I started this series of “Waves & Warnings” about Internet marketing programs that are currently making the rounds and being promoted. My last post was about a warning with anyone thinking of trying out the “free” DVD from Shawn Casey – it’s not free – you are agreeing to sign up for a $99 / per month subscription. Oh yeah, you can cancel it if you ever can find out how – read my “warning” post here: Warning – Feeling Almost Scammed

Now I have good news to report. There ARE Internet marketers that won’t scam you. In fact, the person I am going to talk about (Ed Dale) won’t even charge you a penny. No tricks, no lies, no shady tactics! Of course he does sell other programs and products, but the one I am going to talk about is totally free – and has so much value it is almost unbelievable.

I am talking about the Thirty Day Challenge that is held every August. This is a challenge to make $1 online in a month (without spending any money in the process). It has been going on for about five years. I’ve particpated in those that took place in 2007 and 2008. Right now, you can go check out the pre-season information at Thirty Day Challenge. If you go to that website, you can sign up and start recieving the emails that will walk you through each day of the challenge.  Also, you will be able to go look at the training here: Thirty Day Challenge Training. And there is a blog to keep people informed, as well as an awesome forum where participants post messages and help each other.

How does the free training and the challenge work?

In July, there are sporadic emails you will receive with instructions about tools and internet techniques that will be used during the challenge. These are good to get started with right away, because, if you are going to do the 30 day challenge, you will be busy each day in August. Every day that month, there will be at least one video (usually more than one). Each day the videos will walk you through a system for making money online with no investment on your part. Many people apply the techniques they learn to their existing online businesses. Others – probably the majority of participants – are just starting out and use this as an opportunity to learn more aobut Internet marketing. There are also live Internet broadcasts where Ed Dale will answer questions (and the place those take place have a chat feature where participants can talk to Ed and to each other during the broadcast).

I’ve learned tons from this guy -  and I have successfully applied many of those “secrets” and tricks or techniques of how to make money to some of my websites where I am trying to make an income.  OK -  I guess I should “fess up” that during the 2007 challenge I didn’t make my $1 in the first month – but in 2008 I did make more than a dollar in that first month!

So if you want to learn more about how people make money online, or if you want to learn ways to do that more successfully, you would really like this program.

Summary: I give a big “Wave” (thumbs up, kudos, bravo) to the Thirty Day Challenge for being one of the best Internet marketing training programs available.

Technorati Tags: 30 Day challenge, Ed Dale, free, Internet Marketing, Thirty Day Challenge, training

I’m a little “riled up” at the moment. I just avoided getting ripped off and I really need to say something about this!

Here is some background. I am a relatively new internet marketer. I am trying, like so many others, to make money online with websites and blogs that review products and offer links to buy those products. I sign up for emails from other marketers and check out their techniques and products. This can be a very educational thing. It can also be dangerous to your pocketbook if you end being tricked by a scammer.

I guess I should consult a lawyer before I write what I am about to, but I am not a rich internet marketer and I don’t even HAVE a lawyer. I hope I can say this diplomatically so that I won’t need one.

Here’s what has me ticked off. I signed up to read about the stuff that Shawn Casey promotes. I mean, I know he’s rich and I thought, maybe there are some pointers I can learn. I also was suspicious of some of his methods and wanted to check him out. Well, I was offered this DVD if I just paid for the shipping. And I ordered it for just over $7. It was very late in arriving. But after it got to me, I watched some of it and wasn’t that impressed. But what was really sad is I never saw the folded up letter in the package – and it had a very important thing (that wasn’t really emphasized in any emails and the part of the letter wasn’t in bold either! That was the fact that I had actually joined this club (that I never wanted to join) and that I was going to be charged $99 a month.

Needless to say, it never really mentions that fact anywhere but in that one piece of paper that was crumpled down at the bottom of the shipping envelope. And I only realized that I was about to lose some money when I got a “your order has been shipped” email. Then, I went to my online banking to see what my credit card was charged (and it was more than $99).

I quickly called and cancelled the “membership” and was promised that the charge would be removed from my credit card. I’ll have to update you on that later. But, my point is, that this may not be an actual scam, but it comes very close in that the contact information is never clear. You can’t find where to sign in to cancel the order – and the fact that you HAVE TO CANCEL isn’t obvious. This explains why some internet marketers get so rich!

I stil haven’t found out where (if there is a place) to go cancel your “membership”. And there are no phone numbers to call (unless you end up getting charged and you get that phone number from your credit card bill).

So, don’t do what I did unless you actually want to pay for this kind of membership! I’ll describe more about it in another post. Needless to say, this is one internet marketer that I will not be “copying” their business practices… (read the ongoing updates about my $10K club problem).

I plan to write more about these people with their email lists and what they are all about. I think I will call it Internet Marketing Waves and Warnings. Waves would be marketers or products I find favorable (do the wave) and warnings is self explanatory – things to be aware of before you get involved.

Technorati Tags: Bad, Good, Internet Marketing, rip off, scammers, scams, Ugly