I hear a lot of people asking the question “Why can’t I make money online?”. Of course, each person is different, but you can usually attribute the problem to a few key things. Hence, the title, top reasons people fail to make money online.

I’m going to venture into this topic and provide you with the top reasons I see most frequently. If you are reading this because you are having problems making money online, please know that I understand where you’re at.

For Those Just Starting Out

There is a myriad of different ways people make money online. There’s Amazon, eBay, Affiliate Marketing, Network Marketing, Clickbank, and many more. What it boils down to though, is selling something to someone.

By the same token, there are a lot of SCAMS as well. So first off, let me say that there is no magic bullet, no secret method, no overnight riches, and no push-button profits. These things DO NOT exist. Anyone selling this type of product is playing on your emotions and stealing your money.

An online business is like any other brick and mortar business. It takes hard work to make money. You’ve got to know who your customer is, what they want, what they need, what makes them tick, and how to reach to them among other things.

Building an online business has advantages over typical retail brick and mortar businesses. You don’t have to deal with things like building leases, employee overhead, inventory, and the other things that unique to physical businesses. But, that doesn’t mean it’s easy-peasy either.

My advice to those who just starting out is to choose a business model such as Affiliate Marketing, and then choose a method and stick to it. If you go after every new method you run across, you’ll get nowhere. This has a name, it’s called “Shiny Object Syndrome”, and most of us are guilty of getting caught up in it at some time or another.

My Top Reasons People Fail To Make Money Online

Unrealistic Expectations

When I examine the top reasons people fail to make money online, expectations top the list. Many people think that you can jump in the right program and start making money tomorrow. This is partly due to the amount of misleading information on the internet and having unrealistic expectations.

People come into the online business world with these expectations that making money online is going to be quick and easy. Then when a month or two goes by and they see goose eggs across the board, they quit.

Even if you join the ideal training program you aren’t going to realize results that fast. It takes time to build your brand, time for your website to rank in Google, and time to learn the methods. You may have heard about your website being in the “Google Sandbox”. This term refers to the fact that Google isn’t going to rank your website very high until it’s algorithms have seen your site offering quality content, growth, and a host of other variables.

I don’t mean to discourage anyone, quite the contrary. My goal is to set the correct expectations so you do not succumb to quitting before you’ve given yourself a chance to be successful. The correct expectation starting out is that you’re going to have to do the work, build your website content, and offer value to your customers before you can even think about turning profit.

This is true whether you are Affiliate Marketing, selling your own products, or email marketing. It just takes time. How long? It depends on a lot of factors, but at least 6 to 12 months. You’ve got to learn the ropes, find out what works, and offer a lot of value.

Work Ethic

By work ethic, what I mean is, are you doing something daily to advance our online business? Are you putting in the level of work that is needed to attain success?

Let’s examine Affiliate Marketing. You’ve created an affiliate website and started to add content. If you are going to get some Google love anytime in the near future, you better be adding great content on a weekly basis. At least 2 to 3 articles a week. Your initial goal should be content, content, content.

You do the math. How long will it take you to get upwards of 100 posts on your site? 8 months if you consistently posted 3 articles each week. It takes a good work ethic and dedication to your goals to build your online business. I’m not saying you have put in 12 hour days to build your business. You just need to put in consistent effort on a daily basis.

Good work ethic also involves setting short-term and long-term goals. Goal setting gives you a way to keep yourself accountable for the work that needs to be accomplished each week.

It might seem like an easy task at first. But working for yourself means discipline. There’s no one else there to set deadlines or bark orders at you. You’ll find out very quickly that it’s easy to find yourself taking a day off, then it turns into 2, and so on. There have been times when I’ve had to force myself to sit down in front of the computer and write an article.

Lack Of Support

Many people find that it’s lonely building an online business. Family members or friends may say you’re wasting your time at home sitting in front of the computer. I’ve had to deal with that myself.

In fact, anyone building an online business from home will likely have to deal with something like this. Sometimes you even doubt yourself. This makes it so important that you have a support system for whatever training you are following. Or at least be a part of a like-minded group of people.

Being able to converse with like-minded people is important for your mental well-being as well as your emotional health. Not to mention your ability to build your business. Even if you’re doing it via a Facebook Group, it’s still better than nothing. You’ll also find that being a part of a group of like-minded people gives you a way to hold each other accountable for your weekly goals.

Many partnerships are also born in a group atmosphere. You may find someone who complements you well, which can be the start of a successful partnership. In whatever you do, get plugged into a group of people doing the same thing as you.

That Burning Desire Or Lack Thereof

If you have a burning desire to become a successful online business owner you’ll usually have no problem when it comes to the setbacks all of us encounter along the road to success. It’s a question of “How bad do you want it?”.

If you want it bad enough, you’ll let nothing stand in the way of achieving your goal. It’s a mindset. I have a favorite quote from the person who brought us illumination in the workplace.

I haven’t failed a thousand times, I’ve only found a thousand ways it wouldn’t work.

Thomas Edison

Thomas Edison had a vision and a goal. He let nothing stand in the way of achieving his goal of inventing the electric light bulb. He tried one element after another and various methods until he finally succeeded by using tungsten as a filament for his light bulb.

It’s this kind of burning desire we need in order to overcome the failures along the way. Look at failures as temporary setbacks. Learn from them and move on. Don’t ever dwell on them.

Above all, be persistent in your efforts.

Shiny Object Syndrome

I mentioned this one early on. Shiny object syndrome refers to one getting caught up with the next latest and greatest thing to come along. They hit our email inbox all the time and they even get us now through advertising on websites and YouTube videos.

It happens to all of us at one time or another. You get an email or advertisement that promises hot leads or instant profits and we just can’t resist that offer. So we abandon what we were doing and start down another path, only to find another better thing to go after. The cycle repeats.

If we’re always changing methods and doing something different, we never give ourselves the chance to make one method work. We abandon it half-way through and start down another path.

It’s easy to get caught up in the hype. I’ve been guilty of it on more than one occasion. And it’s not to say that each new thing we go after doesn’t work. I believe that just about any method will work if you stick with it.

So, choose a method, stick with it, and make it work.

Bad Method And Execution

There’s more than one way to skin a cat. But, if you don’t follow through on the method and execution, it’s not going to work.

What I mean is, you can be part of the best step-by-step training on the planet, but if you don’t follow the steps and you skip ahead to the end, you’re going to miss some key pieces. Step-by-step means just that. Follow the steps, one at a time, implement them properly, and your chances of success are multiplied greatly.

We live in a world of instant gratification. From fast food to direct deposit. We get it all instantly these days. We naturally apply this to everything we do. There must be a way to get it now, right? Wrong. At least not when it comes to making money online.

I know the gurus will tell you they have the “secret” to instant profits. However, it’s just a play on your want it now – get it now emotional button that has been ingrained in us these days. There’s no secret method, no instant profits, and no overnight riches.

Unless you win the lottery or make a really great investment that pays off quickly, we are stuck with following the steps we know will work over time. So, follow the steps, learn the process, and do what it takes. You’ll be glad you did.

Avoiding The Pitfalls

Now that we’ve covered my top reasons people fail to make money online, let’s talk about how you can avoid these things and become successful.

If you’re here reading this article, you’re likely investigating the idea of getting into online business or you may have already started, but you’re finding it difficult to make money. The fact that you’re here is a testament to your desire to make money online.

How To Move Forward

1. Set your expectations accordingly as we discussed above.
2. Create long-term goals as well as short-term goals.
3. Write your goals down and place them where you can see them each day.
4. Create a plan to take massive action daily.
5. Do the work! It will pay off.
6. Stick to your plan. If you don’t have a real plan, get one HERE.
7. Become active in a support group of like-minded people.
8. Ask for help when you’re stuck. It’s OK to ask for help.

If you need training that works, an all-in-one solution, and the support you need, sign up as a free member where I hang out at Wealthy Affiliate. I’ll help you out after you sign up and we can walk the path to success together.

I’ve also written additional content on common problems Affiliate Marketers face and how to avoid Affiliate Marketing mistakes and fix the problems. Both good resources if you’ve already started in your online business.

Wrapping Up

As we’ve seen, there are different reasons people fail to make money online. It can be as simple as needing a support group of like-minded people, or more complex issues such as work ethic. However, if you are serious about earning money online, you can do it with the right training and the right attitude.

Don’t let temporary setbacks stop you. Be persistent and have a winning attitude. Nothing can stop you.