Typically, when there is an economic downturn, many fall victims of scams. The escalating unemployment has some people contemplating alternatives to earn some cash. It’s during times like this when freelance jobs as well as other ways or products that could help you supplement your income become appealing.
This is the perfect window of opportunity for scammers as they take advantage of the increasing demand for online opportunities. Believe it or not they are not thinking twice before taking your money and running to their banks.
Predominantly, people who dread losing their jobs or already lost them are desperate to make ends meet. I believe this increasing tension is what’s causing many to fall victims of fraud. In fact, many studies support the idea that fraud is enhanced by a worsening economy.
Fraud is influenced typically by three factors: financial pressure, opportunity, and rationalization. Bear in mind that these factors are also present during a good economy. However, they tend to be more prominent during a downturn. I’m going to talk about how these factors could affect those looking for online business alternatives.
• Financial Pressure: simply put is the pressure we face when we cannot meet our financial obligations or goals. For instance, you cannot make enough money to pay your monthly car bill.
• Opportunity: As more people plunge into the online world looking for ways to make money, the chances of someone falling for a scam increase. This is the perfect motivation for the perpetrators as they now have more reasons to come up with more scams to make more money.
• Rationalization: Relates to the increase in perceived opportunity in addition to the pressure to perform due to the financial situation. People feel the need to supplement their income and turn to online opportunities as a viable approach to meet their goals. Similarly, scam perpetrators recognize the high demand for extra income as a way for them to benefit and meet their own financial needs.
The possibility of fraud increases as any of the above mentioned factors increases. My suggestion to you is to always do research before you purchase any product or join any program out there. Go by my golden rule, “if it sounds too good to be true, it probably isn’t.”
The reality is that you could in fact make some money online with freelance opportunities, blogging, network marketing, affiliate programs, etc. However, a nice sales letter (or website) is not a good substitute for legitimacy or a high ROI (return on investment).
Below I have some of the websites I visit to confirm opportunities or products and become more acquainted with fraud in general.
You could additionally check the Better Business Bureau (http://www.bbb.org) and the Federal Trade Commission (http://www.ftc.gov) for added research. Moreover, I make sure that the promoting website has a security certificate and typically go to Google or Yahoo and do a research there including the word “scam”.
When doing a Google or a Yahoo search you might encounter some marketers that use the word “scam” to lure people to their sites to sell them their products or simply attract visitors. Nonetheless, spending some time on search engines is a good idea and it has helped me discover some scams.
If you become a victim, don’t be afraid to report the crime to the authorities or to the above mentioned sites to help others. The bottom line is that you should do your due diligence before acting with any business or product mainly during the bad economic climate we are currently in.
I just received a little box sent via UPS Priority Mail from EzineArticles.com, my favorite article submission place. In it I found an EzineArticles mug and some “Door County Gourmet Coffee” with a note from Christopher Knight, the CEO. The note stated the following:
“I am extremely proud of our genuine expert authors, like you, who are true authorities in their niches & contribute new unique articles every week.
The EzineArticles Team & I look forward to your next set of articles submissions so that we can increase your exposure and send targeted, qualified traffic back to your website.
Thanks for being part of the EzineArticles community!”
What a nice surprise, don’t you think? There is no doubt in my mind that EzineArticles is by far the best place to submit your articles and get qualified traffic back to your site. I have enjoyed writing articles for them and will continue to do so and recommend it to others. See pic below:
OK, enough about this and let’s go drink some coffee!
Most of us wait for the last minute to start gathering our receipts and business records to file for our tax return. For this reason, we get headaches as we try to compile all our records. I personally have prepared taxes for both individuals and small businesses and I know that there is nothing more annoying than an unprepared client.
If you don’t yet have a bookkeeping system lined up for your business, you should check out “MLM Tax Helper.” If you already purchased this or any other bookkeeping system, congratulations! If you haven’t yet, this is something you should consider. There is nothing better than having your books and records in shape for year-end. It will save you time and money, plus it will make your tax preparer (if it’s not you) a much happier person.
The system is extremely easy and efficient to use. It virtually eliminates the tax nightmare of your MLM Business by helping you claim all the necessary tax deductions you are legally entitled to, resulting in huge savings.
Click on the link below, then click on “In a hurry? Click here for the free demo.” You’ll be able to see how this could help you maximize your return and save you time and money.
If you have a business website or a blog, you need to understand the importance of Search Engine Optimization (SEO) if you want to drive traffic to it. The main goal of SEO is to increase your sales from high quality leads triggered by search engines.
You must recognize that without any SEO as part of your strategy, it will be much tougher for you to have a competitive edge. This will eventually lead you to hit the wall by losing high quality leads and potential sales. In the long-run, this strategy will certainly prove profitable.
You could manually submit your URL to many search engines for free. Once you do this, you should resubmit it again from time to time throughout the year in order for the search engines to have on record your most recent content.
However, I recommend that you take advantage of the website submission services sites as they will submit your site to multiple search engines multiple times throughout the year for a nominal fee. If your budget is tight, please note that some of these website submission services sites offer free submissions as well. Check out some of the ones that might help below:
-megawebpromotion.com
-fastsubmit.net
-AddMe.com
-SubmitExpress.com
-Ineedhits.com
-Addpro.com
-Freewebsubmission.com
-Jerkasmarknad.com
-LocalSubmit.com
Letting as many people as possible learn about what you do and the type of content you provide will certainly bring you more traffic, more leads, and ultimately more money.
There is no reason for people to do the things they don’t like. He talks about building a personal brand and just doing what you love and stop complaining.
He passionately discusses the importance of believing in what you’re doing and following your dreams. The business world is constantly changing and you need to start building brand equity in order to stand out from the crowd and achieve success.
Gary talks about the importance of becoming transparent through social media and building YOUR personal brand.
Use all the social media tools available to connect to as many people as possible. You need media attention and you could accomplish this by providing valuable content to your followers.
Typically, when there is an economic downturn, many fall victims of scams. The escalating unemployment has some people contemplating alternatives to earn some cash. It’s during times like this when freelance jobs as well as other ways or products that could help you supplement your income become appealing.
