Willie Crawford's Marketing Insights

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August 23, 2005

Why So Many Get Ripped-Off Online!

Why So Many Get Ripped-Off Online
Copyright 2005 by Willie Crawford

Over the past nine years, I watched literally hundreds
of people getting ripped-off online. It IS a big
problem. As I watched I had two questions:

1) Why is it happening?

2) What can I do about it?

I answered the second question to my satisfaction
first. I just decided to share accurate information
with as many people as would listen. When I set out to
do that, I also got part of the answer to the first
question.

So many people get ripped off on-line because they want
to!

I know that's a bold statement but it's true. When you
choose to ignore obvious facts, then that's the only
logical conclusion that one can reach.

One of the FACTS that many choose to ignore is that,
at-least in a free-market economy, where there's an easy
way to make lots of money, everybody soon finds out
about it... and then the "excess profits" dry up. In
economic terms, "the market seeks equilibrium."

Enough other people enter that marketplace to FORCE
profits in that marketplace to where they would be if the
same resources were used elsewhere. The only time this
doesn't happen is when government regulation and other
sanctioned barriers-to-entry prevent this from happening.
An example of this is when a patent is granted, or steep
licensing restrictions are imposed in an industry.

Ok, enough economic jargon... anywhere money is very
easy to earn, lots of others soon find out, and things
balance out! So making money online isn't easier than
making money offline. It does often require less money
to start a business online :-)

Another fact that many choose to ignore is that others
have tried the exact same thing they're contemplating and
proven it's not a profitable idea. Yes, circumstances
change. However, when you have hundreds of people telling
you that they tried building a business in a certain way,
and that it wasn't profitable, it's usually foolish to
think that it will be different for you!

Ok, let's look at one of the biggest rip-offs I've observed
in the Internet marketing arena. That rip-off occurs when
a beginner comes online and looks for the easiest way to
get up-and-running. Noticing that all of the "successful"
people are making money teaching other how to do it, that
"newbie" decides this is the way that they'll to do it too.
Mistake number 1...

Don't choose to enter such a competitive niche. It's
like deciding you want to wrestle sharks - without any
protective equipment. The shark is destined to win - if
for no other reason than that he's in his own environment.

Looking at all of the "stuff" they probably need to learn,
these newbie then decides that the easiest road to a quick
fortune is to hire others to set everything up for them,
and then take over the reins. So they order a complete
plug-and-play website business package. They want
something with traffic already flowing, sales already
flowing... something where they can just take over the reins.

I personally haven't seen very many such packages. It
generally takes a while to get a web business to this
point. So if this is going to be the beginner's approach,
he should look at buying an ongoing, proven website where
the existing owner is ready to move on to something else.

Such packages do exist! They're not cheap. The web
business owner generally sells it for some multiple of
what the business is already generating each year.
They can provide all of the financial records to PROVE to
the buyer that they're buying a proven, viable business.

The rip-off packages I've personally observed a number
of people buy were "pretty webpages," selling 5-year-old,
rehashed products that thousands of other were GIVING
away. These people were led to believe that all they
needed to do was put up the webpages, plug in a payment
processor, and everything would be gravy.

Now don't get me wrong! Some of these packages do have
very good products, but there are others selling pure
JUNK. Usually a good warning sign is that the package
contains so many product titles that you never even
finish reading the list. This huge list of "valuable"
products simply overwhelms the newbie with dollar signs
in his eyes.

The "savvy newbie" recognizes that even if some of
these products were "winner," they couldn't make any sales
without traffic. This is where the rip-off artists often
commit the second "heinous crime." I've seen unsuspecting
newbies spend literally THOUSANDS of dollars on
guaranteed traffic to their new websites.

I've seen retirees squander a big portion of their retirement
savings on these deals! They often put themselves in a
situation where they "had" to make money, but were trying
to sell something that had no market!

"But you DO have to have traffic don't you Willie?" the
newbie would counter.

Yes, you have to have traffic, and there are proven ways
of getting it. It generally takes time AND money. It
also has to be targeted traffic which means traffic
generated in a way where the prospect is already somewhat
interested in what you have BEFORE they click on a link
- or see your site through some forced method.

I've seen people go through hundreds of thousand of
"visitors" and not make a single sale! They spent thousands
for this worthless traffic.

I've just described for you two of the numerous rip-offs
I've seen. I won't describe others because I don't want
to give you nightmares. I will say you'll avoid most
mistakes if you don't think you've discovered something
the rest of the world missed.

You discovered it because someone was shouting about it to
you.

Consequently, others who've been around a lot longer than you
probably also know about it. If most of those "old-timers" are
ignoring it, that should be your first warning sign.

So how do you avoid these rip-offs anyway? You use
common sense, and trust your intuition. You remember that
you can do very well online but it does take time,
effort, and money. If you have less of one of these
three resources, then by default you should expect to
invest more of the others to build a successful
business.

Another thing you must do is "due diligence." That
means take the time to thoroughly investigate whatever
you're considering. Use the search engines to see
what others are saying about it. Visit discussion boards
and see what people there are saying about it. Get to
actually know a few online people and bounce your ideas
off of them. Hire a coach or mentor and let them guide
you through unfamiliar territory.

In getting to know others, and bouncing ideas off of them,
I personally recommend two things:

1) Attend seminar and conferences where you actually
get to know people "eyeball-to-eyeball." We humans are
electromagnetic creatures, and so we can "sense" when
someone is genuine. A majority of our communications
is also through body language... something you can't
sense over the internet.

These seminars may seem expensive at first but you can
often find one for only a few hundred dollars. Compared
to what you learn at them, and the horror stories I've
described above, they are all a bargain.

For a comprehensive listing of seminars in a variety of
locationsb and on a variety of business building topics,
frequently visit my website at:
http://InternetMarketingSeminarSchedule.com

2) Look for local organizations, or mastermind
groups, that you can join. Too many Internet marketers
operate in a vacuum. They don't have, or seek, anyone
to bounce their ideas off of. Anyone who only listens
to himself will never benefit from the knowledge and
experiences of others - a big and unnecessary mistake.

Think about what we've just covered and I'll leave you
with one final point. When you look at building your
online business, market something that people are
already looking for and buying. Trying to convince
someone to buy something that they're convinced that
they DON'T want is a losing proposition.

You don't even have to get extravagant when looking
for products that people are anxiously searching for.
Ordinary things sell very well online. For example, I
do well with a cookbook! I also do well with greeting
cards. Not e-cards, but real cards that can be browsed,
compose, and ordered over the internet - then the company
physically prints and mails them for you. You can check
this out at: http://SendOutCards.com/willie

People buy everything from books and clothes, to
houses and airplanes, over the internet. Don't limit
your thinking. Just learn to trust your intuition and
you'll be ok.

Willie Crawford has taught PROVEN Internet marketing
techniques to thousands of successful Internet entrepreneurs
since late-1996. Subscribe to his free weekly ezine, which
helps you cut through the clutter and time-wasting hype.
Subscribe now by visiting: http://WillieCrawford.com

Posted by Willie Crawford at August 23, 2005 02:40 PM

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Posted by: Tony Marino at September 18, 2005 03:19 PM

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