What do you tell people you do?

I dont go in details. I am mostly in domaining, and when I say that to some friends many of them dont ask further because they dont want to look stupid because they dont know almost anything about it so they dont ask

Just tell them what you do Internet and Affiliate Marketing. Most people just never understand it. Some thing we are crazy, wasting money, being scammed, wasting time etc. Then when they see the money rolling in we are doing something illegal. So, most people will never really understand. You could shorten down IM and just tell them you do Marketing that might be something people can handle.

dude, just say you in Ecommerce Marketing. It really is. Nothing to apologize for..


M.

Good question. Usually try and build an elevator pitch around 'I own and run a website'. It's an opportunity to explain the business.

I haven't started making any real money so I don't have that problem yet... But again family members just don't understand or get it, even just a bit but it's o.k....

I am a web developer so I tell what I love to do

Hi everyone,

good point here, but I don't have this problem because I live with my wife only and she knows what I'm doing and I live in the UK and all the rest of my familly live in Poland.

Beside I've got a day job too so I don't need to explain the I'm earning money on the internet, too.

But I see now that is is a very tough subcject and you need to explain a lot to your familly and friends.
So I would say "I work from home as an enterpreneur or as an affiliate, and it is fun and worht doing do you want to try too?" and send them an e-mail with your squeeze page and tell them to join your list.

This is my advice.
Thanks a lot and see you on top.
Erwin.

My parents for the longest time thought I was selling drugs, because I had more money than I knew what to do with and never left the house to go to work. I tried to explain what I did, and they laughed in my face and told me to get a real job or move out.

Needless to say I moved out, and they are just now starting to understand exactly what I do. I understand where your coming from though, because I dont do any of the work i outsource it. That being said I simply tell people that I am a marketing expert with an expertise in online marketing

I'm like Shane... my answer depends on the mood I'm in
and if I feel like explaining or not.

A good way to end conversations is saying something like:
I run a consulting business specializing in IM

If they ask any further you can always say that it's highly technical (aka rocket science) and/or that it's secret stuff you can't share.

I tell people that I direct midget porn. Most people I know don't know a thing about IM and they don't care.

To simplify things... i just say i'm an online marketing consultant.

I simply tell them that i work at home and don't go into details not unless they ask what do i really do. But even if i tell them they wont understand and they will just tell "okay, whatever"

I usually give them a variation of the signature below, and hand them my business card.

I sit there for about an hour trying to explain what I do with no luck in helping them understand. LOL. Then I say "I pretty much sell digitally downloadable products and software online", and then try to down play it a bit.
(Okay, I don't always do this, but it has definitely happened to me a few times...)

I say that I do internet marketing, when asked internet marketing then I say selling products on internet, what product? then I say books, whose books? A company's book, how do you earn? I earn on the basis of commission.

Most of the time I just say I'm an Affiliate Marketer, but with some people I just say I make money online. They ask, doing what? I say whatever I want to do.

You can tell them you're an Internet marketer and you sell online products. I think that will do.

I'm a student So people don't ask me what do you do.May be I'll need to find answer for this question in the future.

Like the poster above, I am a student. Therefore, no-one asks me about my career. My family does question me though; they ask whether if the activities I do are illegal. I have told them that it is not, however they refuse to believe me.

I would go with business consultant. That seems to cover a lot.
Affiliate marketing, copy writing, SEO services, Adwords consultant, online marketing and a lot more.

I work in the finance dept of a family-run company so that's what I tell them. Only a few people know that I make twice more than that by freelancing. Marketing/Business consultant works well also but if they ask for more details, then prepare for a long conversation. I find it hard to explain (especially to older people) how one can earn online.

Here is an answer: -

"I help vendors market their software and services on the net, which in turn helps newbies to get online and make money in this difficult economic conditions".

You may edit it as you wish.

Cheerios,

Devin

I mostly tell them Internet Marketing ... when I get the question "oh, what is that?" -which by the way, I always get it- I respond with something like "you know marketing you see everywhere everyday? the same thing but through the Internet so I can do marketing all over the world" ... and you see the "wow" expression to their faces... priceless

It does not matter what they think about what you're doing. If you enjoy it, then you don't really need any outside approval right? As long as you are making a decent income and enjoying the process (and not stepping on your family or friends), then you have nothing to prove. Just tell them anything to get them off your back if you are irritated when they ask you about your job.

Say you do Internet Marketing, when they ask what it's about, tell them they shouldn't bother - it's not for everyone

I just tell people that I have an "online marketing business".

If they start to ask for more info I just tell them that I control internet traffic flow using search engine optimization and paid ad campaigns.

I run an offshore investment fund. Sound super sexy.

They usally ask

"Wow! Can I invest?"

"Sure," I say. "Minimum is $500,000 and I pre-screen all potential investors as well to see if we are a fit."

Usually ends the conversation there.

dont care about the others...dont overate them and their opinions

Its even more awkward when you don't really make any money and you try and explain to your friends/family what you are trying to do. I wouldnt mind explaining if I was making money!

I also face obstacles when I try to explain what I'm doing online. Reactions are usually result of prejudices. In the end I try to stay focused about who I am and what are my goals.
The simple answer might be internet marketing!

Why is it difficult telling others that we are entrepreneurs? I include myself in this, because it can be awkward

Ecommerce is the best option, also say that you have an online store.. just saying one ecommerce store should be enough to suffice, even if you have several or more online presences. When asked what do I sell, I simply reply Amazon style products, even though they aren't. That's enough to repel most questions..

I don't make people hesitate with what I am but I simply say that I am a writer.

"Virtual acquisitions and mergers" lol

Business owner. I say that I run a content writing company and that is what I do anyway.

people i talk to seem to understand affiliate marketing so i haven't had any problems in that sense. It's becoming more pervasive and in the mainstream domain i'd say, not as mysterious as it once was

If I think they have average or above average intelligence I will explain that I sell products online and make a commission. I told this to my 13 year old niece and she understood without any problem.

I explained it the same way to a woman in her 50´s and even used selling Avon, Mary Kay cosmetics or Tupperware as examples, but the only difference is I promote other products from Amazon, and she could not understand....

So, it depends on the level of intelligence of the asker....

Do your own thing man! Don't worry about what other people think so long as you keep it honest and don't step on anyone's toes. Worry about what you and your immediate family thinks first! What everyone else thinks simply does not matter. I speak from experience. At one time I was the village idiot, now these fools want to know what I do and how I do it. Really?? Where were you guys when I needed help??? They can keep there 9-5 routine!

Since I make money writing articles, that's simply all that I say. For most people, it seems pretty straightforward and they don't tend to ask a lot of complicated questions. However, most people also like to say that such an occupation should allow me to make money while I travel... I don't make THAT much consistent money yet to even begin doing this! One day, though... One day.

I tell people that I'm a secret agent.

I hear ya brother, I get sick to death of explaining what I do for a living so I tell them I deal in real human traffic, confuses the shit out of the straights lol

i say i am an internet marketing plumber

When I started online,I used to tell them-I do internet marketing,and no one understood(even after a lot of explaining).It was so annoying.

Now I tell them I have software development and consultancy business and they look at me with awe.Many of them even ask me if I can hire them.

When i first started with Internet Marketing, i used to explain to everybody what i do. They used to have the look of the cow.Only when i told them that i also made money out of this, they seemed to get some interest in my story.

Now, i say that i run my own Internet web design and marketing business. In plain English, i tell them that i help companies make money over the Internet.

Include the phrase "make money", and you will make money

Dimitris

Just tell them it's internet advertising agency Should work and give them idea what you do so they will stop thinking you are drug dealer ^^

I will tell the people around me with useful things, which can be beneficial to himself and his family

Yeah i find it annoying too, because its not a simple explanation, there are many points and different parts of what we do as Internet Marketers. I say to my close friends "I sell shit on the internet" To the people i don't really know well. I just say i sell digital products online. If they ask questions i try to keep it as simple as possible lol.

I like the salesman answer because most people don't want to be a salesman, so, the answer should stop them in their tracks.

Nobody in my real life understands what I do. Nobody. Sometimes I feel like an idiot trying to explain what it is I do to them because they'll just give that "oh, okay!" where I can tell they have no idea what I'm saying and they feel like they just have to say something. lol. Maybe I should start lying...

Well I have 3 jobs so I just pick one according to the situation...

PhD student (part-time), project manager but from a web development background (day job) and IM (starting out). The aim is to quit the day job so I can be more flexible with my time and focus on my PhD. Most people know I work my ass off so that's all that counts. It's a bit problematic when I talk to older people that are either family or friends of the family (mine or girlfriend's). They all think PhD is the 'eternal student' dream, working for a web company is not old school enough to understand and IM hasn't brought me enough money to even think about talkin about. Lol. My girlfriend has an old-school respectable job and so I sometimes feel a bit inadequate when around her relatives.

Great question.
While reading through the posts, especially one about midget porn, hilarious, I notice some people shy away from answering, some give ambiguous responses or more mainstream response.
One thing, what I do notice, which is down to a degree to human psychology, anything to do with making money, which is outside of the norm for the average person, it's viewed in negatively, ah too risky, ah scam, doesn't sound like a real job.
That is until you make a truck load of cash, even then there's a small group of people, will try to pee on your fire.
At the end of the day, if you enjoy what you do, if it put's money in your pocket or your working towards it to do that for you. Doesn't make a dimes worth of difference what they think, stand up and proudly say ...
I'm an internet marketer
or
Salesman :-)

I love it when people want to know what I do, and then want to know how I do it.

I find helping people out that are struggling is the most fun aspect of my job. (Yes, I call it a job.. but the cool thing is, for me, it's only about a 20 hour a week job. Still working toward the 4 Hour work week.. but not quite yet.

Sales and Internet Marketing. If that doesn't satisfy them tell them you started a cult on the internet and ask them if they would like to learn more about it.

I tell others that I want to be financially successful via publishing articles and videos about my passions.

I used to say copywriter... and people thought I worked for the patent office.

So now I just say "I sell stuff online"... now they either think ebay or porn... usually porn. I think I might just start lying and say I deal drugs or something... hell my neighbors would believe that since I'm home all the time.

I just tell people I'm self employed!!

I say I'm an Internet marketer, and as their eyes glaze over, I usually add something like "I build web sites that make money" or if they're really confused just "I build web sites." They usually don't ask beyond that.

I tell them I'm a digital crack dealer.... then I wait a couple minutes and let it sink in.

RoD

I remember reading a post on another forum awhile back of a guy who I think was farming virtual gold for one of those online games, and his neighbors called the cops when he started buying exotic cars and reported him as a drug dealer.

When I had the Lotus I used to try to be an ambassador and use it to try to get people interested in IM, but I just don't bother even trying to explain what I do anymore. People are all curious and then when you start talking about websites and IM they just want to piss in your corn flakes. Actually I'm sometimes surprised getting more of that from family than strangers.

Lol I read thru some of the replies to your interesting question. Hilarious and educational! People always ask me "the question" and I did find it difficult to answer. For over 10 years I was a diamond broker on eBay, but for security reasons I was selective on who I would share that with. Also, when people hear eBay, it sometimes has a negative connotation. Ebay enabled me to live an affluent lifestyle; the multiple mercedes and big houses had to be explained somehow to friends and neighbors,lol. Often I would just describe myself as "I work on the Internet" most people will just leave that alone, it sounds intimidating enough I guess, so they don't question it. Maybe they look at me and figure i do porn, lol. But now I say "my engineering team and I are launching websites to make apps for a $1 , the first website is in beta form, appbuzzinga.com , check it out!!" I follow with " you can't sign up on the website, but if you want to get started, ask me for the link" . I think we all have to be self promoting, in a soft way You could say "my website is ---, check it out!" if the person is interested, they will ask more questions.

I've stopped trying to explain to people what I do. They don't care, and I don't care that they don't care thus my answer is usually sarcastic: "Human trafficking" or "Selling drugs"

Few followup questions come my way after that

I help _____ (finish the rest with what you help people with)

so I help newbie and struggling marketers get started online or something to that line.

Or you can say something like "I do what you do at work just at home" lol

Just tell them you do work on the computers, most people will be able to understand that. Sometime it is a waste of time to go into details as most people think that you can't make any money online. I just say I have a few websites online and they bring me a bit of revenue. And some people just find it hard to understand that websites can make a revenue.