Just one good launch will get me there
…or will it?
It’s a common myth in internet marketing that you can put up a site on Monday and be a millionaire by Tuesday. And although there are the unscrupulous few that still promote this philosophy to unsuspecting newcomers, there are many who promote something much more insidious… the “one good launch” theory. (That’s my name for it.)
The “one good launch” theory goes something like this…
Create a product, or buy the resale rights to one; throw up a site quickly; and then watch the money roll in. In no time you’ll have thousands of dollars flowing into your paypal or clickbank accounts. Yeah right.
Fire sales are a good example of this, and you see them used all the time to raise money for many different reasons. But what the new person — the average guy or gal that’s looking for a way to get out of debt, or maybe replace a lost income — doesn’t see is all the networking and buzz building that goes on behind the scenes before the sale even launches. It’s misleading to let someone new to internet marketing believe that they can make several thousand dollars in a short time just by putting up a sales page and waiting for the money to flow their way.
In the interests of full disclosure, I have to admit that I bought into this theory for quite awhile. For the last year when we were talking about how to finance our move east, I could be heard to say “just one good launch will get us there.”
And for awhile I believed it. I plotted and planned my way to six-figure days, none of which got much further than the registering of a domain name. It wasn’t until my son finally got fed up at hearing it and asked me when the one big launch would happen that I had to admit that I didn’t really have a clue. And his second question really made me stop and think…
“Even if you do pull of this one good launch and make enough to get us there, then what?”
Then what, indeed. It’s all well and good to do a one-shot launch and reap the proceeds of a good one. But you need a steady flow of income in you’re going to make a success of internet marketing as a lifestyle. Especially when a cross-country move means losing the reliable income you already have.
As a result of that conversation, I decided that for us maybe one good launch is not the best route to take. Instead I would focus on a series of mini launches in different niches that can bring in streams of sales every week. So instead of my first goal being a lump sum of $100,000 to buy a house with cash, I revised my plan to first create a weekly income of $700. While not a huge amount by many internet marketers’ standards, it is enough to get us moved and rent a house until we’re ready to buy. It’s also a little more realistic, and I believe it can be achieved by using the plan set out in Willie Crawford’s Really Fast Money. (That’s an affiliate link, btw.)
(I’m getting sidetracked here, so I’ll save the rest of this process for another post.)
Back to the “one good launch” theory…
The more I think about it, the more I believe that this should be a middle step in the process. At least that’s how it’s shaping up for me. I know that it can work because I’ve seen it done enough times to know that it’s doable. But I also know that it’s very rare for an absolute newcomer to be able to pull it off without some insider help. They just don’t have the contacts and network needed to create the buzz and get the word out.
At the end of the day, the choice is yours, and that’s the beauty of internet marketing. You create the plan that works for you. As long as you take action on it, it doesn’t really matter whether you choose a one-product big launch, or a series of smaller ones — you will achieve your goals.
Which style works better for you? Leave your thoughts and comments below.
