Review of Willie Crawford's eBook: 20 Ways To Make $100 Per Day Online

Willie Crawford is an online personality I've only observed in passing. Prior to my buying this book, I had never purchased any of his products, nor participated in any of his forums. I tried a couple of times to listen to some audios on a website he was affiliated with, but I'm not much on audios because they just take too much time and I'm always in a hurry. I can read and absorb information a LOT faster than I can listen, so unless it's music or something I want to hear over and over, audios aren't my thing.

I don't remember exactly when I became FaceBook friends with Willie Crawford - it was probably back when I was playing a game where I was trying to get as many internet marketing and copywriting "famous names" to link to me. Just for the record, I don't recommend doing that - all it really did was bring me lots of FaceBook mail I am seldom interested in.

So today I noticed that there was a lengthy (!!!) article/post on FaceBook today from Willie, and the title "Pulling Out Of Debt In A Month - During A Recession" intrigued me enough to give it a look-see.

Photo Credit: Willie Crawford on FaceBook

Willie said that he has people asking him every day how they can make money FAST on the internet, usually because they are deeply in debt and are looking for that proverbial miracle cure. I thought to myself, gee, I can relate to that - I've seen all sorts of scams that are aimed at people who are desperate and vulnerable.

His answer to them sounds a bit on the sarcastic side, sort of like "Buy Low, Sell High" when asked how to make money in the stock market, because he tells them to "sell something that lots of people want and are willing to pay for." OK, I thought, that's sort of a no-brainer, and I almost didn't read the rest of his article. I guess the main reason I kept reading was on some level I wanted to move him into a category of people I just don't bother listening to any more. I've been on a "Weed 'em OUT" mission recently, and internet marketers are falling fast and furious as I cross them off my list of people I listen to.

Willie made the cut, though, when his very next line admitted up front that his answer does at first glance sound sarcastic. He went on to say that he's coached people and taught them to do just that - sell something that lots of people want and are willing to pay for - and that some of these people he's coached were very deeply in debt.

Now he had my full attention and I found myself mentally cheering him on when he said "The first thing that is obvious to me is that desperate people often make BAD decisions. When we have our backs against the wall, and the world seems to be crumbling all around us, we simply see the world through a different set of glasses. It's during those times that you need someone who is calmer, and less stressed, to serve as a voice of reason."

He went on to say that selling a product that pays instant commissions that are also a high percentage commission is what he recommends these people do. Then he went on to give an example of such a product - an e-Book entitled "20 Ways To Make $100 Per Day Online" - which sells for $27 but has a customer-only affiliate program with a 100% commission. I liked the idea that only customers who actually purchased the book could resell it, and I liked the simple instructions he provided in his article about how a newbie could market it. His first instruction was to READ THE BOOK.

I had to laugh when I got there ... but human nature being what it is, I know that some people would actually try to sell a book they haven't actually read. So no-brainer though it ought to be, I was glad to see him spell out that he tells his clients to read the book. While reading it, they usually get an idea of what THEY can do, and then they share with him what he calls "their road-map to recovery." I liked that term, road-map to recovery. I have to admit that if I could offer people a solution to a seemingly insurmountable problem for $27 and a few hours of reading, I'd smile too, which is what he says happens when people get that far in this process.

The next step, he says, after purchasing and reading the book, is to write a review of it in their own words and post the review on their blog and send the info out to their e-mail list and personal contacts. So far, so good, I'm thinking - he's not pushing anything hyped up or super expensive, and most people, even strapped for cash, can afford $27. So I kept reading.

His claim that people are usually SHOCKED when the sales come flooding in sounds genuine to me - I know I would be shocked to make the $3,000 he says he's seen people make using this simple system. Delighted, yes ... but shocked would be part of what I would be feeling, for sure.

That's when he hooked me and these are the words that did it for me:

Those were the magic words that unchained my charge-card: "authenticity and honesty sells like nothing else."

Bingo! That's what I've been saying for ages. Suddenly Mr. Willie Crawford moved right into my extremely short list of people I listen to. That was the moment the light bulb went on over my head and he had my FULL and UNDIVIDED attention.

He said: "Most marketers that I know with huge lists have horrible conversion rates (as a percentage of their total list). That's because on those huge lists, probably less than 10% are true followers. So, if you build a smaller list, but it's comprised of people who actually read your email, blog posts, "tweets" or Facebook posts, you can out-market many "gurus."

I didn't read the rest of the article. I clicked on the link and bought the book. Then I read it from cover to cover. Then I went back and re-read parts of it. Then I printed out some of the pages. Then I wrote down some ideas. Here's the funniest part - because THEN I went BACK to the sales page and actually READ it. See, I made the decision to buy based on what I read in Willie's article in FaceBook - I didn't bother to read the sales page, I just scrolled to the "buy now" link and told PayPal to give Willie money. After reading the sales page, I decided to write this lens about my experience.

I hit a little snag in the download process, but it actually turned out extremely well because it gave me the chance to test Willie's customer service. For some reason although I could download the product, it wouldn't open for me, and when I went back to the site and tried to view it online, I got the same error message. I set up a trouble ticket, and kept telling myself it would be OK even if I didn't get a response until the morning, while secretly hoping that he had round-the-clock staff working on his trouble desk.

I don't think I waited even 10 minutes before I had a response in my e-mail - not at the website, which is where I thought I'd have to go to see an answer. The first e-mail asked me for the download link I had used, so I provided it. About 3 or 4 minutes later I had an e-mail in my box with the purchased item attached, and it opened for me immediately and without error.

I didn't stop there, however, I had a question about the download error so I wrote back and asked it. Again the response time was fast, and it was NOT a cut and paste by a person who didn't understand - next to Voice Mail HELL, I hate with a passion trying to get any sort of customer service or technical support where the replies don't relate to what I have just submitted. If you have to get support, it's nice to know that they actually READ what you wrote. Here's the response I got:

We've sold dozens of copies
today without problems which indicated that the problem
you experienced was an isolated incident.

We will keep a close eye on orders for a while though,
although we've sold over 5000 copies of the ebook to date
very rare problems, as is expected with any computer
delivery system where computers have to talk to each other
and wait for feedback from databases.

Thank you,
Willie Crawford

So far, so good - for Customer Service I give Mr. Crawford 5 stars and he gets to keep the money I sent him.

See, I've paid a LOT more for e-Books that delivered a LOT less. I appreciated that it wasn't what I call "fluffy" at all. For the most part, given that there were a lot of different people writing about a lot of different topics, the copy was tight and there were very few typos or grammatical errors in it. That's one of my HUGE complaints about PLR materials (Private Label Rights) - crappy writing. I'm impressed that each author has presented a well thought out perspective on their topic. Best of all, other than a pep talk about believing in yourself, there was ZERO "woo-woo" in the book. It is good, solid information with darned close to ZERO "hype". It was also refreshing that the writers all assumed I am an adult and know how to read. It wasn't watered down to the point of being ridiculous and it wasn't one of those "pie in the sky by and by" sort of books. It's almost the first e-Book I've ever seen that has enough good information to make it in print, although given the affiliate program, print wouldn't work nearly as well.

Some of the information in the book I have already learned. At first as I was reading I was thinking to myself that I had just wasted another $27 on yet another product that wasn't going to teach me anything and that I would not be willing to advertise because if my name is associated with it, it absolutely has to meet MY standards. I have a reputation to uphold, even if it's only in my imagination.

But the more I read, the happier I became as I started to see answers to some questions that had plagued me. I skimmed a couple of the chapters, because they dealt with things I either am not interested in or don't have the capability of doing, but I found some chapters that were right up my alley and answered some questions for me. In one case it helped me rule out something I'd considered doing - the author was very good about telling both sides of the story, and I realized that I don't really want to do that particular kind of writing. It's helpful to be able to rule things out when you're faced with way too many things that *might* be worth your time and energy and you have to choose based on inadequate information.

I was surprised to see a couple of names I recognized from Twitter - I never knew that they were associated with Willie Crawford - and I was also surprised that very few of the links in the book are affiliate links. It always ticks me off to pay money for something that is essentially an advertisement for more products, so as I was looking at links, I was also doing the little mouse-run to see if I could see affiliate links, then when I clicked, I was watching for redirects. It pleased me to see so few, and those that were affiliate links weren't hard sell.

I visited several websites of the authors who contributed to the project - and I was, for the most part, impressed with the diversity of opportunity presented. I don't think very many people can read this book, I mean really READ it, and fail to see something that they have the talent and ability to do.

I get more e-mail asking me how I've done with this book than anything - way more e-mail than comments. That makes perfect sense to me - we are constantly bombarded by advertising and especially online we see testimonial after testimonial to the point of mental saturation. Chances are good that you don't know me, and that you may have found this lens (webpage on Squidoo) through Google or another search engine. I hope this addition and update answers some of your unspoken questions - if not, as always, please feel free to leave a comment or to contact me via my "contact me" button on my lensmaster page.

This lens was built after I purchased the book, obviously. I have read the book three times that I can recall specifically, and I have referred to it often to refresh my memory about something I thought I'd read. I received value (according to my own expectations) well in excess of the $27 I spent on this eBook. (I wish all my online purchases were a useful as this has been.) However - your own experience may be different.

I can't emphasize this enough: If you can't afford to invest $27, then don't buy this book. If $27 is going to make you miss a payment on something, or do without something, or impact your ability to put food on your table, stop right here, right now and listen to me very carefully: Do something that doesn't cost you anything. Do NOT spend a single penny on Internet Marketing materials from any source.

Regardless of the hype you'll see online, nobody really makes it "big" overnight. There is a HUGE learning curve and many, many, MANY people are online to separate you from your money. Don't buy into anything that promises you overnight success, riches beyond belief, or says you won't have to work hard to earn what you get. They are lying to you. The basic concepts of internet marketing are indeed simple, but simple and easy are not always found in the same space.

This lens (page) has become one of my most popular, based in large part on the search engine traffic - as times get worse economically, people are looking for ways of increasing their incomes, so this title comes up frequently. However, despite the popularity of this page, I have not sold very many copies of this book. That's on me, not on the book. If you purchase it only for the resale rights, be aware that nearly every other person who has purchased it is probably trying to sell it. Some will be more successful than others, and some won't sell a single copy. That's not the reason to buy the book. There is good information in the book, and if you are in the process of learning how to sell information online, this is a clean way to do it at a price point that's manageable for most.

While I have not yet achieved that magic number of $100/day online (not that I've spent much time or effort working on things that could do it for me, my bad!) I am now totally convinced that it is, indeed, possible to do so while maintaining one's personal integrity.

Squidoo has proven to be a regular (albeit right now quite small) trickle of cash into my paypal account, despite my having taken a temporary break from lensmaking for personal reasons. This particular lens is amazing me with the amount of search engine traffic it is getting, and the resulting sales. I've noticed that with each sale my confidence level has increased, and I've just crossed that magic mental line of knowing from experience that something is possible. I don't think a person can find that sweet spot just from reading about somebody else's success; I know I did not.

There are 3 things I've obtained from this book that I suspect would be similar for most people who might be tempted to purchase it.

1) The actual information contained in the document. For me it was valuable not only for those things that I *could* do if I wanted to, but also for enough information to allow me to say, "nope, that's not for me" a few times. Ruling things out is an important part of finding one's focus, and this book helped me rule several things out that I'd been considering. For me, at least, it's way too easy to start things just because I can, without considering the natural consequences that can be expected. Jumping into things I find later I don't really want to do has been an ongoing issue for me my entire life, so learning to hesitate and give projects some deep thought before I'm totally committed has been a life skill I've needed to polish. It's a bit like doing a cost vs benefit analysis, with the costs being figured in time, money, energy, life force and examining what activities would be supplanted by the investment in a project, versus the potential benefits in money, education, and leverage for future projects.

2) Looking at the entire Willie Crawford "machine" as far as this ebook is concerned was an excellent educational activity. Asking myself questions about how the book was written, how the 100% affiliate marketing program works, why it benefits Willie despite his not getting a penny from each sale, how his help desk works, how each of the writers who contributed to the book benefit from each sale and then looking for the answers to these questions taught me a great deal. Had I never read a word of the book, I would still have benefited from this line of inquiry. (I hasten to add, however, that I did read the book, several times in fact.)

3) Using the 100% commission affiliate program as an experimental platform to "test the waters" of internet marketing with almost no risk. Squidoo was the perfect place for me to tell my story and see what happened, and I am delighted that this "experiment" has turned out so well. What I didn't expect, however, was that my self confidence would soar as the number of sales mounted. The first few were exciting to be sure, but the gradual increase in search engine traffic and the subsequent increase in sales not only surprised and delighted me, but increased my confidence that selling high quality information products online is a viable business that I now believe I can be successful in. That is the beautiful byproduct of this endeavor that is priceless.

One more bit of info for you, in case you are thinking about buying this ebook: if you experience any difficulty with the download process, please use Willie's help desk link on the bottom of the sales page to open a trouble ticket. Willie's affiliate program does not allow me to send out copies of the ebook and if you write to me, all I can do is tell you to open a trouble ticket. That said, his help desk is amazingly fast and helpful, and you will not be disappointed by them. (Again, an object lesson in successful marketing just by observing what they do and how they do it.)

So we really enjoyed our time selling used toys at the Flea Market right up until we called it quits because of the super hot summer Texas had. Despite the physical effort of loading, unloading, setting up and tearing down our booth, the earnings were far greater for the effort than anything I've ever done online.

I'm convinced that it's possible to earn a decent income online, but that it takes a LOT more time, money, and energy than ANY of the eBooks will tell you. I'm also certain that most of the products for sale are deliberately incomplete so that you have to go back again and again and again, hoping that you'll finally buy the missing link. Don't fall into that trap. It's a no win situation.

Internet Marketing of digital downloads, especially in the "make money online" niche is not my cup of tea. I have discovered many things that I can do, but that I simply either don't like doing, or don't feel comfortable doing. I've been tempted to take this site down many times, but it gets decent traffic from the search engines, and I've put so many warnings and disclaimers on it, if a person gets through all of that and STILL buys the book, I don't feel bad about selling it to them.

I still prefer physical product sales, though, and I enjoy helping artists and small businesses get their products on the web. I'm very pleased with my friends at Thunderbird Mountain Trading Company and their fledgling products gallery. They have gourmet foods online now: California Mission Farms Jam, Jelly, Butter & Preserve and Wild Alaskan Smoked Salmon plus all the other cool things from their gallery. I'll be working with them this coming year to enlarge their web foot print, and I'll be doing more off line vending along with traveling, and not so much internet marketing. At some point in time, I will probably mothball this sales page, but for now it's still live and the book is still available. I can't promise that it will stay that way forever ... but for now, there it is if you want it.