What Windows 10 Can Teach Internet Marketers

After months of rumors and leaked screenshots, Microsoft finally announced Windows 10 a short while ago. Everyone knew that Microsoft was working on the next version of its operating system and while the official retail release won’t be until next year, the Technical Preview is available for download right now.

If you are an Internet marketer or you otherwise make money online, then you’re naturally on a computer for a good amount of time and, given the current market shares, there’s a pretty good chance that you’re using a Windows machine (and even if you’re on a Mac, it can run Windows too). Today’s post isn’t really about the features of Windows 10, but rather what you as an online entrepreneur can learn from Microsoft’s journey to this point.

Give People What They Want

Windows 8, for most intents and purposes, has been a bust. As much as people complained about previous versions of Windows, the experience was a familiar one and it lined up with what they expected from Microsoft. Windows 8 veered off on a completely different direction and the people hated it.

With Windows 10, Microsoft is still retaining some elements from Windows 8, but it is largely going back to what the people want. People want the regular Start Menu. People want to have their programs open in regular windows, rather than as forced full-screen apps with the Metro UI. And as an Internet marketer, you can learn from this. It’s okay to experiment and it’s okay to try new things, but you should always keep your core customers in mind when making any major decisions. Keep the Start Menu and forget about the Start Screen.

Build an Ecosystem

One of the complaints that people had about the previous generation of Windows was that it was confusingly disjointed. Some design elements were a constant, but Windows Phone, Windows RT and Windows 8 were utterly separate from one another.

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With Windows 10, Microsoft aims to provide more of a unified platform where your experience is all the same, it all ties into the same accounts and into the same app store. Everything works together in a much more seamless kind of way, which has been one of the appeals of the Apple ecosystem.

As an Internet marketer, it’s oftentimes not enough to have a single product with a single focus. That might be where you get your start, but it’s not where you’ll find your ultimate success. Build a system such that everything works together. In the case of John, he has this blog, his e-book, his videos and his mailing list, all working toward common objectives and common goals. It’s a unified approach.

Logic Need Not Apply

Let’s address the elephant in the room. How on Earth did Microsoft jump from Windows 8 to Windows 10? Why did they decide to skip Windows 9 completely like that? There are all sorts of theories on that, but the fact of the matter is that your products (and their names) don’t necessarily have to be logical. They just have to sell. How else can you explain the success of the Xbox 360? It should have been named the Xbox 2, since going 360 degrees just leaves you where you started.

In the context of making money online, you will need to defy convention and common sense now and again. You have to take some unexpected risks if you want to achieve some unexpected success.

Never Rest on Your Laurels

For the better part of the last twenty or thirty years, Microsoft has been the dominating force in computer software. From DOS to Windows 95 to XP and beyond, they offered the de facto platform for modern computers.

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But Microsoft can’t take that kind of success for granted. It recognizes that people are getting frustrated and, slowly but surely, they’re losing market share to Apple and OS X. They’re struggling in the console wars and in smartphones. Any huge success you enjoyed in the past hardly guarantees any future success you may hope to enjoy.

You need to stay determined and keep working at doing what you’re doing… and doing it better. John could have stopped when he was making only $34,000 a month through this blog, but he kept moving forward and now he’s cashing million dollar checks instead.

Be Prepared to Fail (Again)

Unsuccessful people assume that the road to success is a one way street with a direct passage to the destination. Successful people recognize that the only way you achieve any real success is to experience a whole host of failures along the way and, even when you make it to the top, you’re probably going to mess up a few times too. These are all learning experiences that can help you do better each time.

It’s hard to say whether Windows 10 will turn things around for Microsoft or not, but know that if you want to make the big bucks and enjoy the dot com lifestyle, the road is going to bumpy and you could get sidetracked. You just have to stick with it and do better.

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