In case you don’t know already, “The Dip” is a book by Seth Godin. In it he talks about how you need to get through this “Dip” in order to be successful.
I always thought it was a great book, but I’ve realised that I’ve been in The Dip myself recently. I’m hoping that I’m going to be able to keep going and get through it on the road to success.
What’s this Dip all about?
If you’ve ever started something new you probably found that in the beginning it was all good fun, but then it became a bit of “a slog” and you may have give it up as a result. This part when it becomes a slog is The Dip, and according to Seth Godin this is when you make the decisions that enable you to be successful.
I’ve set up a number of websites with the intention of making money online. I felt like I had a great idea for a website (the fallacy of the great idea!), and that enough people would interested in what I was saying for me to make money with it.
Setting up the website and the associated social media accounts makes you feel busy. Writing the initial content and putting in the affiliate links makes you feel like you are achieving something. But then, where’s the immediate reward in terms of visitors and money? You’re in The Dip! Time to give up then…
Moving into the internet marketing niche with iPro
In July this year (2015) I participated in Dean Holland’s “Quick Start Challenge”, and graduated from that to join his iPro Partnership. This was my first time writing about the internet marketing and home business niche and it was an exciting new start for me.
I set this website up as part of the Quick Start Challenge and I have been writing about some of my experiences with iPro here too.
Again, setting up the website and social media accounts for This Online Business was very exciting, and producing the initial content gave me a great sense of achievement. Having some great products to promote gave me the confidence to take on my first solo ad campaign.
I wasn’t planning to make any initial profits with my solo ads, but to cover the cost of the promotions and build a list of subscribers that I keep in touch with and provide helpful information about internet marketing products that might interest them.
More by luck than judgement (I think, but you never know) I started to make money right away, and had my first $1,000 day within a few weeks. This gave me the belief and motivation to invest more to speed up the process.
Here comes The Dip
Then I had my first month where I didn’t make any money. That helped to put me in The Dip pretty quickly! I couldn’t understand why this had happened. Maybe it was just down to luck again – but bad luck this time.
When I examined what had happened I realised that I had made some changes. As a result of my early success I started to think I knew more than I did, and I had tinkered with the process.
As I figured this out I compared what had worked and now what hadn’t and I could see immediately the mistake I had made. I put things back the way they had been and the following month I was back making money again.
I think the difference this time was the incredible support I got from the iPro team and other partners in the online community group. Hearing about what other people are doing and what is and isn’t working helped me to examine what I was doing and made me keep going through The Dip.
However, it’s important to realise there’s more to The Dip than a month when you don’t make any money. I’m aware that the initial excitement that got me going has passed, but I haven’t got to the stage where I could say I’m truly successful with this online business.
But is it worth the effort?
One of the questions asked in the book is whether the goal is worth the hassle. In this case I believe it definitely is worth it. It’s been clear to me for a long time that an online business is the way to go, and I’m determined to see it through (this time).
Like most people in my position I’m a bit unsure about what I should be focusing on. The advice I’m getting from the iPro team and others is the importance of creating online assets to let people know about me and what I’m doing. So, I’d better go and get started with that.
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