Making Money Online: Rinse And Repeat
Making Money Online: Rinse And Repeat
Products teaching Internet Marketing and Making Money Online are in plentiful supply. What surprises me is that so many of each week’s new launches have been written, developed or sourced by the same comparatively small group of online entrepreneurs.
Stop. Rewind. What am I saying? I’m not surprised.
These entrepreneurs tell us that they’ve worked countless hours developing the latest and greatest, for no reason other than that they’re fed up with seeing us – the ordinary guy making money online – given so much of the internet marketing picture, and then being hung out to dry. Altruism at its most heroic. What? Hasn’t it warmed the cockles of your heart?
Of course, these are the same internet marketing entrepreneurs who refer to a mailing list as a personal ATM, because they can withdraw money from it whenever they choose. They practically tell you to your face that they take you for a sucker, and such a stupid sucker that they can even tell you that they are doing it! I don’t think this is the type of online entrepreneur that I aspire to be.
Each new internet marketing product launched promises to be the one that will teach me everything I’ll need to know. They enthusiastically inform me that I require no technical know-how, copy writing skills, or indeed a functioning brain. Then they attempt to dispel any lingering doubts that I may be harbouring about my ability to undertake an online business venture.
Ker-Ching! Here’s the Paypal button!
Ker-Ching! Give us your hard earned!
Fast forward two to three months. The same entrepreneur emails me with their latest product, which promises to lead me by the hand to that villa in the Caribbean, before I can say… hold on. If their previous product was so mind-blowingly awesome, why would I be in need of another one?
Of course, in between times, there’s been a relentless deluge of email promos vomiting into my Inbox, which are about the “you can’t live without ‘em” latest and greatest offerings from the entrepreneur’s internet marketing friends. Somehow, they’re convinced that I won’t want to be without this product either, even though I may already have their own version of the same thing.
Fortunately, there exists a wide variety of methods of making money online, because in my opinion affiliate marketing has hit an all-time low. So many people are trying to jump on the bandwagon, it’s drowning in its own tsunami of hype and insincerity.
Making money online isn’t as easy as it used to be. Making money online in an ethical and dignified fashion appears to be the most difficult objective of all to achieve. But, dear god, if I ever start turning into one of these internet marketing leeches, I’ll flick off the switch on the modem for the last time.
I’m not a guru basher, well OK, I’m not usually a guru basher, well, apart from when I got a bit enrantified and wrote:
• Gurus Mutual Appreciation Society
and then I wrote,
Perhaps it’s best if I draw this to a close, after all, my adventure may find me networking with these very same internet marketing gurus at some point in the not-too-distant future!
So, mum’s the word…
Reward Rebel
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Filed under Affiliate Marketing, Internet Marketing, Making money online, Niche marketing, Online business |
Yeah, it’s tough to get rid of the highly annoying Mooch Marketing many IMers run, but we’ll get to that, RR. :o)
~Marcus
Internet Business Guide’s last blog post..Google AdSense Video Tutorial
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Marcus -
Ooh, what a splendidly evocative turn of phrase, “mooch marketing”. I must make a note of that;-D
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“Making money online in an ethical and dignified fashion appears to be the most difficult objective of all to achieve.”
Oh that’s so true!
I went without any kind of ads or paid links for over a year. I’m your basic left-wing marketing challenged person
Then I got my PR4 and a sizeable readership and decided it would be fair to be paid a small amount of money for my efforts. I’ve been struggling since then.
I know bloggers who make money — that said they gave up content for PPP and link-full posts. Yuck. That’s so not why I’m blogging in the first place! People selling their website… mine is like my baby! People promoting crap. Er, not thanks.
So I’m going slowly but I can still look at my blog like something I’m proud off, not a huge ad. banner or a scrap blog.
Yet, I’d love the money!
Sorry for rambling
Zhu’s last blog post..Stuck In A Moment
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Zhu -
I wish you lived just round the corner to me, so I could pick up the phone and say, ‘hey, fancy getting a coffee and having a rap?’. You can ramble all you want, cos it’s dang fine rambling;-)
I’m about to post about changes I’ve made to RR, and what really finished me off was when I clicked on a site and when it opened, it had thirteen ads above the fold! When your eyes are shooting all over the place trying to spot some content, that’s when I click out.
I admire your ethical stand, I’m just glad my blog isn’t where I ever intended making money, that objective is focused elsewhere in cyberspace;-) Thank f**k, cos I just can’t handle this advertising shite. Blimey, I’ve been trying so hard not to use profanity in my blog, (if you knew me in the flesh, so to speak, you’d LARF at that!);-D
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I’m a Guru basher. Here’s an article I wrote a few years back. Some article sites refused to publish it, LOL:
http://www.webpronews.com/topnews/2003/08/21/are-you-willing-to-follow-three-easy-rules-to-kill-an-internet-guru
Stephan Miller’s last blog post..The Tax Man Cometh
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Where about do you live? I can travel for a café… UK, right? I’ll be traveling to France soon, so it’s just about crossing the channel!
Swearing is okay, don’t worry. Hey, there’s a reason why we do it!
We all have different blogging expectations. My is probably to get noticed and eventually get a part-time writing job, for a magazine or something similar. Hey, one can dream right
That means I value my content and I’m very very reluctant to just blog about products or scratching people’s back all the time. Doesn’t mean I don’t value my readers — I do and I link/ praise etc. Yet, I draw a line at doing things only for money. I have a full time job. I could use more $$$ but if it means killing my content, it doesn’t make any sense.
Nothing disappoints me more than someone who has something to say and eventually get caught into writing posts only for a specific keyword. We all make mistakes. Man, my design was very not user-friendly when I started. As long as they are honest mistakes, that’s fine!
The ads didn’t bother me on your blog actually!
So what are you deepest motivations in blogging? What are your ultimate goals?
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Zhu -
Yep, I live in London, but plan to live on the Greek island of Crete, and started my internet marketing career (and blogging) so that I could generate an income from anywhere in the world, as long as I have access to a computer and the internet.
Although I started blogging as a business requirement, it has evolved and I am now contemplating the future course for the blog aspect of the Reward Rebel brand.
Crete is warm and sunny, has plenty of rivers and coastline, incorporates modern city life with charming old world villages nestled in the moutainsides. The wild rugged landscapes and friendly Cretan people share a unique history and culture that’s fascinating. When you’ve had enough culture for the day, you can go for a swim and catch some rays. Oooh, I can hardly wait;-)
Have you been to Crete? It’s liberally scattered with beautiful ancient sites and ruins, at which you’d have a whale of a time with your camera;-D
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The thing I dislike about the so called gurus is their critisism of other bloggers. ie John Chow very rarely has anything nice to say unless of course he is getting paid $450 for a review and even then more than likely he will stil bash them.
I look forward to reading more of your post and good luck with your goals.
Debo Hobo’s last blog post..Commercial Shipping Going Green
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Debo Hobo -
No, that doesn’t exactly improve their appeal, does it?
I no longer read JC’s blog, but I did recently message him to ask whether he suffered from nappy rash with all the ass kissing he receives, and he replied! Curiously, he told me that he doesn’t concern himself with these things. but I think he meant people kissing his ass, not whether or not he has nappy rash;-D
Many thanks for good wishes regarding my goals;-)
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