When you start an online business, one thing you are going to end up doing is looking around the web to get ideas, help and advice from other online sources. It doesn’t matter what you are selling, from blogging about eating healthy and selling goods out of your store to offering coaching, you are going to look for help to boost your sales, get more traffic or just make your site look nicer. The good thing is that there is lots of help out there. All kinds of gurus, experts, product reviewers, all wanting to help you. The bad thing is that anybody can be an “expert” and give advice online. No license required.
Having spent quite a bit of time poking around the web, I’ve found many great resources, but I’ve also found a lot of shady, dark places you should stay away from. My online journeys and research into online help have led me to create 9 Simple Rules to Avoid Getting Hurt Online. I’ve learned from experience to ignore them at my own peril. They are:
1. Don’t trust reviews that are all positive. If you find sites or experts who have nothing bad to say about anything they review, keep looking. Nothing is perfect. Find some other opinions before making any decision.
2. Remember that people don’t always tell the full story. That’s right, they hide things. Bloggers do get paid to write positive reviews. There is a new law starting December 1 which says bloggers who review products must disclose any connection with advertisers including the receipt of free products and whether or not they were paid in any way by advertisers. Of course that doesn’t mean they will. Just keep this in mind.
3. Experts and gurus help each other. There is an awful lot of cross-promotion among online experts and gurus where they trade recommendations back and forth. It doesn’t mean anything sinister is happening, but it could be that a glowing endorsement is just a favor.
4. Don’t believe testimonials. I hate to say this, but a lot of them are just made up. Joe from Albuquerque isn’t always real. He could be the guy’s brother-in-law.
5. Never take one person’s word for anything. Get as many views and opinions as you can. See where the consensus is. While it can be entertaining and enlightening to read all the outlying opinions that are sitting in left field, it is always sound advice to trust, but verify.
6. Don’t trust an online expert until you have good reason to. Make they do know what they are talking about, but, even if you do trust people, take time to confirm what they say.
7. Check out the guru before you jump into anything. We all want our online businesses to succeed, and there are lots of ebooks, classes, seminars, coaching sessions and programs out there that promise to give the secret to success if only we will follow them. For entertainment and a little education, my advice is to do a search with the guru’s name or program and the words “scam” or “ripoff” and then read the results carefully. You will be amazed at what you find. Like anything else you find on the internet, take it all with a large grain of salt. My favorite is the “scam buster” gurus. They will blow the whistle on all kinds of shady offerings but will have just one system they say is legit and will encourage you to join it.
8. If it sounds to good to be true it is. Nothing more to say about that is there?
9. Don’t fall for the phony special offers. You know the ones. “I can only offer this special price to 100 people!” Except that the offer has been there for 2 years. “Act now before they are all gone!” How can you run out of ebooks or downloads? “Space is limited!” It’s online, how can it be limited?
There are people on the web who are out there to make money from you. That’s not a bad thing. You want your business to work by selling something to other people. Some of the gurus and experts are really good, some of the programs will work if you know how to use them, and, unfortunately, some people just want to separate you from your money.
In the end, the best investment you can make is not in some get rich quick scheme, but instead in yourself. Learn solid marketing and management skills, how to recognize good opportunities and then take action on them. Learn the basics of internet marketing, SEO and copywriting. If you need help, find someone who can teach you these skills. Remember this when are thinking of spending your hard earned dollars on a program or membership. You are an information consumer when online, so shop wisely.
You can always contact me at MicroBizMadeSimple.
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