Expert Advice - An Interview With Sopan
Greene
Interview by Jason Anderson
http://www.achievenetprofits.com
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.
---
This article is an extract from an interview Sopan
Greene did with Achieve Net Profits. To read the
full interview, visit
http://www.achievenetprofits.com/archive/issue021.html
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