| A Cautionary Tale for the Internet Marketing | | | | beginning when I was still trying to sell junk on my |
| NewbieIn an attempt to set up our Internet | | | | cookie cutter web site, a very savvy salesman |
| marketing web sites, we've probably all done | | | | sold me on a program that for $6,000+ would |
| some brainless things. Well, I've done all of them. | | | | make me an expert in everything. They had |
| I've been so incredibly gullible, my pocketbook is | | | | people who, over the telephone, would show me |
| empty and I'm sure I've contributed many a laugh | | | | how to build a web site, people who would show |
| to the Internet "experts." Since I've done just | | | | me how to get myself on a search engine, people |
| about everything wrong, I want to share my | | | | who would help me write copy, people who would |
| story with other newbies who are looking for a | | | | help me get RICH!!! Believe it or not, I took |
| fast way to get RICH with a web site.Rich. Ha! | | | | money out of my IRA to buy this program.It |
| What a wonderful illusion of our dream house on | | | | started well. My tutor called at the very time we |
| the lake, a BMW, Lexus and maybe a Model T in | | | | had set the appointment. I thought that was a |
| a six-car garage, month-long vacations in far-off | | | | good sign. No one had told me, though, that I |
| lands where you can be served cold, salty drinks | | | | needed to do homework before the call. In half an |
| with a little umbrella and spend only 20 minutes of | | | | hour, I was supposed to tell her what products I |
| work every week - and all of this comes with the | | | | wanted to sell, what I wanted to say about them, |
| fulfillment of our greatest fantasy: telling our | | | | how I was going to price them, how many pages |
| corporate boss to "shove it."It didn't take me long | | | | I wanted on the site, etc. Since I only got six calls |
| to realize that life can be a stinker. I really didn't | | | | with my tutor at half an hour each, 1/5 of the |
| have dreams of getting rich as my long-time | | | | time was already wasted. However, I thought, |
| ambition was only to work from home. Since I'm | | | | okay, I should have been ready. If I want to sell |
| in my 60's, hey, I deserve to take it easy after | | | | something, I should know what the heck I want |
| so many years of the Fortune 500 dog-eat-dog | | | | to sell!By the second call, I had everything in place. |
| world, right? So I said to myself, "Ann O, , what | | | | Here are the products; here are the prices. Then |
| are you going to do?"Every Get RICH Deal in the | | | | more questions arose: Where are you going to |
| BookIn the beginning, I looked into several "get | | | | get them? How are you going to ship them? Do |
| RICH" ventures. I was just looking for a system | | | | you want a shopping basket? A merchant |
| to get some dandy money in a very short time. I | | | | account? For $6,000, I thought THEY might |
| subscribed to every free or cheap newsletter I | | | | supply me with some of these answers, but I had |
| heard about. Most of them have enticing ads for | | | | to figure out the whole plan.I needed a drop |
| new business possibilities. When you get your | | | | shipper. Where do I find those? "Look on the |
| name on the Internet "work at home" lists, you | | | | Internet," she said. Okay, I looked on the Internet |
| also get deluged with snail mail ventures too and | | | | and found some middlemen who would sell me |
| some of them are so absurd even I didn't fall for | | | | products on a drop ship basis, but I would only |
| them! Are they still trying to get people to stuff | | | | make about 5 to 10% profit on the purchases, |
| envelopes?An early opportunity that came along | | | | which isn't going to get me RICH. Adding in the |
| was selling web sites, but what did I know about | | | | costs of doing business, breakage, exceptional |
| web sites? I only knew that you clicked on some | | | | customer service, etc., would leave me owing |
| buttons and information appeared. So that wasn't | | | | myself money.The rest of the phone sessions |
| a good idea. Another prospect was buying real | | | | were cast of the same mold as the first couple |
| estate without any money. Wow. How do you do | | | | of calls. I learned very little other than that the |
| that? I read all of that stuff, but not being a | | | | people at this company were curt, rude, and |
| rocket scientist, I couldn't understand it. Okay, I'm | | | | obviously not interested in my little business-to-be. |
| not doing this right. Let's try something else.There | | | | The other sessions I managed to get through |
| are many testimonials from Internet marketers | | | | weren't productive, as you had to start with a |
| who are becoming RICH! They have all the | | | | viable web site (which never did get built) before |
| money they want, so why are they hawking | | | | you could design anything else and I wasn't able |
| information? So my goal became to search out | | | | to manage that. About $5,000 of that $6,000 |
| the kind of opportunity that would lead to my | | | | went down the drain.Eventually I did find a |
| own enviable testimonial success story - and the | | | | company (Drop Ship Source Directory) with a list |
| search was on.The Clicks and Clacks of the | | | | of real honest-to-goodness drop shippers. They |
| All-Inclusive Web SiteLo and behold, THE big one | | | | are absolutely superior, a delight to work with, |
| came along - a complete cookie cutter web site | | | | and extremely reasonable in price. And the |
| with products and a shopping cart and a very | | | | manufacturers are first class too, offering great |
| simple way to change the web site as I saw fit. | | | | profits, flexibility, and support.The Ups and |
| So I anted up many dollars and voila! I had my | | | | Downlines of Multi-Level MarketingI still wasn't |
| own web site and products and everything else I | | | | done with my goofball attempts at getting RICH!!! |
| needed to get RICH. Pretty soon all of my friends | | | | Okay, let's look into multi-level marketing (MLM); |
| and family knew about it and were anxious to | | | | that seems to be the way to go. I overlooked |
| help me out by buying something.Unfortunately, | | | | the little detail that this was kind of like a pyramid |
| almost all of them apologized, and said they just | | | | scheme. If a real company with a name, address |
| couldn't justify buying anything. because the | | | | and phone number is doing it, though, it must be |
| products were so cheesy. One friend did opt to | | | | okay. However, I still had that nagging feeling I |
| buy two items, but as soon as his name, address, | | | | was getting into something a little shady.The |
| credit card number, etc. were submitted, up | | | | industry sold a service that would be of |
| popped that awful message, "Sorry, this item is | | | | tremendous value to many Americans, and I was |
| backordered; you will receive it soon."I hit the first | | | | anxious to get the word out to those who |
| big concrete wall when it occurred to me that I'd | | | | needed it. This company, however, was far more |
| best go find some other customers. I had no idea | | | | interested in luring other recruiters into the |
| how to do that. I barely knew what a search | | | | business than selling their product. As a result, I |
| engine was and didn't know how to get onto one. | | | | learned virtually nothing about the product and far |
| I knew I could always send to an email list. Of | | | | too much about growing my downline.We did |
| course, by this time I had heard all about spam | | | | have telephone coaching seminars and could ask |
| and decided I didn't want to be thrown in jail, so | | | | questions of our "mentors" anytime we wanted - |
| that plan didn't even warm up.Okay, I would buy | | | | but not about the product. Just the downline. I |
| some lists. Many web sites out there offer opt-in | | | | never was able to get any answers orally or in |
| email lists that are so refined that they give you | | | | writing, and the few times I did try to cold call a |
| people who are interested in white lilacs grown in | | | | prospect, I broke out in a sweat. That little |
| Nebraska in the winter on a window sill! Wow! Of | | | | undertaking cost me a couple of hundred |
| course, the cost of these lists isThat brainchild | | | | dollars.Where There's Will, There's Pay!After all the |
| didn't last long. I ended up buying just 5,000 plain | | | | dumb things I did, I finally wised up, did the right |
| Jane addresses for way too much money, | | | | kind of research and found there are several |
| authored what I thought was a great sales letter, | | | | exceptionally good people who are willing to be |
| and sent the e-mails out. I got a purchase from | | | | teachers for those who are trying to succeed. |
| two people for a total of $37.All of the "experts" | | | | For me, finding them was a trial and error |
| recommend sending the same email three or four | | | | experience, but several names surfaced: Shawn |
| times because the first and second time, no one | | | | Casey, Dan Kennedy, Cory Rudl, Yanik Silver, |
| pays attention. So I did that and got so many | | | | John Reese and Tom Hua, and my apologies for |
| unsubscribe orders that it took me the better | | | | not remembering the rest. Doing it the RIGHT |
| part of two days to erase them from my list. | | | | way though is NOT easy, and you won't get rich |
| Talk about spam!Don't Judge an e-Book Deal by | | | | quick. You're NOT going to sell stuff in he first ten |
| Its CoverI jumped right into another one. I was | | | | minutes. If you don't feel like waiting, though, |
| going to sell an e-book. It didn't cost me anything | | | | there are pre-built sites that offer products or |
| but the rights to resell it, and I got the book and | | | | e-books.There are many steps you have to take, |
| a one-page web site that was very nicely done. | | | | and these experienced internet marketers can |
| From there on, it would be pure profit!Then again, | | | | guide you. You have to build a good reputation, |
| I forgot that I had to get people to visit the site | | | | you have to KEEP the good reputation, you have |
| and I still didn't know how to do that - or couldn't | | | | to build a solid customer base, and you have to |
| afford to get the lists. So there my web site sat. | | | | KEEP the customer base. You do this by |
| And sat. And still sits.Another Work at Home | | | | constantly testing the market, providing |
| SchemeAnother opportunity looked particularly | | | | exceptional customer service and being willing to |
| rewarding. All you had to do was contact | | | | spend (and lose) a little money. By working with |
| businesses to see if they had any unwanted | | | | them, you'll be doing it right. Bear in mind that |
| product they were looking to get rid of. Maybe | | | | 95% of Internet businesses fail. Remember the |
| they were going belly up; maybe they | | | | dot com debacle of the 90's?After all these |
| manufactured too many widgets and couldn't sell | | | | failures, and after doing the research I should |
| them all.So all I had to do was find these guys | | | | have done in the first place, I found a company, |
| with the extra product and offer them a price for | | | | Global eBusiness Technologies (GET), that is willing |
| their merchandise. If they agreed, the liquidation | | | | to build my web site, provide the necessary |
| company would find a seller and take the product | | | | marketing, critique the products I want to offer, |
| off their hands. The company (for a hefty price) | | | | suggest revisions in the prices I want to charge, |
| provides you with a directory of businesses in all | | | | get me on the search engines in a very good |
| 52 states. So what more did I need? Easy huh? | | | | position, and generally help me succeed. These |
| And I could get RICH!!!After making countless | | | | services are not inexpensive but they're worth |
| phone calls and mailing 2,500 tantalizing postcards | | | | the time, money and involvement.My site should |
| to these businesses, I managed to put together | | | | be up soon, and I'm looking forward to getting |
| one deal for a popular product. This deal should | | | | RICH!!! No, I won't get rich, but at least I'll have |
| have netted me about $20,000. All bases were | | | | some income besides my Social Security, and I'll |
| covered, the price was right, etc., etc. Well, don't | | | | certainly make more money than an 8 to 5 job. |
| you know the liquidation company said they | | | | GET's services are not cheap, but I don't want to |
| couldn't find a buyer? Uh huh.So I figured I spent | | | | forget that extremely important fact of life: there |
| almost $500 buying this directory, several hundred | | | | are no free lunches. There are no get RICH quick |
| dollars in printing supplies for the postcards, $600 | | | | deals either.My success will enhance GET's |
| in stamps, untold hours in designing the postcards | | | | reputation, and I can't wait to write my |
| and printing, hand stamping, and mailing out the | | | | testimonial. And when you see me, you'll know I'm |
| cards. There were a number of other problems | | | | for real.by Ann O. NimusJuliana Johnson and Ann |
| with this company, but that's enough about them. | | | | O. Nimus are newbies to internet marketing but |
| So. I'm still not getting rich.The Ins and Outs of | | | | are trying their darndest to be superstars. |
| Internet MarketingWhat else did I do wrong? Oh, | | | | exquisite gifts at unbeatable prices. |
| yes. The most expensive one. Way in the | | | | |