Hello one and all. I haven't made a post all week, which is pretty bad for being “The Freebie Guy”, especially considering all that has been going on in the industry. First let me give my reasons for not posting:

1. I suffered a loss of a good friend last week and that shook me up a little bit. Btw, thank you so much to all of you who sent me messages of support. YOU GUYS ROCK! I'm doing much better.
2. Every so often, people need a break. I had one of those weeks last week where I just felt like taking a break. I'm sure you know how that is.
3. Although I was taking a break, I can't help but keep myself busy. I've been working on a bunch of behind the scenes stuff. And NO, I won't tell you what it is. Not yet at least (but I will soon).

Ok, so now that that is out of the way, let me update you on where I am now. I'm Excited and ready to face the world. I'm actually in Florida until Monday, but Monday will start an exciting month of great promotions and developments.

The Recent Freebie Controversy

There has been a lot of talk about the developments that have been occurring in The Freebie Industry, specifically dealing with The Free Lunch Room banning site owners for various reasons. Some of you have received emails from site owners because you are a part of their mailing lists about Leo Shimizu, the Administrator of The Free Lunch Room. Here's a summary of what those emails contained:

  • Being a Proven Legit Site at The Free Lunch Room has nothing to do with the quality of the site, but the willingness of the site to fork over between $5,000 and $10,000 to the Admin of FLR.
  • Sites are being banned if they don't use one of 2 affiliate networks that are approved by FLR. To be an approved network, you need to pay Admin $50,000 and 5% of your revenue.
  • Project Payday is making a switch to promoting the Anything4Free Forums, and FLR will be phased out.
  • Move to A4F and Abandon FLR.

The gist of what they are saying is that the owner of FLR is unethical and only after his own personal gain.

On the other hand, there was the Force Read at FLR about The FLR Independence Day, where Admin says the following things:

  • Site owners don't have to pay to be Proven Legit. However, if there's a choice between 2 legit sites and one supports the forum more financially, that site will be chosen.
  • Site owners have had enough time to evaluate and discuss the choices, and FLR had to make some tough decisions that they believe are for the bettering of the industry.
  • PPD is making a switch because of differences in business models, but FLR has other things in place to get traffic and make the forum even better.

In the thread, Leo also detailed some plans for the future, which include setting up an FLR Congress, which would be composed of FLR members who will be making the decisions regarding the forums.

Now, the average Freebie Trader reads all of this and is very confused. I mean, who do you believe? Obviously somebody has to be lying.

I've been involved in this industry since January of 2008 and it has been great. I've also been able to nurture relationships with people on both sides of the equation. I hear just about everything from just about everywhere it seems – much of which I choose not to publish on my blog, because I don't believe that a lot of it would be to your benefit. I try to provide you with the information that I believe will help you.

The truth is that this is a great industry with so much potential. However, the unfortunate reality is that MOST of the people who get into the industry don't take advantage of everything there is to offer. Also, many people get caught up in negativity. There is a lot of negativity going on right now and I spent some time reading through some of the responses and I see a lot of people freaking out, so I have a message for you.

The Message From The Freebie Guy

Message #1: Don't get too caught up in the negativity and don't get too emotionally involved.

I know that times are tough, and some of you are probably doing this to feed your families. However, emotional involvement can cause you to make rash decisions that can end up hurting you in the long run. Do your own research. Figure out the truth for YOURSELF, and make educated decisions based on the knowledge you have acquired. I know what I believe, and I will not be sharing much on this topic when it comes to this controversy, because I don't want to contribute to the mess.

Message #2: Take success into your own hands.

Guys, come on! The time for sitting back, relaxing and waiting for FLR, A4F or PPD to send you referrals is over. Get your own referrals. I mean, really, do you really want your success to be tied up in 1 source? Yes, use those sources, they can be great, and yes, you should use them. Use them and enjoy the referrals they send you. They are great. I love them and I send referrals there because I know it can be easy for them to get referrals there. However, there are other ways to get referrals such as social networking, blogging, article marketing and the list goes on. People neglect these things because they take a while to get going. However, once you have gotten them going, you are good to go.

Message #3: Diversify your portfolio.

Putting all your eggs in one basket is never a good thing. When the basket falls, all of the eggs can break at once. I do not say this because of a lack of confidence in the Freebie Industry. I say it because of a lack of confidence in EVERY industry. Nothing is forever. The reason the rich get richer is because the have a well-diversified portfolio (for the most part) that keeps bringing them more income in multiple ways.

I will be starting different series of different ways to make money, ways to get traffic and a bunch of other great things. Like I said, March will be a great month and I look forward to sharing some of the things I've been learning with you. Have a great weekend!

About the Author Leslie Samuel


Leslie Samuel a business coach for high-performing entrepreneurs. As the host of the Leslie Samuel Show, he teaches how to build an online business. "Changing the world one post at a time” is the mission he strives towards. As a former university professor, he has a passion for education. He's the founder of Interactive Biology, a blog and YouTube channel dedicated to making biology fun for students and teachers. As the head of training for the Social Media Marketing Society, he helps social media marketers get the training they need to stay on the leading edge of social media.

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