Merriam-Webster defines a myth as “a usually traditional story of ostensibly historical events that serves to unfold part of the world view of a people or explain a practice, belief, or natural phenomenon.”

It’s been said all myths are based in fact. Whether or not that’s true is debatable. What isn’t debatable, however, is like society, Internet Marketing also has its myths. This article exposes what I consider to be the 10 biggest Internet Marketing myths.

1. You Don’t Need Any Money to Do Business on the Internet

You wouldn’t expect to advertise on TV, radio, in newspapers, magazines, or any other media for free would you? Yet, for some strange reason, people think they can just come online and not spend any money, and advertise their business for free. To me, that shows an utter lack of respect for the single most important communication medium since television.

And while it’s true, there are plenty of free advertising opportunities available on the Internet, the fact remains, you still need money to effectively do business online.

2. Anyone Can Succeed at Internet Marketing

One of my favorite TV shows is Forensic Files. I am absolutely fascinated at how scientists are able to solve crimes with DNA evidence, animal hairs and insect larvae. It’s nothing short of amazing. But I could never be a forensic scientist. I simply don’t have the mental aptitude for it. Forensic scientists have to excel at math and chemistry and science, and quite frankly, those are the subjects I’m weakest at.

The same can be said about Internet Marketing. Despite how easy the slick sales letters and e-books make IM sound, not everyone has the mental aptitude for marketing. And while that may be a hard pill to swallow for many of you reading this, it’s also a fact. Not everyone has what it takes mentally to succeed at Internet Marketing. That’s why people hire marketing consultants like me. (Sorry, I’m not accepting any new clients).

3. You Can Get Rich Quick on the Internet

We’ve all heard the sensationalistic stories about individuals who came online and made a lot money very quickly. Well, sensationalism notwithstanding, those individuals are the exceptions rather than the rule. The fact of the matter is, far more people fail at Internet Marketing than succeed.

Contrary to popular belief, the Internet is not some kind of magic bullet. Besides, it’s not the medium that makes people successful, it’s the individuals themselves. And the people who succeed at the highest level online or offline are generally talented, hard working, organized, focused and determined.

4. People Don’t Read Long Copy on the Internet

If people don’t read long copy on the Internet, who in the heck is reading all those e-books out there in the marketplace? While this myth was disproven years ago, like birtherism, it still persists in the face of overwhelming and irrefutable evidence to the contrary. So, I’m going to attempt to lay it to rest, once and for all.

Research has shown that long copy generally outperforms short copy – provided the copy is compelling, well-written and interesting. And in addition to reading e-books, people regularly read long newspaper and magazine articles online. Bottom line: People WILL read long copy IF the subject matter is interesting to them.

5. All Traffic is Good Traffic

This myth is about as nonsensical as the tooth fairy. Here are the facts: If your traffic is originating from traffic exchanges or guaranteed traffic programs, it’s garbage traffic, plain and simple. And as the saying goes, “garbage in, garbage out!”

If you are advertising on websites, or in publications that have zero relevance to your site, you are pretty much spinning your wheels. And if you’re exchanging links with websites that have absolutely nothing in common with your site, your efforts are going to be futile because that traffic is not going to convert. All traffic is not created equal. Quality and relevance matters!

6. E-mail Marketing is Dead

With the advent of mega-popular social media sites like Twitter, Facebook and LinkedIn, alarmists have all but declared e-mail marketing dead and buried. Well, I don’t believe in erroneous declarations. I believe in facts. And here are the facts according to Nielsen…

U.S. consumers are spending more and more of their Internet time on their mobile devices. In fact, e-mail activity on mobile devices increased from 37.4% to 41.6% of U.S. mobile Internet time. And when you consider the fact smartphones now comprise 25% of a gigantic U.S. mobile phone market, there can only be one conclusion… E-mail marketing isn’t dead, its gone mobile!

7. Article Marketing Isn’t as Effective as It Used to Be

That is absolute nonsense! I’m personally experiencing more success with article marketing than I ever have. So too are many of my colleagues. And while it’s true, there are many more people involved in article marketing these days, it’s also true, there are many more bad or poorly written articles permeating the Internet. This has the unintended and beneficial consequence of making well-written, quality articles stand out in the crowd. And trust me, quality publishers do notice.

8. You Need to Be on the First Page of Google to Be Successful

Nothing could be further from the truth. Yes, Google is far and away the most popular search engine on the planet. No sane person would dispute that. But Google only has ten spots available on the first page. So, not only is it unrealistic, it’s impossible for everyone to achieve first page status.

But even if it were possible for everyone to achieve first page status, you shouldn’t put all of your eggs in Google’s basket anyway. You’ve seen what can happen when Google has one of its many algorithm changes. First page today, not even indexed tomorrow. That’s why you should strive to have a multi-pronged marketing approach. Utilize a variety of methods to generate traffic.

For example, blogging, newsletters, social networking, article marketing, forum marketing, online and offline advertising, guest blogging, question and answer sites, etc. Diversify.

9. Saturated Niches are No Longer Profitable

This is only true if you don’t know what you’re doing. Let me ask you a question: Have you ever wondered why a particular niche is saturated? It’s because that’s where all the customers are. You see, contrary to popular belief, it really doesn’t matter how saturated or over-crowded a niche is if you’re a professional.

If you know what you’re doing, and execute your marketing strategy properly, there are plenty of customers to go around. You see, it’s how well you position yourself within a particular niche that will determine your success or failure. It’s all about differentiating yourself from your competitors. That’s Marketing 101.

You have to clearly explain to people what makes you different and/or better than your competitors. Then, you have to exploit those differences consistently. So, don’t run away from a crowded niche, embrace it. The Internet Marketing pie is plenty big enough for everybody.

10. If You Build It, They Will Come

Do you know what happens if you build a website and don’t tell anyone about it? Nothing. Absolutely nothing will happen.

Unfortunately, far too many marketers think all they have to do is build a website and customers will somehow magically appear at their doorstep. Sorry, it just doesn’t work that way. Building a website is only the first step. You also have to advertise your website to the world – and not just with free advertising methods either. That will only take you so far. You also have to be willing to spend money on paid advertising.

So yes, if you build it, they will come. But only if they know about you!

Source: itNews

Comment: Don’t fall for dodgy ’support’ calls.

On Friday I experienced first-hand the methods by which scammers are attempting to dupe Australians into paying for software to remotely “fix” computers that just ain’t broke.

The call came through to my home office via VoIP, and while I was in no way fooled by the scam, I could well imagine the less computer literate making a horrible mistake – hence my duty to report the experience.

The caller claimed to be from the “computer maintenance department” of a company called “Online PC Manager” (the web site for which can be found here).

According to the caller, I was registered in “Windows Operating Services” (excuse me?) and was being called because of bad data “installed on all Windows computers”.

In a weird twist of logic he asked me if I had a computer, and whether it ran Windows. These people aren’t trained particularly well. But the script does get a little more clever once you buy (or pretend to buy) their story.

The offer of remote support starts with asking the victim to press the Windows button and ‘R’ – which brings up the ‘run’ dialogue.

The victim is then asked to type in ‘inf’, which takes you to a Windows Explorer window listing files used to install the Windows Operating System.

These, the scammer said, are the files slowing down my system, downloaded from “watching videos on the internet”.

He was offering to connect me to a “technician” to fix the problem before I stopped his sales pitch.

Other users have reported being asked to type “prefetch” into the run dialogue and being given a pin number to use in a LogMeIn session to give the ‘technician’ access to the computer.

I didn’t quite let him get that far, as I thought it best to come clean with him, tell him I knew what was going on, and see if I could induce him to tell me who he was working for – it sounded like a crowded call centre in the sub-continent to me. (And mate, if you happen to be reading this, my offer still stands!)

I have included some of the transcript from our conversation on the following page.

But more importantly, what you need to be telling your less tech-savvy friends and relatives is that companies like Microsoft and LogMeIn don’t randomly call home users offering remote support.

Unsolicited “support” calls are most likely a scam,aimed at convincing you to buy security software you don’t need, and maybe even stealing information from your PC.

iTnews journalist Liz Tay gave her mother some great advice on how to deal with these guys. String them along, and just when they think they have a sale, ask if the Windows button is supposed to look like an apple.

What are your tips for dealing with remote support scammers? Comment below.

Scammer: “I am calling with regards to your computer, Sir.”

BW: “My computer?”

Scammer: “Do you have a computer, sir?”

BW: “Yes. Isn’t that what you are calling about?”

Scammer: “Sir, we have information about bad data installed on all Windows computers, sir. We are calling every Windows user.”

BW: “How do you know I use Windows?”

Scammer: “Do you have a computer, sir?”

BW: “I think we established that I do.”

Scammer: “Is it a Windows computer, sir?”

BW: “Yes.”

Scammer: “We are calling you, sir, because you are registered [indecipherable].”

BW: “Sorry, how did you know I use Windows? Where am I registered?”

Scammer: “Because you are registered in Windows Operating Services.”

BW: “What company are you calling from?”

Scammer: “I am calling from Computer Maintenance Department.”

BW: “What company do you call from?”

Scammer: “From Online PC Manager, sir. You can see us on the internet. Do you have an internet browser?”

BW: “Yes.”

Scammer: “Go to www.onlinepcmanager.com ”

BW: “And where is this company based.”

Scammer: “South Erina, Melbourne, Sir.”

BW: “What do you propose to do about this problem with my computer”?

Scammer: “Are you in front of your computer right now?”

BW: “Yes. And it’s a Windows computer!”

Scammer: “See the Windows key on the bottom-left of your keyboard? Press that key and the letter R.”

BW: “Yes.”

Scammer: “What do you see?”

BW: “I see ‘Run’.”

Scammer: “Yes, now is there any text in the box?”

BW: “Yes.”

Scammer: “Delete that text and type “inf”.

BW: “Yes.”

Scammer: “Press enter.”

BW: “Yes.”

Scammer: “What can you see?”

BW: “A file window.”

Scammer: “You see these files? These are harmful files downloaded when you are browsing the internet.”

BW: “Oh, really?”

Scammer: “Yes. When you go on the internet and watch movies and all.”

BW: “I see.”

Scammer: “If you don’t do anything about it, the computer will work very, very slow sir.”

BW: “What do you propose we do about it?”

Scammer: “I’ll go ahead and connect you to a technician and they will help you out.”

BW: “Before you do that. Can I tell you something? I know exactly what this is about. I know that you are being paid to sit in a call centre, somewhere that is not in Melbourne, to make these calls….”

Got this from a friend, who git it from a friend etc…

Seems feasable so I decided to pass it on…

Is this a bullet hole?

Wednesday, I approached my truck from the passenger side to place my computer bag (aka my man purse) on the front passenger seat.

As I reached to open the door I noticed there was a hole right under my door handle.

My first thought was, “someone has shot my truck!”

I began to think about it and inspect it a little closer. Then the ‘light’ slowly began to come on.

I phoned my friend who owns a body shop and asked if he had any vehicles with damage to the doors that looked like a bullet hole.

“Yes, I see it all the time. Thieves have a punch and place it right under the door handle, knock a hole through, reach in and unlock it, just as if they have a key. No alarms, broken glass or anything”.

I then placed a call to my insurance agent and explained it to him. I was puzzled that they left my GPS and all other belongings. Here is where it gets scary!

“Oh no”, he said. “They want the break-in to be so subtle that you don’t even realize it. They look at your GPS to see where ‘home’ is. They know what you drive, so they go to your home and if your vehicle isn’t there, they assume you aren’t either and break in your home.”

He said they can even give you the courtesy of re-locking your doors for you. They will leave a purse or wallet and only take one or two credit cards.

By the time you realize there has been a theft, they may have already had a couple days, or more, to use them.

So, periodically walk around your car; daily – if you are in a shopping centre or other parking area.

Report thefts immediately… your bank w/missing cheque numbers, your credit card agencies, police, and insurance companies, etc. And set your home address for a street nearby.

This is what the hole looks like.

“They” have a new way to rob you now!

http://www.newseum.org/todaysfrontpages/flash/

Watching the TV or reading newspapers is one of the most destructive things you can do for your mental and emotional well being but who knows what good may come of this.

Just put your mouse on a city, almost anywhere in the world, and the newspaper headlines pop up.

Double click and the page gets larger.

You can read the entire paper on some if you click on the right place.

You can spend forever here. Also, if you look at the European papers, the far left side of Germany will pop up as The Stars & Stripes (European edition, of course).

AND, this site changes every day with the publication of new editions of the paper.

Through a special agreement with more than 800 newspapers worldwide, the Newseum displays these front pages each day on its website. The front pages are in their original, unedited form, and some may contain material that is deemed objectionable to some visitors. Discretion is advised.

http://www.newseum.org/todaysfrontpages/flash/

Hans Rosling’s 200 Countries, 200 Years, 4 Minutes – The Joy of Stats – BBC Four

More about this programme: http://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/b00wgq0l

Hans Rosling’s famous lectures combine enormous quantities of public data with a sport’s commentator’s style to reveal the story of the world’s past, present and future development.

Now he explores stats in a way he has never done before – using augmented reality animation. In this spectacular section of ‘The Joy of Stats’ he tells the story of the world in 200 countries over 200 years using 120,000 numbers – in just four minutes.

Plotting life expectancy against income for every country since 1810, Hans shows how the world we live in is radically different from the world most of us imagine.

More Power Saving Ideas

With every power bill it seems, comes another price hike and another reason why savings on electricity and gas have become as budget-vital as reducing interest rates on home loans and credit cards.

Jakki Kimber is desperate for respite from power hungry appliances.

“You’ve still got to use them — you still need your fridge your TV, your fans and air conditioners unfortunately”, she says.

Believe it or not, getting rid of your fluorescent bulbs may be the answer according to lighting company Crisp Tech’s Nick Czeperko.

“The LED lighting that we have on offer actually provides substantial saving to the end user and the customer because it can save up to 80% cent of your power bill”, Nick claims.

The Light Emitting Diodes now on the market claim to be 50% more efficient than compact fluorescents and last up to 20 years longer, but they are expensive.

“The cost of a 6.9 watt, which is equal to a 60 watt incandescent, is about $32.50 and the 4.9 watt, which is a 40 watt, is $25.50”, he adds.

“You don’t actually change the light globe, the light fitting will last up to 50,000 hours”, says Beacon Lighting Business Development Manager, Denise Hammond.

Denise believes these will become cheaper and more efficient in coming months as more people make the switch. “They are cool to touch and they contain no mercury. The colour quality is crisp and alive, it’s a beautiful quality light and this is the future”, Denise says.

And then there’s the magic bulb, another type of LED, which took out China’s Invention of the Year. It can stay illuminated for hours without electricity, although it’s not available here just yet.

“It hasn’t been approved by Australian Standards nor endorsed by anyone here”. Denise says.

Jakki Kimber meanwhile is one of the first people to put their faith in the Earthwise Powersaver, launched this week with claims of savings of up 35%.

According to Denise, “We’ve done extensive research and development on this product and we’ve included the best of the best components in the world that we could find to put in it”.

Earthwise Powersaver owner Geoff Hourigan says the device is still undergoing testing with promising results.

“We’re so convinced this product works, the product comes with a three-year guarantee. We’ll refund your money in full”, Geoff says.

But those in the industry believe it’s just not possible.

“It’s most unlikely that the claims they’re making can be justified. If they’re just talking about power factor then that is not an issue as far as domestic electricity consumers are concerned”, says Leo Simpson. Leo is the publisher of Silicon Chip Magazine and says similar devices have been on the market in Australia for the past five years and just don’t live up to their claims.

“Domestic consumers don’t pay for power factor so even if you fix it all up, it doesn’t make any difference”, he adds.

Glenn: Where does this guy get his information. Check my “How Do Power Savers  Work”  post. and see what the electricity companies say about correcting for errors in power factor. (Country Energy: “If your Power Factor is low, you may be paying more than you need to for your electricity.”

The Australian Consumer and Competition Commission took action against makers of a plug in device which made similar claims.

Their claims were on a device that plugged into vacant power points in your house. It was removed from sale because  it did not meet australian safety standards and their marketing materials were deceptive. They could not produce enough information to satisfy the ACCC that it was effective and it was unsafe! ACCC website: Power saver device withdrawn from sale after ACCC action. Earthwise Power Saver has Australian and Green Power Approvals

“(We) got a big judgement against them and said they had to cease and desist and not make outrageous claims for savings to consumers”, Leo says.

As for the Earthwise Powersaver, Geoff says this isn’t the same as other devices and stands by his claims and guarantees.

“We’ve done that much testing on it, we know it works”.

However, Leo says while the device may be different, he suspects the results are the same and it will not lower power bills.

“As far as I’m concerned, if they’re only working on power saving, then the principle is exactly the same and the benefit is exactly the same. In other words, zero”.

“I don’t want anyone to be ripped off with what we’re doing and we’ll stand behind our product 100%” Geoff maintains.

More Info:  http://electricity-power-saver.com

Last night was a turning point for power users in Australia.

Today tonight featured the Earthwise Power Saver (EPS) and A Current Affair (ACA) featured the OZ Power Saver (OPS)

How do they differ?

EPS says they get savings of 35% but have documented cases of over 40%. OPS says they can get 25% power saving.

EPS has meets all Australian standards and approvals. OPS has displayed NO approvals (illegal to sell them?).

EPS has tons of information as to how it works. OPS has NO information.

EPS has $10m stock in Australia and can install one for you in a few days.

Order an Earthwise Power Saver

- Call: 1300 652 266
- Visit http://electricity-power-saver.com

Call (AU) 1300 652 266  to order

Visit http://electricity-power-saver.com for more info.

I don’t know where all these “it doesn’t work” comments are coming from.

Are these (uneducated) comments coming from electrical engineers or just sceptics who don’t understand how AC electricity actually works?

Yes they DO work.

They achieve up to 70% power saving (at the meter) but typically around 30-40% saving in a house/business with lots of motors (Aircon, fridges, pool/spa pumps, washing machines, dishwashers etc)

They correct for a few things including power factor errors introduced onto the home or business power circuits due to inductive (reactive) loads.

Country Energy says…

Power Factor is a measure of how effectively incoming power is used in your business and is defined as the ratio of real (working) power to apparent (total) power.

Real power is power that is put to productive use in your business and apparent power is the total power supplied by the distribution system to your business.

Power Factor is expressed as a value between zero and one.

If the ratio between real power and apparent power – the Power Factor – is 1, then all of the power supplied is being used for productive work. However, a Power Factor of 0.7, for example, indicates that only 70% of power supplied to your business is being used effectively and 30% is being wasted. The wasted power is known as reactive (non-working) power.

The reactive (nonworking) power increases the amount of apparent (total) power your business draws through the distribution system and has a negative impact on your Power Factor.

Reactive power is most often used by inductive loads such as transformers, electric motors, fluorescent lighting and air conditioning motors, which can make up a large proportion of the power consumed in some businesses.

If your Power Factor is low, you may be paying more than you need to for your electricity.

http://www.countryenergy.com.au/asset/cms/pdf/business/energyinsight/PF_Power_Factor.pdf

Energex Says…

Power Factor Explained (great brochure)
http://www.energex.com.au/network/network_prices/pdf/brochure_power_factor_explained.pdf

The Eathwise Power Saver constantly dynamically tracks the reactive (inductive) power consumption and then introduces an equal but opposite (capacitive) reactive load. This causes the power meter to see the “REAL” power which can be up to 70% lower (depending on the actual load).

I do not have enough data yet on the OZ Power Saver. Their site is thin on technical info but it probably uses similar logic. Maybe it is just a bank of capcitors?

Want to learn more?

Go to http://electricity-power-saver.com

and request the power saver report

(Disclosure: I sell Earthwise Power Savers)

IMMEDIATELY save up to 35% on your electricity bills

Order Enquiries – 1300 65 22 66

http://electricity-power-saver.com

Here’s the text of the story that appeared tonight (31 Jan 2011) on “Today Tonight”

Source: Today Tonight

Earthwise Power Saver

As the great power bill shock is heading to a mailbox near you, Today Tonight has found the device which could mean salvation to all those families being crippled by out-of-control power bills.

It’s been forecast power prices will again rise 25% this year and some families are being forced to consider going back to the dark ages by shutting down their power supply.

Damien and Naomi Buhagair were paying $200 per quarter for power, when suddenly their bill jumped to $900.

Their demand for answers from their power company were ignored, so they changed provider and their bill went straight back down to $200.

For others it hasn’t been so simple with thousands of Australians in the same position. In Queensland almost 18,000 people had their power disconnected for non-payment last year and there have been more than 6,000 complaints to the Electricity Ombudsman since July. New South Wales saw a spike in complaints of 42% last year to more than 15,000. In Victoria a record 26,000-plus complaints were made last year and disputes can drag on.

Leah and Jarrod Winch thought their first big bill of $900 dollars was over the top, the next quarter left that shock in the shade.

Leah and Jarrod have now been in dispute for almost a year and currently owe over $4000 to their power company with no end in sight.

“For almost 12 months now we’ve been arguing with Origin about our highly increasing power bills.

“We’re at our wits’ end. We just don’t know what to do now,” they said.

Australians pay some of the highest electricity prices in the world, at around 21 cents per kilowatt compared to an average of 12 cents in the United States and 19 cents in the United Kingdom.

The finger of blame is being pointed at the generous rebates governments are paying households that generate solar power, of up to 40 cents a kilowatt. A scheme the rest of us subsidise. The only way to beat big bills it seems is to use less and Geoff Hourigan believes he has the answer.

“The technology has been around for approximately 30 years and it was first invented in Germany but it wasn’t really needed then because power prices were really cheap,” Mr Hourigan said.

It’s called the Earthwise Power Saver and Geoff has adapted the German technology for Australian conditions.

Essentially, it is a device that controls the flow of electricity to appliances so they get the right amount rather than too much, and the savings it can generate are up to 35% of your electricity costs.

“At the moment power is coming into your house all static bumping up and down, but after the Power Saver is installed it is just a clean, true line so it will actually run cleaner, cooler and last longer,” Mr Hourigan said.

Independent testing so far shows promising results. Electrical engineer Greg Paxton has worked with the CSIRO and federal and state governments which are interested in the Power Saver’s potential.

Greg’s very optimistic as he has seen the clear evidence that it actually does work. He claims anyone can see that it reduces the current used by the apparatus which is consuming the power.

Internet based Panacea University electrical engineer Ashworth Palise agrees.

“In my opinion, it has shown successful results. It works,” he said.

Geoff is meeting with Queensland government in the next fortnight and has already installed 300 Power Savers into private homes and is anxiously anticipating their next power bills. The Power Saver also cuts down electromagnetic radiation which all electrical appliances emit and have been linked to cancer.

“A lot of people know it as dirty power. When we turn the Power Saver on and [electromagnetic radiation] will drop to the acceptable level of dirty power that should be in your house,” Mr Hourigan said.

Depending on the size the Power Saver ranges in price from $1,300 to $1,700 installed. Geoff believes the unit will pay for itself within two years and guarantees it works.

“We’ll give you your money back or we’ll test the unit to make sure the unit is working first.”

More Info:

TollFree: 1300 65 22  66

http://electricity-power-saver.com