How dependent are you on the advice and courses sold by the so called “experts” and “gurus” of Internet marketing?

If you are getting most of your instructions and advice from guys you’ll never meet that are good at writing sales letters and selling $900+ “shiny object” courses then I can quite accurately estimate how much you’ve made online so far…

zero.

How did I estimate that number with such brutal accuracy?

Simple - I read the email I get from readers.

Does that hit a little close to home for you? I know about this issue because I get email every day from people that feel “burned” by the very industry I’m in.

Some of those experts selling big courses are great guys with great ideas, but I have a new theory of success online that is based on having watched thousands struggle while only hundreds or even just dozens seem to succeed. I’ll tell you in a moment what the common factor of success is. It has nothing to do with which course(s) you buy by the way.

Before I reveal my one word success ingredient I have to rant about the industry I’m in…is that ok?

Here are some things that annoy me about this industry. Do you agree with these?

• It’s always the same guys with big email lists endorsing each others big launch products.
• Bragging about how much you sold of a ‘how to sell online’ course DOES NOT qualify you as an expert.  We are smarter than that.
• Why can’t your customers all get together and interact with each other? Anyone can start a discussion forum in 15 minutes. Do it. What are you trying to hide?
• After all the hype for weeks leading up to a launch why do you never bring up that same idea later AFTER the launch? (It’s because you’ve moved on to the next launch right?)
• Simply having a big mailing list DOES NOT make you a marketing genius worthy of my time and attention. The good idea that got you that big list does not make you an expert on all things Internet related. Stop pretending it does.

End of rant.

How is it that some DO actually go on to success in spite of these pitfalls and “shiny objects” that so easily distract?

My answer is one word.

Relationships.

You just don’t see that many lone wolf success stories online.

The people that I know that are making good progress online have a community of like minded people available to them that they can access anytime they need to. They share ideas, successes and failures. They speak openly and get the advice they need from those that have made it. They disagree, argue points, change their mind, and try new things based on what they learn and share with others.

Relationships are IGNORED by most online entrepreneurs, but not by me. For me they are CENTRAL.

My main membership website not only encourages this type of interaction…it DEPENDS on it.

Examples:

Each of my two membership sites has active, open discussion forums. I don’t keep my customers separated from each other.

On MySilentTeam.com we have a few dozen experts contributing to the site. These are top reputation people making money by means other than selling “how to make $” courses. I have a relationship with each one of them and our members are encouraged to do so as well.

We’ve just recruited 20 members of MySilentTeam.com and crowned them “content managers”. These folks are the ones keeping pulse of the content and instructional needs of the site based on their RELATIONSHIPS with other members.

I’m at the top of the org-chart. Not to brag, but my recent independent nomination as ‘the most trusted marketer online’ caps off a leadership team that is unquestionably the best on the web. After all, relationships are built on TRUST right?

It’s impossible to overemphasize how different MySilentTeam.com is as a result.

We FOCUS on (instead of avoiding) building trustworthy relationships online.

The one thing that many of the “experts” DON’T want you to do is hang out with other customers and compare notes about how crappy, complicated, lacking etc. their latest big launch product was. That scares them to death. This means they aren’t going to tell you how to pursue relationships with their other customers.

I on the other hand want that interaction. I recognize that the BEST IDEAS and most creative strategies DON’T COME FROM ME…they come from the synergy of an active online community that grows with or without my involvement. I benefit from the community as much as any participating member does.

Does that make sense?

I hope so.

If you like this free blog and newsletter I promise you will LOVE MySilentTeam.com.

Will you be member number 4,085?

…we are waiting for you!

Final tip: Don’t be a “lone wolf”.  There are also plenty of free forums online that you can use if you aren’t ready to invest in a community like MySilentTeam yet. The bottom line though is I just don’t see a lot of people out there making it on their own online. If you are trying to do that you need to find a community to spur you on.

Jim Cockrum
Proud Founder
MySilentTeam.com
A community of success built on trust

Please leave a comment, question or rant of your own below. We love feedback around here!

Use Twitter? Please Retweet using the button on the right!

Want to succeed in life or business? Hang out with people that are already doing what you’d like to be doing. Get into a conversation with them.

I just recorded an audio for you that is a “conversation” with me. After you listen be sure to take my one question survey and then leave me a comment below with your questions or feedback.

Here’s the audio:

Can’t see the play button above?
Here’s a link to the MP3 audio:
http://www.MySilentTeam.com/SilentJimdotcom-March2010conversationBlog.mp3

Links Mentioned in the audio (and other stuff worth seeing):

• One Question Survey
• Kevin’s Story  :A friend of mine that was nearly killed…and what we are doing about it
• MySilentTeam.com
• OfflineBiz.com
• Traffic Geyser: My Favorite Traffic Generation Tool
• My New Book: Best20Ways.com
• My recent “Home School Biz” Interview With Susan Whitehead Home School? Check this out!
• Proven eBay Course I  (We had a HUGE success rate…& Proven eBay Course II is coming soon)
• Most Trusted Internet Marketer…Me??
• Aweber.com (My favorite email list growth tool)

Have a question or comment about ANY of this? Click the comment button below and let me know about it…

Click here to read
In this newsletter:
===============
1. A warning for those that read this newsletter
2. Making great videos for youtube
3. Quick tips:
   - Contacting eBay support
   - A new project is in the works!
   - Using Craigslist

Often when I address an audience I’ll give the following disclaimer:

“CAUTION, what you are about to hear just may make you certifiably UN-EMPLOYABLE. If you are thrilled with your current employment situation and aren’t seeking independence please DO NOT LISTEN TO ME.”

Here’s the problem.

After listening to me for very long…

You won’t be satisfied with a 9-5 job making someone else rich anymore once you realize how easily you can get into your own business online.

You’ll soon see your boss as a hurdle, your co-workers as sheep, and your commute as a complete waste of time away from family and your important life purpose.

Check out the below email I got yesterday from a reader that proves my “CAUTION” is accurate and necessary! This poor guy will NEVER have another job in his life. I’ve ruined him…

…another victim who will never again be employed. I hang my head in shame (not really).

Members of OfflineBiz.com will be getting a copy of the interview I’m going to conduct with Marcus - the author of the following email:

***begin email***

Jim,

I’m not sure how often you get emails to tell you what your words and efforts have done for people, but I wanted to be sure to be one of those who let you know how much you helped me.

My life on the internet began back in 1999, when I would visit yards sales and flea markets and buy old hot wheels and sell them on eBay. I did it for fun and made some money at the same time. I never really expanded that business because I received several promotions in my real-world job and I was working all the time. Then my wife and I started having kids, and the time got away from me. I took some time to dabble with affiliate websites, made a little bit of money there, but mostly found I was just playing with the search engines to understand how they worked. I did this off-and-on for several years.

I was enjoying a successful career in my real-world job until 2007, when that world completely imploded. I found myself out of a very high-paying job. I had been a mortgage banker (no, not the ones that made bad loans) but since all of our banking lines of credit were disappearing, our firm could not survive. I was told I could keep my job if I gave up my salary. With a big mortgage, car payments, a wife and three kids that was not an option.

I soon took up a position with a software company managing their sales and marketing. I began applying some of the things I had learned while dabbling in internet marketing earlier, and while I was only making about one-third of my prior salary, I felt it was an opportunity to grow and get back to where I was. The company began to grow as a result of my efforts and was acquired by another firm. My reward was that I was let go since my position was “no longer needed.”

I vowed that would be the last time that would happen to me. I had been reading your newsletter and saw your OfflineBiz.com site and decided to check it out. I realized after several hours of reading that I could take my knowledge and sell it to other businesses, small businesses and make a living doing it. I felt fortunate that I had some experience, but I wasn’t sure people would see the value. But the ideas I got gave me confidence to offer my services.

On occasion I would come back to the OfflineBiz forum and leave some tips that were working for me. I enjoyed those times, as it was rewarding. My business picked up steam, particularly once I convinced a few web design firms to let me do their internet marketing for their customers. Their business and mine took off as the success stories came rolling in. I built an entire team that processes my projects at my direction, and I have offered every service from wordpress web design to link-building to email marketing to video marketing to Adwords to Facebook Ads. Among my customers I have been known as the “lead generation” guy, as I have been able to succeed where ad agencies failed. By the way, that was my secret, to target the scorched earth of ad agencies and help those customer believe in marketing again.

It has been a year and a half, and I am happy to say that I reached the six-figure mark in revenue in my offline business. I expect to that by August of this year as well. I have been able to increase my prices and still sign more clients.

And I have you to thank for the confidence to go DO IT.

Thank you for a great forum and newsletter. Without it I am not sure where I would have ended up.

Thanks,
Marcus Cudd

Click the comment button below to let us know what you think.

Click here to read
In this newsletter:
===============
1. Grow an email list WITHOUT any tech skills or website
2. Take Control Back From eBay with a BLOG
3. Quick tips:
   - Who’s the most trusted internet marketing expert online?
   - My favorite traffic generation tool

Click here to read
In this newsletter:
===============
1. I repeat, grow your audience!
2. Exactly why you SHOULDN’T build a website
3. Quick tips:
- Twitter = email list growth 
- The greatest reward

Click here to read
In this newsletter:
===============
1. What’s coming next for you from this newsletter?
2. Your favorite day of the week says something about you.
3. Quick tips:
   - Know the “real resell value” b4 you buy inventory
   - Using aweber without a website!

Use Twitter? Please retweet using the green button the right

Can I read your mind for a minute?

Do you LOVE Fridays? Do you live for the relief of a “no work” Saturday? Do you ever refer to Wednesday as “hump day” because you are getting through the half way point of the week?

Do you have favorite days of the week based on your work schedule?

If so I have a warning for you…

If that’s you then I’m willing to bet that you haven’t got the “Internet mindset” yet.

I’ll bet you have significant debt, probably don’t like your “job”, and wish you had more time to do the things you love.

You see, my family and I go to the zoo on Tuesday afternoons while it’s empty - never on a Saturday. We live our schedules shifted away from “traffic jams” and crowds.

Our kids have one-on-one tutoring from the best possible teacher they could ever have - their stay home mom.

We hit the parks, malls and restaurants on OUR schedule. I don’t have a favorite day of the week since I got fired in 2002 and started relying on the web for my income.

There’s a real freedom found in being in control of your own financial future.

I’m not lording this over you - I’m challenging you to make this mindset a reality for you and your family. Sometimes I even have to check my watch late in the day to know what day of the week it is (on the rare occasion that I wear a watch). It’s a great feeling.

Can you relate? Is 2010 the year you start loving lazy Tuesday afternoons instead of living for the weekend?

The cure to a “weekend mindset” is to surround yourself with people that challenge you forward. That’s what MySilentTeam.com is all about.

What are your thoughts? Does this make sense to you or not? Leave your comment by clicking the comment button below.

Click here to read
In this newsletter:
===============
1. Feeling stuck? Put your head knowledge to good use.
2. Work with John Thornhill one-on-one
3. Quick tips:
   - Flip Websites?
   - A great research tool
   - Free traffic training

Click here to read
In this newsletter:
===============
1. Local live auctions are a GOLD MINE
2. He generated 6 BILLION web visitors
3. Quick tips:
- Need a website fast?
- Join Jim in D.C. in March?
- We have a winner!