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befree
Forums Member
Joined: 11 Sep 2009
Posts: 3
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#1 · Posted: 12 Sep 2009 11:10
I never thought I will be saying this and I may tick off a lot of people. Sorry for being blunt, but I am starting to believe that the only way to make money with online marketing is to become a scammer and BS people.
I am now involved with IM for about 18 months and made little money online when I started off. In Dec 08 I was laid off and decided to do IM full time. I was extremely excited about this as I knew the possibilities with IM. I joined two online training programs and did everything they taught. ( I then found that they just want to sell you more and more of their own programs without really wanting you to be successful)
I TOOK ACTION IN A BIG WAY!!!
I did extensive niche market and keyword research, published and optimized landing pages, websites, published blogs, Squidoo lenses and also wrote many articles (Some articles and landing pages 1st page on Google). In addition I am running PPC campaigns on Google and MSN and also Adbrite and to date spend a fortune on advertising. No sales.
I also just want to add that I did a lot of mindset training, Tony Robbins, (by the way the video's of Anthony Robbins added to this forum is excellent), did the firewalk, yes walked over fire, do affirmations and visualization exercises, etc. and I can taste success, but still nothing.
I am now in the situation where I depleted my savings (mostly on IM) and I am losing my house, despite working 18 hours a day on the internet business for the past 7 months.
Can anybody please tell me I am not crazy to still believe IM is the way to go while everybody who supported me in the beginning is now constantly telling me I am wasting my time, money and throwing everything away.
Please just your honest opinion and also please do not try and sell me another program or scheme.
Many Thanks
"Who Will You Be"
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onera
Forums Member
Joined: 10 May 2009
Posts: 48
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#2 · Posted: 14 Sep 2009 12:26
I understand your pain, buddy. Most of the IM Gurus make their money selling those courses only. Even the top marketers. As PPC and affiliate marketing is getting extremely competitive, these people have started selling PPC and affiliate marketing courses. Some of the courses are also ridiculously priced in thousands.
Hang on a little longer. May be it is just around the corner. But stop buying any courses and concentrate on driving traffic for free.
By now you must have acquired lots of knowledge about the Web and internet marketing. See if you can sell some of your skills, e.g. building web sites, graphics, copywriting, etc. to get some quick money.
Also, if possible write an ebook or video course and try to sell it, may be initially in Warrior Forum.
PPC is a big money eaters. My simple math is:
Let's say
You get $29 commission.
Your conversion is 1%
Your click through cost is 25 cents.
You only make $4 per sale. But the entire thing can be a total loss if any one of the factor is way off from the assumptions.
I don't know if you're eligible for AdWord Certification or not. If you're eligible, take the certification. It may help you get clients who will be interested in PPC advertising.
Good luck and hope you all the success in the coming days.
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Newbie Shield
Joined: 22 Sep 2007
Posts: 2231
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#3 · Posted: 14 Sep 2009 16:23
Hi B,
Impossible to answer since everyone possesses various skill levels and talents.
How long have you actually been trying to monetize with paid hosting? You should be live at least a year and have well over 50 pages on that site alone.
How much traffic have you received to one of your sites?
Are you getting a decent amount of organic traffic from several sources - search engines, directories, article sites, press releases, forum sigs, blog sigs, etc?
Are you networking within your niches?
I know it works and it's worth pursuing. It may be different for you but if you believe in it try some new things such as:
Thinking of the visitor first and foremost - always.
Write some pages on your site to inform and write some to sell.
Stick with free traffic methods for a while - until they start paying.
Improve your web design skills.
Use images and videos.
Make sure your pages load reasonably quick.
Improve your writing skills.
Try new niches.
Don't focus on the money quite so much when you write.
See if you can expand this list. Try to improve your weaknesses and emphasize your strengths.
Good luck,
~Newbie Shield~
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mountainmom5
Joined: 30 Aug 2007
Posts: 2445
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#4 · Posted: 14 Sep 2009 23:57
Newbie Shield shared some valuable advice here... and my heart absolutely goes out to you bullsht....
Been there
I had several options ahead of me when I discovered that it was time to change direction.... I could either get all bitter about mlm and go get a dayjob for the res of my life.... or I could simply take everything I have learned and change courses...
So I did a bit of both... got myself a part time job and changed courses.
I had spent well over twelve grand by that time and although I HAD made a good bit of that back, I had racked up a HUGE credit card debt.
Now, a little over a year later, I still don't make thousands a month, (or not on a regular basis anyways) but I DO make money online and I can see another option besides my dayjob in the not so distant future...
Oh... and I am NOT spamming people to do it....
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A8ch
Joined: 24 Jun 2005
Posts: 721
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#5 · Posted: 15 Sep 2009 01:12 · Edited by: A8ch
bullsht: Can anybody please tell me I am not crazy to still believe IM is the way to go while everybody who supported me in the beginning is now constantly telling me I am wasting my time, money and throwing everything away.
You are not crazy to still believe in your dream!
There is no set timetable for achieving success, least of all a timetable imposed by turncoat supporters. It is precisely when your cheering section starts to abandon and discourage you that you must hold steadfast to what you truly believe.
In the meanwhile, you can look for anything you can take away from their criticism that could move you forward.
Example: They say you are constantly wasting your time, money and throwing everything away.
There's often a kernel of truth in every criticism, so step back and examine that charge. Perhaps you could be more calculating about how you spend money, what you spend it on, and why.
You've obviously been very busy in the past 18 months learning and doing, and from what you've stated you seem to have gathered many pieces of the IM puzzle. According to you, "I can taste success, but still nothing." Perhaps what you've got to do next is place the puzzle pieces in their correct places.
Onera, Newbie Shield and mm5 offered some excellent suggestions that could help you to bridge the gap.
I would also encourage you to review everything you have done so far with a fine-tooth comb; articles, blogs, lenses, websites, landing pages and so on, and then critique them one by one. Take all you've learned about each item and make sure that you are applying the various components and concepts correctly.
For example - Articles:
- Is the headline strong?
- Does the abstract really grab the reader's curiosity?
- Is the content useful and relevant to the topic?
- Does the article read smoothly?
- Is the spelling, grammar and syntax in order?
- Does the resource box encourage the reader to take the next step?
And if the link in the resource box goes to a website, blog, landing page, or something similar...
- Is that next piece of the puzzle doing the best job possible?
- And so on...
This process may help you recognize the slight adjustments you need to make to enjoy the results you've been missing so far.
bullsht: Sorry for being blunt, but I am starting to believe that the only way to make money with online marketing is to become a scammer and BS people.
I understand what you mean by the above sentiment. But here's the irony.
If you decided to go that route, your results wouldn't be any different. Your marketing and promotions would still have to generate the traffic first, in order for you to run your scam. So you'd still be in the same predicament.
Simply look for ways to refine your current methods and then go from there. Just don't cave in to the external pressure.
All the best to you.
Hermas
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BST01
Forums Member
Joined: 12 Sep 2009
Posts: 52
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#6 · Posted: 15 Sep 2009 06:47
Internet marketing still works but you just have to be prepared to wait for the results to start coming through and that as a matter of fact may take time, years in most cases.
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FreeCashMan
Forums Member
Joined: 31 Dec 2007
Posts: 483
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#7 · Posted: 15 Sep 2009 09:55
Unfortunately, you are not alone. The struggle to try and make money with search engine PPC has been a drainer of many peoples cash. I've had my share. I found that often free marketing strategies yield just a good website hits and sales, but with way less cost to get the hit, plus with things like articles, forums, videos you ad is just out there for a limited number of clicks.
All that being said, I've found that to internet marketing is not for everyone and that a powerful money earning marketing strategy should involve offline marketing. Since combining online with offline marketing my cash flow has greatly improved, and I get my offering in front of interested people at far less than what a 'hot' ppc keyword cost.
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befree
Forums Member
Joined: 11 Sep 2009
Posts: 3
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#8 · Posted: 16 Sep 2009 07:24
Thanks for all your valuable insight and support, I really appreciate it. You gave me a lot to think about and to take action on.
Keep watching as I will post my success with IM on this forum.
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getagrip
Joined: 20 Feb 2006
Posts: 2038
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#9 · Posted: 19 Sep 2009 14:26
If there is one piece of advice I could give you, however, it is that I'd advise you to try and get another job and do interner marketing on the side - you CAN make money as an internet marketer, but you shouldn't attempt to do it full time until you have had some sales under your belt and are bringing in a consistent income.
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befree
Forums Member
Joined: 11 Sep 2009
Posts: 3
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#10 · Posted: 21 Sep 2009 10:49
I see you are promoting the WA program. I was a member for 3 months and completed their program. I found the program providing good information and tutorials, and I took action and applied everything taught. The one thing I found seriously lacking was proper support and guidance on issues raised.
Having said this I am searching for a job but unfortunately not many companies are hiring (especially "older people" ) so I just have to make IM work.
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