What Really Makes Money Online
Cutting Through The Crap And Making A Living On The Internet
Over the last few days, Make Money Online bloggers and Internet Marketers have been popping up all over the place telling us that they have had enough of the ’social’ aspect of blogging and just want to concentrate on actually making money online.
The reasons for being a little more ‘anti-social’ are many.
- They include being shafted by some of your own (less loyal) readers, as happened to Victor Franqui when he was trying to show his readers how to Make Money Blogging.
- They also include a suspicion that you may have set Google alarms ringing with your extremely helpful posts on link building techniques, as has happened to Grizzly whilst doing his very best to show How To Make Money Online For Beginners.
- And even more recently Courtney Tuttle has written about how those undertaking Internet Marketing have got it wrong in following a too literal interpretation of the saying ‘content is king’. According to Court, it’s not so much about content (quality or otherwise), it’s about well-targetted, well-keyworded backlinks. (See additional note below about where this link now takes you…)
None of these bloggers have benefitted that much from producing a large number of posts for their regular readers. In fact, in the first two cases at least, having regular readers has probably been a hindrance to making money on the net. And in the third case, although Court has gained authority from his site and has been able to make money from the personal coaching in internet marketing he advertises there, even he is bemoaning the fact that out of nearly 400 posts on his blog, less than 20 of them have produced most of the traffic.
And when you get right down to it, writing a blog just for regular readers can actually cut into the time you need to spend in order to make money online.
True, you may enjoy writing what you hope will be quality content. I bet I am not the only one who enjoys being told that an article she has written is excellent, or thought provoking, or whatever…
You may also enjoy the social aspect of building up a ’social blog’. After all, it’s a cut throat world trying to make a living on the internet, and it’s good to have other blogging friends to compare notes with. It’s nice to get comments on your blog and to make comments on theirs.
But none of this actually makes you any money.
Where is this leading to?
Well, over the last few weeks, along with continually buiding new adult blogs and sites, I have been building a number of blogs in quite different niches to the MMO niche. In fact, some of these are niches even those who know me would not believe… But these blogs are starting to get some decent traffic and my stats are giving me some pretty effective keyword terms to target. For most of them there are also some pretty nice affiliate programs which I am now ready to try.
So… I have decided to really concentrate on these blogs, building up the backlinks, targetting my keywords specifically in line with both search terms and sponsers and seeing what this brings. I am very hopeful of decent results.
The downside of this is that I will not be commenting much anywhere for a while and I will not be producing more ‘thoughts’ content for this blog, at least, until after the other niche blogs are working effectively. However, you may see the occasional ‘make money online’ post here, if I find something I think that search engine visitors might like.
But please don’t raise your hands in horror over this, my few regular readers. After all, it’s all about Making Money On The Internet
________________
Addition:
When I made that post, Courtney Tuttle was riding high on the Internet, the article I originally linked to was receiving gave credit from internet marketers (and some controversy in the comments). However, shortly after that post was published, Court appears to have had a spot of bother with ranking in Google for his key terms (and even for his own name!).
As a result, Court took down the original post which argued that content isn’t king - backlinks are. He substituted it for the obsequious post you will find in that link. Basically saying “I was wrong, content is king.. yada, yada….”
When you are an experienced (and usually successful) internet marketer like Courtney Tuttle, and this is your main source of income, I guess you have to try to ‘put things right with Big G’ or go under completely (at least for your ‘flagship site’ anyway…).
Do I believe the sincerity in Court’s ‘updated’ post? No.
Do I think he was ’slapped’ by Google for writing it? Perhaps…. but perhaps not. There are many reasons for receiving a ‘Google slap’ and there could well have been others here, but it is not the point of this addition to my original post to suggest what they are…
I would hate to think that Google can play ‘Big Brother’ to such an extent that ‘it’ doesn’t allow ’subversion in the ranks’, but there again, who knows…? Being the cynic that I am, I do think this is an entirely possible scenario. However, in Court’s case, I don’t really think this is the real cause of that ’slap’.
I’ll leave that up to you to decide…






That is a drag if I’m being honest.
There are just some of those blog you love to read and this is one of them for me. It’s got more of a life blogger approach than anything, and for me that is a VERY refreshing change. Damn, you know how to ruin a party. LOL.
On a serious note, I know the feeling. Fact is that MY make money online ventures are all at hobby level. Though I’ve been doing it for years, and do well for myself, I am still carrying on with my day job. I guess if it was my only income, I could not only see where playing around over here doesn’t help… but also where you need to get you “business life” into gear. I just wrote a little article about “Bottom Line Blogging”. Interesting how the sphere can share thoughts. Sort of like hic-ups. Contagious.
At least I know where else I can find you. I’ll swallow some Xanex and drag myself over.
Hi PB,
yeah, I sure know how to ruin a party
But it was all getting a little out of hand.
I have some pretty well worked out plans for the next eighteen months or so, and, as I have been totally unable to organise my time in any coherent fashion.. I’ve just got to get right back down to doing what I know makes me money.
And, sad to say, it isn’t writing long, thought-filled posts.
Doesn’t mean I won’t be popping in to see friends though. But I don’t think I am going to get so involved in so many online conversations.
Do you know? I spend hours going through my RSS emails and commenting in different places. And then I spend even more time answering personal emails from readers of my other ‘flagship’ blog. And those emails cannot go unanswered as I’m sure you will be able to imagine…
And all that is taking my time away from building the new site I have most of the material ready for and all the other little ‘build up plans’ I need to do to get this underway. Plus I have a few (quite a few…) mainstream blogs in their early stages which are beginning to work…
And then I have to ensure that the adult side is ticking over…
I’m hardly getting any sleep! (No wonder I set up that depression blog
)
Seriously though, I will be posting here, but now I have some organic traffic it will be more related to sales and other stuff… Sad as that may seem, why waste a PR3 blog if you can utilise it for something else?
Guess you will just have to swallow that Xanex and drag yourself over to my other blog (which I will keep running properly)
And now I am going to pop over and have a look at what you have to say about ‘the bottom line’, could be you are right, we are all having the same thoughts…
It’s good to prioritize early to focus on the thing that generate the cash flow for you on or off the blog.
I was making the same point the other day on one of my post that traffic alone doesn’t necessarily ring the cash register. Gosh, in retrospect I was lucky that I did not jump into the blogwagon for money lest I’d stress up and set up another depression blog like you.
So my bottom line is never about money.
Yan
PS: So I’ll be seeing less of you here, huh?
Hi Yan,
“traffic alone doesn’t necessarily ring the cash register”
It sure doesn’t. Especially if it’s not organic traffic. And along with that (for me anyway) comes having something to sell when the traffic finally makes it to your blog!
I must admit, I set up this blog purely as a place to share my thoughts on the Make Money Online niche, so I haven’t really optimised it properly or gone out of my way at all to get traffic for it. And can you imagine how awkward that domain name is for a start! (mind you, it does take the occasional visitor off to other places which do make me money…
But at the end of the day, the bottom line for me has to be about making a living from this and I cannot carry on writing long, rambling posts just for the fun of it (it is fun though - that’s the trouble…)
As to seeing me around here, well, as I said to PB, there will be some posts here, but more of a money making kind…
My main place to spill my thoughts will be at frayingedges.com if you happen to want to amble across some time.
You don’t need Xanax to do that, honest!
But I will pop in to see you anyway. I like reading your blog (and commenting there… and as you can see, I cannot keep away from making long comments can I…?)
BINGO!!!!!
Thank you Zania for the perfect post to match my mindset! I know I have shared a few of my thoughts about this with you via email….which I have not even had the damn time to respond to you on yet!
Sorry about that, but this is spot on!
I left a comment over at missys’ g34 blog which was a short version of all the things I have going right now and much like you I am lacking sleep and backed up with work for the next 18 months. It’s a wonder I have time to go to work 9-5 was the gist of it.
Whilst I do enjoy blogging for fun and the social aspect of it….my focus is 100% on making money online, and I will tell you why. Because I need to focus hard to make it happen and the reason it needs to happen is so that I can cut out the 9-5 part of my life. If I cut that out and I am making money online then I will have more time, and reason, to get out there and be a social blogger again too. I think people come into this game with such mixed attitudes and to me it is either black or white. You either want to make money online or you want to be social and have fun. If its the former then you are not going to make it happen if you get bogged down in the social aspect. My advice to one and all is decide from the offset what your goals are (as PB recently posted) and stick to them. Yes, you can make a little money while blogging for fun, but it’s a lot more fun to blog when you are making money!
Thats me done
Email is coming back to you I promise.
Hi AP,
no worries about the delay in your email response. I have so many emails to respond to myself it’s frightening!
(in fact, I have yet to log in to that particular account today - thanks for reminding me!!!)
And yes, if you really want to make money online than you cannot be social at the same time (well, not in a big way anyway…)
Like you, I enjoy the social aspect of it all… until it gets too much anyway…
But yeah, that can come later
I started in this purely to make money (I was desperate - it had to work, no question!) so I had no aspirations to be ’social’ at all. And that worked out just fine until I came over to mainstream… It’s just so easy to get sidetracked this end of the field.
You are so right about that mixed attitude - but in my case, it got to me about a year in, after I had started making the real money.
So saying that, even though I am now making a living on the internet (keywords, lol!), it is still cutting into my time to be social. And time is money.
Guess I need to make a few more thousands a month yet before I can even entertain the thought of being a social blogger
And from where I am sitting, you are going to make it AP. No question. You have sorted out your attitude and know for you it’s about making money. So you are focused.
And that last statement of yours: “Yes, you can make a little money while blogging for fun, but it’s a lot more fun to blog when you are making money!” says it all.
Maybe we should all frame it!
“Yes, you can make a little money while blogging for fun, but it’s a lot more fun to blog when you are making money!”
I can’t help but to re-quote and you are right, we should all frame it. That’s a good one, AP.
Let me clarify further my bottom line.
I’m not saying that money is not an issue for me or rather I’m financially free but I know damned well that what I could possibly make from blogging NOW is not going to match what I’m earning right now unless I’ve reached the level of John Chow, Shoemoney or Darren Rowse who make tons of money out of blogging.
The thing is I don’t fight a losing battle and chasing the elusive dollars. Guess how many fail when the results show otherwise. Everyone with strong personal belief thinks they can be like John Chow but few realize that it takes more than self-belief, skill and knowledge, above all it requires the unforeseen hand of fate. You need to be at the right place and the right time having the right people to succeed.
I know my own weaknesses coupled with my limited experience in monetization. Mind you I know nothing about affiliates, BANS or all those MMO stuffs. My journey has not reached that destination yet and when it does, I know how to switch my mindset accordingly.
But for now, I’m enjoying the process of learning and happy to be a social blogger but with a goal and a destination. So I guess it’s how we control our emotion towards it at the end of the day. Life is too short not to love the thing we do.
Yan
@ Yan: Agreed on the life is too short part but I have siad this before and I shall say it again….the likes of shoemoney and even Darren to some extent make more money on things other than their blogs! Their blogs offer them a great platform to launch new things etc and while they do make fantasic amounts from their blog….you ask Jeremy how much of a hinderance it is to his business! As for wanting to be like John Chow - I am not in that camp and never have been!
@ Zania: ‘It had to work’ is often a good place to put yourself. I have been there many a time when all aroundme ask ‘what if is does not go to plan?’ my answer is exactly that…it has to. Failure is not an option right!
Feel free to use my lines anytime and I will add it once more just for your keywords
“Yes, you can make a little money while blogging for fun, but it’s a lot more fun to blog when you are making money!”
“Everyone with strong personal belief thinks they can be like John Chow”
Not me Yan
Although I do get what you mean.
And that’s the problem. So many people are trying to make money out of the wrong dream!
I would much rather ‘make money quietly’ (as Griz recently termed it) than get my name out there as a social blogger. Because by following the social model, I would be bound to fail. I just do not have the belief in it as a business model, whilst I know the ‘quiet’ method works.
And if you read Frank’s (Optempo) very cutting posts on social blogging it could give you food for thought as well
Yes, some parts of everything are down to fate, but I’m a strong believer in taking what fate gives you and working with it. Sometimes you get a bad run, so you learn from that and move on.
Fate has dealt me a few hard knocks, but it has also given me a sharp mind, the ability to see through the crap (and to know when not to broadcast that fact…) and the ability to think quickly and ‘out of the box’, so that’s the way I work (maybe I should have made a post on this, lol!) and that’s what works for me in making money online.
You have also sorted out where your strengths and weaknesses are. Your strengths are in your ability to gain a great deal of knowledge, to understand what you are learning, and to communicate this to others in a way they understand. It is also your ability to provide a place where others feel free to comment and share their advice too.
And that’s just a little of what you can do!
Sure, you understand your weaknesses in (so far) not having enough knowledge about monetisation and for you that’s just as well, because too many people begin trying to monetise without having worked this out.
By the way, Frank and Griz (and RT at Untwisted Vortex and of course Court) are masters at this in their different ways. I know you read some of them, but when you are ready to learn more about making money online, I really recommend them as the best (with no BS).
This wasn’t an attack on you Yan or the philosophy you follow for building your blog. I was just saying it’s not mine.
Horse for courses as my dad use to say…
Lol AP,
you posted that comment whilst I was composing mine
And you added the very bit I left out (although I have written a post along those lines….) Social bloggers use their blogs as a platform to making money online, mostly elsewhere.
Oh and thanks for allowing me to post this again:
“Yes, you can make a little money while blogging for fun, but it’s a lot more fun to blog when you are making money!”

No worry, gal. It was just friendly exchanges of opinions and philosophy and I was enjoying the process too.
Apart from John Chow, I’ve read all of those great bloggers you’ve recommended. They are all great but I’m not too sure about John anyway.
Yan
It’s a shame to get turned on to a blog only to find that it is not going to be active. Hopefully by the time I’ve caught up with your posts, you will be ready to expand further!
Good stuff Zania, it all comes down to your goals and what you need to do to reach them. If that means taking a break to focus on making money in order to get where you want to be, then do that.
People who enjoy your content will still be here when you start posting again, and if you don’t…oh well…it’s really a matter of deciding what’s right for you.
I agree…you have to have a plan…and you have to stick to it!
Good luck! I know you’ll be fine.
@Pennsylvania Internet Marketing,
Seems you have upset someone, I had to drag your comment out of the spam box.
And thanks for liking my blog.
You never know, I may be posting more here soon.
I’m just too busy making money from the blogs which do bring in the cash at the moment
@ Normal Joe,
Yes, I finally found my focus… for now anyway!
Just need to stick to that plan…
It’s gets awfully monotonous though writing the stuff which actually makes me money.
There are only so many keywords (long tail, short tail or no damn tail!) you can use when you focus on the type of posts I have to make…
So I’m itching to get back to posting here and at Fraying Edges (post nearly ready for that one), but the end of the month is nigh and my sponsors pay out then, so… well, I guess the mainstream will have to wait just a little longer
Hey Zania,
It is I, formerly known as AP, back on the scene. Just checking in to say I hope all is well over there. Not heard a peep from you in a few weeks now!
In reference to our email correspondence, I decided just to sell that domain and get on with other things. You don’t want it do you?
Regards,
Neal
Hi NBC, aka AP,
good to see you here.
It’s not that many weeks since I posted here - just over 2 to be exact
I have been pretty busy, not only building new adult blogs/sites, but also with quite annoying hosting problems, grrr!!!!
If you still have that domain to sell, I could probably be interested.
Email me with the details
It’s now been more than 2 weeks
What’s new, Zania???
Hey!
I’ve been seeing your sneaky comments around
Gotta love hosting problems. I’ve been busy myself building new sites etc
I still have the domain actually, I had someone offer me $80 for it but he then fell off the face of the earth. I’d forgotten about that.
Will email shortly.
I fully understand the concept behind blogging and I think affiliate marketing and making money online is a wonderful idea. What I don’t seem to be able to understand is why everyone that wants to make money online are so focused on doing it by the theme of making money online. Not only is if so general the SERP competition is crazy but it’s a bit shallow at the same time. In other words people that sit around talking about making money all the time and focus on that tend to not make much money. Instead I think it makes a lot more sense to find a quality affiliate product or theme that has some substance behind it. I don’t intend any disrespect just giving my honest thoughts.