The only 4 true ways to make money on the Internet.
Did you know that I make money with this blog? Not huge amounts, but enough to pay my scotch! (I drink a lot)
When I say that to people, they are skeptical. Looks like "making money on the internet" is immediately associated with "fraud", "too good to be true", "scam" ...
And yet, I'm not the only one!
I often mention to people the John Lee Dumas website which generated $ 144,860.50 in May alone. Or that of Pat Flynn who usually makes more than $ 75,000.00 a month. And what about that of Nathan Barry who made $ 256,725.00 in 2013.
Each of them uses one of the 4 ways described in this article to monetize their site. Of course, after reading this article, you too will be able to use them! These techniques are within everyone's reach.
However, I must warn you! To say that it is "easy money" is largely exaggerated. If you want an easy way to make money, go work!
Nor can it be said that money is difficult to make. Once the site is in place, the money comes back on its own. Hence the term "passive income".
In fact, making money with the Internet is more a matter of patience and consistency than effort and / or skill.
If so few people live on their site, it's simply because most people give up too soon, run out of steam, and move on.
Technique # 1 - Monetize your site with Adsense (advertising)
In 2006, a man opens a blog where he claims to be a caricature of Steve Jobs: www.fakesteve.net/. Everyone is crazy about its content! The articles are funny, well researched and the angle is excellent. In fact, his site was so good that it caught the attention of the New York Times!
The author does his best to remain anonymous as long as possible. However, in an article in the N-Y Times, Brad Stones unveils the anonymity of Daniel Lyons, author of this famous blog.
The day of the publication of the article in the magazine, the site welcomes more than 500 000 new visitors!
Daniel did not believe his eyes! He was finally going to get rich = D!
His pay? $ 100 for the day. $ 1,039.81 for the month.
Ouch ... Not so impressive as that in the end! The guy had millions of visitors to his site and he was not even able to do more than a cashier at McDonald's!
FakeSteveJobs then commented:
"I've learned the hard way that a blog can do a lot of great things, but that makes a lot of money out of it. "
In the industry, AdSense is seen as a joke. It's the least profitable way, but it's also the easiest way to generate revenue through its website. In less than two, you can install the code snippet on your site and start monetizing.
Currently, this blog is $ 20 per month under AdSense ... To be the least profitable, I should attract 150 times more traffic or ... 1.8 million visitors! It's just ridiculous.
And yet, John Lee Dumas, one of the 3 ultra too rich webtrepreneurs mentioned above, monetizes with advertising!
Of course, it does not use AdSense! He sells directly to the companies he likes, having an interest in common with his audience. In this way, he can afford to sell much higher CPM (cost per thousand impressions).
On my blog, AdSense brings me about $ 1.25 CPM. When selling to businesses, it is not uncommon to ask between $ 8 and $ 25. At this rate, a site like mine is worth $ 400 a month - 20x more than with AdWords.
To monetize this way, you usually have to have a site with a larger audience than mine. Ex: a celebrity blog, fashion, sports, etc.
Technique # 2 - Make money on the internet with the sale of products
You noticed that I sell resumes, guides and others on my site?
Your product does not need to be concrete, solid. Nowadays, you can use Gumroad to sell just about anything online in less than 5 minutes.
I honestly think that selling digital products is the best way to monetize your blog. This is the way that Nathan Barry went to make so much money ($ 256,725.00)! He even launched a book explaining how to make a lot of money with the sale of a book (ironic?).
Of course, it's not just the sale of books. I know a photographer who makes a living selling his photos as a monthly subscription. A good part of his repertoire is free and free of rights, I urge you to go see his site here.
And finally, if you want to sell a physical product, nothing prevents you!
You can use Shopify or WooCommerce to create an online store. If you do not want to worry about delivery and handling, you can call DropShipper.
I personally know Doba, I used them in 2007 when I opened my online store on eBay. It integrates very well with eBay, Facebook and Shopify.
Technique # 3 - Sell a Service
Another way to make money on the internet is through the sale of services. Whether you're a graphic designer, programmer or consultant, you can make a business card website and attract a little traffic from Google AdWords and Facebook Ads.
If not, you can do like me and blog.
By having this kind of site, you will attract the attention of several companies. This attention is often manifested by job offers, partnership offers and contracts.
The sale of service represents the vast majority of the revenue generated by my website. Of course, it's not a "passive" income, but I wanted to include it in the article because it's really a way to increase your income thanks to the Internet.
However, there is also what is called Software As A Service (SAAS).
You create software to help people and monetize under single or recurring basis. Buffer or DashThis are good examples.
This business model is more for people with an IT background. However, nothing prevents you from hiring a developer friend to create the software for you!
Technique # 4 - Recommend Products (Affiliate Sales)
Let's say that I really like Mailchimp and that I decide to do unsolicited advertising on my blog. Would not it be normal for me to have a commission on sales that they will have realized thanks to my sales pitch?
On the Internet, this kind of practice is very common. In fact, several sites only exist for this reason. Top Ten Reviews is a good example. Looking for "best antivirus" on Google, fall on the list of the top 10 antivirus on the market with the list of pros and cons. If you decide to click on one of the links of the article, a cookie will be installed on your computer, indicating that it is thanks to toptenreviews.com that you have landed on this site. If you finally decide to buy, the author of the site will make a certain amount in commission.
Many are questioning the ethics of so-called affiliate marketing. Is it morally good to recommend a product if there is obviously a personal interest in doing so?
It is for this reason that many sites put an "affiliate disclaimer" at the bottom of the pages.
Personally, I only recommend the products I use and like. When a company approaches me with a crappy product, I immediately show them the door.
How to do affiliate marketing?
I use several web portal regrouping the majority of the web site having affiliated programs. I will make a quick list:
Shareasale
Clickbank
JVZoo
Amazon
There are many others, but these are the main ones I use. Some website have a private system to manage their affiliate links. You will need to search for "affiliate" or "partner program" at the bottom of their website for access.
Conclusion
Making money with your site has never been easier. Whether you are a photographer, writer, tattoo artist, stylist, musician ... In short, no matter what you are passionate about, you have the opportunity to generate (at least) extra income.
Think of a friend who could greatly benefit from the information in this article and share it with him! He will be grateful to you!
And for anyone trying to monetize a website, share it with other readers in the comment section below = D!