Make Money Online - Honestly

I get a lot of newsletters and other emails on how to make money online. One recent newsletter suggested a technique for stealing the username of blog posters so that all of their posts were then linked to your website. That's just one of the dirty tricks being used by some internet marketers. I honestly can't imagine wanting to do business that way.

Another common trick is to tell people they can have a "free" gift and then making them hand over their email address and wade through a long sale's pitch just to discover that the free gift is a CD that costs $5.99 for "shipping and handling. I could create, package and ship these for less than $2, so there is plenty of profit potential in "giving away" such things. If the offer said up front that free meant $5.99 we could argue that "free" is a matter of definition, but this is an attempt to deceive, and the "incredibly valuable" information on the disc doesn't make it less so.

There are many internet marketers who recommend these techniques. They are the same ones who have sites that trap you when you visit, using intentionally confusing pop-ups that don't allow you to simply close the page when you want to leave. This is just good marketing they insist.

Honest Ways To Make Money Online

The good news is that there are many honest ways to make money online. In fact, I suspect that the more honest marketers are the ones that will be around ten years from now. Dishonesty may pay well at first in some cases, but it usually fails in the end.

When you are ready to start doing business online, think in terms of value. What can you offer of real value to customers or visitors to your website? This can be information, ebooks, software, dog toys or almost anything that people want. Start with that, and then look for a way to convincingly and honestly tell people why they might benefit from your product or the information on your site. That kind of selling and marketing is the kind that creates goodwill and long term customers.

There is nothing wrong with selling or marketing. Ultimately they mean getting things people need and want into their hands. A man who needs information on how to train his dog or fix and sell a house, for example, needs a marketer that can put that information into a book and put on a website to sell it to him. That's a real service and provides real value.

There is nothing wrong with introducing people to products that you make a commission on. For example, if you have a website or blog full of good tips on how to buy a home, and you recommend a mortgage company that gets me a loan that I need, I don't mind if you get a $50 commission. Most people feel the same way. Be honest and people are happy to see you make a profit from your efforts. Making money is an ethical and truly good activity. If it isn't you are doing something wrong.

Now, there will be times when you are not sure about the products you represent on your site. If you don't like the business practices of a company you are affiliated with, drop it and find another. Or if you really want more control sell only your own products. One good ebook selling a dozen copies daily at $17 can net you over $5,000 per month. That's just one of the many honest ways to make money online.