Wham or Scam

OK, apologies again for the lack of updates. I really must try harder.

A year in review

What a year 2009 has been. It has been a year where I have finally discovered what I want from life – not to be stuck in front of a desk for five days a week for the rest of my working life – and discovered how to get there. It has been a year where I have started to believe that things could really happen, and they have happened. I have discovered that there is a long way to go to reach my goals and I have also discovered that you learn so much whilst doing affiliate marketing.

There are also lessons to be learnt. Don’t be afraid to find out how to do new things – if you go wrong its a valuable learning tool. I have also found out that I could have worked a lot harder. Still, these lessons I will take with me into 2010.

The Year Ahead.

So what does 2010 bring? Well there is Project 2011, my self named project to earn myself enough money to live comfortably. In my line of work the salaries are just not good enough to live a comfortable life, so by April 2011 I hope to earn enough extra money through affiliate marketing to live a comfortable life without having to worry about where the money for the bill are going to come from. There will be more details on Project 2011 soon.

It will also be my first time I pay taxes to (or get taxes back) from the UK government. I already have to pay a years worth of National Insurance on top of my PAYE. At least I will qualify for a pension sooner this way (that’s what I keep telling myself anyway).

2010 is going to be a good year – I can feel it in my blood.

Hope you all had a good Christmas and I wish you all a happy and prosperous new year

Well, the time has finally come for me to register for Self-employment so I can be a good girl and pay my taxes; the only problem is that it is not that easy to get the information needed. Another commission last week has pushed my earnings up, so I really don’t think I can ignore it anymore.

I am a long long way off getting the kind of income that will see me pay loads of taxes every year, in fact, I am still a little in the red (so maybe I get some money back???), but if I lose my job again it might have some implications for the amount of benefits I receive. Nevertheless, this has to be disclosed.

Reading through the information for registering for self-employment there are certain things that I have to do – like keep all receipts of sales and expenses, draw up a profit and loss account etc etc – all seems like more time out of my already busy schedule.

Is there an upside?

While I am like any other British citizen I greatly begrudge giving away my hard earned cash to the government, we are entitle to list any expenses we may have incurred in running our ‘business’. This means that the cost of advertising (AdWords), purchasing equipment etc etc can be offset with the money we earn. If we make a loss we don’t pay anything and in some cases we may even get money back from the government.

Is there a downside?
Probably for me. I had only just been told by a friend last week that I was supposed to register for self-employment within three months of me making money/starting my business. I may now be liable for a fine. There is not much I can do about it. I cannot carry on not declaring my income so if they fine me they fine me. Lesson learnt. As for the benefits if I lose my job (which is very likely in the very near future) I will have to tell them as well. Who knows if it will affect my benefits.

So what now?

I Have to try extra hard to make that little extra money. If I lose the security of benefits in unemployment this money will come invaluable. It also means that because I can claim expenses I am able to try things that were too risky in my days of unemployment – like AdWords and setting up an E-mail list. The upside is that compared to many businesses out there Internet Marketing has very low overheads so that won’t be so much of a worry.

I may also be entitled to financial help from the government. I haven’t explored this option yet but should I lose my job again I will try and get more information.

Well, lets hope that the fines will not be too harsh .

Disclaimer: Tax law in the UK (and any other country for that matter) is the definition of confusion. The information in this blog post should not be relied on, AT ALL! I am writing as I understand it and in no way am I a tax expert nor am I an expert in self-employment tax implications etc etc. Ask your accountant or contact the tax people who are qualified to give advice.

We have all been there haven’t we – product after product promising to make us rich over night with their hyped up sales pages etc, etc – only to find out it is all a scam. That is the problem with the ‘make money online’ niche. I’d have a guess at saying that at leas 99% of the products out there are not worth the money.

Well now the consumer has a voice. The FTC (Federal Trade Commission) have come down very hard on those who sell products that simply don’t live up to expectations. I have seen many many sales pages that make outrageous claims of wealth – soon you stop believing it all together.

What do the new rules mean?
The bottom line is that if you are making claims that people who buy your product or a product you are promoting will earn you a certain amount of money, and you have no evidence to back it up; then the FTC will slam you.

What does this means for the consumer?

Well, put simply an affiliate can no longer cliam that product x will make you rich overnight (unless he has the evidence to prove it). This means that sales pages should in theory be more honest about what the product intends to deliver and if the promises are blatantly false they can be reported to the FTC. It just makes a more honest sale; and those whose products have continued to scam people will no longer have a free ride. Whether the FTC will carry out their threats remains to be seen. For now, things can only get better for the consumer.

When I first wanted to know how to start internet marketing I bought every e-book and program under the sun, only to find out that I didn’t actually have a clue how to market the product because they didn’t tell me. I was drawn into the ‘get rich quick mentality’ and it was one disappointment after another.

When I first came across Wealthy Affiliate University I tried so hard to find reviews that said it was a scam. It hadn’t been a problem with other programs; I had at least learned to look for reviews when I came across yet another product that promised overnight riches.

I honestly expected Wealthy Affiliate University to be a scam, but I could not find one review that said it was. In fact, they were all honest in saying that if you really wanted to earn money online it would take a lot of hard work. I decided to take the plunge and haven’t looked back since.

In the thirteen months since joining Wealthy Affiliate University the amount of stuff that I have learned could not have ever been taught to me in any guru’s e-book. I only started to make real money after 8 months, but that was mainly because I failed to take action. Now I am taking all that I have learnt and applying it. It is really starting to pay off. Another £40 in commissions at the beginning of the month.

So if you want to know how to start internet marketing then your best bet is Wealthy Affiliate University. There is so many resources there you won’t look at another program or e-book again.