How I Made 50K in One Month...or not

I don't want to be negative, BUT! I am leery of emails announcing "how I made 50K in one month, and you can too!" I'm very happy for anyone who sells their products for an appropriate fee and makes money online doing what they are very good at. I don't doubt they did make that much. That's not my point.

There are so many online marketing gurus who don't hesitate to "tell all their secrets" if only you'll give them $1000, $5000, or more. We've all fallen for something and then been disappointed.

Recently, a couple of book publishing experts were on a call promising that if you signed up for their program they would guarantee you would become a best-selling author on Amazon, or your money back!

Now I have a client who already took their program. He's meticulous. And he has a reasonably good book, very entertaining, fast moving political/military novel. He did everything this program required. (I know how detailed he is). He did not become a best seller. When he tried to get his money-back guarantee, he was pointed to some fine print and told no refund.

I think I would respond better to someone who was brutally honest and realistic. If you said, "I made $10,000 my first year online, and now I'm making 7 times that much in my 3rd year online," I would believe you. If you told me that there is hard work involved and not everybody gets rich quick online, I would believe you. If you told me you work hard for the money, I would believe you.

Maybe I would make much more if I exaggerated some numbers and told everybody how easy it is... Maybe I would grow my database list to hundreds of thousands if I did start painting a rosy picture and made outrageous promises.

Truth is, it is hard to make money online when you are running a solo business providing services. Ask others who are doing it, they'll all tell you. We work hard for the money.

Be wary of those people who are overcharging you what you can get from other providers for a reasonable fee. Everything really valuable I've learned about online marketing I've only paid a small fee for. Except for one time. I bit the bullet and laid out big cash for one person's entire library of writing secrets.

Was it worth it? No, quite frankly, I have learned the same things from other people lesser known for 1/10 the fee.

Learning is important if you want to grow your business. But that knowledge can be acquired without falling into the "50K in one month" marketing net of sharks.

Need knowledge to grow your business? You bet. Just ask around to find out who is really knowledgeable and how you can get that information without a huge investment. Learning takes time, it shouldn't take all your money too.

Comments

[Sallie Goetsch]

Hurray Patsi! I got that e-mail message too. I've always been suspicious of hype and turned off by the hard-sell. Most of the marketing experts whom I really respect give away an enormous amount of information, enough to provide quite a good free education. They charge high for their services and live seminars, but not outrageously high, and they don't make exaggerated promises.

I think everyone should bear in mind that turning to certain sales tactics might turn off some of your best prospects or existing clients. Maybe you'll get enough other business that it won't matter to your bottom line, but if success is really about relationships, anything that damages your existing relationships is bad business. If you don't live up to your promises, word gets out.

[Angie Pedersen]

I've been researching the "information marketing" market recently, and have surfed onto countless sales letters that make 'amazing' claims, just as you've mentioned here. I've read so many in recent weeks that it seems I *must* be the only one who's not a multi-millionaire! ;) It's refreshing to see a professional such as yourself suggesting caution when proceeding with these offers. I appreciate your common-sense advice, and hope it reaches those who need it most.