First $1,000 month

[sunshine]

full disclaimer would tell you that only three quarters of that came form Adsense and the rest with Azoogel, and Adversal but hey, 1k is 1k right?

I know lots of you make this much every second but I did not post this thread for you. I posted it for the guys (and ladies) who, like me, went month after month trying to figure out how to make some money online.

In light of that, here is my advise. Eat the meat and spit out the bones.

1. Don’t give up. You should get better at this over time and eventually it will “click.” Also, keep improving your skills. In the ensuing years I have learned lots and lots of tech skills and I am trying to expand that every day.

2. Read everything there is. Unless you are making a website about something that is already big in the real world (your successful business or something like that) you have to get baptized in internet marketing. This is a business and the laws of business don’t stop once you turn on your computer.

3. Realize that it takes work. There is no e-book that will tell you a magical formula to make a bunch of money. There was a guy here on DP that sold a bunch of e-books that said you can make money on DP selling e-books. That’s true but not for everybody. There is no special compartment under your keyboard filled with $100s. Most small businesses fail. Hard work should beat the curve.

4. Keep looking for your niche. It is true that you will do best in the things that interest you. Why? Because you understand the wants of people in that segment. Example: I work with a youthgroup and the kids love to skate and love rap. I don’t know anything about skateboarding and have not bought a rap cd in over 10 years. There is money in that sector but I would not have a clue how to tap it. Nobody would visit my skateboarding or rap site because it would be obvious that I am not of that culture. If you are a lost fan, there is a nich. Like to yoodle? Figure out how to monetize that.

5. Quit trying to be one of the big guys. Either you are the kind of person that can drop 10k on an adwords campaign or you are not. Realize that early. Shoemoney made a bunch of money off of PPA quickly but that was after a long time in the internet industry seemingly not making that much.

6. Stick to what makes you money. I kept reading that once you make $20 a day with a site, start to duplicate that with other sites. That was really bad advise for me. I never made more than a few bucks a day off of clones. And worst of all, my main site started to suffer. Though the amount of sites I had grew, my earnings actually went down month after month. I decided to focus my efforts on my niche money maker and I got a 20% jump in profits. I plan to sell off the others.

7. Don’t leave your wife and abandon your kids to make an extra $300 a month. Treat this like a business and realize that some businesses have to close.

I guess that is it. Please don’t flame me. I enjoy dialog but I am not going to post checks and whatnot just to prove that I made what I said. I am not selling anything, just trying to encourage people.