Is Internet Marketing only for slimy scum?

OK -- this is a bit of a rant....

Full disclosure -- I mention a blog post below from a blog that I actually advertise on. If that bothers you, you should stop reading now.

In November of 2007, I decided I wanted to learn about Internet Marketing (IM). So, I started reading posts on DP, reading blogs and trying to understand legitimate ways to make money online (MMO). I have learned a ton and met some really great people on line. DP is great and I really appreciate the feedback I get here. What I really want to do is develop an IM business that people respect and adds value to the world. I am a long way from achieving that, but that is the goal.

With that as my goal, I have been trying to stay away from black hat stuff and other questionable techniques.

Now, I was not down on my luck and trying to get rich easily and effortlessly when I started. Quite the opposite. However, there is one thing that I remember from when I started -- the slimy get rich quick schemes that I kept finding. It was really very difficult for me to tell the difference between a real MMO/IM product and some con artist.

This post from Garry Conn reminded me of this. In this post, Garry exposes this guy Jefferey Lant -- http://www.garryconn.com/jeffrey-lant-is-a-scam-artist-beware.php Do you guys know about this Jeffery Lant guy? Is Garry right, or is Jeffery legit? If Jeffery really is a con artist, how do we get the word out?

I trust Garry. He posts helpful quality stuff and is very honest (for example http://www.garryconn.com/top-quality-blogging-tips-on-pdf.php) -- but can Jeffrey Lant really be that bad?

I don't know a thing about Jeffery Lant except what I read from Garry. If Jeffery is that bad, what should be done about it? I dugg Garry's post. Not sure what else to do...

Thoughts?

 

I don't know the people you are speaking of and I'm too buzy/lazy to follow that link you posted but...I do think the vast majority of IM/SEO is shady and I've also been surpised by this.

I'm trying to build a legitmate site. I'm trying to gain buzz and become a small part of the Web 2.0 success stories we all hear about. I know I'm not going to retire, but I'm hoping to build a nice niche site.

I still sit and wonder how the "big" sites got big. How did they become such huge viral successes? I guess it takes a mention on TechCrunch or Engadget or some other A-list blog. It seems that all these guys just plug each other's efforts and real new things don't bubble up to the top.

I started my site due to my love to the subject area and my love of technology. I was naive and didn't realize that amount of marketing and SEO that are required to get traffic to a site. So, I hit DP, Sitepoint, v7n and other places looking for info...

You immediately learn about link building, directory submissions, PR, anchor text, social bookmarking, writing articles, buying Diggs and Stumbles, buying forum posts, etc. You very quickly follow links to get rich quick eBooks and other crap. You find people who own 50 turnkey blogs with Adsense, most of the blogs about making money online. You find advice like, "create 10 blogs each with 10 articles", "as soon as Britney Spears does something, blog about it" and other crap.

I guess there is nothing wrong with all that but it's not what I'm trying to do online.

There are plenty of times that I've paid for these services and then regretted doing it. It just seemed a bit shady. Don't get me wrong, I'm still doing some of these to this day because I don't know of any other way...

I never wanted to learn about SEO. I wish I didn't know that it is important to have your search term as your anchor text! I look back and feel that it is just wasted time and effort.

I'm starting to burn out on the whole thing. I may even look to sell my site. I've grown from 0 uniques to 400/day in six months, now up to 1200 uniques/day in 14 months online. The site is profitable but it's nowhere near what I wanted. I'm tired of marketing with no budget, tired of fighting to get noticed.

</rant>

 

Bummer.

Your experience is similar to a lot of people that I talk to. 1200 uniques per day sound pretty great to me. You should keep at it (IMHO). Thanks for your comments.

 

Webworks66,

If you're up to 1,200 uniques a day you must be doing something right. I'd say you just need to do more of it and look on the positive side instead of the negative. Hang in there.

texasag90,

I've never heard of either of the guys you're talking about so I can't comment.

donrock

 

it's all part of the business.

we're all under that huge world wide web.

online marketing has created emplyment opportunities for a lot of people so maybe it is not that bad afterall.

 

eight people said no lol

 

100% voted no!

 

Try to lead and not follow. That weeds out a lot of the shady gurus. However, many of the good guys have posted a lot of inspiring information that you can feed off of, spin and create your own. Corey Rudl comes to mind. RIP. He was pretty good at innovation. He would have come up with something to take advantage of the rising web 2.0 thing and profit from it.
The word "guru" in and of itself bothers me. Reminds me of the people in the office that think you're a genius because you can hook up a scanner. To them, you're a computer guru! The difference is that they are uninformed on how to hook up a scanner. That's all. Nothing more.

 

I totally understand what you are feeling. Particularly when you look at products on ClickBank you find all kinds of digital snakeoil. It can be quite depressing. But realize that there are a lot of legitimate and valuable products out there to promote as well. If you build an honest and trustworthy business, it will do well. The slimy guys are the ones that have to constantly reinvent themselves. But, I wholeheartedly believe that big success is possible with honest methods and good products! Don't ever give up!

There are actually forums on the web addressing this very topic: how to make money on the web honestly.

 

There ya have it... 100% of people think Jeffrey Lant is not at all legit.

 

Get bent!

Sincerely,
Jeffrey Lant

 

I didn't follow your link, I am too lazy too but you know what, there are scammers offline too. The internet is just a different medium. It doesn't make people crooked or straight.

That said, there is a lot of good info out there. Some things to look for - if someone is selling something about how to make money online, do a quick search and see if they actually do what they are selling - in a different market. If someone owns a company or is successfully selling a service/product/membership/whatever and they are giving advice on how to make it work, listen to them. If the only reason they exist is to sell you other peoples info on how to make money online - but they aren't making money online, then they don't know what they are talking about.

Also, ask. You might be able to find someone who is successful and ask them who they listen too. There are a lot of good people who make a lot of money online, and most of them will tell you it did NOT happen overnight (as the cons would have you believe)

 

Thanks for your replies. Interesting that we can't find anyone to vote for Jeffery as "legit." I figured that they would hate-bomb this thread into oblivion (they tried that on Garry Conn's site mentioned in the OP).

Amazing.

 

@webwork66: how much is your income per month at the moment and what kind of website do you have? entertainment? e-commerce? pharmacies?

 

Its for those who think outside the box. The slimy scum usually come after that initial step, once they exploit a method for all its worth.

 

@SurfScam -- Just because someone is the first slimebag does not make it OK, does it?

 

Whose SurfScam?

I think you misinterpreted what I wrote.

 

Sorry -- funny typo. My bad.

I thought you were trying to say that something like Jefferey Lant is doing is OK because it is innovative, and it is really the copycats that are scum. Did I misunderstand (sorry if so).

Sorry again for the unfortunate typo, SurfSam.

 

I guess a lot of people have the same feeling. The article referenced in the OP is on the first page on Google for "Jeffrey Lant". http://www.google.com/search?q=jeff...ent-ff&ie=UTF-8&rlz=1B3GGGL_enUS267US268&aq=t

 

Update -- the article mentioned in the OP is getting a lot of threatening voice mail (and email). Do you think the guy running the blog over there should take down the post? Apparently several came in. Or, do you think he should post the voicemails?