenses in the last two weeks, and I have 12 to go.
I said, “That’s it. For the first time in two years, I have had enough of my computer! I just want to go to the beach or something!” (I’m not even a beach person). I said, “And I’m not even bringing my laptop! I’m just going to sit there. I’ve had enough of Squidoo Lenses.”
Then I sighed, got up, and said, “Well, at least I’ll go get a cup of coffee.”
So I got up, made my coffee, sat down again, and grumpily started making my next Squidoo Lens.
Well, I don’t know if one would say I have such a “positive attitude” this evening. Or at least not a cheerful one. I have already started dreaming about Search Engine Results Pages. Next it will probably be Squidoo.
In fact, I got a pretty funny look from my husband when he told me the best way to make coffee without a filter, and I said “make a Squidoo Lens about it honey.”
Well, Squidoo is tons of fun. But after 30 lenses in two weeks on technical subjects, I think we can all agree … even the most fun stuff can get un-fun.
Well, that is going to happen sometimes in Internet Marketing. The “thing you should do right now” might not always be the “thing you feel like doing right now.”
And once one gets rolling on one project, it’s easy to drop it in the middle to go chasing after a new “more fun” project. (You might not label it that way, but lets face the facts! And it might not be “more fun,” but just new!)
Well that first project might have been on the brink of creating some serious income, before you balked at the less exciting work that you would have had to do next. Or the bigger tasks that had to be completed. (Like … um, original content? Cough.)
So it’s not just a matter of persistence in Internet Marketing in general.
There is also persistance in carrying a given project through to a done, once you have started it.
If you really need a break from what you are doing, go ahead. As long as its proportional. A little bit of time spent watching the Muppets on YouTube can be therapeutic. So can a walk around the block!
Or if your current task gets too mundane, work on something else for a little bit. But something valuable.
Like – make a Squidoo Lens! Or, if you are tired of making them, write a blog post about it.
Tags:
Internet Marketing, Make Money Online, Earn Money Online, Persistance
Hello Anna,
You are in a cycle I have found myself in many times. I found this funny video a while back that reminds me of it:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=q-Lovt_kmXM
Oh yes Anna! You are so right. The thing you need to do may not always line up with what you feel like doing…how true is that.
No matter what training I get during my quest for that IM degree, it all comes down to persistance! You never know just how close you are, and if you give up…well, that won’t stop that thing from happening, it just won’t happen with you!
It’s like a seed in a garden, just because it doesn’t grow exactly when you want it to…doesn’t mean it won’t eventually sprout up! The question is, will you be there to see it!
Thanks for this Anna, we always neeed some reinforcement.
Normal Joes last blog post..I Caught John Cow Talking About Me Behind My Back!
@ Jerry – thanks, it was a funny video. But that girl didn’t seem to be doing much work online. At least I’m doing something useful!
@ Joe – Hi Joe! Nice to see you hear again. I know, you’ve got so many blogs to comment on, must be a helluvalotta work! I’m glad you liked my post. I think it’s an important thing for us all to keep in mind. And I suspect a lot of would-be entrepreneurs go by the wayside just because they don’t finish what they start but get to frazzled all over the universe.
Inspirational, thanks for the motivation.
I know I’m very guilty of procrastination and leaving projects have finished all the time. Really does take medication and persistence to follow through, dam ADHD
Johns last blog post..Baltimore Real Estate
Hi Anna,
I just wanted to let you know I enjoyed your latest post. I actually have been following your blog for a while because I’m part of Holly’s forum. I put a link to your blog from mine. Take a look at it some time. It’s still fairly new so I’m learning as I go..
Tina
http://www.creatingtheultimatedream.blogspot.com
TinaTs last blog post..Affiliate Marketing Links
Anna,
You really touched on something here that is really hitting close to home for me lately. The thing is I know I CAN be successful at doing something online. The problem is that whenever I start to get my mind set on it, I get so easily distracted and never REALLY start. At least I’m starting to be persistent at WANTING to be persistent! LOL
Dustins last blog post..Lost
Thanks for this post Anna…
I often find myself motivated at the beginning of a project but somehow halfway through, its becomes extremely hard to finish. The temptation to do something new is OH so strong! I like what you said about obstacles. There are so many and from what I am learning lately, true success is not easy but comes to those who break through the obstacles and persist.
Thanks for the encouraging post!
Hi Anna:) I hope you are a giant squid by now! Actually you have until the 30th right? I admire your dedication to making all those lenses.
Hello to everyone. I’m so sorry for the delay in publishing some comments – somehow I was not getting all the notifications of new comments and I just saw them today.
@ John – the problem with those medications is that they tend to dull mental alertness and put people less in touch with present time. I don’t know if you are taking a lot of them. Remember, those medications make a lot of money. It’s a very big industry, but that doesn’t necessarily mean they are the best solution. I think of the video here: http://www.entrepreneurs-journey.com/tag/food-matters/
If I were suggesting to someone what to do in such a case, I would say, read up on nutrition, get a balanced diet, eliminate processed or unhealthy foods, get lots of protein, sufficient vitamins like calcium, magnesium, and B1, get sufficient sleep and excercise, and get productive. I would say, work hard, and get off the medication.
Of course I can’t say that because I am not a doctor
so I am not allowed to say that!
@ Dustin – Who said you can’t persist? Did someone tell you that? Just checking.
@ Jenna – Yep, I know what you mean about strong urges! I think part of it is to realize that “Work at Home” has the word “work” in it. You can do Hobby IM (who me?
) or become a professional who does what needs to be done whether or not it is the most fun option at the moment.
@ Jerry – Thank you! I have done 49 lenses and am working on #50. Or I was, until the IM niche and blogosphere called me! I will have the 50 lenses done by the 30th. I don’t know if I will be a Giant Squid yet – they are new, I need to drive traffic to them. But at least I can submit and if Squidoo says I need to do more, I can do it!
@ Tina – thank you very much! I will look at your blog. I think I have been there before … I will check it out!
Anna, that’s good stuff right there. Persistence is the key to all success. Like you mentioned, there are not many overnight success on the Internet any more.
Heck, it took the founders of YouTube 18 months to sell it for 1.8 billion.
uuuhhh, maybe that was a bad example, but the truth is you have to have STICKING POWER!
The power to stick with it, when most people would have quit.
Freddies last blog post..Quote of the Week: Wisdom
Hi Anna great post I feel like that almost daily
hehe Freddie I would say that is definenitly a bad example I have been working on the web since the 90’s still haven’t made it rich my persistence to make it big online has been dwarfed by my inabilty to stick to one project 
@ Freddie – I love your example!!! “18 months to 18 billion …” could make a good book title. But me, I might just have to stick with my “22 Months to Anywhere” and keep plugging away
@ Bottle Openers – sorry for the delay. I’m finally catching up on my comments. Hey, look at it this way. You have persistence, that’s half the battle. Now you already know what you need to do in order to make it – start sticking to one project – or a few maybe. Find whatever has been the most successful, and push that forward.
This is exactly what I was thinking about all last night and today. Persistance has to be one of the main things that will pay off in the end, especially during times like these. If you give up, you’ll never reach your goals and you’ll never know if you could or not. Boy, it does take a lot of staying power though, and I know exactly what you mean about another project perhaps looking more “fun” after you’ve been working on another for a while. And yes, you do have to take a break every once in a while so that you do not totally crash and burn – and a comment on another post of yours – when does one know when to stop and sleep??
I enjoyed reading your blog and I think it was exactly what I needed to read today!
Hey Anna — Thanks for the heads-up about Squidoo website as well!
You are welcome Jfay and thank you for visiting my blog. Its always nice to meet new readers
You are a writer?
To answer your question – “when does one know when to stop and sleep??” – hmm … well I guess it depends.
When you are just too tired to keep working any more? And are just staring at the screen? Or when you have to wake up by a certain time on the following day and know you will regret it if you don’t go to bed now.
That’s an impressive tally of Squidoo lenses you’re building up there (more than me and I thought I was dedicated!). Just out of interest, does every lens point to a single website (either front page or subpage)? I know the SEO benifits of multiple links from a single IP will eventually outweigh the effort of getting links from that one place but have you seen much of this yet?
James@32 LCD´s last blog ..Panasonic TX-L32S10B
@James – I made those lenses around the same time as I did MANY other things for the site in question. The traffic definitely went up afterwards, but it’s hard to say how much can be attributed to the lenses and how much was from other actions.
That was also a year ago – I’m changing my tactics now to spend more time on building and improving my own sites, versus offsite SEO. Both need to be done but I consider that the first is the most important (one’s own site) and that’s easy to overlook, especially considering how many offsite promotional methods there are to play with.
@Anna – Oops! I didn’t look at the date when I wrote my comment. So, you’re now doing more interlinking from sites that you own? If so, that’s the approach I’ve used and works very well when combined with backlinks from ‘third party’ sites.
James@32 LCD´s last blog ..Panasonic TX-L32S10B
@James – Well, yes, there are some links from sites I own, when appropriate. But I also get links from other sites, blogs, article directories, etc. I am using a new strategy now. If you like, you can have a look at
http://websitesandwebhosting.com/goto/sms/syndd/
This describes a large part of the strategy I am using now. I think it will pan out a lot better in the long run because it allows me to spend a majority of my time working on building and improving my own sites, as opposed to spending a majority of my time working on backlinks and promotion.
@Anna,
Thanks for the link. I’m assuming you give syndd a big thumbs up? I’ve actually been looking for a decent content syndication network for some time now so the link is much appreciated.
P.S Love the flickr photo’s. Very attractive lady.
@James – Yes. I’m very happy with it and it’s progressively getting better. Since I signed up, I have been offline quite a lot, handling other issues, so haven’t even had as much time to spend on it as I like. But I have already noticed results.
One of the primary goals of Syndd is to allow you to spend only 10% of your time on promotion and the rest of your time on your own websites – while still accomplishing all of your promotional needs. Their method is brilliant, and it is right in line providing with what your visitors, and search engines, actually need and want. I’ve cut down on many hours I used to spend on offsite promotion, and begun to spend more of my time improving my websites themselves. What a difference! It seems to be improving the stats as well.
I definitely recommend it, even if this would be the only membership one uses.
@Anna Thanks. One of the biggest show stoppers for me has been link building. The ‘natural link building’ idea is all well and good but consistently turning out posts/sites that are link worthy is very hard work. At the end of the day, we all need a backlink boost so I’ve signed up to the syndd trial. Once again, thanks for the referral. I’ll let you know how it goes.
@James – That’s great! I will look out for you inside the membership area. You can have a lot of fun with this. Also, somewhere inside the membership area or the forums you will find a link to a letter from one of th developers, which discusses where Syndd is going and what expansion we can look forward to in the future.
It’s definitely my favorite membership so far. (I had an earlier favorite, but I think that one has become a 2nd favorite). I am planning to write a post about it when I get back into the swing of things.
One thing I like about it is that it has enabled me to continue SEO and promotion on my sites even when I have been really busy offline and only had a few minutes a day for website promotion, at best.
I’m just getting started on the web and hope to earn a living one day. I’ll into Squidoo.
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