How To Do More High Yield Internet Marketing Activities
Last night I finished reading Michael Masterson’s “The Pledge.” It’s a book about goal setting at first, but rather then just leave you with your goals, Masterson fills out the bulk of the book with strategies to help you actually achieve those goals. Some strategies are very cerebral and some are as practical as “How To Be An Early Riser.”
Overall I enjoyed the book and took copious notes using Chapters for iPad. (I take notes when I want to remember something. I rarely refer back to the notes – I don’t have to. It’s the act of writing the notes that triggers memorization).
In “The Pledge,” Masterson spends quite a bit of time revealing his own productivity / organization / time management system, which is a mish-mash of techniques he’s picked up over time to create something that works for him. And one of the biggest points he emphasizes is that one must spend more time on high value, low importance tasks. Whaaaa? High value, sure, but low-importance? Huh? I’ll explain, but I’ll frame it specifically for internet marketers.
The things that will bring you the most ROI – in our business, that pretty much means the things that will make us the most money, are:
HIGH YIELD ACTIVITIES FOR INTERNET MARKETERS
- Writing blog posts for flagship sites (for me, that would be sites like MichelleMacPhearson.com *not* content/affiliate sites)
- Writing email broadcasts
- Writing autoresponder sequences
- Filming video you’ll release for freebie content
- Creating content (video, PDF’s, images) for products you’ll sell
- Writing sales copy
- Broadcasting the availability of new content to your networks like Twitter & Facebook
- Communicating with your team (giving instructions, assigning work, etc.)
Most of these things will immediately bring you a result (like people clicking your links, establishing your relationship with your readers, or joining your subscriber list). Some of these things have a more cumulative effect, like creating a segment of a course you want to release. Each segment you finish gets you one step closer to the end – when you can actually release the product and make your money.
But what you’ll notice is that very rarely do any of these high yield activities have to be done on a certain day. Blog posts – it’s be *nice* to get them out more often, but what’s one more day…? Same with email broadcasts. Writing your salesletter is HARD… “I’ll work on it tomorrow after I think things through a bit more.” Communicating with your team – sometimes we skip it and just do the jobs ourselves, since we know we’ll get it right the first time.
But, it’s these activities that, done on a regular, consistent basis, that will bring in the best results – the most money, the most subscribers, the best relationships and higher response from our market.
Unfortunately, we often spend more, if not most of our time, on…
LOW YIELD ACTIVITIES FOR INTERNET MARKETERS
- Installing and configuring new sites, blogs, scripts and plugins
- Designing graphics, perfecting layouts
- Engaging in “chatter” on Facebook / Twitter / forums etc.
- Reading tens, if not hundreds, of blog posts
- Buying courses
- Checking email
- Checking stats
- Doing way too much research
- Doing any other task we could train our team to do for us
(“But wait Michelle! I don’t have a team yet and somebody’s got to do these things!” I know, I’ll get to that.)
What’s alluring about these low yield tasks is twofold:
- They often “ping” us – the email, Twitter or Facebook beep, flash or otherwise let us know there’s something new. So they provide an often welcome interruption to the “harder” high yield tasks that sometimes require more concentration.
- We can still pretend we’re “working” when we’re doing these things. We can tell ourselves we accomplished something when we’ve finished over-researching a link building strategy. But we haven’t actually *done* anything that will earn us income, subscribers or goodwill in the marketplace.
(I realize these lists might not be 100% accurate or exhaustive for every imaginable internet marketing business model out there, although they provide a good guideline. Use the comments to discuss *your* highest yield activities!)
HOW TO DO MORE HIGH YIELD ACTIVITIES
Masterson is not alone in his solution to the problem – it’s one I and many other successful folk engage in:
Each day, pick out one or two of your most high-yield activities and DO THEM FIRST.
Pretty simple, eh?
To get used to it, just pick ONE THING. Do it. Then go back to whittling away the rest of your day. :-)
After you’ve practiced for a week or so, stack a second high yeild activity to do after your first. Take a short break in between them. So you might write a blog post (high yield activity #1), have a chat with your BFF over Skype (that’s your break, set a timer for 15 minutes) and then move on to filming a module for your new course (high yield activity #2). Then whittle away the rest of your day checking stats and refreshing Facebook if you so desire. You can still feel good about your day because you got two really important, high yield things done!
If you don’t have a team, that’s ok, do your ONE THING at the beginning of your day and then move on to your must-do but low-yield activities only after you’ve completed your ONE THING.
You’ll find that you’re getting more important work done and oftentimes that important work begets more important work. Important work recharges us, it makes us want to do more of it. It’s the starting part that can be hard, but once you’ve started, it’s so rewarding you’ll just keep going.
Don’t create massive to-do lists – they’re overwhelming and disheartening when we don’t get it all done. To start, create a list of ONE.
What’s the one high yield thing you’ll tackle first thing tomorrow morning? Let me know in the comments!
check your support page please!!!
Excellent advice! I need to start paying more attention to the high yield activities and less to the low yield ones.
I like Michael Masterson’s books but I haven’t read that one yet.
Thanks for such a great post!
Sally
Funny ~ I just set up a 1 thing thread in my forum. It really works if you can get 1 or 2 high yield activities done. The thing is being able to recognize and identify what those tasks are for YOUR business.
Interesting perspective.
I would say communicating with your team – if you have it – is the most important activity
Great article, Michelle. Thank you very much.
P.S. My high yield activity for tomorrow? Producing more blog posts for ya!
I will write a lengthy blog post tomorrow! But what shall I write about?
That is great advice Michelle. I agree with you 100%.
There is also a little known alternative to get low yield activities done right without spending the time or money usually required. What alternative?
Partner with someone like me who will take care of all those tasks in a very effective and professional way and share the profits with him, when you make some, instead of investing the money upfront.
There is a highly beneficial effect to such a partnership: Your partner, if business savvy, will do everything in his power to make sure you do earn profit because that way he is securing his own share of the revenue.
Oh, you caught me doing a low yield activity… reading your blog post!
But great article! Now I know I have to focus more on high-yield!
I especially liked, “Important work recharges us, it makes us want to do more of it.”
So tomorrow morning I’ll FIRST start by writing content for a new product.
Spot on Michelle
Well, Mr Dale has a system he calls CFTs (as I’m sure you know), so I shall be editing an article and researching for another one. Little pat on the head
Awesome post Michelle…thanks for writing and sharing your insight from the book. Cheers Tracy
Good post!
I’ve been using this approach for ages and I can confirm…it works!
Love the post. Will checkout the book.
Robert
Great post Michelle. A perfect pieces of content / product that you could put together right now would be a business disruption check list/program that marketers like myself could work through so we”d be able to handle things more smoothly in the event of an unexpected disruption — whether health related, weather or natural disaster, etc. Your experience gives you a unique perspective on what really matters in terms of keeping a business up and running. Just a thought – but I’d be the first to sign up for it!
I find this very refreshing. I have many people tell me ” make a list, number it and see how much you can get done in a day”. That does not seem to work for me. By the time I get to something important I’m out of Juice. I would rather focus on one high yield activity when energy is most high. I will try this out for a week and see if I don’t accomplish much more by the end of the day.
Thank you this is a great post.
Truly appreciating how clear you make this! (And a great ‘kick in the butt’!)
Thanks Michelle – i`ll be submitting articles daily ( if possible ) as my high yield activity. I hope it yields the results i`m looking for .
Good post Michelle, I need to stop reading this blog low yield activity and move to high yield activity. Get more money in.
Good approach adding 1 high yield activity per week – so after a month or so a person will only be doing high yield activities. A bit like the 80/20 rule – focus your attention on the activities that bring in 80% of your income. I would add cultivating jv’s as an important high yield activity for IM
Great post, Michelle! Now back to my article writing!
So it’s do as I say and not as I do? Are we to stop reading and commenting on your posts because they are low yield activities? J I was told to take my to-do list and limit the amount of items to just three. From that three, select the one thing that would be the hardest. Then do that hardest thing first. Gotta tell you- it makes me feel like a champion at the end of the day! (even if I’ve completed just that one hard thing)
@Reid – Well of *course* MY posts are high yield activities, LOL!
The ‘big rocks first’ approach really works for me. I also dislike a lot of productivity advice out there that seems intent on trying to get you to absolutely fill your day with ‘stuff’ you need to get done.
Perhaps it’s better to think about what really matters, get that done (using the strategy you outline above) and just don’t worry about the rest.
Shouldn’t our goal be to do less but achieve more?
I’ve discovered that it’s quite hard to kick yourself up the butt when you’re so busy with low-yield tasks, but thanks to your helpful post I’ve managed to do it, and have achieved so much today, and have a plan in place for tomorrow. Go me! (and you)
Thanks @StevenCravis for introducing me to Michelle’s blog. I like the high-yield model. I use it daily. I wrote a related blog post in December for entrepreneurs who feel overwhelmed: http://www.connecttwo.com/2010/12/process-of-illumination-start-leading.html. Hope it’s helpful for someone in your community.
So what is one thing? When there are so many ONE things to do… maybe i am just feeling sorry that I have blown over 50K on this stuff and only get a 25$ affiliate check once a month… and adsense of 100$ a month… combining all the right stuff is just to hard…. I do struggle but where or when does the pay off come in… feels like insanity… go to school? http://onlineschoolssearch.com/
Michelle, please replace the word important with urgent …. that’s the traditional language used for productivity
You want to work on things that are max important but not urgent (high yield)
You want to avoid things that are neither important nor urgent (browsing forums)
And you never want to delay things until they get to be both important and urgent (a time bomb of stress)
The Importance / Urgency matrix is how this is typically described.. I get what you’re saying but calling things that are important not important (instead of not urgent) is confusing
Unless you did this switch on purpose to elicit a shock of a response from your readers…
You definitely hit that on the head, especially the whiiling away your day part! Ouch! Great article. Thank you!
Nice post Michelle, I still struggle with the “wait I need to do more research Stuff”
but the good news is that I figured out a way (for me any how) to solve the problem. Thanks again for the post.
Kevin
Great post, Michelle! I also find it helpful to “unplug”, in a way. I sit down with paper and pen, and write out my thoughts, plan my pages, set things up – away from the computer with all it’s distracting bells and whistles (Facebook, Email, Twitter). I’ve also pulled out my laptop, disconnected the Wifi, and worked on things from there.
DIPA – (Direct Income Producing Activities) are what we should be focused on each day. There are too many things that we let distract us that don’t make us any money.
Thanks Michelle I had hit a block and was achieving nothing in huge quantities
. Thanks for the reminder to do the hard stuff first.
Never let doing good become the enemy of doing that which is best.
Hey Michelle, I’m staring at the high yield activities list and burning them into my brain. I’m pretty good with flagship posts and content creation, but the marketing bit is what doesn’t come as naturally to me. Isn’t marketing a high yield activity? Otherwise how will people ever find our lovely content?
The other issue with dealing with the low yield stuff first, particularly emails, is that they often generate a whole bunch of other low yield stuff which seems urgent at the time, and then by the time you come to tackle the high yield item on your list, most of the working day is gone and the thought of starting a 4 hour job then no longer appeals. It gets put off till the next day and then your inbox is full as a boot again and the cycle repeats. For me the take home idea from this interesting thread is to close my email browser and not look at it until mid afternoon. Thanks for that inspiration Michelle slash Michael.
Love it, less is more. A to do list of one. Beautiful. But I shouldn’t be reading blogs. Oops.
Yoe write so clearly and to the imortant points,
I shall try to get this book if it is as good as you say
Best Regards
Greg
Fantastic article Michelle! Very inspiring. I’m going to get started on the newsletter I’ve been putting off all week NOW.
yupper send out new email to potential customers. Nice article time scheduled tasked can really mess up my day when I get behind.
My high-yield task for Weds. is to write some blog posts for the channels that bring in revenue!! Thanks for this reminder.
I TOTALLY subscribe to this method as well and I have just written an article on this very topic,
but approaching it from a different angle. Michelle I think you will really like it, so go read it at http://www.damienpenn.com/blog/internet-marketing-dreams-let-go/ and this might spark some more ideas on your end : )
After reading your post I thought about the importance of focusing our time and energy only on the important activities in our field. Internet marketers often get distracted and it’s easy to understand why as the internet is a big source of information and you can spend hours reading without keeping track of time. I have a few articles on my blog that will help anyone who’s in the internet marketing niche and you can check them out here: http://www.davidandchip.com/blog
One high yield thing? Contact clients about their property requests on http://www.valencia-property.com and add into the autoresponder too. In the end the more client contacts (Check moves) the more successful conversion just like in internet marketing.
Oh boy Michelle have you hit the nail on the head and not on the thumb.Some great advice which can be applied to any walk of life. Very similar to the Rollercoaster ride Rob Somerville tweeted about a couple of months ago.Thank you for this timely reminder.
Cheers, Davina
~
Michelle,
I know where you’re coming from and agree
it’s very easy to ‘goof around’ on-line.
On the other hand touches like creating a
‘Film like’ look to your photos, as you have
done, whilst not essential, surely adds to the
aesthetic and original impact to your pages
I like this Michelle and I am going to put it into practice right now. Another new year resolution that will definitely be kept! Thank you
Hey Michelle, very relevant to us IMers/bloggers. I think it’s imperative to concentrate on one or two tasks in the day and really hit them hard. Take a break, repeat the next day, then perhaps try a fresh topic altogether for day 3. Today I’ve been smashing it with ad swaps. Of course many won’t even reply to my requests, that’s why you have to keep smashing it before you move on to some fresh activity. Cheers, Nic Penrake
great post michelle. i like how you explain to begin taking action on high yield tasks gradually – forging the habit so to speak, so then it becomes a way of life. chapters for ipad would be a real treat for me! i will have to get me one first !!
I used your advice and my website http://www.movetopbc.com has been thriving every since. Thanks for the great post and hope you keep them coming!
Great content Michelle: ‘Guilty’ on numerous accounts
Great advice. I kick myself for spending so much time cleaning out my email. I have committed to help a friend improve his web site http://www.bankruptcyattorneyinminnesota.com You can see I need to get down to business. Thanks
Nice post….and everything is one step at a time…some need to read many post when starting out in order to learn….everything is a learning process! I better get back to doing a high yielding activity now…i.e. putting a new post on my financial education and wealth creation blog – http://BecomingFinanciallySavvy.com
I was ussing that system 25 years ago it is amazing if you put only two things on a the list and either finish or work till you can’t move it forward anymore. doesn’t even need to be important just doing creates the engery to do more.
I Keep a legal pad as my mouse pad and write things that I want to do on it to keep it in near focus.
Best tip is get a couple of white boards with the one closest to view from computer my “the guy has a gun to my head and wants money now, how can I get him money today list” the 2nd board is important but not highest priority and a 3rd board is a huge board “the Tommorow File” for brainstorming over a period of time. i then move stuff up to 1st board or 2nd board if it stays to long on either of these it gets deleted
I just want to thank you for reminding of the things I do wrong. I want to print your post for my own sake – my own health. Put it on the wall.
Your post “How to Do More High Yield Internet Marketing Activities” will help me stay more focused on what you call: “HIGH YIELD ACTIVITIES FOR INTERNET MARKETERS”. For a long time now I have been doing all the “stuff” you call: “LOW YIELD ACTIVITIES FOR INTERNET MARKETERS” without realizing how much quality time – and probably lost income – I miss by doing so.
Great article with really useful information
Great Reminder of what we should constantly be focussing on, – but somehow don’t.
)
Thank you!
I am presently reading the book (and listening to the audio) “Eat that Frog” by Brian Tracy which
points in the same direction and is also highly recommendable.
I better stop reading this blog post. It’s on the “low yield” activity list. ha ha Just kidding.
Sounds like a must get book, thanks Michelle, could be billed as a virtual kick… much needed I must say.
Oh, amazing – you ask us to write in the comments, “What’s the one high yield thing you’ll tackle first thing tomorrow morning?” and looks like most people have managed to do everything but that.
Me? I’ll be writing blog posts for a flagship site. And queue them for publication. Thanks Michele!
Really goood stuff!
Michelle Mac Phearsom I don’t mean to critique your writing, one thing however does get to me and it’s the difference between the meaning and usage of two four letter words THEN & THAN Please look them up as they is a vast difference.
Thanks Art
I did put the” they” in the wrong place intenionally. Art
Great post, Michelle, thanks!
*Ouch*
Your observations in this post got to me just because i have much too often in the past been guilty of finding false value in doing the more ‘low yield’ activities that you describe. This has left me often guilty of low productivity and a somewhat disappointing success/achievement rate as any kind of IM person.
It is my hope that this time (this is not the first time I have been reminded of my low yield activities) I will take the advice of others to heart and make a more concerted effort to make more use of my day and night (since I work a graveyard shift and have some spare hours on it)!
BTW: Critiques on spelling suggest a lack of appreciation for the message that Michelle is offering here. Just my two cents worth…
wowza I loved this post! I will be writing posts for http://www.bewellwithsue.com and creating content for products…this blog post was PERFECT for me right now!
I’ll be writing a new post for my blog http://www.AustralianSoyCandles.com and then writing an email (for my email campaign). This post and the to-busy-shipping-to-care post are great philosophies to master.