If you're more familiar with one of these than a laptop, there is hope!

Is there hope for someone who wants an Internet business but isn’t very tech savvy? The short answer is yes, but there’s certain types to avoid. The last five people who called were 50+ years old and want to start a business, but they didn’t know anything about the Internet aside from browsing and emails. One woman was 56 and just opened the box on her very first computer the day before.  I told them it’s not the end of the world, but their choices were more limited as some types of Internet businesses will send them into a meltdown because many do require advanced skills and knowledge.

The biggest problem: It’s that most business opportunities, as a part of their sales copy, stress how easy it is and how little knowledge you need to do them. Even the most difficult ones claim this, so it leads a lot of of people into trying things they aren’t prepared to succeed at. Lets go over the major types of Internet businesses one at a time.

Affiliate marketing:  you’re really on your own making web sites, blogs, or investing in pay per clicks. It’s usually too overwhelming for most to learn fast enough to make any money. Banner ads are only 1/4 as effective as they were four years ago, which is the main income method these rely on. It’s got the highest failure rate for newbies, I hear all the time someone heard about Clickbank, but doesn’t know how to get the traffic needed to make a sale, or they end up underwater buying pay per clicks.

Multilevel programs: It’s going to depend on the product, but these can be the easiest for the tech impaired because most give you a pre-made web site. You’ve got to be careful because some come with a coach and training, and others just try to soak you for every fee and upsell in the book. There are good ones I know about, but the good ones are few and far between. One is so low tech (but Internet based), the top people are making six figures a month and never did any Internet marketing.

EBay: EBay is a good one, they got so big by being easy to use. The real issue is the product that you offer, and the amount of competing items also for sale, which can be substantial. Drop shippers work well, and also information products. Before offering anything, it’s important to search completed auctions for those items to get a reality check of what it’s really selling for, and compare to your cost. Other than that, from a tech standpoint, it’s really easy to list items there.

Information Products: Writing a book or guide on things you’re an expert at or have researched isn’t a bad choice, but you’ll need to learn how to make a web site for it and how to get traffic to it. The money from something you made yourself can be a lot better than affiliate marketing, but it’s got to be a product that offers value. There’s a lot to learn, and you’ll be on your own for the most part to figure things out.

Automatic or plug-in businesses: The ones that claim you just “plug in” and don’t have to learn or do anything don’t exist. It’s just copy they use to sucker in the most naive’ people. The reason why nobody would sell something that easy that works, is they would instead clone it a thousand times and keep all the money for themselves. The logic is they can make more money selling that “system” to people than using it themselves.

Overall, if you’re not experienced on the Internet watch out for the promises of “easy” or “automated”. A good Multilevel company with a real solid product, a successful track record, and included, duplicatable training is a good bet. EBay is pretty saturated, but with the right product it’s easy to setup. As always, do your research on the search engines and find a story from someone who’s not trying to sell it. If you’d like to find out which one I recommend, leave a comment and I’ll send you an email.

Nick