• Internet Marketing Scams Making Headlines

    Date: 2010.10.09 | Category: Home business | Tags:

    When you start planning your internet or affiliate marketing home business, you will find yourself inundated with information. You’ll also find a lot of free offers, giving you software, graphics, ebooks and articles on the business. While many of these free offers are used to build a mailing list and upsell products you have to pay for, some of them are designed to scam you. Most of the free offers provide something of value, and the only danger they present is information overload and a full mail box.

    Far more concerning is the influx of scams in the industry, some of which made headlines this week. There are scam artists in all walks of life, so the growing internet marketing industry was bound to get its fair share. Unfortunately, many of the people in internet marketing have turned to it in desperation. When you are out of work, unable to find a new job and desperately trying to find a way to make money, it is all too easy to fall for false promises.

    Here are a couple of things to bear in mind when presented with yet another offer of instant riches and easy money.

    • If it sounds too good to be true, it probably is. Be cautious and sensible – especially when you’re asked to part with your cash.
    • Read the fine print! Ignoring the Terms and Conditions is just not a good idea. You wouldn’t sign a business contract without reading it thoroughly, so don’t do it online.
    • Check the news, because organizations such as the Better Business Bureau do issue warnings about scams doing the rounds.
    • Use your head. Desperate shouldn’t mean stupid! Think and act with caution. Taking calculated risks is part of owning a business, but trust your instincts and be sensible.

    When I started looking into affiliate marketing, I downloaded hundreds of free articles, reports and books, many of them promising to hold the key to overnight success. Many of them did contain useful advice and helpful tips. Some of them were obviously just a tidbit to entice me to buy something. Almost all of them now sit in a folder on my PC, ignored and gathering cobwebs. When I joined Wealthy Affiliate, I looked at all the tools, resources and training they offer. I looked carefully at what each of those things would cost me if I were to buy them individually from other internet marketers. I discovered that it would take three and half years of membership fees at WA to buy a third of what they offered their members. I earned my first year’s fees in my first three months at WA, and have steadily increased my income since then. I loved that at no time did anyone at WA state that internet marketing, like any other business, imply that I could make money doing nothing at all. Best of all, the people at WA give you honest answers, genuine advice and friendly support. Now that’s something the scammers cannot replicate!

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