What is the advice you would give to a friend that wants to make money online?

For me, the advice would be simple, and non-expensive. Advice that anyone could use to make money online. It would be make money online advice that would not cause them to lose money online.

For starters, I would recommend they start with a blog or two.

There are many advantages to blogging to make money online. It is cheap, so there is little money to lose and anyone can afford it. No expensive software, and very short learning curve. The only real cost is time.

I would recommend starting with two blogs. Start with a personal blog and a niche blog. The personal blog you can talk about anything, even your success at making money online. You can talk about your car or what you had for dinner. Whatever.

The niche blog should be based on a subject that you are nearly an expert on. A sport, hobby, or some aspect of business may be what you niche is. It could be about some disease you are especially familiar with (although something like this could also be the basis of your personal blog). I truly believe everyone is an expert at something. The niche blog will need to be focused on that subject and that alone.

The first investment should be the domian name.

This is the most important part of your blog. Your domain name makes you independent. It gives you something to own and sell at a later time. With your own domain name, you can move your blog to another host if there is a problem with your current one.

After you have a domain name, you need a host for your blog.

I would recommend HostGator. This blog is currently on XXXXX and I have not had too much trouble, nor do I plan to move it off, but I have a HostGator account for other sites and that is what I would recommend. Other than a domain name or two, hosting is the only thing you should spend money on till you see real regular income. ***This site was moved to HostGator and the name of the above host is now removed for various reasons.

This is where every Internet marketer eventually falls into the trap.

There is no ebook or magic program that is going to make you instant money online. We all claim to not believe in the get rich quick scheme, but we all try to cheat. You spend money on some ebook, or program that is going to make it easier or faster or more profitable. It will never happen. Not that they do not work, some do. Prove you can get the blog to work first before you even think about anything else. If you cannot stick with the blog long enough, you will not stick to the other methods long enough either. You will just waste your money. That is what I am trying to save you.

Use WordPress for your blogging platform.

WordPress is easy to use. Easy to set up. Easy to modify. There is a plugin to do almost anything in WordPress. There are lots of free themes. You can use it for nearly any make money online purpose. It is also free to use.

Use free social networking to build your traffic.

Not just Digg. Use MyBlogLog and Blogcatalog. Blogging Zoom has the potential to be a major factor in helping your blog get good traffic and ranking. Use it. Use StumbleUpon on other Blogging Zoomed posts. You’ll find someone will eventually start to Stumble your sites too. With social bookmarking sites, it is better to give than to receive. That means you’ll find they work better when someone else bookmarks your site than when you do it yourself. Also, commenting on other blogs is an effective way to gain links and traffic. *Update-Blogging Zoom is dead while the domain is still in use.*

Plan for the long term.

Try to stay on the good side of the search engines. Avoid the paid links situation and penalties. Don’t trade the future of your site for quick income with TLA, ReviewMe, and Paid Posts. You can make an income without damaging the potential PR of your site. It may not be as fast or easy, but in the long term, your site will be stronger and more profitable.

Also, don’t expect real results until you have given serious effort for several months. Dedicated Effort+Persistence=Eventual profit. Lackluster effort+Inconsistency=Nothing and you will be wasting your time. Yes, it is possible to still not be successful after working hard, but that is a rare problem. Usually, the problem is dedication in some form.

Read good resources on making money online.

I recommend Vic at Blogger Unleashed and Courtney Tuttle’s blog. These two are behind Blogging Zoom and they have excellent information for making money with your blog. Read about using keywords in your posts. Learn about niche blogs and sites. They have good advice.

Above all, post!

Don’t spend more time reading on how to post than posting.

John Chow has always posted 3-4 times or more a day. So does Problogger. Now they can hire someone else to make posts, but they did it to start with. A lot of people (me included) want to blog but do not post enough. Even one post a day is really not enough. How did these guys start making money with a blog? They actually blogged! While your niche blog may not need that many posts (depends on the type of niche) your personal blog can use it. Once a day is the minimum. Why Twitter when you can post? There’s a thought.

OK, now I am going to spend some time this week posting.

Maybe not everyday, but I am going to post! Expect to see some posts with more details about hosting, domain names, and WordPress. I have some other posts that I have been too lazy to make that I need to work on.

Now, what advice would you give to a friend who wanted to make money online?

Internet marking constantly changing and Keyword Avalanch has changed to NicheRockets.

Why should you care? Keep reading for something really cool (and free) if you are trying to make money online.

What is NicheRockets?

At it’s core, NicheRockets is the same paid forum just like Keyword Avalanche was. In addition to the forum, Keyword Avalanche featured keyword lists that were useful to build niche sites around. However, the Internet marketing world is changing and AdSense does not pay what is used to and keyword lists are not as effective. So to add and keep real value to the forum they increased value of the benefits of being a member.

NicheRockets gives you five businesses in a box on a monthly basis.

More than just five niche sites ready for you to build, they are actually 5 businesses. You get a complete site. Graphics and template plus articles for content. You also get a complete Nichebot keyword search so you can change the content for your articles and know what keywords are hot. The real kicker is the product. A quality ebook for the niche site with sales page. That is not just one, but five per month. All you need is a domain, hosting, and to set it up.

Why not just sites and articles?

The fact is, Adsense is not as great as it used to be. Having a product to sell can really help create a true income from the sites. Let’s face it, if 10 out of 100 visitors click an Adsense ad, you are lucky to make $10 from all of them and in most cases you will make less than $1 from those 10 clicks. Now, if just 2 visitors buy your product, you’ve made over $20 instead. Plus, you can run your own AdWords campaign (or even set up your own affiliate system) to send more traffic.

Curious about NicheRockets’ business in a box? A free offer!

NicheRockets has a free business in a box for you to check out. Yep, a free site with content, graphic, product, and sales page and even a Nichebot keyword search done for you. You can even create the site and sell it. It is also not a ebook on making money online!  NicheRockets places the value of this gift at $1000 and it could very well make you more than that if you know what to do. I would suggest you download it right now before they remove it. Use the following link:

Free Business In a Box

What if you do not know how to set up a niche site?

That is where the NicheRockets forum comes in. With NicheRockets you can get complete training. They have videos to guide you each step of the way, including both a more basic system to get you started and guides for a more robust system when you are ready. If you find that you have questions after the videos and instructions, you also can ask in the forum.

The Nichebot forum is a real value by itself.

There is real advice there from people that really make money online. Tim Gorman (who is one of Ezine Articles top authors) shares his advice and experience. You cannot get more practical than a full time Air Force recruiter who makes the kind of money he does online. What he does works! There are other members that give great advice too. While there are not any real "secrets" in internet marketing, there is also advice that cannot be shared "out in the open" that some members feel safe to share in a closed forum like NicheRockets. There are also other products made available to members on the forum including resale rights products to sell that others are paying just to read (and members get them free). Great products, great education and great advice all in one place. What more could you ask for?

How about a $1-7 day NicheRockets trial?

Check it out for 7 days. If you do not like it, $1 is nothing to worry about it. If you do decide to stay (they wouldn’t make this kind of offer if they did not think you would be impressed) you get $50 off the normal monthly subscription. Give the $1 trial a trial and save the $50 on the subscription using the link below:

NicheRockets $1 trial

If you are interested in making money online, NicheRockets may be a good investment for you.

I am not going to tell you it will make you thousands per month. Most people buy the guru ebooks and never make a dime. Sometimes, it is because the information is useless and everyone is already using it. Other times, it is simply because they do not use the information. Ether way, they have wasted the money they spent. Sometimes that can be hundreds or thousands of dollars. You can see the what the NicheRockets product will look like for free and test the forum for just $1. I feel safe recommending that to anyone.

Once more here are the links:

Free NicheRockets business in a box

NicheRockets $1 trial and $50 off monthly subscription

I have been with NicheRockets nearly 2 years.

It is one of the two paid forums/products on internet marketing that I can really recommend. If you just want to run a blog, it may not be for you. If you are looking at eBay, it may not be worth the monthly expense. If you are interested in affiliate income, Adsense, and niche sites, I would think it definitely would be worth it. In any situation though, I would recommend you see for yourself because $1 is nothing that will set you back financially and it may be just what you need.

A wish to all for a Merry Christmas!

While it is easy to get focused on making money online during the Christmas season, I hope it does not make you forget the reason we celebrate Christmas.

For some, it is a reason to be with family. For others, it is just a reason to make merry.

For me, the first reason to celebrate Christmas will always be to remember the birth of Christ.

While in some ways, being with family and friends is also a way of remembering that birth, I feel it is important to remember that first and foremost. To keep it in mind.

That is the cure for those who find themselves depressed or disappointed during this season.

Maybe business was not as good as you hoped or needed it to be. Maybe you are unable to be with loved ones this Christmas. Perhaps you just were unable to celebrate Christmas the way you would like.

Realize that all those extra things are nice, but they do not make Christmas what it is.

At Christmas, we celebrate the Only Begotten Son of God coming to earth as a baby. He took on the form of man, so that years later, he could pay the penalty for our sins. That is what Christmas is about.

It is not about a fat elf named Santa.

It is not about trees. It is not about family. It is not about lights. It is not even about being nice to your fellow man.

It is about a baby.

All those other things are nice, but focus on what were the true "Good tidings of great joy."

For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life. John 3:16

That, my friends, is the secret to a very Merry Christmas.

5 ways to make money with ScratchBack on your site and 4 ways to make money using ScratchBack on other sites.

What in the world is ScratchBack?

Maybe you have seen the widgets like mine around inviting you to be a Top Link or TopSpot?

That is the ScratchBack widget. It works a bit like a PayPal donate button. In this case, whoever tips you also gets a link on your site. That is what separates this from a typical donation to your site. I think it is a good idea.

The links are nofollow.

That should keep Google off your case. You do not have to worry about linking to a "bad neighborhood" as far as the search engines are concerned. You also keep complete editorial control over the links. You set it to let you approve links first or you can cancel links after they are up.

You can also offer small banner-like image links.

It would be nice to be able offer both,but you have to decide which you will have. I think that if you want to offer images this could discourage someone that does not have an image from buying a link. It would be nice to have a text only option for this.

My understanding is that a marketplace is in the works for ScratchBack users.

This should really help blogs sell a few links. I am hoping that it will work a bit like Text Link Ads system. I think TLA is missing a chance by not offering a nofollow option with them. They already have a huge market and I think many would welcome the options they could offer even with nofollow links.

I feel a little more comfortable knowing the links are nofollow versus the links with TLA.

I don’t have to worry about the quality of the site. While I would encourage anyone that might think their link would be controversial to check with me first. I don’t have to be too concerned. As long as the link does not lead to something obscene or a scam, I am most likely to let it stay.

Five ways for making money online with ScratchBack on your site.

1. Keep the cost low and let it bump off, using it as a tip.

The lowest you can set ScratchBack is $1.00. After PayPal fees and ScratchBack’s cut, you get about $.60. That will be a bit less when ScratchBack raises it’s percentage after the Beta.

2. Use it as a moderately priced tip.

Raise the price of a link as they get bought. In a way, you will be auctioning the links off till you find a bit higher price that still seems low enough for others to pay for. The more traffic your site has, the higher this will be. In this case, you may still want to allow newer links to bump off older ones as long as the price is not too high.

3. Use as a replacement for Text Link Ads.

With ScratchBack, you can also set the links to expire after 24 hours, 7 days, or 30 days. In this case you will need to set your price accordingly. Right now, it is unreasonable to expect the same amount for a nofollow link that you would have gotten for one that passed PR. Still, if you have good traffic, it should be as useful as CPC text ad on your site to an advertiser.

4. Sell image link ads for higher prices.

I mentioned the trouble with the image ads above. Right now, if you offer image ads, they are all image ads and someone who just wants to tip you will need to make and image that is the correct size first. Still, for the right market, this is a nice option. In graphic niche it should do better. Still it does limit your market. I would go with the monthly expiration for the advertisers. So I came up with a fifth way for making money online with ScratchBack on your site.

5. Offer image ads with a free graphic designed by you.

If you have any graphic experience, it is easy to make a graphic. You can do this very easily with Photoshop Elements. A free option is Gimp. The image size is very small so there really is no need for anything too fancy. I am planning to offer this service with ScratchBack advertisers for a while at www.photographybyjet.com.

4 ways of making money online with ScratchBack when it is on other sites.

1. Advertise your site!

There are many good deals right now since it is new. Find a site with some traffic that still has a low ScratchBack price. If the site is set to bump, you could have a link to your site for several weeks. The trick is finding a site with traffic. Manuel Viloria was the first blogger to buy a link here to his blog.

2. Advertise your spammy site.

Actually, my first advertiser with ScratchBack was a bit on the spammy side. It is a link to a page of different home-based businesses labeled Top Work At Home. While I would not want a full link to a site like this, it is no different than an AdSense ad for a home-based-business. If you have some type of site that would normally not be indexed by Google, this is a good option for getting traffic. Always check with the owner of the page first since they may not approve your link if they do not like it and you will be out your tip.

3. Advertise a product.

Almost like the previous way to make money online with ScratchBack, this is another case where you would not normally get a link from a website or blogger. Jim Kukral (who is behind this whole ScratchBack thing) is the first one I saw using this. Think of it as running an AdWords campaign without a CPC. Jim used a link ad here to send readers to a site selling a cool flip digital video camera that plugs right into your USB port to send the video to your computer.

4. Set up a business creating ScratchBack graphics for advertisers.

Similar to method number 5 of making money online with ScratchBack on your site. In this case set up a page with fees and some design ideas for designing graphics for others who need buttons to advertise on ScratchBack. Yep, you need a little know how and software, but it could be handy. You may be able to work out a deal for a discounted ad with sites using ScratchBack with images. It will help them get more advertisers too. I may start to do this myself.

I hope I have given you some ideas on how you can be making money online with ScratchBack.

There are so many ways to make money online. This is an exciting time to be a blogger. Those who are successful are the ones who will take advantage of opportunities as they come along and use them to full advantage.

Blogging Zoom and ScratchBack, the wave of the future?

After several weeks with BlogRush, I am going to let it go in a couple days.

BlogRush has actually done better for me than I thought it would. However, that is not good enough. It has been a net positive gain in visitors versus those leaving by the widget. I have not complaints. It has brought a few visitors.

I seem to be getting less traffic even though I am giving more pageviews to the widget.

BlogRush actually seemed to work better for me before the quality improvement a bit ago.

I wonder if it was because visitors on poor quality sites were looking for somewhere else to visit? Either way, visitors from BlogRush since have been even less. Very few visitors that I know of have left here through BlogRush.

Would I recommend BlogRush to others?

Maybe. It does add another method to getting visitors to your site. It does not require any effort on your part. It is free. You can even leverage your traffic when other blogs sign up under you. It is not a bad deal.

The reason I am removing it is I want to use the space for something else.

There are more productive uses of the space. Even a larger MyBlogLog widget seems would be more productive. I do get more traffic from MyBlogLog than BlogRush. I am contemplating another widget and I think it is getting a bit crowded. So, BlogRush goes because it has not proven to be a performer.

3 Readers with over 14,000 syndications?

If you really want traffic, spend a bit of time with Blogging Zoom.

Blogging Zoom takes more work, but sends infinitely more traffic. Don’t forget to Zoom this post if you find it useful. *Update-Blogging Zoom is no longer and the domain is used for something else.*

What About Text Link Ads?

I am going to be telling them I do not want new TLA ads after the currently paid ones have ended.

As opposed to BlogRush, Text Link Ads has been a performer.

I have made many times more money with Text Link Ads on this site than I have with AdSense. I really hate to say goodbye to them. I have nothing but good things to say about TLA as a source of income. It is every bit as good as it claims to be for the blogger.

Everyone knows the situation with Google and paid links.

I really feel the situation is unfair. Not only to TLA but to bloggers. I do not like the idea of being told what to do with my site. I sincerely hope TLA continues to create new services that bloggers can work with.

I am replacing Text Link Ads with ScratchBack.

The widget in the sidebar that says Top Links is the ScratchBack ad. This system uses nofollow so Google can’t complain. I also realize that a nofollow link is not as valuable as one that does not have nofollow tagged to it. In other words, I won’t make as much money because the links are not worth as much.

Right now, the cost of a ScratchBack ad on this blog is $1.00.

When the 10 link spots are filled, they begin to bump off the older links. Once the 10 spots are close to being filled, I will raising the price. Once filled, I will raise the price again. I will be doing this to give value to those who have already paid for a link. When (not if) the cost of a link gets close to the price that TLA charged for a link, I will switch from bump off to a monthly or bi-weekly pay for the links.

Why would you want to pay for a nofollow link?

Because I will be working hard to have good content that brings traffic to the site. That traffic should bring traffic to your link.

Why use Scratchback instead of doing it myself?

It would be easy to set up something like this just by doing the links myself. ScratchBack does take care of the maintenance end of it. They will also make you a custom widget if you want them to right now. I am using them mostly because it looks nice. They are working on a marketplace that should help get more buyers.

Note that ScratchBack considers it a tip and I retain editorial control.

If I reject your link, you still pay. If there is any question about if your link might be rejected, contact me before you pay. I will let you know if I would reject the link before you pay. But hey, it’s only a $1.00 anyways right now. You can get your own widget at the ScratchBack site.

I can honestly say PageRank is not the reason I am not going to be using Text Link Ads.

If it were just the PageRank from Google, I would probably stay with TLA. It is profitable.

The real reason I will stop having paid links on the site will be the subject of my next post.

If you are not subscribed to my feed, subscribe now. My next post may surprise you. It may scare you. You do not want to miss it.

I will try to keep this PG but this post does have some references that make me feel uncomfortable.

Is Google Your Pimp?

Are you just a prostitute doing what Google tells you to do?

One of the things that attracted me to making money online was freedom.

Freedom to find something I enjoyed and make money doing it. Seems simple enough. I just had to do something and find someone willing to pay someway for doing it. Freedom. I think this dream is dead. If not dead, it needs some serious help fast.

The recent Google-slap reeks of racketeering.

Google is specifically threatening sites that are using ads that compete against them. Not much better than a gang threatening a local shop. “You will deal with us, or we will drive your customers away.” I no lawyer, but that sure seems like what is going on. It seems like racketeering to me.

Reader benefit, my foot.

An AdSense linkbar looks just like a column of Text Link Ads. The linkbar provides no more benefit to the reader. The difference is Google makes the money. You make less.

There have been many bloggers who have stated rumors that the recent pagerank slap was targeted at sites selling links.

In fact, many sites whored themselves and got rid of the links and were given back their PR (at a loss of income to the site). I think it shows how Google owns them.

Just like the relationship between a pimp and a prostitute.

The pimp tells the whore what to do. She has no choice. She disobeys – SLAP! When she does what he tells her, she gives him the money.

Mike at 20 Steps used a term “nofollow condom” in a comment on Courtney Tuttle’s blog.

Mike also mentioned in the comment:

“that if you’re running a link campaign in the New Year without wearing your Big G prophylactic (ribbed for their pleasure, incidentally)”

I think this is a very good description of the situation and the analogy fits the theme of this post so I am including it.

Notice how all the big blogs did what Google told them and now they are happy?

SLAP!

“Please don’t hit me again, I do whatever you want.”

Owned.

Yeah, after all those posts on how PageRank doesn’t really matter. They put the condom on for whoever Google says to put it on.

The trouble is, the rest of us are going to have to bend over and take it from Google also.

We have found ourselves suddenly without anyone to help us get off the street. No one to turn to. Stuck living the life of a prostitute. If the blogs and sites that have a large readership built already cannot stand up to Google, we the smaller siblings that are with them will just be prostituted along with them. Just realize the smaller ones get abused worse. We have no choice.

I really would like to work with Google.

It would be nice to be treated like a partner. To be respected. To have my freedom to find sponsors that will pay me and decide if I want to work with them. It looks like I will be forced to follow the herd into slavery instead.

But.

Google, I resent the fact that you are telling me who to work with and who to link to and how to link. Google, your treatment of both advertisers and publishers has often gotten the term “slap” and for good reason. While it is great to say you are concerned about reader experience, you need to consider the experience of those who deal directly with you also.

Google, I am not your whore.

Don’t treat me like one.

Courtney Tuttle’s fantastic idea is a great resource.

It was a challenge to join Courtney Tuttle’s Internet Marketers Group Writing project.

This was a fantastic idea. I believe he has created an excellent resource for anyone interested in making money online. I have not even been to all the articles yet, and I have added many of the blogs to my reader.

If you are new to Internet marketing or blogging, check these articles first.

You will learn nearly everything you need to know. More than you would find in any guru ebook. It is knowledge given to you for free. Many of the contributors spent extra time to make sure they contributed quality articles. Courtney has a very good resource in just his own blog. I suggest you ad his site to your RSS feeds if you don’t have it already.

Court has already organized the articles into groups so I decided to just quote his list.

There is also a link to his site and the original post at the bottom. There are now 45 articles in the project (the page is titled 44). Courtney has a very good resource in just his own blog. I suggest you ad him to your RSS reads.

Getting Traffic To Your Website

• The Smart Way To Get Traffic And Links: Creating A Prospect List For Bloggers by Maki at DoshDosh.com
• Finding Blog Topics That Will Bring You Traffic by Sean at WarriorBlog
• The 25 Best Ways To Increase Traffic To Your Blog by Marco at MarcoRichter.net
• How To Increase Traffic To Your Website by Frederick at SEO.Geekz.us
• How To Get Instant Free Traffic To Your Blog by Bruce at DayJobNuker.com
• How To Stay Visible Inside Of 70 Million Blogs by Ken at Blogs.MySites-Advisor.com
• Blogging In Real Life by Theda at CrayonWriter.com
• Why Back Links Work by Paul at LocalRef.com
• How To Optimize Your Blog Images For Google Image Search by Etienne at EtienneTeo.com

Developing A Website

• How To Choose A Topic For A Blog by Vic at Bu.Bulicio.Us
• Here’s How To Get MORE Subscribers To Your Dazzling Blog! by Mark at ProBloggersMatrix.com
• How To Gain And Lose RSS Subscribers by Simon at Pingable.org
• Blogging Burnout: How To Avoid It To Achieve Blogging Success by YC at InternetMarketingMind.com
• Eight Ways To Write A Successful Newsletter by Carlo at CarloSelorio.com
• How To Decide How Often To Post On Your Blog by Derek at DerekSemmler.com
• Finding Good Keywords For Your Niche by Caroline at Caroline-Middlebrook.com
• The Anatomy Of A Link by Sutoco at Blog.YourWebsiteProfit.info
• How To Use Google Webmaster Tools – And 5 Reasons Why You Should by James at DigitalKeyTo.info
• How To Secure Your WordPress Blog by Fab at FabNetRevenue.com
• Common Internet Marketing Mistakes by Bryan at UtahSEOServices.com
• Ultimate List Of Free Blogging Platforms by Fred at NewestOnTheNet.com
• How Do You Build Relationships With Your Blog Visitors? by Pearl at Fresh-Perspectives.net
• The One Thing To Know When Writing With Keywords by Simonne at AllTipsAndTricks.com
• Upgrading Your Theme For WordPress 2.3 by Karthik at IAmKarthik.com

Making Money With A Website

• Start Making More Money And Sell Your Own Ads by Tay at SuperBloggingTips.com
• Methods To Make Money With A Website by Genesis at AtHomeMomBlog.com
• Balancing Affiliate Marketing And Relationship With Your Readers by Meg at CenterOfMuse.com
• How To Sell Ads On Your Blog Despite Its Size Part 1 by Casey at NewsNotion.com
• How To Sell Ads On Your Blog Despite Its Size Part 2 by Casey at NewsNotion.com
• How To Sell Ads On Your Blog Despite Its Size Part 3 by Casey at NewsNotion.com
• Day One: Affiliate Marketing by Roberta at RobertaFerguson.com
• Throwing Away Visitors For Fun: Wrath Of Advertising by Fabien at SmallFishBigMoney.com
• Why People Don’t Make Money Online by Adebola Oni
• Effective Email Marketing by Matthew at BlogAboutYourBlog

Writing Copy

• How To Write Content That Makes A Difference For People by Bobby at Revellian.com
• How To Become A Better Writer by Pat at PatBDoyle.com
• Why Bloggers Should Be Better Writers by Nate at GrateMedia.com
• 12 Reasons Why Bloggers Need To Become Better Writers by Karen at KarenZara.WordPress.com

Getting Better Website Rankings

• How To Increase Your Alexa Rank And Why You Should by Don at AffiliateWatcher.com
• Case Study: Ajax Edit Comments and Technorati by Ronald at RaProject.com

Improving Yourself

• How To Increase Personal Creativity by Sara at PajamaProfessional.com
• How To Find Answers To Your Marketing Questions by Justin at BlendWorx.com
• Finding The Commitment To Climb Your Private Everest by Nick at BeautifulSummerMorning.com
• How To Increase Productivity While Working From Home by Neena at BlogResourcesOnline.com
• Choose Your Attitude Choose Your Success by Don at MakingSalesMakingMoney.com

44 Internet Marketing Articles That Everyone Should Read: Internet Marketers Group Writing Project | Internet Marketing | Make Money Online | Strategy | Services

I’d like to thank all those that have posted the links on their own sites.

I have gotten many trackbacks to my post and they are appreciated. I feel it is the least I can do to show the posts here also.

I am also adding Courtney Tuttle’s blog to my blogroll. It is a great resource.

I would like to know what articles from the project you found most useful.

No fair saying your own. Although, I hope everyone else learned like I did when making their post.

No, you don’t have to buy my e-book to find out how to get rich and achieve your dreams.

Is there a secret to making money online? 

Do you have to be a genius to make money in Internet marketing?  Is there some secret method that you don’t know about that could make millions?  Is there one e-book that holds all the answers to life that you’ve dreamed of?

Yes… and no.

Honestly, you could buy every e-book out there and read it and they won’t help you.  You could come up with a fantastic million-dollar idea and never make a cent.  You can take every seminar offered by any guru and fail miserably.  You could take courses that cost $3000, $5,000, or over $10,000 and still failed to learn the one true secret to making money online.

Yet, it seems like there must be some secret.

Look at that check that Shoemoney is holding.  Look at that car the Rich Jerk drives (I’m not going to get into the debate whether he actually owns it or not).  Look at John Chow’s blog-it made $7,000 in February.  Even that guy at WickedFire has made a ton of money online.  And these guys are just the small players.

Look at some of the real big money that has been made on the Internet.

The guys who started Google may soon be worth billions.  The people who originally developed Yahoo made millions.  The UTube developers sold for millions.  EBay has become the largest retailer anywhere.  So when your average person thinks about getting rich on the Internet and maybe making $1 million someday , we aren’t even really considering the true scale.

Keep reading I’ll get to it.  And no cheating by going to the bottom of the post.

Unless you’re really pessimistic, I hope we can agree that there is money to be made on the Internet.  That you can make a really good income in Internet marketing.  Maybe, you even agree with me that the true potential is probably much larger than most people even consider.

So why aren’t we all rich yet?

Why aren’t we all millionaires?  Why aren’t we all at least making several thousand a month and living comfortably? is there not enough wealth to go around?  Have the big money makers taken it all and left nothing for us?  Is there a club you need to join? is membership in the club limited? Is God playing favorites?

What is the secret to making money online already!

There is something in common with everyone I’ve mentioned so far.  I’ve seen it done by everybody I’ve seen successful online.  I’ve seen it in the successful people I’ve met off-line.  In fact, it’s common with nearly everyone I can think of has become successful on their own.  You’re probably ready for it by now.  Yes, it’s the secret to life, the universe, and everything.  Well, maybe not.  But it’s the secret to success.

Every one of these successful people went out and did it.

You’re probably thinking "is that all?"  No, that’s not all, but it is the basis of their success.  They decided to do something and went and did it. they didn’t think about it.  They didn’t talk about it.  They decided to do it and did it until they were successful.

Sometimes, you need guidance.

That’s where all those e-books, seminars, and mentoring programs come in.  And yes, you can even find the information you need by searching the Internet.  But, if you spend all your time trying to find some secret, and you don’t do it, you won’t get anywhere.  Almost any e-book, guru, or even online guide, as long as it’s accurate information, can show you how to make money on the Internet.  Item if you want, but pick a method and do it!

It’s up to you to actually do it.

Too many read or hear about a way to make money online, and take one or two steps in the attempt.  That’s where we fail.  When the results don’t come as quick as we’d like, or we hear about something that is supposed to be better, we change the plan before it’s had a chance to work.

You can make money online:

• With blogging
• With article marketing
• With PPC
• Creating portals
• Creating your own product
• With e-mail
• With Adsense
• With affiliate marketing
• With lists

 And probably hundreds of other ways.

There are so many ways to get distracted from actually doing it.

It is so easy to stop doing it without even realizing.  Doing that is not busy work, it’s getting it done.

That’s why I wrote this post.

I have decided to do it.  To make money online. To make a decent living.  I’m not going to just think about Internet marketing.  I’m not going to just read about getting rich.  I’m just going to do it.  Will you join me?

I was reading and article by a guest writer at Entrepreneur’s Journey.

 It reminded me of something that I just learned last year and have not been really putting to use. Here is the article if you want to read it. Make sure you come back because I think the article is very close, but just misses the mark. In fact, although I really like Yaro’s blog’s, have learned much from his articles, will always read his articles and forum, I think he is missing one of the true keys to making a good living online.

How To Become A Successful Entrepreneur » Entrepreneur’s Journey – by Yaro Starak How To Become A Successful Entrepreneur July 14, 2006 on 11:00 am | In Marketing, Business & Entrepreneurship | By Adnan from Blogtrepreneur When Yaro asked for readers’ contributions for July, I decided that I should really dig deep into my entrepreneurial spirit to ask myself How Do You Become A Successful Entrepreneur?

What does it take to make money online?

I honesty really know the answer to this question.

Yet, I have not followed through myself. Maybe that is why I am not making what I should be. At least, what I think I would like to be.

I believe there are two keys that are usually missing that prevent people from making a great living.

No, this is not original with me and they (at least my first one) are not new ideas. I do think that if you see someone who is making money online or anywhere and being successful, you will see these key points. I think if you are not making what you want, you will see you are missing one of them.

The First Key To Making Money Online – An Organized Plan

In Think and Grow Rich Napoleon Hill states that hard work and persistence are not enough.

This is very true. Trust me, you can work real hard (like 80 hours a week) and not be successful. It has nothing to do with luck. It has nothing to do with weather a niche is good or not. If you do not have an organized plan, you severely reduce your chances of being successful. Napoleon Hill wrote Think and Grow Rich after interviewing many, many of the rich and successful of his day. Think and Grow Rich is the result of those interviews and what he saw in common with all those people. One of the keys, and I think most important keys he points out is an organized plan.

Look at those (if you can find them – they are not always very open) who are making great incomes with online businesses.

You will find that while some started almost haphazardly, almost all had a plan to create the product and get it out. At some point a plan comes into play even if not present at the start. An organized plan is essential. You can make some money throwing stuff against the wall and seeing what sticks. You will be much more successful if you have a plan to check what sticks and take it to a higher level.

This is something that works online or offline in the "real world."

I have seen those who have been successful in businesses I have not. Probably the biggest differences between my failure and their success is they have a plan. They know who to call, how many calls it will take, what they need to do, what they can have someone else do, what the percentages involved are, and how long it will take them to reach a certain point of success. This is an organized plan.

Does your online business have a plan?

 Do you honestly think that making one website with a new tool is going to make you rich or even a good living? Not very likely. Do you know the numbers involved? Not the hits for the keywords in your niche but what each page is likely to produce in profit. How many pages or sites will it take you to make the income you want? Do you have a plan to move up from there?

I suggest for anyone wanting to make a real income online of offline to read Think and Grow Rich by Napoleon Hill.

No, it will not make you rich overnight. I admit some ideas seem weird or the terminology he uses seems weird to me, but the theories are just as valid today in an online business as they were back when Napoleon Hill wrote Think and Grow Rich. I had the advantage of having Think and Grow Rich forced into me as my father always listened to the book on tape.

The Second Key To Making Real Money Online – The Success Mindset

I had a chance to listen to Marshall Perry with Tactic 7.

This was a series of interviews on generating a successful business. I will steal a little from them and tell you tactic number seven of a successful business person online or offline (they promote the idea that the two are not mutually exclusive) is the success mindset.

I have seen this success mindset evidenced in many business people that I see as successful.

Do you want to make a lot of money doing what you do, or do you just want to be comfortable? This can be a major hindrance to really making anything at all. Is it because you feel guilty at being successful? Do you not believe what you do is worth making as much as any other millionaire does?

At the Tactic 7 call they talked about one person that followed the system (there’s that plan thing again) and made an amount of money that surprised everyone.

The person felt guilty about making so much so quickly and decided to give most of the money to charity. The point of this was not that giving the money to charity was bad, but that he allowed himself to be bullied into thinking his success was bad. It’s ok to be successful and give the money to charity, but do it on your own terms. Do not get led down the road to believing being successful means you are greedy and not worthy of the income you work for.

The success mindset is something that I have to work on myself.

It involves faith that what you are doing will lead to success. Maybe the plan will need tweaking, but you know in your heart that you will be successful.

The success mindset also means not just wanting to make enough to be comfortable.

I think there is an implied guilt in just wanting to be comfortable instead of making a lot that keeps you from really making much at all. I think that we are unjustly taught that money is the root of all evil and the rich are evil also. This is not true. Not only that, but we still worship the rich and famous, even while telling ourselves we do not want to be rich ourselves. There is nothing wrong with a desire to be more than comfortable. Imagine if Warren Buffet had decided that after he was "comfortable" he would not want to make any more money. Yet, he is a good example of giving to charity on your own terms.

These are two keys to making money online that I have seen used by others.

I have seen them used by those successful in offline businesses as well. The final step is to just do it. You can develop a great plan and keep developing that plan instead of using it. I have a tendency to want to learn more so I can do it all right the first time. It can be easy to think yourself successful and not move forward with the plan that really will create the success. I know this is my problem.

I hope I have made some sense in all this. Leet me know if you think I am on the right track.

Good Luck and Great Success !