Newbies: Sorry to disappoint, but there is one word you've badly misunderstood ...

My point exactly.

Ah but that's the point. Two hours of work might be easy for me after 8 years of practice, but it certainly isn't easy for someone with 8 minutes experience. My WSO teaches all the stuff I've taken 8 years to learn, but I don't say that absorbing that knowledge is easy or requires no work at all.

It isn't difficult, but nothing good is ever completely handed to you on a plate either.

Effort in = rewards out.

Martin

Martin, wise words my friend. Wise words.

Too many people think IM is just easy as hit a couple buttons and there you go - and frankly sometimes IT IS just like that.

But we need to get a higher state of consciousness to be that short. We need to learn, test, re-test, re-learn, re-test and finally succeed.

Even with automation tools - the 2010 buzz - it's clear for me that only those who know hat buttons to hit will succeed - as always.

If one has the machine but not the knowledge, he will fail.



lol, i needed that. Do you write cartoons? :p

That is pretty funny, a well written post with a good point you got across, but your sig is the root of the problem.

Exactly.

Newbies have not misunderstood anything, they have been misled.

Well said! I noticed that link in the signature too! hmmmmm As a newbie on this site, I am not new to this world of making money online. But then again, I have friends who are in this field. Many newbies do not have that luxury and may be looking for friends and guidance. I would bet that everyone in this thread once asked the same question "What is the best way to make money online?" to someone when they first started out. My follow up question is usually, "What are your interests and what do you LIKE?" Get the newbie involved in making his/her own goals. Ever hear of "Pay it forward"? Warren Buffet routinely gives something back to the community (and not just $$$$), just like those who helped you in the beginning did for you. Who knows? Maybe you will have just helped the next internet billionaire...and he may just remember your kindness. Stay positive.

I just saw the sig. LOL

Yes, good point. I'm in that same category now . . . at first I believed the hype, spent the time failing and learning that it's not really like the marketing pretends, then started learning how it really works. I've been learning for a long time, putting in thousands of hours of work (mostly doing things that fail utterly, but, I'm gradually learning), still learning, and will get workable results eventually!

Sure, one can complain about the hype, but that's reality, not much use in complaining really (although it can be fun!) . . . see things as they really are . . . ie. the marketing is very far from the truth, find out how to learn what really works.

If any of the more experienced members wants to know what I find the biggest problem in learning . . . one buys a few courses, does EXACTLY what the course says, and fails utterly . . . then what??? One is already following the instructions to the best of ones ability, there are no instructions on what to do to improve when you're already doing what they say and it just plain doesn't work! I guess what the courses should say is . . . follow the instructions, then get onto the Warrior forum to find out all the things missing from the instructions, and all the things you've misunderstood, etc.

I know it's a challenge teaching people to do what you can do. There's so many things that you do subconsciously that you'd forget to mention, or can't really put into words. So I know it's a challenge, and I guess one shouldn't really expect these much-hyped courses to really teach you what you need to know . . . what I am finding in practice is that one needs to ask a LOT of questions, do a lot of trial and error etc. like in any subject.


Chris

A grand? Nah, I'm going for two this month. Nearly there, too.

The testosterone in this thread makes me wonder why any woman would
want to spend an eternity with any man.

Simply amazing.

Martin,

I have been during this for a few years and easy is one word I would not use to describe the Internet Marketing Business. What worked years ago doesn't work anymore. This business changes faster than a politician mind.

Jimmy.

Not that Martin needs me to rush to his defense with all these attacks
against him, but let me add my own 2 cents to this problem.

When I first started online I was clueless. I was probably a bigger failure
than 98% of the people here. I made $28 in my first 5 months.

I too blamed all the sales letters telling me how easy it was. But the truth is,
as I looked back at my progress, there were 3 things that I did that ruined
me at the start.

1. I didn't take the time to REALLY learn the principles.
2. I didn't stick with one thing long enough.
3. I didn't put in the correct effort.

Let me expand on that last one a bit.

A lot of people will get a "how to make money" product and go through the
steps, thinking that they are doing everything correctly when in fact,
they are either leaving things out or doing some things poorly.

I'll give you an example of a simple process that makes me a steady income
on a regular basis. And when I share it, almost everybody here will agree
that it's pretty common stuff and will even admit that it's a viable option
to marketing.

1. Find a product at Clickbank.
2. Write articles on the niche and submit to directories.
3. Write a review of the product and put it on a blog.
4. Drive traffic from the article to the blog.

Pretty simple, right?

Do you have ANY idea how many pitfalls there are to this process along
the way?

1. Finding a product that converts.
2. Writing a good article that gets read.
3. Writing a good resource box that gets people to your article.
4. Submitting to the right directories.
5. Heck, just picking the right niche.
6. Writing a good and convincing review without sounding like a sales pitch.

Now, the product could go step by step through this whole process,
telling you exactly what to do, but guess what?

If you can't write, you're up the creek without a paddle.

Is it the product's fault?

What if the product actually included a whole book on how to write
articles?

Guess what?

No talent...no results.

Not everybody can learn to write.

So when I put up a sales page that says, "This is what I do and this is
what I get from doing it" I am in no way misleading anybody. I make no
guarantees that you'll make even one dime. I simply say that by following
these steps you have a good chance to start earning some money.

And the truth is, you do. But it's not a guarantee.

Nothing in life is.

And that's the problem. That's what people are looking for.

I can't tell you how many emails I get with people asking me things like...

"How soon will I start making money with this if I get it?"

My answer?

"Nobody can make you any promises or guarantees. There are too many
variables involved including how hard you're willing to work. If you're looking
for a guarantee, look elsewhere."

Personally, if I were to use that system I just outlined, I'd be making
money within a week tops.

Why?

I know what products to look for.
I know what niches to pick.
I know how to write a product review.
I know how to write an article.
I know how to construct a killer call to action resource box.
I know what directories to submit to.

I can try to teach you all the above, sure.

But here is what I can't guarantee.

1. That after reading the info you'll become a great article writer.
2. That you'll become a great resource box creator.
3. That you'll become a great product reviewer.

Ultimately, how good these skills become will come down to how hard you
work at honing your craft.

It would be like a pro basketball coach showing you every move that
Michael Jordan has in his arsenal.

Guess what?

If you don't have the physical skills or can't acquire them, it won't matter.

That is why I have said this a hundred times, even though so many people
don't agree with me, I don't care how good an instruction manual is. Some
people do not have the smarts to learn the material proficiently enough to
be able to make it work for them.

Does that make marketers liars?

No. No more than it makes colleges liars when they claim that your child
will get the best education there.

That education is only as good as the effort the student puts into learning
the material.

Is there crap out there?

Sure there is.

But even I could take crap that has at least some value in it (perhaps one
tip that is viable) and turn it into extra income because...

1. I am able to understand the point being made.
2. I am able to execute it properly due to my existing experience.

As you do this more and more, unless you are truly dense, you will begin
to find that it gets easier to understand and implement things, if for no
other reason than through pure repetition.

It took me 5 months to finally put a dent into my income. And even at
that, I was only making about $1,200 to $1,500 a month for over a year
before I had my next breakthrough.

Now...with everything I have learned, if you took it all away from me today
and forced me to start all over, I know exactly what I would do and it
would earn me a quarter million dollars inside of one month. I'd outsource
all the work and be done with it. I wouldn't piss around with things like I've
been doing up to now.

But I'm lucky. I don't have to start all over. I work about an hour a day
now a few days a week and because of all the content and products I
have out there (6 plus years of blood, sweat and tears) I can still make
a nice monthly income without having to kill myself.

It didn't come easy and it didn't come overnight.

Those of us who understand that it takes work understand what I'm saying.

Those of us still looking for that magic button will never understand what
I'm saying.

It's may not be as "easy" as they want to believe......

But, I wouldn't classify it as hard either.
Anyone should be able to put in 4-5 hours a day and build a profitable business from scratch. Now that's 4-5 hours a day of actual work, not watching TV, checking email, facebook, etc....

I don't get why people are scared of something being hard. I enjoy being challenged - it makes it more interesting and fun.

I bet the people who made them didn't make half a million unsuccessful blogs first. They had a good idea, implemented it and made money. If one has a mind that works in this way it could be an easy way to make money.

Of course most people don't have ideas as good as this and so they have to take the more traditional routes of affiliate marketing or creating their own products or some other tried and trusted route. People following these routes will indeed have to learn a lot and either work a lot or outsource a lot. For most people, it won't be easy.

However I would urge anyone interested in making money online to have a good think about whether they actually do have any good 'ideas'. They just might.

I did not mean my post to be an attack on Martin. I'm sure he is a great guy (really, especially as evidenced by all the people who have flocked to his support), and for all I know, his WSO could well be terrific.

But it just seems all too common for people to tell you how easy it is while they're taking your money, and then, if you actually expect it should BE easy, they slap you in the head.

And I'll admit it: I WANT it to be easy. Don't you? I appreciate a challenge as much as the next guy, but when you're struggling to put food on the table, you want the fastest, easiest route from point A to point B.

Having said that, I actually do agree with much of what was said in the OP. Of course it takes work. Of course you have to learn some stuff and do some stuff, and spend some time and money and effort.

But you can't have it both ways. Wannabe IMers are some of the most "desperate buyers" on the planet. If you are going to play to that desperation with the promise of "money for nothing and chicks for free," why would you be surprised when they expect you to deliver on it?

I realize that the question is being asked fascetiously - or perhaps sarcastically - but I'll attempt to answer it anyway.

The world is full of three kinds of people (as can be clearly witnessed in this thread):

1. Those who see critical advice as something to mull over in order to determine if it has something to offer or not.

2. Those who see critical advice as a personal attack and reject it out of hand because, to them, it shows a lack of respect.

3. Those who find the critical advice so uncomfortable that they attempt to ignore it by trying to divert attention away from the advice itself and on to the character or motives of the person offering it.

In my eight years of experience I have found that the very best way of turning prospects into customers and customers into advocates is to be totally honest with them. That does sometimes mean alienating the second and third groups, but it also means that the first group usually ends up doing better.

As a marketer I could make more money by choosing to target the second and third groups. There are plenty who do - we've all seen the sales pages that would appeal to them. But in all honesty, those audiences are really only looking for a pat on the head and a suggestion of something shiny and new to add to their ever-growing collection of ebooks and products that they will never use. Ultimately it is the ownership that is important, not the results.

Then, of course, when buyers' remorse eventually hits them, as it inevitably will, they blame all the products and the people who promoted them as being scams and scammers, ignoring the fact that effort to impliment an idea was required, and not mere knowledge of what the idea is.

As a marketer, a (hopefully) ethical human being, and a some-time mentor, I prefer to devote my attentions to the first group of people - those who will think about what I say and make their own judgements about its relevance to them.

Funnily enough, those people tend to be the ones who succeed.

My opinions are worth just as much as your opinions. Mine happen to come from years of experience of making money online, but they are potentially as right or wrong as anyone else's.

But back to your original point: am I concerned about alienating people by giving them tough advice? The answer is no. If people are upset and alientated by the truth, then that's their problem, not mine. I'd rather concentrate on people who want success and not excuses.

Martin

Why has he alinated anyone just because he's giving some excellent advice

Curious

Martin's Title was brilliant from the stand point of starting a lively discussion. Threads on the same subject with lesser titles have died a quick and silent death. It attracted a lively discussion with a lot of great points made for different sides, including yours johnsamuels.

Everyone is entitled to their opinion and in this discussion mine is that titles like Martins and the subsequent posts bring to surface two mentalities. Winners and (not losers ) Victims. Be a winner or be a victim. It's a choice.

Poor me or Me the Winner. Personally, I've never liked the "Why me" and the "Poor Me" feeling.

George Wright

Pearson

The headline on that page needs to be rewritten for clarity , like this

"Where Your Affiliate Efforts Are Instantly Rewarded if
you have just made a sale because the commission will go
straight into your Paypal account (and you'll soon be
able to get a Ferrari) but note that I am not actually
saying that your efforts, e.g posting a link in a forum,
will instantly make a sale and give you commission
(leaving you stuck with a Beetle)"

Harvey




.

I'm not picking on you at all ... I actually read the entire WSO and it is not misleading ...
past the headline. I do have to agree that the headline, Who Else Wants to Turn 2 Hours Work Per Week Into a Full-Time 6-Figure Income ... implies EASY. It also implies a certain amount of money for a ridiculously small amount of effort.

This is exactly what many prospects are looking for. This is what they want. They will skim over the rest of your offer, except for the price and disregard most of what else is said ... what will resonate with them is 2 hours ... 6 figure income.

Undoubtedly, they are not overly endowed either with intelligence or common sense, IMHO, because many of us instinctively, or through experience, knows that there are no free rides and if it sounds too good to be true, it is.

The bigger issue will be in the long run, how the FTC views statements like Turn 2 Hours Work Per Week Into a Full-Time 6-Figure Income and how you propose to present "Standard Results", since you cannot use the customary disclaimer ... results may vary.

Martin, look up the phrase "target on your back" in the encyclopedia and
you'll find a picture of me next to the explanation.

I've never been afraid to speak my mind and have had my head handed
back to me more than once because of it.

For what it's worth, I find nothing wrong with your sig and agree with
the OP.

Ironically, a lot of people who bitch about these "hyped up" sigs, sales
pages or whatever, do the exact same thing in order to try to make the
sale themselves. It's called marketing. And I for one have never understood
the hypocrisy that takes place when it comes to this very issue.

In other words, those who live in glass houses shouldn't throw stones.

It makes a mess of the carpeting.

Martin, you sort of beat me to the punch on this. Yes, I'm sure it IS pretty easy (not just seems to be) to just say "let me send one email and make a bunch of money". Everyone here knows the mechanics of hitting the 'send' button on an email system. It's *everything* that goes before it that's the challenge to build up, and that's obviously the part the gurus gloss over when pushing their latest system.

I'm reminded of the standard motivational speaker story about "priming the pump" - you may have to keep pumping away a LONG time before any water comes out, and many people give up before it starts gushing. IMO, that's a bit too simplistic a metaphor, because it just involves doing the exact same thing over and over and over (moving a pump handle). If you keep doing the same thing over and over, and don't get any results, stop and do something else ("doc, it hurts when I move my arm like this!" - "don't move your arm like that").

Well, I don't get it. What's the point. So he worked a little or a lot to get the list, if he did. So what. Knowing Daniel Taylor, the father of the WSO bump, he probably did something we haven't even thought of yet.

George Wright