If you have spent any time at all looking into ways to make money online, you have seen ads hundreds of “free” reports by Internet marketing gurus. You might have joined several “free” marketing websites. Maybe you even paid good money to people who promised you would make more money easily if you followed their system.
So, why aren’t you rich? Why don’t you have the fancy cars, huge houses and yachts you see in those get rich quick ads? Why aren’t you lounging on the beach while the money rolls in?
There is a Simple Reason
The fact is, get rich quick online schemes DON”T WORK. They are just a come on to get you to hand over your hard earned cash for empty promises. I’m sorry, but no one is going to just give you money for doing nothing (Well, maybe the government but welfare wont make you rich).
If you truly want to make money in an online business you are going to have to put in some effort to make it happen. You will have to invest your own time, and at least a little money. That is just the way the world works.
If you take that time and money you are wasting on trying scheme after phony scheme and put it into your own real online business you actually can earn a substantial income. Once you put in your time to get everything set up and working smoothly you will be able to travel or sit on the beach because it will take less and less effort to maintain your online business as it matures.
Can you get rich online? Sure - if you really want to. How much you make depends on how much time, effort and money you are willing to invest.
Want to supplement your current income? Put in a little effort.
Want to replace your current income? It will take more resources.
Want to get rich from your own online business? You are going to have to work pretty hard at it but it can be done.
Formula For Success
There is a simple formula for making money online. I will give it to you right here. No charge! It's just 4 steps you need to follow. The first four posts in this blog go into more detail about each of these steps.
Yes, just 4 steps but each step takes knowledge of how to implement it and time for it to start working. You have to do some up front work to make it happen. There is no shortcut to success.
If that is the system that works, why are there are so many, apparently, successfully marketers pushing their shortcut systems? If those schemes don’t work how are they making their money? How do they stay in business if their “product” if junk?
Look at What They Do - Not What They Say
Take a real close look at what those get rich quick promoters are doing and don't just listen to what they are claiming. You will see that they are actually following the 4 step formula to make money even while they promise you a shortcut!
First, they identified their target audience - people who want a quick and easy way to get rich. It is a huge market so they never run out of potential customers. All of us would like to find the magic genie what can fill our pockets with wealth.
Second, they create websites promising huge rewards for following their system. They show the cars and the houses. They will have pictures of stacks of money. It is all aimed at triggering our desire to have it all without doing the work.
Actually though, aren’t they working hard to build and maintain their online presence? Most of them have several sites to keep up. They wrote their content and targeted it to their perceived audience. Then they tested it and rewrote and tested some more. They put in the time to get its right and are putting in time to keep the content fresh.
Third, they drive traffic to their websites. They found you right? They market through email lists. They spent hours on keyword research so people looking for online riches can find them. They buy paid ads and market in social media. In most cases, this is a full time job for them. Despite what they say, they are not just sitting on the beach all day - unless they have a laptop with them.
Get rich quick sites come and go. The people that market to this niche have to stay ahead of the crowd that wants their business. It is a tough market and it requires constant work
Fourth, they are selling products through those websites. There are pushing those programs that promise you easy money. They sell and they sell hard. Even if the offer is for something free, they will eventually sell you upgrades to additional features or eBooks, reports, courses or whatever. Each time you buy from them they will have a new, more expensive offer. The freebie at the start was just to get your email address. Once they have that the selling doesn't stop.
Don't Buy the Schemes
Bottom line is, these marketers are not making their money using the programs they promote. They are making money using a proven marketing system to sell those programs to you based on false promises.
Don’t buy what the scammers are selling. If you really want to make a substantial income online you should be doing what they do - BUT WITHOUT THE SCAMS.
If you follow the 4 steps but give your target audience real value instead of hype you will not only succeed in the long run - you will also build an honest business you can be proud of.
Success is Possible But You Have to go After It
What is your passion? What hobbies do you enjoy? What health issues have you experienced or researched? Where have you traveled? All of the things you are interested in - other people are too. Those who share your interests are your target audience.
Build a quality website that is filled with useful information that your audience is looking for. Write good content that is aimed at helping people not promising them results that are impossible.
Bring targeted traffic to your site by building your authority with Google and the other search engines. This takes time. You have to show you are regularly producing good content that is consistent with your niche topic. Use social media to connect with others who share your passion. Build your email list with people who really want to read what you write.
When you are ready to start monitizing your website, offer quality products that your visitors really need and want to buy. Don’t scam them with junk. There are thousands of wholesalers, drop shippers and (my favorite) affiliate sellers out there offering good products at reasonable prices. Give you customers value and they will buy from you again.
Success Can Be Yours
Put in your time and a little money up front and one day you will get to the point where you only have to spend a few hours a week to keep you online business going. Then you will be able to drive to the beach in your new car. You are a success!
Don't Go It Alone
I said that each of the 4 steps to online success takes special knowledge to make it work. How will you gain that knowledge? You could do it by trial and error, searching online when you have a question but where do you even start? How do you know what you need to learn? How to you know what you don't know?
Capitalize on the knowledge of those who are already done what you want to do. Not the get rich quick crowd but the real, honest and successful online marketers. Good training and support is hard to find among all the scams. I only know of a couple legitimate programs that work. There are probably more but they are few and far between.
The one program that I belong to and recommend is Wealthy Affiliate. You can read Why Wealthy Affiliate page to see why I recommend them.
Please share your experiences with online marketing programs - good and bad. Your comments and questions are always welcome. Down with the scammers!