Several months ago I was introduced to Ad Surf Daily (ASD). You sign up, paying a monthly fee of course (they call it an "ad investment"), and simply click on links to "earn" your advertising investment back, and….of course, more $$$$$.

Now, being online for as long as I have been, I knew this was a scam right away. Traffic Swarm does the same thing, for FREE.

It seems the Florida Attorney General and the US Attorney’s office From the District of Columbia have served search warrants on ASD, asserting that they are a "Ponzi scheme … disguised as an advertising company."

California Attorney General, Edmund G. Brown announced on August 5th that the state is filing a lawsuit against Your Travel Biz.com for operating as a "gigantic pyramid scheme" that recruited tens of thousands of members with deceptive claims they could earn huge sums of money through it’s online travel agencies.

Today I received yet another call about an internet "get rich quick" scheme where you have to pay to be an affiliate. Be careful these days. There are those who will try to take advantage of you because they are counting on you not being very internet savvy. In internet marketing, rarely do you pay to be an affiliate.

Here’s a great tip on researching these new offerings….Google the multi-level marketing company name and add "scam", or "sucks" afterwards, so your search term would be….."MLM name" + scam.  Read up about who is involved and what others have to say about the company before investing your hard earned money. I did and discovered that there is a long, questionable history with the people at the top of this "opportunity."

I was told this new product would drive traffic to my website.  Upon further investigation, that claim couldn’t be further from the truth. As much as I like the person trying to sell me this new service, I’m not gullible when it comes to the internet and I could hear this person being coached in the background. Again, be careful. Do your due diligence in checking these firms out and, ask the person trying to convince you that this is the next best "money maker" how many MLM firms they’ve touted in the past 5 years. If it’s more than one, why?

There are MLM firms that offer great products and they sell with high integrity. I’m just urging you to check them out before giving your bucks to them.

Let me know what you think by leaving a comment.

Today’s Free Friday was about selling Amazon.com products on your site, or through e-mail, to create a passive stream of income for your business. Let me know what you think by commenting below.

I’ll be teaching, in my online classroom, how to create and maintain an Amazon store for your website. You can find more information on my Online Learning page.

Click Here to watch a larger video

Cross The Digital Divide with Debra Simpson in this week’s Free Friday Webinar.

I’ll be sharing with you how you can sell Amazon products on your website, or through your e-mail. Discover how becoming an Amazon Associate can add passive income to your website, turning it from a free-loader to a fee-loader.

Sign up here to attend the webinar. If you’ve been in the room before, just click on the Conference shortcut and come right in. Kick your feet up and relax with a beverage of your choice for 30 minutes and learn a little more about marketing your business on the Internet. It’s one more piece of the puzzle!

I’ll be spending the next three days at the Business and Learning Expo.  This is an opportunity for you to discover more about other small business owners and how they are taking their businesses global through the Internet.

I’ve been participating in online expos for several years now and love meeting solopreneurs from all over, not only the country, but the world.

I’ll be speaking at the Business and Learning Expo on Wednesday, June 4th at 3pm Pacific Time / 6pm Eastern Time on Creating Digital Products For Service Providers.

Attendance is free and, if you’re thinking about going global this event will broaden your view about what’s possible for your business using the Internet. Join me for an eye-opening experience!

Cyberspace Holds a World of Productivity Freebies for Businesses

Online Marketer Helps Entrepreneurs Tap Into Wealth of Web Tools

By LIZ WIEDEMANN
San Diego Business Journal Staff

Online resources offer small business owners access to “the free stuff,” according to Debra Simpson, and everybody likes free stuff, she says.

Simpson is owner of Magic In Words, a Carlsbad-based Internet marketing business designed to help entrepreneurs increase traffic to their Web sites.

“I spend a lot of time with my clients teaching them online social networking and how to incorporate those Internet tools into their businesses,” said Simpson, who also produces North San Diego Business@Large, a blog dedicated to North San Diego County business news.

“Most people just need to be shown what the tools are and how to use them, and I think I fit that need,” she said.

In regular podcast interviews with local business professionals and as a guest speaker throughout Southern California, Simpson said she teaches low-cost and no-cost forms of marketing online, while creating passive income via sale of information products.

Read the entire article……

Learn To Become An Amazon Associate

Monday, May 12, 2008
3pm Pacific Time / 6pm Eastern Time

• Looking for a passive stream of income?
• Looking for products to sell?
• Want to make your site work for you?

This is your chance to LEARN how to become an Amazon Associate. To LEARN how to create product links, widgets and online stores. Debra Simpson will teach you how to add product to your website, creating a passive stream of income. Why pay someone like Debra to do the work for you, when you can do it yourself, for a fraction of the cost?

This 90 minute long, hands-on webinar will take you through signing up, creating your product information and grabbing the code for your blog or website.

Sign Up Today, Only $25.00

What are you waiting for? Come and join us from the comfort of your home office, with a beverage of your choice!

I’m Speaking To San Diego Women, Inc. on Thursday, June 28th.

I’ll be sharing no cost and low cost ways to market your business online. You’ll learn how to create passive income with your website and other strategies to raise your online visibility. This is your chance to get your Internet Marketing questions answered.

You’ll walk away with strategies you can implement immediately! Come and join me for networking fun in Mission Valley with other small business owners.

Register Here for an exciting evening of networking and learning at San Diego Women, Inc.’s monthly meeting.

Magic In Words is holding webinars on a variety of Internet Marketing topics. Upcoming webinars include:

• Information Product Strategies to Grow Your Business: A Surefire Way to Produce Passive Income, January 30, 2007 5pm (PT)
• Small Business Roundtables, February 13, 2007 2pm (PT)

See how you can expand your business online. All you need to participate is:

• an internet connection
• speakers

If you have a microphone for your computer, you can participate verbally. It’s a great way to learn more about cutting-edge Internet marketing strategies, as well as get the word out about your business.

Reserve Your Seat Today!

• Information Product Strategies to Grow Your Business: A Surefire Way to Produce Passive Income
• Small Business Roundtables

Wow, what a great webinar The Expertise Experts held last night. Take a listen to the audio and, please, feel free to leave your comments below.