Darren Rowse is busy scamming his readers with the launch of his new forum on Problogger.com. I say scam as he is trying to convince his readers that his forum is worth paying him $2 a month to join – soon to be increased after a first month trial.You can read about the pitfalls of following Rowse here Problogger.com Forum Review.

Forums in general are a huge waste of time if you are trying to learn how to make money online. They are full of marketing pimps selling useless products and bloggers who think blogging and Internet Marketing is the same thing. They aren’t but have been led to believe this by none other than Darren Rowse, John Chow, Shoemoney and the rest of the blogging A List. They make money selling crap to noobs. They sell the dream of becoming well known and making money like they do – selling yet more crap to more noobs. A vicious circle. This isn’t what real internet marketing is about but there are marketers out there who will help those looking for direction and they do it without selling noobs useless products and ebooks.

If you are new to the make money online business then spend some time reading Ben’s posts on Make Money with SEO, Court and Mark’s Keyword Academy, Chewie’s Make Money Online blog, or the archives at Vic’s Blogger Unleashed.

There is much in the news about people making many tens of thousands of dollars from their blogs, signing book deals and going a the lucrative speaking circuit – the real question is it possible Joe or Jane Doe – can we make money from blogs?

Yes it is possible – but unless you are a genuinely talented writer and preferably already famous or at least with great connections – probably not the way that people make money in the news headlines.

Instead you should look at blogging and developing websites in general as a fantastic way to develop a legitimate online businesses but realize that you are going to have to put time and effort into making a decent income online. Although the cost of entry to an online business is very, very low compared to a real-world business – in fact you can easily get started for less than $100, that’s not to say its not going to take as much time and effort as getting online in the real world.

What you will find when trying to start your online business is that the Internet is still in the “Wild West” stage of development – the snake oil salesmen are prevalent and the sheriffs are hard to find – or in other words caveat emptor. If you see an offer that looks like it is too good to be true i.e. one that is promises that you will make thousands of dollars in a few days – probably while you are asleep and features attractive blonds, red sports cars and nice looking real estate – run away fast and keep your credit card buttoned down.

The sad truth is that its going to take a lot of time and effort for you to build your online business – but the good news is that its a goal worth pursuing. Legitimate online businesses really are location independent – you can login from anywhere in the world – so long as you can find an Internet connection. You can work at anytime of the day or night, juggle family commitments or vacations – all of this is true. The rewards are definitely worth it but be prepared to put a whole lot of work in upfront before you see the dollars piling into your bank account while you sleep!