Multiple Streams of Internet Income: How Ordinary People Make Extraordinary Money Online by Robert G. Allen

I wondered whether I was wasting my time reading Multiple Streams of Internet Income.

Robert Allen's writing voice is like a typical, casually-toned infomercial that got old on page 3. His book is constantly plugging himself and his business between writing of any substance, like commercials interrupting a historical documentary. In addition, I found the content within the chapters to be poorly organized and a bit of an eyesore. Most of Allen's ideas have been said before, only presented better. The grey areas that lend real-life examples of ezines and internet advertizing would probably be better off in a glossary in the back or put in side columns or special boxes, the way most textbooks are organized. The cartoons that are smattered throughout the book for a sense of comic relief only give the feeling of being just more filler. And of course, below most of the cartoons is a url address from usually either cartoonbank.com or www.ashleighbrilliant.com. Inundated with promotion, the book reads as a kaleidoscope of advertisements for a random cross-section of online businesses. I picked up the book to generate more original ideas in internet marketing, not to be blasted with empty words by businesses plugging themselves. I wonder whether Allen received more income from general sales of the book or from the PR he is doing for a generous amount of online companies. Dizzy from much of the emptiness, I had to put the book down several times and force myself to finish it.

It was really difficult for me to make my way through the book until the author allowed anecdotes and other entrepreneurs' personal life stories speak for themselves.

Some of the personal success stories are real gems, such as Preston Reuther's life story on page 207. Preston Reuther suffered from manic-depression, which caused him to lose everything: job, home, family, possessions. Devastated, he was admitted to a psychiatric hospital, where he was introduced to jewelry-making. After a bout of near-tragic and accident-prone false starts in traditional jewelry-making, Reuther pursued the unknown art of wire-wrapping. His business flourished from his room in the mental hospital, to a makeshift table that he brought after craft shows' hours, because he couldn't afford the tabling fee, to a van and hundreds of shows around the country every year. His mental illness, however, prevented him from taking more shows on. Despite not ever having turned on a computer, Reuther's best solution was to sell his jewelry over the internet and through the internet. Ruether has been able to garner more sales with less time spent - a perfect solution to expanding his business and taking the necessary time out for his personal needs.

Aside from a few original ideas, such as having businesses team up with complementary businesses to increase sales in a cooperative, win-win situation, Robert Allen's greatest genius lies in finding inspirational internet success stories and being wise enough to get out of the way. Some of the personal success stories are motivating and do lend a clue as to how to become successful in an ever-increasingly tough market. But you might want to spend your time reading those stories in a better organized, less fluff-filled book. - Katharina Woodworth, Web Editor

Table of Contents:

Introduction: Online Success: Money While You Sleep
Chapter 1: Show Me the E-Money: How to Earn $24,000 in 24 Hours
Chapter 2: Crossing the Digital Divide: How to Guarantee Your Success on the Internet
Chapter 3: Internet Marketing 101: A Few Simple Strategies Can Make You Rich
Chapter 4: Internet Marketing 201: 12 Powerful Principles for Creating a Feeding Frenzy
Chapter 5: Internet Marketing 301: Going Deep - The Secret to Online Streams of Income
Chapter 6: Netpreneurs, Start Your Search Engines!: Six Powerful Ways to Drive Traffic to Your Site
Chapter 7: Online Mar-Ka-Ching! Six Major Ways to Make Money from Your Site
Chapter 8: Beyond Stickiness: Nine Magnetic Ways to Keep 'em Coming Back for More
Chapter 9: Ready. Set. Launch. How Fast Can You Go from Zero to Cash?
Chapter 10: Online Stream #1. Joint Ventures: High-Leverage Ways to Make a Fortune Online
Chapter 11: Online Stream #2. Affiliate Programs: Cash In by Selling Other People's Stuff
Chapter 12: Online Stream #3. Selling Information: Turn Your Ideas into Steady Streams of Cash Flow
Chapter 13: Online Stream #4. Eyeballs for Sale: Making Advertising Pay
Chapter 14: Online Stream #5. Picks and Shovels: Making Money from the Infrastructure of the Net
Chapter 15: Online Stream #6. Treasure Hunting: Turning Junk into Cash with Auctions
Chapter 16: Automatic Pilot: Making Money 24/7/365
Index

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