Would you like to get rid of confusion once and for all when it comes to doing business online?
The truth is, most people find the idea of making money online confusing.
And they should!
Nothing we do offline prepares us for dealing with terms like FTP or EPC.
And few of us are experienced enough with technology to easily adapt to systems like autoresponders, shopping carts or online advertising portals.
The good news is this – there is a way to get rid of confusion once and for all.
Read on to discover common sense ways to get clearer thinking starting today.
The Problem Is NOT You!
One reason so many people are confused about what to do, and what to ignore, is the aggressive nature of how products are marketed online.
We are bombarded by selling messages every time we log on to the Internet.
Consider this – according to CBS news the average consumer saw 500 marketing messages a day in the 1970s.
Today that number has multiplied by a factor of 10, meaning the average consumer now sees a whopping 5000 marketing messages a day!
And that does not include the many tweets, social media updates and more that flood into our consciousness. In fact, that number is quite old.
I’m betting they have given up on counting because the number is so high now! 🙂
The problem is, much of the advertising we see is totally confusing.
One ad will often completely contradict another ad.
A scan of my email inbox revealed the following advice, all from people with products to sell …
- Why all you need is Facebook to succeed online.
- Social media is a waste of time.
- Email marketing is dead.
- Why email marketing works better than ever!
- Newbie makes $547 per day with affiliate marketing.
- Why you MUST have a product of your own.
It’s enough to make you long for the days when your “database” was a Rolodex and your “word processor” was a legal pad!
Have you ever wondered how to handle conflicting advice?
Here some common sense ways to help clarify your thinking.
Does this make sense to you?
Not understanding how a business works is a big red flag. Huge.
To be clear, you do not need to understand an online business the way the product owner does. That would be too much to expect.
But you do need to understand the HOW, WHY and WHAT of the business.
Some questions include:
- How does this business help their customers?
- How does a person buy in such a way that I get paid?
- How does this product compare to their competition?
- How do I get paid for promoting?
- Why would I choose to promote this product?
- What will be expected of me to promote this product?
- What is their track record?
In addition to this, you need to check out their reputation online. More on this in a minute.
Would your Mom and Dad believe this?
I know this sounds old-fashioned, and I know some people did not have great parents.
But, bottom line … our parents were a LOT smarter than we thought they were when we were growing up.
It only makes sense. We all learn and grow.
Even parents. 🙂
Our parents had plenty of life under their belts before we came along, and that includes making their fair share of mistakes.
They probably started out in their marriage without a lot of money and had to make ends meet.
Big lesson learned.
They probably were taken advantage of by some unscrupulous sales person along the way and overpaid or wasted money.
Another lesson learned.
So ask yourself this – would your Mom or Dad think this business thing you are wanting to do makes sense?
Or would they think it’s too risky? Or sounds like “pie in the sky”?
I’m not saying to ask them unless you are fortunate enough to be able to do that. I SO wish I could talk with my parents just one more time.
I’m just saying to ask yourself what they would say.
Bottom line – if it sounds too good to be true, it probably is.
What is their track record?
One thing the Internet does is provides copious amounts of information. But I still talk to people who invest heavily in a business opportunity without having checked it out.
That’s too bad. In many cases, only 5 minutes of research would have yielded enough red flags to have saved you lots of misery.
Or it would have confirmed that you have chosen a great product, from a good person, and you can feel more confident moving forward.
Either way, the return on that time investment would be huge.
When checking out companies or individuals online, do this.
- Google the name of the company and see what you get.
- Google the name of the person who owns the company too.
- Look for reviews of the product, by name, and see if you get real reviews or only affiliates who are providing “reviews”.
These are good starting points and usually yield the information you need.
Can you get answers to YOUR questions?
This is a big one. Can you contact the company, and get a real answer from a real human, before you spend your money?
If you ask a question and get the answer “buy my product” don’t walk … run.
If you receive an autoreply sending you to a page with FAQs so you can help yourself, consider it a bad sign.
NOTE: There is nothing wrong with company owners having a knowledge base for customers to help themselves. I have one myself. But if support refuses to answer your question UNTIL you have tried the knowledge base, it’s bad customer support.
To be clear, you can’t expect any product owner to answer 25 questions before you buy.
And you can’t expect them to give you the deep information found in their product free.
That is not the real world.
But honest questions about the suitability of a product in your situation, or a clarification of what you will receive, are very reasonable questions that deserve an answer.
Doing business online can be a nightmare of confusion and deceit.
Or it can be a dream of clear thinking, steady progress, and passive income.
Which of those becomes your experience can be helped by taking a little extra time to do your due diligence, while also following your common sense.
If you apply these basic ideas to any business you are considering joining I believe you will have greater peace of mind, make better decisions and achieve better results.
And those are all beautiful things indeed!
