What was it that allowed you to tell yourself, “I know enough about internet marketing to teach others how to do it.”

Reba, as with all the questions before – these are AWESOME!

What allowed me to feel like I could teach?

When I first started to present resources, in a lot of situations I did not know enough to teach others. I found other people with expertise to interview and partner with. As time passed I gained experience from applying the information I was learning and eventually felt comfortable sharing results and lessons learned.

When you ask ‘how does a newbie find confidence‘ – do you mean how does someone find the confidence to teach internet marketing? I think that may be what you mean so I’ll give you my thoughts on that.

First, some people are natural teachers. The desire to teach comes from deep inside. As soon as a teacher absorbs information they find themselves thinking about ways to share it with others. In the Work at Home Mom Community we have the added maternal instinct which makes us what to take care of others, especially newcomers.

What’s really important is to realize that a teaching gift alone is not enough to equip you to teach. You also need high quality information. When it comes to teaching internet marketing to others, the more well rounded your own education is, the better suited you are to share info with others.

If your goal is to simply disseminate accurate information and provide resources though a blog, a newsletter or a podcast, and you are taking care to keep your body of knowledge up to date, you’re probably good to go.

But what about Coaching and Consulting?

If you want to go beyond sharing information and delve into telling someone what to do in a specific way, that is a different situation entirely. It’s downright dangerous for someone without real life internet marketing experience to coach and consult.

Most of the people who come to me for coaching already KNOW what to do. It’s the specific application to their unique business that’s tripping them up.

The reason they come to me is that they see me engaged in the business of internet marketing. They know I am not just learning and acting as an internet marketing magpie – I’ve been applying and learning from my experiences. I’ve had some great successes and a few miserable failures – and that is ultimately what makes me a good coach today.

My clients want me to look at their business through the eyes of experience with similar business activities and give them measured advice.

So ultimately, what gives me confidence is my experience.

I actually coach a lot of moms who want to do what I do. They have the natural teaching gift, they have the big maternal urge to nurture others in their businesses and they want to know how to get there. My advise is always to spend some time DOING before they tackle TEACHING. Build up some experience so that you have more to share than just what you’ve learned from others.

Reba, I have REALLY enjoyed this CBC Thanks so much for doing it!

Kelly, was there a point in time that you realized you needed to “tighten” your focus or that you realized you had chosen a demographic instead of a niche? If so, what occurred that helped you realize you needed to make a change and how did you go about making that change? If not, are you just that smart or did you just get lucky?

(Reba you crack me up!  Am I smart or did I just get lucky? ROFL! )

Ok, was there a time when I realized I need to tighten my focus.  Yes!  At the end of 2004 I had learned a lot about internet marketing and I was applying it everywhere I could think of.  I had mistakenly subscribed to the ‘niche marketing’ ideal which was to tackle multiple niches with mini sites and lists – which is a popular internet marketing strategy – but one that had me rabbit trailing all over the place.  I was making money – but I was working HARD for it.

I decided to scrap the ‘multiple niches’ program and embrace one single target market.  It was the best decision ever!  By the end of 2005 I was making a lot more money and enjoying the process much more.

The market I chose was the WAHM market of course.

Did I choose a Demographic instead of a Niche?

I don’t think so – I understood pretty early on that I was going to focus in on the internet based Work at Home Mom who was interested in being her own boss versus working for others.  Even within that definition there are some ‘neighborhoods’ within the niche that I wouldn’t identify as my target market. (Get rich quick programs, product-less MLMs, etc.)

So, was it Smart or was it Luck?

I don’t believe in luck   I’m don’t hold any golden keys when it comes to internet marketing.  Business advice about target market and unique selling proposition can be found everywhere.   I’m applying the same tried and true principles that anyone else could learn.  (Emphasis on APPLYING!)

I find that many people who get exposed to the same message about focusing in on one target market are afraid to truly focus.  They don’t want to ‘exclude anyone’.  They are more comfortable targeting a demographic.  The problem with that is that it is hard for a solopreneur to monetize a demographic.

My next question for you: Reba, what have you been thinking about in the last week or so since your last post?  How will you be tightening your market and what is helping you to make these decisions?

Recommended Resource: The Power of a Focused Business

Do you think the online community is hungry for offerings that are more “boutique” in nature?

I asked her to clarify what she meant by ’boutique’ and she said “Lesser known, new to the market, or very specialized offerings.”

Reba, you are so bang on that we should be hearing a gong echoing somewhere!

I do think there are a lot of folks out there hungry for specialized learning opportunities.

It’s not that they can’t learn from the big dogs – it’s that they really don’t want to.  There are niche groups that don’t relate well to glossed over, suit wearing, internet marketing guru types.  All the talk of making millions and conquering the world doesn’t appeal to them – rather it sparks distrust.

As you already make mention of in your comment here, I reach an online community (the Work at Home Mom Community) that craves good internet marketing advice but has shown again and again they like to learn from someone they can relate to – showing a real preference for a fellow mom.

It bears mentioning that most WAHMs feel like ‘guru products’ are priced out of their budgets – so even though my learning resource on the subject of Article Marketing isn’t any different than a guru’s learning product – WAHMs are more likely to buy mine because it’s priced for them.

It’s not just about price.  It’s about trust and world view.

Most people want to learn from someone they ‘get’ – people with whom they share common values.

There’s a major opportunity for ’boutique’ internet marketers as you call it.  I’ve actually had my own term  I’ve used with coaching clients for awhile now – I call them ‘Master Translators’.

A Master Translator takes internet marketing knowledge and translates it into the language and shapes it into the world view of their niche.  The core IM knowledge is the same as could be learned from any guru, but it’s expression is unique. Because the Master Translator knows their niche intimately and can explain things in context, their teachings are easily digested and put into action by the end user they teach.

Some niche marketers will develop their own products to sell to their niche but others may act as affiliates for other marketers, building a bridge of trust from one to the other.

Think about the potential for translating great IM information into the language and world view of _____________.  (Fill in the blank with a niche that you have a relevant voice with.)

The key is choosing a niche that’s big enough to build a profitable business around.  (Don’t choose a niche so tight that you can’t find more then a hundred or so people to market to.)

Master Translator Cheats

Setting yourself up as the go to person for a niche is hard work – but there are a few cheats available to make process move along faster.  Just think of all the awesome IM PLR that’s out there just waiting to be tweaked, translated and personalized.

Thanks for this great question Reba!

Now for my next question for you… since you’ve named your site ‘Internet Marketing Boomer’ – Do you see yourself as a Master Translator for the Baby Boomer crowd? How do you think being a Boomer effects how someone wants to learn about making an income on the internet?

Reba answered my questions here.

And she asks me in return ‘How long does it take to become successful online‘ and ‘What’s it going to take to get there?’

Reba, first I want to thank you for sharing Dr. Mani’s report.  It was excellent of course.

How long does it take to be successful online?

Good question.

I could say six years since it’s been six years for me and I feel pretty successful.  But my definition of successful has changed this year.  I make more money that I ever have in the past – but my dreams have gotten bigger and my expectations for my retirement have grown.

But more than that – time is so subjective.  I don’t think you can give a number of years as say ‘that’s how long it takes’ because every person’s experience is going to be unique.

When I first came on line in 2002 I met a lot of other moms in my shoes.  Completely lost and hungry for income opportunities.  We joined the same forums and email groups and all started our ventures, hoping for the best.

Some of those moms are still in pretty much the same place.  They’ve tried this and that and made a little cash here and there but never found the one thing that could last and provide them with a steady income.  And some of those moms are doing great – making more money than me by far.

You know ‘they’ say that it takes two years to get established in business – but I would again say that with the internet, time is wonky.   It’s less about length of time and more about one’s ability to leverage the internet and all of it’s possibilities.

What does it take to be successful?

It takes focus.  Choosing a great business, the right market and developing the savviest approach to it.   I’m as successful as I am because I focused in on my market and worked to provide them what they want and need.  And – I’ll grow into my new definition of success by continuing the same.

Reba, my next questions for you is: Do you ever look at someone who calls themselves successful and think ‘eh… they don’t seem all that successful to me’? What creates that disconnect between what someone thinks about themselves and what others see?  Let me rephrase that… what do you see that seems to make their self statements unbelievable?

Lynette just responded to my question here.

Lynette, I’m so glad you admit that you sometimes feel like pulling your hair out when working on techie things. I relate! There are times when code drives me to frustration. (You know this because thats when I come crying to you for help!)

But truthfully, I like being challenged and don’t mind being pushed to my limit. (How else will we ever expand our abilities?)

Your technical skills have opened a lot of doors for you in your business – so I’m glad that you’ve enjoyed it as much as you have.

Hmmm… you answered my question but you didn’t ask me one. That means I can put you right back on the hot seat!

You said something that some might wonder about:

“I know it sounds counter intuitive to many business owners because you aren’t supposed to learn all that technical stuff and you aren’t.”

Can you expand on that thought?  Why shouldn’t most business owners get into all the geeky stuff?

(And don’t forget to ask me a question next time!)