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An Open Letter To Newbies

by shamabamma
24 replies
Warning: Long Post.

So lately I've had quite a few friends and family who know I'm into IM ask me "Hey, I need to make some extra bucks for the holidays, how can I make some quick money on the Internet?" The short answer is..."you can't". Gone are the days when you could throw up an adsense ad with an affiliate link and watch the cash roll in (I'm not sure if those good old days actually existed). You CAN make money with IM but, like anything it takes work and tenacity and knowledge (more on that in just a minute).

I also get asked, "I saw this course that says I can make $5000.00 in a month with Adwords/Clickbank/Facebook ads, should I buy it?" I'm going to answer that by painting a scenario. Let's say one day you find a big pile of used aluminum siding that some contractor wants you to haul off to the dump. Thinking you can make a little extra money by hauling it off, you load it up into your truck. On the way there, you decide to run by the scrap yard and see if you might get a little more money for your cargo. Not only do you get more money, you find put that this particular type of metal is in demand. You go about finding sources for this type of aluminum siding and companies that will pay top dollar for it. After a few months you realize you're making real money. So you promptly publish a book that tells everyone how to set up a business just like it thus giving away your secrets and making it impossible to sustain your business because there is so much competition, right? HECK NO!!!!!

If you wouldn't give away the secrets of your business in the above scenario what makes you think these people hawking their "Money Making Courses" are giving away the goose that laid the golden egg?
Are there products out there that will help you make money? Yes, but you have to know what you're looking at before you can even begin to separate the good from the bogus. So, in no particular order are some free resources to educate yourself. Please note that not a single one of these links are affiliate links, just links to good, free information.

Google Adwords:
AdWords Beginner's Guide - AdWords Help
Help & resources - AdWords Help

Google Adwords Keyword Tool (you'll need a gmail account to use this otherwise, its free)
https://adwords.google.com/o/Targeting/Explorer

Google Adsense:
AdSense - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Google Analytics:
Google Analytics | Official Website

Clickbank
Help Center: ClickBank Help Center

FaceBook Ads
http://www.facebook.com/adsmarketing/?act=36147024#!/adsmarketing/index.php?sk=learnmore

Blogging
SEOmoz Content Tagged: Blogging
9 Things to Do To Make Sure Your Next Blog Post is Read by More than Your Mom
http://www.problogger.net

Web Advertising
SEOmoz Content Tagged: Internet Advertising

Generating links to your site
How to Build Links Fast: 101 Tips & Strategies | SEO Book.com
SEO
SEO: The Free Beginner's Guide From SEOmoz
Infographic: Visual Guide to Search Engine Optimization | The Windows Club

Article Marketing:
How to Make Content Go Viral | Reuters

Backlinks
Backlink - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

This is just a start. Do your own research, educate your self and then dive in. When doing research, here's an easy rule of thumb: If you go to a site and they are really pushing a particular product without really giving you information you can use, or making claims of huge money without giving specifics, run away.

Check out Learn SEO | SEOmoz they have SEO software that they sell, but they also have a ton of free information that's really valuable (I've linked to some of their content above). It won't take long to figure out who's posting good information and who's peddling snake oil. And of course there's the warrior forum. You can find a review on all of the heavily promoted products there, and the review will be (more often than not) a truthful, unvarnished account.

So how does someone put all this knowledge to use? Start small. Start a blog and get an AdSense account and throw some ads on your blog. All of us, whether we know it or not, have a unique talent or insight that can make your blog stand out. Are you funny? Write a blog about how to tell jokes. Do you find yourself in an unusual life circumstance? Write about that. You good at getting African Violets to grow in a washing machine? Write about that. You get the point.

Once your blog is up, use the above resources to let the rest of the world know about it, then make sure you track everything!!! Make sure you have Google Analytics installed so you can see where your traffic is coming from. If you write a short blog post on growing African Violets and you find out that it got picked up by an RV website that talks about life on the road, and you find their members are reading and commenting on it, congratulations! You've found a new niche for your information-people who like plants that live in small spaces. Now use your imagination. How does that apply ? Could you target small apartment dwellers? People that live on boats? Let you imagination run-try things. If it fails move on to the next, and the next, and the next. Track your efforts so you know what works and what doesn't. It doesn't happen overnight, but it does happen. Is IM easy? No. Is it hard? No. Work at it. Test. Learn. Test some more. Learn all you can.

This isn't meant to be a comprehensive list, but it's a start. Good luck to all.

Shamabama
#letter #newbies #open
  • Profile picture of the author tee_emm
    Thanks for all the info, I'm pretty new to all this and it's great do find a decent list of what to look at and where to read it
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    • Profile picture of the author shamabamma
      Thanks tee_emm, it annoys me that some products people are selling are not as good as what you find for free. I hope you find the links useful.
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    • Profile picture of the author freemen14
      Newbies,

      I've been at IM for about five years now and part of the WF since May and here's my two cents.

      I laugh at my early days as I thought I was going to pay off my mortgage filling out surveys and working data entry,

      1. Do as much reading as you can. The WF is a great starting place as it does have a wealth of information and many great people willing to help. Pay the one time fee and become a member of the warroom. Best IM money I have spent.

      2. Figure out what you want to do and focus in "big time" on those methods and techniques. There are many ways to many money online. I believe the key is to become real good at one at a time.

      3. Remember it takes hard work. Beware of the "magic button" promises of 10,000 in a week type of thing. That amount can be made but remember it takes much time, training and expertise to get there.

      4. Treat this like a business and have fun with it. It is a lot of fun and you meet many great people.

      5. There will be many times when you will hit a wall. Grind through those times and just put your head down and keep going.

      Those are just a few very basic suggestions. Good luck to all.

      Darel
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  • Profile picture of the author shamabamma
    freeman14 is right on the money, especially #1. Becoming a member of the war room IS some of the best IM money I've ever spent. Many times I've been on the fence about purchasing an IM product and I've gone up to the war room and found real people giving honest assessments about the product in question. It's steered me to some great products and kept me away from some scams.
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  • Profile picture of the author Yasir Farooq
    I am doing internet marketing since 200 and I made only 1 click bank sale till today. The truth is you need to work very hard.
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  • Profile picture of the author anestbaik
    Originally Posted by shamabamma View Post

    Warning: Long Post.

    So lately I've had quite a few friends and family who know I'm into IM ask me "Hey, I need to make some extra bucks for the holidays, how can I make some quick money on the Internet?" The short answer is..."you can't". Gone are the days when you could throw up an adsense ad with an affiliate link and watch the cash roll in (I'm not sure if those good old days actually existed). You CAN make money with IM but, like anything it takes work and tenacity and knowledge (more on that in just a minute).

    I also get asked, "I saw this course that says I can make $5000.00 in a month with Adwords/Clickbank/Facebook ads, should I buy it?" I'm going to answer that by painting a scenario. Let's say one day you find a big pile of used aluminum siding that some contractor wants you to haul off to the dump. Thinking you can make a little extra money by hauling it off, you load it up into your truck. On the way there, you decide to run by the scrap yard and see if you might get a little more money for your cargo. Not only do you get more money, you find put that this particular type of metal is in demand. You go about finding sources for this type of aluminum siding and companies that will pay top dollar for it. After a few months you realize you're making real money. So you promptly publish a book that tells everyone how to set up a business just like it thus giving away your secrets and making it impossible to sustain your business because there is so much competition, right? HECK NO!!!!!

    Shamabama
    agree with analogy

    and

    thanks for free knowledge ..
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    • Profile picture of the author tgro03
      Excellent information and excellent analogy.

      One thing I would tell any newbie is to stay far away from paid traffic sources. If they don't know what they are doing they will lose their shirt.

      It just doesn't make sense to waste money when you can get really good traffic for free.

      Just my 2 cents
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      • Profile picture of the author gekko2.0
        Great post and info!! I'm going to bookmark this so every time I get the same sort of questions from friends and family I can refer them to this. Thanks
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        • Profile picture of the author jimmel196
          Thanks Shamabama for all of the great information. I am a newbie into IM after a career as a Paramedic. I have noticed that all of the so called guru's want to sell you their program. I just recently looked at information about Traffic Secrets 2.0. I'm sure this is a wealth of information but why is John Reese or any of the others going to give away the farm when they could use it for themselves. I'm sure they give you information but it always seems to lead into the next thing that they want to sell you on. I believe Shamabama just provided more free information than any of the guru's are going to give you. Thanks again.
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          • Profile picture of the author loferg
            Thanks. This is great info.
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  • Profile picture of the author KevinTorrence
    I was gonna put in my 2 cents, but it looks like Darel (freemen14) said it all already. It took me a good 1.5 years or so to really get a grasp of what I was doing and what direction I wanted to go. Since then, I've been sorta honing my skills to get better and I've stopped the "new, shiny program" infinite loop that happens to a lot of us. Figure out what you want to do, and then laser focus on it.
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  • Profile picture of the author Housestacks
    Thanks for this post - great stuff

    IM seems like a lot of work right now and no $$$$

    I will try,try, try, and keep trying.
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  • Profile picture of the author shamabamma
    tonycre,
    One bit of advice I have for you that I found helpful was that instead of chasing the money, chase your passion. In other words, create content you enjoy creating. Are you really into vintage pool cues? Great! Start a blog or product review site. People respond to real, informed content more than hyped up claims and, if you deliver the goods, they keep coming back. This allows you to become an authority in your niche and sell to a passionate, engaged audience. Here's a quick read on this very subject:

    http://www.howtomakemyblog.com/inspiration/how-to-turn-your-passion-into-a-blog/

    Hope this helps
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    • Profile picture of the author paulie888
      Originally Posted by shamabamma View Post

      tonycre,
      One bit of advice I have for you that I found helpful was that instead of chasing the money, chase your passion. In other words, create content you enjoy creating. Are you really into vintage pool cues? Great! Start a blog or product review site. People respond to real, informed content more than hyped up claims and, if you deliver the goods, they keep coming back. This allows you to become an authority in your niche and sell to a passionate, engaged audience. Here's a quick read on this very subject:
      How to turn your passion into a blog

      Hope this helps
      I couldn't agree more. This enthusiasm will show in your work and your audience/target market will recognize it for what it is, and this will translate into you making more money. Of course, the ideal scenario would be that you're in a really lucrative niche as well, and not in something obscure like underwater basket-weaving.

      Paul
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  • Profile picture of the author 82ana
    Thanks for the post, ShamaBamma!

    I'm a newbie, by any standard and yet I really cannot understand what people are thinking when they want to buy e-books/programs worth $20 to make them thousands! eh?

    Common sense really...
    The links you posted are very helpful. I'm reading through the SEO Book. Thanks.

    I just launched my first affiliate blog (e-HealthyAging.come-HealthyAging.com » e-HealthyAging.com) and though its just 5 days old... I feel i'm lagging in traffic. On with the link building! Hard work kids, its the only way to do it.

    Cheers,
    Sana
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  • Profile picture of the author Iemagine
    Thank you for all the free info. You have to be creative in this line of business to succeed.
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  • Profile picture of the author Eduard
    Quick money on the Internet - yeah, that is a nice dream.

    I'm shocked by all the people looking for quick fixes. Doesn't anybody understand the concept of work anymore? I mean, sure, work smarter not harder, but you still have to do a lot of work to get results in anything..
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  • Profile picture of the author foxtrot3
    An excellent and very useful post. Thanks for your input.
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  • Profile picture of the author Vince L
    Hey Knoxville, thanks for your comments - especially the part about the AL siding illustration.

    I appreciate the organized approach to all this great info.

    Thanks.
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  • Profile picture of the author ChrisWater
    Banned
    I agree that working hard is essential to making it with internet marketing. The truth is that not everyone is cut out for it, they don't put in enough effort and get mislead by all of the new products out there!

    Just find a method that you like and stick with it. And remember that if you don't enjoy doing it, stop doing it! Find whats fun and entertaining to you!
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  • Profile picture of the author ChickenMan
    Very good info. First product I tried was adwords related and it didn't work because of the adwords change, but I saw that as a good thing. It's best to start small and roll up. Now that I've got tons of free time from school, I'm going to stick with one product and see where that takes me.
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  • Profile picture of the author altoro80
    great post, thanks, i am new and i guess i am doing the right thing, i've been reading a lot and i barely have my website, i am not saying that now i know everything but at least naw i know how to set up a website
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    • Profile picture of the author dblev
      thanks to you people my IM internet experience will be alot smoother ride
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  • Profile picture of the author Geekman
    Very helpful thread indeed.. Thanks a ton!
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