Good morning blog readers,
In the last posting, I discussed the 7 Essential Steps that an Internet Marketer will need to take to be successful in this business. In this posting, I want to discuss some of the misconceptions you may hear about Internet Marketing, and the truths about each of these misconceptions. Before I get into these misconceptions, I will illustrate an example of a misconception that I faced years ago when I was looking for a business opportunity.
The year was 1987, and I was a sophomore at Howard University in Washington, DC. At the time, my mother was paying my tuition, plus I was receiving financial aid. I know it was hard on my mother to pay for my college education, so I wanted to find a way to help her with those expenses. After all, I wanted to be responsible for my own college education.
I am not able to remember where I saw the opportunity, but it was an ad that says MAKE MONEY BY STUFFING ENVELOPES. Of course at the time, the Internet was not available to the general public, so I had to send for the information, which was mailed to me. When I received it, I start reading the possibilities, and I got excited about it. I remembered some of the things that were mentioned in the letter:
First, it began to tell you how easy it is to make money stuffing envelopes, and to get paid for it. Secondly, it would ask how many envelopes you would I like to stuff per month. It asked, HOW MANY ENVELOPES CAN YOU STUFF PER MONTH? 10? 50? 100? 300? Reading this, I was getting excited. Yes, I can stuff 300 or more.
The next thing that the letter focused on is the amount of money you can make. I don't exactly remember the amount, but the amount was in the ballpark of $5k to $10k per month.
The bottom line is.....the letter focused on how much much you can make, which would get anyone excited about signing up. At the end of the letter, there was a price of about $24.95, which you would have to pay in order to start stuffing envelopes. I paid the fee, then sent off my order form. I was thinking to myself...not only will I be able to pay for my own college expenses, but I will be able to do some Christmas shopping during the holiday season.
When I got the report and I read it, my excitement suddenly turned to disappointment. After reading this report, I found out that I had to place ads in order to solicit others who want to stuff envelopes, then I would have to send interested parties the same letter I received previously. In the report, it was suggested to place an ad in the National Inquirer. When I bought the National Inquirer, you wouldn't believe how many STUFFING ENVELOPES ads I saw. There were HUNDREDS of ads. UGGHHH!!!!!
The stuffing envelope scheme was an example of a chain letter scam. Such tactics would be illegal in this day and age, but at that time, you had quite a few of these business scams. Deception is the name of the game with these opportunities. You convince whomever is reading your letter how much money they can make without discussing the details, put a price on it, and after the prospects pay, you tell the truth about what is offered. Unfortunately, many business opportunities today use the same tatics. Many of them tell you what you want to hear as far as making a lot of money, and they tell you how easy it is to make that money. After you pay the fee, or opt in to receive e-mails, you get the truth about the opportunity. In my opinion, this deception is one of the reasons why many people who want to become Internet Marketers fail before they can get started. When a person who is striving to become his/her own boss comes across a business opportunity that deceives them, thus saying one thing, then after you pay or opt in, saying something else, that can be discouraging.
If you are reading this posting, and you are striving to become an Internet Marketer, let me clear up a few misconceptions you may hear about Internet Marketing, and the truths that follow.
MISCONCEPTION #1: YOU CAN MAKE MONEY OVERNIGHT
The Misconception: This is probably the number one misconception one hears about Internet Marketing. Believe it or not, there are business opportunities out there that claim that you can make money "overnight". When they say this, they don't mean that you can literally make money overnight, but you can make it quickly.
The Truth: There are several ways you can make money overnight: 1) winning the lottery, 2) winning big at the casinos, 3) winning by betting on sports, and 4) Obtaining money from an inheritance. As far as making money overnight in Internet Marketing, it just doesn't happen. No one goes from rags to riches overnight with Internet Marketing. The truth is, making money as an Internet Marketer is a slow and methodical process. Even our most prominent Internet Marketers will tell you that it took months, perhaps years before they even made any serious cash.
MISCONCEPTION #2: YOU CANNOT MAKE MONEY ONLINE
The Misconception: Before the Internet was available to the public, there were a lot of pyramid schemes and business practices that would be illegal today. Just the same, many people believe that most of the business opportunities online are not legitimate, thus making money online is nothing more than a fantasy.
The Truth: There are legitimate business opportunities online that can provide a nice income for you. As with any business venture, whether it's online or otherwise, there are procedures you must follow (as illustrated in my previous posting) if you want to be successful. In other words, you must treat your online business as you would any mom-and-pop store; you will have to work! With time, (and with a little investment), you can make a substantial income online for yourself.
MISCONCEPTION #3: FREE...FREE...EVERYTHING'S FREE!!!!
The Misconception: When it comes to Internet Marketing, the one word you will see with most business opportunities is the word FREE. Some of these opportunities will claim that they can help you make money online, and they can do it for free.
The Truth: You will not be able to make $10k per month with something you received absolutely free. Many of these business opportunities will tell you that you can make a substantial income without coming out of your pocket, but only after you "opt in" (which means you signed in to receive future e-mails from them), you will then receive e-mails in which they will "upsell" to persuade you to buy in order to make money with the opportunity. The fact is, no business opportunity will make money by giving you something 100% free. Think about it. If you could earn $10k a month without spending a dime of your money, then there would be more successful Internet Marketers in the business.
MISCONCEPTION #4: "YOU CAN MAKE $1000 IN JUST 7 DAYS"
The Misconception: You've probably seen opportunities that claim that you can make a certain amount of money within a certain amount of time. Personally, I have seen videos in which people claim that they made over $1000 in one week after starting the opportunity.
The Truth: It may be possible for a seasoned Internet Marketer, who already has already built a business relationship with a large number of people (i.e. a large opt in list) to start a new business opportunity and rake in at least a thousand dollars in a week. It could be possible to make that amount of money if you pay a lot of $$$ for advertising. In general, no one, and I mean NO ONE who is inexperienced in Internet Marketing will be able to generate that amount of cash in their first 7 days of promoting the business. The fact to the matter is, many of these business opportunities tend to exaggerate the earnings to persuade you to sign up. Any legitimate business should be telling you more about the opportunity and less about the money you could make.
MISCONCEPTION #5: "IT IS SO SIMPLE, EVEN A TEN-YEAR OLD CAN DO IT"
The Misconception: When a business opportunity says a ten-year old can work the business, this is telling you that you don't have to put in a lot of effort to make money.
The Truth: If this statement were true, there would be far more Internet Marketers out there making a substantial income online. If a business opportunity was that simple, you wouldn't have to go to college for 4 years to work for a Bachelor's Degree. All you would have to do is to promote this business to make money. The truth is, no business opportunity is "simple". You still will have to devote a lot of time and effort (and/or money) to make it work for you.
MISCONCEPTION #6: "YOUR WEBSITE WILL BE SEEN BY THOUSANDS"
The Misconception: There are systems out there that claim they can help you receive a lot of traffic to your website or affiliate link.
The Truth: This is another exaggeration to get you to opt in or buy into their system. What they don't tell you is that in order to get thousands of views to your website, you will have to pay...and even when you pay, it's not guaranteed that you will that many views on your website. Also, the views that you may get could be from other Internet Marketers who are looking to promote their website or affiliate link.
..........................................................................................................................................
Many of these business opportunities and systems will exaggerate or deceive you with their offers in order to get you to pay or opt in to their program. As an Internet Marketer, you should be aware that nothing will come easy as far as building your business to earnings of $5k or more per month. As with any business opportunity, you will have to earn your way to success. With the right tools, you will be successful.
In a future posting, I will give you my analysis on why the majority of Internet Marketers fail to make a single penny online. Until then, have a great weekend!
In the last posting, I discussed the 7 Essential Steps that an Internet Marketer will need to take to be successful in this business. In this posting, I want to discuss some of the misconceptions you may hear about Internet Marketing, and the truths about each of these misconceptions. Before I get into these misconceptions, I will illustrate an example of a misconception that I faced years ago when I was looking for a business opportunity.
The year was 1987, and I was a sophomore at Howard University in Washington, DC. At the time, my mother was paying my tuition, plus I was receiving financial aid. I know it was hard on my mother to pay for my college education, so I wanted to find a way to help her with those expenses. After all, I wanted to be responsible for my own college education.
I am not able to remember where I saw the opportunity, but it was an ad that says MAKE MONEY BY STUFFING ENVELOPES. Of course at the time, the Internet was not available to the general public, so I had to send for the information, which was mailed to me. When I received it, I start reading the possibilities, and I got excited about it. I remembered some of the things that were mentioned in the letter:
First, it began to tell you how easy it is to make money stuffing envelopes, and to get paid for it. Secondly, it would ask how many envelopes you would I like to stuff per month. It asked, HOW MANY ENVELOPES CAN YOU STUFF PER MONTH? 10? 50? 100? 300? Reading this, I was getting excited. Yes, I can stuff 300 or more.
The next thing that the letter focused on is the amount of money you can make. I don't exactly remember the amount, but the amount was in the ballpark of $5k to $10k per month.
The bottom line is.....the letter focused on how much much you can make, which would get anyone excited about signing up. At the end of the letter, there was a price of about $24.95, which you would have to pay in order to start stuffing envelopes. I paid the fee, then sent off my order form. I was thinking to myself...not only will I be able to pay for my own college expenses, but I will be able to do some Christmas shopping during the holiday season.
When I got the report and I read it, my excitement suddenly turned to disappointment. After reading this report, I found out that I had to place ads in order to solicit others who want to stuff envelopes, then I would have to send interested parties the same letter I received previously. In the report, it was suggested to place an ad in the National Inquirer. When I bought the National Inquirer, you wouldn't believe how many STUFFING ENVELOPES ads I saw. There were HUNDREDS of ads. UGGHHH!!!!!
The stuffing envelope scheme was an example of a chain letter scam. Such tactics would be illegal in this day and age, but at that time, you had quite a few of these business scams. Deception is the name of the game with these opportunities. You convince whomever is reading your letter how much money they can make without discussing the details, put a price on it, and after the prospects pay, you tell the truth about what is offered. Unfortunately, many business opportunities today use the same tatics. Many of them tell you what you want to hear as far as making a lot of money, and they tell you how easy it is to make that money. After you pay the fee, or opt in to receive e-mails, you get the truth about the opportunity. In my opinion, this deception is one of the reasons why many people who want to become Internet Marketers fail before they can get started. When a person who is striving to become his/her own boss comes across a business opportunity that deceives them, thus saying one thing, then after you pay or opt in, saying something else, that can be discouraging.
If you are reading this posting, and you are striving to become an Internet Marketer, let me clear up a few misconceptions you may hear about Internet Marketing, and the truths that follow.
MISCONCEPTION #1: YOU CAN MAKE MONEY OVERNIGHT
The Misconception: This is probably the number one misconception one hears about Internet Marketing. Believe it or not, there are business opportunities out there that claim that you can make money "overnight". When they say this, they don't mean that you can literally make money overnight, but you can make it quickly.
The Truth: There are several ways you can make money overnight: 1) winning the lottery, 2) winning big at the casinos, 3) winning by betting on sports, and 4) Obtaining money from an inheritance. As far as making money overnight in Internet Marketing, it just doesn't happen. No one goes from rags to riches overnight with Internet Marketing. The truth is, making money as an Internet Marketer is a slow and methodical process. Even our most prominent Internet Marketers will tell you that it took months, perhaps years before they even made any serious cash.
MISCONCEPTION #2: YOU CANNOT MAKE MONEY ONLINE
The Misconception: Before the Internet was available to the public, there were a lot of pyramid schemes and business practices that would be illegal today. Just the same, many people believe that most of the business opportunities online are not legitimate, thus making money online is nothing more than a fantasy.
The Truth: There are legitimate business opportunities online that can provide a nice income for you. As with any business venture, whether it's online or otherwise, there are procedures you must follow (as illustrated in my previous posting) if you want to be successful. In other words, you must treat your online business as you would any mom-and-pop store; you will have to work! With time, (and with a little investment), you can make a substantial income online for yourself.
MISCONCEPTION #3: FREE...FREE...EVERYTHING'S FREE!!!!
The Misconception: When it comes to Internet Marketing, the one word you will see with most business opportunities is the word FREE. Some of these opportunities will claim that they can help you make money online, and they can do it for free.
The Truth: You will not be able to make $10k per month with something you received absolutely free. Many of these business opportunities will tell you that you can make a substantial income without coming out of your pocket, but only after you "opt in" (which means you signed in to receive future e-mails from them), you will then receive e-mails in which they will "upsell" to persuade you to buy in order to make money with the opportunity. The fact is, no business opportunity will make money by giving you something 100% free. Think about it. If you could earn $10k a month without spending a dime of your money, then there would be more successful Internet Marketers in the business.
MISCONCEPTION #4: "YOU CAN MAKE $1000 IN JUST 7 DAYS"
The Misconception: You've probably seen opportunities that claim that you can make a certain amount of money within a certain amount of time. Personally, I have seen videos in which people claim that they made over $1000 in one week after starting the opportunity.
The Truth: It may be possible for a seasoned Internet Marketer, who already has already built a business relationship with a large number of people (i.e. a large opt in list) to start a new business opportunity and rake in at least a thousand dollars in a week. It could be possible to make that amount of money if you pay a lot of $$$ for advertising. In general, no one, and I mean NO ONE who is inexperienced in Internet Marketing will be able to generate that amount of cash in their first 7 days of promoting the business. The fact to the matter is, many of these business opportunities tend to exaggerate the earnings to persuade you to sign up. Any legitimate business should be telling you more about the opportunity and less about the money you could make.
MISCONCEPTION #5: "IT IS SO SIMPLE, EVEN A TEN-YEAR OLD CAN DO IT"
The Misconception: When a business opportunity says a ten-year old can work the business, this is telling you that you don't have to put in a lot of effort to make money.
The Truth: If this statement were true, there would be far more Internet Marketers out there making a substantial income online. If a business opportunity was that simple, you wouldn't have to go to college for 4 years to work for a Bachelor's Degree. All you would have to do is to promote this business to make money. The truth is, no business opportunity is "simple". You still will have to devote a lot of time and effort (and/or money) to make it work for you.
MISCONCEPTION #6: "YOUR WEBSITE WILL BE SEEN BY THOUSANDS"
The Misconception: There are systems out there that claim they can help you receive a lot of traffic to your website or affiliate link.
The Truth: This is another exaggeration to get you to opt in or buy into their system. What they don't tell you is that in order to get thousands of views to your website, you will have to pay...and even when you pay, it's not guaranteed that you will that many views on your website. Also, the views that you may get could be from other Internet Marketers who are looking to promote their website or affiliate link.
..........................................................................................................................................
Many of these business opportunities and systems will exaggerate or deceive you with their offers in order to get you to pay or opt in to their program. As an Internet Marketer, you should be aware that nothing will come easy as far as building your business to earnings of $5k or more per month. As with any business opportunity, you will have to earn your way to success. With the right tools, you will be successful.
In a future posting, I will give you my analysis on why the majority of Internet Marketers fail to make a single penny online. Until then, have a great weekend!
