Common Internet Myths

Myth #1 - No one makes money on the Internet

There are many Web sites making money. ActivMedia's most recent study showed that 31% of all commercial Web sites state that their site is "profitable from sales now". Of course, that also means that 69% of them aren't making money. I'm not surprised though. When you consider that 95% of all Web sites are terrible because they were designed by programmers, graphic artists and hobbyists that do not understand marketing, it's amazing that 31% are making money.

Myth #2 - You'll "get rich quick" on the Internet

This, of course, is the opposite of Myth #1, but it is also a myth. Nobody gets rich quick, on the Internet or anywhere else. How often have you seen Web site promotions that tell you that, once your Web page is up, you'll have to rent a truck to haul all your checks to the bank? These promoters always talk about a Web site as a single "home page", yet there are almost NO Web sites with only one page that are doing well. Successful Web sites are content rich and have many pages. This doesn't mean you cannot make serious money on the Internet. Of course you can...after all, 31% of the commercial Web sites are making a profit on the Internet. You just have to do the right things, the right way.

Myth #3 - You can spend $200 on a Web site and make millions of dollars.

This may have been true back in the "Wild, Wild West" days of the Internet (way back in 1995), when the competition was far less than it is today.

Two of the top sites in those days were "Hot! Hot! Hot!" and a company called Virtual Vineyards. Hot! Hot! Hot! was a husband and wife that made hot sauce in the kitchen and sold it on the Internet. Virtual Vineyards only existed on the Internet and sold wine. For about a year, these were the top sucess stories. They started with nothing and make a couple of million dollars. A real Horatio Alger story. Anyone can do it.

Wrong! Today there are probably 10,000 sites selling hot sauce. When was the last time you heard about Hot! Hot! Hot!? More than likely, they were creamed by sites that were loaded with content, offered almost an infinite range of products and made ordering from the site very simple. In the "good old days", none of that mattered. Just being on the Web was enough. The novelty of it would bring you a lot of business.

Think about it. If you're not going to invest in your Internet presence, why should anyone else? There are plenty of 12 year old kids and Third World Country businesses that will slap a Web site together for you for $29.95, but quality always wins and your Web success will pass you by.

Myth #4 - You'll get millions of new customers by putting up a billboard on the Information Superhighway

Typically, this pitch is given along the lines of "Imagine adding 30-40 million new prospects to your target market almost overnight. That is what the Internet can do for you". This, in our opinion, is a less-than ethical pitch from promoters. The reality is that, unlike real billboards on a highway, nobody will pass by your Web site on the way to somewhere else. It is much more like building a place in a desert and then having to build the road to you. People only come to your Web site if they know you are there; they must have your Web address to visit you.

Myth #5 - Internet malls have the same benefits as real malls

Internet malls do not have the same benefits as real malls. In a real mall, you stroll by stores and look in the windows. If you see something you like, you walk inside. In an Internet mall, you don't pass by other shops on the way to another store. Many Internet mall owners claim you will get increased traffic because you are in their mall. The reality is that it's just as easy to get buried in a mall as anywhere else on the Internet. Some Internet malls are so large that your competition will be in there with you. Internet mall owners promote the mall, not the mall tenants. Therefore, it's usually the mall owner - not the business located in the mall - that makes the money.

Myth #6 - You don't need to own or use a computer to make money on the Internet

I have spent over 5 years studying Internet Marketing and I know of no company or individual that ever prospered on the Internet without owning or using a computer. Investing the time to learn the Web and E-mail will provide excellent benefits to your business. Depending on the size of your business, you could save from $5,00.00 to $50,000.00 per year on postage charges, FedEx charges and printing costs by providing information on your Web site and using e-mail. Your customers will also appreciate the quick response that e-mail provides.

Satisfied customers = increased business.

In addition, your customers have access to your business 24 hours per day, 365 days per year!