Wake up and stop dreaming! There is NO free lunch!
I feel upset after reading this post from Gobala Krishnan. Yes, upset and provoked by the fact that we Malaysians are not well awared of the danger of the Internet and how cunning can people be if it’s about money.
The story is not new, another “I-Can-Build-You-Money-Making-Website” scam. Look at the complaint filed by a victim at complaints.com, you’ll find out the the scam was from a website storeonline.com. How on earth did people just believe to something like that and actually spent that much for websites.
Guys! Wake up! You don’t earn money so easily! Do you know how many hour those famous Internet Marketers spent everyday on Internet before they actually generate profit and become famous? Do you know how many hour they spend everyday to come out with some niche marketing ideas after they got famous? All these are TIME and EFFORT, nothing different from any conventional business you see on the streets. The only difference I can tell is the capital to invest.
So now you think you’ve forseen the future of Internet, it’s a big pie in the next decade. You want in, but you do not have any knowledge about websites. Countless of professionals provide web building services around the world, whether online or in real life. If you are going to spend money for any service/tutorial/workshop/seminar about website building(They probably name it Internet Marketing or some sort, the basic is still about having a website first), here’s some guidelines for you.
1. Who are they ?
So they are going to teach or provide you the skills to handle a website. Ask for their names, their company name, their portfolios and their website address. If they are all legitimate and pro, all these should be ready and packaged into any medium that is presentable to you. Basically, any company that charge you with bills, must have some sort of business registration in any country. I, myself do not pay any invoice/bill without proper printed paper with a company letterhead and info(business address, business registration number).
2. Not Now, Not Today.
If they’ve given you a website address, claiming that is their company website or a merchant website owned by them. Write it down, do not completely believe the visuals/figures shown by them about the site on the spot. This is a very crucial position that you must hold. “NO MONEY FOR THEM ON THE SPOT“, if their services are really that good, you wouldn’t mind to miss their “TODAY ONLY” promotion. Go back to them some other day, with more information gathered and prepared. Make sure you get home with only spending the price for the entrance, the lunch, or the hightea, nothing more.
3. Evaluate the info given
During their presentation, they should have given you some proves, facts, website addresses. Here’s what you can do.
A) If they claimed they own a website.
Go to dnsstuff.com, on the left hand side, use the box “whois lookup”. Key in their domain name(example.com), and lookup for the information. Read through the results generated, see if their company name or name of person in charge listed in the results.
B)If they claimed their website is ranking #X in web traffic.
Go to alexa.com, use the web traffic ranking tool. Key in their web address to see whether their website is really so hot.
C)If they claimed a very success website is developed/associated/affiliated with them.
Write to the owner of the website to verify about them, if the site owner is happy with their service, surely they will be happy to comment.
D)If their website is like storeonline.com
Forget about it. Do not believe in any site that has no Contact Information, no Introduction/About information, not even a single paragraph of solid content. If they tell you they can make you websites like storeonline.com that make use of the pay-per-click scheme as they are using. You can also forget about it, it is beyond your comprehension if you still need someone help with your own website.
Correct me if I am wrong about these guidelines. I seriously hope I will have time for a Mandarin version of this, for those aunties and uncles out there. Also, I notice that most of the speakers in these Internet Marketing seminars are foreigners. Tall, clean, formal suits, and good english, which all these do not make them any better than us local Malaysians. Listen to what they say, ask them what you need to know, and most of all, do not bring cash, cheque book, credit card, that are enough to pay them off one time.The best thing is always make your decision and payment some other day.
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May 22nd, 2007 at 9:26 am
Das ist fantastisch site.