Struggling to make any money at all.

No that thinking is not correct.
I personally don't sell ebooks or memberships and alot of others here don't either.

How many niches have you tried?
Sometimes you can put so much effort into one niche and it doesnt work, then try another which is considerably easier to make money from.

Hi there and welcome to the WF! I am sure that many people here can guide you in "their" way of doing things, so be ready for an avalanche of ideas, and advice. Be careful not to get sidetracked from your goal, and stick as close to what you have already been doing, but do it harder.

Article marketing is only as good as the product or service you ave those articles backlinked to. If you can write great articles, maybe consider advertising that service here and in other forums. You never know what may eventuate.

If you are wanting some great encouragement and support from people in the same position that you find yourself in, aside from on the general forums, you might want to skip over the thread "Newbies Stick Together" - There are 8 pages there now, all filled with similar situations and people working together for success.

Wish you well.

What I hate is that everywhere we turn there is negative news and it seems that online sales people all use the scare tactic that making money online is so difficult. I believe its one to sell their products. Two I believe it is to make people scared so they will quit before they ever try. Just wondering does anyone else feel this way?

I'd personally recommend evaluating your skill-set/interests first, and then seeing how you can utilize those to earn you an income.

So far it seems you've been focusing on writing, but is that something you are good at AND enjoy doing?

If so, then you should look at how you can profit from that. If not, time to keep exploring.

If you enjoy blogging, then try looking up Mike Paetzold and Yaro Starak.

Struggling is normal, the key is don't give up and keep working on finding a system that works for you.

Solomon Huey

If you just stick with IM, you will certainly make money in time. It just takes dedication.

Hi its lam here, i make my money from membership sites and franchise sites. But i didn't have all this when i first started, i use to do everything like you, for example article marketing, blogging, classifieds and even ebay. Just make sure that internet marketing is the thing you want to do, and if it is then i suggest you hang in there and stick with your blogging and writing articles. But make sure you researcg which product is profitable before you start advertising, cheers for now!

Hi all,

Just wanted to say thank you for taking the time to answer my query. I didn't expect to get such nice and detailed feedback.

It is very much appricated.

Dedication, commitment, a proper business approach, passion are all necessities to varying degrees, but also a healthy dose of realism.

Take time to put together a strategy to execute over say 12 months, and be happy if you start to make more than you hoped for in the meantime.

I can tell you this - once you get over the startup phase it always escalates, and you will look back and smile, fondly at your early days.

Most give up long before that it has to be said.

Is IM easy - yes - almost too easy, and that, right there, is the downfall of many would be IM'ers, because they have no discipline, business plan or strategy and expect too much too soon.

If you think IM is hard, try putting together a bricks and mortar business sometime, and they only get to cover a small area, with all the hassle and expenses, and fortunate to make 10%.

I wish the Internet was around 33 years ago

ahhh, but it's affiliates generating those sales for them
Don't give up.

Are you building a list?

Try the 30 days challenge program. It's free and you'll learn alot as a beginner

try to sell scripts or software, I found out that I can generate more sales and it's easier to get a traffic to the offer. You don't have to design it, just buy some products with resell right, rebrand it and you're ready.

Take one of your example - article marketing.

Why did this not work? Was it because you just wrote a bunch of articles and hoped the traffic would follow? Even if the traffic DID follow, would they be interested in where they landed?

A lot of this stuff takes time and effort. But the effort has to be directed in the appropriate direction.

Take, wrinkles for example. If you wrote and article discussing the problems with wrinkles and the difficulties they might cause for a person then that might stimulate someone to click through your link. Then, if that link gave them more detailed information or perhaps a free quality report then you might get a sale or two or a lead or two.

If the article does not stimulate the reader (reaer = hungry buyer) then they are not likely to read it or click through. If they click through and get some clickbank sales spiel then they will turn away.

A fine building requires careful construction but only after even more careful planning.

Struggling to make money? Me too mate. It's been a shocking year. I'm down to my last mill. What about cookie-stuffing...or CPA scamming...or E-whoring? You tried them? There's plenty of people here that will help you out I'm sure. Just the other day I ran across a WSO - "How I made half-a-million dollars - overnight - in my undies". That might be a good one.

One more thing, don't expect to make a dime for a year, I was watching a video on John Chow and he said his first year blogging he never made a dime, but today he is a 40k per month dude in IM just from one of his websites; the bottom line by friend is be organic, always make sure you remain consistent, you are not the only one out there, there are millions like you trying to do the same thing you are doing.
Use everything, from backlinks to social networks like twitter, forums like WF etc, use articles to market your IM but remain original, if you do this add a bit of adsense and a product or 2 in your niche then I'm sure you will be king

Ask yourself this: what value do I have to offer?

Tyrus

When you are just starting and have no name on the Internet
nobody will buy anything from you.

One proven strategy for the beginner is to 'borrow' a reputable
name from a well known marketer.

What I want to say is following: purchase resell rights for a quality
product created by Somebody with the big S and sell it 10-20% cheaper
then others.

The 'secret' here is that you must purchase RR to a proven seller,
meaning that you have to pay at least $500 for your license.
The more expensive your license, the better for you, because
you will have only a handful of competitors.

When you sell high quality product that sells itself, nobody cares
who you are, they know who the author is and they know the
product is good, so they buy.

If you do it right you WILL make money.

Hi,

Not trying to spout the "party line", but I'd suggest getting into the "War Room". It's the private section of this forum. After you get in, go to the section where Allen (owner of the Warrior forum) writes his ideas.

Choose one -- then run with it.

Don't get distracted with anything else. Buy nothing else, no matter how enticing or how much of the sky it promises you. Get an idea, get it going.

The worse enemy anyone can ever face is one who is relentless. And if YOU are the relentless one, nothing and no one can stand in your way.

Nothing.

You become UNSTOPPABLE.

If you like, here's a little simple plan of attack

Best of luck, and see you in the War Room

Sebvandort,

If you're trying to generate a "real stream" then you need to start concentrating your efforts on building a list in a particular niche where you can provide tremendous value while along the way suggesting products/courses that will help them as well.

I know you probably want it all to happen right away but you need to take it slowly and really build up a good foundation. This can be hard because you probably are inundated with posts on many different techniques.

A good book that covers everything to start to finish would be Ewen Chia's "How I Made My First Million On The Internet". He lays out a good system to follow. He too suggests building a list but he suggests spending a lot of time up front putting all of your systems in place.

If you are risk taker you can buy an existing "working" website business. It can save you alot of time and money if you do it right.