I basically wrote this back when I first started internet marketing and trying to make money online. I’ve edited it a few times since, but it has remained consistent, and I’ve stuck to it. When I started out I had no money to invest, I didn’t even have enough money to think about investing into anything, and no prospects of getting any money either, due to some circumstances. And some things just didn’t feel right either. So here are the things I’ve stayed away from completely in my “Make Money Online” quests.
PTR (Paid To Read) – Paid to read sites work pretty much the same as PTC sites but the ads are sent to you in an email rather than listed on the program’s website. The email you are sent usually contains a brief summary of the site and an ad link to click. You are then credited for viewing this just like with PTC programs.
I don’t like the concept of having an e-mail address which is flooded with spam. Spam that I have to read in order to earn. Besides, I know that I won’t convert for any of those people using this advertising method, so I don’t want to take their money for nothing. But mostly I don’t want to torture myself with going through tons of spam mail on an email address from hell.
Binary Options (Forex Trading) – You have to invest – risk – in order to maybe earn. If I want to gamble, I can gamble offline. While this method can be very successful, I prefer not to invest in things where statistically I have high chances of losing my money.
MLM (Multi-Level Marketing) – This is a marketing strategy in which the sales force is compensated not only for sales they personally generate, but also for the sales of the other salespeople that they recruit. This recruited sales force is referred to as the participant’s “downline”, and can provide multiple levels of compensation. Other terms used for MLM include pyramid selling, network marketing, and referral marketing.
High-yield investment programs (HYIP) – These are a type of Ponzi scheme, an investment scam that promises unsustainably high return on investment by paying previous investors with the money invested by new investors.
If you’re gonna go into business of making money online, please be pragmatic. You’re probably not going to be the next Mark Zuckerburger and Amazon guy and Elon Musk. Just get in there and do some business. Start selling something, start providing a service. Create a website, put products or services for sale, and promote your website. You’ll get traffic, people may buy what you’re selling.
If you’re good enough, the marketplace will reward you.