Can’t Get Rich

One thing I learned after participating in several internet marketing forums is that you simply can’t please everyone regardless of how politically correct or polite you try to be — some people just want to be angry and pissed for the sake of being angry and pissed.  If you help them out (for free giving them your own time), some will b@tch and moan because you didn’t help them even more.

And the funny part is that the more you try to conform to everyone else, the more you’ll just blend in and not stand out.  That’s why it’s not always a bad idea to stand out and create a little controversy every now and then.

Recently, one such site did just that.  If you’re a racist, bigot, or prejudice, you’ve probably heard of t-shirt hell — a cool t-shirt site selling t-shirts that more often than not cross a few lines (but sure are hilarious).  Now, before you get your panties in a knot, the site doesn’t just pick on any particular group — they’re equally prejudice and racist towards everyone. 

But here’s what they did…  A few weeks ago, the owner of the site announced that he was shutting down the site in a few weeks.  He said that they were closing and not selling out or anything like that, despite how they could easily sell it to a corporate entity for millions.  He went on to talk about how he was sick of all the haters against him and his shirts and how everyone just needs to get a sense of humor, so to “stick it to them,” he was closing his doors forever.

Then when the day came to close, there was an announcement that it was all just a joke and that he’d never close because of some humorless people trying to shut him down (another “in your face” statement).

Here’s the cool part.  The controversy that his “closing announcement” made got around the internet on several blogs (both for the site and against it), but it generated them a TON of sales.  If I read it right, it went from selling 3,000 t-shirts a week to over 100,000 t-shirts in those few weeks time.

Even the bloggers talking crap about the site helped him generate more revenue, which is an important lesson to learn.

Any type of news or publicity for your site is better than no news or publicity.

If he was just like all the other sites, trying to conform to what everyone thought was normal and right, he’d probably be going out of business for real.

Now, I’m not saying that you need to be some obnoxious freak to generate sales, but sometimes you do need to go against the rest of the crowd and not be so worried about not doing what everyone else is doing.

If you enjoyed this post, make sure you subscribe to my RSS feed!

I’ve done a lot of thinking lately on what I want to do with this blog.  When I first started online, I wasn’t making any money.  Despite doing a TON of research, testing, etc., I was having a hell of a time even making a few bucks.

When I finally did start making money, I was trading hours upon hours of time for $20 here, $50 there, and maybe $100 or so every now and then.  I looked around in forums, read reviews of other products, bought a few guides and software programs, and everything just seemed to show me that there was no way to make money online (at least not enough to make me excited).

Then it all changed.

I decided to stop reading so many forums on internet marketing, I stopped doing what everyone was doing or telling me to do, and I started just playing around to test things on my own.  It was shortly after that that I made some pretty cool discoveries:

• The majority of advice given online is from people who have no real clue what they’re talking about.

• Forums are full of even more people who have no real clue what they’re talking about (with the exception of a few good posts here and there).

• Some methods that people claim work are complete and utterly ridiculous.

• Some methods that people claim don’t work actually work incredibly well if you know what you’re doing.

• It all comes down to knowing how to sell and WHAT to sell, and since most people don’t know what to sell or how to sell it, everything they try will suck (regardless of the products, guides, tools, or whatever else they buy, even though they’ll blame everyone except their freakin’ selves).

You have to think on your own, learn from your own mistakes, and be able to critique your own business.  It is only then that you can truly benefit from the loads of marketing guides and software programs out there (assuming that they’re good to start with).

After I starting fending for myself, I quickly had days where I’d make more in a single day than I would in entire months prior to that — and I did it with very limited knowledge and resources.  I had crap for a mailing list, didn’t know a soul in the world who would promote for me, and I started with barely any money to invest.

I’m not going to throw out ridiculous numbers or any crap like that, but since then, things have only gotten better.

That’s why I’ve been thinking about this blog so much and exactly what I want to do with it.  I started out being pessimistic with making money online, but I eventually turned that into my full time job (and loving it).

I want to debunk some of the common misconceptions out there, as well as tell you how I made money even on methods that others say don’t work.

I also want to review a few products every now and then, and I’m considering doing it even without using any affiliate link.  Too many whiners tend to bitch and moan anytime an affiliate link is used … probably because there are so many money whores out there looking to promote anything that pays them even a nickel … but I’m definitely not one to give up my soul for a freakin’ nickel (that would require at least $5 … just kidding).  Then again, if I don’t use an affiliate link, some bastard will probably accuse me of getting compensated in some other way if I write a good review, so maybe I’ll just say @!?* it and let the whiners whine.  What do you think?

So starting from this point on, you’re probably going to see some great money making methods here, definitely some controversy, and when everything is all said and done, with any luck, I might also get to piss a few people off. 

Oh, and I’ll be sure to update this blog at least every few days or so.

If you enjoyed this post, make sure you subscribe to my RSS feed!

Hey all, still here.  I’m working with the new owner to get everything transferred, so CGR will resume shortly.

If you enjoyed this post, make sure you subscribe to my RSS feed!

Well, it’s been fun, but the reserve price for this site has been met and there’s only two days left in the auction.  Soon, someone else will be the proud owner of Can’t Get Rich.

I started this site over a year ago because I thought John Chow was the coolest guy ever.  In the time since then, I’ve learned a great deal about making money online, and most importantly that there are better ways to make money than selling ad space on a blog.  That said, I’ve had a lot of fun writing for this site, producing the podcast, and meeting some of the big names in this “industry”.

I’ll make another post when the auction is over.  Until then, why don’t you check out my new site: GamerBlag - A Community Driven Gaming blog.  Don’t bother to remember the name though; Apparently, I’m violating someone’s trademark and need to pick a new one.

If you enjoyed this post, make sure you subscribe to my RSS feed!

Jason is selling his blog.  So is the Sly Guy.  It’s obvious that I’m not doing much with this site anymore, so I might as well jump on the bandwagon too.

Anybody wanna buy CGR?  I’ll part with it for an easy $1,000.

If you enjoyed this post, make sure you subscribe to my RSS feed!