Internet Marketing and the Golfer Mentality

As a qualified PGA golf professional who taught golf for 15 years before injury and moved into Internet marketing as a career, I was amazed to see the striking similarities between the approaches of people to two significantly different activities. I now focus on teaching IM and apply very similar principles to my Internet marketing clients as I used to my golf students.

The hunger of people for quick fix solutions has always been something that has intrigued me. I look at society and see successful people and admire the work that has gone into them achieving their goals, no matter what field they are in. The top Doctor's and Lawyers of any age have spent years learning their trade. Sportsmen such as Tiger Woods work at incredibly high level on their sport to stay at the top. Celebrities such as Gordon Ramsay, achieve their status through incredible application and work ethics.

It is clear that a high percentage of society look at these people and want similar lifestyles but without an idea of the work involved to see the finished product that we see in our operating theatres, sports arenas, courtrooms and tv screens. The two fields I work in are no different.

Both golf and Internet Marketing allow for the quick fix mindset to take over and ruin our hopes of improvement. both industries are susceptible to sensationalist headlines, designed to draw in consumers.

In Golf, magazines will boast headlines such as "Break 80 in 7 days" or "Hit it 40 yards longer with Tigers method" Equipment manufacturers will boast that their ball, clubs even golf shoes will have you hitting the ball longer and straighter than ever before.

In Internet Marketing similar headlines would be "Earn $20,000 a month in just two hours a day at your PC" or "Warning: You're about to discover the affiliate secrets that the gurus have been keeping from you. The methods the real super affiliates use to make $500 per day, finally revealed by the one guy they trusted to keep quiet" as one particular ebook sales page boasted. The writers of the copy know exactly what buttons to press and which mindset they are tapping into.

The "desperation" mindset, "the easy life" mindset and the "all I have to do is buy the product/magazine/ebook and I am set for life" mindset.

As anyone following this route will know it generally ends in disappointment, and then giving up.

How do I know?

When my career in golf was ended with a back injury, I slipped into the desperation mindset, all of a sudden I was panicing where the money would come from. I found the wonderful tool of the internet, and the sensational headlines of instant riches had me reaching for my credit card. $2000 later I had about 50 ebooks, I had read about 10 and had not made a dime.

Every day I had a new Internet Marketing thought that was going to make me rich, then the next ebook arrived and I was away on something new.

Then as I opened a credit card bill, which had 15 internet marketing products on it, the thought dawned on me that I was no different as a newcomer to Internet Marketing and trying to make money online, than the golf students I had taught for years.

Day after day I would stand on the range and listen to golfers tales of woe. They had watched every DVD, read every magazine, listened to the guys on the TV, spent $3000 on the latest equipment, BUT STILL COULD NOT break 100.

I used to spend my first 40 minute session with such customers, not hitting a golf ball, but by clarifying the thought process that led them to believe that a magazine article could instantly improve them, or a new driver would go 50 yards further than the one they used last week. I used to explain that all good golfers had one thing in common, good sound fundamentals, aim, grip , posture etc. A GOOD SET UP, which enabled them to then swing the club correctly, thus executing the intended shot.

I needed to apply the same techniques to my Internet Marketing business. Of course there is no book that will instantly make me rich, I was chasing around like the golfer, who has a new swing thought every day, I had a new IM idea every day.

In golf it is proven that a step by step plan through the set up will lead to a LONG LASTING more consistent technique. I would put my students on a minimum six week course, in which I banned them from reading, books, magazines and watching DVD's. I would give them one element of the SET UP such as AIM and that was there weeks practice. Once they had mastered that element ONLY then would we move onto the next project. What happened? I built a "stable" of successful clients and had a record of players who consistently improved and practiced better.

The process I went through in IM was exactly the same. First I had to visualise my "shot". What was it that I was trying to build, for the LONG TERM. Once that was identified which skills did I need to execute it. There are numerous aspects to the SET UP of a successful Internet Marketing business, from building websites, copy writing, SEO, advertising, product selection, the list is extensive. Each skill needs to be learned, and then applied, learn 5 or 6 skills you have a SET UP. Just like golf you have it for life!

There is a $10,000 dollar a month income to be made, but it will not fall in your lap. To succeed takes work. If you have the golfer mentality in you, try and recognise it, not only will your game improve your life will to.

Next time - Step by Step through the IM set up.