“Honesty is the best policy!”  That’s true, isn’t it?

Not if you’re in a hurry to make money on the internet!  It is sad but true that for 99.99% of us, the only way to make big money fast is to lie to people.

Here is the formula:  The way to make big money fast on the internet is to lie to people and sell them something that will supposedly teach them how to… make big money fast on the internet!

I am always flabbergasted when people complain that they bought into something on the internet that promised them instant effortless riches and… Gasp!  It didn’t work!  The gurus and heavy hitters cheated them!  Yikes!  What a shock!

I don’t mean to sound so cynical but I just read a post that forced me to think about this issue in a new light…  What actually happens when an honest and ethical marketer tells people the truth about the work that must be done and how long it takes to make a living on the internet?

Caroline Middlebrook is a someone I have the highest respect for. She recently made a blog post about “What to do When You Hate Your Job But Can’t Quit” where she very honestly and openly addresses some issues about transitioning from a job to an online marketing business.

This is really “where the rubber meets the road” because the question on every prospect’s mind is “when can I make a full time income with this?”  Even if they don’t come right out and ask it, you know that this is the real issue.  Caroline is an affiliate marketer, not a network marketer but the issues involved are very similar.

One of the points she made in her post is to “Follow Somebody Successful” but then she goes on to say: “But don’t follow me.”  She then explains that it took her a long time to get to where she is now and she is still barely scraping by.

It upset me to read that part of the post.  Caroline is immensely talented and hard working.  Why doesn’t she make loads of money like some of the other gurus?   As far as I can tell, the primary thing holding her back is her honesty.  She is very upfront about how much time and effort goes into a building a successful business.   I think the problem may be that this kind of honesty is just not what people want to pay money for.

Her products are full of terrific, detailed content and very reasonably priced.   They are step by step practical guides to some great online marketing techniques.  But she doesn’t market them with outlandish hype and promises of instant effortless riches.  She doesn’t hold the most valuable material back for an overpriced OTO.  She doesn’t do JVs with creeps.  And she assumes that her customers are willing to work hard at their business.

But then she looks at her bottom line and says: Don’t follow me.

I have to ask myself:  If I can’t follow Caroline Middlebrook then I do I really want to be in this business?

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