10 reasons why I don't make a lot of money online

[Kay]

I have a few websites and I get by from AdSense, a bit of affiliate marketing, and some advertising income. But I'm not a millionaire Internet Marketing guru. So I wondered what I was doing wrong, and compared how I go about things with some of these rich guys.

1. I don't do sales.
Yeah, I know that you have to sell to make money, but I can't seem to bring myself to thrust products or services at people. Maybe they can't really afford them. And if they really want or need something, then they'll buy it anyway without me ramming it down their throats.

2. I don't bullsh!t people.
If I like something, I say so. If I don't like something, then I say that too. I don't tell people to buy something because I'll get commission for my recommendation. If I personally recommend something it's because I've tried and/or use it myself.

3. I don't like hype.
Have you ever seen a get-rich-quick or MMO product which didn't say, "This is not a get rich quick scheme"? For me, this is all part of the hype. I have never felt the need to deny things in that way.

4. I'm useless at conning people.
Most successful conmen are very charming and believable. I am a grumpy, argumentative old git. I just don't have the right personality type for that kind of stuff.

5. I find it distasteful to try to grab as much money as I can.
Sure, I have bills to pay too, but I like to do business in an honest and ethical way. Much as I would like to be rich, I wouldn't feel comfortable raking in the cash by flogging snake oil to newbies and wannabes.

6. I don't exist just to "help people".
Show me someone who makes money online by telling others how to make money online, who doesn't say they're only doing it to help people. You see, they're not doing it to make millions for themselves. Oh, not at all, they're doing it to help you. Well, I'm probably a little bit odd because I'm in business to make money. Perhaps being honest about that is where I'm going wrong.

7. I don't pimp myself around telling people how much money I've made.
I don't earn a fortune from speaking at conferences or on webinars etc, telling people how I got rich and thus attracting an army of followers who want to be just like me.

8. I am too old-fashioned.
I don't jump on every latest craze or fad to game the system. I just plod on in my own way trying to provide content that'll be useful to people and hope to be rewarded for doing that. I'm often not rewarded at all.

9. I believe in Karma.
I have this completely irrational belief that you reap what you sow. Somehow, if I give a lot, then the rewards will flow back to me. For example, I think I've given a lot to EP but I've also gained much more. This place has been a great education for me. But elsewhere often the rewards don't come. What I give is greedily gobbled up by takers who swiftly move on to see what else they can take for free.

and finally,

10. No calls to action.
I've realised that I'll tell people about something, but I rarely give any calls to action. BUY IT NOW! That's a mistake which I'm currently addressing. I am comfortable with calls to action.

So, let's see if just that one change will make me rich.

Please share what you're doing right or wrong in making money online.

[DomainMagnate]

No, it's mostly because you spend so much time posting in here instead of working

[Kay]

ROFL! Ah, but it's not all just about hanging around and posting on here. I'm also doing research for a new site which I plan to unleash on an unsuspecting audience in the very near future.

Same reason why I spent a whole afternoon reading your blog recently.

[TryBPO]

Hey Kay!

I've seen quite a few of your posts here on EP and while some may call them grumpy, I think your no-BS approach is refreshing and extremely valuable to other readers...definitely to those who quietly absorb or are easily caught up in some of the hyped product sales that are out there.

I thought it would be interesting to take your 10 points and tweak them a bit. I should qualify: I'm definitely not a terribly successful IM guru either. In fact, I would consider myself a more traditional business owner that's new to IM. Still...I'm going to fill the role that I think some of the people I look up to "in IM" might respond with as I think it might be valuable. Here it goes:

1. I give people the opportunity to buy
I have a particular disdain for pushy sales people and tactics, but know that people use my blogs, podcasts, etc. as a resource and are looking for real/true recommendations on things that may help their businesses in certain instances. If it helps mine and potentially helps theirs, I give them the opportunity to purchase.

2. I honestly recommend things
I only recommend things I'm currently using or have used and found valuable. Once I've decided to recommend, I check to see if they have an affiliate offer. If they do...great! If not, that's fine too...no worries! I don't like chasing after shiny new objects, but will let people know where my tests lead and what's working, what's not, etc.

3. Promotion with integrity
Claims (or anti-claims) of quick money online seem spammy/scammy to me, but I do want new buyers to be excited about what they're purchasing. I'm happy to test through this headline or that headline, opt-in boxes here or there, etc...but honestly represent products/services I offer and put my "real" name on them.

4. I believe in products I stand behind
I have no problem promoting products or services that have been helpful to me in my business. I'm clear in explaining the type of value I got so that only others with that particular need would purchase and not purchase simply because it was "recommended by me".

5. I'm overwhelmingly blessed
I know that 2/5/10 years ago I would have found the information I put out extremely useful, but I'm still amazed at the overwhelmingly positive response. Sometimes I feel like I don't deserve it or that I'm "tricking" someone and that it may end abruptly if I'm "found out"...but i've talked to plenty of other successful people that have felt similarly. There's a certain guilt that comes with being successful, as odd as that sounds.

6. I help people because value given returns in multiples
I wouldn't be in a position to provide help or value to others if I weren't able to pay the bills. (Some exceptions...I know people that do amazing charity work) I'm in the BUSINESS of helping others because I know it helps myself. I don't hide behind that fact...I think it's important to be extremely up-front about it, actually.

7. Talking about money I make (or don't make) holds me accountable
Good months are fantastic! Bad months...not so much. There's always a risk here, talking about income/revenue. Some will think it's amazing and want to follow along. Others will think it's awfully little money for quite a bit of work. Ultimately, being completely transparent about this holds me accountable to myself and to those around me. If things are going well, I can dig into why that is and try to expand it. If it's not going well, I have to take an honest look and get feedback from others and adjust.

8. I like to be disruptive and apply what works
I'm not always innovating and sometimes pick/choose from what's working for others and apply it, but I LOVE to go against the grain. If most people are doing it one way, it's fun to go a different route and see if you can make it work. I've found that, in general, going with the flow is a sure path to mediocrity.

9. I believe in Karma
Ditto! See #6

10. I like to test calls to action
I like to find out things like "Free Instant Access" performs 220% better than "Sign Up Here".

[akirk]

There are plenty of no-BS / honest / etc. ways of making money online...
- offering goods (e.g. Amazon)
- offering a service (e.g. ebay)
two examples...

both break with the originl convention of sales that you wanted to always present a polished view of a product - Amazon with its user feedback / ebay with the seller ratings - both open up the concept that not everything on the website will be perfect - but you can be in control of deciding...

so there are methods - but they might not be in the 'MMO' space

Alasdair

[Andy]

Kay,

Great food for thought. I sometimes think I should have a doctorate in how NOT to make money online. Trouble is I'm not exactly sure how I manage to do it so consistently. Actually I think I - have a handle on it... traffic. Typically, if you can get traffic, you can make money, however some sites get lots of traffic and still can't turn a dollar because certain groups just don't seem to buy.

Think of it this way... people come to your site expecting SOMEthing. Some expect information, some want direction, and believe it or not, some folks actually look on line because they want to BUY something. If you have what they are looking for then you may be rewarded.

My two bits

Andy

[Brassneck]

Kay

Great list and quite a lot of resonance with me although I do quite pretty well now.

Basically I think if you are honest and straightforward you will reap the rewards in the end by developing a business that has some substance. For example, sell a lot of domain names, including names we acquire through drop catching. Many times I have acquired domains for which I am contacted by former owners who had previously lost their domains through dodgy practices by web developers. I always end up giving up the domain to the former owner at cost - just don't have the heart to make money at other's misfortunate. The brilliant thing is that by doing this I have ended up with several contracts to build websites, broker domain sales to their business contacts, find places to exchange links etc.

A lot of people have personally devoted a lot of time to helping me out in the past, including one or two on this forum who I know from elsewhere. Those people seem to be successful so it seems you can be nice / ethical and succeed.

Stephen.

[Saul]

1. I don't do sales.
Yeah, I know that you have to sell to make money, but I can't seem to bring myself to thrust products or services at people. Maybe they can't really afford them. And if they really want or need something, then they'll buy it anyway without me ramming it down their throats.

I think that says it all. If you don't sell, you can't make money. The remaining points are the tricks snake oil salesmen use when they have nothing of value to offer to the market. The key is not to use every trick in the bag to cheat people but to... drum-roll... offer value. That's a LOT of work that most people aren't willing to do and they cut corners, but hard work is paramount in creating value.

If you feel like you're ramming something down people's throats then you're not offering value and that's in a nutshell the entire reason/problem

[Kay]

If you don't sell, you can't make money.

Oh, that's news to me. Any "how to make money on the Internet" product I've ever seen has emphasised the fact that I wouldn't have to sell. They've recommended going for targeted traffic which is already pre-sold to whatever it is I'm trying to flog.

The only exception to that was James Schramko who quoted some Business101-speak at me about why I had to learn to do sales.

[Clinton]

I think that says it all. If you don't sell, you can't make money.

Tell that to the professional poker players, the successful forex traders (options betting), even Adsense publishers. Tell it to the virtual assistants, the army of workers on mechanical turk, the women who do live sex cams. Tell it to those making money from domain parking and cybersquatting. Tell it to ... well, you get the picture.