When I was researching \”Click Here to Order,\” there was a story I kept coming across time and time again.
Marketers would tell me how they were down to their last penny, ready to throw in the towel, on their way to looking for a day job… when something happened.
For copywriter Michael Fortin, who had already declared bankruptcy by the age of 21, it was the discovery of the power of a well-written sales letter.
For Matt Bacak, who had been interviewing millionaires while living in a one-bedroom apartment and eating ramen noodles, it was being asked repeatedly how he built his list.
And for me… well, for me, the first time it was an email from a Japanese company offering to pay thousands of dollars a month to localize my content. And the second time, it was sitting next to someone in a conference room while he checked his AdSense stats.
Some people call those moments \”serendipity.\” Others call it \”luck.\” I like to think there\’s a meaning in these things.
There\’s certainly a pattern. What all of these stories had in common was that the people in them – including me – were doing something they were passionate about.
That might sound strange when you\’re talking about things like list-building and copywriting but even marketing can be a passion. Becoming a successful entrepreneur can be a passion.
And running a website about a subject you love can certainly be a passion.
That\’s true even if the site isn\’t making any money – which is what\’s likely to happen at the beginning.
My most important goal now is to help other people make money from Internet marketing. But the first piece of advice I give people isn\’t to sign up for AdSense or join an affiliate network.
It\’s to discover what you love the most.
If you can build a business around something that makes you happy – even if that\’s the art of business itself – you\’re already a success. The serendipity (or whatever you want to call it) and the money will follow.