10 Ways to Lose Money Online
Wow - Losing Money Sure Is Easy!
Sometimes the best way to brainstorm is by going in reverse. Instead of stressing yourself out trying to figure out the solution to the problem, have fun coming up with ways to make the problem MUCH WORSE than it already is.
You’ll learn more about how this strategy works Monday when I post a free audio Glenn Livingston and I did together on How to Have WAY More Fun in Your Internet Business.
Since we’re always talking about how to make more money, let’s turn it in reverse and have a little fun coming up with ways to lose money from our websites.
If your goal is to make money (like most readers), maybe you should make sure you’re not following any of these tips (because a few of them are rather common).
Strategy #1: Buy EVERYTHNG you can get your hands on about internet marketing but don’t put any of it into action.
With all the product launches going on every week, I’m sure you could easily spend $50,000 over the next year doing this. As long as you make sure not to apply anything (even better if you don’t actually read it), then it’s a guaranteed way to lose money. Doesn’t get much better than that when your goal is to lose money online.
Strategy #2: Spend a majority of your time in the social networks.
Since social media people are often the hardest people to sell to, spend a majority of your time here to make sure your business isn’t profitable. They can generate a LOT of traffic to your site which doesn’t click on ads and doesn’t buy products. And isn’t that really your goal when you want to burn money?
Strategy #3: Subscribe to EVERY single email list you come across.
You want to make sure you’re getting tons of offers every single day…especially if strategy #1 and #2 aren’t emptying your bank account quick enough. You’ll be teased and tempted with all the missing “secrets” keeping you from being successful online. Especially make sure to stay on all those lists that ONLY sell products and never offer any content whatsoever.
Strategy #4: Choose a tiny micro-niche market where there aren’t ANY competitors.
If there are competitors there, it means someone must be making money. And we don’t want that. So make sure to narrow your niche down to the point where you have zero competition – no one at all is competing against you. Because if you do this, it virtually guarantees you a market where no one else has ever made a profit.
Strategy #5: If your market does have competition, make sure to do everything exactly like them.
Obviously every competitor in the market knows more than you. So you should simply parrot exactly what they’re doing and saying. Don’t start any arguments or stir up any controversy. If you make yourself EXACTLY like them, then people won’t be able to tell the difference…and they’ll have no reason whatsoever to listen to you or buy from you. And that’s the goal, right?
Strategy #6: Buy the most expensive, highest traffic keyword phrase in your market on Adwords and send them directly to your home page.
Most of the time the highest traffic keyword is NOT the keyword targeting specific buyers. It’s just people looking for initial information. So if you go for it right from the beginning, you can be almost assured to lose money. And to guarantee you lose money, send all those visitors to a general home page on your site. The less specific about what they’re searching for, the better it is for making them leave quickly.
Strategy #7: Jump on EVERY brand new traffic scheme immediately.
You’ve probably heard how you have to jump on new traffic techniques immediately. Look for these “loopholes” constantly and always take advantage of them. Avoid any long-term proven traffic methods (like seo, PPC, affiliates, etc.). Whatever is the newest and most hyped solution must be the best!
Strategy #8: Build dozens of different sites all at the same time.
What if one site doesn’t work? Create dozens of them…all at one time. That way you’ll have multiple streams of income…even if you do lose your sanity in the process. By building your market wide you only have time to do the minimum for each site…and won’t ever be burdened by profitable steps like backend products for each market.
Strategy #9: Copy the big product launch sales letters exactly for your market.
Since they’re using them, they must work…even though they have tons of other pieces coming before the sales letter. You’re heard of a swipe file. Make sure to put all these sales letters intended for current “hyped up” customers into your swipe file instead of what the big mailers send out by direct mail (where they spends months working on the copy with the top guns competing with each other).
Strategy #10: Join a Mastermind group of people who just sit and around and complain about what doesn’t work.
Sometimes these are commonly referred to as online forums, but other times they can be a local business group. Mastermind has been proven to help people make more money. So to make sure it helps you lose money, only join groups where people don’t have successful experience in the topic. That should help. And then follow the most common opinion that everyone votes on…instead of listening for any golden nuggets that do appear at times.
There you have it….10 ways to make sure you lose money online. If you’re currently doing any of these, you’re going the right direction for that goal. If you want to turn it around and make money online, figure out how to eliminate these from your “Internet plan.”
Related Entries:- Where’s the Traffic?
- What If Its Not Working?
- Do You Practice Specifics?
- 5 Keys to Making Money With Affiliate Programs
- 7 Ways to Make Money Online
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24 Responses to “10 Ways to Lose Money Online”
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Terry,
That is great. Reminds me of an article I wrote a while back about the same topic and today, you have done the same but better. Great article. Very informative.
Tal Fighel
http://www.onlinehomesurveys.com/Affiliates.html
Great post Terry,
This is a refreshing way to look at things.
Sincerely,
Jeremiah
Terry,
Great article! Gets us thinking outside the box. Keep ‘em coming.
Mark
Refreshing coming from a high end person in the IM space. I suspect MANY of your readers are now staring into the mirror blinking their eyes wildly as the guilt washes over them. But, it’s great to hear. The truth hurts, but the truth shall make you free.
Funny.
Terry, this is like a variant of your “reverse” goal-setting system.
You should do a post like this on 10 ways to make sure you don’t reach your goals, or “10 ways to make sure you lose focus in building your business”.
Thanks, great post.
Gogo
Great post Terry! I especially liked #3, subscribing to every email list you can find. I made that mistake several years ago. So much info was coming my way, there wasn’t any possibility of me implementing, let alone understanding, any of it. Since then, I’ve trimmed my subscription to 2-3 at any one time.
One thing I’ve noticed about email lists. The sender usually hooks you with a pretty good piece of information and you subscribe. But after that, all communication is promoting their stuff or someone else’s. They have no long term substance. But that’s not the case with you, I’ve stayed with yours because week after week, you have something worthwhile to read.
Thanks!
David
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Great article. I agree with David. I hate the gurus who post content once a month but send out the sales letters every day and every week. I truly love the content you provide
Guilty of #8…(if not a few others). When I got into internet marketing, I was like a kid in a candy store…so many ways to make money online! I bought up hundreds of domains thinking I had a plan for each of them.
Well…a couple of years later…I haven’t lost much…but if I’d been spending my time working on 2 or 3 core sites, I’m quite sure I’d be way ahead of the game.
Thanks for your post and your solid advice!
Chris
Hello from Russia!
Can I quote a post in your blog with the link to you?
Great post Terry,
Tip #8 just what I needed. I tend Jump from website to website without having everythng setup.
All the best,
Francisco
Terry
I’ve certainly been guilty of points 1 to 3 before!
If I subscribe to a list and all I get is sales email after sales email then off I come.
That also gives me pointers when I set up my own lists. At a maximum, for every 4 of my advice type emails, I send out one ‘sales’ type.
Andrew
Hi Polprav,
You can quote from the post and link to me. I would prefer you don’t republish the entire post though on your site. Feel free to quote a section and link over to the rest of it here.
Laughing hysterically! Is there a way to direct every single newbie internet marketer to this post before they take action and commit all 10 mistakes in the same month? Oh, we’ve all been there and at least partially committed one of these mistakes, right?
Thanks:-)
Terry,
Hahaha this is funny and interesting. Definitely a very fresh and unique approach of “motivating” someone to lose money fast.
We all need something like this once in a while.
Sarcastic yet very true IMHO.
Cheers!
Welly Mulia
Terrific and true. As always you’re honesty is refreshing.
Great list of reminders to all new and old online marketers. I like the tip #3 LOL I’m guilty of doing it. I subscribed to all free offers, but at the end of the day, I haven’t learned anything. Actually, I’m more confused because of tons of techniques in front of me.
Well thanks! I’ve done all of those, so I can say, they definitely work.
100% guaranteed
Awesome advice Terry.
I’d say that not having a mentor (and actually listen to him) is also a way to loose money.
Franck
this post is remind me of what i was doing, i guess i do all the tent …. pity me huh.
but now i realized work hard and work smart is the key.. thanks Terry
Hi Terry,
I had a giggle reading this post!
Having entered learning about developing a business online 2 years ago around my little one, I think I have actually done half of the list so far! No wonder I am still broke, don’t have much of a list and feel like a chook with my head cut off!
It is all a learning lesson and as long as we don’t repeat the mistakes and learn from them we will succeed. Sometimes it is the mistakes even if they are costly that can help us succeed.
Great post and thank you for the laugh!
Jacinta
Thank you for sharing with us these concepts. It was really interesting to see how much I need to learn in this business. Simple and clear.
Rosemarie
It a good start to get start raking your brain…. I think most of us have been through this as, if not I at-least share this thought……… Great work.. Looking forward for some more of these interesting facts.
Hi Terry,
funny article but it’s true!
i love this quote “Strategy #1: Buy EVERYTHNG you can get your hands on about internet marketing but don’t put any of it into action.”
great article!
Agung