“Data Entry” Scams

Posted on April 24th, 2008 in Getting Started by Steve

I wonder how the owners of those so called, “Data Entry Sites” sleep at night? How can anyone feel good about themselves when they are taking money from people under such false pretenses?

I am a firm believer in the old saying, “What comes around, goes around”.

It is unfortunate those site owners choose to use their sales pages for promoting scams. They do have very good sales pages. They know their target audience very well and hit them right in the most vulnerable spots.

Most beginners believe there is some trick or secret to online marketing success. They believe all they have to do is find that “secret” and implement it and success will be theirs. The data entry scams offer EXACTLY what the beginners are desperately searching for.

The scams offer:

  • Quick and easy money (LOTS of money starting instantly)
  • No experience required
  • No website required
  • Simple “forms” to fill out (they fail to mention the “forms” are Google Adwords)
  • Access to unlimited affiliate products (They simply point people to the free affiliate networks like PayDotCom or ClickBank who offer free access to anyone anyway.)
  • Most of all, the scams offer the beginners false hope.

Yes, the data entry scammers are masters at offering hope. And the VERY WORST part about the whole scam is that they “train” the poor beginner to promote the same scam as an affiliate!  Now the beginner who got scammed is helping further the scam. Most beginners do not even realize what they are doing. When they fail at it, most of them simply believe they were not smart enough or did not work hard enough.

The saddest part is that some of these beginners who get started on the wrong track with the scams will simply give up on Internet marketing for good. Who knows what they could have accomplished with some simple guidance in the beginning.

AdWords: Money Pit or Money Tree

Posted on April 18th, 2008 in AdWords Agony by Steve

Unfortunately, the vast majority of people using AdWords (or any other pay-per-click system) are losing money with it right now.

For most, the only answer is to keep raising their bid prices; they think that will turn things around for them. Beginners in any area of Internet marketing think there surely must be some quick and easy trick they are missing. Nothing could be further from the truth.

I was listening to Perry Marshall’s Mastermind call the other day. One of his guests who had great success with AdWords mentioned how he often spent up to two months studying a specific market before he started his first AdWords campaign for it.

Can any beginner reading this right now imagine spending two months studying one market before attempting to make money? That idea is simply beyond the comprehension of 99.9% of all beginners!

AdWords is a tough method to learn. I have to admit I gave Google a ton of money along the way before I finally found Perry’s information.

I wish I had known back in the beginning what I know now about the importance of learning methods and concepts before jumping into Adwords. Google would be a little less rich right now if I had taken the time to learn before diving in.

Anyway, I hope you can learn from my past mistakes. Here’s the link again to Perry’s free Five Day AdWords Course. Yes, this is a shameless self-promotion since I am Perry’s affiliate. However, if you want to eventually succeed with AdWords, you NEED the information he offers in this course.

My AdWords Mentor

Posted on April 14th, 2008 in AdWords Agony by Steve

Wow! Guess who I talked to today!

Perry Marshall

THE Perry Marshall

I have been a customer of Perry’s for quite some time now. Without his weekly newsletters and monthly CD’s I would not have a clue about how to profit with AdWords!

Today was the first time I have talked to him. He offered a live call-in this morning for his customers. If you got through, you could talk to him for 10 minutes and ask him anything.

It was a great call! The 10 minutes were very productive; I have spent this afternoon putting into place the ideas he had for my business.  

I recently upgraded to his MasterMind club. I was a Renaissance member for the past year or so. I found out about Perry when I subscribed to his Free Five Day eMail Course. I learned more in those 5 days than I knew from using AdWords (trying to use AdWords) in the previous 2 years!

I learned what it took to succeed with PayPerClick advertising. Shortly after the course I bought his Definitive Guide to AdWords eBook. From there I was really able to ramp up my AdWords advertising success.

Anyway, I just wanted to say a big THANK YOU to Perry for all he has done for me!

Steve

Internet Marketing Success: Your Family Can Help!

Posted on April 9th, 2008 in Live Your Dream! by Steve

Just like any new business, Internet marketing is a tough rode at first.  It sure helps if you have the support of your family along the way! Lucky for me, my family has always been right there with me as I worked toward this goal of quitting my job and working from home.

My Mother and Dad gave me a card for my birthday (which is today in fact). It included a pat-on-the-back message in the form of a reminder of how far I have come in the past few years

Here is part of the card’s message:

“You are a success story!”

  1. Your own boss
  2. Able to sleep late
  3. Taking a nap – when needed
  4. Driving less
  5. No desperate phone calls to fix something (from my past job)
  6. Time to fish
  7. Flexible running time (running is one of my hobbies)
  8. Increased income
  9. Many more advantages of being “50” than can be counted

Then my Mother added:

“Remember the old saying – Age is only a matter of mind and if you don’t mind, it doesn’t matter.

My Mother always had those kinds of sayings to offer. I have a gillion of them running in my head. But I guess my favorite is the one she painted on a plaque which hung by my bathroom sink while I was growing up.

It said, “Don’t wait for your ship to come in, swim out to get it.”

That applies to about everything in life.

Yes, it does help to have a supportive family!

Scams, Schemes and Internet Marketing

Posted on April 2nd, 2008 in Getting Started by Steve

It boggles my mind to think how many people are out there are spending their valuable time and even their hard earned money on schemes and scams which won’t make them a dime with Internet marketing.

I do the best I can to get the word out to as many people as possible about how real Internet marketing works. Yet, I know I am just barely scratching the surface of this huge problem.

It must be something genetic in humans which allows this vulnerability.  The snake oil salesmen from the past are not much different than the date entry site owners of today. A slick salesman can sell fridges to the Eskimos it is said. Unfortunately, the Eskimos get more use from the refrigerators than people get from the date entry, rebate processing, and survey site scams!

Humans seem naturally inclined to believe in and be optimistic about finding an easy rode to riches. Most of us get burned by that trait at least once. However, I’ve had many people contact me who describe being scammed two, three, and even four times by various versions of the common scams.

Avoiding scams is pretty simple. Any offer which promises “hundreds of dollars a day” by tomorrow or next week with no experience and with only a few hours of work daily, IS A SCAM!

Here is a summary of the most common scams out there:

Online Scams 


Don’t fall for them!