How to Make Money Online and Avoid the BIGGEST Mistake In Internet Marketing!

If you cruise any Internet Marketing forum long enough you’ll see all sorts of netrepreneur wannabes asking the same question over and over again:

“How can I make money online?”

Hey, there’s absolutely nothing wrong with a question like that.  As a matter

of fact, joining some really great forums and hammering other netrepreneurs with questions is just about the best way to learn. 

You’ll usually get a lot of advice from more seasoned Internet marketers (IMer’s) because people love to help other people.  Some people will write volumes helping other folks gain knowledge and experience, because it’s always fun and helpful to do so. (It also helps build authority in your subject area.)

So, if you are just starting out, you should check out a couple of the links I have provided for you at the end of this post. I do frequent these sites occasionally, but I do not make any money from the resources I provide, so I am being objective here.

Let’s get back to the original question, “How can I make money online?”

Well, it’s actually EASY to make money online.  Shoot, I make anywhere from $100 to $200 a month on Google AdSense with advertisements alone, without writing a single word.  The money comes in without a single lift of my finger. No kidding.

However:

Learning how to do the work, strategically placing ads, making sure the coding was right, keyword research, and writing articles by the tons, as well as building the website and blog WAS A LOT OF WORK.

Yeah, now that all of that ground work is finished I’m getting checks from AdSense. 

I don’t want to deceive you, but there is a learning curve and a lot of work for making any money online like that.  The work and education isn't hard and you don’t have to be a genius to do it, but there is a lot of work and learning you’ll have to do.

“I thought he said he doesn't write a single word?”

I don’t…NOW.  (At least for that particular website I don’t.)

Initially, I wrote for years and racked up tons of pages and loads of blog posts for the AdSense site, and now that stuff is floating around on the Internet, each page generating traffic for the site.  I haven’t actually written for that website for years because I got BURNED OUT with that business model, and have since moved on.

Let’s face it, surviving on a mere $200 a month isn’t going to get ya too far, and there are some months where the money is much less than that because I no longer write for it.

Technically it isn’t a hard process to learn or do, but you have to slog away at it day and night, and for the longest time you won’t know whether you are doing the right thing or not. 

CAN You Make Money Online?

As I just showed you, you can definitely make money online, but it’s a ton of work doing it the way I just described.  I’m sure there are a half a dozen Internet Guru’s and IMer’s out there that will tell you how you can make Bazillions of $$$ by buying their systems - $200 to $4000+ to learn.  You can then lie on a beach with your laptop and soak in some rays while checking your Paypal or credit card statement to see all of the BIG money that just got thrown into your account.

It’s been my experience that you are not going to fare well in those waters.

As a matter of fact, I think it would be a good idea for you to watch the following video before doing ANYTHING.  Not because I’m trying to stop you from being an entrepreneur or netrepreneur, but because I want you to have a REALISTIC view of what you are getting involved with.

WARNING, there is some rather harsh language by a few of the "Marketing Gurus" on here. So please keep children out of the room.  (Makes you wonder why anyone would listen to them.)

Yes, I’m trying to kill that wide-eyed-optimism that you may have about starting and running a business on the web and have you think about this REALISTICALLY.

THE BIGGEST MISTAKE REVEALED!!!

So, here for the first time, live and in person, the BIGGEST INTERNET MARKETING MISTAKE THAT YOU CAN MAKE!!!!!

(Drum roll please…)

Not having a good product or service to sell.

Kinda anti-climatic, wouldn’t ya say?

Yep, you must have something to sell that is worthy, if not, you are absolutely dead before you even get started.  Just to drive the point home, here’s a poem that the famous marketer, Dan Kennedy, likes to refer to whenever he hits on the subject of marketing a product or service:

A lion met a tiger 

As they drank beside a pool 

Said the tiger, “Tell me why 

You’re roaring like a fool.” 

 “That’s not foolish,” said the lion 

With a twinkle in his eyes 

“They call me king of all the beasts 

Because I advertise!” 

 A rabbit heard them talking 

And ran home like a streak. 

He thought he’d try the lion’s plan, 

But his roar was just a squeak. 

 A fox came to investigate— 

Had luncheon in the woods. 

Moral: when you advertise, my friends, 

Be sure you've got the goods!

Initially, you should have an outstanding product or service to sell, which means that you should do a butt-load of research or development before you even think about marketing it anywhere.

I know that there are loads of “affiliate products” and “affiliate programs” to

join and sell, and if you’re good at selling them, God bless you.  Be fruitful and multiply.

However, if you have just wandered over to ClickBank and joined their affiliate program, hoping to sell newly created products and earn those high commissions, you’ll probably have a tougher time than you think.  

For one thing, you should never try to sell those products without buying them and trying them yourself.  You’ll have no idea whether or not what you are selling has any value or if it works.  Also, you’ll need to know EVERYTHING ABOUT THAT PRODUCT IN ORDER TO SELL IT.

I write ad copy for all sorts of businesses, and I can’t write a word for my clients until I have a pile of information, know or have had tried the product or service, and have actually interviewed people that have used it —to include the secretary of the company if I can interview her as well. (You won’t believe how much a secretary knows about a business and how it runs; she’ll know more than anyone else in the company, guaranteed.)

And by the way, if the business or product sucks, I will pass on the job. 

Mediocrity is for losers…

In my humble opinion, if you don’t have a product that you KNOW and LOVE and have at least poured your best efforts into, you should probably forget it.  In order to be successful in your business, you are going to be talking, thinking, using and selling the object (or objects) of your passion constantly. 

Why would you get involved in something that you don’t use or respect yourself?

Can you see the reason why this preliminary step is so vitally important?

I’m not going to tell you what kind of business you should get into.  That’s what makes it your business.  But I am going to tell you that if your standards aren't high, and you aren't busting your butt and creating a stellar product, then you are kidding yourself. 

The people that are short-cutting the system by selling flimsy info-products that tell you nothing more than what's already out there on the Internet for FREE is a bad way to go.

I believe the days of the snake-oil salesman is just about over... On the other hand, you know what P.T. Barnum used to say:

There's a _____________ born every _______________.  

However, if you haven’t side stepped, if you have a product or a service that is the best you can do or create, then you have just taken the biggest step in Internet marketing or even bricks and mortar marketing.

Pat yourself on the back because you are well on your way to take the next important steps in cranking up a business that will have a definite impact and purpose in the world.

Links to Really Important Internet Market Information:

WarriorForum Internet Marketing

SEO BOOK -Article on Making Money Online

Seth Godin's Blog

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Mark "Elmo" Ellis is a writer specializing in advertising copy and he wants to hear from you.  If you got something out of this article, please leave a comment because blog writing is a lonely business.  

www.MarkEllisCopy.com

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