Your Real Story - on Online Money Making

While I'm not going to give away any big secrets here, I will tell you about how I was able to turn things from losing into profit.

I, like so many on here I'm sure, started by jumping from wso to wso, product to product, looking for that "silver bullet" or magic pill that was going to bring me riches easily.

Hear this: Internet Marketing is NOT easy. Can it be very profitable? Yes, of course, but it takes real work and dedication!

So the best thing I can tell you is to pick something that is a good match for you (and has a proven track record) and see it through. If you fail at first, look at why you failed and do what you can to improve your performance rather then start over with something else.

Matt

GREAT idea for a thread. Here are my responses.

1. Can you share (inspire) with us how do you really make money?

I make ALL of my money in the markets everyone says to stay away from: the "make money" niches. Specifically the MMO/IM and real estate niches.

In fact that's how I started out. I had some experience with both realty and investing, so I decided to start answering questions on a real estate forum. All of a sudden people were asking if I offered real estate training or mentoring.

However, at that particular time my back was completely against a wall financially. So in jumping online I couldn't afford to mess around - I HAD to make something happen.

Because of that I got 100% focused on only what would work. This means that I didn't flounder around trying a bunch of different things (again, I couldn't afford to).

So I paid very close attention to what successful marketers were doing. I could see most of it plain as day. They were building lists. They were conducting teleclasses, webinars, etc. They were selling information - e-books, courses, trainings, events. And by being on their lists I could see and hear exactly how they were doing it.

So... by answering questions on that real estate forum I gathered a small list of 86 people... and sold 23 of them into a $395.00 training (and several into a $795.00 training) by doing something I now teach people to do:

Instead of guessing how to write great copy I modeled a proven and successful sales page. Instead of guessing how to create a training I modeled the way the big guys were doing it.

Bottom line: I guessed about nothing and modeled everything.

When you realize the successful models are right in front of you, the guesswork disappears and you can generate revenue incredibly fast.

2. When did you start?

Been a full-time entrepreneur since 2001. Started online in summer of 2004. By the time 2007 came I was pretty much full-time on the internet with a couple offline businesses running passively.

3. Do you stick to the same method all the time.

For the most part, yes. I find that success comes when you go deep, not wide. Focusing on a bunch of different income streams at once is not something most people ever have success with.

One to three income streams, yes. A handful or more, I've never ever seen it work consistently nor have any staying power.

For me, I create and/or market high quality information products (mostly courses, trainings and seminars/events) and I work for maximum positioning in the market.

Meaning I refuse to just put "another" course or training out in a given niche category... I'm looking to have it KILL most everything else out there in terms of positioning and sales conversions.

Example: right now I'm working with a partner to develop a new training for the real estate industry that won't just be another course... it's going to be a whole new category of real estate investing. I won't usually take a project if it doesn't have possibilities for that type of positioning (although I can usually create that it does .

I also write copy (somewhat secretly) for certain "names" in the IM and real estate arenas when big dollars are thrown my way - specifically e-mail copy, webinar scripts and even copy for a couple huge launches.

4. Which method is the best to generate traffic and sales from your personal experience?

Absolutely, positively, without a doubt my answer is joint ventures. Almost everything I do is based around joint ventures.

The reasons JV's are great are numerous, but here are the top three in my opinion:

- Warm leads - when you do a joint venture to another marketer's list, that marketer is effectively endorsing you. This is referral marketing at it's best. The fact that you are being endorsed makes the leads MUCH better customers and buyers.

- Competitive vacuum - JV's allow you to promote in a competitive vacuum, meaning you are not competing with other PPC ads or SEO results for the prospect's attention.

- Leads AND Revenue - One of the best things about a JV is that (when done well) you are gaining both leads *and* revenue at the exact same time.

I've never done a lick of article marketing, and have done almost no PPC or SEO. I've relied almost exclusively on JV's and have had no problem maintaining a solid five-figure monthly machine.

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Hope this helps folks. Now go out and get what you deserve.

Ken

Start with product or service - what is *that* you going to market ?
This often answers the questions "how" and whether internet marketing is of any use for it. Usually it is - but greatly depends on the product.

Many start from the opposite end - they spend money to learn "how" to market without having "what" to market.

I develop software (membership site software) and sell it from my website.

Gleb

I was going to answer this but then something made me stop. This is your first post and you've just joined the forum - and you're asking us to share a lot of information to create 'a useful thread'?

Why is it that you want a useful thread?

Why don't you ask what YOU want to know?

Who care's when we started? That has no relationship to what's possible for anyone else (or you).

What difference does it make how many methods we use? This answer will be different for different people and won't help you or anyone else decide what to do.

We make money in lots of different ways. I make money in at least 10 different ways and that answer will be different for everyone too.

As for traffic - the same applies. The best traffic I get - depends on the niche. Some niches it's word of mouth, some ppc, some ezine marketing, some articles - it varies.

There are no 'one' right answers or best methods.

I think you'll get more benefit from solving specific problems that are stopping you moving forward than posting asking for generic things which sound great but are not helpful.

Andy

Andy,

Actually I think the idea for the original post is a great one. The problem for most people is they are only ever dealing with dozens of pieces (blogging, articles, SEO, PPC, etc.) - they can't "see" how all those pieces fit together.

Entering IM is kind of like someone handing you all the pieces to a 1000-piece puzzle.... but never showing you the picture on the front of the box.

Definitely see your point that there aren't any 'right' answers that apply to all niches, etc. But if someone new/newer can "see" a few different puzzle box covers, maybe they'll have a better time choosing which one they want to tackle.

Best regards,
Ken

Thank You for inspiring and sharing Matt, Ken, Andy and Moncef.

You are great Ken, no wonder you are a successful mentor. Anyway, every once in a while, when we get tired of IM, and then there is an inspiring story like what Ken and all of you share, we kinda smile and say 'hey, that's another succesfull IM's or warriors...and let's get back to work!

i hope this thread will be kept alive. Thank you for sharing

Diver's

Andy - the best way to teach is through analogies, and your analogy of multiple keys/multiple doors is quite good.

Replying to this topic would result in unending words. I mainly started with article writing and now I m here going to start my own travel site.!

Andy,

I just gotta say... absolutely brilliant analogy with the keys and the doors.

Ken

cool post! thanks Andy, Ken and all