I agree 100%. A couple months ago while I was really getting into the whole websites thing, I realized that the more established you are, the easier it gets because of streamlining and then you have to market less and you can still get new visitors from good SEO which is from good links which is from being popular... its like a circle of increasing traffic/revenue, you just have to get yourself into it.
Wow, that's another great idea. I could definitely start something like that. Yet, I have this stigma in my mind that you need multiple programmers just to support something of that magnitude. I guess the only way to find out is to actually do it.
I was thinking the same as webmasterlabor there: have you considered other ad programs? Maybe sell links via Text Link Ads or through these forums? Besides selling scripts on your website, you could sell them via digital point and other forums. Contract work / writing paid articles could help too.
Hi this is Raq. i wanna say that im a Building Designer in Auto CAD program. could somebody tell me how can i get jo related to my field(Buiding Designing)?
I have considered it and I am planning out ideas! I don't like contract-based work because it fluctuates so much though.
I suggest start a retail business online. pick something you know about, just say you know alot about sports, so open up a website online selling sports equipment. it's much easier to make money off e-commerce websites then websites with affiliate ads on them. If you work hard on this at least 40 hours a week you should be making 5k a month by 6 months. But before you do it educate yourself on it and make sure you know the ins and outs because without the education you won't succeed.
Think cumulative income. By cumulative I mean things like monthly subscriptions, recursive commissions and the like. AdSense, by and large, is one visitor, one click, one exit. Effectively you're selling your hard earned visitors for a matter of a few cents each. Why not look for an angle that might attract folk who are willing to pay a monthly subscription to your site(s). At $5000 per month (your stated goal), and say a $25 subscription fee, you're looking at only 200 sign-ups. Between now and August, that's less than one a day. Build something that's truly useful (or enticing), and 200 signups will be a cinch. Good luck whatever you do. Phlegm.
I agree that starting a retail business online is an excellent idea and I've actually done that. I had a business a while back where we sold thrift store clothes and the profit margins were amazing, but the workload was crazy while we were going to school and working full time. The reason it worked was because the initial investment was so low. I mean, we were paying $0.50 - $4.00 per item and selling them for $10-20. Sometimes we'd profit over 1000%, so the initial investment was completely worthwhile. It's hard to do that with most businesses if you don't have enough startup capital. Otherwise, it's a great idea. My problem is that I don't want to work hard the whole time but I could work like a mad bull for the first year or two if that's what it takes. If I see light at the end of the tunnel, I will chase it for as long as it takes.
See, I like the way you think. It's all about the residual income. My dream is to set up an almost completely autonomous system, where the product is supported and new features are added on but my only role becomes coming up with cool new features. Until then, I will focus on the building of such things. The problem is coming up with something that people will pay $25/mo for on a continuous basis. I'm sure there's something though, so I'll put my mind to work on it. Another bit of great advice though!
Well, while you'll undoubtedly need to come up with your own angle on something, a good place to get inspiration from is the search engines themselves. Do searches like: subscription "$25 per month" ...or... "only $12.50 per month" blah, blah, blah. Vary the dollar amount (and even the currency), even throw in a few choice keywords for industries that you have a penchant for, and you'll get lots of examples of what's on offer out there. You may then have a starting point for something of your own. Phlegm.
I suppose you're right. I plan on adding Featured Links to http://www.blogflare.com for like $15 or $20/mo depending on the feedback I get. That's probably not a bad idea for me to start with.
http://scottmw.com/blog/wp-content/uploads/2007/01/scottsguidetofreewebtraffic.pdf Just wanted to let you guys know I took your advice and put together a free ebook that I took from my own experience. It'd be cool if you guys let me know what you think!
Scott, After reading your thread, I must say you sound too much like me. It's almost scary (well everything except the whole wife part). I would love to have a website make residual income for me and have had amazing ideas. Some that I could swear were stolen from me while I was sleep talking/walking! ha I once had a great idea for an ajax enabled drinks database made just for college students to mix up drink concoctions, can someone say extratasty? Ok besides all that said, I have been hitting the books hard... I mean hard! Taking nods from Aaron Wall I have disbanded the idea of adsense arbitrage, grey/black hat seo, or anything else that seems too damn good to be true. I mean ask yourself do you want residual income? or do you want residual income while taking advantage of your clients? Then why not sell drugs my friend? I mean for a while you can make some damn good money. If your really good you could even make a cool million by the end of this year. Of course you could never live life the same way again now could you? OK so maybe it's a little overboard comparing the two but that said, if I were you, and I swear I feel like you haha I would go for quality of product, service, etc... over quantity any day. Your clients will be happy to return for it day in and day out just like druggies AND you'll be doing them an honest good. On a side note, I recently was abandoned by a partner of mine. If your interested in partnering up I have many ideas that I simply cannot act on because I do not have the php/mysql skills to do them. Send me a pm and maybe we can talk further.
As most of DP members already said it: DON'T RELY ON ADSENSE. You need to build a solid business and rely on that. Have your OWN products and services. I am in the affiliate business since 1999 and I can tell you that it ain't pretty when you get banned or for some reason they don't pay you. All your work comes down in a moment and that's the end of your income. Trust me and all DP memebers that already said this: use adsense for short term plans or just as an extra (#3 and above) income source.
Why are your living expenses so high? When I first left my job to become self employed, the first thing I did was get rid of all my bills and reduce my living expenses. I sold my car, and I did a bunch of other stuff to cut expenses. If you have savings, you will need to protect it. You need to lower your living expenses so you can live on your savings for as long as possible. I personally have cut my expenses so low that I can live for five years if I stopped making money today. This doesn't mean you need to live like a monk, but you're going to have to make tough sacrifices. If you can't, may self employment isn't your cup of tea. My living expenses are so low that I can live on less than $1,000 a month, even without roommates. On January 19 of this year, I would have been self employed for two year, and I don't make anywhere near $5000 a month. To be quite honest, I don't think you will easily pull $5,000 per month by August, especially if you are relying on Adsense. Do you have any savings to invest in your websites or traffic? You said you were a programmer. My best advice to you is to go freelance and cut your living expenses. There is no guarantee that you can break $5,000 by August, so unless you want go back to a 9 to 5 job, you're going to have to make some big sacrifices and slash your bills and liabilities as much as possible. It will be hard, but nothing great was ever attained without sacrifice. I've been in this game for about two years, and things are just now starting to pick up. Most businesses take three years to fully mature, and most businesses fail in the first five years. Do you know why? Because they run out of money. If you're just starting out, you're going to fail a lot. There is nothing wrong with this. However, you don't want to lose your shirt in the process. Avoid risky business ventures and stick to things that have low start up costs with high income potential. Most importantly, save, save, save, and save some more. You've got to save as much as you if you want to survive, and if you already have savings, you should protect it. If you are starting an online business, this means you don't really need a car. If I were you, I'd sell my car for as much as I can. If you are leasing a vehicle, figure out a way to get rid of it. Automobiles are liabilities that will eat into your savings unless you absolutely need them. Take the bus, ride a bike, or walk. Thats what I do. Just my little bit of advice..........If you send me a PM, I can give you a tip on how you can find rent that is easy to pay with little more than the $5 bucks a day you're making in Adsense.
Wow, so many ideas. What @tesla said is most practical on honest advice. Right now, I am earning around $1200 a month, which is pretty for me in india. I am telling about my idea to reach $2400 a month by the end of 2007. I planned to earn (saving) of $1000 from web design and development work. Around $50x24= $1200 per month from my 24 affiliate sites. Around $100 per month from adsense. And around $100 per months from renting one floor of my house. lol I think I need to pay more attention on my sites for first 6 months.