Ask the Readers: Do You Make Money Online?
Two days ago I resigned from my part-time job. Starting towards the end of January my income will be completely online based. I’ll be living pretty frugally for a while as I re-invest my time in writing an eBook. Once the eBook is done, I’ll re-invest my time in writing more content for Skelliewag (something I’m really looking forward to).
I’m not sure how the eBook will fare but I want to make it as value-packed and affordable as possible. If things don’t work out I know I have freelance writing to keep me afloat until I can re-take another part-time job. While I’m taking a risk on this, I won’t be betting the house on my success.
My commitment to keeping Skelliewag ad and affiliate free is something I don’t see ending. To wrap up my answer, I do make an income online but in a relatively unorthodox way.
This week’s Ask the Readers question (the last one!) could be very simple or very complicated. It’s this:
What’s your attitude to making money online?
I’ll also be picking out another favorite commenter this week. Here’s a quick summary of what I’ll be looking for:
- A useful and insightful answer — something others can learn from.
- Engagement with other commenters and reflection on their answers.
- Active participation in the discussion.
What I won’t be taking into consideration:
- Names, identities and affiliations. I’ll be judging by comments alone.
* * *
Last week’s question — what would you do if time didn’t matter? — asked readers to imagine what they’d do if time management was no longer an issue. It was fascinating (and a little saddening) to see what the constraints of limited time are preventing us from doing.
It’s no wonder that everybody is thinking about productivity at the moment — and no-one is seemingly content with the productivity they have (it could always be that little bit better).
One comment that particularly resonated with me this week was from Dan who blogs about engineering.
[With unlimited time] there will be endless possibilities of interaction with your readers. Although this can be a good thing, for a person who doesn’t say ‘No’ often, I am afraid I’ll end up becoming a Matlab tech support, and over-stretched and over-committed to too many readers’ projects.
Don’t get me wrong, interacting and showing interests in readers with a personal touch is one of the most important thing in growing your blog. Developing your blog community requires a strong vision large enough to incorporate readers interests and focused enough so that you are not aimlessly wandering.
I see myself in a lot of what Dan has said. Though I’ve always done my best to help everyone who asks, I occasionally get weighty requests for help via email which would require a big time investment on my part (more than I have to give). Knowing when to say no and how to value my time is still something I wrestle with.
Dan joins Paidtwice, Spicepuppy, Keira Peney and Alfa King in the running to win a one month featured link in the sidebar. The prize will be awarded based on contributions across all the Ask the Readers discussion threads. I’ll be deciding on a winner during the week.
This week’s discussion will be the last Ask the Readers thread (for now). Not due to any shortcomings (I’ve really enjoyed these discussions), but because I’d like to experiment a little bit with this content slot to work out what readers find most useful.
The question again:
What’s your attitude to making money online?
Great question!
I appreciate your take on trying to keep your blog free of advertisements and affiliate links, you certainly deserve a pat on the back for that.
As for making money online, I make money online through various methods. One of the most successful so far has been buying and selling of domain names. I have been into this for a couple years and although I can’t say it has been a steady monthly income, it has brought me quite a chunk every once ina while. I am planning to write an ebook on domain buying and selling sometimes in 2008.
The other thing I see most bloggers stressing about is not making money online through their blogs. I do make some money through my blog but certainly isn’t anything that would even help me get by for a week.
I think when it comes to making money online we should all look at our blogs as a launching pad for our future projects. When I took Skellie’s ( thanx Skellie ) interview she said it very well, I am paraphrasing but this is what she had to say ” I make money through my blog not from it .”
All in all my attitude towards making money online is a positive one as I have experienced it to be pretty fruitful one way or the other. The only thing we need to realize as we start our blogging careers is not to depend on our blogs to make money but use it as a step to move forward and promote our other projects.
Making money online is not that hard. We just need to be patient and take every opportunity that comes along while analyzing the good and the ugly in the long run.
Thanks for the great question Skellie and for allowing us once again to share our views. By the way, congratulations on quitting your part time job. it’s an achievement!
What a great question…and with the new year looming perhaps one that could be of great help to your readers.
I feel in a day and age where our expenses seem to be expanding and our income shrinking making money online is a perfect opportunity for people to create another stream of revenue.
Some benefits to making money online:
1. It can supplement your current income.
2. It can free more time for family as a second income.
3. It can be a road to financial freedom.
4. It could be used to turn a hobby into a revenue stream.
Ultimately with online money making, the sky is the limit.
I see a range of possibilities from short to long-term, but I prefer the long-term opportunities because I have passion for personal finance and economic education. Focusing my energies on becoming an authority will allow me to stick with my passion my entire life.
I’m passing on several short term sources of revenue (adsense and the usual suspects) because I feel they are counterproductive to my long term goals. The ads generally do not help my readers and they interfere with the information I am providing. This interference also makes my task of building name recognition and a reputation more difficult.
It is very difficult to make a living giving, and sometimes selling, advice. That’s why I’m particularly excited to be living during an age of so much creativity and possibilities.
@Jason, the feeling that ‘our expenses are growing and our incomes are shrinking’ is exactly the kind of notion I want to dispel. We are living in an age of immense prosperity on a scale never seen before. The main reason people feel like they have less money is because they keep spending it on luxuries!
It’s important to regularly step back and compare our lifestyle to that of 20, 30, even 50 years ago. When we do, we realize that even the poorest people often have far more luxuries than the middle class or rich did in previous generations.
Do I make money online? No. I’ve been online since 1983 and that answer hasn’t changed in all that time. To be honest, though, I have not approached the matter of making money online with any kind of determination, and that does make a difference.
I’d like to make money. I just haven’t figured out how. I think at the moment my best bet is to use what I’ve written for my blog for and about tattooed people into an e-book.
I have ads on my blogs, but I’ve never thought of them as a real source of income, because my readers tend not to click on ads. Of course, I tend not to click on ads myself, so I presume this means that my readers are much like me. :)
My attitude to making money online (something that I barely do currently) definitely doesn’t centre around blogs.
I write a personal(ish) blog about topics that I’m actually interested in, which is not particularly monitized. My main goal for that website was to showcase my expertise in certain areas to indirectly make money from freelance/consultancy work.
Then I have my main online money making ideas which are vast and varied. Unfortunately I lack the time to implement many of them due to studying/partying.
The sort of ideas I have revolve around:
- affiliate marketing (I just finished a site to compare mountain bikes using a wp-plugin called phpbaypro which pulls in feeds from eBay.
- niche content: i have a couple of dirty sites that are just plastered with adsense and some niche content. I’ve not put enough effort into these yet but it seems to make between $.10 - $1 - easily enough to pay for itself and more.
- I saw a guide to making a video blog earlier, I was debating in my head if I’d be able to write a script to auto update it. If so I’m quite interested in the idea.
- Wouldn’t mind creating a niche directory at some point but half of the fun would be creating my own script for it, which at the moment I don’t have time for.
Yeh basically I have so many ideas but barely ever implement them.
I think the most important thing to keep in mind is that unless you experiment with PPC any given project is unlikely to make money for around six months.
For anyone unsure where to start making money I would suggest reading as much as possible - definitely read SEO Book if you haven’t. Successful SEO is going to be quite critical to making money online.
Just read and absorb as much as possible about SEO (black and white!), online marketing, make money online, and blogging and it will set you in good stead.
But definitely release you’ll only ever make money in proportion to the effort you put in.
Oh I forgot to say this but I don’t think there’s anything wrong with affiliate links so long as you would have still put the link there we’re it not for the potential commission.
Good question Skellie. I have made a little money online, but have put more money into it than I have gotten out. Really, I believe that means that I have lost money online. However, I have enjoyed the short journey I have taken so far and plan to continue. I would like to make money online as an extra source of income, but actually make it a full-time income at some point as long as that means that I have time and money to do the things that I am truly passionate about. I love movies and would some day like to make movies, but after trying a couple times it seems that it takes more time and money than I currently have. So in the mean time I am writing reviews of movies and have a website about movies and reviews. This does not pay the bills or even buy me dinner more than once a month, but it is a lot of fun and that is what really matters. If you can enjoy what you are doing to make money then it will surely end up being more profitable in the end if only in the way of mental and emotional health.
My attitude towards making money online is that it’s one of the most empowering and profitable ways of all to earn a living. Skellie, I think you’re now beginning to find that out. I offer my best, most heartfelt congratulations to you on quitting your “normal” job!
If you are blogging as a passionate expert in a particular field, you will not make even close to the amount of money with advertising and the like as you would with consulting. However, making the leap to consulting is no small task. You are starting a business, and all which that entails. I have found it to be rewarding, but that’s not the only way to do it.
One thing you’ll hear people say, and with which I agree, is that you should diversify your online income across multiple revenue streams, some of which are fairly automated. For example, I don’t make crazy money from ad-supported blogs, but in spite of how my consulting income fluctuates, I have been able to count on a steady income from AdSense that is always above a certain amount. The time I take to manage these blogs is minimal now (in the beginning it was intense).
A good blogger can also get paid blogging gigs–be a real pro blogger. That also provides some regular income from the online realm, and it’s another way to diversify.
Domaining is something I’ve been really interested in, but haven’t been sure where to really start with that, so RITU, I will be looking forward to your book! :) If you have any beginner’s advice to point me to, contact me through my blog. I’m very much interested in what you would have to say on the subject.
Yes, I make a lot of money on-line. About 20% of my income is from advertising income and another 30% or more comes from consulting and sales opportunities that come to me through and because of my website. So not only do I make money, but it is very important to my total income.
I’ve had a few (very few) site visitors complain about ads on my site but I simply point out these facts:
- I do provide a way for anyone to read any page without ads.
- As most of the ads are contextual, they can add value.
- Some of my content is of sufficient value to be worth paying for; in fact I often do get paid for providing the same information that is free at the site.
The consulting aspect is slightly more valuable than the advertising, but obviously both are very important to me. Someone wanted to buy my site a few years back and offered what they probably thought was a lot of money, but it was only about a years site income (ads plus consulting): why on earth would I sell for that?
If we expand the meaning of “on-line” to include work done for customers that I acquired through other methods, I easily make 90% of my income on-line. The Internet makes it possible to do almost all my work sitting in my own home - I used to be up and down Rte 128 all day long, now I can go weeks without having to leave the house for work..
If I still had to work the way I did in the 80’s and early 90’s, I don’t know if I could do it.. “on-line” has changed everything for the better,
Making money online is not as easy as the gossips say it is. Yeah, making a quick buck here for there is easy but really making a living online is no small challenge. I have been at it for years with some successes and some failures but still cannot truly life from my online revenues alone.
In the future I plan to make more money online (some of which from the blog linked on my name) but I understand now how hard it it and how much you have to work at it to compete in the saturated market that the internet is becoming.
It’s a challenge I am willing to take on but I must stress that it still takes a lot of work like any other job. The only difference if you can do it primarily in your pajamas.
I make most of my income online, mostly from e-commerce, but also from ad income from some informational sites that I have. I don’t really understand the attitude that I often see expressed that there is somehow something wrong with advertising income. If you produce a product that people find useful, then there’s nothing wrong with making money from your efforts. And the truth is that the easiest and likeliest way for small websites to do that is probably with Adsense. However, I do agree that readers of metablogs like this one will probably almost never click on a contextual ad, because they’ve learned to ignore them.
@ David: I agree, there’s nothing wrong with ads. I hope it doesn’t sound as if I have a personal vendetta against them ;-). It’s just not the strategy I want to pursue with Skelliewag.
Skellie, I actually didn’t mean you, but I do see this all over the place. I don’t have any adds on my blog either, because I don’t think they would be productive at this point. If that changes I may incorporate them later. The income producing ads that I have are on static sites.
Your decision to not have ads on Skelliwag makes all kinds of sense because what you are selling with this site is you. Ads would only be a distraction.
Do I make money online ? Yes I do but, unfortunately not even 1/2 of what I am aiming for.
Currently I work 3 shifts: at the office in the morning, I teach in the afternoon and I try to make money online at night ! why is that ?
Well because of the instability of the country I live in I feel that the only way to secure a better living and a stable income to my family is online. However, and like Warren said, it turned out to be not quite as easy as the “Gossips” said. It is not a get rich fix scheme but a full business you have to grow step by step and day by day.
I make money online through web apps that I build. It’s ridiculously hard work, a lot of fun, and sometimes almost heartbreaking. I also make money through consultancy work that comes from people seeing my web apps and blogs.
Two years ago I worked for a web agency in London. Now I work for myself, and it’s almost entirely because I can do it online. I consistently recommend the switch to ex-colleagues and friends, giving them tips on how to go about it, and love every minute of my new found freedom!
I do not make money online. It was never my intention either.
Sites loaded with ads are a real turn off. Not only do they tend to be slow, but it also makes it hard to find the information you are interested in.
Then again there are sites where the ads actually add value. It can be a time saver as you find links to further information right beside what you read.
I have nothing against ads as long as they do not make my day harder :-) Like I’ve said before Skellie, your clean design without ads makes your site stand out and keep me wanting to come back.
@warren:
No, it isn’t easy. It does take hard work, and lots of it.
On the ad revenue side, I make money through volume: I’ve been averaging two posts a day for ten years now (I just wrote about that yesterday, by the way). That volume also helps on the consulting side - the more I have out in the Webosphere, the more chance of a potential customer finding me (yes, I use Adwords also but have never had great results from that).
Sometimes hard work is just priming the pump - you are cranking like mad but nothing comes from it. My first few years of on-line work were like that: all input, nothing coming back. Then it slowly started really paying off around 2003..
Hang in there. Keep pushing, keep experimenting. If nothing else, it keeps your brain alive, doesn’t it?
@Bente Lilja Bye
Intention is everything. If your goal is to support yourself, that’s one thing. If it is simply to communicate, that’s another thing entirely. Skellie and the gang talked about that in a recent post about defining success.
This post really hits home for me: I’ve been self employed at various things most of my life, intermingled with a few painful stints where my body and soul were sold to someone else. I believe that independence and following your hearts desire are the most satisfying aspects of our lives. Don’t waste your life being unhappy is something I want to shout in the ear of everyone who doesn’t greet each day with joy. I guess through the “self employment” section of my site I do get to shout that :-)
Anyway, whatever your intention or goal is, go for it. Push it, prod it, kick it, make it work.
Best of luck to all..
My atitude toward making money online goes something like: sounds nice but I wouldn’t depend on it. I am skeptical mainly because I myself ignore ads - inline and pop-up. I started blogging to inform my potential customers about the importance of local organic foods and to give them ideas on how to incorporate fresh vegetables into their meals. It grew out of a weekly e-letter I was already sending out.
One of the main concepts seems to be that making money online is a passive activity - little effort with lots of results. That I don’t trust. As I read through the various comments here, I realize that my attitude seems to represent a common experience.
The critical concept is to understand that the Internet is one of many vehicles available to sell product and services. I don’t expect to make tons of money off the Internet but I do like the idea of generating a small bit of revenue just by doing what I would do anyway. That is, I am going to write about what is important to Mule Shoe Farm and what happens there anyway. Why not allow that opportunity to directly generate revenue in addition to being a support piece for my business?
@Anne
Well, some of us do depend on it, but you are correct in every respect: people need to be realistic about their goals. I also note your point about “why not generate revenue?” - indeed, why not?
By the way (noting your site) have you read “The Omnivore’s Dilemma”? I have a review of it at http://oakpointcommunity.org/books/omnivores_dilemma.html
(hope Skellie doesn’t mind the link). I particularly liked the section about Polyface farms and was reminded of it when I looked at your blog.
The more you can post there, the more you’ll get back from it. Organic farming is a subject that I think is going to grow strongly over the next few years.
@ Anthony Lawrence - very inspiring comments from you today. I enjoy your site very much, too. :-)
I guess, whatever you do, making money online or just communicating, it all requires hard work to succeed.
I might eventually put some ads on my site but for now I am using it to develop more a freelance portfolio that I can direct potential clients to.
Interviewing top bloggers and entrepreneurs for my ‘Ten Questions With’ series every Tuesday is stimulating enough that I really don’t mind not earning a penny.
However, if I am going to meet my goal of making $4,000 a month online (to help pay student loans and the mortgage) then at some point advertisements/sponsorship could be a reality.
Skelle – best of luck with all of your ventures in 2008. It is very inspiring to see you blogging on your own terms and making a real go of it :)
Happy Holidays,
Mark
I sort of make money online. I make about $3-5 a month off AdSense (though I made $15 one month). I have, in the past, made about $70 off AdBrite (though no one really buys ads from me anymore). I’m also trying to start a web design studio. So, I make a very small amount of money online, though I’m trying to increase the amount. So, I’m a long way away from a MacBook. :D
My goal is to be making a decent income off the websites I run, freelance design, and writing.
I would love my entire income to be generated online. Not necessarily by blogs only, but as Skellie says, through the blogs. Right now, I make about $15 a month through various sources. Not much at all, but it pays for the hosting and the book giveaway I’ve started. I receive some of this income each month, except for the Adsense dollars and cents. I have yet to reach the $100 required for a check.
I am fine with ads being used on blogs as long as they are applicable to the content and do not contradict anything on the blog. Adsense places lots of ads for writing courses and book ads which fit in great with my content. However, if they started displaying something that I did not agree with, I would have to rethink using Adsense. The most important thing is providing content. If I can earn a few dollars off of providing that content, then that’s just a little something extra.
I have a goal to get to the point where Skellie is, and I wish her the best of luck in the recent move away from the part-time job. In order for me to get there, it will take a lot of hard work and a lot of time, but I am prepared to dedicate myself to something I am passionate about.
The whole thing with ads or any other monetization method we all need to keep firmly in mind is that any sites we create should exist to serve a specific purpose. Everything we do on the site has to serve that purpose. If your purpose is to sell services or promote your own skills for hire, ads are a conflict. You may as well just say: “go hire somebody else, and let me help you.”
Designing and creating content for such a site is a different game than for ad-supported sites. An ad-supported site has different goals, different design needs (you have to design for the ads), and in some ways, different content (such as attracting search traffic or PPC).
I run both kinds of sites, and they are quite different from each other in order to maximally fulfill their purpose.
My attitude on monetization is utilitarian. I try to do what is effective as best as I know how for the different monetization/earning methods. The same values and ethics that I apply to Remarkablogger are not expressed in experimental throw-away sites that may or may not make money. That’s mostly because the intended audiences are so different–one is far more technically savvy than the other. For Remarkablogger, trust from my readers is paramount and sacred. For some of the other blogs I run, it isn’t important at all. I have no problem moving between the two.
Hey all,
I make all my money online. I quite the regular job and moved down to South America about 8 months ago. I’ve landed all my customers through the internet. Most of them are back in the states. California mostly for some random reason.
I’m a web designer though. So, its not hard for me to make money by designing websites. I also do custom graphics, branding, and some coding. I don’t speak Spanish well at all so I don’t meet any customers in person down here. Or, at least it hasn’t happened yet.
I only had one customer when I made the move and it only amounted to about 10 hours a week. But after 3 months or so I had enough work to amount to full-time.
I speak to my customers via Skype and email mostly. Ocassionaly, via instant messaging. For me I met my customers from online contests and job boards. Having a good portfolio helps alot. I’ve gotten some work where customers have contacted me after finding my site.
My new goal is to narrow down the types of jobs I get. I’ll be launching some new sites next year to target specific type of work I want to get. I’m also trying my hand at blogging. It would be cool to migrate to a 50/50 split between making money from clients and my own projects.
Thanks.
I make about 75% of my income from a job I got via my blog, doing copywriting and promotion. Sadly, I get paid in dollars, an amount that would be enough to live on in the States, but once it’s been through the killer-exchange rate and transmuted into pounds sterling, it isn’t. So I also have to keep a part-time job in order to have spending/saving money.
I have other, minor, sources of income, mainly adsense, places like Helium, and so on. Ideally I’d like to increase the other sources of revenue, to equal the wages I get from my part-time job.
The exchange rate is something often overlooked by the North American blogosphere. Anything I receive in dollars is effectively halved once its converted. An awful lot of advertising-related income is paid in dollars, and since the internet is (mostly) global, the market price for things like e-books has to be considered against that yardstick.
By the way - congratulations on quitting your part time job! I know you’re one of those who will leap from success to success :)
@Michael
I have to disagree that you can’t mix ads with a site advertising services - I’ve been doing that for years.
@Jen and others who are worried about inappropriate ads: it’s really a minor concern unless its porn or popups.
The reason neither of these things matter as much as people think they do is that people are used to seeing ads - even on Public Broadcasting, NPR and such nowadays. Unless the ads are extraordinarily outrageous or annoying, nobody cares.
Yes, it’s *better* if the ads are relevant to your content, but if not, it’s almost never anything to get very upset about.
My rule is that I want to provide great value.
I have some adsense ads at the moment. As people subscribe through readers I guess ads on the site will become less important. So far I don’t think I have made enough for a cup of coffee.
My hope is to make my income from my blogs. At the moment I am writing some free stuff and also the stuff I hope to sell. My biggest challenge at the moment is getting traffic. There’s no way of making money from a blog without it. So that’s where my focus is for now.
I don’t mind AdSense ads - when I saw what they put on my blog I wanted to click on them so I thought that this means they were OK. I don’t have any objection to affiiate stuff in principle (it’s just retailing by another name) but I would want to be convinced that it provided excellent value. I signed up to a course that was OK but not great on the basis of the recommendation of a couple of bloggers. They have now lost credibility with me because the course didn’t seem as good to me as they said it was. So I guess I would need to be thoroughly familiar with a product before I would recommend it.
Attitude to making money online..
The idea really thrills me. As the possibilities are unlimited.
I am in a good full time job which pays me well and is quite fulfilling. My career will go places with time and effort. The progress is slow as there are so many competing with me for relatively lesser promotions.. But it is something I can depend on. I do not intend to quit on it as I have put gr8 effort in reaching where I am currently. But I have more capacity which I want to utilize creatively to generate online income..
My online initiatives have not produced much success but what keeps me going is the unlimited possibilities and possibilities to reach a stage where the income becomes more or less self sustaining. I mean what is very famously called multiple streams of income and creating a system which is self sustaining.. So it is the possibilities that keeps me going and I am learning for sure..
What is it that I have tried so far?
I started with ebay. I was into buying and selling electronics like laptops, camera etc. That creates some income but is really time consuming and demands attention in terms of monitoring ads, replying queries, fulfilling sales, tracking ebay bills, etc. Its going on but at a lower intensity depending upon the good buying deals I find. I havent found much success with dropshipping which is being made as a gr8 way to make money at ebay.
I got into blogging recently. I was inspired by the success of blogger like problogger, copyblogger to name a few. It is interesting and creative. I am working on my writing skills and doing a lot of reading other blogs and commenting them. I have implemented adsense and some affiliate links on my blog but have not generated any income yet. It is exciting and my goal is to be able to generate content on a more regular basis than what I do currently. I am working on improving the SEO of my site too.
Reading this blog I am interested in exploring domaining more . Ritu your ebook will be interesting to explore..
Consulting on web designing is interesting too..
Thanks for the creative question. It is thought provoking..
Vineet Nair
http://vineetnair.com
I make some money online - originally the intention was that my personal finance blog would be self-supporting, and it is currently profitable.
It would be nice if it made enough money that I could give up my day job, but I wouldn’t because I really enjoy my completely unrelated day job.
Everyone’s got to make a living somehow, and I fail to see how writing and then advertising online is any better or worse than anything else. Sure it would be nice to be so wealthy that I could donate all my time for free, but as I’m not, I have a 9-5 job and I want my blogs to self-support - with a bit of luck that will include new laptops :) .
[...] results, can be dramatically different. I believe in my heart of hearts many will choose about making money online, why, because they do not trust the knowledge they possess themselves. Life is a niche isn’t [...]
Yes, I do indeed make money online. When I started I had no ideas at all that I would, and as the blog grew larger and more popular and necessitated its own domain, it needed to be self-supporting for me to be able to keep it up. And now it is and then some. Basically through a mix of advertisements and (disclosed) affiliate links / programs.
The fact that my blog generates revenue has been a key in our success in getting ourselves out of debt. I make no apology or defense for that - in fact I think it is a pretty cool thing. And I disclose that as well :)
I don’t hesitate to pull ads that are a deteriment to my blog - when one ad malfunctioned I pulled it the moment I found out and it hasn’t come back.
Honestly, ads don’t bug me. On my site or other sites. And I don’t get upset or offended at the idea some people visit using adblock. :) To each their own.
“Honestly, ads don’t bug me. On my site or other sites. And I don’t get upset or offended at the idea some people visit using adblock.”
Ah, finally someone else with my point of view. :D
I don’t mind people blocking ads, and I have stood-up for the AdBlock plugin on several occasions. I, myself, do not block ads though. I selectively zap ads that really draw attention to themselves, but I don’t blanket-block ads using pre-made AdBlock filters.
Now that AdBlock has been dragged in to this discussion :D , you all may find this worth reading:
http://www.webmaster-source.com/2007/09/19/is-adblock-evil/
I read through almost Evan’s comment and things are already summed up nicely on how most of us make money online.. so much so that I am finding it difficult to add more value here.. (damn skellie won’t link now!)
:)
Anyway, to add my 2 cents.. I do make money online.. though am not focusing much on it.. and whatever I do earn 30-40 bucks here and there goes back into buying more domains, or other resources..
The whole Idea of making money on the web for me is to first build a vast and varied Internet real estate.. so the priority always is picking up good domain names, and then testing various systems on them..
so some have blogs, some have MFA systems, some forums, etc. They are all monetized through ad sales, and paid posts etc.. regular stuff. This is to both test the options as well as maintain some level of income trickling in…
so yeah that’s about it, its basically buying land and then deciding whether to build a villa, an apartment or a mall… money making is realty for me..
To answer the first question: I make money online, but not the amount that equals that earned “offline.” However, the line between online and offline is like so many borders once starkly drawn, but now more like a line in the sand.
Your online and offline business has now become just your business. We make money from consulting on an offline project that was began with an online contact from an offline friend who you initially met on a social networking site.
The question becomes “Do You Make Money.”
My attitude to making money online is exactly the same as my attitude to making money offline–if someone provides value, it’s perfectly fine for them to want to be paid for it.
Unfortunately, the whole idea of making money online seems to have a negative stereotype among those who are far removed from that world. Perhaps it’s because making money online has been associated with spamming, phishing, and other things that destroy value rather than create it.
When I told some friends I had started a new website (ad-free at the time), they asked “you’re not going to make money if I visit, are you?” I just found that to be a strange reaction, to want to be sure that I wouldn’t make any money. They know I’m not evil!
Making money online could be as simple as performing your 9-5 job from home by connecting to your company’s VPN, and it’s hard to find any reasonable objection to that. Just as offline work can be either legitimate or not, so can online work.
Several commenters have mentioned making money because of your blog as opposed to directly from it. I wanted to point out Darren Rowse’s post on this topic from earlier this month, titled “6 Steps to Making Money Because of Your Blog” (http://www.problogger.net/archives/2007/12/04/6-steps-to-making-money-because-of-your-blog/).
Sorry, the link cut off. You can go to http://www.problogger.net/archives/2007/12/04 and see the post at the bottom titled “6 Steps to Making Money Because of Your Blog.”
I just started my blog one month ago. Making money is the furthest thing in my mind right now. I’ve procrastinated enough and decided to make the leap for good by buying a domain name and just writing posts.
I’ve created goals for myself like posting every other day and reading all I can from sites like this that help beginners. I’ve also come to realize that I want to know all I can about CSS, HTML and coding to help myself in the long term.
With all the goals I have created it will be awhile before I can begin to think about making money. For starters I need to be proactive in leaving comments and doing some of the necessary work to get my site properly promoted. Some friends of mine can’t comprehend why I don’t go on certain sites and throw my links all over the place.
It’s hard to get other people to understand how the whole process evolves. Just because you build it doesn’t mean they will come. Would I like to make money? Sure, I would be lying if I said it wouldn’t eventually matter down the road. Baby steps right?
[...] Skellie asked that questions in her post, Ask the Readers: Do You Make Money Online? [...]
Skellie, I’ve been reading your “Ask the readers” posts for quite a while but this is the first time I’ve really responded to it. And boy, congrats on leaving the rat race, too!
I’ve left the corporate world many months ago and although I’m earning some income from my blog/website, it’s not something that’s even half of what I’m earning from my last job. But I’ve absolutely no regrets on treading along that path as I believe life is all about choices. Choosing to live the life that you’re passionate about even when the others seems to voice opinions of the opposite. Or choosing to live in the shadow of others.
So far, it’s has been such an exhilarating experience that I’m glad that I’ve done it after all. And I guess it helps that I’ve lesser obligations and financial baggage than others when it comes to making the corporate exit.
About the point on ads, I’m absolutely in favour of it as long as it’s unobtrusive and done tastefully. In fact, after my site’s redesign and the adding the recent CPM banner ads, I’ve realized there were more requests for guest posts/articles on my site, a slight increase pageviews and more people bookmarking the site. A nice bonus!
Cheers,
Ellesse
@spicepuppy
It is odd how some view making money on-line as something almost dishonest.. almost like inviting your friends to a party and charging them for food :-)
I think they are less likely to take that attitude if your blogging is related to your ordinary income producing activities. For example, I “do” computer stuff, my web site is generally about computer stuff, so it doesn’t seem so shocking that I want to make money from it.
The short answer is YES.
Although my blog is primarily a way for me to focus on my personal finance, I am also using it as a source of alternative income. My goal is to earn at least $5,000 per year during the first 2-3 years via my blog — this is something that I achieved so far this year (pro rated for 6 months).
Well, I haven’t explored seriously any avenue for making mondy online. It’s not on my priority at the moment. What I’m interested in is in giving rather than receiving. The primary aim of my blog is to hone my writing. Now if that can generate revenue in the long run so much the better. But all this needs time. We’ve discussed about time constraints and all that. If so many people say they’ve left their job for online money, I have no reason not to believe them. For me it’s a steep mountain to climb.
[...] sterker nog; de meeste probloggers wonen in de Verenigde staten. Zo ook Skellie, die sinds kort al haar inkomsten vanuit het internet krijgt. Skellie schrijft ook over hoe je de archieven van een weblog beter kunt [...]
Reading everyone’s comments has offered various perspectives on how I should make money online in 2008.
As Jason Curlee pointed out early in the comments section, the benefits of making money online can be related to our different attitudes of making money online.
1. As Sole Income - 100% focus to your online business, professionalism is an absolute necessity, great responsibility, higher stress, risk, insecurity levels (Sean Hodge - live off of his web design creations)
2. As Supplemental Income - similar to 1. but at varying degrees (Anthony Lawrence - how it impacts its total income)
3. As a Platform for other Opportunities - Self marketing, blogging to demonstrate skills, more guest posting to get publicity, building networks. (Skellie - guest posting for famous blogs, demonstrating her writing skills, Michael - platform to gain consulting clients)
4. As a Hobby / Benefit Community / Self-Improvement - Less constraints, can devote however much time you want, can be casual, less risks and responsibilities, monetization is an afterthought, harder to build a large community of readers (Alfa King - focus on giving, honing his skills)
I am straddling between 3 and 4 right now. I eventually want to get to 1 and 2. To pursue this dream, I must accept the fact that it requires stronger commitment and higher demands (time, energy, and capital). So often we hear “Online money making is sooo eeeasy… I made $500 through commissions alone.” That sounds great, but little do we know that probably only happened ONCE in that person’s lifetime; certainly won’t do any good as income.
I know making the leap to 1-2 will put me in a different ball game. Hardwork alone won’t lead me to success. I need right decision making, strong networking, and solid marketing (maybe a little luck?) to actually survive in the blogosphere.
So many people are ahead of me in this ball game. I get discouraged at times thinking that opportunities are fewer now and feeling that I won’t measure up to other people’s success. I don’t make any money online right now, but I know I have a healthy and positive attitude towards making money online. I am not just in it for the money and I do care for my readers and community. Without losing that sight in mind, it is enough to propel me to the next step. One step at a time.
Just wanted to say thank you and that I was flattered in able to join in on the running for the featured link in sidebar.
Like many other readers, I am glad you were able to make a huge step in resigning your part-time job and pursue the online career. Your fan-base will always be here to support you.
I also look forward to more content on skelliewag. I’ve gained a lot of insights through your posts and guest posts. Keep it up!
[...] week’s winning commenter for our discussion on making money online is Michael Martine (who offers blog consulting at Remarkablogger) for his insights on making money [...]
Yes, I do make money online. Not much at the moment, but I expect that to grow over time.
I have made practically nothing from my blog, so naturally I’m starting a second one. However, I started my blog simply because I love the topic I blog on (MMORPG games). The second blog is being started because I keep finding too many things I want to talk about that don’t fit the topic of my current blog, and it’s a shame to let a good rant go to waste.
I haven’t really made much attempt to monetize my first blog, but I do plan to make at least some attempt with my second. However, all (and I do mean all) of the money I’ve made online so far has been from writing jobs.
I’ve written for newspapers and magazines in the past, but never really saw a freelance writing career get off the ground. However, when I made the decision to start trying online, I noticed that almost every website or business that was requesting applications asked for a link to “your blog, or online body of work.”
I didn’t have one.
Now I do, and it’s already landed one job, even though the subject matter of my blog has absolutely nothing to do with what I’m writing about. How did this help?
Your online presence is your resume. If you send someone to your blog or website, and they find poor grammar, writing and content…well, let’s just say the chances of getting hired by that person drop into the cellar.
This applies to everyone, no matter how they’re looking to make money online. As in “the real world”, your appearance and first impression are of the utmost importance, and that should be your focus, whether you’re trying to make money from ads on your site or find work with someone else. Make every effort to appear to be worth money, and the rest of the hard work to make it happen will be a bit easier.
I have written and sold hundreds of eBooks. Before you even spend time to write the damn thing, get the site made, do some advertising, and see if you can even sell it first.
What a great topic — and one that so many feel passionate about. I’m very new to blogging and have noticed that the emphasis is on providing knowledge for free — thank goodness, or I wouldn’t even have a blog!! I do have a “com” component to my blog that involves customized kits I design for book clubs. I’ve only been in business for 10 weeks — and have sold 10 kits, coincidentally — but being able to do what I love has been priceless. Eventually I would love to support my life through this project, but I would prefer to do this through the kits and not through ads on my site. We’ll see!
I respect your approach. I referred to in a blog post at http://opentodifference.com/2008/01/28/blogging-about-blogging/
– Jason Simon
Making money online with selling ebooks with resale rights or recommending them through afilliate links is without a doubt a
great way to profit from blogs.
I would love to hear more about this topic.