I want to share with you what I truly believe is the gateway to unlimited success online. (really anywhere….but it’s much EASIER to do online…than just about anywhere else)
It’s not about article marketing. Or mananaging PPC effectively. Or being "good" at social media. Or really ANY individual tactic that played properly….can lead to some measure of success.
It’s about having a big idea.
And having the strength, focus and fortitutde to FOLLOW that idea from inception, to implementation to executions…..ALL the way through. (most people get about 3 rungs UP the totem pole before they dive off and dig in with something else)
You’ll be hard pressed to find any truly successful entreprenur that doesn’t have a big idea.
A central focus. A big picture perspective of where they’re going….and what is going to take them there. I truly can’t think of anyone that I know who is truly successful……who doesn’t have a big idea.
Yet……when I work with people, or I get frustrated emails from some of you who read my blog……it always feels like the ONLY thing that’s missing is the BIG idea.
They almost ALWAYS sound the same:
- "I’ve tried article marketing/PPC/blog building/mini-sites/list building….and made a little bit of money, but it wasn’t enough to……"
- "I’ve bought every program out there for the last 3 years, I THINK I know what to do but I can’t seem to……."
- "I’ve tried every method to make money online, and none of them ever work………"
The thing that is ALWAYS the same is there is NEVER an underlying Big Idea..:-)
Want to know why?
Because when you have the ingredients for your big idea………learning to bake them into a big bank account is pretty easy to do. (and pretty hard to mess up)
Let me give you an example:
In my last mini-round of coaching clients from January (an abbreviated offer) everyone I worked with was as smart, savvy and worthy of success as the smartest "guru" you’ll see anywhere online.
What they didn’t have…..for the most part, was 2 very simple things:
- A Big Idea (most got one with a wee bit of prodding…..because all of us have MORE than one pretty close to the surface)
- The CONFIDENCE to believe they could take that idea, and turn it into the foundation for financial freedom.
I was looking over some ways to frame this post today……to sort of articulate this point in a powerful way, and was reading over a few of the nice things a few of the people said after our sessions were complete:
Darren said -
"As an aside -
Thank you for having me as one of your coaching students. You’ve provided EXTREME value for money and I’m very thankful. In fact, your response to my very first question, was way more valuable than what I had paid for the entire month’s coaching!"
While I found this really flattering to hear…..the simple truth is, when I went back to refresh my memory about the response to the "first question" was..:-)
All I really did was take a process that Darren was already working on, and conceptualizing as an "affiliate", and turned it into something that he could control and create into a big idea.
And once those creative floodgates open…..the layers, and dimensions, and embellishments, you can add, and grow from a small seed of success, can become exciting, overwhelming and exhilirating in a hurry.
This week…..(March 15th, 2010) I have 2 people with NO internet marketing experience launching their first infoproduct in markets they LOVE, are deeply passionate about, have a legitimate expertise in, and who I truly believe will be very successful.
I noticed another one of the people in my coaching club from January has a LIVE Clickbank product released right now, with a killer sales page, beautiful graphics, a boatload of bonuses…….in a market he was already successful as an affiliate….but worn out from working.
The SEED for his big idea were there…….it just needed a little bit of sunlight, encouragement and the CONDFIDENCE to believe that it could happen.
And to see someone go from busting their rear end selling someone ELSES’ stuff month after month in an exhausting fashion…..to concieving, creating and now cashing IN on his own product, for me…..is very rewarding for sure. To BUILD on his big idea now is easy……and most likely, will be very rewarding as well…..and it makes me proud to have played a part.
Remember…..a big idea doesn’t have to be a stroke of genius, insight, illumination of enlightenement.
It doesn’t have to save the world. (although I think we could probably use some saving nonetheless) It’s more about MOMENTUM, and "mojo" than it is about a midnight breakthrough.
- It can be creating an infoproduct on any area of your life that you have experience…..or expertise.
- It can be offering a service that’s in demand…and that you do really well.
- It can be the comittement and resolve to build REVIEW sites in a very specific, sequential way…and build an online empire of predictable, and profitable sites you can sell or segue into something sensational.
It simply needs to be the overarching framework and the foundation from which you produce, progress and profit from your intellectual assets, or system for sucess.
Having a big idea also helps you FOCUS on the BIG picture…..without diving in to the muckety muck knee deep everytime you hear a new magic solution has arrived. (especially if it’s driven by LOVE…and passion, and a commitment to the vision or ethos that the idea represents.
You’ll RARELY see these people following the "gurus" or the latest, greatest tricks….because they don’t NEED to…..and equally as important, they don’t want to, either)
I believe, right now….as you read this, you have at least one big idea in you at this very moment.
Something you are really good at.
That you love……and that you have a unique, passionate and articulate voice that wants to be heard.
My "last living" grandmother……..who passed away a number of years ago, had trouble turning on her AOL to check her mail.
Yet……she could talk for days about cooking, baking and had jewish recipes from her small European village where she was born 100 years ago, that people would come for, and call for, from every walk of life and spot on the map.
Her passion was FOOD.…and she loved nothing more than to make us happy with lots and lots of it. I used to toy with the idea of creating an ebook with her, or even a recipe membership site….where she could share her love of food, and her passion for watching people enjoy what she dreamed up, but of course…….it never happened.
(she probably would have refused to take money for any of it, which would have made the entrepreneurial side a bit challenging..:-)
But I am as convinced today as I was back then that we could have turned it into something profitable, valuable to others, and super fun to boot!
If you constatly find yourself jumping from one thing to the next….or NOT making the sort of living online as you’d like, and think it’s YOUR fault….or that you don’t know enough, or aren’t plugged in enough…..or whatever it is, I can promise you are wrong:
Here is a very short exercise that I truly believe will help you find your Big Idea……and can springboard you to sensatioal success far faster than any individual tactic hyou may read about here……or anywhere else.
Take 45 Minutes….STOP learning, stop writing articles and stop the "monkey mind" of marketing from churning. Simply meditate on these things: (THIS IS VERY ABBREVIATED….BUT WORKS VERY WELL)
IDENTIFYING YOUR BIG IDEA:
What are you MOST passionate about?
What do you know the MOST about?
What do your friends and family come to you FIRST about?
What would you do for FREE if time and money were no object….simply because you enjoy them that much?
ASSESSING THE COMPETITIVE LANDSCAPE:
Who is out there right now doing the very things you identified above? (unless you’ve got some super weird fetish that I don’t want to know about…..I guarantee you there is a global audience for what you’ve identified above)
How can you do it better?
What advantages do you have?
Who can you partner with to get your message out?
Who has the customers, clients and readers that already are actively engaged in this universe?
WHAT GUERILLA MARKETING TACTICS CAN YOU USE TODAY TO MAKE THE WHOLE THING HAPPEN IN A HURRY?
Quite simply…..in MY view, the easiest, most elegantn and expedious path to turning the above into proverbial piles of profit is using a direct response, information marketing model.
Turn your expertise into a short ebook
Write a short report on the biggest mistakes, myths or lies that perpetuate this market.
Build your first REAL blog.
Start building your first REAL list. (using the short report above as the inducement)
Sell your short ebook for a small sum of money………and use the profits to recycle back into bigger, better and more comprehensive coverages of the same material. (think audios/video/coaching/seminars/et al)
Congratulations…..you are now rich, famous and important.
Remember to update your will, give generously to charity and travel the world in style. (note to self……you need a will, a more generous spirit and a better hotel room)
The truth?
Get your big idea DOWN…..and your income will go up, I promise! You have to control your own products, your own content, and your own intellectual assets to use 80% (or more) of the advice you read on blogs like this, or in "guru" list and launch products…..PERIOD.
It’s really that simple…..and the one piece of the puzzle that most will never understand…..and yet, I hope you do.
If you truly want to parlay your passion into profit.……take a look at my "Making Your Marketing Matter Mentorship" - where we will take (or identify) your big idea and build, grow and nurture a hyper responsive, passionate and growing group of grateful customers, list members, blog readers and evangelists for YOUR business.
How do you know if it’s right for you? It may NOT be……but if you like what I do here, and think you could benefit from the same approach, take a look now and find out!
A new blog conversion tip has been posted here..………it’s one of my favorites and has a whole host of applications from blogs, to article marketing, to even paid search or social media marketing.
Check it out…….and use it well!
If you aren’t on my list and NOT getting these notifications via email……..there is a new series of posts on how to maximize your conversion percentage on your blogs and landing pages using a whole host of simple "tricks", tweaks and minor modifications to your blog template, your content…….or even the ad copy you use to sell affiliate products.
The first post in the series is here…….so if you haven’t checked it out, go take a look right now..:-)
(or even better…..sign up for my list right here so I don’t need to add these little updates for stuff NOT updated on the front page of the blog..:-)
ian on 
Mary on 
