Top 5 Characteristics

[Aida]

Paul,

What, in your opinion, are the top 5 characteristics that divide those who succeed online and those who fail?

[paulpiotrowski]

Paul,

What, in your opinion, are the top 5 characteristics that divide those who succeed online and those who fail?

In order of importance:

(1) Perseverance - I just had Google slap my AdWords accounts and lost $3k in income overnight with really no fault of my own. Just due to Google changes based on the new FTC rules. Most people would cry and give up. To succeed online is no different than succeeding in any other business. You need to persevere and not give up.

That doesn't mean continuing to do the same thing that didn't work in the first place. It means staying the course, adapting your strategy and moving forward.

(2) Clarity - Know what you want. If you start a Blog just to post random ramblings about your life, as a way to vent and release stress, then that's great, but if that's your goal then don't be surprised if it doesn't make money.

Sometimes people ask me why their websites / Blogs don't make any money, but they haven't implemented any kind of monatization strategy so there is no way for them to make money.

Sometimes people ask me why their website / Blogs don't get any traffic, but they haven't done any marketing of their sites.

Know what you want, be very clear about it from the starting point. If you want to make money from your site, how much? by when? $1/month? $10,000/month? Don't just say you want to make money online.

(3) Right Coaching / Mentoring - When people start a traditional business, they often learned how to make money from a mentor. A lot of times it could have been their previous boss/employer. For example maybe you work in a restaurant, then become a manager and finally quit to start your own restaurant. By the time you start your own restaurant you already know how to make money because your former mentor (boss) showed you exactly how to do it.

When people start online businesses, they often ignore this point. They try to piece together their own strategy from 500 different sources and end up with information overload. A HUGE part of making money online successfully is having the right coaches / mentors.

You can learn a lot of stuff for free ON TOP of working with a mentor/coach who is already making money online, not INSTEAD OF.

(4) Building a Business Not an Income - A lot of people chase fads. If it's not Twitter, it's Facebook, or some new thing that comes out. The fundamentals of making money online haven't changed at all really. There are always going to be new ways to monatize and create new income streams, but focus on building an online business first.

Chasing income will just frustrate you. Instead focus on build a long term business just like in the real world. Something that will be here 5 years from now, not here today and gone tomorrow. Get rich quick doesn't work online, just as it doesn't work offline.

(5) Be Unique, Be Personal, Show Your True Self - Don't hide behind your websites. Always push yourself to show more of who you truly are and what you stand for in your online businesses. Don't try to be someone else and don't hide.

If you can put yourself across you'll have no competition. I don't care which "niche" you're in, there is nobody else like you. If your site is about you, then it's unique. If your site is just about a niche, then it's just like any other site in the niche.

This isn't easy to do and it's somewhat opposite to what offline businesses do, but online people want a personal connection. If I go to a website and I can't see the face/image of the person behind the website in some way, I often never come back.


Hope this helps. Great question by the way!

[sanjay71]

hi Paul,

great answer. but there is a bit confusion on the topic of showing true identity. i do not understand how can one show his true identity by writing articles on the various subjects. you write if it is about you than it is unique. can you put some light on this topic.

sanjay sharma, india

[paulpiotrowski]

What I mean Sanjay is to share as much of who you really are on the Internet. Don't "hide". For example, having a picture of yourself so people know what you look like is a good start. Also, sharing some parts of your personality, your personal life etc. The more you share with people, the more they feel like they have a real friendship with you.

Some people are very scared to share any kind of personal details about themselves online. I think it's very difficult building a friendship with someone who is secretive and doesn't want to reveal any personal details about themselves.

[techdojo]

Also if you write "from the heart" in your own words then people will eventually begin to appreciate your "style" and your personality will shine through, for me there is nothing worse than someone trying to palm me off with second hand regurgitated twaddle that they've blindly copied from someone else.

If you look at the vast a majority of content on the internet you can easily tell the difference between the two - I think this is also what Paul is getting at.

As an aside - pick a popular consumer product (any product) and do a search for reviews, I do this a lot when looking for a new purchase - it's saddening the number of review websites that just blindly copy and paste exactly the same words as the others (often provided by the manufacturers) when what your actually looking for is a plain and simple, un-biased, honest review to help confirm the purchasing decision.

Jon...

[paulpiotrowski]

Also if you write "from the heart" in your own words then people will eventually begin to appreciate your "style" and your personality will shine through, for me there is nothing worse than someone trying to palm me off with second hand regurgitated twaddle that they've blindly copied from someone else.

If you look at the vast a majority of content on the internet you can easily tell the difference between the two - I think this is also what Paul is getting at.

As an aside - pick a popular consumer product (any product) and do a search for reviews, I do this a lot when looking for a new purchase - it's saddening the number of review websites that just blindly copy and paste exactly the same words as the others (often provided by the manufacturers) when what your actually looking for is a plain and simple, un-biased, honest review to help confirm the purchasing decision.

Jon...

Yup, basically for the person who is actually willing to write AUTHENTIC and ORIGINAL content, there is almost no competition out there.

That's the really good news.

[mark]

In order of importance:

(1) Perseverance - I just had Google slap my AdWords accounts and lost $3k in income overnight with really no fault of my own. Just due to Google changes based on the new FTC rules. Most people would cry and give up. To succeed online is no different than succeeding in any other business. You need to persevere and not give up.

Well I am new to this forum and I totally agree with this answer. I am looking foward to work more on these strategies.