Why “Simple Online Money Making Systems” Simply Don’t Work

Updated: October 1, 2019

The idea of a “simple money making system” is kind of sexy.

I mean, who doesn’t wanna “push a few buttons” and watch the money roll in on complete autopilot? I know I’d use a system like this if I found one.

But the reality is, most of these “systems” don’t work.

Before learning how to build a real business online, I must have tried just about every type of system out there. And none of them worked as promised. It was mostly just hype.

And that’s by design. What I have found is that most online money making systems are sold by shady internet gurus, who’ve made a business out of selling people the “dream” of overnight success and instant push button wealth. Because that’s what sells.

So as long as there are people in the world who want to make money on the internet, these systems will continue to sell like hotcakes. Even though they don’t actually work.

Which brings me to why I am writing this today.

I am going to explain to you why these systems don’t work, so you can avoid this stuff and focus on building a real business online. One that actually turns a profit.

The “Simple Online Money Making System” Gimmick

For the purpose of this article, a “simple online money making system” is anything that promises you easy money at the push of a few buttons. In other words, a system of making money that requires very little effort on your part.

There are many systems like this on the internet, but for the most part, they can be broken down into the following two categories:

• Digital information products
• Recruiting schemes

I’ll now give you an example of each of these, so you know what I’m talking about.

Example 1 (digital information products)

This may sounds a little cynical, but most digital information products that are sold within the “make money online” space, suck. I review these all the time on this blog, and the way they work is almost always the same. Hype, upsells and disappointment.

The sales page is often very convincing and the system appears to be exactly what you’ve been looking for. Just a simple, easy, reliable way to make money on the internet. And in many cases, you will be told that most of the work is done for you.

They often use fake income screenshots, fake testimonials and fake countdown timers, among other sales tactics. All to create the illusion that the system is going to change your life and you need to buy now, before you miss out.

The “system” often costs less than $50 and comes with a money back guarantee of some kind. Which leads a lot more people to buy given the low cost and reduced risk.

But if you do buy, you don’t actually get a system.

What you really get, is a generic ebook (PDF) or video course that (at best) teaches you some type of general, vague way to make money online. Or in other cases, a very simple, specific method that doesn’t actually work and leaves so many other important elements out of the picture.

Either way, you are left with a low quality course that never actually helps you make money. There are no proper tools, training or support at all.

And the people who create these “systems” know this. Which is why they pitch you lots of extra stuff (called upsells) immediately after you buy. So that they can make as much money off of you as possible, before you even know what’s going on.

So to recap how these systems work:

• They use a clever sales page to sell a;
• Low quality training (PDF or video) and;
• There are lots of upsells

Unfortunately, this sort of thing is extremely common. There’s virtually no end to the amount of products being launched that do exactly what I just explained.

Example 2 (recruiting schemes)

Another common system that doesn’t work, is a recruiting scheme. The idea behind this type of system is to join, follow the steps and recruit others into the same system.

In this case, you might receive better tools and training, because they have a vested interest in you recruiting as many people as possible. So some of these systems will actually show you how to make money recruiting people.

But there’s a couple of major problems:

• These systems are often expensive to join
• The business model is unsustainable

How many of these systems work is by getting you in the door at a low price point (like $47) and systematically selling you “upgrades” to the tune of $10,000’s. This is why they are often referred to as a high ticket system. Because the whole idea is to join, upgrade and recruit others into the same system.

Why you need to upgrade, is because in order to learn how to recruit people, you need the “higher level” training. Otherwise you’ll have no idea what you’re doing.

And because most of these systems require you to buy whatever you want to sell. And if you don’t, you miss out on commissions when you recruit people. So it’s the “logical choice” to “go all in” to make the most amount of money.

These systems sound cool, but they are simply not sustainable and most people end up losing money. Only the big recruiters who get in at the beginning of the scheme make the bulk of the money. And they do so off the back of those who lose money.

Why These “Systems” Don’t Work

The ultimate reason why none of these “online money making systems” ever truly work, is because real money isn’t made at the push of a button.

You’ve probably heard the saying “if it sounds too good to be true it probably is”.

Well this is especially true within the online world. If you buy into something expecting it work for you, instead of the other way around, you are doomed to fail. This is the wrong mindset and it ultimately sets you up to fail from the get go.

It’s not that it’s hard or even complicated to make money online. Not at all. But it does take time, effort and persistence. That is just the way it is.

The other reasons why most of these systems don’t work, really depends on the individual system itself.

For example, if you purchase one of the digital info products I explained earlier, you’ll probably learn the hard way that it’s all just hype. As in, you don’t get a push button money making system, because these do not exist.

Nor do you get quality training, tools and support to build a real business.

Instead, what you really get is some type of low quality, generic, outdated PLR product. One that simply does not help you make any real money. So you need to continue buying more and more stuff, to try to piece everything together on your own.

Another example is a recruitment based system. These may provide better training, but there’s often a lot more money at stake. And even if you do make a few bucks, which most people don’t, these schemes inevitably fall apart on their own or are shut down.

Because the business model of mass recruiting (versus selling quality products to genuine customers at a fair price) is simply not ethical or sustainable.

Either way, the take home here is this: real success takes time and effort.

Push button, “done for you”, systems simply do not work. They never have and they never will. They only serve to make the people selling them money, at your expense.

The Solution: Educate Yourself to Build a Real Business

The solution to earning real money online is quite simply to educate yourself on what actually works. Like you are doing right now. And once you do this, take massive action.

It is that simple.

And there are many real ways to make money online too. Some are better than others but there are plenty of great options depending on your personal preference.

For example, you could learn how to sell physical products on Amazon, provide a service on UpWork. Or you could do what I do, affiliate marketing.

I love affiliate marketing because it’s a lot simpler than selling your own product or service. All you’re doing is promoting other companies products for a commission. And it can be quite lucrative over time if you stick with it.

Again, like any other real business, it still takes time and effort though. It took me 3 months to earn my first dollar and just under two years to reach “full time” status. I’d say without a doubt that it was well worth the effort though. It’s a great business.

Related: Beginner’s Guide to Affiliate Marketing

In any case, whatever method of earning money online you choose, it all starts by educating yourself. There is no “shortcut”. And once you understand what works, you can follow the same proven process to build a successful business of your own.