Make Money Online - Scam or Legit?

Mind Control Marketing and One-Time Offers

So I got an email mentionning that Mark Joyner was making an ebook version of Mind Control Marketing available.  Mark's offerings tend to be a bit on the pricey-side (for my budget), so I was pleasantly surprised to see the $27 price tag.  After verifying some of the claims (that used copies of the printed book sell for well over $100), I decided to buy.  I'm very glad I did, but one thing puzzled me.

When you purchase Mind Control Marketing, you'll get a One-Time Offer, I've forgotten exactly the marketing term for these, but you'll be told that RIGHT NOW, you are going to be offered a special price on some other Mark Joyner offer.  And that you will never, ever, in the history of the world be offered this fantastic chance to snatch the item at the incredibly low price again.

Gimme a break.  Am I the only one who hates these?  WHY should I only be offered something ONE time?  Because the person selling it wants to create urgency or scarcity, they want me to feel like this is my chance.  You know what I'm thinking and feeling?  I'm thinking YOU ARE TRYING TO MANIPULATE ME and it pisses me off!!!  Even if what is being sold looks decent I don't want to buy it.  I don't really remember what Mark was selling in addition to Mind Control Marketing, though I do remember the price was a lot higher than $27 and I thought, aaHA!  That's why the $27, get people to open their wallet and type in the credit card number... and then hit them up big.

Not me.  No, I took my $27 copy of Mind Control Marketing and I ran, mind still functionning independently (I think).  My suggestion is that you do the same.

GoDaddy 6.95 .com Domains

Here is a little secret, you can generally get a .com domain registered at GoDaddy for $6.95.  How??

By going to Google and searching on "GoDaddy 6.95 domain". Bingo, do you see their ad?

While you are there registering your most recent brainstorm idea for a good domain name, consider registering it for several years. First, you'll lock in your savings. Secondly, registering a domain name for a longer time, generally improves it's search engine results. The idea is that Google thinks people committed to the website register the domain for a longer period of time and invest more in the website's development and maintenance, therefore providing more value to end users.

Finally, GoDaddy is a great place to have domains registered with, since every blog or website development tool includes instructions for if you have registered your domain with GoDaddy. Oh, and I had to call them for customer service the other day and I got someone who spoke English, was helpful and polite. WOW!!!

Okay, now in case you don't understand what I'm suggesting, here below is a Google search box all set up for you and you just need to hit Submit.

Search terms Submit search form

Why Hilary Clinton is Losing. It's Not Because She's a Girl.

A recent article on Boston.com talks about Hilary Clinton's struggles and says that the election is about voters choosing style over substance and women having to work harder for the same recognition.  I beg to differ.  I could list all the reasons I like Barack Obama, the list is long and substantial.  But what's more relevant for this topic is why I would not vote for Hilary Clinton.

Hilary Clinton tries to manipulate issues to make them reflect favorably on her.  She (or her henchmen) are out complaining that Barack Obama is waffling on his agreement with John McCain about campaign financing.  Yet, she is trying to get reversed an agreement between herself and all the other Democratic candidates to not count Florida and Michigan votes, because the primary process in those states didn't follow the rules set by the Democratic party. 

Secondly, Hilary's focus is negative -- why we should NOT vote for Barack.  And frankly, I'm thinking the guy must be squeaky clean, because look at what the Clinton campaign has to stoop to complaining about.  They are characterizing Barack Obama's reuse of a paragraph of a friend's speech and failing to acknowledge that the words were not originally Obama's, as plagiarism.  I'm not voting for a nit-picker or a negative person, regardless of whether they are a man or a woman.

I think that one thing that is clear from this election, you can't get elected this time by simply appealing to people like yourself.  Senator Clinton can't get elected just because she is a woman and Barack Obama certainly isn't going to get elected simply because he is black. 

I think that to say that Barack Obama's popularity is caused by his rhetorical skills or his charisma is to miss the most basic skill a President of the United States needs:  LEADERSHIP.  Americans are uniting to follow the most positive candidate they have seen in decades.  Barack Obama is a born leader.  Hilary Clinton is simply a good leader.

I guess on some level I'm glad to see that Hilary Clinton's candidacy is being taken seriously.  It proves that a woman could be elected President.   But Hilary Clinton is NOT the person that I want as president.  But please, dear Clinton supporters, don't kid yourselves about why she is losing support and behind in delegate support.

And yes, I know this has nothing to do with Making Money Online (the main thrust of the blog), but it is about something that I feel is absolutely NOT a legitimate claim.

Increase Amazon Associate Profits -- Fast, Free, Easy

I've been an Amazon Associate for a while and often when I comment on a book, I create the Amazon Associate link to it.  Problem is, this takes about 5 minutes per reference and unless you have thousands of people reading your blog or article, odds are it's not a very profitable use of your time.  But I just discovered, Amazon's Quick Links. 

Did everyone else already know about this??  Basically, there are two steps to using this (assuming you already have an Amazon Associate ID).  You go to, http://widgets.amazon.com/Amazon-QuickLinker-Widget/ and click on the Add to My Web Page button

Up come links to add this to Typepad, Blogger, Wordpress, etc or a javascript bit of code that you can cut and paste to any web page.  Once you've done that, instead of creating a full link to the detailed Amazon sales page for each product, now, you can make "Quick Links" to products based on keyword searches that you know would find the product.  For example:

<a type="amzn">Harry Potter</a> - Links to Amazon.com search results page for "Harry Potter".

OR

<a type="amzn" asin="B000012345">I love this item</a> The link reads "I love this item" and links directly to the specific Amazon product with Amazon id (ASIN) "B000012345"

Again, maybe everyone else had already discovered this, but if not, I think you'll agree it's a lot faster then the classic individual product links! 

Enjoy.

Information Overload Cure -- No More Impulse Buying

Everyone battles the temptation to buy more products to help them make money online than they should.  My own solution is that I am no longer buying anything the first time I hear about it.  I don't care that it's a one-time offer.  I don't care that by purchasing in the next 15 minutes I will get 16 extra bonuses valued at $6,543.

And frankly I'm tired of people who think they will frighten me into buying their product.  What the hell is the matter with you guys?  Here is a typical line from an email,

If you miss out on this "rare" teleseminar appearance by Frank XXXX, you WILL be kicking yourself later.

Oh, gosh, what to do.  I think that I already have enough skills to run my business, that I'm short on action and time, not on information.  But this guru, this internet marketing genius, is sure that if I skip this telesiminar that I'll be kicking myself.

STOP!!!  Both to the people sending this crap  (as a matter of fact as I typed that, I paused, went to the email and clicked the unsubscribe link.  I feel better) and frankly I hope that you, dear reader, stop buying this crap.  Think for yourself.  If these BS lines didn't work, people would stop using them and the world would be a better, or at least more honest, place.

If I hear about a product now I bookmark it or make a mental note and later in the day or the next day or even the next week, IF I think, "you know, that really did sound like a unique and valuable offering."  THEN, I'm going back to buy it.  Basically I started this approach with the new year and for once, my internet income in January is actually exceeding my internet purchases.  And my self-respect, that's climbing as well. 

I won't be sorry for missing the teleseminar.  What would make me sorry is to take the time to sit on the teleseminar, take notes and then not have the time required to implement any of it, because there is some other once-in-a-lifetime opportunity.

---

And to get started on the No Impulse Purchases, here's a coupon or two that are good ALL through February & in the case of the SecondAct.com (think big TV's) for even longer than that.

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$15 off Orders of $75 or More at J.C. Whitney
$30 off Orders of $150 or More at J.C. Whitney
Use promotion code DAWBBX8 during checkout
Offer Good All Through February

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$100 Off Merchandise Orders of $2000 or More at Second Act!
Quality new and factory refurbished electronics. HDTV’s, LCD’s, Plasmas, and 1080p
Use Coupon Code: 2nd1120. This is an ongoing offer. No need for snap decisions!

-- OR --

$50 Off Any Merchandise Order of $1000 or More!
Code: 2nd1119

-- OR --

$25 Off Any Merchandise Order of $500 or More!
Code:2nd1118 - I'm told these won't expire, please add comment if you find otherwise.

Adsense Revenue Alternative

As promised, this blog goes back to looking at ways to make money online and which ones are legit and which are scams or over-hyped misleading offers.

I came across and purchased, the $7 Ad Box product, which is displayed on the right as "News to Use".  The product suggests that instead of earning pennies on each Adsense click, that you could be earning $7 commissions selling products that follow the $7 script model.  The only fallacy to this logic is that with Adsense you earn money when your reader clicks on the ad, but with the $7 Ad Box product, you earn money (granted it's a lot more) when the reader clicks on the ad and BUYS the product. 

Here is where I think this is a really good model -- on websites and blogs like this one which are about making money online.  BECAUSE.... online marketers NEVER click on Adsense ads, but they are always on the lookout for new products that will give them an edge.  My feeling is that each commission earned is also a vote for either a very good sales page and/or a product that has something substantial to offer.  So I purchased the $7 Ad Box product and will be using it whereever I'm writing about internet marketing, making money online, etc. 

When I've got a website on a topic for real people, namely anyone less savvy about the internet marketing, then I'll either use Adsense, or perhaps I'll try Ad Box Pro which basically lets you create text ads in a style similar to Google Adsense where you control the content completely.  So each ad could include your affiliate link.

My next post??  No more impulse purchases.  That's my vow.   

Nationwide Biweekly Mortgage Payoff Letter

Now, my last post wasn't really about making money online, but about saving money online, which could be considered the same thing by Ben Franklin ("a penny saved is a penny earned").  And while some might argue that old Ben didn't know much about making money online, clearly some of his commentary does still ring true.

Today's post is about an "opportunity" that I was offered which could be considered, at best, a misrepresentation and at worst a scam.  It was a letter I received from Nationwide Biweekly Administration which sounded pretty good and I actually had the phone in my hand ready to dial when I thought, it is time to do a quick SCAM-check online.  When you enter the name of a company and one of the first listings that Google returns is the Ripoff Report, a warning bell should go off.  But the link I actually clicked on which did the best job of explaining what the Nationwide Biweekly Mortgage Payment offer is about, is this one. 

Funny, it was written back in 2003 and now 4 and a half years later, it just helped me out.  It's nice when the internet works for you, isn't it?   Okay, next post will be about something to make money online and whether it's a scam (or even a grossly exaggerated product) or a legitimate offering.

How to Find a Wii Console Without Losing Your Mind

Like a zillion other people, I have a kid who would like to get a Wii Console for Christmas.  He didn't really think that we would buy one last year when they came out and were sold out and he tried to hide his disappointment when we didn't get him one for his birthday (right at the start of the school year, not a good time to buy your teen new video games).  But now?  Come on.  We have to get one now.  Or so I feel. 

A few queries and I feel that I should write a new song, sung to Jingle Bells tune.

Out of stock,
Out of stock,
No one has a Wii

Yet my son
Must have one
Underneath the tree

So, I started watching Ebay auctions.  In case you haven't watched the Wii Consoles selling on Ebay, let me tell you how this goes.  You search "Wii Consoles" and up come about 20 pages of listings.  "Oh, look, that one is ending in 20 minutes and it's only selling for $305.  That's not bad.  And there's another in 21 minutes also $305.  Mmmm  there's that $39.99 for shipping/handling, but I can live with that."  So you open up a couple windows and start watching those auctions.  At some point in the next 15 minutes a couple more people bid and the price has risen to maybe $345 or $360.  Not great, but you still are figuring that surely you'll be able to grab one of these for a little over $400 total.  When what to your wondering eyes do you see?  Bids pouring in. Final Price $443. 

Yes, $443 + 39.99, the Wii's are pushing, sometimes topping, $500 for the basic unit.  A quick check of the Wii on Amazon offers no relief (though I heard they had them available for regular, $249 price, for about 4 minutes last Tuesday before selling out again.)

So How Do You Find a Wii Console Without Losing Your Mind?

Here is what I did.  I went to Ebay and searched on Wii Console BUT I used the option that says show me only results with Buy It Now and prices below $425.  I found one with a Buy It Now for $400 and actual shipping charges, which since the seller lives about 70 miles away, were only $10.  Wow.  I bought the Wii.  For less than double it's official price, without waiting for hours for a store opening and no more watching those auctions ticking down waiting for the final moments to bid and then..... oops, lost another. 

I duplicated the search I used below, so you can see the results.

I've also heard that WiiAlerts.com works, but requires patience.  Since I didn't have any, I didn't use it.

Well good luck to you and Happy Holidays!!!!

Barry Bonds Scandal: The Truth About Barry Bonds

THE scandal about Barry Bonds, in my opinion, is not whether he lied or told the truth about steroid use.   The scandal is:  why the hell does the federal government care?  Or why do they care THIS much?

Our government has spent YEARS collecting evidence and building a case that Barry Bonds lied under oath and should therefore be sent to prison.  Why?  We’ve got Americans dying in Iraq, Afghanistan.  Hell, we’ve got people being killed on U.S. streets, dying from heroin overdoses, being hit by drunk drivers.  Don’t we have greater crimes to prosecute than that of Barry Bonds? 

Sure, it’s important whether Barry Bonds lied – to baseball and baseball fans.  My two sons regularly debate Barry’s merits, accomplishments and integrity.  I understand why they, who love baseball, care.

But why should our government invest so much into prosecuting Barry?  Because Major League Baseball didn’t?  The government didn’t jump in to help the U.S. Figure Skating Association check out Tonya Harding’s story.

The government has been looking into this since December 2003.  Good grief.  When those investigators look at the last few years, are they proud of the accomplishment?  Is this what they had in mind choosing a career dedicated to ensuring that the laws are upheld and the bad guys are kept off our streets?

If Bill Clinton’s lies under oath about what he did or didn’t do with a White House intern weren’t worth taking him out of the presidency, let alone sending him to prison, then why spend tax dollars prosecuting Barry Bonds?

Mike of Mike's Mets wrote:

Maybe I am in the minority in this opinion, but I would rather focus time and energy on figuring out how to get all of this elaborate cheating out of the game as completely as possible, and for the government to spend our tax dollars in areas like energy and health that will benefit as many Americans as possible.

So clearly, I'm not the ONLY one to think these thoughts, even if Mike seems to think we're in the minority.  What's your opinion?

P.S. Yes, this is slightly off-topic for me, but... scandals and scams go hand-in-hand and we are still talking about money and how it's spent.  Besides, if you can't chose the topics in your blog, what's the point?

Stompernet Simple Chapter Closed, New Adventures Begin

So, I continued with Stomper Simple for a couple months at their $97 a month price.  I was following the activities for about another month, and then jumped on the Mark Joyner 7-Day Business Turnaround offer.  Which, I learned from, but...  frankly it did not deliver what the sales letter had me expecting. 

Meanwhile my finances were so bad that the Stomper Simple monthly charge didn't go through.  It took them a few days to realize and I happened to look around on the Stomper Simple forums and saw that some of the most active posting people were dropping out.   I think a lot of us, myself included, felt like the poor foster children of Stompernet and that responses from Stomper's faculty often sounded a little along the lines of "Just be glad we took you in.  You're able to glimpse some of the greatest players in Internet Marketing here and at a fraction of the cost of our real children (full Stomper members)."

So, one of the items I learned about from the 7 Day Business turnaround was The Warrior Forum.  Wow, now there is definitely a place that has many of the rising stars of Internet Marketing and many also-rans as well.  There is a TON of useful information there, but beware, you can definitely become a career information consumer and buy WSO (Warrior Special Offers) which give great information till the cows come home, but never DO anything with the information.  I have purchased about 10 WSO and some were duds, some were great and some I thought "Wow, I could use this," but I haven't done the actual work yet.

I have vowed that I will not buy another WSO until I put into practice at least two suggestions for traffic generation that I learned. 

Basically the best two WSO that I have participated in and that I now want to focus on getting the most out of, are Traffic Movies - videos that show you how to to generate significantly more traffic, given a 45 minute time investment (recommended per week) on your part.  I LOVE that they qualified the time needed.  So far, I've watched the video and still need to make the 45 minutes to implement action item number 1, but, it is moving up on my to-do list (hey, I had to update this blog first, don't you think?).

I'll write another post when I have some results, but I have to say these particular traffic tips are VERY unique, nothing that I've seen recommended elsewhere.

And secondly I joined Lee McIntyre's, Standing Start Profits membership site.  At $19.97 a month, it's a fraction of the fraction of the Stompernet and it's filled with some of the NICEST people in Internet Marketing.  Wow.  As this cooperative, supportive group exchanges information and aid, this is serious proof that nice guys do NOT have to finish last. 

So that's an update on all I've been up to, while I have NOT been posting.  Sorry almost every paragraph here should be it's own post.  I will try to do better in the future.  Oops, someone told me not to say "try to..." that it is like saying "I will try, but I know I'll fail."  Okay, so, I'll post more in the future.

Till then,
Scam Hunter