So What does it take to realize Internet Marketing Success and how do you get it - you may ask. I am going to be blunt and direct in this post and I'm sorry if it makes you uncomfortable. Discomfort is absolutely necessary from time to time in order to facilitate change and forward progress in this fleeting and amazing life...

There are SO many people in life that avoid responsibility tooth and nail and find external reasons to justify their failures and shortcomings - and everyone falls into this trap from time to time (on some level), no exceptions. There are some people that choose this excuse system more often in life though - it's their default, knee-jerk reaction to any struggles and failures that manifest themselves into their lives.

The question. How often do you do this? 

Be honest.

I know that from time to time I do this. 

I usually manage catch myself and re-calibrate or if somebody calls me on it, I will stop and think and will come to terms with the fact that yes, I just tried to pass the buck on some circumstance that negatively affected my life and re-calibrate.

That last sentence was wrong though. It is not the circumstance that affected my life, it is me that either allowed the situation to arrive in the first place from prior decisions that I made or if it was inevitable either I handled the situation wrong or failed to learn the lesson or take the gold nugget from it.

The one thing necessary for succeeding online is that you have to learn to be. Yes, you heard right - BE. 

You have to be.

• BE clear on your goals - detailed goals not relating to money, but rather the possibilities, opportunities and options that money brings into your life. Be results/effects focused.
• BE 100% in. Your belief in what you are doing and offering is critical. Be in 100% with your heart and mind. Be 100% in with your actions and your purpose. Be 100% in with your mission to help others succeed in your team. Be 100% in with your integrity and quality of excellence. Be 100% in with your family and having that work/relationship balance with those most important to you. (My personal note: Be 100% in with God and allow Him to be present with you in your journey an in all that you do.)
• BE the leader that you expect. Be the leader and successful entrepreneur - even if you are the leader of zero - and walk the walk and be the person that you need to be in order to attract the followers that you desire and can help lead to their success. In this, be an easily duplicatable role model - have a system. *** THIS IS NOT TO BE CONFUSED WITH ''FAKE IT TILL YOU MAKE IT''... What I am referring to is simply your mental attitude, work ethic, and the habits that you incorporate into your daily routine and life. *** So be the leader that you would want to follow (first) and then you will attract the right people.
• BE consistent and take massive, daily action. And always, always keep revisiting these three points to re-calibrate yourself and to keep your skills and activities relevant and effective.
• Then and only then, if these steps are followed in this order, will you BE compensated for your efforts and work. So... Will you do it? Will you BE?
• BE!!!!!!!!!!

Too simple? Not the magic bullet that you were expecting? Sorry. 


This post is intended for leaders, visionaries, and people of action that want to forge forward and create amazing lives for themselves... I hope something inhere resonates with you - if only the 'call to action'. So what are you waiting for? Go Do it! Forge your future for you and your loved ones!!


To your Success!

Blogging is pretty easy to implement - if you have the patience to dedicate yourself to the process on a regular and prolonged basis. You simply need to decide that creating quality, inspired content is what you are going to do. Decide to do this consistently for a minimum of the next six months - and don't stop. 

Some good news. Even some of the more elusive tactics and strategies that help your blog rank better are not difficult to implement - once you have done and repeated the process several times. 

It's kind-of like riding a bike... I know I know, cliche, but it's the best analogy that I can think of since there are many moving parts and factors that keep you from eating pavement, but once you have your balance and feel how 'riding a bike' works and the physics behind it, you will soon be pulling tricks and maybe will even be mountain-biking down some insane terrain! Maybe. 

Having a voice and being heard requires some skills, but your content is given a louder voice through the effective use of video, social media, and being an active citizen in the blog, forum and basically (the Google, Bing, and Yahoo) content world. 

Just remember that everyone is different and not everyone reaches the same height in anything in life. Just do your best and be your best and you will have reached success. YOUR SUCCESS! :D And with your authentic voice you will have provided the best, most valuable contribution to the digital world - YOU. the real, authentic, imperfect, quirky, and 100% YOU!

So why not just pay for traffic and forget about this tedious blogging thing? Valid question. Creating a balance between the two is actually the best way to go. Consider the analogy of getting healthier. Just go with it. :D Are you simply going to eat healthier or will you also add a workout routine that includes muscle building and cardiovascular exercises in addition to the good fuel that you are giving your body? 

Will doing only one or the other improve your health? Sure. Absolutely. Will doing both - on a regular and consistent basis - super-charge your efforts and get you to your desired health sooner? Absolutely.

The Three Main Tools or Areas of Focus for the Beginning Blogger:

1. Your Site
   • Search Engine Optimization (SEO): Is the process, configuration, or method of improving the visibility of your site to the search-engines through a natural/unpaid/organic search result channel. The more "optimized" your content is, the more it will have an improved dialog with the search engines and thus get better rankings in searches based on the "key words" that you have optimized your content for. Later on this.
   • Platform: WordPress, Joomla, Drupal, Concrete5, among other content management and blogging platforms - including some that are already hosted and free to use (typically with some limitations). These are considered "content management" because you actually don't need to know HTML or any coding skills - all you need to know (or learn) is how to navigate and configure the software platform of your choice. These are highly customizable and reasonably user friendly, however do take a little time and patience to learn their relative configurations and flow... Which is easiest? I would say that WordPress is.
2. Your Content
   • Should be written with inspiration and have real value. Ask yourself, "why would I read this," or "What value does this have for me, the reader?
   • Find your niche, blog regularly, and just flow. Write as often and as much as possible - as well as having some focus on your niche in your writing. A ball-park minimum should be in the neighborhood of about 500 words per blog. Don't forget to add images and video to your blogs as well - both for aesthetic and SEO reasons.
   • Do these things regularly and you will see results! Both in the quality of your blogging as well as in the attention that you attract!
3. Your Connections
   • Who are you linking to and who's linking to you? This is really important to your rankings.
   • What social media sites are you connecting to? Does your blog and do your links flow naturally throughout your site?All of this is important to consider when creating an online, content driven presence.

In summary, all of this here is just the tip of the tip of the iceberg. Having laser-focused intention with your decision to start blogging, having patience - realizing that it will take time to see results - and finally the consistent and regular effort in creating valuable content and in polishing your blog are all necessary in order to reach your blogging and online business goals. 

In closing, just remember what the search engines - especially Google - in the business of... Yes, you guessed it. They are in the business of finding relevant content to our searches. If you have relevant blog posts and the right authority associated to your site, you will be ranked favorably...