Easiest Way To Make Money Online?

I get this question a few times a month, maybe more. It comes from both newbies and people that have been at this a while. Everyone wants to know the easiest way to make money online, but nobody likes the answer. It is funny how that works.

Everyone knows something about something. We all know how to do something most others don't. We all have favorite things we like to do. It may be bird watching, playing an instrument, cake decorating, keeping up with the television show Hawaii 5-0. You get the drift, I am sure. Do you blog about your favorite thing or things? Why not? Is it because you can't write? Please. I still can't write the way I want to. I am much better than what I was when I started though years ago. I have told the story plenty of times. I hated writing. My high school English teacher would be doing backflips right now if she saw me. You don't have the time? Please. If you don't have the time, you really need to start making some money so you can free yourself up some time. Give me a break. You don't make the time. You don't like to work? Stop reading this now.

If you have struggled to make money in this business, go back to step one and start building a site around what you like. Set up a Twitter and Facebook account for both and start following those that like the same thing as you do. Post EVERY DAY at least once. Yes, EVERY DAY! Share those links on Twitter and Facebook. Write interesting articles and rewrite the news associated with it. Get the drift? If you like the subject matter, it will be much more enjoyable. Post as if 1000 people are anticipating every post you make, write stuff others would like to link to and share with others on Facebook and Twitter. Become an authority on your subject if not already.

If you have not read and done the 31 Days to Build a Better Blog work book by Darren Rowse, you are missing out. It is easy to understand and easy to complete. Buy it, read it and do it. Stick with it and commit yourself to your blog or blogs. That my friends is the easiest way to make money. Many of you will not want to hear that though.

2 Left Feet With 10 Thumbs Attached

I live in a pretty perfect environment and setup for what I do and have developed a work ethic that not many can compare to. I am addicted to what I do and the lifestyle I live, but believe it or not I have un-perfect days. Thankfully they are few and far between, but they do happen. It feels like you have 2 left feet with 10 thumbs attached. Know the feeling? I am sure you do. It might be interruptions, technical errors, piss poor planning, sickness or whatever. These days happen. When I feel I am slap middle in one of those days, I try to push through it. If it gets worse, I get up and go take the dog for a walk or go lie down for a bit and listen to some music. I try to get my mind right so-to-speak. It might take an hour or so, but I try to resume work from an easier starting point and choose an item on the long list I know damn sure I can accomplish. This might be as simple as home computer maintenance or updating a few plugins on some sites. My goal is to get back accomplishing task. Any task. When I knock out a few of these easy task, I then try to start back at the begging of the task I originally left off at to see if I messed anything up or did anything wrong and continue onward. If I still run into problems I just might wrap it for the day. It is amazing how a good night's sleep can make you get back your right foot and all of those thumbs disappear. Is today one of those days for me? Absolutely it is. This blog post is one of my little task I know I can complete and get me back on track. Thanks for listening and I hope this post will help you on an upcoming two left feet day that you might have.

Building Coke Machines

This time of year you always see people making a push to get back going in the business as the New Year has that effect on people. I would like to offer those just getting back in the groove an analogy of sorts.

I was luckily raised to never 100% depend on a job. I was mowing grass and collecting soda bottles at a very early age not only for my own spending money, but to help the family as well as we were not well off. I was taught though to always look for multiple outlets of income and never be opposed to doing multiple things to bring in money. At a very young age of about 8, I was a helper to a guy that owned a few coke machines and always helped put the bottles in the machine when I would catch around the grocery store. We lived right caddy corner to it and I always rode my bike around it looking for bottles. That man taught me years ago that each of his machines worked while he was not there and installed the duplication process in my head as a way to earn money. Those machines of course would need to be fixed every now and again and needed to be refilled, but for the most part, they earned money without him needing to be around.

You can relate niche sites to the same lesson. Not every site you build needs to be one that needs to be attended to daily. I have a handful that I tend to daily, but I also have a much larger group that needs attention only twice a month. Now not every site brings 100 plus bucks a day of course, but many earn at least a buck or better a day and many more do even better than that. Sure, I have my golden coke machines that you could say sit outside a Wal-Mart and some that sit outside a corner grocery. The more coke machines you put out though, the more you will learn how to get them closer to a Wal-Mart and not near a corner store. There will be occasions even as you get better that you will swear you put one out front a Wal-Mart only to find out the Wal-Mart moved. See the picture?

The best thing about these coke machines is you can build and design them anyway you want and most only cost around 10 bucks to build (domain name). If you have a good hosting plan, the rent is cheap to place these coke machines everywhere you feel the need to. In addition, these machines can be changed and are not bolted the floor forever. The more of these you put out, the better you will get and the more money you will make.

This post has made me real thirsty. Off to get a coke. I hope you see the big picture.

Happy New Year 2011 - I Am Ready, Are You?

2011 is almost here as we say goodbye to 2010. I learned so much in 2010 and once again saw my business grow leaps in bounds which I am very proud of. You have to feel blessed to work in such an amazing business with so very little overhead versus return. I have learned in 2010 to outsource even more than I had in the past years and allowed myself to test several different things along the way this year. I had great success with new ventures into the autoblogging field as well with getting good out of the box type sites done with Keywords To Websites. 2011 will be another busy year for me and the wife and I plan to enjoy the fruits of our labors a little more than usual in 2011. We have already scheduled 5 trips for 2011 and I look forward to them all.

In 2011 I will be moving to a 3 post a week schedule on this blog as I have accomplished my original goal for this blog that ends tonight. I want to free myself up a little more time going forward, so I have chosen to cut from 7 to 3 post a week here. This blog continues to exceed my original expectations set forth many years ago and cutting back will not hurt it's income one bit and yet still satisfy the readership. There will of course likely be weeks where I post more, but with all the play time the wife has scheduled, it only makes sense.

As you head into 2011, make sure you have your plans in line as well. If you can only dedicate a few hours a week to your business, make sure you know what direction you are going in these hours. The biggest thing most do wrong in this business is to look for the easy way without learning the basis of the right way. You can never go wrong with good keyword research, great SEO and solid, on topic, original content. Everyone acts like there is some hidden secret and refuse to do just the basics. Everyone wants the guarantee that if they do X, Y & Z they will get X amount of dollars guaranteed. There is a ton of blind faith in this business that those of us that have had success had to conquer first. You have to learn how to build a great site first and then back out everything from there. Stop reinventing the wheel. Master a site the way the niche store guide teaches and go from there. How many of you have actually done that? Probably not many.

I hope 2011 is a prosperous year for you and I enjoy all those people that make this blog a usual stop and what it has become. Keep pushing forward and know there is always room to learn more and you will never be an expert. It is what drives me everyday and hopefully drives you as well.

Happy New Year and I will see you all in 2011!!!!!!!!

Merry Christmas Everyone & Happy Holidays

I am going to actually rest and relax with some relatives tonight and eat some yummy food and Christmas snacks. I wanted to wish everyone a very Merry Christmas and Happy Holidays. I hope your Christmas season was a profitable one. I will not be posting on Christmas day as we are likely going over to the casino to blow off some money and do mindless stuff. Get those goals ready for the new year and get ready to hit the ground running after the holidays. Some entertainement below.

Finish Goal Setting Now For New Year

Here we are a week out from Christmas and the next two weeks will really fly by for you. Before you know it, 2011 will be here. It is time to get your goals finalized for 2011 now, not later. I always look forward to this time of year as I try to roadmap out where I want to be in so many areas of my life, not just my businesses. I try to set intermediate goals as well and be time specific with them. I also set income goals and try to stretch myself to around a 25-33% income growth over the previous year. Goal setting and planning has played a huge part in my success over the years, it is a road map of sorts for me. There are plenty of videos on Youtube and plenty written online for you to research works best for you. The key is to get it down on paper so your subconscious can absorb it going forward. heed my advice and get this firmed up now. It works.

My 2010 Big Money Maker Affiliate Programs

As 2010 winds down here are the affiliate companies that have done me the best in 2010 in no particular order.:

Amazon - I took a ton of pressure off of EPN in 2010 and it paid off greatly. Good targeted sites will convert that one day cookie. Great plugins like the PHPZon Wordpress plugin make it easier than ever to earn with the Amazon affiliate program.

Google Adsense - I doubled my 2009 Google Adsense income in 2010. What more can I say? I am very happy with the program and have a good understanding of what sites it works best on. I could live of that income alone.

Ebay Partner Network - Although no longer my top earner by choice by taking the pressure off of it and diverting it to other programs, I learned how to best maximize the EPN QCP model to my liking. It remains a solid way to earn money, especially using the PHPBay plugin by Wade. Program has earned me a ton of money over the years. Still love it.

Share-A-Sale - This affiliate company does not get enough recognition, but represents some great companies that convert fantastically. If you have not signed up and looked around at what they offer, you really should.

Commission Junction - I have been with these guys for a long time. I have a few companies that I represented for years that do very, very well for me. No complaints.

Clickbank - Great company to sell ebooks on. Easy to manage. I do a ton with this blog and another MMO blog that I run with them as well. Never had a problem with them.

Google Affiliate Network - They get more and more new companies every week it seems like. I have a few favorites with them.

Pepperjam - They have had their struggles, but I have a few sites that do well with a few of the companies they affiliate manage.

Linkshare - Same as Pepperjam really. What I do point their way, does convert.

Neverblue - Just really scratching the surface with these guys, but got several checks in 2010 from them. I want to try to use more of their stuff in 2011.

These are really just my major ones above and I use another handful of companies as well. Webmaster Magazine has a great article in the January 2011 issue of the top 50 advertising and affiliate networks for 2011. Worth a glance.

Don't Be Stupid - Shop Using Your Own Affiliate Code

Outside of weekly groceries, there is not much that the wife and I do not buy online. The internet & UPS were made for us, especially at Christmas time where we really go crazy. It is so easy to get caught up in the shopping aspect that often times you can forget that there might indeed be an affiliate program that you either already belong to such as Link Share, Commission Junction or Share-A-Sale for example that manages the place you are about to buy from or it might be a program you can join quickly and get approved. Now of course some programs will not reward this way, like Amazon, but many others will. I like to buy calenders this time of year, to the tune of about 200 bucks worth. I blindly almost forgot myself just the other day to check this and remembered the last second. It of course was a Share-A-Sale run program and I received credit for my own purchase on top of the free shipping the company was offering. Not a bad deal and I bet several of you forget to do this. It is easy to do and it is instant money back in your pocket.

I should add a disclaimer that you should check the rules of each program if it is indeed OK for you to buy from yourself. Outside of Amazon & Ebay though it is pretty wide open. Amazon will not punish you, they just will not credit you, at least they don't credit me. Ebay has frowned on this for a while. When in doubt, just double check the rules or email your affiliate manager.

Working Harder On Ebooks, Mobile & Social Sites In 2011

2011 is right around the corner and a few areas I am going to dive into even bigger and better in the coming year are ebooks, mobile optimization and social sites. None of these areas are new to me, especially the social sites, but I believe I have just scratched the surface on what I can do with them. I have reaped HUGE benefits in 2010 by paying attention to social networks more and I will continue that growth along with writing 12 more ebooks next year. More and more people everyday are accepting ebooks. They can buy them on a moments notice and read them just seconds after purchasing. I wrote 4 ebooks last year and 2 are doing amazingly well. As far as mobile goes, not only will I be optimizing towards it even more I want to delve deeper into the app world and have a goal for the release of 2 apps in 2011. Now is the time to start getting those goals together and it is my primary focus this time of year. That and watching my wife enjoy the fruits of our labors. Get ready 2011, I am coming.

Happy Thanksgiving Everyone

I have so much to be thankful for as it has been another outstanding year. I hope you and yours have had a great Thanksgiving day today and a great start to the holiday season. May your Black Friday be HUGE tomorrow. Here is a funny Turkey day video. Hope this was not you.

Friday Motivation Poem

A little fun after a hard worked week. This type stuff makes me work until 4 in the morning and go on only 35 hours a week of sleep. The poem is called "The Guy in the Glass" and it was written by Dale Wimbrow circa 1934. I hope it hits home with you.

The Guy in the Glass

When you get what you want in your struggle for pelf,

And the world makes you King for a day,

Then go to the mirror and look at yourself,

And see what that guy has to say.


For it isn't your Father, or Mother, or Wife,

Who judgement upon you must pass.

The feller whose verdict counts most in your life

Is the guy staring back from the glass.


He's the feller to please, never mind all the rest,

For he's with you clear up to the end,

And you've passed your most dangerous, difficult test

If the guy in the glass is your friend.


You may be like Jack Horner and "chisel" a plum,

And think you're a wonderful guy,

But the man in the glass says you're only a bum

If you can't look him straight in the eye.


You can fool the whole world down the pathway of years,

And get pats on the back as you pass,

But your final reward will be heartaches and tears

If you've cheated the guy in the glass.

Holiday Spending Expected TO Be Up 9% Over Last Year

Analytics firm comScore reported on Tuesday that they expect online spending during the holiday season to increase by 9 percent over last year. What great news this is for all of us. Back in October put the word out that they expected an increase of 7 to 9 percent. At that time they also warned that any turn downward in the unemployment rate, price inflation or setbacks in the stock market would weigh on consumer spending. In the months of November and December of 2009, U.S. online sales rose 4 percent. In addition to that report the The National Retail Federation has said it expects 2010 holiday retail sales, which also exclude online sales, to rise by 2.3 percent this year to $447.1 billion, compared with a rise of 0.4 percent last year. Online retailers such as Amazon.com & Ebay.com as well as traditional retailers like Wal-Mart view the net as a key target of consumers, who shop online and research prices in order to avoid the hassle of going to stores. Personally I have been very satisfied with what I have seen increase wise over the 30 days leading up to Black Friday. I think it is going to be a fantastic holiday season for us.

Veterans Day 2010

My area Rotary Club District puts on a Military Appreciation Day luncheon every year and brings in a speaker to talk. This year it was Lt. Gen. John F. Kelly. That was on November 1st. This past Tuesday, his son, Second Lt. Robert M. Kelly was killed after he was struck by an improvised explosive device while on a foot patrol in Afghanistan. Today is Veterans Day and my wife and I went downtown this morning for the Veterans Day parade and ceremony. It was very moving. Please make sure you thank a vet or service man every time you see one. They sacrifice so much for us and some pay the ultimate price with their life.

Perfect Domain Article

Heather Lutze has a regular article in Website Magazine and this month she authored a great article on the Perfect Domain. In her article she list 5 major points in an Action Plan to determine if a domain should be acquired and for what price. She includes great links to Sedo Domain Law and the USPTO which really should be in everybodys bookmarks.

Also if you do not have a subscription to Website Magazine, you should put it on your Christmas list or give it to yourself for Christmas. It is an excellent resource that every webmaster should have. I have subscribed for years to both the print and the web version. Good stuff and well worth the money.

Learn To Slow Down

We all are crunched for time. Even me and I am full time in the niche site building business. It is very easy to get in a hurry and make mistakes. The same goes with the rush to build too many backlinks too fast. Now does that mean that something can't go viral? Absolutely not, but remember that something that does go viral will have certain characteristics. In other words, a site that gains all article backlinks or all social backlinks in one week or month will certainly set off alarms with Google. Things that go viral show up on Facebook, Twitter and so on and so on. Google knows this. The days of spamming the net quickly are nearly over for ranking purposes. Does this mean you should not spin articles and send them off to SEO Link Vine and other directories? No, of course not, but pick your spots. You have more than one site I hope, if not, you likely are not getting the monies worth out of SEOLV. Do not limit yourself to just one source of backlink either and do not get so caught up in building 400 backlinks in a month. The first 30 days should be spent making sure the site is getting indexed fine and is up to snuff quality wise if it is a product review type site. I no longer build a site and head straight to backlinks. Why? I have found I get the site seeded well in 6 months by taking my time in all facets of link building.

Slowing down also relates to the building of the site. I have a written flow chart I use on product review type sites that works for my style and time budget. It helps ensure I pay attention to the details of building the site the way I know works. I work 99% of the time with Wordpress, but as easy as a platform that it is, mistakes are easy to make. My dad always said growing up, do it right the first time so you don't have to go back and do it again. Check all your links and every page of the site to make sure everything is loading and nothing has been overlooked. There is no reason to be in a hurry now, make sure you do it right. Take your time.

Plenty Of Time To Still Vote

I wanted to give a PSA of sorts to remind everyone that is a registered voter in the United States of America, that there is still plenty of time for you to get out and vote. The media will tell you that this is a very important election, but in fact every election is important and you should vote in every one of them. Now is the time for us business owners to stand up and take back this fine country of ours. Business built this country and helped make it what it is today. The government and society as a whole seems to have forgotten that. If we continue down the path we are on, we are headed for a complete and total meltdown of Western civilization. Please get out and vote and let's change this today. Your vote is important.

A Little Awesome Motivation

Happy Friday everyone, what an awesome week it has been. The human mind is powerful thing and if you dream it, you can achieve it. I though I would post a little compilation video I was turned on to of some awesome things people can do. You are your own limitation. Believing and planning is powerful. Enjoy!

Learn To Hit The Ball Before You Hit A Homerun

I was asked yesterday by email if every site I build is a "homerun". I see what he was asking and the answer is obviously, no. I do consider though a site that averages a $1.00 a day though a success. $365 bucks a year off a site that might have $100 bucks or so invested in it is a success. I use the $1.00 a day as a low side as well. I have a few that earn less than that, but not many and most are earning that because of mistakes on my part. Bad market research, keyword research etc.

I think most vision getting one, two or three sites up and sitting back and watch the money roll in. You will have your "homeruns" the more you do. I have several, but it does not stop me from learning to hit the ball better. I love the sites the have about $150 bucks invested in them and earn around $5.00 a day. Does that start in month one? No, not always for sure, but by around the 6 month mark they are. They then payback that same $150 bucks every month. Sometimes more, sometimes less.

Stop focusing so much on hitting the homerun every time and focus on hitting the ball better. The homeruns will come and your bank account will grow just off of line drive base hits. Don't over think this business, just swing the bat.

Google Third Quarter 2010 Financial Results Released

I am WAY behind today thanks to a charity bake sale project my wife sprung on me late this afternoon. Crisis has been diverted and now everything has been baked and cooling down. Damn I am good! Who else is good? Google of course. I have owned Google stock since early 2006, so I love to hear when their financial results are released to skim through them. Admittedly, much of the stuff on the statement is not important to most webmasters, but on the flip side there is a ton you can take from these as well. I think Google is just scratching the surface of total world domination. Is that good as a whole? Probably not, but they put a ton of money in my pocket through Adsense and affiliate programs and the last thing I want to hear is instability. To hear Eric Schmidt talk, instability is no where close as Google had an excellent quarter. Long Live Google!!!

How Everyday Is Great For Me

A reader emailed asking a few questions over the last few days and in the final email noted that everyday seems great for me. She hit the nail right on the head. Does that mean that everyday goes off without a hitch? Does it mean I never run into errors or problems? Absolutely not. The longer you are in the business, you learn to expect the unexpected as it is what makes this business so dang enjoyable and makes no two days exactly alike. I am a list maker, learned that excellent trait early on and have talked about often. There are things on my list from two years ago I have not gotten to and there are things I do daily that are like clockwork, with posting on this blog along with others as being part of those things daily type task.

I assure you, I have dentist appointments, I get sick and get the unexpected errors. There are so many moving parts in this business and life in general you have to be flexible. As an example, the whole internet, cable and phone all went down this morning on me. Right in mid-stroke. Right in the beginnings of a day that started off super productive. Now I have emergency means setup and available to get on the internet if it had been urgent, but it really wasn't that urgent. Instead I used the down time to sift through 3 hard drives and organize, delete and do some well needed housekeeping on them. In fact, one of those drives has been on my list for two years. Guess what? I scratched it off the list today. The internet is now back up and it has indeed been another great and productive day for me. Same as every other day. Off I go to finish my daily task.