Do you remember when you first started looking for how to make money online? Do you remember why you wanted to do it?
Freedom? Lifestyle? Being your own boss? Working whatever hours you want?
Whatever the reason is, you had one and if you’re reading this you probably still have one.
Today I am going to shed some light on why you will probably never make any significant amount of money online and what you can do to fix it now!
On a personal note: Before putting this post out I paced around my living room like a caged tiger. I know this post might ruffle some feathers, anger someone or even possibly offend you. However, with a 95% fail rate in this type of business there are some things that I notice that typically lead to failure.
I also know that by addressing these issues you greatly increase your chances of success –- guaranteed.
Here are 12 reasons you’re not making the money you want.
1: Lack Patience
You’ve probably read all of those crazy sales pages that say crazy things like “Make $50,000 In 14 Easy Clicks” or “Work-Free Way To Get Rich In 2 Months!”
It’s easy to see how after reading hundreds of sales pages that say that kind of junk you’d get confused and completely bewildered when you’re not rich by laying out in your hammock with your laptop and a 6 pack of Corona Light.
Ultimately, it takes patience to start seeing income online. If you do the work, ask questions and hang onto every positive result eventually you’ll start making money and then you can continue growing it. You’ll also notice that over at Niche Blitzkrieg and Niche Optimizer we DO NOT promote with that sort of language.
2: No Motivation
Do you really want an online income? I mean, do you really? When I first got started it’s true that I had to make money in my spare time. The reason? Because I used to work as a drugstore manager and I was gone 10-12 hours daily 5-6 days per week.
At night I’d come home from work and work on my online business and usually staying up half the night rocking our newborn son to sleep. It’s simply a sacrifice I had to make. I’d create niche sites, rank them in the search engines and I worked on them quite a bit.
Was what I did perfect? Heck no! It’s still not perfect and sadly, like everyone I am not remotely god-like. You must motivate yourself for any type of success.
Smack yourself around today if you’re lacking motivation (figuratively not literally). Think about the prize and not the sacrifice, that you need to make while you are working a job and working on your online business to the same time.
3: You Hate To Do Any Type Of Work
If you refuse to do any type of work to make money online and you think by sitting at your computer while doing nothing or watching Youtube videos is going to make you money, I want you to do something for me really quick….
……….Yank the computer cord out of the wall and throw your computer out of the window (safely please — look out for small animals and children).
If you want to drink the milk before milking the cow you’re most likely going to fail.
Milk the cow and don’t stop.
4: Chronic Stat-Checking
I once heard a saying that stuck with me.
“If it’s time to smell the roses then it’s time to water the garden.”
I assume this means that if you’re going to take the time to applaud your work, it’s really time to get back to work.
If it doesn’t mean that, it still sounds cool and I am going to continue to believe that is what it means.
It’s OK to check your stats and it’s OK to be excited when you start making money. But, don’t rest on your success because life throws us curve balls all of the time.
Check your stats in the morning or night and get stuff done the rest of the time.
5: No Deep Thought
Sometimes you need to be completely alone for a few minutes so you can think about what you want to do. Some days I’ll take a scratch pad out in the sun and just think and scribble down ideas.
This had led to some of my best breakthroughs and some of my most creative thoughts. If you need help stirring your creativity check out my post on becoming more creative.
It doesn’t matter where you are and honestly it can be on the toilet if that is the only place you can get quiet time – just do it!
6: You Really Hate It
Have you ever thought about that? Maybe you don’t like to work from home? Is it possible?
Most people would say “not possible” but, there are some who might actually need to be around other people constantly.
Make sure it’s something you really like to do. If you hate writing don’t panic as there are always ways around it with services that do your writing for you.
I do however suggest that if you’re going to get serious that you try to write your own stuff. If you’re terrible, you’ll get better. I only use services as a supplement for some of my work and anything that is important, like the post you’re reading, I do myself.
7: Everything Else Is More Important
If you can’t take your business seriously then you have absolutely no chance. Is watching all of your favorite TV shows nightly more important than earning your online living?
Yea? It is? Then I have some unfortunate news for you; you’re setting yourself up for eminent failure.
Yes, certain things are extremely important in life i.e. if you have a court date you should probably show up to that! But, some of the things we pretend are important are actually not. Until we can convince ourselves that they are not, we are set-up for failure.
In my youth, around age 20, I made the awesome decision to get married. Shortly after (less than a year) I found myself divorced and working a job that I made $9 an hour doing. I didn’t want to be making $9 an hour and I knew at the time that I could work my butt off learning, training and trying to do something bigger of my life.
Instead I’d spend my nights drinking with my buddies, wasting time and trying to fill my life with things what I thought were important; but they weren’t.
To this day I kick myself for the advances I could have made at an earlier point in my life. But, then again, had I not went the path I did I wouldn’t be here sharing this with you today. I didn’t figure this stuff out until I was 27 in case you’re wondering.
Finally, I am not saying that having fun is a waste of time or watching your favorite show won’t provide you with some good entertainment. I am simply saying that you need to prioritize and know when you are just stubbornly putting your future on hold for your own enjoyment.
Sacrificing some of our entertainment for more success is a very good thing in my opinion.
8: You’re Distracted
Not getting anything done? Could it be you’re distracted? How many times do you check your cell phone while you are trying to get something done?
How many times do you check Twitter, Youtube or Facebook during the time where you know you have to get something done?
Stop it!
Set up times when you check that stuff. If you have no practical reason to check them, don’t. Those places can be a huge waste of time, trust me, I’ve done it!
Do yourself a favor, unless it’s urgent, turn your cell phone or TV off while you’re in “get stuff done mode.”
9: Drama Queen (or King!)
One thing I hate in life is drama. Look, I don’t toss around the word hate very often but I want to say, Dear Drama, I hate you.
Don’t be a drama queen or king. Do not invite or invent drama.
At one point in my life I realized everything around me had drama in it. Someone would do something to tick me off and then I’d go out of my way to be a jerk or vice versa.
Then I realized with every piece of drama we have it takes us that much further away from the prize.
So now when someone brings drama into my life, they are quickly removed from my life (and no I don’t mean Sopranos style. I’m not talking about every situation because we can’t control it all but; let me give you an example.
Let’s say you have a family member or friend and every time they come around they cause problems, chaos or need you for something chronically. This person then needs you to bail them out, or just causes you complete ill-will on a routine basis. This is drama.
This person needs to be gone from your path or you’re on a road to pain and heartache that will take you away from your business. It sounds harsh, but understand, it must happen.
If you’re the person causing drama – stop! You still have time to change. Get along with others and grow yourself.
10: Refusal To Learn More (or Enough)
It’s easy to get caught up in the “I know enough to do anything” mode when it comes to being a blogger, product creator or an affiliate marketer. The truth is when it comes down to it, we never know enough and we never will. Everyday we should strive to learn more and grow in our business.
Things that were working perfectly yesterday may not be working the same today. So the only way around this dilema is to learn, apply and adapt whenever you need to. I can guarantee you that I learn something new almost daily.
You will always need to keep learning. Remember when Twitter and Facebook first came out? When they first arrived on the scene marketers didn’t know exactly how to use them. But, by paying attention, testing and learning they figured it out. Now those type of social networks are marketing havens that it’d be hard to imagine not using.
11. You Won’t Spend Any Money To Learn or Build
I hate to break the news to you, but if you can’t even spend $20-$100 to learn or even build a business, good luck to you. I can teach you things that you won’t learn in college, that cost far less and make you far more. But, if you can’t see the value in that, you’re going to lose out.
So you don’t want to build a blog because you’ll spend $10/month in hosting or $19/month building an email list? Those are pennies on the dollar of what you can make back. But, of course, if you don’t follow examples, even spending money won’t help you.
I just never understood that “spend no money” mindset; maybe because I think diferently than that. I know that to build a business you’re going to need to put out a tiny bit of money. I am not saying that you should borrow against your house to do this or drain your kid’s college fund. I’m also no saying to fork out $2000 on the guru of the month seminar.
But, I am saying that you need a couple things for certain; a doman ($10), hosting($10/month) and some good training. Those are the staples for making money online and adding anything else is going to be helpful, optional, but helpful.
12: Stuck Between The Demons and Rainbows
When you are just starting to make money online it’s easy to see the big giant rainbow at the other end. That rainbow looks good, that’s where you want to be.
But, between where you’re standing and where that rainbow is lies a big nasty army of monsters, demons and all kinds of other evil junk you need to fight through to get there.
As you start wading into the army of evil you realize that the guy laying out in his hammock on the beach, promising you riches with absolutely no problems or work, just lied all the way to the bank.
No matter what you do there are always going to be speed bumps and snags in the road and you’re going to get stuck. But, if you work at it, you’ll get through it and that army of evil will crumble around you.
But, you know what? Once you get to the rainbow there are still going to be challenges. Once you quit your job there are going to be challenges. But, you know what else?
That’s a darn good thing!
Could you imagine life without any obstacles? We’d probably end up like the Gambler from that one episode of The Twilight Zone (I credit Ray Kurzweil for the Gambler reference). Life would probably cease to have meaning.
Fight through the chaos, claim your prize and keep fighting.
One way to make your life even better is to share your experiences with other people who are doing what you’re doing. This could be right here at this site or in a community like Niche Optimizer. By the way I have some great start-up material here if you’ve yet to start making money online.
Just discussing your struggles, trials and accomplishments is a good thing! Never be afraid.
In closing I want to just state that this writing isn’t to ridicule, laugh at or spit on anyone. This is to simply show you that you can do this, I did, and trust me I am no one special.
I am a regular guy, a husband, a father and a friend.
That’s right I am the guy who used to look for the easy way and ran from every problem. Until I reformed my mind, I was stuck in every trap I just mentioned above.
I’ve been through a lot, just like you and the guy or girl next to you and I am here to tell you that if you can just avoid the pitfalls and use the list I provided above on a daily basis, your success is already in the making.
Be strong, block out the junk and get stuff done.
If you liked this writing it would be completely awesome of you to share it on Twitter or Facebook with your friends.
Plus, I’d feel completely humble and would truly appreciate it if you did.
If you have any question or experiences you want to share I’d love that! I will answer every person personally below.