You don't have to spend much time on the internet to learn that there are literally an unlimited number of money machine schemes, uh, programs. With very little effort, you can find a hundred different newsletters, all claiming to know the incredible secret to making a million dollars in a week, all for only $29.95 (well, only if you order before 5pm today). Put in a bit more searching and you can find a thousand more scams, oh sorry, offers from people who want to make you rich beyond your wildest dreams.
Personally, I have to admit that I fell for some of these schemes. I bought two 900 numbers from Don Lapre - the program sounded so good that it was impossible to resist. It cost us $750 for two lines, one for Internet Tips and one for Romance Tips. All we had to do was somehow get people to call these numbers, then sit back and collect half of the profits.
Our $750 investment had two effects:
we made $7.50 from the lines
we started two web sites: Internet Tips and Secrets and Healthy Liaisons.
Both of these sites are still around today, and they are pulling in thousands of visitors every single day. Of course, we dropped the 900 numbers from the sites years ago, as these were completely worthless. It turns out that 900 numbers are very difficult to sell and require an awesome amount of advertising investment before they really start to make money.
While I was creating Internet Tips And Secrets, I looked at hundreds of money making programs. Man, they all sounded good. Not one of them worked. Not a single one. In fact, I could not find a single person anywhere who could honestly say and prove that he made back his investment from any of them. Not a single person anywhere.
What I did find out is how to promote a web site, and I've actually become very good at this task. However, any internet marketer can tell you there is a huge difference between getting people to your site and getting them to purchase something.
I found similar things as I researched all of the other types of programs. Pay-to-surf did make a little money, but not enough to get excited about. Pay-to-read-email also generated some cash - about enough for two large pizzas. The affiliate programs generated a small amount of money - perhaps enough for a week's worth of groceries. Now, keep in mind that this is the result of an entire year's worth of effort in many of these programs.
One of the programs, a site called Epinions.Com, actually generated almost $400 in one year. No other program came even close to that amount. I believe if I took the entire amount that I made and figured out an hourly wage, I'd be lucky if it was even fifty cents an hour.
So why are there so many sites advertising and promoting all of these money making schemes? You know what I mean, as I'm sure you've stumbled across them again and again. Those sites with banners everywhere, promoting everything under the sun. Or those single purpose sites which claim to have the money-making answer.
I don't really know. My experience tells me these simply do not work. You can make far more money far faster with an honest day's work in a nine-to-five job than you ever can with any of these programs. I haven't quite got it all figured out yet.
I guess perhaps it could be because it's so easy and cheap. Look at it this way. You could get a free or cheap hosting service, a domain name and an order processing system which accepts credit cards for the price of a few day's groceries. Add to that some content (available for free all over the internet) and some tacky Frontpage 2000 web pages, and you've got yourself an instant money-making website!
Maybe that's the answer. It's so easy to create the website and the so-called product that everyone seems to be able to do it.
Or perhaps people just want to hope that there is a way out of their troubles.
The point of all of this? You can make money off the internet, just like you can make money in the real world. It takes hard work, good ethics and a solid product. Get rich quick schemes are not going to do the job.
You can also create the most beautiful website in the world, then ruin it by advertising and promoting useless and sometimes all-but-illegal programs on every page. How many websites have pay-to-surf banners somewhere on their pages? How many personal homepages advertise some kind of affiliate programs? How often has a perfectly done page been destroyed by a silly banner?
What I've decided is to put all of this behind me. I've learned from hard experience what I want to do on the internet. My goals are to communicate with people, and use my talents as a writer, webmaster and computer genius (okay, so I am not modest or humble) to help people live a little bit better lives. I have learned that I truly enjoy giving people advice that improves them in some manner.
What does this mean? It means that all of the money-making banners, buttons, links, articles and promotions that I installed on my web sites have been coming down, bit by bit. Yes, I have settled on a few affiliate programs which I use myself and can honestly recommend, but these are merely small asides to my true calling: teaching people how to improve their lives.
My advice: if you want to make money off the internet, find or create a product or two in which you can truly believe. Something you would and do use yourself. Not some useless money-making junk, but a real product which performs a real function. If you can do that, then you can honestly promote and sell the product, and you may actually make some money.
Themestream Comments
You are so right. Richard. Having a legal background, I could not see how these things would work. With TS, they offer .02 per click and nothing more. If they go under I am not out anything but time. I have been well entertained, learned a lot, made some net friends - so If they go under I will still come out on top. Plus, my conscience is clear. I have not used scam tactics to make someone buy what they don't need or even read my articles if they don't want to. - Jean Levack
Richard, I have been reading several of your articles and find your advice real, practical, no-nonsense and helpful. That's a refreshing change. My only presence on the net is my pages here on TS which I only began one month ago. I have a product which I think is a great product (my personal artwork). I am looking for a way to sell it without resorting to any of the silliness you have been pointing out. So, kudos to you for your great articles! thank you - marie dubois
So now I know a few more things I mustn't try. Thanks for the useful information. - Gina Rothfels
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