Steve Wagenheim’s Home Business Blog

If you follow my articles regularly, you’ll probably notice that this is the first one I’ve written in well over a week. Yes, that should sound surprising as I usually write one or two a day. In this particular article, I’m going to explain why it’s been so long in between and why you sometimes need to take a step back from your everyday marketing activities.

About two weeks or so ago, I noticed something…I was getting burnt out. It doesn’t happen often, but I was definitely on the verge of taking my computer and tossing it through a wall or a window…whichever was closer. This isn’t because my business was suffering or anything like that. It was simply because I was getting tired of the whole grind. Hey…I’m human.

For a while, I started to think that maybe it was time for me to retire. After all, the money is secondary these days. I’d much rather play video games, magic cards and write some songs…or so I thought. But after I took a step back from things and stopped my regular activities, I realized that the problem was that I was in a rut. I wasn’t being challenged and I didn’t really feel like I was getting through to anybody. I felt like I was just wasting my time.

So I stopped everything and sat down and thought to myself…”What am I really trying to accomplish here? Is it JUST to make a buck? If that’s the case, there are a heck of a lot easier ways to do it.” That’s when I realized that I just wanted to make a real difference and I wasn’t doing what I SHOULD be doing in order to make that happen.

Ultimately, I decided to open up a limited coaching program to just a few people at a ridiculously low price. Needless to say, it sold out in less than a day. Suddenly…I was excited again. I was setting up a membership site for these people to get their materials, setting up affiliate tools, providing them with instruction and flat out having a blast.

Internet marketing was fun again. I’m back to working full time days like I did many years ago and loving every minute of it. This isn’t work for me…not when I’m doing something I really love. And it shouldn’t be work for you either. If it is, maybe it’s time for you to take a step back and think about what you’re doing.

Is it REALLY what you want to do?

You might discover that it’s not and that you’d rather be doing something else. That’s okay. Not everybody is cut out for this Internet marketing stuff.

But if it IS what you want to do, then find what it is that excites you and do THAT. Don’t let yourself get distracted by the mundane. Let somebody else do the tedious stuff.

It’s time to have fun again.

To YOUR Success,

Steven Wagenheim

Sick and tired of spinning your wheels trying to make a buck online? Visit the products page of my blog at http://stevewagenheim.com/blog/products and get a 6 figure education for pennies.

I have no doubt that a lot of people aren’t going to agree with what I’m saying in this article. In fact, I expect to get a lot of negative feedback because of it. However, there is one thing I have learned from 8 years of marketing online and it’s this…if you don’t stick to your guns, you’re nowhere man. Okay, what am I talking about? Well, keep reading and you’ll find out.

Let me start with an example. It should clearly explain what I mean by sticking to your guns. Just recently, I launched a coaching program. It’s closed now so don’t even try to get in. Anyway, I made it very clear on the sales page that there was a conditional guarantee. I explained the condition in detail. If the prospect wasn’t happy with the condition, they didn’t have to get the coaching.

Well, just a few minutes ago, somebody emailed me with a request for a refund. They explained their reasons. Unfortunately, the reasons did not meet the criteria for a refund. Now, I could have been a “nice” guy and refunded the purchase. But if I did that, what would it say about my credibility as far as my word on something? Why would anybody have to believe anything I say if I so easily go back on my word?

While I emailed the person saying that I would “consider” refunding them if I filled the spot, I probably will not. Why? Again, it comes down to credibility. If I say one thing and do something else, no matter what the reason is, my credibility is shot. This way, when somebody purchases something from me and I say “these are the conditions” they better darn well know that I mean what I say.

Like I said up top, a lot of people aren’t going to agree with this. They’ll believe that exceptions should be made. But then where do we draw the line? Let’s take refunds for example.

Your refund clearly states that no refunds are given unless you use the product, show me that you used it and did everything it says and still didn’t make any money.

Now the customer writes to you and tells you that they had a death in the family and they need the money for funeral expenses. While I can sympathize, what does that have to do with the guarantee? Where does it end? My cat died? My pet mouse died and I’m distraught? Where do we draw the line as to a valid excuse?

What if somebody doesn’t use the product at all? Well, that’s not my fault. If you weren’t sure you could use it when you got it, you shouldn’t have gotten it.

In all my years of buying products online, I asked for ONE refund. Why? The piece of software literally didn’t work at all. In fact, it was so fraudulent that I reported it to ClickBank and eventually, that product was removed from the marketplace.

But if I buy something and, for whatever reason, I don’t use it…that’s on me…NOT the product creator.

Again, many people won’t agree with this. That’s fine. You can send your hate mail to any one of my many email addresses that you’ll find online.

In this business, you have to stick to your guns or nobody is going to believe a word you say.

To YOUR Success,

Steven Wagenheim

Have you been going the “learn everything for free” route and not getting anywhere with your marketing? Well, maybe it’s about time that you invested in your education. Too radical for you? Well, check out my products page at http://stevewagenheim.com/blog/products and see if maybe you can’t find something that’s just right for you. It just might mean the difference between success and failure.

One thing I have noticed over the years is that a lot of Internet marketers seem to be looking for validation for the Internet marketing efforts. I’ll go to a forum and read a thread with a title something like, “Is This Okay?” and then they’ll go on to say what they’re doing and asking if it’s okay to do and will bring good results. Well, this article is going to tell you under no uncertain terms that if you’re looking for validation, don’t bother. If you want to know why, keep reading.

There are several reasons why looking for validation is a waste of time. At the top of the list is experience. Everybody is going to have different experiences with different things. Plus, their skill levels are all going to be different. I can tell you that, if you were to ask me about article marketing, that you will get great results with it, based on my own experience. But that means nothing to you. For one thing, I’ve been writing my whole life. I have a developed skill that has gotten stronger with each passing year. What if you never wrote a day in your life? Can you possibly get the same results? Maybe, but not likely.

Another reason that looking for validation is a waste of time is because things change constantly. What worked last week may not work tomorrow. I can’t tell you what the future is going to hold in store for you. The only thing I can tell you is that if you try it, it may work and it may not. That’s the only honest answer that anybody can give to anything that changes almost on a daily basis. Will some things have a better chance of working than others? Sure, but nothing is certain.

Finally, and this may be the best reason of all, no matter how good something may or may not be for somebody, the only way you’re really going to learn how to do it is by trial and error and actually learning from experience. If I were to say to you to just blindly do something by the numbers, you’ll never really learn it and understand it. You’ll just be going about it like a robot. Then what happens if something changes? You won’t understand the process enough to adapt to the changes. So if you’re looking for validation, forget it…just do it and see how it works for YOU.

The above few reasons are why I never just take somebody’s word for something. I evaluate a process on my own, decide if it’s something that I want to try, and then go and try it. I don’t look for somebody to validate my actions because for all I know…they haven’t got a clue as to what they’re talking about.

Yeah…that’s another problem that you’re going to run into.

And it’s a BIG one.

To YOUR Success,

Steven Wagenheim

If you want to discover the REAL truth about Internet marketing and get some solid tips to take your business to the next level…get my free report at http://www.stevewagenheim.com/realtruth.html and subscribe to my REAL Truth newsletter where you’ll discover more than from all those high priced ebooks combined.

I want to thank Martin Avis of the Warrior Forum for bringing this up this morning. It is something that has been driving me crazy for a long time. I’m talking about people who don’t read the posts at forums but just kind of skim through them. Then, they make some half witted comment based on what they skimmed that, had they actually read the whole post, would have realized made no sense at all. Yes, this stuff drives me crazy. But it’s not just forum posts.

At the Warrior Forum, we have a WSO section. This is where we sell products at a discount to other Warriors. Well, this morning, I got an email from a customer saying that he expected something different from my product than what he got, based on the testimonials on the sales page. Well, had he actually read the entire sales page he would have noticed two things.

The first thing he would have noticed is that the testimonials were for previous products that were similar in nature, but not quite the same. This was clearly stated before the listed testimonials. But even if he had missed that line, there is a section of the sales letter that specifically states, in big bold letters, what actually DOES come in the package. It is all spelled out in black and white. But once again, people just don’t read. They skim, think they know what’s going on, and then make their decision based on incomplete information. That is a very dangerous way to run your business.

For one thing, what if you were to purchase a service and in the terms of service there were certain things that it specifically said you couldn’t do? What do you think would happen if you did those things? Do you not think it would be perfectly within the rights of the service provider to ban you from using their service? What would your defense be? That you didn’t read the whole terms of service? Whose fault is that? It’s certainly not the fault of the service provider when everything is spelled out.

And I could go on and on about all the dangers of not reading. But I think you get the point. Words are put on a sales page or terms of service or even a forum thread for a reason, at least by those who are actually serious about their communication to others. If they didn’t want you to read every word, they would have left some of them out. When I write something at a forum, every word is important because I choose them very carefully.

So, if you’re going to participate at forums and comment on threads, please at least take the time to actually read what’s there.

Otherwise, you’re going to look like a little foolish when you start arguing with the OP and your argument is actually backing up what was said.

To YOUR Success,

Steven Wagenheim

Tired of spinning your wheels trying to get your marketing off the ground? Haven’t got a clue what you’re doing and sick of being dead broke? Why not get some solid mentoring from somebody who has been EXACTLY where you are today? Check out my mentoring program at http://www.stevewagenheim.com/mentoring/mentoring.html and finally get yourself the one on one education that can FINALLY give you the success that you’ve been looking for.

So I head on over to the Warrior Forum this morning and I see the following thread title.

Can I copy the whole content of my competitor site?

Here is the actual post.

“Hello warriors. I want to create a micro niche website. I checked my competition and it’s super easy to rank. Ranking #1 is also a micro niche site, with less than 10 ezine backlinks. I was wondering, would it be okay to totally copy the whole content from that site and WP unique that in mine? I mean, not SEO wise, but more to “safety” wise. Could he sue me for doing that?”

I left this quote, bad grammar and all just as it was so you can see it for yourself. No, you are not seeing things. The man is asking, in a public forum, if it’s okay to steal somebody else’s content.

Now, let’s look at this on two levels. Heck, we can look at this on so many levels but I want to keep this article as simple as I can.

First of all, let’s look at it purely on a legal level. If you steal somebody’s content just as it is and put it on your own site, you are leaving yourself open for a lawsuit. And I hope to God they take you for everything you have. You deserve to be fried.

But this problem goes deeper than just legal issues. Think about this. You’ve posted on a public forum asking if it’s okay to steal. What do you think other marketers are going to think about you? Do you think anybody is going to want to do business with you? I know I wouldn’t. You’ve essentially destroyed any reputation that you might have had. Not only that…you’ve showed the whole world what an idiot you are.

Okay, but let’s go back to the question that this article puts forth. Just how stupid are you? Do you do bone headed things like this? I sure hope not. Before you do ANYTHING that goes public, think about what you’re writing or saying. If you are going to make stupid comments or ask stupid questions, expect the fallout to be severe.

It boggles my mind, not just in Internet marketing circles, but all over the world, how stupid some people are. You read about the indiscretions in the paper or watch the news stories on Fox 5 or wherever. And you wonder if these people have the good sense that God gave them.

This particular forum poster is certainly going to get quite a ribbing today.

Hopefully, it doesn’t get any worse than that.

To YOUR Success,

Steven Wagenheim

If you want to discover the REAL truth about Internet marketing and get some solid tips to take your business to the next level…get my free report at http://www.stevewagenheim.com/realtruth.html and subscribe to my REAL Truth newsletter where you’ll discover more than from all those high priced ebooks combined.

This article is probably going to get you thinking quite a bit. In fact, you might not even agree with what I’m saying. However, I am going to ask you to at least consider it. What exactly am I talking about? When it comes to marketing to prospects, a lot of the success that you’re going to have will greatly depend upon what the prospect is accustomed to. Allow me to explain with some examples and I think you’ll get where I am coming from.

Let’s take, as an example, a person going into a movie theater to see a movie that has just come out that they’ve been dying to see for a long time. Now, if you’ve gone into most movie theaters, especially today, they’re all pretty much the same. The concession stand is somewhere in the middle of the theater and then off to the sides you have a number of sub theaters, as most movie houses today show more than one film. Would you agree this is pretty standard?

Now, imagine you walked into a movie house and instead of that scene, you saw a stable off to one side with some hay and a horse. Off to another side was a pig pen. Maybe there’s a chicken coup somewhere by the main entrance. Would you think you were in a movie house? Would you stay to see the movie, even though it’s the same movie that you would have seen in a conventional movie theater? Probably not. At the very least, you’d probably search out another place for the next movie you decided to go to.

What about a fast food restaurant? They’re all just about the same. You walk in the main entrance and walk up to the counter. Usually, there is some kind of roped area where the line forms. Then, after you get your food, you move into the dining area which is usually a bunch of benches and/or chairs and a number of tables. Just about any Burger King or Wendy’s looks like this.

Now, imagine you walked into a fast food restaurant and found that same scene as I described in the movie theater. Do you think you’d want to sit and eat with a bunch of animals roaming around? Okay, you probably couldn’t find such a setup because of health regulations, but you get my point.

Yes, the above examples are quite far fetched. They’re exaggerated to make a point. We, as human beings, are used to certain things. Sure, we don’t mind a little variety, but for the most part, when we go to a car dealer, fast food restaurant, movie house or whatever, we expect to find a specific layout and atmosphere. In some cases, what we expect isn’t all that good. How many people really ENJOY going to a doctor’s office? But still, the office is going to have a certain kind of atmosphere.

It is the same thing with Internet marketing. Sure, you have to be a little different to stand out from the crowd. But for the most part, there has to be a feeling of familiarity if you’re going to connect with your target market. If you’re too out in left field, you risk losing them, or worse…total alienating them.

So keep this in mind when you go about designing your next Internet marketing campaign. Yes, you can be a little different. In fact you SHOULD be a little different in order to distinguish yourself from the competition. The keyword here is “little.”

Are there exceptions? Sure. But those exceptions are few and far between.

And you don’t have to invent something new to be successful.

Just be a little different and deliver quality and value.

To YOUR Success,

Steven Wagenheim

Tired of spinning your wheels trying to get your marketing off the ground? Haven’t got a clue what you’re doing and sick of being dead broke? Why not get some solid mentoring from somebody who has been EXACTLY where you are today? Check out my mentoring program at http://www.stevewagenheim.com/mentoring/mentoring.html and finally get yourself the one on one education that can FINALLY give you the success that you’ve been looking for.

Okay, so Christmas is over, New Years is over, the weekend is over, it’s time to get back to work…

And it’s the absolute LAST thing you want to do.

Join the club. When I woke up this morning, I almost dreaded having to get back to my business after essentially taking a whole week off. So what do you do when the LAST thing you want to do is attend to your business? Well, I’m going to tell you what I do. This may or may not help you, as everybody is different, but if you’re anything like me, it should do the trick.

First thing I do is make a game of it. I play the reward game. I do something for my business and then I do something for myself. It could be something simple like getting a snack out of the fridge. Maybe I’ll take a run to the store and buy myself something. I might go visit my friend Steve who owns a comic shop and by some Magic The Gathering Cards. But I’ll do something to give me incentive to get my work done.

It doesn’t end there. See, sometimes incentives just aren’t enough, especially when you essentially have everything that you could possibly want. So when that happens, I think about my family. I think about how much they’re depending on me to bring home the bacon. Doing something for yourself is one thing, but when you have others who depend on you, it’s a whole new ballgame.

And if that doesn’t do the trick, I think back to when I first started my own home business back in 2003. I think about how I was out of work and on the verge of being homeless. I think about the early struggles with my business and how I made only $28 in my first five months. When I think about those days, I realize that I don’t want to EVER go back to them. That gives me the incentive to work hard on my business. That’s what keeps me motivated.

Like I said…everybody is different. The above might not work for you. I don’t know. Essentially, what YOU have to do is find YOUR inspiration. Maybe it’s that brand new car you want to buy. Maybe it’s a trip you’re dying to take that you don’t have the money for. Whatever it is, find it and tack it up on a wall if you have to. Remind yourself each day that if you DON’T do your work, you won’t get the things you want.

It’s one way to keep yourself from falling into the “I’m done with this stuff” trap.

Because it’s very easy to fall into.

To YOUR Success,

Steven Wagenheim

Looking for a solid 4 step plan to building your own business…FREE? Pick up my free report at http://www.stevewagenheim.com/4steps.html and get started TODAY!

I hope that this article gets you thinking, at least just a little bit, about the impression that you give your prospects and other marketers. If you’re wondering where I got the inspiration for this article, it was from a friend of mine over at the Warrior Forum. His name is Caliban Darklock, and he is one very bright dude. Hopefully, you will get as much as out of this article as I got from his forum thread.

In a nutshell, Caliban started a thread thanking a few people who he doesn’t normally talk about on the forum but realized that maybe he should have. These are all people who have helped him in some way. And that got me thinking. And when I start thinking, watch out. My mind can sometimes go in all different directions. Anyway, try to follow where I’m coming from here.

Let’s face it, we’re all a little egotistical. Most successful people have big egos.And there is nothing wrong with that. If you don’t think anything of yourself, who else is going to? However, there is a fine line between believing in yourself and thinking that you’re the be all and end all. Truth is, and I don’t care how bright you are, nobody got to where they are all by themselves. In fact, you’d be surprised how many people have influenced you along the way.

For starters, how about your parents? They did raise you after all. Hopefully, they taught you something about values. But it doesn’t end there. Not even close. What about your teachers in school? They certainly taught you something, though some probably more than others. What about the other marketers that you learned from over the course of time that you’ve been marketing online. You certainly weren’t born with all this knowledge.

We tend to forget that we don’t live in a bubble, and that each person who we come in contact with affects our lives in some way. Some good, and some not so good. But make no mistake about it…everything that we go through in life helps shape us.

One last thing. No matter how successful you are, and no matter how much of it you THINK you did on your own, when the day comes that you’ve gone back to the dust that you came from, nobody is going to be able to tell the difference between you and the guy who didn’t have a penny to his name.

So the next time you think you’re the greatest thing since sliced bread, remember…you didn’t get there all by yourself. And if you remember that, you’ll strike just the right balance between confidence and humbleness so that you’re prospects and fellow marketers don’t think you’re the biggest jerk since Steve Martin.

To YOUR Success,

Steven Wagenheim

Tired of spinning your wheels trying to get your marketing off the ground? Haven’t got a clue what you’re doing and sick of being dead broke? Why not get some solid mentoring from somebody who has been EXACTLY where you are today? Check out my mentoring program at http://www.stevewagenheim.com/mentoring/mentoring.html and finally get yourself the one on one education that can FINALLY give you the success that you’ve been looking for.

Let me start out by saying that this article is a spoof so that nobody gets all crazy and starts a world wide panic. There is NO original content penalty, though sometimes you’d think there was. However, there is a very important message in this article that, if you’re smart, you’ll get. And if you’re reading this, then I know you’re smart. Anyway, here goes.

The other day, over at the Warrior Forum, Bill Platt, who I am convinced should have probably been a comedy writer, started a thread saying that Matt Cutts (he’s got something to do with Google) was hinting that there was going to be a new algorithm change over at Google where there would now be an original content penalty. In other words, and in plain English, if you had original content on your site that was seen nowhere else online, it would be buried in the SERPs. However, if you just scraped your content off of some blog or whatever, you’d be at the top of the SERPs.

Now before you write this off as just a big joke, think about this. Go look up a current news story at Google and take a look at all the news sites that are reporting the same story with the exact same content. And yet, they’re all at the top of the SERPs. Duplicate content doesn’t seem to be hurting them much. Conversely, if you had a brand new site reporting the same story, but in completely different words, do you think you’d be anywhere NEAR the top of the SERPs? I seriously doubt it. So yeah, while Bill Platt was joking around, there is some truth to the way SERPs work. If you have an authority site that’s recognized, you can put up nothing BUT duplicated content and still rank high.

Okay, where is the lesson in all this? Well, some people read the thread that Bill started and took it seriously. Some were even concerned about it. Now, imagine that somebody…ANYBODY…took this thread and reported it on their blog. Or better yet, just started spreading this rumor. Do you not think that EVENTUALLY it would take on a life of its own? How do you think the duplicate content penalty myth got started in the first place? That’s right…somebody started an unsubstantiated rumor. And make no mistake about it…there is NO duplicate content penalty. Google has confirmed this, though there are still people who believe otherwise.

Point is, before you believe ANYTHING that ANYBODY tells you, test it for yourself.

Not everything you read on the Internet is true.

To YOUR Success,

Steven Wagenheim

If you want to discover the REAL truth about Internet marketing and get some solid tips to take your business to the next level…get my free report at http://www.stevewagenheim.com/realtruth.html and subscribe to my REAL Truth newsletter where you’ll discover more than from all those high priced ebooks combined.

Think about this for a second. Back when you were a kid (assuming you’re as old as me or older) if somebody had said to you that people would pay money for water in a bottle, you probably would have thought that they were crazy. Certainly you would have never thought that it would become the multi billion dollar industry that it’s become today. Okay, so what’s my point? Well, keep reading this article and I think you’ll get my point.

Our story begins with John Doe, Internet marketer. John has this really crazy idea to sell, well, whatever it may be. It’s never been sold before, at least not on a wide scale. He’s thinking to himself, “This is never going to sell. Nobody is ever going to pay money for this, especially if it’s something that they can get for free.” Therein lies the rub to selling things freely available, which water is.

But now sit down and think about WHY we buy bottled water, even though we could just go to the sink and pour a glass for ourselves. We buy it because of the supposed benefit of bottled water, such as the “fact” that it’s cleaner than the water that comes out of our sink. Well, that’s what they tell us anyway. This stuff is supposed to come from the finest springs of wherever. Truth be told, a lot of it comes from your least favorite river in a city near you. But nobody will tell you that or even admit to it.

Point is, we want to believe that bottled water is better than the stuff that comes out of our sink, so we buy it. Now don’t get me wrong here. I’m not telling you to come up with some phony cure all for whatever the popular disease of the day is and peddle it like it’s some miracle. But if you do a little thinking outside of the box, you can come up with a number of products that, though they may be available for free out in nature or out on the Internet, people will pay good money for.

Take “how to make money” info products. A lot of this info IS available for free online IF you just take the time to look for it. Ah…but that’s one of the selling points of paid for ebooks…the time saving aspect. The buyer doesn’t HAVE to go searching all over creating to find this information. He’s paying to have it delivered right to his hard drive. No fuss…no muss. Now, if one’s time isn’t worth anything, then they’ll go the “search for it” route. But somebody like me, who values his time, will pay for the information…even though I know I COULD find it for free.

So before you discount a product idea just because you think people wouldn’t pay money for it, think back to water and bottled water specifically. When I was 10 years old, if you had told me people would have paid money for a bottle of water, I would have told you that they were nuts.

I have since come to realize that I couldn’t have been more wrong.

To YOUR Success,

Steven Wagenheim

Sick and tired of spinning your wheels trying to make a buck online? Visit the products page of my blog at http://stevewagenheim.com/blog/products and get a 6 figure education for pennies.