Year: 2013

Will TwoDollarClick.com Really Pay You $2 Per Click? Not a Chance.

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If I said to you that I will pay you $2 bucks to click a link, would you do it?

What if I said that you can keep clicking links and I will keep paying you $2 every time?

That’s sounds pretty awesome doesn’t it? Well, TwoDollarClick.com promises you pretty much that, easy money for anyone.

Joining the site is free, and relatively easy to do so. After logging in you are faced with a variety of menus and so the first thing to do is click some links!

Clicking a link will open up a new window where you need to mindlessly stare at the advert for 30 seconds, and then click a number.

My first roadblock came with clicking the number, it said I had clicked the wrong one, but I have no clue which I needed to click. It refreshed, another 30 seconds of my life gone, and I clicked another number. This time an error, accusing me of viewing more than one advert at a time (well there goes that plan!).

Really not off to a good start here.

Next time around it gave me the number I needed to click and I was able to successfully complete it, phew! Heading back to my account page I could see that $2 bucks is now in my account, awesome.

Feeling a little greedy and wondering what I could buy for those two dollars I decided to cash them out.

Oh, wait. I need $1000 in the account before I can cash out! That’s like, 500 clicks! Ok, no pressure.

How it works

Two Dollar Click generates money from advertisers by guaranteeing views and clicks. Then it pays you to click the advertiser’s links. This works well for Two Dollar Clicks as they get money from the advertisers (I believe it is $5+ per click) and only pay out $2 per click. I’m not sure the advertisers get a good deal on this though, as there is less than targeted traffic, but that’s another story.

The Anti Cheating System

The site boasts it has an anti cheating system, but I found nowhere that explained the dos’s and don’ts which is a little worrying, as I can imagine a situation where you have $998 in your account and you make a mistake and wham! they invalidate your account.

The Hidden MLM?

Though I couldn’t get much information on this, one of my pet hates seemed to raise its ugly head, in the form of a potential Multi Level Marketing scheme. In short, you can get referrals (other people) to join using your special link and you get a cut of each click. There is no clarification as to whether or not this is deducted from the persons clicks or if they still receive the $2 dollars.

The site also allows you to purchase referrals (weird) and to upgrade your membership to receive better paid adverts and increased commissions from your referrals. The upgrade also costs a fair sum at $19.95 or $39.95 per month, and unlike the payouts which take 60 days to arrive after requesting it, these fees are taken out of your bank account on time, every time each month.

Is TwoDollarClick.com a Scam?

The most concerning thing about Two Dollar Click is what I have heard on the grapevine. As the payouts only occur at the $1000 mark, it seems there is a tendency to reduce or even stop access to new adverts when an account is getting close to the 1000 threshold.

Their “payment proof” isn’t very heartening either as it’s just a list of usernames (real or fake, who knows) with some data. It simply doesn’t look genuine.

Not only that, but there are numerous complaints about those who reached the threshold still not being paid out.

The Bottom Line

Two Dollar Click looks pretty good until you start getting close to the payout threshold, and at that point the realization comes that this is in fact a scam!

The very lack of detailed information, the fact that it is know that adverts dry up and the subtle MLM system in place makes me advise you that this is most likely a scam and to avoid at all costs!

Sites like these are never going to pay out. No advertiser is going to pay $5 per click for untargeted traffic. It’s just an absolute awful business strategy. The people behind this site (any many other similar sites) are only interested in using you for quick ad revenue. You will never see a dime from them.

If it’s too good to be true…

How Does Two Dollar Click Compare?

I’ve Tried That has been reviewing ways to make money from home since 2007. In that time, there’s one program that stands above the rest. It’s free to get started, has no ridiculous hidden charges, and will help you build a sustainable income from home.

Let’s see how Two Dollar Click compares…

Breaking Freelance Rule #4: You Gotta Be An Expert

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Back when I was hired to do technical support for a major biotech firm here in town, I was really worried about being exposed as a fraud. Sure, I knew a thing or two about science, but to knowledgeably discuss and (gulp!) troubleshoot through nearly 2,000 biological products, assays and even instruments? C’mon! You had to be an expert to do that.

And yet, just a few weeks later, I was doing exactly that. And just a few months later, I was even getting bored because the questions weren’t challenging enough. That’s not to say that certain customers didn’t stump me- but the work became easier and more predictable even after a month of time. I stayed in that company for over five years until I went full-time with my freelance writing career.

So, what did I learn from my time as technical support scientist that can apply to any freelancer who does not consider himself/herself a “subject matter expert”?

Stop thinking of yourself as not an expert.

Unless you’ve been living under the rock, you already have expertise in a wide range of topics. Do you think you know nothing about retail business? If you’ve worked as a cashier at Walmart, you’ve had some exposure to business topics like inventory control, branding, sales cycles, etc.

If you’ve worked part-time as a line cook at McDonald’s or as a waitress at Applebee’s, you probably know a thing or two about the restaurant business. I myself started becoming very knowledgeable about work-at-home job opportunities and making an online income because I was always hustling to make some side cash while in grad school.

If you keep your eyes peeled and ears open, you will hear all kinds of expert topics discussed by your bosses, colleagues and customers. All you need to do is look, listen and learn. For example, here’s how I became an expert in crowdfunding.

Master the Pareto Principle

Known also as the 80-20 rule, the Pareto Principle proposes that 80% of the outcomes are the result of only 20% of all possible causes. Thus, if you can pinpoint and learn about that vital 20% of expert information, you will be able to resolve 80% of the questions, issues, etc. that you encounter as a bonified “expert.”

I saw this occur during my own tenure in biotech technical support; although my company sold numerous products, most of my calls were on 20% of them. As a result, I became very proficient on those 20% of products.

Know just a little bit more…

I currently do a lot of SEO (search engine optimization) and SEM (search engine marketing) work with several of my clients. Between keeping track of the Google zoo (e.g. Penguin, Panda) and figuring out how to tighten my ad groups, there’s a lot to absorb. I still don’t know everything about the e-commerce world- and I doubt I ever will.

However, as I’ve learned, I don’t need to know it all; I just need to be one step ahead of my clients. Thus, when I pick up on the latest news about corporate blogging, I’ll casually mention to my clients how blog posts need to “soft-sell” a company’s products. And you know what? Everyone thinks I’m a genius for making that suggestion, despite the many published articles on the topic.

If you’re about to teach a class on a given subject or just meet someone over lunch to talk about X, Y and Z, don’t sweat it that you don’t know everything. Just read up on the latest news surrounding that topic and carefully incorporate the newest and snazziest buzzwords that the “real experts” are using. Adopt a “niche-within-your-niche” that you can learn about and know quite well; this narrowed expertise can help you if you are suddenly called upon to provide an example.

Control your exposure

I noticed long ago how many subject matter experts rarely teach “live” classes where students can just ask any question and obtain an immediate response. Many courses, especially those offered online, are prerecorded, and the submitted questions have often been hand-picked (and answered) ahead of time. It’s not that these experts are faking it; however, crafting careful and insightful responses to questions on a range of topics is a challenge. And it’s a challenge that’s far better addressed if the expert has had some time to think of and look up additional resources.

If you are concerned about being asked a question that you don’t know the answer to, consider providing your audience with written and/or recorded information ahead of time. Have your audience submit its questions to you so you have the time needed to formulate a good answer. Once you’re more confident and know what kind of questions to expect given the Pareto Principle, going “live” won’t be as intimidating for you as before.

Craft your message

Most of us are experts at something if we examine ourselves carefully enough. And typically, our expertise is in a very defined subject matter. As such, if you are going to tout yourself as an expert in warm water fly fishing in ponds and lakes, don’t start talking about salmon. In fact, don’t even answer questions about salmon because that’s not your niche. Knowing what you don’t know is just as important as talking about what you do know.

If you know just one area of a really large topic, establish your expertise in that niche and take advantage of it. That’s what your clients will be looking for anyway. Also, by establishing yourself in a very defined area, you won’t have to worry too much about competition. Your clients, though small in number, will know whom to reach out to for additional work, information and products.

The Bottom Line

As a freelancer, every new project or client you take on puts you in a “non-expert” position, forcing you to learn and grow. I was trained to be a scientist, not a writer. I have no journalism degree, yet somehow I’ve become a newspaper reporter. I didn’t even know what SEO stood for back when I started talking about it.

Face it: if you wanted to be comfortable and do only what you’re good at, you would’ve stayed at your old (employed) job. In the process of becoming an expert, you must dive into the discomfort of not knowing. To grow (as an expert, a person, or just about anything else) is to be uncomfortable. And when you’re too comfortable, you’ve stopped growing.

Easy Cash Code Does Not Equal Money²

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Easy Cash Code is another one of those systems that promise you the earth with their slick video and marketing, but in essence it is yet another cash maker for the owners and a waste of money for the buyers.

Undeniable Garbage at EasyCashCode.com

The promotional video starts with plenty of genuine looking testimonials, all spouting their love for the system and how they rake in thousands per day.

Antonio, the promoter of on the video, states he will provide undeniable proof that the system works. No proof is supplied of course; just the usual generic earnings reports that could be from anyone, anywhere, that could be selling something completely different. Just as likely it will be the system maker’s profits from the last rip off product they sold.

However, the testimonials are fake; it clearly says so at the bottom that they are actors. That just proves to me to be wary of this product.

I love that the video says it will be removed soon, a generic emotional fear tactic to heighten your anxiety. It’s been up at least 6 months and won’t ever get pulled down unless there are enough complaints about it.

This is perhaps a sideways way of looking at things, but I always think to myself, if they can afford an expensive mansion and an expensive super-fast car, why can’t they afford decent video production that will stop the wind blowing into the microphone? My answer is that it is probably because the house and car are rented. Fake it till you make it guys!

From Broke to Millionaire in Days

The blatant lies and half-truths keep coming with this system sales pitch.  The fake French lady who Antonio helped out of the gutter, who went from “broke to millionaire in days” is just appalling in how blatant a lie it is.

The “evidence” that the guy pushes in your face, “cannot be faked” according to him, but it looks very easily faked to me.

What’s the Cost?

The Easy Cash Code system, no matter the repeated usage of the word free, costs $49 bucks.

I’ll let you in on a little secret about how can find out a lot about a system and whether it is likely to be one that could be genuine and worthwhile or one that is there to try and suck money out of you.

At the bottom of a page if there is a link that says affiliate, click it and have a read.

Affiliate systems are great, you can genuinely make money from them, I do. However, when you get push button money making systems like this, the affiliate scheme often shows the truth behind them.

This is from Easy Cash Code’s affiliate page.

How Easy Cash Code will take your money

What do you make of that? Does it make sense? Just in case let me explain. This system is designed to squeeze as much money out of you as possible, between $396.00 and $686.00 in fact. Once you have made that initial purchase it will try to upsell more products to you which as you can see are a lot more expensive than the initial product.

Often products like these are not event necessary, pretty much like the initial product…

The makers of these systems, offer a high affiliate commission, 60% here, because to them its free money, so it doesn’t matter that they give 60% away, so long as they get visitors who equal potential buyers.

It is that information alone which make me very wary of the Easy Cash Code system.

What’s Included?

Well apart from the big upsells, the actual system is a few guides on how to set up a WordPress website and install the plugin software that you get from Easy Cash Code.

The plugin isn’t too bad but it doesn’t deserve the hype of the sales pitch, it is just a plugin to create squeeze pages, which are sales letters on the internet designed to do a sole act (get someone’s email address, credit card details, etc). The thing is with squeeze pages is that you really need to know how to word them and what to actually do with them. A squeeze page alone will not rake in money, there has to be something behind it, whether it be a product or to build a list to promote products to.

The training isn’t so much training as 3 pdf files from other systems, which have been around for some time. Yes you could learn some stuff from them, but there will be upsells and recommendations to buy other products.

The 6 week coaching is 6 webinars, now recorded which go through the basics and upsell some more.

The Bottom Line: Is Easy Cash Code a Scam?

Is Easy Cash Code a scam? No, I cannot say it is a scam, it does offer something in return for your money. There have even been reports that money has been made with the system, though nowhere near the hyped up figures in the sales video, at most a few hundred a week.

I would advise you to be careful with this though, ideally avoid it if you can as it is certainly a borderline scam.

As a product it seems to be put together haphazardly, with poor quality and very basic information that can be found pretty much anywhere online for free.

If you do decide to put your cash on the line, make sure you don’t end up following the “funnel” or in other words being suckered into buying the additional products.

How Does Easy Cash Code Compare?

I’ve Tried That has been reviewing products since 2007. In that time, there’s one program that stands above the rest. It’s free to get started, has no ridiculous hidden charges, and will help you build a sustainable income from home.

Click here to see our top recommendation.

Interview with Carol Tice: How to Make an Online Income as a Writer

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My inglorious beginning as a low-paid content mill writer

When I first started writing online, I was ecstatic when one of my clients paid me 5 cents/word to generate e-commerce content that kept me up until 2 or 3 o’clock in the morning. I’d turn in my 1,000 word article and beam at the $50 I’d made for literally 2 straight days of work. Then, I’d “punch in” a few hours at Associated Content (now Yahoo! Content Network) and eek out another $20 for expert content that would take me 3-4 hours to write.

Back then, I had no idea that my e-commerce content would’ve easily fetched 10 times the amount I was earning had I started marketing my expertise and querying companies. I didn’t even know what the words “content mill” meant, although I was writing for at least three of them on a weekly basis. Over the years, this ignorance cost me an untold number of dollars. Even worse, the hours upon hours I spent generating low-paid content prevented me from learning how to find better paying “real world” clients, networking, or simply enjoying myself with my friends.

My Introduction to Make A Living Writing

Luckily, while surfing the Web one day I came across a freelance writing blog called Make A Living Writing. The blog’s owner, Carol Tice, stated in many of her posts how writers get sucked into low paying or otherwise disadvantageous work situations with their clients. Perhaps what struck me the most about why writers need to stop writing for low paying clients was Carol’s following statement:

“If that’s all I’m going to make, I’d rather go out on the lawn and play Frisbee with my kids.”

Time is an asset and, unlike money, you can’t make more of it. Thus, at least in my mind, time is more valuable than money. And if a writer is going to spend his time writing for someone else, that someone else should pay a living wage.

Because time is not replaceable, it’s imperative that aspiring writers do what they can now to obtain the training and resources needed to succeed in this business. Sure, if a writer stays in the business for 10 years, eventually she’ll figure out that content mill writing is a dead end. Or that negotiating for better rates is not only normal, it’s expected. Or that a query letter should include a call-to-action. But is it wise waiting those 10 years and losing out on high paying clients, notoriety and career advancement?

To help writers achieve their writing ambitions and grow their income quickly, Carol Tice started The Freelance Writers Den. In this den, writers can take e-courses like Break Into Business Writing and How to be a Well Paid Blogger. They can post questions on the den’s forum and have them answered by a team of established freelance writers, including Carol Tice herself. They can scour writing gigs on the den’s junk-free job board. They can also participate in weekly live trainings that feature bloggers, journalists, book authors, copywriters, etc.

My interview with Carol Tice, owner of Make A Living Writing

Recently, I interviewed Carol Tice about what writers can do to make more money writing. Carol explained how she got her own start in writing and how much she made as a full-time freelance writer (spoiler alert: it’s a six figure amount). For I’ve Tried That readers, Carol and I discussed the following topics that are critical in the success or failure of any would-be writer who wishes to make an actual living from his writing:

  • Why content mills don’t pay well- and why they never will.
  • Why content mills don’t lead to better paying work.
  • Four places where you can easily gain clips to show to editors, bloggers, publishers, etc.
  • How you can use your own blog to win clients.
  • Which industries/topics pay writers well- and which ones don’t.

Carol also talked about some of the major psychological stumbling blocks of many writers- and how to get over these hurdles:

  • Not being “good enough”
  • Not being an “expert”
  • Query letter rejection

Carol’s interview is posted below as a video file that she was kind enough to generate for me during our recorded Skype call. Carol’s voice comes through crisp and clear; my own voice, unfortunately, is too loud for the call. I apologize for that technical boo-boo. Fortunately, I edited most of my yelling out of the file, so you’ll hear Carol the majority of the time.

For those of you who would prefer reading the interview, I’ve posted the transcript of my interview with Carol Tice here.

A critical question that many I’ve Tried That readers might have is, can I be a freelance writer and work from home? Absolutely. In her interview, Carol Tice mentions how she currently has no in-town clients and does all her work online with the help of her phone, email and Skype. So yes, it is possible.

If any of you would like to learn more about The Freelance Writers Den or even sign up for it, you can go to it directly by clicking here. Please note that, at this time, you will need to get on a waiting list in order to eventually join the den. Den openings occur roughly every few weeks.

Vemma: A Healthy Scam?

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We all want to be healthy, to eat right, to exercise plenty and to feel good in our own skin. Sometimes though, it is hard work to stay fit and healthy, and having supplements can help us out.

Enter Vemma. They sell a vitamin & mineral supplement drink.

I bet you are thinking, “OK Dean, why are you talking about health drinks?” The reason is because Vemma is also an MLM company, and while I will state right now that it is not a scam or illegal, please read on to find out why you should think carefully about signing up or even avoid this one at all costs.

Vemma the MLM

Just a refresher for those that don’t know, MLM stands for Multi Level Marketing but is also known as Network Marketing.

The basic premise is that you sell the products and recruit other people underneath you to also sell the products of which you get a small commission.

The general rule of thumb with MLM systems though is it’s only the people at the top (the owners) that make any money or any real money.

You can sign up to Vemma and get a bunch of different products from them:

  • 4 bottles of Vemma® (32-oz bottles, 30-day supply for 2 people)
  • 1 V2 Fridge Brick (30 – 2-oz bottles)
  • 2 bottles of Vemma NEXT® (32-oz bottles)
  • 24 cans of Verve® Energy Drink (8.3-oz cans)
  • 12 cans of Verve Zero Sugar Energy Drink (8.3-oz cans)
  • 12 cans of Verve Bold Energy Drink (8.3-oz cans)
  • 1 bag of Bod•ē Shake Vanilla Ice Cream flavor (16 meals/bag)
  • 1 bag of Bod•ē Shake Chocolate Ice Cream flavor (16 meals/bag)
  • 1 Vemma Success Kit

On top of that you will get a Business Builder Pack, which consists of:

  • A FREE marketing website which utilizes social media to help you tell your story like never before.
  • A FREE mobile app with innovative text videos and cutting-edge tracking to manage your business activity.
  • A FREE success kit with the necessary tools every new Brand Partner should have to help you jump-start your business.
  • A variety of Vemma products to share with others.
  • A proven system of training tools and field leadership support.
  • Full eligibility for the Rewards & Recognition Program, including a brand-new BMW paid for by Vemma.
  • Freedom and flexibility to be in control of your business, your time and your success.
  • A supportive upline and a corporate Home Office team of industry-experienced professionals dedicated to your success.
  • A lucrative income from products you never have to ship or exchange money for. No merchant accounts, shipping, processing, customer service or other tedious tasks.

The Downside

I listed everything you get because all of this costs a fortune! To get started with Vemma, the basic package (outlined above) costs $499.95 or $999.95 for a bigger pack.

48 drinks, 32 portions of icecream and a marketing kit for $500 bucks? WOW!

Not only that but after purchase you are set up automatically to pay $126 a month for 2 32oz bottles.

Edit: You can actually get started with Vemma without buying anything, but it is so hard to find this information I bet virtually no one does.

This is a lot of money to pay for out of pocket on a product that is expensive to sell, with no guarantee of selling it. Most of Vemma’s competing products can be bought at a supermarket for half the price, and there is no solid evidence that Vemma’s products will actually improve fitness or health.

The site makes bold claims that you can make a full time wage with a part time job by selling Vemma. In order to do that, you would need an awful lot of marketing and face-to-face sales, and some competency with online marketing.

The company does provide basic websites for those members who are buying into their products but realistically speaking these sites are cookie cutter sites, and you would be better off with your own.

The reality of Vemma, just like with any other MLM system, is that in order to make a profit and to regain money spent on purchasing the product (as you will have to give at least some of it away as testers) you need to sell a LOT and you need to recruit a LOT.

The company doesn’t pay you for selling though they do give you reward points for hiring new sellers. You have to make the money back by selling an already over priced product.

I would love to know how much Vemma earns from the distributors buying the product compared to how much the distributors earn.

Something tells me Vemma gets the better end of the deal.

The Bottom Line

Regular readers will know that I am not fond of MLM schemes, whether there is a product to sell like with Vemma or MLM’s evil brother the Pyramid scheme.

However, as mentioned at the start, Vemma is not a scam. It is a large, international company that’s uses an MLM system to sell products. If nothing else, you do get something for your cash even if it is an overpriced health drink.

Generally speaking, 97-99% of people who sell products under an MLM system will not make any money; many of those will in fact lose money.

So unless you want the product for yourself with the possibility of offsetting the cost by selling some from time to time, or unless you are an amazing marketing who could sell snow to Eskimos then MLM programs like Vemma should be avoided.

Generating a Second Income as a Poor Graduate Student: Free E-Book!

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Young, bright….and broke

If you’ve gone to graduate school or college, you know that money can get pretty tight during your years as a student. Even with careful budgeting, you can end up living on Ramen or macaroni and cheese- and that’s on a good day. The plights of poor students are well noted, from Marie Sklodowska-Curie, who frequently fainted from hunger while studying at the Sorbonne, down to Lindsay Milgroom, who advises readers to fill up on free food samples at the local mall food court and give up on shopping at Whole Foods because “this is about budgeting, not living a healthy lifestyle.”

An unhealthy lifestyle, credit card bills, growing student loan debt- these are just a few of the issues plaguing today’s college and graduate students, increasing their chances of suffering from depression or just dropping out of school altogether. Many of these issues are caused by a lack of money. However, most hard-core college and grad students don’t have the time to work a full-time or even part-time job. Strapped for both time and money, many students languish or go into serious debt. However, there is hope.

What if you could generate a second income without spending a lot of time and money?

What if, instead of being broke and hungry, you could make a second income while still in school? What if, instead of wondering what food you might steal from the communal fridge, you were making money online and being able to afford that pizza- with extra cheese and even pepperoni? And more importantly, what if, instead of being worried about employment post-graduation, you had job prospects already lined up thanks to the real world marketing and sales skills you had acquired while making a second income online?

Meet Ryan, the owner of and blogger at The Grad Student Way.

raverpic

Ryan, like many graduate students, was chronically broke. He had a small stipend coming in but that wasn’t enough; on a month-to-month basis, Ryan would find himself “caught short.” While asking his parents for money got him by in the short-term, Ryan knew he had to become more proactive about his cash flow problem. He also wanted to help out his fellow graduate students solve their cash flow problems. This led to Ryan publishing the e-book “Generating a Second Income for the Poor Graduate Student”.

I had the opportunity to talk with Ryan in lovely downtown Madison last week. Ryan is currently hustling to finish up his thesis, but he was gracious enough to grant me an interview. In this interview, Ryan noted a couple of key factors that hold many promising would-be entrepreneurs back and how to work around them. He also shared some pertinent financial information with me, including how much it cost to create his e-book and how much money the e-book generated for him upon its initial release.

In short, writing and selling an informational product (in this case, an e-book) that relates to your particular situation and helps others solve a problem is a good way to make extra money. Doing this over and over can even become your livelihood.

There was something else that I learned from my interview with Ryan: By creating and marketing his own e-book, Ryan opened up a very unique job opportunity. This job opportunity would never have materialized if not for Ryan’s initiative and drive in creating his e-book.

But, you don’t have to take my word for it: Here is Ryan’s story in his own words:


This podcast opens up as an MP3 file. If you would rather read Ryan’s story, I’ve included the transcript of his interview here.

Does Ryan’s story get you all revved up to create your own product and generate a second income? Then read on…

“Generating a Second Income for the Poor Graduate Student” teaches students several valuable lessons including:

  • How you can capitalize on the knowledge and information you already possess.
  • How you can test your market before ever releasing your e-book, thus ensuring its success.
  • How you can save time and create your product quickly and easily by outsourcing certain tasks.

It also provides poor college and graduate students with the following resources:

  • A 10-day plan for creating and putting your e-book up for online sale.
  • A compilation of free and paid resources for marketing your e-book online.
  • A list of 5 income streams that you can tap into and multiply your product’s earnings.

Ryan’s e-book normally runs for $4.99 on Amazon. However, for a limited time, “Generating a Second Income for the Poor Graduate Student” can be downloaded absolutely free. Just lick on the book link below- and be a poor college student no more!

Second_Income

Generating a Second Income for the Poor Graduate Student

Don’t Get Scammed by These Crafty Work-at-Home Assembly Jobs

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Quick Summary

Rating: 0 out of 10 cans of glitter.

Pros: You might end up with a bunch of cool arts and crafts supplies.

Cons: Most companies are offering to pay you to fulfill work-at-home assembly jobs and then they REQUIRE you buy your materials through them. So, you’ve bought the materials, you’ve done the work, you mail it back and you expect to get paid. Right? WRONG. These companies tend to reject work no matter how closely it matches the sample finished product they send. It’s a deceitful way of selling you craft supplies you don’t need.

Our Recommendation: Avoid work at home assembly jobs. We’ve yet to find one that was worth the hassle. The insane standards they set are nearly impossible to meet and you’ll likely lose out on a bunch of money and even more valuable time. If you want to learn how to build a real, sustainable business from home, click here to check out our top recommendation. It’s free to get started as well and you won’t have to glue anything together.

Full Review

Are you a crafty person who likes making jewelry, magnets, stuffed animals, etc? Have you ever thought about capitalizing on your craft-making skills and making money from your crafts?

Apparently, there are a number on online sites that have done just that. Most of these sites work on the premise that you pay an up-front fee for training to get started with a given craft project. Then, you order and pay for the basic craft materials that will be used to construct your craft item. Once your craft item is finished, you sell it back to the company and receive payment for your finished product.

Work at home craft assembly companies

I found the following example work at home craft assembly sites that offer craft items to making at home and then sell back to the company through so-called “buyback” programs:

DisciplesCross.com: This site offers a training video directly from Pastor John Raymond of New Horizon Christian Fellowship in Slidell, Louisiana for $69.95. The training video also includes a starter kit that makes 25 crosses. Once you’ve watched that video, you can order additional cross-making kits for $25 and up. Each cross that conforms to this program’s quality standards is reimbursed $2.25. “God bless & happy cross making!” (a direct quote from the site)

MagicalGiftDollhouses.com: Also known as New England Crafters, this company offers mostly jewelry making kits. You pay $49.95, plus $9.95 for shipping, per kit. Each kit includes instructions and supplies for making the craft item. When you are finished with your project, you send your items back to the company and are reimbursed for each approved piece. The company then sends you additional craft supplies which you assemble and send back for reimbursement.

TinyDetails.com: With this site, you pay a $55.00 refundable deposit to obtain a starter kit for whichever dollhouse item you choose to make. There are 14 different miniature items currently available. Items that are made to the correct instructional specifications are reimbursed $50-$200.

Sounds simple and easy, right?

Except that it’s not. Each craft assembly site makes sure to state, in one form or another, that the assembled craft pieces must first be approved before they are paid for by the materials issuing company. And those craft items will not be approved unless instructions are followed to the letter. But what if the provided instructions are made unclear to the assembler or the provided materials are so cheap and flimsy that a quality product cannot be made? Here are some testimonials from various work-at-home craft assemblers who tried to make a little side income through work at home craft assembly jobs:

DisciplesCross.com: This company had several negative reviews and unhappy customers were quite vocal with their complaints.

Mary Alice (Houston, TX): “I ordered the Disciple’s Cross Kit several years ago and made the Crosses, and also ordered 1 pre-made Cross already made by them. You know how I know this company is a scam? When I submitted my 10 crosses to be inspected, I sent the ‘perfect’ Disciple Cross they made for inspection, and guess what- they rejected all of them (even the one they made) and said “you have potential”. You can never ever make ‘their’ crosses good enough…do not waste your money.”

Jeff Martis (Central IL): “A friend of mine signed up for this program…His package showed up, and everything was there that was supposed to be there, but the quality of the wire you were supplied was a very inferior grade and tended to break all the time…after two or three days we made 25 crosses while watching [the instructional video]. I did quality control and checked every cross to ensure it met standards. We determined that 3 were sub standard so we reassembled them again, and sent off all of the crosses into the buyback program. 10 days later we got a package back with 23 crosses that had been determined to be “not of the quality needed in order to qualify for the buy back program”.

Graham (Boone USA): “While you are BUYING supplies, they are quick to reply. After telling them I had 400 crosses ready to send to them I got a reply telling me there was a 2 month long wait for turnaround. After that they stopped replying to me, period. The ONLY communications I’ve had from them in a year now are their offers to SELL ME CROSSES!

Nobody will buy the crosses! Not local churches. Not local Christian bookstores. No stores, convenience stores, fund raisers, flea markets – nobody will buy my crosses INCLUDING Pastor John!”

MagicalGiftDollhouses.com: Reviews of New England Crafters/MagicalGiftDollhouses were mixed. While customers did not come outright and call this company a scam, many did state that its craft projects were time-consuming and difficult to do. The company has a high rejection rate and sends back many craft projects marked as unacceptable. Even successful crafters, such as New England Crafters owner Cheska Arnone herself, might make only $12/hour constructing this company’s difficult crafts.

TinyDetails.com: RipoffReport lists at least 22 complaints about TinyDetails, most of which focus on the following issues:

  • The materials the company sends are shoddy and misaligned, so one can never make the high quality products that are demanded.
  • Repeated calls, voice mails and emails are left unanswered.
  • The company rejects its own “perfect” sample craft items after customers send them back and claim those items as their own work.

Work at home craft assembly summary

While not every work at home craft assembly job is a scam, even legitimate craft assembly companies are getting some heat for their slow turnaround times and high product rejection rates. Assembly workers frequently mention that the training videos are either incomplete or falsely illustrate the quickness and ease with which the selected project can be finished. And of course, all craft assembly companies require an up-front training fee, a common sign of an online work at home scam.

Work at home craft assembly jobs are also prone to a second tier of scams: Unscrupulous companies sell lists of purported “genuine” craft assembly sites for a fee to hapless customers. These lists provide names of craft assembly sites that are either out of business or which thrive on subscriber fees more than product buy backs from crafters. Kinya provided a review of one such list site, Assembly-Jobs.com, for readers.

Beware of Resume Scams When Looking for Work

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If I told you that I’d critique and revise your resume for just $1, would you believe me?

OneBuckResume

This is precisely what the resume writing service, OneBuckResume, promises. When you hover your mouse over the site’s Resume Builder tab, there’s even the grammatically incorrect promise “Use the patented $1 resume builder, and we’ll complete your resume in less than 5 minutes”. However, when you scroll through the site’s Terms & Conditions (T&C’s) box, it says the following:

Resume Distribution: By clicking the checkbox below, you signify your acceptance of seven days of free resume  distribution services. IF YOU CONTINUE USING THE RESUME DISTRIBUTION SERVICE, YOUR CREDIT CARD WILL BE CHARGED $5.88 ONCE EVERY THIRTY DAYS THEREAFTER, UNLESS CANCELLED.

There is no way to not click the checkbox, since it signifies that you agree to abide by the site’s T&C’s. There is also no defined way to cancel the $5.88/month charge except by submitting support tickets through the site; no contact phone number or email is provided. Also, because the extra $5.88 monthly charge is posted on the company’s site, this disclosure allows it to make the “Didn’t you read the T&C’s?” rebuttal.

However, as several Ripoff Report testimonials attest, the site also posts fake job postings on Craigslist and asks job applicants to use OneBuckResume to properly format their resumes prior to sending them off to the hiring company. Unsuspecting job applicants pay the $1 fee and send their resumes to the provided email- only to have those emails bounce back to them as unrecognized. After 7 days, the mysterious $5.88 monthly charges begin.

TheLadders

Another resume site, TheLadders, was sued in district court on March 13, 2013 for not only posting fake, unauthorized and/or misleading $100K job opportunities but for also not delivering on its resume writing service promise. TheLadders, as noted by Barbara Ward (the Plaintiff),

 …promised a free “expert resume critique” for its premium members. However, TheLadders did not actually review resumes that were submitted by its premium members. Instead…TheLadders sent its members a form letter that failed to provide any resume criticism responsive to members’ individual resumes. The sole purpose of the form letter was to up-sell members into useless paid resume re-writing services…

Resume scams abound because, in this crappy economy, it’s very easy to take advantage of people who are scrambling to find work. The scammers often play on people’s fears, telling them that their resumes lack important “action items” that will prevent them from being hired.

Even when professionally written resumes are submitted to these scam sites,  they are ripped up and cited as needing extensive work. Of course, a scam site will naturally rip up any resume, even its own generated resume, in order to make a quick buck. And the bucks, in this case, aren’t just $30 or $40; in the case of TheLadders, members who sent their resumes to be re-written were charged about $700!

Where can you find legitimate resume writing services?

Hardcore resume writers are often certified members of the National Résumé Writers’ Association (NRWA) and/or the Professional Association of Résumé Writers & Career Coaches (PARW/CC). These writers don’t hide behind a resume writing site (although they may be employed by it); typically, you’ll find writer profiles and work examples on the site’s “About Me/Us” page. The better resume writers will be industry-specific and have some kind of education or experience in their chosen focus (e.g., law).

Beware of online forms

Granted, with almost everyone being online now, you are bound to have some online forms to fill out when you start working with a resume writing service. However, the writer working on your resume should contact you personally to obtain additional information from you. This typically includes several phone interviews spanning a total of 3-5 hours for a top-notch resume site. Local agencies may also schedule you for an in-person session with the writer.

Even a budget resume writer should speak with you personally for at least half an hour. Beware of resume sites that are online only and where you cannot reach anyone over the phone. Typically, this indicates that the writers (if any) are being paid slave wages by the site and have limited English language speaking/writing skills.

While working with a “resume mill” does not exclude you from obtaining a meaningful resume, it will probably require that you do significant editing and formatting of your own document (this issue has been reported for the resume mill e-resume.net, which pays its writers Taco Bell wages for resumes worth $155). This negates much of the reasoning behind hiring a resume writer in the first place.

Don’t forget to use Google

Google knows all, as I like to say. Before you consider working with any resume site, do a quick online search of that site with the word “scam” plugged into your search query. If you find testimonial after testimonial from dissatisfied customers or even records of a lawsuit, steer clear of that agency.

Questions to ask before you pay any money

Even “good” resume writing sites can be riddled with issues. Before you hire any resume service to take on your resume, be sure to ask the following questions of the writer:

1. What are all the steps of this process and associated fees? Alternately: What do you charge per hour and what does that cover?

2. What advantages do you personally offer when compared with other resume writers?

3. Can I speak with your previous clients and/or see their “before and after” resumes? If a writer cannot provide either, find another writer/service.

4. What guarantees do you offer (e.g., limitless revisions, money back if not satisfied)?

Other things to keep in mind

As the potential client, you should expect a free evaluation of your resume before you plunk down any money. Once you become an actual client, however, up-front payment is required from most resume writing sites. Expect the entire resume critiquing to writing to revision process to take anywhere from two weeks to even over a month; good results don’t happen overnight (or in “less than 5 minutes”).

Finally, be sure to keep your receipt; resume writing services are viewed as a legitimate employment-seeking activity through the eyes of the IRS and are tax-deductible.

 

Copying and Pasting Will Never Make Money for You

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Quick Summary

Rating: 0 out of 10. 0 out of 10. 0 out of 10.

Pros: None. Nada. Nope. No pros.

Cons: It’s a modern day envelope stuffing scheme. “Pay money to learn how to build this exact website to get people to pay money to learn how to build this exact website!” etc. etc.

Our Recommendation: This isn’t a way to build a business online. Instead, learn how to create a REAL internet marketing business that can build you a sustainable stream of income in the long run. Click here to check out our top recommendation on how to do this. It’s free to get started and won’t have you stuffing envelopes.

Full Review

Some people dream of being able to make money at the press of a button, to be able to have cash pouring into their bank accounts whilst they sip margaritas on a foreign shore.

Let’s be clear, the first bit about making money easily isn’t true and never will be. There will always be hard work and effort required to earn money, whether that be in a brick and mortar business or working from home online.

The second part can be true, but only after you have done the hard work!

Copy Paste Cash at copypastecash.com sells the first part of this dream and they sell it very well. Their sales page is slick and pulls on all the right heart strings to get you thinking that actually, this system, this amazingly simple sounding system could be the one to change my life.

One time. Lifetime! It’s your time!

And it only costs a one off fee of $30 bucks.

How it works

The premise is simple, you copy some predefined adverts supplied to you by Copy Paste Cash and post them on classified advert websites such as Cragslist or Backpage and you earn a commission for each person that registers and pays.

Super easy!

Too easy!

The Problem with Easy

There are definitely some major flaws with this system.

First off, this system has been around a little while now which means that it has been used by thousands of people already. As you will be using the same adverts as the other members of this system, it quickly becomes problematic as you are all spamming, yes spamming the same adverts.

What this means is that the sites you are submitting the adverts too quickly realise what is happening as they are seeing hundreds of the same adverts posted every day.

As such, the adverts will be “ghosted” by the classified site. Ghosting is a way in which the classified companies deal with spam. Instead of blocking the advert and alerting the spammer that there is a problem, it pretends that the advert has gone through ok, but in reality it hasn’t.

Imagine if you will that you have spent hours copying and pasting these adverts, day in day out, and that all that hard work is wasted because they aren’t going anywhere as the adverts have been marked as spam.

That’s a lot of wasted time, and time is money.

Not only that but if you had used your own account to post these, then it is likely you are now marked as a spammer.

A further issue with Copy Paste Cash is that the click through rate and subsequent signups are terrible. I have seen evidence of a user with over 1 million total clicks, and a conversion of around 1600. This is a conversion rate of way less than 1%!

In some situations, I would have thought that perhaps the marketer in question was doing something wrong, that he had made an error somewhere. However, he is using the same adverts provided by the makers of the system. Really then, the only error is an error in judgement at purchasing the system in the first place.

Due to the nature of this system there is no residual income, there is no auto pilot, you have to manually add the adverts, and with that sort of conversion rate you are literally earning pennies per hour.

You can say good bye to the margaritas!

The Training

The system does provide basic training beyond copying and pasting, in internet marketing. The training only becomes available gradually as you earn points for doing actions like posting adverts. It forces you to do the work to get the information which was part of the product you bought.

The training isn’t in itself bad, it is just that the information is very much entry level with nothing to take you further and is already available on the internet freely, or with better support and guidance via other paid for services.

Recycling Rubbish

The worst thing about this system in my mind is that by using it you are perpetuating it, because you are not promoting products or services or even information, you are promoting the system itself.

Think about it, the system only promotes the system. Nothing good ever came of that. This is just a modern day envelope stuffing scheme.

The Bottom Line

Copy Paste Cash is a borderline scam, it offers very little in value and its whole system is flawed to the point of failure, requiring a massive amount of time and energy to be input for very few rewards.

Is this system worth $29.5? Absolutely not! Avoid this one unless you like wasting time and money and perpetuating spam.

Breaking Freelance Rule #1: You Must Make Cold Calls

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Back in my undergrad years, I remember reading a career book called something like “How to Get a Job in 30 Days”. I was about to finish my junior year in college and sit out my summer months with no job and thus no money. The idea of finding work in a month sounded very appealing so I decided I would thoroughly read and follow every piece of advice this book gave me.

As it turned out, most of the book’s advice centered on making cold calls to potential employers. The idea was to make contact with the hiring manager and, before this person could even say no, schedule an appointment with him/her.

The conversation was supposed to go like this:

“Hello, my name is Halina, and I noticed you have a job opening in your forensic sciences department. I’m a perfect candidate because I’ve watched numerous episodes of CSI and have also appeared on COPS. I have the first of April available for a meeting; how does that work for you?”

Figuring that anyone who had actually published a book on how to find a job (in just 30 days!) knew what s/he was talking about, I dutifully started making cold calls. Half the time the employer’s voicemail picked up my call; I gave my shpeel and, with a sigh of relief, never heard from that person again. On occasion, I would actually reach the hiring head; luckily, I had my pitch written down on several crinkly notebook pages and that helped me as I recited my stage lines.

After about two weeks of making cold calls and having no one return my requests for a meeting, I gave up. I guess I’ll never know if, having put in the full 30-day cold calling effort, I would’ve been rewarded with a job. However, I did  realize something: I am not cut out for cold calling. And also, after spending the last 15 years of my post-undergrad life receiving cold calls from everyone from insurance salesmen to career coaches to mortgage refi experts, I’ve realized that no one is really cut out for cold calling. There are three reasons why:

1. Cold calls put clients on the spot.

When you cold call someone, you never know just what s/he was doing right up to receiving your call. If that person is having a lousy day, you can bet that your call isn’t going to make things better. Alternately, that person may be having a great day and is about to head out for drinks- just when the phone rings. Out of sheer politeness, that person will pick up the phone (especially if colleagues are watching)- and then try to get rid of you as fast as possible.

Even if the person hears you out , s/he can’t just agree to meet you or hire you without at least first consulting with colleagues. Furthermore, taking on a new person, even on a contract basis, requires careful consideration that cannot be completed in the space of a single phone call. Thus, you often get stuck making an average of five calls to the same person in order to score just one lead.

2. Cold calls waste time.

The consensus amongst professional cold callers is that you’re lucky if you get even 10% of respondents to not instantly say no. Gee, that’s encouraging. In other words, 90% of the time you spend researching potential clients to cold call is wasted. Indeed, you shouldn’t even bother researching potential clients and what they do because, 90% of the time, you won’t even get beyond “Hello, my name is-” before you’re told to #%$! off.

Even proponents of cold calling such as Mike Schultz of the Wellesley Hills Group state that, when “done right”, cold calls bring in just 13% of new business. Maybe I’m just not easily satisfied, but I get a higher percentage of clients by using LinkedIn and in much less time.

3. Cold calls put you on the spot.

I’m not saying all cold calls won’t work. Admittedly, cold calls, just like door-to-door salesmen, have had their place in history as a way of making customers aware of businesses and products. And sometimes those door-to-door salesmen do get into the customer’s house. But once that point is reached, what then? At least that salesman could quickly look around the house and assess whether the homeowner needed a new vacuum cleaner. What can you really assess from your end of the phone?

As a freelancer, you’re probably dealing with complex businesses with complex needs. Your job is not as simple as just providing content, or writing a software program, or fixing a leaky faucet- at least not if you want to keep your clients and have repeat business. To truly understand your clients and their needs, you must look beyond the “one-and-done” job and find out where the problems really lie and what you can do to decrease losses or raise profits. That includes even something as “simple” as fixing a leaky faucet. And that kind of in-depth analysis is not going to happen instantaneously, such as during a 5-10 minute cold call.

How can you generate sales leads and win clients without making cold calls?

You can generate strong sales leads and have potential clients approach you- yes you- without making a single cold call. There are many strategies involved:

1. Write warm emails.

Do some careful research on your potential company or client and find out what issues and crises are at play. Then, find the hiring manager/client and write him/her regarding your observations and what you can do to improve the business’ bottom line. Give specific suggestions for improvement, then follow up with examples. If posible, back up your suggestions with your personal work experience. I provide an illustration of this technique on my LinkedIn post.

2. Network-strategically.

Traditional networking events where everyone gets too drunk too fast on free booze may not work for you. However, you can achieve a far higher networking success rate by actually joining your prospective client’s network. How does this happen? Use the power of Google and LinkedIn to research your prospects, then get involved in whatever organization or cause they’re involved in.

Yes, this is a back-end strategy and it also takes more effort- but it’s a great excuse to become more involved in your community. Just make sure that you actually like the organization you join because it’s hard to fake long-term sincerity. You’ll also find out that your prospective clients typically share connections with other likely clients who are also involved in the same organization or cause. Coincidence…or not?

3. Work/help/teach for free.

Many freelancers shy away from doing free work, fearing that it will result in never getting paid work. However, in many cases, you can use free work to make prospective clients aware of you and the types of services you offer. In the course of time, when these prospects have a need for your services, they’ll be more likely to hire you than someone whose work they haven’t seen directly and whose personality may clash with theirs.

For example, if you’re hoping to get hired as a staff writer for a magazine and you know that a given organization regularly publishes with this magazine, it would be wise of you to volunteer your writing efforts to this organization. Alternately, you may wish to give a free seminar or class at a school or company you’re trying to crack into. Just make sure that your freebie item relates to the skill set you’re trying to sell; in other words, don’t offer a class on brewing beer -however tempting that might be- if you’re trying to sell your C++ programming skills.

Even offering to help someone out can sometimes land you in that person’s good graces. I honestly suspect I landed one of my clients simply by helping him unsubscribe from Facebook.

4. Conduct interviews.

As a writer, I have a natural excuse for interviewing people; in fact, some of my work demands it. However, it has occurred to me that interviews themselves can be used as another back-end or extended networking method. Let’s face it, people love to talk about themselves and will typically agree to your request for an interview. And once that interview is completed, that hour or two of feel-good face time is bound to be remembered by the interviewee.

Interviews need not always be work-related; maybe you’re considering changing careers and would like some advice. Maybe you’ve always been fascinated by a potential client’s work and just want additional details. My natural curiosity about other people’s work has landed me in some interesting situations including the following: getting a furniture store tour (plus a killer offer on a dining set), having a top-to-bottom tour of the “W” hotel, being treated to a private candy kitchen tasting, running the movie projector at a D.C. theater for an evening, and engaging in melanoma research. If I play my cards right, I might soon be conducting neuronal electrophysiology experiments.

In none of these situations was I actively considering landing the client or business; I was merely curious about the people and their jobs. But I could easily have transformed the information I gathered into an easy job opportunity or three, now that I think about it.

Don’t be a mercenary- don’t make cold calls.

The bottom line with cold calls and why I don’t believe in them is that cold calls place you in a mercenary role; i.e., you must make this sale/land this client/score an interview- or else. The person you call ends up feeling manipulated and used. You fail to establish a personal relationship with the client or business, resulting in you losing out on follow-up business even if you do get the initial sale/job/interview.

Instead of being a mercenary, be an ally.

Approach your clients or businesses by first seeing things from their point of view. Try to help first without thinking about money or making that sale. Taking this approach will require some effort (and a change in mindset) and will not be achieved in the space of a 5-10 minute cold call or even several cold calls. But the end result of your extra effort will be worth it. And should all else fail, you’ll have gained a friend.

Behind the Scenes at SFI Marketing Group

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The SFI Marketing group is not a straight forward system. It incorporates all the classic signs of an MLM (Multi Level Marketing or Pyramid scheme) and yet tries to mask it.

A Little Background

There is some history to SFI, one that I can only piece bits of and use conjecture to fill in the rest. You see, their website is sfimg.com and according to their site, it stands for Strong Future Internal Marketing Group. However SFI started off at least as Six Figure Income and the sixfigureincome.com site still redirects there.

I can’t find out much about that product but the name itself doesn’t make it sound like it was anything but a “get rich quick scheme”

It appears then that this business has changed tactic.

SFI Marketing Group also gets an A+ on the BBB website, but honestly, don’t put much trust in that, for $800 anyone can get an A+ rating…

Inside SFI

Joining is free, unlike most MLM’s so it is easy to be taken off guard by it. What quickly gives the site away is the SFI Basics:

1. Become an Executive Affiliate (EA) and remain an EA every month.

2. Recruit five affiliates using the methods listed HERE.

3. Teach your five affiliates to do these same three steps.

Any system that strongly suggests from the outset to recruit people under you and get them to recruit people is without a doubt an MLM system.

What complicates the initial view is that SFI uses a sister company and affiliate marketing as well, an effective way for the owners to make more money.

Making Money with SFI

How does this particular system encourage you to make money? There are four ways.

1. Start earning money by accumulating VersaPoints

VersaPoints are SFI’s internal points system. In order to stand a chance of getting a cut of a pot of money each month you need to earn 1500 points as a minimum. No where on the site does it tell you how much the pot of money is currently nor what your slice would be for 1500 points though. It is always worrying when a company isn’t transparent in these things.

The only information available is this:

A huge 40% of the Commission Volume (CV) on EVERY sale at TripleClicks.com goes into the TripleClicks Executive Pool. Share in this big, company wide pool with a minimum of just 1500 VP a month!

Where does this 40% come from? It isn’t clear, from the sales of products it seems, but who foots the bill? I can’t see it being the sellers, they are already losing a lot by selling there.

Not only that but from looking at the ways you can make VersaPoints it looks like your first month will be easy due to large value but simple objectives for example liking SFI on Facebook. After the first month, it looks like it will be much harder to obtain.

In fact one area to be cautious over is that there is some advices from other members to buy Tripleclicks (see below) gift cards, in order to gain 1200 points each month. That’s around $60 a month. Not cheap especially if you cannot make up the extra 300 points and even then there is no guarantee you will get your cash back.

You do get points as well for promoting products on Tripleclicks (per sale).

2. Increase your earnings by generating sales at TripleClicks.com

To obtain some cash you can promote products from Tripleclicks, which is a self proclaimed Ecommerce site. However to me it looks like a poor man’s Ebay. The products are a mixed bag, the sellers even more so, with many of them being from abroad and with poor English skills.

One seller states:

“Find it Here is a online store that sells different stuffs that you need and stuffs that hard to find”

Marketing some of these products will be interesting to say the least, so making money from them may not be that lucrative, however there is of course the possibility.

One thing that upsets me is the Beginner Methods of gaining sales:

  • Tell your friends and family
  • Buy gift cards and give them to friends and family
  • Buy promotional cards and distribute them – “Whenever you take a taxi or ride public transportation, “forget” this TC X-Card on the seat before you exit.”
  • Post flyers
  • Etc. etc.

There are some reasonable methods listed as well, including social network sharing, but the fact that a lot of the beginner ones involves harassing friends or family or purchasing products to promote them is not good.

Tripleclicks earns the owners of SFI “a nominal fee” (genuine quote!) of 15% of all sales, so they have a vested interest in getting you to push these products any way you can.

Now add on to that the fact that you as an affiliate can earn 45% of the sales price. That’s 60%. Very few businesses can afford to provide quality service and products with a 60% loss on the product sale price, especially physical goods.

However, earning that amount is unlikely, as for a start your are automatically given a “sponsor” who will earn a percentage of your commission. On top of that, each item has a different commission rate, some with as high as 65% some low 5%.

3. Maximize your income with sponsoring and duplication

Here is the MLM creeping in again, with members recruited below you having a portion of their earnings sent upline towards you. This matrix, as it is called, is 12 levels deep which is very large. MLM systems are not self supporting, and the FTC is in the firm belief that overall the only people who make money from MLM are the ones at the top, and that is always the business owner and not you.

4. Add supplemental income streams (optional)

This is side work, mainly referring sellers to Tripleclicks and allowing adverts on your site.

Training and Support

Most of the training on site is minimal and revolves around selling Tripleclick products or earning more VersaPoints. There is no real meat to any of the training and nothing that can benefit you in the long run.

The Bottom Line

Is SFI a scam? No. While I have reservations about recommending it, it isn’t as simple as they will take your money and run.

I am not a big fan of MLMs, I don’t believe there is any money to be made in them by a regular joe. From what can be gathered of SFI, it is an MLM crossed with affiliate marketing, and as such thought there is a potential to make money here, though I would strongly caution you from spending money in order to do so, as there are lots of areas in SFI where it is easy to start spending cash to make up your VersaPoints or market SFI.

The quality of the products and sellers is also something that concerns me, how can you sell something at such a low mark-up? I highly doubt many, if any, of these sellers have the weight business wise to get mass purchase deals.

I am also quite concerned they put a lot more focus on getting you to promote SFI to your friends and family than actually teaching you anything on marketing in general.

How to Create and Make Money From Your Own Online Course

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I’ll bet you $50 that you probably have enough material in your head to generate at least one online course. That course could be about a traditional topic like physics or chemistry or it could be something less academic, like how to refinish a hardwood floor or make quality moonshine. The bottom line is that any skill that took you time to learn can be marketable; i.e., your knowledge and experience can make you money. The trick is, how do you make your knowledge and experience marketable?

Using an online academy or online university

Nowadays, you can publish online courses via online academies (or online universities) that offer you an easy platform through which you can showcase your talents. Here are just a few such online academies:

Udemy

This online academy has recently gotten some good press from NBC Today and Forbes, among other high caliber places. At Udemy, anyone can create, publish and promote an online course, regardless of credentials. About 75% of the offered courses are free; the remaining 25% run anywhere from $9 for an Affiliate Marketing for Noobs course to $500 for Jack Welch’s Welch Way Management training course. Udemy keeps 30% of your revenue; if you directly refer a customer to your course (such as through a coupon), Udemy’s cut drops to 15%.

Odijoo

This site, much like Udemy, runs on an open platform and allows anyone to create and publish a free or paid online course. Even better, Odijoo takes only a 10% cut of your revenue. Odijoo also allows you to create your own “campus” from which your courses are displayed and taught, allowing you to create a veritable online education business. Another Odijoo perk is that you can syndicate your content, allowing other instructors to purchase that content and use it in their classes.

Litmos

Litmos prides itself on being a learning management system (LMS) geared towards business professionals. In tune with that philosophy, Litmos makes it extremely easy to create and add to your own online course and have it distributed on mobile devices. With Litmos, you get a lot of entrepreneurial perks like your own domain name, branding and landing page. There is no cut taken from your revenue; however, you do pay a minimum monthly charge to the site; the Starter membership runs $49/month. As you grab additional perks and students, your monthly fee can become quite high…so this platform may not be for everyone.

Using your own website

If you have a large enough following online, you can use your website or email newsletter to advertise your online course and get people to sign up privately. This allows you to keep all the profits and make additional money through back-end product sales. Additionally, you can offer your students a premium-priced version of your course by including something extra like one-on-one phone/email support. Alternately, you can send your students extra materials like ebooks or give them access to an online forum.

You don’t need a fancy-shmancy platform or software to generate an effective and informative online course. Your lessons can be sent out as weekly emails to your students followed by an assignment that is emailed back to you. Additional course information could be posted on internal website pages that only your students have access to. I know this because I’ve seen it done on several online courses including Linda Formichelli’s Write for Magazines e-course.

There are a number of free online tools available if you need to record your voice or provide a presentation. If you really want to go all out and give a webinar, AnyMeeting offers free web conferencing (up to 200 attendees).

But I’m not an expert on anything!

You might be wondering how you can teach anything when you’ve never received a qualifying degree or wrote a book about the topic. Well, I have a solution for you:

Tim Ferriss of The 4-Hour Workweek fame wrote the following “back-door” formula on becoming an expert in almost anything in 4 weeks*:

1. Join 2-3 trade organizations [in the field that you intend to teach].

2. Read 3 top-selling books on your topic and summarize each one.

3. Give one free 1-3 hour seminar at your closest university and company branches.

4. Offer to write 1-2 articles for trade magazines related to your topic, using steps 1 and 3 as your credibility points.

5. Join ProfNet, a site that journalists use to find subject matter experts and quote them. Then, get quoted.

Tim also makes the following statement: “”Expert” is nebulous media-speak and so overused as to be indefinable. In modern PR terms, proof of expertise in most fields is shown with group affiliations, client lists, writing credentials and media mentions, not IQ points or Ph.D.s.”

How I became a crowdfunding expert

I somehow became an expert on equity crowdfunding even though I’ve never crowdfunded a thing in my life. It all started when I wrote an article on equity crowdfunding for I’ve Tried That and then another one for a small business site. A few months later, the local SCORE Madison chapter contacted me to find out if I’d give a talk about the subject.

I happily agreed and started compiling my Powerpoint slides, learning a lot about exciting SEC regulations in the process. Fortuitously, my Evansville Area Inventors & Entrepreneurs Club hosted a venture capitalist who gave a talk about equity crowdfunding just days before my own talk. As a result, I got the scoop from a “real” expert on what pertinent issues I should discuss. And voilà! An equity crowdfunding expert was born. I now pitch crowdfunding to my clients.

What if I can’t answer a question?

Another major concern for budding online course instructors is that their students will ask questions that they cannot answer on the spot. There are several ways around this uncomfortable possibility, including telling the student that you will get back to him/her with an answer at a later time, asking the class to answer the question, or simply admitting that you just don’t know- but will return with an answer.

The best preventative measure by far is to initially not do live sessions with your students until you can safely anticipate a majority of their questions. And remember that, according to the Pareto principle, about 80% of your students’ questions will cover only 20% of your material, so make sure you learn that portion well. As for the other 20% of your students’ questions- well, while they will come up, it will be less common.

Also, you don’t have to know everything there is to know about your subject matter- you simply have to be one step ahead of your students. In light of this, try to stay informed about your topic and any news that are relevant to it. Set up a Google Alerts on your topic’s keywords and have those alerts go to your email account. In this way, if any new developments are at play in your field of expertise, you’ll be the first to know- and impress your students.

How much money can you make from your own online course?

A well-known name like Jack Welch, who has now sold his Udemy course to 109 students at $500 per student, has grossed $54.5K. No bad.

However, lesser-known Miguel Hernandez, who sells a $297 Udemy course titled How to Create an Awesome Demo Video for Your Business, has outgrossed Welch by one entire figure and come in at over $483K. Your results will probably differ, but even this one example illustrates how creating a course that offers something relevant to your audience, especially a business/technical audience, can earn you some big bucks. And this can happen even if you don’t have a big name.

Fortunately, Miguel also offers another Udemy course titled How to Create an Awesome Online Course for those who are curious.

Much like with teaching courses in the “real world”, it takes time and persistence to create a highly popular (i.e., lucrative) course. But if you’re passionate about your subject matter and (more importantly) about teaching it, creating an online course is a great way to go.

 

*excluding neurology, automatic transmissions and school boards.