Got an email yesterday which was typical of the types of questions I get asked a lot.
I figured it would probably be a good idea to answer them here so the answers could reach a lot of people.
The email said:
“Basically, I was made redundant from my job in November. Being at home gave me time to trawl the internet for a new job. I started reading various web sites about making money using the internet but I am convinced most are just a scam. Then I came across BizOppsUK It was a breath of fresh air but I am still wary of losing money to a scams. I am currently looking around for a job but after reading your articles I am seriously considering trying to earn a living using the internet.
Firstly, you should know that I am a complete novice when it comes to internet businesses and have not yet used e-bay so if there is any advice you can give it would be well appreciated. The same applies to any websites I should read before I start.
I read with interest your review of Google Cash and thought that would be an ideal way of making money. I did a bit of research on the web and came across “Rich Jerk” and something similar called the “Millionaires League” by Brian Wynn. The only thing is I do not want to be ripped off so if you have any views on this please reply. The second part of this query is that the price for this is in dollars so how would I pay for it? Would I use a credit card and then it gets converted to dollars? I’m not sure. “
OK, I’ve never heard of the “Millionaires League” so I am afraid I cannot help you there. The “Rich Jerk” ebook is a couple of years old but I would say that it is probably a good starter for two reasons:
(a) It’s cheap. I think it is only $10 now which is about £5 or so. In the grand scheme of things in internet marketing, this is very cheap for an ebook and I have paid much more for some pretty crappy information products.
(b) It covers the basics. Whoever the Rich Jerk is, he has written a pretty good book for beginners. This eBook will give you a few ideas and also a good, if very basic, introduction to AdSense, Affiliate Marketing, Pay Per Click and other standard internet marketing ideas.
What I would like to make clear though is that you should only buy the $10 eBook, do not buy any of the extras such as the “Free Website worth $1049” or the audio files – just the $10 option.
Google Cash is very good but it may be a little too advanced for you at this point and could possibly confuse you rather than help you!
The price of most internet marketing and “make money from home” products is usually quoted in dollars. The dollar is the internet’s currency of choice.
At present, it is good to be a buyer because the pound is very strong against the dollar so we get more for a pound.
If you were to buy the Rich Jerk’s eBook for $10 it would be automatically worked out by your credit card company and debited in pounds on your statement.
$10 is roughly about £5 – £6.
As for quitting work and going it solo on the internet, I would tread carefully. My advice would be to get another job and work at this internet stuff in the evenings and in your spare time.
Get things up and running part-time, outside of work, and then once your income from the internet is greater than the income you would make from a day job, consider resigning.
I wouldn’t recommend trying to earn a living from the internet straight away because, despite what some internet marketers may tell you, it isn’t easy!
Hi,
Your advise is sound as I quit my job to work full time on the internet. So far, I have spent not less than £300 and made nothing! Actually, I tried the online poker at Casino Tropez, paid in £50, got a £50 bonus, won an extra £114.00 following the method recommended, before promptly losing everything. Not all opportunities give you back your fee despite their promises. Till date, I never received my refund from Google cash or Michael Lanoue’s icashcamp programme despite my several requests and ofcourse I never made a penny from those two programmes despite following their advise to the letter. However, Michael Cohen who runs the Doubling Stocks programme is quite good at responding and I have signed on to him and registered with his recommended broker. So, as soon as I start making money, I shall let you know. In the meantime, keep up the good work Ben and take care of yourself.
Cambridge (Formally, Alex)
Comment by Cambridge — 18th January 2008 @ 2:31 pm
This sounds like good advice, and I notice you suggest Google Cash is tricky for a beginner. I am prepared to dig deep to get going on a new venture, but are the profits still there to be had with Google Cash. Your own results were in 2005 since which time Google has moved on a pace.
A recent update from Google Cash presented a very happy customer having ‘made a lot of money’ but he also stated he’d made a 250% return on investment. This suggests needing a substantial advertising budget. Your own return on investment was many times that which is now promoted in a positive testimonial.
Has this opportunity run its course?
Is the affluent Desktop Currency Trader a better option now?
Many thanks,
Jonathan
Comment by Jonathan — 18th January 2008 @ 3:21 pm
The Millionaires League – don’t touch it with a barge pole!!! I bought it but could not download; have tried at least six times to get help/response from Brian Wynn, with absolutely NO success yet he still keeps sending marketing emails……. Also not happy with lack of response from Clickbank who supposedly have a proactive customer service section and should refund money if requested……… its too easy in this game to learn the hard way!!!
Comment by Mavis — 18th January 2008 @ 4:09 pm
Hi Ben,
Just finished reading your blog.
I have been trying to make a living on the internet for about 12 months now and as of yet not made a single penny. I have tried most things including Andrew Reynolds ‘Cash On Demand’ system but cannot seem to get anywhere. This system also cost me the last of my savings, which i had to explain to my not too happy spouse.
I’ve tried affiliate marketing where i promoted someone else’s website to List Bandit, List Joe and ListDotcom but these people only seem to be advertising the same thing as me. I don’t know if i am doing this correctly but this seems to be what i am being told to do. I then received an email a few days later promoting the same site.
I have even asked marketeers who claim to be ‘making it’ on the internet, if they could sit down with me and walk me through the basics for a 50/50 split of any profits i make for 12 months. The reply i got was that they were too busy to help but just keep plugging away. I am beginning to think they are not telling me everything.
I created a website which i put on google for 3 months, i have since had to cancel as it is costing too much, then last week i received an email promoting the same products, where they had copied my site made a few adjustments and thats it.
All these systems tell you that computer experience is not required, in the next paragraph tell you to use facebook myspace etc, which i have not got a clue about.
Yours Hopefully
Colin
(Non Profitable Marketeer)
Comment by Colin — 18th January 2008 @ 11:39 pm
I have to agree with the comments from Colin. I’ve had a go at setting up my own website doing the affiliate marketing and promoting it through Google’s Adense but to no avail. It seems to me that all these marketers who claim to be making $1000’s a day are making the money by telling others how to do it. If it was so successful why would you tell others how to do it? You either have to be very lucky or spend so much time and money promoting your site or product that you might eventually hit the winning formula.
Comment by Ian — 19th January 2008 @ 4:27 pm
Thanks for the comments everyone. I’ll try and answer some specific queries…
@ Cambridge:
Google Cash is good but they really should refund you as they promised if you are not 100% satisfied. Try going directly to Clickbank to request a refund, I think you’ll have more luck doing that.
As for “Doubling Stocks” I assume that is a financial trading opportunity?
I had a little luck with trading but always found that I had to keep completely emotionless about it – and only risk a small amount of my betting bank on any one trade. For example, 2% maximum.
Please do let me know how you get on, I’d be very interested in hearing about that.
@ Jonathan:
I’ve always got a lot of good things to say about Google Cash because it was the first opportunity I used which made me some profit. However, I haven’t seen the latest version which apparently has lots of new material and loads of “how-to” videos.
I hear that Chris (the author) has changed the methods described slightly to accommodate the changes Google has made in the last few years. My own tactics have changed also over the last 2 and 1/2 years but Google Cash was my intro to affiliate marketing and has lead to a lot of profit for me.
My advice?
If you do try Google Cash, look to some of the less popular affiliate programs rather than those that everyone is promoting. And don’t just concentrate on advertising to your own country. One product I promoted resulted in an average 500% profit on every $1 spent on AdWords but the commission came from customers in the US. I turned off the UK adverts after a while because they simple weren’t converting…
@ Mavis:
Thanks for the comment about the Millionaires’ League. Keep trying with Clickbank, they usually always refund quickly. It’ll probably turn up on your credit card in a couple of days…
@ Colin:
Sorry to hear your efforts have so far gone unrewarded. I can’t say I’ve ever tried List Bandit or the other two you mentioned. I guess the problem with those types of programs is that when you use them you are sending promotions to other sellers, not potential buyers – so it can simply create a kind of merry-go-round with lots of different sellers receiving pitches from each other.
I think that if you want to use FFA sites, Safelists etc then you need to try and get sign-ups to your own personal prospect list rather than sell from the email.
I would also imagine that it would be extremely tough to find anybody who would 50/50 split with you in a deal like the one you have outlined. It’s a shame but it’s true.
Mentoring from internet marketing “experts” is usually extremely expensive and also done in groups rather than 1-to-1. The real gurus often employ people to do the actual mentoring which seems silly because employees obviously aren’t qualified to mentor. If they were, they wouldn’t be employees, they’d be working for themselves!
When it comes to websites and marketing from websites, I have found that consistent effort is required to see results. Older websites fare very well when it comes to the search engines but you need to put in a couple of years’ work in order to get an old website (if that makes sense).
Basically, what I am saying is you need to get your site started now and add to it regularly. Provide good, honest content and you should start to see the rewards after a while. And when Google sees that your site offers quality material and is updated regularly, it will reward you with good rankings.
Once you get one site up and running and well-ranked you can use it to kick-start new websites. Link to your new websites from your existing site and they will get indexed quickly.
Then rinse and repeat…
@ Ian:
You said “It seems to me that all these marketers who claim to be making $1,000s a day are making money by telling others how to do it.”
I agree with you, it does seem that way. But unfortunately, those people who are making really big money online you will probably not have heard about because they are not in the field of selling “make money online” products.
Like the English bloke who makes mid 6 figures per month using Google Adwords, landing pages and affiliate programs selling products like chocolate.
He earns way more than any of the people selling internet marketing products but is not well-known because he has no need to make himself known.
Unfortunately there some dishonest marketers out there as well.
Mentioning no names there is one particular UK marketer who was selling a product by boasting about pulling in 5 figures sums every month when his accounts for a year showed a profit of less than four thousand pounds.
I’ve never agreed with the advice some people give where they say that if you are making money from one particular technique you should write an info product describing the methods and sell it.
If you have a really good system, keep it to yourself and make money from it.
——–
Well, I didn’t set out to write so much originally but I hope it makes sense.
Thanks for your comments everybody.
Comment by Ben — 20th January 2008 @ 1:21 am
A very useful blog Ben. I am still in the information gathering phase, the working capital gathering phase and I still have a full-time job. So, the more I can learn and the more pitfalls I can avoid when starting up, the better.
Regards, Bruce
Comment by Bruce — 22nd January 2008 @ 7:54 pm