What's The Common Misconception That Your Friends Have About Where You Get Your Earnings From?

A common misconception I face isn't about where I get my money from. People know I'm a writer, they've seen it, and they like it. The misconception comes from how much I make from it. My friends who are not involved in online marketing tend to underestimate how much I make, and those who know me online tend to overestimate.

Any misconceptions on how you make your money are most likely your own fault. I see so many people saying things like, "I am an Internet marketer." Really, what does that mean? Joe's Pizza Parlor has a website, so is Joe an Internet marketer too?

If you design graphics for clients you get from Fiverr, then call yourself a graphic designer.
If you generate leads for mortgage companies online, then call yourself a lead generator.
If you generate leads for yourself and then send affiliate offers, call yourself a freelance or sales representative.

Misconceptions are caused by your lack of clarity when explaining what you do or simply by labeling yourself as something most of the world sees negatively, i.e. email marketer.

I used to go play chess at the local chess club. I love the game.

But the fellow who sponsors the local club holds meetings at his place of business.

I stopped going to the chess club meets, because every time I went there, the guy could not relax, because he spent the entire evening watching me like a hawk.

He and I had a conversation one time about what I did for a living. At that time, I was a ghost writer, getting paid by third-parties to create content for them.

He could not understand the concept of writing for money and letting other people take credit for my work. He thought that I should only write in my own name, and he tried to give me a "credited gig" writing the chess newsletter for the state, on the grounds that at least I would get "credited" for the work I did, never mind that it was a non-paid gig.

When I would not take the free gig, he tried to get me to apply for a job with the newspaper. I wasn't interested.

One of the other fellows in the club is a college professor. He also tried to explain to the guy that ghost writing was an honest profession.

But the fellow who ran the chess club just could not internalize the idea that ghost writing was a valid method to earn a living.

He jumped to the next logical conclusion which is that if he could not understand my income sources, then my income must be illegally gained. :rolleyes:

People usually think I'm in some kind of Ponzi scheme or something. Some people are open minded but others won't ever understand what we do. They think the only way to make money is with a traditional job.

I'll try coming up with a different title than 'online marketer' like suggested above, that will probably help.

Good one! I am facing the same problem too. I tell people i am a writer and that i write online. Nobody seems to understand how i earn from the internet. The more I explain, the more confused they become, so i get angry in the process. Nobody seems to grasp the idea, so what I do is to just tell them, i work online. Simple!

I just tell 'em what they want to hear... I'm in Porn!

James Scholes

A good number of folks I know have the misconception that my money just falls from the sky without any work at all, since I just sit at home all day on the computer.

No one has actually said this outright, but based on the number of requests I get for help during the day that no one would ever dare ask me to take time off from a "job" for... it's the only conclusion that seems reasonable to me.

People just assume you are scamming people. Its the only way I thought people made money online before I started, and it was still the only way after I brought my first product which will not be named and shamed, but a few $37 later something clicked that you could make an honest buck online.

Well, it's always understandable for people to think that money is not made online. For instance, open up your favorite keyword research tool and type in the keywords 'make money online' you will be pretty surprised at the huge number of searches it gets on Google alone each month just here in the US.

So I shouldn't be baffled when others think it strange to make money online. I simply tell them when they ask me anything concerning my earnings that I am into e-Business, period!

So I think that is the shortest and best way to ram it into their heads.

Well like said above, if you tell someone that you're an internet marketer what exactly does that mean? I'm in the self-development niche, so if/when people ask the question what is your job? I just say that I write motivational pieces of work in the form on books, audio and other related media and get paid that way.

I think the true misconception is that I'd call anyone I know in the "real world" a friend.

-- j

All my friends know what I do for a living nowadays, so there are no misconceptions there. Though I used to have two elderly neighbors, one who thought I was in some kind of mafia and the other neighbor thought I was a drug-dealing pimp because of all the people and women that would come and go at my house. lol

Of course, after getting to know them and them getting to know me, they now know I'm a serious business person who likes to have a lot of fun.

RoD

I got so sick of trying to explain how I made money online that I simply gave up. I now just say "I click buttons and get paid"

That I live like Don Draper LOL

A few years ago I used to play online poker for a living.I did it for about a year and actually made pretty good money. Try explaining that to people.

I'm the same, I started online by developing sports betting systems, a lot of my friends assume I'm doing the same!..........I'm happy to let them think what they want to think, makes no odds to me!

LOL, I remember this millionaire dude telling me most of his friends and family think he is a drug dealer because he is a millionaire.

I used to tell people that I make money online through affiliate marketing. When they'd ask what that was I'd simply ask them if they had recently seen that DirecTV commercial where if you get a friend to sign up for the service you'd get a $100 bill-credit.

It worked for awhile, but then all of a sudden most of the people I explained this to would chime back with a, "so you work for DirecTV?"

What? NO! It's a similar concept, I'd reply and they'd just stare at me like I was just pulling their chain or something.

Now I just say I get paid to sell **** online. Simple enough.