Okay, So I’ve been getting a few emails and messages from folks who are wondering if I can give a little more information as far as the exact methods I use to earn an income online. As I’ve mentioned before, I make my money from two sources: article marketing and a portfolio of websites. So, I figured that I would start a series that covers exactly what it is that I do. I am not worried about competition because I am not going to give away any of my niches or actual websites. It is a big world out there and the chances of anyone getting into my niches and becoming my direct competition is pretty remote.

First of all, I would just like to say that this really doesn’t take much talent – although there are going to be people that do better than others. Usually, this is due to other things like the ability to fail, learn the lesson, and get back up again – and the fact that we all have different work ethics. Oh, and having a thick skin isn’t going to hurt either!

In the 5 years or so that I have been doing this, I have to say that I have made my fair share of mistakes. In fact, I almost quit more times than I can count. If I could sum up what it is that actually gets you to the point where you are making money, I would have to say, pure stubbornness. In my case, I also believed that I had no choice. I knew I would never work for anyone again and it was either stick it out with internet marketing, or try to start a shoestring business like window cleaning. Hmm… work from the comfort of my own home, make my own schedule – or slug it out working in a low pay, high competition, fussy customer, service business? In the end, it wasn’t even close.

There are a lot of things that can negatively affect someone who is just getting into affiliate marketing. One thing that I struggled with (and still do) is the fact that you can go off in a hundred different directions – there really are that many ways to make money online. It seemed that every day, I would have a new plan in place of the old one. I look back at all the notes I made in my workbook over the years and it almost looks like the ramblings of a madman haha. I was all over the board. At the time, though, each idea seemed like it would make me a million dollars.

Eventually, I came to the conclusion that I would have to find something and stick with it, or I would end up on the street. That is where I really started article marketing with a purpose in mind. Later, I would use some of that money to buy tools that would leverage my time in a major way.

One of the things that I struggled with in the early days is the fact that I couldn’t afford to make a mistake (at least, that is what I thought). I had very little money and if I happened to go down the wrong path, I was finished – I didn’t have the resources to start something else. For that reason, I analyzed things to death and many times defeat played out in my head before I even wrote an article or put up a website. If you study something long enough, you are always going to find flaws – nothing is perfect.

Now, the way I am going to write this is going to assume a few things. I have to be realistic and know that there is no way I am going to cover everything. I would be writing for a long time. If you start reading this and you are completely lost, it just means that you have to educate yourself in the basics of internet marketing and the particular aspect you are unclear of. This would include things like setting up a hosting account, installing WordPress (if you don’t know what WordPress is, then you have your work cut out for you), FTPing files to your hosting account, html basics, and so forth.

It really is impossible to satisfy everyone, that is why I am starting where I am. I hope that it is going to accommodate most people. If you are lost, don’t worry, all you have to do is get the basics down first – and it really isn’t that hard. As an example, you can install WordPress with nothing more than a few mouse clicks and have a site up and running, ranking for your chosen keywords in the search engines, and making money in no time.

And if you are really new and know absolutely nothing, I would encourage you not to be intimidated. I started with nothing – I knew nothing. I didn’t even have a background in computers – I was an office drone. So, what I am trying to say is that if you are determined to learn this and break free of the shackles of corporate life some day, then know that it can be done – anything can be learned.

What I am going to write about is what works for me. It is the way that I do things to make money. Undoubtedly, there are going to be other ways of doing things, but this is what works for me.

So, the first thing I am going to talk about is article marketing. That is where I started, so I really do have a soft spot for it. If you are hard working and you maximize each and every article you write, it won’t be long before you build a base income, just from that. For me, it took the financial pressure off so that I could pursue other, more permanent aspects of my business.

In my next post, I am going to sum up what it is that I do to make money in this hyper-competitive market.

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