10 Daily Success Tips for Internet Marketers

Last Wednesday, on his blog, Joe Vitale challenged me and a dozen other bloggers to list 5-10 success secrets we use on a daily basis.

This all started with a post by Aaron Potts who ‘tagged’ a group of successful marketers, including Joe, and asked them to play along.

So, without further adieu, here are my 10 Success Tips:

1. Begin with a vision in mind.

Start with a vision for your business and your life.
Starting a business without a vision and a plan is like
taking a road trip without a destination or a road map.

While that kind of reckless spontaneity can work on a
week long road trip, applying it to your lifelong journey is a
recipe for disaster. Yet this is exactly how many people
go about starting and running a business. It’s also how many
people choose to live their lives.

Since your business is a means to an end. I think it’s
important to start by determining your personal vision and
then plan the business vision to support your personal
vision.

Take a weekend and make a list of the things you want to do,
places you want to visit and to determine the lifestyle
you’d like to have.

Don’t hold back. Dream big. Describe in detail the kind of
car you’d like to drive, the home or homes you’d like to
own, how much time off you want and so on. If you’re
married, do this with your spouse. You might also allow your
children to participate, at least in the areas that will
affect them.

Have fun with this. You can grab a stack of magazines
covering travel, home decor, cars, hobbies, etc. You can cut
out images to add to a ‘dream board’ to inspire you.

Next, decide what you’d like to contribute to your
community, your potential customers and the planet.

From there, begin to put together a budget of the cost of
this lifestyle. Determine approximately how much you’d need
to earn to support it. From here, plan your vision for your
business so that it will grow to support your dream
lifestyle.

It’s essential that you determine exactly who your business will serve, how it will operate and what roles will need to be filled by either you, your partners or employees. Once your vision is complete, you’ll need to share it with anyone that will be participating in your business. Everyone needs to understand their role in the business.

Ultimately, you may decide to make compromises. For example,
you may decide that you’d have to work too many hours to be
able to afford a vacation home. So you forego the vacation
home for a shorter work week and vacations in hotels or
rentals.

Now obviously this isn’t something you do on a daily basis. However, you should review your vision daily. In my case, I have my vision board in a place where I see it first thing every morning.

2. Use music to trigger your muse.

Find music that inspires you and use it to put you in the right frame of mind to get your work done. I use Pat O’Bryan’s Think & Grow Rich Automatically audio in my Ipod whenever I have an important writing project due. I’m listening to it right now.

Copywriter Ted Nicholas recommends listening to Mozart when it’s time to write. Pick something that works for you and use it daily.

3. Cut down on caffeine and watch what you eat.

I’m a big coffee guy so when my doctor recommended I eliminate caffeine, I wasn’t happy. Oddly enough, though, I switched to an organic decaf French Roast and I really enjoy it. I didn’t have headaches like some people do when weaning themselves off coffee.

I also eliminated soft drinks, almost all bread, pasta and other carbs while eating more salads and lean meat. I’ve got a lot more energy and don’t get tired after meals.

4. Take a walk.

Although I do a heavier workout 3-4 times a week, I try to walk for an hour on a daily basis. I listen to seminars and other audio programs on my Ipod to maximize my time. The fresh air, sunshine and exercise are a great way to start the day.

5. Meditate.

I don’t do this as often as I should but when I do, I find it very beneficial. I specifically use a guided meditation by Jon Kabat-Zinn. It de-stresses me and helps me manage my diabetes.

6. Don’t write and edit at the same time.

When writing emails, blog entries, articles or ebooks, get it down on paper (or onscreen) and resist the urge to edit on the fly. You’ll do a much better job if you just let the words flow and go back and edit later.

Joe Vitale suggests turning off the monitor while you type, which I find a bit extreme. However, his Hypnotic Writing Wizard is a good way to screen your writing so you only see one line at a time.

7. Think benefits, not features. Study copywriting.

This applies to anything you do in your business whether it’s writing a sales letter or email or approaching someone to do a joint venture.

Always think in terms of the benefit to the person you’re trying to reach. People don’t buy widgets to have widgets. They buy them for the benefits they’ll get from owning them.

This is just one of the lessons of good copywriting. Of all the skills you could choose to learn regarding Internet marketing, copywriting is, by far, the most valuable.

Study the masters like the late Gary Halbert, Ted Nicholas, Joe Vitale, Robert Collier, John Caples and John Carlton. Also check out brilliant web copywriters like Michel Fortin and Brian Keith Voiles.

8. Create your To-Do List the night before.

I create mine in Microsoft Outlook. Some people prefer notebook planners from Franklin or Day Runner. Others like to use Palm type devices or smart phones. And some people just use a pen and paper.

The key is doing it the night before or first thing in the morning. Don’t try to cram too much in one day. Better to stick to five or six things you know you can accomplish.

9. Check in to a motel once or twice a month to do your serious writing.

I work out of my home office but frequently get distracted. While coffee shops can be great to work in, they can be noisy and crowded at times. When I have a serious deadline for a book or sales letter, I book a room at an inexpensive hotel designed for business travellers.

10. Drive a convertible. 🙂

Any time I need inspiration, I hop in my BMW Roadster, put the top down, crank up the stereo and hit the road. This never fails to put a smile on my face and eliminate any stress I might be feeling.

So that’s my list. Want to share some of your tips? If so, use the comments section or write them up on your blog with a link back to this blog as well as Aaron Potts who started this topic.

I’d also like to challenge the following marketers to share their tips: