The Problem With Internet Marketing

I've recently discovered something that may be considered a tiny problem with Internet marketing. Bear with me as this is a bit long, but it's not a long list of complaints, just observations.

Have you ever showed up for work one day to find out that someone, in another department no less, was out sick and they want YOU to cover for them? This is an all too common occurrence at least in the veterinary industry, but I'm sure it exists in countless other professions as well. Having worked as a vet tech for a number of years I can vouch for how it feels to be pulled in multiple directions on a daily basis.

As a veterinary technician, you are expected to do everything: take care of the animals, clean up bodily fluids, check in clients, answer phones, carry sick/dead animals into the clinic, carry sick/dead animals and heavy bags of food out to clients' cars, chase the doctors around to get permission to refill prescriptions, listen to clients complain to you while you sit there with a smile on your face pretending you're not thinking about how you want to tell them that you're sorry, but actually no, they're not the center of the universe. In the meantime, the receptionists just have to check in clients and answer the phones. If the reception area is short-staffed, one of the techs is expected to go up front and help out. If one of the techs is out, you're screwed. Receptionists are RARELY asked to help in the back end.

This is pervasive throughout every animal hospital I have ever worked at. Technicians are required to be well-rounded, agreeable, 'able to do it all' kind of workers. It occurred to me the other day, Internet marketing, well, it's not so different. It also occurred to me how lucky I am that working as vet tech prepared me for this.

Now please don't think this is a "How Internet Marketing is Like Being a Vet Tech" article. I just want to iterate the point that being an IM'er, even if you are outsourcing a lot of your work, requires that you be a well-rounded, 'able to do it all' kind of worker. As an Internet marketer running your own business you pretty much have to do everything. You are the:

Creative department: You have to come up with all your creative ideas for your business. As the creative department you must be able to brainstorm about your skills/interests before finding a profitable niche, create your own product (if you go that route), think of all the features and benefits of a product you own, design your website, think of things to write about, actually write about them, and write and design sales letters.

Exception to the rule: You can always outsource your sales letters and articles, but as most successful Internet marketers will tell you, eventually you need to do some of this at least once so you have an understanding of how it's done.

Customer Service: You have to know how to deal with your customers, aka, your purchasers and subscribers. You have to know how to deal with rude comments, refund requests, and complaints. You also need to know how to build good relationships with people; not only your subscribers, but other marketers. This is just a no-brainer. No successful marketer is an island.

Exception to the rule: You may have reached the point where you can outsource customer support. If so, congratulations! You have proven you are quite capable. But you still need to maintain good relationships with other marketers.

Research Department: You must be able to conduct basic research in order to find profitable niches, see what other successful marketers are doing, look up 'how to' tutorials, and check the stats of your own marketing methods. You may do this through an A/B split test, or some other method of tracking where most of your leads and sales are coming from.

Exception to the rule: Sorry, but there's really no exception to this. You, at a minimum, must be proficient at researching a profitable niche, even if you outsource the rest. This is a fundamental, basic first step in Internet marketing.

Tech support: As the tech support department, you have to be able to set up a website or blog, utilize an autoresponder, upload a squeeze page, use a cPanel or FTP server, know at least a bit of technical terms, and know how to backup all your stuff in case something happens (which as we know, is not a case of 'if', but 'when').

Exception to the rule: You may know someone who is technically inclined that can walk you through the set-up of all this or you can pay them to do it for you. If you're resourceful, you may think about utilizing your research department to look up video tutorials on how to set all of this up. The good thing is, you don't have to know why it works, just that it works.

Human resources: As the HR person in your business, you have a huge responsibility. You maintain the ebb and flow of every part of your business. You must make sure that all of your departments are doing their job correctly, keep them all motivated with rewards and bonuses, make sure they get holidays and sick time (but not taking advantage of them), and of course find the right outsourcers for the job at hand. If you want, you can assign the task of finding potential outsourcers to your research department (once again, that research department is coming in pretty handy. You may think about giving them an extra bonus).

All jokes aside, as the HR person, you have to hold yourself accountable, pat yourself on the back, make sure you're not overdoing it, and make sure every part of your business is flowing correctly. The HR department, hands down, has it harder than any other department.

Exception to the rule: If you can outsource your HR department, you're not an Internet marketer, you're more likely a Corporate CEO Tycoon. Really, if you're outsourcing your whole business, you probably don't need to be reading this, but thanks for taking the time to!

Now, is all of this that I've just talked about really a problem? It depends. Are you the kind of person that can handle being all of these things? How much can you outsource right now? Even if you have reached the point where you can have a large part of your business done for you, you didn't get to where you're at by NOT rounding a sharp learning curve. At some point you worked in every department of your internet marketing business. You still have a basic, fundamental knowledge of how everything works. In other words, you understand how all of this comes together.

It's like weaving a fine tapestry. Or better yet, like building a car. If you were going to pay someone to build a car from scratch, you would need to tell them all the features you want your car to have, right? And to do that, you would need to know what features are available, or even possible. You would at least need to look at other cars to see what they have (research department), decide on the best features to suit your needs as well as a good color, and type of fabric for the interior (creative department). You'd have to know how to go about finding the best mechanic for the job (research department and/or human resource) and then hire them (human resource). Once your car is built, it would be a good idea if you knew how to check the oil and change a flat tire (tech support). I think you get the picture.

Is this a tough part of Internet marketing? Yes, sometimes. Is anyone capable of doing it? No. If you can't handle having to do all of these things at some point and recognize that it's just part of the job, you're probably not going to make it.

Now, I bet I know what you're thinking.

"Geez, Liz. This is all kind of depressing. Is there a point to this? Is there any good news?"

Why, yes there is! Thanks for asking! The good news is, it's really not all that hard to be all those things, most of the time. And here's why: once you weigh the pros and the cons of all of this to having a real J.O.B., you will realize that as an Internet marketer you have a lot of benefits that include not having to commute, no workplace drama, no boss breathing down your neck, you can determine your own schedule, and the monetary rewards are huge (if you do it right).

And of course there is the exception to all of this: You can get a push-button software system that will handle the automation of all of this for you in as little as 2 hours, 49 minutes and 16 seconds, and be making money right away!!

Yeah, good luck with that!

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