Dad Hints

It’s Tough Trying to Start an Online Business

Four years ago, very suddenly and unexpectedly, I became a single parent of three elementary school age children.

The day it happened I knew immediately that the changes to occur in my life would reach far beyond just the care and upbringing of my children. For one thing, I was employed at a job that required my presence between 11:00 p.m. and 7:00 a.m. for five nights a week. I couldn’t leave my children alone all night and the cost of having them babysat overnight was beyond my means. Not only that, but the schedule did not allow me time to give them the attention I wanted to give them.

Well, I had a little knowledge of the Internet at the time as I had a short time before purchased my first computer. To be perfectly honest though, my children had more computer literacy than I. Meanwhile, I have a situation to address—(1) to maintain an income (2) to become a stay at home parent. The solution I decided was to start a work from home business. During my previous surfing sessions I had seen all the advertisements begging for people to start a work from home venture at absolutely no cost; what an opportunity, what could be easier than this. Surely, I thought, this is the answer to my prayer. So into the water I jumped.

My very first try at affiliate marketing was with Referralware about four years ago. I signed up, got the affiliate website, read their instructions (which didn’t tell me HOW to do anything), went to some free classified ad sites and started posting. I posted and posted and posted for a couple of weeks and never got even one hit. All the while I am seeing sites wanting to reveal “secrets” that will make me rich and famous. Now, I felt for sure, there was something about this Internet game that I don’t know and I trusted several sources to help me out and reveal these “secrets” to me. After all, I was only trying to support my family, and it certainly seemed to be enough room for one more home business.

This process of testing and eliminating affiliate programs, joining and dropping out of matrix after matrix, reading marketing ebook after ebook, trying free and paid ad resources went on for month after month into a couple of years. I had a few token successes during that period (once I made $140.00) but it was never anything steady.

I am the type of person that when I make up my mind to do something, I am going to do it. I became determined that I was going to generate an online income, and still I knew inside of me, there was something I couldn’t see. I always felt like I was blind to some very obvious facts and that if I could only see my blind side then I would be on my way. Folks, I mean to tell you that over a period of a couple of years I tried every method known to internet marketing. I visited forums, I wrote articles,

I bought and read ebooks, I subscribed to ezine after ezine, I paid money for resources, I joined free and paid affiliate programs, I had my own classified ad site, my own FFA page, tried PPC, regular SE submission; I mean the WHOLE nine yards. Still nothing happened but some occassional success.

I decided to take a break, not quit, take a break. I laid off for about six months. I mean I stopped cold turkey; no surfing, no online bill paying, nothing on the computer for about six months. I realized that for one thing, I had been trying too hard. I was definitely absorbed in it. I was on the computer anywhere from 8-12 hours a day, sometimes even longer. I was using Pageswirl and clicking up credits in 20 TE’s daily, I had my own website and trying to promote several different affiliate and networking programs all at the same time. I needed a break and I took a break. Quitting wasn’t in my mind, but taking that break was a very good decision.

I came back refreshed. I knew what didn’t work and had an entirely new viewpoint.

I had decided to get off the beaten path. One thing that causes online failure is that too many of us are trying to market the same things to each other. I decided I had to catch people at the door. Once they were inside, the hustlers would get them, sell them on some garbage then they can’t be persuaded to use the best product on the market no matter what.

Finally, I found a product that was delivering. The big difference between Life Empowered and so many other online marketing programs is LE outlines a course of action, gives a plan you can start working that will lead to definite results. I knew I had found something. From there I soon discovered other workable programs and just as important, I now know how to take the principles learned in LE and apply them universally.

Folks, finally, I make some money online. It hasn’t been easy, I am not getting rich but I am not going broke either. I have learned something. I feel good about my accomplishments to this point in time. I feel good about my future with my home business. Internet marketing is no longer a frustrating mystery to me. You can use any program on this blog and it will work to your advantage. I will not attack other programs or any so called gurus programs. Just because they didn’t work for me does not mean they will not work for everyone. But whatever I offer up here, I can and do vouch for from my own personal experience.

Online marketing is tough. Get good guidance. Get right guidance.

About the Author

Austin McCallum (Earnestworker) is an online marketer that learned marketing the hard way. He publishes two blogs referring to marketing at-http://finally-imakemoneyonline.blogspot.com/ and http://austin-mccallum.blogspot.com/.

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