Commentary

Ebiz 2007

Another year is in the history books and it’s time to review what worked and what didn’t.

What Worked

  • Selling stuff on Ebay
  • Selling stuff on Craigslist
  • Adsense

What Didn’t Work

  • Adwords
  • Selling ebooks
  • Selling desktop wallpapers
  • Starting a profitable website

I now have a total of 10 domains: 3 active and 7 inactive. The 7 inactive suffer from what I call “great idea syndrome” or GIS. A typical manifestation of GIS occurs when you have a “great idea” and then research if a domain is available. If it is, you immediately buy that domain thinking someone might steal it from you any second. You then write out some thoughts and get really excited about the potential. A few days later, the seemingly unstoppable flow of excitement and drive is gone. The domain sits parked and you wonder if you’ll ever develop it.

Did I make any money this year? Nope. Will I make money this year? I’m not sure. Will I keep trying, you betcha!

For all the loyal readers, I truly wish you a great 2007.

Guru Hype With A Revealing Admission

Consider this a continuation of my “beware the hype” rants. I subscribe to multiple online marketing guru newsletters and I got this today:

Now this call is definitely unlike any B.S. “preview” call you may have heard before. In fact, I’m not quite sure what to expect myself because I’ve got lots of different people hopping on. Truly, it’ll be more like a party than a teleconference call – and you’ll get the gifts! (I’ll mention those in a minute.)

The insiders know that there are BS preview calls?! Gee, I wonder which gurus do that? What’s funny is that when you get so many of these E-mails, you quickly learn that they all use the same tactics. I wonder why? Maybe they all copy each other? There’s hardly an original idea in the bunch.

Typical False Hype:

  1. Guru claims that he doesn’t “know what’s gotten into him”, “must be crazy”, or “has gone too far THIS time”
  2. Guru claims the idea came to him while at some exotic or fancy location
  3. Guru claims to be giving his list the “real thing” while admitting that others don’t
  4. Guru claims learning this information will “propel you to the next level”
  5. Guru claims only a limited number of slots, seats, or books are available
  6. Guru claims the “insane” offer ends soon so you MUST hurry
  7. Guru claims you will get a massive amount of bonus/free material worth 1000’s of dollars

Please, be a critical thinker in life and in business.