Make Money Online - Scam or Legit?

Forced Money and Forced Money Reviews -- Scam and Double Scam

Okay, this is not like all the Google ads and articles that claim to be a "review of Forced Money."  I don't even claim this is a review of Forced Money.  But I think both the product AND the reviews of it are BIG, FAT SCAMS. 

Basically several thousand people, including myself, got an email that said here use this article which is supposedly a review of Forced Money and insert your Clickbank affiliate link and make $45.73 on the front-end and $66.55 on the back-end and it will convert like crazy.

But what the hell is the Forced Money product?

Here is what it claims to give you:

 o An amazing website!
  o A website that converts sales automatically!
  o A website that puts "forced" money directly into your pocket!
  o A website that's run by another firm for you (at NO charge!)
  o A website that continues to promote for you over & over!
  o A website that grows & cultivates a proven list!
  o A website that functions automatically (so you never run it!)
  o And a website that you get Free H0STING for!

Gosh, why don't they throw in a fictional maid to clean my house.  I mean if they have an infinite ability to create websites that 'force' money out of the internet, then why don't they just amass the largest accumulation of wealth ever.  If I'm doing nothing, then they don't need me to create website after website, and I'm adding nothing.  So I'm getting hordes of money for doing nothing.  Duh....  am I the only one who smells something fishy.

You know what this is -- it's a giant chain letter, whereby the person starting the letter gets others to send them money, hoping that still other people will send them money.  The only specific service or product that is mentionned is that this "AMAZING website" will promote a product called Get Google Ads Free.  Forced Money explains this is a great product for all internet marketers and converts like crazy. 

WAIT!!!

Get Google Ads Free is by the same guy who created and sells and profits from Forced Money.  He is getting people to PAY him to set up a website for them that promotes HIS PRODUCT!!!    Yes, if the website sells his product, you'll make money.  But again, if he could just keep creating more and more websites and sell more and more himself, he would because he'd keep a bigger piece of the pie.  Maybe he figures if there are articles written all over the internet in various people's names or all the buyers contact their friends and family that it will increase sales.  But at some point the market is saturated, especially if the product doesn't deliver as promised and I find it extremely hard to believe that either product delivers anything like what it describes.

If anyone has actually bought either of these products and used them and thinks I'm wrong.  PLEASE let me know.  I'd LOVE to discover a product that fills my pockets with money, whether it comes with maid service or not!

Make Money Online - Simple Method - Why I'm not jumping

Okay, I got over my earlier pity party (last post) about having lost a post I was writing.  I'm going to write a condensed version of it, before I forget the info and because I think it might help someone.

One of the many internet marketing forums that I occasionally read had a post that suggested a fairly simple method for creating an online income -- Create a message board on a topic around which people spend a fair amount of money, such as their dogs, cats, gardening, bird watching, photography, etc and then place adsense ads or affiliate links to related products on your site. 

I created a message board once about 5 years ago using phpBB and it wasn't too hard.  I abandoned it a couple years ago because of the SPAM.  But I gather there are now a lot of simple mods (modifications) that you can install which catch a lot of the SPAM and make it more manageable.  If you are interested in doing this I recommend either phpBB or SMF (Simple Machines Forum).  Both are free and both have active message boards (about using the message board software) where you can search topics such as SPAM or post for help.  Some level of HTML and website knowledge (like how to FTP) is needed.  The beauty of the model is of course that you can begin a topic and then let others generate the content.  SMF has SMFads.com, which is a modification meant to place Adsense into your message board for you. 

So why am I not going down this path?  Simply because I have too many half-done projects and almost any idea fully completed (or even 95% completed) has a better chance of success than a half-done project.   Let me know if you decide to give it a try. 

Blogger versus TypePad

I run blogs on both Blogger and Typepad.  At the moment I'm leaning towards preferring Blogger (I say while I type on Typepad) for two reasons.  All features of Blogger are free, whereas Typepad has some features only if you opt for a professional account and pay $$.  Secondly I just lost my second post a moment ago by the following scenario.  I wrote a long, thoughtful post with several links.  I hit Preview.  I am on a computer at the moment using a browser with Popups Blocked and a message came up that said Preview was blocked by a Popup Blocker - Enable Popups to see the  Preview.  So I clicked on the Icon to enable Popups and.....

I got a whole NEW EMPTY Compose New Post Window......  My post was LOST!!!

The same thing happened to me a couple weeks ago when I went to write a post.  That time I rewrote the post.  This time I'm substituting this post instead and you won't read about the new money-making idea a friend mentionned to me until I forgive Typepad and/or use a different computer/browser combination. 

Blogger has an autosave feature where it periodically saves the post as you create it.  This helps not only in case you blow the thing away by trying to preview it, but also if you have a network error, etc. 

Amazon.com Associates New Video Widget Offering

Umm... maybe it's just me (or my browser) but I just got an email from Amazon that read:

Monetize Your Video with Product Ads

Dear Amazon Associate,

Recently, we launched your video widget where you earn referral fees from product links that you add to your videos.

And then they provided a sample video to show me how this would work. Only when I clicked on their 'Show Products' button, it  didn't  work. Hopefully, it is only a temporary glitch, but sending an email saying, "look at how this works," to a couple million associates and having it fail, is a giant OOPS for Amazon. It makes Jeff Bezos's bad dancing at the end, even more embarrassing. Again, maybe it's just me, but do people really take their drinks out onto the dance floor? Anyway here's the video:

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.

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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.