One of the hardest things when you’re new to internet marking is managing your IM activities effectively. It’s all very exciting and there are many things that you want to learn. However, if you’re not able to manage your time effectively, then you will easily find that you spend far too long on certain activities and you will eventually find yourself disappointed because you haven’t made the progress you were hoping for. In order to stop that happening, these are questions you should be asking and answering

How much time do you have?

Whether you want to do this as a full time job, part-time job or as a hobby then you still need to decide how much time you have to give to it. If you only have 7 hours a week, that’s absolutely fine, but it will also mean that it will take you quite a bit longer to build up a successful business. Be realistic. You are not trying to identify how much time you would like to spend on internet marketing, you're identifying what time you have currently available.

When are you going to schedule in you IM activities?

Too often people leave their IM activities down to chance, saying that they will fit it in when possible. This is a poor approach and doesn’t work. The rest of life inevitably gets in the way. So whatever time you decide to allocate to working on your online business, make sure that you schedule in the time and that you stick to it.

What goals have you set?

It’s really important that you have some goals written down for your internet marketing activities. Although not everyone is in favour of goal setting, I think it’s vital to be successful. If you don’t have an idea of the direction you’re moving in, you’re in danger of spending time on things that don’t matter or losing site of what you ultimately wanted to achieve.

What priorities do you have?

When you’re starting out it might sometimes be difficult to keep track of your priorities, but that’s why it’s so important to set some goals. Having the goals will in turn help you to identify your priorities. One of the biggest mistakes a beginner can make is getting caught up in things that really don’t matter. Trying to find a popular website theme is a common issue that people can waste hours over. Of course you want one that works for you and your customers but changing it 10 times over is not a priority. Getting a site up and running is. Remember, making productive use of your time will be a key factor in your success

How long will tasks take?

This question probably seems a silly one to ask at the beginning, because you won’t really know until you try doing some things. However, it’s common that things often take a lot longer that you expect and so building in some wriggle room is a sensible approach.

Summary

These are just 5 questions that you should ask yourself as you start to manage your IM activities. By answering them you should be able to set your goals, sort out your priorities and stick to your schedule. Being able to manage your time effectively when building up your online business will be one of the key factors that will help you find success.