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7 Common Misconceptions About Web-Working And Earning A Living Online

Posted April 1, 2008 in News 7 Comments »

The thought of earning a living online does indeed seem quite appealing to more than a few folks and, just as with anything else which is that popular, there are a lot of misconceptions which you need to be aware of and here are 7 of the most common ones:

Earning A Living Online is a Piece of Cake

A lot of people seem to think that publishing a website is all there is to making money online but, fortunately for them, that’s not exactly the way things stand and, if you want other people besides relatives to visit your website, changing your way of thinking is a must.

It is Extremely Hard

On the other hand, there are folks who see making money online as something extremely hard or even as something next to impossible and that’s also not a good attitude. Yes, working hard is a must if you are interested in long-term success, but the great thing about it is the fact that you can earn a living by doing something you are passionate about, so that, if you do your job right, you will definitely not see being an online entrepreneur as something extremely hard.

All Great Ideas Are Taken

This is a foolish excuse and nothing more. Guess what: up until this point, you have most likely had more than a few great ideas yourself, yet haven’t taken things to the next level. There is no limit to human imagination, the real problem isn’t the lack of ideas, it’s the lack of willingness to take action.

You Need a Huge Startup Budget

More than a few folks consider that they are better off not trying anything in the first place unless they have a huge budget at their disposal right from the start and that is simply not the case. Of course, having a large budget never hurts, but on the other hand, there are countless examples of extremely successful online entrepreneurs who have started out with next to nothing. Never let yourself get discouraged by something like that.

You Need Programming Skills

There are people who think that being an online entrepreneur is only possible if you have programming skills, but let’s face it: you can simply delegate, finding someone who is able to get the job done at some more than affordable rates has never been easier. There are a lot of extremely talented freelancers (like you!) out there who can and will make your life easier.

Free Traffic Doesn’t Convert

If that’s the way you see things, I have two words for you: search engines. People are searching for something related to your website, find yours and click. It doesn’t get any more targeted than that. But don’t make the mistake of thinking that you can easily obtain free traffic, as it is definitely not the case. SEO is an ongoing process and, while you don’t necessarily have to invest money, an investment of time and energy is definitely a must.

Paying For Traffic Is a Waste

Think about it this way and I’m sure that you will see the issue differently: let’s assume that you are promoting a product, spend $x on a certain campaign and end up generating $2x in terms of profits. Does that look like a waste to you? I didn’t think so. Treat each advertising campaign as an investment and you will definitely not regret it in the long run.

Now that you know how things actually stand and now that you know which important misconceptions you need to never fall for, let’s just say that you are getting closer and closer to your goal of earning a living online. What other misconceptions would you like to mention? Please share your thoughts in the comment section below. :)

About the author: This is a guest post by Alan Johnson, be sure to grab your free copy of The Online Business Handbook over at TheRatingBlog.com.