The Truth About Warriors Making Money (or not)

You forgot a classification. I'm paying the bills which I would say is substantial, but it's not enough.

BTW, the lions share of my online money making comes from freelance work. a small suplemental ammount from "real" marketing efforts and I am slowly trying to invert that ratio.

I think you missed a category, too. "Something, but not substantial" would be a lie because what I make is more than substantial by any standards. I make high 5 figures and support my family - but I sure wouldn't call it "more than enough" either. Not where I live, for darn sure. Cost of living is ridiculous here and tax rates are even worse. And do you know what it costs to send a kid to college?? Cripes. So yep - IMHO, I think there's a missing category, too. Guess I need to go turn up the volume so I can check the "more than enough" category. lol.

Well - like I said - "enough" is a relative term.

If you make more than you need to cover all your bills and have a nice life - then that's more than 'enough'.

But there's no such thing as too much - so anything more than enough to pay your bills would come under that.

That's because most of the time they find the information interesting and it makes sense but they actually have not made money doing it.

I doubt youll get much in the way of honesty in this thread Andy.

not yet no

Thanks for the poll, Andy.

I went with "Something but not substantial". Some people may consider what I make to be substantial, but if I considered what I make to be "More than enough", I would stop working.

In other words, it's a mindset, a way to stay motivated.

All the best,
Michael

p.s. There IS one choice you maybe could have included "I think I make enough but my spouse begs to differ".

hello , im new internet marketer too, and imo those who look for too many shortcuts make too many mistakes and properly wont make any money. i do believe u can make lots of money from the info here , but many just dont bother to take it step by step.

Yes I'm making some money online ( anywhere from $50 to $1000+ daily) but not from any of the WSO's I purchased although the WSO's I got on SEO did enable me to take one of my sites to the #1 result on Google for my primary keywords.

I took what was making me a ton of money offline (Photography) and turned my knowledge into information products that I sell online... but most of my online income comes from selling images to other photographers. My goal is to earn as much online as I can offline. I can earn $10,000+ from a single weekend of shooting portraits (20 half hour sessions at $500+ profit per session) but yet despite all my online marketing efforts I'm nowhere near $10,000 per weekend online. Sure wish I was.

I'm beginning to think that selling how to make money on the internet type products would earn me a lot more than selling something real. I have something that really works offline but hardly anyone is interested in duplicating my success because it takes real work.

So maybe I should do what the Gurus do and start selling a how to make money while sitting on your ass, hiding from the real world from behind a computer screen type product because that is what most people seem to be looking for...

They want to buy the dream... not a real opportunity that requires them to leave the comfort of their house and venture out into the real world..

So the Gurus are right when they say... don't sell what you think people need or should buy... just find out what they want and sell them that and on this forum what most want to buy is $17 Magic Bullets or WSO's that promises them riches from sitting on their ass hiding behind their computer screens.

Don't misunderstand what I'm saying... The $17 WSO's that teach real skills... like how to do SEO are golden but the ones that promise you will make money doing what they do seldom work for those who buy them... even if you do put the advice into action.

They will tell you how to make money online but don't dare ask the authors to show you the niches where they really make their money.... because if they have a real niche that is buying non IM products they won't share it with you. But they will be happy to offer you a how to make money on the internet IM product if that is what you are looking for.

Making money through different sources means.Even .01$ through adsense is considered earning.So lots of people surely select Something but not substantial

I just wished the Warrior Forum had some type of income verification system so newbies browsing the forum could know who to listen and who to not. I see so much wrong info thrown around it's painful.

I agree with what DaneMorgan said.....everyone has an opinion about what constitutes making good money online. I am paying my bills with what I make online but would say that in my opinion to say that I'm making good money online I would not only have to be able to pay my bills but also to have the ability to put money each week into my savings account.

Andy - I have seen many posts on the warriorforum over the years in which warriors state they are relatively new to the IM world and expect to make substantial amounts of money in just a few short months. Not to say that a percentage of individuals have not done so because I am quite sure that there are warriors that have with extraordinary skill, knowledge and luck done exactly that but for the mass majority of individuals it takes time to build a level of income that would be considered to be "good money".

Steveski - taking something you do well offline and turning it into a money-maker online is a great example of the right way to go about generating online money. For some reason many people get on the internet and think that they have to follow what others are doing online in order to generate money...they forget that many of the skills they possess offline can be turned into excellent online money-makers.

Anonymous Affiliate - that would be an awesome tool.

Laura

I think that everything depends on what you sell and on the methods you use. I’m having a moderate success, but many days without sales. It’s very hard to beat all the competition online. I’m selling my own products. I'm also trying to sell affiliate products, but up to the moment not having any success with affiliate marketing. Probably because I’m not promoting other products the way I promote mine… I cannot find enough time to do everything.

The bitter truth online is that you have to do a lot in order to manage to reach your audience. If the internet was not so crowded and you didn’t have so many competitors, it would be much easier to make money online.

I clicked "more than enough" - but I always want more. I don't think I'll be satisfied until I get a 7 figure year, but regardless I don't think I can take my vote back.

You know what, Andy?

I'm very much one of the "something" crowd. And it kind of embarrasses me to admit it, because I'm often pretty vocal in terms of giving people advice. Particularly over in the copywriting forum.

And I'm very much one of those, "newbies can't be sure who is and isn't" guys you're talking about. Because even though I can talk the talk with the best of them...hell, even though I've proven well enough to myself that I can walk the walk with the best of them...I frequently run into crippling motivational issues. And it's held me back, and pretty recently, cost me.

I have a job I work in addition to doing IM stuff. But slowly over time, as it has occurred to me more than once how easy all this IM stuff *ought* to be, and since I've learned so much about it over the years, I've started working fewer and fewer "real world" hours. I always figured that if times got tough, I'd probably be far enough along in my little list of online enterprises that I could laugh in the face of adversity. That if the devil came to call, I could go boldly forth and seize the riches that I figured I was owed by my dedication to learning about and understanding this crazy craft we call marketing. And I always dreamed that I could do so in a hurry. So letting some things slide financially here and there would ultimately be no big deal.

Well, life has a way of sneaking up on you, and whacking you upside your head when you're least ready to take a good, hard slap.

When that slap hit me recently...when the devil DID come to call...I had to take stock in a hurry. And when I did, I found myself severely lacking.

I've got a handful of sales-y blogs around that I always figured I'd get around to promoting a little more actively, and that I knew I could pump full of first-rate content in a fairly big hurry if the need arose. But for such a long time, the need didn't arise, that I let them drift along blissfully.

And I've got more half-written sales letters, half-written infoproducts, and half-baked ideas hastily pecked down onto Notepad in the middle of the night than every other newbie who ever abandoned the IM dream has in the dusty corners of their hard drives, combined.

So I've decided to begin anew. With dedication, this time.

Just today, I've created a new blog. This one dedicated solely to selling a particular Clickbank product. And over the next week or so, I'm going to positively carpet bomb it with press releases and articles I'll be pushing onto every Tom, Dick, and Blog Owner I can talk into giving me a listen. I do this because when I have had success, this is how I've done it. I do this because when I have had success, it was too easy to look at the sales receipts for a week or two, extrapolate them, and imagine that THAT was my yearly income. As if the work didn't matter. Only the potential.

So I guess thanks, life, for the whack on the head. And thanks, Andy, for the chance to stand up and take my self-imposed ass-kicking like a man.

I'll be a better man, and a better marketer, for the struggle.

There's a fine line between nothing and 'something'... If what you are making is insignificant, it might as well be nothing. $50 - $100 a month? What's that good for? Dinner out for 2. So yeah, that'd be next to nothing.

So maybe you need an option "next to nothing"

But then, no one likes to share their income figures anyway, especially in public places like this. Making the poll dollar ranges probably wouldn't get you the same amount of feedback.

In the end, the answer really is more relative to an individual's needs than to an actual amount.

There was a time when making $60 a week was a LOT (ah, I remember it well - it was an income to die for, when I was making a mere $42.60 a week). Unless you're making over $6,000 a month today, you'd probably think you're making a "substantial" income while others would see it as guaranteeing an easy lifestyle.

All relative.

Sylvia

Lets just say if I didn't have my uni loans, debts, court fees and then my girlfriends fees on-top of that (she went to UNI too), I would happily click "more than enough".

My vision of a perfect life for me is :-

Having the car I want, being able to provide, one vacation a year, a modest 2 bedroom house, and at the end of the day, treat ourselves a little, oh and to be lazy and not have to get up for work.. And how could I forget not having to owe anything to anyone!

I much prefer that we are all ok. I wouldn't risk anyone's health for money.

But as it stands, until all fees are paid off eventually, or I get to the point that my income grows enough to pay them off, I'll have months when I don't earn enough, and Months that leave me a little extra change

I've met most of my goals for my vision of the "perfect life", but I still have a few of those to fix.

Yep, I agree. I actually have months where I've made more than enough. Paid off my credit debt last Jan 2010 with my Internet profits. This year I'm working on paying off my car. So, while the income I'm generating is paying the bills and I was able to quit my offline job in 2009 due to my online profits, I have to say it's still not what I would consider substantial.

To me substantial is when I can start putting in $1,000 a month into my retirement fund, rather than $150.00 to $300.00 per month. I'm also working on having a years worth of savings for the possible downtimes, no income, something really bad happens and I can't work for a year.

And... I would like to also have an additional $700.00 to buy myself some premium health insurance.

So, hm... substantial is pretty relative.

I think you should consider patting yourself on the back if you're making enough money to pay "a" bill. Like maybe your car payment, your rent, your phone bill etc...

Just because you're not earning $1,000 a month or $5k a month (my 2011 goal) it doesn't mean you're not successful. If you're earning $100.00 in Adsense, wonderful! Take that money and buy some software that will save you some time and increase your profits.

I eat out when I want, I go on vacations almost any time I want, and I spend maybe 10 hours a week in my SEO business. To me that is a success, but at the same time, I still don't qualify for the "substantial" tick due to the reasons above.

Celebrate your successes!
Chrisi

Lol, yeah I doubt you'll see a whole lot of honesty here. Too much ego at stake.

And as for the question, as someone else mentioned, it's a matter of relativity. Don't know what you consider substantial... but if it means making a full time living from selling things on the internet, then yes I would belong to that category.

I'm honestly surprised to see so many 'more than enough' votes. I personally went with 'something but not substantial'. My IM income increases every month, but it's not enough to pay all of my bills yet. Hopefully it'll get there soon as I got fired from my job almost 2 months ago and have absolutely no desire to go rejoin corporate America.

something but not substantial. I think wf is a lot like the bodybuilding forums where teens claim to bench 300 while they are 150 lbs but i cant blame them....its all about PASSION!

I doubt many people FEEL they are making "more than enough".

I make enough to pay off my house by the beach... buy kickass home theatre setups... and basically renovate this place how I want it to be.

I just dropped about $3k in a week on speakers etc.

But it's not "more than enough"... for me.

If I'm being honest I'm not sure I'll ever get to the point of "more than enough". Maybe when I'm making seven figures, I don't know. But then I just assume I'd want to keep spending/investing in line with that and would want to make more money.

One important thing I've learned is money is not enough on its own. You've gotta love what you do.

I used to think making $60k a year would be awesome. And when I hit that, it kind of was... but then I was thinking $100k/yr was awesome, and $60k was "okay".

And so on.

I still work seven days a week, averaging 7 - 8 hours a day. But I love what I do, so its okay. If I want to take time out to play video games or hang with friends or take my mum to dinner, I can do that without worrying... and that's pretty cool.

My point is... to those of you who think hitting some magical sum will solve your probems... it won't. People who live above their means continue to do so regardless of how much they make.

Scale back your spending first. Learn discipline. Understand how to live below your means, even (especially) if it means sacrifice.

Then when you DO make more money, you won't just be pissing it against the wall.

So I make a fair bit of money, yeah... but not "more than enough". And IMHO, it's not the amount I have to change... it's my thought patterns.

Having said that... I'm happy to always want more, to enjoy working. I'm young, and if there's ever a time to do it it's now!

-Daniel

Something not substantial but it is growing
Only because I can afford to invest the revenues (thanks to the day job)
I am taking a lower profit because I am building a long term business and have started outsourcing which it seems to me is the only way to really scale things up over the mid term. It has taken me a year but I finally have some clarity and am "sticking to my knitting" and not being distracted reading every new WSO or Guru email.

I really appreciate this thread Andy I have to say!! I know that I have also wondered how many warriors are really making the kind of income they profess to make. I would have to say that I make some money but do I make enough. Enough is a very relevant question and I cannot speak for others. I am making a consistent income but I would not considerate enough. I have read many of the replies here and I love the honesty that so many of our fellow warriors have posted. This is so important for people just starting out to see. I can remember when I first joined this forum reading about how so many were making so much money that I felt like a complete failure for not being able to generate a dollar let alone a substantial or more than enough income. It would have been nice to see some honesty here instead of a lot of inflated income. So thanks for this thread. I stick to my vote and say I have a consistent income but not to the more than enough.

Over 1/3 making more than enough. Looks like you were wrong. Quit projecting your lack of success on others.

I would have to say no, however I have been a member of the war room for one day and this is one of the most active forums I have ever been a member of. I strongly believe that forums and articles are the best technique when it comes to marketing and researching your business or another business you are considering, learning and seeking advice. Over time you put your heart in to what your believe in and the money will come

I started out making nothing and have worked up to a steady income which is more than a teen should have.

I will answer your question in ~10 to 12 months.

Not a knock on you or your post personally Andy, just stating my opinion...

If I were a newbie, instead of feeling relieved by discovering that most people are not making good money Online, I would find it very discouraging.

Of course "most" people aren't making good money. No different than any other opportunity. However, your goal should be to become better than most.

Follow the people who are really making good money and use them as motivation.

Is it all about the money?

It's all a part of the game. I treat it as a hobby... It makes you focus, it makes you sharper.. You constantly have to think of ways/methods... Keeps you thinking. With an internet income you can become rich overnight (with a little luck) Try that with your 9-5 job. This is just like the stock market. I've had days where I lost money, and 500+ a day sites. I've started IM'ing in Feb 2010 with NO knowledge on how to make a site profitable. I've netted 26K my 1st year (while having a day job), I am hoping for a 50K year in 2011 (although I've had a rough start lol, but that only motivates me more) and quit my job.

I think of IMing this way:
1. Is there money to be made online? Yes.
2. Why can't I do it? Am I stupid? No.
3. Well you're not making much, you must be stupid... STFU me, I can do better.

^^^ Sounds weird but that mentality works for me lol ... If you are constantly failing at IMing and have a negative attitude then maybe this business isn't for you. Most people get lured in to this by "OMG you made HOW MUCH JUST BY SITTING ON YOUR COMPUTER?" The fact is that it's a lot of work, constant changes that require you to stay on top of things. I believe its a great work out for our brains And just maybe one of these days I will strike a site that will buy me that yacht I always wanted.

You just have to keep grinding.

My first experience with affiliate marketing made me $104.10 while I took a nap. I promptly blew that money on PPC along with more money from my bank account. So far my best day ever was that very first day. Since the beginning of February I have made about $100 in all, if you add the accounts together. So, for now I have to answer Something but not substantial.

I've decided that until I can actually pay bills, the money I make in IM will go to my continued education.

Ok, I really debated on contributing a comment or not. As my Warrior ID says I'm an Old Dog. I have been in marketing and sales from before the internet became public and it was used only by universities and the gov't.

Lets just say I've made a lot of money and I have not made a lot of money. When I focused on the money I never made much. When I focused on others I always made a lot. I guess that's something to think about.

As I mentioned on another post, If you are looking to sincerely help others obtain what they want and need you will do very well. I have had web sites up for my "off line" businesses for almost 10 years and they rank well but I only have monitized one with an e-commerce store. Some weeks it does $4-500 other weeks $0.

It hasn't been until recently (the last year) that I decided to make an attempt to phase out of my direct work dealing with clients face to face and being limited to where I physically can travel, to trying to reach the vast market place of the digital online world. I plan to use the same general sales strategies I've always have used because the bottom line is people are people no matter what medium you may find them in.

I've been spending the last few months learning and filling my IM tool box. That's one of the reasons I've become a member of this forum. It is a great learning place, but you should use some common sense here too.

I've only said what I have so far because it sets up what I really want to say. It makes no difference what the endeavor is.There are rules or laws that have very little give to them. If a person is to find success they have to become a student of these principles understand, embrace and apply them.

There is not a person reading these words that can't become someone that says "more than enough". Notice I said "become". Obviously I'm not going to sit here and write a book on success, although I would be more than happy to. But all I would be doing is repeating what countless other "known" authors have already written about.
That is for the most part where I have gotten my basic knowledge from.

I think most of us have heard that "all leaders are readers". That's not just gov't leaders but it means leaders in most any situation. Including those who are the income leaders in Internet marketing. There is not a magic formula or push button shortcut. Those that really make large amounts of money or even moderate amounts will tell you they had to learn and master the basics and do them over and over.

I once was told that the total wisdom known to Mankind could be summed up in 10 words. "There ain't no such thing as a free lunch baby!" There is much I could go on about but not for now. I'll be around and commenting over time.

To sum it up for my business expectations from Internet marketing, once I have a working knowledge of the core mechanics and skills involved for IM, I will apply them helping others get what they want. I know from experience I will find that rewarding personally and so will my pocket book. But even if my pocket book doesn't grow my service to others even if it's only providing them with an e-book they like I will have been of service to them.

One more thing statistically 80% of those reading this will think I'm Nuts and go on their merry way and that's fine but 20% will ponder what I've said and will find reasonable success in this medium but the 20% can be divided into 80/20 again and as someone said above in another post, it's been said only 4-5% will make it big in IM. 95% won't. That pretty much holds true to any business. It's not bad if someone isn't in that 5% they may be outstanding in other area. But the most powerful thing we all have is "choice". If you "choose" to be a top dog Internet marketer that means you also have chosen to take all the steps to do so. You just can't fake it. You could get lucky but if that's what takes you up it most likely will drop you back on your head.

I have made it my business to be in that top 20% only because I have always made the decision to do so and I am willing to learn to do a simple thing extraordinarily well. What about you?

Old Dog

good question and probably asked several times. But this is the first time I am seeing some honest answers.

To be honest I cant select any of your choices. I do make more than enough in online profit, and I do mean more than enough however it has nothing to do with WF or WSO so far as I did not join such forums until recently.

The online profit is mainly from running things like a regular business for 8 years now.

I would probably rephrase the poll options as:

1) I make nothing or next to nothing.
2) I make pocket money to take my girlfriend out for a dinner here and there.
3) I make a part-time income on top of my day job.
4) I make a full-time income so I quit my day job.
5) I am raking in it, babe!

The poll results do not support this conjecture.

Plus... people lie.

So the poll doesn't really mean anything.

Not knocking Andy... think this thread is great.

Just saying surveys are terrible sources of information. Anyone who has ever surveyed a market can tell you while they're useful... there's also a lot they DON'T tell you.

-Daniel

Something but not substantial. How I wish i can vote for the third one though. But Im far from that. Most of my money right now are from freelancing. But Im moving to get more from affiliate marketing and blogging.

Andrea

I like this thread...I've been involved in IM since last year...I started with affiliate program and make money around less thn $50...but its too little and not enough for me...i tried to be struggle but unfortunately i wasted so many time....IM is more to be smarter than harder...

just my opinion..

What type of products/services are we talking about here?

If you are talking about CPA/affiliates then I guess my votes won't count.

I currently stopped going business with a client that I found had horrible ethical issues. Right now I'm making nothing. Never made anything from marketing. I have a site up and it gets some traffic, but never had a sale yet (promoting clickbank product). Hope to get that going soon.

Well I can't even answer this because I'm new here...but seriously I am just sitting back as skeptical as a person can be, trying to listen to what people are saying and learn some of the terms...and this is embarassing for me to admit but I'm sitting here like omg...what is wordpress, what is an Ebook, what is adsense....and what is and isn't a scam LOL! <---slowly educating person here.... But what I am noticing is that if you don't know what your doing (like me) than if I just randomly choose to start something that I don't know jack about...I'm probably not going to be that successful at it...which means I'm probably not going to make very much money...so what will work for one person...may not work for the other!

I am so grateful to be in the "More than enough" category.

It takes hard work and persistence, as well as consistency in
order to achieve this level of success but it is worth every bit
of blood, sweat and tears!

Best,
Shane

Not the results I thought I'd see.

There are more people making money than not. That blows my mind!

I agree, it takes hard work and taking consistent action.

There are several methods. The best thing to do is stop buying into everything out there that is new and pick 1 business model and stick with it until you can make it work. This can be... building an email list, building out Adsense sites, creating your own products, SEO, and several ways.

At least somebody has their priorities straight.

This industry is always a hit or miss.When it hits you gone to peak,When it miss you gone to bottom.You need to have courage and self-confidence higher than a microsoft ceo

Of course online money is important . But not for people that work outside IT bussines ,

This is a great thread.But the fact remains that more than 2/3rd warriors are still not making enough to support their families.

Personally,I am making quite a good amount of money and I would like to thank internet to enable me to do what I love to do(and of course make money).

I'm rather impressed by the results. I votes "Something, but nothing substantial"