How to Avoid Program-Itis

By Terri Seymour
Posted Friday, August 27, 2004

When people first come online to start or build a business a lot of them catch a very common Internet disease that I will refer to as Program-Itis. I also fell victim to this disease. What happens is the bug hits you and you begin to believe that you have to join every program on the net in order to make money. Let me tell you that this is not true.

There are programs for selling products of all kinds, programs for getting subscribers or free traffic, programs for promotion and just about every other kind of program you can think of. There are some good ones out there and you need to sift through the rest to find them.

Some of the things you can keep in mind when it comes to joining programs are:

Check out all programs thoroughly. Make sure the program is set up so it will actually benefit you not just the founder of the program.

Ask more experienced netpreneurs for opinions. Visit message boards and join discussion lists to learn from others. People are very willing to help, share and advise you when you ask.

Choose a few exceptional programs to promote. Keep in mind that if you join too many programs
it will be hard to actively promote all of them. Promoting a few very good programs will be much
more effective.

Choose programs that compliment your business/website. If you have a website that deals with home repair, do not sell products about health or other unrelated subjects. People will come to your site to learn about home repair, so deal with those types of products/services.

I also suggest you try the product/program you are selling or advertising. If people have questions or comments about the product you will be prepared to answer. You can also give the product/program your personal recommendation.

Join in joint ventures and programs with people you already know and trust. If a trusted associate gives the program a personal recommendation, it usually will be a good one, but check it out anyway to see if it is something you would want to be a part of. I have received several invitations from associates for joint ventures and I find that these are the ones that work out the best and are most successful.

Experiment with similar programs. A lot of the same types of programs exist out there and some may work better than others. If you are not sure, try them and find which ones are best for you. You can always leave the ones that don't work out.

I hope some of these tips will help you rid yourself of Program-Itis and keep it down to a few of the most effective ones. Different people like different programs so you will not always agree with others on which ones are most successful. Choose the ones that work for you!

About the Author
Terri Seymour helps people start or build their online business by providing resources, tools, guidance and more. You can contact her at mailto:ter02@newnorth.net or visit (http://www.websuccesscentral.com) Subscribe to Web Success mailto:web-success-subscribe@egroups.com Download her new ebook loaded with updated resources, tips, links, and information. (http://www.websuccesscentral.com/data/tipsws.exe)