With more and more of us using computers across an even broader age range, it’s obvious to consider ways for our new piece of technology to earn its keep. Whether it’s a popular online auction site or any number of sites promising quick riches, it’s easy to see why making money online has such appeal:

• it can be quite anonymous – you can set up relatively cheaply and promote other people’s products (you don’t even have to produce your own products or hold stock)
• there are no age restrictions – so the internet has massive appeal to those in-between jobs, those with a family or people looking to supplement their income, to name but a few
• there are no 9-5 restrictions, so you can work the hours to suit your lifestyle and commitments
• with the right tools, you can even turn your hobby into a lucrative online business
• the internet truly has a global audience, although not everyone will want what you have to offer
• Internet marketing is a process, so it can be learned at your pace in your spare time
• the Internet is not gender specific – in fact women have a better eye for relationships which is key to any sort of relationship marketing, and essential online
• there’s a lot of free information available, meaning anyone who takes the time, can learn anything they need to succeed.

I’m sure you can think of many more.

What does Google think?

I just typed ‘make money online’ into Google and it returned 2,430,000,000 results!

That’s a helluva lot of interest and competition there. But this in itself creates an even bigger problem. With those numbers, where do you start?

Good question.

It’s at this point most folks start looking for short cuts. This is where the get-rich-quick crowd enter because there are so many people looking for solutions. And we expect instant gratification – of course! But this can be dangerous because those looking to make money online rarely have any internet marketing experience.

And the professionally written sales letters are ready and willing to help with this dilemma with their ‘cut and paste’ solutions and ‘overnight formulas’ promising quick riches.

Any business takes time to put together and the internet is no exception. Many of the top earners online these days have been honing their skills for over a decade. It’s unlikely then that folks with practically zero experience are going to make a killing overnight! Presumably you want to build an online business not a one time payment? So why then do we fall for the promises of overnight riches knowing we have to do some work?

The only people who provide turnkey businesses usually charge fortunes for it; they’re called franchises (think McDonald’s).

You wouldn’t buy a car without a test drive

Like any medium of exchange, an exchange of value has to take place. In the case of the get rich quick product, you exchange your money for something of value supposedly, right? But in most cases, the seller doesn’t tell you anything about what you’re buying! You pay your money upfront BEFORE you receive their secret ‘rags to riches’ formula!

Why do we keep falling for this type of enterprise?

I suspect it’s because, with our limited experience of internet marketing and online business, we think the hard work has already been done for us. We just plug in their secret formula and the money will roll into our bank accounts. If you think that’s true, I have some real estate to sell you!

This ‘thinking all the hard work has been done for you’ kind of attitude leads to a kind of not taking this ‘make money online’ thing seriously. And for the newbie, making money online is seldom regarded as a business.

Sound silly? It’s not.

Why having no business experience matters

Many people who embark on the trail of internet success for the first time, rarely have any real business experience. Any successful business person will quickly tell you that success depends on systems. Think Franchises like our McDonald’s example again – the same systems that work wherever. The sole trader who does the work himself rarely has the know-how to look beyond their own way of doing things. Think of your business as a system of ways of doing things then scale the systems. This is important.

To make matters worse, the internet takes a lot of commitment to succeed, especially if you’re planning to do-it-alone. You can just quietly walk away if things don’t work out, especially as there’s no-one watching.

Don’t mistake movement for achievement

It’s easy to get faked out by being busy. The question is: busy doing what? If you’ve succumbed to some of the ‘make money products’ you’re likely to discover that most don’t deliver the riches they promise. The next question is how long are you going to keep trying this approach before taking the time to build a proper business people can trust?

Indeed, this might be a good time to ask yourself why you want to make money online in the first place. You do want to create an income don’t you? Only you can decide.

If you’ve read this far, it’s likely you’re already doing the work, so why not start doing it the correct way? Turn your hobby, passion or skill into a viable online business. What you probably don’t realise is that almost any topic can earn money with a website (the get-rich-quick sites don’t tell you that do they?)