SPINNING WHEELS ON THE INTERNET

Every day I do a certain number of tasks in order to be successful on the Internet. These tasks take at least 2-3 hours and sometimes longer. By the time I’m done it’s almost lunchtime. In addition I do a few tasks in the afternoon and all these tasks are turning into a ball-and-chain, dragging me down to a crawl on my trek along the Internet road to success. Here they are:

Twitter: I tweet early (something inspirational), answer direct messages and then try to increase my following.
Blogging: I post to my blog and then make sure to ping it.
Safelists- I surf a Safelist to earn credits to show my ad to other surfers.
Orange Leads: They allow you to send an ad globally and also to the main control panel. They also give you seven leads at a time that you can email. I’ve done this twice and each time three of those addresses were bad.
Squidoo: It’s kinda like blogging. I have two lens that I contribute to on a daily basis.
USFreeAds- I try to submit an ad there daily because Google is supposed to love them.
Blasts: Every afternoon I send an email blast to millions of Gmail subscribers (I think). I also use the credits I’ve built up to send an ad to Safelist subscribers as well.
Twitter: I tweet again (something entertaining or funny)
Blogging: I write my blog for the following day.
Slumming: It seems that I’m always checking out another opportunities.

Why? Because despite all the time I’ve devoted to these daily tasks, I haven’t earned a dime on the Internet this year and the year is coming to a close real fast. In addition, these tasks are distracting me from giving Google Sniper my full attention. It begs the question: If doing these things isn’t making you any money, then why do them? Well, I haven’t been doing them that long and I have enjoyed writing for my blog. Something has to start making me money soon or I may have to …Get A Job!

The Coolest Check On The Internet

The other day I was scanning some Safelist ads to gain credits when I ran across a great way to capture leads in the future. The ad was for Global Domains International (I have to give them credit) and the first page showed a paycheck. On the check there were two open fields that need to be filled in, one for a first name and the other for a last name. To move on to the next page you had to fill in the blanks and the payout figure was something like “Unlimited”. Then you are taken for a ride in a Ferrari! The destination: Corporate headquarters for a little conference session. This was all so cool. It kind of fulfilled the old saying, “Writing your own check.”

I couldn’t help thinking about that check though. Obviously it was a great hook to get people to sign in and move forward. However, I thought they missed a great opportunity to capture more information in order to try and sell me or someone else again. They didn’t get an email address or even a zip code. Maybe they thought it would be too much to ask and it would have lost some people. The way I see it, once you have them get some way to contact them again and sell them until they buy or drop dead! The check concept is an interesting idea and I’m sure it could be tweaked to get some contact info while still keeping the visitor interested enough to continue. I sent GDI an email complimenting them on the ad, but they haven’t responded yet. If they do maybe they will tell me who did the ad for them and I can get an ad like that for my websites.

Paranormal Activity On The Internet

I wanted to mention the new movie “Paranormal Activity” for a couple of reasons. After getting it released to lots of theatres just before Halloween, it skyrocketed up to number one in the US. It was also filmed in San Diego in a community called Rancho Penasquitos. What most people don’t know is that it only cost $15,000 to make. That’s FIFTEEN THOUSAND, not $15 million. I’m sure by now the producers have recouped that $15,000 and have made a good profit.

The reason I mention this is because after I retire from making my millions from the Internet and real estate, I’d like to start my own production company. When I read that this movie had been made for less than most cars cost today, I was shocked. Until lately if you wanted to get seriously involved in producing a movie you had to have millions at your disposal. A few things have changed that. The groundbreaking movie “The Blair Witch Project” brought two new factors to the table:

1. They used the Internet to create a viral word-of-mouth buzz for the movie months before it opened &

2. They used a new technique of combining handheld video shots with regular film for a new realism.

Another new development has been the satellite feed of movies to theaters. Before one of the big costs involved with moviemaking was the duplication and actual distribution of the film to all the different theaters across the country. Now a movie can be broadcast to theaters instead saving millions of dollars. This means an aspiring filmmaker (like me) could produce a film on shoestring budget and then just convince a distributor to broadcast the film to see if it gets a good audience reaction. With a clever Internet campaign I could create a viral following and the rest is packing for that trip to Cannes.

Internet Wasteland: So Many Offers, So Little Truth

Sometimes I look at my trek along the Information Superhighway as a walk along a desert road. There's nothing out here except huge billboards screaming ads at me and I don't believe 99% of them. Here's a sampling of today's ads for the innocent newbie:

Unlimited $9,000 Payouts! No Recruiting Requirements! (Right!)
Never fail again with GDI (They don't know me very well)
Get an entire business for $5! ( Might be true, but can it make me $?)
You won't believe what's behind our door$$$ ( You're right, I won't)
Get 1 million guaranteed visitors! ( Yeah, but will they buy anything?)
Need Cash For Xmas? Get 50,000 people paying you by Dec. ( Sure!)
Can I pay you $39 by PayPal? (You can pay me more than that!)
$60K a month- Take A Tour ( A Magical Mystery Tour)
Now Everyone Can Make Money Online (Except you know who)

I've seen much more outrageous stuff than this. Perhaps some of it's even true, but I seriously doubt that I could duplicate whatever they did. Some even say you can make money the same day you buy their product. I'd be happy if I made money the same year! I guess the bottom line is if you want to try one of these business opportunities at least check to make sure it's not a scam. Definitely don't give them your credit card number unless there is a money back guarantee. That way if it doesn't work out the only thing you've wasted is your time.

Google Sniping on the Internet

This is a review for a money making system called Google Sniper. It's only been out for a few weeks and as of today still has the highest gravity rating on CB engine. The system costs $77 and the monthly membership is $37, but the first month is free. What is included is a 99 page manual that goes into detail how the creator, George Brown, developed his effective method for stealing free Google traffic and making a five figure income every month. In a nutshell what this 18-year-old (yes, that's correct) suggests is that anyone can set up a mini-site in a day that will draw $300 income every month WITH NO MAINTENANCE AND NO MARKETING! There are eight videos that are a companion to the manual and at times the reader is encouraged to go watch a video before moving on. Mr Brown does a good job of making some of the technical stuff less threatening as he takes you by the hand and shows you how he does things in the videos.

He doesn't sugar coat things either, stating that he doesn't have all the answers and that one needs to be patient and get better through experience. He mentions the "sandbox", Google's version of a "timeout", when your site is stuck with a low ranking only because it's new. And there's nothing you or George Brown can do about it. However, he states that this only happens occasionally and it's refreshing to know that Mr. Brown isn't selling us a rose without warning about the thorns.  He does say that it's possible to earn $10,000 a month using this system if you put in the effort. He earns much more than that and he claims to be lazy.

The exclusive members area doesn't look that impressive, but is jam packed full of information. You can access the entire course, manual and videos there, more training is available, case studies of successful sites, a Q & A section, affiliate information, and a direct link to the support desk. He even throws in a few freebies to sweeten the experience. It's apparently worth much more that the $77 asking price and I suppose other similar systems would go for $197 or even $997 and still sell well. The ultimate question is: Does it really work? Clickbank's gravity rating has had Google Sniper at the number one position for several weeks now so we know it's selling well for affilates. There are testimonials scattered through the sales pages that bolster comsumer confidence as well.

Consider for a moment what Mr. Brown is claiming anyone can do:
* Set up a mini-website in a few hours
* Not have to do any maintenance on it
* Not have to pay for any traffic
* Collect $300 a month on the average. You could make more
* Set up 34 sites in a few months and you could be making $10,000+ monthly

Hard to believe? Yes it is. With so many sites claiming instant riches for the newbie it's hard to know what's legit and what's a scam. However, George Brown does seem sincere in his effort to help people succeed, even though he suffers from a credibility shortage from being so young and new to the marketplace. The system does come with a 60-day money back guarantee and there's very little expense in order to get a site up and running after the inital purchase. In all, a very convincing effort by the young lad from the UK and definiitely worth checking out. He does have the support of a few Internet heavyweights like Brad Callen and Mike Filsiame so he must be doing something right. It will be interesting to see how long the buzz will continue for Google Sniper and how the product will do in the long run.

Am I Making Money On The Internet?

I checked my Clickbank account this morning and unfortunately the answer is no. I'm not being lazy, that's for sure. The last two weeks I've probably spent at least 40 hours each week online writing this blog, writing ads, writing articles, Tweeting, sending email blasts and more. Yet all I've ever seen in my Clickbank account is zeros. This isn't the best way to start out a new month, but I wanted the subject of this post, like this blog, to be about making money and reporting on actually doing that for a change. I've put in the time and I've done what the "Gurus" said. Sometimes I ask myself if I'm cursed and I just repell money instead of attracting it.

I finally joined Google Sniper this morning right after midnight, or was it 11:00PM? I don't know because I missed the memo on the time change. At any rate I will now be studying the materials and then start setting up mini-sites that should bring in $300 a month on the average. It taks 4-5 hours to set up one of these sites at first, but then after some experience you're supposed to do them in only 2-3 hours. My goal is to set up five sites this week and then 20 sites in the last three weeks of November for a total of 25 for the month. Add 25 more in December and that makes 50 x $300 =? We'll see.....