Hi. My name is Joey Massenburg, and welcome to my site. I am a 29 year-old internet marketer from NC (hence the blue blog). I am been an internet marketer for more than 3 years. What started out as a hobby has now become my passion. My passion for internet marketing stems from the fact that the internet and being able to make money online is the one place in which everyone is on an equal “playing field,” so to speak. It doesn’t matter if you are young or old, what walk of life you come from, or if like me, you have a disability.
I have Cerebral Palsy and walk on forearm crutches. Although my life experiences differ from those of the average person, I was always brought up thinking that if I did well in school, went to college and got a degree, and “kept my nose clean,” I would be successful. I did all of those thinking that my life was just going to be “peaches and cream.” Unfortunately, once I got out of college and tried to get a job and go on interviews, the real world hit me like a ton or bricks. Looking back on it, perhaps I was a bit naive.
First, they seemed to be shocked that I went to college. because apparently that’s not normal. They are even more shocked by the fact I went to college 4 hours away from home on the opposite side of the state and attended a “regular” university rather than community college or something of the like. Since I am physically challenged, lots of people seem to assume that I am “mentally challenged” and went to a “special” school. Once they realized that I wasn’t and didn’t, they couldn’t figure out why I wanted to get a regular job.
Even though I have been disabled all my life and have two brothers and a sister, my parents made too much money for me to qualify for disability even though they were always broke (go figure), so I had to get a part-time job like everyone else to have money and such. I didn’t know any different. Unfortunately, I had only had one job up until that point (Wal-mart), so I think that kind of scared them a little. They kept telling me that they didn’t have any jobs they thought I could do or asking me why I wanted to work when I could get on disability. I did grow up and go to university in really small towns where they were mostly fast food restaurants and factories, though, so I’m sure that had something to do with it.
I then came to the realization that I am not “normal” according to societial standards, which caused me to ask myself why I was taking the “normal” path. It was this realization (and the fact that I had had several serious medical problems which caused me to be in the hopstial and caused me to ultimately apply for disabilty since I had no medical insurance once I graduated from college) that led me to the internet.
Once I realized the limitless potential of the internet, I was like “This is going to change my life!” That’s not to say I didn’t get bumps and bruises along the way. I spent years trying to make money online before I actually made any. I know what works and what doesn’t,which is what led me to create this site. I often wonder how much money and how much faster I could have made if I didn’t get scammed and stuff. This site is my way to “pay it forward.” I know what it’s like to be where you are and refuse to let what happened to me happen to you.
Joey
Joey,
I wanted to tell you that I enjoyed reading about you and your efforts to build success without letting physical limitations get in the way. I admire your drive and accomplishments, and was humbled when I read your story. I’m not physically challenged, but sometimes I feel “mentally challenged” even though I’ve had a very successful career in the military and even as a business person. My reference to mentally challenged is because I though I knew what to always do – how to make things happen. Then one day I lost everything that I had worked so hard to achieve and build. Mostly bad economy related but it made me realize just how unprepared I really was for “starting all over again” in this modern high-tech world of business. I would be honored if you could share some guidance so I can pick up the pieces again and try to rebuild. I’m not as young as I use to be but my drive is still there and my “want to” still exists but knowing what to do is lacking. Any advice?
Hi, Dennis. Thanks for the kind words. 🙂 You should approach making money online in the same way you would approach building a business in the offline world. Making money online is not something that happens overnight. You need to have access to the proper training and be willing to take the time to gain the knowledge and skills you need to make money online and take action. All of the basic principles of business still apply. The only thing that’s different in comparison to the “real world” is the medium through which we market products–the internet. Once you take the time to set up a solid foundation, making money online becomes automated, and you really can “make money as you sleep” as so many of those sales letters claim.
When people first start making money online, the most common way to go is to do something called affiliate marketing. Affiliate marketing is when you sale someone else’s product and earn a commission for every sale that is made (i.e. think car salesperson – the sales person does not own the cars but makes a commission because they bring in new business, and there is a very good chance that the customer will go back to the company for similar products down the line). The most common way to do this is to write reviews for products that people are already looking to buy in the search engines. You can start out using free methods in order to gain the knowledge and skills you need to invest in the paid methods or whatever suits your fancy.
When it comes to a comprehensive internet marketing training program, I recommend Wealthy Affiliate. I have been a member since December 3rd, 2007 and absolutely love it! Wealthy Affiliate teaches you everything you need to know in one place and provides you with all the resources and stuff you need, so you don’t have to go out and buy a bunch of extra stuff once you become a member. It’s a “one-stop-shop” kind of deal. Because Wealthy Affiliate is so massive, I have not written a review on it, but I will be more than happy to answer any questions you may have. Also, you can read more about Wealthy Affiliate by clicking on the link below:
I hope this helps.
Joey
Superb website Joey. I have just enrolled with you as an email subscriber. From what I can deduce from your personal inroduction, you are the most ethical, hardworking, credible internet marketer I have ever come across.
Kind regards.
Thanks for your kind words, Mike! 🙂 I’m touched. Feel free to contact me if you have any questions about anything.
Joey
Hello Joey
I stumbled across your site doing a search on “Auto Traffic Tycoon”. After reading your review on that, I decided to read some of your “Product Reviews” and was struck by, and impressed by, your honest appraisal on the various internet marketing products. Very impressed. I then went on to read “About”. Wow. I’m speechless. Such empathy and generosity of spirit puts you head and shoulders above so many “gurus” that I have paid big money to, and still got nowhere! I agree with Mike Law, totally. So I assume you are doing affiliate marketing, however if you would ever create a “Internet Marketing Step 1 Course For Dummies” I would buy it! Or if you would be interested in helping me on a one-on-one basis, as my personal coach, I would pay for your expertise.
Thank you once again for sharing your inspiring story and I too have signed up to your newsletter.
Thank you Joey
Warm regards
Xenia
Thank you for the kind comments, Xenia. I really appreciate them. I have never done personal coaching or anything like that but will send you an e-mail with some questions that will help me to point you in the right direction (based on your interest, skill set and such). The e-mail will most likely be from my personal account, so I will make sure to make reference to your comment on my blog.
Talk soon,
Joey
Hi Joey
I see you are a WA member.
Please look me up and add
me as a buddy.
Cheers, Jon
WA Handle: genegem
Hi Joey, It’s very refreshing to read genuine reviews and I can’t thank you enough for stopping me just in time for falling for the next shiny thing. Much appreciated and Good Luck from the UK
Ian