Making money online is not easy. Even if you read books about how to make money online, it is still not easy. One of the biggest mistakes a person can make is to believe the hype gushing from people who want to offer you this program or that plan when all they want is your cash. Here is the truth, along with some tips if you are really serious.
Making Money Online is Not Easy!
Yep, the same as the title, that’s because it’s true. It is also true that lots of people make money online using what is vaguely referred to as ‘internet marketing,’ but many times more fail to make even what they outlay.
It’s like slots – put in a $100 and get an $80 drop and you say you won. Did you heck! Pay $12 for web hosting, another $49.99 for an eBook on how to make money and $50 on AdWords advertising and make a sale of $9.99 and you think – “Hey – this could just be what I am looking for!” Forget that you are already down $102!
It can get even worse, because when you start online marketing, you already have hundreds and thousands of people trying to do exactly the same as you – in your niche. If you want to know what competition you have, select a keyword that most describes your business and enter it into the Google search box.
Check the Competition: It Can be Humbling
Check out the number of other results just under the search bar. My keyword ‘article services’ provided 3.17 billion other results, which is an indication of my competition for the concept of my website. When I seek the competition for the exact term by putting the search term in quotes, thus: “article services”, I get 234,000 other web pages using that exact keyword.
This will let you know what you are competing against. It’s discouraging, and almost enough to put you off even trying – almost! If you are still serious about wanting to learn how to make money online, then you at least have a chance- but it won’t be easy and it won’t be quick.
Sure, you read about these guys that have made millions shortly after using their new system! They even provide proof! Photoshop and its clones can provide as much proof as they need to persuade you that their program or ‘system’ is the best thing since sliced bread!
My Learning Experience
Yes, many people are able to make money in affiliate marketing – selling other people’s products for a commission. They are fundamentally salespersons who get paid for each sale. When I started out in internet marketing 8 years ago, I paid $12,500 to Cory Rudl’s mentoring program. I was mentored by a guy in Canada. He taught me what is now common knowledge: how to start up a website and advertise it – that’s about it.
This guy was getting paid for teaching me what everybody already knew! Only I was too naïve to understand that I had very little chance of making money by doing what everybody else was doing. I failed, and do you know why? Here’s why:
I decided to try affiliate marketing. It’s easy: sell somebody’s product and get paid for it. All these products have a high demand I am told, so I cannot fail. I failed! Then I came across this ‘unbeatable offer’ for software that would source the most profitable affiliate products. Only $99.95! Did it source my profitable products – nope! Then this rich jerk sold me a book showing how he did it – total con – it was what I was already doing, so total failure again!
Making Money is Not Easy…
But it can be done! If you have a skill (mine is writing) and there is a demand for that skill online, then you can make money. Sure, you hear about the successful affiliate marketers, or people teaching others how to make money online. What you don’t hear about are the millions upon millions of others that not only don’t make anything, but they lose money they can’t afford to lose.
Use Your Skills and Knowledge
However, if you have a skill:
- You are great at crochet or quilting
- You are a snowboarding expert and can sell advice and equipment
- You are a children’s entertainer that kids adore
- You are a martial arts expert starting you own dojo
- You are a retired teacher offering tuition
- You are a great writer, and can write bespoke children’s story books or web content
- You are an expert in any topic or subject and can offer online training or eBooks
then there are millions of people out there looking for what you are good at. Don’t try to copy what others are doing, but be yourself. Do your own thing, and offer it online. Don’t spend $199.99 for the next great way to make money – it might work for 1%, but the other 99% just waste their cash.
How to Make Money Online – Summary
So, to sum up, I make money online writing articles and web content for my clients. Before I realized that I should be using my writing skills, I learned a great deal about failure, and what should be avoided.
Unless you have no skills or knowledge whatsoever, use what you know about and focus on that. It took me time to realize that and start ignoring those who would make me a millionaire – it doesn’t happen! I maxed all my credit cards (why did they give me them?) and have only recently finished paying them off and building my credit score back up.
Making money online is not easy, and forget those that will teach you how to make money online selling other people’s products that another 100,000 are also trying to sell. The statistics say you will likely lose your money – and some even lose their homes! Use the skills and knowledge you possess. Somebody wants to make use of these and you can sell it to them.
