Thursday 10 October 2013

Money, Money Money


Now we are in Act 2 of our 30 day blog challenge we are getting down to the nitty gritty of how to make money online as a lifestyle entrepreneur. And Natalie hits the spot – it’s difficult to figure out ways I can make money that don’t seem scammy or out of kilter with my values


Shake Your Money Maker
When it comes to online revenue it basically boils down to 3 income streams:
  • Advertise other people’s stuff
  • Recommend other people’s stuff through affiliate links
  • Sell your own stuff (products or services, not literally the things you own)

However for all three of these options you need to have built a reputation and created some authority. Who would care if I recommended someone’s e-book? Who would notice an advert on my site? If I wrote an e-book, who would buy it?

No one. Because at the moment I am blogging for me, I’m not thinking about my audience, who are my readers? What interests them? How can I add value to them? So this got me thinking about who my target market should be, what problems are they having?
  • What product or service can I develop to solve or reduce their problem?
  • And how can I do that differently to everyone else out there already doing it

I would love to create a product or service that helps someone, meets a need, fills a gap or solves a problem. I’ve got a couple of ideas that I really want to figure out how to create myself without having to get technical help, otherwise I’ll feel like I haven’t created it, just had the idea. Anyone can have an idea. But I guess lots of people make lots of money by having an idea and making it happen by getting other people to create it then take all the glory for it.

Make Money Sleeping
I’m not against supplementing my income with advertising or affiliation on top of offering a product or service. But I don’t think I’d get much entrepreneurial satisfaction from an advertising and affiliation business.  However most people earning money this way actually give away amazing free advice and resources, so maybe that's the key to the satisfaction.  I‘ve been hearing a lot of good things about Pat Flynn and his Smart Passive Income site, so I’m going to do a bit of research to see if this type of business model could work for me. Although I may struggle on recommending products and services I use, as I may have mentioned before, I’m saving all my money to travel the world, so I’m not actually buying much stuff that I could review, and I wouldn’t be able to endorse something that I hadn’t liked or found useful myself.
I also wouldn’t want to just jump on the bandwagon and be endorsing the latest big thing in digital downloads.

Have you had any success through affiliate marketing or advertising on your blog? I'd love to hear from you.  

The 30 Day Blog Challenge is run by Natalie Sisson, The Suitcase Entrepreneur. Join in and discover how to create freedom and adventure in life and business through location independence. Plus – enter to win prizes – including a $500 blog coaching session with Natalie!

If you’re following the challenge please drop by and say hello J Leave a link to your blog and I’ll be sure to check it out!