Most people who get into Internet Marketing do so because they want to make money.
Usually lots of money! After all, that’s what the hype tells them. Make money while lounging on the beach, because your websites are selling for you while you’re gone (that came across a list I’m on lately).
What the hype doesn’t tell people is that making money online takes time. The gurus show pictures of their expensive houses and cars, and don’t talk about the years they spent learning the ropes. They didn’t start out making tons of money, they started out making a little money (or even losing money).
I think the first income stream you build is the most important.
That’s the one that you can reinvest into other opportunities, to pay for outsourcing graphic creation, writing, programming, etc. The first income stream should bring money in for nearly free, so that you aren’t leaking money from your savings while you’re learning the skills you need to succeed.
Getting that first income stream is a big confidence booster, and keeps you motivated to continue learning and growing.
Here are some possible first income streams.
GPT Sites
These are the sorts of sites that pay you to do things. Click ads, complete offers, etc. Marketing Pond is the best way to get involved in this arena, since all these sorts of programs rely on you getting referrals to earn more than you can earn alone. Instead of trying to get referrals to a dozen programs at once, you get referrals to Marketing Pond, and then they join the programs under you.
This route is the best for someone whose confidence level at writing is low. You can work on your writing skills while you’re earning a bit of money online.
Blogging
For the cost of a domain name and web hosting (about $70 a year), you can write about a topic that interests you. People come to your blog because they’re interested in the same topic as you, and they stay because they like the way you write.
Along the way, they click on ads on your site, they buy products you recommend, and you earn some money. How much depends on how many people visit the site.
Some people have replaced full-time incomes via blogging. This is a good option for those who are confident writing regularly.
Income Streams To Avoid At First
Don’t get into the pay-$X-a-month ways of producing income right away. You’ve seen the hyped up ads all around the Internet…pay $10 a month, we’ll put 100 people under you and you’ll be in profit in a week.
Profit can’t be guaranteed to happen that soon in any of those programs, and if someone tells you they can they’re lying to you in order to get a commission from you.
Wait on these until your first income stream can support them. Then you don’t care if it takes a while to build up to being in profit, because you’re not out money from your savings.
Whichever first income stream you pick, stick with it for the long run. That’s the only way to build it to the point where it can support other projects.
P.S. This Friday is the one-year anniversary of this blog, so tomorrow will start our guest blogging period. I’ll be back for Friday’s post, until then enjoy the guest bloggers! I’ll be on the beach…
I am new to blogging as well. I have put cpc ads on my blog to monetize it, but I am not having much success with traffic. I will try to learn from what you do to make make money online.
Keep at it, the traffic comes over time. Truthfully, though, there are easier niches to do well at than the make money online niche. You might consider starting a second blog on another topic you love, and comparing how well the two of them do.