Too many people join this program - and many other affiliate marketing companies - under the illusion that they will earn money quickly and with very little effort.
To those people who are wondering how soon they can make money with the Plug-In-Profit site, or other program, I would ask the following question:
Are you looking for fast money, or are you looking for a serious business that you will build and work on over time to achieve financial freedom within a few years?
If your answer is the former, then I suggest that this business is not for you.
On the other hand, if you are fed up of working for other people and would love to build your own business over time with very little outlay, then you may just be in the right place.
With the amount of training and support that is available in this program, it is a very good place to start an online business. You need to be prepared to learn, to follow the example of those who are successful, and put what you have learned into practice. If you can do that, you are qualified for the role.
I am not convinced that there is any way of making money quick on the internet, but I do know that by putting in a bit of time and effort, you can eventually achieve the financial freedom that you cannot achieve in your nine-to-five job.
Networking is actually something that we do naturally. Whenever you read a good book or find an excellent service and tell someone else about it you are engaging in a form of networking. So why shouldn’t you use this very simple idea to help you on your way to financial freedom? Read the rest of this article here
I love the internet, but no matter how careful you think you are, it can still be easy to be taken in by clever advertising and be the victim of a scam - and it happened to me recently. Freelance Home Writers appear to offer a great service for people who are interested in earning money from writing: training, jobs, e-books and more.
They draw you in - often with an email saying you have been “selected” to register with a special $2.95 registration fee. If you read the small print, you will find that this is a seven day trial period and there is then a monthly charge of $49.95. However, they also state that if you are not satisfied, there is an 8 week money-back guarantee.
I joined, but found that most of the material on the site is easily found elsewhere for free. There is no “direct connection” with employers - just a searchable list of jobs that you can find in many freelance writers’ databases such as Elance.
What I do find suspicious about this company is that there are never any follow-up emails, and because I became very busy after I signed up, I almost forgot that I had joined until I saw the money going out of my account!
Remembering the 8 week money back guarantee, I sent them a mesage through their online contact form asking them to cancel my account and refund my money. I received no reply.
I then sent them an email, asking the same thing. I have had absolutely no response. My account is still active, and this month the second payment of $49.95 went out of my credit card account.
I have now contacted my bank and they have stopped any further payments, and are going to try and help me get my money back.
I have since come across this forum thread and found that other people have had the same problem with this company: http://www.work-at-home-forum.com/14_7144_0.htm This thread also gives some good links to free sites if you are interested in freelance writing.
I have to admit that I did the very thing that I am often warning others not to do! That is, sign up for something without doing any research or asking around.
But it goes to show that these people can make these offers look incredibly genuine. Also their website does look legitimate - and a newbie could easily think that they are getting a good deal and be paying this ridiculous fee for months before realising that it is a con.
So - let this be a warning! Don’t give your credit card details to anything until you have a) read the small print, and b) done your research!
And, whatever you do, stay away from Freelance Home Writers!
What kind of steps are you taking towards finding financial freedom?Slow steps, careful steps, stumbling steps, quick steps?Foxtrot?The truth is, if you have started to take your first steps to financial freedom, you need to be sure of where and how you are placing your feet.
When people first start thinking of how much money they could make running a home based business, many of them do not stop to think about the steps they need to consider, but reach out and try to make a huge leap without looking at what they are doing.Most of these people will either fall flat on their face when they trip over the first obstacle, or fall down the gaping hole that they did not see beneath them.
In these difficult financial times, many people might be scared of losing their jobs, or already be in line for being made redundant.
This is no joke for anyone, especially if you liked your job, or if you are reliant on a particular level of salary.
Change, when it is not your choice, can feel very difficult. However, while we may not always have a choice in what happens to us, we can choose how we respond.
After you have got over the initial shock (It’s happened to me in the past, so I do know how it feels!), you can begin to see what your options are, and whether there is something positive to be got out of the situation.
Usually there is. Many people choose to see this event as an opportunity to do something different; perhaps to start up that business or open the restaurant that they’ve always wanted to, or to write a book.
These are all great ideas, but for many people, lack of capital is a stumbling block here and they may feel that none of these possibilities are options for them.
All the same, there are opportunities for starting a business without a large initial outlay, where you can set up a home based business and start marketing online without huge start-up costs or heavy advertising costs. Starting an online business is a good idea for many who would like to be financially free and who have some time to work at home.
Now, I’m not going to pull the wool over your eyes. I am not suggesting that you can start an online business and wake up the next morning with a full time income! It can take two to three years before you start seeing a seriously good profit. If you need money now, you may still need to find some kind of job - but starting an online business now, while you have a bit of time on your hands, or while you feel your job is insecure could be a very wise investment in your future. You can see a few of the opportunities available at my website here.
If an online business is not for you, but you feel you want to take the opportunity to do something more meaningful, then employing a career coach could be of benefit. I have helped many people choose a career that excites them and also helped build their confidence to follow their dreams. My coaching website will give you all the details here.
Being made redundant is always a challenge - but with a positive mindset and with support, you can turn it into an opportunity for the better.
This weekend I had a marvellous Skype call with an affiliate marketing expert in Central America (isn’t Skype wonderful? Here I am, in a little village in Warwickshire, talking to someone in Chicago, just like he was sitting across the desk from me - all for free!)
Anyway - I digress.
Let me explain. I am a member of the PIPS Power Group, which is a support service for anyone who is a member of the Plug-In-Profit Site (PIPS). It’s run by six highly successful PIPS members, who generously give their time to help us mere mortals achieve financial freedom with our businesses and give us lots of affiliate marketing advice.
Because I am short of time lately (building my life coaching business and training to present coaching programs in schools), I was worried about how to market my home business effectively with only a couple of hours to spare.
So I decided to take advantage of the free half hour consultation that is given by some of the mentors, and I spent a very nice 45 minutes talking to Jeff Casmer, who gave me some very positive and focused advice: to focus my time on article writing and blogging, as these are the most effective ways of increasing backlinks and building traffic.
Now, you might think I could have got this advice anywhere - but the point is that sometimes we need to have specific, one-to-one mentoring, otherwise we can get swamped by the opinions of different people and end up in square one. Jeff also gave me some detailed instructions on the most effective use of keywords for my articles.
I now feel focused and re-enthused. I know what I need to do each day and each week, and that I will be making the best use of my time.
The point I am trying to make, is that anyone who is working on an online home based business really should have a mentor and some kind of support. Where are you going to find yours?
If you happen to have a sponsor who is very successful, you could use them if they are willing to help. Otherwise, you can search the forums for experienced affiliate marketers and ask if they would be prepared to mentor you.
Of course, if you are a member of PIPS, then you can join the PIPSPowerGroup and get the best mentoring on the web (in my opinion!).
Finding affiliate marketing advice doesn’t have to be difficult. There are plenty of people who are very happy to help you achieve what they have already achieved. After all, that’s what this business is all about: helping others to achieve success.
Anyone setting up an online home business will need to learn internet marketing. For the person who is new to marketing online, it can at first appear to be an overwhelming and difficult area to understand.
Many people sign up for affiliate marketing sites because they see a way of earning some money quickly and easily. Unfortunately, unless they know how to market an online business, or have very good training, the system will not work for them. This is usually because of a misconception about how quickly it is possible to make a profit, and because they do not understand the basics of internet marketing.
I remember my first few weeks of my new affiliate marketing business. I was so excited I could hardly sleep, and I could hardly bear anything that took me away from the computer for a few moments. At the same time, there was so much information coming at me from various training programs, emails and well-meaning sponsors, I also felt completely overwhelmed. As an affiliate newbie it is very easy to slip into information overload and spend so much time leaping from one piece of information to another that you are not actually getting anything done.
If this sounds like you, then don’t worry - you are certainly not alone! There is a lot to learn when you start out, and it’s very difficult to know where to start. You feel that you want to do everything at once; you start one thing, and then think you should be doing something else…
If your affiliate company has a training program (and if it’s a legitimate one it certainly should have) then make sure you read it step-by-step.
If you have joined several affiliate companies, you might be tempted to try and follow every training program - and end up horribly confused! The best thing to do is to start off with one piece of training from one program. Take the program you like best of all and do the first thing that they suggest - and do it until you feel confident with it.
Once you’ve mastered this one thing, go on to the next thing. And so on.
This may feel slow - but believe me, you will be making far more progress than if you jump from one thing to the other and try to learn everything at once.
You will hear it said many times in this industry that this is a marathon, not a sprint. Take your time; there is no rush. Your business will build in time - and you need to give it time.
Be selective about the newsletters you sign up to - will you really have time to read them all? Pick one or two that you feel will really help you and forget the rest.
So if you are an overwhelmed affiliate newbie, slow down, breathe, relax and enjoy. Just make sure you do something every day that will progress your business.
This is an exciting week for me because I have now launched my new career-life-coach website, which is a vast improvement on my old life coaching site!
My coaching service will be very much as usual, specialising in helping people with career change and development, but I now have a page specifically for home business coaching. This is a special coaching service for anyone who owns a home business and needs help with issues such as motivation, time management, goal-setting and confidence.
I also offer an online life coaching service, where you can be coached via email or instant messaging, as well as telephone coaching via Skype. This means I can offer my services globally, as well as offering face-to-face coaching for local clients.
The benefits of life coaching include:
being able to set realistic and achievable goals
developing commitment to reach your goals
developing a clear vision for your future
boosting your self confidence and self belief
letting go of fears that stop you moving forward
improving communication with colleagues, friends and/or family
Do head on over to www.career-life-coach.com and see what you think! There are still a few things to iron out, but it should all work OK - if you notice any anomalies, please email me at ros@writer-ros.co.uk. Oh, and everyone is entitled to one free initial consultation with no obligation to continue so why not give it a go?
People looking for an affiliate program to start or add to their home business may have come across SFI (Strong Future International), and be tempted to join. It’s free to join, it’s very popular and it’s been going a long time. But does this make it the best online opportunity, or is an SFI home business just another affiliate program that will sit around and provide you with nothing?
Of course, how much you earn from an affiliate program is up to you. If you do nothing, you will receive nothing. Like any other program, you need to actively promote it and give it time to build before you give up on it. And of course, it’s much easier to do this if you like the program in the first place.
So, what’s to like about SFI? What makes it so popular and why would you want to join?
Well, the first thing of course is that it’s free to start with. Of course, you will receive higher commissions and benefits once you upgrade to Executive Affiliate status - and this does not necessarily mean spending money (although this is the easiest option). You can become an EA by selling a certain number of products. Alternatively, you can buy SFI products yourself or take out a membership to the IAHBE (International Association of Home Business Entrepreneurs). This will cost around $30 per month.
Many people wait until they have a few affiliates before they become EA. That’s up to you. Of course, you won’t earn any money until your affiliates upgrade to EA status themselves, but being an EA sets an example to those in your downline and you will earn double the commissions as an EA.
The next best thing about SFI is that there is so much training available on the site, including an online forum and many different ways of earning money. You can choose to concentrate solely on promoting the business opportunity, or you can sell SFI’s many products, including cleaning products, pet products, magazines, toiletries, technical services and much more - or you can do both!
SFI also provide innovative ways of earning more sales through their merchance programs and the EyeEarn program. To become a member of EyeEarn you pay a one-time fee of $20, put a sticker on your car, wear a t-shirt - and you will receive a share of affiliates who join up via the world-wide advertising. This means a steady stream of affiliates every month as long as you remain a member.
What I like about SFI is that they are always coming up with new ideas and new ways of earning money.
So, what are the downsides, if any?
Well, everything has its downside, and if SFI has any it is in the fact that there are so many options available it can be quite overwhelming when you first join. But there are some good “Getting Started” pages for the beginner, and if you devote a little time to finding your way around the site, this shouldn’t be a problem.
The other downside is that although it is relatively easy to quickly build a downline (due to the fact that it’s free to join), only a minority of these will become EAs and earn you money - so it can take a little while before your income reaches the kind of levels you are seeking. The trick is to welcome your affiliates warmly, look after them, don’t pressurise them into upgrading, and make sure you answer any of their questions honestly. It’s a numbers game - the more affiliates you have, the more chances there are of having more EAs, so you just need to keep going with it. In time, it can provide you with a very nice income.
So, is it the best online opportunity? The honest answer is, I don’t know - but then I don’t believe there is such a thing. I know that I like it. But whatever program you choose, its success depends on your commitment and how much work you put into it.
If you want to find out more about an SFI home business and see if it’s the kind of program for you, click here.
I am a career life coach and writer and I live in the UK, close to the historic town of Stratford-upon-Avon.
I have found that affiliate marketing and the personal development industry are extremely strongly linked, which is why I have added a motivational flavour to my website (www.wealth-city.com) and the way I run my business.
Subscribe to my FREE newsletter full of tips for running an online home business - and get $147 worth of free gifts!
I have been interested in personal development for many years and I am passionate about the power of positive thought and the law of attraction. I know, through experience, that we create whatever we believe in.
I started in network marketing towards the end of 2007, and I love the amount of support and motivational material there is available for people in this business, if they are prepared to look. I am so eager to help people in this business, I also offer a motivational newsletter to anyone who signs up as an affiliate under me!
My main interest is history - particularly family history, and I write novels that usually have a historical twist.
On the other hand, if you are fed up of working for other people and would love to build your own business over time with very little outlay, then you may just be in the right place.
I am a career life coach and writer and I live in the UK, close to the historic town of Stratford-upon-Avon.
I have found that affiliate marketing and the personal development industry are extremely strongly linked, which is why I have added a motivational flavour to my website 
