Confessions of a Self Confessed WSO Junkie

Ya, the reason that you are not making money is because of the slick sales letters, bogus income claims, and fake testimonials. You've solved the problem like Columbo.

Buying lots of courses puts you in a hundred different directions at once. When you go to college, you have one major, not thirty. Stick to one program, one method... one thing at a time.

Also note that following the second diagram won't mean that project will be an automatic success, it just means that if it fails, it will fail faster.

I heard a quote once about failing faster, but now I can't remember. Something about success...

Hey.

There is no magic bullet to making an income online. Have you actually implemented the WSO you purchased to the letter? Have you given them the time they need to mature and grow? If you have and the money hasn't come in then go back and get your money back. As previously mentioned most come with a guarantee.

You need to find what you are good at, and stick to it.

I see you sparringly made money on different methods - which one of those methods was an actual ROI (or did you spend money to make money)?

Find your self ONE method that works for you, stick with it, set a goal and don't quit until you reach that goal.

I have not gone overboard on WSOs in this same manner, but I did find my self buying the next shiny object, etc etc for the beginning of my IM "career".

What I did" Unsubscribed my self from every "gurus" list because all they care about is making money from affiliate commissions from you.

When I found my "niche" I set up a game plan:

Monday - Article marketing
Tuesday - press release
Wednesday - Video submissions

Etc, now, this is an example, and not my actual game plan, but you get the point. I had to learn to organize my time better, and stick to the gameplan, if not I was off to the next shiny object.

You have at least started in the direction of analyzing yourself: Take that, make the change, tell your self what you are going to do differently, set up your schedule and stick to it.

Best of luck,

Ryan

First off, congrats on being brave enough for admitting and acknowledging it was your mistake AND for mentioning it in the first place. I'm sure there are dozens...and possibly hundreds in the future that read your posts, nodding their heads in agreement and understanding.

One of the problems with some offers and blueprints (whether WSO or not...and I'd say that we're guilty of this on our blog a bit too) is that it might have worked for the seller or original poster but it's not necessarily replicable. Maybe the seller went after it harder than most people...maybe they just got lucky...there are a million reasons why it could have worked for them and WON'T work for you. It's not a scam and not necessarily their fault for selling you and they have the best intentions...it just ends up in failure and sucks for everyone.

I think it's really one of the sad things in this industry. You have people that have had or tasted some success and try to pass down that success to others (and make a little profit along the way) and it just turns into a disaster. It doesn't seem to happen in other industries because they're typically not trying to show you how to do what they do...or sell you on it. My plumber isn't trying to sell me an ebook or video training series on how to fix my toilets!

Pick ONE method and stick to it.

Don't spend any more money on them and you'll be profitable this month on your internet marketing.

Great flowchart Kevin! Being the "jack of all trades but the master of none" is not going to lead you anywhere. I had the chance to learn this mistake earlier, so I am going to share with you about a story of what my sister did with her opportunities. My sister was too picky on college degrees and often made excuses not to do them so she skipped her first degree (biochemistry) even after my poor parents payed 40000 dollars to get her in but graduated in a marketing degree then worked for a company and had some misunderstanding with her boss then quit and now she goes into fashion designing classes, if she sticked to the first degree, she could have gotten a job and be more successful than she is now! She wasted more than five years trying things and then giving up easily similar to what the OP is experiencing now. I mean just stick to one thing and work with it, this is my firm advice.

In the end, my ignorant sister shook of her mistakes by saying "I am good at multitasking and more knowledge is good.", which brings me to the conclusion of that chart Kelly showed and this last words of wisdom I want to share with all of you, "knowledge might be power but action is more powerful!"

Kudos to the OP for having the guts to admit his short comings.

Kelly Verge hit the nail on the head. Focus on one thing at a time. Here's something else to think about:

For those looking for make money online, this will never go out of style:

1. Find a market with proven buyers
2. Create your own product or service that fullfills that buying need
3. Use distribution channels to get targeted traffic
4. Tweak conversions until you a profitable income stream
5. Wash, rinse, repeat.
6. Scale Up if you'd like.

RoD

Man, stop bragging!

However, congratulations on your success. Many here wish they could do as well as you.

The figures you gave add up to $90 in income and $310 in investments.

Make the minimum payment on the investment and buy your wife something with the rest.

Now, rinse and repeat what you did to make that $90. Don't invest any more with that credit card, pay it off and use your profits for investing from now on.

In the meantime follow the other advice in this thread regarding focus.

Send a little bit to Kim and Ken.

Join the WarRoom ASAP using some of the money you earn.

You are going to be fine.

George Wright

sorry to say it but most of people selling WSO's here are noobs selling other noobs used info , if you need the real valuable IM secrets you need to get in touch with other internet marketers , share thoughts and chat through skype , also doing your own experiments based on others experience is very important !

I feel bad for you but this is one of the reasons I have avoided forums as I built my online business. I am new to this forum as I finally decided to join and get involved. I only decided to do this because I have more time now.

I've known many people just like you who are always in the learning stage. You need to get out of that stage and FOCUS on the work.

I have been full time in IM for around 10 years. I make a very strong 6 figure income year after year. I did this by FOCUSING on making money and putting in the work. In fact, during the initial years where I laid my foundation I didn't by even one product from any internet guru. Now, over the past 2 years I have purchased a few products I thought were good but was disappointed on all but one of them.

I say this not to toot my own horn, I say this to encourage you that you don 't need EVERY OFFER that comes out. Find a few people that you feel are honest and ARE SUCCESSFUL, and then learn from them. Use them to mentor you. I learned along time ago that I only learn from someone who:

#1 Has done what I want to do already
#2 Is honest and ethical

Most of these WSO offers are worthless. Be productive and spend your time doing the daily things it will take for success and if you do these small things every day, you will see HUGE RESULTS!

Honestly, WSO's are the only products I buy anymore. Occasionally I'll buy a piece of software that I think will help my business, but I love the WSO's because it's very rare to get a bad one. They have helped me make a lot of money by implementing methods I didn't even know existed. And most of them are less than $10! How can you complain about that??

WSOs are a great way to get an education!

You have to keep in mind that one single WSO will not make your rich. It is the same with book: If you read one book you are far away from being really educated.

Another thing is putting things into action. But even if you put things into action: Don't expect results over night. It takes some time to learn things.

HP

If you're tired of get-rich-quick schemes and want some FREE advice on how to make money, you can try the public domain. Acres of Diamonds and As a Man Thinketh are good places to start.

I can understand your situation. The WSOs are presented in such lucrative way, that people can not resist to buy it out and try. It is not your fault.

It is the fault of general people who try to make money through online. They do not stick with one or two methods, but try out every methods that see. Ultimately they can not implement any, as they never dedicate 100% to a single methods.

My Advice
Stop buying anymore WSO. Pick one previous WSO which you read well. And follow the steps, mentioned there. Initially you may not get success or little success. But do not give up. (Also Do not buy any new WSO!). At the end of the day you will surely get success.

Hmmm.

Just wondering.... how many of those WSO's were about list building.

Look, there are many ways to make money online but it comes down to these two:

(1) Sell to people to don't know you.

(2) Sell to people who do know you.

Obviously selling to people who do know you is easier. However, building the list is not always easy. It can take time and effort.

But 100% focus is the key issue here.

And when it comes down to it, while there are many ways to build a list, it comes down to these two:

(1) Build a list with free resources.

(2) Build a list with Paid resources.

Obviously building a list with paid resources is easier, but in your situation I'm not sure I would recommend it.

However, finally, once you have your list there are many ways to make money from it, but they all come down to this:

(1) Give people what you think they want.

(2) Give people what *they* think they want.

Believe it or not, this is where most people fail - we give people (whichever people) what *we* think they want; the ad promo, the CPA offer, the ad-swap etc etc.

No - success comes by building a good list of at minimum 1,000 interested people (may take 5,000 to get 1,000 *interested people) - and then ASKING THEM what they want.

And yes, you CAN do it without spending much money; it may take 6 - 12 months... bu you can.

Paul Barrs

Consider it $310 spent on training. Going into a new field is expensive; you either pay for actual training or you pay by experience. Either way you pay. There is a lot of great advice here and I love your attitude. Keep at it but slow down on the WSOs

Hi,

Kelly Verge aptly summarized what often happens (I include myself in this basket). Despite there being multiple means of earning $ with IM, it is easy to become trapped in the perpetual loop of purchasing one product after the other and spending limited amounts of time on each successive product.

One of the problems with splitting your time between offline work (in no way related to IM) is that you then have limited time to allocate to a good WSO (there are many of them). You then become frustrated with limited results with the just purchased WSO>>your tired from your day at work>>you buy another product (hoping it will generate the necessary $ to leave your day job)>>it doesn't (because you have put enough time into it)>>the cycle repeats!

Stick with a good product and persist until you are making progress and reverse the negative cycle!

You will get there!!!

cheers, Patrick

“Most great people have attained their greatest
success just one step beyond their greatest failure”
- Napolen Hill

“I am not a genius.
I am just willing to get it wrong more times than others.”
- Thomas Edison

“Many of life’s failures are people who did not realize
how close they were to success when they gave up.”
- Thomas Edison

“Our greatest weakness lies in giving up. The most
certain way to succeed is always to try just one more time.”
- Thomas Edison


** If majority of people hitting the WSO forum knew of and understood those quotes above, the WSO marketplace would curl up and die quite quickly.

Ignoring all replies to OP LOL

WSO's can be great but there is such a thing as "too much research". At some point you have to take what you learn and really put it into practice.

You also do not need to buy every WSO there is. You need to stick to one strategy at a time and RUN with it. Make it work.

That is something I always stress to my clients... stop trying to think of ways to make money and pick one. ANY METHOD can make you money online IF YOU DO IT over and over and over and over and over. Practice makes perfect. You'll learn from your mistakes and soon realize you're making money.


$300+ isn't much in this field either, especially starting out. Hell, this year alone I've already spent $800 on software and domains and that really isn't a lot. It is to me but not in this field.

Your failure started just when you started buying every WSO. It's better to settle on one and be master.

I agree with many here. You need to take ACTION. No need to buy everything out there to figure out if there is an easy way to make money. Unfortunately, there isn't.

Making money online or Internet Marketing is just like any other business out there, you need to focus on a task and complete it. If you keep moving on to new ideas or programs, you will never start making money online.

So, make a decision right now.

Are you going to sell Clickbank products?
or sell gigs at fiverr.com?
or may be have your own membership site?
or CPA?
or PPC?

Try to make the best of one of these ideas until you can not offer more. I am 100% sure, that you will make more money than you did before.

For the right person WSO's can be a gift from god.

To others they can be a darned CURSE! Take your pick. But you only make money in this game by taking action, and sticking to one thing until it works.

It is normally the people that do not do this, that come in here and whinge. I am not saying you are doing this OP. But there are valuable lessons to be leant, and I actually give myself a budget of $20 every 6 months for WSO. That way I can become more picky and choosy, and only Buy WSO's that will help me for what I am doing right now.

IF I am doing a product lauch I will buy a Product launch WSO. If i am doing list building then I will only buy a Listbuilding WSO (there are some kick ass ones by the way) but you see this way, you are not waisting your time and effort, you are actually helping yoruself, and taking action at the same time.

WSO's are only for the action taker.

I recommend you stop buying all WSO's until you start to implement the ones you already have. Stop swinging through the jungle like tarzan, and take a break. Find your jayne and stick at it.

Compliments for bringing this issue up, and for gaining so much advice here on the forum.
I had the same problem awhile back and came out of it - the FOCUS and one thing only at a time is what it's all about. Good luck

Hi,

Now you need to go back to all the wso's you bought and ask why they didn't work.

Try to determine where you weak points are.

If, for example, you tried to rank a page with seo and your page didn't rank then maybe you where going after to hard a keyword.

Maybe the keyword you was trying to rank for was just to hard to rank using the method taught in the wso. But if you took the same back linking method and applied it to a less competitive term then you may rank in a few days instead of never.

So possibly the key to getting the wso to work is focus on learning to identify less competitive keywords.

So instead of saying this wso doesn't work try to work the wso a different way so that it works for you.

By using your own mind to figure out why the wso didn't work then applying your own solution you may turn the failure around and achieve the success that you desire.

You probably don't need another wso the ones you bought are plenty. You just need to go back and put your own personal touch on the method to fix one of them and make it work for you.

I see so many wso's where just one little tweak or change of method could change the wso from worthless to a sustainable income for the person who uses it.

I hope this helps some.

Terry

Colour me guilty as well...but unlike most people, I stopped after the second or third WSO. I realised very quickly that it was taking away from me actually working on my websites/writing articles/researching.

I'm also coming to the realisation that I need to stick with the niches that I'm the most passionate/knowledgable about...

(BTW, hi fellow Texan!)

Hey, you stated that you had a financial background, care to elaborate?

Hit the money back guarantee.

Are you looking for financial freedom?

Stick to one project, build momentum - as fellow warrior Kelly Verge pointed out!

The problem is you're a chasing a FLAT BIG DREAM - you want to be 'that' money maker who lives the internet lifestyle!

You haven't heard the phrase "As you sow so shall you reap"!

You're NOT focused on adding mass value to large number of people! All you're focused on is making money quick! And did you find a shortcut? You won't.

There is no shortcut to making a million dollars online except looting a bank. You've to build a business, a strong robust business that solves a pain point and boosts a pleasure point by adding "value" to "specific" types of customers that changes the way people think, live & breath.

I had say, read Guy Kawasaki's "The Art Of The Start" and buy the book from your book store or read it in your library. You're not building a life, you're building a bubble my friend which will bursts every time you find a quick get rich opportunity. If you need help, PM me.

Ronak.

There is some sound advice here, i.e. don't try everything, have an idea of what you would like to try, that you think works, then research it

WSOs are not bad, in and of themselves. Some are excellent quality and others less than great. The key, however, is whether a WSO will help you achieve your specific goal or objective. Even the best WSO is probably a purchase you should skip if it is not directly related to your chosen specific business goal.

I certainly have fallen into the trap of chasing and buying shiny objects. Even though it did not lead to debt, it was a waste of resources that I could have used to earn money instead of spending it. So I decided (finally) to base my WSO purchases on three criteria:
1. It is something I will employ within 3 days (arbitrarily chosen time-frame)
2. What is my specific design for making money with it?
3. Do it fit within my current area of focus?

Some of the advice given in this thread has been excellent. Maybe it's time to put on "blinders" and focus on earning dollars with what you already know.

First of all, I will say pretty confidently we have all been there..buying different WSOs/products and crying "scam" without even implementing the methods and maximizing their potential.

You as a person have the final say in what you buy. No one points a gun at your head to buy a WSO. If you cannot profit from a $10 WSO, then you are clearly not following thru properly. When you buy a WSO, make sure to have a plan of action BEFORE buying the WSO. This will include setting aside time for only that purpose. I am pretty sure the 9pm-1am you spend is mostly erratic without a plan (checking email, looking at stats, updating FB, etc.). WRITE DOWN everything you want to get done in those 4 hours and then PRIORITIZE them. Don't stop until you finish each task (I know this works as I get distracted if I don't do this).

WORK on ONE WSO at a time. Once you have a system that works and you PROFIT from the WSO (make more than what you paid for it) then you can move on without feeling guilty. I suggest working each WSO for at least a month. For example, I am seeing a lot of Christmas season WSOs now...how many people will focus on those until Christmas is over..if you don't plan to do that, don't even bother buying them.

You know how much you can do with just ONE properly written article (KW researched and SEOd)?

(Most of these are FREE)

1. Convert to a video and post to over 25 sites (Pixelpipe)
2. Make it into a Press Release and distribute to 50 PR sites.
3. Use UAW or SeoLinkvine and distribute to a 1000 blogs.
4. Make a power point slide and post on Slideshare.
5. Social bookmark to several sites.
6. Make a Squidoo lens.
7. Make a HubPage.
8. Guest post on related blogs.
9. Share on Facebook, Twitter, Linked In.
10. If it's a How to Article, post on tutorial sites.

This alone will get you a TON of targeted traffic. This is just off the top of my head!

Get to work!!!

I think it's very interesting how many people (I'm including myself at times) approach IM strategies.

We must not forget that getting yourself educated in IM is actually ridiculously cheap compared to traditional studies - you can get most of the education for free, nobody will ask for your "marketing certificate" in IM and the few things that you buy are priced pretty low - compare that to the fees of any major university, which go into the tens and hundreds of thousands.

My point is: Would you approach your IM efforts the same way if the products would not be available for free, or for 7, or for 10 or for 27 bucks - but for 3000? 5000? 10000? would you go to shop here and there, try a little, fail a little, and then go on?

I'm sure you wouldn't. And yet, that's what many people are doing - and that's where the road to success is: Have a look arounds what grasps your attention. Then stick to it as if it would cost a fortune.

I'm pretty sure the overall IM marketer success rate would be a lot higher....

Cheers,
Rob

I couldn't resist commenting on this one! I have to agree completely with the original poster. They are a bunch of hype. Look at this way:

If you had an amazing niche online method you found, and you were raking in big bucks-would you really turn around and sell the method on the warrior forum for $17 bucks?? LOL I KNOW I WOULDN'T!

Hate to say it, but you won't learn much for realll money making models here. Good general info, and occaisonal genuine hearted people is about it.

My advice: Find someone in your area that is making a good living online and become a mentor. Wash their cars, bring them starbucks whatever it takes to learn the business!

Goodluck!

I think most of us have been there at one point.

As Kelly pointed to with his excellent mindmap graphic about 100% effort and Ryan put it so succinctly when he said , "when I found my niche", so that's what it comes down to, finding the one thing you love and putting 100% effort behind it while ignoring the shiny objects and hype from wanna-be-gurus.

I recently wrote a very similar post to Facebook (and passed it to a Newbie in this forum earlier) where I listed 5 things that Newbies should think about. Number 1 was...

1. Find one thing and stick to it.

Now admittedly I've had trouble taking my own advice at times since 100% focus doesn't come easy. But I ran across this statement awhile back and it certainly made things clear...

'Beware of the person that gets up in the morning, full of enthusiasm, not only ready to work, but they can't wait to get busy because they don't see it as work, they see it as something they love, it's a deep rooted passion'.

That's the person we should be scared of! None of us will be a worthy competitor and it's very unlikely that any of us can match their passion. But that's the model of what we should become. We should all strive to be the one guru in our niche that people come to for answers.

So just clear the deck, pick the one niche that you were attracted to the most, ignore everything else and go after it and don't stop until you know more than everyone else about that niche!

DallasK
Newbie Answers

Take heart, my friend.

That's a wake up call to start doing something!

Hi sorry to hear about your money problems but perhaps you could write your own wso from everything you have learnt over the past years or maybe a little extra money coming in from these may help



Like Writing?
Get paid to write articles for AssociatedContent.com

Get paid for writing how-to articles on eHow.com

Get paid to post abstracts on Shvoong.com

Get paid to translate at OneHourTranslation.com

Get paid to transcribe audio files on oDesk.com

Get paid to guide others at About.com

Get paid to blog at Smorty.com

Get paid to tweet at Sponsoredtweets.com

Get paid for reviewing software at SoftwareJudge.com

Get paid for reviewing websites on UserTesting.com

Get paid for writing product reviews on Epinions.com

Sell short reports at PayDotCom.com

Sell your own paid newsletter using Tinyletter.com

Sell your articles on Constant-Content.com

Sell your own e-book on Tradebit.com

Sell your own hardcover book by self-publishing it at Lulu.com

Sell documents online at Gazhoo.com

Sell essays at MyEssays.com

Sell unique blog posts on Ghostbloggers.net

Sell your story to top magazines and newspapers at Webuystories.com

Sell your content on Scribd.com

Like Doing Gigs?

Get paid to do freelance work at Getafreelancer.com

Get paid for doing gigs posted on Craigslist.com

Get paid to do all sorts of stuff on Domystuff.com

Get paid for taking pictures with your iPhone at Gigwalk.com

Get paid to do gigs at Fiverr.com

Get paid to work from home at Clicknwork.com

Get paid for voice over work at Voices.com

Get paid to do data entry work on oDesk.com

Like Designing Stuff?
Get paid to design on 99Designs.com

Get paid to design T-Shirts at Threadless.com

Get paid to design products at Ponoko.com

Sell graphics on GraphicLeftovers.com

Sell flash files at FlashDen.com

Sell web design templates at ThemeForest.net

Sell your product designs on Zazzle.com

Sell your created font at FontOff.com

Sell WordPress Themes at WPThemeMarket.com

Sell your animation on Aniboom.com

Sell your logo designs on Inkd.com

Like Coding?

Sell a turn-key website on Flippa.com

Sell professional, flashy websites created using Wix.com

Sell WordPress plugins at WPPlugins.com

Sell software source code at Binpress.com

Sell your pre-made Android apps at Buysellapp.com

Sell scripts on Buystockscript.com

Like Helping Others?
Get paid by renting your place to travelers at Airbnb.com

Get paid to share a tip on Daytipper.com

Get paid to share coupons and discount codes on Buxr.com

Get paid to teach your own online course at Wiziq.com

Get paid to share how-to videos at Metacafe.com

Get paid to socialize on myLot.com

Get paid as a virtual assistant on 247virtualassistant.com

Get paid to tutor on Tutor.com

Get paid to offer your expertise at LivePerson.com

Get paid for answering all types of questions at ChaCha.com

Get paid for your advice on Ether.com

Get paid to help with homework on StudentofFortune.com

Get paid for sharing your knowledge on Buksia.com

Get paid to answer expert questions at JustAnswer.com

Sell e-learning courses at OpenSesame.com

Like Having Fun?

Get paid to play online games at Gamesville.com

Get paid to upload files to Depositfiles.com

Get paid for podcasting at Mevio.com

Get paid to host live Internet radio shows at BlogTalkRadio.com

Get paid to play a game against another player on Moola.com

Sell virtual stuff from your store on SecondLife.com

Like Getting Your Creative Juices Flowing?

Sell your photos on BigStockPhoto.com

Sell your music at Vibedeck.com

Sell your videos to Fotolia.com

Sell your audio at BuyStockSound.com

Sell your ideas at Ideabuyer.com

Sell handmade stuff on Etsy.com

Sell your art on Imagekind.com

Get paid for coming up with unique domain names on Pickydomains.com

Get paid for coming up with market-ready names on NamingForce.com

Like Promoting for Profit?

Get paid to promote $100% instant commission products on Digiresults.com

Get paid to promote webinars at Webinarswaps.com

Get paid to promote web hosting from HostGator.com

Get paid to promote $7 products on 7dollaroffers.com

Get paid to promote physical products on Amazon.com

Get paid to promote CPA offers at Affiliate.com

Get paid to promote information products at Clickbank.com

Sell leads to other businesses at Reply.com

Sell magazine Subscriptions at AcclaimSubscriptions.com

Like Selling Random Stuff?
Sell unused stuff on eBay.com

Sell unused stuff on Craigslist.com

Sell your old and new gadgets on BuyMyTronics.com

Sell products in your own online shop at Shoply.com

STILL want more ways to make money?

No problem - Here are 10 BONUS ideas just for you:

Do an odd job

Seek emergency assistance from charities

Collect your change

Return past purchases

Hold a yard sale

Recycle scrap metal

Pawn your stuff

Sell your hair and plasma

Sell random stuff to motorists

Go Scavenging

Regards
vivi62

Ouch. I'm sorry to hear

Ignore the WSO section and look at the other sections in this forum where you can learn things for free.

There is nothing wrong with investing in your education but I wouldn't look in the WSO section for that.

You know what, you depend too much on WSO. Google offers everything you want to know, you just have to do a little research.

"The jack-of-all-trades seldom is good at any. Concentrate all of your efforts on one definite chief aim." - Napolean Hill

Then there is the quote in my sig which I think is perfect for this particular forum since we are all warriors.

So... stop spending money you don't have and go build a real business.

Generate leads/sell things.

Not to be an ahole (axl rose quote), but as in life, things aren't meant to be easy or doable by everyone. If I've learned one thing on this forum: Find a niche, do keyword reasearch, find affiliate program, build a site with seo in mind, promote it and you WILL make money. You can't not make money. If you don't do the above and skimp on any of those steps, you won't make $$. IM is not for everyone justlike being a salesman or stockbroker isn't for me. Do the above steps. If you still can't make $$, mightb be time to stop.

I hear you man. I am sure you have heard this and know this as everyone has been saying. Stick to one thing. You cannot test drive different cars all at once. You have to drive them one at a time. Take the same approach with IM my friend.