Tips and Tricks for Making Money with Interviews

'The Line' is different from person to person. For me, the line is simple – would I be comfortable selling this to my parents?

For a very small number of people this would not be a good gauge. They were simply brought up differently (I guess) and their definition of right & wrong is not the same as most people.

The way I was brought up, there are some things more important than money. I am not a liberal tree-hugging commie – just want to make this clear I have been rich and I have been poor and yes, rich is better. At the end of the day, can you look in the mirror and feel good about what you have contributed to world around you.

My general feeling is that most everyone knows right from wrong and if 'it' feels wrong then there is your line – don't cross it.

(stepping off soap-box now)
Steve Dougherty

If I think it's a good product and I would buy it, then I'll gladly offer it for sale. No tricks or gimmicks, just a clear recommendation about why I think it's great. The same goes with Twitter follows and Facebook pages. And I totally agree that whatever I put on any of my websites has to pass the “friends & family” test.

Your bring up some good points, and I guess with the recent FTC changes, the message in the industry is “there is a line, and its being crossed too frequently by too many”. For me, getting visitors to become paying clients or members is all about relationships. When I visit a site for the first time what I'm looking for is those key indicators that this site owner is interested in establishing a relationship with me (contact info, support options, etc).

The same applies for my sites and the services I offer. I want my visitors to know who I am and how to contact me. Transparency is key. It helps build trust which is a great foundation for a long-lasting, mutually beneficial relationship.

I think making your line pass the 'friends' test is a great idea. A Lot of my friends have no idea what I do online just because I don't want to take the time to explain it (and most of them would not want to do it anyway), but when I start creating products I definitely want them to be something that I could recommend my friends buy and use.

Great post and great comments from others – agree 100% that everyone has a different line – mine is to always care about those people I build relationships with and to be there to offer them real solutions to their problems and issues, to always be genuine and not use hyped marketing tactics that are there to simply get people to buy as I have no interest in people buyuing or becoming my clients unless I can offer them high value and high quality services and products that they really want or need.

My line is: if I couldn't show this to my Mama without looking down at the floor knowing she wouldn't be proud of me.

It's really easy to stay above the line if you don't try to live over your head

The simple rule is not to try and squeeze more money from a product or site than it could ever be worth, just create another one.

Niches only have so much money in them.

Marketers get into trouble when they only have one dog to show.

I like the balance you strike Steve – and I don't even think you're a commie

There truly is a way to make a pile of cash AND deliver great value to your buyers.

Thanks for the comment Nancy. You bring up a good point – even if it isn't your product and you are acting as an affiliate, you need to make sure the creator you are referring your buyers to has the same standards you have.

Totally agree Steve. I see people who have generic email forms and no way to truly connect with the seller. To me that just doesn't feel right.

It's a common problem I have too Tom. Explaining what we do always is tough unless they know the online space well.

Being genuine definitely is a top priority. The sales process doesn't have to feel slimy!

The “Mama” test is a good one Mike!

My line is more personal… if I believe in my content and live it then I will charge for it. Of course the market also tells me what to charge for and what not to charge for. Like a articles these days are hard to charge for because so much of that type of content is given away to gain an audience.

If you have that un-ethical feeling about charging for something then you obviously don't believe in it yourself and you will have a hard time selling it.

The more detailed your content and the more it gives actionable advice, the more likely people will pay for it. There are definitely a lot of free articles out there, but they tend to be pretty generic.

That also argues for being hyper-targeted with your niche. There will be less competition with free information the more narrow your audience.

Thanks for the comment Dan.

I think for most people that line will be placed based on their upbringing. If you were taught to do whatever it takes to get what you then that person will do that. On the other hand if you were taught to treat others as you want to be treated tha is the path you will follow.

As far as charging for your product or service, why not? We all have to eat and support our families. There are times when it is appropriate to give something away in good faith so build value or interest in your brand. I think as long as you are offering something of value there is nothing wrong with slowing a person down for a second with a lightbox. For me when you are getting bounced all over the place and as you experienced getting tricked into pressing a cancel button crosses that line. My time is valuable and nothing ticks me off more than having to close my browser to get away from a site. I can't see 5 years from now my view being much different but we will see.

I certainly say “I'll do whatever it takes” but I suppose I should qualify that with “I'll do whatever it takes – with integrity.”

Thanks for the comment Rob.