What You Don't Know Can Hurt You!
by James Capobianco
You
know that old saying "What you don't know can't hurt you".
Well that's not exactly true on the Internet. Knowledge is very important
and you should learn as much as you can.
Ignorance is NOT bliss, when
it comes to doing business on the Internet. The more you know the better
equipped you will be to succeed in what ever your goal is.
In this article, I would like
to explain to you that not only is knowledge important; but to succeed
on the Internet you have to USE what you've learned.
I've been marketing on the
Internet for some time now and I've learned a few things. When I started,
I was eager and open minded. I believed most of what I read and some
of what I was told by those I considered more knowledgeable than me.
As time went by, I spent more
and more of that time (and money too!) gathering information on anything
concerned with doing business online and Internet marketing.
I searched and surfed the
Web for hours...days...and months on end. I filled Zip disks, my hard
drive and file cabinets with information and software I downloaded.
Some of the information and
software was free but most of it I paid for. I tried not to fall for
the "too good to be true" ads. However, I did try a few. The
ads were so enticing. After all, I am human, I have needs and wants
and they touched every nerve. Maybe I could "make a lot of money,
in a short time, doing nothing. Guaranteed!"???
I don't think so!!!
After awhile I realized that
the only people getting rich were the people placing the outrageous
ads and getting fools like me to bite.
So began my education...
Armed with this new found
knowledge, I resisted the ridiculous claims and focused on the more
reasonable ads offering information and advice on how to have a steady
income stream from various sources, design a Web site, place high in
the search engines, advertise and on Internet marketing as a whole.
These ads, sales letters and
Web sites, were well written and authored by Internet marketing people
I came to know and respect through my time online.
I still downloaded a ton of
information and software. Some for free, but most I paid for.
The difference this time was that I was more comfortable with my decisions.
Now in my hours...days...and months on the Internet, I was dealing with
people and companies that were stable and well represented in the Internet
community. What they had to say made sense.
The prices of the information
and software I purchased ranged from several dollars to several hundred
dollars. The quality of the information in almost all cases was excellent.
It was as advertised. I got what I wanted and I was able to use some
or all of it in my business strategies. I mention this to show you that
you can pay a little or a lot to get good quality information.
Then I began to realize something
very interesting. Regardless of the price, much of the information and
software was saying or doing the same things.
Phase two of my education
began...
Too much information? Not
at all! Just like, "you can never be too rich". You can never
have to much knowledge.
No! The point is this, there
is so much information on the Internet, that at some point you have
to STOP collecting it (unless your a library) and start USING it.
The light went on! I would
have to become more selective in my quest for knowledge. Not stop learning.
I was at the point where most
of my time was being consumed by gathering and reading tons of information.
I was not putting the knowledge I was gaining to use in my own marketing
efforts. The information and advice was great, now I had too apply it.
And the worst part was that
much of the information was a rehash of information from another source.
Now don't get me wrong. While a different slant or perspective on something
may prove very helpful, the same stuff over and over just wastes your
valuable time. At some point you have to use what you learned and be
selective in your information gathering.
In conclusion this is what
I have learned:
