Insider Marketing Tips

Over the years I have heard many interesting, odd and even wacky ideas to make money from the people I have gotten to know around the Internet marketing community. What fascinates me the most about many of these ideas is that they don’t always have to be complicated. For instance, about 10 years ago, I had a friend who developed a membership website that told the stories of how certain individuals became successful. My friend was told this idea would never work by many of the so-called “online gurus” back then, but he had a steadfast belief in himself and he went ahead with his idea anyway. He ended up making a killing off of his membership site, and he recently sold it not too long ago for six figures.

I even had another friend who developed software around an idea that I actually came up with. Back in the early 2000s, I pulled together almost a dozen other marketers and created a system that referred subscribers to our lists. By using this idea, we were able to exponentially grow the size of all of our lists. My friend took this idea and, with my blessing, was able to create software around this method that made him quite wealthy. Unfortunately, I was too busy with other projects to invest in his spinoff idea. However, this just goes to show you that one idea can be turned into multiple profit streams.

The most important thing to keep in mind whenever you are trying to dream up these ideas, is not to over think everything. If you look at the wildly successful Twitter, it was really born from a simple idea: allowing people to communicate with quick blurbs of text, which famously became known as “tweets”. Even Facebook was not an original idea, as there had been many other social sites created around the same concept well before hand. However, Mark Zuckerberg put a spin on an already well used idea, and became a multimillionaire. So as you can clearly see, trying to brainstorm ideas on how to make money does not always have to be complicated or even an original idea.

Here is a great exercise that I often used to help me brainstorm some quick money making ideas: first I will look at a potential market that I feel has great potential, then I will start researching some of the products that are targeted towards this niche. Then I begin to jot down ways I can expand on a product idea that is already out there and how I can create a unique selling proposition around it. By doing this simple exercise, I have come up with countless profitable ideas I have used over the years. It is an extremely powerful method that really gets the wheels churning in your mind. Even if you don’t view yourself as a deep thinker, I guarantee you that you will be shocked at some of the ideas you dream up, once you start putting some real thought into it.

Finally, don’t let fear hold you back, or negativity. Try to have a positive attitude and most importantly of all, take action on just one of the ideas you think can be profitable, and don’t procrastinate and sell yourself short!

One of the biggest complaints I get from my readers is that there is a lack of any real legit work from home jobs. Working at home is nothing new, as this type of opportunity has been around for several decades. Whether it is data entry, stuffing envelopes, Avon, MLM opportunities etc., these types of legit work at home jobs have been around since I can remember. The only thing that has really changed with the emergence of the Internet, is the opportunities that are available.

Unfortunately, with these types of opportunities comes the potential for scam artists who are preying on desperate people. I am more then willing to admit that I got taken by one of these scam artist well over 15 years ago, when I first started looking into working from home. When I look back on how I got sucked into this opportunity, there were a number of red flags I chose to ignore. In the end, these people ended up taking me for over $2000, and my self-esteem was completely destroyed. Fortunately, I was able to pick myself back up and move on from what had happened and created a successful online business. Sadly, many people who get ripped off by these types of scumbags never recover.

Whenever you are looking at an opportunity, there are several things that you can do to try and gauge whether or not things are on the up and up, or determine if it is a potential scam designed to rip you out of your hard earned cash. Here are a few tips that have served me well over the years whenever I am trying to gauge the legitimacy of an opportunity:

Use The Power Of Forums To Your Advantage

I can almost guarantee you that any work from home opportunity you are considering has already been discussed on one of the major Internet marketing or MLM forums. You need to do your due diligence and see what people are saying about a particular program that you are interested in.

On most of these forums you will find that there is a great sense of community and all of the members are trying to look out for one another. If there is a scam that people have been taken by, you will most likely hear about it in these types of forums. If you do not see anything positive or negative about your program, simply create a new thread and ask people’s opinions.

How Long Has The Program Been Around

One of the most important things you should be looking for in any business opportunity is longevity. In general a program will not be around for long if it is a scam. However, this should not be the lone factor whenever you are trying to determine the legitimacy of an opportunity.

Are Any Popular Marketers Doing This Program?

One of the big things I like to look for in any program, is to see if it is being done by some other well-known marketers around the Internet. Usually, if the people I trust as honest marketers are doing a particular opportunity, this is generally a good sign that everything is on the up and up.

I have been marketing online for almost a dozen years now, and I can tell you with all certainty that trying to find legit work from home is not easy. These opportunities are designed to get you excited and you have to try and keep a level head when you’re considering any of these programs. Remember, if you sense any red flags about an opportunity, to go with your instincts and stay away!