Articles
The sad but very real truth about APSense.
by Max Merrill Jack of All Trades People came to this site, unaware that they would be advertising to other advertisers. It's hard to make money when you only show your product to other sellers. People on APSense do not realize that we all have to work together in order for ANYONE to succeed.There is no money in the advertising of a product to people doing the same thing. Sure, you're getting paid to do it here. But, it isn't much. You refer hundreds and hundreds of people, only for them to put a link on their profile and stop using the site. They don't want to do anything because they expect the site to do it for them.
Then you have people that go to your blogs and read them.... Only to not even so much as post a comment or top it. Regardless of how good the article was. They take the information into consideration and use the knowledge. But, give no credit to the person that wrote it. Then, they wonder why hardly anyone is topping their articles or why no one is commenting on them.
IF everyone would work together and actually do more on the site... Such as top good articles, post comments, rate business centers more, join good groups, and actually work at helping others. They would see a GREAT increase in not only earnings on APSense, but, knowledge as well.
This also ties into my formula I wrote and posted a few days back. http://www.apsense.com/article/110259.html
(sorry about the pop-up, I took the code out. But, it still comes up :( again sorry for that)
I went into great detail about teamwork, communication, networking, and such.
But, no one took hardly any of it into account.
The "big earners" on this site, are the ones that spend the time actually reading what others write, comment, top, and actually learn from what has been written. The people who claim this site doesn't work or that claim they aren't making anything worth using the site anymore.... are the ones that give no effort into using the site.
Let me use someone as an example. (sorry Lynn, but, I need someone who actually puts the effort in as an example)
Lynn works very hard on APSense, and manages to keep everything up to date. She goes and reads others postings, comments and gives input, and tops the worthy articles. In hopes that the people will do the same.... AS THEY SHOULD.
She has one of the biggest private networks on APSense, if I'm not mistaken, and I see her listed on the main page all the time in the top people. THIS COMES FROM HARD WORK!!
I noticed on my formula page, I had over 300 hits on it, but yet not even 20 comments.... In which almost a quarter of them were my own. Out of all the people that read that article very few decided to top it. Even though A LOT of people knew that was an extremely well written, and very informative article.
I understand that we all are here to make money. But, no one is going to make any money if we all do not help each other. It's the main key to making money. You can't make anything if you have no help. Especially in a virtual world where the more people you know the better.
Look at it this way. Would you want to get online and sit in front of a screen with a buddy list that is empty with no one to talk to.... or would you rather get online and have friends to talk to, friends and contacts to help you when you need advice or an opinion, or even someone to share ideas with?
(I know I said this below in a comment, but, I just remembered that I could edit the content.
So as I said, If this comment touched key points, please be sure to go to this article as well as it pertains to things that may help apsense and it's users.)
http://www.apsense.com/article/110757.html
Also be sure to read my formula posting, as well as my guide to making money online.
http://www.apsense.com/article/110259.html <--Formula Posting-->
http://www.apsense.com/article/121796.html <--Guide Posting-->
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About Max Merrill 
Jack of All Trades
304 connections, 5 recommendations, 779 honor points.Joined APSense since, October 9th, 2007, From Dudley, United States.
Created on Dec 31st 1969 18:00. Viewed 0 times.
Comments
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Max Merrill
Jack of All TradesDave, Yes I must agree, that far too many people let greed overcome their common sense. If you take and take and take..... Before too long, you won't be able to take anymore. Because, people will know you do not give. The more you give, the more you get. I know that I had a couple ads on a couple of my blogs, but, those blogs were FILLED with information. I don't really put ads in my blogs much anymore, maybe 1 here and there. As for the positive or negative feedback, I'll take either. Can't learn if people don't give input.... Right? Oct 19th 2007 00:43 |
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Claudia
Hello Max, you have a lot of facts in your article, sad, but true. Apsense has more than 15.000 members now, but it would be interesting to know, how many are really active here. Many people join, and forget about it. I have 20 (only) in my netwok, and only one of them is active. I have hundreds in my groups, but most of them using the groups only as a place, where they can leave their adds. I'm not here to make money, but I think it's a real good place, to make contacts and friends around the world. And I found here real friends. And as I'm still new in online business, I have learned here a lot, and I'm still doing everyday. Have a great day. Regards Claudia Oct 19th 2007 01:01 |
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Max Merrill
Jack of All TradesClaudia, Thank you for such great input. It is very sad, that I myself have almost 20 referrals and not one of them are active. Also, No one... I repeat... NO ONE. Is an expert in online advertising..... Why? Because, the internet is a constantly changing medium. Nothing stays the same as far as advertising goes. There is always a new way to do it. You may know A LOT more then everyone else, but, that doesn't make you the KNOW IT ALL PERSON. You could think you know everything there is, and be very very wrong. Oct 19th 2007 01:08 |
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Zac Josevski
 Internet MarketerYou make a lot of valid points Max but I think a lot of what you wrote will change once the membership expands. I'm not really sure on how many members Apsense has but in internet terms they are still a baby. Let me explain.... You mentioned that " It's hard to make money when you only show your product to other sellers " I think that they are the best people to show your products or services to especially if it is a new product or service. I understand that people are pushing their own stuff but eventually people will come across something that they want or need and then ultimately someone will make a sale. I maybe wrong here but I think a lot of people are not writing or commenting on posts due to time constraints. I would say that there are probably only 5% of Apsense members that are full time marketers and the rest are part time marketers( I'm guessing though ). Most would work,come home,do family stuff and then maybe have an hour or two to do their internet marketing.Some would be more advanced than others and this is where the time constraints come in but I'm sure if they read something that interested them they would contribute but I guess some won't either....Everyone is different. I remember in my early days on the net I also had a commercial Cleaning Franchise and I would come home after a 20 hour day and I had about 2 hours of work on my marketing which I crammed into one hour so I could sleep lol. That is just one eg and I'm sure other people may be in a similar position so they do what they can. Once the membership expands we will have more people to read more posts,comment and contribute etc. Oct 19th 2007 01:12 |
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Max Merrill
Jack of All TradesZac, I realize that APSense is still growing. People must also understand... if they had the time to read an article... They have the 2 seconds to top it or down it...... Oct 19th 2007 01:18 |
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Zac Josevski
Internet MarketerI agree Max it does not take much to recognize someones efforts. Oct 19th 2007 01:22 |
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Max Merrill
Jack of All TradesIt's a shame more people don't see it this way. You take the time to read the article. If you reach the end, spend 2 seconds to click either top it, or down it. It's either a good or bad article. You spent 5-30 mins reading the article.... what's 2 more seconds? Oct 19th 2007 01:27 |
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Bj aka Bill Brown
Hosting and Backup Service providerHi Max, I have to admit I am often guilty of reading and not commenting. I do top some articles but they have to be very good. I wont top anything, just because a personal friend wrote it. I also do not take part in what is becoming a common practice of top it rings. This is where a group of people will go and top everything that the others in the ring have posted no matter if it is copy and paste trash or quality. Working to gether is important, the problem I find is some are too busy finding fault, or taking offence when comments are made where no offence was intended. This is one of the reasons I do not post too many comments in other peoples posts. I have pesonally offered to talk to people when there has been disagreement on something, even offering to call them at my cost, no matter where they are, but to no avail. So now I put more effort into working with those that want help through the APSense message system, Skype, or MSN. I have posts with over the 1000 views, comments and tops however you can count on 2 hands in most cases. I am not an MLM'er in fact i have an aversion to MLM, I work on providing services, and only promoting very carefully selected services or products that I dont provide. I have to date posted very little in the way of advertising. I have concentrated on providing information that will help all APSense members. New to the internet or old hands, there is always something we need help with, especially in a site as complex as APSense. For example setting up our account is more than just filling in an id and a name. Setting up our BC's is more than putting "Hi visit my site" followed by a url and a couple of pretty pictures in the slide show. We all have our own style of writing mine is to the point. Others flower things out and say the same thing several times in different ways in a reply. We have to accept that. We also need to spend more time getting to know others. Oct 19th 2007 01:47 |
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Eric Smith
Online ProfessionalHey Max, I couldn't have put it better myself. Zac, I agree with some parts of your comments, but i think the reason a lot of topics are not being topped, dropped or commented on is because they are simply blatant advertising. When i read quality topics (like this one) I always top them (minimum) But i also try to leave a comment if time allows. This again raises the question - With the addition of a Signature File, What is the Purpose of Blatant Advertising ? If you sell dog food, write a "quality article" about dogs, Your signature file will direct users to your site... and the better the article, the more likely the link will be followed. Oct 19th 2007 01:49 |
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Max Merrill
Jack of All TradesBJ, You are one of what I call "Team Players". The people that actual want to help others. Yes, I must agree that these rings are getting out of hand, and are a bit on the disturbing side. I'm not sure, but, didn't apsense have something in their TOS that was against that? Also, I personally thank you for being a part of the apsense community that puts forth effort, time, and even money to help others. Oct 19th 2007 01:52 |
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Max Merrill
Jack of All TradesEric, I must agree, your Sig Link is there FOR A REASON. People should learn to implement it just a little bit better, rather then posting blatant ads, as they can be annoying. Not only to the poster, but the readers as well. Oct 19th 2007 01:53 |
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Max Merrill
Jack of All TradesAlso, I would like to add. If you think this blog touches on a lot of key points. Check out this other blog I did, it pertains to a things I think would greatly benefit apsense. http://www.apsense.com/article/110757.html sorry that i can not link it so that everyone may just click it. Oct 19th 2007 01:55 |
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Lisa Lomas
 Hi Zac, I do see your point, I tend to agree give positives when you appreciate the topic or content. Content is king here! Oct 19th 2007 03:58 |
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David Schupbach
Wow, I came in late on this one! I completely understand what you are saying Max, I have been agonizing over the same problem at QCWG, as you probably noticed as you are a member! Our number do seem to be better over there, than they are at my business blogs, but no where near what they should be. Of course, I probably write better there! It may be that what we are seeing is simply a reflection of reality, that if you take the time to comment and top you are simply one of the top 5% of people in the world who actually GET it! If so, it is our duty to try to spread our attitude and knowledge to the other 95%! Which is exactly what you are doing here in this Blog! (As I write this I notice you have 87 hits, but only 8 tops) There is another problem, one that Bill brings to light, Topping Rings. To me that is just as unprofessional as not topping where topping is deserved, just the other end of the spectrum. Oh Well! Here's a Top for you anyway, for clearly stating a problem we are all struggling with. D Oct 19th 2007 06:28 |
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Indrit Shkodra
i agree with you and i agree with bjantique who says that you can't top anything, i personally top only what seems really good article,this one was worth of it. But you must understand that there are so many newbies,it is so tough to make money from internet Oct 19th 2007 06:39 |
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Collette Johnson
Collette's Naturalsvery well written Max I agree with you. I make sure to read all my messages each morning from my apsense express. If I like the article I comment & top it. If I dont think it has content that would be helpful to someone, I dont comment nor do I top it. You have some great articles and I read each one, and I top them too and I for one DO NOT top articles that are not "quality" content no matter if a friend wrote them or not. Keep up the great work! This one is another TOP IT for me Oct 19th 2007 06:42 |
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Penny Young
 ConsultantHi Max, I agree and am glad you brought up the idea of people being more active, but I don't think that commenting is always necessary. I often top articles without leaving a comment simply because I don't always have something useful to say. (I know that's hard to believe, but, well, there you have it ... lol) I'm sure that people don't want to be drawn back to a blog they have already read and appreciated just to read my comment saying "great job". I kind of figure that topping a blog does the same thing in a less "look at me" way. BTW, great job!! Penny Oct 19th 2007 07:00 |
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Divyang Joshi
 I totally agree wit this I post so many articles, GUANINE ARTICLES, NOT ADS and i mean that is what we are supposed to do here right...? But no tops, no comments.... :-( Anywaz....cheers Oct 19th 2007 07:28 |
Hi Max,
Your article is spot on far to many people just take and do not give and you even find that some people will just stick a blatent ad on instead of any constructive comment.
I am even happy if people disagree with my comment or article at least it shows they are thinking.
Dave
Oct 19th 2007 00:40