Sopan Greene, M.A. has studied and actively worked with personal development, leadership development, marketing and metaphysics for over 20 years. His web site is: http://www.NetMarketingMastery.com
Q: How did you get a start in the Internet marketing world?
Sopan: I received an e-mail from Bob Gatchel, “The Internet Cheapskate.”, advertising cassettes for an “Internet Marketing Bootcamp.” These tapes came with a ton of bonuses including a book by Ted Ciuba.
After reading Ted’s book I was so inspired I called him and asked him how to get started. Ted sold me resale rights to some products, hooked me up with his webmaster, I started doing what I learned about from those tapes and the rest is history.
Q: What did you find was the hardest part when you were starting your Internet marketing business?
Sopan: Figuring out where to start and figuring out what information was hype and b.s and what was actually helpful. Most people online are trying to sell products they haven’t tried to people who are just as clueless as they are.
It’s really important in the beginning to learn the basics that build your opt-in list and put most of your effort into that. Don’t spend a ton of money or expect to make a ton of money in an affiliate program or network marketing program that you just keep running ads for.
Personally, I believe in affiliate programs, but you have to create your own ads (don’t run the ones thousands of other people run) and send people to an autoresponder that captures their e-mail address into your opt-in list before you send them to your affiliate site. I detail how to do this at: http://www.nmmastery.com/freereports/fastestlist.shtml
Q: What has been the biggest mistake you have made in your Internet marketing business so far, and what did you learn from it?
Sopan: My biggest mistake so far has been not being consistent in how much time I put into marketing. I learned to block out certain times to do certain activities like publishing my ezine, writing articles, swapping ads, connecting with other publishers.
This business is a marathon race, not a sprint. You have to consistently build up your reputation as someone who is trustworthy, knowledgeable and who underpromises and overdelivers value to customers and clients.
Q: Do you feel that the Internet marketing field is overcrowded?
Sopan: I’ve always said that people should only sell products they love. No matter what you sell, if it’s just for money you won’t last. I’m helping people with internet marketing because I know a lot more than a lot of people, but there are many “gurus” that know a lot more than I do. That’s why I’m more focused on what I’m creating at http://www.angryenough.com . It should be up and running very soon. It’s what I’m passionate about.
Q: With the benefit of hindsight, if there was one thing you could go back and change since you started your business, what would it be?
Sopan: I would not have spent as much money to get started. All you need is an idea for a quality ezine, an autoresponder to capture subscribers and the ability to write a good ad. You don’t even need a web site and these days you don’t even need a merchant account, you can do it all through PayPal.
Now the money I spent on my internet marketing education was well worth it. My advice is to buy information products that will help you get where you want to go faster. Don’t waste a lot of money on your site in the beginning.
Q: What advice would you have for someone who was starting out with their own online business?
Sopan: Build a list and sell products you believe in. If you’re intention is to move beyond being an affiliate then create information products that reflect your passions. Don’t sell golf books if you’ve never played golf.
In closing, I want to invite you to do what you love and don’t stop. The people making the most money online are making it because they never stopped working. They didn’t check it out, give it a month or 6 months and then give up. You have to stay in the game. There will be ups and downs. You have to want it bad enough to pay your dues, learn how to do it right and put a lot of time in.
Jason is the editor of Achieve Net Profits, where he interviews successful Internet marketers each week. Save yourself time and money by learning marketing directly from the pros! –> http://www.AchieveNetProfits.com/
