The Web 2.0 Information Overload Syndrome

Are you suffering from information overload? I am experiencing this overload condition presently, as I have been attempting to become a full-time Affiliate Marketer and blogger. With respect to marketing on the internet, this is now at a critical mass stage.

Every lackluster marketer in the world is offering his or her solution to how to "get rich on the internet". My email Inbox is filled with "Get Rich Quick Schemes".

Honestly, I've been in the game of Affiliate Marketing and blogging for only four months, but see here now! There are more get rich quick schemes and fast-buck artists and scams than ever before. The truth is somewhat harder to glean from all of the hype and foam presented to weary eyes looking for a dream come true.

My email is filled with ten or twenty offers that state that I too can join the masses of successful internet marketers out there. "Just order my e-book for $29.95 or $19.95 or $9.95 or, "it's free to you for only the next twenty-four hours, and then when it's gone, it's gone forever".

Does anyone see through the smoke and mirrors of these offers? Are you really going to be a "pajama-commuter?' From your bed to the computer in under 20 seconds, hot cup of coffee in your hand, to see if your name has been added to the list of the 100 richest people in America!

In truth, I spent about two weeks going from one end of the internet to the other, yes there is an end to the internet, just Google "the end of the internet" to see it.....Ok, that's streching the truth a bit, when you get there you are told to "turn around".

I read all of the offers, ordered a few, downloaded several free ones, and read, read, read for weeks. My eyes grew increasingly red from all of the reading...

Signed up for several on-line classes, hosted on interactive sites so the instructor could share his desktop with you and show you how you can do it too. The sum of all of these efforst has led to $20.00 in commissions in three months. Not exactly a great return on investment of my time you might say.

I have created nine blogs, all monetized, and some HubPages on a variety of subjects, "What will the world be like in the next 100 years", The Guitar HubPage, written articles on skateboards and unicycles, and now this one.

I am not sure where this is all going, but some of the respected 'thought-leaders' in Affiliate Marketing, blogging etc say that this is the road they all walked on their way to success, or at least an outlet for an overactive imagination.

I even started a blog called "The Way To Success" figuring that success would find me if I only pointed out the "way-to-it":

Here: http://donotreadthisblogunless.blogspot.com/

In truth, I did make a connection on Twitter, which led me to BlogWorld Expo 2008, and the winning of a five-star dinner at an exclusive dining establisment in Las Vegas, with some of the top of the heap, very astute and successful Affiliate Marketers and bloggers.

The sum of my visit to Las Vegas was that these people had kept their day-jobs, while building their on-line empires on evenings and weekends. They all said the same thing, "work 16-hours a day, subscribe to all of the successful blogs, leave a comment on every successful blog, respond to every email and comment on your blog / webpage and do this for at least one year, and you will be successful".

Ok, I've done this for just over four months, and it was truly inspiring to sit at dinner with these marketing geniuses, and try to figure out "HOW TO DO IT". There is no short-cut, no end run, no work-around for on-line success.

Like any other endeavor, you get out of it what you put into it. Using the information from some of these marketers is only a signpost to success. You still have to do it. Even when you are tired, even when your wife says, "why don't you get a day job?" I have written articles until 1:00 AM and published them at 6:00 AM as well.

To his credit a friend of mine is doing exceedingly well at Affiliate Marketing, using Google Adwords and Google Adsense.

In fact he is grossing over $270,000.00 per month in Affiliate Commissions, and his monthly net income is in "six-figures". The costs associated with this level of marketing are in the "click-budget", the amount charged to him for each "click" on his "Pay-per-click" ads on Google's search results.

The commission comes to him when someone "clicks-through" and buys the product or service behind his advertisements. The "click-budget" is like a fee he pays to insure he shows up on page one of Google's search results for the product or service he is offering. The key to the whole game is search traffic landing on his web pages dedicated to the product or service, and the volume of "click-throughs" he gets.

I have been trying to schedule an appointment with him for three months, to see if he can help launch my on-line efforts, but alas he is so busy he does not have the time.

I have yet to start any of this "Pay-per-click" insanity, as I do not have the budget for the "clicks" to host my ads high enough on Google's search results, to compete with him or others at his level. The experts would tell you to find a market niche that is emerging, and dominate it before others can. That is difficult to do as Google publishes the trends that people are searching for which levels the playing field.

So, my recommendation is to just go for it. If you think you can beat the odds and make a living on-line, by all means you may be the next John Chow, Jonathan Volk, Zac Johnson or a few others who have done it.

I'm not ready to quit just yet, but with the bills coming due, and the mortgage needing to be paid, as well as four hungry mouths to feed, it may be awhile before I can return to full-time marketing and blogging.

The reality is there is plenty of money flowing around the web, ringtones, diets, skin care, dating, and other marketing efforts are only getting larger and more profitable. The demographic is twenty-to-fifty-year old persons, doing most of the on-line purchasing. Find a product or ad network offer, create a compelling ad and landing page on your own domain, forget blogger, free blogs are considered "un-professional" , and promote it on all the social networking sites out there.

Maybe you'll be the next 'thought-leader' at BlogWorld Expo 2009 in Las Vegas, and eat that five-star dinner with the Affiliate Marketing rock stars.

Leave me a comment below if you liked this article, I'll respond!

Respectfully, Nicholas