I love talking about the ins and outs of making money on the internet. I remember how exciting it was when I first started learning about it and that helps me to stay excited to teach the art of online income.
When I first started hearing about making money online, I was working at a Radio Shack and had been for a few years. It wasn’t the worst work ever but it definitely wasn’t fulfilling. I didn’t exactly have a fast start to getting ahead in life as a 25 year old making $9 an hour. I was still working on school (I guess technically I’m still working on school hahahahahaha) and honestly that was pretty slow moving for me. It was pretty tough to pay for and frankly, I was a terrible student. I could tell you story after story of me zoning out for 45 minutes at a time during lecture – I struggle to pay attention unless I’m interested and find it too easy to learn by reading. Simple math tells me that it’s a waste of time to take an hour to listen to a lecture when I can learn the topic in ten minutes by reading a book. Professors loved this about me – oh wait they despised it.
The bottom line here is that the traditional route of getting ahead had no appeal to me. I was never going to be a good student, I just wasn’t wired that way. It wasn’t that I was lazy or anything like that in fact my personality is relentless by nature. The problem was that I was absolutely disinterested in the stuff I was trying to study.
One day I was at a barbecue with some friends and I ran into a buddy that I hadn’t seen for a while. As it turns out, he had been working at a marketing firm that specialized in consulting and design for internet marketing. He started telling me about what he was doing and immediately caught my interest (that’s pretty hard to do). He could tell that I thought it was awesome and he told me he might be able to hook me up with an interview if I wanted. I wanted.
So the next week I went in for an interview and was hired on the spot and that’s when I started learning this business.
The first time I heard about Google Adsense I seriously almost freaked. It was definitely the coolest thing I had ever heard of and when my old boss at my old job started to explain to me how Google works, it honestly blew my mind. I had a simple feeling that I was going to do big things with the internet and this knowledge was what I had been waiting for.
I took off full speed into making money online. Looking back my drive was a product of a lot of different things including having a low-paying job and being bad at school.
I remember having a conversation with a co-worker when I was at Radio Shack about how I would kill for an extra $300 per month. Things were a little tight and honestly that money would have made a big difference. It’s interesting how things find a way of working themselves out. Some call it fate, some call it the law of attraction, but the interesting thing is that life tends to present exactly what you’re looking for, as long as you’re watching for it.
I wanted to learn how to make money online because my life needed it. I needed a change and I needed more money. I needed something that was interesting and fulfilling but enough about me.
I would love to get to know you guys better and what I’m really interested in is knowing why you want to learn how to make money online. I don’t care if you’re a seasoned veteran or a newbie, I would love to hear what your motivations are.
Also, this will be a good time to showcase your sites, if you want to. Tell me why you want to learn this business on your own site and drop me a link in the comments so I can read what you have to say. I would love to check it out. If you don’t have a site of your own, tell us in the comments what your motivations are.
Hi Court, great post, it’s always interesting to hear how other people started getting into IM.
The main reason I want to earn money online is so that when I finish university (which will be in a year and a bit) I can come out with a decent income that will make it a lot easier for me and my girlfriend to get a mortgage on our first house. I’m going to Geneva for my fourth year in September and I won’t have much time while I’m there, so I’m looking to do as much as possible between now and then.
Of course, I have exams in May/June so they will have to take priority during that period too, but over Summer I’m planning to work on my sites full time. An income of around $1000 a month would be fantastic and is my goal.
Alex that will help you a TON. $1000 per month extra is something that will help you for your entire life and honestly it’s probably halfway to about $3000 per month because it’s a lot easier to grow an online business that’s already moving.
Great story Court! My story is in a way kind of similar to yours. In university I couldn’t find the right education that could keep my attention. I tried several studies, but nothing worked for me. I started working fulltime in the supermarket where I already had a parttime job.
Years passed by and I started to ask myself: “Is this what I wanted? Is this how my life is supposed to be?” And then late 2007 I found Griz his site and started reading and through his site I found yours and Vic’s. Everything clicked at that moment, I found something I truly loved learning about and actually doing something with it. It isn’t all about the money, but also achieving great things in live. Something you build from the ground up. Setting goals for yourself and actually achieve them. That is the real motivation and kick for me.
But I guess I’m back in school again [read: Keyword Crash Course:)] and this time I love it. Fortunately I have been able to quit my job last week and live completely from the online income I build up the past year. I don’t know if I was ever been able to achieve that milestone this fast or ever if I didn’t found Griz, Vic, you and Mark.
Thank you, really thank you!
Lol Emiel I changed my major no less than 5 times.
Hey quitting your job is the dream and once you’re able to do that you can really grow what you’re doing online. It frees up SO much time. It sounds like this is something that you really enjoy and I definitely feel the same way. Congratulations on reaching the full-timer milestone.
I had always been a strong student in school and was working on an engineering degree. I carried a 4.0 in high school, 3.5 in college, and scored a 1380 on the SAT. I was a strong student but hit some really hard times during my junior year at college and things piled on pretty heavy. I was in and out of school for two years because I just wasn’t happy and couldn’t find anything to motivate me. I would either fail out or withdraw to save my grades.
I started a crappy little site for fun about 1 1/2 years ago and did a Google search to find some ways to help promote it. I found your main blog and just loved everything I was reading. I knew how to make websites, but had never thought of it in terms of making money by running my own site. In 3 months I broke the $100/month mark and was making $1000/month in 6 months. I fell in love with doing SEO and had finally found something that interested me. Over the past year I’ve moved to doing this part time as my only job and have been reading every thing I can get my hands on. For now I make enough to pay all my bills and to live a nice life while in college. I was finally “on my own” about 7 months ago, so having my internet income was amazing.
I’m still trying to juggle school at the same time and it’s just not working out. I’m toying with the idea of leaving school to pursue this full time. School doesn’t hold my interest any more, and I’d love to be able to focus 100% on my online business instead of juggling 20+ hours a week of school stuff. Plus, I’d love to make more money. If I could invest 40 to 50 hours a week to this, I know I could multiply my income several times over.
Justin as always, it’s great to hear from you. I really like your story because I also started a crappy little site for fun when I was first getting going.
I definitely don’t think there’s anything wrong with school but I know that this is what I’m going to do with my life and since I have the expertise, an education honestly wouldn’t do anything for me and my situation. Everyone is of course different and I would never encourage anyone to follow my path.
You obviously have a lot of talent when it comes to SEO and I agree that you would benefit in a huge way from having more time to put towards this.
Hey guys,
Haven’t been around for a while…but just wanted to stop in and say what’s up….
I have some very solid reasons for why I got into the make money on line… but it boils down to the fact that I need to make more money
Anyway, when I hit my goal, and get where I need, I’ll come back round and tell you why…maybe Im superstitious…
But just to let you know, that I have hit the $1000 per month last month since starting with you guys at the other keyword program…(s**per course)
I hope I can continue to grow it…6 mos in and some sites are starting to pop….
Matt
Hey poiboy! It’s great to hear from you and I’m STOKED to hear that you’re now over $1000 per month. Keep working towards your goal and do let me know when you get there. Take care Matt.
I made the solid decision to pursue online marketing because I realized that I was a college graduate and was always going to need more money. My field of study isn’t very lucrative and I want to make more money without working more. I can count on one hand the number of weeks in my life that I have worked a full 40 hours and I don’t ever want to have a 40 hr/week job. This is my ideal dream job, even though I have worked 80+ hours on it during the last 2 weeks. But, I am totally okay with that because I can see how it will pay off in a few months.
That’s a great reason to be motivated Cade. Making some extra money on the side can go a long way toward getting ahead. I’m honestly working a ton right now because I enjoy it. It simply doesn’t feel like work to me. The fact that you CAN stop if you want, take a vacation, and still make money definitely keeps things interesting.
Well my story is very different. I am much older than all of you and about to retire. But I had a few bad years and a son who was in a lot of trouble. I used all the money that I had invested for later to help him out. It took a lot of time and a lot of money, and I did not recover from it. Now the economy is worse than before, soon I will have to make money from this business. Necessity is a very strong motivator. Not that my needs are greater than any of yours, we all came here from different walks looking for the same thing, independence.
M
Hey Mireille!! Necessity is definitely a strong motivator and honestly we sometimes need that. I’ve had my back against the wall more than once and sometimes didn’t know how I would get out of it. Fortunately I’ve always been able to get that to motivate me to action and as long as you go forward with everything you have you can overcome anything.
Mireille,
I can identify with you. My husband spent several months in the hospital and had a left hip disarticulation. He was a quadriplegic, but active before. Now he is bedridden. Our medical bills have topped $700,000. Wipe out!
But, with every adversity there is an equal or greater benefit if we look for it. First I found Court’s site. Then I talked to Mark. Whoa! I suppose it was meant to be. I turned 60 about a week after I talked to Mark. Funny, but each decade of my life seems to bring something wonderful and something new to learn. I think it is so cool for an old lady like myself, who didn’t know what a keyword was in December to be doing something I love (writing) and making money at the same time.
I have learned to never look back, never spend time second guessing my decisions, and to always be open to learning something new. Court and Mark are teaching me “the something new” with the course they offer. And, I’m making money! Perhaps, this course is like the rainbow after a year of torrential rains. But, it takes rain to make the rainbows. Life is good again. And, I am enjoying watching the AdSense $ add up.
Hi Court and Mark,
I’ve told this all before, but I hope by posting here I’ll help fire myself some more. Sorry for being self serving
1. I want to make money online first to have an independed non – correlating income to the horse industry to balance the highs and lows.
2. I want the ability to work from home so I have more time (aka not driving 5 hours a day) to work on other projects I’ve been interested in.
3. I want an income directly correlated to the effort I put in not years of service or predetermined pay scales or other antiquated sytems like such.
With the wife working from home full time now she’s begun to show interest in the whole IM thing since I left my first blog alone for two months and the income didn’t drop by 1 penny. Actually my clicks and traffic have improved just the value per click has dropped by 50%. Of course so has the stock market
So I have been looking for niches in areas she enjoys writing/talking about.
Thanks,
Bill
PS – Mark you still owe me a response to some questions – even though I’ve worked through most of them on my own now
I have a master’s in English and wanted to write novels. Spent 15 years writing ad copy for an ad agency so I wouldn’t have to be a starving artist. Quit to start my own business, which fizzled. Went back to work in the book publishing industry as an editor. Quit to start my own publishing house, which fizzled. Went to law school, passed the bar exam on the first attempt, opened my own practice and landed a big contract assignment in 2005 that drove me crazy and wrecked my health. Now I’m 50, no retirement, a mountain of debt, a job soon to end, and feeling really stupid about my choices in life, but I gotta be me.
I read you guys and Griz’s sites and thought, I know for certain I can make this work out for me. I like the idea that after 30 years of writing for a living and having people undervalue my work, I can finally control my time and my job and make a fair wage based on how smart I am and how hard I’m willing to work. In a way, this is just the 21st century version of my solo book publishing business–with less overheads and more profit.
I have recently realized how useless a university education is for me, I have been trying and trying, and succeeding, but not at all feeling satisfied. I see no future in it or the careers it would offer me. I find the idea of having one career in one field utterly terrifying. I want to do a lot of different things with my life, and the problem that will always come up is money. Making money through the internet seems relatively easy (for me, at least. I’m sure I’ve put in a lot of work into it by now, but I enjoy it) and a good backup to whatever other means I use to get cash, or maybe perhaps my main source of income, allowing me to live life having fun instead of working hard for 40 years, only to retire when my body is well on it’s way to falling apart.
My love for the internet started back in 2002 when I was in a local rock band. We called ourselves “Remember Tomorrow” and I was the lead singer and rhythm guitarist. At the time we were writing and recording our own music and I thought that we need a website. So instead of paying anyone I just learned and built one myself. I was in college but like Court hated it. In fact my first english essay i had to write was a “How-To” article. We had to follow strict guidelines. So I did an article about “How to Set Up a Date with a Girl.” After I wrote the article and made sure I followed the guidelines I switched the title to “How To Set Up a Date with Fidel Castro” and changed all the references to him. I got an F. When I asked why my teacher told me it was because of the subject matter and that made me furious. I yelled and said “you can grade me based on your opinion of Fidel Castro” but that got me no where. So I dropped out and started learning web design.
After completing my bands website I went on to design more sites. I was working at a pool store at the time and would secretly view my website occasionally. I was later caught by the owner of the company. He asked me who designed the website and I told him that I did. I was then contracted by him to design the company’s website. After that I was hired as the Marketing director and that’s where I am now. http://www.niagarapool.com.
Since I was heavily infused into the pool industry and the online world I wanted to come up with a way I could do work with both industries together. I started researching ways I could make money online. After finding this site I haven’t looked back.
I love building and designing websites for myself (not for others, even though i do that too) but I have learned that by building websites and proper research I can make some serious money.
I now live in a condo by myself that is brand new. Problem is I make just about $5 extra a month at my normal job. So i have to start designing websites to make some extra income. I know this way its good solid income. I do have a few websites but I only make on average 50 cents a day with them. So now I really don’t have enough time. I work around the clock.
I plan on building at least 20 sites this year so hopefully I won’t have to design websites for anyone anymore. But I want to thank you guys because your blog inspires me. I know I can do it I just have to. Thanks Again!
Court,
Your story sounds similar to mine except I did finish college in seven years after changing major many times and finally settling on Marketing as this subject really held my interest.
I’ve been online for gasp 4 years but most recently have begun to see progress after remaining focused on what I do best which is to monetize my Keyword and Niche Research skills as a former Internet IT Recruiter instead of flittering about trying too many different money making techniques after another.
My main motivation to creating a profitable business online is to finally have a successful venture to show my husband who has been very patient and supportive for these 4 years.
I vowed to make this year THE year that I finally produce consistent income because I’ve found that too much time spent on the internet reading everyone else’s content takes HUGE chunks of time out of your life whereby, if you’re not careful, an entire decade can pass leaving you with absolutely NOTHING to show for it.
Sounded like a fun hobby to take up and it also makes paying for internet worth while. I first got high speed years ago just for playing online video games. Sure it was fun to “surf” the internet but man can that take time away from your life. This makes having the internet worth while and it’s FUN.
I couldn’t believe my good luck when I stumbled across our blog, I’ve been trying to earn a decent income from AdSense for years and it never seemed to work for me, but I’ve become a full-time writer from blogging andmake all my income online now – except it isn’t passive, and the only advantage over having a job is that I work from home.
I seriously want to develop a few good sites that earn AdSense income so I can keep traveling and seeing the world. The shame is that I’ve told my significant other what I’ve learned from your site and she’s now earning $5 a day on her first site and I’m still lucky to earn 25c.
I’ve always been attracted by the concept of residual income. I always used to say that a high income doesn’t mean anything to me if it robs me of the opportunity to enjoy the finer things in life, which are almost never monetary.
I had read everything there was to read online about how to make money before I landed on Vic’s site. I loved his style, although I didn’t understand 99% of what he said (I was still being fed the social marketing Kool-Aid). Through his site, I found Grizz and you, and the rest is history as they say.
It’s crazy how having the right information can make all the difference in the world. I’ve been doing this for well over a year now and only now am I seeing a reasonable amount of success. I’m extremely stubborn by nature and I know I have people watching me and waiting for me to give up. They can keep waiting
Much like Justin I’ve always been a strong student, which makes things harder for me because everyone around me seems to think that I’d be so much better off trying to climb the corporate ladder instead of trying out “this Internet thing”.
I’m not originally from the US, and I want to ultimately move back to my home country. Not having to work there would be the ultimate reward, not to mention that a $5,000/month income would allow me to literally live like a king
Here’s a post I wrote on my flagship blog a couple months ago about making money online, it provides a bit of background on what I had to go through, and I hope it helps some of the beginners:
http://yourfinishrichplan.com/blog/2008/08/12/making-money-online-ten-things-i-wish-i-knew-as-a-beginner/
Enjoy!
Hey Court,
In some ways I’m like you were, stuck in a job that doesn’t inspire me and I’m looking for something that is interesting and challenging with the potential for financial gain that I would never achieve at my current job. Or at the very least, get some extra income.
I’m new to this whole concept, around a month and have a long away to go. Griz has been a tremendous mentor and source of inspiration.
My blog is Electric Guitar Guide. It’s been a slow and frustrating start.
Court,
Like a couple others, I’m older than many here (51). I’ve had a lot of jobs, most were crap, a couple I liked a lot (like my present one). But none of them ever paid squat. So now I’m going to do this.
I’m tired of being tied down to a location because of a job. It’s now time to jump free of the “man” and make a full time income online. Ten sites up and a much better understanding of keywords and SEO and I’m all set to go. It’s great to read some of the success stories in these comments.
Buddy
Hi Court,
I enjoy your site. I honestly wish you would teach at a university or people like you. I think the problem with traditional education, is that it doesn’t do the following:
1) a good school should focus on helping a student come to understand his or her individual talents (everyone should be told to be a doctor, lawyer, engineer, etc because that’s where the ‘good jobs’s are)
2) education should teach people once they find out (1) how to monetize/commercialize their talents
I am one of those people who tell college student to STUDY EXACTLY what they want. No matter how impractical it may seem. What I also them to do however is to:
a) network like heck in school to meet people who’s skill complement yours. For instance, you are are a kick butt poet or philosopher, great! Try the google adwords tool and you will see there are no shortage of people typing in “philosophy” or “poetry”!
People are interested in just about anything and if you are good at in and learn how to monetize it the right way, you WILL be financially rewarded.
Do people realize that $350/day a month is a six figure salary. If you are damned good poet you will be able to find 35/day who are willing to buy something from you at $9.99. The purpose of school should be to help you develop relationships with the right people and to hone your UNIQUE talents. So you hook up with the guy from the computer science department or the girl from the English department who’s great at sales letters, you form partnerships based on each person’s core competency and with the wonderful opportunities of the internet, you can do what you want!
I feel traditional education needs to focus on 1) getting students to develop their unique talents and 2)teaching practical ways to monetize their talents so that they can do what they want, be happy and bring greater skills and products to the world…
So many people are turned off by school and it’s not that they are bad students, it’s what they are learning or HOW they are learning that’s “bad”
I really like the work of John Assaraf and if you haven’t come across this guy, I’d say check him out. He dropped out of school at the 11 grade but has since become a leading expert on the neuroscience of success and the interaction between inner development and outside accomplishment…
At any rate, thanks for the good stuff on this blog. I am now heading over to one of your links to take advantage of UAW!
ps, I meant everyone “shouldN’T” be told to be a “doctor, lawyer, etc” <——-
gosh I was typing too fast, lol I meant to say “$350/day”
Court,
Thanks for the personal story. I guess everyone has their own reasons for wanting to get into this business. Lucky for you, you discovered that you weren’t interested in what you were going to learn in school, and were strong enough to take a stand. I just went through the motions, and now have to deal with student debt. Anyway, I just posted a reply to your question above on my blog. Hopefully you have a chance to take a look.
I just want to quit my job. My gosh is it miserable! But freedom of course… isn’t that what everyone wants? I want to work hard, but on my own terms.
I read a quote: “A job is selling your time to your employer at wholesale so he can turn around and sell it at retail.”. I would like to earn all the money from my efforts.
I have to laugh because I have hated every job that was full of repetition, and I did not realize when I set my sights on earning income behind the scenes from internet marketing that I would be facing days and days of repetitious work.
But it is very different for me in spite of the repetition. I am in my mid-50’s now and am feeling the age discrimination sharply as I apply for work. I am a certified medical biller who never found a job in her field. That was a disappointment but I saw the writing on the wall and decided to try something else.
One year ago I started a wordpress.com free personal blog and started blogging all my international travel adventures and my current homeschooling stories. I thought I would get discovered by an editor or publisher and hit it big. I have to laugh when I look back now.
I heard some people were making money with ads on their blogs and so started researching on the internet just how to do that. I read all the Site Build It hype and ran away screaming. I read Caroline Middlebrook for a bit, and one fateful day she posted about somebody named Vic who had upset her.
So of course I google up Vic’s name and the rest is history. Between reading Blogger Unleashed and Griz and Court and Mark, I feel I have found trustworthy people.
My first goal is a thousand a month. January saw me getting nearly halfway there, February income dropped, you know how it goes during the ramp up period…up and down, then down a little less, up a little more….
I have confidence that I will make my financial goals. I want to give my hard-working husband the gift of early retirement. He works a manufacturing job for 10 bucks an hour and it is not enough. We are living off of savings right now and I am working as hard and as smart as I can. It is a race against time as I try to increase my income before the savings runs out.
Homeschooling is cutting into my internet time but I am not willing to give it up. I have seen my knowledge base expand exponentially in the past couple of months and I have also seen my confidence rise. I have made some friends in several online marketing circles and a few folks have been going out of their way to assure me I can do this, have shared knowledge that has increased my income, and I look forward to the time when I can reach out to the new person and help them out with some seasoned experience.
Diane S
I use to love building peoples dream homes but it’s damn cold out and I needed something easier on my back.
I’m really happy for poiboy.Stories like his keep me motivated and I know someday I’ll be able to burn this friggin’ chainsaw or mail it to Griz.
When I first read your keyword sniping post, I figured if I could make $12/day, I’d make enough money to drive a free car (it’d pay for my car payment, and I already have a full time job)…
Well, I met that, plus! In december, I made enough for 2 years worth of car payments…
Having a reason why is HUGE to success…..
My wife and I live and volunteer our time in Mexico to help out where we can. We are both in our early 20’s and have retired from real work after our careers in the big city Manhattan left us more drained of energy than happy with life. Life is just much more fulfilling when you are spending your life doing something you actually want to be doing. It doesn’t hurt that the beach is just outside my doorstep.
Currently I am supporting us with a couple IM and SEO consulting gigs as I work to build up my own online empire. Cost of living is much cheaper down here, so it is my ultimate goal to be able to earn enough from my Adsense and affiliate sites to support us completely.
Thanks for the posts and the motivation, reading your articles always helps get me (and others I’m sure) inspired. Keep up the good work!
Right now I am earning an online income by marketing a website. I hate my job and want to earn through Google AdSense and SEO. Right now we’re (my husband and I) are working from paycheck to paycheck as we payoff the hospital for an illness I had. When we get more money so that I can invest in this, I definitely will. I already (kinda) SEO my sites but have little success. One actually landed me an article in the WSJ, but brought little to no income at the end of the day. Anyway, I am “lurking” for now soaking up what you’re teaching on your blog and what Court is teaching in his blog and applying it to what I have, but like the second guy says I need an SEO plan. My plan right now is to pay back the hospital and then get this program. Until then, I’ll be lurking!
Wow, awesome post.
Long time reader, first time poster. I guess my motivation is similar to what yours was. This seems like the only reasonable way I’m going to be able to get ahead (without formal schooling).
I’m 24. I moved back home last year after an unsuccessful attempt at school. I can’t find a job, not even at a Walmart. No one is hiring here. Making money online seems like the only option right now.
I’ve spent so long learning about internet marketing, its time I start doing something. I have the tendency to read and read and not get anything done. I probably have ADD too, that doesn’t help either. lol.
I think I’m going to set some goals for this month. Maybe an article or two a day. I’ll try and comment here more often too. Your blog is the only one related to making money online that I read. I stopped reading all the others…although I’m addicted to getting and reading free stuff on demonoid…..Shhhhh.
Anyway, thanks for the great blog and the awesome post. Keep them coming.
)
- Scott
I was in the USAR I got deployed after 9-11, lucky me I was stateside. I went to several different colleges until I settled on art school. Because of my illness I wasn’t able to finish.
I’ve been a stay at home mom for the last several years; working outside of the home is unrealistic with my given situation. I’ve been fortunate to be able to take care of my son at a decent standard of living. But I want more out of life. Cleaning house doesn’t exactly give me a sense of accomplishment. So I’m looking for something that does.
I really enjoyed the web design classes, at the Art Institute, but there isn’t much money in building websites. So I started looking for something similar. I stumbled into affiliate marketing, and the guru sites with all the hype. I wasn’t impressed by people hell–bent on selling me their latest method for getting rich quick. Luckily I found Court, Mark, Griz, and Vic about a month ago.
I think I found Vic first, I was a little put off by his language in the beginning But It ended up being like a train wreck only more entertaining, I couldn’t help but watch as he called out the scammers and crashed their con game. Before that it never occurred to me that someone would have the audacity to try to teach people to do something they know very little about. I mean I knew some people were full of shit but I didn’t think anybody would be that stupid. I guess I learned that it’s not wise to underestimate people
Sorry if that was a little cynical- I’m in that kind of mood today.
Thanks for all the great information!!!
I started blindly just last year because after becoming a mom it just simply didn’t make sense to work to pay to put my kids in daycare. I had been looking for the “secret” to make money online for years with no results. Finally I just took a giant leap of faith and bought web hosting and became friends with wordpress.
It wasn’t until about November of last year I actually started receiving regular checks from Google. Now I’m up to 8 websites and once I get 3 of those to my traffic/earnings goals I’m eager to start more
I’ve been enjoying the emails you guys have been sending me and am thankful that one of my blogging friends pointed me in the right direction to you guys, I really do think I can thank many of the tips you share to why I am earning more than 12 cents a month from my blogs!
Unlike the vast majority, I don’t find much thrill trying to make money online. However, I’m pretty good at it and I’m able to bring in extra money to play with. I have no ambition at this point to quit my job. It’s not that I particularly like it but I make enough money, get benefits and can leave it at the office when I go home. I do like that my websites are a back up plan in case I get fired/laid off. The realities of self employment has it’s own challenges. You’re lucky in that you actually enjoy the day to day activities of your chosen field. Very few people have found that.
The reason I continue to build websites and try to make money from it is because there are things I like to feed like snowboarding trips, bike stuff, adding additional money to my retirement account, college money for my two daughters, etc. If I want to buy a new camera or donate $200 to my charity of choice, I don’t have to go through the family committee. I don’t have to ask the marital unit if we have money in the budget for my needs, wants or desires. I provide family money from my cubicle job. Anything from my second job is MINE to do with as I see fit. In a way making money online is my outlet for selfish freedom.
But I am lazy. Time is short. My kids are most important. Any time I have for making money online comes after the time I give my kids. And usually I give myself time like cycling or exercise before spending more time in front of the computer.
I fully recognize that I will never make 5 figures a day/month. I am under no illusions the amount of hard work required for that. I’m simply not interested in the amount of time it would take at the expense of doing other things before my dirt nap. I get what I put into the business and it does me fine for now.
First I want to thank everyone for adding their stories. I find I have a great deal in common with almost all of you — the drifting students, the 50ish folks who hate their jobs, the people who have dabbled in blogging and such and want to dig in a little deeper — all of that describes me.
I have two blogs. One isn’t monetized at all, and the other simply has a Google ad in the sidebar. I put the ad there mainly to figure out how Adsense works – and really, it’s damn simple. And I’m strangely proud of the $2 a month that one ad brings me. And it’s made me wonder, if I can make $2 a month with almost no traffic with an ad on a site that isn’t keyword-targeted at all, what could I make if I actually took this stuff a little more seriously?
Is it weird to be excited about $2 a month?
I’m not expecting to build a fast fortune. Court, right now I’m where you were when you were thinking about how $300 a month would make a huge difference for you. That seems like a very reasonable goal to me.
I got my Keyword Crash Course a few days ago, and I’ve been playing with some keyword ideas, and, after a little research, some of them seem to have some intriguing possibilities.
Google is a funny thing. One of my blogs actually ranks in the top five for the search term “chainsaw juggling accident.” As much as I’m tickled by that unplanned result, it’d be nice to have a site that ranked for a term that actually had some click value. I’ll experiment with your methods for a while and I’ll let you know how it works out.
I am a Stay-At-Home Mom. It is my dream to make at least $1000 dollars a month, that would change my life dramatically. A thousand dollars a month would get me out of poverty and keep a roof over my head. I have a bachelor’s degree in journalism, but
I am not a technical person.
I wanted to start a Word Press blog with advertisements and a cool looking theme, but I didn’t know how to upload the WordPress theme to the host server. So I ended up starting a blog on blogger about potty training, montenized with Google Adsense, and Amazon Affiliate links. I plan to start other blogs or websites in the future. I really need to make money to help take care of my daughter. I just started my blog, so I am busy trying to add content to my site. I also write for eHow, and I made almost $30 dollars my first month, so I am pretty jazzed about that. I believe it is possible to make money working at home. If you have any recommendations, it would be much appreciated. Thank you for providing REAL information about making money online.
Court: I am a baby boomer still working full but looking to develop and alternative income stream as I transition out of full time work.
It’s such a vibrant market, this wide internet world. That’s what excites me. Anything is possible. That and I was sitting at home raising kids, and this was something I COULD DO, on the internet. So far, every dollar earned earns a big WHOOOT!!! From me, because it’s affirmation for me that I may be starting small, but at least I’m on the right track.
Inspiring post, Court. Really.
Freedom. In terms of hours (when and how many) and work place (I hate offices. Think of working from the beach, in a park, in another city at will…)
I’m trying to apply what I learned here, I still have a lot to do.
I want to make money online so that I can live and work from wherever I want. My passion is travel and photography, and pursuing those with a 9-5 job is quite tricky to pull off. Of course, since I’ve started internet marketing and SEO, I’ve become addicted to the process. I *love* keyword research. There’s nothing like finding an awesome niche, building a site around it, and watching it grow.
My problem at the moment is that I am a full time student with a half time job, so I don’t have as much time to work on the business as much as I would hope. I spend pretty much all my spare time on link building and sites, but it’s still not always as much as I want. Fortunately, I’m now bringing in over $1000 a month after about a year of doing this. Since I don’t actually need this money, I can afford to outsource much more to help make up for my time disadvantage. This is quite an awesome level to be at, and I’m sure it will help my business grow exponentially.
Discovering internet marketing was one of the best things that has ever happened to me, but one downside is that nobody I’ve talked to in real life ever views it as a legitimate occupation. It’s as if that anything that doesn’t involve me showing up to the same desk every day is somehow not acceptable. I’d like to say I don’t care what they think (and it’s certainly not stopping me from pressing on), but some basic respect would be nice.
At any rate, you’re doing good work here guys. Keep it up.
I have been trying to make a good passive income online for the past 2 years WITHOUT good result. But I got the formula after reading your Keyword Crash Course. It was like (finaly) assimilating the alphabet for MMO. It’s simple:
- find a niche with keywords research
- build a site using Wordpress
- create niche content
- put adsense, affiliate links
- optimize and drive traffic
- repeat the process
Thank you Court for your valuable insights. I know 2009 will be the MMO take off for me.
Hey Court,
Fantastic post. Very interesting to hear how you originally got started.
The main reason I want to make money online is in order to supplement my income from my day job as a Stock Broker / Financial Advisor. I absolutely love my 9-5 job and when I obtain a full time income from working online I do not plan on leaving my day job. But, being on full commission with a family to feed can get stressful, especially with today’s economy and stock market.
I joined the Keyword Academy because if I could simply learn how to double my current monthly earnings ($600-$800) per month, I could feel very comfortable with whatever Mr. Market dishes out:)
Hi Court,
I would like to make money online becouse I would like a better life for my family and myself. As a single dad with two sons that live with me full time, I need multiple streams of income to provide for current and future needs. I am a persistant hard worker and I practice the secret of manifesting goals.
I would like to get in touch with Brian about the voice over help he needs. I have done some TV voicing in Hollywood and am told I have a great voice often. Best of luck to all who read this.
i make $270,000 per annum in private equity. i make $2 a day in adsense revenue on a mini-site that i did no link-building for. my job does not allow me the time to implement the techniques i read on sites such as this. i am quitting my job this month with the aim of getting to $1,000 net profit per day from internet marketing within 18-24 months. i intend to create replicable processes and manage an outsourced team to implement them. but no running before walking, i need to get to $100 per day under my own steam within three months. too ambitious? doable? look forward to working with you all.
What a mixture of stories – my short version a)46 years young b) own several good degrees b) was a geologist and a Business Anaylst – last job had be in the top 10% of employee income earners in New Zealand -I hated it – stressed to the max cause I hated it. c) quit – road trip around Australia for 6 months d) sent hubby back to work – I would make money on line by Xmas – that was Xmas 07 though
I’ve been a bit slow catching on – not the technical stuff but the whole entrepreneur mindset was completely alien to a good little contractor! I had to catch up with some of the psychology of actually taking control – I’d spent so many years appearing to busy working for someone else and not taking action in caes I was blamed (the main things I learnt in corporate IT) – its taken a while to unlearn them – but I’m getting there – this is gonna be my year!
My motivation – the drive to earn more at home on the computer than I do working a full time job that takes me away from my two youngest children. I have now been able to successfully do this. My next motivation is to earn enough money so that my husband can be home full time with us!
I have been trying to earn online for the past two years, but discovered Affiliate Marketing just over six months ago and I have not looked back.
I love the changing nature of the industry and how I can work on what i feel like working on… If I feel artsy I can create a banner for a new niche site. If the writer’s block has lifted, I can write about various niches. If I want to work on backlinks and not think about much, well, I do that. I love the flexibility!!
Thanks for all your info! I appreciate it. I listed the site that my biz partner and I use to help show the path we have taken to earning online. It’s a work in progress and not something we focus on, but we are enjoying playing with it.
Cheers!
For me there are a few motivations. I got into normal freelance writing after suffering a horrendous car accident on my 25th birthday that did a number on my legs and forced me to find work where I didn’t have to move off a chair or the floor. From there I dabbled in grad school, realized after way too much debt that it wasn’t worth it, and while bouncing around with a wanderlust lifestyle I had a lot of friends who were envious of my “free” lifestyle, but I’ve always realized how tied my hands were because of the debt situation. I stumbled onto Grizz’s blog and followed to all his recommended friends, and I’m really trying to shift from the work by job freelance writing to passive income because I find the work extremely interesting. On top of that, my ideal dream job is one where I have complete freedom of movement while not having to worry about income, and to be able to take care of my friends and family. Google Adsense and online marketing seem to be the best real chance I have at either.
So that’s my novel of a story
Hopefully it’ll have some very happy updates throughout 2009. Thanks for sharing all this great info!
Best,
Shane
Hey Guys
I have 13 money making sites; the oldest one is now 4 months old. It feels as though I should be making more money; however I have yet been able to reach $1000 dollars per month.
I am not sure what I can do; should I continue building more sites or work on more traffic promotion?
Thanks
Susan
WOW! It is as interesting reading comments as the blog post.
Yes, money is not everything but does rank up there along with oxygen if you want to survive. I’m brand new at searching for my niche to make money.
I have a disability, 50+ and will have to quit my day job soon. I’m too young to retire and too healthy to kick the bucket. LOL.
There’s so much information and I don’t know what is true since I have no experience. Who are Griz, and Vic some of you mentioned? Can anyone suggest a forum so a newbie like me can ask questions? I would appreciate any words of wisdom anyone would care to share.
Thanks for great posts Court. I would sign up for your class today but I’m old and slow and haven’t even gotten through your Keyword Crash Course yet.
I will be a faithful reader of your blog.
Liz
Liz, Vic’s site is bloggerunleashed.com.
Griz’s site is makemoneyforbeginners.blogspot.com
He also has makemoneyonlinegrizzly.com and makemoneywithadsense.today.com
I think the main obstacle is not time or lack of resources, but taking action. With the sites I mentioned you can spend months reading them, and not make any money because you have not done anything. Do yourself a favour and start applying what you learn, even if it was just one post that you learned from. here is Court’s version of what I just said: http://thekeywordacademy.com/making-money-on-the-internet/
I read the Keyword Crash Course, and I am fully committed to putting in the time to make it work. At the end of the book it says to open a HostGator.com account, use the WordPress coupon code, and send you the confirmation, at which point you can gain access to a few explanatory videos. However, no where in the book or this website is there an email address or contact info! I want to get started and I think the videos which show how to set up the sites would be useful, but I do not know who to email. Please let me know at metsin7@gmail.com, thank you!
Also, I think the Keyword Crash course is great; informative and motivational. The only thing I thought wasn’t covered, and a pretty important point, was how do you get sites to link to yours? The book mentions this is paramount to your site getting ranked and pertinent for your overall success, but how do you go about doing that? Thanks for the input!