Can You Really Make a Lot of Money Directly With Social Media?

I have "attended" quite a few preview teleseminars for social media programs and I have noticed a pattern. Most social media "experts," if not all, will tell you that you can make lots of money with social media. Yet, they give you few, if any, ways to do it - unless you pay them. And once you pay them, there's no guarantee that you'll hear anything you haven't already heard.

Most preview teleseminars start by telling you that you have to make friends on Facebook, gain followers on Twitter, connections on LinkedIn, etc. Really? Then, they tell you, "You have to give a lot before you get." Duh?! Then, they go over a few rules and the consequences of breaking those rules, "If you do this, then I'll un-friend you or I'll un-follow you, ha!" They get excited like it's a privilege to be a part of their exclusive club. They tell about how busy they are and why they don't have time for this or that. Great. However, if you want to learn ways to make money with social media, you'll have to spend $497, $997 or more to listen to teleseminars with other "experts." I'm not asking you to tell me all your secrets for free, but can you give me something before I give you hundreds or thousands of dollars?

A good preview teleseminar should stay true to its title and give listeners value. If it's a "Make Lots of Money ..." teleseminar, it should list some ways you can make lots of money and if you want to learn how, you can pay for it. But if you won't give me anything worthwhile for free on your preview teleseminar, why should I believe that you will give me anything worthwhile for $497, $997 or thousands of dollars? Just like most networking marketing "opportunities," I bet that most of these "experts" make a lot of their money from selling their "Make Lots of Money with Social Media" programs, not from using social media itself.

Most "experts" love to use President Barack Obama as proof that you can make lots of money with social media. This is misleading because he didn't "make" millions of dollars with it. A Presidential campaign is similar to a charity. You contribute money to a cause without receiving anything in return. You're not paying for a product or service. You don't earn or make money with charities and Presidential campaigns. Plus, Presidential campaigns come once every four years.

This leads to the question, "Can I make lots of money directly from social media?" Despite what everyone's telling you, the jury is still out. It's a great tool for conversation, catching up with old friends and classmates and sharing breaking news. However, most internet users don't want to be sold. So, if that's your target market, how will you make your money? I'll tell you that most social media "experts" make most of their money from putting on "Make Lots of Money with Social Media" programs and from speaking engagements. That's it! And, when you find out a way other than putting on your own program or booking a speaking engagement, please let me know.