Read Ken McCarthy’s latest blog article titled “Results vs. Activity”. [Article Reprint]


Ken McCarthy’s latest article is reprinted here.

Does it really matter?

I’ve spent more time thinking about what matters – and what doesn’t matter – in Internet marketing than anyone else I know.

I started in 1993 and the question has been on the forefront of my mind ever since as I’ve worked directly with hundreds of Internet entrepreneurs.

When you look at the long list of success stories that have come out of the System Seminar over the past few years, you might wonder what our success secret is.

Why is that graduates of the System Seminar build successful businesses and even speak at and hold their own seminars, while the grads of other programs often find themselves with little more than a bigger credit card balance?

There is a reason…and it doesn’t take a long letter to explain.

If you fully grasp it, you’ll never find yourself *needing* another tape set, seminar or guru again – and you’ll also find yourself getting surprisingly rich, surprisingly fast.

http://kenmccarthy.com/blog/?p=83

Enjoy!

Ken

[email with the subject: Does It Really Matter?]

Results vs. Activity

This idea woke me up Saturday morning sometime before 5 AM.

I say “sometime” because it was dark and I really didn’t want to know what time it was.

I just wanted to go back to sleep, but the thought literally wouldn’t let me. After quite a bit of internal resistance, I finally rolled over and scribbled the words “Results vs. Activity” in the notepad I keep by my bed.

So what does it mean? Because I’ve worked with so many entrepreneurs over the years – hundreds directly and many thousands indirectly – I’ve had a chance to see what works and what doesn’t in business.

Many people – including me sometimes – are under the mistaken impression that “busy-ness” is the same thing as business. When they do this they’re making a very fundamental mistake.

Business is not about activity, it’s about results.

Like a unguided missile, many people launch themselves on a trajectory of what they think is dilligent activity assuming that activity alone is going to get them to a happy place. Nothing could be further from the truth.

Most people would profit from stopping everything they’re doing for a day and going to some quiet spot with a notepad and a pen and “thinking outloud on paper” about:

1. Where you’re at,

2. Where you’re trying to go and

3. What is it you’re actually doing every day.

Early in the Internet marketing revolution, I coined the phrase “traffic plus conversion equals profits.” I came up with this equation because I’d become deeply frustrated watching so many beginners chase their tails in a flurry of dramatic, but meaningless busy-ness. It’s very easy to get very, very busy and get nowhere.

Getting results, which presumably is why we do what we do, is about getting busy on the things that matter. When it comes to the things that matter in Internet marketing, it always comes down to the same things: traffic and conversion.

What did you do to get more leads today? What did you do to inspire your visitors to take more of the actions you want them to take?

If the answer to one of both of these questions is nothing, what exactly did you do today for your business?

Believe it or not, loyalty to this simple formula has been responsible for countless success stories in the Internet marketing world. It’s gotten people off the merry-go-round of chasing the-fad-of-the-month and into the world of putting serious money in the bank.

Take some time today – even just ten minutes – to think about what results you’re trying to achieve. Then catalog what you plan to do with your time today. Are the two in sync or has activity run off like an unguided missile taking you only God knows where?

It’s a question all smart entrepreneurs ask themselves daily. In fact, I believe you’ll find that many run this calculation in the back of their minds all day… “Is this activity going to move me towards the results I want?” If the anwer is yes, move forward. If it’s no, look for a better use of your time.

Yes, it really is that simple.

Speaking of conversion, I’ve been somewhat quiet about System 2007.

There’s been a lot going on in the background…the faculty this year is even bigger and better than System 2006 …the curriculum will be the most wide ranging, comprehensive one I’ve ever offered…and fortunately for me the word-of-mouth is strong and we hit the 50% enrollment point this week.

In the next ten weeks, I’ll be introducing the faculty, unveiling our curriculum (so the “copy cats” can get a head start on next year’s Big Idea) and conducting in depth interviews with every one of the guest experts who’ll be sharing with us this April in Chicago.

Frankly, we give away more immediately useful marketing strategies and tactics during the promotion period before the annual System event than most people get from seminars they spend thousands of dollars to attend.

But you can’t benefit frorm the free Pre-System festivities unless you’re on the Pre-Seminar notification list. If you’re not on (or if not sure if you’re on it), go to this page and opt-in:

http://www.TheSystemSeminar.com

See you in Chicago,

Ken

Ken McCarthy

Ken McCarthy organized and sponsored the first conference ever held on the subject of the commercial potential of the World Wide Web. His company Amacord Inc., formerly E-Media, was one of the first Internet-based businesses in the world.

In addition to working with small and mid-sized business clients since 1993, McCarthy was a consultant to NEC’s Biglobe, the largest online service in Japan, from 1996 to 2001. His book The Internet Business Manual was the first book on web entrepreneurship published in that country. He is also credited by Hotwired magazine with being one of the people responsible for the development and popularization of the banner ad, one of the key underpinnings of commercial Internet publishing.

A graduate of Princeton University, McCarthy came to the Internet industry with a varied background which included technical consulting for two of New York’s top investment banks, lecturing on educational psychology at MIT, Columbia, and NYU, and founding and operating a number of small businesses, including one that helped produce an Academy Award winning documentary. Ken McCarthy is associated with the following blogs: Ken McCarthy’s Blog, System Video Blog and Internet Video Marketing Letter

*IMNewswatch would like to thank Ken McCarthy for granting permission to reprint the latest article.