In the course of my attempts to make money on the net, I have browsed many blogs and sites. As I said in my first post here: Thoughts on Making Money on the Net: How Do I Not Get Scammed, personally, I find some of the ‘how to tips’ from these entrepreneurs not worth the time it takes reading them. Others I have mentioned before, are definitely worth reading if you are serious about earning some cash from your time online. I still have some reservations, even about the good guys, but watching your back when you try to make a living on the web is no bad thing.

There are, however, a couple of guys (I know one is male anyway) who have definitely got me interested in their money making blogs and the reason is that, like me, they have a healthy scepticism.

I was going to write this post a couple of days ago, after I found the second guy I am going to mention in my next post, but I have been too busy with updating some of the blogs which do actually make good money for me, so it had to wait. Never mind, here we go now.

The guy I want to mention here is ‘Splork’. He writes the blog Lost Ball in High Weeds. I found Splork when he made a guest post for Griz on the subject of How To Make Money With Hub Pages. His post was informative and he gave even more help when he joined in the comments afterwards. I decided to check Splork out for myself and found a guy who tells it like it is when it comes to making money on the net.

Splork has tried, I would guess, most of the tricks in the book when it comes to trying to earn some cash from working online. Luckily, he has chosen to make this a part-time occupation and is sticking with his day job. I say luckily, because his money making ventures do not always produce the goods, or at least enough to retire on (although I think some still could). And Splork gives us the results, good, bad and indifferent. He also shares with us his feelings on the the whole ‘net entrepreneur’ business.

Take this post for example, a recent one entitled Promotion of Websites Sucks:

I gotta tell ya, promoting all these websites sucks large. I have websites dropping in and out of Google like visitors to the Bunny Ranch. This includes Blogger blogs, Squidoo lens and Hubpages too. Nothing is consistent. Nothing stays upright. Nothing stays in. Nothing stays out. It’s all crap…

I have to say there are many occasions when I feel exactly the same way. Most of my blogs and sites are in the adult niches, but trying to make money from these can also suck big time. Yes, you can make money, sometimes a fair bit, and at those times you honestly feel “Yes! I’ve made it at last. I can now officially say I am a web entrepreneur!” Until you hit a ‘dry patch’ and the cash stops flowing in….

It happens to us all. You cannot tell me that even the ‘A Listers’ do not have times like this - moments of doubt that they are not making the money all that hard work and learning new skills tells them they should be making.

It’s at times like these the level headed realism of a guy like Splork can help a lot, especially if you are a cynic like me. He tells it like it is, but not only that, his willingness to share his money making experiences provide valuable tools for the rest of us, as do the discussions in the comments sections of his posts.

Personally, I think that one of these days Splork will make enough money from his sites and blogs to retire and spend more time with his family he (quite rightly) insists on putting first and following more of his hobbies. I wish him the very best of luck. If ever a guy deserves to make it big online it is Splork.

If you want just the ‘good news’ (and the hype) I would not recommend visiting Lost Ball in High Weeds, because you will not get what you are looking for. In that case, you will probably prefer to keep your visits to the ‘A Listers’ who will try to sell you their latest ‘money making’ scheme, while giving you a little ‘confidence boost’ on the way. Just remember, having the confidence is all very well, and you can get it for free. But don’t forget you need more than this to make a living on the net. You need experience and it takes damned hard work and a load of studying. And above all, you need a dose of realism now and again, or else you will get suckered. And that’s guaranteed.

So if, like me, you want to make money on the net, but have a good healthy sense of realism (and don’t want to spend your hard earned cash until someone has tested the process for you), please visit Lost Ball in High Weeds. It may not be the happiest experience of your life online, but it’ll sure be one of the most helpful.

Related posts