My Journey To Online Monetization
“It’s a dangerous business, Frodo, going out your door. You step onto the road, and if you don’t keep your feet, there’s no knowing where you might be swept off to.”
Bilbo Baggins, Fellowship Of The Ring: J.R.R. Tolkien
In May, 2007 I started thinking of ways I could monetize my website. I’m a business owner, and I was looking for a backup plan. Suppose something happened where I could not make my natural beauty products? How would I manage? I definitely didn’t want to be dipping into my savings & investments and I knew I didn’t want to go back to working for someone else.
Venturing Into Unknown Territory
I began searching for ways that I could make money online. You don’t have to step far outside your virtual home to find ways to make money online. You don’t believe me? Take a virtual stroll to one of the search engines, social networking websites, businesses, etc., and you will find many who are eager to tell you how to make money online. Be careful that you can separate the facts from fiction. Trust me, it’s not easy. I also noticed that some of the ones telling others how to make money online did not know what they were talking about. Imagine that?
Make money online websites are everywhere and frankly, for the most part, they bore me. From a business aspect, it wasn’t appealing to me since many websites I visited only fed people tiny bites at a time. I would think, “It takes a lot more than that! Also some people seemed to believe that the pros were making the majority of their money for their make money online websites. You don’t need to go far to see the copycat make money online websites. They are everywhere. I could not help thinking, “How in the world do people think they are going to succeed that way?” It takes a lot of work? Write about what you know.
Granted I had a lot to learn about online monetization (I still do) and that was ok. I was willing learn, make mistakes, and yes sacrifices. I always like having a backup plan. Besides, I knew that I could make money online if I applied myself. Some of you have been with me through my journey. You’ve watched adsense blocks appear on the sidebar, and then you saw them disappear. I did “ok” with the adsense blocks. My first month I made a little over $40, and each month it keeps increasing and even though they are now sunk within my comments they still do well.
Many of my long time readers have read the reviews that I was paid to write and some of you even commented on those post. You were also around when I introduced Vegan Momma’s sole sponsor. At the close of November, I reached the point where I was close to paying all my bills via online monetization. Did I make all my money from Vegan Momma? No, but I effectively used this website to promote some of my other websites. Guess what, a lot of my other websites don’t use adsense. They do use affiliate marketing.
Still not satisfied I decided to explore other ways to make money online I turned my attention back to the world wide web. I put the blinders on and ignored the make money online websites. I let my fingers do the walking. Yes there are many ways you can make money online. You just have to look for them. For example, you can get paid to take photos. Imagine that? I have taken thousands of photos and you can actually make money selling them. If you come from an administrative background, you can work at home as a virtual office assistant or work in a virtual call center.
Do you have a technology background? You can find work also there are many freelance websites out there that cover a variety of jobs. I passed this information onto friends that were looking to work at home. Direct sales are another way you can make money online. You can buy at wholesale prices and sell the products at variety of online sources like Ebay. I have a friend who makes over six figures yearly selling items on Ebay. Of course, you can make money as a freelance writer.
My Bills Were Paid Using Online Monetization
December 2007 I made it! All my bills were paid via online monetization. It was a great feeling. It didn’t come easily. It took a lot of research and deciding what was best for me, but I did it. The sacrifices I’ve made have been worth it. I set goals for myself. Although it’s still too early I believe it will keep progressing. It’s nice to have a backup plan. I’m not solely dependent on my natural skin care business. I like that feeling.
If you’re looking to make money online I would highly recommend that you educate yourself. You also need to realize it won’t be easy. It doesn’t work that way. Yes, you’re going to have to work. You will work hard. Don’t tell me you thought it would be easy? ;-) Remember what works for one person might not work for another. You also have to have a lot of patience and realize that mistakes is part of the process. I know you’ve heard that before but it’s true.
“It’s a dangerous business, Frodo, going out your door. You step onto the road, and if you don’t keep your feet, there’s no knowing where you might be swept off to.”
Bilbo Baggins, Fellowship Of The Ring: J.R.R. Tolkien
I posted the above statement at the beginning of my post. I’ve always liked it and well I’ve always like Tolkien. He was a brilliant man and a master storyteller. I wish I could have chatted with him while he was on this earth. If I didn’t have a map to keep me on course I to would have been swept down some mysterious path. I would suggest that you treat your make money online goals just like a business. If you think about it that’s exactly what it is. You need to make plans, research, put in the hours, and yes sacrifices.
To help you with your business I would recommend you check out Cath Lawson’s business advice blog this wonderful woman gives sound business advice read her post Is One Of Your 5 Disorders Making You Poor. I regularly tune into her same time, same virtual home because I love how this woman thinks!
You want more? Hurry on over to IttyBiz. I met Naomi yesterday. I like her direct approach and I know I’ll be visiting her virtual home for a long time. Naomi offers working from home tips that help you stay sane. Read her post What The Hell Is Branding? I met her through JCM Enterprises.
JCM Enterprises provides copywriting service for websites. I’ve seen James on the freelance writing circuit. His post are very informative. He makes you want to click on his name. That’s how I found out about him. Please read his post Three Rules Of Freelancing Online For Happy Clients.
Whew! My fingers are getting tired but I have more….
There are some changes coming to Vegan Momma and some of my other websites.
Upcoming Changes
- Vegan Momma needs a face lift - Within the upcoming months, I’ll be hiring a web designer it’s about time Ms. Vegan Momma received a touch up wouldn’t you agree? I’m sick of this theme. I’m looking for something, clean, crisp, and minty fresh.
- Interviews & guest bloggers will be featured on vegan momma - If you are, a regular you will see some readers that you know, but many will be new to you. Quite a few of them will be newcomers or have websites that don’t receive a lot of traffic. It doesn’t matter they are darn good websites. Sure it’s important to recognize the popular bloggers but I think it’s even more important to recognize those who don’t have an audience. Many of us knows what it’s like to be the new blogger or have a website that doesn’t get a lot of traffic.
- I’m hiring writers - I’ll most likely start hiring writers next month. I’m going to start with one website and eventually expand to include the majority of my websites. Stay tuned I’ll be posting a Vegan Momma is hiring page, or something to that effect. I’ll let you know when it is up.
- Contest & other goodies right around the corner- Ok, this is something I’ve been working on for a while I’ll be offering something next month for the lucky winner!
- Work at home opportunities page - I have many people that ask me about work at home opportunities over the past several months I’ve sent leads to some of my buddies some of them got hired. I don’t receive a commission I just like helping others whenever possible. I might as well put the information on its own page, right? These are places I’ve found and reviewed during my own quest to make money online. I know they aren’t scams. There are many out there. I was thorough. A few of my friends have received jobs with some of the organizations that will be added to the page.
Please let me know what you think about the upcoming updates. If you want to see other things now is the time to make the suggestion within the post or contact me. I do respond to my emails. Also don’t forget to visit these fabulous bloggers.
I’m hoping everyone has a sparkling day!
Blessings,
-Opal Tribble
[tags]Cath Lawson, Ittybiz, JCM Enterprises, business plan, freelance writing, vegan momma[/tags]