Newbies Beware - Potential Dark Magic on the Loose

All Aboard!! Hogwarts Express leaving from your PC! Well that was kind of how it felt when I discovered the magical land of the internet - that 'other' world that lives in the ephemera. We all agree it, the net, is there and so it is; in some circles that is called a delusion :-) We agree it's there though we cannot touch it, we only see a representation of it on our PC and many times the people we think are behind the sites are not... and yet still we persist/trust/believe. What's more 'it' promises us nirvana; all the riches and enlightenment we can click for plus guidance to great health, bodies, food, relationships and everything in between. Is it any wonder I felt (feel?) like a kid in a lollie store? But wait! there is more to the quest of earning cash online, just like at Hogwarts things on the net are not always as they seem.

We first started exploring the world on working online because it was too hard to find paying work in Bolivia and much of the online opportunities (ie traditional online jobs) are not available here. We had to find something to generate some income because we have with three kids under ten. After searching unsuccessfully for a period of time, I was brought up old school - it's there... we just need to look harder, we decided to explore online business options. As you might expect we found the whole box and dice. To continue the Harry Potter analogy we found everything from Harry right through the Voldemort. I will be delighted to share with you our experiences with the 'dark magic practitioners and their spells' in later articles. So after months of debate we finally bought a safe product because EVERYTHING comes with a guarantee right? Hmmn now there's another story. I still feel insecure ordering products over the net; it's the whole smoke and mirrors thang. It is like being in a magical world where images appear and disappear, expertly distorted with a continual blast of fantastic claims which often turn out to be just that. And remember we are overseas volunteers with no income which is why we were being so careful.

So we held our breath and ordered our first product. We emailed the company first and asked all about the package, the guarantee, we searched online forums etc. Now there's the other thing, blogs used to be a trusted source of information. Now a hefty percentage are nothing more than affiliate marketers 'pre-selling'. In short? lies. In fact we came across numerous 'get rich' programs that advise fledgling marketers to do just that - sign up as an affiliate and then lie by writing glowing testimonials. Incidentally we emailed one such affiliate guru and asked him about the ethics of his 'fail safe money making affiliate training program' - funnily enough he never replied.

I was raised at a time when your word meant everything. It is fine for internet marketers to sell - that is the job. Sure talk up a product... but blatant lying is something else. Caveat emptor takes on a whole new meaning on the net. And many of the so called watch dog bodies are a fury as well. Sure - sell - but don't lie - I am apaulled at lying in general and lying with intent on the net is worse when so many people are searching for help and they get lies. My current theory is we are so accustomed to the net being about information and now the lines are being blurred through the contemporary approach to internet marketing/selling - it's like an electronic turkey shoot. But I digress...

We started out with an all round product that teaches a variety of ways to make money online - from traditional jobs through to web design and affiliate marketing. Before leaving Australia my partner, a techie, insisted we develop a blog site. He talked me round by saying a blog was a good way for friends and family to stay in touch with our travels; I reluctantly agreed. Here's other other thing - I can't imagine why other people, complete strangers want to read my/our opinion in the form of blogs. However, I have been proven wrong - maybe it's the voyer in all of us. Therefore, we had a fledgling site and so a starting place for some of the strategies in the newly purchased package. I am honestly not sorry we bought that first package because it oriented us to employment/money making possibilities on the net. And the company stresses the need to be ethical in all dealings - something that resonated with us. Honestly we have not made any money using that product because we have used it as an orientation/information package. On a personal note, there was no time to do the work required because at that time the kids were not at school, we were attending Spanish classes, volunteering etc - it was a very intense period. But the package did help us build our fledgling website and to my complete shock/disbelief - that famous line "if you build it they will come" is true! I am still flabbergasted. Maybe folks are interested in why we chose to live and work as volunteers in a developing country with three kinds under ten - maybe there's an SP book maker making a fortune out of us somewhere...

Anyway spurred on by the success of our initial purchase we, perhaps naively, made a series of other purchases, not all as good as the first but we were learning. And after months of searching, talking, reading and purchasing lemons, we finally decided to enter the foray of internet marketing - I know, I know... my fingers tremble even as I type those words. But we are both highly ethical people AND we are both 'over' working for and in organisations that profess one thing and do another. For example, I worked in Government Policy and social services for years - talk about bashing your head up against a brick wall! Besides, we have both found this time as volunteers really rewarding; we have more time with our kids; we see our efforts make a real (however small) contribution and our kids are able to interact with the world in a way they never could have in Sydney. So we have decided that internet marketing will support this way of life; it will enable us to make a real contribution. And no nothing altruistic about it; we are getting as much as we give. That said we are wholly self funded so we need an income. Anyway we have decided that internet marketing is the 'lesser of two evils' and so we are going for it. And we are determined to develop an approach/brand that is about honesty and transparency; all products tested by us and we will provide customer support to the extent we can with two people part time.

Because we are not the kind of people to do things by halves we have, I am almost embarrassed to say, signed up under a 'guru/mentor' who is internationally renowned and enormously successful. We have decided to use the bits of his advice that sits comfortably with us and ditch the rest. We are also thinking about how programs like his may be offered in perhaps community settings - community colleges, community centres etc. As you may have guessed our ethos is to 'pass it forward'. This kind of program would be a great way to help people help themselves. Those who can afford to purchase these kinds of programs already have some resources at their disposal. What about those that don't? Who knows, Maybe the internet could be magic after all?

Anyway the point of this article is to warn newbies to be careful before selecting any new, super guaranteed, sure-fire, fast, latest developed, secret weapon program. We have, and many are just smoke and mirrors. And as I said, many blog and forum posts are not trustworthy; watch out for the death eaters. Before purchasing a product contact the website and request real information about the product and use the results of your communication as a guide. You are, in theory a potentially valuable customer/word of mouth marketer/blogger for that company. Make sure you are treated like that before you buy. In later articles I will chronicle the products which from our experience constitute the good, the bad and the ugly of internet marketing. I hope you find them useful or at least a good read.

Good luck in your own quest :-)

Antonietta is a mother of three kids under ten, a homeopath, volunteer and free lance writer currently living and working in Bolivia with her partner and family. To keep up with family adventures see http://www.bythebay.com.au/blog or for information on a great internet marketing opportunity visit http://work-online-money.com