Making Money Online: Facts, Myths, and Lies

People are flocking to the internet by the millions, seeking a way to make money online. Some are only looking to make extra money to help pay bills, provide for their children’s college, or supplement their retirement. Many are seeking to make enough money to quit their job and make a fulltime living from home.

While all these goals are certainly achievable online, you need to know the facts about making money online. Without knowing the facts, you will be victim to the myths and lies that are prevalent in this industry.

The Facts:

If you are new to internet marketing, full of hope and excitement, you may not want to hear this, but 95% of all internet marketers fail. Is it really that hard to make money online? No, but it’s not that easy either. The good news is that you can be part of the 5% that are successful.

But you need to know why 95% fail, and more importantly, you need to know what the other 5% do differently to succeed.

So why do 95% fail? Well, there are many reasons people fail online, but here are the top 3 in my mind:

Ignorance: People simply have no clue how to make money online. There is a huge learning curve in this industry.

Can you imagine what would happen if hospitals recruited surgeons off the street without experience? What would the mortality rate be? At least 95%! Starting an online business without knowing what you are doing is the same thing. Ok, so nobody looses their life from a failed business. But you could easily loose your life savings. You should make educating yourself in this industry one of your top priorities.

Lack of Driving Desire: Many people dream of the financial freedom they can have through their own online business.

But few are ready to make the commitment necessary to realize their dream. This business takes work. It is an emotional rollercoaster full of ups and downs. If you don’t have a real burning desire to drive you through the obstacles and challenges, you will not make it. Rate your desire to succeed from 1 to 10. If you’re not at least an 11, forget it.

Now I’m not trying to frighten you out of your dream, but you need to be honest with yourself. This is a great business. It not only rewards you with financial freedom, it really develops you personally as well. The best reward this business gives is the person you become in the process.

But you have got to want it so badly that you will do whatever it takes to succeed.

Disillusionment: People fail when their unrealistic expectations are not met. They become disillusioned and quit. In fact, the only way you will ultimately fail is to quit.

As long as you keep learning and applying what you learn, you can ultimately succeed. This is the key to success in any endeavor. But the minute you quit, you fail. So don’t quit.

Now let’s talk about what it takes to have a successful home business online?

Essentials for Success:

Education: I know I already mentioned this, but it is that important. Building an online business without knowing what you are doing is like performing surgery on yourself.

You’re going to get hurt. I’m not saying you can’t do anything until you learn everything. In fact, a big part of your ongoing education will come from doing.

Simply invest time and money in your education as you go.

If you are going to use traffic exchanges, learn about how to use them effectively. If you are setting up an auto responder, read what you can about auto responders and how to write an effective series. And if you are going to use Google AdWords, you had better learn how first.

Don’t deprive your education because you don’t want to pay for a book, course, guide, or whatever. If you learn just one thing from a course that helps make you money, then that one thing will be worth far more over time than the cost of the course. One of my favorite sayings goes, “If you think education is expensive, try ignorance”.

Mindset: Your thoughts are real things, and they are powerful! But they can destroy you just as easily as they can serve you. Invest in a copy of Napoleon Hill’s best seller, Think and Grow Rich. Read it. Successful People are always reading.

You need to learn to control your thoughts and emotions in this business. You need to be positive. You will face many disappointments and challenges on the road to success. It really matters whether you believe you can succeed or not.

Because whichever way you believe, you’re right.

Never blame someone else or some program for your lack of success. Take ownership of your success. Your success is entirely dependant upon you.

A Hot Product or Service: This may seem obvious, but if you are going to be successful, you need a product or service people actually want. It needs to be something of real value. Stay away from fads that only last a short while.

You don’t need your own product or service. You can sell someone else as an affiliate. Or you can build a business reselling digital products. Whichever way you go, it’s important to due your due diligence. Research the demand for your product/service.

A Target Market: This goes hand in hand with a hot product/service. If there is a demand for what you are selling, then there is a market. But who is your market.

Who would want your product? It is important to identify or “target” your market as precisely as possible. Otherwise, you will waste valuable resources marketing to people with absolutely no interest in your product or service. Don’t try to sell steak to a vegetarian.

Define your market by asking questions. Some questions to ask are: What’s their gender? How old are they? What do they do for a living? How much money do they make? Where in the world do they live? Define your customers as completely as you can.

That’s your target market.

An Effective Marketing System: Now that you have a hot product, and have identified your market, you need an effective means to bring the two together. I’m not going into a discussion of all the different ways to market a product online, but I do think it is important to understand what an effective marketing system is, and how to develop one.

An effective marketing system is one that gives a reasonable return on investment (ROI). It not only needs to produce results, it needs to produce enough results to justify continuing with it. Also, your marketing has to be geared towards building your list of contacts. You will here a million times: “the money is in the list”. Building a list of contacts is not just important to your business; it is your business.

Set a marketing budget and stick to it. As you begin to make some profit, reinvest it into your business and increase your marketing efforts. Make a plan designed around your budget.

There are many free and paid ways to market. Decide on a mix that fits your budget.

Also, set a schedule and stick to it.

Setting a schedule with well defined tasks will help you to stay focused and increase your productivity. Don't over do it. You don’t want to try and build Rome in a day. Don’t neglect your home, while building your home business. Once you have your plan, work it consistently.

Domain Name and Hosting: Even if you are planning on selling someone else’s product as an affiliate, you will want to invest in a domain name and hosting. Your domain is you own address (URL) on the internet. I recommend GoDaddy.com. Their prices are very reasonable, and the service is excellent.

Once you have your domain, you will need to host it someplace.

I recommend using Host4Profit. They have excellent customer service, and an easy to use control panel, all at reasonable rates.

Now why would you need a domain and hosting if you are selling someone else’s product? You will eventually want to use Pay Per Click (PPC) advertising. PPC search engines will not allow you to advertise someone else’s site. You will need to set up a landing page that will send your visitors to your affiliate page.

You can also design and host splash pages for traffic exchanges.

You can set up email addresses on your domain, which will help give you a professional look.

Bottom line is, if you want to be successful online; you will eventually need your own website. For a great deal on your own website, click the link in the resource box at the bottom of this article.

Myths:

Get Rich Quick: Many people think that they are going to get rich quick online. It takes the average person 3 to 4 years before they start to make any real money online.

Do you have to spend 3 to 4 years to make real money online?

No, you can do it much quicker if you know how. It’s just that it takes the average person 3 to 4 years to learn how.

It also takes time to develope a large network of contacts and steady traffic to your website.

The simple truth is that building a long lasting, profitable business online takes time and effort.

You Have to be a Computer Geek: You don’t have to be a computer geek.

However, you should have basic computer skills. I would also suggest investing a little time in learning HTML. What is HTML? HTML (HyperText Markup Language) is the language that browsers read.

Websites and many emails are written in HTML. You don’t have to master HTML, but a basic understanding is very helpful.

You Have to Invest a lot of Money: You don’t need a lot of money to get started. You do of course need a computer and an internet connection.

But beyond the hardware, you can start for next to nothing. However, to reach your goals you will need to invest more money.

The key is to focus on your plan and stay in your budget. Expand your budget as you begin to earn some money. Reinvest everything you earn at first. This way you can start a business on a shoestring budget and use your earnings to build it big.

Lies:

Money Without Work: There is no such thing. Even a crook has to work to rob you. Here’s a very true saying: “The only place you can find money before work is in the dictionary.” An honest business requires an honest effort.

Scams: There are all kinds of scams out there that prey upon the desperate, ignorant, and greedy. It is important to do the proper due diligence before joining any money making program or service. Here are a few tips to help you spot and avoid these internet lowlifes:

One thing that should get your B.S. alarm ringing is outrageous claims.

We all know that if something sounds too good to be true, it probably is.

Yet we still fall for wild promises. If someone tells you that for a price you can make $10,000 in a month, RUN. If they guarantee it, RUN FASTER. Evaluate claims with your own good sense, and don’t let greed get the better of you.

Another sure sign of a scam is if there is no real product or service of value.

Whenever you talk about multi-level marketing, someone always asks the question: “Isn’t that a pyramid scheme?” The truth is, almost all effective organizations, whether business or government, are pyramid shaped. This is so for the same reason wheels tend to be round. It really is the most efficient structure.

What makes a pyramid scheme a scam, is that there is nothing of real value flowing down the pyramid, only money flowing up. Everyone at the top makes money, everyone else pays for it. I only deal with programs that offer a product or service that I find valuable.

Check their customer service. Send an e-mail, or call them. If you get no response, run and never look back. Even if you get a response, what kind of response was it? Was it timely? Did it answer your question adequately, or did it just refer you to a FAQs page? The hallmark of an honest, well run business is great customer service.

Check their reputation. Check with the Better Business Bureau, and see if there have been any complaints filed against them. Also checkout what the forums have to say about them. You can do a search on the program to find posts that mention the program in question.

You need to use a little discernment here. Remember, 95% of all online marketers fail. They fail because of laziness or lack of knowledge. When they fail, many of them blame the program and blast it in the forums. So if one or two people cry scam, it may just be a case of sour grapes.

Well I hope this is of help to you in your quest for success. Remember, anyone can be successful online, if they will follow 8 simple rules:

1. Study to learn everything you can about this business.
2. Apply what you learn.
3. Set realistic long and short term goals.
4. Make a plan to achieve those goals.
5. Work hard towards executing your plan.
6. Stay positive.
7. Be consistent.
8. Don’t Give Up.