Make Money Online.
If you have been on the internet for any length of time, you will certainly have come across this term. A quick research shows that the term “make money online” is searched for about 450,000 times every month. Another little bit of arithmetic reveals that very second, 5 persons on the earth are hitting the internet in search for making money online! If you consider other related terms – earn money online, make a living online etc, the search volume may run into many millions. And these results are for only one search engine, albeit the biggest one – Google.
Earn Money Online - Myth or Fact?
So, what really is the reason for this huge interest about ‘making money online’?
In recent years, the idea of making easy money on the internet is drawing people in hordes. My own two cents is that the current recession (it is not over, is it?) has accelerated this trend, as more and more people lost their real income sources and started exploring other options. With the prevalence of internet, and easy availability of sufficient bandwidth, this has become more convenient too.
Again, if you dig even a little deep into the internet, at some point or another, you will certainly come across one sales letter or another with these lines -
“I get up at 11.00 AM in the morning, and trudge downstairs to my home office, dresses only in my pajamas and bunny slippers. I make myself a cup of coffee, while I switch on my computer. I log in to check my various affiliate accounts. And hey presto, I have earned a gazillion dollars even while I was sleeping”.
This is a clever marketing trick – don’t sell the product – sell the benefits. You might even get to see a picture or two of some bank account details, showing thousands of dollars in balance. But wait, I am digressing.
A Short Story
First, let me tell you a story.
Making Money Online is like Gold Digging
In the middle of 19th century, something happened in the USA. A carpenter and saw mill owner discovered some gold in a river in California. The news of the discovery spread faster than a wildfire of your wildest imagination, and hundreds of thousands of people descended on California. These people, called prospectors, came from far and near, from every part of the globe. Some even braved the seas to reach California. Hundreds, maybe thousands perished in their attempts – they never even reached California.
This ends the story. OK, so it is an abrupt end, but the whole story and its details are not important. The lessons of the story are more important.
Moral of the Story
I cannot tell you the total amount of money made out of the Gold Rush, probably no one can. But what is an accepted fact, is that the gold diggers made CONSIDERABLY less than the merchants who settled around there to cater to these gold diggers. It is legend that the richest persons around that time were not the gold diggers, but the one who sold the SHOVELS!
To cut a long story short, the people who profited most were not the people who did the actual digging (many of them perished penniless), but the people who sold them the tools to do the digging.
Now, come back to that sales letter extract that I quoted earlier. Why is that guy telling you about his daily routine – why would you be interested? Again, as I pointed out earlier, it is to sell you the image. You get up at 7.00 in the morning, may be read the newspaper, grab your breakfast and then rush to office. Once in office, you work hard the whole day, and get back only in the late evening. Yes, this a routine too, but few people I know really “like” this routine – most hate it.
Show Me the Money!
On the other hand, that guy in that ad – he has the luxury of sleeping till 11.00, while his neighbors and friends have already spent hours working on their jobs. Then, he checks his accounts – he has already earned a lot of money. No, you are not like this guy, but you certainly WILL like to be in his shoes, Or bunny slippers – since that is what he is wearing at this time.
Tools for Making Money Online
But how will you become like him? By following his exact directions and tips, which he will reveal in his e-book (which sells for a discounted price of US $ 29.95), or to the members of his internet marketing course, which you can subscribe for US $ 19.95, per month.
How many people do you think fall for this ploy? Don’t be surprised – many people do – in large enough numbers that this guy can continue doing what he just told you he does – make a living online. Do you remember the figures I threw at you in the beginning of this post – 5 people every second looking to make money online ?
The Food Chain
You must surely have heard about the food chain – the one that explains the predator-prey relationship. The food chain theory states that in an eco system, the various animals are arranged in a chain, where the animals lower down the chain are hunted and devoured by those on the top. A hawk hunts down a fish, which eats a smaller fish, which in turn eats a still smaller bug or something.
The big, bad world of online money making is quite similar to this food chain, The small guy, the one who types “make money online” in the search bar of Google home page, and then buys this e-book and that internet marketing course. The guys doing the selling are further into buying domains, hosting, making and designing websites, buying content, the list goes on. They buy these things and tools from still bigger sellers.
I will throw another metaphor at you – a pyramid. Now, how does a pyramid look? Very, very wide at the bottom, gradually tapers upwards, and ultimately, culminates into a single point. The ‘make money online’ industry (oh yes, it IS an industry) is also arranged like a pyramid. The little guys are at the bottom, the places at the top are fewer, and the upward slope is too steep and slippery.
So, Is There no Hope?
Is making money online, therefore, virtually impossible?
The short answer is – NO, it is INDEED possible. But it is not as easy as those e-books or sales letter make it out to be. It is like any other business – you need a PLAN, a business model, capital to invest, hard work and then some luck. You might not end up making a killing, but you may just make a living!
This is where I tell you about my latest, exclusive E-Book, in which I reveal my step-by-step plan, which will soon have you saying “go to Hell” to your boss, and make a full income online. The e-book sells for a low price of US $ 19.99 only!
Ok. I am just kidding. I will do nothing like that! No e-book, no online course, no asking for your money.
Just keep coming back to this blog – you just might learn something worthwhile!
See you later!
Image Sources: Money , Gold Digger , Shovel
August 13, 2010 at 8:26 am