Thanks to John Cow and Garry Conn, and my recent brush with an unsavory incident, I decided to write something about this. Everyday, I get suspecting and doubting comments from personal friends and family when I tell them they can start making some money online like I am doing now, no matter how little.

The reason? There are thousands of online scams masquerading as marketers and bloggers, with questionable products and services. They even make it on the TV news over here in Singapore.

So much so they just about bury the others trying to make a living online, who are either honest or naive. I believe a significant amount of time has to be wasted convincing people that not everyone is a fraud. While this is unproductive and we could ignore this and concentrate on actual methods instead, it certainly affects the level of conversion possible if our industry had more honest people or products.

Unfortunately, it is near impossible to stop anyone making a quick buck out of anything. If there is a demand, you can bet there will be a supply. Everyone has themselves or a family to feed. And who am I to say that under any circumstances, we should never ever go against our principles? I have never had to be in that situation, but emergencies and greed can often lead people to do things they do not really wish to.

I normally try to tread a balanced path, and it will be the same for this. I will not share my recent incident nor name any names as I managed to convince the other party that their reputation was more valuable than transaction fees. Instead, I will share some of what any of us should try to follow, if we are serious about making money online long term, a positive reputation and brand can often be everything. We would not have to look over our shoulders or be indignant about any possible accusations.

1. Provide real valuable content/products
A lot of online products promise a lot but fail to deliver. I thought hard about this before criticizing, as rarely any product provided any value to me. Thus I found it hard to promote them. The question would be whether they do not have any value at all to anyone. There might just be someone who could benefit from them. That said, if you sincerely provide valuable content on your blog or product, my opinion is that a little hype is fine. The problem is that most go the easy route by hyping beyond what they actually provide, to secure sales. It is marketing taken to the negative extremes.

2. Do not promise what you cannot deliver
It is easy to promise the sky, in order to get as many sales or readers as possible. It creates hype and probably quick early results. But if ultimately you cannot deliver, your reputation will be flushed down the drain. You can repair it by following up on complaints but promises once broken will leave scars. Many people will give you a second chance, but why spend extra effort having to get to that stage? If you still fail to deliver despite best efforts, be quick to address the problem and do your best to provide additional make-up value.

3. Read your fine print
Yes, often it is the consumer who has more at stake in this area. But as a provider, be sure to read yours as well. If you need to include any particular clause, do so.

4. Make known the good guys
Somehow I tend to believe that there is power in numbers. If you put it to good use, there is no harm. By letting others know who the honest ones are, it will help point more people to what they really need. It is useful to know the scammers, but at the end of the day you only know who to avoid. By spreading the word about the true providers, consumers know instantly who to go to, and what to expect. And…

5. Treat others as (potential) partners, not competitors
Maki recently wrote a great post on this in terms of blogging. The same applies to any industry. It might be hard to do because humans are inherently greedy and who would not like to make more money? But a combined effort working together can oftentimes bring greater positive results.

6. Choose your partners
This goes without saying. Working with like-minded individuals will create better synergy. And if there is an overall positive synergy, the results will follow.

7. If you make a mistake, admit it, address it
The hardest thing for almost anyone to do. Even for me. But if anything, it gives you a second chance to make things right. Why bite the hand that feeds you?

I am sure there are many more ‘rules’ or ‘principles’ that you might follow. Feel free to share them here. The above points are just what I try my best to adhere to. Making money online by being a fake can sometimes make you instant millions. But it never lasts and there might be other undesired consequences. This is something I aim to do for the long run, and the worst thing I could do is to jeopardize things by being greedy or totally dishonest. I do not profess to be the perfect guy, and I expect (6) to be something that will happen along the way progressing along my learning curve. But for sure I hope to always correct myself whenever necessary.

Thanks for reading!

The financial institutions are offering college loans and personal finance to students who are willing to go for higher studies but can’t afford the heavy finances required. Now getting a car loan is very easy with the availability of cheap car insurance quotes. These loans are don’t always have to be backed up by interest only mortgages and one can also find solutions of cheap mortgage broker leads. These loans save the businesses from foreclosure and bankruptcy threats.

Share This

Enjoyed This Post? Subscribe To Get Updates!
Get some ScratchBack luv! Donate and get a text link