Internet marketing is an unusual job. You’ve got nobody to answer to except yourself and your destiny is in your own hands. This is an especially cool situation considering how bad the economy is right now. But once you’ve gotten rid of your day job and you’re starting to make money online, you’re troubles have just begun – How on earth can you manage your time!?
Have you caught yourself complaining that there aren’t enough hours in the day? There are actually plenty of hours and then some to spare. You should be spending several focused hours working, and then hitting the beach, playing with the dog, or taking long, aimless walks. The problem is that so many of us get our online businesses going, and then can’t get away from them.
Fixing this problem is all about learning a few simple time management techniques. Here are some good time management tips from a successful Internet marketer. They’ll lower your stress level and they just might save your life!
Prioritize And Be Realistic
Each day, make a list of things that need to be done from most important to least important. I recommend following this list and starting with the most important, but lots of people say that it’s better to tackle the toughest things first. Following the list works for me because let’s face it; you don’t always get everything done.
And that’s alright as well. You should be realistic when you make your daily list. Can you really write 10 articles, get 15 high-quality backlinks, add 30 new list members and create accounts on 35 social networking sites in one day? I don’t know how much coffee you drink, but I definitely can’t.
The point is that sometimes (or most of the time), you have to let things slide. Otherwise you’ll go insane with stress and then you’ll never get anything done.
One Thing At A Time
One of the biggest mistakes I see newbie marketers making all the time is that they do too many things at once. They have 6 great money-making site ideas with awesome keywords, and they start building them all simultaneously. Each site is your baby and it takes lots of tender loving care. Building 6 sites at once means doing 6 times the work that’s humanly possible.
Instead, you should build one site, get a good measure of traffic and income from it, and then start your next one. This is how successful Internet marketers work. They more-or-less give their full attention to one site at a time until it’s up and running.
I have 3 very successful sites. The first one is an iContact coupon site that also has VitalMax coupons and Fathead promotional codes. Before I got started on building my next site, I made sure that there was steady traffic coming to this one that was getting me a few sales. I wasn’t raking in a million bucks before I started the next, but just enough money that I felt like it didn’t need as much babysitting.
Outsource What You Don’t Like
Outsourcing and automation are essential in working online. Lots of people wonder when you should start outsourcing. The answer is, of course, whenever you’re ready. I’d start outsourcing whenever you can afford it. However, it’s important to only outsource tasks you’ve one yourself. That way, you understand what’s involved, how much time it takes, and what you should be able to get for your money. You also can tell whether the job is done right or not.
For example, if you’ve never build backlinks and you outsource it, they might be getting you ‘quality’ backlinks on link swapping sites. You’ve just thrown away a pile of money and probably hurt your site ranking.
Take Lots Of Breaks
Finally, take lots of small breaks throughout the day. This prevents burnout and keeps you focused. Sometimes, the best time management technique is to get away from the computer and not think about time for a while. Just don’t let your breaks turn into whole afternoons!
About The Author:
Mike Ferris is an Internet marketer and online entrepreneur. He writes tech blogs about software coupons, discounts and special deals. He currently writes about Fathead promotion codes, iContact coupon offers, and VitalMax coupons. He can be reached at mikeferrisim@gmail.com