The feeling of having been screwed over by a scammer is one of the worst in the world. Pretty much every Get-Rich-Quick Scheme or hyped up Done-For-You (DFY) System out there is something of a scam if not a full-blown scam.
If you are serious about making money online, then it is essential that you recognise get-rich-quick scams and understand that they are to be avoided at all costs (no pun intended).
The internet is absolutely riddled with them, to the point where the whole scene of ‘making money online’ has a bad name and is regarded with suspicion, even today in the digital age where leveraging the internet to make money in both ethical and non-ethical ways is in full-swing.
The Anatomy of a Get-Rich-Quick Scam
A get-rich-quick scheme/scam typically reveals itself in this kind of way and sequence:
- You see an ad or receive a marketing email (maybe they scraped your email from the internet somewhere)
- The email talks to you about a ‘system’ that you can use to make big make money easily
- You follow the link and are brought to a hyped up sales video
- You are told you can start right now with NO experience needed – basically, you can get rich quick.
- You are urged to sign up to the program and pay a front end fee (usually this is a small fee)
- There are numerous OTOs and/or upsells adding up to far more than the cost of the base product.
- There is fake scarcity such as ‘Only 8 Places Left,’ or ‘Limited Spaces Available!’
- Sometimes there are ‘testimonials’ from people who lie about income claims (they are usually actors hired from Fiverr.com and are paid to lie about how the DFY system made them rich).
Two common places you’ll find get-rich scams are on Clickbank and WarriorPlus.
With systems like these, you are almost guaranteed to NOT make money, or at least you won’t get into profit. Usually, you just end up wasting your money because these systems are for the benefit of the owners, and are designed to squeeze as much money out of you as possible and for as long as possible.
Below are some images showing examples of get-rich-quick programs and typical kind of jargon that you may be somewhat familiar with:
But Do Get-Rich-Quick Systems Sometimes Work?
Almost never. And even when someone does somehow manage to do well with one for a while there are still various uncertainties, like these:
- They might just be going through a bout of good luck (a lot of these systems rely on paying for clicks from low quality traffic vendors).
- The system they are using may close down and stop being hosted in the future which means that the person using it loses their entire income stream.
One thing is for sure which is that it is not wise to rely on a DFY system like something from one of the above examples. If you let your success depend on a cheap, buggy get-rich-quick program, it will only be a matter of time before you are left high and dry because after all, there’s no real push-button way to long term wealth, and these systems never give you any in-depth training on marketing and running your own independent online business.
If you are equipped with the knowledge of how to build and run your own business and how to market properly etc. then you will survive in the online world of internet marketing, otherwise, you simply won’t because it’s so bumpy and difficult without proper training. You may have a little flare of success here and there with get-rich-quick systems, but ultimately, in all reasonable probability, you will fail miserably.
Remember, the people making these programs aren’t interested in your success, but only in your wallet.
This brings us to another point which is about the psychology tactics these gurus use on people. All products are allowed to market themselves so that they attract potential buyers, but those who do buy, shouldn’t be left feeling let down after a purchase.
Ethical Marketing vs Manipulation and Scam
Marketing is legal, there’s no doubt about that. You can highlight the benefits of your brand or product by all kinds of elaborate ads, however, if you cross the threshold of honesty and become downright deceitful and misleading, you will lose trust and be guilty of manipulating rather than helping your buyers.
That’s what these guys are who sell you get-rich-quick garbage – unethical marketers. Skilled marketers for sure, but not the kind of people who deserve a single cent of your money.
Also, many of them get away with what they do to an extent because the internet is such a large place, that there’s always someone new who’s going to stumble on their product for the first time.
With make money online opportunities, you’ll often see claims that just sound too good to be true. If that’s the impression you get, then good for you! That is your common sense talking.
People that want to sell you make money online fast programs do all in their power to lead you on by appealing to your need for money and your unwillingness to work hard for it.
It’s impossible for someone who isn’t experienced one bit in internet marketing to suddenly start making $500 per day. That’s about $15,000 per month!
But that’s what the marketing says for these get-rich-quick opportunities and DFY systems.
If you want to earn $500 a day without any experience and without doing the work, then you are delusional. Besides that, you don’t even deserve to be making $500 a day. Fair enough right?
It’s like saying ‘I want the salary of an Air Force Pilot but I know nothing about flying or combat or any of that, plus I’ve never been inside a cockpit and don’t intend to either.’ Well… you want the impossible! You will never earn that money because a) you’re not trained and b) you’re not doing the work!
To make money online requires the same stuff: you need to learn the skills and the ins and outs of marketing and you need to put in the work.
There is either real online marketing which makes you real money or there is no marketing which makes you no money.
Story Time: Let’s Illustrate the Point a Bit Further
(This particular story is true). Aron Chen who is now a very successful internet marketer had a very long phase of trying out DFY systems, such as 1K Daily System.
He was told to keep buying solo ads as part of the process to make money and the idea was that eventually, he would get into so much profit that he could be earning 1K a day!
Aron diligently did as instructed but frustration set in as things never went the way they were supposed to!
The problem was that solo ad traffic is the worst kind of traffic on the net!
Further down the road, he ended up in thousands of dollars of debt and was very confused.
In the end, he had to confront the fact that the owner of 1K Daily System was teaching him the wrong way to make money on the internet.
He then went on to learn marketing properly and that was the turning point in his life. He later became successful as an internet marketer and created a program called Invincible Marketer which has helped thousands of people and turned them into his loyal students.
Avoiding Scams by Having the Right Mindset
In a nutshell, if you have the right mindset, you will naturally steer away from programs that promise a ‘copy & paste,’ ‘push-button’ way to earn stacks of cash.
You’ll also need some basic understanding of what legitimate, and realistic online businesses look like.
You do get marketers who go on and on about the whole mindset thing but really, there isn’t much to having the right mindset to become a success.
It just comes down to a few bullet points:
- Be motivated
- Know your stuff
- Don’t be always looking for shortcuts
- Work hard
If you are still struggling to make money online and want a program that will be honest with you and teach you all you need to know without you needing a huge budget, then I suggest you check out Wealthy Affiliate.
The guys behind it are the real deal. They tell you it requires solid training and honest, consistent work to be an online entrepreneur. And they show you exactly how to do it via lengthy, high-level training. They also provide you with all the tools and resources you’ll need along the way.
Otherwise, I hope this has been an informative read on how to recognise and avoid DFY systems and get-rich-quick scams.
Feel free to leave any thoughts or questions down below in the comments. It would be great to hear from you and I’ll always be more than happy to help you out.
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