Plenty of people are making eBooks, videos, selling “systems” and offering eCourses about making money online. You see insane claims like “earn $1,000 a day while you sleep” and you think “if only I could make half of that!”
Many of these authors provide plenty of proof of their success, and they promise to package the system up in a pretty bow and sell it to you. Let me tell you why you won’t make money online.
5. Respect
Generally, people have a lack of respect for the difficulties in earning money online. Everyone starts out this way, myself included, but just a few hours of trying to learn basic SEO (search engine optimization) and you’ll be surprised that anyone has a website! In addition, the internet is far different than it was in 1996. Putting up a basic HTML website with blinking graphics on GeoCities (oh yes, I just reminded you of GeoCities) qualified you as a web developer.
That is no longer the case, yet I still meet people that claim to be web developers who only know basic HTML4. This shows a gross disrespect for what true web developers do, and will only serve to delude your understanding of how difficult this business really is. Making money online is difficult, cut-throat, and discouraging. If you can handle that for extended periods of time, then you might make it.
4. Poor Choices
Choices are abundant:
- Should you make a website?
- Should you sell on eBay?
- Should you start an Etsy store?
- Should you be an affiliate marketer?
These are just some of the decisions you will face. Some people water down the decision-making process of making money online to the point where they just plan on doing everything. This leads to laziness, and then eventually abandonment. Countless people will start a website with the hopes of making money while they sleep, but they are unwilling to throw down the $10/year it will cost for a website domain.
Few people will take a website seriously if it is hosted on a free service with a sub-domain. Sure, people will read entertaining gossip, but if you have real information to provide, and you want to make money, you need a real domain.
3. Gullibility
The desire to earn huge incomes online leads people to believe anything an internet marketer tells them. There are legitimate systems available, and there are some excellent gurus who provide great information, but you must research before you buy. If you don’t do the research you’ll get burnt over and over for large sums of money.
It should always be remembered that the internet marketer is selling because they want to make money too. That doesn’t tell you that their product isn’t valid, or useful, but it should serve as a reminder that they have a motivation.
2. Vision
Vision plays a huge role in your success. Planning is important to any business, and the lack of a vision to plan for the future will undue your success before a glimpse of it can be seen. Working without a plan is like watering your seeds with kerosene. If you don’t set goals and plan for the future, then your venture will stagnate, you will lose interest, and you will abandon it.
1. Motivation
Motivation is the number one reason you, and many others won’t make money online. If you asked anyone if they want to make a full-time living online from the comfort of their home, they would be crazy to say no! Everybody wants to make money online, but just like everyone wants to lose weight or get in better shape, they just won’t do it.
There isn’t a giant banner on the internet saying “only certain people welcome” yet most people make little if anything online for income. This is because of motivation. It takes motivation to get into the gym, and it takes motivation to get online day after day and see a $0.00 balance in your Google Adsense account, and keep writing articles, or marketing products.
I made a promise to myself to not expect any earnings for my first year of online business, I stayed committed to that promise, and it worked out fantastically for me. I don’t reveal my numbers for a few reasons:
- Plenty of people already do this, so it won’t add anything.
- Contractual obligations can make this process a bit questionable at times.
- I’m proud of my numbers, but they won’t impress you like Crystal’s at Budgeting In The Fun Stuff or Mike at The Financial Blogger
- It deviates from my actual goals. I want this to be a personal finance website that focuses on you more than me.
If you can overcome or avoid these pitfalls, then you might just be cut out to make money online. If you push hard enough, long enough, then you might even be able to make a living.