Monday, September 10, 2007

Internet Marketing Myth

Hi, I’m back.
I just finished perusing my collection of e-books and softwares, trying to decide which one to do first. Before I begin, I’ll say this. As a rule, I try to avoid buying if I have to. Hey, free stuff is the way to go, right? Well, sometimes.

I’ve been scammed more times than I care to remember. I’ve spent thousands on worthless programmes, e-books, what-nots, from the so-called ‘gurus’ on the internet. When I first stumbled on Internet Marketing, I had no one and nothing to guide me. I bought into the hype of easy money. “Sit-back-and- do-nothing-and-your-business-will-grow” kind of thing. Hogwash. Utter nonsense. No such thing. If only I knew then what I know now. (Sigh!)

Nohing I can do about it now. I simply accept it as part of my learning process and move on. Enough said. On to the report.

I’ve finished reading Dan B. Cauthron’s Internet Marketing Myth Exposed. It was a real eye opener. The report exposed most of the pitfalls that Internet Marketeers (especially newbies!) fall into. Like making money without having to study and read first. The keywords that all of us should be looking at are research, study, analyse. Don’t fall into the trap of ‘if you build it, they will come’. As Dan puts it, it’s not Hollywood. Building a website is only the first step. The next step is to promote, promote and promote. Now that takes work.

Who to promote to? That’s where the mailing list comes in. He doesn’t recommend buying a mailing list, because in a lot of cases, genuine Internet Marketeers have been accused of spamming. He doesn’t tell you how to build a mailing list, though. (I think I have an e-book on that, I’ll have to search in my book drawer for that one). A public forum and FFA (Free For All) Ads don’t work, either. I’ve personally tested the FFA, and it’s true, they don’t work. What it does is increase the amount of spam e-mails that flood in my inbox, though. A public forum is just that, a forum. A meeting place to discuss ideas, not to advertise.

Also, it’s best to develop your people skills. A lot of people think that simply because Internet Marketing doesn’t involve actual meeting and talking to people, you can take people skills out of the equation. Not true. What you write reflect on the person that you are. People can actually tell from your writing. Some people think that being a jerk is a good thing. I think it’s in bad taste. You can formulate your own opinion.

After reading right through the end, I come to the conclusion that marketing on the internet involves a lot of hard work, research, reading and studying. More often than not, you will fail before you succeed. Persevere and you’ll make it. When you start marketing, you will hear a lot of success stories, what you don’t hear as often are the failures and hard work that precedes that success.

And on that note, HAPPY READING!

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