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The Lazy Hippy - An Introduction
Posted: Si on Apr 08 | the lazy hippy
Hi, my name is Si and I’m a Lazy Hippy!
Well, I’m definitely lazy - no doubt about that! (Just ask anyone who knows me!) As for being a hippy, well a lot of people would give me that label, but although I’ve got the dreads & camper van and I try to lead an ethical life I’m not pretending to be proper, full-on hardcore hippy. I don’t live in a commune, I’ve not dropped out from society, I lead a fairly normal life… and I do wash!
That’s enough of the stereotypes though! Here’s a few more facts about me:
I’m 28 and live in Hampshire, England. I’ve been online for over 10 years now and selling for the last 4 years - on eBay, from my own sites and as an affiliate. I’ve sold all sorts: eBooks, software, domain names, cars, musical instuments, mushrooms! Sometimes I’ve been very successful, sometimes not.
If you want to know more about me please see my personal blog or MySpace. Warning: you may disagree with some of my opinions and will probably be bored by my random ramblings!
Same old internet marketing crap?
Looking for ways to make money online really is soul-destroying sometimes. There are too many get-rich-quick schemes out there, too many self-styled ‘gurus’ selling too much crap! Just look at the Adsense ads on here - I bet most of them promise you a fortune for very little work! Along with being very funny, this site sums up the usual sales pitch only too well.
I’m attempting to weed out the good from the bad - not an easy job! There will be thousands of good products I don’t promote, but I will not promote anything I consider to be crap!
You might have realised the same thing as me: One of the biggest markets on the web is “selling to the sellers”. That is, promoting products aimed at other people who are promoting products.
When I realised this I thought a lot about the ethics of it and came to this conclusion: It is wrong to sell a dream of success (knowing that most will fail), but if I can earn money by finding genuinely useful products, promote them based on the facts and actually help other people to be successful too than that is a good thing.
Most of the products I promote, such as domain names can be used for any type of online business. Others are more aimed at other internet marketers or eBay users, for example 2eb, the free domain name service for eBay sellers.
Honesty
I’m not going to try to hide behind some marketing persona, what you see is what you get! The reason for setting up a separate blog is to stop all the other stuff from getting in the way - if you want to know more about me please have a browse through my personal blog.
I realise that I am not going to make as much money as someone who will say anything so get a sale, but I couldn’t live with making a living by ripping people off!
I’m also using a well known marketing tactic here - I’m playing to my strengths. I’ve never been any good as selling to people by blagging and bullshitting. On the other hand I am good at constructing a logical argument based on facts. So I sell products based on the facts, not on marketing spin! There’s a free eBook you can download here which explains more about playing to your strengths. [link coming soon]
When I promote a product I will tell you honestly what I think of it - the bad points along with the good. You will also find my opinions here of products here that I’m not promoting - some good, some bad. Remember though, these are just my opinions. Though where I can, I will show you the facts that have influenced my opinions to allow you to make an informed choice.
My goals
I don’t need or want to make millions. My goal at present is to make enough money online to let me travel the world and not have to worry about money. Your goals will be different to mine - that doesn’t matter - you probably aren’t as lazy as me either!
For me money in itself has no value - it’s the freedom it allows you that has value. I will always be one of the people that would rather work less, earn less but have more free time rather than the other way around. If you put more time into it than me, you will earn more than me!
My promise
I will not promote junk just to make money.
I will not lie to you or hide anything from you.
I will not exaggerate the value of a product.
2 Comments
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Dude, thank you.
I’ve recently discovered affiliate marketing and all the related ‘make money online’ fields, and am starting to dip a toe in the water. However, there’s a Bill Hicks sketch which keeps running through my mind:
~~
“By the way, if anyone here is in advertising or marketing, kill yourself. Kill yourselves, seriously. You are the ruiner of all things good. Seriously. No, this is not a joke. “There’s gonna be a joke coming…” There’s no fucking joke coming, you are Satan’s spawn, filling the world with bile and garbage, you are fucked and you are fucking us. Kill yourselves, it’s the only way to save your fucking soul. Kill yourself, kill yourself now. Now, back to the show.”
~~
I’m also extremely lazy and the thought of earning a living from my laptop, wherever I am in the world, is ridiculously tempting. Doing so in an unethical way, however, is not something I could justify.
Thanks for showing me that a ‘third way’ is possible (if you’ll forgive the use of the New Labour marketing slogan!), and that lazy hippies (by the way, the singular form should be ‘hippie’…) can get in on this business too. (I wholeheartedly agree with your “money in itself has no value” paragraph.)
Thanks! It’s great to hear from someone thinking the same way as me!
It’s easy to make money online if you’ve got no ethical standards, especially if you sell the get-rich-quick dream. However, there are plenty of ways of providing useful information, services, etc to people and make money at the same time.
The best advice I can give anyone just starting is to visit wickedfire.com and read loads! That place has taught me more than anywhere else and they don’t let people sell you crap unlike other forums.
I love Bill Hicks and that shit makes sense, but I bet even he smoked a certain brand of cigarettes… Like it or not marketing is here to stay and a lot of marketing provides a useful service - showing a consumer the benefits of a certain product. People are lazy, I can understand that! They are happy for someone else to suggest a product that will for fill their needs. As ethical marketers, our responsibility is to ensure that we don’t promote crap.
Hippy/Hippie? - I understand that both are correct, one being a variant of the other. Personal preference, but I prefer Hippy!