Everything Should Be Free! (?)

As an internet marketer, you have to deal with people.  Yes, I know you’re not dealing with them face-to-face, or even on the phone (for the most part), but you ARE dealing with people.

Lots Of People Are Crazy

I mean clinically, diagnosably unstable; OCD, ADHD, Schizophrenic or just plain WEIRD in some way or another.  There aren’t enough resources on the planet, or in ANY country to deal with these people, which means that they are out there, on the streets.  So, who cares for them?  Well, WE do, that’s who.  We may be volunteers and we may not, but either way, society as a whole has to care for them.

Socialism

Many countries are moving towards socialism (whether you call it that or not) which is a “system” by which a small group of people take the efforts of producers (like you) and give it to those who can’t or won’t produce for themselves.

Humans have been doing this for a very, VERY long time, WITHOUT the need to be FORCED to do it.  For short while now, we’ve been forced to.

My Strange Allergy

I have a strange condition, whereby whenever I eat Citric Acid (which is in LOTS of things naturally and is ADDED to many foods as a flavoring and/or preservative) I have symptoms very similar to an allergic reaction; blurred-vision, hives on my face which then peels my skin (like sunburn), stomach cramps….. you get the idea.

It was so bad that it was one of the main reasons I quit my job as a National Sales Manager; besides the discomfort, how could I meet people and make presentations to them if I didn’t feel confident, and while I looked like I was very, VERY ill all the time?

I DID Find A Solution To My Problem

After three years of suffering, I eventually figured out WHAT was triggering the symptoms (citric acid) and how I could fix it.  It took lots of experimenting on myself, lots of reading, talking to doctors etc.  but I managed to come up with a way to fix it.  Now, I don’t have a problem with it at all.

To help others with this condition, I set up a small website and I wrote a 25 page report on how I dealt with it.  This costs me money for the domain, time and effort to create the site, and effort and knowledge to create the report.

As an internet marketer, I thought that people would be willing to pay $10 (or even as much as $25) for this report, with a money back guarantee IF I DIDN’T WORK for them.  That is, if my knowledge fixed their problem and they could live a normal life again (like I can now), it would cost them a mere $10.

Well, this is a little known food intolerance, but those people around the world who suffer from it are finding the site and a few are buying the report.  I’ve had NO REQUESTS for refunds so far.

The Freebie Seeker

As an internet marketer and business-person, you KNOW that people like free stuff.  But something happened recently that took me completely by surprise.  A person had found the site, had emailed me about her problem, joined my mailing list (for updates should I ever find out anything new to report) and then, upon realizing that I was offering a solution for $10, wrote this:

“i thought you were a true sufferer, someone trying to find answers and help each other as I do. but once i clicked join, i see you are out to make a quick buck off of it.”

This is cut and pasted, so I apologize for the wording, grammar and punctuation.

I have no idea what HER idea of “a true sufferer” is, but I’m sure she has some kind of idea in her confused mind that it’s somehow noble to suffer, though  I can tell you from my experience that there’s NOTHING noble about it.

Offering a SOLUTION to hundreds or maybe thousands of people for a few dollars MAY be noble, but suffering certainly is NOT!

Doctors and Hospitals

Here’s my point (finally!).  Doctors and people in Hospitals have been charging fees to help fix people and their problems (real or imagined) for centuries.  I had to ask myself:

“why does this person expect ME to fix HER problem for NOTHING in exchange?”

Does she feel it’s her RIGHT?  Is she special in some way (other than the obvious!). Has she done so much already for society that she feels she is OWED this?

Personally I don’t think it’s any of these things (though I could be wrong of course).  What I think is this: as we (in the U.S.A.) move closer to a society of communism, entitlements, benefits, socialism, fascism, nationalism (call it what you will), people simply EXPECT everything to be provided FOR them.

They don’t EVER think “where does all this stuff come from?”.  Instead, they just ASSUME there’s a huge magical pot of STUFF (money, things, services etc.) that should be there FOR THEM.  They NEVER think “well, SOMEBODY has to mine for metals, SOMEBODY has to create plastics, SOMEBODY has to grow food, SOMEBODY has to manufacture things”……….. etc.

No, instead, because of this very, VERY lame idea (fascism/socialism/communism) it causes people to become even MORE useless than they already are.

What Does This Mean To You?

As an internet marketer, you WILL have to give stuff away. Your time, your energy, your knowledge.  But, you DO NOT have to give away everything.  That is NOT required of you, and it’s simply NOT POSSIBLE, because YOU have to eat too!

While producers like you will always have to support those who can’t or won’t support themselves, your FOCUS should always be on making your OWN life better, by offering things that improve other people’s lives, IN EXCHANGE for something (be it money, or something else).

You are not on this planet for the sake of others, even though this is a widely accepted concept.  You MUST look after yourself.  After all, if you can’t look after yourself, how can you possibly look after others?

Luke.