Why I like Rosalind Gardner’s book

The internet home business scam… I should thank them, in a way.

If not because of clicking the numerous links and researching about some that were worth further pursuit, I wouldn’t come to know more about affiliate marketing, a way to make money online. It was Rosalind Gardner’s e-book “The Super Affiliate Handbook: How I Made $436,797 In One Year Selling Other People’s Stuff Online,” that introduced me to the subject and inspired me to start my own effort.

The book is worth every cent I spent. I like it. A lot. Here’s why:

1. Ms. Gardner wrote it for a complete beginner, but the pro’s can learn from it just as much. She took care for not writing in technical terms or using jargons that went unexplained in plain English – there is a glossary at the end of the book.
2. The book is written for practical purposes with tons of ‘how-to’ instructions.
3. Ms. Gardner paid attention to fine details associated with affiliate marketing. She even has a section dedicated to using computer short-cuts to automate our day-to-day computer routines.
4. The book does not only elaborate how to start affiliate marketing, but also how to manage and to grow the business. This approach impresses me, since it prominently shows Ms. Gardner’s effort to help others to succeed in this venture.
5. Ms. Gardner’s book is loaded with the lessons she herself learned, so the readers, like myself, can rest assure that the information contained therein is filtered from “things-that-don’t-work-although-they-sound-good.” That way, we don’t do the mistakes she has done in the past. For example, she explained why it is better not to use free hosting.
6. The last and most important reason: I learned a great deal about affiliate marketing and got useful tips and tricks on how to succeed, that is, to earn enough cash flow and achieve financial independence.

It’s all about putting the information to actions now, and become another witness to the success of Ms. Gardner’s experience.

Click here to read more…

Recession is not always bad… for internet marketing, that is

The U.S. could be in recession.

“Great! There goes my chance to prosper in making money online…”

With the increasing prices on consumer goods, it’s usual for customer confidence to go the other direction. Down. Meaning, it is bad news for businesses – some, if not all.

Yet, reported on wired.com earlier this week (read the news here) recession can be good for internet marketing. A quote from the news:

Google recently reported a 42 percent jump in revenues (from marketing – added by author) in the first quarter of 2008 over the same period in 2007. Nearly half of the revenue came from the U.S. and the figures aren’t inflated by the acquisition of DoubleClick.

Whoa, isn’t that a relieve! But, how so?

Here’s the logic:

1. Internet is winning audience over TV, radio, magazines, newspapers, and the like.
2. Consumers usually tightening up their belts during recession.
3. Chief of marketing of company XX must use the most effective channels to market their products.

Given those conditions, where would be best to get more paying customers? Let me give you hints: paid search, banner ads…

Get the picture?

Five things to do first before signing up for an online home business

If some credible Mr. X, the CEO of Company XYZ, offers you a genuine online home business opportunity with very large returns for a small amount of investment, and with only little skills, efforts, and time needed, would you refuse his offer? Silly question. I know I wouldn’t miss it. Sadly, the reality speaks differently, especially with regards to such offers on the Internet.

You’ve probably seen dozens, if not one or two, sponsored links in Google or Yahoo that stated something like along these lines: “Earn $300 by tonight, guaranteed” or “Work from home and earn $3000 a week”. They are indeed very tempting and the numbers of such advertisements increase with time. Why?

Many people, including I, desire to be wealthy. Nothing is wrong with that, but the more impatient we are to get there, then the more vulnerable we would be to these wolves in sheep’s costumes – or something like that. Additionally, as a mother, I prefer to work from home, and I know there are many more with the same preference. These wolves are smart enough to recognize that need, too.

Now, some of the “get-rich-quick” offers are probably legit and truly profitable. BUT before you sign up and pay a dime of your hard-earned or long-saved cash, here are five things you need to do first.

1. Search for reports. Type in the individual’s or company’s name, if available, or the website address onto a search engine, add the word “scam” or “fraud”. Chances are someone might have had the experience dealing with that company and written a comprehensive report about it.
2. Go to forums that aim to educate the public about internet scam. Publish your question there and get the answer from other forum goers. Example of such forums are scam.com and FraudWatchers.org.
3. Go to Better Business Bureau. Use their search engine for their reports on the company you’re looking at. They might have a report or two.
4. If you are receiving no definite answers from the above three attempts, get a good night sleep and sign up at a later time. Chances are your unconscious mind might give you some hints on what to do next. (I know, mentioning about the unconscious mind here opens a new can of worm. I will discuss about the topic in a later post. So stay tune!)
5. Look for the alternatives before signing up. Doing so increases your awareness of other possibilities to make money, and probably saves you from becoming another statistics of online home business scam.

If you’ve gone through all five steps and are getting more convinced that the offer is not a scam – maybe, for example, instead of a ‘negative’ report you found only ‘positive’ ones, then it is likely it’s not a scam. But to get rich quick… Unless I win this Thursday’s lottery, then it’s all about being patient, putting in some effort, being proactive, and making a wiser and smarter decisions when it comes to business opportunity.

Recommended further readings:

• Get Rich Quick Schemes from Internet Based Moms
• Recognize and Avoid Work at Home Scams from at-WorkHomes.com
• Get-rich-quick scheme from Wikipedia